Isaiah 21

New International Version

A Prophecy Against Babylon

21 A prophecy^(A) against the Desert^(B) by the Sea:

Like whirlwinds^(C) sweeping through the southland,^(D)
an invader comes from the desert,
from a land of terror.

²A dire^(E) vision has been shown to me:
The traitor betrays,^(F) the looter takes loot.
Elam,^(G) attack! Media,^(H) lay siege!
I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.

³At this my body is racked with pain,^(I)
    pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;^(J)
I am staggered by what I hear,
    I am bewildered^(K) by what I see.
⁴My heart^(L) falters,
    fear makes me tremble;^(M)
the twilight I longed for
    has become a horror^(N) to me.

⁵They set the tables,
    they spread the rugs,
    they eat, they drink!^(O)
Get up, you officers,
    oil the shields!^(P)

⁶This is what the Lord says to me:

“Go, post a lookout^(Q)
    and have him report what he sees.
⁷When he sees chariots^(R)
    with teams of horses,
riders on donkeys
    or riders on camels,^(S)
let him be alert,
    fully alert.”

⁸And the lookout^[a]^(T) shouted,

“Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;
    every night I stay at my post.
⁹Look, here comes a man in a chariot^(U)
    with a team of horses.
And he gives back the answer:
    ‘Babylon^(V) has fallen,^(W) has fallen!
All the images of its gods^(X)
    lie shattered^(Y) on the ground!’”

¹⁰My people who are crushed on the threshing floor,^(Z)
I tell you what I have heard
from the Lord Almighty,
from the God of Israel.

A Prophecy Against Edom

¹¹A prophecy against Dumah^[b]:^(AA)

Someone calls to me from Seir,^(AB)
    “Watchman, what is left of the night?
    Watchman, what is left of the night?”
¹²The watchman replies,
    “Morning is coming, but also the night.
If you would ask, then ask;
    and come back yet again.”

A Prophecy Against Arabia

¹³A prophecy^(AC) against Arabia:^(AD)

You caravans of Dedanites,^(AE)
    who camp in the thickets of Arabia,
¹⁴    bring water for the thirsty;
you who live in Tema,^(AF)
    bring food for the fugitives.
¹⁵They flee^(AG) from the sword,^(AH)
    from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow
    and from the heat of battle.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract^(AI) would count it, all the splendor^(AJ) of Kedar^(AK) will come to an end. ¹⁷The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.^(AL)” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.^(AM)

Footnotes

Isaiah 21:8 Dead Sea Scrolls and Syriac; Masoretic Text A lion
Isaiah 21:11 Dumah, a wordplay on Edom, means silence or stillness.

2 Corinthians 8

New International Version

The Collection for the Lord’s People

8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian^(A) churches. ²In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.^(B) ³For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,^(C) and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing^(D) in this service^(E) to the Lord’s people.^(F) ⁵And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. ⁶So we urged^(G) Titus,^(H) just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion^(I) this act of grace on your part. ⁷But since you excel in everything^(J)—in faith, in speech, in knowledge,^(K) in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you^[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

⁸I am not commanding you,^(L) but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. ⁹For you know the grace^(M) of our Lord Jesus Christ,^(N) that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,^(O) so that you through his poverty might become rich.^(P)

¹⁰And here is my judgment^(Q) about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.^(R) ¹¹Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness^(S) to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. ¹²For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has,^(T) not according to what one does not have.

¹³Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴At the present time your plenty will supply what they need,^(U) so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, ¹⁵as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”^[b]^(V)

Titus Sent to Receive the Collection

¹⁶Thanks be to God,^(W) who put into the heart^(X) of Titus^(Y) the same concern I have for you. ¹⁷For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.^(Z) ¹⁸And we are sending along with him the brother^(AA) who is praised by all the churches^(AB) for his service to the gospel.^(AC) ¹⁹What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us^(AD) as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.^(AE) ²⁰We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. ²¹For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.^(AF)

²²In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. ²³As for Titus,^(AG) he is my partner^(AH) and co-worker^(AI) among you; as for our brothers,^(AJ) they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. ²⁴Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you,^(AK) so that the churches can see it.

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 8:7 Some manuscripts and in your love for us
2 Corinthians 8:15 Exodus 16:18

Proverbs 5

New International Version

Warning Against Adultery

5 My son,^(A) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words^(B) of insight,
²that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
³For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;^(C)
⁴but in the end she is bitter as gall,^(D)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
⁵Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.^(E)
⁶She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.^(F)

⁷Now then, my sons, listen^(G) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
⁸Keep to a path far from her,^(H)
    do not go near the door of her house,
⁹lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity^[a] to one who is cruel,
¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.^(I)
¹¹At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!^(J)
¹³I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble^(K)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”^(L)

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
¹⁸May your fountain^(M) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^(N)
¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful deer^(O)—
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹For your ways are in full view^(P) of the Lord,
    and he examines^(Q) all your paths.^(R)
²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;^(S)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.^(T)
²³For lack of discipline they will die,^(U)
    led astray by their own great folly.^(V)