Luke 14:15-24
New King James Version
The Parable of the Great Supper(A)
15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, (B)“Blessed is he who shall eat [a]bread in the kingdom of God!”
16 (C)Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and (D)sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the [b]maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you (E)that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 14:15 M dinner
- Luke 14:21 crippled
1 Timothy 3:11-16
New King James Version
11 Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not [a]slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons (A)obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The Great Mystery
14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; 15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and [b]ground of the truth. 16 And without controversy great is the [c]mystery of godliness:
(B)God[d] was manifested in the flesh,
(C)Justified in the Spirit,
(D)Seen by angels,
(E)Preached among the Gentiles,
(F)Believed on in the world,
(G)Received up in glory.
Footnotes
- 1 Timothy 3:11 malicious gossips
- 1 Timothy 3:15 foundation, mainstay
- 1 Timothy 3:16 hidden truth
- 1 Timothy 3:16 NU Who
Proverbs 5
New King James Version
The Peril of Adultery
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
[a]Lend your ear to my understanding,
2 That you may [b]preserve discretion,
And your lips (A)may keep knowledge.
3 (B)For the lips of [c]an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is (C)smoother than oil;
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death,
(D)Her steps lay hold of [d]hell.
6 Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.
7 Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
9 Lest you give your [e]honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 Lest aliens be filled with your [f]wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
12 And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
[g]Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with (E)the wife of your youth.
19 (F)As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be [h]enraptured with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by (G)an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?
21 (H)For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He [i]ponders all his paths.
22 (I)His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
23 (J)He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 5:1 Lit. Bow
- Proverbs 5:2 appreciate good judgment
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit. a strange
- Proverbs 5:5 Or Sheol
- Proverbs 5:9 vigor
- Proverbs 5:10 Lit. strength
- Proverbs 5:16 Channels
- Proverbs 5:19 Lit. intoxicated
- Proverbs 5:21 observes, lit. weighs
Ezra 7
New King James Version
The Arrival of Ezra
7 Now after these things, in the reign of (A)Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the (B)son of Seraiah, (C)the son of Azariah, the son of (D)Hilkiah, 2 the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, 3 the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, 4 the son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, 5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest— 6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was (E)a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, (F)according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. 7 (G)Some of the children of Israel, the priests, (H)the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and (I)the Nethinim came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, (J)according to the good hand of his God upon him. 10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to (K)seek[a] the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to (L)teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.
The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra
11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel:
To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:
13 I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 And whereas you are being sent [d]by the king and his (O)seven counselors to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, with regard to the Law of your God which is in your hand; 15 and whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, (P)whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; 16 (Q)and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be (R)freely offered for the [e]house of their God in Jerusalem— 17 now therefore, be careful to buy with this money bulls, rams, and lambs, with their (S)grain offerings and their drink offerings, and (T)offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem.
18 And whatever seems good to you and your brethren to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do it according to the will of your God. 19 Also the articles that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver in full before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to provide, pay for it from the king’s treasury.
21 And I, even I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers who are in the region beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, let it be done diligently, 22 up to one hundred talents of silver, one hundred kors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribed limit. 23 Whatever [f]is commanded by the God of heaven, let it diligently be done for the [g]house of the God of heaven. For why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
24 Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. 25 And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, (U)set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and (V)teach those who do not know them. 26 Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or [h]banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.
27 (W)Blessed[i] be the Lord God of our fathers, (X)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, 28 and (Y)has extended mercy to me before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty princes.
So I was encouraged, as (Z)the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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