| And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. | He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” |
| But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. | But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. |
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| Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. | Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. |
| And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. | Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” |
| For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. |
| And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. | Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” |
| Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. | You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. |
| Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. | Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” |
| For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. | But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. |
| For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. | Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. |
| For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? | But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? |
| For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. | The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. |
| But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. | And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. |
| The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. | The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. |
| Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. | And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. |
| For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. | For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. |
| The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. | Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing. |
| Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. | Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. |
| The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. | The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. |
| In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. | Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. |
