Old/New Testament
Financial Entanglements
6 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor[a]
or entered into an agreement with[b] a stranger,(A)
2 you have been snared by the words of your mouth—
trapped by the words from your mouth.
3 Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
4 Don’t give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.(B)
5 Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,[c]
like a bird from a hunter’s trap.[d](C)
Laziness
6 Go to the ant,(D) you slacker!(E)
Observe its ways and become wise.
7 Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
8 it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.(F)
9 How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit.(G)
The Malicious Man
12 A worthless person,(H) a wicked man
goes around speaking dishonestly,(I)
13 winking(J) his eyes, signaling with his feet,
and gesturing with his fingers.
14 He always plots evil(K) with perversity in his heart;
he stirs up trouble.(L)
15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly, beyond recovery.(M)
What the Lord Hates
16 The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to him:
17 arrogant eyes,(N) a lying tongue,(O)
hands that shed innocent blood,(P)
18 a heart that plots wicked schemes,(Q)
feet eager to run to evil,(R)
19 a lying witness who gives false testimony,(S)
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.(T)
Warning against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.(U)
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.(V)
22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,(W)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.(X)
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,[e]
from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman.(Y)
25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty(Z)
or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.(AA)
26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,[f]
but the wife of another man[g] goes after a precious life.(AB)
27 Can a man embrace fire
and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can a man walk on burning coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.(AC)
30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals
to satisfy himself when he is hungry.(AD)
31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much;(AE)
he must give up all the wealth in his house.
32 The one who commits adultery[h] lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.(AF)
33 He will get a beating[i] and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.
34 For jealousy enrages a husband,(AG)
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not be appeased by anything
or be persuaded by lavish bribes.
7 My son, obey my words,
and treasure my commands.(AH)
2 Keep my commands and live,(AI)
and guard my instructions
as you would the pupil of your eye.(AJ)
3 Tie them to your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(AK)
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”(AL)
and call understanding your relative.
5 She will keep you from a forbidden woman,
a wayward woman with her flattering talk.(AM)
A Story of Seduction
6 At the window of my house
I looked through my lattice.(AN)
7 I saw among the inexperienced,[j]
I noticed among the youths,
a young man lacking sense.
8 Crossing the street near her corner,
he strolled down the road to her house
9 at twilight, in the evening,
in the dark of the night.(AO)
10 A woman came to meet him
dressed like a prostitute,(AP)
having a hidden agenda.[k]
11 She is loud and defiant;(AQ)
her feet do not stay at home.(AR)
12 Now in the street, now in the squares,(AS)
she lurks at every corner.(AT)
13 She grabs him and kisses him;
she brazenly says[l] to him,
14 “I’ve made fellowship offerings;
today I’ve fulfilled my vows.(AU)
15 So I came out to meet you,
to search for you, and I’ve found you.
16 I’ve spread coverings on my bed(AV)—
richly colored linen from Egypt.(AW)
17 I’ve perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.(AX)
18 Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.(AY)
Let’s feast on each other’s love!
19 My husband isn’t home;
he went on a long journey.
20 He took a bag of silver with him
and will come home at the time of the full moon.”
21 She seduces him with her persistent pleading;
she lures with her flattering talk.
22 He follows her impulsively
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer bounding toward a trap[m]
23 until an arrow pierces its[n] liver,(AZ)
like a bird darting into a snare(BA)—
he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.
2 In fact, I made up my mind about this: I would not come to you on another painful visit.[a] 2 For if I cause you pain, then who will cheer me other than the one being hurt by me?[b] 3 I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident(A) about all of you that my joy will also be yours. 4 For I wrote to you with many tears out of an extremely troubled and anguished heart—not to cause you pain, but that you should know the abundant love I have for you.
A Sinner Forgiven
5 If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree—not to exaggerate(B)—to all of you. 6 This punishment by the majority is sufficient for that person. 7 As a result, you should instead forgive(C) and comfort him. Otherwise, he may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 I wrote for this purpose: to test your character(D) to see if you are obedient(E) in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for your benefit in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we may not be taken advantage(F) of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.
A Trip to Macedonia
12 When I came to Troas(G) to preach the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord opened a door(H) for me, 13 I had no rest(I) in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus.(J) Instead, I said good-bye to them and left for Macedonia.(K)
A Ministry of Life or Death
14 But thanks be to God,(L) who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place.(M) 15 For to God we are the fragrance(N) of Christ among those who are being saved(O) and among those who are perishing.(P) 16 To some we are an aroma of death(Q) leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life(R) leading to life. Who is adequate for these things? 17 For we do not market the word of God(S) for profit like so many.[c] On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God.
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