Ecclesiastes 4 Cross References - ISV

¹ On the Abuse of AuthorityNext I turned to consider all kinds of oppression that exists on earth. Look at the tears of the oppressed— there is no one to comfort them. Power is on the side of their oppressors; so they have no comforters.
² So I commended the dead who had already died as being happier than the living who are still alive. ³ Better than both of them is someone who has not yet been born, because he hasn’t experienced evil on earth. ⁴ Then I examined all sorts of work, including all kinds of excellent achievements that create envy in others. This also is pointless and chasing after the wind. ⁵ The fool crosses his arms and starves himself. ⁶ It’s better to have one handful of tranquility than to have two handfuls of trouble and to chase after the wind.
⁷ On Aloneness and CompanionshipThen I turned to re-examine something else that is pointless on earth: ⁸ Consider someone who is alone, having neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his work, and he is never satisfied with wealth. “So for whom do I work,” he asks, “and deprive myself of pleasure?” This, too, is pointless and a terrible tragedy.
⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. ¹⁰ If they stumble, the first will lift up his friend—but woe to anyone who is alone when he falls and there is no one to help him get up. ¹¹ Again, if two lie close together, they will keep warm, but how can only one stay warm? ¹² If someone attacks one of them, the two of them together will resist. Furthermore, the tri-braided cord is not soon broken.
¹³ There’s No Fool Like an Old FoolA poor but wise youth is better than an old but foolish king who will no longer accept correction. ¹⁴ The former can come out of prison to reign, while the latter, even if born to kingship, may become poor.
¹⁵ I observed everyone who lives and walks on earth, along with the youth who will take the king’s place. ¹⁶ There was no end to all of his subjects or to all of the people who had come before them. But those who come along afterward will not be happy with him. This is also pointless and a chasing after wind.

¹³ The Egyptians ruthlessly forced the Israelis to serve them, ¹⁴ making their lives bitter through hard labor with mortar, bricks, and all kinds of outdoor labor. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.

¹⁶ “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said, “watch them as they deliver. If it’s a son, kill him; but if it’s a daughter, let her live.”

²² Meanwhile, Pharaoh continued commanding all of his people, “You’re to throw every Hebrew son who is born into the Nile River, but you’re to allow every Hebrew daughter to live.”

²³ The Israelis Cry Out to GodThe king of Egypt eventually died, and the Israelis groaned because of the bondage. They cried out, and their cry for deliverance from slavery ascended to God. ²⁴ God heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

¹⁶ No straw is being given to us, yet they’re saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, we are being beaten. It’s wrong how you are treating your people!”
¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said, “You are lazy, lazy! That’s why you’re saying, ‘Let’s go offer sacrifices to the LORD.’ ¹⁸ Now, go! Get to work! And straw won’t be given to you, but you are to deliver the same number of bricks!” ¹⁹ The Israeli supervisors realized they were in trouble when he said, “You won’t reduce each day’s quota of bricks!”

³³ “A people whom you don’t know will devour what your land and labor produces. You’ll be only oppressed and discouraged continuously

⁴⁸ you’ll serve your enemies whom the LORD your God will send against you. You will serve in famine and in drought, in nakedness, and in lack of everything. They’ll set a yoke of iron upon your neck until they have exterminated you.

³ The Israelis cried out to the LORD, because of his 900 iron chariots. Jabin oppressed the Israelis forcefully for twenty years.

⁷ In his burning anger against Israel, he sold them into domination by the Philistines and the Ammonites, ⁸ who trampled and troubled the Israelis during that year—eighteen years for the Israelis who lived east of the Jordan River in Gilead, the land occupied by the Amorites.

¹ Settling Some Civil DisputesNow the people along with their spouses complained loudly against their fellow Jews, ² because certain of them kept claiming, “Since we have so many sons and daughters, we must get some grain so we can eat and survive.”
³ Others were saying, “We’re having to mortgage our fields, our vineyards, and our homes so we can buy grain during this famine.”
⁴ Still others were saying “We’ve borrowed money against our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s taxes. ⁵ Now our bodies are no different than the bodies of our relatives, and our children are like their children. Nevertheless, we’re about to force our sons and daughters into slavery, and some of our daughters are already in bondage. It’s beyond our power to do anything about it, because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

²⁹ Repent! Let there be no injustice; Change your ways! My vindication is at stake.

⁴ “I could also talk like you if only you were in my place! Then I would put together an argument against you. I would shake my head at you

²¹ Job Pleads with His Friends“Be gracious to me, be gracious to me, my friends, because God’s hand has struck me. ²² Why are you chasing me, as God has been doing? Aren’t you satisfied that I’m sick?

⁷ They spend the night naked, without clothing, with no covering against the cold. ⁸ They are wet from mountain rains; without shelter, they cling to a rock. ⁹ “The fatherless are torn from the breast; the poor are taken away as security for a loan. ¹⁰ They wander around naked, without clothes; hungry, though they carry sheaves of grain. ¹¹ They press oil between the olive groves owned by the wicked; they suffer from thirst, even while treading the winepress. ¹² From the city, dying men groan aloud, and the wounded cries out for help, but God charges no one with wrong.

⁹ “They cry out because they have many oppressors; they cry for help because the powerful are abusing them.

⁹ Their eyes secretly watch the helpless, lying in wait like a lion in his den. They lie in wait to catch the afflicted. They catch the afflicted when they pull him into their net. ¹⁰ The victim is crushed, and he sinks down; the helpless fall by their might.

⁵ “Because the poor are being oppressed, because the needy are sighing, I will now arise,” says the LORD, “I will establish in safety those who yearn for it.”

³ My tears have been my food day and night, while people keep asking me all day long, “Where is your God?”

⁹ I will ask God, my Rock, “Why have you forsaken me? Why do I go around mourning under the enemy’s oppression?”

²⁰ Insults broke my heart. I despaired and looked for sympathy; but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.

⁵ You fed them tears as their food, and caused them to drink a full measure of tears.

⁸ My enemies revile me all day long; those who ridicule me use my name to curse. ⁹ I have eaten ashes as food and mixed my drink with tears

⁴ I look to my right and observe— no one is concerned about me. There is nowhere I can go for refuge, and no one cares for me.

⁷ All the relatives of a poor person shun him— how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he runs after them pleading, they aren’t around.

³ A poor man who oppresses the weak is like a rainstorm that destroys all the crops.

¹⁵ A roaring lion and a charging bear— that’s what a wicked tyrant is over poor people. ¹⁶ A Commander-in-Chief who is a cruel oppressor lacks understanding, but whoever hates unjust gain will live longer.

¹⁶ From Dust to DustI also examined on earth: where the halls of justice were supposed to be, there was lawlessness; and where the righteous were supposed to be, there was lawlessness.

⁸ The Use and Abuse of WealthDon’t be surprised when you see the poor oppressed and the violent perverting both justice and verdicts in a province, for one high official watches another, and there are ones higher still over them.

⁷ Avoiding the Evils of LifeUnjust gain makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

⁷ For the vineyard of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden in which he delights. He looked for justice, but saw only bloodshed; he searched for righteousness, but heard only an outcry!

²³ But I will put it into the hands of those who tormented and oppressed you, those who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can step over you,’ so that you had to make your back like the ground, and like a street for them to walk over.”

⁷ Their feet rush to evil, and they are quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; ruin, destruction, and violence are in their paths.

¹³ they’ve rebelled in treachery against the LORD, and are turning away from following our God; and they’ve spoken oppression and revolt, and are conceiving lying words from the heart. ¹⁴ I’ll drive back justice, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth has fallen in the public square, and honesty cannot enter. ¹⁵ Truth is missing, and whoever turns away from evil becomes a prey.”
God Brings His Own Salvation “Then the LORD looked, and it displeased him that there was no justice.

² Bitterly she cries in the night, as tears stream down her cheeks. No one consoles her of all her friends. All her neighbors have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

⁹ Uncleanness has soiled her skirts, and she gave no thought to what would follow. She fell in such a startling way, with no one to comfort her. Look, LORD, upon my affliction, because my enemy is boasting.

¹³ God’s Fourth Complaint: Against His Priests—Marital Abuses“This is another thing you do: you flood the altar of the LORD with tears, weeping and wailing because he no longer pays attention to your offering nor takes pleasure in it from your hand.

⁵ The Judgment of God“I’ll come near to you for judgment. I’ll be a witness, quick to speak against sorcerers, against adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who defraud the laborer of his wage, against those who defraud the widow and the orphan, against those who deprive the alien of justice, and against those who don’t fear me,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

¹⁸ When you return, you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, and between the one who serves God and the one who does not.”

⁵⁶ But all of this has happened so that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples deserted Jesus and ran away.

¹⁶ At my first trial no one came to my defense. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be held against them! ¹⁷ However, the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles could hear it. I was rescued out of a lion’s mouth.

⁴ Look! The wages that you kept back from the workers who harvested your fields are shouting out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies.

¹¹ Why didn’t I die while I was still in the womb, or die while I was being born? ¹² Why was there a lap to hold me, and why were there breasts to nurse me? ¹³ “If I had died, I would be lying down by now, undisturbed, asleep, and at rest, ¹⁴ along with kings and counselors of the earth, who used to build for themselves what are now only ruins, ¹⁵ or princes who amassed gold for themselves, and who kept filling their houses with silver. ¹⁶ “Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like babies who never saw the light? ¹⁷ In that place, the wicked stop causing trouble, and there, those whose strength is exhausted are at rest. ¹⁸ In that place, those who once were prisoners will be at ease together; they won’t hear the voice of oppressors. ¹⁹ The unimportant and the important are both there, and the servant is free from his master. ²⁰ “Why does God give light to the sufferer or life to the bitter person: ²¹ To those who are longing for death— even though it does not come? To those who search for it more than for hidden treasure? ²² To those who are happy beyond measure when they reach their graves? ²³ To the formerly successful man who lost his way in life, and God fenced him in? ²⁴ “As far as I’m concerned, my food comes to me in the form of sighs, and my cries of anguish pour out like water. ²⁵ For the dreaded thing that I feared has happened to me, what caused me to worry has engulfed me. ²⁶ I will not be at ease; I will not be quiet; I will not rest; because trouble has arrived.”

¹⁷ So I hated life, because whatever is done on earth causes me trouble—it’s all pointless, like chasing after the wind.

⁴ “While someone is among the living, hope remains,” because “it is better to be a living dog than to be a dead lion.” ⁵ At least the living know they will die, but the dead know nothing; they no longer have a reward, since memory about them has been forgotten. ⁶ Furthermore, their love, their hate, and their envy have been long lost. Never again will they have a part in what happens on earth.

¹⁰ “Because that night refused to shut the doors of my mother’s womb; it failed to keep me from seeing this trouble. ¹¹ Why didn’t I die while I was still in the womb, or die while I was being born? ¹² Why was there a lap to hold me, and why were there breasts to nurse me? ¹³ “If I had died, I would be lying down by now, undisturbed, asleep, and at rest, ¹⁴ along with kings and counselors of the earth, who used to build for themselves what are now only ruins, ¹⁵ or princes who amassed gold for themselves, and who kept filling their houses with silver. ¹⁶ “Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like babies who never saw the light?

²² To those who are happy beyond measure when they reach their graves?

¹⁸ So why did you bring me out from the womb? I wish I had died, before anyone had seen me, ¹⁹ as if I had never existed; carried from the womb to the grave.

⁶ I said, “O, who will give me the wings of a dove, so that I could fly away and live somewhere else? ⁷ Look, I want to flee far away; I want to settle down in the wilderness. Interlude ⁸ I want to deliver myself quickly from this windstorm and tempest.” ⁹ Confound them, Lord, and confuse their speech, because I have seen violence and strife in the city. ¹⁰ Day and night they prowl around its walls; evil and iniquity are within it. ¹¹ Wickedness is at the center of it; fraud and lies never leave its streets.

¹⁴ I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind.

³ A man might father a hundred children, and live for many years, so that the length of his life is long—but if his life does not overflow with goodness, and he doesn’t receive a proper burial, I maintain that stillborn children are better off than he is, ⁴ because stillborn children arrive in pointlessness, leave in darkness, and their names are covered in darkness. ⁵ Furthermore, though they never saw the sun nor learned anything, they are more content than the other.

² Oh, that I had a lodging place for travelers in the desert, so that I could leave my people and go away from them. For all of them are adulterers, a band of traitors. ³ They use their tongues like a bow. Lies rather than truth fly throughout the land. They progress from one evil to another, and they don’t know me,” declares the LORD.

¹⁷ because he didn’t kill me in the womb, so that my mother would have been my grave and her womb forever pregnant. ¹⁸ Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow, and to finish my life living in shame?

¹⁹ “How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days!

²⁹ because the time is surely coming when people will say, ‘How blessed are the women who couldn’t bear children and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’

⁴ while Abel brought the best parts of some of the firstborn from his flock. The LORD looked favorably upon Abel and his offering, ⁵ but he did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering.
When Cain became very upset and depressed, ⁶ the LORD asked Cain, “Why are you so upset? Why are you depressed? ⁷ If you do what is appropriate, you’ll be accepted, won’t you? But if you don’t do what is appropriate, sin is crouching near your doorway, turning toward you. Now as for you, will you take dominion over it?”
⁸ Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the wilderness.” When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

² This is a record of Jacob’s descendants.
When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was helping his brothers tend their flocks. He was a young man at that time, as were the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. But Joseph would come back and tell his father that his brothers were doing bad things. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his brothers, since he was born to him in his old age, so he had made a richly-embroidered tunic for him. ⁴ When Joseph’s brothers realized that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him so much that they were unable to speak politely to him.
⁵ Joseph’s DreamsRight about this time, Joseph had a dream and then told it to his brothers. As a result, his brothers hated him all the more! ⁶ “Let me tell you about this dream that I had!” he said. ⁷ “We were tying sheaves together out in the middle of the fields, when all of a sudden, my sheaf stood up erect! And then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf!”
⁸ At this, his brothers replied, “Do you really think you’re going to rule us or lord it over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his interpretations of them.
⁹ But then he had another dream, and he proceeded to tell his brothers about that one, too. “I had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven of the stars were bowing down before me!”
¹⁰ When Joseph told his father about this, his father rebuked him and asked him, “What kind of dream is that? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come to you and bow down to the ground in front of you?” ¹¹ As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this.

⁸ Saul was very angry and he did not like what the women sang. He told himself, “They have attributed tens of thousands to David, but to me they have attributed thousands. What else can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ From then on Saul kept his eye on David.

¹⁴ David was successful in all that he did, for the LORD was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul saw that David was highly successful, he feared him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he led them in battle.

²⁹ Then Saul was even more afraid of David, and Saul was David’s enemy from that time on.
³⁰ The Philistine commanders would go out to fight and whenever they did, David was more successful than any of Saul’s other leaders. His name was held in high esteem.

⁴ Wrath can be fierce and anger overwhelms but who can stand up to jealousy?

²¹ For sometimes people who strive to obtain wisdom, knowledge, and equity leave everything as an inheritance to a person who never worked for it. This, too, is pointless and greatly troublesome.

²⁶ After all, to the person who is good in God’s sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner he gives the troublesome task of acquiring and accumulating in order to leave it to someone who is good in the sight of God. This also is pointless and chasing after the wind.

¹⁶ There was no end to all of his subjects or to all of the people who had come before them. But those who come along afterward will not be happy with him. This is also pointless and a chasing after wind.

⁹ It is better to focus on what you can see than to meander after your self-interest; this also is pointless and a chasing after wind.

¹¹ Because many words lead to pointlessness, how do people benefit from this?

¹⁸ He did this because he knew that they had handed him over out of jealousy.

⁹ “Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. However, God was with him

⁵ Or do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God caused to live in us jealously yearns for us?

¹² Do not be like Cain, who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because what he was doing was evil and his brother’s actions were righteous.

¹⁴ Why shouldn’t I bite my flesh or take my life in my hands?

¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, ¹¹ and your poverty will come on you like a bandit and your desperation like an armed man.

¹⁷ A gracious man benefits himself, but the cruel person damages himself.

²⁷ The lazy person does not roast what he has hunted, but diligence is one’s most important possession.

⁴ The lazy person craves, yet receives nothing, but the desires of the diligent are satisfied.

⁴ A lazy person doesn’t plow in the proper season; he looks for a harvest, but there is nothing.

³³ “A little sleep! A little slumber! A little folding of my hands to rest!” ³⁴ Then your poverty will come upon you like a robber, your need like an armed bandit.

²⁰ They cut meat on the right, but they’re still hungry, and they devour also on the left, but they’re not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own children.

¹⁶ Better is the little that the righteous have than the abundance of many wicked people.

¹⁶ On Contentment and Other Good Things of LifeBetter is a little accompanied by fear of the LORD than abundant wealth with turmoil. ¹⁷ A vegetarian meal served with love is better than a big, thick steak with a plateful of animosity.

⁸ A little gain with righteousness is better than great income without justice.

¹ More Words of Wisdom Dry crumbs in peace are better than a full meal with strife.

³³ So he made their days end in futility, and their years with sudden terror.

¹ On the Abuse of AuthorityNext I turned to consider all kinds of oppression that exists on earth. Look at the tears of the oppressed— there is no one to comfort them. Power is on the side of their oppressors; so they have no comforters.

⁶ But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets—did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: ‘The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do—in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.’”

¹⁸ The Creation of the WomanLater, the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the woman to be an authority corresponding to him.”

² But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, what can you give me since I continue to be childless, and the heir of my household is Eliezer from Damascus? ³ Look!” Abram said, “You haven’t given me any offspring, so a servant born in my house is going to be my heir.”

⁶ In fact, people walk around as shadows. Surely, they busy themselves for nothing, heaping up possessions but not knowing who will get them.

²⁰ Sheol and Abaddon are never satiated, and neither are human eyes.

⁸ Everything is wearisome, more than man is able to express. The eye is never satisfied by seeing, nor the ear by hearing.

¹³ I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven. God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.

²³ Indeed, all of his days are filled with sorrow, and his struggles bring grief. In fact, his mind remains restless throughout the night. This is pointless, too!

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. ¹⁰ If they stumble, the first will lift up his friend—but woe to anyone who is alone when he falls and there is no one to help him get up. ¹¹ Again, if two lie close together, they will keep warm, but how can only one stay warm? ¹² If someone attacks one of them, the two of them together will resist. Furthermore, the tri-braided cord is not soon broken.

¹⁰ Whoever loves money will never have enough money. Whoever loves luxury will not be content with abundance. This also is pointless.

⁸ Judgment on Land Barons“How terrible it will be for you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you have settled yourselves alone in the middle of the land!”

¹⁹ No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or understanding to think—yes to think!—“Half of it I burned in the fire. I even baked bread on its coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And am I about to make detestable things from what is left? Am I about to bow down to blocks of wood?” ²⁰ He tends ashes. A deceived mind has lead him astray. It cannot be his life, nor can he say, “There’s a lie in my right hand.”

² Why spend your money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in rich food.

³ “Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say: ‘The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.’ Furthermore, let no eunuch say, ‘Look! I am just a dry tree.’” ⁴ For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me, and who hold fast my covenant— ⁵ to them I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

⁵ Moreover, just as wine leads astray the proud and powerful man, he remains restless; he has expanded his appetite— like the afterlife or death itself, he is never satisfied. He gathers to himself all of the nations, taking captive all of the people for himself.”
⁶ Judgment on the Plunderer of Nations“Will not all of these ridicule him with mocking scorn? They will say, ‘Woe to the one who hordes for himself what isn’t his. How long will you enrich yourself by extortion?’ ⁷ Won’t your creditors revolt unexpectedly? Won’t those who make you tremble wake up? As a result, you’ll become their prey! ⁸ Because you plundered many nations, all of their remnants will plunder you. Human blood has been shed, and violence has been done to the land, to the city, and to all who live in it.”
⁹ Judgment on Those who Think They are Safe“Woe to the one who amasses profit upon unjust profit in order to establish his household, so he can establish a secure place on the heights and escape from the power of evil.

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest.

²⁰ But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’

¹⁶ For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world.

¹⁴ Then the LORD was angry with Moses and said, “There is your brother Aaron, a descendant of Levi, isn’t there? I know that he certainly is eloquent. Right now he’s coming to meet you and he will be pleased to see you. ¹⁵ You’re to speak to him and tell him what to say. I’ll help both you and him with your speech, and I’ll teach both of you what you are to do. ¹⁶ He is to speak to the people for you as your spokesman and you are to act in the role of God for him.

¹⁴ I cannot carry this whole nation! The burden is too heavy for me!

¹² May the LORD repay you for your work, and may a full reward be given you from the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

¹⁷ Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens a friend’s character.

¹⁴ Then the LORD revitalized the spirit of Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, the spirit of Jehozadak’s son Joshua the high priest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people, so they came and began to work on the house of their God, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

⁷ Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
He called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.

³⁶ The one who harvests is already receiving his wages and gathering a crop for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who harvests may rejoice together.

² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me to do the work for which I called them.”

³⁹ The disagreement was so sharp that they parted ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ while Paul chose Silas and left after the brothers had entrusted him to the grace of the Lord.

¹⁸ But now God has arranged the parts, every one of them, in the body according to his plan. ¹⁹ Now if all of it were one part, there wouldn’t be a body, would there? ²⁰ So there are many parts, but one body.
²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or the head to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

⁸ See to it that you don’t destroy what we have worked for, but that you receive your full reward.

⁸ Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the wilderness.” When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

² Aaron told them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.”
³ All the people tore off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to him. ⁴ He took them from them and, using a tool, fashioned them into a molten calf. The people said, “This, Israel, is your god who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

²¹ Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you brought such great sin upon them?”

¹⁹ I feared the anger and wrath of the LORD against you, because he was irate enough to destroy you. But the LORD also listened to me at that time. ²⁰ It was as had been the case with Aaron, the LORD was very angry and about to destroy him, but I prayed for Aaron at that time.

¹⁶ Saul’s son Jonathan got up and went to David at Horesh, and he encouraged him to trust in God.

²⁷ When her mourning period was completed, David sent for her, brought her to his palace, and she became his wife. Later on, she bore him a son.
Meanwhile, what David had done grieved the LORD,

⁷ But Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says:
“‘I anointed you king—and you became king over Israel.
“‘I delivered you from Saul’s control.
⁸ “‘I gave you your former master’s household.
“‘I placed your former master’s wives right in your arms.
“‘I gave you Israel and Judah.
“‘And if this had been too little, I would have added much more than that to you!
⁹ “‘Why did you despise what the LORD has promised by doing what is detestable in his sight?
“‘You struck down Uriah the Hittite with a battle sword.
“‘You took his wife to be your own.
“‘You killed him with the sword of the Ammonite army.
¹⁰ “‘Therefore the sword will never leave your household, because you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
¹¹ “This is what the LORD says:
“‘Listen very carefully!
“‘I’m raising up evil against you right out of your own household.
“‘I’m going to take your wives away from you right before your eyes.
“‘Then I’ll give them to your neighbor.
“‘And then he’s going to have sex with your wives in broad daylight!
¹² “‘What you did in secret I’m going to do right in front of all Israel and in broad daylight as well!’”
¹³ At this point, David told Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan responded to David, “There’s one other thing: the LORD has forgiven your sin. You won’t die. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because you have despised the LORD’s enemies with utter contempt, the son born to you will most certainly die.”

⁶ “Your humble servant used to have two sons, but they got into a fight out in the field. Because there was no one to keep them apart, one of them attacked the other and killed him.

³ Look! You’ve admonished many people, and you’ve strengthened feeble hands. ⁴ A word from you has supported those who have stumbled, and has strengthened faltering knees.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands, and support the stumbling knees. ⁴ Say to those with anxious hearts, ‘Be strong, do not be afraid! Here is your God— he will bring vengeance, he will bring divine retribution, and he will save you.’

³¹ Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
“Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has asked permission to sift all of you like wheat, ³² but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail. When you have come back, you must strengthen your brothers.”

¹¹ Paul Confronts Cephas in AntiochBut when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly wrong. ¹² Until some men arrived from James, he was in the habit of eating with the gentiles, but after those men came, he withdrew from the gentiles and would not associate with them any longer, because he was afraid of the circumcision party. ¹³ The other Jews also joined him in this hypocritical behavior, to the extent that even Barnabas was caught up in their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “Though you are a Jew, you have been living like a gentile and not like a Jew. So how can you insist that the gentiles must live like Jews?”

¹ Help Each OtherBrothers, if a person is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should restore that person gently. Watch out for yourself so that you are not tempted as well.

¹⁸ So then, encourage one another with these words.

¹¹ So then, encourage one another and build each other up, as you are doing.

¹ Adonijah’s Attempted CoupWhen David had grown very old, they covered him with blankets, but he could not keep warm, ² so his servants suggested to him, “Let’s look for a young virgin woman to take care of you, your majesty. She will be of use to you if you have her lie down near you so that your majesty may keep warm.” ³ So they conducted a search throughout the territory of Israel for a beautiful young woman, and Abishag the Shunammite was located and brought to the king. ⁴ The young woman was absolutely beautiful. She served the king and was very useful to him. The king was not sexually involved with her.

⁹ Next was Dodai the Ahohite’s son Eleazar. Eleazar, who also was one of the Three, was with David when they challenged the Philistines. When the Philistines had assembled in battle array, the Israeli army retreated,

¹⁶ So the Three elite warriors broke through the Philistine ranks, drew some water from the Bethlehem well that was next to the city gate, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out in the LORD’s presence,

¹⁸ David’s Other Valiant Soldiers
Zeruiah’s son Abishai, Joab’s brother, was the lieutenant in charge of the platoons. He used his spear to fight and kill 300 men, gaining a reputation distinct from the Three. ¹⁹ He was more well-known than the Three, and became their commander, but he never measured up to the Three.

²³ He was well known among the platoons, but he didn’t measure up to the Three. David placed him in charge of his security detail.

¹⁶ Daniel’s Friends Answer King NebuchadnezzarShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “It’s not necessary for us to respond in this matter. ¹⁷ Your majesty, if it be his will, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the blazing fire furnace, and he will deliver us from you.

³ Do your best to maintain the unity of the Spirit by means of the bond of peace.

² This is a record of Jacob’s descendants.
When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was helping his brothers tend their flocks. He was a young man at that time, as were the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. But Joseph would come back and tell his father that his brothers were doing bad things.

⁸ “There is still one man left by whom we could ask the LORD what to do,” the king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, “but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me. Instead, he prophesies evil. He is Imla’s son Micaiah.”
But Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab, “Kings should never talk like that.”

⁹ The LORD’s eyes keep on roaming throughout the earth, looking for those whose hearts completely belong to him, so that he may strongly support them. But because you have acted foolishly in this, from now on you will have wars.” ¹⁰ In response, Asa flew into a rage and locked up the seer in stocks in the palace prison because of what Hanani had told him. Asa also tortured some of the people of Israel at that time.

²⁰ Then Jehoiada the priest’s son Zechariah was clothed by the Spirit of God, and he stood above the people and told them, “This is what God has to say: ‘Why are you breaking the LORD’s commandments. You’ll never be successful! Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.’”
²¹ But the people conspired against him, and at the direct orders of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s Temple. ²² This is how King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him: he killed his son. As he lay dying, Zechariah cried out, “May the LORD watch this and avenge.”

¹⁶ But even while the prophet was speaking, the king asked him, “Did we appoint you to be a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?”
So the prophet stopped speaking, but he also said, “I know God has determined to destroy you, because you’ve done all this and ignored my counsel.”

¹ The Priorities of Life Contrasted A poor man who walks blamelessly is better than a fool who speaks perversely.

⁶ It’s better to be poor and live a blameless life than to be rich but crooked in one’s lifestyle.

¹⁵ Now there was found within it a poor, but wise man. He delivered the city by his wisdom, but not one person remembered that poor man.
¹⁶ So I concluded, “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the wisdom of the poor is rejected—his words are never heard.”

¹⁴ Pharaoh Tells Joseph His DreamPharoah sent word to summon Joseph quickly from the dungeon, so they shaved his beard, changed his clothes, and then sent him straight to Pharaoh.

³³ Therefore let Pharaoh select a wise, discerning person to place in charge over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Also, let Pharaoh immediately proceed to appoint supervisors over the land of Egypt, who will collect one fifth of its agricultural production during the coming seven years of abundance. ³⁵ Let them collect all the food during the coming fruitful years, store up the grain in cities governed by Pharaoh’s authority, and place it under guard. ³⁶ Let the food be kept in reserve to feed the land for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout Egypt, so the people don’t die during the famine.”
³⁷ Pharaoh Appoints Joseph as RegentWhat Joseph proposed pleased Pharaoh and all of his advisors, ³⁸ so Pharaoh asked his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this—someone in whom the Spirit of God lives? ³⁹ Since God has revealed all of this to you,” Pharaoh told Joseph, “there is no one so wise and discerning as you. ⁴⁰ So you are to be appointed in charge over my palace, and all of my people are to do whatever you command them to do. Only the throne will have greater authority than you.”
⁴¹ “Look!” Pharaoh confirmed to Joseph, “I’ve put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt!”
⁴² Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand, placed it on Joseph’s hand, had him clothed in fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ Then he provided him with a chariot as his second-in-command, outfitted with a group of people who shouted out in front of him, “Bow your knees!” And that’s how Pharaoh set Joseph over the entire land of Egypt.
⁴⁴ Pharaoh Rewards JosephPharaoh also told Joseph, “I’m still Pharaoh, but without your permission nobody in all of the land of Egypt will so much as lift up their hands or take a step!”

²⁶ He stripped the LORD’s Temple and the royal palace of their treasures. He took everything, even the gold shields that Solomon had made. ²⁷ King Rehoboam made shields out of bronze to take their place, and then committed them to the care and custody of the commanders of those who guarded the entrance to the royal palace.

³¹ Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. He reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal. She was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³² He practiced what the LORD considered to be evil, just as all of his ancestors had done. ³³ Pharaoah Neco placed him in custody at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, so that he would not reign in Jerusalem, and imposed a tribute of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold.
³⁴ Jehoiakim is Made King by Pharaoh NecoPharaoh Neco installed Josiah’s son Eliakim as king to replace his father Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He transported Jehoahaz off to Egypt, where he died.

¹ Jehoiakim Serves NebuchadnezzarDuring his lifetime, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jehoiakim, who became his vassal for three years, after which he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled. ² The LORD sent raiding parties from the Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, in keeping with the message from the LORD that he had spoken through his servants, the prophets.

⁶ Jehoiakim died, as did his ancestors, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.

¹² King Jehoiachin of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon (as did his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers) during the eighth year of his reign.

⁷ They executed Zedekiah’s sons in his presence, blinded Zedekiah, bound him with bronze chains, and transported him to Babylon.

²⁷ Jehoiachin Leaves PrisonLater on, after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been in exile for 37 years, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, during the first year of his reign, King Evil-merodach of Babylon released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. ²⁸ He spoke kindly to him and elevated his position above the thrones of the kings with him in Babylon. ²⁹ Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes and had regular meals in the king’s presence every day for the rest of his life, ³⁰ and a regular stipend was provided to him by the king in accordance with his needs for as long as he lived.

¹¹ He sets the lowly on high, and lifts those who mourn to safety.

⁷ He lifts the poor person from the dust, raising the needy from the trash pile ⁸ and giving him a seat among nobles— with the nobles of his people.

²⁰ The LORD’s anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. About him we had said, “Under his protection we will survive among the nations.”

³¹ As these words were being spoken by the king, a voice came out of heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, this is declared to you: ‘The kingdom has been taken from you!

⁶ By doing all of this to anyone who came to the king for a hearing, Absalom stole the loyalty of the men of Israel.

¹⁹ So if you’ve acted in good faith and integrity toward Jerubbaal and his household today, then you’re welcome to Abimelech, and he’s welcome to you… ²⁰ But if not, may fire spring out from Abimelech and consume the “lords” of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire spring out from the “lords” of Shechem and Beth-millo to consume Abimelech.”

¹² Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.
¹³ David Flees from JerusalemThen a messenger arrived to inform David, “The loyalties of the men of Israel have shifted to Absalom.”

⁷ where David’s army of servants defeated the Israelis. Many died that day—20,000 men. ⁸ The battle spread throughout the entire countryside, and the forest claimed more casualties that day than did the sword fighting.

⁹ Throughout the tribes of Israel, everyone was quarreling with one another:
“The king delivered us from the domination of our enemies….”
“He’s the one who rescued us from Philistine control….”
“Now he’s fleeing the country because of Absalom…!”

⁵ Meanwhile, about this time Haggith’s son Adonijah began to seek a reputation for himself and decided, “I’m going to be king!” So he prepared chariots, cavalry, and 50 soldiers to serve as a security detail to guard him. ⁶ His father had never challenged him at any time during his life by asking him, “Why are you acting like this?” Adonijah was very handsome and had been born after Absalom. ⁷ He had the support of Zeruiah’s son Joab and of Abiathar the priest, who followed Adonijah and assisted him,

⁴⁰ All the people followed after him, playing on wind pipes and so full of joy that the earth shook because of all the noise!

¹⁰ “This is what you should tell these people who asked you ‘Your father made our burden heavy, but you must make it lighter for us!’” the young men who grew up with Rehoboam replied. “Tell them, ‘My little finger will be thicker than my father’s whole body! ¹¹ Not only that, but since my father loaded you down heavily, I’m going to add to that burden. My father disciplined you with whips, but I’m going to discipline you with scorpions!’”
¹² So Jeroboam and all the people went back to Rehoboam on the third day, just as they had been directed when the king said, “Come back again in three days.” ¹³ But the king gave the people a harsh response, because he was ignoring the counsel that his elders had given him. ¹⁴ Instead, Rehoboam spoke to them along the lines of what the younger men suggested. He told them “My father burdened you heavily, but I will add to that burden. If my father disciplined you with whips, I’m going to discipline you with scorpions!”
¹⁵ The king would not listen to the people, because the turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill his prediction that the LORD spoke by means of Ahijah the Shilonite to Nebat’s son Jeroboam ¹⁶ When all of Israel saw that the king wasn’t listening to them, the people responded to the king’s message, “What’s the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let’s go home, Israel! David, take care of your own household!’ So Israel left for home.

¹¹ Then I examined all of my accomplishments that I had brought about by my own efforts, including the work that I had labored so hard to complete—and it was all pointless, like chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained on earth.