Proverbs 30:10-31

New International Version

¹⁰“Do not slander a servant to their master,
or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹“There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;^(A)
¹²those who are pure in their own eyes^(B)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;^(C)
¹³those whose eyes are ever so haughty,^(D)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
¹⁴those whose teeth^(E) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives^(F)
to devour^(G) the poor^(H) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.^(I)

¹⁵“The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,^(J)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
¹⁶the grave,^(K) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷“The eye that mocks^(L) a father,
that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.^(M)

¹⁸“There are three things that are too amazing for me,
    four that I do not understand:
¹⁹the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a young woman.

²⁰“This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’^(N)

²¹“Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
²²a servant who becomes king,^(O)
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
²³a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

²⁴“Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
²⁵Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;^(P)
²⁶hyraxes^(Q) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
²⁷locusts^(R) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
²⁸a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

²⁹“There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
³⁰a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
³¹a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.^[a]

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Footnotes

Proverbs 30:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

New International Version

Wisdom

7 A good name is better than fine perfume,^(A)
    and the day of death better than the day of birth.^(B)
²It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death^(C) is the destiny^(D) of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
³Frustration is better than laughter,^(E)
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.^(F)
⁵It is better to heed the rebuke^(G) of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
⁶Like the crackling of thorns^(H) under the pot,
    so is the laughter^(I) of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

⁷Extortion turns a wise person into a fool,
and a bribe^(J) corrupts the heart.

⁸The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience^(K) is better than pride.
⁹Do not be quickly provoked^(L) in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.^(M)

¹⁰Do not say, “Why were the old days^(N) better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.

¹¹Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing^(O)
    and benefits those who see the sun.^(P)
¹²Wisdom is a shelter
    as money is a shelter,
but the advantage of knowledge is this:
    Wisdom preserves those who have it.

¹³Consider what God has done:^(Q)

Who can straighten
    what he has made crooked?^(R)
¹⁴When times are good, be happy;
    but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
    as well as the other.^(S)
Therefore, no one can discover
    anything about their future.

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2 Corinthians 8

New International Version

The Collection for the Lord’s People

8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian^(A) churches. ²In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.^(B) ³For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,^(C) and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing^(D) in this service^(E) to the Lord’s people.^(F) ⁵And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. ⁶So we urged^(G) Titus,^(H) just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion^(I) this act of grace on your part. ⁷But since you excel in everything^(J)—in faith, in speech, in knowledge,^(K) in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you^[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

⁸I am not commanding you,^(L) but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. ⁹For you know the grace^(M) of our Lord Jesus Christ,^(N) that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,^(O) so that you through his poverty might become rich.^(P)

¹⁰And here is my judgment^(Q) about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.^(R) ¹¹Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness^(S) to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. ¹²For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has,^(T) not according to what one does not have.

¹³Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴At the present time your plenty will supply what they need,^(U) so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, ¹⁵as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”^[b]^(V)

Titus Sent to Receive the Collection

¹⁶Thanks be to God,^(W) who put into the heart^(X) of Titus^(Y) the same concern I have for you. ¹⁷For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.^(Z) ¹⁸And we are sending along with him the brother^(AA) who is praised by all the churches^(AB) for his service to the gospel.^(AC) ¹⁹What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us^(AD) as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.^(AE) ²⁰We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. ²¹For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.^(AF)

²²In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. ²³As for Titus,^(AG) he is my partner^(AH) and co-worker^(AI) among you; as for our brothers,^(AJ) they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. ²⁴Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you,^(AK) so that the churches can see it.

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 8:7 Some manuscripts and in your love for us
2 Corinthians 8:15 Exodus 16:18

2 Corinthians 9:1-5

New International Version

9 There is no need^(A) for me to write to you about this service^(B) to the Lord’s people.^(C) ²For I know your eagerness to help,^(D) and I have been boasting^(E) about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year^(F) you in Achaia^(G) were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. ³But I am sending the brothers^(H) in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be.^(I) ⁴For if any Macedonians^(J) come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. ⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers^(K) to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift,^(L) not as one grudgingly given.^(M)