Old/New Testament
Chapter 3
Blessed Is the Person Who Has Found Wisdom[a]
1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but cherish my commandments in your heart,
2 for they will bring you length of days,
more years of life,[b] and an abundance of prosperity.
3 Do not let kindness and fidelity leave you;
fasten them around your neck
and inscribe them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will gain favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust wholeheartedly in the Lord
rather than relying on your own intelligence.
6 In everything you do, acknowledge him,
and he will see that your paths are straight.
7 Do not pride yourself on your own wisdom;
fear the Lord and turn your back on evil.
8 This will provide healing for your flesh
and restore strength to your body.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your crops.[c]
10 Then your barns will be filled with plenty,[d]
and your vats will overflow with new wine.
11 [e]My son, do not ignore the Lord’s discipline
or refuse to accept his rebuke.
12 For the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
just as a father chastises a beloved son.
13 Blessed[f] is the person who has found wisdom,
the one who has gained understanding.
14 For she is far more valuable than silver,
and her revenue is greater than that of gold.
15 She is more precious than pearls,[g]
and nothing that you desire can compare with her.
16 In her right hand is length of days;
in her left hand, riches and honor.
17 Her ways are pleasant to follow,
and all her paths lead to peace.
18 She is a tree of life to all who embrace her,
and blessed are all who hold her fast.
By His Wisdom the Lord Laid the Earth’s Foundations[h]
19 By his wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations;
by his understanding he established the heavens.
20 Through his knowledge the depths broke open
and the clouds dropped down dew.
You Will Proceed on Your Way Securely[i]
21 My son, without letting them slip out of your sight
safeguard sound wisdom and prudence.
22 They will give life to your soul
and provide adornment for your neck.
23 Then you will proceed on your way securely,
and your feet will avoid stumbling.
24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid,[j]
and on your bed your sleep will be sweet.
25 Have no fear of sudden terror
or of the destruction[k] that overtakes the wicked.
26 For the Lord will be your assurance
and will keep your feet from the trap.
27 Do not withhold kindness from anyone to whom it is due
when it is in your power to grant it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor,
“Go away and come back again; I will repay you tomorrow,”
when you can give him what is owed right then.
29 Do not plot any evil against your neighbor
who is living in peace beside you.
30 Do not quarrel with someone without cause
when that person has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a violent man
or choose to emulate any of his ways.
32 For the perverse man is an abomination to the Lord
whose friendship is bestowed only upon the upright.
33 The curse of the Lord falls on the house of the wicked,[l]
but he blesses the abode of the righteous.
34 He shows only disdain to those who are scornful,
but he showers his kindness on the humble.
35 Glory is the crown given to the wise;
fools inherit nothing but disgrace.
Chapter 4
Acquire Wisdom[m]
1 Listen, my children, to a father’s instruction;
pay attention and gain understanding.
2 What I am offering to you is sound advice;
do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a young boy in my father’s house,
tender in years and my mother’s only child,
4 he taught me and said:
“Let your heart hold fast to my words;
follow my instructions and you will live.
5 “Acquire wisdom and gain understanding;
never forget or turn aside from my words.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
7 “The beginning of wisdom is: acquire wisdom,
and no matter what the cost, acquire understanding.[n]
8 Extol wisdom, and she will exalt you;
if you embrace her, she will honor you.
9 She will place on your head a lovely garland
and bestow on you a crown of beauty.”
10 Listen, my son, and take my words to heart,
and the years of your life will be multiplied.
11 I have instructed you in the ways of wisdom
and led you along the paths of righteousness.
12 When you walk, your steps will be unimpeded,
and when you run, you will not stumble.[o]
13 Hold fast to instruction and never let her go;
guard her carefully, for she is your life.
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk on the road that evildoers follow.
15 Avoid it; do not go by it;
turn aside from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot rest until they have first done wrong;[p]
they cannot sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
17 The bread of wickedness is their food,
and the wine of violence is their drink.[q]
18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which increases in brightness to the fullness of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness,[r]
and they cannot even see what they have stumbled over.
20 My son, concentrate attentively on my words;
pay heed to the instructions I pass on to you.
21 Do not let them slip from your mind;
keep them forever in your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them
and provide health to their entire being.
23 Guard your heart with all possible vigilance,
for from it flow the wellsprings of life.[s]
24 Turn away from the mouth that deceives
and keep your distance from lips that mislead.[t]
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze on what lies before you.
26 Ensure that the path you tread is level,
and then your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve either to the right or to the left;
keep your foot far from evil.
Chapter 5
Keep Far Away from an Adulteress[u]
1 My son, pay close attention to my wisdom,
and listen carefully to my discernment,
2 so that you may always act prudently
and your lips may safeguard knowledge.
3 The lips of an adulteress[v] drip with honey
and her mouth is smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood[w]
and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;[x]
her steps lead directly to the netherworld.
6 Far from following the path of life,
she unknowingly wanders off in different directions.
7 So now, my son, listen to me,
and do not stray from the advice that I offer.
8 Keep far away from her
and do not go anywhere near the door of her house,
9 lest you turn over your life to others
and your years to one without mercy,
10 lest strangers grow prosperous on your wealth[y]
and your arduous toil enrich another man’s house.
11 Then, at the end of your life, you will groan
when your flesh and your body are consumed.
12 You will say, “Why did I despise discipline
and allow my heart to spurn correction?
13 Why did I fail to heed the voice of my teachers
and refuse to listen to my instructors?
14 Now I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the midst of the public assembly.”[z]
Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth[aa]
15 Drink the water from your own cistern,
fresh water from your own well.[ab]
16 Do not allow your springs[ac] to overflow,
gushing forth water into the streets.
17 Let them be for you alone
and not be shared by strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
19 a lovely deer, a graceful fawn—
let her affection fill you with delight
and ever hold you captive.[ad]
20 Why then be seduced by another man’s wife, my son,
and succumb to the embraces of an adulteress?
21 For each man’s ways are observed by the Lord,
and he examines each man’s paths.
22 The wicked man will be ensnared by his own iniquities
and held fast in the bonds of his sins.
23 He will perish for lack of discipline,
condemned by his own excessive folly.
Address
Chapter 1
Greeting to the Church. 1 Paul, an apostle[a] of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the Church of God in Corinth, and to all the saints throughout Achaia: 2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sufferings and Consolation.[b] 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy and the God of all consolation.[c] 4 He consoles us in all our afflictions and thereby enables us to console others in their tribulations, offering them the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.
5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so too, through Christ, do we receive our consolation. 6 If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation. If we are being consoled, it is to help us to console you and give you the patience and the strength to endure the same sufferings that we endure. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the consolations.
8 Brethren, we do not want you to be unaware of the hardships we experienced[d] in Asia. The burden we endured was far too heavy for us to bear, to such an extent that we even despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt that we were under a sentence of death. This was so that we not put our trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.
10 He delivered us from this deadly peril, and he will continue to so deliver us. He on whom we have set our hopes will deliver us again, 11 as you assist us with your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many to God on our behalf for the blessing granted to us through the prayers of so many.
Apostle by the Power of Jesus and for Jesus[e]
A Visit Not Made[f]
12 You Are Our Boast. Indeed, this is our boast: the testimony of our conscience that in our dealings with the world, and especially with you, we have conducted ourselves with simplicity and godly sincerity, depending not on worldly wisdom but on the grace of God. 13 For we write nothing to you that you cannot read and comprehend. It is my hope that you will come to understand fully, 14 as you have already understood in part, that on the day of the Lord Jesus we will have as much reason to boast of you as you will have reason to boast of us.
15 Our Language Is Not “Yes” and “No.”[g] So certain am I of this that I had originally intended to come to you first of all and thereby reward you with a double benefit. 16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and then to come to you again on my return from Macedonia and have you send me forth to Judea.
17 Since that was my original intention, was I being impulsive, or do you believe that my plans are based on human considerations, ready to say “Yes, Yes” and “No, No” at the same time? 18 As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been “Yes” and “No.” 19 The Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, that is, by Silvanus[h] and Timothy and me, was not a mixture of “Yes” and “No.” He was never anything but “Yes.”
20 In him is the “Yes” to every one of the promises of God. Indeed, it is through him that we say “Amen” to give glory to God. 21 However, it is God who enables both us and you to stand firm in Christ. He has anointed us 22 and marked us with his seal and given us the Spirit in our hearts, as a down payment of what is to come.
23 The Delay Was Intended Merely To Spare Them.[i] I call upon God as a witness that it was only to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth. 24 We do not wish to lord it over your faith, but to work together with you for your joy, because you are standing firm in your faith.
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