Proverbs 15 Cross References - EJ2000

¹ ¶ A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. ² ¶ The tongue of the wise shall adorn wisdom, but the mouth of fools shall speak foolishness. ³ ¶ The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding those who are evil and those who are good. ⁴ ¶ The wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. ⁵ ¶ The fool despises his father’s chastening, but he that regards reproof shall become prudent. ⁶ ¶ In the house of the righteous is much provision, but in the fruit of the wicked is trouble. ⁷ ¶ The lips of the wise disperse wisdom, but the heart of the foolish does not so. ⁸ ¶ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. ⁹ ¶ The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD, but he loves him that follows after righteousness. ¹⁰ ¶ Chastening is grievous unto him that forsakes the way, but he that hates reproof shall die. ¹¹ ¶ Sheol and hell are before the LORD; how much more then the hearts of men? ¹² ¶ The scorner does not love the one that reproves him, neither will he go unto the wise. ¹³ ¶ A joyful heart makes a beautiful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is abated. ¹⁴ ¶ The heart of him that has understanding seeks wisdom, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. ¹⁵ ¶ All the days of the poor are difficult, but he that is of a good heart has a continual feast. ¹⁶ ¶ Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. ¹⁷ Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted calf and hatred therewith. ¹⁸ ¶ A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he that is slow to anger appeases strife. ¹⁹ ¶ The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns, but the path of the righteous is made plain. ²⁰ ¶ The wise son makes a glad father, but the foolish man despises his mother. ²¹ ¶ Folly is joy to him that is destitute of understanding, but the man who is intelligent walks uprightly. ²² ¶ Without counsel purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. ²³ ¶ A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is! ²⁴ ¶ The way of life is uphill to the wise, that he may separate himself from Sheol below. ²⁵ ¶ The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, but he will establish the inheritance of the widow. ²⁶ ¶ The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but the speech of the pure is pure. ²⁷ ¶ He that is greedy of gain troubles his own house, but he that hates gifts shall live. ²⁸ ¶ The heart of the righteous studies to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. ²⁹ ¶ The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. ³⁰ ¶ The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones fat. ³¹ ¶ The ear that hears the reproof of life shall abide among the wise. ³² ¶ He that refuses chastening despises his own soul, but he that hears reproof has an understanding heart. ³³ ¶ The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and before honour is humility.

¹ ¶ And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus that thou didst not call us when thou didst go to fight against Midian? And they chided with him sharply. ² And he replied unto them, What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? ³ God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward him when he spoke that word.

³ Seeing, therefore, that ye did not defend me, I put my life in my hands and went over against the sons of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have ye come up against me this day to fight with me? ⁴ Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim because they had said, Ye are fugitives of Ephraim; ye are Gileadites among Ephraim and Manasseh. ⁵ And the Gileadites took the passages of the Jordan from Ephraim; and it was such that when any of those of Ephraim who had escaped would say, May I pass? The men of Gilead would ask them, Art thou an Ephrathite? If he said, No; ⁶ then they would say unto him, Now say Shibboleth. {Heb. a flowing stream}. And he would say Sibboleth; {Heb. an ear of wheat}; for he could not pronounce it the same. Then they would take him and slay him at the passages of the Jordan. And at that time forty-two thousand of those of Ephraim fell.

¹⁰ And Nabal answered David’s slaves and said, Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many slaves nowadays that break from their masters. ¹¹ Shall I then take my bread and my water and my slaughtered meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it unto men that I do not know where they are from? ¹² ¶ So David’s young men left and returned and came and told him all those words. ¹³ Then David said unto his men, Gird ye on each man his sword. And each one girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, and they left two hundred with the stuff.

²¹ Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him, and he has returned unto me evil for good. ²² Let God do so and more also unto the enemies of David if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that piss against the wall. ²³ And when Abigail saw David, she hastened and lighted off the ass and fell before David on her face and bowed herself to the ground ²⁴ and fell at his feet and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be, and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thy audience; and hear the words of thy handmaid. ²⁵ Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this man of Belial, even Nabal, for as his name is, so is he; Nabal {Heb. fool} is his name, and folly is with him; but I, thy handmaid, did not see the servants of my lord whom thou didst send. ²⁶ Now, therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, seeing the LORD has withheld thee from coming to shed blood and from avenging thyself with thy own hand, now let thy enemies and those that seek evil to my lord be as Nabal. ²⁷ And now this blessing which thy handmaid has brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the servants that follow my lord. ²⁸ I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thy handmaid, for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house because my lord fights the battles of the LORD, and evil has not been found in thee all thy days. ²⁹ Yet a man is risen to pursue thee and to seek thy soul, but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God, and he shall hurl forth the souls of thine enemies as out of the middle of a sling. ³⁰ And it shall come to pass when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning thee and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel, ³¹ that this shall be no stumblingblock unto thee nor grief of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless or that my lord has avenged himself; but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid. ³² ¶ Then David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel who sent thee this day to meet me; ³³ and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou who hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with my own hand.

⁴³ Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye; why then did ye not take us into account? Did we not speak first about bringing back our king? But in the end words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

¹³ And the king answered the people roughly and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him ¹⁴ and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. ¹⁵ Therefore, the king did not hearken unto the people, for the cause was from the LORD, to confirm his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. ¹⁶ ¶ So when all Israel saw that the king did not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? There is no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.

¹² ¶ Hatred stirs up strifes, but love covers all sins.

¹⁸ ¶ A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he that is slow to anger appeases strife.

¹⁵ ¶ By long forbearing a prince is persuaded, and a soft tongue breaks the bones.

²⁵ ¶ He that is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he that puts his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.

²² ¶ The angry man stirs up strife, and the furious man abounds in transgression.

¹ To the Overcomer:
upon Shoshannim lilies, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. ¶ My heart is overflowing with a good word; I speak of the things which I have done concerning the king; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

⁷ Behold, they belch out with their mouth; swords are in their lips; for who, say they, doth hear?

²³ ¶ The sane man conceals his wisdom: but the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.

¹⁶ ¶ Every sane man works according to wisdom: but the fool shall manifest his folly.

²³ ¶ A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

²⁸ ¶ The heart of the righteous studies to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

²³ ¶ The heart of the wise causes his mouth to be prudent, and with his lips he shall increase doctrine.

¹¹ ¶ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold inscribed with silver. ¹² As an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, so is he who reproves a wise man who has a docile ear.

¹² ¶ The words from the mouth of the wise man are grace, but the lips of the fool will swallow up himself. ¹³ The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.

⁴ ¶ The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the wise that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary; he wakes up early, early shall he awaken my ear, that I might hear, as the wise.

⁹ For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly, for from now on thou shalt have wars.

⁴ Does he not see my ways and count all my steps?

²¹ For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he sees all his steps. ²² There is no darkness nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

²¹ For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he weighs all his goings.

¹⁷ For my eyes are upon all their ways, which they have not hid from me, neither does their iniquity hide from the presence of my eyes.

²⁴ Can any hide himself in hiding places that I shall not see him? said the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? said the LORD.

¹⁹ great in counsel and magnificent in works: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men to give unto each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings;

¹³ Neither is there any created thing that is not manifested in his presence, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him of whom we speak.

²² ¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live for ever, ²³ therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.

² Thy tongue devises wickedness like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. ³ Thou dost love evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. ⁴ Thou dost love all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

²² For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those that lay hold upon her, and blessed is every one that retains her.

¹⁸ ¶ There are those that speak like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise is medicine.

²⁴ ¶ Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and medicine to the bones.

⁸ ¶ The words of a talebearer seem smooth, but they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

¹⁴ ¶ The spirit of man will bear his infirmity, but a broken spirit who can bear?

²² The words of a talebearer seem smooth, but they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

² But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness be born, and in his wings he shall bring saving health; and ye shall go forth and jump like calves of the herd.

³ If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godliness,

⁷ He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the congregations {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}; To him that overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

²³ And he said unto them, Why do ye do such things? For I hear from all the people of your evil dealings. ²⁴ No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear that ye cause the people of the LORD to transgress. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, the judges shall judge him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they did not hearken unto the voice of their father because the LORD had already decided to kill them.

¹ ¶ And it came to pass after this that Absalom prepared himself chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him. ² And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate; and when anyone that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto them and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy slave is of one of the tribes of Israel. ³ And Absalom would say unto them, See, thy matters are good and just; but there is no one delegated by the king to hear thee. ⁴ And Absalom would say, Oh, that I were made judge in the land, that everyone who has any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! ⁵ And it was so, that when anyone came near unto him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him. ⁶ And Absalom did according to this manner with all Israel that came to the king for judgment; so Absalom stole the hearts of those of Israel.

¹¹ Now, my son, the LORD be with thee, and be thou prospered and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he has said of thee. ¹² Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding and give thee commandments for Israel, and that thou keep the law of the LORD thy God. ¹³ Then shalt thou be prospered if thou shalt keep thyself to do the statutes and rights which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel; be strong and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

⁹ And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing soul, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

²⁰ And David said to Solomon, his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it; fear not, nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not leave thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work of the service of the house of the LORD.

⁵ ¶ Let the righteous smite me in mercy, and let him reprove me: and let not a flattering evil prince anoint my head, for my prayer shall ever be against his evil.

²³ Return at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

²³ For the commandment is fire, and the law is light; and reproofs of chastening are the way of life,

¹ ¶ A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son is sadness unto his mother.

¹ ¶ A wise son takes his father’s chastening: but a scorner does not hear rebuke.

¹⁸ ¶ Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuses chastening: but he that regards reproof shall be honoured.

³¹ ¶ The ear that hears the reproof of life shall abide among the wise. ³² ¶ He that refuses chastening despises his own soul, but he that hears reproof has an understanding heart.

²⁰ ¶ Hear counsel, and receive chastening that thou may be wise in thy old age.

¹² As an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, so is he who reproves a wise man who has a docile ear.

¹³ This witness is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;

¹⁵ ¶ These things speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise thee.

¹⁹ Because he oppressed and forsook the poor; because he has violently taken away houses which he did not build, ²⁰ therefore, he shall not feel quietness in his belly; he shall not escape with that which he desired. ²¹ Nothing is left that he did not eat; therefore, his goods shall not last. ²² In the fullness of his sufficiency, he shall come into anguish; the hands of all the wicked shall come upon him. ²³ ¶ When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him and shall rain it upon him and upon his food.

¹⁶ Tet A little that a righteous man has is better than the many riches of the sinners.

³ He Wealth and riches shall be in his house; Vau and his righteousness endures for ever.

²¹ that I may cause my friends to inherit existence and I will fill their treasures.

²² ¶ The blessing of the LORD is that which makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

²² ¶ A good man shall leave an inheritance to his children’s children, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

¹⁶ ¶ Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.

⁸ ¶ Better is a little with righteousness than a great number of fruits with injustice.

²⁰ ¶ There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spends it up.

⁶ Better is a handful with rest than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

¹⁰ He that loves money shall not be satisfied with money; nor he that loves abundance with increase; this is also vanity. ¹¹ When goods increase, those that eat them are increased; and what good is there to the owners thereof, except the beholding of them with their eyes? ¹² The sleep of the servant is sweet whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. ¹³ There is another sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt; ¹⁴ which are lost by evil pursuits and to the sons which he has begotten; there is nothing left in his hand.

²⁶ esteeming the reproach of the Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.

¹ ¶ Come now, Oh ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. ² Your riches are rotten, and your garments are motheaten. ³ Your gold and silver is corrupted with rust; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall completely eat your flesh, as fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

³⁰ Pe The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue brings forth judgment.

² Thou art fairer than the sons of men, grace is poured into thy lips; therefore God has blessed thee for ever.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. ¹⁴ ¶ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. ¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

¹⁵ My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day, for I know not the numbers thereof. ¹⁶ I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. ¹⁷ O God, thou hast taught me from my youth and until now; I shall manifest thy wondrous works. ¹⁸ Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not until I have showed the strength of thy arm unto the next generation and thy power to every one that is to come,

² I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter enigmas of old, ³ which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. ⁴ We will not hide them from their sons, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD and his strength and his wonderful works that he has done. ⁵ For he established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their sons: ⁶ That the generation to come might know them, even the sons which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their sons

¹³ ¶ With my lips I have declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

²⁰ ¶ The tongue of the just is as choice silver, but the understanding {Heb. heart} of the wicked is worth little. ²¹ The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom.

⁹ And the wiser the preacher became that much more did he teach wisdom to the people, causing them to listen and to search things out, and he composed many proverbs. ¹⁰ The preacher sought to find willing words and upright writings, even words of truth.

¹¹ Thy lips, O my spouse, drip as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under thy tongue, and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

²⁷ What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light, and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye from the housetops.

³⁴ O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ¹⁹ Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, behold, I am with you always even unto the end of the age. Amen.

¹⁵ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, ¹⁰ For I am with thee, and no one shall be able to hurt thee, for I have many people in this city.

¹⁴ How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how shall they preach if they have not been sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those that announce the gospel of peace, of those that announce the gospel of that which is good! ¹⁶ But not everyone hearkens unto the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? ¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and the ear to hear by the word of God.

¹⁸ For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not wrought by me, unto the obedience of the Gentiles, with word and with deed, ¹⁹ with power of signs and wonders, in virtue of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum, I have filled the entire area with the gospel of the Christ. ²⁰ And in this manner I preached this gospel, not where Christ had been named previously, not to build upon a foundation belonging to another, ²¹ but, as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see, and those that have not heard shall understand.

²⁹ Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for edification, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

² And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

¹⁷ I know also, my God, that thou dost try the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now have I seen with joy that thy people, who are present here, have given willingly unto thee.

¹ A Prayer of David. ¶ Hear righteousness, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that does not go out of feigned lips.

²⁹ ¶ The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

²⁷ ¶ The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination; how much more, when he brings it with lewdness?

⁹ ¶ He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

¹ ¶ Watch thy feet when thou goest to the house of God and draw near with more willingness to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know how to do what God wants.

¹⁴ ¶ O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is beautiful.

¹⁰ ¶ Hear the word of the LORD, ye princes of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. ¹¹ To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? shall the LORD say. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; and I do not delight in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he goats. ¹² When ye come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to tread my courts? ¹³ Bring no more vain oblations; the incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot stand them; iniquity and the solemn meeting. ¹⁴ Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. ¹⁵ And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; likewise, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood.

⁸ For I the LORD love that which is right, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will confirm your work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

³ He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offers an oblation as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burns incense as if he blessed iniquity. They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.

²⁰ To what purpose does this incense come to me from Sheba and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not according to my will, nor are your sacrifices sweet unto me.

²¹ ¶ Thus hath the LORD of the hosts, the God of Israel said: Add your burnt offerings upon your sacrifices and eat flesh. ²² For I did not speak unto your fathers, nor command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: ²³ But this thing I commanded them, saying, Hear my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the way that I have commanded you that it may be well unto you.

²¹ ¶ I hate, I despise your solemnities, and I will not savour your assemblies. ²² Though ye offer me your burnt offerings and your presents, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

²⁴ God is a Spirit and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

⁸ The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD raises those that are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous: ⁹ The LORD preserves the strangers; he raises up the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked is as darkness; they do not know in what they stumble.

⁴ ¶ A high look and a proud heart, which is the fire of the wicked, is sin.

⁸ ¶ The way of the perverse man is crooked and strange, but as for the pure, his work is right.

²¹ ¶ He that follows after righteousness and mercy shall find life, righteousness, and honour.

⁷ The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

¹ ¶ Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD; look unto the rock from which ye are hewn and to the hole of the pit from which ye are dug.

⁷ Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; do not fear the reproach of men, neither be afraid of their revilings.

⁴ Howbeit I sent unto you all my slaves the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.

³ And we shall know and follow on in knowing the LORD; his going forth is prepared as the dawn; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

¹³ Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not look on iniquity: why dost thou look upon those that deal treacherously and hold thy tongue when the wicked devour the man that is more righteous than he?

¹³ Enter ye in at the narrow gate, for the way that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and those who follow it are many;

¹¹ But thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, charity, tolerance, meekness.

²² ¶ Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

¹⁷ ¶ And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubles Israel?

²⁰ And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found thee because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

⁸ And the king of Israel replied unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

³⁰ They rejected my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

¹² and say, How have I hated chastening and my heart despised reproof

¹⁷ ¶ He is in the way of life that gives heed to chastening, but he that refuses reproof errs.

¹ ¶ Whosoever loves chastening loves knowledge, but he that hates reproof is carnal.

³⁵ They have stricken me, thou shalt say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not; when I shall awake, I will seek it yet again.

⁵ Why should I chastise you any more? Ye will revolt more and more; every head is sick, and every heart faint. ⁶ From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in him; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

¹³ In thy perverse filthiness thou shalt die because I have cleansed thee, and thou didst not cleanse thyself from thy uncleanness; thou shalt never cleanse thyself again, until I have caused my fury to rest upon thee. ¹⁴ I, the LORD, have spoken: I came and worked. I will not turn back, neither will I have mercy, neither will I repent; according to thy ways and according to thy doings, they shall judge thee, said the Lord GOD.

²⁰ For every one that does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil.

⁷ And the LORD replied unto Samuel, Do not look on his countenance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him, for it is not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.

³⁰ thou shalt hear from the heavens, from the place of thy habitation, and forgive and render unto each one according to his ways, having known his heart (for thou only knowest the hearts of the sons of men),

⁶ Sheol is naked before him, and hell has no covering.

⁹ Let wickedness consume the wicked; but establish the just: for the righteous God is he who tries the hearts and kidneys.

²¹ shall not God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart.

⁸ If I ascend to the heavens, thou art there: if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.

²⁰ ¶ Sheol and hell are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

¹⁰ I the LORD search the heart; I try the kidneys, even to give each man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

²⁴ But Jesus did not trust himself unto them because he knew all men ²⁵ and needed not that any man should give testimony, for he knew what was in man.

¹⁷ He said unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁸ and he that lives and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen, and have the keys of Hades and of death.

²³ And I will kill her children with death, and all the congregations {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} shall know that I AM he that searches the kidneys and hearts, and I will give unto each one of you according to your works.

⁷ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man here, by whom we may enquire of the LORD, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good unto me, but always evil; the same is Micaiah, the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

¹⁴ Therefore, they say unto God, Depart from us; for we do not desire the knowledge of thy ways.

⁷ He that chastens a scorner brings shame unto himself, and he that chastens a wicked man brings himself a blot. ⁸ Chasten not a scorner lest he hate thee; chasten a wise man, and he will love thee.

¹⁰ ¶ Chastening is grievous unto him that forsakes the way, but he that hates reproof shall die.

¹⁰ They hate him that rebukes in the gate, and they abhor him that speaks uprightly.

¹⁸ He that believes on him is not condemned, but he that does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness more than the light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For every one that does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. ²¹ But he that does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, they shall heap up unto themselves teachers who shall speak to them according to their own lusts,

² the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but brokenness of heart. Then I was very sore afraid

²⁵ ¶ Heaviness in the heart of man makes it stoop: but a good word makes it glad.

¹⁵ ¶ All the days of the poor are difficult, but he that is of a good heart has a continual feast.

²² ¶ A joyful heart shall do good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

¹ ¶ Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me.

¹² ¶ For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with carnal wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly towards you.

⁷ So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with too much grief.

¹⁰ For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, of which there is no need to repented; but the sorrow of the world works death.

⁶ And Solomon said, Thou hast shown unto thy slave David, my father, great mercy, according to the way he walked before thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great mercy that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷ And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy slave king instead of David my father; and I am but a tender young man; I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸ And thy slave is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. ⁹ Give, therefore, thy slave a hearing heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this thy so great a people? ¹⁰ And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. ¹¹ And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing and hast not asked for thyself long life neither hast asked riches for thyself nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to hear judgment, ¹² behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

⁹⁷ ¶ MEM. O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the elders because I keep thy precepts.

⁵ If the wise will hear them, doctrine shall increase, and the man of understanding shall acquire wise counsel:

⁹ Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

¹⁵ ¶ The heart of the man of understanding acquires wisdom, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

¹⁰ Who say to those that see, See not; and to the prophets, Do not prophesy right things unto us, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

²⁰ The ashes feed him; his deceived heart inclines him, that he not deliver his soul and say, Is not the lie at my right hand?

¹ ¶ Ephraim feeds on wind and follows after the east wind; he daily increases lies and desolation because they made a covenant with the Assyrians, and the oil is carried into Egypt.

¹¹ These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all diligence and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

¹⁸ But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and until the day of eternity. Amen.

³⁵ And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

⁹ And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

⁷ ¶ For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath we are troubled. ⁸ Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. ⁹ For all our days decline because of thy wrath; we end our years according to the word.

¹³ ¶ A joyful heart makes a beautiful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is abated.

²² ¶ Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that has it, but the instruction of fools is folly.

²⁵ ¶ But at midnight as Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them,

² by whom we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and glory in hope of the glory of the sons of God. ³ And not only this, but we even glory in the tribulations, knowing that the tribulation works patience;

¹¹ And not only this, but we even glory in God through our Lord Jesus, the Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation.

¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, constant in prayer,

⁵ For in the same manner that the sufferings of the Christ abound in us, so also our consolation abounds by Christ.

¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

⁶ ¶ In which ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are afflicted in diverse temptations, ⁷ that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold (which perishes, nevertheless it is tried with fire), might be found unto praise and glory and honour when Jesus, the Christ, is made manifest; ⁸ whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though at present ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory;

¹³ but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of the afflictions of the Christ, so that also in the revelation of his glory, ye may rejoice in triumph.

⁶ ¶ Better is the poor that walks in his perfection than he that is perverse in his ways, though he is rich.

¹⁰ And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour, and this was my portion of all my labour. ¹¹ At last I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought and on the labour that I had laboured to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.

¹⁸ Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun, which I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he shall be a wise man or a fool, he who shall have rule over all my labour in which I have laboured and in which I have showed myself wise under the sun? This is also vanity. ²⁰ Therefore my heart began to despair again regarding all the labour which I took under the sun. ²¹ That the man who worked with wisdom and with knowledge and with uprightness would have to leave his portion to a man that has not laboured therein. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²² For what does man have of all his labour and of the vexation of his heart in which he has laboured under the sun? ²³ For all his days are only sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart does not take rest in the night. This is also vanity.

¹⁰ He that loves money shall not be satisfied with money; nor he that loves abundance with increase; this is also vanity. ¹¹ When goods increase, those that eat them are increased; and what good is there to the owners thereof, except the beholding of them with their eyes? ¹² The sleep of the servant is sweet whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

⁶ ¶ But piety with contentment is great gain.

¹ A Song of degrees of David. ¶ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ² It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that runs down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, that goes down to the skirts of his garments; ³ as the dew of Hermon, that descends upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commands blessing and eternal life.

¹ ¶ Better is a dry morsel in peace than the house of contention full of sacrifices for a feast.

¹⁹ ¶ It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and an angry woman.

⁴ Again, he sent forth other slaves, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my bulls and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage.

²³ and bring here the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;

¹ ¶ Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charity, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

¹⁶ And we have known and believed the charity that God has in us. God is charity, and he that abides in charity abides in God, and God in him.

⁸ Then Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee and between my pastors and thine, for we are brethren. ⁹ Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me; if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

²⁴ and fell at his feet and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be, and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thy audience; and hear the words of thy handmaid. ²⁵ Let not my lord, I pray thee, take to heart this man of Belial, even Nabal, for as his name is, so is he; Nabal {Heb. fool} is his name, and folly is with him; but I, thy handmaid, did not see the servants of my lord whom thou didst send. ²⁶ Now, therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, seeing the LORD has withheld thee from coming to shed blood and from avenging thyself with thy own hand, now let thy enemies and those that seek evil to my lord be as Nabal. ²⁷ And now this blessing which thy handmaid has brought unto my lord, let it be given unto the servants that follow my lord. ²⁸ I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thy handmaid, for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house because my lord fights the battles of the LORD, and evil has not been found in thee all thy days. ²⁹ Yet a man is risen to pursue thee and to seek thy soul, but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God, and he shall hurl forth the souls of thine enemies as out of the middle of a sling. ³⁰ And it shall come to pass when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning thee and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel, ³¹ that this shall be no stumblingblock unto thee nor grief of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless or that my lord has avenged himself; but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid. ³² ¶ Then David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel who sent thee this day to meet me; ³³ and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou who hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with my own hand. ³⁴ For in very deed as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hastened and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that piss against the wall. ³⁵ So David received of her hand that which she had brought him and said unto her, Go up in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice and have accepted thy person. ³⁶ ¶ And Abigail came to Nabal, and, behold, he held a banquet in his house like the banquet of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken; therefore, she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. ³⁷ But it came to pass in the morning when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸ And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, and he died. ³⁹ And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD that judged the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and has kept his slave from evil, for the LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent word unto Abigail to take her to him to wife. ⁴⁰ And when the slaves of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke with her, saying, David sent us unto thee to take thee to him to wife. ⁴¹ And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth and said, Behold, let thy handmaid be a slave to wash the feet of the slaves of my lord. ⁴² And Abigail hastened and arose and rode upon an ass with five damsels of hers that went after her, and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife. ⁴³ David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they were also both of them his wives. ⁴⁴ For Saul had given Michal, his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti, the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

⁴³ Then the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye; why then did ye not take us into account? Did we not speak first about bringing back our king? But in the end words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

²⁹ ¶ He that is slow to wrath is of great intelligence, but he that is short of spirit exalts folly.

¹ ¶ A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.

²⁸ The perverse man sows strife, and the tale bearer separates princes.

²¹ Charcoal for burning coals and wood for fire, and a contentious man to kindle strife.

⁴ ¶ If the spirit of the ruler rises up against thee, do not leave thy place; for meekness pacifies great sins.

⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

¹ ¶ And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, that their widows were neglected in the daily ministry. ² Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not right that we should leave the word of God and serve tables; ³ therefore, brethren, seek out among you seven men of whom you bear witness, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. ⁴ And we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. ⁵ And the saying pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch:

¹⁹ ¶ Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God.

¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, boast not and do not be liars against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom is not that which descends from above, but is earthly, natural, diabolical. ¹⁶ For where there is envy and contention, there is confusion and every perverse work.

¹ ¶ Then all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. ² And all the sons of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole congregation said unto them, Oh, that we might die in the land of Egypt or that we might die in this wilderness! ³ And why has the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? Would it not be better for us to return into Egypt?

⁷ and they spoke unto all the company of the sons of Israel, saying, The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceeding good land. ⁸ If the LORD delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. ⁹ Therefore, do not be rebels against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are our bread; their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.

⁸ Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

⁸ ¶ Cheth Good and upright is the LORD: therefore he will teach sinners in the way. ⁹ Teth He will cause the humble to pass through the judgment, and the meek he will teach his way.

¹² Lamed Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

¹¹ Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a right path because of my enemies.

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

⁹ They are all plain to him that understands and right to those that have found wisdom.

⁵ ¶ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he that keeps his soul shall be far from them.

¹³ ¶ The slothful man says, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

¹³ ¶ The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

²¹ Then thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, that ye not turn to the right hand and that ye not turn to the left hand.

⁸ And a highway shall be there and a way, and it shall be called The Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; and for those in it there shall be someone to go with them, in such a manner that the foolish shall not err therein.

¹⁴ And shall say, Clear away, clear away, level the way, take away the stumblingblocks out of the way of my people.

¹² ¶ Honour thy father and thy mother that thy days may be lengthened upon the land which the LORD thy God gives thee.

³ Ye shall fear, every man his mother and his father and keep my sabbaths. I AM your God.

⁴⁸ And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne today, mine eyes even seeing it.

⁹ Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for thou art a wise man and knowest what thou should do with him, but thou shalt bring his hoar head down to Sheol with blood.

⁷ And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, who has given unto David a wise son over this great people.

¹⁵ My son, if thy heart is wise, my heart shall also rejoice; ¹⁶ my kidneys shall also rejoice when thy lips speak right things.

²² Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

³ ¶ Whosoever loves wisdom causes his father to rejoice, but he that maintains harlots shall lose his inheritance.

¹⁷ The eye that mocks at his father, and despises the teaching of his mother, the ravens shall pluck it out of the river, and the young eagles shall eat it.

²² But ye know the proof of him, that as a son with the father, he has served with me in the gospel.

²⁸ And unto man he said, Behold, that the fear of the Lord, is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

¹⁰ Resh The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; Schin A good understanding have all those that do his will; Tau His praise endures for ever.

²³ ¶ To make an abomination is as sport to the fool, but wisdom is recreation to the man of intelligence.

¹² ¶ He that is void of understanding despises his neighbour, but the intelligent man remains silent.

⁹ ¶ Fools speak sin unto themselves, but among the righteous there is love.

¹⁶ ¶ The wise man fears and departs from evil, but the fool rages and is confident.

¹⁸ ¶ As a mad man who casts firebrands, arrows, and death, ¹⁹ so is the man that destroys his friend and says, Am I not in sport?

¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

¹³ ¶ Who is wise and ready among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works in meekness of wisdom.

¹⁴ ¶ When intelligence is lacking, the people shall fall, but in the multitude of counsellors there is salvation.

¹⁸ ¶ Every thought must be ordered by counsel, and with intelligence war is made.

⁶ ¶ Because for every will there is time and judgment, because the evil of man is great upon him,

¹⁴ ¶ Man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him.

¹³ ¶ Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and they love him that speaks that which is right.

²⁶ The lips of the one that gives a right answer shall be kissed.

¹ ¶ For all things there is a season, and every will under the heaven has its time determined.

¹¹ Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; in thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

²⁴ and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way eternal.

¹⁸ Therefore her house inclines unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

⁵ Her feet go down to death, her steps uphold Sheol,

²⁷ Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

⁸ Chasten not a scorner lest he hate thee; chasten a wise man, and he will love thee.

¹⁴ Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.

⁸ ¶ And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus hath the LORD said: Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

¹⁴ because narrow is the gate, and confined is the way which leads unto life, and there are few that find it.

⁶ Jesus said unto him, I AM the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes unto the Father, but by me.

²⁰ For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

¹ ¶ If ye then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where the Christ sits at the right hand of God. ² Set your sight on things above, not on things on the earth.

¹⁷ For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, a great God, mighty, and terrible, who makes no exception of persons, nor takes a bribe; ¹⁸ he executes the rights of the fatherless and the widow and also loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.

¹⁴ ¶ Thou shalt not reduce thy neighbour’s border, which those of old time have marked in thine inheritance, which thou shalt possess in the land that the LORD thy God gives thee to inherit.

¹¹ Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath; and behold every one that is proud and bring him down. ¹² Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. ¹³ Hide them in the dust together; and blindfold their faces in darkness.

¹ To the Overcomer, Maschil,
A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. ¶ Why dost thou boast of evil, O strong man? The mercy of God is day by day.

⁵ God shall likewise cast thee down for ever; he shall cut thee off and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

⁵ A father of the fatherless and a defender of the widows is God in his holy habitation. ⁶ God sets the solitary in families; he brings out those who are bound with chains, but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

⁶ ¶ For the LORD, who is high and lifted up, looks upon the humble, but the proud he does not know.

⁹ The LORD preserves the strangers; he raises up the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.

⁷ ¶ God shall overthrow the wicked, and they shall not be any longer, but the house of the righteous shall remain.

¹¹ ¶ The house of the wicked shall be made desolate, but the tent of the upright shall flourish.

¹⁰ ¶ Do not remove the old landmark, and do not enter into the inheritance of the fatherless:

¹² For the day of the LORD of the hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

²⁰ But when his heart made itself arrogant, and his spirit hardened itself in pride, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom, and they took his glory from him:

²⁷ The pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep thyself unspotted from this world.

⁵ ¶ Likewise, young people, be subject to the elders in such a manner that you are all subject to one another. Be clothed with humility of will, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

³⁰ Pe The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue brings forth judgment. ³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; therefore none of his steps shall slide.

¹⁶ These six things does the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: ¹⁷ A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to evil, ¹⁹ a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren.

⁹ The thought of the foolish is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to men.

¹⁴ O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness that thou may be saved. How long shalt thou entertain the thoughts of thy iniquity within thee?

³⁴ O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ The good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶ But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

²¹ Moreover thou shalt consider out of all the people men of virtue, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place princes over them, of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

⁸ And thou shalt take no bribe; for the bribe blinds the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

²⁶ Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house lest thou become an anathema like it, but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is anathema.

¹⁹ Thou shalt not twist that which is right; thou shalt not respect persons neither take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

¹⁸ But keep yourselves from the anathema, that ye not touch nor take any thing of the anathema so that ye not make the camp of Israel anathema and trouble it.

¹¹ Israel has sinned and has even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; for they have even taken of the anathema and have also stolen and lied also, and they have even put it in their own vessels. ¹² Therefore, the sons of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but shall turn their backs before their enemies because they have been in the anathema; neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the anathema from among you.

²⁴ Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver and the garment and the wedge of gold and his sons and his daughters and his oxen and his asses and his sheep and his tent and all that he had, and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. ²⁵ And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? The LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

³ And his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after greed, receiving bribes and perverting that which is right. ⁴ ¶ Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel in Ramah ⁵ and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons do not walk in thy ways; therefore make us a king to judge us like all the Gentiles.

²⁷ The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

¹⁹ So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain which takes away the life of those who possess it.

¹⁹ ¶ As righteousness is unto life, so he that pursues evil pursues it unto his own death.

²⁹ ¶ He that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind, and the fool shall be slave to the wise of heart.

²¹ ¶ An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning, but the end thereof shall not be blessed.

¹⁶ ¶ The prince void of intelligence is also a great oppressor, but he that hates covetousness shall prolong his days.

⁴ ¶ The king by judgment establishes the land, but he that receives gifts shall overthrow it.

⁸ ¶ Woe unto those that join house to house, that lay field to field, until they have done away with the borders! Will ye dwell alone in the midst of the earth? ⁹ In my ears, the LORD of the hosts said, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. ¹⁰ For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.

¹⁵ He that walks in righteousness, he that speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of violence, he that shakes his hands from receiving bribes; he that stops his ears to not hear of blood; he who shuts his eyes to not see evil; ¹⁶ he shall dwell upon the high places: fortresses of rocks shall be his place of refuge: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.

¹¹ As the partridge that steals that which she did not hatch, is he that gets riches and not with righteousness; in the midst of his days he shall leave them, and at his end shall be a fool.

⁹ Woe to him that covets ill-gotten gain by violence for his house that he may set his nest on high, that he may escape from the power of evil! ¹⁰ Thou hast taken shameful counsel for thy house by cutting off many peoples and hast committed a sin against thy life. ¹¹ For the stone shall cry out from the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

³ Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth; for every one that steals (as it is written on one side of the roll) shall be destroyed; and every one that swears (as it is written on the other side of the roll) shall be destroyed. ⁴ I brought it forth, said the LORD of the hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief and into the house of him that swears falsely by my name; and it shall remain in the midst of his house and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that is alive, and thy son is dead. And the other saith, No; but thy son is dead, and my son is alive. ²⁴ And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. ²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other. ²⁶ Then the woman, of whom the living child was, spoke unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. ²⁷ Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it, for she is its mother. ²⁸ And all Israel heard of that judgment which the king had judged, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to judge.

¹⁹ ¶ In the multitude of words there is no lack of rebellion, but he that refrains his lips is wise.

² ¶ The tongue of the wise shall adorn wisdom, but the mouth of fools shall speak foolishness.

¹¹ ¶ The fool gives full rein to his spirit, but the wise man in the end will bring it into rest.

²⁰ ¶ Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

² Do not be rash with thy mouth and do not let thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God, for God is in heaven and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.

⁶ Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was ignorance. Why should thou cause God to be angry because of thy voice and destroy the work of thine hands?

¹² ¶ The words from the mouth of the wise man are grace, but the lips of the fool will swallow up himself. ¹³ The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. ¹⁴ The fool multiplies words and says, Man cannot tell what shall be, and what shall be after him, who can tell him?

¹⁰ For there are many insubordinate and vain talkers and deceivers of souls, especially those of the circumcision, ¹¹ whose mouths it is expedient to stop, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain.

⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our nature; and it is set on fire of hell. ⁷ For every nature of beasts and of birds and of serpents and of beings in the sea may be tamed and is tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no man can tame the tongue, which is an evil that cannot be restrained and is full of deadly poison.

¹⁵ but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to respond to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and reverence,

¹⁸ For speaking arrogant words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from those who converse in error,

¹ ¶ Why dost thou stand afar off, O LORD? Why dost thou hide thyself in times of trouble?

⁴¹ They cried out, but there was no one to save them: even unto the LORD, but he did not answer them.

¹⁵ Samech The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. ¹⁶ Ain The anger of the LORD is against those that do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. ¹⁷ Pe The righteous cried out, and the LORD heard and delivered them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸ If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: ¹⁹ But verily God has heard me; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

²⁷ For, behold, those that stray from thee shall perish; thou dost cut off all those that go a whoring from thee.

¹⁸ Koph The LORD is near unto all those that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. ¹⁹ Resh He will fulfil the desire of those that fear him; he also will hear their cry and will save them.

⁸ ¶ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

⁸ For my thoughts are not as your thoughts, neither are your ways as my ways, saith the LORD. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts more than your thoughts.

⁴⁶ And they shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

³¹ Now we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone should fear God and do his will, him he will hear.

²⁶ ¶ And likewise also the Spirit helps our weakness; for we know not how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself makes entreaty for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ But he that searches the hearts knows what is the desire of the Spirit, that according to the will of God, he makes entreaty for the saints.

¹² that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world, ¹³ but now in Christ Jesus ye who at another time were far off are made near by the blood of the Christ.

¹⁶ Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be whole. The effectual prayer of the righteous is very powerful. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man subject to passions like unto ours, and he asked in prayer that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. ¹⁸ And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

¹² For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those that do evil.

⁸ And now as for a brief moment there has been the mercy of the LORD our God, to leave us an escape, and that we may be given a stake in his holy sanctuary that our God may illuminate our eyes and give us a little preservation of life in our bondage.

¹⁵ ¶ Happy are the people that know how to enter into joy; they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

⁸ It shall be medicine to thy navel and marrow to thy bones.

⁹ ¶ The light of the righteous shall rejoice: but the fire of the wicked shall be put out.

²⁵ ¶ As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

⁷ ¶ Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun,

¹¹ And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

¹⁰ But the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you a gospel of great joy, which shall be to all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will in man. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen it, they made known abroad that which had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all those that heard it marvelled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.

²³ And the city had no need of the sun neither of the moon to shine in her, for the clarity of God has illuminated it, and the Lamb is its lamp.

⁵ And there shall be no night there; and they need no lamp neither light of the sun; for the Lord God shall give them light; and they shall reign for ever and ever.

⁸ Chasten not a scorner lest he hate thee; chasten a wise man, and he will love thee. ⁹ Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

²⁰ ¶ He that walks with wise men shall be wise, but the companion of fools shall be destroyed.

⁵ ¶ The fool despises his father’s chastening, but he that regards reproof shall become prudent.

³ Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an eternal covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abides in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but this happened that it might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

¹⁸ ¶ When anyone has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother and when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them,

²⁰ and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not hear our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.

¹⁷ Seeing thou dost hate chastening and dost cast my words behind thee.

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

²⁴ Because I have called and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one responded; ²⁵ for because ye have disregarded all my counsel and rejected my reproof: ²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear comes upon you; ²⁷ when what you have feared comes as destruction, and your calamity comes as a whirlwind; when tribulation and anguish come upon you. ²⁸ Then they shall call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: ²⁹ Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD: ³⁰ They rejected my counsel: they despised all my reproof. ³¹ Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own counsel. ³² For the rest of the ignorant shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. ³³ But whosoever hearkens unto me shall dwell safely and shall rest from the fear of evil.

¹¹ and thou mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed ¹² and say, How have I hated chastening and my heart despised reproof ¹³ and have not obeyed the voice of those who chastened me, nor inclined my ear to those that instructed me!

³³ Hearken unto chastening, and be wise; refuse it not. ³⁴ Blessed is the man that hears me, keeping vigil at my gates, waiting at the threshold of my doors. ³⁵ For whosoever finds me shall find life and shall obtain the will of the LORD. ³⁶ But he that sins against me wrongs his own soul; all those that hate me love death.

¹⁴ ¶ The heart of him that has understanding seeks wisdom, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

²¹ ¶ Folly is joy to him that is destitute of understanding, but the man who is intelligent walks uprightly.

¹⁶ ¶ Of what good is the price to buy wisdom in the hand of the fool, seeing he has no heart to understand?

¹ ¶ He that being often reproved hardens his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy.

⁵ Why should I chastise you any more? Ye will revolt more and more; every head is sick, and every heart faint.

³ O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they did not feel it; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive chastisement; they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

²⁴ Therefore, whosoever hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him unto a prudent man, who built his house upon the rock; ²⁵ and the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded upon a rock. ²⁶ And every one that hears these words of mine and does not do them shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; ²⁷ and the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.

¹⁵ looking diligently that no one deviate from the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up impede you, and thereby many be defiled,

²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.

¹¹ ¶ Caph Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹³ The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride, arrogancy, the evil way, and the perverse mouth, do I hate.

¹² ¶ Before being broken, the heart of man is haughty, and before coming into honour, comes being brought to humility.

⁶ ¶ Do not praise thyself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men; ⁷ for it is better that it be said unto thee, Come up here than that thou should be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

²³ ¶ A man’s pride shall bring him low, but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

¹¹ For whosoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.

⁵ Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, made in the likeness of men, ⁸ and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross {Gr. stauros – stake}. ⁹ Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is Lord in the glory of God the Father.

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.