Old/New Testament
The Words of Agur[a]
30 The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle:[b]
This[c] man says[d] to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal:[e]
2 Surely[f] I am more brutish[g] than any other human being,[h]
and I do not have human understanding;[i]
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor can[j] I have knowledge[k] of the Holy One.[l]
4 Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended?[m]
Who has gathered up the winds in his fists?[n]
Who has bound up the waters in his cloak?[o]
Who has established all the ends of the earth?[p]
What is his name, and what is his son’s name?[q] Surely[r] you can[s] know!
5 Every word of God is purified;[t]
he is like[u] a shield for those who take refuge in him.[v]
6 Do not add to his words,
lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar.[w]
7 Two things[x] I have asked from you;[y]
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Remove falsehood and lies[z] far from me;
do not give me poverty or riches,
feed me with my allotted portion[aa] of bread,[ab]
9 lest I become satisfied and act deceptively[ac]
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I become poor and steal
and demean[ad] the name of my God.
10 Do not slander[ae] a servant to his master,
lest he curse you, and you are found guilty.[af]
11 There is a generation[ag] who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.[ah]
12 There is a generation who are pure in their own opinion
and yet are not washed[ai] from their filthiness.[aj]
13 There is a generation whose eyes are so lofty,[ak]
and whose eyelids are lifted up disdainfully.[al]
14 There is a generation whose teeth are like[am] swords[an]
and whose molars[ao] are like knives
to devour[ap] the poor from the earth
and the needy from among the human race.
15 The leech[aq] has two daughters:[ar]
“Give! Give!”[as]
There are three things that will[at] never be satisfied,
four[au] that have never said, “Enough”[av]—
16 the grave,[aw] the barren womb;[ax]
earth has not been satisfied[ay] with water;
and fire has never said,[az] “Enough!”[ba]
17 The eye[bb] that mocks at a father
and despises obeying[bc] a mother—
the ravens of the valley will peck it out
and the young vultures will eat it.[bd]
18 There are three things that are too wonderful for me,[be]
four that I do not understand:
19 the way[bf] of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship in the sea,
and the way of a man with a woman.[bg]
20 This is the way[bh] of an adulterous[bi] woman:
she has eaten and wiped her mouth[bj]
and has said, “I have not done wrong.”[bk]
21 Under three things the earth has trembled,[bl]
and under four things it cannot bear up:
22 under a servant[bm] who becomes king,
under a fool who becomes stuffed with food,[bn]
23 under an unloved woman[bo] who becomes married,
and under a female servant who dispossesses[bp] her mistress.
24 There are four things on earth that are small,[bq]
but they are exceedingly wise:[br]
25 ants are creatures with little strength,
but they prepare[bs] their food in the summer;
26 rock badgers[bt] are creatures with little power,
but they make their homes in the crags;
27 locusts have no king,
but they all go forward by ranks;[bu]
28 a lizard[bv] you can catch with the hand,
but it gets into the palaces of the king.[bw]
29 There are three things that are magnificent[bx] in their step,
four things that move about magnificently:[by]
30 a lion, mightiest[bz] of the beasts,
who does not retreat from anything;
31 a strutting rooster,[ca] a male goat,
and a king with his army around him.[cb]
32 If you have done foolishly by exalting yourself[cc]
or if you have planned evil,
put[cd] your hand over your mouth!
33 For as the churning[ce] of milk produces butter
and as punching the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger[cf] produces strife.[cg]
The Words of Lemuel
31 The words of King Lemuel,[ch] an oracle[ci] that his mother taught him:
2 O[cj] my son, O son of my womb,
O son[ck] of my vows,
3 do not give your strength[cl] to women,
nor your ways[cm] to that which ruins[cn] kings.
4 It is not for kings,[co] O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,[cp]
or for rulers to crave strong drink,[cq]
5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed,
and remove[cr] from all the poor[cs] their legal rights.[ct]
6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,[cu]
and wine to those who are bitterly distressed;[cv]
7 let them[cw] drink and forget[cx] their poverty,
and remember their misery no more.
8 Open your mouth[cy] on behalf of those unable to speak,[cz]
for the legal rights of all the dying.[da]
9 Open your mouth, judge in righteousness,[db]
and plead the cause[dc] of the poor and needy.
The Wife of Noble Character[dd]
10 Who can find[de] a wife[df] of noble character?[dg]
For her value[dh] is far more than rubies.[di]
11 Her husband’s heart has trusted[dj] her,
and he does not lack the dividends.[dk]
12 She has rewarded him[dl] with good and not harm[dm]
all the days of her life.
13 She sought out[dn] wool and flax,
then worked[do] happily with her hands.[dp]
14 She was[dq] like the merchant ships;[dr]
she would bring in[ds] her food from afar.
15 Then she rose[dt] while it was still night,
and provided[du] food[dv] for her household and a portion[dw] to her female servants.
16 She considered[dx] a field and bought[dy] it;
from her own income[dz] she planted[ea] a vineyard.
17 She clothed[eb] herself in might,
and she strengthened[ec] her arms.
18 She perceived[ed] that her merchandise was good.
Her lamp[ee] would[ef] not go out in the night.
19 She extended[eg] her hands[eh] to the spool,
and her hands grasped[ei] the spindle.
20 She opened[ej] her hand[ek] to the poor,
and extended[el] her hands to the needy.
21 She would not[em] fear[en] for her household in winter,[eo]
because all her household were clothed with scarlet,[ep]
22 because[eq] she had made[er] coverings for herself;[es]
and because her clothing was fine linen and purple.[et]
23 Her husband is well-known[eu] in the city gate[ev]
when he sits with the elders[ew] of the land.
24 She made[ex] linen garments[ey] then sold[ez] them,
and traded[fa] belts to the merchants;[fb]
25 her clothing[fc] was[fd] strong[fe] and splendid;
and she laughed[ff] at the time[fg] to come.
26 She has opened[fh] her mouth[fi] with wisdom,
with loving instruction[fj] on her tongue.
27 Watching over[fk] the ways of her household,
she would not eat[fl] the bread of idleness.[fm]
28 Her children[fn] have risen[fo] and called[fp] her blessed;
her husband[fq] also has praised[fr] her:
29 “Many[fs] daughters[ft] have done valiantly,[fu]
but you have surpassed them all!”
30 Charm[fv] is deceitful[fw] and beauty is fleeting.[fx]
A woman who fears the Lord[fy]—she makes herself praiseworthy.[fz]
31 Give[ga] her credit for what she has accomplished,[gb]
and let her works praise her[gc] in the city gates.[gd]
Paul and His Opponents
11 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband,[a] to present you as a pure[b] virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that[c] just as the serpent[d] deceived Eve by his treachery,[e] your minds may be led astray[f] from a sincere and pure[g] devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims[h] another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed,[i] or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received,[j] or a different gospel than the one you accepted,[k] you put up with it well enough![l] 5 For I consider myself not at all inferior to those “super-apostles.”[m] 6 And even if I am unskilled[n] in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way. 7 Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself[o] so that you could be exalted, because I proclaimed[p] the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so that I could serve you![q] 9 When[r] I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs.[s] I[t] kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine[u] will not be stopped[v] in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do![w] 12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals[x] in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful[y] workers, disguising themselves[z] as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself[aa] as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves[ab] as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.[ac]
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