Proverbs 3-4

English Standard Version

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

3 ^(A)My son, do not forget my teaching,
^(B)but let your heart keep my commandments,
²for ^(C)length of days and years of life
and ^(D)peace they will add to you.

³Let not ^(E)steadfast love and ^(F)faithfulness forsake you;
    ^(G)bind them around your neck;
    ^(H)write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴So you will ^(I)find favor and ^(J)good success^[a]
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵^(K)Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and ^(L)do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶In all your ways ^(M)acknowledge him,
    and he ^(N)will make straight your paths.
⁷^(O)Be not wise in your own eyes;
    ^(P)fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
⁸It will be ^(Q)healing to your flesh^[b]
    and ^(R)refreshment^[c] to your bones.

⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with ^(S)the firstfruits of all your produce;
¹⁰then your ^(T)barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹^(U)My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
¹²for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as ^(V)a father the son in whom he delights.

Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom

¹³^(W)Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
    and the one who gets understanding,
¹⁴^(X)for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
    and her profit better than ^(Y)gold.
¹⁵She is more precious than ^(Z)jewels,
    and ^(AA)nothing you desire can compare with her.
¹⁶^(AB)Long life is in her right hand;
    in her left hand are ^(AC)riches and honor.
¹⁷Her ^(AD)ways are ways of pleasantness,
    and all her paths are peace.
¹⁸She is ^(AE)a tree of life to those who ^(AF)lay hold of her;
    those who hold her fast are called blessed.

¹⁹^(AG)The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding ^(AH)he established the heavens;
²⁰by his knowledge ^(AI)the deeps broke open,
and ^(AJ)the clouds drop down the dew.

²¹My son, ^(AK)do not lose sight of these—
    keep sound wisdom and discretion,
²²and they will be ^(AL)life for your soul
    and ^(AM)adornment for your neck.
²³^(AN)Then you will walk on your way securely,
    ^(AO)and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴^(AP)If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, ^(AQ)your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵^(AR)Do not be afraid of sudden terror
    or of ^(AS)the ruin^[d] of the wicked, when it comes,
²⁶for the Lord will be your confidence
    and will ^(AT)keep your foot from being caught.
²⁷^(AU)Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,^[e]
    when it is in your power to do it.

²⁸^(AV)Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
    tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
²⁹^(AW)Do not plan evil against your neighbor,
    who ^(AX)dwells trustingly beside you.
³⁰^(AY)Do not contend with a man for no reason,
    when he has done you no harm.
³¹^(AZ)Do not envy ^(BA)a man of violence
    and do not choose any of his ways,
³²for ^(BB)the devious person is an abomination to the Lord,
    but the upright are ^(BC)in his confidence.
³³^(BD)The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked,
    but he ^(BE)blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
³⁴Toward the ^(BF)scorners he ^(BG)is scornful,
    ^(BH)but to the humble he gives favor.^[f]
³⁵The wise will inherit honor,
    but fools get^[g] disgrace.

A Father's Wise Instruction

4 ^(BI)Hear, O sons, a father's instruction,
    and be attentive, that you may ^(BJ)gain^[h] insight,
²for I give you good ^(BK)precepts;
    do not forsake my teaching.
³When I was a son with my father,
    ^(BL)tender, ^(BM)the only one in the sight of my mother,
⁴he ^(BN)taught me and said to me,
^(BO)“Let your heart hold fast my words;
    ^(BP)keep my commandments, and live.
⁵^(BQ)Get wisdom; get ^(BR)insight;
    do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁶Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
    ^(BS)love her, and she will guard you.
⁷^(BT)The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
    and whatever you get, get ^(BU)insight.
⁸Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
    she will ^(BV)honor you ^(BW)if you embrace her.
⁹She will place on your head ^(BX)a graceful garland;
    she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

¹⁰^(BY)Hear, ^(BZ)my son, and accept my words,
    that ^(CA)the years of your life may be many.
¹¹I have ^(CB)taught you the way of wisdom;
    I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
¹²When you walk, ^(CC)your step will not be hampered,
    and ^(CD)if you run, you will not stumble.
¹³^(CE)Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
    guard her, for she is your ^(CF)life.
¹⁴^(CG)Do not enter the path of the wicked,
    and do not walk in the way of the evil.
¹⁵Avoid it; do not go on it;
    turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶For they ^(CH)cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
    they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness
    ^(CI)and drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸But ^(CJ)the path of the righteous is like ^(CK)the light of dawn,
    which shines ^(CL)brighter and brighter until ^(CM)full day.
¹⁹^(CN)The way of the wicked is like deep ^(CO)darkness;
    they do not know over what they ^(CP)stumble.

²⁰^(CQ)My son, be attentive to my words;
    incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹^(CR)Let them not escape from your sight;
    ^(CS)keep them within your heart.
²²For they are ^(CT)life to those who find them,
    and healing to all their^[i] flesh.
²³Keep your heart with all vigilance,
    for ^(CU)from it flow ^(CV)the springs of life.
²⁴Put away from you ^(CW)crooked speech,
    and put ^(CX)devious talk far from you.
²⁵^(CY)Let your eyes look directly forward,
    and your gaze be straight before you.
²⁶^(CZ)Ponder^[j] the path of your feet;
    ^(DA)then all your ways will be sure.
²⁷^(DB)Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
    turn your foot away from evil.

Footnotes

Proverbs 3:4 Or repute
Proverbs 3:8 Hebrew navel
Proverbs 3:8 Or medicine
Proverbs 3:25 Hebrew storm
Proverbs 3:27 Hebrew Do not withhold good from its owners
Proverbs 3:34 Or grace
Proverbs 3:35 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Proverbs 4:1 Hebrew know
Proverbs 4:22 Hebrew his
Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level

Matthew 5

English Standard Version

The Sermon on the Mount

5 Seeing the crowds, ^(A)he went up on the mountain, and when he ^(B)sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

²And ^(C)he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³^(D)“Blessed are ^(E)the poor in spirit, for ^(F)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are ^(G)those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the ^(H)meek, for they ^(I)shall inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and ^(J)thirst ^(K)for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷“Blessed are ^(L)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are ^(M)the pure in heart, for ^(N)they shall see God.

⁹“Blessed are ^(O)the peacemakers, for ^(P)they shall be called ^(Q)sons^[a] of God.

¹⁰^(R)“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for ^(S)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹^(T)“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely ^(U)on my account. ¹²^(V)Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for ^(W)so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth, ^(X)but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

¹⁴^(Y)“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵^(Z)Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so ^(AA)that^[b] they may see your good works and ^(AB)give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

¹⁷^(AC)“Do not think that I have come to abolish ^(AD)the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but ^(AE)to fulfill them. ¹⁸For truly, I say to you, ^(AF)until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹^(AG)Therefore whoever relaxes ^(AH)one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least ^(AI)in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great ^(AJ)in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds ^(AK)that of the scribes and Pharisees, you ^(AL)will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

²¹^(AM)“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(AN)‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable ^(AO)to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that ^(AP)everyone who is angry with his brother^[c] will be liable ^(AQ)to judgment; whoever insults^[d] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to ^(AR)the hell^[e] of fire. ²³^(AS)So if ^(AT)you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵^(AU)Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶Truly, I say to you, ^(AV)you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.^[f]

Lust

²⁷^(AW)“You have heard that it was said, ^(AX)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that ^(AY)everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹^(AZ)If your right eye ^(BA)causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into ^(BB)hell. ³⁰^(BC)And if your right hand ^(BD)causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into ^(BE)hell.

Divorce

³¹^(BF)“It was also said, ^(BG)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²^(BH)But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and ^(BI)whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³“Again ^(BJ)you have heard that it was said to those of old, ^(BK)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(BL)shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ ³⁴But I say to you, ^(BM)Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for ^(BN)it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is ^(BO)the city of the great King. ³⁶And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; ^(BP)anything more than this comes from evil.^[g]

Retaliation

³⁸^(BQ)“You have heard that it was said, ^(BR)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, ^(BS)Do not resist the one who is evil. But ^(BT)if anyone ^(BU)slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And ^(BV)if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[h] let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹And if anyone ^(BW)forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²^(BX)Give to the one who begs from you, and ^(BY)do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies

⁴³^(BZ)“You have heard that it was said, ^(CA)‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, ^(CB)Love your enemies and ^(CC)pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵^(CD)so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and ^(CE)sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶^(CF)For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers,^[i] what more are you doing than others? Do not even ^(CG)the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸^(CH)You therefore must be ^(CI)perfect, ^(CJ)as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Footnotes

Matthew 5:9 Greek huioi; see Preface
Matthew 5:16 Or house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before others that
Matthew 5:22 Some manuscripts insert without cause
Matthew 5:22 Greek says Raca to (a term of abuse)
Matthew 5:22 Greek Gehenna; also verses 29, 30
Matthew 5:26 Greek kodrantes, Roman copper coin (Latin quadrans) worth about 1/64 of a denarius (which was a day's wage for a laborer)
Matthew 5:37 Or the evil one
Matthew 5:40 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin
Matthew 5:47 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters