2 Corinthians 4:17-18

English Standard Version

¹⁷For ^(A)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸^(B)as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

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Romans 8:18-19

English Standard Version

Future Glory

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ^(A)are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for ^(B)the revealing of the sons of God.

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Romans 8:28

English Standard Version

²⁸And we know that for those who love God all things work together ^(A)for good,^[a] for ^(B)those who are called according to his purpose.

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Footnotes

Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good

Romans 8:28 in all English translations

2 Corinthians 5:7

English Standard Version

⁷for ^(A)we walk by faith, not ^(B)by sight.

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2 Corinthians 5:7 in all English translations

2 Corinthians 4:1

English Standard Version

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having ^(A)this ministry ^(B)by the mercy of God,^[a] we do not lose heart.

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Footnotes

2 Corinthians 4:1 Greek having this ministry as we have received mercy

2 Corinthians 4:1 in all English translations

2 Corinthians 4:16

English Standard Version

¹⁶So we do not lose heart. ^(A)Though our outer self^[a] is wasting away, ^(B)our inner self ^(C)is being renewed day by day.

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Footnotes

2 Corinthians 4:16 Greek man

2 Corinthians 4:16 in all English translations

2 Corinthians 5:6

English Standard Version

⁶So we are always of good courage. We know that ^(A)while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,

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2 Corinthians 5:6 in all English translations

2 Corinthians 5:8

English Standard Version

⁸Yes, we are of good courage, and we ^(A)would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

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2 Corinthians 5:8 in all English translations

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

English Standard Version

⁸^(A)Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me, ^(B)“My grace is sufficient for you, for ^(C)my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that ^(D)the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰^(E)For the sake of Christ, then, ^(F)I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For ^(G)when I am weak, then I am strong.

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Isaiah 41

English Standard Version

Fear Not, for I Am with You

41 ^(A)Listen to me in silence, ^(B)O coastlands;
let the peoples renew their strength;
let them approach, then let them speak;
let us together draw near for judgment.

²^(C)Who stirred up one from the east
    whom victory meets at every ^(D)step?^[a]
^(E)He gives up nations before him,
    so that he tramples kings underfoot;
he makes them like dust with his sword,
    ^(F)like driven stubble with his bow.
³He pursues them and passes on safely,
    by paths his feet have not trod.
⁴^(G)Who has performed and done this,
    calling the generations from the beginning?
^(H)I, the Lord, the first,
    and with the last; I am he.

⁵^(I)The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
    the ends of the earth tremble;
    they have drawn near and come.
⁶Everyone helps his neighbor
    and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
⁷^(J)The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
    and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
    and they strengthen it with nails ^(K)so that it cannot be moved.

⁸But you, Israel, ^(L)my servant,
    Jacob, ^(M)whom I have chosen,
    the offspring of Abraham, ^(N)my friend;
⁹you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
    and called ^(O)from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are ^(P)my servant,
    ^(Q)I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
¹⁰fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with ^(R)my righteous right hand.

¹¹^(S)Behold, all who are incensed against you
    shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
    shall be as nothing and shall perish.
¹²^(T)You shall seek those who contend with you,
    but you shall not find them;
^(U)those who war against you
    shall be as nothing at all.
¹³For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.”

¹⁴Fear not, you ^(V)worm Jacob,
    you men of Israel!
I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord;
    your ^(W)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
¹⁵^(X)Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,
    new, sharp, and having teeth;
you shall thresh ^(Y)the mountains and crush them,
    and you shall make the hills like chaff;
¹⁶^(Z)you shall winnow them, and ^(AA)the wind shall carry them away,
    and the tempest shall scatter them.
^(AB)And you shall rejoice in the Lord;
    in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

¹⁷^(AC)When the poor and needy seek water,
    and there is none,
    and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
¹⁸^(AD)I will open rivers on the bare heights,
    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
^(AE)I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
    and the dry land springs of water.
¹⁹^(AF)I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert ^(AG)the cypress,
    the plane and the pine together,
²⁰that they may see and know,
    may consider and understand together,
that ^(AH)the hand of the Lord has done this,
    the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The Futility of Idols

²¹Set forth your case, says the Lord;
    bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.
²²Let them bring them, and ^(AI)tell us
    what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
    that we may consider them,
that we may know their outcome;
    or declare to us the things to come.
²³^(AJ)Tell us what is to come hereafter,
    that we may know that you are gods;
^(AK)do good, or do harm,
    that we may be dismayed and terrified.^[b]
²⁴Behold, ^(AL)you are nothing,
    and your work is less than nothing;
    an abomination is he who chooses you.

²⁵^(AM)I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
    ^(AN)from the rising of the sun, ^(AO)and he shall call upon my name;
he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,
    as the potter treads clay.
²⁶^(AP)Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,
    and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?
There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,
    none who heard your words.
²⁷^(AQ)I was the first to say^[c] to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”
    and ^(AR)I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.
²⁸^(AS)But when I look, there is no one;
    among these there is no counselor
    who, when I ask, gives an answer.
²⁹^(AT)Behold, they are all a delusion;
    their works are nothing;
    their metal images are empty wind.

Footnotes

Isaiah 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow?
Isaiah 41:23 Or that we may both be dismayed and see
Isaiah 41:27 Or Formerly I said

2 Corinthians 4:16-17

English Standard Version

¹⁶So we do not lose heart. ^(A)Though our outer self^[a] is wasting away, ^(B)our inner self ^(C)is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For ^(D)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

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Footnotes

2 Corinthians 4:16 Greek man

2 Corinthians 1:8-9

English Standard Version

⁸For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers,^[a] of ^(A)the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. ⁹Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us ^(B)rely not on ourselves ^(C)but on God ^(D)who raises the dead.

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Footnotes

2 Corinthians 1:8 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters

James 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 ^(A)James, a servant^[a] of God and ^(B)of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^(C)the twelve tribes in ^(D)the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

²^(E)Count it all joy, my brothers,^[b] when you meet trials ^(F)of various kinds, ³for you know that ^(G)the testing of your faith ^(H)produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be ^(I)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵^(J)If any of you lacks wisdom, ^(K)let him ask God, ^(L)who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶But ^(M)let him ask in faith, ^(N)with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like ^(O)a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸^(P)he is a double-minded man, ^(Q)unstable in all his ways.

⁹Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰and ^(R)the rich in his humiliation, because ^(S)like a flower of the grass^[c] he will pass away. ¹¹For the sun rises with its scorching heat and ^(T)withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

¹²^(U)Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive ^(V)the crown of life, ^(W)which God has promised to those who love him. ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵Then desire ^(X)when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and ^(Y)sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷^(Z)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from ^(AA)the Father of lights, ^(AB)with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^[d] ¹⁸^(AC)Of his own will he ^(AD)brought us forth by the word of truth, ^(AE)that we should be a kind of ^(AF)firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

¹⁹^(AG)Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person ^(AH)be quick to hear, ^(AI)slow to speak, ^(AJ)slow to anger; ²⁰for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore ^(AK)put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with ^(AL)meekness the implanted word, ^(AM)which is able to save your souls.

²²But be ^(AN)doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵But the one who looks into the perfect law, ^(AO)the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, ^(AP)he will be blessed in his doing.

²⁶If anyone thinks he is religious ^(AQ)and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's ^(AR)religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: ^(AS)to visit ^(AT)orphans and widows in their affliction, and ^(AU)to keep oneself ^(AV)unstained from the world.

Footnotes

James 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
James 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 16, 19
James 1:10 Or a wild flower
James 1:17 Some manuscripts variation due to a shadow of turning

Psalm 119:71

English Standard Version

⁷¹It is ^(A)good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.

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Psalm 119:71 in all English translations

1 Peter 1:6-7

English Standard Version

⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by ^(A)various trials, ⁷so that ^(B)the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes ^(C)though it is tested by ^(D)fire—may be found to result in ^(E)praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

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1 Peter 4:12-13

English Standard Version

Suffering as a Christian

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at ^(A)the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice ^(B)insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad ^(C)when his glory is revealed.

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