Numbers 1-2

New American Standard Bible

The Census of Israel’s Warriors

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on ^(A)the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ²“^(B)Take a ^[a]census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head ³from ^(C)twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall ^[b]count them by their armies. ⁴With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, ^(D)each one head of his father’s household. ⁵These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: ^(E)of the tribe of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; ⁶of the tribe of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; ⁷of the tribe of Judah, ^(F)Nahshon the son of Amminadab; ⁸of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; ⁹of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; ¹⁰of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; ¹¹of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; ¹²of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; ¹³of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; ¹⁴of Gad, Eliasaph the son of ^(G)Deuel; ¹⁵of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. ¹⁶These are the men who were ^(H)called from the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ tribes; they were the ^(I)heads of ^[c]divisions of Israel.”

¹⁷So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, ¹⁸and they assembled all the congregation on the ^(J)first day of the second month. Then they registered by ^(K)ancestry in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head, ¹⁹just as ^(L)the Lord had commanded Moses. So he counted them in the wilderness of Sinai.

²⁰^(M)Now the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ²¹their numbered men of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

²²^(N)Of the sons of Simeon, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, ^(O)whoever was able to go to war, ²³their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

²⁴^(P)Of the sons of Gad, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ²⁵their numbered men of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

²⁶^(Q)Of the sons of Judah, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ²⁷their numbered men of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

²⁸^(R)Of the sons of Issachar, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ²⁹their numbered men of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

³⁰^(S)Of the sons of Zebulun, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³¹their numbered men of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

³²^(T)Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³³their numbered men of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

³⁴^(U)Of the sons of Manasseh, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³⁵their numbered men of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

³⁶^(V)Of the sons of Benjamin, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³⁷their numbered men of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

³⁸^(W)Of the sons of Dan, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ³⁹their numbered men of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

⁴⁰^(X)Of the sons of Asher, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ⁴¹their numbered men of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

⁴²^(Y)Of the sons of Naphtali, their descendants by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war, ⁴³their numbered men of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

⁴⁴These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron counted, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household. ⁴⁵So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go to war in Israel, ⁴⁶all the numbered men were ^(Z)603,550.

Levites Exempted

⁴⁷^(AA)The Levites, however, were not counted among them by their fathers’ tribe. ⁴⁸For the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying, ⁴⁹“Only the tribe of Levi ^(AB)you shall not count, nor shall you take their ^[d]census among the sons of Israel. ⁵⁰And you shall ^(AC)appoint the Levites over the ^[e]tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over everything that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the ^[f]tabernacle. ⁵¹^(AD)So when the tabernacle is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But ^(AE)the ^[g]layman who comes near it shall be put to death. ⁵²^(AF)So the sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own ^[h]flag, according to their armies. ⁵³^(AG)But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be ^(AH)no divine wrath against the congregation of the sons of Israel. ^(AI)So the Levites shall be responsible for service to the tabernacle of the testimony.” ⁵⁴And the sons of Israel did so; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did.

Arrangement of the Camps

2 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²“^(AJ)The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own ^[i]flag, with the banners of their fathers’ households; they shall camp around the tent of meeting ^[j]at a distance. ³Now those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the flag of the camp of Judah, by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Judah: ^(AK)Nahshon the son of Amminadab, ⁴and his army, their ^[k]numbered men: 74,600. ⁵Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar; and the leader of the sons of Issachar: ^(AL)Nethanel the son of Zuar, ⁶and his army, their numbered men: 54,400. ⁷Then follows the tribe of Zebulun; and the leader of the sons of Zebulun: ^(AM)Eliab the son of Helon, ⁸and his army, his numbered men: 57,400. ⁹The total of the numbered men of the camp of Judah: 186,400, by their armies. ^(AN)They shall set out first.

¹⁰“On the south side shall be the flag of the camp of Reuben by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Reuben: ^(AO)Elizur the son of Shedeur, ¹¹and his army, their numbered men: 46,500. ¹²And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Simeon; and the leader of the sons of Simeon: ^(AP)Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, ¹³and his army, their numbered men: 59,300. ¹⁴Then follows the tribe of Gad; and the leader of the sons of Gad: ^(AQ)Eliasaph the son of ^[l]Deuel, ¹⁵and his army, their numbered men: 45,650. ¹⁶The total of the numbered men of the camp of Reuben: 151,450 by their armies. And ^(AR)they shall set out second.

¹⁷“^(AS)Then the tent of meeting shall set out with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; just as they camp, so they shall set out, every man in his place by their flags.

¹⁸“On the west side shall be the flag of the camp of ^(AT)Ephraim by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Ephraim: ^(AU)Elishama the son of Ammihud, ¹⁹and his army, their numbered men: 40,500. ²⁰Next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and the leader of the sons of Manasseh: ^(AV)Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, ²¹and his army, their numbered men, 32,200. ²²Then follows the tribe of ^(AW)Benjamin; and the leader of the sons of Benjamin: ^(AX)Abidan the son of Gideoni, ²³and his army, their numbered men, 35,400. ²⁴The total of the numbered men of the camp of Ephraim: 108,100, by their armies. And ^(AY)they shall set out third.

²⁵“On the north side shall be the flag of the camp of Dan by their armies; and the leader of the sons of Dan: ^(AZ)Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, ²⁶and his army, their numbered men: 62,700. ²⁷Those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher; and the leader of the sons of Asher: ^(BA)Pagiel the son of Ochran, ²⁸and his army, their numbered men: 41,500. ²⁹Then follows the tribe of ^(BB)Naphtali; and the leader of the sons of Naphtali: ^(BC)Ahira the son of Enan, ³⁰and his army, their numbered men: 53,400. ³¹The total of the numbered men of the camp of Dan was 157,600. ^(BD)They shall set out last by their flags.”

³²These are the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households; the total of the numbered men of the camps by their armies, ^(BE)603,550. ³³^(BF)The Levites, however, were not counted among the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁴So the sons of Israel did all this; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so they camped by their flags, and so they set out, everyone by his family according to his father’s household.

Footnotes

Numbers 1:2 Lit sum
Numbers 1:3 Lit muster, and so throughout the ch
Numbers 1:16 Lit thousands; or clans
Numbers 1:49 Lit sum
Numbers 1:50 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
Numbers 1:50 Lit dwelling place, and so throughout the ch
Numbers 1:51 Lit stranger
Numbers 1:52 Or division
Numbers 2:2 Or division, and so throughout the ch
Numbers 2:2 Or facing it
Numbers 2:4 Lit mustered, and so throughout the ch
Numbers 2:14 Many mss (cf. 1:14); some ancient versions Reuel

Mark 11:28-12:12

New American Standard Bible

²⁸and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” ²⁹But Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³²But should we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the ^[a]people, for they all considered John to have been a real prophet. ³³Answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the Vine-growers

12 ^(A)And He began to speak to them in parables: “^(B)A man ^(C)planted a vineyard and put a ^[b]fence around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and leased it to ^[c]vine-growers and went on a journey. ²And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard from the vine-growers. ³And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. ⁵And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. ⁶He had one more man to send, a beloved son; he sent him to them last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸And they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹What will the ^[d]owner of the vineyard do? He will come and put the vine-growers to death, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘^(D)A stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the ^[e]chief cornerstone;
¹¹^(E)This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

¹²^(F)And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the ^[f]people, for they understood that He told the parable against them. And so ^(G)they left Him and went away.

Footnotes

Mark 11:32 Lit crowd
Mark 12:1 Or hedge
Mark 12:1 Or tenant farmers, also vv 2, 7, 9
Mark 12:9 Lit lord
Mark 12:10 Lit head of the corner
Mark 12:12 Lit crowd

Psalm 9-14

New American Standard Bible

Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.

For the music director; on ^[a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

9 I will give thanks to the Lord with all ^(A)my heart;
I will ^(B)tell of all Your ^[b]wonders.
²I will rejoice and be ^(C)jubilant in You;
I will ^(D)sing praise to Your name, O ^(E)Most High.

³When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and ^(F)perish before You.
⁴For You have ^(G)maintained ^[c]my just cause;
You have sat on the throne ^[d]^(H)judging righteously.
⁵You have ^(I)rebuked the nations, You have eliminated the wicked;
You have ^(J)wiped out their name forever and ever.
⁶^[e]The enemy has come to an end in everlasting ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very ^(K)memory of them has perished.

⁷But the ^(L)Lord ^[f]sits as King forever;
He has established His ^(M)throne for judgment,
⁸And He will ^(N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples fairly.
⁹^[g]The Lord will also be a ^(O)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
¹⁰And ^[h]those who ^(P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, Lord, have not ^(Q)abandoned those who seek You.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord, who ^(R)dwells in Zion;
^(S)Declare His deeds among the peoples.
¹²For ^(T)He who ^[i]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget ^(U)the cry of the needy.
¹³Be gracious to me, Lord;
See my oppression from those ^(V)who hate me,
You who ^(W)lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴So that I may tell of ^(X)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may ^(Y)rejoice in Your ^[j]salvation.
¹⁵The nations have sunk down ^(Z)into the pit which they have made;
In the ^(AA)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
¹⁶The Lord has ^(AB)made Himself known;
He has ^(AC)executed judgment.
A wicked one is ensnared in the work of his own hands. ^[k]Higgaion Selah

¹⁷The wicked will ^[l]^(AD)return to ^[m]Sheol,
All the nations who ^(AE)forget God.
¹⁸For the ^(AF)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the ^(AG)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
¹⁹^(AH)Arise, Lord, do not let mankind prevail;
Let the nations be ^(AI)judged before You.
²⁰Put them ^(AJ)in fear, Lord;
Let the nations know that they are ^(AK)merely human. Selah

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.

10 Why ^(AL)do You stand far away, Lord?
Why ^(AM)do You hide ^[n]Yourself in times of trouble?
²In ^(AN)arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy;
^[o]Let them be ^(AO)caught in the plots which they have devised.

³For the wicked ^(AP)boasts of his ^(AQ)soul’s desire,
And ^[p]the greedy person curses and ^(AR)shows disrespect to the Lord.
⁴The wicked, ^[q]in his haughtiness, ^(AS)does not seek Him.
^(AT)There is no God in all his schemes.

⁵His ways ^(AU)succeed at all times;
Yet Your judgments are on high, ^(AV)out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.
⁶He says to himself, “^(AW)I will not be moved;
^[r]Throughout the generations ^(AX)I will not be in adversity.”
⁷His ^(AY)mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and ^(AZ)oppression;
^(BA)Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
⁸He sits in the ^(BB)lurking places of the villages;
He ^(BC)kills the innocent in the secret places;
His eyes ^[s]surreptitiously watch for the ^[t]^(BD)unfortunate.
⁹He lurks in secret like ^(BE)a lion in his ^[u]lair;
He ^(BF)lurks to catch ^(BG)the needy;
He catches the needy when he pulls him into his ^(BH)net.
¹⁰Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers;
And ^[v]unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
¹¹He ^(BI)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

¹²Arise, Lord; God, ^(BJ)lift up Your hand.
^(BK)Do not forget the humble.
¹³Why has the wicked ^(BL)treated God disrespectfully?
He has said to himself, “^[w]You will not require an account.”
¹⁴You have seen it, for You have looked at ^(BM)harm and provocation to ^[x]take it into Your hand.
The ^[y]^(BN)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the ^(BO)helper of the orphan.
¹⁵^(BP)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
^[z]^(BQ)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶The Lord is ^(BR)King forever and ever;
^(BS)Nations have perished from His land.
¹⁷Lord, You have heard the ^(BT)desire of the humble;
You will ^(BU)strengthen their heart, ^(BV)You will make Your ear attentive
¹⁸To ^[aa]vindicate the ^(BW)orphan and the ^(BX)oppressed,
So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause ^(BY)terror.

The Lord, a Refuge and Defense.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

11 In the Lord I ^(BZ)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your ^(CA)mountain?
²For, behold, the wicked ^(CB)bend the bow,
They have ^[ab]^(CC)set their arrow on the string
To ^(CD)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
³If the ^(CE)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

⁴The Lord is in His ^(CF)holy temple; the ^[ac]Lord’s ^(CG)throne is in heaven;
His ^(CH)eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind.
⁵The Lord ^(CI)tests the righteous and ^(CJ)the wicked,
And His soul hates one who loves violence.
⁶He will ^(CK)rain ^[ad]coals of fire upon the wicked,
^(CL)And brimstone and ^(CM)burning wind will be the portion of ^(CN)their cup.
⁷For the Lord is ^(CO)righteous, ^(CP)He loves ^[ae]righteousness;
The upright will ^(CQ)see His face.

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the music director; ^[af]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for ^(CR)the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
²They ^(CS)speak ^[ag]lies to one another;
They speak with ^[ah]^(CT)flattering lips and a double heart.
³May the Lord cut off all ^[ai]flattering lips,
The tongue that ^(CU)speaks great things;
⁴Who ^(CV)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are ^[aj]our own; who is lord over us?”
⁵“Because of the ^(CW)devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now ^(CX)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will ^(CY)put him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶The ^(CZ)words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver ^(DA)refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
⁷You, Lord, will keep them;
You will ^(DB)protect him from this generation forever.
⁸The ^(DC)wicked strut about on every side
When ^[ak]^(DD)vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, Lord? Will You ^(DE)forget me forever?
How long ^(DF)will You hide Your face from me?
²How long am I to ^(DG)feel anxious in my soul,
With ^(DH)grief in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³^(DI)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
^(DJ)Enlighten my eyes, or I will ^(DK)sleep the sleep of death,
⁴And my enemy will ^(DL)say, “I have overcome him,”
And ^(DM)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵But I have ^(DN)trusted in Your faithfulness;
My heart shall ^(DO)rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶I will ^(DP)sing to the Lord,
Because He has ^(DQ)looked after me.

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

14 The fool has ^(DR)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts;
There is ^(DS)no one who does good.
²The Lord has ^(DT)looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there are any who ^[al]^(DU)understand,
Who ^(DV)seek God.
³They have all ^(DW)turned aside, together they are corrupt;
There is ^(DX)no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Do all the workers of injustice ^(DY)not know,
Who ^(DZ)devour my people as they eat bread,
And ^(EA)do not call upon the Lord?
⁵There they are in great dread,
For God is with a ^(EB)righteous generation.
⁶You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
But the Lord is his ^(EC)refuge.

⁷Oh, that ^(ED)the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord ^(EE)restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Footnotes

Psalm 9 Title Meaning of the Heb uncertain
Psalm 9:1 Or miracles
Psalm 9:4 Lit my right and my cause
Psalm 9:4 Or a righteous Judge
Psalm 9:6 Or O enemy, desolations are finished forever; And their cities You have uprooted
Psalm 9:7 Or remains forever
Psalm 9:9 Or Let the Lord also be
Psalm 9:10 Or let those...name put
Psalm 9:12 I.e., avenges bloodshed
Psalm 9:14 Or deliverance
Psalm 9:16 Perhaps, resounding music or meditation
Psalm 9:17 Or turn
Psalm 9:17 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 10:1 Or Your eyes
Psalm 10:2 Or They will be caught
Psalm 10:3 Or blesses the greedy man
Psalm 10:4 Lit the height of his nose
Psalm 10:6 Lit To
Psalm 10:8 Lit lie in wait
Psalm 10:8 Or poor
Psalm 10:9 Or thicket
Psalm 10:10 Or unhappy
Psalm 10:13 I.e., as though God will ignore it
Psalm 10:14 Lit put, give
Psalm 10:14 Or poor
Psalm 10:15 Or May You seek
Psalm 10:18 Lit judge
Psalm 11:2 Or fixed
Psalm 11:4 Lit Lord, His throne
Psalm 11:6 As in a Gr version; MT snares; Fire and
Psalm 11:7 Or righteous deeds
Psalm 12 Title Or according to a lower octave (Heb Sheminith)
Psalm 12:2 Lit worthless speech
Psalm 12:2 Lit a smooth lip
Psalm 12:3 Lit a smooth lip
Psalm 12:4 Lit with us
Psalm 12:8 Or worthlessness
Psalm 14:2 Or act wisely

Proverbs 3

New American Standard Bible

The Rewards of Wisdom

3 My son, ^(A)do not forget my ^[a]teaching,
But have your heart ^(B)comply with my commandments;
²For ^(C)length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
³Do not let ^(D)kindness and truth leave you;
^(E)Bind them around your neck,
^(F)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴So you will ^(G)find favor and a ^(H)good ^[b]reputation
In the sight of God and man.
⁵^(I)Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And ^(J)do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶In all your ways ^(K)acknowledge Him,
And He will ^(L)make your paths straight.
⁷^(M)Do not be wise in your own eyes;
^(N)Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
⁸It will be ^(O)healing to your ^[c]body
And ^(P)refreshment to your bones.
⁹^(Q)Honor the Lord from your wealth,
And from the ^(R)first of all your produce;
¹⁰Then your ^(S)barns will be filled with plenty,
And your ^(T)vats will overflow with new wine.
¹¹^(U)My son, do not reject the ^[d]discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His rebuke,
¹²For ^(V)whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
Just ^(W)as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

¹³^(X)Blessed is a person who finds wisdom,
And one who obtains understanding.
¹⁴For ^[e]her ^(Y)profit is better than the profit of silver,
And her produce better than gold.
¹⁵She is ^(Z)more precious than ^[f]jewels,
And nothing you desire compares with her.
¹⁶^[g]^(AA)Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are ^(AB)riches and honor.
¹⁷Her ^(AC)ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths are ^(AD)peace.
¹⁸She is a ^(AE)tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are those who hold on to her.
¹⁹The Lord founded the earth ^(AF)by wisdom,
He ^(AG)established the heavens by understanding.
²⁰By His knowledge the ^(AH)ocean depths were burst open,
And the ^(AI)clouds drip with dew.
²¹My son, see that ^(AJ)they do not escape from your sight;
Comply with sound wisdom and discretion,
²²And they will be ^(AK)life to your soul
And ^(AL)adornment to your neck.
²³Then you will ^(AM)walk in your way securely,
And your foot will not ^(AN)stumble.
²⁴When you ^(AO)lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵^(AP)Do not be afraid of sudden danger,
Nor of ^(AQ)trouble from the wicked when it comes;
²⁶For the Lord will be ^[h]your confidence,
And will ^(AR)keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷^(AS)Do not withhold good from ^[i]those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.
²⁸^(AT)Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it to you,”
When you have it with you.
²⁹^(AU)Do not devise harm against your neighbor,
While he lives securely beside you.
³⁰^(AV)Do not contend with a person for no reason,
If he has done you no harm.
³¹^(AW)Do not envy a violent person,
And do not choose any of his ways.
³²For the ^(AX)devious are an abomination to the Lord;
But ^[j]He is ^(AY)intimate with the upright.
³³The ^(AZ)curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He ^(BA)blesses the home of the righteous.
³⁴Though ^(BB)He scoffs at the scoffers,
Yet ^(BC)He gives grace to the needy.
³⁵^(BD)The wise will inherit honor,
But fools ^[k]increase dishonor.