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Proverbs 22-24
New International Version
Proverbs 22-24
New International Version
22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.(A)
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.(B)
5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,(G)
but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.
6 Start(H) children off on the way they should go,(I)
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.(J)
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.(O)
11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.(P)
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
13 The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!(Q)
I’ll be killed in the public square!”
14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;(R)
a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.(S)
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.(T)
16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
Thirty Sayings of the Wise
Saying 1
17 Pay attention(U) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;(V)
apply your heart to what I teach,(W)
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I teach you today, even you.
20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,(X)
so that you bring back truthful reports
to those you serve?
Saying 2
22 Do not exploit the poor(Y) because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,(Z)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(AA)
and will exact life for life.(AB)
Saying 3
24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared.(AC)
Saying 4
26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge(AD)
or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.(AE)
Saying 5
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(AF)
set up by your ancestors.
Saying 6
29 Do you see someone skilled(AG) in their work?
They will serve(AH) before kings;(AI)
they will not serve before officials of low rank.
Saying 7
23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[a] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,(AJ)
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,(AK)
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.(AL)
Saying 9
6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;(AM)
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[b]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.(AN)
Saying 11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(AO)
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender(AP) is strong;(AQ)
he will take up their case against you.(AR)
Saying 12
12 Apply your heart to instruction(AS)
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.(AT)
Saying 14
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.(AU)
Saying 15
17 Do not let your heart envy(AV) sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(AW)
Saying 16
19 Listen, my son,(AX) and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine(AY)
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,(AZ)
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.(BA)
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.(BB)
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.(BC)
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!(BD)
Saying 18
26 My son,(BE) give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,(BF)
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,(BG)
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait(BH)
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Saying 19
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,(BI)
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”(BJ)
Saying 20
24 Do not envy(BK) the wicked,
do not desire their company;
2 for their hearts plot violence,(BL)
and their lips talk about making trouble.(BM)
Saying 21
3 By wisdom a house is built,(BN)
and through understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.(BO)
Saying 22
5 The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
6 Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.(BP)
Saying 23
7 Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.
Saying 24
8 Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
9 The schemes of folly are sin,
and people detest a mocker.
Saying 25
10 If you falter in a time of trouble,
how small is your strength!(BQ)
11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.(BR)
12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs(BS) the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay(BT) everyone according to what they have done?(BU)
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(BV)
Saying 27
15 Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,
do not plunder their dwelling place;
16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.(BW)
Saying 28
17 Do not gloat(BX) when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,(BY)
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.(BZ)
Saying 29
19 Do not fret(CA) because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.(CB)
Saying 30
21 Fear the Lord and the king,(CC) my son,
and do not join with rebellious officials,
22 for those two will send sudden destruction(CD) on them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These also are sayings of the wise:(CE)
To show partiality(CF) in judging is not good:(CG)
24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”(CH)
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause(CI)—
would you use your lips to mislead?
29 Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”(CJ)
30 I went past the field of a sluggard,(CK)
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(CL)—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.(CM)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is
2 Corinthians 8
New International Version
2 Corinthians 8
New International Version
The Collection for the Lord’s People
8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian(A) churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.(B) 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,(C) and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing(D) in this service(E) to the Lord’s people.(F) 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged(G) Titus,(H) just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion(I) this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything(J)—in faith, in speech, in knowledge,(K) in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8 I am not commanding you,(L) but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace(M) of our Lord Jesus Christ,(N) that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,(O) so that you through his poverty might become rich.(P)
10 And here is my judgment(Q) about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.(R) 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness(S) to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has,(T) not according to what one does not have.
13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need,(U) so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”[b](V)
Titus Sent to Receive the Collection
16 Thanks be to God,(W) who put into the heart(X) of Titus(Y) the same concern I have for you. 17 For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.(Z) 18 And we are sending along with him the brother(AA) who is praised by all the churches(AB) for his service to the gospel.(AC) 19 What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us(AD) as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.(AE) 20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.(AF)
22 In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus,(AG) he is my partner(AH) and co-worker(AI) among you; as for our brothers,(AJ) they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24 Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you,(AK) so that the churches can see it.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 8:7 Some manuscripts and in your love for us
- 2 Corinthians 8:15 Exodus 16:18
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
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