diff --git a/50-EPH/01.usfm b/50-EPH/01.usfm index 041ab5be..40ba3233 100644 --- a/50-EPH/01.usfm +++ b/50-EPH/01.usfm @@ -25,10 +25,10 @@ \s5 \v 11 Long ago God chose to unite us to Christ. He planned to do this, and he always does exactly what he wishes to do. -\v 12 He did that so that we Jews, who confidently expected the Messiah to come and save us before the non-Jews knew anything about Christ, would praise him for his kindness. +\v 12 God did that so that we who believe in Christ would live to give praise to God's glory. We were the first ones to trust in Christ. \s5 -\v 13 Now you Ephesians and other non-Jews have heard the true message, the good news that Jesus saves everyone who believes him. And you have believed in Christ and are joined to him, so it is as if God's Spirit had marked you on your foreheads to show that you belong to God. +\v 13 It was in Christ that you also, after you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—it was in him that you also have believed and were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. \v 14 The Holy Spirit is proof that we will receive all that God has promised. All this is great reason to praise him! \s5 diff --git a/50-EPH/02.usfm b/50-EPH/02.usfm index db371233..acd22db1 100644 --- a/50-EPH/02.usfm +++ b/50-EPH/02.usfm @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ \c 2 \p \v 1 Before you trusted Christ you were powerless to obey God. You were as helpless as a person who is dead. -\v 2 You were like most people in the world today, who live as Satan wants, the ruler over the evil spirits whom we do not see. Satan is the evil spirit who is now controlling the people who disobey God. +\v 2 You were like most people in the world today, and you, too, did what Satan wants—Satan is the ruler the evil spirits who have such power over the world. Satan is the evil spirit who is at work in the lives of people who disobey God. \v 3 We were at one time among those who disobeyed God; we did the evil things that we desired, things that would bring pleasure to our bodies and our minds. So God was very angry with us, just as with the others. \s5 diff --git a/50-EPH/04.usfm b/50-EPH/04.usfm index cc5813ad..3d70c5f0 100644 --- a/50-EPH/04.usfm +++ b/50-EPH/04.usfm @@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ \s5 \v 4 All believers form one group, and there is only one Holy Spirit, and you were chosen to confidently wait for God to fulfill His promises to you. -\v 5 There is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, in whom we all trust together. And there is only one reason to baptize anyone. That reason is Jesus Christ. -\v 6 There is one God, the true Father of everyone. He rules over all his people and fills everything with his power. +\v 5 There is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, and there is one faith, that is the trust we have in God; and there is only one true Christian baptism. +\v 6 There is one God, the true Father of all. He rules over everyone, and he is working through all events, and he is working within everything that happens. \s5 \p diff --git a/50-EPH/06.usfm b/50-EPH/06.usfm index 4f530906..5c22b223 100644 --- a/50-EPH/06.usfm +++ b/50-EPH/06.usfm @@ -34,16 +34,16 @@ \s5 \p -\v 14 So stand against the devil by clothing yourself with God's truth and righteousness, as if they were pieces of armor you put on to do battle. -\v 15 And firmly believe and obey the good news, which gives us peace with God, just as soldiers firmly put on their boots. -\v 16 In addition, keep trusting firmly in the Lord. That will enable you to protect yourselves from anything that Satan, the evil one, may do to harm you spiritually, just as soldiers carry shields to protect themselves against the arrows that have flaming tips that their enemies shoot at them. +\v 14 Stand firm as a soldier is on guard. Wear truth like the soldier fastens his belt around his waist; and as he puts on a breastplate, you put on your breastplate by doing what God has commanded you to do. +\v 15 Just as soldiers put on their boots, be ready to go anywhere you are needed for the sake of the gospel. You carry the gospel with you everwhere you go, and you bring peace with you everywhere. +\v 16 As the soldier takes up a shield for protection, so you take up the shield of faith, and that shield will put out the flaming darts that the evil one will shoot at you. Your shield will protect you. \s5 -\v 17 And trust in Christ, who has saved you. This will be like a soldier who puts on a helmet to protect his head. And believe in what God says in the scriptures; this will be like a soldier who grasps his sword. -\v 18 As you are doing that, keep praying to God at all times, and requesting him to do things for you and others; and let God's Spirit direct what you pray. For this purpose, always be spiritually alert, praying for all God's people. +\v 17 As the soldier puts on a helmet to protect his head, your helmet of protection is your salvation. The soldier has a sword, but your sword is the word of God, which is "the sword of the Spirit." +\v 18 And let God's Spirit direct you in how you pray and what you pray for. Keep praying to God at all times and keep asking God to meet the needs that other people have. If you are going to be effective in your prayers, you must keep spiritually alert. Take special care to pray for all God's holy people. \s5 -\v 19 And specifically, pray for me. Pray that God will tell me what I should say whenever I speak, in order that I may boldly tell others the good news about Christ. People did not know that message before, but God has now revealed it to me. +\v 19 And pray for me. Pray that God will tell me what I should say whenever I speak, in order that I may boldly tell others the good news about Christ. People did not know that message before, but God has now revealed it to me. \v 20 I am a representative of Christ because of that, here in prison. Pray that when I tell others about Christ, I may speak without being afraid, because that is how I ought to speak. \s5 diff --git a/51-PHP/02.usfm b/51-PHP/02.usfm index ae5dcb66..7c6cbad7 100644 --- a/51-PHP/02.usfm +++ b/51-PHP/02.usfm @@ -7,34 +7,35 @@ \s5 \v 3 Never try to 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. -\v 4 Each one of you should not only be concerned about what you yourself need. Instead, each of you should also be concerned that you help with what others need. +\v 4 Each one of you should not only be concerned about your needs. You should also be concerned about other people and help them when they have needs. \s5 \p \v 5 Think the same way as Christ Jesus thinks: \q -\v 6 Although he is the same as God, -\q he did not insist that we should treat him as God. +\v 6 Although he is deserving of all the honors that God should receive, +\q he took his honors and laid them down, and did not hold on to them. \q -\v 7 Instead, he stopped acting as God. -\q He appeared to us as a servant. -\q He became a human being. -\q He appeared in human form, though he was still God, +\v 7 Instead, he gave up everything. +\q He took on the qualities of a servant, +\q and he became a human being. +\q He shared the nature of human beings, though he was still God, \q -\v 8 And he humbled himself -\q and obeyed God, even though he had to die, -\q even dying on the cross like a criminal. +\v 8 And he humbled himself by taking on human form, +\q and in his humility he obeyed God +\q even though obedience to God meant he had to die, +\q and he died a terrible death, the death of a criminal, death on the cross. \s5 \q1 -\v 9 So God honored him very much, -\q honored him more than anyone else who has ever lived, +\v 9 Because of Christ's obedience to him, God honored him very much; +\q he honored him more than anyone else who has ever lived, \q \v 10 so that when everyone hears the name "Jesus" -\q they will bow down to honor him, -\q everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; +\q everyone will bow down to honor him, +\q people who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth; \q -\v 11 so that everyone will acknowledge +\v 11 so that everyone will say the same praises, \q that Jesus Christ is Lord, \q and they will praise God the Father because of him.