Proverbs 4

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,
²For I give you good ^(C)teaching;
^(D)Do not abandon my ^[b]instruction.
³When I was a son to my father,
^(E)Tender and ^(F)the only son in the sight of my mother,
⁴He ^(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.
⁶Do 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.
⁹She will place ^(P)on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰Listen, my son, and ^(Q)accept my sayings,
And the ^(R)years of your life will be many.
¹¹I have ^(S)instructed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
¹²When 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.
¹⁵Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶For they ^(Y)cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And ^[d]they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
¹⁷For they ^(Z)eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸But the ^(AA)path of the righteous is like the ^(AB)light of dawn
That ^(AC)shines brighter and brighter until the ^(AD)full day.
¹⁹The ^(AE)way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they ^[e]^(AF)stumble.

²⁰My 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.
²²For they are ^(AK)life to those who find them,
And ^(AL)healing to all ^[f]their body.
²³Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For ^(AM)from it flow the springs of life.
²⁴Rid yourself of a ^(AN)deceitful mouth
And ^(AO)keep devious ^[g]speech far from you.
²⁵Let 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.

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

New American Standard Bible

Pitfalls of Immorality

5 My son, ^(A)pay attention to my wisdom,
^(B)Incline your ear to my understanding,
²So that you may ^(C)maintain discretion
And your ^(D)lips may comply with knowledge.
³For the lips of an ^[a]^(E)adulteress ^(F)drip honey,
And her ^[b]speech is ^(G)smoother than oil;
⁴But in the end she is ^(H)bitter as wormwood,
^(I)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
⁵Her feet ^(J)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
⁶^[c]She does not ponder the ^(K)path of life;
Her ways are ^(L)unstable, she ^(M)does not know it.

⁷^(N)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And ^(O)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁸^(P)Keep your way far from her,
And do not go near the ^(Q)door of her house,
⁹Otherwise you will give your vigor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
¹⁰And strangers will be filled with your strength,
And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;
¹¹And you will groan ^[d]in ^[e]the end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
¹²And you say, “How I ^(R)hated instruction!
And my heart ^(S)disdainfully rejected rebuke!
¹³I did not listen to the voice of my ^(T)teachers,
Nor incline my ear to my instructors!
¹⁴I was almost in total ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,
And ^[f]fresh water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your ^(U)springs overflow into the street,
Streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you.
¹⁸Let your ^(V)fountain be blessed,
And ^(W)rejoice in the ^(X)wife of your youth.
¹⁹Like a loving ^(Y)doe and a graceful mountain goat,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be ^[g]exhilarated always with her love.
²⁰For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an ^[h]^(Z)adulteress,
And embrace the breasts of a ^(AA)foreigner?
²¹For the ^(AB)ways of everyone are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He ^(AC)observes all his paths.
²²His ^(AD)own wrongdoings will trap the wicked,
And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.
²³He will ^(AE)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

Footnotes

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

New American Standard Bible

Parental Counsel

6 My son, if you have become a ^(A)guarantor for your neighbor,
Or have given a handshake for a stranger,
²If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth,
Or caught by the words of your mouth,
³Then do this, my son, and save yourself:
Since you have come into the ^[a]hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.
⁴Give no ^(B)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
⁵Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand,
And like a ^(C)bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶Go to the ^(D)ant, you ^[b]^(E)lazy one,
Observe its ways and be wise,
⁷Which, having ^(F)no chief,
Officer, or ruler,
⁸Prepares its food ^(G)in the summer
And gathers its provision in the harvest.
⁹How long will you lie down, you ^[c]lazy one?
When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰“^(H)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to ^[d]rest,”
¹¹^(I)Then your poverty will come in like a ^[e]drifter,
And your need like ^[f]an armed man.

¹²A ^(J)worthless person, a wicked man,
Is one who walks with a ^(K)perverse mouth,
¹³Who ^(L)winks with his eyes, who ^[g]signals with his feet,
Who ^[h]points with his fingers;
¹⁴Who, with ^(M)perversion in his heart, continually ^(N)devises evil,
Who ^[i]^(O)spreads strife.
¹⁵Therefore ^(P)his disaster will come suddenly;
^(Q)Instantly he will be broken and there will be ^(R)no healing.

¹⁶There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination ^[j]to Him:
¹⁷^(S)Haughty eyes, a ^(T)lying tongue,
And hands that ^(U)shed innocent blood,
¹⁸A heart that devises ^(V)wicked plans,
^(W)Feet that run rapidly to evil,
¹⁹A ^(X)false witness who declares lies,
And one who ^[k]^(Y)spreads strife among brothers.

²⁰^(Z)My son, comply with the commandment of your father,
And do not ignore the ^[l]teaching of your mother;
²¹^(AA)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
²²When you ^(AB)walk, ^[m]they will guide you;
When you sleep, ^[n]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, ^[o]they will talk to you.
²³For ^(AC)the commandment is a lamp and the ^[p]teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life
²⁴To ^(AD)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
²⁵^(AE)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her ^(AF)eyelids.
²⁶For ^(AG)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread,
And ^[q]an adulteress ^(AH)hunts for a precious life.
²⁷Can anyone take fire in his lap
And his clothes not be burned?
²⁸Or can a person walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
²⁹So is the one who ^(AI)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her ^(AJ)will not ^[r]go unpunished.
³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals
To ^(AK)satisfy ^[s]himself when he is hungry;
³¹But when he is found, he must ^(AL)repay seven times as much;
He must give up all the property of his house.
³²One who commits adultery with a woman is ^(AM)lacking ^[t]sense;
He who would ^(AN)destroy ^[u]himself commits it.
³³He will find wounds and disgrace,
And his shame will not be removed.
³⁴For ^(AO)jealousy ^[v]enrages a man,
And he will not have compassion on the ^(AP)day of vengeance.
³⁵He will not ^[w]accept any settlement,
Nor will he be ^[x]satisfied though you make it a large gift.

Footnotes

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

Romans 8

New American Standard Bible

Deliverance from Bondage

8 Therefore there is now no ^(A)condemnation at all for those who are ^(B)in ^(C)Christ Jesus. ²For ^(D)the law of the Spirit of life ^[a]in ^(E)Christ Jesus ^(F)has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³For ^(G)what the Law could not do, ^[b]^(H)weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in ^(I)the likeness of ^[c]sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the ^(J)requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who ^(K)do not walk ^[d]according to the flesh but ^[e]according to the Spirit. ⁵For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on ^(L)the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, ^(M)the things of the Spirit. ⁶^(N)For the mind ^[f]set on the flesh is ^(O)death, but the mind ^[g]set on the Spirit is life and peace, ⁷because the mind ^[h]set on the flesh is ^(P)hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, ⁸and those who are ^(Q)in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹However, you are not ^(R)in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God ^(S)dwells in you. But ^(T)if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. ¹⁰^(U)If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is ^[i]alive because of righteousness. ¹¹But if the Spirit of Him who ^(V)raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, ^(W)He who raised ^(X)Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^[j]through His Spirit who dwells in you.

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³for ^(Y)if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are ^(Z)putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are ^(AA)being led by the Spirit of God, these are ^(AB)sons and daughters of God. ¹⁵For you ^(AC)have not received a spirit of slavery ^[k]leading to fear again, but you ^(AD)have received ^[l]a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “^(AE)Abba! ^[m]Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit Himself ^(AF)testifies with our spirit that we are ^(AG)children of God, ¹⁷and if children, ^(AH)heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, ^(AI)if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ^(AJ)are not worthy to be compared with the ^(AK)glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹For the ^(AL)eagerly awaiting creation waits for ^(AM)the revealing of the ^(AN)sons and daughters of God. ²⁰For the creation ^(AO)was subjected to ^(AP)futility, not willingly, but ^(AQ)because of Him who subjected it, ^[n]in hope ²¹that ^(AR)the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation ^(AS)groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. ²³^(AT)And not only that, but also we ourselves, having ^(AU)the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves ^(AV)groan within ourselves, ^(AW)waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, ^(AX)the redemption of our body. ²⁴For ^(AY)in hope we have been saved, but ^(AZ)hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵But ^(BA)if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Our Victory in Christ

²⁶Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for ^(BB)we do not know what to pray for as we should, but ^(BC)the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with ^[o]groanings too deep for words; ²⁷and ^(BD)He who searches the hearts knows what ^(BE)the mind of the Spirit is, because He ^(BF)intercedes for the ^[p]saints according to the will of God.

²⁸And we know that ^[q]God ^[r]causes ^(BG)all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are ^(BH)called according to His purpose. ²⁹For those whom He ^(BI)foreknew, He also ^(BJ)predestined to become ^(BK)conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the ^(BL)firstborn among many brothers and sisters; ³⁰and these whom He ^(BM)predestined, He also ^(BN)called; and these whom He called, He also ^(BO)justified; and these whom He justified, He also ^(BP)glorified.

³¹^(BQ)What then shall we say to these things? ^(BR)If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who ^(BS)did not spare His own Son, but ^(BT)delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ³³Who will bring charges against ^(BU)God’s elect? ^(BV)God is the one who justifies; ³⁴who is the one who ^(BW)condemns? Christ Jesus is He who ^(BX)died, but rather, was ^[s]^(BY)raised, who is ^(BZ)at the right hand of God, who also ^(CA)intercedes for us. ³⁵Who will separate us from ^(CB)the love of ^[t]Christ? Will ^(CC)tribulation, or trouble, or ^(CD)persecution, or ^(CE)famine, or ^(CF)nakedness, or ^(CG)danger, or sword? ³⁶Just as it is written:

“^(CH)For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We were regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷But in all these things we overwhelmingly ^(CI)conquer through ^(CJ)Him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither ^(CK)death, nor life, nor ^(CL)angels, nor principalities, nor ^(CM)things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from ^(CN)the love of God that is ^(CO)in Christ Jesus our Lord.