Proverbs 4

New King James Version

Security in Wisdom

4 Hear, ^(A)my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
²For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
³When I was my father’s son,
^(B)Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
⁴^(C)He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
^(D)Keep my commands, and live.
⁵^(E)Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁶Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
^(F)Love her, and she will keep you.
⁷^(G)Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
⁸^(H)Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
⁹She will place on your head ^(I)an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

¹⁰Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,
^(J)And the years of your life will be many.
¹¹I have ^(K)taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
¹²When you walk, ^(L)your steps will not be hindered,
^(M)And when you run, you will not stumble.
¹³Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.

¹⁴^(N)Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
¹⁵Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶^(O)For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is ^[a]taken away unless they make someone fall.
¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸^(P)But the path of the just ^(Q)is like the shining ^[b]sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
¹⁹^(R)The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
²²For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
²³Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of ^(S)life.
²⁴Put away from you a ^[c]deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
²⁵Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
²⁶Ponder the path of your ^(T)feet,
And let all your ways be established.
²⁷Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

Footnotes

Proverbs 4:16 Lit. robbed
Proverbs 4:18 Lit. light
Proverbs 4:24 devious

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

New King James Version

The Risen Christ, Our Hope^(A)

¹²Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^(B)then Christ is not risen. ¹⁴And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. ¹⁵Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because ^(C)we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. ¹⁶For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. ¹⁷And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; ^(D)you are still in your sins! ¹⁸Then also those who have ^[a]fallen ^(E)asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹^(F)If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.