Old/New Testament
Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts[a]
6 My child,[b] if you have made a pledge[c] for your neighbor,[d]
if[e] you have become a guarantor[f] for a stranger,[g]
2 if[h] you have been ensnared[i] by the words you have uttered,[j]
and have been caught by the words you have spoken,
3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself,[k]
because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power:[l]
Go, humble yourself,[m]
and appeal firmly to[n] your neighbor.
4 Permit no sleep to your eyes[o]
or slumber to your eyelids.
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare,[p]
and like a bird from the trap[q] of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;[r]
observe her[s] ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
overseer, or[t] ruler,
8 yet it would prepare[u] its food in the summer;
it gathered at the harvest what it will eat.[v]
9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?
When will you rise from your sleep?[w]
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to relax,[x]
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,[y]
and your need like an armed man.[z]
12 A worthless and wicked person[aa]
walks around saying perverse things;[ab] [ac]
13 he winks with his eyes,
signals with his feet,
and points with his fingers;[ad]
14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts[ae] in his heart,
he spreads contention[af] at all times.
15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;
in an instant[ag] he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
even[ah] seven[ai] things that are an abomination to him:[aj]
17 haughty eyes,[ak] a lying tongue,[al]
and hands that shed innocent blood,[am]
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,[an]
feet that are swift to run[ao] to evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies,[ap]
and a person who spreads discord[aq] among family members.[ar]
20 My child,[as] guard the commands of your father
and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
21 Bind them[at] on your heart[au] continually;
fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk about,[av] they[aw] will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up,[ax] they will talk[ay] to you.
23 For the commandments[az] are like[ba] a lamp,[bb]
instruction is like a light,
and rebukes of discipline are like[bc] the road leading to life,[bd]
24 by keeping[be] you from the evil woman,[bf]
from the smooth tongue of[bg] the loose woman.[bh]
25 Do not lust[bi] in your heart for her beauty,
and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes;[bj]
26 for on account of[bk] a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another man[bl] preys on your precious life.[bm]
27 Can a man hold[bn] fire[bo] against his chest[bp]
without[bq] burning his clothes?
28 Can[br] a man walk on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with[bs] the one who sleeps with[bt] his neighbor’s wife;
no one[bu] who touches[bv] her will escape punishment.[bw] [bx]
30 People[by] do not despise a thief when he steals
to fulfill his need[bz] when he is hungry.
31 Yet[ca] if he is caught[cb] he must repay[cc] seven times over,
he might even have to give[cd] all the wealth of his house.
32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense,[ce]
whoever does it destroys his own life.[cf]
33 He will be beaten and despised,[cg]
and his reproach will not be wiped away;[ch]
34 for jealousy kindles[ci] a husband’s[cj] rage,
and he will not show mercy[ck] when he takes revenge.
35 He will not consider[cl] any compensation;[cm]
he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.[cn]
Admonition to Avoid the Wiles of the Adulteress[co]
7 My child,[cp] devote yourself to my words
and store up my commands inside yourself.[cq]
2 Keep my commands[cr] so that you may live,[cs]
and obey[ct] my instruction as your most prized possession.[cu]
3 Bind them on your forearm;[cv]
write them on the tablet of your heart.[cw]
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”[cx]
and call understanding a close relative,
5 so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman,[cy]
from the loose woman[cz] who has flattered[da] you[db] with her words.
6 For at the window of my house
through my window lattice I looked out
7 and I saw among the naive[dc]—
I discerned among the youths[dd]—
a young man[de] who lacked sense.[df]
8 He was passing by the street near her corner,
making his way[dg] along the road to her house[dh]
9 in the twilight, the evening,[di]
in the dark of the night.[dj]
10 Suddenly[dk] a woman came out to meet him!
She was dressed like a prostitute[dl] and with secret intent.[dm]
11 (She is loud and rebellious,
she[dn] does not remain[do] at home—
12 at one time outside, at another[dp] in the wide plazas,
and by every corner she lies in wait.)
13 So she grabbed him and kissed him,
and with a bold expression[dq] she said to him,
14 “I have meat from my peace offerings at home;[dr]
today I have fulfilled my vows!
15 That is why I came out to meet you,
to look for you,[ds] and I found you!
16 I have spread my bed with elegant coverings,[dt]
with richly colored fabric[du] from Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s drink deeply[dv] of lovemaking[dw] until morning,
let’s delight ourselves[dx] with love’s pleasures.
19 For my husband[dy] is not at home;[dz]
he has gone on a journey of some distance.
20 He has taken a bag of money with him;[ea]
he will not return until[eb] the end of the month.”[ec]
21 She turned him aside[ed] with her persuasions;[ee]
with her smooth talk[ef] she was enticing him along.[eg]
22 Suddenly he was going[eh] after her
like an ox that goes to the slaughter,
like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare[ei]
23 till an arrow pierces his liver[ej]—
like a bird hurrying into a trap,
and he does not know that it will cost him his life.[ek]
24 So now, sons,[el] listen to me,
and pay attention to the words I speak.[em]
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways—
do not wander into her pathways;
26 for she has brought down[en] many fatally wounded,
and all those she has slain are many.[eo]
27 Her house is the way to the grave,[ep]
going down to the chambers of death.
2 1 So[a] I made up my own mind[b] not to pay you another painful visit.[c] 2 For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad[d] but the one I caused to be sad? 3 And I wrote this very thing to you,[e] so that when I came[f] I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours. 4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know the love that I have especially for you.[g] 5 But if anyone has caused sadness, he has not saddened me alone, but to some extent (not to exaggerate)[h] he has saddened all of you as well. 6 This punishment on such an individual by the majority is enough for him, 7 so that now instead[i] you should rather forgive and comfort him.[j] This will keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive grief to the point of despair.[k] 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.[l] 9 For this reason also I wrote you:[m] to test you to see[n] if you are obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him—for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we may not be exploited[o] by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). 12 Now when I arrived in Troas[p] to proclaim the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord had opened[q] a door of opportunity[r] for me, 13 I had no relief in my spirit,[s] because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them[t] and set out[u] for Macedonia.
Apostolic Ministry
14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession[v] in Christ[w] and who makes known[x] through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing— 16 to the latter an odor[y] from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?[z] 17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit,[aa] but we are speaking in Christ before[ab] God as persons of sincerity,[ac] as persons sent from God.
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