| God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. | God is our refuge and our strength, a well-proved help in times of trouble. |
| This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. | That is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, and they devote themselves to this service. |
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| Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” | Jesus replied, “Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.” |
| Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. | Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Even the hairs on your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth far more than any number of sparrows. |
| For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. | You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am wonderfully made; awesome are your works, as I know very well. |
| Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” | Jesus replied, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” |
| Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. | Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them can fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even the hairs on your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth far more than any number of sparrows. |
| Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. | I am confident of this: that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. |
| The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. | The Lord then said, “Very well. All that he has is in your power. However, you may not lay a hand upon him.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. |
| Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” | Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” |
| Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. | Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. |
| Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. | Amen, amen, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. |
| The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. | This is the day that the Lord has made; let us exult and rejoice in it. |
| For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. | In view of all this, you should make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with piety, and piety with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. |
| Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. | He gave himself for us in order to deliver us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people as his own who are eager to do good. |
| But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. | But for that very reason I was treated mercifully, so that in me Jesus Christ might exhibit his inexhaustible patience, making me an example for those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. |
| The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. | He is the reflection of God’s glory and the perfect expression of his very being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Achieving purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high. |
| Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. | By these he has given us his precious promises, great beyond all price, so that through them you may escape from the corruption with which evil desires have infected the world and thereby may come to share in the divine nature. |
| After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. | After he said this, he was lifted up as they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. |
| Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. | Amen, amen, I say to you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and indeed will do even greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. |
| We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. | For we will become partners with Christ only if we maintain firmly until the end the confidence we originally had. |
| You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. | Therefore, you have no excuse, whoever you may be, when you pass judgment on others. For in judging others you condemn yourself, since you are doing the same things. |
| Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. | Do not seek to adorn yourself externally—by the braiding of your hair and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothing. Rather, let your adornment be of your inner self, the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. |
| 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. | Take heed to follow the commandments and the laws that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you: to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in his ways and to observe his commandments, holding fast to him and serving him with all your heart and all your soul. |
| Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” | Then he sat down, summoned the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he must become the last of all and the servant of all.” |
