Proverbs 28 Cross References - BSB

¹ The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. ² A land in rebellion has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order. ³ A destitute leader who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no food. ⁴ Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them. ⁵ Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD comprehend fully. ⁶ Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a rich man whose ways are perverse. ⁷ A discerning son keeps the law, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father. ⁸ He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor. ⁹ Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable. ¹⁰ He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good. ¹¹ A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man with discernment sees through him. ¹² When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves. ¹³ He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy. ¹⁴ Blessed is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble. ¹⁵ Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. ¹⁶ A leader who lacks judgment is also a great oppressor, but he who hates dishonest profit will prolong his days. ¹⁷ A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit; let no one support him. ¹⁸ He who walks with integrity will be kept safe, but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall. ¹⁹ The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. ²⁰ A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished. ²¹ To show partiality is not good, yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread. ²² A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty awaits him. ²³ He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue. ²⁴ He who robs his father or mother, saying, “It is not wrong,” is a companion to the man who destroys. ²⁵ A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper. ²⁶ He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe. ²⁷ Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses. ²⁸ When the wicked come to power, people hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous flourish.

⁸ And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.” And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s presence.

¹⁷ And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.

³⁶ As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.

⁷ The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.

²⁵ The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

⁶ For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.” ⁷ Thus the Arameans had arisen and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents and horses and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had run for their lives.

¹⁵ And they tracked them as far as the Jordan, and indeed, the whole way was littered with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown off in haste. So the scouts returned and told the king.

¹ Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread? ² When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh, my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, ³ though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah

⁵ There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to fear. For God has scattered the bones of those who besieged you. You put them to shame, for God has despised them.

⁷ He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

² When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.

³ You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. ⁴ Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.

⁴ For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. And I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away to Babylon and put them to the sword.

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

¹⁰ Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ¹¹ Then these men went as a group and found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God.

¹³ When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.

³ So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

² As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

⁵ And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you. ⁶ For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. ⁷ God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

²⁵ In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years.

²⁸ In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years. 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. ¹⁰ So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place. ¹¹ As soon as Zimri began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend. ¹² So Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, according to the word that the LORD had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet. ¹³ This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols. ¹⁴ As for the rest of the acts of Elah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines, ¹⁶ and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel. ¹⁷ Then Omri and all the Israelites marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died ¹⁹ because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit. ²⁰ As for the rest of the acts of Zimri and the treason he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²¹ At that time the people of Israel were divided: Half of the people supported Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half supported Omri. ²² But the followers of Omri proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king. ²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. ²⁴ He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill. ²⁵ But Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD and acted more wickedly than all who were before him. ²⁶ For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols. ²⁷ As for the rest of the acts of Omri, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁸ And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place. ²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.

⁸ In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria six months. ⁹ And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. ¹⁰ Then Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah, struck him down and killed him in front of the people, and reigned in his place. ¹¹ As for the rest of the acts of Zechariah, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹² So the word of the LORD spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.” ¹³ In the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah’s reign over Judah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king, and he reigned in Samaria one full month. ¹⁴ Then Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria, struck down and killed Shallum son of Jabesh, and reigned in his place. ¹⁵ As for the rest of the acts of Shallum, along with the conspiracy he led, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ¹⁶ At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in its vicinity, because they would not open their gates. So he attacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women. ¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. ¹⁸ And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and throughout his reign he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. ¹⁹ Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom. ²⁰ Menahem exacted this money from each of the wealthy men of Israel—fifty shekels of silver from each man—to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land. ²¹ As for the rest of the acts of Menahem, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²² And Menahem rested with his fathers, and his son Pekahiah reigned in his place. ²³ In the fiftieth year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel and reigned in Samaria two years. ²⁴ And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him along with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men of Gilead. And at the citadel of the king’s palace in Samaria, Pekah struck down and killed Pekahiah and reigned in his place. ²⁶ As for the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, along with all his accomplishments, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty years. ²⁸ And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. ²⁹ In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria. ³⁰ Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place. ³¹ As for the rest of the acts of Pekah, along with all his accomplishments, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

²⁰ In response, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out to heaven in prayer, ²¹ and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword. ²² So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hands of King Sennacherib of Assyria and all the others, and He gave them rest on every side. ²³ Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah, and from then on he was exalted in the eyes of all nations. ²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. So he prayed to the LORD, who spoke to him and gave him a sign. ²⁵ But because his heart was proud, Hezekiah did not repay the favor shown to him. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ Then Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart—he and the people of Jerusalem—so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.

¹ Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father. ² Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. ³ And the king of Egypt dethroned him in Jerusalem and imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ⁴ Then Neco king of Egypt made Eliakim brother of Jehoahaz king over Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt. ⁵ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. ⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also took to Babylon some of the articles from the house of the LORD, and he put them in his temple in Babylon. ⁸ As for the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations he committed, and all that was found against him, they are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And his son Jehoiachin reigned in his place. ⁹ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁰ In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Jehoiachin and brought him to Babylon, along with the articles of value from the house of the LORD. And he made Jehoiachin’s relative Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem. ¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. ¹² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD.

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.”

¹⁵ Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

¹ For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water, ² the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the soothsayer and the elder, ³ the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter. ⁴ “I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.” ⁵ The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable. ⁶ A man will seize his brother within his father’s house: “You have a cloak—you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of rubble.” ⁷ On that day he will cry aloud: “I am not a healer. I have no food or clothing in my house. Do not make me leader of the people!”

¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.

²⁷ Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

¹¹ So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.

²⁸ But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt.

¹⁴ But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?” ¹⁵ Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.” ¹⁶ “Stop!” exclaimed Samuel. “Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied. ¹⁷ And Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, have you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel ¹⁸ and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’ ¹⁹ So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?” ²⁰ “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the LORD gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction. ²¹ The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of the things devoted to destruction, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” ²² But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.” ²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

¹⁴ Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s son-in-law, the captain of your bodyguard who is honored in your house? ¹⁵ Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of my father’s household, for your servant knew nothing of this whole affair—not in part or in whole.”

¹⁹ Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon? ²⁰ Now, O king, come down whenever your soul desires, and we will be responsible for delivering him into your hand.” ²¹ “May you be blessed by the LORD,” replied Saul, “for you have had compassion on me.

¹⁸ “I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.

²¹ Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.

⁴¹ Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. ⁴² And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”

¹⁹ Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’” ²⁰ When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.

¹⁹ Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. ²⁰ And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one suggested this, and another that. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ asked the LORD. ²² And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ ‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’ ²³ So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.” ²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?” ²⁵ Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.” ²⁶ And the king of Israel declared, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, ²⁷ and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’” ²⁸ But Micaiah replied, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take heed, all you people!”

¹³ Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.” ¹⁴ Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or acknowledge you.

⁷ and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and officials, saying, “You are exacting usury from your own brothers!” So I called a large assembly against them ⁸ and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!” But they remained silent, for they could find nothing to say. ⁹ So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our foreign enemies? ¹⁰ I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending the people money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury. ¹¹ Please restore to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, along with the percentage of the money, grain, new wine, and oil that you have been assessing them.” ¹² “We will restore it,” they replied, “and will require nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” So I summoned the priests and required of the nobles and officials an oath that they would do what they had promised. ¹³ I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of His house and possession every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

⁸ And I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. ⁹ Then I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored to them, along with the grain offerings and frankincense. ¹⁰ I also learned that because the portions for the Levites had not been given to them, all the Levites and singers responsible for performing the service had gone back to their own fields. ¹¹ So I rebuked the officials and asked, “Why has the house of God been neglected?” Then I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts,

¹⁵ In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.

¹⁷ Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day? ¹⁸ Did not your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!” ¹⁹ When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem, just before the Sabbath, I ordered that the gates be shut and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my servants at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day. ²⁰ Once or twice, the merchants and those who sell all kinds of goods camped outside Jerusalem,

²³ In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. ²⁴ Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of the other peoples, but could not speak the language of Judah. ²⁵ I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! ²⁶ Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.

²⁸ Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me.

³ For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

¹⁸ Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—and men praise you when you prosper—

³⁰ A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land.

⁷ But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

¹⁵ “Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.

⁴ because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

²² And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”

² And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

⁹ But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

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. ⁴ But in order not to burden you any further, I beg your indulgence to hear us briefly.

³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.

³ Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. ⁴ This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. ⁵ We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ⁶ But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—those leaders added nothing to me.

¹¹ Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

⁵ They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them.

³ Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.

¹⁴ The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.

⁶ A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand,

¹⁰⁰ I discern more than the elders, for I obey Your precepts.

²⁴ The path of life leads upward for the wise, that he may avoid going down to Sheol.

⁷ Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.

²² “For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”

¹⁰ As soon as Jesus was alone with the Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him about the parable. ¹¹ He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables, ¹² so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’” ¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?

¹⁷ If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.

¹⁴ The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.

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 You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

²⁷ And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.

⁸ Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.

¹ Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a fool whose lips are perverse.

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

¹⁸ He who walks with integrity will be kept safe, but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.

¹⁹ Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. ²⁰ And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

²⁴ After several days, Felix returned with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ As Paul expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “You may go for now. When I find the time, I will call for you.” ²⁶ At the same time, he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe. So he sent for Paul frequently and talked with him. ²⁷ After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

¹ My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you, 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, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; ² for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life. ³ Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. ⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. ⁸ This will bring healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. ⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest; ¹⁰ then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. ¹¹ My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke; ¹² for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights. ¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding, ¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷ All her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful. ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed. ¹⁹ The LORD founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding. ²⁰ By His knowledge the watery depths were broken open, and the clouds dripped with dew. ²¹ My son, do not lose sight of this: Preserve sound judgment and discernment. ²² They will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck. ²³ Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. ²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet. ²⁵ Do not fear sudden danger or the ruin that overtakes the wicked, ²⁶ for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from the snare. ²⁷ Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act. ²⁸ Do not tell your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—when you already have the means. ²⁹ Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he trustfully dwells beside you. ³⁰ Do not accuse a man without cause, when he has done you no harm. ³¹ Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways; ³² for the LORD detests the perverse, but He is a friend to the upright. ³³ The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous. ³⁴ He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble. ³⁵ The wise will inherit honor, but fools are held up to shame.

²⁶ He who assaults his father or evicts his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

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.

²⁴ He who robs his father or mother, saying, “It is not wrong,” is a companion to the man who destroys.

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

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

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.

³⁰ But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

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.

²⁵ If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.

³⁶ Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.

⁶ Because he has done this thing and has shown no pity, he must pay for the lamb four times over.”

¹⁶ Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay, ¹⁷ what he lays up, the righteous will wear, and his silver will be divided by the innocent.

²² A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.

³¹ Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.

⁷ All the brothers of a poor man hate him—how much more do his friends avoid him! He may pursue them with pleading, but they are nowhere to be found.

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.

⁸ He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.

¹³ He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.

¹⁷ He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.

¹⁸ If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

⁷ When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.

⁸ The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

¹³ Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. ¹⁶ Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

⁷ Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk, ¹⁰ and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. ¹¹ The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

¹¹ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. ¹² They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts. ¹³ And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.

²⁵ After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ ²⁶ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’

³ For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. ⁴ So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

¹⁵ “Have you spared all the women?” he asked them. ¹⁶ “Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.

¹² If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant and the loving devotion that He swore to your fathers. ¹³ He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you. ¹⁴ You will be blessed above all peoples; among you there will be no barren man or woman or livestock.

¹⁹ Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

¹⁵ He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making. ¹⁶ His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

¹⁵ The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land and delight in abundant prosperity.

²⁵ I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread. ²⁶ They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.

³ The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.

⁶ The house of the righteous has great treasure, but the income of the wicked is trouble.

²⁰ Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumes them.

²⁷ He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.

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

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

⁸ But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. ⁹ Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas ¹⁰ and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

³ I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily.

¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.

⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!

⁴ This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.

¹ O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ² I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you now finishing in the flesh? ⁴ Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing?

¹⁸ With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. ²⁰ If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.

¹⁴ But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.

⁹ It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice.

¹¹ A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.

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

⁴ Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes.

¹⁶ The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

¹⁵ Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man. ¹⁶ And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.” ¹⁷ The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.

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

¹³ For he says: ‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, for I am clever. I have removed the boundaries of nations and plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their rulers. ¹⁴ My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”

³ Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you! ⁴ By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries. ⁵ By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.

¹³ No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” ¹⁴ The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.

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.

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. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

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.

¹¹ See, my father, look at the corner of your robe in my hand. For I cut it off, but I did not kill you. See and know that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands. I have not sinned against you, even though you are hunting me down to take my life.

³ “Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁴ And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” ⁵ So Elijah did what the LORD had told him, and he went and lived by the Brook of Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook. ⁷ Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: ⁹ “Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” ¹⁰ So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread.” ¹² But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.” ¹³ “Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you have said. But first make me a small cake of bread from what you have, and bring it out to me. Afterward, make some for yourself and your son, ¹⁴ for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain upon the face of the earth.’” ¹⁵ So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household. ¹⁶ The jar of flour was not exhausted and the jug of oil did not run dry, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Elijah. ¹⁷ Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him. ¹⁸ “O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?” ¹⁹ But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on this widow who has opened her home to me, by causing her son to die?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!” ²² And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived. ²³ Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared. ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”

¹³ Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.

³ And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,

²⁵ So David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went with rejoicing to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom. ²⁶ And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. ²⁷ Now David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, as well as the singers and Chenaniah, the director of music for the singers. David also wore a linen ephod. ²⁸ So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and with cymbals and the music of harps and lyres.

⁷ On that day David first committed to Asaph and his brothers this song of thanksgiving to the LORD: ⁸ “Give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the nations. ⁹ Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders. ¹⁰ Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. ¹¹ Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always. ¹² Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced, ¹³ O offspring of His servant Israel, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. ¹⁴ He is the LORD our God; His judgments carry throughout the earth. ¹⁵ Remember His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations— ¹⁶ the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac. ¹⁷ He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: ¹⁸ ‘I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.’ ¹⁹ When they were few in number, few indeed, and strangers in the land, ²⁰ they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. ²¹ He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf: ²² ‘Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!’ ²³ Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Proclaim His salvation day after day. ²⁴ Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all peoples. ²⁵ For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. ²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols, but it is the LORD who made the heavens. ²⁷ Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling. ²⁸ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. ²⁹ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness; ³⁰ tremble before Him, all the earth. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. ³¹ Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice. Let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ ³² Let the sea resound, and all that fills it; let the fields exult, and all that is in them. ³³ Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth. ³⁴ Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever. ³⁵ Then cry out: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation; gather and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.’ ³⁶ Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and “Praise the LORD!”

²⁰ Then David said to the whole assembly, “Blessed be the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers. They bowed down and paid homage to the LORD and to the king. ²¹ The next day they offered sacrifices and presented burnt offerings to the LORD: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, along with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²² That day they ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD. Then, for a second time, they designated David’s son Solomon as king, anointing him before the LORD as ruler, and Zadok as the priest.

¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, Solomon sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the good things that the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for His people Israel.

²² And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers. ²³ The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy. ²⁴ For Hezekiah king of Judah contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep for the assembly, and the officials contributed a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep for the assembly, and a great number of priests consecrated themselves. ²⁵ Then the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced along with the priests and Levites and the whole assembly that had come from Israel, including the foreigners who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah. ²⁶ So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel. ²⁷ Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven.

¹⁵ Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. ¹⁶ For the Jews it was a time of light and gladness, of joy and honor. ¹⁷ In every province and every city, wherever the king’s edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many of the people of the land themselves became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

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. ¹⁸ So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest and multiply my days as the sand. ¹⁹ My roots will spread out to the waters, and the dew will rest nightly on my branches. ²⁰ My glory is ever new within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.’

¹⁰ When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

²⁸ When the wicked come to power, people hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous flourish.

² When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun—an error that proceeds from the ruler: ⁶ Folly is appointed to great heights, but the rich sit in lowly positions.

¹⁶ Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth, and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹ “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.

²⁶ Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

³⁷ And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: ³⁸ “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.

¹² And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” ¹³ Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”

⁹ And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

¹⁶ Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. ¹⁷ Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”

⁴⁰ But if they will confess their iniquity and that of their fathers in the unfaithfulness that they practiced against Me, by which they have also walked in hostility toward Me— ⁴¹ and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity, ⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

¹³ When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

³⁰ “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”

⁴⁷ and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’ ⁴⁸ and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name, ⁴⁹ then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition, and may You uphold their cause.

³³ if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,

²⁷ Then he sings before men with these words: ‘I have sinned and perverted what was right; yet I did not get what I deserved.

³ When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah ⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. ⁴ Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. ⁵ Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

¹² Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.

⁹ Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.

²² Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD. ²³ “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young she-camel galloping here and there,

¹² Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be angry forever. ¹³ Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice,’” declares the LORD.

²⁰ While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and that of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the LORD my God concerning His holy mountain— ²¹ while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He instructed me and spoke with me, saying: “O Daniel, I have come now to give you insight and understanding. ²³ At the beginning of your petitions, an answer went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly precious. So consider the message and understand the vision:

⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁷ But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

²⁵ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. ²⁷ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

⁴ “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.” ⁵ So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

¹⁸ I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹ The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 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.

²⁰ First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.

⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

²² But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.

²³ And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea.

⁴ God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?

¹¹ Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

⁸ I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

⁸ do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,

¹ Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.

¹⁷ Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

¹ A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.

² Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.

⁴⁰ I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.

⁴ Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

²⁰ That is correct: They were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

¹ Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.

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

¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh. ¹⁵ Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”

²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

¹⁷ Then the king ordered the guards at his side, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they did not tell me.” But the king’s servants would not lift a hand to strike the priests of the LORD. ¹⁸ So the king ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests himself. On that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. ¹⁹ He also put to the sword Nob, the city of the priests, with its men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep.

²⁴ Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

¹⁶ At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in its vicinity, because they would not open their gates. So he attacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.

¹⁶ Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

⁶ And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes. ⁷ In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar. ⁸ Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. ⁹ If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.” ¹⁰ So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

¹² It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.

¹² A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

² The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

¹¹ Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols.

⁸ Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart.

¹⁶ When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.

⁸ Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

²¹ Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!

¹⁴ and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”

¹⁵ The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.

¹ Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.

¹² Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.

¹⁵ He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil— ¹⁶ he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

¹⁵ Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him. ¹⁶ He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD. ¹⁷ “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”

¹ Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”

⁶ Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

¹⁴ But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.

¹⁴ Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge. ¹⁵ These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there. ¹⁶ If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. ¹⁷ Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. ¹⁸ If anyone has in his hand a deadly object of wood, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death. ¹⁹ The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him. ²⁰ Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him, ²¹ or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds the murderer, he is to kill him. ²² But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally, ²³ or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him, ²⁴ then the congregation must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. ²⁵ The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶ But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled ²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed ²⁸ because the manslayer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may he return to the land he owns. ²⁹ This will be a statutory ordinance for you for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³⁰ If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness. ³¹ You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death. ³² Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. ³³ Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. ³⁴ Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.”

¹⁹ Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

²³ And the LORD also speaks concerning Jezebel: ‘The dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’

²⁶ ‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, declares the LORD, so will I repay you on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.’ Now then, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”

²¹ But they conspired against Zechariah, and by order of the king, they stoned him in the courtyard of the house of the LORD. ²² Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada’s son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.” ²³ In the spring, the army of Aram went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. ²⁴ Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the LORD delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash. ²⁵ And when the Arameans had withdrawn, they left Joash severely wounded. His own servants conspired against him for shedding the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him on his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

⁴ When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

³² The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you, because your way is perverse before me.

²¹ May integrity and uprightness preserve me, because I wait for You.

¹¹ But I will walk with integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me.

¹⁸ Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin. ¹⁹ How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors! ²⁰ Like one waking from a dream, so You, O Lord, awaken and despise their form.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

⁵ But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.

⁹ He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

²⁵ When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.

³ The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the faithless destroys them. ⁴ Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death. ⁵ The righteousness of the blameless directs their path, but the wicked fall by their own wickedness. ⁶ The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the faithless are trapped by their own desires.

⁶ Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a rich man whose ways are perverse.

¹⁴ When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

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.

¹ Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed. ³ In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

³ Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you.

⁴ So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.

¹¹ The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.

²⁰ He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.

⁴ Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of the ox.

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.

²³ Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds; ²⁴ for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation. ²⁵ When hay is removed and new growth appears and the grain from the hills is gathered, ²⁶ the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. ²⁷ You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you—food for your household and nourishment for your maidservants.

¹² The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 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. ¹⁴ After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him a thing. ¹⁷ Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death!

¹⁴ Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s son-in-law, the captain of your bodyguard who is honored in your house?

²⁰ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman, while not accepting what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?” ²² “Everything is all right,” Gehazi replied. “My master has sent me to say, ‘I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’” ²³ But Naaman insisted, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged Gehazi to accept them. Then he tied up two talents of silver in two bags along with two sets of clothing and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the gifts from the servants and stored them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they departed. ²⁵ When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied. ²⁶ But Elisha questioned him, “Did not my spirit go with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to accept money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, menservants and maidservants? ²⁷ Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.

² Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.

⁶ My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me.

⁴ Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous. ⁵ It is well with the man who is generous and lends freely, whose affairs are guided by justice. ⁶ Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous man will be remembered forever. ⁷ He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. ⁸ His heart is assured; he does not fear, until he looks in triumph on his foes. ⁹ He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

⁶ Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹¹ Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.

⁵ He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶ Many a man proclaims his loving devotion, but who can find a trustworthy man?

²¹ An inheritance gained quickly will not be blessed in the end.

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

⁴² And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?

¹ Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.

¹⁰ Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

² Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³ I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

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.

¹⁰ Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

¹³ I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

² You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.

⁸ Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

⁵ Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.

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

¹⁹ You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.

¹⁸ When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.

⁵ This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:

³ Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.

¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

³ In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

¹⁰ And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹ So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company. ¹² Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. ¹³ But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

¹⁷ As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

¹⁸ He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading. ¹⁹ For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build. ²⁰ Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure. ²¹ Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure. ²² In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.

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

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

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.

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.

⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

²³ So the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” And Nathan went in and bowed facedown before the king.

³² Then King David said, “Call in for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. ³³ “Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. ³⁴ There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you shall go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. For I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.” ³⁶ “Amen,” replied Benaiah son of Jehoiada. “May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. ³⁷ Just as the LORD was with my lord the king, so may He be with Solomon and make his throne even greater than that of my lord King David.” ³⁸ Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. ³⁹ Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ All the people followed him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy that the earth was split by the sound.

⁵ Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked.

⁵ Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed. ⁶ The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

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

¹⁵ If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

¹¹ When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned.

¹⁵ Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

² said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”

⁹ Whoever is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys.

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

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.

¹² O LORD of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!

²⁵ A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

⁴ The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.

¹⁰ Arrogance leads only to strife, but wisdom is with the well-advised.

¹⁸ A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.

³⁰ The light of the eyes cheers the heart, and good news nourishes the bones.

²⁴ Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—of him who acts with excessive pride.

¹⁰ Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease.

²² An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

²⁵ The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.

¹¹ The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

⁷ But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. ⁸ He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

¹³ “But how could your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said Hazael. And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

²⁸ And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

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

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

²¹ For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²² greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³ All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”

²⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ ²⁸ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” ²⁹ Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I never will.” ³⁰ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” ³¹ But Peter kept insisting, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the others said the same thing.

⁷ because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

¹⁵ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

⁷ If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.

¹⁰ Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble. ² The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to surrender him to the will of his foes. ³ The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness and restore him from his bed of sickness.

²⁴ One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

²⁶ The people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it.

¹⁷ Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.

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

²⁴ Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” ¹⁰ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that through us your giving will produce thanksgiving to God.

¹⁶ And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

¹⁷ In every province and every city, wherever the king’s edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many of the people of the land themselves became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

⁴ They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

¹² When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

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. ²⁴ But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.