Old/New Testament
Trust the Lord
3 My son, don’t forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commands;(A)
2 for they will bring you
many days, a full life,[a](B) and well-being.(C)
3 Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.
Tie them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(D)
4 Then you will find favor and high regard
in the sight of God and man.(E)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,(F)
and do not rely on your own understanding;(G)
6 think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.[b](H)
7 Don’t consider yourself to be wise;(I)
fear the Lord and turn away from evil.(J)
8 This will be healing for your body[c](K)
and strengthening for your bones.(L)
9 Honor the Lord with your possessions
and with the first produce of your entire harvest;(M)
10 then your barns will be completely filled,
and your vats will overflow with new wine.(N)
11 Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son,
and do not loathe His discipline;(O)
12 for the Lord disciplines the one He loves,
just as a father, the son he delights in.(P)
Wisdom Brings Happiness
13 Happy is a man who finds wisdom(Q)
and who acquires understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver,
and her revenue is better than gold.(R)
15 She is more precious than jewels;(S)
nothing you desire compares with her.(T)
16 Long life[d] is in her right hand;
in her left, riches and honor.(U)
17 Her ways are pleasant,(V)
and all her paths, peaceful.
18 She is a tree of life(W) to those who embrace her,
and those who hold on to her are happy.
19 The Lord founded the earth by wisdom(X)
and established the heavens by understanding.
20 By His knowledge the watery depths broke open,(Y)
and the clouds dripped with dew.(Z)
21 Maintain your competence and discretion.
My son, don’t lose sight of them.(AA)
22 They will be life for you[e][f](AB)
and adornment[g] for your neck.
23 Then you will go safely on your way;
your foot will not stumble.(AC)
24 When you lie[h] down, you will not be afraid;(AD)
you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.
25 Don’t fear sudden danger
or the ruin of the wicked when it comes,(AE)
26 for the Lord will be your confidence[i]
and will keep your foot from a snare.(AF)
Treat Others Fairly
27 When it is in your power,[j]
don’t withhold good(AG) from the one it belongs to.
28 Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later.
I’ll give it tomorrow”—when it is there with you.(AH)
29 Don’t plan any harm against your neighbor,(AI)
for he trusts you and lives near you.
30 Don’t accuse anyone without cause,(AJ)
when he has done you no harm.
31 Don’t envy a violent man(AK)
or choose any of his ways;
32 for the devious are detestable to the Lord,
but He is a friend[k] to the upright.(AL)
33 The Lord’s curse is on the household of the wicked,(AM)
but He blesses the home of the righteous;
34 He mocks those who mock,
but gives grace to the humble.(AN)
35 The wise will inherit honor,
but He holds up fools to dishonor.[l]
A Father’s Example
4 Listen, my sons, to a father’s discipline,(AO)
and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,
2 for I am giving you good instruction.(AP)
Don’t abandon my teaching.
3 When I was a son with my father,
tender and precious to my mother,
4 he taught me and said:
“Your heart must hold on to my words.
Keep my commands and live.(AQ)
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;(AR)
don’t forget or turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you;
love her,(AS) and she will guard you.
7 Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom.
And whatever else you get, get understanding.(AT)
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
if you embrace her, she will honor you.(AU)
9 She will place a garland of grace on your head;
she will give you a crown of beauty.”(AV)
Two Ways of Life
10 Listen, my son. Accept my words,(AW)
and you will live many years.(AX)
11 I am teaching you the way of wisdom;
I am guiding you on straight paths.(AY)
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered;(AZ)
when you run, you will not stumble.(BA)
13 Hold on to instruction; don’t let go.(BB)
Guard it, for it is your life.
14 Don’t set foot on the path of the wicked;(BC)
don’t proceed in the way of evil ones.
15 Avoid it; don’t travel on it.
Turn away from it, and pass it by.
16 For they can’t sleep
unless they have done what is evil;
they are robbed of sleep
unless they make someone stumble.(BD)
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,(BE)
shining brighter and brighter until midday.
19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;(BF)
they don’t know what makes them stumble.(BG)
The Straight Path
20 My son, pay attention to my words;
listen closely to my sayings.(BH)
21 Don’t lose sight of them;(BI)
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Guard your heart above all else,[m]
for it is the source of life.(BJ)
24 Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly,(BK)
and don’t let your lips talk deviously.
25 Let your eyes look forward;
fix your gaze[n] straight ahead.(BL)
26 Carefully consider the path[o] for your feet,(BM)
and all your ways will be established.
27 Don’t turn to the right or to the left;(BN)
keep your feet away from evil.
Avoid Seduction
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
listen closely[p] to my understanding(BO)
2 so that you may maintain discretion
and your lips safeguard knowledge.(BP)
3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey
and her words are[q] smoother than oil,
4 in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood(BQ)
and as sharp as a double-edged sword.(BR)
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps head straight for Sheol.(BS)
6 She doesn’t consider the path of life;
she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.
7 So now, my sons, listen to me,
and don’t turn away from the words of my mouth.(BT)
8 Keep your way far from her.
Don’t go near the door of her house.(BU)
9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others
and your years to someone cruel;
10 strangers will drain your resources,
and your earnings will end up in a foreigner’s house.
11 At the end of your life, you will lament
when your physical body has been consumed,
12 and you will say, “How I hated discipline,
and how my heart despised correction.(BV)
13 I didn’t obey my teachers
or listen closely[r] to my mentors.
14 I am on the verge of complete ruin
before the entire community.”
Enjoy Marriage
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
water flowing from your own well.(BW)
16 Should your springs flow in the streets,
streams of water in the public squares?(BX)
17 They should be for you alone
and not for you to share with strangers.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
and take pleasure in the wife of your youth.(BY)
19 A loving doe, a graceful fawn—
let her breasts always satisfy you;(BZ)
be lost in her love forever.
20 Why, my son, would you be infatuated
with a forbidden woman
or embrace the breast of a stranger?(CA)
21 For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes,(CB)
and He considers all his paths.(CC)
22 A wicked man’s iniquities entrap him;(CD)
he is entangled in the ropes of his own sin.(CE)
23 He will die because there is no discipline,(CF)
and be lost because of his great stupidity.
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will,(A) and Timothy(B) our[a] brother:
To God’s church at Corinth,(C) with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.(D)
2 Grace to you and peace(E) from God our Father(F) and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The God of Comfort
3 Praise(G) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies(H) and the God of all comfort.(I) 4 He comforts us in all our affliction,[b] so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For as the sufferings(J) of Christ(K) overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows.(L) 6 If we are afflicted,(M) it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is experienced in your endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer.(N) 7 And our hope(O) for you is firm, because we know that as you share(P) in the sufferings, so you will share in the comfort.
8 For we don’t want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction that took place in Asia:(Q) we were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength(R)—so that we even despaired(S) of life. 9 Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God(T) who raises(U) the dead. 10 He has delivered(V) us from such a terrible death,(W) and He will deliver us. We have put our hope in Him that He will deliver us again 11 while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our[c] behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.
A Clear Conscience
12 For this is our confidence: The testimony(X) of our conscience(Y) is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with God-given sincerity and purity, not by fleshly[d] wisdom(Z) but by God’s grace.(AA) 13 Now we are writing nothing to you other than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely— 14 as you have partially understood us—that we are your reason for pride,(AB) as you are ours,(AC) in the day of our[e] Lord Jesus.(AD)
A Visit Postponed
15 I planned with this confidence to come to you first,(AE) so you could have a double benefit,[f] 16 and to go on to Macedonia(AF) with your help, then come to you again from Macedonia and be given a start by you(AG) on my journey(AH) to Judea.(AI) 17 So when I planned this, was I irresponsible? Or what I plan, do I plan in a purely human[g](AJ) way so that I say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” simultaneously? 18 As God is faithful,(AK) our message to you is not “Yes and no.” 19 For the Son of God,(AL) Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus[h](AM) and Timothy—did not become “Yes and no”; on the contrary, a final “Yes” has come in Him.(AN) 20 For every one of God’s promises(AO) is “Yes” in Him. Therefore, the “Amen”(AP) is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory.(AQ) 21 Now it is God who strengthens us, with you, in Christ and has anointed(AR) us. 22 He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment(AS) in our hearts.(AT)
23 I call on God as a witness,(AU) on my life, that it was to spare you that I did not come to Corinth.(AV) 24 I do not mean that we have control of[i] your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand(AW) by faith.
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