Day 252

Daily Bible Reading

(ESV: Through The Bible)

Proverbs 15-16 (Listen)

15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath,
  but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
  but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
  keeping watch on the evil and the good.
A gentle [1] tongue is a tree of life,
  but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
A fool despises his father's instruction,
  but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,
  but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
  not so the hearts of fools. [2]
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
  but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
  but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;
  whoever hates reproof will die.
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;
  how much more the hearts of the children of man!
A scoffer does not like to be reproved;
  he will not go to the wise.
A glad heart makes a cheerful face,
  but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
  but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
All the days of the afflicted are evil,
  but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord
  than great treasure and trouble with it.
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is
  than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,
  but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,
  but the path of the upright is a level highway.
A wise son makes a glad father,
  but a foolish man despises his mother.
Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,
  but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.
Without counsel plans fail,
  but with many advisers they succeed.
To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,
  and a word in season, how good it is!
The path of life leads upward for the prudent,
  that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
The Lord tears down the house of the proud
  but maintains the widow's boundaries.
The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,
  but gracious words are pure.
Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,
  but he who hates bribes will live.
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
  but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
The Lord is far from the wicked,
  but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
  and good news refreshes [3] the bones.
The ear that listens to life-giving reproof
  will dwell among the wise.
Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,
  but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
  and humility comes before honor.

16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man,
  but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
  but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the Lord,
  and your plans will be established.
The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
  even the wicked for the day of trouble.
Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
  be assured, he will not go unpunished.
By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
  and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
When a man's ways please the Lord,
  he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Better is a little with righteousness
  than great revenues with injustice.
The heart of man plans his way,
  but the Lord establishes his steps.
An oracle is on the lips of a king;
  his mouth does not sin in judgment.
A just balance and scales are the Lord's;
  all the weights in the bag are his work.
It is an abomination to kings to do evil,
  for the throne is established by righteousness.
Righteous lips are the delight of a king,
  and he loves him who speaks what is right.
A king's wrath is a messenger of death,
  and a wise man will appease it.
In the light of a king's face there is life,
  and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.
How much better to get wisdom than gold!
  To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;
  whoever guards his way preserves his life.
Pride goes before destruction,
  and a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
  than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Whoever gives thought to the word [4] will discover good,
  and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
The wise of heart is called discerning,
  and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
  but the instruction of fools is folly.
The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
  and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
  sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
There is a way that seems right to a man,
  but its end is the way to death. [5]
A worker's appetite works for him;
  his mouth urges him on.
A worthless man plots evil,
  and his speech [6] is like a scorching fire.
A dishonest man spreads strife,
  and a whisperer separates close friends.
A man of violence entices his neighbor
  and leads him in a way that is not good.
Whoever winks his eyes plans [7] dishonest things;
  he who purses his lips brings evil to pass.
Gray hair is a crown of glory;
  it is gained in a righteous life.
Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
  and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
The lot is cast into the lap,
  but its every decision is from the Lord.
 

2 Corinthians 1 (Listen)

Greeting

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God of All Comfort

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. [8] If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, [9] of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Paul's Change of Plans

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity [10] and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and acknowledge [11] and I hope you will fully acknowledge— just as you did partially acknowledge us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.

Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. [12]

But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.

Footnotes

[1] 15:4 Or healing
[2] 15:7 Or the hearts of fools are not steadfast
[3] 15:30 Hebrew makes fat
[4] 16:20 Or to a matter
[5] 16:25 Hebrew ways of death
[6] 16:27 Hebrew what is on his lips
[7] 16:30 Hebrew to plan
[8] 1:5 Or For as the sufferings of Christ abound for us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ
[9] 1:8 Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God's family, the church
[10] 1:12 Some manuscripts holiness
[11] 1:13 Or understand; twice in this verse; also verse 14
[12] 1:22 Or down payment

 

 

 

 

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