Job 32 Cross References - BSB

¹ So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ² This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God, ³ and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. ⁴ Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he. ⁵ But when he saw that the three men had no further reply, his anger was kindled. ⁶ So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know. ⁷ I thought that age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom. ⁸ But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. ⁹ It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice. ¹⁰ Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; I too will declare what I know.’ ¹¹ Indeed, I waited while you spoke; I listened to your reasoning; as you searched for words, ¹² I paid you full attention. But no one proved Job wrong; not one of you rebutted his arguments. ¹³ So do not claim, ‘We have found wisdom; let God, not man, refute him.’ ¹⁴ But Job has not directed his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments. ¹⁵ Job’s friends are dismayed, with no more to say; words have escaped them. ¹⁶ Must I wait, now that they are silent, now that they stand and no longer reply? ¹⁷ I too will answer; yes, I will declare what I know. ¹⁸ For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me. ¹⁹ Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin. ²⁰ I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and respond. ²¹ I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man. ²² For I do not know how to flatter, or my Maker would remove me in an instant.

²⁹ Reconsider; do not be unjust. Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake.

² I will say to God: Do not condemn me! Let me know why You prosecute me.

⁷ though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand?

¹⁵ Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.

⁷ Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁴ my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will not utter deceit. ⁵ I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. ⁶ I will cling to my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.

¹¹ For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me, ¹² because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper. ¹³ The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban. ¹⁵ I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame. ¹⁶ I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger. ¹⁷ I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.

¹ “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin? ² For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high? ³ Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity? ⁴ Does He not see my ways and count my every step? ⁵ If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, ⁶ let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity. ⁷ If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands, ⁸ then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted. ⁹ If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door, ¹⁰ then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her. ¹¹ For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged. ¹² For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest. ¹³ If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me, ¹⁴ what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account? ¹⁵ Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb? ¹⁶ If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, ¹⁷ if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless— ¹⁸ though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— ¹⁹ if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, ²⁰ if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep, ²¹ if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate, ²² then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket. ²³ For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower. ²⁴ If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security, ²⁵ if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much, ²⁶ if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, ²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, ²⁸ this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high. ²⁹ If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him— ³⁰ I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse— ³¹ if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’— ³² but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler— ³³ if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart, ³⁴ because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside— ³⁵ (Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment. ³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown. ³⁷ I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)— ³⁸ if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, ³⁹ if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, ⁴⁰ then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job.

⁹ ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, with no iniquity in me.

²¹ Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram),

³ Does it please You to oppress me, to reject the work of Your hands and favor the schemes of the wicked?

² “As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—

⁵ I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die.

²¹ You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand.

⁵ For Job has declared, ‘I am righteous, yet God has deprived me of justice. ⁶ Would I lie about my case? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’

¹⁷ Could one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn the just and mighty One, ¹⁸ who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

² “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am more righteous than God.’

⁸ Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?

⁹ because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.

⁵ Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.

²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

²⁶ “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

⁶ if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.

³⁴ For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

⁵ Is not your wickedness great? Are not your iniquities endless? ⁶ For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers and deprived the naked of their clothing. ⁷ You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished, ⁸ while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it. ⁹ You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. ¹⁰ Therefore snares surround you, and sudden peril terrifies you; ¹¹ it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you. ¹² Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are! ¹³ Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness? ¹⁴ Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’ ¹⁵ Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod? ¹⁶ They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood. ¹⁷ They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’ ¹⁸ But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked. ¹⁹ The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them: ²⁰ ‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’ ²¹ Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you. ²² Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. ²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove injustice from your tents ²⁴ and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines, ²⁵ then the Almighty will be your gold and the finest silver for you. ²⁶ Surely then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. ²⁷ You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. ²⁸ Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways. ²⁹ When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then He will save the lowly. ³⁰ He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”

²⁵ If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”

² “Dominion and awe belong to God; He establishes harmony in the heights of heaven. ³ Can His troops be numbered? On whom does His light not rise? ⁴ How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure? ⁵ If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight, ⁶ how much less man, who is but a maggot, and the son of man, who is but a worm!”

² “How you have helped the powerless and saved the arm that is feeble! ³ How you have counseled the unwise and provided fully sound insight! ⁴ To whom have you uttered these words? And whose spirit spoke through you?

¹ So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

⁵ We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,

¹³ Nor can they prove to you any of their charges against me.

¹¹ Indeed, I waited while you spoke; I listened to your reasoning; as you searched for words, ¹² I paid you full attention. But no one proved Job wrong; not one of you rebutted his arguments.

¹³ He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.

¹⁹ As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.

² This kindled the anger of Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram. He burned with anger against Job for justifying himself rather than God,

³² You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.

²⁸ Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!” ²⁹ “What have I done now?” said David. “Was it not just a question?” ³⁰ Then he turned from him toward another and asked about the offer, and those people answered him just as the first ones had answered.

⁷ Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?

¹⁰ Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.

⁷ Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

¹ Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,

⁶ In the same way, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

⁵ Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked. ⁷ They replied, “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.” ⁸ But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.

⁸ Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers. ⁹ For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow. ¹⁰ Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak from their understanding?

¹² Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.

¹¹ Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. ¹² Who is the man who delights in life, who desires to see good days?

¹ These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, ² for gaining wisdom and discipline, for comprehending words of insight, ³ and for receiving instruction in wise living and in righteousness, justice, and equity. ⁴ To impart prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the young,

³¹ Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.

¹² Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

¹² behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.

²⁸ When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

²⁹ And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore.

¹² Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it. ¹³ In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, ¹⁴ fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder. ¹⁵ Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled. ¹⁶ It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice: ¹⁷ ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker? ¹⁸ If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error, ¹⁹ how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth! ²⁰ They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever. ²¹ Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’

⁴ The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

¹⁶ He opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings

¹¹ who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’

³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?

⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

²⁶ To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

²¹ He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

¹⁰ But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit,

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

²⁰ He deprives the trusted of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.

¹³ Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.

⁵ I will go to the powerful and speak to them. Surely they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.” But they too, with one accord, had broken the yoke and torn off the chains.

²⁵ At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

⁴⁸ “Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him?

²⁶ Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

⁷ No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? ⁷ Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?

²⁵ Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.

⁴⁰ In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

²⁷ Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”

²¹ Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my counsel.

²³ They waited for me as for rain and drank in my words like spring showers.

⁴ Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because the others were older than he.

¹⁷ The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

¹¹ A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man with discernment sees through him.

⁹ Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs. ¹⁰ The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.

³ and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.

⁷ They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.

²³ that I will not accept even a thread, or a strap of a sandal, or anything that belongs to you, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

² Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

²¹ saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

¹⁰ “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

⁹ By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.

⁴ For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

² “Truly then you are the people with whom wisdom itself will die!

⁸ Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself? ⁹ What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us? ¹⁰ Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.

⁶ then understand that it is God who has wronged me and drawn His net around me.

²¹ Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.

²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

⁵ Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’

⁷ They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot claim, ‘I already knew them!’

²³ This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.

³ Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!

⁷ The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” ²⁰ Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast in His presence.

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.

²⁴ Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred. ²⁵ How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?

²² After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew.

²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

²² And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.

²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, down to the seventh.

³⁴ And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together.

⁴⁶ No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further.

⁵ If only you would remain silent; for that would be your wisdom!

²⁸ Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent, and discerning when he holds his tongue.

¹³ Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.

¹⁹ My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

¹⁰ Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; I too will declare what I know.’

¹² Behold, you are not right in this matter. I will answer you, for God is greater than man.

³ For you ask, ‘What does it profit me, and what benefit do I gain apart from sin?’ ⁴ I will reply to you and to your friends as well.

³ My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁹ If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.

¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me. ¹⁵ I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed. ¹⁶ At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. ¹⁸ If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. ¹⁹ But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself. ²⁰ Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for his blood. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he heeded your warning, and you will have saved yourself.” ²² And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.” ²³ So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown. ²⁴ Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ²⁵ And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶ I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

²⁰ For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

¹³ If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

¹⁷ Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

¹³ Be silent, and I will speak. Then let come to me what may.

¹⁹ Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.

² “So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.

³ Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.

⁶ Listen, for I speak of noble things, and the opening of my lips will reveal right. ⁷ For my mouth will speak the truth, and wickedness is detestable to my lips.

¹⁵ You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

¹⁷ Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”

¹⁹ Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

¹⁷ And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”

²⁰ Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”

⁸ Would you show Him partiality or argue in His defense?

¹⁰ Surely He would rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality.

¹⁹ who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.

²³ These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

¹⁶ They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.

²² And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” ²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

² When Paul had been called in, Tertullus opened the prosecution: “Because of you, we have enjoyed a lasting peace, and your foresight has brought improvements to this nation. ³ In every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude.

⁵ If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.

² They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart. ³ May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue.

⁵ A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

¹⁰ Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

⁵ As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!