Paragraph 12:14–16

12:14a

Bless: This word refers to asking God to do good things to or for someone. Here are other ways to translate this word:

pray that God will be gracious/merciful to them
-or-
you must give goodness [bless] them

persecute: Here this word refers to people causing trouble or suffering for a believer because he or she follows Jesus. Here are other ways to translate this word:

harm us ⌊because we believe⌋ ⌊in Jesus⌋
-or-
give us pain ⌊because of our faith⌋
-or-
cause us ⌊who believe⌋ to suffer

12:14b

Bless: This word is repeated from 12:14a to emphasize its meaning. The word “them” is implied after this word. For example:

bless ⌊them⌋

In some languages repeating a word for emphasis is not natural or has the wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, indicate the emphasis in another way, if possible. For example:

Bless those who persecute you. Indeed, do that! Do not curse them.
-or-
Ask for good/blessing from God to go to everyone who persecutes you. Yes! Don’t curse them.

curse: This word refers to asking God to do something bad to someone. It does not refer to using swear words. Here are other ways to translate this word:

pray that God will do bad things to them
-or-
say a badness to them

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