Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. | The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. |
He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” | Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” |
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Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God. | Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. |
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. | You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. |
Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. | Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. |
And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. | We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. |
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. | I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people. |
But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. | These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. |
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. | He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. |
Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means. | Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. |
Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall. | Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. |
To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction. | Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid. |
Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all. | Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. |
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. | Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. |
No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. | For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. |
Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. | Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. |
Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. | Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) |