Proverbs 23 Cross References - BSB

¹ When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you, ² and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite. ³ Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. ⁴ Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. ⁵ When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky. ⁶ Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies; ⁷ for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. ⁸ You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words. ⁹ Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. ¹⁰ Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, ¹¹ for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you. ¹² Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. ¹³ Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die. ¹⁴ Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. ¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice. ¹⁶ My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. ¹⁷ Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD. ¹⁸ For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. ¹⁹ Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course. ²⁰ Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat. ²¹ For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags. ²² Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. ²³ Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding. ²⁴ The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him. ²⁵ May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice! ²⁶ My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways. ²⁷ For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. ²⁸ Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men. ²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? ³⁰ Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. ³¹ Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. ³² In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. ³³ Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities. ³⁴ You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast: ³⁵ “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”

³² They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them. ³³ They were seated before Joseph in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. ³⁴ When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.

¹² These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.

⁸ If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

²⁷ No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

¹⁹ Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

⁴ Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing or take part in works of wickedness with men who do iniquity; let me not feast on their delicacies.

⁶ Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;

⁸ But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.

³⁴ But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

²² to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

²⁷ He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.

¹² Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²⁰ A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

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

¹⁹ Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

²⁷ Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.

⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹ Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

⁵ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”

¹⁴ a messenger came and reported to Job: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

⁶ Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.

³⁶ Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain. ³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

²⁴ for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation.

² “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

¹³ There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, ¹⁴ or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

⁸ “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”

² Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

¹⁷ “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”

²⁹ What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; ³⁰ those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing; ³¹ and those who use the things of this world, as if not dependent on them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

¹⁷ Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

¹ Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.

¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

⁵⁶ The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter

⁹ A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

³ Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

²² A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty awaits him.

⁸ But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself. ⁹ Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official, ¹⁰ but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!”

¹⁵ Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

²² greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.

¹⁵ “How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”

²⁶ “If not,” said Absalom, “please let my brother Amnon go with us.” “Why should he go with you?” the king asked. ²⁷ But Absalom urged him, so the king sent Amnon and the rest of his sons. ²⁸ Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”

² They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

²¹ His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

²² The desire of a man is loving devotion; better to be poor than a liar.

²⁷ And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.

³ On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” ⁴ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him—for she is a sinner!”

³⁷ As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. ³⁹ “Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well? ⁴¹ But give as alms the things that are within you, and you will see that everything is clean for you. ⁴² Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.” ⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.” ⁴⁶ “Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load. ⁴⁷ Woe to you! You build tombs for the prophets, but it was your fathers who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’ ⁵⁰ As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation. ⁵² Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” ⁵³ As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch Him in something He might say.

⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁷ He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself. ⁸ Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him. ⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.

²¹ But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

⁶ Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.

⁵² “Now we know that You have a demon!” declared the Jews. “Abraham died, and so did the prophets, yet You say that anyone who keeps Your word will never taste death.

³⁰ “That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will. ³² Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.” ³⁴ They replied, “You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?” And they threw him out.

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”

²⁰ Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”

⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

¹⁸ Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection.

³² When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to mock him, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this topic.”

²⁵ They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ²⁶ ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” ²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ ²⁸ Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

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. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

¹⁰ We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. ¹¹ To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹² We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer gently. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

¹⁴ You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

¹⁷ ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

²⁷ You would even cast lots for an orphan and barter away your friend.

⁹ You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

² Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks. ³ They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.

⁹ The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.

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.

⁶ They kill the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.

²⁸ Do not move an ancient boundary stone which your fathers have placed.

⁵ For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another,

³ This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.

¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

⁵ “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

²² You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. ²³ If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. ²⁴ My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless.

¹⁹ ‘Cursed is he who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

²⁵ But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.

⁵ “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

²³ for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.

³³ This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them. ³⁴ Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.

³⁶ Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.

² if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, ³ if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, ⁴ if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, ⁵ then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

¹ My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight, ² that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

¹⁷ Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge—

¹⁹ Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.

³¹ So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.

⁵² Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls. ²² Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. ²³ For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, ²⁴ and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.

²⁴ He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

¹⁸ Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.

¹⁵ A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

¹⁷ Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

³² But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.

¹ My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,

¹ Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.

¹ The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.

²⁰ A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

²⁴ The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him. ²⁵ May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!

³ A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

⁴¹ Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

¹⁷ The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”

² Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

³² But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

¹¹ I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

⁵ So He called out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” “No,” they answered.

¹⁹ After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? ²⁰ You are indeed our glory and our joy.

⁸ For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord. ⁹ How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?

¹ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

⁴ I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father has commanded us.

³ For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

⁶ Listen, for I speak of noble things, and the opening of my lips will reveal right.

²⁹ Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.

⁴ Pray that I may declare it clearly, as I should.

² We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

¹ Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong. ² For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants. ³ Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

³ For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed. ⁵ They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men. ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; a garment of violence covers them. ⁷ From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!

³¹ Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways;

¹⁶ Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.

¹ Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;

¹⁴ Blessed is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

⁷ For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

¹³ When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

³¹ Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

¹ Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each one’s work impartially, conduct yourselves in reverent fear during your stay as foreigners.

¹⁸ For the needy will not always be forgotten; nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.

³⁷ Consider the blameless and observe the upright, for posterity awaits the man of peace.

¹⁴ Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.

²⁰ For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

²⁵ But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.

²¹ What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.

²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.

¹⁰ Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many. ¹¹ I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths. ¹² When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble. ¹³ Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life. ¹⁴ Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. ¹⁵ Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by. ¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall. ¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. ¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. ¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble. ²⁰ My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. ²¹ Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart. ²² For they are life to those who find them, and health to the whole body. ²³ Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

⁶ Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.

⁶ Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”

¹² Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

²⁶ My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.

¹ Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? ³⁰ Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. ³¹ Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. ³² In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. ³³ Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities. ³⁴ You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast: ³⁵ “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”

⁷ A discerning son keeps the law, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.

⁶ Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. ⁷ Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

¹¹ Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.

²² Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,

¹³ But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

⁴⁹ And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

¹³ After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.

¹⁹ Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.

¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

³ For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. ⁴ Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you.

²⁰ and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”

⁹ How long will you lie there, O slacker? When will you get up from your sleep? ¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, ¹¹ and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.

¹⁵ Laziness brings on deep sleep, and an idle soul will suffer hunger.

¹⁷ He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

³⁰ I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment. ³¹ Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down. ³² I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction: ³³ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, ³⁴ and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.

¹ Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine. ² Behold, the Lord has one who is strong and mighty. Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest, like a driving rain or flooding downpour, he will smash that crown to the ground. ³ The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards will be trampled underfoot.

⁵ Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth.

¹¹ But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

³ Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

¹⁸ If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined, ¹⁹ his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown, ²⁰ and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” ²¹ Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

¹⁶ ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

⁸ Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

²⁰ My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

¹¹ There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.

¹⁷ As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.

⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ ⁶ he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

²⁶ When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.

¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise),

¹² But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell? ¹³ No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living. ¹⁴ The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’ ¹⁵ It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. ¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. ¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it. ¹⁸ Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. ¹⁹ Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

⁷² The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.

¹²⁷ Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold.

² if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, ³ if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, ⁴ if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,

⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them. ⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you. ⁷ Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.

¹⁶ How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.

¹⁶ Why should the fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?

¹⁵ The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!

⁴⁴ The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁶ When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.

²⁶ What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

²³ I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me.

⁷ But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

²⁶ He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.

¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

¹¹ They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.

⁴⁸ saying, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel! Today He has provided one to sit on my throne, and my eyes have seen it.’”

¹ As the time drew near for David to die, he charged his son Solomon, ² “I am about to go the way of all the earth. So be strong and prove yourself a man. ³ And keep the charge of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances, and decrees, as is written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you turn,

⁹ Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.”

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice. ¹⁶ My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

¹⁹ And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

⁹ I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.

²⁰ Yes, brother, let me have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

⁹ Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” ¹⁰ And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted the request of Jabez.

²⁵ A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.

³¹ Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!”

⁴⁰ where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.” ⁴⁶ Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her.

²⁷ As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!” ²⁸ But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

⁵ And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

⁴³ Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.

² Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your word. ¹⁰ With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments. ¹¹ I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;

⁴ he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.

²³ Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

²⁵ Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. ²⁶ Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure. ²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.

⁹ Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.

³⁷ Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; ³⁸ and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.

²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. ¹⁵ And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

⁵ And not only did they do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, because it was the will of God.

¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁹ We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

¹⁴ The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.

¹ While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,

⁴ Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.” ⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.” ⁷ Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.” ⁸ So the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them. ⁹ While the men were hidden in her room, she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a strand of yarn seared by a flame. So the source of his strength remained unknown. ¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me! Now please tell me how you can be tied up.” ¹¹ He replied, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become as weak as any other man.” ¹² So Delilah took new ropes, tied him up with them, and called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But while the men were hidden in her room, he snapped the ropes off his arms like they were threads. ¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.” He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.” ¹⁴ So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web. Then she tightened it with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin with the loom and the web. ¹⁵ “How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!” ¹⁶ Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death, ¹⁷ Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.” ¹⁸ When Delilah realized that he had revealed to her all that was in his heart, she sent this message to the lords of the Philistines: “Come up once more, for he has revealed to me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came to her, bringing the money in their hands. ¹⁹ And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. ²¹ Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison. ²² However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved.

¹⁶ It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words ¹⁷ who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. ¹⁸ For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. ¹⁹ None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.

¹² Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.

²² He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap, ²³ until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life. ²⁴ Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth. ²⁵ Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. ²⁶ For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number. ²⁷ Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

¹⁸ But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

²⁶ And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

² “Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.

¹¹ Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away understanding.

⁸ We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.

¹ Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. ² The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

¹² His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

³⁶ When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light. ³⁷ In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him and he became like a stone.

²⁸ Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”

¹⁶ They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. ¹⁷ And the young officers of the district governors marched out first. Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.” ¹⁸ “If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.” ¹⁹ Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them, ²⁰ and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with the cavalry. ²¹ Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans. ²² Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”

²¹ For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

⁷ These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments. ⁸ For all their tables are covered with vomit; there is not a place without filth.

¹⁰ For they will be entangled as with thorns and consumed like the drink of a drunkard—like stubble that is fully dry.

⁴⁹ And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. ⁵⁰ The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate.

⁴⁵ But suppose that servant says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶ The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

²¹ But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent.

⁸ For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours from His cup, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.

² She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table.

⁶ You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

² One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.

¹ “But now, O Job, hear my speech, and listen to all my words.

³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

²⁵ Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.

²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.

⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them.

¹² Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.

¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.

¹¹ At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,

⁸ He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.

³ The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards will be trampled underfoot.

⁵ They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.

³¹ The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

¹⁷ “For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.

¹⁹ It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.

³ Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.

²⁵ But Abraham answered, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’

²¹ What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.

³² Come, let us get our father drunk with wine so we can sleep with him and preserve his line.” ³³ So that night they got their father drunk with wine, and the firstborn went in and slept with her father; he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁴ The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Look, I slept with my father last night. Let us get him drunk with wine again tonight so you can go in and sleep with him and we can preserve our father’s line.” ³⁵ So again that night they got their father drunk with wine, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him; he was not aware when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁶ Thus both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. ³⁷ The older daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites of today. ³⁸ The younger daughter also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today.

¹² Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.

¹² to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity,

⁵ lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice.

⁴ As they drank the wine, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

⁵ The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him.

¹² These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted. ¹³ They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

⁸ At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; like a wall the currents stood firm; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

³³ Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. ³⁴ Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.” ³⁵ Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and he said to her, “Go home in peace. See, I have heeded your voice and granted your request.” ³⁶ When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light. ³⁷ In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him and he became like a stone. ³⁸ About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead.

¹⁶ So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. ¹⁷ And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels.

⁹ However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.

³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.

²⁷ People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

² For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. ⁵ For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night; and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

¹⁹ because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’ This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

¹¹ As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

²² Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.

¹² “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

³ O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.

¹⁸ I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.

³² If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” ³⁴ Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.

¹⁹ Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

²² Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”