Proverbs 26:12-28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
12 Do you see people wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for fools than for them.(A)
13 The lazy person says, “There is a lion in the road!
There is a lion in the streets!”(B)
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so does a lazy person in bed.
15 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish
and is too tired to bring it back to the mouth.(C)
16 The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem
than seven who can answer discreetly.
17 Like someone who takes a passing dog by the ears
is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.(D)
18 Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,(E)
19 so is one who deceives a neighbor
and says, “I am only joking!”(F)
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.(G)
21 As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.(H)
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.(I)
23 Like the glaze[a] covering an earthen vessel
are smooth[b] lips with an evil heart.
24 An enemy dissembles in speaking
while harboring deceit within;(J)
25 when an enemy speaks graciously, do not believe it,
for there are seven abominations concealed within;(K)
26 though hatred is covered with guile,
the enemy’s wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.(L)
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.(M)
28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.(N)
Romans 4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Example of Abraham
4 What then are we to say was gained by[a] Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.(A) 3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed[b] God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”(B) 4 Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.(C) 5 But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. 6 So also David pronounces a blessing on those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven
and whose sins are covered;(D)
8 blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin.”
9 Is this blessing, then, pronounced only on the circumcised or also on the uncircumcised? We say, “Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith[c] while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe[d] without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,(E) 12 and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised.
God’s Promise Realized through Faith
13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.(F) 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.(G)
16 For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us,(H) 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”), in the presence of the God in whom he believed,[e] who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.(I) 18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already[f] as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), and the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.(J) 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.(K) 22 Therefore “it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone(L) 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe[g] in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,(M) 25 who was handed over for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.(N)
Proverbs 27:1-22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.(A)
2 Let another praise you and not your own mouth,
a stranger and not your own lips.(B)
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.(C)
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.(D)
6 Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts,
but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7 The sated appetite spurns honey,
but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet.(E)
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest
is one who strays from home.
9 Perfume and incense make the heart glad,
but the soul is torn by trouble.[a]
10 Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parent;
do not go to the house of your kindred in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is nearby
than kindred who are far away.(F)
11 Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
so that I may answer whoever reproaches me.(G)
12 The clever see danger and hide,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.(H)
13 Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.[b](I)
14 Whoever blesses a neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
15 A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious wife are alike;(J)
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp oil in the right hand.[c]
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens the wits[d] of another.
18 Anyone who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and anyone who takes care of a master will be honored.(K)
19 Just as water reflects the face,
so one human heart reflects another.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and human eyes are never satisfied.(L)
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
so a person is tested[e] by being praised.(M)
22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
but the folly will not be driven out.(N)
Luke 1:24-56
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”(A)
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,(B) 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.(C) 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”[a](D) 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.(E) 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.(F) 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”(G) 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”[b] 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[c] will be holy; he will be called Son of God.(H) 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”(I) 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.(J) 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?(K) 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[d] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary[e] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,(L)
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,(M)
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,(N)
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;(O)
50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.(P)
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.(Q)
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;(R)
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.(S)
54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,(T)
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(U)
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
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