1 Thessalonians 1

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the ^(B)Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

^(C)Grace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians' Faith and Example

²^(D)We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly^[a] ^(E)mentioning you in our prayers, ³remembering before ^(F)our God and Father ^(G)your work of faith and labor of ^(H)love and ^(I)steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴For we know, ^(J)brothers^[b] loved by God, ^(K)that he has chosen you, ⁵because ^(L)our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and ^(M)in the Holy Spirit and with full ^(N)conviction. You know ^(O)what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶And ^(P)you became imitators of us ^(Q)and of the Lord, for ^(R)you received the word in much affliction, ^(S)with the ^(T)joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸For not only has the word of the Lord ^(U)sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth ^(V)everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹For they themselves report concerning us the kind of ^(W)reception we had among you, and how ^(X)you turned to God ^(Y)from idols to serve the living and ^(Z)true God, ¹⁰and ^(AA)to wait for his Son ^(AB)from heaven, ^(AC)whom he raised from the dead, Jesus ^(AD)who delivers us from ^(AE)the wrath to come.

Footnotes

1 Thessalonians 1:2 Or without ceasing
1 Thessalonians 1:4 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

Proverbs 12

English Standard Version

12 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but he who ^(A)hates reproof is ^(B)stupid.
²A good man ^(C)obtains favor from the Lord,
    but a man of evil devices he condemns.
³No one is established by wickedness,
    but the root of ^(D)the righteous will never be moved.
⁴^(E)An excellent wife is ^(F)the crown of her husband,
    but she who ^(G)brings shame is like ^(H)rottenness in his bones.
⁵^(I)The thoughts of the righteous are just;
    the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.
⁶The words of the wicked ^(J)lie in wait for blood,
    but ^(K)the mouth of the upright delivers them.
⁷^(L)The wicked are ^(M)overthrown and are no more,
    ^(N)but the house of the righteous will stand.
⁸A man is commended according to his good sense,
    but one of twisted mind is ^(O)despised.
⁹Better to be lowly and have a servant
    than to play the great man and lack bread.
¹⁰^(P)Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast,
    but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
¹¹^(Q)Whoever works his land ^(R)will have plenty of bread,
    ^(S)but he who follows ^(T)worthless pursuits lacks sense.
¹²Whoever is wicked covets ^(U)the spoil of evildoers,
    but the root of the righteous bears fruit.
¹³An evil man is ensnared ^(V)by the transgression of his lips,^[a]
    ^(W)but the righteous escapes from trouble.
¹⁴From the fruit of his mouth ^(X)a man is satisfied with good,
    ^(Y)and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.
¹⁵^(Z)The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
    but a wise man listens to advice.
¹⁶^(AA)The vexation of a fool is known at once,
    but the prudent ignores an insult.
¹⁷^(AB)Whoever speaks^[b] the truth gives honest evidence,
    but ^(AC)a false witness utters deceit.
¹⁸^(AD)There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
    but the tongue of the wise brings ^(AE)healing.
¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever,
    but ^(AF)a lying tongue is but for a moment.
²⁰Deceit is in the heart of ^(AG)those who devise evil,
    but those who plan peace have joy.
²¹^(AH)No ill befalls the righteous,
    but the wicked are filled with trouble.
²²^(AI)Lying lips are ^(AJ)an abomination to the Lord,
    ^(AK)but those who act faithfully are his delight.
²³^(AL)A prudent man conceals knowledge,
    ^(AM)but the heart of fools proclaims folly.
²⁴^(AN)The hand of the diligent will rule,
    while the slothful will be ^(AO)put to forced labor.
²⁵^(AP)Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down,
    but a good word makes him glad.
²⁶One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor,^[c]
    but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
²⁷^(AQ)Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,
    but the diligent man will get precious wealth.^[d]
²⁸^(AR)In the path of righteousness is life,
    and in its pathway there is no death.

Footnotes

Proverbs 12:13 Or In the transgression of the lips, there is an evil snare
Proverbs 12:17 Hebrew breathes out
Proverbs 12:26 Or The righteous chooses his friends carefully
Proverbs 12:27 Or but diligence is precious wealth

Isaiah 25-26

English Standard Version

God Will Swallow Up Death Forever

25 O Lord, ^(A)you are my God;
    ^(B)I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
    ^(C)plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
²For you have made the city ^(D)a heap,
    the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
³^(E)Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
⁴^(F)For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
    ^(G)a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
^(H)for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
⁵    ^(I)like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
    as heat by the shade of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is put down.

⁶^(J)On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
    ^(K)of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
⁷And he will swallow up ^(L)on this mountain
    the covering that is cast over all peoples,
    ^(M)the veil that is spread over all nations.
⁸    ^(N)He will swallow up death forever;
and ^(O)the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
    and ^(P)the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
    ^(Q)for the Lord has spoken.
⁹It will be said on that day,
    “Behold, this is our God; ^(R)we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    ^(S)let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
¹⁰For the hand of the Lord will rest ^(T)on this mountain,
    and ^(U)Moab shall be trampled down in his place,
    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.^[a]
¹¹^(V)And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it
    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,
    but the Lord ^(W)will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill^[b] of his hands.
¹²And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,
    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust.

You Keep Him in Perfect Peace

26 In that day ^(X)this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
    he sets up ^(Y)salvation
    as walls and bulwarks.
²^(Z)Open the gates,
    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
³^(AA)You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.
⁴Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
⁵^(AB)For he has humbled
    the inhabitants of the height,
    the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
    casts it to the dust.
⁶The foot tramples it,
    the feet of ^(AC)the poor,
    the steps of ^(AD)the needy.”

⁷The path of the righteous is level;
    ^(AE)you make level the way of the righteous.
⁸In the path of your judgments,
    O Lord, we wait for you;
^(AF)your name and ^(AG)remembrance
    are the desire of our soul.
⁹My soul yearns for you in the night;
    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
^(AH)For when your judgments are in the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
¹⁰^(AI)If favor is shown to the wicked,
    he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
    and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹O Lord, ^(AJ)your hand is lifted up,
    but ^(AK)they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
    Let ^(AL)the fire for your adversaries consume them.
¹²O Lord, you will ordain ^(AM)peace for us,
    for you have indeed done for us all our works.
¹³O Lord our God,
    ^(AN)other lords besides you have ruled over us,
    ^(AO)but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
¹⁴They are dead, they will not live;
    they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end you have visited them with destruction
    and wiped out all remembrance of them.
¹⁵^(AP)But you have increased the nation, O Lord,
    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
    ^(AQ)you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

¹⁶O Lord, ^(AR)in distress they sought you;
    they poured out a whispered prayer
    when your discipline was upon them.
¹⁷^(AS)Like a pregnant woman
    who writhes and cries out in her pangs
    when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O Lord;
¹⁸    ^(AT)we were pregnant, we writhed,
    but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
¹⁹^(AU)Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For ^(AV)your dew is a dew of light,
    and the earth will give birth to the dead.

²⁰Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves ^(AW)for a little while
    until the fury has passed by.
²¹^(AX)For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place
    to punish the inhabitants of ^(AY)the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
    and will no more cover its slain.