Proverbs 25

English Standard Version

More Proverbs of Solomon

25 These also are ^(A)proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

²It is the glory of God to ^(B)conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to ^(C)search things out.
³As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
    so the heart of kings is ^(D)unsearchable.
⁴Take away ^(E)the dross from the silver,
    and ^(F)the smith has material for a vessel;
⁵take away ^(G)the wicked from the presence of the king,
    and his ^(H)throne will be established in righteousness.
⁶Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence
    or stand in the place of the great,
⁷for ^(I)it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
    than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen
⁸    ^(J)do not hastily bring into court,^[a]
for^[b] what will you do in the end,
    when your neighbor puts you to shame?
⁹^(K)Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
    and do not reveal another's secret,
¹⁰lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
    and your ill repute have no end.

¹¹^(L)A word fitly spoken
    is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
¹²Like ^(M)a gold ring or an ornament of gold
    is a wise reprover to ^(N)a listening ear.
¹³Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
    is ^(O)a faithful messenger to those who send him;
    he refreshes the soul of his masters.
¹⁴Like ^(P)clouds and wind without rain
    is a man who ^(Q)boasts of a gift he does not give.

¹⁵With ^(R)patience a ruler may be persuaded,
    and a soft tongue will break a bone.
¹⁶If you have ^(S)found honey, eat ^(T)only enough for you,
    lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.
¹⁷Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house,
    lest he have his fill of you and hate you.
¹⁸A man who ^(U)bears false witness against his neighbor
    is like a war club, or ^(V)a sword, or a sharp arrow.
¹⁹Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble
    is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.
²⁰Whoever ^(W)sings songs to a heavy heart
    is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
    and like vinegar on soda.
²¹^(X)If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
    and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
²²for you will heap ^(Y)burning coals on his head,
    and the Lord will reward you.
²³The north wind brings forth rain,
    and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
²⁴^(Z)It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
²⁵Like cold water to ^(AA)a thirsty soul,
    so is ^(AB)good news from a far country.
²⁶Like ^(AC)a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
    is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
²⁷It is ^(AD)not good to eat much honey,
    nor is it glorious to ^(AE)seek one's own glory.^[c]
²⁸A man ^(AF)without self-control
    is like ^(AG)a city broken into and left without walls.

Footnotes

Proverbs 25:8 Or presence of a noble, as your eyes have seen. ⁸Do not go hastily out to court
Proverbs 25:8 Hebrew or else
Proverbs 25:27 The meaning of the Hebrew line is uncertain

Isaiah 56-57

English Standard Version

Salvation for Foreigners

56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
^(A)for soon my salvation will come,
    and my righteousness be revealed.
²Blessed is the man who does this,
    and the son of man who holds it fast,
^(B)who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

³Let not ^(C)the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
    “Behold, I am ^(D)a dry tree.”
⁴For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs ^(E)who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose the things that please me
    and hold fast my covenant,
⁵^(F)I will give in my house and within my walls
    a ^(G)monument and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
^(H)I will give them an everlasting name
    that shall not be cut off.

⁶“And ^(I)the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
everyone ^(J)who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
    and holds fast my covenant—
⁷^(K)these I will bring to ^(L)my holy mountain,
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
^(M)their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for ^(N)my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.”
⁸The Lord God,
    ^(O)who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
^(P)“I will gather yet others to him
    besides those already gathered.”

Israel's Irresponsible Leaders

⁹^(Q)All you beasts of the field, come to devour—
    all you beasts in the forest.
¹⁰^(R)His watchmen are blind;
    they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent ^(S)dogs;
    they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
    loving to slumber.
¹¹^(T)The dogs have a mighty appetite;
    they never have enough.
But ^(U)they are shepherds who have no understanding;
    they have all turned to their own way,
    ^(V)each to his own gain, one and all.
¹²^(W)“Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
    let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
^(X)and tomorrow will be like this day,
    great beyond measure.”

Israel's Futile Idolatry

57 The righteous man perishes,
    and no one lays it to heart;
^(Y)devout men are taken away,
    while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
²    ^(Z)he enters into peace;
they rest ^(AA)in their beds
    who walk in their uprightness.
³But you, draw near,
    sons of the sorceress,
    ^(AB)offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
⁴Whom are you mocking?
    Against whom ^(AC)do you open your mouth wide
    and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of ^(AD)transgression,
    ^(AE)the offspring of deceit,
⁵you who burn with lust among ^(AF)the oaks,^[a]
    under every green tree,
^(AG)who slaughter your children in the valleys,
    under the clefts of the rocks?
⁶Among the smooth stones of ^(AH)the valley is your portion;
    they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
    you have brought a grain offering.
    Shall I relent for these things?
⁷^(AI)On a high and lofty mountain
    you have set your bed,
    and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
⁸Behind the door and the doorpost
    you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, ^(AJ)you have uncovered your bed,
    you have gone up to it,
    ^(AK)you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
    you have loved their bed,
    you have looked on nakedness.^[b]
⁹You journeyed to the king with oil
    and multiplied your perfumes;
^(AL)you sent your envoys far off,
    and sent down even to Sheol.
¹⁰You were wearied with the length of your way,
    ^(AM)but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength,
    and so you were not faint.^[c]

¹¹^(AN)Whom did you dread and fear,
    ^(AO)so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
    did not lay it to heart?
^(AP)Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
    and you do not fear me?
¹²I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
    but they will not profit you.
¹³^(AQ)When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
    The wind will carry them all off,
    a breath will take them away.
^(AR)But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
    and shall inherit ^(AS)my holy mountain.

Comfort for the Contrite

¹⁴And it shall be said,
^(AT)“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
    remove every obstruction from my people's way.”
¹⁵For thus says ^(AU)the One who is high and lifted up,
    who inhabits eternity, whose name is ^(AV)Holy:
^(AW)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
    and also ^(AX)with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
^(AY)to revive the spirit of the lowly,
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶^(AZ)For I will not contend forever,
    nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
    and the breath of life that I made.
¹⁷Because of the iniquity of his ^(BA)unjust gain I was angry,
    I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
    but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
¹⁸I have seen his ways, ^(BB)but I will heal him;
    I will lead him ^(BC)and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
¹⁹    ^(BD)creating ^(BE)the fruit of the lips.
^(BF)Peace, peace, ^(BG)to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
    ^(BH)“and I will heal him.
²⁰^(BI)But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
    for it cannot be quiet,
    and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
²¹^(BJ)There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 57:5 Or among the terebinths
Isaiah 57:8 Or on a monument (see 56:5); Hebrew on a hand
Isaiah 57:10 Hebrew and so you were not sick

1 Peter 3

English Standard Version

Wives and Husbands

3 Likewise, wives, ^(A)be subject to your own husbands, so that ^(B)even if some do not obey the word, ^(C)they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, ²when they see your ^(D)respectful and pure conduct. ³^(E)Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴but let your adorning be ^(F)the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. ⁵For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^(G)calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and ^(H)do not fear anything that is frightening.

⁷Likewise, ^(I)husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker ^(J)vessel, since they are heirs with you^[a] of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Suffering for Righteousness' Sake

⁸Finally, all of you, ^(K)have unity of mind, sympathy, ^(L)brotherly love, ^(M)a tender heart, and ^(N)a humble mind. ⁹^(O)Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, ^(P)bless, for ^(Q)to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. ¹⁰For

^(R)“Whoever desires to love life
    and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
    and his lips from speaking deceit;
¹¹let him turn away from evil and do good;
    let him seek peace and pursue it.
¹²For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

¹³Now ^(S)who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? ¹⁴^(T)But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. ^(U)Have no fear of them, ^(V)nor be troubled, ¹⁵but ^(W)in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, ^(X)always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and ^(Y)respect, ¹⁶^(Z)having a good conscience, so that, ^(AA)when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷For ^(AB)it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.

¹⁸For Christ also ^(AC)suffered^[b] ^(AD)once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, ^(AE)that he might bring us to God, being put to death ^(AF)in the flesh but made alive ^(AG)in the spirit, ¹⁹in which^[c] he went and ^(AH)proclaimed^[d] to the spirits in prison, ²⁰because^[e] they formerly did not obey, ^(AI)when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, ^(AJ)while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, ^(AK)eight persons, were brought safely through water. ²¹Baptism, which corresponds to this, ^(AL)now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but ^(AM)as an appeal to God for a good conscience, ^(AN)through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and ^(AO)is at the right hand of God, ^(AP)with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.