Proverbs 30-31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Sayings of Agur
30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.
Thus says the man: I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and am wasting away.[a](A)
2 Surely I am too stupid to be human;
I do not have human understanding.(B)
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.[b](C)
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is the person’s name?
And what is the name of the person’s child?
Surely you know!(D)
5 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.(E)
6 Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.(F)
7 Two things I ask of you;
do not deny them to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need,(G)
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.(H)
10 Do not slander a servant to a master,
lest the servant curse you, and you be held guilty.(I)
11 There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.(J)
12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes,
yet are not cleansed of their filthiness.(K)
13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!—(L)
14 there are those whose teeth are swords,
whose teeth are knives
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mortals.(M)
15 The leech has two daughters;
“Give, give,” they cry.
Three things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough”:
16 Sheol, the barren womb,
the earth ever-thirsty for water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”(N)
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.(O)
18 Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a woman.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”(P)
21 Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a slave when he becomes king
and a fool when glutted with food,(Q)
23 a contemptible woman when she gets a husband
and a maid when she supplants her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are exceedingly wise:
25 the ants are a people without strength,
yet they provide their food in the summer;(R)
26 the badgers are a people without power,
yet they make their homes in the rocks;(S)
27 the locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in rank;
28 the lizard[c] can be grasped in the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their stride;
four are stately in their gait:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among wild animals
and does not turn back before any;(T)
31 the strutting rooster,[d] the he-goat,
and a king against whom none can stand.
32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
put your hand on your mouth.(U)
33 For as pressing milk produces curds
and pressing the nose produces blood,
so pressing anger produces strife.(V)
The Teaching of King Lemuel’s Mother
31 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:(W)
2 No, my son! No, son of my womb!
No, son of my vows!(X)
3 Do not give your strength to women,
your ways to those who destroy kings.(Y)
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine
or for rulers to desire[e] strong drink,(Z)
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to one who is perishing
and wine to those in bitter distress;
7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 Speak out for those who cannot speak,
for the rights of all the destitute.[f](AA)
9 Speak out; judge righteously;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.(AB)
Ode to a Woman of Strength
10 A woman of strength who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.(AC)
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not harm
all the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax
and works with willing hands.(AD)
14 She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from far away.
15 She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household
and tasks for her female servants.(AE)
16 She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.(AF)
21 She is not afraid for her household when it snows,
for all her household are clothed in crimson.(AG)
22 She makes herself coverings;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the city gates,
taking his seat among the elders of the land.(AH)
24 She makes linen garments and sells them;
she supplies the merchant with sashes.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.(AI)
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.(AJ)
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.(AK)
28 Her children rise up and call her happy;
her husband, too, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”(AL)
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.(AM)
31 Give her a share in the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the city gates.
2 Corinthians 11:1-15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul and the False Apostles
11 I wish you would put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, do put up[a] with me!(A) 2 I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.(B) 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure[b] devotion to Christ.(C) 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.(D) 5 I think that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.(E) 6 Even if I am untrained in speech, I certainly am not with respect to knowledge; certainly in every way and in all things we have made this evident to you.(F)
7 Did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I proclaimed God’s good news[c] to you free of charge?(G) 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for my needs were supplied by the brothers who came from Macedonia. So I refrained and will continue to refrain from burdening you in any way.(H) 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boast of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.(I) 11 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!(J)
12 And what I do I will also continue to do, in order to deny an opportunity to those who want an opportunity to be recognized as our equals in what they boast about. 13 For such boasters are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.(K) 14 And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their deeds.(L)
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