Proverbs 3-5

New International Version

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

3 My son,^(A) do not forget my teaching,^(B)
but keep my commands in your heart,
²for they will prolong your life many years^(C)
and bring you peace and prosperity.^(D)

³Let love and faithfulness^(E) never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.^(F)
⁴Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.^(G)

⁵Trust in the Lord^(H) with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths^(I) straight.^[a]^(J)

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes;^(K)
fear the Lord^(L) and shun evil.^(M)
⁸This will bring health to your body^(N)
and nourishment to your bones.^(O)

⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits^(P) of all your crops;
¹⁰then your barns will be filled^(Q) to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.^(R)

¹¹My son,^(S) do not despise the Lord’s discipline,^(T)
and do not resent his rebuke,
¹²because the Lord disciplines those he loves,^(U)
as a father the son he delights in.^[b]^(V)

¹³Blessed are those who find wisdom,
    those who gain understanding,
¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver
    and yields better returns than gold.^(W)
¹⁵She is more precious than rubies;^(X)
    nothing you desire can compare with her.^(Y)
¹⁶Long life is in her right hand;^(Z)
    in her left hand are riches and honor.^(AA)
¹⁷Her ways are pleasant ways,
    and all her paths are peace.^(AB)
¹⁸She is a tree of life^(AC) to those who take hold of her;
    those who hold her fast will be blessed.^(AD)

¹⁹By wisdom^(AE) the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,^(AF)
by understanding he set the heavens^(AG) in place;
²⁰by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.

²¹My son,^(AH) do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight,^(AI)
    preserve sound judgment and discretion;
²²they will be life for you,^(AJ)
    an ornament to grace your neck.^(AK)
²³Then you will go on your way in safety,^(AL)
    and your foot will not stumble.^(AM)
²⁴When you lie down,^(AN) you will not be afraid;^(AO)
    when you lie down, your sleep^(AP) will be sweet.
²⁵Have no fear of sudden disaster
    or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
²⁶for the Lord will be at your side^(AQ)
    and will keep your foot^(AR) from being snared.^(AS)

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
    when it is in your power to act.
²⁸Do not say to your neighbor,
    “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
    when you already have it with you.^(AT)
²⁹Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
    who lives trustfully near you.^(AU)
³⁰Do not accuse anyone for no reason—
    when they have done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy^(AV) the violent
or choose any of their ways.

³²For the Lord detests the perverse^(AW)
    but takes the upright into his confidence.^(AX)
³³The Lord’s curse^(AY) is on the house of the wicked,^(AZ)
    but he blesses the home of the righteous.^(BA)
³⁴He mocks^(BB) proud mockers^(BC)
    but shows favor to the humble^(BD) and oppressed.
³⁵The wise inherit honor,
    but fools get only shame.

Get Wisdom at Any Cost

4 Listen, my sons,^(BE) to a father’s instruction;^(BF)
    pay attention and gain understanding.^(BG)
²I give you sound learning,
    so do not forsake my teaching.
³For I too was a son to my father,
    still tender, and cherished by my mother.
⁴Then he taught me, and he said to me,
    “Take hold^(BH) of my words with all your heart;
    keep my commands, and you will live.^(BI)
⁵Get wisdom,^(BJ) get understanding;
    do not forget my words or turn away from them.
⁶Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;^(BK)
    love her, and she will watch over you.^(BL)
⁷The beginning of wisdom is this: Get^[c] wisdom.
    Though it cost all^(BM) you have,^[d] get understanding.^(BN)
⁸Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
    embrace her, and she will honor you.^(BO)
⁹She will give you a garland to grace your head
    and present you with a glorious crown.^(BP)”

¹⁰Listen, my son,^(BQ) accept what I say,
    and the years of your life will be many.^(BR)
¹¹I instruct^(BS) you in the way of wisdom
    and lead you along straight paths.^(BT)
¹²When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
    when you run, you will not stumble.^(BU)
¹³Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
    guard it well, for it is your life.^(BV)
¹⁴Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
    or walk in the way of evildoers.^(BW)
¹⁵Avoid it, do not travel on it;
    turn from it and go on your way.
¹⁶For they cannot rest until they do evil;^(BX)
    they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
¹⁷They eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.^(BY)

¹⁸The path of the righteous^(BZ) is like the morning sun,^(CA)
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.^(CB)
¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;^(CC)
they do not know what makes them stumble.^(CD)

²⁰My son,^(CE) pay attention to what I say;
    turn your ear to my words.^(CF)
²¹Do not let them out of your sight,^(CG)
    keep them within your heart;
²²for they are life to those who find them
    and health to one’s whole body.^(CH)
²³Above all else, guard^(CI) your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.^(CJ)
²⁴Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
²⁵Let your eyes^(CK) look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
²⁶Give careful thought to the^[e] paths for your feet^(CL)
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
²⁷Do not turn to the right or the left;^(CM)
    keep your foot from evil.

Warning Against Adultery

5 My son,^(CN) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words^(CO) of insight,
²that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
³For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;^(CP)
⁴but in the end she is bitter as gall,^(CQ)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
⁵Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.^(CR)
⁶She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.^(CS)

⁷Now then, my sons, listen^(CT) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
⁸Keep to a path far from her,^(CU)
    do not go near the door of her house,
⁹lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity^[f] to one who is cruel,
¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.^(CV)
¹¹At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!^(CW)
¹³I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble^(CX)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”^(CY)

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
¹⁸May your fountain^(CZ) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^(DA)
¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful deer^(DB)—
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹For your ways are in full view^(DC) of the Lord,
    and he examines^(DD) all your paths.^(DE)
²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;^(DF)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.^(DG)
²³For lack of discipline they will die,^(DH)
    led astray by their own great folly.^(DI)

Footnotes

Proverbs 3:6 Or will direct your paths
Proverbs 3:12 Hebrew; Septuagint loves, / and he chastens everyone he accepts as his child
Proverbs 4:7 Or Wisdom is supreme; therefore get
Proverbs 4:7 Or wisdom. / Whatever else you get
Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level
Proverbs 5:9 Or years

2 Corinthians 1

New International Version

1 Paul, an apostle^(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,^(B) and Timothy^(C) our brother,

To the church of God^(D) in Corinth,^(E) together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:^(F)

²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(G)

Praise to the God of All Comfort

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^(H) the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us^(I) in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ,^(J) so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation;^(K) if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings,^(L) so also you share in our comfort.

⁸We do not want you to be uninformed,^(M) brothers and sisters,^[a] about the troubles we experienced^(N) in the province of Asia.^(O) We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God,^(P) who raises the dead.^(Q) ¹⁰He has delivered us from such a deadly peril,^(R) and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope^(S) that he will continue to deliver us, ¹¹as you help us by your prayers.^(T) Then many will give thanks^(U) on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Paul’s Change of Plans

¹²Now this is our boast: Our conscience^(V) testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity^[b]^(W) and godly sincerity.^(X) We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom^(Y) but on God’s grace. ¹³For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, ¹⁴as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.^(Z)

¹⁵Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you^(AA) first so that you might benefit twice.^(AB) ¹⁶I wanted to visit you on my way^(AC) to Macedonia^(AD) and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way^(AE) to Judea.^(AF) ¹⁷Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner^(AG) so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

¹⁸But as surely as God is faithful,^(AH) our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹For the Son of God,^(AI) Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas^[c]^(AJ) and Timothy^(AK)—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always^(AL) been “Yes.” ²⁰For no matter how many promises^(AM) God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen”^(AN) is spoken by us to the glory of God.^(AO) ²¹Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm^(AP) in Christ. He anointed^(AQ) us, ²²set his seal^(AR) of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.^(AS)

²³I call God as my witness^(AT)—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you^(AU) that I did not return to Corinth. ²⁴Not that we lord it over^(AV) your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.^(AW)

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 1:8 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 8:1; 13:11.
2 Corinthians 1:12 Many manuscripts holiness
2 Corinthians 1:19 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas