| I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king. | I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king’s matter. |
| Because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them. The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing. | Because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless also, who had no one to help him, the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. |
|
| Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. | Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. |
| Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. | Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. |
| Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! | Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! |
| In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. | In my distress I called on Yahweh, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry before him came into his ears. |
| God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. | For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them. |
| I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. | That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. |
| But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. | But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. |
| Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor. | The fear of Yahweh teaches wisdom. Before honor is humility. |
| So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. | Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. |
| Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. | Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is the one who sustains my soul. |
| Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. | Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were. |
| He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless. | He lays up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity. |
| You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. | You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand sustains me. Your gentleness has made me great. You have enlarged my steps under me, My feet have not slipped. |
| Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. | Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. |
| A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. | A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity. |
| Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. | Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint. |
| For I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. | For I know that this will turn out to my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. |
| Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions. | Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this. |
| Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. | Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him, the saving help of my countenance, and my God. |
| But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles. | Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen, how the Christ must suffer, and how, by the resurrection of the dead, he would be first to proclaim light both to these people and to the Gentiles. |
| Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. | Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it. |
| The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. | The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. |
| The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. | Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s covenant is sure, making wise the simple. |
