Proverbs 2

New American Standard Bible

The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security

2 My son, if you will ^(A)receive my words
And ^(B)treasure my commandments within you,
²^(C)Make your ear attentive to wisdom;
Incline your heart to understanding.
³For if you cry out for insight,
And ^[a]raise your voice for understanding;
⁴If you seek her as ^(D)silver
And search for her as for ^(E)hidden treasures;
⁵Then you will understand the ^(F)fear of the Lord,
And discover the knowledge of God.
⁶For ^(G)the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a ^(H)shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸Guarding the paths of justice,
And He ^(I)watches over the way of His godly ones.
⁹Then you will discern ^(J)righteousness, justice,
And integrity, and every ^(K)good path.
¹⁰For ^(L)wisdom will enter your heart,
And ^(M)knowledge will be delightful to your soul;
¹¹Discretion will ^(N)watch over you,
Understanding will guard you,
¹²To ^(O)rescue you from the way of evil,
From a person who speaks ^(P)perverse things;
¹³From those who ^(Q)leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ^(R)ways of darkness;
¹⁴Who ^(S)delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
¹⁵Whose paths are ^(T)crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
¹⁶To ^(U)rescue you from the strange woman,
From the ^(V)foreign woman who flatters with her words,
¹⁷Who leaves the ^(W)companion of her youth
And forgets the ^(X)covenant of her God;
¹⁸For ^(Y)her house sinks down to death,
And her tracks lead to the ^[b]dead;
¹⁹None ^(Z)who go to her return,
Nor do they reach the ^(AA)paths of life.
²⁰So you will ^(AB)walk in the way of good people
And keep to the ^(AC)paths of the righteous.
²¹For ^(AD)the upright will live in the land,
And ^(AE)the blameless will remain in it;
²²But ^(AF)the wicked will be eliminated from the land,
And ^(AG)the treacherous will be ^(AH)torn away from it.

Footnotes

Proverbs 2:3 Lit give
Proverbs 2:18 Lit departed spirits

1 John 3:13-4:6

New American Standard Bible

¹³Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if ^(A)the world hates you. ¹⁴We know that we have ^(B)passed out of death into life, ^(C)because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵Everyone who ^(D)hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that ^(E)no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. ¹⁶We know love by this, that ^(F)He laid down His life for us; and ^(G)we ought to lay down our lives for the ^(H)brothers and sisters. ¹⁷But ^(I)whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and ^(J)closes his ^[a]heart ^[b]against him, ^(K)how does the love of God remain in him? ¹⁸^(L)Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and ^(M)truth. ¹⁹We will know by this that we are ^(N)of the truth, and will set our heart at ease before Him, ²⁰that if our heart condemns us, that God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. ²¹^(O)Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have ^(P)confidence ^[c]before God; ²²and ^(Q)whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we ^(R)keep His commandments and do ^(S)the things that are pleasing in His sight.

²³This is His commandment, that we ^[d]^(T)believe in ^(U)the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as ^(V)He ^[e]commanded us. ²⁴The one who ^(W)keeps His commandments ^(X)remains in Him, and He in him. ^(Y)We know by this that ^(Z)He remains in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Testing the Spirits

4 ^(AA)Beloved, do not believe every ^(AB)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(AC)many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(AD)every spirit that ^(AE)confesses that ^(AF)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³and every spirit that ^(AG)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(AH)antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and ^(AI)now it is already in the world. ⁴You are from God, ^(AJ)little children, and ^(AK)have overcome them; because ^(AL)greater is He who is in you than ^(AM)he who is in the world. ⁵^(AN)They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶^(AO)We are from God. ^(AP)The one who knows God listens to us; ^(AQ)the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(AR)the spirit of truth and ^(AS)the spirit of error.

Footnotes

1 John 3:17 Lit inward parts
1 John 3:17 Lit from
1 John 3:21 Lit toward
1 John 3:23 Or believe the name
1 John 3:23 Lit gave us a commandment

Proverbs 3:1-26

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.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Proverbs 3:1 Or law
Proverbs 3:4 Lit understanding
Proverbs 3:8 Lit navel
Proverbs 3:11 Or instruction
Proverbs 3:14 I.e., the profit from Wisdom (personified)
Proverbs 3:15 Lit corals
Proverbs 3:16 Lit Length of days
Proverbs 3:26 Or at your side

Mark 12:13-34

New American Standard Bible

Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes

¹³^(A)Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and ^(B)Herodians to Him in order to ^(C)trap Him in a statement. ¹⁴They came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and ^[a]do not care what anyone thinks; for You ^[b]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it ^[c]permissible to pay a ^[d]poll-tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a ^[e]denarius to look at.” ¹⁶And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷And Jesus said to them, “^(D)Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

¹⁸^(E)Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to ^[f]Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, ¹⁹“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ^(F)if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to ^[g]marry the wife and raise up ^[h]children for his brother. ²⁰There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. ²¹The second one ^[i]married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; ²²and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died. ²³In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.” ²⁴Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not ^[j]understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶But ^[k]regarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, ^(G)in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘^(H)I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷^(I)He is not the God ^[l]of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

²⁸^(J)One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and ^(K)recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the ^[m]foremost of all?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The ^[n]foremost is, ‘^(L)Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰^(M)and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘^(N)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³²And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that ^(O)He is One, and there is no other besides Him; ³³^(P)and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, ^(Q)is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(R)And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.