| But if we hope for what we do not yet see, then we wait for it with patience. | But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. |
| Test everything, and hold fast to what is good. Avoid every form of evil. | But test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. |
| As for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. | You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. |
| Now who is going to harm you if you are eager to do what is right? | Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? |
| I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you already have so that no one may rob you of your crown. | I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. |
| Go and learn what this text means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. | But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. |
| See what love the Father has bestowed on us, enabling us to be called the children of God, and that is what we are. If the world does not recognize us, that is because it did not know him. | See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. |
| I further pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, how rich and glorious is his inheritance in the saints. | I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. |
| Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father. | As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. |
| So then, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. | Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. |
| You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. | You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. |
| What then shall we say? Should we persist in sin in order that grace may abound? Of course not! We have died to sin. How can we live in it any longer? | What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? |
| Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect. | Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. |
| To you, O God of my fathers, I offer thanks and praise because you have given me wisdom and power. Now you have made known to me what we asked of you; you have revealed to us the king’s dream. | I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king. |
| For as it is written, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has the human heart imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” | However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him. |
| Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops. | What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. |
| For God will repay everyone in accordance with what his deeds deserve. | God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” |
| When riches increase, so do those who are eager to accumulate them, and those who have accumulated them must remain content simply to feast their eyes on them. | As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? |
| But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Your almsgiving must be done in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you. | But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. |
| Yet even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are thereby blessed. Have no fear of others, and refuse to be intimidated by them. | But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” |
| Woe to anyone who rises up against his Maker, or to the pot that is displeased with the potter. Does the clay say to the one who molds it, “What are you doing? Your work makes no sense.” | Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? |
| When they arrest you and bring you to trial, do not be concerned beforehand about what you are to say. Simply say whatever is given to you when that time comes, for it will not be you who speak but the Holy Spirit. | Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. |
| But who am I, and what are your people, that we should be able to do this? All things belong to you, and everything that we have given you is from your hand. | But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. |
| But I with hymns of praise will offer sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will fulfill. Salvation comes from the Lord. | But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’ |
| You need to be steadfast if you want to do the will of God and receive what he has promised. | You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. |
Bible verse of the day
What god can compare with you,the God who takes away guilt
and forgives the transgressions
of the remnant of your people?
You will not allow your anger to fester forever,
for your delight is in bestowing mercy.