Day 534 of 730

¹But I determined this for myself, that I would not come to you again in sorrow.

²For if I make you sorry, then who will make me glad but he who is made sorry by me?

³And I wrote this very thing, so that, when I came, I would not have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy would be shared by all of you.

⁴For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be made sorry, but that you might know the love that I have so abundantly for you.

⁵But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow, not to me, but in part (that I not press too heavily) to you all.

⁶Sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the many;

⁷so that on the contrary you should rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his excessive sorrow.

⁸Therefore I beg you to confirm your love toward him.

⁹For to this end I also wrote, that I might know the proof of you, whether you are obedient in all things.

¹⁰Now I also forgive whomever you forgive anything. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,

¹¹that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

¹²Now when I came to Troas for the Good News of Christ, and when a door was opened to me in the Lord,

¹³I had no relief for my spirit, because I did not find Titus, my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went out into Macedonia.

¹⁴Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and reveals through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place.

¹⁵For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God, in those who are saved, and in those who perish;

¹⁶to the one a stench from death to death; to the other a sweet aroma from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

¹⁷For we are not as so many, peddling the word of God. But as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.

¹How lovely are your dwellings, Lord of hosts!

²My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

³Yes, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, near your altars, Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.

⁴Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are always praising you. Selah.

⁵Blessed are those whose strength is in you; who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage.

⁶Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings.

⁷They go from strength to strength. Everyone of them appears before God in Zion.

⁸Lord, God of Hosts, hear my prayer. Listen, God of Jacob. Selah.

⁹Behold, God our shield, look at the face of your anointed.

¹⁰For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.

¹²Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

¹My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you.

²Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.

³Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Tell wisdom, "You are my sister." Call understanding your relative,

⁵that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.

⁶For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice.

⁷I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,

⁸passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house,

⁹in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness.

¹⁰Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.

¹¹She is loud and defiant. Her feet do not stay in her house.

¹²Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.

¹³So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:

¹⁴"Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. This day I have paid my vows.

¹⁵Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.

¹⁶I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let's take our fill of loving until the morning. Let's solace ourselves with loving.

¹⁹For my husband isn't at home. He has gone on a long journey.

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon."

²¹With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.

²²He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.

²³Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn't know that it will cost his life.

²⁴Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

²⁵Do not let your heart turn to her ways. Do not go astray in her paths,

²⁶for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.

²⁷Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.