Old Testament:
Proverbs 23–24
Proverbs 23–24 (Listen)
23When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully whatOr who“>1 is before you,
2and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
3Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be discerning enough to desist.
5When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
for suddenly it sprouts wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
6Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;Hebrew whose eye is evil“>2
do not desire his delicacies,
7for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.Or for as he calculates in his soul, so is he“>3
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
9Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the good sense of your words.
10Do not move an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless,
11for their Redeemer is strong;
he will plead their cause against you.
12Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14If you strike him with the rod,
you will save his soul from Sheol.
15My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16My inmost beingHebrew My kidneys“>4 will exult
when your lips speak what is right.
17Let not your heart envy sinners,
but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.
18Surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
19Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your heart in the way.
20Be not among drunkardsHebrew those who drink too much wine“>5
or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and slumber will clothe them with rags.
22Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25Let your father and mother be glad;
let her who bore you rejoice.
26My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observeOr delight in“>6 my ways.
27For a prostitute is a deep pit;
an adulteressHebrew a foreign woman“>7 is a narrow well.
28She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the traitors among mankind.
29Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
30Those who tarry long over wine;
those who go to try mixed wine.
31Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32In the end it bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
33Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter perverse things.
34You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.Or of the rigging“>8
35“They struck me,” you will say,Hebrew lacks you will say“>9 “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I must have another drink.”
24Be not envious of evil men,
nor desire to be with them,
2for their hearts devise violence,
and their lips talk of trouble.
3By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
4by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
5A wise man is full of strength,
and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
6for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
7Wisdom is too high for a fool;
in the gate he does not open his mouth.
8Whoever plans to do evil
will be called a schemer.
9The devisingOr scheming“>10 of folly is sin,
and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.
10If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
11Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?
13My son, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
15Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;
do no violence to his home;
16for the righteous falls seven times and rises again,
but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
17Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
18lest the LORD see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.
19Fret not yourself because of evildoers,
and be not envious of the wicked,
20for the evil man has no future;
the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21My son, fear the LORD and the king,
and do not join with those who do otherwise,
22for disaster will arise suddenly from them,
and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?
More Sayings of the Wise
23These also are sayings of the wise.
Partiality in judging is not good.
24Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,”
will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
25but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
and a good blessing will come upon them.
26Whoever gives an honest answer
kisses the lips.
27Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field,
and after that build your house.
28Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
29Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
30I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
31and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
33A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
34and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
Footnotes
[1] 23:1
[2] 23:6
[3] 23:7
[4] 23:16
[5] 23:20
[6] 23:26
[7] 23:27
[8] 23:34
[9] 23:35
[10] 24:9
(ESV)
Psalm:
Psalm 72
Psalm 72 (Listen)
Give the King Your Justice
Of Solomon.
72Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5May they fear youSeptuagint He shall endure“>1 while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
6May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth!
7In his days may the righteous flourish,
and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the RiverThat is, the Euphrates“>2 to the ends of the earth!
9May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
10May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
11May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12For he delivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
13He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.
15Long may he live;
may gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field!
17May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
May people be blessed in him,
all nations call him blessed!
18Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
Amen and Amen!
20The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.
(ESV)
New Testament:
John 14
John 14 (Listen)
I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life
14“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;Or You believe in God“>1 believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?Or In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you“>2 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4And you know the way to where I am going.”Some manuscripts Where I am going you know, and the way you know“>3 5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.Or If you know me, you will know my Father also, or If you have known me, you will know my Father also“>4 From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
8Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
12“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If you ask meSome manuscripts omit me“>5 anything in my name, I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,Or Advocate, or Counselor; also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7“>6 to be with you forever, 17even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will beSome manuscripts and is“>7 in you.
18“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
25“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.
Footnotes
[1] 14:1
[2] 14:2
[3] 14:4
[4] 14:7
[5] 14:14
[6] 14:16
[7] 14:17
(ESV)
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