| For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. | For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. |
| For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. | For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. |
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| My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. | Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. |
| I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. | I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. |
| Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” | “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” |
| For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. | It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. |
| Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. | And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! |
| But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. | But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. |
| Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. | Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. |
| Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. | Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. |
| Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. | Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. |
| The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. | The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free. |
| If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. | If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. |
| How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver! | How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver! |
| Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. | But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. |
| The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. | The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. |
| God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” | He will judge everyone according to what they have done. |
| Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. | Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. |
| There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? | God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? |
| We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life! | “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” |
| Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. | Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. |
| The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. | The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. |
| To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. | The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. |
