Colossians 4
New American Standard Bible
4 Masters, grant your slaves justice and fairness, (A)knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
2 (B)Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time (C)for us as well, that God will open up to us a (D)door for (E)the word, so that we may proclaim (F)the mystery of Christ, for which I have also (G)been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear (H)in the way that I ought to proclaim it.
5 [a](I)Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward (J)outsiders, [b](K)making the most of the opportunity. 6 (L)Your speech must always be [c]with grace, as though seasoned with (M)salt, so that you will know how you should (N)respond to each person.
7 (O)As to all my affairs, (P)Tychicus, our (Q)beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8 (R)For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may (S)encourage your hearts; 9 [d]and with him is (T)Onesimus, our faithful and (U)beloved brother, (V)who is one of your own. They will inform you about the whole situation here.
10 (W)Aristarchus, my (X)fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also (Y)Barnabas’ cousin Mark (about whom you received [e]instructions; (Z)if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only (AA)fellow workers for the kingdom of God (AB)who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me. 12 (AC)Epaphras, (AD)who is one of your own, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always (AE)striving earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may [f]stand [g](AF)mature and [h]fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify for him that he has [i]a deep concern for you and for those who are in (AG)Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 (AH)Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and (AI)Demas does also. 15 Greet the brothers and sisters who are in (AJ)Laodicea and also [j]Nympha and (AK)the church that is in [k]her house. 16 (AL)When [l]this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part, (AM)read [m]my letter that is coming from (AN)Laodicea. 17 Tell (AO)Archippus, “See to the (AP)ministry which you have received in the Lord, so that you may [n]fulfill it.”
18 [o]I, Paul, (AQ)write this greeting with my own hand. (AR)Remember my [p](AS)imprisonment. (AT)Grace be with you.
Footnotes
- Colossians 4:5 Lit Walk
- Colossians 4:5 Lit redeeming the time
- Colossians 4:6 Or gracious
- Colossians 4:9 Lit along with Onesimus
- Colossians 4:10 Or orders
- Colossians 4:12 Or stand firm
- Colossians 4:12 Or fully developed
- Colossians 4:12 Or made complete
- Colossians 4:13 Or much toil; or great pain
- Colossians 4:15 Or Nymphas (masc)
- Colossians 4:15 One early ms their
- Colossians 4:16 Lit the
- Colossians 4:16 Lit the
- Colossians 4:17 Or continually fulfill
- Colossians 4:18 Lit The greeting by my hand of Paul
- Colossians 4:18 Lit bonds
Proverbs 11
New American Standard Bible
Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked
11 A (A)false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
But a (B)just weight is His delight.
2 When (C)pride comes, then comes dishonor;
But with the humble there is wisdom.
3 The (D)integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the (E)perversity of the treacherous will destroy them.
4 (F)Riches do not benefit on the day of wrath,
But (G)righteousness rescues from death.
5 The (H)righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But (I)the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will rescue them,
But the treacherous will (J)be caught by their own greed.
7 When a wicked person dies, his (K)expectation will perish,
And the (L)hope of strong people perishes.
8 The righteous is rescued from trouble,
But the wicked [a]takes his place.
9 With his (M)mouth the godless person destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the (N)righteous will be rescued.
10 When things (O)go well for the righteous, the city rejoices,
And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
But by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down.
12 One who despises his neighbor lacks [b]sense,
But a person of understanding keeps silent.
13 One (P)who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
But one who is [c]trustworthy (Q)conceals a matter.
14 Where there is no (R)guidance the people fall,
But in an abundance of counselors there is [d]victory.
15 One who is a (S)guarantor for a stranger will certainly suffer for it,
But one who hates [e]being a guarantor is secure.
16 A (T)gracious woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain riches.
17 A (U)merciful person does [f]himself good,
But the cruel person [g]does himself harm.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
But one who (V)sows righteousness gets a true reward.
19 One who is steadfast in (W)righteousness attains life,
But (X)one who pursues evil attains his own death.
20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the (Y)blameless in their [h]walk are His (Z)delight.
21 [i]Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished,
But the [j]descendants of the righteous will be rescued.
22 As a (AA)ring of gold in a pig’s snout
So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the (AB)expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in poverty.
25 A [k](AC)generous person will be [l]prosperous,
And one who (AD)gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.
26 One who withholds grain, the (AE)people will curse him,
But (AF)blessing will be on the head of him who (AG)sells it.
27 One who diligently seeks good seeks favor,
But (AH)one who seeks evil, evil will come to him.
28 One who (AI)trusts in his riches will fall,
But (AJ)the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.
29 One who (AK)troubles his own house will (AL)inherit wind,
And (AM)the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.
30 The fruit of the righteous is (AN)a tree of life,
And (AO)one who is wise [m]gains souls.
31 If (AP)the righteous will be repaid on the earth,
How much more the wicked and the sinner!
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:8 Lit enters
- Proverbs 11:12 Lit heart
- Proverbs 11:13 Lit faithful of spirit
- Proverbs 11:14 Lit deliverance
- Proverbs 11:15 Lit those who strike hands
- Proverbs 11:17 Lit his soul
- Proverbs 11:17 Lit ruins his flesh
- Proverbs 11:20 Lit way
- Proverbs 11:21 Lit Hand to hand
- Proverbs 11:21 Lit seed
- Proverbs 11:25 Lit soul of blessing
- Proverbs 11:25 Lit made fat
- Proverbs 11:30 Lit takes
Isaiah 23-24
New American Standard Bible
The Fall of Tyre
23 The pronouncement concerning (A)Tyre:
Wail, you (B)ships of (C)Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house or [a](D)harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of [b](E)Cyprus.
2 (F)Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
[c]Your messengers crossed the sea
3 And were on many waters.
(G)The grain of the [d](H)Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue;
And she was the (I)market of nations.
4 Be ashamed, (J)Sidon,
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth,
I have neither brought up young men nor raised virgins.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in (K)anguish over the report of Tyre.
6 Pass over to (L)Tarshish;
Wail, you inhabitants of the coastland.
7 Is this your (M)jubilant city,
Whose origin is from antiquity,
Whose feet used to bring her to [e]colonize distant places?
8 Who has planned this against Tyre, (N)the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 (O)The Lord of armies has planned it, to (P)defile the pride of all beauty,
To despise all the (Q)honored of the earth.
10 [f]Overflow your land like the Nile, you daughter of Tarshish,
There is no more [g]restraint.
11 He has (R)stretched His hand out (S)over the sea,
He has (T)made the kingdoms tremble;
The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to (U)demolish its strongholds.
12 He has said, “(V)You shall not be jubilant anymore, you crushed virgin daughter of Sidon.
Arise, pass over to [h](W)Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”
13 Behold, the land of the Chaldeans—this is the people that did not exist; (X)Assyria allocated it for (Y)desert creatures—they erected their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, (Z)they made it a ruin.
14 Wail, you (AA)ships of Tarshish,
For your stronghold is destroyed.
15 Now on that day Tyre will be forgotten for (AB)seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 Take your harp, wander around the city,
You forgotten prostitute;
Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.
17 It will come about at (AC)the end of seventy years that the Lord will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her prostitute’s wages and (AD)commit prostitution with all the kingdoms [i]on the face of the earth. 18 Her (AE)profit and her prostitute’s wages will be (AF)sacred to the Lord; it will not be stored up or hoarded, but her profit will become sufficient food and magnificent attire for those who dwell in the presence of the Lord.
Judgment on the Earth
24 Behold, the Lord (AG)lays the earth waste, devastates it, twists its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. 2 And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the female servant like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the (AH)creditor like the debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and completely plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. 4 The (AI)earth dries up and crumbles away, the mainland dries out and crumbles away, the (AJ)exalted of the people of the earth dwindle. 5 The earth is also (AK)defiled [j]by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and (AL)broke the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore, a (AM)curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the (AN)inhabitants of the earth decrease in number, and few people are left.
7 The (AO)new wine mourns,
The vine decays,
All the joyful-hearted sigh.
8 The (AP)joy of tambourines ceases,
The noise of revelers stops,
The joy of the harp ceases.
9 They do not drink wine with song;
(AQ)Intoxicating drink is (AR)bitter to those who drink it.
10 The (AS)city of chaos is broken down;
(AT)Every house is shut up so that no one may enter.
11 There is an (AU)outcry in the streets concerning the wine;
(AV)All joy [k]turns to gloom.
The joy of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city
And the (AW)gate is battered to ruins.
13 For (AX)so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,
As the [l]shaking of an olive tree,
As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.
14 (AY)They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
They cry out from the [m]west concerning the majesty of the Lord.
15 Therefore (AZ)glorify the Lord in the [n]east,
The (BA)name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
In the [o](BB)coastlands of the sea.
16 From the (BC)ends of the earth we hear songs: “(BD)Glory to the Righteous One,”
But I say, “[p]I am finished! I am finished! Woe to me!
The (BE)treacherous deal treacherously,
And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
17 (BF)Terror and pit and snare
[q]Confront you, you inhabitant of the earth.
18 Then it will be that the one who flees the sound of terror will fall into the pit,
And the one who [r]climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the (BG)windows [s]above are opened, and the (BH)foundations of the earth shake.
19 (BI)The earth is broken apart,
The earth is (BJ)split through,
The earth is shaken violently.
20 The earth (BK)trembles like a heavy drinker
And sways like a hut,
For its (BL)wrongdoing is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, (BM)never to rise again.
21 So it will happen on that day,
That the Lord will (BN)punish the rebellious [t](BO)angels of [u]heaven on high,
And the (BP)kings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together
Like (BQ)prisoners in the [v]dungeon,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will (BR)be punished.
23 Then the (BS)moon will be ashamed and the sun be put to shame,
For the (BT)Lord of armies will reign on (BU)Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory will be before His elders.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:1 Lit entering
- Isaiah 23:1 Heb Kittim
- Isaiah 23:2 As in DSS; MT Who passed over the sea, they replenished you
- Isaiah 23:3 Heb Shihor
- Isaiah 23:7 Lit sojourn afar off
- Isaiah 23:10 Lit Pass over
- Isaiah 23:10 Perhaps girdle or shipyard
- Isaiah 23:12 Heb Kittim
- Isaiah 23:17 Lit of the earth on the face of the land
- Isaiah 24:5 Lit under
- Isaiah 24:11 Lit is darkened
- Isaiah 24:13 Lit striking
- Isaiah 24:14 Lit sea
- Isaiah 24:15 Lit region of light
- Isaiah 24:15 Or islands
- Isaiah 24:16 Meaning uncertain
- Isaiah 24:17 Lit Are upon you
- Isaiah 24:18 Lit goes up from the midst of
- Isaiah 24:18 Lit from the height; i.e., heaven
- Isaiah 24:21 Lit host
- Isaiah 24:21 Lit the height in the height
- Isaiah 24:22 Lit pit
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
