Old/New Testament
Four Recommendations[a]
Chapter 6
Do Not Take on Impossible Tasks[b]
1 My son, if you have guaranteed the debt of your neighbor
or the bond of a stranger,
2 you have been trapped by the utterance of your lips,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 To extricate yourself from this situation,
this is what you must do, my son.
Since you have fallen into his power,
go directly to your neighbor and plead with him.
4 Give your eyes no sleep,
your eyelids no slumber.
5 Break free like a gazelle from a trap
or like a bird from the grasp of a fowler.
Contemplate the Ant, You Sluggard[c]
6 Contemplate the ant, you sluggard;[d]
observe its ways and gain wisdom.
7 Even though it has no chief,
no governor or ruler,
8 it stores its provisions throughout the summer
and gathers its food at the time of harvest.
9 How long do you intend to lie there, you sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
11 and poverty will overtake you like a robber,
and scarcity like an armed man.
Portrait of a Scoundrel[e]
12 A scoundrel,[f] a villainous man, is he
who specializes in crooked talk.
13 He winks with his eyes,
gives signals with his feet,
and makes gestures with his fingers.
14 His perverted heart is ever bent toward devising evil
as he constantly sows discord.
15 Therefore, disaster will strike him suddenly;
in an instant he will be crushed beyond recovery.
Six Things That the Lord Hates[g]
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are abhorrent to him:
17 haughty eyes,[h] a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,[i]
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness[j] who spews out lies,
and one who sows dissension among brothers.
The Wiles of a Seductress[k]
20 Observe your father’s command, my son,
and do not reject your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them forever in your heart;
tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you awaken, they will instruct you.
23 For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light,[l]
and the corrections of discipline point the way to life,
24 to preserve you from an immoral woman,
from the seductive tongue of an adulteress.
25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart
or allow her to entice you with her eyes.
26 For if a prostitute seeks a loaf of bread,
the adulteress endangers your very life.[m]
27 Can a man kindle a fire in his bosom
without burning his clothes?
28 Or can a man walk on red-hot coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the man
who consorts with his neighbor’s wife;
no one who touches her will escape punishment.
30 People attach little blame to a thief
if he steals only to satisfy his hunger.
31 However, once caught, he must pay back sevenfold[n]
and hand over all his household possessions.
32 But the one who commits adultery lacks sense;
only someone who wants to destroy himself does so.
33 He will get nothing but beatings and contempt,
and his disgrace will never be wiped away.
34 For jealousy inflames a husband’s anger,
and he will be merciless in taking revenge.
35 He will not consider any compensation,
and he will reject even the most lavish gifts.
Chapter 7
1 My son, keep my words
and make my commands your treasure.
2 Follow my precepts, and you will live;
keep my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them to your fingers;
inscribe them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom,[o] “You are my sister,”
and regard understanding as your friend,
5 so that they may keep you from another’s wife,
from the adulteress with her seductive words.
6 While standing at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice,
7 and as I glanced at the immature youths,
I observed among the simple ones[p]
a lad with no sense.
8 He walked along the street near her corner
and then turned in the direction near her house,
9 at twilight, as the day was fading,
at dusk when the night grows dark.
10 Then a woman came forth to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute with a scheming heart.
11 She was loud-mouthed and brazen,
one who is never content to rest at home,
12 always on the streets or the public squares,
lying in wait at every corner.
13 She caught him and kissed him,
and brazenly said to him:
14 “I had to make sacrificial peace offerings,[q]
and I have fulfilled my vows today.
15 And so I came out to meet you,
to look for you, and now I have found you.
16 I have spread coverlets over my bed,
covered sheets of Egyptian linen.[r]
17 “I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning,
abandoning ourselves to a feast of love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
he is away on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of money with him
and will not be back until the moon is full.”
21 With her persistent urging she persuaded him,
luring him astray with her seductive words.[s]
22 Bemused, he followed her,
like an ox being led to the slaughter,
like a stag stepping into a noose,
23 until an arrow pierces its liver,
like a bird rushing into a snare,
not realizing its life is at stake.
24 So now, my son, listen to me
and be attentive to what I have to say.
25 Do not let your heart stray into her ways
or wander into her paths.
26 For many are those she has led to death;
her victims are beyond number.
27 Her house is the pathway to the netherworld,[t]
the descent to the chambers of death.
Chapter 2
1 Therefore, I made up my mind not to have you endure another painful visit. 2 For if I cause you pain, then who would be there to cheer me up aside from you whom I offended? 3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not suffer distress from those who should have made me rejoice. I know all of you well enough to be certain that we both share the same joy. 4 It was with great distress and anguish of heart and many tears that I wrote to you, not to grieve you but to let you know how abundant is the love I have for you.
Forgiveness for the Offender. 5 If anyone has caused distress, he has done so not only to me but to some extent—not to exaggerate—to all of you. 6 The punishment that was imposed by the majority was appropriate. 7 But now you should forgive and encourage him so that he may not be overwhelmed by the burden of his distress. 8 Therefore, I urge you to reassure him of your love.
9 I wrote to you to test your obedience in all matters. 10 Anyone whom you forgive I forgive as well. Whatever I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I have done for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we may avoid being outwitted by Satan, for we are not unaware of his schemes.
12 Paul’s Anguish.[a] When I came to Troas to proclaim the gospel of Christ, and a door of opportunity was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my mind knew no relief because I could not find my brother Titus in that place. And so I said farewell to them and moved on to Macedonia.
Greatness and Weakness of the Apostles[b]
14 Ambassadors of God. But thanks be to God, for he brings us to victory in Christ and through us he manifests the fragrance of the knowledge of him throughout the world. 15 We are indeed the aroma of Christ to God both among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: 16 to the latter, the odor of death that leads to death; to the former, a fragrance of life leading to life.
Who is truly qualified for such a task? 17 For we are not like so many others who adulterate the word of God for profit. When we speak, we do so in Christ and in all sincerity, as men sent from God and standing in God’s presence.
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