Old/New Testament
Wise Words from Agur
30 These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh [C an otherwise unknown wise man].
·This is his message to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal [or The utterance of the man, “I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and I am exhausted; C unclear whether these are proper names or verbs]:
2 “I am ·the most stupid person there is [a dullard/brute more than a human; Ps. 73:22],
and I have no understanding.
3 I have not learned to be wise,
and I don’t know much about ·God, the Holy One [or the holy ones; C a reference to angels].
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come back down [John 3:12–13]?
Who can hold the wind ·in his hand [or by the handful; Gen. 8:1; Ex. 10:13; 15:10; Num. 11:31; Amos 4:13]?
Who can gather up the waters in his coat [Job 26:8]?
Who has set in place the ends of the earth [8:27–29]?
What is his name or his son’s name?
Tell me, if you know!
5 “Every word of God ·is true [passes the test; L is refined; 2 Sam. 22:31; Ps. 18:30].
·He guards those [L They are a shield to those] who come to him for ·safety [refuge].
6 Do not add to his words [Deut. 4:2; 12:32],
or he will correct you and prove you are a liar.
7 “I ask two things from you, Lord.
Don’t ·refuse [withhold them from] me before I die.
8 Keep me from lying and ·being dishonest [fraud].
And don’t make me either rich or poor;
just give me enough food for each day [Matt. 6:11; 1 Tim. 6:8].
9 If I ·have too much [am sated/satisfied], I might ·reject [deny] you
and say, ‘·I don’t know the Lord [L Who is the Lord?]’
If I am poor, I might steal
and ·disgrace [profane] the name of my God.
10 “Do not ·say bad things about [slander] servants to their masters,
or they will curse you, and you will suffer for it [Eccl. 7:21–22].
11 “Some people curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers [Ex. 20:12; 21:17].
12 Some people think they are pure,
but they ·are not really free from evil [L have not cleaned off their own excrement; Deut. 23:12–14].
13 Some people have such ·a proud look [haughty eyes]!
They ·look down on others [L raise their eyebrows; Ps. 131].
14 Some people have teeth like swords;
their jaws ·seem full of knives [are a butcher’s knife; C their words hurt people].
They want to ·remove [L consume] the poor from the earth
and the needy from the ·land [or humanity].
15 “·Greed [L The leech] has two daughters
named ‘Give’ and ‘Give.’
There are three things that are never satisfied,
really four that never say, ‘I’ve had enough!’:
16 the ·cemetery [grave; Sheol], the ·childless mother [L barren womb],
the land that never gets enough rain,
and fire that never says, ‘I’ve had enough!’
17 “·If you make fun of your [L An eye that ridicules one’s] father
and ·refuse to obey your [L despises the teaching of one’s] mother,
the ·birds [L ravens] of the ·valley [wadi] will peck out your eyes,
and the ·vultures [or young eagles] will eat them.
18 “There are three things that are too ·hard [wonderful] for me,
really four I don’t understand:
19 the way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way a snake slides over a rock,
the way a ship sails on the sea,
and the way a man and a woman ·fall in [or make] love.
20 “This is the way of a woman who takes part in adultery:
She acts as if she had eaten and washed her face;
she says, ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’
21 “There are three things that make the earth tremble,
really four it cannot ·stand [bear]:
22 a servant who becomes a king [Eccl. 10:5–7],
a foolish person who has plenty to eat,
23 a ·hated [unloved] woman who gets married,
and a maid who ·replaces [displaces; succeeds] her mistress [Gen. 16:4].
24 “There are four things on earth that are small,
but they are very wise:
25 Ants are not very strong,
but they ·store up [have] food in the summer.
26 ·Rock badgers [or Coneys] are not very powerful,
but they can live among the ·rocks [crags].
27 Locusts have no king,
but they ·all go forward in formation [advance together in ranks].
28 Lizards can be caught in the hand,
but they are found even in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that ·strut proudly [L are excellent in gait],
really four that ·walk as if they were important [L are excellent as they walk]:
30 a lion, ·the proudest animal [or a warrior among beasts],
which ·is strong and runs from nothing [backs down from nothing],
31 a rooster, a male goat,
and a king when his army is around him.
32 “If you have been foolish and proud,
or if you have planned evil, ·shut [L put your hand to] your mouth [Job 40:2].
33 Just as ·stirring [L pressing] milk makes ·butter [curds],
and ·twisting [L pressing] noses makes ·them bleed [blood],
so ·stirring up [L pressing] anger ·causes trouble [leads to accusations].”
Wise Words of King Lemuel
31 These are the words of King Lemuel [C an otherwise unknown wise man], the message his mother taught him:
2 “·My son, I gave birth to you.
You are the son I prayed for
[L What, my son?
What, son of my womb?
What, son of my vow?].
3 Don’t waste your strength on women
or your ·time [ways] on those who ·ruin [wipe out; destroy] kings.
4 “Kings should not drink wine, Lemuel,
and rulers should not ·desire [crave] ·beer [T strong drink; C alcoholic beverage made from grain; 20:1; 23:19–21, 29–35].
5 If they drink, they might forget the ·law [decrees]
and ·keep the needy from getting their rights [violate the rights of the needy].
6 Give ·beer [T strong drink; v. 4] to people who are ·dying [perishing]
and wine to those ·who are sad [who have bitter hearts].
7 Let them drink and forget their ·need [poverty]
and remember their ·misery [or hard work] no more [Eccl. 2:24–26; 3:12–14, 22; 5:18–20; 8:15; 9:7–10].
8 “·Speak up [L Open your mouth] for those who cannot speak for themselves;
defend the rights of ·all those who have nothing [vulnerable/fragile people].
9 ·Speak up [L Open your mouth] and judge ·fairly [with righteousness],
and defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
The Good Wife
10 ·It is hard to [L Who can…?] find a ·good [noble; virtuous] wife [Ruth 3:11],
because she is worth more than ·rubies [or pearls].
11 Her husband ·trusts her completely [entrusts his heart to her].
With her, he ·has everything he needs [L lacks no plunder; C a military image].
12 She ·does [brings] him good and not ·harm [trouble; evil]
·for as long as she lives [L all the days of her life].
13 She ·looks for [goes out to find] wool and flax
and likes to work with her hands.
14 She is like a ·trader’s [merchant] ship,
bringing food from far away.
15 She gets up while it is still ·dark [night]
and ·prepares food for [L gives prey to] her family
and ·feeds [L a portion to] her servant girls.
16 She ·inspects [surveys] a field and ·buys it [takes it over].
With ·money she earned [L the fruits of her hands], she plants a vineyard.
17 ·She does her work with energy [L Her loins are girded with strength],
and her arms are strong.
18 She knows that ·what she makes is good [or her trading is successful].
Her lamp ·burns late into the [L she does not extinguish at] night.
19 She ·makes thread with her hands [L sends her hands to the distaff]
and ·weaves her own cloth [L her palms hold the spindle tightly].
20 She ·welcomes [L stretches her palm to] the poor
and ·helps [L sends her hands to] the needy.
21 She ·does not worry about [is not afraid for] her family when it snows,
because they all have fine clothes to keep them warm.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothes are made of linen [C from Egypt] and ·other expensive material [L purple].
23 Her husband is known at the city ·meetings [L gates; C the place where city leaders meet],
where he ·makes decisions as one of [L sits with] the ·leaders [L elders] of the land.
24 She makes ·linen clothes [garments] and sells them
and ·provides [supplies] ·belts [sashes] to the merchants.
25 ·She is strong and is respected by the people [L Strength and dignity/honor are her clothing].
She ·looks forward to the future with joy [L laughs at the future; C she is not anxious].
26 She ·speaks wise words [L opens her mouth with wisdom]
and ·teaches others to be kind [L loving instruction is on her tongue].
27 She ·watches over her family [L is a lookout point for the doings of her household]
and ·never wastes her time [L does not eat the bread/food of laziness].
28 Her children ·speak well of [L rise up and bless] her.
Her husband also praises her,
29 saying, “·There are many fine women [L Many daughters act nobly],
but you ·are better than [surpass] all of them.”
30 Charm ·can fool you [is deceptive], and beauty ·can trick you [is meaningless; or fleeting],
but a woman who ·respects [fears] the Lord [1:7] should be praised.
31 Give her the ·reward she has earned [L fruit of her hands];
she should be praised in ·public [the gates; 31:23] for what she has done.
Paul and the False Apostles
11 I wish you would be patient with me even ·when I am a little foolish [in a little foolishness], but you are already doing that. 2 [L For] I am jealous over you with a ·jealousy that comes from God [or godly jealousy]. I promised to give you to Christ, as your only husband. I want to give you as his pure ·bride [L virgin]. 3 But I am afraid that your minds will be ·led away [or corrupted] from your ·true [sincere] and pure following of Christ just as Eve was ·tricked [deceived] by the ·snake [serpent] with his ·evil ways [cunning; craftiness; Gen. 3:1–6]. 4 You ·are very patient with [willingly put up with; gladly tolerate] anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus from the one we preached. You are very willing to accept a spirit that is different from the Spirit you received, or a gospel that is different from the one you ·accepted [or received from us].
5 I do not think that those “·great [super-] apostles” are any better than I am. 6 I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.
7 Was it ·wrong [a sin] for me to ·humble [lower] myself and ·honor [exalt; lift up] you by preaching God’s ·Good News [Gospel] to you without pay? 8 I accepted pay from other churches, ·taking their money [L “robbing” them] so I could serve you. 9 If I needed something when I was with you, I did not ·trouble [burden] any of you. The brothers who came from Macedonia gave me all that I needed. I did not allow myself to ·depend on [become a burden to] you in any way, and I will ·never depend on you [L keep doing this]. 10 No one in Achaia [C southern Greece; 1:1] will stop me from ·bragging [boasting] about that. ·I say this with the truth of Christ in me [or By Christ’s truth in me! C a strong vow or oath]. 11 ·And why do I not depend on you [L Why]? Do you think it is because I do not love you? ·God knows that I love you [L God knows!].
12 And I will continue doing what I am doing now, because I want to stop those people from having a reason to ·brag [boast]. They ·would like [are looking for an opportunity] to say that the work they ·brag [boast] about is ·the same as [equal to] ours. 13 Such men are ·not true apostles [false apostles; pseudo-apostles] but are ·workers who lie [deceitful workers]. ·They change themselves to look like […disguising themselves as; …masquerading as] apostles of Christ. 14 ·This does not surprise us [And no wonder, since…]. Even Satan ·changes himself to look like [disguises himself as; masquerades as] an ·angel [messenger] of light [C trying to fool people into thinking he is from God, who is pure light]. 15 So it does not surprise us if Satan’s servants also ·make themselves look like [masquerade as] servants ·who work for what is right [of righteousness]. But ·in the end they will be punished for what they do [L their end will match their deeds].
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