Forst Deal's notes on 1CO UDB

47-1CO.usfm

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 
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 \v 14 I thank God that I baptized only a few people there; among them I baptized Crispus and Gaius.
-\v 15 It would not be true that I baptized them in my name.
+\v 15 Therefor it would not be true that I baptized people in my name.
 \v 16 (Now I remember that I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but other than those people, I do not remember baptizing anyone else in Corinth.)
 
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@@ -44,9 +44,9 @@
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 \v 18 For those who are dead to the things of God cannot understand him. Christ died for them on the cross, but this message is pointless to them. However, for those of us whom God has rescued and brought to life, this message allows God to powerfully work in us.
 \v 19 A prophet wrote in the scriptures:
-\q "The wisdom of those who think they are wise,
+\q "The wisdom of those who think they are wise 
 \q I will destroy,
-\q and I will make the brilliant plans of the intelligent
+\q and I will make the brilliant plans of the intelligent 
 \q to be utter failures."
 \m
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 \v 21 In the wisdom of God, unbelievers did not come to know God by their own wisdom. So God was pleased to use a message that they thought was foolish. That is message we proclaimed and it had power to save all who believe it.
 
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-\v 22 The Jews wanted public displays of miraculous power before they would follow anyone. The Greeks are looking for wisdom through new and fresh ways of thinking about spiritual ideas.
+\v 22 The Jews wanted public displays of miraculous power before they would follow anyone. The Greeks looked for wisdom through new and fresh ways of thinking about spiritual ideas.
 \v 23 But we proclaim a message about Christ, who died on a cross. For the Jews this message about the cross of Christ is something they cannot receive because death on a cross brings a curse with it. To the Greeks it is too foolish to deserve their attention.
 
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@@ -68,8 +68,9 @@
 \v 27 Instead, God chose the things that made no sense to unbelievers so that they would stop praising themselves. God chose to use things that were weak to put to shame the things they believed were so strong.
 
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-\v 28 God chose what the unbelievers think is of no importance in order to show that the things they consider to be important have no value.
-\v 29 God did this so that no human being could have any reason to praise himself and he should offer God all praise instead.
+\v 28 God chose what the unbelievers think is of no importance in order to show that the things they considered to be important have no value.
+\v 29 God did this so that no human being could have any reason to praise himself, but should offer God all praise instead.
+
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 \v 30 Because of what God has done, you are now joined to Christ Jesus, who has made clear to us how wise God is. He has put us right with God, he has set us apart for God, and he has rescued us and brought us to safety.
 \v 31 So, as the scriptures say:
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@
 
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-\v 10 These are the very things that God has shown us by the Spirit. For the Spirit sees everything and he knows everything. He even knows the deepest and hidden secrets that only God knows about himself.
+\v 10 These are the very things that God has shown us by the Spirit. For the Spirit sees everything and he knows everything. He even knows the deepest and hidden secrets that only God himself knows about.
 \v 11 No one except the spirit of the person knows what he is thinking. So it is that no one knows the hidden things of God except the Spirit of God.
 
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@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@
 
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 \v 14 The one who does not know God cannot accept these spiritual lessons. To him they sound like the lessons of fools. Even if he wanted to accept them, he would be unable to, because only people who have the wisdom that comes from God can understand these things.
-\v 15 The one who knows God evaluates all matters, but God will not accept their evaluation of him.
+\v 15 The one who knows God evaluates all matters, but God will not accept other people's evaluation of him.
 \v 16 As one of our prophets wrote:
 \q "It is impossible for anyone to know all that is in the mind of the Lord.
 \q No one is able to teach God."
@@ -132,7 +133,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 \v 7 Let me say it again: The ones who plant the seeds and water them, we do not matter in the least. God is the one who gives the growth. You are like a garden that he has planted.
 
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-\v 8 The one who plants and the one who waters are working in the same job, and each one individually will receive a wage as a reward. The reward is the amount he is paid measured by how hard each one worked.
+\v 8 The one who plants and the one who waters are working in the same job. But each one individually will be paid according to the work he has done. 
 \v 9 We are working together with God and we both belong to God. But as for you, God is growing you in his field. It is as if he were constructing a building out of you.
 
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@@ -149,7 +150,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 \v 15 But if the fire burns up all his work, he will lose all his reward, but God can still save him, even though the flames completely devour everything he did.
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-\v 16 Surely you know that you are the dwelling place where God lives, that you are his temple. Surely you know that the Spirit of God lives inside of you.
+\v 16 Surely you know that you are the dwelling place where God lives, that you are his temple. Surely you know that the Spirit of God lives inside you.
 \v 17 God promises that he will destroy anyone who attempts to destroy his temple. This is because his temple belongs to him alone. And he protects you by the same promise because you are now his temple and you belong to him alone!
 
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@@ -192,10 +193,11 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 
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 \v 10 Others think of us apostles as fools because we live for Christ, and yet you see yourselves as wise people. We appear weak, but you seem to be the strong ones! You praise and honor yourselves, but we apostles are the ones whom other people hate.
-\v 11 Up to this present time we apostles go around hungry and thirsty. We have been so poor we could not afford our own clothing. Officials have brutally beaten us again and again. We have no place to call our home.
+\v 11 Up to this present time we apostles have gone around hungry and thirsty. We have been so poor we could not afford our own clothing. Officials have brutally beaten us again and again. We have no place to call our home.
+
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 \v 12 We work hard with our hands to make a living. When others curse us, we bless them in return. When others make us suffer, we endure it.
-\v 13 When people tell lies about us, we answer by being kind to them. And yet, they treat us like the garbage of the world and like the filth that people want to throw into a garbage heap.
+\v 13 When people tell lies about us, we answer by being kind to them. And yet they treat us like the garbage of the world and like the filth that people want to throw into a garbage heap.
 
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@@ -220,21 +222,22 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 
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 \v 3 I am not with you physically, but I am very concerned for you all, and I am with you in my spirit. And I have already judged the one who did this, just as if I were with you.
-\v 4 When you gather together for worship under the authority of the Lord Jesus—and I am worshiping with you in spirit— 
-\v 5 you should turn this man over to Satan out into the world, so that his physical body might be destroyed, so that God may save his spirit on the day of the Lord's return.
+\v 4 When you gather together for worship under the authority of the Lord Jesus, and I am worshiping with you in spirit, 
+\v 5 you should hand this man over to the control of Satan so that his physical body might be destroyed, but God may save his spirit on the day of the Lord's return.
 
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 \v 6 It is not good that you are praising yourselves. Surely you know that evil is like yeast: A little yeast makes the whole loaf rise.
-\v 7 Sin is like that yeast. You must clean out the old yeast and throw it away so that it cannot infect the whole batch of dough. You are like an unleavened batch of dough. As in the Passover Festival, the yeast must be kept away from the bread. For Christ is our Passover lamb: He became the sacrifice for us.
+\v 7 Sin is like that yeast. You must clean out the old yeast and throw it away so that it cannot grow and spread throughout the whole batch of dough. You are like an unleavened batch of dough. As in the Passover Festival, the yeast must be kept away from the bread. For Christ is our Passover lamb: He became the sacrifice for us.
 \v 8 So let us celebrate the Passover Festival, and let us follow all the rules of purification. We must throw out the old yeast, which stands for disobedience and wickedness, and we must celebrate the festival by obeying God and speaking truth to each other. If we do that, we will be like the bread that has no yeast.
 
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-\v 9 I wrote to you, that you must not keep company with sexually immoral people.
-\v 10 Of course, I did not mean that you should not associate with unbelievers who are immoral, or who selfishly desire many things, or who trick and cheat to take from others, or who worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid all people like that.
+\v 9 I wrote to you that you must not keep company with sexually immoral people.
+\v 10 Of course I did not mean that you should not associate with unbelievers who are immoral, or who selfishly desire many things, or who trick and cheat to take from others, or who worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid all people like that.
+
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-\v 11 Instead, I mean that you are not to be close friends with a fellow believer who is living in sexual immorality. We must include other sins, such as greed, or idolatry, or one who is abusive in the way he talks to others, or a drunkard, or a swindler. You must not even eat with these people who claim to trust in Christ, yet they do these terrible things.
+\v 11 Instead, I mean that you are not to be close friends with anyone who claims to be a fellow believer, but is living in sexual immorality. We must include other sins to watch out for: greed, or idolatry, or one who is abusive in the way he talks to others, or a drunkard, or a swindler. You must not even eat a meal with people who do such terrible things, and yet they claim they trust in Christ.
 \v 12 For I have no obligation to judge those who are outside the church of Christ. Your duty is to judge those who are in it.
 \v 13 God is the one who will judge those who are outside the church. The scriptures command us,
 \q "You must take away the evil person who is among you!"
@@ -248,8 +251,8 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 
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 \v 4 And if you can settle matters that are important in this life, you should not find it necessary to hand off disputes between Christians to be settled by unbelievers.
-\v 5 I say this to show how you have disgraced yourselves. There certainly must be someone in the church who is sensible enough to settle these disputes when these sort of cases come up between Christian brothers and sisters.
-\v 6 But instead, some believers among you accuse other believers in a civil court, but when you do, unbelievers will see your failure to settle the matter within the church. 
+\v 5 I say this to show how you have disgraced yourselves. There certainly must be someone in the church who is sensible enough to settle these disputes when these sorts of cases come up between Christian brothers and sisters.
+\v 6 But instead, some believers among you accuse other believers in a civil court. But when you do, unbelievers will see your failure to settle the matter within the church. 
 
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@@ -276,7 +279,8 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 
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-\v 18 So when you want to commit a sexual sin, run away from it as quickly as you can! People say, "Every sin that a person commits is committed outside the body"—except that when one sins sexually, he sins against his own body.
+\v 18 So when you want to commit a sexual sin, run away from it as quickly as you can! Every sin that a person commits is committed outside the body, but when a person sins sexually, he sins against his own body.
+
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 \v 19 You should know that your body is a dwelling place, a temple of the Holy Spirit within you. God gave you his Spirit and now you no longer belong to yourself. Instead, you belong to God.
 \v 20 God purchased you with the price of his Son's life. Therefore honor God in all you do in your human body.
@@ -305,7 +309,8 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
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 \p
 \v 10 The Lord gives his own commands to you who are married: "The wife should not separate from her husband."
-\v 11 (But if she separates from her husband, she should not marry again, or else she should make peace with her husband.) And, "the husband should not divorce his wife."
+\v 11 (But if she separates from her husband, she should not marry again, or else she should make peace with her husband.) And, "The husband should not divorce his wife."
+
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 \v 12 And I have this to say—and this is my advice, not the Lord's command—to you who have a wife who is not a believer: If she is content to stay with you, do not divorce her.
@@ -349,7 +354,8 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
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 \v 32 I want you to be free from things to worry about. As you see, the unmarried man is concerned about the matters that are important to the Lord. He wants to serve the Lord and do what he wants.
 \v 33 But the man who is married must also concern himself for the ordinary matters of the world as well as serving and pleasing his wife.
-\v 34 So married men can only do some of the things they need to do. It is the same with widows and young ladies who have not married: As believing women, they are concerned to spend their time serving the Lord with their entire selves, with their physical abilities and with their spirit. But married women are concerned about the day-to-day matters of the world—such as how to please their husbands.
+\v 34 So married men can only do some of the things they want to do. It is the same with widows and young ladies who have not married: As believing women, they are concerned to spend their time serving the Lord with their entire selves, with their physical abilities and with their spirit. But married women are concerned about the day-to-day matters of the world—such as how to please their husbands.
+
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 \v 35 I tell you this to help you. I am not trying to control you. If you follow my advice, you will find it easier to serve the Lord without worrying about things that married people worry about.
 
@@ -367,7 +373,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
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 \p
-\v 1 Now, about the question you asked regarding eating food that was offered to idols: We know that people say, "We all have knowledge." But if you think you know a lot, you can become very proud of yourself. If, however, when you love others, you help them grow strong in their faith.
+\v 1 Now, about the question you asked regarding eating food that was offered to idols: We know that people say, "We all have knowledge." But if you think you know a lot, you can become very proud of yourself. But when you love others, you help them grow strong in their faith.
 \v 2 The truth is that if someone assumes he knows something, he has not yet learned the humbleness he needs to know.
 \v 3 When you love God, God knows you.
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@@ -402,15 +408,16 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 
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-\v 3 I answer those who say that I am not a true apostle by not using money that you believers give me for payment for my service.
-\v 4 Of course we have the right to live on such money.
-\v 5 We certainly have the right to travel with a believing wife, like the other apostles do—like the Lord's brother and Cephas.
-\v 6 No one made a rule that only Barnabas and I must work to support ourselves.
+\v 3 This is how I answer those who say that I am not a true apostle: 
+\v 4 "Don't we have the right receive financial support from those we serve?
+\v 5 Don't we have the right to travel with a believing wife, like the other apostles do—like the Lord's brother and Cephas."
+\v 6 No one made a rule that only Barnabas and I must take on work in order to support ourselves.
 
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 \v 7 No soldiers serves in the army at his own expense. No one plants a vineyard without being able to eat the grapes or drink the wine. No one shepherds a flock and without drinking some of the milk that comes from the animals.
 \p
-\v 8 This is common sense. But the law says this as well.
+\v 8 This is common sense; and this is also what the law of Moses says.
+
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 \v 9 For the law of Moses says, "When an ox is treading out the grain, do not stop it from eating some of it." There is more that God is concerned about in this law.
 \v 10 This law is about us. Moses is saying that those who work in any job should benefit from the fruit of that work, just like the ox eating the grain on which he is treading.
@@ -432,16 +439,16 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
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 \v 19 I am not obligated to anyone, but I am a servant to everyone, so that I might persuade more and more people to trust in Christ.
-\v 20 When working with Jewish people, I become like a Jew, so that I may win them to Christ. To those who were living under the law I lived as they lived, in order that those living under the law may trust in Christ as I trust in him. I lived as they lived, even though I am not living my life by the law's demands.
+\v 20 When we worked with Jewish people, I became like a Jew, so that I may win them to Christ. To those who lived under the law I lived as they lived, in order that those we lived under the law may trust in Christ as I trust in him. I lived as they lived, even though I did not live my life by the law's demands.
 
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-\v 21 When I am with those who are non-Jews, those who live apart from the law of Moses, I became like them (though I myself am not outside God's law, and I am obedient to the law of Christ), so that I can persuade those apart from the law to trust in Christ.
-\v 22 To those who are weak about rules and laws, I lived as they did, so I could persuade them to trust in Christ. I have lived under rules and with many life-styles and with all kinds of people so that in any way God chooses to work, God will rescue some of them.
+\v 21 When I was with those who are non-Jews, those who lived apart from the law of Moses, I became like them (though I myself was not outside God's law, and I was obedient to the law of Christ), so that I could persuade those who lived apart from the law to trust in Christ.
+\v 22 To those who were weak about rules and laws, I lived as they did, so I persuaded them to trust in Christ. I have lived under rules and with many life-styles and with all kinds of people so that in any way God chose to work, God will rescue some of them.
 \v 23 I do all this so I may proclaim the good news about Christ, so that I will also experience the good things the good news brings to us.
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-\v 24 You know when people run in a race, they all run, but only one of them wins the prize. So you also should run to win the prize.
-\v 25 Every athlete is careful in how he trains. They are running so one of them may get a crown of victory that is put on their heads; but it is made of olive leaves, and it quickly perishes and fades away. But we are running so we might receive a crown that will last forever.
+\v 24 You know that when people run in a race, they all run, but only one of them wins the prize. So you also should run to win the prize.
+\v 25 Every athlete uses self-control in the way they prepare for a race. They prepare for the race so that one of them may get a crown of victory. That crown is made of olive leaves, and it does not last. But we are running so we might receive a crown that will last forever.
 \v 26 Therefore, in everything I do, I do it for a purpose. I do not waste my effort or exhaust myself by striking the air like a boxer who has no opponent.
 \v 27 I discipline my body and I make it obey my commands. I do not want to preach the good news to others and then lose my reward because I failed to fulfill what he commanded me to do.
 
@@ -462,18 +469,18 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 \v 7 Some of our ancestors also worshiped idols. As the scripture says, "The people sat down to eat and drink and then they rose up to dance wildly in a sexual way."
 \v 8 Twenty-three thousand of our Jewish ancestors died in one day because of their sexual immorality.
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-\v 9 Let us not test the authority of Christ by disobeying him, as some of our ancestors did, and poisonous snakes killed them.
-\v 10 Do not grumble about what God provides, as some our ancestors did, and an angel destroyed them.
+\v 9 Let us not test the authority of Christ by disobeying him, as some of our ancestors did, and the result was that poisonous snakes killed them.
+\v 10 Do not grumble about what God provides, as some our ancestors did, and the result was that an angel destroyed them.
 
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 \v 11 Now these things happened to our ancestors; they were written so we could learn from them—we, who are living very close to when the world will end.
 \v 12 And so the lesson is this: If you think you are strong and are standing strong, be very careful, because this is just when you may fall.
-\v 13 Every temptation you have fought against is shared by us all, but God has given us his promise and he will not permit the temptation to be greater than your ability to fight against the sin. When the temptation comes, God will provide a way for you to get free of it, so you may endure the temptation to sin.
+\v 13 Every temptation you have fought against is shared by us all, but God has given us his promise and he will not permit the temptation to be greater than your ability to fight against the sin. When the temptation comes, God will provide a way for you to get away from it, so you may endure the temptation to sin.
 
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-\v 14 Therefore, my loved ones, run away as fast as you can from idol worship.
+\v 14 Therefore, my loved ones, run away from idol worship as fast as you can.
 \v 15 I speak to you as people who consider carefully how you live; think about what I am saying here.
 \v 16 When we drink the cup of wine that we bless, we share in the blood of Christ. When we break the bread, we share in the body of Christ.
 \v 17 There is only one loaf of bread, and we, although we are many, all make up just one body together, and we all take and eat from the one loaf of bread together.
@@ -484,7 +491,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 \v 19 So I am saying that an idol is not something real and to eat food sacrificed to an idol is not significant. But even so, there are important issues here.
 
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-\v 20 What I mean is this: When non-Jews make their sacrifices, they are really making them to demons, and not to God at all. And I do not wish that you share anything with demons.
+\v 20 What I mean is this: When non-Jews make their sacrifices, they are really making them to demons, and not to God at all. And I do not want you to share anything with demons.
 \v 21 You must not drink from the Lord's cup and then later drink the cup of demons. You must not share in the Lord's supper and then later eat a meal with demons.
 \v 22 To do so would provoke the Lord to become jealous about split loyalty. You are not stronger than he is!
 
@@ -514,7 +521,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
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 \v 1 Follow my example, just like I follow the example of Christ.
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-\v 2 I praise you because you remember me in all you do, and you hold tight to all the important teachings that I have passed down to you and you have kept them just as I taught them to you.
+\v 2 I praise you because you remember me in all you do, and you hold tight to all the important teachings that I have passed down to you, and you have kept them just as I taught them to you.
 \v 3 I want you to understand that Christ has authority over every man, and that a man has authority over a woman, and that God has authority over Christ.
 \v 4 So if any man covers his head when he prays or when he proclaims a message from God, he brings disgrace on himself.
 
@@ -536,8 +543,9 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
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 \v 13 Judge this for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God without a cover on her head?
 \v 14 Nature itself teaches us that it is a disgrace for a man to have long hair,
-\v 15 but nature also teaches that long hair for a woman is a display of her beauty. Her hair is given to her by God to cover her beauty.
+\v 15 but nature also teaches that long hair for a woman is a display of her beauty. Her hair is given to her by God as a covering.
 \v 16 But if anyone in the church wishes to argue about this matter, we do not have any other custom than this, nor do any of the churches do anything different.
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 \v 17 In these instructions, I cannot praise you for what you are doing about the Lord's supper. When you come together to eat, instead of encouraging and helping one another, you make the fellowship in the church much worse.
@@ -554,7 +562,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 \v 24 and after he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you, do this and remember me."
 
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-\v 25 After the same manner, he took the cup, after they had eaten, and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, remember me."
+\v 25 In the same way, after they had eaten, he took the cup and he said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, remember me."
 \v 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
 
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 \v 27 All who come to this celebration of the Lord's Supper should come to give honor to God in the way it is shared. Those who eat the bread and drink the cup must do so in a manner that honors the Lord. Anyone who dishonors the bread and the cup will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
 \v 28 Therefore we should all examine ourselves before we take the communion. We should only eat the bread and drink the cup after we have examined ourselves.
 \v 29 Anyone who eats and drinks this Supper and does not consider what is the Lord's body, eats and drinks the judgment of God on himself.
-\v 30 Many among you are physically ill, and several have even died because of the way you have treated the Lord's body.
+\v 30 This is why many among you are physically ill, and some have even died, because of the way you have dishonored the Lord's body.
 
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 \v 31 If we examine ourselves before we take the communion, God will not judge us.
@@ -579,7 +587,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
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 \v 1 And now let me teach you about spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters. I want you to know how to use them.
 \v 2 You may recall how, when you worshiped idols—idols that could not even speak a word—they led you astray.
-\v 3 The Spirit of God helps you declare, "Jesus Christ is Lord." No one who is filled with the Holy Spirit would ever say, "Jesus is accursed!"
+\v 3 No one who is filled with the Spirit of God would ever say, "Jesus is accursed!" And no one can say, "Jesus Christ is Lord" except when he is guided by the Holy Spirit.  
 
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-\v 1 If I could speak so that I could amaze and persuade people to do what I wanted, or if I could speak the language of angels—but if I did not love people, all my talking would be worth less than a noisy gong or a cymbal that only clangs.
-\v 2 If I could proclaim messages for God, and if I could explain secret truths about God, and if I trusted in God so much that I could move a mountain—but if I did not love people, I would be worth nothing.
-\v 3 If I gave away all I own to feed the poor, or if I sacrificed myself to be burned to rescue someone else—but if I did not love people, I would gain nothing.
+\v 1 If I could speak with all the languages of humans and angels, but if I did not have love, all my talking would be like the sound of a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 
+\v 2 If I could proclaim messages for God, and if I could explain secret truths about God, and if I trusted in God so much that I could move a mountain, but if I did not have love, I would be worth nothing.
+\v 3 If I gave away all I own to feed the poor, or if I sacrificed myself to be burned to rescue someone else, but if I did not have love, I would gain nothing.
 
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-\v 4 If you truly love others, you will endure hardships with joy. If you truly love, you will be kind to others. If you truly love, you will not resent that other people possess things you do not have. If you truly love, you will not boast about yourself or be proud.
-\v 5 If you truly love others, you will not abuse them. You will not live to please yourself. No one will be able to make you angry quickly. You will not keep track of the wrong things people have done.
-\v 6 If you truly love others, you will not be happy if anyone does wicked things; instead, you will be happy when people are faithful to God.
-\v 7 If you truly love others, you will endure everything that happens. You will trust that God will do the best things for people. You will trust in God regardless of what happens. You will obey God regardless of what hardships you are facing.
+\v 4 If you have love, you will endure hardships with joy. If you have love, you will be kind to others. If you have love, you will not resent that other people possess things you do not have. If you have love, you will not boast about yourself or be proud.
+\v 5 If you have love, you will not abuse people. You will not live to please yourself. No one will be able to make you angry quickly. You will not keep track of any wrongs you have suffered.
+\v 6 If you have love, you will not be happy if anyone does wicked things; instead, you will be happy when people are faithful to God.
+\v 7 If you have love, you will endure everything that happens to you. You will trust that God will do the best things for people. You will trust in God regardless of what happens. You will obey God regardless of what hardships you are facing.
 
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-\v 8 If you truly love, you will not stop loving. Those who are able to speak God's messages, speak in strange languages, or know hidden truths, do these things only for a while. One day they will stop doing these things.
-\v 9 Now, in this life, we know only a small part of all there is to know. Those who proclaim God's messages do so only partially.
+\v 8 Love never stops. Those who are able to speak God's messages, speak in strange languages, or know hidden truths, do these things only for a while. One day they will stop doing these things.
+\v 9 Now we know only a small part of all there is to know. Those who proclaim God's messages do so only partially.
 \v 10 But when things are complete, everything that is partial or incomplete will end.
 
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 \v 11 When I was a small child, I talked as a child talks, I thought as a child thinks, and I made decisions as a child makes decision. But when I became an adult, I stopped acting like a child, and I started acting like an adult.
-\v 12 What we understand about Christ now, we understand very imperfectly, not well at all. But when Christ returns, we will see him face to face. Now we know only part of what is true. But then we will know him fully, just as he knows us fully.
-\v 13 It is important that we trust in Christ now. It is important that we are certain that he will do for us everything that he has promised. And it is important that we love him and each other. But the greatest of these three things is love.
-
+\v 12 What we understand now, we understand very imperfectly, not well at all. But then, when we see  Christ, we will see him face to face. Now I know only part of what is true. But then I will know him fully, just as he knows me fully.
+\v 13 So now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these three things is love.
 
 \s5
 \c 14
@@ -662,18 +669,19 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 \v 1 Strive for how to love others and for gifts that strengthen your fellow believers. Especially strive to be able to proclaim his messages that he gives you to say.
 \v 2 When a person speaks in a language given by the Spirit, he is not speaking to people, because no one can understand him, but he is speaking to God. He is saying things to him as the Spirit leads him.
 \v 3 On the other hand, the prophet who proclaims the messages from God speaks directly to people. He does this in order to help them by making them stronger, to help them be unshakable, and to give them comfort so they can be happy even in hardship.
-\v 4 A person who speaks in a language given by the Spirit builds himself up and gives himself help, but a person who proclaims the messages of God builds up everyone and helps everyone in the church to be stronger in their faith.
+\v 4 A person who speaks in a language given by the Spirit builds himself up and gives himself help, but a person who proclaims the messages of God builds everyone up and helps everyone in the church to be stronger in their faith.
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 5 Now I wish that all of you spoke in such languages, but it would be far better for the entire church if more and more of you had the gift of speaking God's messages. Anyone who speaks messages from God is helping to strengthen his fellow believers. For this reason, he is doing work that is more important than those who proclaim messages in various other languages—unless someone is able to interpret those messages.
+\v 5 Now I wish that all of you spoke in such languages, but it would be far better for the entire church if more and more of you had the gift of speaking God's messages. Anyone who speaks messages from God is helping to strengthen his fellow believers. For this reason, what he is doing is more important than the work of those who proclaim messages in various other languages—unless someone is able to interpret those messages.
 \p
-\v 6 If I come to you and am only speaking in languages given by the Spirit, how can that help you? That cannot help you unless I speak to you and help you know matters that were hidden from you, or unless I help you understand facts you did not know, or unless I proclaim to you some message you did not hear before, or unless I teach you some rule that you had never learned before.
+\v 6 If I come to you and am only speaking in languages given by the Spirit, how can that help you? That cannot help you unless I speak to you and help you know matters that were hidden from you, or unless I help you understand facts you did not know, or unless I proclaim to you some message you did not hear before, or unless I teach you some rule that you never learned before.
 
 \s5
-\v 7 If someone is playing the flute or harp (they are not living things), and if the notes on the flute or harp sounded no different from each other, no one would be able to tell which tune I was playing.
-\v 8 And if a soldier blew the trumpet poorly, the army would not know whether to get ready for battle.
+\v 7 If someone is playing the flute or harp (which are not living things), and if the notes on the flute or harp sounded no different from each other, no one would be able to tell which tune is being played. 
+\v 8 And if a soldier blows the trumpet poorly, the army will not know whether to get ready for battle.
 \v 9 This is what it is like when you say words that no one can understand: No one will know what you have said.
+
 \s5
 \v 10 There are certainly many languages in the world, and all of them give meaning to those who understand them.
 \v 11 But if I do not understand someone's language, I will be like a foreigner to him, and he will be like one to me.
@@ -708,7 +716,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 
 \s5
 \v 24 But if you were all taking turns speaking true messages from God, any unbeliever would realize that he was guilty of sinning against God.
-\v 25 This unbeliever would become aware of what was deep in his conciousness. He would fall down with his face to the ground in wonder and fright, and he would praise God and say that God is truly with you.
+\v 25 This unbeliever would become aware of what was deep in his consciousness. He would fall down with his face to the ground in wonder and fright, and he would praise God and say that God is truly with you.
 
 \s5
 \p
@@ -729,7 +737,7 @@ But we can know the very thoughts of Christ.
 This next question is answered the same way in all the churches of God's people.
 
 \s5
-\v 34 Women should keep silent in church for they are not permitted to speak. They must not interrupt the one who is speaking God's message, but they should always obey their husbands, as also the law says.
+\v 34 Women should keep silent in church, for they are not permitted to speak. They must not interrupt the one who is speaking God's message, but they should always obey their husbands, as also the law says.
 \v 35 When women want to learn, instead of interrupting the worship, they should speak with their husbands at home. It dishonors her husband for a woman to interrupt the service.
 \v 36 Were you the people by whom God gave us his word? Or are you the only ones to whom it came?
 
@@ -790,7 +798,7 @@ This next question is answered the same way in all the churches of God's people.
 
 \s5
 \v 24 Then the world will come to an end, when Christ will present all the world to God the Father, for him to rule. This is when Christ will bring to an end all who have the status of rulers, and everything that has reigning authority and all seats of power in this world.
-\v 25 For Christ must rule until God has conquered every one of his enemies, and placed them under Christ's feet to show that they have no more power.
+\v 25 For Christ must rule until God has conquered every one of his enemies and placed them under Christ's feet to show that they have no more power.
 \v 26 The final enemy that God will destroy is death itself.
 \s5
 \v 27 For the scriptures say, "God has placed everything under his feet," that is, Christ's feet. But it is clear that this does not include God himself.
@@ -816,7 +824,7 @@ This next question is answered the same way in all the churches of God's people.
 \s5
 \v 37 And what a farmer plants does not look the same as what will come up. It is only a bare seed; it will change into something entirely different.
 \v 38 God will give it a new body just as he chooses, and to each seed put into the ground he will give a different body.
-\v 39 Not all living creatures are the same. There are human beings, and there are animals on the land of many kinds, and there are the birds and fish. All of them are different.
+\v 39 Not all living creatures are the same. There are human beings, and there are animals that live on many kinds of land, and there are the birds and fish. All of them are different.
 
 \s5
 \v 40 There are also different kinds of things in the heavens. The nature of those bodies in the sky is different from the nature of the things on this world.
@@ -830,7 +838,8 @@ This next question is answered the same way in all the churches of God's people.
 \s5
 \p
 \v 45 So the scriptures say, "The first man, Adam, was a living being who gave his children and descendants life." But Christ, the second Adam, gave people God's power to live forever.
-\v 46 What belongs to the earth came first, the natural, and then came what belongs to God, that is the spiritual.
+\v 46 What belongs to the earth came first—the natural—and then came what belongs to God, that is the spiritual.
+
 \s5
 \v 47 The first man, Adam, belonged to the earth, for he was made from dust. But the second man, Christ, belongs to heaven.
 \v 48 All those who are made from dust are just like Adam, the one who was made from dust. All those who belong to heaven are just like Christ, the man from heaven.
@@ -839,12 +848,13 @@ This next question is answered the same way in all the churches of God's people.
 \p
 \v 50 Now I say this, brothers and sisters, human beings who will die cannot obtain the things that God promises to give all those whom he rules. It is just as the things that die cannot become things that do not die.
 \v 51 Look! I tell you something that God has hidden from us. Not all believers will die, but God will change all of us.
+
 \s5
-\v 52 He will change us in an instant, as fast as one can blink his eye, when God's angels blow the final trumpet. For they will blow that trumpet and then God will raise the dead so as to never die again.
+\v 52 He will change us in an instant, as fast as one can blink his eye, when God's angel will blow the final trumpet. The trumpet will sound, and then God will raise the dead so as never to die again.
 \v 53 For it is these bodies that will die, but God will make them live forever, never to die again, and it is these bodies that now can be destroyed, but God will make them new, never to die again.
 
 \s5
-\v 54 When this happens, then it will come true, what the scriptures say:
+\v 54 When this happens, then it will come true what the scriptures say:
 \q "God has totally defeated death."
 \q1
 \v 55 "Death will never win again!
@@ -871,7 +881,8 @@ This next question is answered the same way in all the churches of God's people.
 \s5
 \p
 \v 5 I am planning to come to you when I travel through the region of Macedonia.
-\v 6 Perhaps I will stay with you, and perhaps all through the winter, so that you can help me along the way in my trip.
+\v 6 Perhaps I will stay with you, and possibly all through the winter, so that you can help me along the way in my trip.
+
 \s5
 \v 7 I do not want to see you for only a short time. I hope that the Lord will allow me to spend enough time together that we can help each other.
 \v 8 I want to stay in Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost,
@@ -879,10 +890,10 @@ This next question is answered the same way in all the churches of God's people.
 
 \s5
 \p
-\v 10 Now when Timothy comes, treat him kindly and see to it that he has nothing to be afraid of, for he is doing the Lord's work, just like I am doing.
+\v 10 Now when Timothy comes, treat him kindly and see to it that he has nothing to be afraid of, for he is doing the Lord's work, just as I am doing.
 \v 11 Do not let anyone treat him as unimportant. Help him on his way as much as you can; send him away in peace so that he may join me. I am expecting him to travel with other brothers who are coming my way.
 \p
-\v 12 You asked about our brother Apollos. I urged him strongly that he should visit you when the other brothers came to you. He decided not to come now, but he will come to you later when he has opportunity.
+\v 12 You asked about our brother Apollos. I strongly urged him to visit you when the other brothers came to you. He decided not to come now, but he will come to you later when he has opportunity.
 
 \s5
 \p
@@ -905,6 +916,6 @@ This next question is answered the same way in all the churches of God's people.
 \p
 \v 21 I, Paul, am writing this sentence with my own hand.
 \v 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let a curse be on him. O Lord, come!
-\v 23 May the kindness we do not deserve that comes from the Lord Jesus be with you.
+\v 23 May the Lord Jesus' kindness, which we do not deserve, be with you.
 \v 24 I send you this reminder that I love all of you, as you all are joined together in Christ Jesus.