| Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy. | Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. |
| But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment. | Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. |
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| For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. | For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. |
| But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. | You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. |
| But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not 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. |
| In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears. | In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. |
| I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food. | I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. |
| By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. | By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. |
| Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince. | Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler! |
| I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. | I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. |
| For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. | For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. |
| Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. | The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. |
| Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. | They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. |
| I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. | I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. |
| Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. | And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. |
| And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ | I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ |
| And in that day you will say: “Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.” | In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.” |
| And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. | You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. |
| If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him. | If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them. |
| You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. | You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. |
| But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. | All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. |
| And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. | After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. |
| Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” | Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” |
| The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body. | The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. |
| But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. | But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. |
