Proverbs 9 Cross References - BSB

¹ Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars. ² She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. ³ She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city. ⁴ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment. ⁵ “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed. ⁶ Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.” ⁷ He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself. ⁸ Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. ⁹ Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning. ¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ¹¹ For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. ¹² If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences. ¹³ The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing. ¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city, ¹⁵ calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight. ¹⁶ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment. ¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!” ¹⁸ But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

² He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams. ³ The house was roofed with cedar above the beams that rested on the pillars—forty-five beams, fifteen per row.

⁶ Solomon made his colonnade fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, with a portico in front of it and a canopy with pillars in front of the portico.

²¹ Thus he set up the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jachin, and the pillar to the north he named Boaz.

¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. ¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds. ¹¹ For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³ his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. ¹⁴ If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.

⁹ And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. ²¹ In Him the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in Him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.

¹⁵ in case I am delayed, so that you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

³ For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. ⁴ And every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. ⁵ Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later. ⁶ But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.

⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”

¹² The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.

¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with his brothers, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they shall dine with me at noon.”

⁵ “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed.

³⁰ Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.

² I would lead you and bring you to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates.

⁶ On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.

³ He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come. ⁴ Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹ But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. ¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless. ¹³ Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

¹⁶ But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷ When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

⁷ Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.

¹¹ The Lord gives the command; a great company of women proclaim it:

²⁰ Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; ²¹ in the main concourse she cries aloud, at the city gates she makes her speech: ²² “How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge? ²³ If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.

¹ Does not wisdom call out, and understanding raise her voice? ² On the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand. ³ Beside the gates to the city, at the entrances she cries out:

¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city,

³ He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come. ⁴ Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

⁹ Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’

⁴⁹ Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’

¹⁷ When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

²¹ The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² ‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ ²³ So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

²⁰ “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered. “I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.

¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

²⁰ Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

⁷ The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.

¹³⁰ The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple.

²² “How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?

³² He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.

⁵ O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding.

¹⁶ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment.

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

¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.

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

¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!”

¹ I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! ² Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. ³ Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.

¹² They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish. ¹³ Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow. ¹⁴ I will fill the souls of the priests abundantly, and will fill My people with My goodness,” declares the LORD.

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

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

⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.” ⁵² At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your fathers, who ate the manna and died, the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

⁴ I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites. ⁵ I hate the mob of evildoers, and refuse to sit with the wicked. ⁶ I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,

¹⁰ Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house,

¹¹⁵ Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may obey the commandments of my God.

¹¹ I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths.

¹⁴ Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. ¹⁵ Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by.

³⁵ For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD.

¹¹ For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.

¹⁷ Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who ignores reproof goes astray.

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

¹³ Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

²⁴ “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.

⁴⁰ With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”

¹⁷ “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.

⁸ Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” ⁹ “Get out of the way!” they replied. And they declared, “This one came here as a foreigner, and he is already acting like a judge! Now we will treat you worse than them.” And they pressed in on Lot and moved in to break down the door.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

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.

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?”

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.’”

²⁰ Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.’” 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.”

¹⁵ Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet, who said, “Why have you sought this people’s gods, which could not deliver them from your hand?” ¹⁶ While he was still speaking, the king asked, “Have we made you the counselor to the king? Stop! Why be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not heeded my advice.”

¹⁶ But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.

¹² A mocker does not love to be reproved, nor will he consult the wise.

⁹ Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁷ You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.

⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land. ⁸ If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us. ⁹ Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!” ¹⁰ But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tent of Meeting.

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. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why then have you despised the command of the LORD by doing evil in His sight? You put Uriah the Hittite to the sword and took his wife as your own, for you have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ ¹¹ This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight. ¹² You have acted in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” ¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”

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.

⁸ The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

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.

¹⁸ Poverty and shame come to him who ignores discipline, but whoever heeds correction is honored.

²³ He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.

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

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

¹⁴ Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

¹¹ When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned. ¹² For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group. ¹³ The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 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?”

⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age— ⁶ and then have fallen away—to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame. ⁷ For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.

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.

⁵ let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel

¹² Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.

³ So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.

¹¹ He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

²⁰ You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. ²¹ I have not written to you because you lack knowledge of the truth, but because you have it, and because no lie comes from the truth.

¹³ I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

⁹ As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

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

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

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

⁵ then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

³ I have not learned wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

¹³ When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

²⁷ All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

³ Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

² so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged.

² for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.

¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

²⁷ The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.

² “Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him? ³ Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless?

²¹ Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you.

⁶ If you sin, what do you accomplish against Him? If you multiply your transgressions, what do you do to Him? ⁷ If you are righteous, what do you give Him, or what does He receive from your hand?

²⁶ A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward.

²² So now, do not mock, or your shackles will become heavier. Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts a decree of destruction against the whole land.

²⁰ The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.

³ Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴ “Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”

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.

⁶ She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.

¹¹ She is loud and defiant; her feet do not remain at home.

⁹ Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁹ Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

⁴ he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and semantics, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,

¹⁰ Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart. ¹¹ She is loud and defiant; her feet do not remain at home. ¹² Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.

³ She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city.

¹³ She seizes him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him: ¹⁴ “I have made my peace offerings; today I have paid my vows. ¹⁵ So I came out to meet you; I sought you, and I have found you.

²⁵ Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. ²⁶ For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number. ²⁷ Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

²⁷ For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well. ²⁸ Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.

⁴ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment.

⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

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.

¹⁸ Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses! ¹⁹ For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. ²⁰ He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.”

¹⁷ Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but later his mouth is full of gravel.

³¹ Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. ³² In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.

²⁰ This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

⁸ But sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead.

¹² For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

¹⁴ But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. ¹⁵ Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

⁵ They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

¹⁸ For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. ¹⁹ None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.

⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.

²⁶ For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

²⁷ Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

⁵ But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,