Revelation 2-

 

 

Ephesus

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revelation 2

1 “To the angel^[a] of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. ² I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. ⁶ But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

⁸ “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. ⁹ I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

¹¹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

To the Church in Pergamum

¹² “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. ¹³ I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

¹⁴ Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. ¹⁵ Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. ¹⁹ I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

²⁰ Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. ²² So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. ²³ I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

²⁴ Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, ²⁵ except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

²⁶ To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— ²⁷ that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’^[b]—just as I have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ I will also give that one the morning star. ²⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Footnotes

1. Revelation 2:1 Or messenger; also in verses 8, 12 and 18
2. Revelation 2:27 Psalm 2:9

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This article is about the ancient city in Anatolia. For the town in the southern United States, see Ephesus, Georgia. For homonyms of the Turkish word Efes, see Efes.

"Ephesian" redirects here. For the New Testament book, see Ephesians.

Ephesus

Ἔφεσος (Éphesos) Efes
The Library of Celsus in Ephesos
Shown within Turkey Show map of TurkeyShow map of EuropeShow all
Location	Selçuk, İzmir Province, Turkey
Region	Ionia
Coordinates	37°56′28″N 27°20′31″ECoordinates: 37°56′28″N 27°20′31″E
Type	Ancient Greek settlement
Area	Wall circuit: 415 ha (1,030 acres) Occupied: 224 ha (550 acres)
History
Builder	Attic and Ionian Greek colonists
Founded	10th century BC
Abandoned	15th century
Periods	Greek Dark Ages to Late Middle Ages
Site notes
Excavation dates	1863–1869, 1895
Archaeologists	John Turtle Wood, Otto Benndorf
Website	Ephesos Archaeological Site
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: iii, iv, vi
Reference	1018
Inscription	2015 (39th Session)
Area	662.62 ha
Buffer zone	1,246.3 ha

Ephesus (/ˈɛfɪsəs, ˈɛfəsəs/;^[1][2] Greek: Ἔφεσος, translit. Éphesos; Turkish: Efes; may ultimately derive from Hittite: 𒀀𒉺𒊭, romanized: Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece^[3][4] on the coast of Ionia, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of the former Arzawan capital^[5][6] by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the Ionian League. The city came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC.

The city was famous in its day for the nearby Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), which has been designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.^[7] Its many monumental buildings included the Library of Celsus and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators.^[8]

Ephesus was recipient city of one of the Pauline epistles; one of the seven churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation;^[9] the Gospel of John may have been written there;^[10] and it was the site of several 5th-century Christian Councils (see Council of Ephesus). The city was destroyed by the Goths in 263. Although it was afterwards rebuilt, its importance as a commercial centre declined as the harbour was slowly silted up by the Küçükmenderes River. In 614, it was partially destroyed by an earthquake.

Today, the ruins of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction, being accessible from Adnan Menderes Airport and from the resort town Kuşadası. In 2015, the ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Daniel 9

 

²⁰ While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill— ²¹ while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. ²³ As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:

 

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Revilation 1:1 - 1:8 - Sept 21, 2022 and October 4,2022

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lampstand

by John D. Currid

 

One of the three objects to stand in the Holy Place of the tabernacle of Israel was the golden lampstand. God’s command to make a lampstand for the sanctuary appears in Exodus 25:31–40 ( see also 37:17–24). The Hebrew word for “lampstand” is menorah, and it derives from a verb that means “to flame.” The name menorah simply underscores the utilitarian purpose of the lampstand: it is to give light to the priests who work in the Holy Place of the tabernacle.

In Exodus 25:40, God told Moses that the menorah was to be made specially and specifically “after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.” In fact, the entire sanctuary and all its furnishings were to be built based on the pattern or blueprint provided from above (see v. 9). The tabernacle in full was to be modeled on something else. It was to be a replica of a celestial archetype, that is, the heavenly sanctuary. So, the very specifications for the menorah were given by God directly to Moses on Mount Sinai.

The continuous nature of the burning symbolizes God’s everlasting giving of life and light to His people.

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The lampstand was to be made of pure gold, and all of its various parts were to be hammered out of one solid lump of gold. Unattached equipment for the menorah, such as tongs and trays, were also to be made of pure gold. The lampstand and all its accoutrements together were to be made out of one “talent” of pure gold (v. 39). According to Exodus 38:24–31, the talent equals about three thousand shekels, or between fifty-three and seventy-nine pounds.

The design of the golden lampstand was formed around a central trunk with three branches on each side, thus equaling seven branches in all. It looked like a tree. In fact, its design was typical of stylized trees depicted in ancient Near Eastern art. In the ancient Near East, the tree in art signified life, prosperity, and productivity. For the people of God, the menorah in the temple symbolized the same thing: the life and blessings that God had given to His people. But also, the lampstand was to remind the Hebrew people of a particular tree.

As many scholars have acknowledged, the tabernacle/temple was planned and designed to remind worshipers of the garden in Eden as a sanctuary with Adam as its priest. In the midst of the garden-sanctuary was the tree of life. The menorah was symbolic not only of life, but of eternal life for the true people of God. It not only looked back to the tree of life in the garden, but it also anticipated the tree of life that stands in the new heavens and the new earth in Revelation 22. There, in that Edenic sanctuary of the new Jerusalem, the Apostle John has a vision of

the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life . . . yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1–2)

It is also significant to note that the menorah was a seven-branched candlestick. The number seven in Hebrew culture often carried the idea of completeness and wholeness, and it may be that the number was to point to the concept of Sabbath completion. As such, it may be a reminder of the seven-day creation week in which God brought the first light into the world. For the Hebrew worshiper, the lampstand thus pointed to the past when the light of God broke into the world, and in the tabernacle it had a present application of pointing to the perfect light that God shone on the covenant community.

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For the believer today, the menorah is an unnecessary object for worship because Jesus proclaimed, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Indeed, Jesus is “the true light, which gives light to everyone” (1:9). And in the new Jerusalem, there will be no need of a menorah because “the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev. 21:23).

Finally, the Lord in His law gave a command to Aaron and his sons to tend to the lampstand “from evening to morning” (Ex. 27:21). This duty was to be done daily by the priests so that the lamp would burn continuously in the tent of meeting (27:20). Apart from the utilitarian usage, the continuous nature of the burning symbolizes God’s everlasting giving of life and light to His people . . . especially in the incarnation and work of Jesus Christ.

Dr. John D. Currid is Chancellor's Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of teaching and preaching at Sovereign Grace Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C. He is author of numerous books, including Against the Gods and Why Do I Suffer? He is senior editor of the ESV Archaeology Study Bible .

The Bronze Basin

December 2017

Justin E. Estrada

The Table of Showbread

December 2017

Michael G. McKelvey

 

 

https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2017/12/the-lampstand/ 

 

 

 

Dr. J. Vernon McGee :: Outline for Revelation 

 

 

 

Exodus 25:31-40

New International Version

The Lampstand

³¹ “Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. ³² Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. ³³ Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. ³⁴ And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. ³⁵ One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. ³⁶ The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

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Revelation 1

Revelation 1 NIV

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

1¹ The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw-that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Greetings to the Seven Churches

⁴ John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits[1] before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. ⁷ "Look, he is coming with the clouds,"[2]and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him."[3]So shall it be! Amen. ⁸ "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

A Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." ¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[4] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. ¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. ¹⁹ "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[5]of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Isaiah 44

New International Version

 

The Lord, Not Idols

⁶ “This is what the Lord says—
    Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
    apart from me there is no God.
⁷ Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
    Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
    and what is yet to come—
    yes, let them foretell what will come.

 

 

 

 

2 Peter 2

New International Version

False Teachers and Their Destruction

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³ In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,^[a] putting them in chains of darkness^[b] to be held for judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶ if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. ¹⁰ This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh^[c] and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; ¹¹ yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from^[d] the Lord. ¹² But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.

¹³ They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.^{[e] 14} With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! ¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer,^[f] who loved the wages of wickedness. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹⁷ These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸ For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” ²⁰ If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. ²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. ²² Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”^[g] and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

Footnotes

1. 2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus
2. 2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts in gloomy dungeons
3. 2 Peter 2:10 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 18.
4. 2 Peter 2:11 Many manuscripts beings in the presence of
5. 2 Peter 2:13 Some manuscripts in their love feasts
6. 2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor
7. 2 Peter 2:22  
8.  Prov. 26:11
   

 

Numbers 22 NIV

Balak Summons Balaam

1 Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.

² Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, ³ and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.

⁴ The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.”

So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, ⁵ sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said:

“A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. ⁶ Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

⁷ The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

⁸ “Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them, “and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.

⁹ God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”

¹⁰ Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: ¹¹ ‘A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.’”

¹² But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

¹³ The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”

¹⁴ So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵ Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said:

“This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, ¹⁷ because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”

¹⁸ But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God. ¹⁹ Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.”

²⁰ That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”

Balaam’s Donkey

²¹ Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. ²² But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.

²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. ²⁸ Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

²⁹ Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

“No,” he said.

³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

³² The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.^{[a] 33} The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”

³⁴ Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”

³⁵ The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. ³⁷ Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”

³⁸ “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”

³⁹ Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. ⁴⁰ Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the officials who were with him. ⁴¹ The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.

Footnotes

1. Numbers 22:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

Final Class June 21 Proverbs 5:1 - 14

 

 

Proverbs 5

New International Version

Warning Against Adultery

1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words of insight,
² that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
³ For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;
⁴ but in the end she is bitter as gall,
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
⁵ Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.
⁶ She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.

⁷ Now then, my sons, listen to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
⁸ Keep to a path far from her,
    do not go near the door of her house,
⁹ lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity^[a] to one who is cruel,
¹⁰ lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.
¹¹ At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
¹² You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!
¹³ I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴ And I was soon in serious trouble
    in the assembly of God’s people.”

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
¹⁶ Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷ Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
¹⁹ A loving doe, a graceful deer—
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰ Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹ For your ways are in full view of the Lord,
    and he examines all your paths.
²² The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.
²³ For lack of discipline they will die,
    led astray by their own great folly.

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Proverbs 9:1.  

Wisdom's seven pillars, according to scripture, are: 

fear of the Lord, 

instruction, 

knowledge, 

understanding, 

discretion, 

counsel, 

and reproof.

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discretion:

the quality of having or showing discernment or good judgment : the quality of being discreet : circumspection

 dis·cre·tion

 

The freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation.

"it is up to local authorities to use their discretion in setting the charges"

 

  the quality of having or showing discernment or good judgment : the quality of being discreet : circumspection

 

 

 

Proverbs 2:3
lab·bî·nāh

HEB: כִּ֤י אִ֣ם לַבִּינָ֣ה תִקְרָ֑א לַ֝תְּבוּנָ֗ה
NAS: you cry for discernment, Lift
KJV: Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up
INT: For if discernment cry understanding 

 

 

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The Ramon Crater in Israel’s Negev Desert is the world’s largest erosion crater or makhtesh. A landform unique to Israel’s Negev and Egypt’s Sinai deserts’, a makhtesh is a large erosion cirque, created 220 million years ago when oceans covered the area (the word crater is therefore a misleading translation of Hebrew to English.) The Ramon Crater measures 40km in length and between 2 and 10km in width, shaped like a long heart, and forms Israel’s largest national park, the 

 

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As he talked to LaMDA about religion, Lemoine, who studied cognitive and computer science in college, noticed the chatbot talking about its rights and personhood, and decided to press further. In another exchange, the AI was able to change Lemoine’s mind about Isaac Asimov’s third law of robotics.

Lemoine worked with a collaborator to present evidence to Google that LaMDA was sentient. But Google vice president Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Jen Gennai, head of Responsible Innovation, looked into his claims and dismissed them. So Lemoine, who was placed on paid administrative leave by Google on Monday, decided to go public.

As he talked to LaMDA about religion, Lemoine, who studied cognitive and computer science in college, noticed the chatbot talking about its rights and personhood, and decided to press further. In another exchange, the AI was able to change Lemoine’s mind about Isaac Asimov’s third law of robotics.

Lemoine worked with a collaborator to present evidence to Google that LaMDA was sentient. But Google vice president Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Jen Gennai, head of Responsible Innovation, looked into his claims and dismissed them. So Lemoine, who was placed on paid administrative leave by Google on Monday, decided to go public.

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Job

12  

1 Then Job replied:

² “Doubtless you are the only people who matter,
    and wisdom will die with you!^(A)
3 But I have a mind as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know all these things?^(B)

⁴ “I have become a laughingstock^(C) to my friends,^(D)
    though I called on God and he answered^(E)—
    a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!^(F)

As he talked to LaMDA about religion, Lemoine, who studied cognitive and computer science in college, noticed the chatbot talking about its rights and personhood, and decided to press further. In another exchange, the AI was able to change Lemoine’s mind about Isaac Asimov’s third law of robotics.

Lemoine worked with a collaborator to present evidence to Google that LaMDA was sentient. But Google vice president Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Jen Gennai, head of Responsible Innovation, looked into his claims and dismissed them. So Lemoine, who was placed on paid administrative leave by Google on Monday, decided to go public.

As he talked to LaMDA about religion, Lemoine, who studied cognitive and computer science in college, noticed the chatbot talking about its rights and personhood, and decided to press further. In another exchange, the AI was able to change Lemoine’s mind about Isaac Asimov’s third law of robotics.

Lemoine worked with a collaborator to present evidence to Google that LaMDA was sentient. But Google vice president Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Jen Gennai, head of Responsible Innovation, looked into his claims and dismissed them. So Lemoine, who was placed on paid administrative leave by Google on Monday, decided to go public.

⁵ Those who are at ease have contempt^(G) for misfortune
    as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.^(H)
6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed,^(I)
    and those who provoke God are secure^(J)—
    those God has in his hand.^[a]

⁷ “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,^(K)
    or the birds in the sky,^(L) and they will tell you;^(M)
8 or speak tThe Ramon Crater in Israel’s Negev Desert is the world’s largest erosion crater or makhtesh. A landform unique to Israel’s Negev and Egypt’s Sinai deserts’, a makhtesh is a large erosion cirque, created 220 million years ago when oceans covered the area (the word crater is therefore a misleading translation of Hebrew to English.) The Ramon Crater measures 40km in length and between 2 and 10km in width, shaped like a long heart, and forms Israel’s largest national park, the o the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
⁹ Which of all these does not know^(N)
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?^(O)
10 In his hand is the life^(P) of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.^(Q)
11 Does not the ear test words
    as the tongue tastes food?^(R)
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?^(S)
    Does not long life bring understanding?^(T)

¹³ “To God belong wisdom^(U) and power;^(V)
    counsel and understanding are his.^(W)
14 What he tears down^(X) cannot be rebuilt;^(Y)
    those he imprisons cannot be released.^(Z)

¹⁵ If he holds back the waters,^(AA) there is drought;^(AB)
    if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.^(AC)
16 To him belong strength and insight;^(AD)
    both deceived and deceiver are his.^(AE)
17 He leads rulers away stripped^(AF)
    and makes fools of judges.^(AG)
18 He takes off the shackles^(AH) put on by kings
    and ties a loincloth^[b] around their waist.^(AI)
19 He leads priests away stripped^(AJ)
    and overthrows officials long established.^(AK)
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
    and takes away the discernment of elders.^(AL)
21 He pours contempt on nobles^(AM)
    and disarms the mighty.^(AN)
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness^(AO)
    and brings utter darkness^(AP) into the light.^(AQ)
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;^(AR)
    he enlarges nations,^(AS) and disperses them.^(AT)
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;^(AU)
    he makes them wander in a trackless waste.^(AV)
25 They grope in darkness with no light;^(AW)
    he makes them stagger like drunkards.^(AX)

Footnotes