Proverbs 30-31
English Standard Version
The Words of Agur
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[a]
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.[b]
2 Surely I am too (A)stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of (B)the Holy One.
4 Who has (C)ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has (D)gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has (E)wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all (F)the ends of the earth?
(G)What is his name, and what is his son's name?
Surely you know!
5 (H)Every word of God proves true;
he is (I)a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 (J)Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me (K)before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is (L)needful for me,
9 lest I be (M)full and (N)deny you
and say, (O)“Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
(P)and profane the name of my God.
11 There are those[c] who (S)curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who are (T)clean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
13 There are those—how (U)lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
14 There are those whose teeth are (V)swords,
whose (W)fangs are knives,
to (X)devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.[d]
(Y)Three things are never satisfied;
(Z)four never say, “Enough”:
16 (AA)Sheol, (AB)the barren womb,
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that (AC)mocks a father
and (AD)scorns to obey a mother
will (AE)be picked out by (AF)the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
18 (AG)Three things are (AH)too wonderful for me;
(AI)four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a virgin.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under (AJ)three things (AK)the earth trembles;
under (AL)four it cannot bear up:
22 (AM)a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is (AN)filled with food;
23 (AO)an unloved woman when she (AP)gets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 (AQ)Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25 (AR)the ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 (AS)the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 the locusts have no (AT)king,
yet all of them march in (AU)rank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings' palaces.
29 (AV)Three things are stately in their tread;
(AW)four are stately in their stride:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and (AX)does not turn back before any;
31 the (AY)strutting rooster,[e] the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.[f]
32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
(AZ)put your hand on your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
The Words of King Lemuel
31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2 What are you doing, my son?[g] What are you doing, (BA)son of my womb?
What are you doing, (BB)son of my vows?
3 Do (BC)not give your strength to women,
your ways to those (BD)who destroy kings.
4 (BE)It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings (BF)to drink wine,
or for rulers to take (BG)strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and (BH)pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who (BI)is perishing,
and wine to (BJ)those in bitter distress;[h]
7 (BK)let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 (BL)Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.[i]
9 Open your mouth, (BM)judge righteously,
(BN)defend the rights of (BO)the poor and needy.
The Woman Who Fears the Lord
10 [j] (BP)An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than (BQ)jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She (BR)seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
15 She (BS)rises while it is yet night
and (BT)provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She (BU)dresses herself[k] with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She (BV)opens her hand to (BW)the poor
and reaches out her hands to (BX)the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in (BY)scarlet.[l]
22 She makes (BZ)bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is (CA)fine linen and (CB)purple.
23 Her husband is known in (CC)the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes (CD)linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 (CE)Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many (CF)women have done (CG)excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 (CH)Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:1 Or Jakeh, the man of Massa
- Proverbs 30:1 Revocalization; Hebrew The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal
- Proverbs 30:11 Hebrew There is a generation; also verses 12, 13, 14
- Proverbs 30:15 Or “Give, give,” they cry
- Proverbs 30:31 Or the magpie, or the greyhound; Hebrew girt-of-loins
- Proverbs 30:31 Or against whom there is no rising up
- Proverbs 31:2 Hebrew What, my son?
- Proverbs 31:6 Hebrew those bitter in soul
- Proverbs 31:8 Hebrew are sons of passing away
- Proverbs 31:10 Verses 10–31 are an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
- Proverbs 31:17 Hebrew She girds her loins
- Proverbs 31:21 Or in double thickness
Psalm 33
English Standard Version
The Steadfast Love of the Lord
33 (A)Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
(B)Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
make melody to him with (D)the harp of (E)ten strings!
3 Sing to him (F)a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in (G)faithfulness.
5 He (H)loves righteousness and justice;
(I)the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 By (J)the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by (K)the breath of his mouth all (L)their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as (M)a heap;
he (N)puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For (O)he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord (P)brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 (Q)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 (R)Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has (S)chosen as his heritage!
13 The Lord (T)looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from (U)where he sits enthroned he (V)looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 (W)The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 (X)The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Ephesians 1
English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of Christ Jesus (B)by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and (C)are faithful[a] in Christ Jesus:
2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 (E)Blessed be (F)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (G)in the heavenly places, 4 (H)even as he (I)chose us in him (J)before the foundation of the world, that we should be (K)holy and blameless before him. In love 5 (L)he predestined us[b] for (M)adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, (N)according to the purpose of his will, 6 (O)to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in (P)the Beloved. 7 (Q)In him we have (R)redemption (S)through his blood, (T)the forgiveness of our trespasses, (U)according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 (V)making known[c] to us the mystery of his will, (W)according to his purpose, which he (X)set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for (Y)the fullness of time, (Z)to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained (AA)an inheritance, (AB)having been predestined (AC)according to the purpose of him who works all things according to (AD)the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be (AE)to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard (AF)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, (AG)were sealed with the (AH)promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is (AI)the guarantee[d] of our (AJ)inheritance until (AK)we acquire (AL)possession of it,[e] (AM)to the praise of his glory.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15 For this reason, (AN)because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love[f] toward all the saints, 16 I (AO)do not cease to give thanks for you, (AP)remembering you in my prayers, 17 that (AQ)the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, (AR)may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 (AS)having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is (AT)the hope to which he has called you, what are (AU)the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, (AV)according to the working of (AW)his great might 20 that he worked in Christ (AX)when he raised him from the dead and (AY)seated him at his right hand (AZ)in the heavenly places, 21 (BA)far above (BB)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above (BC)every name that is named, not only in (BD)this age but also in the one to come. 22 And (BE)he put all things under his feet and gave him as (BF)head over all things to the church, 23 (BG)which is his body, (BH)the fullness of him (BI)who fills (BJ)all in all.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 1:1 Some manuscripts saints who are also faithful (omitting in Ephesus)
- Ephesians 1:5 Or before him in love, 5having predestined us
- Ephesians 1:9 Or he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known…
- Ephesians 1:14 Or down payment
- Ephesians 1:14 Or until God redeems his possession
- Ephesians 1:15 Some manuscripts omit your love
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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