Exodus 22-24
Christian Standard Bible
Laws about Theft
22 “When a man steals an ox or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must repay(A) five cattle for the ox or four sheep for the sheep. 2 If a thief is caught in the act of breaking in, and he is beaten to death, no one is guilty of bloodshed.(B) 3 But if this happens after sunrise, the householder is guilty of bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution. If he is unable, he is to be sold because of his theft.(C) 4 If what was stolen—whether ox, donkey, or sheep—is actually found alive in his possession, he must repay double.
Laws about Crop Protection
5 “When a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed in, and then allows his animals to go and graze in someone else’s field, he must repay[a] with the best of his own field or vineyard.
6 “When a fire gets out of control, spreads to thornbushes, and consumes stacks of cut grain, standing grain, or a field, the one who started the fire must make full restitution for what was burned.
Laws about Personal Property
7 “When a man gives his neighbor valuables[b] or goods to keep, but they are stolen from that person’s house, the thief, if caught, must repay double. 8 If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must present himself to the judges[c] to determine[d] whether or not he has taken his neighbor’s property.(D) 9 In any case of wrongdoing involving an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or anything else lost, and someone claims, ‘That’s mine,’[e] the case between the two parties is to come before the judges.[f] The one the judges condemn[g] must repay double to his neighbor.
10 “When a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to care for, but it dies, is injured, or is stolen, while no one is watching, 11 there must be an oath before the Lord between the two of them to determine whether or not he has taken his neighbor’s property. Its owner must accept the oath, and the other man does not have to make restitution. 12 But if, in fact, the animal was stolen from his custody, he must make restitution to its owner.(E) 13 If it was actually torn apart by a wild animal, he is to bring it as evidence; he does not have to make restitution for the torn carcass.
14 “When a man borrows an animal from his neighbor, and it is injured or dies while its owner is not there with it, the man must make full restitution. 15 If its owner is there with it, the man does not have to make restitution. If it was rented, the loss is covered by[h] its rental price.
Laws about Seduction
16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and he sleeps with her, he must certainly pay the bridal price for her to be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must pay an amount in silver equal to the bridal price for virgins.(F)
Capital Offenses
18 “Do not allow a sorceress(G) to live.
19 “Whoever has sexual intercourse with an animal(H) must be put to death.
20 “Whoever sacrifices to any gods, except the Lord alone, is to be set apart for destruction.(I)
Laws Protecting the Vulnerable
21 “You must not exploit a resident alien(J) or oppress him, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
22 “You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.(K) 23 If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry.(L) 24 My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.(M)
25 “If you lend silver to my people, to the poor person among you, you must not be like a creditor to him; you must not charge him interest.(N)
26 “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him before sunset. 27 For it is his only covering; it is the clothing for his body.[i] What will he sleep in? And if he cries out to me, I will listen because I am gracious.(O)
Respect for God
28 “You must not blaspheme God[j] or curse a leader among your people.(P)
29 “You must not hold back offerings(Q) from your harvest or your vats. Give me the firstborn of your sons. 30 Do the same with your cattle and your flock. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to me.(R)
31 “Be my holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal(S) found in the field; throw it to the dogs.
Laws about Honesty and Justice
23 “You must not spread a false report. Do not join[k] the wicked to be a malicious witness.(T)
2 “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.(U) 3 Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.
5 “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.[l](V)
6 “You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. 7 Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.(W) 8 You must not take a bribe,(X) for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words[m] of the righteous. 9 You must not oppress a resident alien;(Y) you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.
Sabbaths and Festivals
10 “Sow your land for six years and gather its produce.(Z) 11 But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat from it and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Do your work(AA) for six days but rest on the seventh day so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave as well as the resident alien may be refreshed.
13 “Pay strict attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.[n](AB)
14 “Celebrate a festival in my honor three times a year.(AC) 15 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,[o] because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(AD) 16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest[p] with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering[q](AE) at the end of the year, when you gather your produce[r] from the field. 17 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God.
18 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifices with anything leavened. The fat of my festival offering must not remain until morning.(AF)
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.(AG)
Promises and Warnings
20 “I am going to send an angel(AH) before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him.(AI) 22 But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy(AJ) to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 For my angel will go before you and bring you to the land of the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.(AK) 24 Do not bow in worship to their gods, and do not serve them. Do not imitate their practices. Instead, demolish them[s] and smash their sacred pillars to pieces.(AL) 25 Serve the Lord your God, and he[t] will bless your bread and your water. I will remove illnesses from you.(AM) 26 No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days.(AN)
27 “I will cause the people ahead of you to feel terror[u] and will throw into confusion(AO) all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat.[v] 28 I will send hornets[w](AP) in front of you, and they will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hethites away from you. 29 I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animals would multiply against you. 30 I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous[x] and take possession of the land. 31 I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,[y] and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River.[z] For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you.(AQ) 32 You must not make a covenant(AR) with them or their gods. 33 They must not remain in your land, or else they will make you sin against me. If you serve their gods, it will be a snare for you.”(AS)
The Covenant Ceremony
24 Then he said to Moses, “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders,(AT) and bow in worship at a distance. 2 Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”
3 Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.”(AU) 4 And Moses wrote(AV) down all the words of the Lord. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. 5 Then he sent out young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half the blood and set it in basins; the other half of the blood he splattered on the altar. 7 He then took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people. They responded, “We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.”
8 Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”(AW)
9 Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, 10 and they saw(AX) the God of Israel. Beneath his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.(AY) 11 God did not harm[aa] the Israelite nobles; they saw(AZ) him, and they ate and drank.
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets(BA) with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua and went up the mountain of God.(BB) 14 He told the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute should go to them.” 15 When Moses went up the mountain, the cloud(BC) covered it. 16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from the cloud.(BD) 17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory to the Israelites was like a consuming fire(BE) on the mountaintop. 18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.(BF)
Footnotes
- 22:5 LXX adds from his field according to its produce. But if someone lets his animals graze an entire field, he must repay; DSS, Sam also support this reading.
- 22:7 Lit silver
- 22:8 Or to God
- 22:8 LXX, Tg, Vg read swear
- 22:9 Lit That is it
- 22:9 Or before God
- 22:9 Or one whom God condemns
- 22:15 Lit rented, it comes with
- 22:27 Lit skin
- 22:28 Or judges
- 23:1 Lit join hands with
- 23:5 Or load, you must refrain from leaving it to him; you must set it free with him
- 23:8 Or and subverts the cause
- 23:13 Lit mouth
- 23:15 March–April; called Nisan in the post-exilic period; Neh 2:1; Est 3:7
- 23:16 The Festival of Harvest is called Festival of Weeks elsewhere; Ex 34:22. In the NT it is called Pentecost; Ac 2:1.
- 23:16 The Festival of Ingathering is called Festival of Shelters elsewhere; Lv 23:34–36.
- 23:16 Lit labors
- 23:24 Probably the idols
- 23:25 LXX, Vg read I
- 23:27 Lit will send terror of me ahead of you
- 23:27 Or I will give your enemies to you by the neck
- 23:28 Or send panic
- 23:30 Lit fruitful
- 23:31 Lit the Sea of the Philistines
- 23:31 Lit the River
- 24:11 Lit not stretch out his hand against
Matthew 26:1-30
Christian Standard Bible
The Plot to Kill Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,(A) he told his disciples, 2 “You know[a] that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”(B)
3 Then the chief priests[b] and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,(C) 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.(D) 5 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany
6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon(E) the leper,[c] 7 a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples(F) saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me. 11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.(G) 12 By pouring this perfume on my body, she has prepared me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel(H) is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
14 Then(I) one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests(J) 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him.(K) 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.
Betrayal at the Passover
17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread(L) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
18 “Go into the city to a certain man,” he said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place[d] with my disciples.’”(M) 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, he was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”(N)
22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?”
23 He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with me in the bowl—he will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him,(O) but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Judas, his betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” (P)
“You have said it,” he told him.
The First Lord’s Supper
26 As they were eating,(Q) Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples,(R) and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.”(S) 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant,[e] which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.(T) 29 But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”(U) 30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.(V)
Read full chapter
Psalm 44-49
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 44
Israel’s Complaint
For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
1 God, we have heard with our ears—
our ancestors have told us—
the work you accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:(A)
2 In order to plant them,
you displaced the nations by your hand;
in order to settle them,
you brought disaster on the peoples.(B)
3 For they did not take the land by their sword—
their arm did not bring them victory—
but by your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face,(C)
because you were favorable toward them.(D)
4 You are my King, my God,
who ordains[a] victories for Jacob.(E)
5 Through you we drive back our foes;
through your name we trample our enemies.(F)
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword does not bring me victory.(G)
7 But you give us victory over our foes
and let those who hate us be disgraced.(H)
8 We boast in God all day long;(I)
we will praise your name forever.(J)Selah
9 But you have rejected and humiliated us;
you do not march out with our armies.(K)
10 You make us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us
have taken plunder for themselves.(L)
11 You hand us over to be eaten like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.(M)
12 You sell your people for nothing;
you make no profit from selling them.(N)
13 You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.(O)
14 You make us a joke among the nations,
a laughingstock[b] among the peoples.(P)
15 My disgrace is before me all day long,
and shame has covered my face,(Q)
16 because of the taunts[c] of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger.(R)
17 All this has happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or betrayed your covenant.(S)
18 Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from your path.(T)
19 But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals
and have covered us with deepest darkness.(U)
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
and spread out our hands to a foreign god,(V)
21 wouldn’t God have found this out,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?(W)
22 Because of you we are being put to death all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.(X)
23 Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever!(Y)
24 Why do you hide
and forget our affliction and oppression?(Z)
25 For we have sunk down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.(AA)
26 Rise up! Help us!
Redeem us because of your faithful love.(AB)
Psalm 45
A Royal Wedding Song
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”(AC) A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.
1 My heart is moved by a noble theme
as I recite my verses to the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.(AD)
2 You are the most handsome of men;[d]
grace flows from your lips.(AE)
Therefore God has blessed you forever.(AF)
3 Mighty warrior, strap your sword at your side.
In your majesty and splendor(AG)—
4 in your splendor ride triumphantly
in the cause of truth, humility, and justice.
May your right hand show your awe-inspiring acts.(AH)
5 Your sharpened arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.(AI)
6 Your throne,(AJ) God, is[e] forever and ever;
the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.(AK)
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;(AL)
therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy
more than your companions.
8 Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume all your garments;
from ivory palaces harps bring you joy.(AM)
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honored women;(AN)
the queen, adorned with gold from Ophir,
stands at your right hand.(AO)
10 Listen, daughter, pay attention and consider:
Forget your people and your father’s house,(AP)
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Bow down to him, for he is your lord.(AQ)
12 The daughter of Tyre, the wealthy people,
will seek your favor with gifts.(AR)
13 In her chamber, the royal daughter is all glorious,
her clothing embroidered with gold.(AS)
14 In colorful garments she is led to the king;
after her, the virgins, her companions, are brought to you.(AT)
15 They are led in with gladness and rejoicing;
they enter the king’s palace.(AU)
16 Your sons will succeed your ancestors;
you will make them princes throughout the land.(AV)
17 I will cause your name to be remembered for all generations;
therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.(AW)
Psalm 46
God Our Refuge
For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.(AX)
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.(AY)
2 Therefore we will not be afraid,
though the earth trembles
and the mountains topple
into the depths of the seas,(AZ)
3 though its water roars and foams
and the mountains quake with its turmoil.(BA)Selah
4 There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.(BB)
5 God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.(BC)
6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when he lifts his voice.(BD)
7 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(BE)Selah
8 Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.(BF)
9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
he sets wagons ablaze.(BG)
10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God,
exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”(BH)
11 The Lord of Armies is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold.(BI)Selah
Psalm 47
God Our King
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples;(BJ)
shout to God with a jubilant cry.(BK)
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is awe-inspiring,
a great King over the whole earth.(BL)
3 He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.(BM)
4 He chooses for us our inheritance—
the pride of Jacob, whom he loves.(BN)Selah
5 God ascends among shouts of joy,
the Lord, with the sound of a ram’s horn.(BO)
6 Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our King, sing praise!(BP)
7 Sing a song of wisdom,[f]
for God is King of the whole earth.(BQ)
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.(BR)
9 The nobles of the peoples have assembled
with the people of the God of Abraham.(BS)
For the leaders[g] of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.(BT)
Psalm 48
Zion Exalted
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 The Lord is great and highly praised
in the city of our God.(BU)
His holy mountain, 2 rising splendidly,
is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion—the summit of Zaphon—
is the city of the great King.(BV)
3 God is known as a stronghold
in its citadels.(BW)
4 Look! The kings assembled;
they advanced together.(BX)
5 They looked and froze with fear;
they fled in terror.(BY)
6 Trembling seized them there,
agony like that of a woman in labor,(BZ)
7 as you wrecked the ships of Tarshish
with the east wind.(CA)
8 Just as we heard, so we have seen
in the city of the Lord of Armies,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever.(CB)Selah
9 God, within your temple,
we contemplate your faithful love.(CC)
10 Like your name, God, so your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth;(CD)
your right hand is filled with justice.(CE)
11 Mount Zion is glad.
Judah’s villages[h] rejoice
because of your judgments.(CF)
12 Go around Zion, encircle it;
count its towers,
13 note its ramparts; tour its citadels
so that you can tell a future generation:(CG)
14 “This God, our God forever and ever—
he will always lead us.”[i](CH)
Psalm 49
Misplaced Trust in Wealth
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who inhabit the world,(CI)
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.(CJ)
3 My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation brings understanding.(CK)
4 I turn my ear to a proverb;
I explain my riddle with a lyre.(CL)
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble?
The iniquity of my foes surrounds me.(CM)
6 They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.(CN)
7 Yet these cannot redeem a person[j]
or pay his ransom to God(CO)—
8 since the price of redeeming him is too costly,
one should forever stop trying[k](CP)—
9 so that he may live forever
and not see the Pit.(CQ)
10 For one can see that the wise die;
the foolish and stupid also pass away.(CR)
Then they leave their wealth to others.(CS)
11 Their graves are their permanent homes,[l]
their dwellings from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.(CT)
12 But despite his assets,[m] mankind will not last;
he is like the animals that perish.(CU)
13 This is the way of those who are arrogant,
and of their followers,
who approve of their words.[n](CV)Selah
14 Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,(CW)
and their form will waste away in Sheol,[o]
far from their lofty abode.(CX)
15 But God will redeem me
from the power of Sheol,
for he will take me.(CY)Selah
16 Do not be afraid when a person gets rich,
when the wealth[p] of his house increases.(CZ)
17 For when he dies, he will take nothing at all;
his wealth will not follow him down.(DA)
18 Though he blesses himself during his lifetime—
and you are acclaimed when you do well for yourself(DB)—
19 he will go to the generation of his ancestors;
they will never see the light.(DC)
20 Mankind, with his assets
but without understanding,
is like the animals that perish.(DD)
Footnotes
- 44:4 LXX, Syr, Aq; MT reads King, God; ordain
- 44:14 Lit shaking of the head
- 44:16 Lit voice
- 45:2 Or of the descendants of Adam
- 45:6 Or Your divine throne is, or Your throne is God’s
- 47:7 Or Sing a maskil
- 47:9 Lit shields
- 48:11 Lit daughters
- 48:14 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read over death
- 49:7 Or Certainly he cannot redeem himself, or Yet he cannot redeem a brother
- 49:8 Or costly, it will cease forever
- 49:11 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads Their inner thought is that their houses are eternal
- 49:12 Or honor
- 49:13 Lit and after them with their mouth they were pleased
- 49:14 Hb obscure
- 49:16 Or glory, also in v. 17
Proverbs 8
Christian Standard Bible
Wisdom’s Appeal
8 Doesn’t wisdom(A) call out?
Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard?
2 At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.
3 Beside the gates(B) leading into the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:
4 “People, I call out to you;
my cry is to the children of Adam.
5 Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced;
develop common sense, you who are foolish.
6 Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.
7 For my mouth tells the truth,(C)
and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
8 All the words from my mouth are righteous;
none of them are deceptive or perverse.(D)
9 All of them are clear to the perceptive,(E)
and right to those who discover knowledge.
10 Accept my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.(F)
11 For wisdom is better than jewels,(G)
and nothing desirable can equal it.(H)
12 I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.(I)
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil.(J)
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.
14 I possess good advice and sound wisdom;[a]
I have understanding and strength.(K)
15 It is by me that kings reign(L)
and rulers enact just law;
16 by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.[b]
17 I love those who love me,(M)
and those who search for me find me.(N)
18 With me are riches and honor,(O)
lasting wealth and righteousness.(P)
19 My fruit is better than solid gold,
and my harvest than pure silver.(Q)
20 I walk in the ways of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.
22 “The Lord acquired[c] me
at the beginning of his creation,[d]
before his works of long ago.(R)
23 I was formed[e] before ancient times,
from the beginning, before the earth began.(S)
24 I was born
when there were no watery depths(T)
and no springs filled with water.
25 Before the mountains were established,
prior to the hills,(U) I was given birth—
26 before he made the land, the fields,
or the first soil on earth.
27 I was there when he established the heavens,(V)
when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,(W)
28 when he placed the skies above,
when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,
29 when he set a limit for the sea
so that the waters would not violate his command,(X)
when he laid out the foundations of the earth.(Y)
30 I was a skilled craftsman[f] beside him.(Z)
I was his[g] delight every day,
always rejoicing before him.
31 I was rejoicing in his inhabited world,(AA)
delighting in the children of Adam.(AB)
32 “And now, sons, listen to me;
those who keep my ways are happy.(AC)
33 Listen to instruction and be wise;(AD)
don’t ignore it.
34 Anyone who listens to me is happy,(AE)
watching at my doors every day,
waiting by the posts of my doorway.
35 For the one who finds me finds life(AF)
and obtains favor from the Lord,(AG)
36 but the one who misses me[h] harms himself;(AH)
all who hate me love death.”(AI)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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