The Way of Wisdom
1 vWisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her wseven xpillars.
2 She has yslaughtered her beasts; she has zmixed her wine;
she has also aset her table.
3 She has bsent out her young women to ccall
from dthe highest places in the town,
4 e“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
fTo him who lacks sense she says,
5 “Come, geat of my bread
and hdrink of zthe wine I have mixed.
6 Leave iyour simple ways,1 and jlive,
kand walk in the way of insight.”
7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
8 lDo not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
mreprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction2 to a wise man, and he will be nstill wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will oincrease in learning.
10 pThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and qthe knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
11 For by me ryour days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
12 sIf you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it.
The Way of Folly
she is seductive3 and vknows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on wthe highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by,
who are xgoing straight on their way,
16 y“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 z“Stolen water is sweet,
and abread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know bthat the dead4 are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
The Proverbs of Solomon
1 cThe proverbs of Solomon.
dA wise son makes a glad father,
ebut a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
2 fTreasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
gbut righteousness delivers from death.
3 hThe Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
ibut he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
4 A slack hand jcauses poverty,
kbut the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who lgathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is ma son who brings shame.
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but nthe mouth of the wicked conceals violence.5
7 oThe memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but pthe name of the wicked will rot.
8 qThe wise of heart will receive commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
9 rWhoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but he who makes his ways crooked swill be found out.
10 Whoever twinks the eye causes trouble,
and a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 uThe mouth of the righteous is va fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked nconceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but wlove covers all offenses.
13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,
but xa rod is for the back of him who ylacks sense.
14 The wise zlay up knowledge,
but athe mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
15 bA rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
16 The wage of the righteous leads cto life,
the gain of the wicked to sin.
17 Whoever heeds instruction is on dthe path to life,
but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,
and whoever utters slander is a fool.
19 eWhen words are many, transgression is not lacking,
fbut whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
20 The tongue of the righteous is gchoice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for hlack of sense.
22 iThe blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.6
23 Doing wrong is jlike a joke to a fool,
but kwisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
24 lWhat the wicked dreads mwill come upon him,
but nthe desire of the righteous will be granted.
25 When othe tempest passes, the wicked is no more,
but pthe righteous is established forever.
26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so is the sluggard to those who send him.
27 qThe fear of the Lord prolongs life,
rbut the years of the wicked will be short.
28 sThe hope of the righteous brings joy,
tbut the expectation of the wicked will perish.
29 uThe way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,
but destruction to evildoers.
30 vThe righteous will never be removed,
but wthe wicked will not dwell in the land.
31 xThe mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
32 The lips of the righteous yknow what is acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked, zwhat is perverse.
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with vstringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1 May God wbe gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to xshine upon us, Selah
2 that yyour way may be known on earth,
your zsaving power among all nations.
3 aLet the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you bjudge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5 aLet the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
6 The earth has cyielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
let dall the ends of the earth fear him!
Jesus at the Feast of Booths
1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because pthe Jews1 were seeking to kill him. 2 Now qthe Jews’ Feast of rBooths was at hand. 3 sSo his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, tshow yourself to the world.” 5 uFor not even vhis brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, w“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but xit hates me because I testify about it that yits works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for zmy time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after ahis brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 bThe Jews cwere looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much dmuttering about him among the people. eWhile some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, fhe is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet gfor fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up hinto the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore imarveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, j“My teaching is not mine, but his kwho sent me. 17 lIf anyone’s will is to do God’s5 will, mhe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I nam speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority oseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 pHas not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. qWhy do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, r“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did sone work, and you all marvel at it. 22 tMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ufrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, vare you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 wDo not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Can This Be the Christ?
25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom xthey seek to kill? 26 And here he is, yspeaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that zthe authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But awe know bwhere this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, cno one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, das he taught in the temple, a“You know me, and you know where I come from. But eI have not come of my own accord. fHe who sent me is true, gand him you do not know. 29 hI know him, for I come ifrom him, and jhe sent me.” 30 kSo they were seeking to arrest him, but lno one laid a hand on him, mbecause his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet nmany of the people believed in him. They said, o“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”
Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd pmuttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent qofficers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, r“I will be with you a little longer, and then sI am going to him who sent me. 34 tYou will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? uDoes he intend to go to vthe Dispersion among wthe Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, x‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
Rivers of Living Water
37 yOn the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, z“If anyone thirsts, let him acome to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, bas6 the Scripture has said, c‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of dliving water.’” 39 Now ethis he said about the Spirit, fwhom those who believed in him were to receive, gfor as yet the Spirit had not been hgiven, ibecause Jesus was not yet glorified.
Division Among the People
40 When they heard these words, jsome of the people said, “This really is kthe Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is lthe Christ.” But some said, m“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes nfrom the offspring of David, and comes ofrom Bethlehem, the village pwhere David was?” 43 So there was qa division among the people over him. 44 rSome of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 sThe officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, t“No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, u“Have you also been deceived? 48 vHave any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 wNicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 x“Does our law judge a man without first ygiving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, z“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that ano prophet arises from Galilee.”
[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]7
The Woman Caught in Adultery
53 [[They went each to his own house,
