Thirty sayings of the wise

Saying 1

17 Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;
    apply your heart to what I teach,
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?

Saying 2

22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor
    and do not crush the needy in court,
23 for the Lord will take up their case
    and will exact life for life.

Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
    do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
    and get yourself ensnared.

Saying 4

26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge
    or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
    your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Read full chapter

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

17 Pay attention(A) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;(B)
    apply your heart to what I teach,(C)
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,(D)
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?

Saying 2

22 Do not exploit the poor(E) because they are poor
    and do not crush the needy in court,(F)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(G)
    and will exact life for life.(H)

Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
    do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
    and get yourself ensnared.(I)

Saying 4

26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge(J)
    or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
    your very bed will be snatched from under you.(K)

Read full chapter

Final warnings

13 This will be my third visit to you. ‘Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[a] I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: on my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong – not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority – the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.

Final greetings

11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.

14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 13:1 Deut. 19:15

Final Warnings

13 This will be my third visit to you.(A) “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”[a](B) I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent:(C) On my return I will not spare(D) those who sinned earlier(E) or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me.(F) He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness,(G) yet he lives by God’s power.(H) Likewise, we are weak(I) in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him(J) in our dealing with you.

Examine yourselves(K) to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.(L) Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you(M)—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak(N) but you are strong;(O) and our prayer is that you may be fully restored.(P) 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh(Q) in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.(R)

Final Greetings

11 Finally, brothers and sisters,(S) rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.(T) And the God of love(U) and peace(V) will be with you.

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.(W) 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.(X)

14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,(Y) and the love of God,(Z) and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit(AA) be with you all.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 13:1 Deut. 19:15

19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, ‘Away with you!’

23 He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.

27 See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar,
    with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,
    and his tongue is a consuming fire.
28 His breath is like a rushing torrent,
    rising up to the neck.
He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction;
    he places in the jaws of the peoples
    a bit that leads them astray.
29 And you will sing
    as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;
your hearts will rejoice
    as when people playing pipes go up
to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the Rock of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice
    and will make them see his arm coming down
with raging anger and consuming fire,
    with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.
31 The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;
    with his rod he will strike them down.
32 Every stroke the Lord lays on them
    with his punishing club
will be to the music of tambourines and harps,
    as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.
33 Topheth has long been prepared;
    it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
    with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath of the Lord,
    like a stream of burning sulphur,
    sets it ablaze.

Woe to those who rely on Egypt

31 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
    who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
    and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
    or seek help from the Lord.
Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster;
    he does not take back his words.
He will rise up against that wicked nation,
    against those who help evildoers.
But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God;
    their horses are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
    those who help will stumble,
    those who are helped will fall;
    all will perish together.

This is what the Lord says to me:

‘As a lion growls,
    a great lion over its prey –
and though a whole band of shepherds
    is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
    or disturbed by their clamour –
so the Lord Almighty will come down
    to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
Like birds hovering overhead,
    the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver it,
    he will “pass over” it and will rescue it.’

Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against. For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.

‘Assyria will fall by no human sword;
    a sword, not of mortals, will devour them.
They will flee before the sword
    and their young men will be put to forced labour.
Their stronghold will fall because of terror;
    at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic,’
declares the Lord,
    whose fire is in Zion,
    whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

The kingdom of righteousness

32 See, a king will reign in righteousness
    and rulers will rule with justice.
Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
    and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
    and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
    and the ears of those who hear will listen.
The fearful heart will know and understand,
    and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
No longer will the fool be called noble
    nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
For fools speak folly,
    their hearts are bent on evil:
they practise ungodliness
    and spread error concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty
    and from the thirsty they withhold water.
Scoundrels use wicked methods,
    they make up evil schemes
to destroy the poor with lies,
    even when the plea of the needy is just.
But the noble make noble plans,
    and by noble deeds they stand.

The women of Jerusalem

You women who are so complacent,
    rise up and listen to me;
you daughters who feel secure,
    hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year
    you who feel secure will tremble;
the grape harvest will fail,
    and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble, you complacent women;
    shudder, you daughters who feel secure!
Strip off your fine clothes
    and wrap yourselves in rags.
12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,
    for the fruitful vines
13 and for the land of my people,
    a land overgrown with thorns and briers –
yes, mourn for all houses of merriment
    and for this city of revelry.
14 The fortress will be abandoned,
    the noisy city deserted;
citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland for ever,
    the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15 till the Spirit is poured on us from on high,
    and the desert becomes a fertile field,
    and the fertile field seems like a forest.
16 The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert,
    his righteousness live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;
    its effect will be quietness and confidence for ever.
18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling-places,
    in secure homes,
    in undisturbed places of rest.
19 Though hail flattens the forest
    and the city is levelled completely,
20 how blessed you will be,
    sowing your seed by every stream,
    and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.

19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.(A) How gracious he will be when you cry for help!(B) As soon as he hears, he will answer(C) you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread(D) of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers(E) will be hidden(F) no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice(G) behind you, saying, “This is the way;(H) walk in it.” 22 Then you will desecrate your idols(I) overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold;(J) you will throw them away like a menstrual(K) cloth and say to them, “Away with you!(L)

23 He will also send you rain(M) for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich(N) and plentiful.(O) In that day(P) your cattle will graze in broad meadows.(Q) 24 The oxen(R) and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder(S) and mash, spread out with fork(T) and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter,(U) when the towers(V) fall, streams of water will flow(W) on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun,(X) and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals(Y) the wounds he inflicted.

27 See, the Name(Z) of the Lord comes from afar,
    with burning anger(AA) and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,(AB)
    and his tongue is a consuming fire.(AC)
28 His breath(AD) is like a rushing torrent,(AE)
    rising up to the neck.(AF)
He shakes the nations in the sieve(AG) of destruction;
    he places in the jaws of the peoples
    a bit(AH) that leads them astray.
29 And you will sing
    as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;(AI)
your hearts will rejoice(AJ)
    as when people playing pipes(AK) go up
to the mountain(AL) of the Lord,
    to the Rock(AM) of Israel.
30 The Lord will cause people to hear his majestic voice(AN)
    and will make them see his arm(AO) coming down
with raging anger(AP) and consuming fire,(AQ)
    with cloudburst, thunderstorm(AR) and hail.(AS)
31 The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;(AT)
    with his rod he will strike(AU) them down.
32 Every stroke the Lord lays on them
    with his punishing club(AV)
will be to the music of timbrels(AW) and harps,
    as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.(AX)
33 Topheth(AY) has long been prepared;
    it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
    with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath(AZ) of the Lord,
    like a stream of burning sulfur,(BA)
    sets it ablaze.(BB)

Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt

31 Woe(BC) to those who go down to Egypt(BD) for help,
    who rely on horses,(BE)
who trust in the multitude of their chariots(BF)
    and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One(BG) of Israel,
    or seek help from the Lord.(BH)
Yet he too is wise(BI) and can bring disaster;(BJ)
    he does not take back his words.(BK)
He will rise up against that wicked nation,(BL)
    against those who help evildoers.
But the Egyptians(BM) are mere mortals and not God;(BN)
    their horses(BO) are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,(BP)
    those who help will stumble,
    those who are helped(BQ) will fall;
    all will perish together.(BR)

This is what the Lord says to me:

“As a lion(BS) growls,
    a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds(BT)
    is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
    or disturbed by their clamor(BU)
so the Lord Almighty will come down(BV)
    to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
Like birds hovering(BW) overhead,
    the Lord Almighty will shield(BX) Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver(BY) it,
    he will ‘pass over’(BZ) it and will rescue it.”

Return,(CA) you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted(CB) against. For in that day(CC) every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold(CD) your sinful hands have made.(CE)

“Assyria(CF) will fall by no human sword;
    a sword, not of mortals, will devour(CG) them.
They will flee before the sword
    and their young men will be put to forced labor.(CH)
Their stronghold(CI) will fall because of terror;
    at the sight of the battle standard(CJ) their commanders will panic,(CK)
declares the Lord,
    whose fire(CL) is in Zion,
    whose furnace(CM) is in Jerusalem.

The Kingdom of Righteousness

32 See, a king(CN) will reign in righteousness
    and rulers will rule with justice.(CO)
Each one will be like a shelter(CP) from the wind
    and a refuge from the storm,(CQ)
like streams of water(CR) in the desert(CS)
    and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,(CT)
    and the ears(CU) of those who hear will listen.
The fearful heart will know and understand,(CV)
    and the stammering tongue(CW) will be fluent and clear.
No longer will the fool(CX) be called noble
    nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
For fools speak folly,(CY)
    their hearts are bent on evil:(CZ)
They practice ungodliness(DA)
    and spread error(DB) concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty(DC)
    and from the thirsty they withhold water.
Scoundrels use wicked methods,(DD)
    they make up evil schemes(DE)
to destroy the poor with lies,
    even when the plea of the needy(DF) is just.(DG)
But the noble make noble plans,
    and by noble deeds(DH) they stand.(DI)

The Women of Jerusalem

You women(DJ) who are so complacent,
    rise up and listen(DK) to me;
you daughters who feel secure,(DL)
    hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year(DM)
    you who feel secure will tremble;
the grape harvest will fail,(DN)
    and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble,(DO) you complacent women;
    shudder, you daughters who feel secure!(DP)
Strip off your fine clothes(DQ)
    and wrap yourselves in rags.(DR)
12 Beat your breasts(DS) for the pleasant fields,
    for the fruitful vines(DT)
13 and for the land of my people,
    a land overgrown with thorns and briers(DU)
yes, mourn(DV) for all houses of merriment
    and for this city of revelry.(DW)
14 The fortress(DX) will be abandoned,
    the noisy city deserted;(DY)
citadel and watchtower(DZ) will become a wasteland forever,
    the delight of donkeys,(EA) a pasture for flocks,(EB)
15 till the Spirit(EC) is poured on us from on high,
    and the desert becomes a fertile field,(ED)
    and the fertile field seems like a forest.(EE)
16 The Lord’s justice(EF) will dwell in the desert,(EG)
    his righteousness(EH) live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of that righteousness(EI) will be peace;(EJ)
    its effect will be quietness and confidence(EK) forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful(EL) dwelling places,
    in secure homes,(EM)
    in undisturbed places of rest.(EN)
19 Though hail(EO) flattens the forest(EP)
    and the city is leveled(EQ) completely,
20 how blessed you will be,
    sowing(ER) your seed by every stream,(ES)
    and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.(ET)