Proverbs 3:11-20

New International Version

¹¹My son,^(A) do not despise the Lord’s discipline,^(B)
and do not resent his rebuke,
¹²because the Lord disciplines those he loves,^(C)
as a father the son he delights in.^[a]^(D)

¹³Blessed are those who find wisdom,
    those who gain understanding,
¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver
    and yields better returns than gold.^(E)
¹⁵She is more precious than rubies;^(F)
    nothing you desire can compare with her.^(G)
¹⁶Long life is in her right hand;^(H)
    in her left hand are riches and honor.^(I)
¹⁷Her ways are pleasant ways,
    and all her paths are peace.^(J)
¹⁸She is a tree of life^(K) to those who take hold of her;
    those who hold her fast will be blessed.^(L)

¹⁹By wisdom^(M) the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,^(N)
by understanding he set the heavens^(O) in place;
²⁰by his knowledge the watery depths were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.

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Footnotes

Proverbs 3:12 Hebrew; Septuagint loves, / and he chastens everyone he accepts as his child

1 John 3:18-4:6

New International Version

¹⁸Dear children,^(A) let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.^(B)

¹⁹This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹Dear friends,^(C) if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God^(D) ²²and receive from him anything we ask,^(E) because we keep his commands^(F) and do what pleases him.^(G) ²³And this is his command: to believe^(H) in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,^(I) and to love one another as he commanded us.^(J) ²⁴The one who keeps God’s commands^(K) lives in him,^(L) and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.^(M)

On Denying the Incarnation

4 Dear friends,^(N) do not believe every spirit,^(O) but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.^(P) ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh^(Q) is from God,^(R) ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist,^(S) which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.^(T)

⁴You, dear children,^(U) are from God and have overcome them,^(V) because the one who is in you^(W) is greater than the one who is in the world.^(X) ⁵They are from the world^(Y) and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.^(Z) This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth^(AA) and the spirit of falsehood.^(AB)

Footnotes

1 John 4:6 Or spirit

Matthew 11:1-6

New International Version

Jesus and John the Baptist^(A)

11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples,^(B) he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.^[a]

²When John,^(C) who was in prison,^(D) heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come,^(E) or should we expect someone else?”

⁴Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy^[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.^(F) ⁶Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”^(G)