Proverbs 7-8

English Standard Version

Warning Against the Adulteress

7 ^(A)My son, keep my words
    and ^(B)treasure up my commandments with you;
²^(C)keep my commandments and live;
    keep my teaching as ^(D)the apple of your eye;
³^(E)bind them on your fingers;
    ^(F)write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and call insight your intimate friend,
⁵to keep you from ^(G)the forbidden^[a] woman,
    from ^(H)the adulteress^[b] with her smooth words.

⁶For at ^(I)the window of my house
    I have looked out through my lattice,
⁷and I have seen among ^(J)the simple,
    I have perceived among the youths,
    a young man ^(K)lacking sense,
⁸passing along the street ^(L)near her corner,
    taking the road to her house
⁹in ^(M)the twilight, in the evening,
    at ^(N)the time of night and darkness.

¹⁰And behold, the woman meets him,
    ^(O)dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.^[c]
¹¹She is ^(P)loud and ^(Q)wayward;
    ^(R)her feet do not stay at home;
¹²now in the street, now in the market,
    and ^(S)at every corner she ^(T)lies in wait.
¹³She seizes him and kisses him,
    and with ^(U)bold face she says to him,
¹⁴“I had to ^(V)offer sacrifices,^[d]
    and today I have ^(W)paid my vows;
¹⁵so now I have come out to meet you,
    to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
¹⁶I have spread my couch with ^(X)coverings,
    colored linens from ^(Y)Egyptian linen;
¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with ^(Z)myrrh,
    aloes, and ^(AA)cinnamon.
¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
    let us delight ourselves with love.
¹⁹For ^(AB)my husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey;
²⁰he took a bag of money with him;
    at full moon he will come home.”

²¹With much seductive speech she persuades him;
    with ^(AC)her smooth talk she compels him.
²²All at once he follows her,
    as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast^[e]
²³    till an arrow pierces its liver;
as ^(AD)a bird rushes into a snare;
    he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴And ^(AE)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
²⁵Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
    do not stray into her paths,
²⁶for many a victim has she laid low,
    and all her slain are ^(AF)a mighty throng.
²⁷Her house is ^(AG)the way to Sheol,
    going down to the chambers of death.

The Blessings of Wisdom

8 Does not ^(AH)wisdom call?
    Does not ^(AI)understanding raise her voice?
²On ^(AJ)the heights beside the way,
    at the crossroads she takes her stand;
³beside ^(AK)the gates in front of ^(AL)the town,
    at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
⁴“To you, O ^(AM)men, I call,
    and my cry is to ^(AN)the children of man.
⁵O ^(AO)simple ones, learn ^(AP)prudence;
    O ^(AQ)fools, learn sense.
⁶Hear, for I will speak ^(AR)noble things,
    and from my lips will come ^(AS)what is right,
⁷for my ^(AT)mouth will utter truth;
    wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous;
    there is nothing ^(AU)twisted or crooked in them.
⁹They are all ^(AV)straight to him who understands,
    and right to those who find knowledge.
¹⁰^(AW)Take my instruction instead of silver,
    and knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹^(AX)for wisdom is better than jewels,
    and ^(AY)all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

¹²“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
    and I find knowledge and ^(AZ)discretion.
¹³^(BA)The fear of the Lord is ^(BB)hatred of evil.
^(BC)Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
    and ^(BD)perverted speech I hate.
¹⁴I have ^(BE)counsel and ^(BF)sound wisdom;
    I have insight; ^(BG)I have strength.
¹⁵By me ^(BH)kings reign,
    and rulers decree what is just;
¹⁶by me princes rule,
    and nobles, all who govern justly.^[f]
¹⁷^(BI)I love those who love me,
    and ^(BJ)those who seek me diligently find me.
¹⁸^(BK)Riches and honor are with me,
    ^(BL)enduring wealth and ^(BM)righteousness.
¹⁹My fruit is ^(BN)better than ^(BO)gold, even fine gold,
    and my yield than ^(BP)choice silver.
²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness,
    in the paths of justice,
²¹granting an inheritance to those who love me,
    and filling their treasuries.

²²^(BQ)“The Lord ^(BR)possessed^[g] me at the beginning of his work,^[h]
    the first of his acts ^(BS)of old.
²³Ages ago I was ^(BT)set up,
    at the first, ^(BU)before the beginning of the earth.
²⁴When there were no ^(BV)depths I was ^(BW)brought forth,
    when there were no springs abounding with water.
²⁵Before the mountains ^(BX)had been shaped,
    ^(BY)before the hills, I was brought forth,
²⁶before he had made the earth with its fields,
    or the first of the dust of the world.
²⁷When he ^(BZ)established the heavens, I was there;
    when he drew ^(CA)a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸when he ^(CB)made firm the skies above,
    when he established^[i] the fountains of the deep,
²⁹when he ^(CC)assigned to the sea its ^(CD)limit,
    so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out ^(CE)the foundations of the earth,
³⁰    then ^(CF)I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his^[j] ^(CG)delight,
    rejoicing before him always,
³¹^(CH)rejoicing in his ^(CI)inhabited world
    and delighting in the children of man.

³²“And now, ^(CJ)O sons, listen to me:
    ^(CK)blessed are those who keep my ways.
³³^(CL)Hear instruction and be wise,
    and do not neglect it.
³⁴^(CM)Blessed is the one who listens to me,
    watching daily at my gates,
    waiting beside my doors.
³⁵For ^(CN)whoever finds me ^(CO)finds life
    and ^(CP)obtains favor from the Lord,
³⁶but he who fails to find me ^(CQ)injures himself;
    all who ^(CR)hate me ^(CS)love death.”

Footnotes

Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew strange
Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew the foreign woman
Proverbs 7:10 Hebrew guarded in heart
Proverbs 7:14 Hebrew peace offerings
Proverbs 7:22 Probable reading (compare Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac); Hebrew as a chain to discipline a fool
Proverbs 8:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint govern the earth
Proverbs 8:22 Or fathered; Septuagint created
Proverbs 8:22 Hebrew way
Proverbs 8:28 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Proverbs 8:30 Or daily filled with

Matthew 7

English Standard Version

Judging Others

7 ^(A)“Judge not, that you be not judged. ²^(B)For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and ^(C)with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but ^(D)do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

⁶^(E)“Do not give ^(F)dogs what is holy, and do not throw your ^(G)pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Ask, and It Will Be Given

⁷^(H)“Ask, ^(I)and it will be given to you; ^(J)seek, and you will find; ^(K)knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹Or which one of you, if his son asks him for ^(L)bread, will give him ^(M)a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, ^(N)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^(O)your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

The Golden Rule

¹²“So ^(P)whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is ^(Q)the Law and the Prophets.

¹³^(R)“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy^[a] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and ^(S)the way is hard that leads to life, and ^(T)those who find it are few.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵^(U)“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ^(V)ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will recognize them ^(W)by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷So, ^(X)every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹^(Y)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus you will recognize them ^(Z)by their fruits.

I Never Knew You

²¹^(AA)“Not everyone who ^(AB)says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will ^(AC)enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who ^(AD)does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²^(AE)On that day ^(AF)many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not ^(AG)prophesy in your name, and cast out demons ^(AH)in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³^(AI)And then will I declare to them, ‘I ^(AJ)never knew you; ^(AK)depart from me, ^(AL)you workers of lawlessness.’

Build Your House on the Rock

²⁴^(AM)“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like ^(AN)a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like ^(AO)a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

The Authority of Jesus

²⁸And when Jesus finished these sayings, ^(AP)the crowds were astonished at his teaching, ²⁹^(AQ)for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.