Proverbs 5-8

English Standard Version

Warning Against Adultery

5 ^(A)My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
    ^(B)incline your ear to my understanding,
²that you may keep ^(C)discretion,
    and your lips may ^(D)guard knowledge.
³For the lips of ^(E)a forbidden^[a] woman drip honey,
    and her speech^[b] is ^(F)smoother than oil,
⁴but in the end she is ^(G)bitter as ^(H)wormwood,
    ^(I)sharp as ^(J)a two-edged sword.
⁵Her feet ^(K)go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to^[c] Sheol;
⁶she ^(L)does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.

⁷And ^(M)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
⁸Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house,
⁹lest you give your honor to others
    and your years to the merciless,
¹⁰lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
    and your ^(N)labors go to the house of a foreigner,
¹¹and at the end of your life you ^(O)groan,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,
¹²and you say, ^(P)“How I hated discipline,
    and my heart ^(Q)despised reproof!
¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
    or incline my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴^(R)I am at the brink of utter ruin
    in the assembled congregation.”

¹⁵Drink ^(S)water from your own cistern,
    flowing water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your ^(T)springs be scattered abroad,
    streams of water ^(U)in the streets?
¹⁷^(V)Let them be for yourself alone,
    and not for strangers with you.
¹⁸Let your ^(W)fountain be blessed,
    and ^(X)rejoice in ^(Y)the wife of your youth,
¹⁹    a lovely ^(Z)deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts ^(AA)fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated^[d] always in her love.
²⁰Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^(AB)a forbidden woman
    and embrace the bosom of ^(AC)an adulteress?^[e]
²¹For ^(AD)a man's ways are ^(AE)before the eyes of the Lord,
    and he ^(AF)ponders^[f] all his paths.
²²The ^(AG)iniquities of the wicked ^(AH)ensnare him,
    and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
²³^(AI)He dies for lack of discipline,
    and because of his great folly he is ^(AJ)led astray.

Practical Warnings

6 My son, if you have put up ^(AK)security for your neighbor,
    have ^(AL)given your pledge for a stranger,
²if you are ^(AM)snared in the words of your mouth,
    caught in the words of your mouth,
³then do this, my son, and save yourself,
    for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
    go, hasten,^[g] and ^(AN)plead urgently with your neighbor.
⁴^(AO)Give your eyes no sleep
    and your eyelids no slumber;
⁵save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,^[h]
    ^(AP)like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶^(AQ)Go to ^(AR)the ant, O ^(AS)sluggard;
    consider her ways, and ^(AT)be wise.
⁷^(AU)Without having any chief,
    ^(AV)officer, or ruler,
⁸she prepares her bread ^(AW)in summer
    and ^(AX)gathers her food in harvest.
⁹^(AY)How long will you lie there, ^(AZ)O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰^(BA)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    ^(BB)a little ^(BC)folding of the hands to rest,
¹¹^(BD)and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

¹²^(BE)A worthless person, a wicked man,
    goes about with ^(BF)crooked speech,
¹³^(BG)winks with his eyes, signals^[i] with his feet,
    points with his finger,
¹⁴with ^(BH)perverted heart ^(BI)devises evil,
    continually ^(BJ)sowing discord;
¹⁵therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
    ^(BK)in a moment he will be broken ^(BL)beyond healing.

¹⁶There are ^(BM)six things that the Lord hates,
    ^(BN)seven that are an abomination to him:
¹⁷^(BO)haughty eyes, ^(BP)a lying tongue,
    and ^(BQ)hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸^(BR)a heart that devises wicked plans,
    ^(BS)feet that make haste to run to evil,
¹⁹^(BT)a false witness who ^(BU)breathes out lies,
    and one who ^(BV)sows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

²⁰^(BW)My son, keep your father's commandment,
    ^(BX)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
²¹^(BY)Bind them on your heart always;
    ^(BZ)tie them around your neck.
²²^(CA)When you walk, they^[j] will lead you;
    ^(CB)when you lie down, they will ^(CC)watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
²³For the commandment is ^(CD)a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the ^(CE)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
²⁴to preserve you from the evil woman,^[k]
    from the smooth tongue of ^(CF)the adulteress.^[l]
²⁵^(CG)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her ^(CH)eyelashes;
²⁶for ^(CI)the price of a prostitute is only ^(CJ)a loaf of bread,^[m]
    but a married woman^[n] ^(CK)hunts down a precious life.
²⁷Can a man carry ^(CL)fire next to his ^(CM)chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
²⁸Or can one ^(CN)walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her ^(CO)will go unpunished.
³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to ^(CP)satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
³¹but ^(CQ)if he is caught, he will pay ^(CR)sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
³²He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
³³He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
³⁴For ^(CS)jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when ^(CT)he takes revenge.
³⁵He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

Warning Against the Adulteress

7 ^(CU)My son, keep my words
    and ^(CV)treasure up my commandments with you;
²^(CW)keep my commandments and live;
    keep my teaching as ^(CX)the apple of your eye;
³^(CY)bind them on your fingers;
    ^(CZ)write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and call insight your intimate friend,
⁵to keep you from ^(DA)the forbidden^[o] woman,
    from ^(DB)the adulteress^[p] with her smooth words.

⁶For at ^(DC)the window of my house
    I have looked out through my lattice,
⁷and I have seen among ^(DD)the simple,
    I have perceived among the youths,
    a young man ^(DE)lacking sense,
⁸passing along the street ^(DF)near her corner,
    taking the road to her house
⁹in ^(DG)the twilight, in the evening,
    at ^(DH)the time of night and darkness.

¹⁰And behold, the woman meets him,
    ^(DI)dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.^[q]
¹¹She is ^(DJ)loud and ^(DK)wayward;
    ^(DL)her feet do not stay at home;
¹²now in the street, now in the market,
    and ^(DM)at every corner she ^(DN)lies in wait.
¹³She seizes him and kisses him,
    and with ^(DO)bold face she says to him,
¹⁴“I had to ^(DP)offer sacrifices,^[r]
    and today I have ^(DQ)paid my vows;
¹⁵so now I have come out to meet you,
    to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
¹⁶I have spread my couch with ^(DR)coverings,
    colored linens from ^(DS)Egyptian linen;
¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with ^(DT)myrrh,
    aloes, and ^(DU)cinnamon.
¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
    let us delight ourselves with love.
¹⁹For ^(DV)my husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey;
²⁰he took a bag of money with him;
    at full moon he will come home.”

²¹With much seductive speech she persuades him;
    with ^(DW)her smooth talk she compels him.
²²All at once he follows her,
    as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast^[s]
²³    till an arrow pierces its liver;
as ^(DX)a bird rushes into a snare;
    he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴And ^(DY)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
²⁵Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
    do not stray into her paths,
²⁶for many a victim has she laid low,
    and all her slain are ^(DZ)a mighty throng.
²⁷Her house is ^(EA)the way to Sheol,
    going down to the chambers of death.

The Blessings of Wisdom

8 Does not ^(EB)wisdom call?
    Does not ^(EC)understanding raise her voice?
²On ^(ED)the heights beside the way,
    at the crossroads she takes her stand;
³beside ^(EE)the gates in front of ^(EF)the town,
    at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
⁴“To you, O ^(EG)men, I call,
    and my cry is to ^(EH)the children of man.
⁵O ^(EI)simple ones, learn ^(EJ)prudence;
    O ^(EK)fools, learn sense.
⁶Hear, for I will speak ^(EL)noble things,
    and from my lips will come ^(EM)what is right,
⁷for my ^(EN)mouth will utter truth;
    wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous;
    there is nothing ^(EO)twisted or crooked in them.
⁹They are all ^(EP)straight to him who understands,
    and right to those who find knowledge.
¹⁰^(EQ)Take my instruction instead of silver,
    and knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹^(ER)for wisdom is better than jewels,
    and ^(ES)all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

¹²“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
    and I find knowledge and ^(ET)discretion.
¹³^(EU)The fear of the Lord is ^(EV)hatred of evil.
^(EW)Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
    and ^(EX)perverted speech I hate.
¹⁴I have ^(EY)counsel and ^(EZ)sound wisdom;
    I have insight; ^(FA)I have strength.
¹⁵By me ^(FB)kings reign,
    and rulers decree what is just;
¹⁶by me princes rule,
    and nobles, all who govern justly.^[t]
¹⁷^(FC)I love those who love me,
    and ^(FD)those who seek me diligently find me.
¹⁸^(FE)Riches and honor are with me,
    ^(FF)enduring wealth and ^(FG)righteousness.
¹⁹My fruit is ^(FH)better than ^(FI)gold, even fine gold,
    and my yield than ^(FJ)choice silver.
²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness,
    in the paths of justice,
²¹granting an inheritance to those who love me,
    and filling their treasuries.

²²^(FK)“The Lord ^(FL)possessed^[u] me at the beginning of his work,^[v]
    the first of his acts ^(FM)of old.
²³Ages ago I was ^(FN)set up,
    at the first, ^(FO)before the beginning of the earth.
²⁴When there were no ^(FP)depths I was ^(FQ)brought forth,
    when there were no springs abounding with water.
²⁵Before the mountains ^(FR)had been shaped,
    ^(FS)before the hills, I was brought forth,
²⁶before he had made the earth with its fields,
    or the first of the dust of the world.
²⁷When he ^(FT)established the heavens, I was there;
    when he drew ^(FU)a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸when he ^(FV)made firm the skies above,
    when he established^[w] the fountains of the deep,
²⁹when he ^(FW)assigned to the sea its ^(FX)limit,
    so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out ^(FY)the foundations of the earth,
³⁰    then ^(FZ)I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his^[x] ^(GA)delight,
    rejoicing before him always,
³¹^(GB)rejoicing in his ^(GC)inhabited world
    and delighting in the children of man.

³²“And now, ^(GD)O sons, listen to me:
    ^(GE)blessed are those who keep my ways.
³³^(GF)Hear instruction and be wise,
    and do not neglect it.
³⁴^(GG)Blessed is the one who listens to me,
    watching daily at my gates,
    waiting beside my doors.
³⁵For ^(GH)whoever finds me ^(GI)finds life
    and ^(GJ)obtains favor from the Lord,
³⁶but he who fails to find me ^(GK)injures himself;
    all who ^(GL)hate me ^(GM)love death.”

Footnotes

Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew strange; also verse 20
Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew palate
Proverbs 5:5 Hebrew lay hold of
Proverbs 5:19 Hebrew be led astray; also verse 20
Proverbs 5:20 Hebrew a foreign woman
Proverbs 5:21 Or makes level
Proverbs 6:3 Or humble yourself
Proverbs 6:5 Hebrew lacks of the hunter
Proverbs 6:13 Hebrew scrapes
Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
Proverbs 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man's wife
Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew strange
Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew the foreign woman
Proverbs 7:10 Hebrew guarded in heart
Proverbs 7:14 Hebrew peace offerings
Proverbs 7:22 Probable reading (compare Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac); Hebrew as a chain to discipline a fool
Proverbs 8:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint govern the earth
Proverbs 8:22 Or fathered; Septuagint created
Proverbs 8:22 Hebrew way
Proverbs 8:28 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Proverbs 8:30 Or daily filled with

1 Corinthians 15

English Standard Version

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now I would remind you, brothers,^[a] of the gospel ^(A)I preached to you, which you received, ^(B)in which you stand, ²and by which ^(C)you are being saved, if you ^(D)hold fast to the word I preached to you—^(E)unless you believed in vain.

³For ^(F)I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died ^(G)for our sins ^(H)in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised ^(I)on the third day ^(J)in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵and that ^(K)he appeared to Cephas, then ^(L)to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to ^(M)James, then ^(N)to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to one untimely born, ^(O)he appeared also to me. ⁹For ^(P)I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because ^(Q)I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, ^(R)I worked harder than any of them, ^(S)though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, ^(T)how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^(U)then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that ^(V)he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and ^(W)you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who ^(X)have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If in Christ we have hope^[b] in this life only, ^(Y)we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But in fact ^(Z)Christ has been raised from the dead, ^(AA)the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For as ^(AB)by a man came death, ^(AC)by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For ^(AD)as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then ^(AE)at his coming ^(AF)those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he delivers ^(AG)the kingdom to God the Father after destroying ^(AH)every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign ^(AI)until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be ^(AJ)destroyed is death. ²⁷For ^(AK)“God^[c] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ²⁸When ^(AL)all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that ^(AM)God may be all in all.

²⁹Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰Why are we ^(AN)in danger every hour? ³¹I protest, brothers, by ^(AO)my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^(AP)I die every day! ³²What do I gain if, humanly speaking, ^(AQ)I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ^(AR)“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³^(AS)Do not be deceived: ^(AT)“Bad company ruins good morals.”^[d] ³⁴^(AU)Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For ^(AV)some have no knowledge of God. ^(AW)I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

³⁵But someone will ask, ^(AX)“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶You foolish person! ^(AY)What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. ³⁸But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. ⁴⁰There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. ⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴²^(AZ)So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³It is sown in dishonor; ^(BA)it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵Thus it is written, ^(BB)“The first man Adam became a living being”;^[e] ^(BC)the last Adam became a ^(BD)life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷^(BE)The first man was from the earth, ^(BF)a man of dust; ^(BG)the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, ^(BH)so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹Just ^(BI)as we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^(BJ)we shall^[f] also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

⁵⁰I tell you this, brothers: ^(BK)flesh and blood ^(BL)cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Behold! I tell you a mystery. ^(BM)We shall not all sleep, ^(BN)but we shall all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For ^(BO)the trumpet will sound, and ^(BP)the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and ^(BQ)this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

^(BR)“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
⁵⁵^(BS)“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and ^(BT)the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, ^(BU)who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸^(BV)Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in ^(BW)the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord ^(BX)your labor is not in vain.