Proverbs 8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Gifts of Wisdom
8 Does not wisdom call
and understanding raise her voice?(A)
2 On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:(B)
4 “To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all who live.
5 O simple ones, learn prudence;
acquire intelligence, you who lack it.(C)
6 Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right,(D)
7 for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.(E)
8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
9 They are all straight to one who understands
and right to those who find knowledge.(F)
10 Take my instruction instead of silver
and knowledge rather than choice gold,(G)
11 for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.(H)
12 I, wisdom, live with prudence,
and I attain knowledge and discretion.(I)
13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.(J)
14 I have good advice and sound wisdom;
I have insight; I have strength.(K)
15 By me kings reign,
and rulers decree what is just;(L)
16 by me rulers rule,
and nobles, all who govern rightly.
17 I love those who love me,
and those who seek me diligently find me.(M)
18 Riches and honor are with me,
enduring wealth and prosperity.(N)
19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,
and my yield than choice silver.(O)
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 endowing with wealth those who love me
and filling their treasuries.
Wisdom’s Part in Creation
22 “The Lord created me at the beginning[a] of his work,[b]
the first of his acts of long ago.(P)
23 Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.(Q)
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,(R)
26 when he had not yet made earth and fields[c]
or the world’s first bits of soil.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,(S)
28 when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
29 when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,(T)
30 then I was beside him, like a master worker,[d]
and I was daily his[e] delight,
playing before him always,(U)
31 playing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.(V)
32 “And now, my children, listen to me:
happy are those who keep my ways.(W)
33 Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.
34 Happy is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.(X)
35 For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the Lord,(Y)
36 but those who miss me injure themselves;
all who hate me love death.”(Z)
2 John
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Salutation
1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth,(A) 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from[a] Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.(B)
Truth and Love
4 I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. 5 But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment but one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another.(C) 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.(D)
7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist!(E) 8 Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we[b] have worked for but may receive a full reward.(F) 9 Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it,[c] does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching[d] has both the Father and the Son.(G) 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive and welcome this person into your house,(H) 11 for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.(I)
Final Greetings
12 Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink; instead, I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face, so that our[e] joy may be complete.(J)
13 The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.[f]
Proverbs 10:1-22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Wise Sayings of Solomon
10 The proverbs of Solomon.
A wise child makes a glad father,
but a foolish child is a mother’s grief.(A)
2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.
3 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.(B)
4 A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.(C)
5 A child who gathers in summer is prudent,
but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.(D)
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.(E)
7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.(F)
8 The wise of heart will heed commandments,
but one with foolish lips will come to ruin.(G)
9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but whoever follows perverse ways will be found out.(H)
10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
but one who rebukes boldly makes peace.[a](I)
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.(J)
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.(K)
13 On the lips of one who has understanding wisdom is found,
but a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.(L)
14 The wise lay up knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
15 The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin.(M)
16 The wage of the righteous leads to life,
the gain of the wicked to sin.
17 Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,
but one who rejects a rebuke goes astray.
18 Lying lips conceal hatred,
and whoever utters slander is a fool.
19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but the prudent are restrained in speech.(N)
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the mind of the wicked is of little worth.(O)
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense.
22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and toil adds nothing to it.(P)
Footnotes
- 10.10 Gk: Heb but one with foolish lips will come to ruin
Mark 14:1-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Plot to Kill Jesus
14 It was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus[a] by stealth and kill him,(A) 2 for they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany
3 While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,[b] as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.(B) 4 But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish, but you will not always have me.(C) 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial.(D) 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the good news[c] is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.(E) 11 When they heard it, they were greatly pleased and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
The Passover with the Disciples
12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?”(F) 13 So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” 16 So the disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
17 When it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”(G) 19 They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread[d] into the bowl[e] with me. 21 For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”(H) 23 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.(I) 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the[f] covenant, which is poured out for many.(J) 25 Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Peter’s Denial Foretold
26 When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.(K)
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