27 (A)Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: (B)to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, (C)and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

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27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after(A) orphans and widows(B) in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.(C)

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16 “Wash(A) yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
(B)Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke [a]the oppressor;
[b]Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:17 Some ancient vss. the oppressed
  2. Isaiah 1:17 Vindicate

16 Wash(A) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;(B)
    stop doing wrong.(C)
17 Learn to do right;(D) seek justice.(E)
    Defend the oppressed.[a](F)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;(G)
    plead the case of the widow.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor

17 But (A)whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

18 My little children, (B)let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we [a]know (C)that we are of the truth, and shall [b]assure our hearts before Him.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 John 3:19 NU shall know
  2. 1 John 3:19 persuade, set at rest

17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them,(A) how can the love of God be in that person?(B) 18 Dear children,(C) let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.(D)

19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:

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And (A)let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap (B)if we do not lose heart. 10 (C)Therefore, as we have opportunity, (D)let us do good to all, (E)especially to those who are of the household of faith.

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Let us not become weary in doing good,(A) for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.(B) 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good(C) to all people, especially to those who belong to the family(D) of believers.

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34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, (A)inherit the kingdom (B)prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 (C)for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; (D)I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was (E)naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; (F)I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, (G)inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, (H)‘Depart from Me, you cursed, (I)into the everlasting fire prepared for (J)the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer [a]Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, (K)inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And (L)these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:44 NU, M omit Him

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom(A) prepared for you since the creation of the world.(B) 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,(C) 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me,(D) I was sick and you looked after me,(E) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’(F)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(G)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,(H) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire(I) prepared for the devil and his angels.(J) 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’(K)

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.(L)(M)

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And (A)do not be conformed to this world, but (B)be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may (C)prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

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Do not conform(A) to the pattern of this world,(B) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.(C) Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is(D)—his good, pleasing(E) and perfect will.

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Do Not Love the World

15 (A)Do not love the world or the things in the world. (B)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, (C)the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And (D)the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

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On Not Loving the World

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world.(A) If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them.(B) 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,(C) the lust of the eyes,(D) and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away,(E) but whoever does the will of God(F) lives forever.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 John 2:15 Or world, the Father’s love

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To (A)loose the bonds of wickedness,
(B)To undo the [a]heavy burdens,
(C)To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not (D)to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are [b]cast out;
(E)When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from (F)your own flesh?

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 58:6 Lit. bonds of the yoke
  2. Isaiah 58:7 wandering

“Is not this the kind of fasting(A) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(B)
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(C) free
    and break every yoke?(D)
Is it not to share your food with the hungry(E)
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(F)
when you see the naked, to clothe(G) them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(H)

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[a]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that (A)friendship with the world is enmity with God? (B)Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

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Footnotes

  1. James 4:4 NU omits Adulterers and

You adulterous(A) people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world(B) means enmity against God?(C) Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. James 4:4 An allusion to covenant unfaithfulness; see Hosea 3:1.

Not Carnality but Christ

If then you were (A)raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, (B)where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the (C)earth. (D)For you died, (E)and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

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Living as Those Made Alive in Christ

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,(A) set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.(B) Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.(C) For you died,(D) and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

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Meditations on the Excellencies of the Word of God

א ALEPH

119 Blessed are the [a]undefiled in the way,
(A)Who walk in the law of the Lord!

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 119:1 blameless

Psalm 119[a]

א Aleph

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,(A)
    who walk(B) according to the law of the Lord.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 119:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet; moreover, the verses of each stanza begin with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

15 (A)Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to (B)fail,
17 Or eaten my morsel by myself,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it
18 (But from my youth I reared him as a father,
And from my mother’s womb I guided [a]the widow);
19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;
20 If his [b]heart has not (C)blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

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Footnotes

  1. Job 31:18 Lit. her
  2. Job 31:20 Lit. loins

15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?(A)
    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?(B)

16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor(C)
    or let the eyes of the widow(D) grow weary,(E)
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
    not sharing it with the fatherless(F)
18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
    and from my birth I guided the widow(G)
19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,(H)
    or the needy(I) without garments,
20 and their hearts did not bless me(J)
    for warming them with the fleece(K) from my sheep,

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But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and (A)to repay their parents; for this is [a]good and acceptable before God.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Timothy 5:4 NU, M omit good and

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents,(A) for this is pleasing to God.(B)

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