Proverbs 4-6
New American Standard Bible
A Father’s Instruction
4 Listen, my sons, to the (A)instruction of a father,
And (B)pay attention so that you may [a]gain understanding,
2 For I give you good (C)teaching;
(D)Do not abandon my [b]instruction.
3 When I was a son to my father,
(E)Tender and (F)the only son in the sight of my mother,
4 He (G)taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart (H)take hold of my words;
(I)Keep my commandments and live;
5 (J)Acquire wisdom! (K)Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not abandon her, and she will guard you;
(L)Love her, and she will watch over you.
7 (M)The [c]beginning of wisdom is: (N)Acquire wisdom;
And with all your possessions, acquire understanding.
8 (O)Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will place (P)on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”
10 Listen, my son, and (Q)accept my sayings,
And the (R)years of your life will be many.
11 I have (S)instructed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
12 When you walk, your (T)steps will not be hampered;
And if you run, you (U)will not stumble.
13 (V)Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your (W)life.
14 (X)Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil people.
15 Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they (Y)cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And [d]they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
17 For they (Z)eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the (AA)path of the righteous is like the (AB)light of dawn
That (AC)shines brighter and brighter until the (AD)full day.
19 The (AE)way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they [e](AF)stumble.
20 My son, (AG)pay attention to my words;
(AH)Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 (AI)They are not to escape from your sight;
(AJ)Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are (AK)life to those who find them,
And (AL)healing to all [f]their body.
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For (AM)from it flow the springs of life.
24 Rid yourself of a (AN)deceitful mouth
And (AO)keep devious [g]speech far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your [h]gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 (AP)[i]Watch the path of your feet,
And all your (AQ)ways will be established.
27 (AR)Do not turn to the right or to the left;
(AS)Turn your foot from evil.
Pitfalls of Immorality
5 My son, (AT)pay attention to my wisdom,
(AU)Incline your ear to my understanding,
2 So that you may (AV)maintain discretion
And your (AW)lips may comply with knowledge.
3 For the lips of an [j](AX)adulteress (AY)drip honey,
And her [k]speech is (AZ)smoother than oil;
4 But in the end she is (BA)bitter as wormwood,
(BB)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet (BC)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
6 [l]She does not ponder the (BD)path of life;
Her ways are (BE)unstable, she (BF)does not know it.
7 (BG)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And (BH)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
8 (BI)Keep your way far from her,
And do not go near the (BJ)door of her house,
9 Otherwise you will give your vigor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 And strangers will be filled with your strength,
And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you will groan [m]in [n]the end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 And you say, “How I (BK)hated instruction!
And my heart (BL)disdainfully rejected rebuke!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my (BM)teachers,
Nor incline my ear to my instructors!
14 I was almost in total ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And [o]fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your (BN)springs overflow into the street,
Streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (BO)fountain be blessed,
And (BP)rejoice in the (BQ)wife of your youth.
19 Like a loving (BR)doe and a graceful mountain goat,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be [p]exhilarated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an [q](BS)adulteress,
And embrace the breasts of a (BT)foreigner?
21 For the (BU)ways of everyone are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He (BV)observes all his paths.
22 His (BW)own wrongdoings will trap the wicked,
And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.
23 He will (BX)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.
Parental Counsel
6 My son, if you have become a (BY)guarantor for your neighbor,
Or have given a handshake for a stranger,
2 If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth,
Or caught by the words of your mouth,
3 Then do this, my son, and save yourself:
Since you have come into the [r]hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.
4 Give no (BZ)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
5 Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand,
And like a (CA)bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the (CB)ant, you [s](CC)lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,
7 Which, having (CD)no chief,
Officer, or ruler,
8 Prepares its food (CE)in the summer
And gathers its provision in the harvest.
9 How long will you lie down, you [t]lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 “(CF)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [u]rest,”
11 (CG)Then your poverty will come in like a [v]drifter,
And your need like [w]an armed man.
12 A (CH)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a (CI)perverse mouth,
13 Who (CJ)winks with his eyes, who [x]signals with his feet,
Who [y]points with his fingers;
14 Who, with (CK)perversion in his heart, continually (CL)devises evil,
Who [z](CM)spreads strife.
15 Therefore (CN)his disaster will come suddenly;
(CO)Instantly he will be broken and there will be (CP)no healing.
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination [aa]to Him:
17 (CQ)Haughty eyes, a (CR)lying tongue,
And hands that (CS)shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises (CT)wicked plans,
(CU)Feet that run rapidly to evil,
19 A (CV)false witness who declares lies,
And one who [ab](CW)spreads strife among brothers.
20 (CX)My son, comply with the commandment of your father,
And do not ignore the [ac]teaching of your mother;
21 (CY)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you (CZ)walk, [ad]they will guide you;
When you sleep, [ae]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, [af]they will talk to you.
23 For (DA)the commandment is a lamp and the [ag]teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
24 To (DB)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
25 (DC)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her (DD)eyelids.
26 For (DE)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And [ah]an adulteress (DF)hunts for a precious life.
27 Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can a person walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So is the one who (DG)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her (DH)will not [ai]go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
To (DI)satisfy [aj]himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must (DJ)repay seven times as much;
He must give up all the property of his house.
32 One who commits adultery with a woman is (DK)lacking [ak]sense;
He who would (DL)destroy [al]himself commits it.
33 He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.
34 For (DM)jealousy [am]enrages a man,
And he will not have compassion on the (DN)day of vengeance.
35 He will not [an]accept any settlement,
Nor will he be [ao]satisfied though you make it a large gift.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:1 Lit know
- Proverbs 4:2 Or law
- Proverbs 4:7 Or primary thing is wisdom
- Proverbs 4:16 Lit their sleep is robbed
- Proverbs 4:19 Or may stumble
- Proverbs 4:22 Lit his
- Proverbs 4:24 Or lips
- Proverbs 4:25 Or eyelids
- Proverbs 4:26 I.e., prob. stay on the path
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit strange woman
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit palate
- Proverbs 5:6 Lit That she not watch
- Proverbs 5:11 Or at
- Proverbs 5:11 Lit your end
- Proverbs 5:15 Lit flowing
- Proverbs 5:19 Lit intoxicated
- Proverbs 5:20 Lit strange woman
- Proverbs 6:3 Lit palm
- Proverbs 6:6 Lit idle one
- Proverbs 6:9 Lit idle one
- Proverbs 6:10 Lit lie down
- Proverbs 6:11 Lit one who moves about
- Proverbs 6:11 Lit a man with a shield
- Proverbs 6:13 Lit scrapes
- Proverbs 6:13 Lit instructs with
- Proverbs 6:14 Lit sends out
- Proverbs 6:16 Lit of His soul
- Proverbs 6:19 Lit sends out
- Proverbs 6:20 Or law
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit she
- Proverbs 6:23 Or law
- Proverbs 6:26 Lit a man’s wife
- Proverbs 6:29 Lit be innocent
- Proverbs 6:30 Lit his soul
- Proverbs 6:32 Lit heart
- Proverbs 6:32 Lit his soul
- Proverbs 6:34 Lit is the rage of
- Proverbs 6:35 Lit lift up the face of any
- Proverbs 6:35 Lit willing
John 8
New American Standard Bible
The Adulterous Woman
8 But Jesus went to (A)the Mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and (B)He sat down and began teaching them. 3 Now the scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the Law, (C)Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 Now they were saying this to (D)test Him, (E)so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 When they persisted in asking Him, (F)He straightened up and said to them, “(G)He who is without sin among you, let him be the (H)first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. 10 And (I)straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, [a]Lord.” And Jesus said, “(J)I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not (K)sin any longer.”]]
Jesus Is the Light of the World
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “(L)I am the Light of the world; (M)the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “(N)You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not [b]true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “(O)Even if I am testifying about Myself, My testimony is [c]true, because I know (P)where I came from and where I am going; but (Q)you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 (R)You judge [d]according to the flesh; (S)I am not judging anyone. 16 But even (T)if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. 17 Even in (U)your Law it has been written that the testimony of (V)two people is [e]true. 18 I am He who testifies about Myself, and (W)the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” 19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; (X)if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” 20 These words He spoke [f]in (Y)the treasury, as (Z)He taught in the temple area; and no one arrested Him, because (AA)His hour had not yet come.
21 Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and (AB)you will look for Me, and (AC)will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So (AD)the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘(AE)Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “(AF)You are from below, I am from above; (AG)you are of this world, (AH)I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you (AI)will die in your sins; for unless you believe that [g](AJ)I am, (AK)you will die in your sins.” 25 Then they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “[h]What have I even been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to say and to judge regarding you, but (AL)He who sent Me is true; and (AM)the things which I heard from Him, these I say to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He was speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you (AN)lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that [i](AO)I am, and (AP)I do nothing [j]on My own, but I say these things as the Father instructed Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; (AQ)He [k]has not left Me alone, for (AR)I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He said these things, (AS)many came to believe in Him.
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “(AT)If you continue in My word, then you are truly My (AU)disciples; 32 and (AV)you will know the truth, and (AW)the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered Him, “(AX)We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, (AY)everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 Now (AZ)the slave does not remain in the house forever; (BA)the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son (BB)sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know that you are (BC)Abraham’s descendants; yet (BD)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word [l]has no place in you. 38 I speak of the things which I have seen [m]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from (BE)your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is (BF)our father.” Jesus *said to them, “(BG)If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, (BH)you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has (BI)told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of (BJ)your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; (BK)we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, (BL)you would love Me, (BM)for I came forth from God and am here; for I have (BN)not even come [n]on My own, but [o](BO)He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand [p](BP)what I am saying? It is because you cannot (BQ)listen to My word. 44 (BR)You are of (BS)your father the devil, and (BT)you want to do the desires of your father. (BU)He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because (BV)there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells [q]a lie, he (BW)speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of [r]lies. 45 But because (BX)I say the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If (BY)I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 (BZ)The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
48 (CA)The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a (CB)Samaritan, and You (CC)have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not (CD)have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But (CE)I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges. 51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone (CF)follows My word, he will never (CG)see death.” 52 (CH)The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You (CI)have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone (CJ)follows My word, he will never (CK)taste of death.’ 53 You (CL)are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “(CM)If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; (CN)it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and (CO)you have not come to know Him, (CP)but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be (CQ)a liar like you; (CR)but I do know Him, and I (CS)follow His word. 56 (CT)Your father Abraham was (CU)overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” 57 (CV)So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham [s]was born, [t](CW)I am.” 59 Therefore they (CX)picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus (CY)hid Himself and left the temple grounds.
Footnotes
- John 8:11 Or Sir
- John 8:13 Or valid
- John 8:14 Or valid
- John 8:15 I.e., by a carnal standard
- John 8:17 I.e., valid or admissible
- John 8:20 Or at
- John 8:24 Or I AM, you will die...; Jesus may be referring to Ex 3:14, I AM WHO I AM
- John 8:25 Or That which I have even been saying to you from the beginning
- John 8:28 Or I AM, and...; (see note v 24)
- John 8:28 Or of Myself
- John 8:29 Or did not leave
- John 8:37 Or is making no headway among you
- John 8:38 Or in the presence of
- John 8:42 Or of Myself
- John 8:42 Lit that One
- John 8:43 Or My way of speaking
- John 8:44 Lit the lie
- John 8:44 Lit it
- John 8:58 Lit came into being
- John 8:58 Or I AM; Jesus may be referring to Ex 3:14, I AM WHO I AM
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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