15 Instead, just like God, the one who chose you to belong to him, is ◄holy/separate from evil►, you also must be ◄holy/separate from evil► in everything that you do, 16 because it is {someone/Moses has} written in the Scriptures that God said, "You must be ◄holy/separate from evil► because I am ◄holy/separate from evil►."

15 Instead, just like God, the one who chose you to belong to him, is ◄holy/separate from evil►, you also must be ◄holy/separate from evil► in everything that you do, 16 because it is {someone/Moses has} written in the Scriptures that God said, "You must be ◄holy/separate from evil► because I am ◄holy/separate from evil►."

4 Before God created the world, he chose us to be his people because of our ◄relationship with/union with► Christ, in order that God could consider us to be completely holy [DOU]. Because God loves us,

3 God wants you to live pure lives that will show that you completely belong to him. He wants you to avoid doing any sexually immoral acts (OR, avoid being sexually immoral in any way). 4 That is, he wants each one of you to know how to control your own sexual desires [EUP]. He wants you to live pure lives that all people will see as good. 5 You must not lustfully desire to do immoral acts as unbelievers [MTY] do who do not obey God. 6 God wants each one of you to control your sexual desires, in order that no one of you sin against your fellow believer and take advantage of him or her by doing things like that. Remember that we strongly warned you previously [DOU] that the Lord Jesus will punish all people who do sexually immoral acts. 7 When God chose us believers, he did not want us to be people who behave in a sexually immoral way. On the contrary, he wants us to be people who behave in a morally pure way.

9 God saved us and chose us to conduct our lives in a pure way. It was not our doing good deeds/actions that caused him to do this for us—something that we did not deserve. Instead, before ◄time began/he created the world► he purposed/planned to be kind to us as a result of what Christ Jesus would do for us.

3 But you are holy.

You sit on your throne as king, and we the people of Israel praise you [PRS].

2 There is no one who is holy like you, Yahweh.

There is no other god like you.

There is no one like you, our God, who can protect us as though you were putting us beneath a huge rock where we can hide from danger.

15 Because this is what I, Yahweh, who am holy and greatly honored and who live forever, say:

I live in the highest heaven, where everything is holy,

but I also am with those who are humble and who are sorry for the sinful things that they have done.

I will greatly encourage [DOU] those who have repented.

23 By doing that, I will cause the people of many nations to know that I am very great and holy, and they will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do the things that I say that I will do.’ "

23 I will show that my reputation is sacred, a reputation which you have disgraced among the nations to which you were forced to go. And when I show the nations that I am holy, the people of those nations will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.

14 Try to live peacefully with all people. Seek to be holy, since no one will see the Lord if he is not holy.

14 Try to live peacefully with all people. Seek to be holy, since no one will see the Lord if he is not holy.

1 My friends, whom I love, because God has promised to accept us(inc) as his children, we (inc) must stop doing anything that is sinful. We must not do sinful things with our bodies, and we must not think sinful thoughts. Because we greatly revere God, we must strive to live a completely pure life. By doing that we will become the kind of people that he wants us to be.

1 My friends, whom I love, because God has promised to accept us(inc) as his children, we (inc) must stop doing anything that is sinful. We must not do sinful things with our bodies, and we must not think sinful thoughts. Because we greatly revere God, we must strive to live a completely pure life. By doing that we will become the kind of people that he wants us to be.

22 But you have been freed {God has freed you} from letting the desire to sin control you. You have become as though you are [MET] the slaves of God. So now the result is that God has caused you to completely belong to him and, as a result, you will live eternally.

19 I am illustrating what I say by talking about slavery because your human nature prevents you from understanding spiritual truth easily. In the past you willingly did the immoral and unlawful things that your minds compelled your bodies to do [MET], just like slaves do what their masters compel them to do. As a result, you did even more unlawful things. Now, you need to willingly allow your minds to compel your bodies to act righteously [MET], in order that you will behave in a holy/pure way.

1 My fellow believers, since God has acted mercifully toward you in so many ways, I appeal to all of you that you present yourselves [SYN] to him by making yourselves like holy sacrifices [MET]. Make yourselves sacrifices that he is pleased with, sacrifices that are living/alive, not ones that are dead/killed. Since God has done so much for you/us, this is the only appropriate way to serve him.

17 My fellow believers, I exhort you that you beware of those people who are causing divisions among you and who cause people to turn away from God [MTY] because they teach things that are contrary to the message about Christ that you have learned (OR, that others taught you). Keep away from such people!

3 Do not commit any kind of immoral act [DOU], and do not desire more things than you need. Do not act in such a way that others could even ◄spread rumors/talk► about your acting in such ways, because it is not appropriate/fitting for God’s people to do such things.

3 Do not commit any kind of immoral act [DOU], and do not desire more things than you need. Do not act in such a way that others could even ◄spread rumors/talk► about your acting in such ways, because it is not appropriate/fitting for God’s people to do such things.

22 You were taught {They taught you} that you must put aside [MET] your evil nature; that is, that you must not behave like you formerly did. Your evil desires deceived you, making you want to do evil things and causing you to think that doing that was good for you; and your thinking like that was destroying you spiritually. 23 Others taught you that instead, you must let God’s Spirit change the way you think, 24 and that you must start being [MET] the new persons that God made you to become. That is, your behavior must be righteous and truly/genuinely devout.

21 As for you, although formerly God considered you his enemies (OR, God considered you as alienated from him) and although you were formerly hostile to God because you thought evil thoughts and because you did evil deeds, 22 nevertheless, God our Father has now reconciled you with himself. He did that as a result of his Son dying physically. He did it in order that you should be completely holy when he brings you into his presence. 23 He wants you to continue [DOU] to believe the message about Christ; specifically, he wants you to continue to be stable/steadfast and to continue to confidently expect to receive that which you heard about when you heard that message. That message has been proclaimed {They have proclaimed that message} to people in very many places [HYP]; and I, Paul, also become someone who tells it to people.

17 Set my disciples apart so that they may ◄completely belong to/serve► you, by enabling them to live in accordance with what is true. Your message is true.

9 I know [RHQ] how a youth can ◄keep his life pure/avoid sinning►;

it is by obeying what you have told us to do.

23 God, search my inner being;

find out what I am thinking!

24 Find out whether there is anything evil in my inner being,

and lead me along the road that leads to my being with you forever.

1 I tell myself that I should praise Yahweh.

I will praise him [MTY] with all of my inner being, because he [MTY] is holy.

16 You need to remember that God is present among you (pl) as he was present in the Temple in Jerusalem. [RHQ] God’s Spirit lives within you.

2 I am sending this letter to all you who are God’s believers in Corinth city. You have been set apart by God {God has set you apart} for himself because ◄of your close relationship with/you belong to► Christ Jesus. God has appointed you to be his people and to live in a morally pure way, just like he has appointed all the people everywhere who belong to him to live in a morally pure way. You and they have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [MTY]. He is their sovereign Lord as well as the sovereign Lord of all of us (inc) who have trusted in him.

5 You should think/act just like Christ Jesus thought/acted.

1 Since Christ encourages us, since he loves us and comforts us, since God’s Spirit fellowships with us, and since Christ is very merciful [DOU] to us, 2 make me completely happy by doing the following things: Agree with one another, love one another, be closely united with one another, and live harmoniously with one another [DOU]. 3 Never try to selfishly make yourselves more important than others nor boast about what you are doing. Instead, be humble, and in particular, honor one another more than you honor yourselves. 4 Each one of you should not only be concerned about your own affairs. Instead, each of you should also be concerned ◄that you help/about the needs of► one another.

5 You should think/act just like Christ Jesus thought/acted. 6 Although he has the same nature as God has, he did not insist on keeping all the privileges of being equal with God. 7 Instead, he willingly gave up divine privileges. Specifically, he became a human being and took the attitude of a servant. When he had become a human being, 8 he humbled himself even more. Specifically, he obeyed God even to the extent of being willing to die. He was even willing to be nailed to a cross, to die as though he were a criminal. 9 As a result, God promoted him to a rank that is above every other rank. 10 God did that in order that every being [SYN] in heaven and on earth and under the earth should worship [MTY] Jesus, 11 and in order that every person [SYN] should declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. As a result of everyone doing that, they will honor God, his Father.

12 My dear friends, as you consider this, since you have always obeyed God, each of you should very reverentially [DOU] try to do those things that are proper for people whom God has saved. You should do those things not only when I am with you. Instead, you should try even more to do them now when I am not with you. 13 You are able to do these things, since God himself causes you to desire to do what he wants you to do, and he also enables you to do what he wants you to do.

14 Do everything God or your leaders ask you to do. Never complain about what they want you to do, or argue with them. 15 Behave like that in order that you may be completely faultless [DOU] and may be perfect children of God [DOU] while you live in the midst of people who are wicked and do very wicked things [DOU]. As you live among them, show them clearly [MET] the way they ought to behave, just like the sun, moon, and stars show the road clearly to us [SIM]. 16 Tell them how to have eternal life. I ask that you do that in order that on the day Christ returns I may be able to rejoice [MTY], that I did not labor [DOU] so hard among you in vain.

17 Perhaps the Roman authorities will execute me, and my blood will pour out [MET] as the wine pours out when the priest offers it to God [MET]. For your part, you believe in Christ firmly. As a result, you have given yourselves completely to God in order that you might do what he wills [MET], just like a priest offers a sacrifice completely to God [MET]. Because I dedicate myself wholly to God together with you, even if they are about to execute me, I will greatly rejoice [DOU], because I am giving myself wholly to God, and because you all are giving yourselves wholly to God. 18 Similarly, you too should rejoice because you are giving yourselves wholly to God, and you should rejoice because I am giving myself wholly to God.

19 My relationship with the Lord Jesus leads me to confidently expect that he will enable me to send Timothy to you soon, in order that his telling you the news about me will encourage you. But I also expect that his returning to me and telling me the news about you will encourage me. 20 Keep in mind that I have no one else like him who genuinely cares for you. 21 All the others whom I have considered that I might send to you are concerned only about their own matters. They are not concerned about what Jesus Christ considers important. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved that he serves the Lord and others faithfully. You know that he has served the Lord closely together with me in proclaiming to people the message about Christ as though he were [SIM] my son and I were his own father. 23 So then he is the one I confidently expect to send to you as soon as I know what will happen to me. 24 And I am confident that I will soon be released {the authorities will soon release me} so that the Lord will enable me also to come/go to you soon.

25 I have concluded that it is really necessary that I send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a fellow believer and my fellow worker, and he endures difficulties together with me [MET], just like soldiers endure difficulties together. You sent him to me in order that he might help me when I was needy [EUP]. 26 But I have concluded that I must send him back to you because he has been longing to see you all. Furthermore, he has been very distressed because he knows that you heard that he had become sick. 27 Indeed, he was so sick that he almost died. However, he did not die. Instead, God pitied him and he also pitied me, and as a result he healed him. God pitied me because he did not want me to be even more sorrowful than I already was. 28 So, I am sending him back to you as quickly as possible, in order that you may rejoice when you see him again and in order that I may be less sorrowful than I was. 29,30 Welcome him very joyfully just like believers in our Lord Jesus should welcome one another. While he was working for Christ, he was helping me in place of you because you were far away. He knew that he might die as a result of helping me, and truly he nearly did die. So honor him, and honor all those who are like him.

48 You need to love those who do not love you, and in that way become perfect as God your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect."

16 "After people light a lamp, they do not cover it with a basket or put it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a lampstand, so that those who enter their house can see things from its light [MET]. Similarly, you must tell God’s truth to others so that they can know what I can do for them.

14 In order to remain alive,

you must stop doing what is wrong, and start doing what is right.

If you do that, the Commander of the armies of angels will be with you

like you claim that he always is.

10 If you want to be wise, you must start by revering Yahweh,

and if you know God, the Holy One, you will understand which teachings are wise/true.

25 You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God,

because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.

26 You must behave in ways that I consider to be holy, because I, Yahweh, am holy, and I have set you apart from the ungodly people of other nations to belong to me.

26 You must behave in ways that I consider to be holy, because I, Yahweh, am holy, and I have set you apart from the ungodly people of other nations to belong to me.

7 ‘Set yourselves apart and be holy, because I, Yahweh your God, am holy, and I want you to be like me.

4 Sing to God; sing to praise him;

sing a song (OR, make a road) for him who rides on the clouds;

his name is Yahweh; be glad when you are in his presence.

5 God, who lives in his sacred temple, is like [MET] a father to those who are orphans,

and he is the one who protects widows.