Proverbs 30:1-16
New King James Version
The Wisdom of Agur
30 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 (A)Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
3 I neither learned wisdom
Nor have (B)knowledge of the Holy One.
4 (C)Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
(D)Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,
If you know?
5 (E)Every word of God is [a]pure;
(F)He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
6 (G)Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
(H)Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 (I)Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
10 Do not malign a servant to his master,
Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its (J)father,
And does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation (K)that is pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a generation—oh, how (L)lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are [b]lifted up.
14 (M)There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,
And whose fangs are like knives,
(N)To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy from among men.
15 The leech has two daughters—
Give and Give!
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16 (O)The[c] grave,
The barren womb,
The earth that is not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, “Enough!”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 30:5 tested, refined, found pure
- Proverbs 30:13 In arrogance
- Proverbs 30:16 Or Sheol
Romans 5
New King James Version
Faith Triumphs in Trouble
5 Therefore, (A)having been justified by faith, [a]we have (B)peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 (C)through whom also we have access by faith into this grace (D)in which we stand, and (E)rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but (F)we also glory in tribulations, (G)knowing that tribulation produces [b]perseverance; 4 (H)and perseverance, [c]character; and character, hope. 5 (I)Now hope does not disappoint, (J)because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Christ in Our Place
6 For when we were still without strength, [d]in due time (K)Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But (L)God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified (M)by His blood, we shall be saved (N)from wrath through Him. 10 For (O)if when we were enemies (P)we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved (Q)by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also (R)rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Death in Adam, Life in Christ(S)
12 Therefore, just as (T)through one man sin entered the world, and (U)death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but (V)sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, (W)who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the [e]offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded (X)to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many [f]offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s [g]offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through [h]one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through (Y)one[i] Man’s righteous act the free gift came (Z)to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by (AA)one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
20 Moreover (AB)the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace (AC)abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Footnotes
- Romans 5:1 Some ancient mss. let us have
- Romans 5:3 endurance
- Romans 5:4 approved character
- Romans 5:6 at the right time
- Romans 5:15 trespass or false step
- Romans 5:16 trespasses
- Romans 5:17 trespass
- Romans 5:18 Or one trespass
- Romans 5:18 Or one righteous act
Proverbs 31:10-31
New King James Version
The Virtuous Wife
10 (A)Who[a] can find a [b]virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
15 (B)She also rises while it is yet night,
And (C)provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
From [c]her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
20 (D)She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 (E)Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 31:10 Vv. 10–31 are an alphabetic acrostic in Hebrew; cf. Ps. 119
- Proverbs 31:10 Lit. a wife of valor, in the sense of all forms of excellence
- Proverbs 31:16 Lit. the fruit of her hands
Luke 1:57-80
New King James Version
Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they (A)rejoiced with her.
Circumcision of John the Baptist
59 So it was, (B)on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, (C)“No; he shall be called John.”
61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them (D)kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And (E)the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zacharias’ Prophecy
67 Now his father Zacharias (F)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed(G) is the Lord God of Israel,
For (H)He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 (I)And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 (J)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been (K)since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 (L)To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (M)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might (N)serve Him without fear,
75 (O)In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (P)prophet of the Highest;
For (Q)you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give (R)knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the [a]Dayspring from on high [b]has visited us;
79 (S)To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To (T)guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So (U)the child grew and became strong in spirit, and (V)was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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