| A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. | Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. |
| That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. | I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. |
|
| The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. | The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. |
| Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. | Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! |
| I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. | I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. |
| For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. | If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. |
| Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. | The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. |
| And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. | 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. |
| Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. | You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. |
| And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. | And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. |
| Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. | We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. |
| But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. | But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. |
| Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. | “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” |
| So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. | When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. |
| O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. | O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. |
| Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. | Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! |
| If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. | So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. |
| I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. | All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. |
| Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. | Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” |
| For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. | We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. |
| Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. | Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! |
| It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. | This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. |
| What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? | Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? |
| No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. | No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. |
| What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. | Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! |
