1 Kings 3:1-12

English Standard Version

Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom

3 ^(A)Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into ^(B)the city of David until he had finished ^(C)building his own house ^(D)and the house of the Lord ^(E)and the wall around Jerusalem. ²^(F)The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

³Solomon ^(G)loved the Lord, ^(H)walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places. ⁴And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, ^(I)for that was the great high place. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵^(J)At Gibeon ^(K)the Lord appeared to Solomon ^(L)in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” ⁶And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because ^(M)he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and ^(N)have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. ⁷And now, O Lord my God, ^(O)you have made your servant king in place of David my father, ^(P)although I am but a little child. I do not know ^(Q)how to go out or come in. ⁸^(R)And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, ^(S)too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. ⁹^(T)Give your servant therefore an understanding mind ^(U)to govern your people, that I may ^(V)discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

¹⁰It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. ¹¹And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, ¹²behold, ^(W)I now do according to your word. Behold, ^(X)I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

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1 Kings 4:29-34

English Standard Version

²⁹^(A)And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind ^(B)like the sand on the seashore, ³⁰so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ^(C)the people of the east ^(D)and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹For he was ^(E)wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ³²^(F)He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, ^(G)and his songs were 1,005. ³³He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. ³⁴And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from ^(H)all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

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Psalm 19

English Standard Version

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

19 ^(A)The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above^[a] proclaims his handiwork.
²Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
³There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
⁴^(B)Their ^(C)voice^[b] goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for ^(D)the sun,
⁵    ^(E)which comes out like ^(F)a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
⁶Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷^(G)The law of the Lord is perfect,^[c]
    ^(H)reviving the soul;
^(I)the testimony of the Lord is ^(J)sure,
    ^(K)making wise ^(L)the simple;
⁸^(M)the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is ^(N)pure,
    ^(O)enlightening the eyes;
⁹the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules^[d] of the Lord are ^(P)true,
    and righteous altogether.
¹⁰More to be desired are they than ^(Q)gold,
    even much ^(R)fine gold;
^(S)sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of ^(T)the honeycomb.
¹¹Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    ^(U)in keeping them there is great reward.

¹²^(V)Who can discern his errors?
    ^(W)Declare me innocent from ^(X)hidden faults.
¹³^(Y)Keep back your servant also from ^(Z)presumptuous sins;
    let them not have ^(AA)dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my ^(AB)rock and my ^(AC)redeemer.

Footnotes

Psalm 19:1 Hebrew the expanse; compare Genesis 1:6–8
Psalm 19:4 Or Their measuring line
Psalm 19:7 Or blameless
Psalm 19:9 Or just decrees

Proverbs 1

English Standard Version

The Beginning of Knowledge

1 ^(A)The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,
³to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in ^(B)righteousness, justice, and equity;
⁴to give prudence to ^(C)the simple,
    knowledge and ^(D)discretion to the youth—
⁵Let the wise hear and ^(E)increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
⁶to understand a proverb and a saying,
    ^(F)the words of the wise and their ^(G)riddles.

⁷^(H)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

⁸^(I)Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching,
⁹for they are ^(J)a graceful garland for your head
    and ^(K)pendants for your neck.
¹⁰My son, if sinners ^(L)entice you,
    do not consent.
¹¹If they say, “Come with us, ^(M)let us lie in wait for blood;
    ^(N)let us ambush the innocent without reason;
¹²like Sheol let us ^(O)swallow them alive,
    and whole, like ^(P)those who go down to the pit;
¹³we shall find all precious goods,
    we shall fill our houses with plunder;
¹⁴throw in your lot among us;
    we will all have one purse”—
¹⁵my son, ^(Q)do not walk in the way with them;
    ^(R)hold back your foot from their paths,
¹⁶for ^(S)their feet run to evil,
    and they make haste to shed blood.
¹⁷^(T)For in vain is a net spread
    in the sight of any bird,
¹⁸but these men ^(U)lie in wait for their own blood;
    they ^(V)set an ambush for their own lives.
¹⁹^(W)Such are the ways of everyone who is ^(X)greedy for unjust gain;
    ^(Y)it takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

²⁰^(Z)Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
    in the markets she raises her voice;
²¹at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
    at ^(AA)the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
²²“How long, O ^(AB)simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will ^(AC)scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools ^(AD)hate knowledge?
²³If you turn at my reproof,^[a]
behold, I will ^(AE)pour out my spirit to you;
    I will make my words known to you.
²⁴^(AF)Because I have called and ^(AG)you refused to listen,
    have ^(AH)stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
²⁵because you have ^(AI)ignored all my counsel
    and ^(AJ)would have none of my reproof,
²⁶I also ^(AK)will laugh at your calamity;
    I will mock when ^(AL)terror strikes you,
²⁷when terror strikes you like ^(AM)a storm
    and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
    when distress and anguish come upon you.
²⁸^(AN)Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
²⁹Because they ^(AO)hated knowledge
    and ^(AP)did not choose the fear of the Lord,
³⁰^(AQ)would have none of my counsel
    and ^(AR)despised all my reproof,
³¹therefore they shall eat ^(AS)the fruit of their way,
    and have ^(AT)their fill of their own devices.
³²For the simple are killed by ^(AU)their turning away,
    and ^(AV)the complacency of fools destroys them;
³³but ^(AW)whoever listens to me will dwell secure
    and will be ^(AX)at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Footnotes

Proverbs 1:23 Or Will you turn away at my reproof?

Matthew 11:25-27

English Standard Version

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

²⁵^(A)At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ^(B)Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(C)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^(D)revealed them to little children; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your ^(E)gracious will.^[a] ²⁷^(F)All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ^(G)except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^(H)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

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Footnotes

Matthew 11:26 Or for so it pleased you well

1 Corinthians 2

English Standard Version

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^[a] ^(A)did not come proclaiming to you ^(B)the testimony^[b] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ²For I decided to know nothing among you except ^(C)Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³And ^(D)I was with you ^(E)in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(F)the Spirit and of power, ⁵so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men^[c] but ^(G)in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

⁶Yet among ^(H)the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^(I)a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^(J)who are doomed to pass away. ⁷But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ^(K)which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸None of ^(L)the rulers of this age understood this, for ^(M)if they had, they would not have crucified ^(N)the Lord of glory. ⁹But, as it is written,

^(O)“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has ^(P)prepared ^(Q)for those who love him”—

¹⁰these things ^(R)God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^(S)the depths of God. ¹¹For who knows a person's thoughts ^(T)except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now ^(U)we have received not ^(V)the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³And we impart this ^(W)in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^(X)interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[d]

¹⁴The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(Y)folly to him, and ^(Z)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵The ^(AA)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ¹⁶^(AB)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^(AC)we have the mind of Christ.

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 2:1 Or brothers and sisters
1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts mystery (or secret)
1 Corinthians 2:5 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women
1 Corinthians 2:13 Or interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual language, or comparing spiritual things with spiritual