Proverbs 15

New International Version

15 A gentle answer^(A) turns away wrath,^(B)
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,^(C)
but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.^(D)

³The eyes^(E) of the Lord are everywhere,^(F)
keeping watch on the wicked and the good.^(G)

⁴The soothing tongue^(H) is a tree of life,^(I)
but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.^(J)

⁵A fool spurns a parent’s discipline,
but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.^(K)

⁶The house of the righteous contains great treasure,^(L)
but the income of the wicked brings ruin.^(M)

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge,^(N)
but the hearts of fools are not upright.

⁸The Lord detests the sacrifice^(O) of the wicked,^(P)
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.^(Q)

⁹The Lord detests the way of the wicked,^(R)
but he loves those who pursue righteousness.^(S)

¹⁰Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path;
the one who hates correction will die.^(T)

¹¹Death and Destruction^[a] lie open before the Lord^(U)—
how much more do human hearts!^(V)

¹²Mockers resent correction,^(W)
so they avoid the wise.

¹³A happy heart makes the face cheerful,^(X)
but heartache crushes the spirit.^(Y)

¹⁴The discerning heart seeks knowledge,^(Z)
but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the oppressed are wretched,
but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.^(AA)

¹⁶Better a little with the fear of the Lord
than great wealth with turmoil.^(AB)

¹⁷Better a small serving of vegetables with love
than a fattened calf with hatred.^(AC)

¹⁸A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict,^(AD)
but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.^(AE)

¹⁹The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,^(AF)
but the path of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A wise son brings joy to his father,^(AG)
but a foolish man despises his mother.

²¹Folly brings joy to one who has no sense,^(AH)
but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.

²²Plans fail for lack of counsel,^(AI)
but with many advisers^(AJ) they succeed.^(AK)

²³A person finds joy in giving an apt reply^(AL)—
and how good is a timely word!^(AM)

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the prudent
to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead.

²⁵The Lord tears down the house of the proud,^(AN)
but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.^(AO)

²⁶The Lord detests the thoughts^(AP) of the wicked,^(AQ)
but gracious words are pure^(AR) in his sight.

²⁷The greedy bring ruin to their households,
but the one who hates bribes will live.^(AS)

²⁸The heart of the righteous weighs its answers,^(AT)
but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.^(AU)

²⁹The Lord is far from the wicked,
but he hears the prayer of the righteous.^(AV)

³⁰Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart,
and good news gives health to the bones.^(AW)

³¹Whoever heeds life-giving correction
will be at home among the wise.^(AX)

³²Those who disregard discipline despise themselves,^(AY)
but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.^(AZ)

³³Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord,^(BA)
and humility comes before honor.^(BB)

Footnotes

Proverbs 15:11 Hebrew Abaddon

Numbers 12-13

New International Version

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

12 Miriam^(A) and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife,^(B) for he had married a Cushite. ²“Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?”^(C) And the Lord heard this.^(D)

³(Now Moses was a very humble man,^(E) more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

⁴At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. ⁵Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud;^(F) he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, ⁶he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you,
    I, the Lord, reveal^(G) myself to them in visions,^(H)
    I speak to them in dreams.^(I)
⁷But this is not true of my servant Moses;^(J)
    he is faithful in all my house.^(K)
⁸With him I speak face to face,
    clearly and not in riddles;^(L)
    he sees the form of the Lord.^(M)
Why then were you not afraid
    to speak against my servant Moses?”^(N)

⁹The anger of the Lord burned against them,^(O) and he left them.^(P)

¹⁰When the cloud lifted from above the tent,^(Q) Miriam’s skin was leprous^[a]—it became as white as snow.^(R) Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease,^(S) ¹¹and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.^(T) ¹²Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”

¹³So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!^(U)”

¹⁴The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face,^(V) would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp^(W) for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” ¹⁵So Miriam was confined outside the camp^(X) for seven days,^(Y) and the people did not move on till she was brought back.

¹⁶After that, the people left Hazeroth^(Z) and encamped in the Desert of Paran.^(AA)

Exploring Canaan

13 The Lord said to Moses, ²“Send some men to explore^(AB) the land of Canaan,^(AC) which I am giving to the Israelites.^(AD) From each ancestral tribe^(AE) send one of its leaders.”

³So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.^(AF) ⁴These are their names:

from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur;

⁵from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori;

⁶from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;^(AG)

⁷from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph;

⁸from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun;^(AH)

⁹from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu;

¹⁰from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi;

¹¹from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi;

¹²from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli;

¹³from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael;

¹⁴from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi;

¹⁵from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.

¹⁶These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore^(AI) the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun^(AJ) the name Joshua.)^(AK)

¹⁷When Moses sent them to explore Canaan,^(AL) he said, “Go up through the Negev^(AM) and on into the hill country.^(AN) ¹⁸See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? ²⁰How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.^(AO)” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)^(AP)

²¹So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin^(AQ) as far as Rehob,^(AR) toward Lebo Hamath.^(AS) ²²They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron,^(AT) where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai,^(AU) the descendants of Anak,^(AV) lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)^(AW) ²³When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,^[b]^(AX) they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates^(AY) and figs.^(AZ) ²⁴That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. ²⁵At the end of forty days^(BA) they returned from exploring the land.^(BB)

Report on the Exploration

²⁶They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh^(BC) in the Desert of Paran.^(BD) There they reported to them^(BE) and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.^(BF) ²⁷They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!^(BG) Here is its fruit.^(BH) ²⁸But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.^(BI) We even saw descendants of Anak^(BJ) there.^(BK) ²⁹The Amalekites^(BL) live in the Negev; the Hittites,^(BM) Jebusites^(BN) and Amorites^(BO) live in the hill country;^(BP) and the Canaanites^(BQ) live near the sea and along the Jordan.^(BR)”

³⁰Then Caleb^(BS) silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

³¹But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”^(BT) ³²And they spread among the Israelites a bad report^(BU) about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours^(BV) those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.^(BW) ³³We saw the Nephilim^(BX) there (the descendants of Anak^(BY) come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers^(BZ) in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Footnotes

Numbers 12:10 The Hebrew for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Numbers 13:23 Eshkol means cluster; also in verse 24.

Romans 6

New International Version

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then?^(A) Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?^(B) ²By no means! We are those who have died to sin;^(C) how can we live in it any longer? ³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized^(D) into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death^(E) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead^(F) through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.^(G)

⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.^(H) ⁶For we know that our old self^(I) was crucified with him^(J) so that the body ruled by sin^(K) might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin^(L)— ⁷because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.^(M)

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.^(N) ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,^(O) he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.^(P) ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin^(Q) once for all;^(R) but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin^(S) but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign^(T) in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,^(U) but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.^(V) ¹⁴For sin shall no longer be your master,^(W) because you are not under the law,^(X) but under grace.^(Y)

Slaves to Righteousness

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?^(Z) By no means! ¹⁶Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey^(AA)—whether you are slaves to sin,^(AB) which leads to death,^(AC) or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But thanks be to God^(AD) that, though you used to be slaves to sin,^(AE) you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching^(AF) that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸You have been set free from sin^(AG) and have become slaves to righteousness.^(AH)

¹⁹I am using an example from everyday life^(AI) because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness^(AJ) leading to holiness. ²⁰When you were slaves to sin,^(AK) you were free from the control of righteousness.^(AL) ²¹What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!^(AM) ²²But now that you have been set free from sin^(AN) and have become slaves of God,^(AO) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.^(AP) ²³For the wages of sin is death,^(AQ) but the gift of God is eternal life^(AR) in^[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.