| Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. | Therefore, my beloved brethren, stand firm and immovable, devoting yourselves completely to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. |
| Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. | Do not be lacking in zeal, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. |
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| Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. | If anyone wishes to serve me, he must follow me. Where I am, there also will my servant be. If anyone serves me, my Father will honor that person. |
| Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” | Then he sat down, summoned the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he must become the last of all and the servant of all.” |
| For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. | For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ | His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. Since you have been faithful in small matters, I will give you much greater responsibilities. Come and share your master’s joy.’ |
| It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. | It is the Lord, your God, whom you are to follow. You must fear him and observe his commandments and obey what he tells you and serve him and hold fast to him. |
| For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. | For we are God’s coworkers; you are God’s field, God’s building. |
| You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. | Brethren, you were called to freedom. However, make sure that you do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Instead, serve one another in love. |
| And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe 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. |
| All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. | All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in uprightness, so that the man of God may be proficient and equipped for good work of every kind. |
| Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. | In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. |
| The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him. | The Lord makes a man’s steps secure when he approves of his conduct. |
| Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. | This must not be so with you. Instead, whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your servant. |
| God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. | For God would not be so unjust as to ignore your work and the love that you have shown for his name by the services you have rendered to the saints and still continue to render. |
| Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. | So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. |
| But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. | If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. |
| But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. | Take heed to follow the commandments and the laws that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you: to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in his ways and to observe his commandments, holding fast to him and serving him with all your heart and all your soul. |
| But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great 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. |
| No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. | No one can serve two masters. For you will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. |
| Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. | As servants of God, behave as free people, but do not use your freedom as a means to cover up wrongdoing. |
| The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. | The Lord redeems the lives of those who serve him; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him. |
| How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! | How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from acts that lead to death so that we may worship the living God. |
| Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. | Nor should you present any part of your body as an instrument for wickedness leading to sin. Rather, present yourselves to God as having been raised from death to life and the parts of your body to God as instruments for righteousness. |
| Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. | Amen, amen, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. |
