| So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. | For our eyes are fixed not on what is seen but rather on that which cannot be seen. What is visible is transitory; what is invisible is eternal. |
| But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. | 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 be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. | Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with your whole heart, considering the great things he has done for you. |
| But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! | 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. |
| Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” | Do not succumb to the love of money, but be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” |
| Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. | Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the conviction about things that cannot be seen. |
| Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. | Beloved, we are God’s children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. However, we do know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he really is. Everyone who has this hope in him keeps himself pure, just as he is pure. |
| As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. | As for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. |
| 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, even the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs that cannot be put into words. |
| The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. | No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial he will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it. |
| A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. | A good man produces good from the store of goodness in his heart, whereas an evil man produces evil from the store of evil within him. For the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. |
| Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. | Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A person will reap only what he sows. |
| Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. | Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze on what lies before you. |
| Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.” | Then Peter addressed them: “I now understand how true it is that God has no favorites, but that in every nation all those who fear God and do what is right are acceptable to him.” |
| But if wicked people turn away from all their sins and begin to obey my decrees and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. | However, if the wicked renounce all of the sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is right and just, they shall surely live; they shall not die. |
| The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices. | To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. |
| 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. | For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit, and those of the Spirit are opposed to the flesh. They are in conflict with one another, so that you cannot do what you want. |
| And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” | Then he went on, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For from within, from the human heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from within, and they defile a person.” |
| But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together. | But from the very beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh.’ And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. |
| You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh. | O Lord, all my longing is known to you, and my sighs are not hidden from you. |
| I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. | For I handed on to you as of primary importance what I received: that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried and that he was raised to life on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. |
| For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. | To these God chose to make known how rich is the priceless glory that this mystery brings to the Gentiles—Christ in you, your hope of glory. |
| When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. | When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill the vow you have made. |
| This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’ | What I commanded them was this: Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. If you follow all the ways that I command you, then you will prosper. |
| And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. | And so now, O Israel, what does the Lord, your God, require of you but to fear the Lord, your God, to walk in all of his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, and to observe the commandments and the statutes that I am giving you today for your own good. |
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