1 Timothy 4

New American Standard Bible

Abandonment of Faith

4 But ^(A)the Spirit explicitly says that ^(B)in later times some will ^[a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to ^(C)deceitful spirits and ^(D)teachings of demons, ²by means of the hypocrisy of liars ^(E)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, ³who ^(F)forbid marriage and advocate ^(G)abstaining from foods which ^(H)God has created to be ^(I)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴For ^(J)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is ^(K)received with gratitude; ⁵for it is sanctified by means of ^(L)the word of God and prayer.

A Good Minister’s Discipline

⁶In pointing out these things to ^(M)the brothers and sisters, you will be a good ^(N)servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the ^(O)good doctrine which you ^(P)have been following. ⁷But ^[b]stay away from ^(Q)worthless ^(R)stories that are typical of old women. Rather, ^[c]discipline yourself for the purpose of ^(S)godliness; ⁸for ^(T)bodily training is just slightly beneficial, but ^(U)godliness is beneficial for all things, since it ^(V)holds promise for the ^(W)present life and also for the life to come. ⁹^(X)It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. ¹⁰For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have set ^(Y)our hope on ^(Z)the living God, who is ^(AA)the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers.

¹¹^[d]^(AB)Prescribe and teach these things. ¹²^(AC)Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, ^(AD)love, faith, and purity, show yourself ^(AE)an example ^[e]of those who believe. ¹³^(AF)Until I come, give your attention to the public ^[f]^(AG)reading, to exhortation, and teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was granted to you through words of ^(AH)prophecy with ^(AI)the laying on of hands by the ^[g]^(AJ)council of elders. ¹⁵Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. ¹⁶^(AK)Pay close attention to yourself and to the teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ^(AL)save both yourself and those who hear you.

Footnotes

1 Timothy 4:1 I.e., apostatize
1 Timothy 4:7 Or reject
1 Timothy 4:7 Or train
1 Timothy 4:11 Or Keep commanding and teaching
1 Timothy 4:12 Or to
1 Timothy 4:13 I.e., of Scripture in the church service
1 Timothy 4:14 Or board of elders

Proverbs 23

New American Standard Bible

On Life and Conduct

23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Consider carefully ^[a]what is before you,
²And put a knife to your throat
If you are a ^(A)person of great appetite.
³Do not ^(B)desire his delicacies,
For it is deceptive food.

⁴^(C)Do not weary yourself to gain wealth;
^[b]^(D)Stop dwelling on it.
⁵^[c]When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For ^(E)wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.

⁶^(F)Do not eat the bread of ^[d]a ^(G)selfish person;
Or desire his delicacies;
⁷For as he ^[e]thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, “Eat and drink!”
But ^(H)his heart is not with you.
⁸You will ^(I)vomit up ^[f]the morsel you have eaten
And waste your ^[g]compliments.

⁹^(J)Do not speak ^[h]to be heard by a fool,
For he will ^(K)despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰Do not move the ancient boundary
Or ^(L)go into the fields of the fatherless,
¹¹For their ^(M)Redeemer is strong;
^(N)He will plead their case against you.
¹²Apply your heart to discipline,
And your ears to words of knowledge.

¹³^(O)Do not withhold discipline from a child;
Though you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
¹⁴You shall strike him with the rod
And ^(P)rescue his soul from Sheol.

¹⁵My son, if your heart is ^(Q)wise,
My own heart also will be glad,
¹⁶And my ^[i]innermost being will rejoice
When your lips speak ^(R)what is right.

¹⁷^(S)Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in ^[j]the ^(T)fear of the Lord ^[k]always.
¹⁸Certainly there is a ^[l]^(U)future,
And your ^(V)hope will not be cut off.
¹⁹Listen, my son, and ^(W)be wise,
And ^(X)direct your heart in the way.
²⁰Do not be with ^(Y)heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with ^(Z)gluttonous eaters of meat;
²¹For the ^(AA)heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And ^(AB)drowsiness will clothe one with rags.

²²^(AC)Listen to your father, who fathered you,
And ^(AD)do not despise your mother when she is old.
²³^(AE)Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And ^(AF)he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
²⁵Let your ^(AG)father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.

²⁶^(AH)Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes ^[m]^(AI)delight in my ways.
²⁷For a prostitute is a ^(AJ)deep pit,
And a ^[n]^(AK)strange woman is a narrow well.
²⁸Certainly she ^(AL)lurks as a robber,
And increases the treacherous among mankind.

²⁹Who has ^(AM)woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has red eyes?
³⁰Those who ^(AN)linger long over wine,
Those who go to ^[o]taste ^(AO)mixed wine.
³¹Do not look at wine when it is red,
When it ^[p]sparkles in the cup,
When it ^(AP)goes down smoothly;
³²In the end it ^(AQ)bites like a snake
And stings like a ^(AR)viper.
³³Your eyes will see strange things
And your ^[q]mind will ^(AS)say perverse things.
³⁴And you will be like one who lies down in the ^[r]middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a ^[s]mast.
³⁵“They ^(AT)struck me, but I did not become ^[t]ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When will I awake?
I will ^(AU)seek ^[u]another drink.”

Footnotes

Proverbs 23:1 Or who
Proverbs 23:4 Lit Refrain from your understanding of it
Proverbs 23:5 Lit Will your eyes fly upon it and it is not?
Proverbs 23:6 Lit an evil eye
Proverbs 23:7 Lit reckons in his soul
Proverbs 23:8 Lit your
Proverbs 23:8 Lit pleasant words
Proverbs 23:9 Lit in the ears of a
Proverbs 23:16 Lit kidneys
Proverbs 23:17 Or reverence for
Proverbs 23:17 Lit all the day
Proverbs 23:18 Lit latter end
Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is observe
Proverbs 23:27 Lit foreign
Proverbs 23:30 Or search out
Proverbs 23:31 Lit gives its eye
Proverbs 23:33 Lit heart
Proverbs 23:34 Lit heart
Proverbs 23:34 Or lookout
Proverbs 23:35 I.e., from the effect of wounds
Proverbs 23:35 Lit it yet again

Isaiah 55-56

New American Standard Bible

The Free Offer of Mercy

55 “^[a]You there! Everyone who ^(A)thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have ^(B)no ^[b]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy ^(C)wine and milk
^(D)Without money and without cost.
²Why do you ^[c]spend money for what is ^(E)not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and ^(F)eat what is good,
And ^(G)delight yourself in abundance.
³^(H)Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that ^[d]you may ^(I)live;
And I will make ^(J)an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the ^(K)faithful mercies ^[e]shown to David.
⁴Behold, I have made ^(L)him a witness to the peoples,
A ^(M)leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵Behold, you will call a ^(N)nation you do not know,
And a nation which does not know you will ^(O)run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel;
For He has ^(P)glorified you.”

⁶^(Q)Seek the Lord while He may be found;
^(R)Call upon Him while He is near.
⁷^(S)Let the wicked abandon his way,
And the unrighteous person his ^(T)thoughts;
And let him ^(U)return to the Lord,
And He will have ^(V)compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will ^(W)abundantly pardon.
⁸“For My thoughts are not ^(X)your thoughts,
Nor are ^(Y)your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
⁹“For ^(Z)as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰For as the ^(AA)rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it produce and sprout,
And providing ^(AB)seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
¹¹So will My ^(AC)word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will ^(AD)not return to Me empty,
Without ^(AE)accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.
¹²For you will go out with ^(AF)joy
And be led in ^(AG)peace;
The ^(AH)mountains and the hills will break into shouts of joy before you,
And all the ^(AI)trees of the field will clap their hands.
¹³Instead of the ^(AJ)thorn bush, the ^(AK)juniper will come up,
And instead of the ^(AL)stinging nettle, the myrtle will come up;
And ^[f]it will be a ^[g]^(AM)memorial to the Lord,
An everlasting ^(AN)sign which ^(AO)will not be eliminated.”

Rewards for Obedience to God

56 This is what the Lord says:
“^(AP)Guard justice and do righteousness,
For My ^(AQ)salvation is about to come
And My righteousness to be revealed.
²^(AR)Blessed is a man who does this,
And a son of man who ^(AS)takes hold of it;
Who ^(AT)keeps from profaning the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
³Let not the ^(AU)foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will certainly separate me from His people.”
Nor let the ^(AV)eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
⁴For this is what the Lord says:
“To the eunuchs who ^(AW)keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And ^(AX)hold firmly to My covenant,
⁵To them I will give in My ^(AY)house and within My ^(AZ)walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give ^[h]them an everlasting ^(BA)name which ^(BB)will not be eliminated.

⁶“Also the ^(BC)foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
To attend to His service and to love the name of the Lord,
To be His servants, every one who ^(BD)keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it,
And holds firmly to My covenant;
⁷Even ^(BE)those I will bring to My ^(BF)holy mountain,
And ^(BG)make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on ^(BH)My altar;
For ^(BI)My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
⁸The Lord ^[i]God, who ^(BJ)gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
“I will yet gather ^(BK)others to ^[j]them, to those already gathered.”

⁹All you ^[k]^(BL)wild animals,
All you animals in the forest,
Come to eat.
¹⁰His ^(BM)watchmen are ^(BN)blind,
All of them know nothing.
All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,
Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;
¹¹And the dogs are ^[l]^(BO)greedy, they ^[m]are never satisfied.
And they are shepherds who have ^(BP)no understanding;
They have all ^(BQ)turned to their own way,
Each one to his unjust gain, ^[n]without exception.
¹²“Come,” they say, “^[o]let’s get ^(BR)wine, and let’s drink heavily of intoxicating drink;
And ^(BS)tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”