Old/New Testament
Exhortations to Seek Wisdom and Walk with the Lord[a]
3 My child,[b] do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep[c] my commandments,
2 for they will provide[d] a long and full life,[e]
and well-being[f] for you.
3 Do not let mercy and truth[g] leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.[h]
4 Then you will find[i] favor and good understanding,[j]
in the sight of God and people.[k]
5 Trust[l] in the Lord with all your heart,[m]
and do not rely[n] on your own understanding.[o]
6 Acknowledge[p] him in all your ways,[q]
and he will make your paths straight.[r]
7 Do not be wise in your own estimation;[s]
fear the Lord and turn away from evil.[t]
8 This will bring[u] healing to your body,[v]
and refreshment[w] to your inner self.[x]
9 Honor[y] the Lord from your wealth
and from the firstfruits of all your crops;[z]
10 then your barns will be filled completely,[aa]
and your vats[ab] will overflow[ac] with new wine.[ad]
11 My child, do not despise discipline from the Lord,[ae]
and do not loathe[af] his rebuke.
12 For the Lord disciplines[ag] those he loves,
just as a father[ah] disciplines[ai] the son in whom he delights.
Blessings of Obtaining Wisdom
13 Blessed[aj] is the one[ak] who has found[al] wisdom,
and the one who obtains[am] understanding.
14 For her[an] benefit[ao] is more profitable[ap] than silver,
and her[aq] gain[ar] is better[as] than gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies,
and none of the things you desire can compare[at] with her.[au]
16 Long life[av] is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are very pleasant,[aw]
and all her paths are peaceful.
18 She is like[ax] a tree of life[ay] to those who grasp onto her,
and everyone who takes hold of her will be blessed.[az]
19 By wisdom the Lord laid the foundation of the earth;[ba]
he established the heavens by understanding.[bb]
20 By his knowledge the primordial sea[bc] was broken open,[bd]
so that the clouds drip down dew.[be]
21 My child, do not let them[bf] escape from your sight;
safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.[bg]
22 So they will become life for your soul,[bh]
and grace around your neck.[bi]
23 Then you will walk on your way with security,
and you will not stumble.[bj]
24 When[bk] you lie down[bl] you will not be filled with fear;[bm]
when you lie down your sleep will be pleasant.[bn]
25 Do not be afraid[bo] of sudden[bp] disaster,[bq]
or when destruction overtakes the wicked;[br]
26 for the Lord will be the source of your confidence,[bs]
and he will guard your foot[bt] from being caught in a trap.[bu]
Wisdom Demonstrated in Relationships with People
27 Do not withhold good from those who need it,[bv]
when you[bw] have the ability[bx] to help.[by]
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go! Return tomorrow
and I will give it,” when you have it with you at the time.[bz]
29 Do not plot[ca] evil against your neighbor
when[cb] he dwells by you unsuspectingly.
30 Do not accuse[cc] anyone[cd] without legitimate cause,[ce]
if he has not treated you wrongly.
31 Do not envy a violent man,[cf]
and do not choose any of his ways;
32 for one who goes astray[cg] is an abomination[ch] to the Lord,
but he reveals[ci] his intimate counsel[cj] to the upright.
33 The Lord’s curse[ck] is on the household[cl] of the wicked,[cm]
but he blesses[cn] the home[co] of the righteous.[cp]
34 With[cq] arrogant scoffers[cr] he is scornful,
yet he shows favor to the humble.[cs]
35 The wise inherit honor,
but he holds fools up to[ct] public contempt.[cu]
Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness[cv]
4 Listen, children,[cw] to a father’s instruction,[cx]
and pay attention so that you may gain[cy] discernment.
2 Because I hereby give[cz] you good instruction,
do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a son to my father,[da]
a tender, only child[db] before my mother,
4 he taught me, and he said to me:
“Let your heart lay hold of my words;
keep my commands so that[dc] you will live.
5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;
do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak.[dd]
6 Do not forsake wisdom,[de] and she will protect you;
love her, and she will guard you.
7 Wisdom is supreme[df]—so[dg] acquire wisdom,
and whatever you acquire,[dh] acquire understanding![di]
8 Esteem her highly[dj] and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will place a fair[dk] garland on your head;
she will bestow a beautiful crown[dl] on you.”
10 Listen, my child,[dm] and accept my words,
so that[dn] the years of your life will be many.[do]
11 I hereby guide you[dp] in the way of wisdom
and I lead you in upright paths.[dq]
12 When you walk, your steps[dr] will not be hampered,[ds]
and when you run,[dt] you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction,[du] do not let it go;
protect it,[dv] because it is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
or walk[dw] in the way of those who are evil.
15 Avoid it, do not go on it;
turn away from it, and go on.[dx]
16 For they cannot sleep[dy] unless they cause harm;[dz]
they are robbed of sleep[ea] until they make someone stumble.[eb]
17 Indeed they have eaten[ec] bread gained from wickedness[ed]
and drink[ee] wine obtained from violence.[ef]
18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light,[eg]
growing brighter and brighter[eh] until full day.[ei]
19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness;
they do not know what they stumble over.[ej]
20 My child, pay attention to my words;
listen attentively[ek] to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart[el] from your sight,
guard[em] them within your heart;[en]
22 for they are life to those who find them
and healing to one’s entire body.[eo]
23 Guard your heart[ep] with all vigilance,[eq]
for from it are the sources[er] of life.
24 Remove perverse speech[es] from your mouth;[et]
keep devious talk far from your lips.[eu]
25 Let your eyes look directly[ev] in front of you
and let your gaze[ew] look straight before you.
26 Make the path for your feet[ex] level,[ey]
so that[ez] all your ways may be established.[fa]
27 Do not turn[fb] to the right or to the left;
turn yourself[fc] away from evil.[fd]
Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil[fe]
5 My child,[ff] be attentive to my wisdom,
pay close attention[fg] to my understanding,
2 in order to safeguard[fh] discretion,[fi]
and that your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips[fj] of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her seductive words[fk] are smoother than olive oil,
4 but in the end[fl] she is bitter[fm] as wormwood,[fn]
sharp as a two-edged[fo] sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.[fp]
6 Lest[fq] she should make level[fr] the path leading to life,[fs]
her paths have wandered,[ft] but she is not able to discern it.[fu]
7 So now, children,[fv] listen to me;
do not turn aside from the words I speak.[fw]
8 Keep yourself[fx] far[fy] from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your vigor[fz] to others
and your years to a cruel person,
10 lest strangers devour[ga] your strength,[gb]
and your labor[gc] benefit[gd] another man’s house.
11 And at the end of your life[ge] you will groan[gf]
when your flesh and your body are wasted away.[gg]
12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline!
My heart spurned reproof!
13 For[gh] I did not obey[gi] my teachers[gj]
and I did not heed[gk] my instructors.[gl]
14 I almost[gm] came to complete ruin[gn]
in the midst of the whole congregation!”[go]
15 Drink water from your own cistern
and running water from your own well.[gp]
16 Should your springs be dispersed[gq] outside,
your streams of water in the wide plazas?[gr]
17 Let them be for yourself[gs] alone,
and not for strangers with you.[gt]
18 May your fountain be blessed,[gu]
and may you rejoice[gv] in the wife you married in your youth[gw]—
19 a loving doe,[gx] a graceful deer;
may her breasts satisfy you at all times,
may you be captivated[gy] by her love always.
20 But why should you be captivated,[gz] my son, by an adulteress,
and embrace the bosom of a different woman?[ha]
21 For the ways of a person[hb] are in front of the Lord’s eyes,
and the Lord[hc] weighs[hd] all that person’s[he] paths.
22 The wicked[hf] will be captured by his[hg] own iniquities,[hh]
and he will be held[hi] by the cords of his own sin.[hj]
23 He will die because[hk] there was no discipline;
because of the greatness of his folly[hl] he will reel.[hm]
Salutation
1 From Paul,[a] an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia.[b] 2 Grace and peace to you[c] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanksgiving for God’s Comfort
3 Blessed is[d] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles[e] so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble[f] with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings[g] of Christ[h] overflow[i] toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you.[j] 6 But if we are afflicted,[k] it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort that you experience in your patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer. 7 And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you share in[l] our sufferings, so also you will share in[m] our comfort. 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[n] regarding the affliction that happened to us in the province of Asia,[o] that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living. 9 Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us,[p] so that we would not trust in ourselves[q] but in God who raises the dead. 10 He[r] delivered us from so great a risk of death, and he will deliver us. We have set our hope on him[s] that[t] he will deliver us yet again, 11 as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God[u] on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.
Paul Defends His Changed Plans
12 For our reason for confidence[v] is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives[w] and sincerity which are from God[x]—not by human wisdom[y] but by the grace of God—we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more[z] toward you. 13 For we do not write you anything other than what[aa] you can read and also understand. But I hope that you will understand completely[ab] 14 just as also you have partly understood us, that we are your source of pride just as you also are ours[ac] in the day of the Lord Jesus.[ad] 15 And with this confidence I intended to come to you first so that you would get a second opportunity to see us,[ae] 16 and through your help to go on into Macedonia and then from Macedonia to come back[af] to you and be helped on our way into Judea by you. 17 Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I?[ag] Or do I make my plans[ah] according to mere human standards[ai] so that I would be saying[aj] both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us—by me and Silvanus[ak] and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him. 20 For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God. 21 But it is God who establishes[al] us together with you in Christ and who anointed us,[am] 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.[an]
Why Paul Postponed His Visit
23 Now I appeal to God as my witness,[ao] that to spare[ap] you I did not come again to Corinth.[aq] 24 I do not mean that we rule over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because by faith you stand firm.[ar]
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