Proverbs 31

New King James Version

The Words of King Lemuel’s Mother

31 The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him:

²What, my son?
And what, son of my womb?
And what, ^(A)son of my vows?
³^(B)Do not give your strength to women,
Nor your ways ^(C)to that which destroys kings.

⁴^(D)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Nor for princes intoxicating drink;
⁵^(E)Lest they drink and forget the law,
And pervert the justice of all ^[a]the afflicted.
⁶^(F)Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
⁷Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.

⁸^(G)Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are ^[b]appointed to die.
⁹Open your mouth, ^(H)judge righteously,
And ^(I)plead the cause of the poor and needy.

The Virtuous Wife

¹⁰^(J)Who^[c] can find a ^[d]virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
¹¹The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
¹²She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
¹³She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
¹⁴She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
¹⁵^(K)She also rises while it is yet night,
And ^(L)provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
¹⁶She considers a field and buys it;
From ^[e]her profits she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
¹⁹She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
²⁰^(M)She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
²¹She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
²²She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
²³^(N)Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
²⁵Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
²⁷She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹“Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
³⁰Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Footnotes

Proverbs 31:5 Lit. sons of affliction
Proverbs 31:8 Lit. sons of passing away
Proverbs 31:10 Vv. 10–31 are an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew; cf. Ps. 119
Proverbs 31:10 Lit. a wife of valor, in the sense of all forms of excellence
Proverbs 31:16 Lit. the fruit of her hands

John 18:1-24

New King James Version

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane^(A)

18 When Jesus had spoken these words, ^(B)He went out with His disciples over ^(C)the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. ²And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; ^(D)for Jesus often met there with His disciples. ³^(E)Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. ⁴Jesus therefore, ^(F)knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

⁵They answered Him, ^(G)“Jesus ^[a]of Nazareth.”

Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who ^(H)betrayed Him, also stood with them. ⁶Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”

And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁸Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” ⁹that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, ^(I)“Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.”

¹⁰^(J)Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.

¹¹So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink ^(K)the cup which My Father has given Me?”

Before the High Priest

¹²Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. ¹³And ^(L)they led Him away to ^(M)Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of ^(N)Caiaphas who was high priest that year. ¹⁴^(O)Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was ^[b]expedient that one man should die for the people.

Peter Denies Jesus^(P)

¹⁵^(Q)And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did ^(R)another^[c] disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. ¹⁶^(S)But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?”

He said, “I am ^(T)not.”

¹⁸Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.

Jesus Questioned by the High Priest

¹⁹The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine.

²⁰Jesus answered him, ^(U)“I spoke openly to the world. I always taught ^(V)in synagogues and ^(W)in the temple, where ^[d]the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. ²¹Why do you ask Me? Ask ^(X)those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said.”

²²And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by ^(Y)struck^[e] Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, “Do You answer the high priest like that?”

²³Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?”

²⁴^(Z)Then Annas sent Him bound to ^(AA)Caiaphas the high priest.

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