Genesis 7

New International Version

7 The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family,^(A) because I have found you righteous^(B) in this generation. ²Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean^(C) animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, ³and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive^(D) throughout the earth. ⁴Seven days from now I will send rain^(E) on the earth^(F) for forty days^(G) and forty nights,^(H) and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.^(I)”

⁵And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.^(J)

⁶Noah was six hundred years old^(K) when the floodwaters came on the earth. ⁷And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark^(L) to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸Pairs of clean and unclean^(M) animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, ⁹male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.^(N) ¹⁰And after the seven days^(O) the floodwaters came on the earth.

¹¹In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life,^(P) on the seventeenth day of the second month^(Q)—on that day all the springs of the great deep^(R) burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens^(S) were opened. ¹²And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.^(T)

¹³On that very day Noah and his sons,^(U) Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark.^(V) ¹⁴They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind,^(W) everything with wings. ¹⁵Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark.^(X) ¹⁶The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah.^(Y) Then the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷For forty days^(Z) the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. ¹⁸The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. ¹⁹They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered.^(AA) ²⁰The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.^[a]^[b] ^(AB) ²¹Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind.^(AC) ²²Everything on dry land that had the breath of life^(AD) in its nostrils died. ²³Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth.^(AE) Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.^(AF)

²⁴The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.^(AG)

Footnotes

Genesis 7:20 That is, about 23 feet or about 6.8 meters
Genesis 7:20 Or rose more than fifteen cubits, and the mountains were covered

Ezra 7

New International Version

Ezra Comes to Jerusalem

7 After these things, during the reign of Artaxerxes^(A) king of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah,^(B) the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,^(C) ²the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok,^(D) the son of Ahitub,^(E) ³the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas,^(F) the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— ⁶this Ezra^(G) came up from Babylon. He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted^(H) him everything he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him.^(I) ⁷Some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers and temple servants, also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.^(J)

⁸Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. ⁹He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him.^(K) ¹⁰For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching^(L) its decrees and laws in Israel.

King Artaxerxes’ Letter to Ezra

¹¹This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel:

¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings,^(M)

To Ezra the priest, teacher of the Law of the God of heaven:

Greetings.

¹³Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. ¹⁴You are sent by the king and his seven advisers^(N) to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand. ¹⁵Moreover, you are to take with you the silver and gold that the king and his advisers have freely given^(O) to the God of Israel, whose dwelling^(P) is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶together with all the silver and gold^(Q) you may obtain from the province of Babylon, as well as the freewill offerings of the people and priests for the temple of their God in Jerusalem.^(R) ¹⁷With this money be sure to buy bulls, rams and male lambs,^(S) together with their grain offerings and drink offerings,^(T) and sacrifice^(U) them on the altar of the temple of your God in Jerusalem.

¹⁸You and your fellow Israelites may then do whatever seems best with the rest of the silver and gold, in accordance with the will of your God. ¹⁹Deliver^(V) to the God of Jerusalem all the articles entrusted to you for worship in the temple of your God. ²⁰And anything else needed for the temple of your God that you are responsible to supply, you may provide from the royal treasury.^(W)

²¹Now I, King Artaxerxes, decree that all the treasurers of Trans-Euphrates are to provide with diligence whatever Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven, may ask of you— ²²up to a hundred talents^[a] of silver, a hundred cors^[b] of wheat, a hundred baths^[c] of wine, a hundred baths^[d] of olive oil, and salt without limit. ²³Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should his wrath fall on the realm of the king and of his sons?^(X) ²⁴You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty^(Y) on any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God.^(Z)

²⁵And you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint^(AA) magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people of Trans-Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach^(AB) any who do not know them. ²⁶Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king must surely be punished by death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.^[e]^(AC)

²⁷Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart^(AD) to bring honor^(AE) to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way ²⁸and who has extended his good favor^(AF) to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was on me,^(AG) I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Footnotes

Ezra 7:22 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons
Ezra 7:22 That is, probably about 18 tons or about 16 metric tons
Ezra 7:22 That is, about 600 gallons or about 2,200 liters
Ezra 7:22 That is, about 600 gallons or about 2,200 liters
Ezra 7:26 The text of 7:12-26 is in Aramaic.

Proverbs 1:1-19

New International Version

Purpose and Theme

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

²for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;
³for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair;
⁴for giving prudence to those who are simple,^[a]^(D)
    knowledge and discretion^(E) to the young—
⁵let the wise listen and add to their learning,^(F)
    and let the discerning get guidance—
⁶for understanding proverbs and parables,^(G)
    the sayings and riddles^(H) of the wise.^[b]^(I)

⁷The fear of the Lord^(J) is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools^[c] despise wisdom^(K) and instruction.^(L)

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

⁸Listen, my son,^(M) to your father’s^(N) instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.^(O)
⁹They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.^(P)

¹⁰My son, if sinful men entice^(Q) you,
    do not give in^(R) to them.^(S)
¹¹If they say, “Come along with us;
    let’s lie in wait^(T) for innocent blood,
    let’s ambush some harmless soul;
¹²let’s swallow^(U) them alive, like the grave,
    and whole, like those who go down to the pit;^(V)
¹³we will get all sorts of valuable things
    and fill our houses with plunder;
¹⁴cast lots with us;
    we will all share the loot^(W)”—
¹⁵my son, do not go along with them,
    do not set foot^(X) on their paths;^(Y)
¹⁶for their feet rush into evil,^(Z)
    they are swift to shed blood.^(AA)
¹⁷How useless to spread a net
    where every bird can see it!
¹⁸These men lie in wait^(AB) for their own blood;
    they ambush only themselves!^(AC)
¹⁹Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
    it takes away the life of those who get it.^(AD)

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Footnotes

Proverbs 1:4 The Hebrew word rendered simple in Proverbs denotes a person who is gullible, without moral direction and inclined to evil.
Proverbs 1:6 Or understanding a proverb, namely, a parable, / and the sayings of the wise, their riddles
Proverbs 1:7 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote a person who is morally deficient.