Proverbs 25

New International Version

More Proverbs of Solomon

25 These are more proverbs^(A) of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:^(B)

²It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.^(C)
³As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

⁴Remove the dross from the silver,
and a silversmith can produce a vessel;
⁵remove wicked officials from the king’s presence,^(D)
and his throne will be established^(E) through righteousness.^(F)

⁶Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not claim a place among his great men;
⁷it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”^(G)
than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.

What you have seen with your eyes
⁸ do not bring^[a] hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
if your neighbor puts you to shame?^(H)

⁹If you take your neighbor to court,
do not betray another’s confidence,
¹⁰or the one who hears it may shame you
and the charge against you will stand.

¹¹Like apples^[b] of gold in settings of silver^(I)
is a ruling rightly given.
¹²Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold
is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.^(J)

¹³Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time
    is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him;
    he refreshes the spirit of his master.^(K)
¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain
    is one who boasts of gifts never given.

¹⁵Through patience a ruler can be persuaded,^(L)
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.^(M)

¹⁶If you find honey, eat just enough—
too much of it, and you will vomit.^(N)
¹⁷Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—
too much of you, and they will hate you.

¹⁸Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow
    is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.^(O)
¹⁹Like a broken tooth or a lame foot
    is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.
²⁰Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
    or like vinegar poured on a wound,
    is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
²²In doing this, you will heap burning coals^(P) on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.^(Q)

²³Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain
is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.

²⁴Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.^(R)

²⁵Like cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.^(S)
²⁶Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat too much honey,^(T)
nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.^(U)

²⁸Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.

Footnotes

Proverbs 25:8 Or nobles / on whom you had set your eyes. / ⁸Do not go
Proverbs 25:11 Or possibly apricots

Numbers 31

New International Version

Vengeance on the Midianites

31 The Lord said to Moses, ²“Take vengeance on the Midianites^(A) for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.^(B)”

³So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord’s vengeance^(C) on them. ⁴Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” ⁵So twelve thousand men armed for battle,^(D) a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. ⁶Moses sent them into battle,^(E) a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas^(F) son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary^(G) and the trumpets^(H) for signaling.

⁷They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses,^(I) and killed every man.^(J) ⁸Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba^(K)—the five kings of Midian.^(L) They also killed Balaam son of Beor^(M) with the sword.^(N) ⁹The Israelites captured the Midianite women^(O) and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder.^(P) ¹⁰They burned^(Q) all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps.^(R) ¹¹They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals,^(S) ¹²and brought the captives, spoils^(T) and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly^(U) at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.^(V)

¹³Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴Moses was angry with the officers of the army^(W)—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.

¹⁵“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. ¹⁶“They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice^(X) and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident,^(Y) so that a plague^(Z) struck the Lord’s people. ¹⁷Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,^(AA) ¹⁸but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

¹⁹“Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed^(AB) must stay outside the camp seven days.^(AC) On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves^(AD) and your captives. ²⁰Purify every garment^(AE) as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.^(AF)”

²¹Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle,^(AG) “This is what is required by the law that the Lord gave Moses: ²²Gold, silver, bronze, iron,^(AH) tin, lead ²³and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire,^(AI) and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing.^(AJ) And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. ²⁴On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean.^(AK) Then you may come into the camp.^(AL)”

Dividing the Spoils

²⁵The Lord said to Moses, ²⁶“You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads^(AM) of the community are to count all the people^(AN) and animals that were captured.^(AO) ²⁷Divide^(AP) the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. ²⁸From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord^(AQ) one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. ²⁹Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part. ³⁰From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.^(AR)” ³¹So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

³²The plunder remaining from the spoils^(AS) that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep, ³³72,000 cattle, ³⁴61,000 donkeys ³⁵and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.

³⁶The half share of those who fought in the battle was:

337,500 sheep, ³⁷of which the tribute for the Lord^(AT) was 675;

³⁸36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72;

³⁹30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the Lord was 61;

⁴⁰16,000 people, of whom the tribute for the Lord was 32.

⁴¹Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part,^(AU) as the Lord commanded Moses.^(AV)

⁴²The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men— ⁴³the community’s half—was 337,500 sheep, ⁴⁴36,000 cattle, ⁴⁵30,500 donkeys ⁴⁶and 16,000 people. ⁴⁷From the Israelites’ half, Moses selected one out of every fifty people and animals, as the Lord commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.

⁴⁸Then the officers^(AW) who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses ⁴⁹and said to him, “Your servants have counted^(AX) the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.^(AY) ⁵⁰So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves^(AZ) before the Lord.”

⁵¹Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold—all the crafted articles. ⁵²All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels.^[a] ⁵³Each soldier had taken plunder^(BA) for himself. ⁵⁴Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting^(BB) as a memorial^(BC) for the Israelites before the Lord.

Footnotes

Numbers 31:52 That is, about 420 pounds or about 190 kilograms

Romans 16

New International Version

Personal Greetings

16 I commend^(A) to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon^[a]^[b] of the church in Cenchreae.^(B) ²I ask you to receive her in the Lord^(C) in a way worthy of his people^(D) and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

³Greet Priscilla^[c] and Aquila,^(E) my co-workers^(F) in Christ Jesus.^(G) ⁴They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

⁵Greet also the church that meets at their house.^(H)

Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert^(I) to Christ in the province of Asia.^(J)

⁶Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews^(K) who have been in prison with me.^(L) They are outstanding among^[d] the apostles, and they were in Christ^(M) before I was.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ,^(N) and my dear friend Stachys.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.^(O)

Greet those who belong to the household^(P) of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.^(Q)

Greet those in the household^(R) of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

¹²Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.

¹³Greet Rufus,^(S) chosen^(T) in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people^(U) who are with them.^(V)

¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss.^(W)

All the churches of Christ send greetings.

¹⁷I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.^(X) Keep away from them.^(Y) ¹⁸For such people are not serving our Lord Christ,^(Z) but their own appetites.^(AA) By smooth talk and flattery they deceive^(AB) the minds of naive people. ¹⁹Everyone has heard^(AC) about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.^(AD)

²⁰The God of peace^(AE) will soon crush^(AF) Satan^(AG) under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.^(AH)

²¹Timothy,^(AI) my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius,^(AJ) Jason^(AK) and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.^(AL)

²²I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³Gaius,^(AM) whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.

Erastus,^(AN) who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. ^[24]^[e]

²⁵Now to him who is able^(AO) to establish you in accordance with my gospel,^(AP) the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery^(AQ) hidden for long ages past, ²⁶but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings^(AR) by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from^[f] faith^(AS)— ²⁷to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.^(AT)

Footnotes

Romans 16:1 Or servant
Romans 16:1 The word deacon refers here to a Christian designated to serve with the overseers/elders of the church in a variety of ways; similarly in Phil. 1:1 and 1 Tim. 3:8,12.
Romans 16:3 Greek Prisca, a variant of Priscilla
Romans 16:7 Or are esteemed by
Romans 16:24 Some manuscripts include here May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.
Romans 16:26 Or that is