New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
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I then, the prisoner in the Lord, make this request from my heart, that you will see that your behaviour is a credit to the position which God's purpose has given you,
2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
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With all gentle and quiet behaviour, taking whatever comes, putting up with one another in love;
3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
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Taking care to keep the harmony of the Spirit in the yoke of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,
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There is one body and one Spirit, even as you have been marked out by God in the one hope of his purpose for you;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
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One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
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One God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.
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But to every one of us has grace been given in the measure of the giving of Christ.
8 Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people."
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For this reason he says, He went up on high, taking his prisoners with him, and gave freely to men.
9 (When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?
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(Now this, He went up, what is it but that he first went down into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)
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He who went down is the same who went up far over all the heavens so that he might make all things complete.)
11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
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And he gave some as Apostles, and some, prophets; and some, preachers of the good news; and some to give care and teaching;
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
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For the training of the saints as servants in the church, for the building up of the body of Christ:
13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
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Till we all come to the harmony of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to full growth, to the full measure of Christ:
14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.
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So that we may be no longer children, sent this way and that, turned about by every wind of teaching, by the twisting and tricks of men, by the deceits of error;
15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
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But saying true words in love, may come to full growth in him, who is the head, even Christ;
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.
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Through whom all the body, being rightly formed and united together, by the full working of every part, is increased to the building up of itself in love.
17 Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds.
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This I say, then, and give witness in the Lord, that you are to go no longer in the way of the Gentiles whose minds are turned to that which has no profit,
18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart.
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Whose thoughts are dark, to whom the life of God is strange because they are without knowledge, and their hearts have been made hard;
19 They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
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Who having no more power of feeling, have given themselves up to evil passions, to do all unclean things with overmuch desire.
20 That is not the way you learned Christ!
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For this was not the teaching of Christ which was given to you;
21 For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus.
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If in fact you gave ear to him, and were given teaching in him, even as what is true is made clear in Jesus:
22 You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts,
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That you are to put away, in relation to your earlier way of life, the old man, which has become evil by love of deceit;
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
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And be made new in the spirit of your mind,
24 and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
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And put on the new man, to which God has given life, in righteousness and a true and holy way of living.
25 So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.
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And so, putting away false words, let everyone say what is true to his neighbour: for we are parts one of another.
26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
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Be angry without doing wrong; let not the sun go down on your wrath;
27 and do not make room for the devil.
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And do not give way to the Evil One.
28 Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
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Let him who was a thief be so no longer, but let him do good work with his hands, so that he may have something to give to him who is in need.
29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
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Let no evil talk come out of your mouth, but only what is good for giving necessary teaching, and for grace to those who give ear.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.
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And do not give grief to the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were marked for the day of salvation.
31 Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice,
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Let all bitter, sharp and angry feeling, and noise, and evil words, be put away from you, with all unkind acts;
32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
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And be kind to one another, full of pity, having forgiveness for one another, even as God in Christ had forgiveness for you.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.