12 Beware of being insincere about doing this, because the message God has given us very powerfully penetrates our thinking more than a two-edged sword penetrates flesh [MET]. It penetrates deeply into our souls and spirits, as a sharp sword can penetrate into our joints and marrow. That is, by his message God [PRS] discerns all that we think about, and he discerns all that we desire to do [MTY] (OR, His message exposes to us all our thoughts and all our desires).

11 I have ◄memorized/stored in my mind► many of ◄your words/what you have promised►

in order that I will not sin against you.

130 When someone explains ◄your words/what you have said►,

it is as though they are lighting a light;

what they say causes even people who have not learned your laws to be wise.

1 The one who expresses [MET] ◄God’s character/what God is like► has always existed ◄from the beginning [MTY] of everything/before everything began►. He has always existed with God, and he has God’s nature.

14 The one who expresses [MET] ◄God’s character/what God is like► became a human being, and he lived among us for a while. As a result, we saw how wonderful he is. He came from God his father, and there was no other person as wonderful as he. He was wonderful because he always acted ◄kindly toward us/in ways we did not deserve►, and he always spoke truthfully to us about God.

63 God’s Spirit is the one who gives people eternal life. Human efforts are no help at all for giving people eternal life. The message I have spoken to you gives spiritual life (OR, comes from God’s Spirit and gives eternal life.)

3 You are already like the branches that a gardener trims because you have believed the message that I have told you.

4 But Jesus said to him, "No! I will not change stones into bread, because it is written in the Scriptures {in the Scriptures Moses wrote}, ‘Eating food [SYN] sustains people physically, but it does not sustain them spiritually [SYN]. Instead, paying attention to everything that God has spoken to them is what sustains people spiritually.’"

35 You can be certain that these things that I have told you about will happen. You can be more certain of that than you can be certain that the earth and sky [LIT] will continue to exist."

15 ◄Do your best/Try hard► to be the kind of person that God will approve of. Be like a good worker as you teach the true message accurately. If a worker works well, he will not need to be ashamed of (OR, will be pleased about) what he does.

2 Just like newborn babies long for their mothers’ pure milk [MET], you should long for God’s spiritual truth, so that by learning it you may become spiritually mature. You need to do this until the day when God will free you completely from all the evil in this world.