From Forest Deal's suggestions

44-JHN.usfm

@@ -1541,8 +1541,6 @@ John answered, "No."
 
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 \v 1 When Jesus finished his prayer, he went with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a grove of olive trees, and they entered it.
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@@ -1565,25 +1563,21 @@ John answered, "No."
 \v 10 Then Simon Peter drew out a short sword and struck the high priest's servant, a man named Malchus, and cut off his right ear.
 \v 11 Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath! Of course I will suffer in the way that my Father has planned for me to do."
 
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 \v 12 Then the group of soldiers, along with their captain and some of the temple guards, seized Jesus and tied him to prevent him from escaping.
 \v 13 Then they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year.
 \v 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised other leaders that it would be better that one man should die for the people than that all the people should perish.
 
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 \v 15 Simon Peter followed Jesus and so did another disciple. The other disciple was known to the high priest, so he had permission to enter the high priest's courtyard when the soldiers took Jesus.
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 \v 16 Peter had to stop outside at the gate. So the other disciple went out again and he spoke to the servant girl who was watching the gate, and he let Peter in.
 
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 \v 17 That servant girl said to Peter, "You are one the disciples of the man whom they have arrested, are you not?" He said, "No, I am not."
 \v 18 It was cold, so the high priest's servants and temple guards made a charcoal fire and were standing and warming themselves around it. Peter was also there with them. He was standing and warming himself.
 
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 \v 19 The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and what he had been teaching them.
@@ -1595,14 +1589,12 @@ John answered, "No."
 \v 23 Jesus replied to him, "If I had said something wrong, tell me what it was. However, if what I said was right, you should not slap me!"
 \v 24 Then Annas sent Jesus, who was still tied up, to Caiaphas the high priest.
 
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 \v 25 Simon Peter was still standing and warming himself. Another person said to him, "You are one of the disciples of the man whom they have arrested, are you not?" He said, "No, I am not."
 \v 26 One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said to him, "Surely I saw you in the olive tree grove with the man they have arrested, did I not?"
 \v 27 Peter again denied it, and immediately a rooster crowed.
 
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 \v 28 Then the soldiers led Jesus from Caiaphas' house to the headquarters of Pilate, the Roman governor. It was early morning. Pilate was not a Jew, so Jesus' accusers thought that if they entered his headquarters, they would defile themselves and be unable to celebrate the Passover Festival. So they did not go in.

45-ACT.usfm

@@ -168,7 +168,8 @@
 \v 1 One day Peter and John were going to the temple courtyard. It was three o'clock in the afternoon, at the time when people prayed there.
 \v 2 There was a man who had not been able to walk from the time he was born. People were carrying him to the temple gate called Beautiful. Every day they put him there so he could ask people who were going into the temple courtyard to give him some money.
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-\v 3 As Peter and John were about to enter the temple courtyard, he began to ask them to give him some money.
+\v 3 As Peter and John were about to enter the temple courtyard, he began to ask them to give him some money. 
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 \v 4 As Peter and John looked directly at him, Peter said to him, "Look at us!"
 \v 5 So he looked directly at them, expecting to get some money from them.

61-1PE.usfm

@@ -42,20 +42,20 @@ God is allowing you to be tested, as precious metals are tested to see if they a
 \v 15 Instead, just like God, the one who chose you to belong to him, is holy, you also must be holy in everything that you do.
 \v 16 Be holy, because it is written in the scriptures that God said, "You must be holy because I am holy."
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-\v 17 God is the one who judges what each one does, and he does this very fairly. Since you call him 'Father,' behave in a right way while you are living here on earth. You are like people whom others have driven from their homes, because you are living away from heaven, your true home.
+\v 17 God is the one who judges what each one does, and he does this very fairly. Since you call him "Father," behave in a right way while you are living here on earth. You are like people whom others have driven from their homes, because you are living away from heaven, your true home.
 
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-\v 18 Live reverently because you know that it was not with things like gold and silver—things that will not last forever—that God bought you, so you could stop behaving foolishly, as you learned to do from your ancestors.
-\v 19 Instead, it was with the precious blood of Christ that flowed from his body when he died that God bought you. Christ was a like the lambs that the Jewish priests sacrificed: Perfect, without any blemishes or spots.
+\v 18 For your know that God did not purchase you from the empty way of life that you learned from your ancestors. God did not purchase you with precious metals like silver or gold that are valuable today, but will lose all their value in the end.
+\v 19 Instead, God purchased you with the precious blood of Christ that flowed from his body when he died. Christ was like a perfect lamb that had no blemish or spot.
 
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-\v 20 God chose him to do this before he created the world. But it was not until now, when the world will soon end, that God revealed him to you.
-\v 21 Because of what Christ has done, you are trusting in God, who caused him to become alive again after he died, and who greatly honored him. As a result, God is the one in whom you are trusting and expecting that he will do great things for you.
+\v 20 God chose Christ even before he created the world. But it was not until now, in these last days, that God revealed him to you.
+\v 21 Because of what Christ has done, you are trusting in God, who caused him to become alive again after he died, and who greatly honored him. As a result, God is the one in whom you are trusting and expecting to do great things for you.
 
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 \v 22 Because you have obeyed the truth about God and have allowed him to make you pure and to love our fellow believers, continue to love each other earnestly and sincerely.
-\v 23 I ask you to do this, because you now are living a new life. It was not by means of something that will perish that you received this new life. Instead, it was by means of something that will last forever: The promises of God, which you have believed.
+\v 23 I ask you to do this because you now are living a new life. It was not by means of something that will perish that you received this new life. Instead, it was by means of something that will last forever: The promises of God, which you have believed.
 
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 \v 24 We know that this is true because, as the prophet Isaiah wrote,
@@ -67,18 +67,17 @@ God is allowing you to be tested, as precious metals are tested to see if they a
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 This message that endures is the message about Christ that we proclaimed to you.
 
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 \v 1 Therefore, do not act maliciously in any way or deceive others. Do not be hypocrites, and do not envy others. Do not ever speak evil about anyone untruthfully.
-\v 2 Just as newborn babies long for their mothers' pure milk, you should desire to learn true things from God, so that by learning it you may become like adults in trusting him. You must do this until the time when God sets you completely free from all the evil in this world.
+\v 2 Just as newborn babies long for their mothers' pure milk, you should desire to learn true things from God so that by learning them you may become like adults in trusting him. You must do this until the time when God sets you completely free from all the evil in this world.
 \v 3 Also, you must do this because you have experienced that the Lord acts very kindly toward you.
 
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 \v 4 Come to the Lord Jesus. He is like the most important stone in the foundation of a building, but he is living, not lifeless like a stone. Many people rejected him, but God chose him and considers him to be very valuable.
-\v 5 And like men build houses with stones, God is joining you together like a building in which his Spirit lives. He is doing this in order that you—like the priests who offer sacrifices at the altar, might do things that please God because Jesus Christ has died for you.
+\v 5 And just like men build houses with stones, God is joining you together like a building in which his Spirit lives. He is doing this in order that you—like the priests who offer sacrifices at the altar, might do things that please God because Jesus Christ has died for you.
 
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 \v 6 What the scriptures say show us that this is true: "I am placing in Jerusalem someone who is like a very valuable stone, the most important stone in the building, and those who believe in him will never become ashamed."
@@ -90,29 +89,29 @@ This message that endures is the message about Christ that we proclaimed to you.
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 \v 8 It is also written in the scriptures:
 \q "He will be like a stone that causes people to stumble,
-\q and like a rock that people trip over.
+\q and like a rock that people trip over."
 \p Just as people are injured when they stumble over a rock,
-\q people who disobey God's message injure themselves;
-\q that is what God determined would happen to them."
+\q people who disobey God's message injure themselves.
+\q This is what God promised would happen to them.
 
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-\v 9 But you are people whom God has chosen to belong to him. You are a group that worship God like priests, and you rule with God like kings. You are a people group that belongs to God, so that you might proclaim the wonderful things he has done. He has called you from your former ways, when you were ignorant of his truth, and he has made you understand the marvelous true things about him.
+\v 9 But you are people God has chosen to belong to him. You are people who are set apart to worship just like the priests worship him. You belong to God, so that you might proclaim the wonderful things he has done for all his people. He has called you away from the sinful lives you used to live, and he has brought you out of darkness so you could live in the light he, the marvelous light that shines on everything we do.
 \v 10 What the scriptures say is true about you:
-\q "Formerly, you were no people group at all,
-\q But now you are God's people group.
+\q "Formerly, you were no people at all,
+\q But now you are God's people.
 \q At one time God had not acted mercifully toward you,
 \q But now he has acted mercifully toward you."
 
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-\v 11 You people whom I love, I urge you to think about this: You are like foreigners whose real home is in heaven. So you should not do the sinful things you used to want to do, because if you do them, you will not be able to live well with God.
+\v 11 Because you are people that I love, I urge you to think about this: You are like foreigners whose real home is in heaven. So you should not do the sinful things you used to want to do, because if you do them, you will not be able to live well with God.
 \v 12 Keep behaving in a good way among those who do not know God. If you do that, although they may say that you do what is evil, they will see that you are doing good things, and at the time when God comes to judge everyone, they will honor him.
 
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-\v 13 Because you wish to honor the Lord Jesus, obey everyone who has proper authority. This includes the king, because he has the greatest power.
-\v 14 It also includes governors, because God sends them to punish those who do what is wrong and to praise those who do what is right.
+\v 13 Because you wish to honor the Lord Jesus, obey everyone who has proper authority. This includes the king because he has the greatest power.
+\v 14 It also includes governors because God sends them to punish those who do what is wrong and to praise those who do what is right.
 \v 15 What God wants is for you to do good. If you do that, you will cause foolish people who do not know God to be unable to say that you have done wrong.
 \v 16 Behave as though you were free from having to obey any master, but do not think that you can do evil because of that. Instead, behave as servants of God should.
 \v 17 Act respectfully toward everyone. Love all your fellow believers. Honor God, and honor the king.
@@ -124,10 +123,10 @@ This message that endures is the message about Christ that we proclaimed to you.
 \v 20 God will certainly not be pleased with you if you do something that is wrong and then they beat you for that. But if you do what is good and still suffer harm, you are suffering for doing what is good. If you endure that, God will praise you.
 
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-\v 21 One of the reasons why God chose you is that you might suffer. When Christ suffered for you he became an example for you, in order that you would imitate what he did.
+\v 21 When Christ suffered for you he became an example for you, so that you would follow in his steps and live your life like he lived his life.
 \v 22 Remember how Christ conducted himself,
-\q He never sinned,
-\q And he never said anything to deceive people.
+\q "He never sinned,
+\q and he never said anything to deceive people."
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 \v 23 When people insulted him, he did not insult them in return.
 \q1 When people caused him to suffer, he did not threaten to get revenge.
@@ -139,19 +138,18 @@ This message that endures is the message about Christ that we proclaimed to you.
 \p It is because they wounded him that God has healed you.
 \v 25 Truly you were like sheep that had become lost, but now you have returned to Jesus, who cares for you as a shepherd cares for his sheep.
 
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 \v 1 You women believers should submit yourselves to your husbands. Do this in order that if any of them do not believe the message about Christ, they may become believers without your having to say anything to them.
 \v 2 They will believe in Christ when they see that you honor them and that you are completely faithful to them.
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-\v 3 Do not try to do this by decorating the outside of your bodies, such as having fancy hair arrangements or wearing gold jewelry and fine clothes.
-\v 4 Instead, make your inner beings beautiful in a way that will not fade. I mean, have a humble and quiet attitude, which is something that God considers to be very valuable.
+\v 3 You women believers should not only show your beauty by the way you wear your hair, or by gold jewelry and beautiful clothes you put on.
+\v 4 Your beauty should not only be seen in what you wear on the outside, but even more, your beauty should come from your inner self. That is the beauty that lasts and will not fade, and it is a beauty that has a humble and quiet attitude, which God considers to be very valuable.
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-\v 5 The women who honored God, who lived long ago, made themselves beautiful in this way. They trusted in God and obeyed their husbands.
+\v 5 The women who lived long ago and honored God made themselves beautiful in this way. They trusted in God and they obeyed their husbands.
 \v 6 Sarah, for example, obeyed her husband Abraham and called him master. God will consider you to be her daughters if you do what is right and are not afraid of what your husbands or anyone else may do to you because you are believers.
 
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@@ -165,7 +163,7 @@ This message that endures is the message about Christ that we proclaimed to you.
 
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 \v 10 Consider what the psalmist wrote about the proper way of conducting our lives:
-\q "As for those who want to enjoy life and for good things to happen to them,
+\q "As for those who want to enjoy life and they want good things to happen to them,
 \q they must not say what is evil or speak words that deceive others.
 \q
 \v 11 They must continually refuse to do evil, and do what is good instead.
@@ -185,6 +183,7 @@ This message that endures is the message about Christ that we proclaimed to you.
 \v 15 Instead, acknowledge in your inner beings that Christ is your master, whom you love. Always be ready to answer anyone who demands that you tell them about what you are confidently expecting God to do for you. But answer them humbly and respectfully,
 \v 16 and make sure that you do nothing wrong, in order that those who speak evil about you may be ashamed when they see the good way in which you are conducting yourselves because you are joined to Christ.
 \v 17 It may be that God wants you to suffer. If so, it is better to do good deeds, even if you suffer for doing them, than to do evil deeds.
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 \v 18 I say that because Christ died once for the sake of people who have sinned. He was a righteous person who died for unrighteous people. He died in order that he might bring us to God. During the time that he had an ordinary body, he was killed, but God's Spirit caused him to become alive again.
 \v 19 The Spirit also enabled him to go proclaim God's victory to the evil spirits whom God had imprisoned.
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 \v 21 That water represents the water in which we are baptized, by which God saves us because he raised Jesus Christ from the dead. This water, of course, removes no dirt from our bodies. Instead, it shows that we are requesting God to assure us that he has removed our guilt for having sinned.
 \v 22 Christ has gone into heaven and is ruling in the place of highest honor next to God, after God caused all the evil and powerful spirit beings to be made obedient to him.
 
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 \v 1 Therefore, because Christ suffered in his body, you also be willing to suffer. Those who suffer in their bodies have stopped their sinning.
 \v 2 As a result, during their remaining time here on earth, they do not do the things that sinful people desire to do, but instead they do the things that God wants them to do.
@@ -208,8 +204,6 @@ This message that endures is the message about Christ that we proclaimed to you.
 \v 6 That is the reason why Christ preached the good news to the dead. He did that so that, although God had judged them when they were alive, they might by the power of the Holy Spirit live forever as God lives.
 
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 \v 7 All things on this earth will soon come to an end. Therefore, keep thinking sensibly, and control what you think so that you can pray well.
 \v 8 Most importantly of all, love each other sincerely, because if we love others we will not try to find out what they have done wrong.
 \v 9 Provide food and a place to sleep for those Christian travelers who come among you, and do it without complaining.