| So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. | So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. |
| Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. | Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. |
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| And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. | These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. |
| As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” | They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” |
| And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” | Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” |
| No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. | Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. |
| I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. | Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. |
| Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. | Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. |
| And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. | Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. |
| You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. | You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. |
| Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. | Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. |
| So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! | Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. |
| In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. | And, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. |
| But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” | But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” |
| In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short. | Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. |
| 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.” | Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” |
| Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. | Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. |
| God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. | This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. |
| Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. | We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. |
| 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. | In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. |
| 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.” | Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” |
| In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord. | And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord. |
| This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. | This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. |
| Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. | So that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. |
| Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. | Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. |
