Isaiah 18

New International Version

A Prophecy Against Cush

18 Woe^(A) to the land of whirring wings^[a]
along the rivers of Cush,^[b]^(B)
²which sends envoys^(C) by sea
in papyrus^(D) boats over the water.

Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,^(E)
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive^(F) nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.^(G)

³All you people of the world,^(H)
    you who live on the earth,
when a banner^(I) is raised on the mountains,
    you will see it,
and when a trumpet^(J) sounds,
    you will hear it.
⁴This is what the Lord says to me:
    “I will remain quiet^(K) and will look on from my dwelling place,^(L)
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,^(M)
    like a cloud of dew^(N) in the heat of harvest.”
⁵For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off^(O) the shoots with pruning knives,
    and cut down and take away the spreading branches.^(P)
⁶They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey^(Q)
    and to the wild animals;^(R)
the birds will feed on them all summer,
    the wild animals all winter.

⁷At that time gifts^(S) will be brought to the Lord Almighty

from a people tall and smooth-skinned,^(T)
from a people feared^(U) far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers^(V)—

the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty.^(W)

Footnotes

Isaiah 18:1 Or of locusts
Isaiah 18:1 That is, the upper Nile region

2 Corinthians 5

New International Version

Awaiting the New Body

5 For we know that if the earthly^(A) tent^(B) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ²Meanwhile we groan,^(C) longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,^(D) ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴For while we are in this tent, we groan^(E) and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,^(F) so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.^(G)

⁶Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷For we live by faith, not by sight.^(H) ⁸We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.^(I) ⁹So we make it our goal to please him,^(J) whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us^(K) for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

¹¹Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord,^(L) we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.^(M) ¹²We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again,^(N) but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us,^(O) so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. ¹³If we are “out of our mind,”^(P) as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.^(Q) ¹⁵And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves^(R) but for him who died for them^(S) and was raised again.

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one from a worldly^(T) point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,^(U) the new creation^(V) has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here!^(W) ¹⁸All this is from God,^(X) who reconciled us to himself through Christ^(Y) and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.^(Z) And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,^(AA) as though God were making his appeal through us.^(AB) We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.^(AC) ²¹God made him who had no sin^(AD) to be sin^[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.^(AE)

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 5:17 Or Christ, that person is a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:21 Or be a sin offering

Proverbs 2

New International Version

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

2 My son,^(A) if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
²turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding^(B)—
³indeed, if you call out for insight^(C)
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,^(D)
⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.^(E)
⁶For the Lord gives wisdom;^(F)
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.^(G)
⁷He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield^(H) to those whose walk is blameless,^(I)
⁸for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.^(J)

⁹Then you will understand^(K) what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,^(L)
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.^(M)

¹²Wisdom will save^(N) you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
¹³who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,^(O)
¹⁴who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,^(P)
¹⁵whose paths are crooked^(Q)
    and who are devious in their ways.^(R)

¹⁶Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,^(S)
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
¹⁷who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.^[a]^(T)
¹⁸Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.^(U)
¹⁹None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.^(V)

²⁰Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
²¹For the upright will live in the land,^(W)
    and the blameless will remain in it;
²²but the wicked^(X) will be cut off from the land,^(Y)
    and the unfaithful will be torn from it.^(Z)