Proverbs 4-6

New King James Version

Security in Wisdom

4 Hear, ^(A)my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
²For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
³When I was my father’s son,
^(B)Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
⁴^(C)He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
^(D)Keep my commands, and live.
⁵^(E)Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁶Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
^(F)Love her, and she will keep you.
⁷^(G)Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
⁸^(H)Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
⁹She will place on your head ^(I)an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

¹⁰Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,
^(J)And the years of your life will be many.
¹¹I have ^(K)taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
¹²When you walk, ^(L)your steps will not be hindered,
^(M)And when you run, you will not stumble.
¹³Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.

¹⁴^(N)Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
¹⁵Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶^(O)For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is ^[a]taken away unless they make someone fall.
¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸^(P)But the path of the just ^(Q)is like the shining ^[b]sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
¹⁹^(R)The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
²²For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
²³Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of ^(S)life.
²⁴Put away from you a ^[c]deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
²⁵Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
²⁶Ponder the path of your ^(T)feet,
And let all your ways be established.
²⁷Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

The Peril of Adultery

5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
^[d]Lend your ear to my understanding,
²That you may ^[e]preserve discretion,
And your lips ^(U)may keep knowledge.
³^(V)For the lips of ^[f]an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is ^(W)smoother than oil;
⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
⁵Her feet go down to death,
^(X)Her steps lay hold of ^[g]hell.
⁶Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.

⁷Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
⁸Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
⁹Lest you give your ^[h]honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
¹⁰Lest aliens be filled with your ^[i]wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
¹¹And you mourn at last,
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
¹²And say:
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
¹³I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
¹⁴I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
^[j]Streams of water in the streets?
¹⁷Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
¹⁸Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with ^(Y)the wife of your youth.
¹⁹^(Z)As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be ^[k]enraptured with her love.
²⁰For why should you, my son, be enraptured by ^(AA)an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

²¹^(AB)For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He ^[l]ponders all his paths.
²²^(AC)His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
²³^(AD)He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Dangerous Promises

6 My son, ^(AE)if you become ^[m]surety for your friend,
If you have ^[n]shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
²You are snared by the words of your mouth;
You are taken by the words of your mouth.
³So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;
For you have come into the hand of your friend:
Go and humble yourself;
Plead with your friend.
⁴^(AF)Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids.
⁵Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
And like a bird from the hand of the ^[o]fowler.

The Folly of Indolence

⁶^(AG)Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
⁷Which, having no ^[p]captain,
Overseer or ruler,
⁸Provides her ^[q]supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
⁹^(AH)How long will you ^[r]slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
¹¹^(AI)So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.

The Wicked Man

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man,
Walks with a perverse mouth;
¹³^(AJ)He winks with his eyes,
He ^[s]shuffles his feet,
He points with his fingers;
¹⁴Perversity is in his heart,
^(AK)He devises evil continually,
^(AL)He sows discord.
¹⁵Therefore his calamity shall come ^(AM)suddenly;
Suddenly he shall ^(AN)be broken ^(AO)without remedy.

¹⁶These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to ^[t]Him:
¹⁷^(AP)A^[u] proud look,
^(AQ)A lying tongue,
^(AR)Hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸^(AS)A heart that devises wicked plans,
^(AT)Feet that are swift in running to evil,
¹⁹^(AU)A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who ^(AV)sows discord among brethren.

Beware of Adultery

²⁰^(AW)My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
²¹^(AX)Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
²²^(AY)When you roam, ^[v]they will lead you;
When you sleep, ^(AZ)they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
²³^(BA)For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
²⁴^(BB)To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
²⁵^(BC)Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
²⁶For ^(BD)by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
^(BE)And ^[w]an adulteress will ^(BF)prey upon his precious life.
²⁷Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
²⁸Can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be seared?
²⁹So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.

³⁰People do not despise a thief
If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
³¹Yet when he is found, ^(BG)he must restore sevenfold;
He may have to give up all the substance of his house.
³²Whoever commits adultery with a woman ^(BH)lacks understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul.
³³Wounds and dishonor he will get,
And his reproach will not be wiped away.
³⁴For ^(BI)jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
³⁵He will ^[x]accept no recompense,
Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.

Footnotes

Proverbs 4:16 Lit. robbed
Proverbs 4:18 Lit. light
Proverbs 4:24 devious
Proverbs 5:1 Lit. Bow
Proverbs 5:2 appreciate good judgment
Proverbs 5:3 Lit. a strange
Proverbs 5:5 Or Sheol
Proverbs 5:9 vigor
Proverbs 5:10 Lit. strength
Proverbs 5:16 Channels
Proverbs 5:19 Lit. intoxicated
Proverbs 5:21 observes, lit. weighs
Proverbs 6:1 guaranty or collateral
Proverbs 6:1 Lit. struck
Proverbs 6:5 One who catches birds in a trap or snare
Proverbs 6:7 Lit. leader
Proverbs 6:8 Lit. bread
Proverbs 6:9 Lit. lie down
Proverbs 6:13 gives signals, lit. scrapes
Proverbs 6:16 Lit. His soul
Proverbs 6:17 Lit. Haughty eyes
Proverbs 6:22 Lit. it
Proverbs 6:26 Wife of another, lit. a man’s wife
Proverbs 6:35 Lit. lift up the face of any

Romans 8

New King James Version

Free from Indwelling Sin

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, ^(A)who^[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ²For ^(B)the law of ^(C)the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from ^(D)the law of sin and death. ³For ^(E)what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, ^(F)God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who ^(G)do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵For ^(H)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, ^(I)the things of the Spirit. ⁶For ^(J)to be ^[b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷Because ^(K)the ^[c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, ^(L)nor indeed can be. ⁸So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. ¹⁰And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹But if the Spirit of ^(M)Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, ^(N)He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies ^[d]through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Sonship Through the Spirit

¹²^(O)Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³For ^(P)if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you ^(Q)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For ^(R)as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵For ^(S)you did not receive the spirit of bondage again ^(T)to fear, but you received the ^(U)Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ^(V)“Abba,^[e] Father.” ¹⁶^(W)The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷and if children, then ^(X)heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, ^(Y)if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

From Suffering to Glory

¹⁸For I consider that ^(Z)the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹For ^(AA)the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For ^(AB)the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of ^[f]corruption into the glorious ^(AC)liberty of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation ^(AD)groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³Not only that, but we also who have ^(AE)the firstfruits of the Spirit, ^(AF)even we ourselves groan ^(AG)within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the ^(AH)redemption of our body. ²⁴For we were saved in this hope, but ^(AI)hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

²⁶Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For ^(AJ)we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but ^(AK)the Spirit Himself makes intercession ^[g]for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷Now ^(AL)He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints ^(AM)according to the will of God.

²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those ^(AN)who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹For whom ^(AO)He foreknew, ^(AP)He also predestined ^(AQ)to be conformed to the image of His Son, ^(AR)that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰Moreover whom He predestined, these He also ^(AS)called; whom He called, these He also ^(AT)justified; and whom He justified, these He also ^(AU)glorified.

God’s Everlasting Love

³¹What then shall we say to these things? ^(AV)If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²^(AW)He who did not spare His own Son, but ^(AX)delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? ^(AY)It is God who justifies. ³⁴^(AZ)Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, ^(BA)who is even at the right hand of God, ^(BB)who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written:

^(BC)“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷^(BD)Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor ^(BE)principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.