| Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to talk back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior. | 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. |
| So that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. | 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. |
| Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. | They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. |
| You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you are to possess. | Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy. |
| Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. | So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. |
| The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility goes before honor. | Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor. |
| Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path. | Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. |
| But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” | 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.” |
| Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. | I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. |
| And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. | 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. |
| You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. | You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. |
| In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. | He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. |
| When you realize your guilt in any of these, you shall confess the sin that you have committed. | When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. |
| Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? | Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did? |
| Just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life 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 he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” | After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.” |
| And live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. | Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. |
| Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. | Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! |
| And having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. | 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. |
| Also that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. | And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. |
| Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, you will find a future, and your hope will not be cut off. | 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. |
| Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their 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.” |
| For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. | 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. |
| One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.” | One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” |
| He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. | Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. |
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