Isaiah 21-22

English Standard Version

Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon

21 The ^(A)oracle concerning the wilderness of ^(B)the sea.

^(C)As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
    it comes from the wilderness,
    from a terrible land.
²A stern vision is told to me;
    ^(D)the traitor betrays,
    and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O ^(E)Elam;
    lay siege, O ^(F)Media;
all the ^(G)sighing she has caused
    I bring to an end.
³Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
    ^(H)pangs have seized me,
    like the pangs of a woman in labor;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;
    I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
⁴My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;
    ^(I)the twilight I longed for
    has been turned for me into trembling.
⁵^(J)They prepare the table,
    they spread the rugs,^[a]
    they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes;
    ^(K)oil the shield!
⁶For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
    let him announce what he sees.
⁷When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
    riders on donkeys, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
    very diligently.”
⁸Then he who saw cried out:^[b]
^(L)“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
    continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
    whole nights.
⁹And behold, here come riders,
    horsemen in pairs!”
^(M)And he answered,
    ^(N)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
^(O)and all the carved images of her gods
    he has shattered to the ground.”
¹⁰O ^(P)my threshed and winnowed one,
    what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
    the God of Israel, I announce to you.

¹¹The ^(Q)oracle concerning ^(R)Dumah.

One is calling to me from ^(S)Seir,
    “Watchman, what time of the night?
    Watchman, what time of the night?”
¹²The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also ^(T)the night.
    If you will inquire, ^(U)inquire;
    come back again.”

¹³The ^(V)oracle concerning ^(W)Arabia.

In the thickets in ^(X)Arabia you will lodge,
    O ^(Y)caravans of ^(Z)Dedanites.
¹⁴To the thirsty bring water;
    meet the fugitive with bread,
    O inhabitants of the land of ^(AA)Tema.
¹⁵For they have fled from the swords,
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
    and from the press of battle.

¹⁶For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, ^(AB)according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of ^(AC)Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of ^(AD)Kedar will be few, ^(AE)for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem

22 The ^(AF)oracle concerning ^(AG)the valley of vision.

What do you mean that you have gone up,
    all of you, to the housetops,
²you who are full of shoutings,
    tumultuous city, ^(AH)exultant town?
Your slain are ^(AI)not slain with the sword
    or dead in battle.
³^(AJ)All your leaders have fled together;
    without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
    though they had fled far away.
⁴Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
    ^(AK)let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
    concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

⁵^(AL)For the Lord God of hosts has ^(AM)a day
    of tumult and ^(AN)trampling and ^(AO)confusion
    in ^(AP)the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
    and a shouting to the mountains.
⁶And ^(AQ)Elam bore the quiver
    with chariots and horsemen,
    and ^(AR)Kir uncovered the shield.
⁷Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
    and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
⁸He has taken away ^(AS)the covering of Judah.

In that day you looked to ^(AT)the weapons of the House of the Forest, ⁹and you saw that ^(AU)the breaches of the city of David were many. ^(AV)You collected the waters of the lower pool, ¹⁰and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. ¹¹^(AW)You made a reservoir between ^(AX)the two walls for the water of ^(AY)the old pool. But ^(AZ)you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.

¹²In that day ^(BA)the Lord God of hosts
    called for weeping and mourning,
    for ^(BB)baldness and ^(BC)wearing sackcloth;
¹³and behold, joy and gladness,
    killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
    eating flesh and drinking wine.
^(BD)“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”
¹⁴The Lord of hosts ^(BE)has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely ^(BF)this iniquity will not be atoned for you ^(BG)until you die,”
    says the Lord God of hosts.

¹⁵Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to ^(BH)Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: ¹⁶What have you to do here, and whom have you here, ^(BI)that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you ^(BJ)who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? ¹⁷Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. ^(BK)He will seize firm hold on you ¹⁸and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be ^(BL)your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house. ¹⁹^(BM)I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. ²⁰In that day I will call my servant ^(BN)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, ²¹and ^(BO)I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be ^(BP)a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²²And I will place ^(BQ)on his shoulder ^(BR)the key of the house of David. ^(BS)He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. ²³And I will fasten him ^(BT)like a peg in a secure place, and he will become ^(BU)a throne of honor to his father's house. ²⁴And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. ²⁵In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, ^(BV)the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 21:5 Or they set the watchman
Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion

Proverbs 10

English Standard Version

The Proverbs of Solomon

10 ^(A)The proverbs of Solomon.

^(B)A wise son makes a glad father,
    ^(C)but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
²^(D)Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
    ^(E)but righteousness delivers from death.
³^(F)The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
    ^(G)but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
⁴A slack hand ^(H)causes poverty,
    ^(I)but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
⁵He who ^(J)gathers in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps in harvest is ^(K)a son who brings shame.
⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
    but ^(L)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.^[a]
⁷^(M)The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
    but ^(N)the name of the wicked will rot.
⁸^(O)The wise of heart will receive commandments,
    but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
⁹^(P)Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
    but he who makes his ways crooked ^(Q)will be found out.
¹⁰Whoever ^(R)winks the eye causes trouble,
    and a babbling fool will come to ruin.
¹¹^(S)The mouth of the righteous is ^(T)a fountain of life,
    but the mouth of the wicked ^(U)conceals violence.
¹²Hatred stirs up strife,
    but ^(V)love covers all offenses.
¹³On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,
    but ^(W)a rod is for the back of him who ^(X)lacks sense.
¹⁴The wise ^(Y)lay up knowledge,
    but ^(Z)the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
¹⁵^(AA)A rich man's wealth is his strong city;
    the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
¹⁶The wage of the righteous leads ^(AB)to life,
    the gain of the wicked to sin.
¹⁷Whoever heeds instruction is on ^(AC)the path to life,
    but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
¹⁸The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,
    and whoever utters slander is a fool.
¹⁹^(AD)When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
    ^(AE)but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
²⁰The tongue of the righteous is ^(AF)choice silver;
    the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
²¹The lips of the righteous feed many,
    but fools die for ^(AG)lack of sense.
²²^(AH)The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
    and he adds no sorrow with it.^[b]
²³Doing wrong is ^(AI)like a joke to a fool,
    but ^(AJ)wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
²⁴^(AK)What the wicked dreads ^(AL)will come upon him,
    but ^(AM)the desire of the righteous will be granted.
²⁵When ^(AN)the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,
    but ^(AO)the righteous is established forever.
²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
    so is the sluggard to those who send him.
²⁷^(AP)The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
    ^(AQ)but the years of the wicked will be short.
²⁸^(AR)The hope of the righteous brings joy,
    ^(AS)but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
²⁹^(AT)The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,
    but destruction to evildoers.
³⁰^(AU)The righteous will never be removed,
    but ^(AV)the wicked will not dwell in the land.
³¹^(AW)The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
    but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
³²The lips of the righteous ^(AX)know what is acceptable,
    but the mouth of the wicked, ^(AY)what is perverse.

Footnotes

Proverbs 10:6 Or but violence covers the mouth of the wicked; also verse 11
Proverbs 10:22 Or and toil adds nothing to it

Colossians 3

English Standard Version

Put On the New Self

3 ^(A)If then you have been raised with Christ, seek ^(B)the things that are above, where Christ is, ^(C)seated at the right hand of God. ²^(D)Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³For ^(E)you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ ^(F)who is your^[a] life ^(G)appears, then you also will appear with him ^(H)in glory.

⁵^(I)Put to death therefore ^(J)what is earthly in you:^[b] ^(K)sexual immorality, impurity, ^(L)passion, evil desire, and covetousness, ^(M)which is idolatry. ⁶^(N)On account of these the wrath of God is coming.^[c] ⁷^(O)In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸But now ^(P)you must put them all away: ^(Q)anger, wrath, malice, ^(R)slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹^(S)Do not lie to one another, seeing that ^(T)you have put off ^(U)the old self^[d] with its practices ¹⁰and ^(V)have put on ^(W)the new self, ^(X)which is being renewed in knowledge ^(Y)after the image of ^(Z)its creator. ¹¹^(AA)Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,^[e] free; but Christ is ^(AB)all, and in all.

¹²^(AC)Put on then, as ^(AD)God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, ^(AE)compassionate hearts, ^(AF)kindness, ^(AG)humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³^(AH)bearing with one another and, ^(AI)if one has a complaint against another, ^(AJ)forgiving each other; ^(AK)as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴And above all these put on ^(AL)love, which ^(AM)binds everything together in ^(AN)perfect harmony. ¹⁵And let ^(AO)the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called ^(AP)in one body. And ^(AQ)be thankful. ¹⁶Let ^(AR)the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, ^(AS)singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ^(AT)with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And ^(AU)whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, ^(AV)giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Rules for Christian Households

¹⁸^(AW)Wives, submit to your husbands, as ^(AX)is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹Husbands, love your wives, and ^(AY)do not be harsh with them. ²⁰Children, obey your parents ^(AZ)in everything, for this pleases the Lord. ²¹Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. ²²Bondservants, obey ^(BA)in everything those who are your earthly masters,^[f] not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. ²³^(BB)Whatever you do, work heartily, ^(BC)as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴knowing that from the Lord ^(BD)you will receive the inheritance as your reward. ^(BE)You are serving the Lord Christ. ²⁵For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

Footnotes

Colossians 3:4 Some manuscripts our
Colossians 3:5 Greek therefore your members that are on the earth
Colossians 3:6 Some manuscripts add upon the sons of disobedience
Colossians 3:9 Greek man; also as supplied in verse 10
Colossians 3:11 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for Bondservants in verse 22
Colossians 3:22 Or your masters according to the flesh