Proverbs 8

English Standard Version

The Blessings of Wisdom

8 Does not ^(A)wisdom call?
    Does not ^(B)understanding raise her voice?
²On ^(C)the heights beside the way,
    at the crossroads she takes her stand;
³beside ^(D)the gates in front of ^(E)the town,
    at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
⁴“To you, O ^(F)men, I call,
    and my cry is to ^(G)the children of man.
⁵O ^(H)simple ones, learn ^(I)prudence;
    O ^(J)fools, learn sense.
⁶Hear, for I will speak ^(K)noble things,
    and from my lips will come ^(L)what is right,
⁷for my ^(M)mouth will utter truth;
    wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous;
    there is nothing ^(N)twisted or crooked in them.
⁹They are all ^(O)straight to him who understands,
    and right to those who find knowledge.
¹⁰^(P)Take my instruction instead of silver,
    and knowledge rather than choice gold,
¹¹^(Q)for wisdom is better than jewels,
    and ^(R)all that you may desire cannot compare with her.

¹²“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
    and I find knowledge and ^(S)discretion.
¹³^(T)The fear of the Lord is ^(U)hatred of evil.
^(V)Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
    and ^(W)perverted speech I hate.
¹⁴I have ^(X)counsel and ^(Y)sound wisdom;
    I have insight; ^(Z)I have strength.
¹⁵By me ^(AA)kings reign,
    and rulers decree what is just;
¹⁶by me princes rule,
    and nobles, all who govern justly.^[a]
¹⁷^(AB)I love those who love me,
    and ^(AC)those who seek me diligently find me.
¹⁸^(AD)Riches and honor are with me,
    ^(AE)enduring wealth and ^(AF)righteousness.
¹⁹My fruit is ^(AG)better than ^(AH)gold, even fine gold,
    and my yield than ^(AI)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^(AJ)“The Lord ^(AK)possessed^[b] me at the beginning of his work,^[c]
    the first of his acts ^(AL)of old.
²³Ages ago I was ^(AM)set up,
    at the first, ^(AN)before the beginning of the earth.
²⁴When there were no ^(AO)depths I was ^(AP)brought forth,
    when there were no springs abounding with water.
²⁵Before the mountains ^(AQ)had been shaped,
    ^(AR)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 ^(AS)established the heavens, I was there;
    when he drew ^(AT)a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸when he ^(AU)made firm the skies above,
    when he established^[d] the fountains of the deep,
²⁹when he ^(AV)assigned to the sea its ^(AW)limit,
    so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out ^(AX)the foundations of the earth,
³⁰    then ^(AY)I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his^[e] ^(AZ)delight,
    rejoicing before him always,
³¹^(BA)rejoicing in his ^(BB)inhabited world
    and delighting in the children of man.

³²“And now, ^(BC)O sons, listen to me:
    ^(BD)blessed are those who keep my ways.
³³^(BE)Hear instruction and be wise,
    and do not neglect it.
³⁴^(BF)Blessed is the one who listens to me,
    watching daily at my gates,
    waiting beside my doors.
³⁵For ^(BG)whoever finds me ^(BH)finds life
    and ^(BI)obtains favor from the Lord,
³⁶but he who fails to find me ^(BJ)injures himself;
    all who ^(BK)hate me ^(BL)love death.”

Footnotes

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

Isaiah 24

English Standard Version

Judgment on the Whole Earth

24 Behold, ^(A)the Lord will empty the earth^[a] and make it desolate,
    and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
²^(B)And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
    as with the slave, so with his master;
    as with the maid, so with her mistress;
^(C)as with the buyer, so with the seller;
    as with the lender, so with the borrower;
    ^(D)as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
³^(E)The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
    ^(F)for the Lord has spoken this word.

⁴^(G)The earth mourns and withers;
    the world languishes and withers;
    the highest people of the earth languish.
⁵The earth lies ^(H)defiled
    under its inhabitants;
for ^(I)they have transgressed the laws,
    violated the statutes,
    broken the everlasting covenant.
⁶Therefore ^(J)a curse devours the earth,
    and its inhabitants ^(K)suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
    and few men are left.
⁷^(L)The wine mourns,
    the vine languishes,
    all the merry-hearted sigh.
⁸^(M)The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,
    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
⁹No more do they drink wine ^(N)with singing;
    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰^(O)The wasted city is broken down;
    ^(P)every house is shut up so that none can enter.
¹¹^(Q)There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
    ^(R)all joy has grown dark;
    the gladness of the earth is banished.
¹²Desolation is left in the city;
    the gates are battered into ruins.
¹³For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
    among the nations,
^(S)as when an olive tree is beaten,
    as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.

¹⁴They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
    over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.^[b]
¹⁵^(T)Therefore in the east^[c] give glory to the Lord;
    in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁶^(U)From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
    of glory to ^(V)the Righteous One.
But I say, “I waste away,
    I waste away. Woe is me!
For ^(W)the traitors have betrayed,
    with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.”

¹⁷^(X)Terror and the pit and the snare^[d]
    are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
¹⁸^(Y)He who flees at the sound of the terror
    shall fall into the pit,
and he who climbs out of the pit
    shall be caught in the snare.
For ^(Z)the windows of heaven are opened,
    and ^(AA)the foundations of the earth tremble.
¹⁹The earth is utterly broken,
    the earth is split apart,
    the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰The earth ^(AB)staggers like a drunken man;
    it sways like a hut;
^(AC)its transgression lies heavy upon it,
    and it falls, and will not rise again.

²¹On that day the Lord will punish
    the host of heaven, in heaven,
    and ^(AD)the kings of the earth, on the earth.
²²^(AE)They will be gathered together
    as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
    and after many days ^(AF)they will be punished.
²³^(AG)Then the moon will be confounded
    and the sun ashamed,
for ^(AH)the Lord of hosts reigns
    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and his glory will be before his elders.

Footnotes

Isaiah 24:1 Or land; also throughout this chapter
Isaiah 24:14 Hebrew from the sea
Isaiah 24:15 Hebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires
Isaiah 24:17 The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike

Ezekiel 18

English Standard Version

The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

18 The word of the Lord came to me: ²“What do you^[a] mean ^(A)by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ^(B)‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge’? ³^(C)As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(D)this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. ⁴Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: ^(E)the soul who sins shall die.

⁵“If a man is righteous and does ^(F)what is just and right— ⁶if he ^(G)does not eat upon the mountains or ^(H)lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, ^(I)does not defile his neighbor's wife ^(J)or approach ^(K)a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, ⁷^(L)does not oppress anyone, but ^(M)restores to the debtor his pledge, ^(N)commits no robbery, ^(O)gives his bread to the hungry ^(P)and covers the naked with a garment, ⁸^(Q)does not lend at interest ^(R)or take any profit,^[b] withholds his hand from injustice, ^(S)executes true justice between man and man, ⁹^(T)walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; ^(U)he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

¹⁰“If he fathers a son who is violent, ^(V)a shedder of blood, who does any of these things ¹¹(though he himself did none of these things), ^(W)who even eats upon the mountains, ^(X)defiles his neighbor's wife, ¹²oppresses the poor and needy, ^(Y)commits robbery, ^(Z)does not restore the pledge, ^(AA)lifts up his eyes to the idols, ^(AB)commits abomination, ¹³^(AC)lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; ^(AD)his blood shall be upon himself.

¹⁴“Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: ¹⁵he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, ¹⁶does not oppress anyone, ^(AE)exacts no pledge, ^(AF)commits no robbery, ^(AG)but gives his bread to the hungry ^(AH)and covers the naked with a garment, ¹⁷withholds his hand from iniquity,^[c] takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, ^(AI)and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; ^(AJ)he shall surely live. ¹⁸As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, ^(AK)behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

¹⁹“Yet you say, ^(AL)‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done ^(AM)what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, ^(AN)he shall surely live. ²⁰^(AO)The soul who sins shall die. ^(AP)The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. ^(AQ)The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, ^(AR)and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

²¹^(AS)“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does ^(AT)what is just and right, ^(AU)he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²²^(AV)None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. ²³^(AW)Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? ²⁴^(AX)But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? ^(AY)None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for ^(AZ)the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

²⁵^(BA)“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? ²⁶^(BB)When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. ²⁷Again, ^(BC)when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. ²⁸Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

³⁰“Therefore ^(BD)I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. ^(BE)Repent and turn from all your transgressions, ^(BF)lest iniquity be your ruin.^[d] ³¹^(BG)Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and ^(BH)make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ^(BI)Why will you die, O house of Israel? ³²^(BJ)For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; ^(BK)so turn, and live.”

Footnotes

Ezekiel 18:2 The Hebrew for you is plural
Ezekiel 18:8 That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor; also verses 13, 17 (compare Leviticus 25:36)
Ezekiel 18:17 Septuagint; Hebrew from the poor
Ezekiel 18:30 Or lest iniquity be your stumbling block