Moral Benefits of Wisdom

My son,(A) if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding(B)
indeed, if you call out for insight(C)
    and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,(D)
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.(E)
For the Lord gives wisdom;(F)
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.(G)
He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield(H) to those whose walk is blameless,(I)
for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.(J)

Then you will understand(K) what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,(L)
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.(M)

12 Wisdom will save(N) you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,(O)
14 who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,(P)
15 whose paths are crooked(Q)
    and who are devious in their ways.(R)

16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,(S)
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.[a](T)
18 Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.(U)
19 None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.(V)

20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,(W)
    and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked(X) will be cut off from the land,(Y)
    and the unfaithful will be torn from it.(Z)

Notas al pie

  1. Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God

22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
    to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.(A)

Rich and poor have this in common:
    The Lord is the Maker of them all.(B)

The prudent see danger and take refuge,(C)
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.(D)

Humility is the fear of the Lord;
    its wages are riches and honor(E) and life.(F)

In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,(G)
    but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

Start(H) children off on the way they should go,(I)
    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.(J)

The rich rule over the poor,
    and the borrower is slave to the lender.

Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,(K)
    and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.(L)

The generous will themselves be blessed,(M)
    for they share their food with the poor.(N)

10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
    quarrels and insults are ended.(O)

11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
    will have the king for a friend.(P)

12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
    but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

13 The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!(Q)
    I’ll be killed in the public square!”

14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;(R)
    a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.(S)

15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.(T)

16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
    and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

17 Pay attention(U) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;(V)
    apply your heart to what I teach,(W)
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,(X)
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?

Saying 2

22 Do not exploit the poor(Y) because they are poor
    and do not crush the needy in court,(Z)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(AA)
    and will exact life for life.(AB)

Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
    do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
    and get yourself ensnared.(AC)

Saying 4

26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge(AD)
    or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
    your very bed will be snatched from under you.(AE)

Saying 5

28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(AF)
    set up by your ancestors.

Saying 6

29 Do you see someone skilled(AG) in their work?
    They will serve(AH) before kings;(AI)
    they will not serve before officials of low rank.

Psalm 22[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?(A)
    Why are you so far(B) from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?(C)
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,(D)
    by night,(E) but I find no rest.[b]

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;(F)
    you are the one Israel praises.[c](G)
In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.(H)
To you they cried out(I) and were saved;
    in you they trusted(J) and were not put to shame.(K)

But I am a worm(L) and not a man,
    scorned by everyone,(M) despised(N) by the people.
All who see me mock me;(O)
    they hurl insults,(P) shaking their heads.(Q)
“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.(R)
Let him deliver him,(S)
    since he delights(T) in him.”

Yet you brought me out of the womb;(U)
    you made me trust(V) in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth(W) I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,(X)
    for trouble is near(Y)
    and there is no one to help.(Z)

12 Many bulls(AA) surround me;(AB)
    strong bulls of Bashan(AC) encircle me.
13 Roaring lions(AD) that tear their prey(AE)
    open their mouths wide(AF) against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.(AG)
My heart has turned to wax;(AH)
    it has melted(AI) within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,(AJ)
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;(AK)
    you lay me in the dust(AL) of death.

16 Dogs(AM) surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce[e](AN) my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
    people stare(AO) and gloat over me.(AP)
18 They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots(AQ) for my garment.(AR)

19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.(AS)
    You are my strength;(AT) come quickly(AU) to help me.(AV)
20 Deliver me from the sword,(AW)
    my precious life(AX) from the power of the dogs.(AY)
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;(AZ)
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.(BA)

22 I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly(BB) I will praise you.(BC)
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!(BD)
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!(BE)
    Revere him,(BF) all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised(BG) or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;(BH)
he has not hidden his face(BI) from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.(BJ)

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;(BK)
    before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.(BL)
26 The poor will eat(BM) and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—(BN)
    may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth(BO)
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,(BP)
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord(BQ)
    and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich(BR) of the earth will feast and worship;(BS)
    all who go down to the dust(BT) will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.(BU)
30 Posterity(BV) will serve him;
    future generations(BW) will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,(BX)
    declaring to a people yet unborn:(BY)
    He has done it!(BZ)

Notas al pie

  1. Psalm 22:1 In Hebrew texts 22:1-31 is numbered 22:2-32.
  2. Psalm 22:2 Or night, and am not silent
  3. Psalm 22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel
  4. Psalm 22:15 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text strength
  5. Psalm 22:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text me, / like a lion
  6. Psalm 22:25 Hebrew him

Psalm 122

A song of ascents. Of David.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love(A) you be secure.
May there be peace(B) within your walls
    and security within your citadels.(C)
For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.(D)

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem(A)

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s(B) reign, Sennacherib(C) king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.(D) Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish(E) to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,(F) Eliakim(G) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator,(H) Shebna(I) the secretary,(J) and Joah(K) son of Asaph the recorder(L) went out to him.

The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah:

“‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? You say you have counsel and might for war—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel(M) against me? Look, I know you are depending(N) on Egypt,(O) that splintered reed(P) of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. But if you say to me, “We are depending(Q) on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed,(R) saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar”?(S)

“‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses(T)—if you can put riders on them! How then can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt(U) for chariots(V) and horsemen[a]?(W) 10 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told(X) me to march against this country and destroy it.’”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah(Y) said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic,(Z) since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

12 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?(AA)

13 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew,(AB) “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!(AC) 14 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive(AD) you. He cannot deliver you! 15 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver(AE) us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’(AF)

16 “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree(AG) and drink water from your own cistern,(AH) 17 until I come and take you to a land like your own(AI)—a land of grain and new wine,(AJ) a land of bread and vineyards.

18 “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad?(AK) Where are the gods of Sepharvaim?(AL) Have they rescued Samaria(AM) from my hand? 20 Who of all the gods(AN) of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”(AO)

21 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”(AP)

22 Then Eliakim(AQ) son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder(AR) went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,(AS) and told him what the field commander had said.

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold(AT)

37 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes(AU) and put on sackcloth(AV) and went into the temple(AW) of the Lord. He sent Eliakim(AX) the palace administrator, Shebna(AY) the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.(AZ) They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress(BA) and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth(BB) and there is no strength to deliver them. It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule(BC) the living God,(BD) and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard.(BE) Therefore pray(BF) for the remnant(BG) that still survives.”

When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid(BH) of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed(BI) me. Listen! When he hears a certain report,(BJ) I will make him want(BK) to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down(BL) with the sword.’”

When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish,(BM) he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.(BN)

Now Sennacherib(BO) received a report(BP) that Tirhakah, the king of Cush,[b](BQ) was marching out to fight against him. When he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive(BR) you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.’(BS) 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?(BT) 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors(BU) deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran,(BV) Rezeph and the people of Eden(BW) who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad?(BX) Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim,(BY) Hena and Ivvah?”(BZ)

Hezekiah’s Prayer(CA)

14 Hezekiah received the letter(CB) from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple(CC) of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed(CD) to the Lord: 16 Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned(CE) between the cherubim,(CF) you alone are God(CG) over all the kingdoms(CH) of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.(CI) 17 Give ear, Lord, and hear;(CJ) open your eyes, Lord, and see;(CK) listen to all the words Sennacherib(CL) has sent to ridicule(CM) the living God.(CN)

18 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands.(CO) 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire(CP) and destroyed them,(CQ) for they were not gods(CR) but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.(CS) 20 Now, Lord our God, deliver(CT) us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth(CU) may know that you, Lord, are the only God.[c](CV)

Sennacherib’s Fall(CW)

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz(CX) sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:

“Virgin Daughter(CY) Zion(CZ)
    despises and mocks you.
Daughter Jerusalem
    tosses her head(DA) as you flee.
23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?(DB)
    Against whom have you raised your voice(DC)
and lifted your eyes in pride?(DD)
    Against the Holy One(DE) of Israel!
24 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
    ‘With my many chariots(DF)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights(DG) of Lebanon.(DH)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.(DI)
I have reached its remotest heights,
    the finest of its forests.
25 I have dug wells in foreign lands[d]
    and drunk the water there.
With the soles of my feet
    I have dried up(DJ) all the streams of Egypt.(DK)

26 “Have you not heard?
    Long ago I ordained(DL) it.
In days of old I planned(DM) it;
    now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
    into piles of stone.(DN)
27 Their people, drained of power,
    are dismayed and put to shame.
They are like plants in the field,
    like tender green shoots,
like grass(DO) sprouting on the roof,(DP)
    scorched[e] before it grows up.

28 “But I know where you are
    and when you come and go(DQ)
    and how you rage(DR) against me.
29 Because you rage against me
    and because your insolence(DS) has reached my ears,
I will put my hook(DT) in your nose(DU)
    and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
    by the way you came.(DV)

30 “This will be the sign(DW) for you, Hezekiah:

“This year(DX) you will eat what grows by itself,
    and the second year what springs from that.
But in the third year(DY) sow and reap,
    plant vineyards(DZ) and eat their fruit.(EA)
31 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah
    will take root(EB) below and bear fruit(EC) above.
32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant,(ED)
    and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors.(EE)
The zeal(EF) of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“He will not enter this city(EG)
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
    or build a siege ramp(EH) against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return;(EI)
    he will not enter this city,”
declares the Lord.
35 “I will defend(EJ) this city and save it,
    for my sake(EK) and for the sake of David(EL) my servant!”

36 Then the angel(EM) of the Lord went out and put to death(EN) a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian(EO) camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 37 So Sennacherib(EP) king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh(EQ) and stayed there.

38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple(ER) of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat.(ES) And Esarhaddon(ET) his son succeeded him as king.(EU)

Notas al pie

  1. Isaiah 36:9 Or charioteers
  2. Isaiah 37:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  3. Isaiah 37:20 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:19); Masoretic Text you alone are the Lord
  4. Isaiah 37:25 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also 2 Kings 19:24); Masoretic Text does not have in foreign lands.
  5. Isaiah 37:27 Some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Kings 19:26); most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text roof / and terraced fields

James,(A) a servant of God(B) and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes(C) scattered(D) among the nations:

Greetings.(E)

Trials and Temptations

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,(F) because you know that the testing of your faith(G) produces perseverance.(H) Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature(I) and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,(J) who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.(K) But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,(L) because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded(M) and unstable(N) in all they do.

Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.(O) 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.(P) 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat(Q) and withers(R) the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.(S) In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial(T) because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life(U) that the Lord has promised to those who love him.(V)

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own(W) evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;(X) and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.(Y)

16 Don’t be deceived,(Z) my dear brothers and sisters.(AA) 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above,(AB) coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,(AC) who does not change(AD) like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth(AE) through the word of truth,(AF) that we might be a kind of firstfruits(AG) of all he created.

Listening and Doing

19 My dear brothers and sisters,(AH) take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak(AI) and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger(AJ) does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of(AK) all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you,(AL) which can save you.

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.(AM) 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,(AN) and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.(AO)

26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues(AP) deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after(AQ) orphans and widows(AR) in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.(AS)

Notas al pie

  1. James 1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verses 16 and 19; and in 2:1, 5, 14; 3:10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19.

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