Proverbs 5-6

English Standard Version

Warning Against Adultery

5 ^(A)My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
    ^(B)incline your ear to my understanding,
²that you may keep ^(C)discretion,
    and your lips may ^(D)guard knowledge.
³For the lips of ^(E)a forbidden^[a] woman drip honey,
    and her speech^[b] is ^(F)smoother than oil,
⁴but in the end she is ^(G)bitter as ^(H)wormwood,
    ^(I)sharp as ^(J)a two-edged sword.
⁵Her feet ^(K)go down to death;
    her steps follow the path to^[c] Sheol;
⁶she ^(L)does not ponder the path of life;
    her ways wander, and she does not know it.

⁷And ^(M)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
⁸Keep your way far from her,
    and do not go near the door of her house,
⁹lest you give your honor to others
    and your years to the merciless,
¹⁰lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
    and your ^(N)labors go to the house of a foreigner,
¹¹and at the end of your life you ^(O)groan,
    when your flesh and body are consumed,
¹²and you say, ^(P)“How I hated discipline,
    and my heart ^(Q)despised reproof!
¹³I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
    or incline my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴^(R)I am at the brink of utter ruin
    in the assembled congregation.”

¹⁵Drink ^(S)water from your own cistern,
    flowing water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your ^(T)springs be scattered abroad,
    streams of water ^(U)in the streets?
¹⁷^(V)Let them be for yourself alone,
    and not for strangers with you.
¹⁸Let your ^(W)fountain be blessed,
    and ^(X)rejoice in ^(Y)the wife of your youth,
¹⁹    a lovely ^(Z)deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts ^(AA)fill you at all times with delight;
    be intoxicated^[d] always in her love.
²⁰Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with ^(AB)a forbidden woman
    and embrace the bosom of ^(AC)an adulteress?^[e]
²¹For ^(AD)a man's ways are ^(AE)before the eyes of the Lord,
    and he ^(AF)ponders^[f] all his paths.
²²The ^(AG)iniquities of the wicked ^(AH)ensnare him,
    and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
²³^(AI)He dies for lack of discipline,
    and because of his great folly he is ^(AJ)led astray.

Practical Warnings

6 My son, if you have put up ^(AK)security for your neighbor,
    have ^(AL)given your pledge for a stranger,
²if you are ^(AM)snared in the words of your mouth,
    caught in the words of your mouth,
³then do this, my son, and save yourself,
    for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
    go, hasten,^[g] and ^(AN)plead urgently with your neighbor.
⁴^(AO)Give your eyes no sleep
    and your eyelids no slumber;
⁵save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,^[h]
    ^(AP)like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶^(AQ)Go to ^(AR)the ant, O ^(AS)sluggard;
    consider her ways, and ^(AT)be wise.
⁷^(AU)Without having any chief,
    ^(AV)officer, or ruler,
⁸she prepares her bread ^(AW)in summer
    and ^(AX)gathers her food in harvest.
⁹^(AY)How long will you lie there, ^(AZ)O sluggard?
    When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰^(BA)A little sleep, a little slumber,
    ^(BB)a little ^(BC)folding of the hands to rest,
¹¹^(BD)and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

¹²^(BE)A worthless person, a wicked man,
    goes about with ^(BF)crooked speech,
¹³^(BG)winks with his eyes, signals^[i] with his feet,
    points with his finger,
¹⁴with ^(BH)perverted heart ^(BI)devises evil,
    continually ^(BJ)sowing discord;
¹⁵therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
    ^(BK)in a moment he will be broken ^(BL)beyond healing.

¹⁶There are ^(BM)six things that the Lord hates,
    ^(BN)seven that are an abomination to him:
¹⁷^(BO)haughty eyes, ^(BP)a lying tongue,
    and ^(BQ)hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸^(BR)a heart that devises wicked plans,
    ^(BS)feet that make haste to run to evil,
¹⁹^(BT)a false witness who ^(BU)breathes out lies,
    and one who ^(BV)sows discord among brothers.

Warnings Against Adultery

²⁰^(BW)My son, keep your father's commandment,
    ^(BX)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
²¹^(BY)Bind them on your heart always;
    ^(BZ)tie them around your neck.
²²^(CA)When you walk, they^[j] will lead you;
    ^(CB)when you lie down, they will ^(CC)watch over you;
    and when you awake, they will talk with you.
²³For the commandment is ^(CD)a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the ^(CE)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
²⁴to preserve you from the evil woman,^[k]
    from the smooth tongue of ^(CF)the adulteress.^[l]
²⁵^(CG)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
    and do not let her capture you with her ^(CH)eyelashes;
²⁶for ^(CI)the price of a prostitute is only ^(CJ)a loaf of bread,^[m]
    but a married woman^[n] ^(CK)hunts down a precious life.
²⁷Can a man carry ^(CL)fire next to his ^(CM)chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
²⁸Or can one ^(CN)walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her ^(CO)will go unpunished.
³⁰People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to ^(CP)satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
³¹but ^(CQ)if he is caught, he will pay ^(CR)sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
³²He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
³³He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
³⁴For ^(CS)jealousy makes a man furious,
    and he will not spare when ^(CT)he takes revenge.
³⁵He will accept no compensation;
    he will refuse though you multiply gifts.

Footnotes

Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew strange; also verse 20
Proverbs 5:3 Hebrew palate
Proverbs 5:5 Hebrew lay hold of
Proverbs 5:19 Hebrew be led astray; also verse 20
Proverbs 5:20 Hebrew a foreign woman
Proverbs 5:21 Or makes level
Proverbs 6:3 Or humble yourself
Proverbs 6:5 Hebrew lacks of the hunter
Proverbs 6:13 Hebrew scrapes
Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
Proverbs 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread
Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man's wife

Matthew 6

English Standard Version

Giving to the Needy

6 “Beware of ^(A)practicing your righteousness before other people in order ^(B)to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

²^(C)“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may ^(D)be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have ^(E)received their reward. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. ^(F)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord's Prayer

⁵“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love ^(G)to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. ^(H)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But when you pray, ^(I)go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ^(J)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as ^(K)the Gentiles do, for ^(L)they think that they will be heard ^(M)for their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, ^(N)for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹^(O)Pray then like this:

^(P)“Our Father in heaven,
^(Q)hallowed be ^(R)your name.^[a]
¹⁰^(S)Your kingdom come,
^(T)your will be done,^[b]
    ^(U)on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹^(V)Give us ^(W)this day our daily bread,^[c]
¹²and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And ^(X)lead us not into temptation,
    but ^(Y)deliver us from ^(Z)evil.^[d]

¹⁴^(AA)For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵^(AB)but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

¹⁶“And ^(AC)when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. ^(AD)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, ^(AE)anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. ^(AF)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

¹⁹^(AG)“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^(AH)moth and rust^[e] destroy and where thieves ^(AI)break in and steal, ²⁰^(AJ)but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²^(AK)“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, ²³^(AL)but if ^(AM)your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁴^(AN)“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^(AO)money.^[f]

Do Not Be Anxious

²⁵^(AP)“Therefore I tell you, ^(AQ)do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶^(AR)Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^(AS)Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^(AT)span of life?^[g] ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, ^(AU)even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^(AV)O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For ^(AW)the Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^(AX)your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But ^(AY)seek first ^(AZ)the kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^(BA)and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴^(BB)“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Footnotes

Matthew 6:9 Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence
Matthew 6:10 Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done
Matthew 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow
Matthew 6:13 Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen
Matthew 6:19 Or worm; also verse 20
Matthew 6:24 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions
Matthew 6:27 Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters