Proverbs 29 Cross References - ISV

¹ Advice on Life and Justice After many rebukes, the stiff-necked man will be broken incurably, without any warning. ² As the righteous grow powerful, people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, people groan. ³ The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but anyone who consorts with immoral women squanders his wealth. ⁴ A king brings stability to a land through justice, but a man who takes bribes brings it to ruin. ⁵ A strong man who flatters his neighbor is setting a trap where he walks.
⁶ The Wicked and Righteous ContrastedAn evil man is trapped by transgression, but the righteous person sings and rejoices. ⁷ The righteous person is concerned about the poor; but the wicked don’t understand what they need to know. ⁸ Scornful men enflame a city, but the wise defuse anger. ⁹ When a wise man has a dispute with a fool, the fool either rages or laughs without relief. ¹⁰ Bloodthirsty men hate the innocent person, but the upright show concern for his life. ¹¹ The fool vents all his feelings, but the wise person keeps them to himself. ¹² When a ruler is listening to lies, all of his officials tend to become wicked. ¹³ The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: the LORD gave them both eyes with which to see. ¹⁴ When a king faithfully administers justice to the poor, his throne will be established forever. ¹⁵ The rod and rebuke bestow wisdom, but an undisciplined child brings shame to his mother. ¹⁶ As the wicked grow powerful, transgression increases, but the righteous will observe their downfall. ¹⁷ Correct your son and he will comfort you; he will also delight your soul. ¹⁸ Without prophetic vision, people abandon restraint, but those who obey the Law are happy.
¹⁹ Dangerous BehaviorsBy mere words a servant will not be corrected; even though he understands, there will be no response. ²⁰ Do you see a man who speaks hastily? There is more hope for a fool than for him. ²¹ If you pamper a servant from his childhood, later on he’ll become ungrateful. ²² An angry man stirs up arguments, and a hot-tempered man causes many transgressions. ²³ A person’s pride will bring about his downfall, but the humble in spirit will gain honor. ²⁴ A thief’s accomplice hates himself; though testifying under oath, he reveals nothing. ²⁵ Fearing any human being is a trap, but confiding in the LORD keeps anyone safe. ²⁶ Many seek a ruler’s favor, but justice for a man comes from the LORD. ²⁷ The unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and whoever lives blamelessly is detestable to the wicked.

²⁵ If a person sins against another, God will mediate for him, but if a person sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?”
But they would not follow the advice of their father; for the LORD wanted to put them to death.

³⁴ Here’s a sign for you—your two sons Hophni and Phineas will both die on the same day!

¹ Elijah Calls for a DroughtElijah the foreigner, who was an alien resident from Gilead, told Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, in whose presence I’m standing, there will be neither dew nor rain these next several years, except when I say so.”

¹⁸ But Elijah replied, “I’m no destroyer of Israel. But you and your ancestor’s household have been doing that, because you have abandoned the LORD’s commandments and have followed the Baals.

⁴² He told the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you let the man whom I had dedicated to destruction go free, therefore your life is to be forfeited for his life, and your people for his people.’”

²⁰ Later on, Ahab asked Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
But Elijah answered, “I’ve found you because you sold yourself to do what the LORD considers to be evil! ²¹ Now pay attention! I’m going to send evil in your direction! I will completely sweep you away and eliminate from Ahab every male, whether indentured servant or free, throughout Israel. ²² I will make your household resemble that of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, or like the household of Ahijah’s son Baasha, because of how you’ve provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin. ²³ The LORD also has this to say about Jezebel: ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel within the outer ramparts of Jezreel.

²⁰ “The LORD asked, ‘Who will tempt King Ahab of Israel to attack Ramoth-gilead, so that he will die there?’ And one was saying one thing and one was saying another.
²¹ “But then a spirit approached, stood in front of the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
²² “And the LORD asked him, ‘How?’
“‘I will go,’ he announced, ‘and I will be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all of his prophets!’
“So the LORD said, ‘You’re just the one to deceive him. You will be successful. Go and do it.’
²³ “Now therefore, listen! The LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these prophets of yours, because the LORD has determined to bring disaster upon you.”

²⁸ “If you return alive,” Micaiah responded, “then the LORD has not spoken by me.” Then he added, “Listen, all you people!”

³⁴ Meanwhile, somebody drew his bow aimlessly and struck the king of Israel between the scales where his armor breastplates joined, so he instructed his chariot driver, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I’ve been severely wounded.” ³⁵ The battle continued on for the rest of the day while the king of Israel was propped up in front of the Arameans until the sun set, at which time he died. The blood from Ahab’s wound ran down into the bottom of the chariot.
³⁶ As the day drew to a close, this order was circulated throughout the army telling the soldiers, “Everybody go back to his city and to his own land.” ³⁷ So the king died and was brought back to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.

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.”

¹⁰ Manasseh Repents and is RestoredThe LORD kept on speaking to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention to him,

¹³ Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear allegiance in the name of God. Instead, he stiffened his resolve, and hardened his heart, and would not return to the LORD God of Israel.

¹⁵ The LORD God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence, ¹⁶ but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people. ¹⁷ Therefore he brought up the king of the Chaldeans against them, who executed their young men in the holy Temple, showing no compassion on young man or young virgin, adult men or the aged. God gave them all into the king’s control,

²⁹ You admonished them to return to your Law, but they acted arrogantly, and would not listen to your commands. They sinned against your regulations, which if anyone obeys, he will live by them. They turned away, being stubborn and stiff-necked, and they did not listen.

²⁴ The Consequences of Refusing Wisdom“Because I called out to you and you refused to respond— I appealed, but no one paid attention— ²⁵ because you neglected all my advice and did not want my correction, ²⁶ I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when what you fear comes, ²⁷ when what you dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸ “Then they will call out to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. ²⁹ “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD; ³⁰ they did not want my advice, and they rejected all my correction. ³¹ They will eat the fruit of their way, and they will be filled with their own devices.

¹⁵ Therefore, disaster will overtake him suddenly. He will be broken in an instant, and he will never recover.

¹⁸ Whoever lives blamelessly will be delivered, but whoever is perverted will fall without warning.

¹³ therefore, for you this sin will become like a breach in a high wall that is about to collapse, bulging out, and whose crash comes suddenly—in an instant. ¹⁴ Its breaking will be like when potters’ vessels are broken, shattered so ruthlessly that among its fragments not even a broken sliver will be found for taking fire from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.”

⁴ Because I knew that you are obstinate, and because your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead is bronze,

²³ But they didn’t listen, nor did they pay attention. They were determined not to listen and not to accept instruction.

³ “From the thirteenth year of the reign of Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah, until the present time, for 23 years this message from the LORD has come to me, and I’ve spoken to you again and again, but you haven’t listened. ⁴ Again and again, the LORD sent all his servants, the prophets, to you, but you wouldn’t listen or even turn your ears in my direction to hear. ⁵ They said, ‘Turn, each one of you, from your evil habits and evil deeds, and live in the land that the LORD gave to you and your ancestors forever and ever.

³ Perhaps they’ll listen, and each of them will repent from his evil way. Then I’ll change my mind about the disaster I’m planning to bring on them because of their evil deeds. ⁴ Say to them, “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you don’t listen to me to follow my Law which I’ve set before you, ⁵ and listen to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I’ve sent to you over and over—but you wouldn’t listen—

¹³ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not accept correction by listening to what I say?” declares the LORD. ¹⁴ “But what Rechab’s son Jonadab commanded his sons about not drinking wine is observed, and they haven’t drunk wine until this day. Indeed, they obey the commands of their ancestor. But I’ve spoken to you again and again, and you haven’t obeyed me. ¹⁵ I’ve sent you all my servants, the prophets, sending them again and again. I’ve said, ‘Each of you turn from his evil behavior and make your deeds right. Don’t follow other gods to serve them. Then you will remain in the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’ But you haven’t paid attention and you haven’t obeyed me. ¹⁶ Indeed the descendants of Rechab’s son Jonadab have carried out the command of their ancestor that he gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.”

³ So tell them, ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Return to me,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “and I will return to you. ⁴ Don’t be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed: ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “It’s time to turn from your evil lifestyles and from your evil actions,” ‘but they would neither listen nor pay attention to me,’” declares the LORD.’ ⁵ “Your ancestors—where are they? And the prophets—do they live forever? 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.’”

¹¹ But they refused to pay attention, turned their backs, and stopped listening. ¹² They made their hearts hard like a diamond, to keep from obeying the Law and the messages that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. ¹³ Therefore, just as when I cried out and they would not listen, so also they will cry out, and I will not listen,’ says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. ¹⁴ ‘I will scatter them to all of the nations, which they have not known.’”
Now the earth was left desolate after them. As a result, no one came or went because they had turned a pleasant land into a desert.

²¹ While they were eating, he said, “I tell all of you with certainty, one of you is going to betray me.”
²² Feeling deeply distressed, each one began to ask him, “Surely I am not the one, Lord?”
²³ He replied, “The man who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man is going away, just as it has been written about him. How terrible it will be for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had never been born.”
²⁵ Then Judas, who was going to betray him, asked, “Rabbi, I’m not the one, am I?”
Jesus told him, “You have said so.”

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “I chose you, the Twelve, didn’t I? Yet one of you is a devil.” ⁷¹ Now he was speaking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, because this man was going to betray him, even though he was one of the Twelve.

¹⁰ Jesus told him, “Whoever has bathed is entirely clean. He doesn’t need to wash himself further, except for his feet. And you men are clean, though not all of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him. That’s why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹⁸ I’m not talking about all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled: ‘The one who ate bread with me has turned against me.’

²⁶ Jesus answered, “He is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I have dipped it in the dish.”
Then he took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

¹⁸ (Now this man bought a field with the money he got for his crime. Falling on his face, he burst open in the middle, and all his intestines gushed out.

²⁵ to serve in this office of apostle, from which Judas left to go to his own place.”

³ When people say, “There is peace and security,” destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.

¹⁵ The couriers went out, urged on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in Susa the capital. The king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

¹⁵ The Jewish People Celebrate the King’s EdictMordecai left the king’s presence in royal robes of blue and white, wearing a large golden crown and a purple robe made of fine linen; and the city of Susa shouted with joy.

¹ Solomonic
A Prayer for the King God, endow the king with ability to render your justice, and the king’s son to render your right decisions. ² May he rule your people with right decisions and your oppressed ones with justice. ³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people and the hills bring righteousness. ⁴ May he defend the afflicted of the people and deliver the children of the poor, but crush the oppressor. ⁵ May they fear you as long as the sun and moon shine— from generation to generation. ⁶ May he be like the rain that descends on mown grass, like showers sprinkling on the ground. ⁷ The righteous will flourish at the proper time and peace will prevail until the moon is no more.

¹⁰ The city rejoices when the righteous prosper, and when the wicked perish there is jubilation.

¹² When the righteous are victorious, there is great glory, but when the wicked arise, men hide themselves.

²⁸ When the wicked rise to power, people hide themselves, but when the wicked perish, the righteous increase.

⁵ Here’s another tragedy that I’ve observed on earth, a kind of error that comes from an overseer:

¹ The Government of Justice “Look, a king will reign in righteousness, and rulers will rule with justice. ² Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a hiding place from storms, like streams of water in the desert, in the shadow of a great rock in an exhausted land.

⁵ “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I’ll raise up a righteous branch for David. He will be a king who rules wisely, and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his time Judah will be delivered and Israel will dwell in safety. This is the name by which he will be known: ‘The LORD Our Righteousness.’

³ When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem.

¹⁶ The Massacre of the InfantsHerod flew into a rage when he learned that he had been tricked by the wise men, so he ordered the execution of all the male children in Bethlehem and all its neighboring regions, who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had determined from the wise men.

¹⁵ The Vision of the Seventh Angel Blowing His TrumpetWhen the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The world’s kingdom has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever.”

⁸ Keep far away from her, and don’t go near the entrance to her house, ⁹ so that you don’t give your honor to others, and waste your best years; ¹⁰ so that strangers don’t enrich themselves at your expense, and your work won’t end up the possession of foreigners.

²⁶ because the price of a whore is a loaf of bread, and an adulterous woman stalks a man’s precious life.

¹ Solomon’s SayingsThe proverbs of Solomon. A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grieves his mother.

²⁰ A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish man despises his mother.

¹⁷ Pleasure lovers become poor; loving wine and oil doesn’t bring riches.

²⁰ Precious treasures and oil are found where the wise live, but a foolish man devours them.

¹⁵ On Listening to Your ParentsMy son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will greatly rejoice.

²⁴ The father of a righteous person will greatly rejoice; whoever fathers a wise son will be glad because of him. ²⁵ Let your father and mother rejoice; make the one who gave birth to you happy.

¹¹ Be wise, my son, and make me happy, so I can reply to anyone who insults me.

⁷ Whoever keeps the Law is a discerning son, but whoever keeps company with gluttons brings shame to his father.

¹⁹ Whoever works his farmland will have abundant food, but whoever chases fantasies will become very poor.

¹³ But the angel told him, “Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John. ¹⁴ You will have great joy, and many people will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ because he will be great in the Lord’s presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring many of Israel’s descendants back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He is the one who will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and to prepare the people to be ready for the Lord.”

¹³ A few days later, the younger son gathered everything he owned and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted it all on wild living.

³⁰ But this son of yours spent your money on prostitutes, and when he came back, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

¹³ Then Samuel told Saul, “You have acted foolishly. You haven’t obeyed the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever,

¹⁵ David’s Leaders
David reigned over all of Israel, administering justice and equity to every one of his people.

¹² Solomon then assumed his father David’s throne, and his kingdom was firmly established.

¹⁸ He did what the LORD considered to be evil by never abandoning the sins of Nebat’s son Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin, as long as he lived.
¹⁹ Later on, King Pul of Aram attacked the land, and Menahem paid Pul 1,000 silver talents so Pul would join forces with Menahem to secure his hold on the kingdom. ²⁰ Menahem exacted the money from all of Israel’s powerful and wealthy men, 50 shekels from each, to pay the king of Aram. As a result, the king of Aram retreated and did not remain there in the land.

⁸ Blessed be the LORD your God, who is delighted with you! He set you in place on his throne to be king for the LORD your God. He made you king over them so you could carry out justice and implement righteousness, because your God loves Israel and intends to establish them forever.”

¹⁴ Righteousness and justice make up the foundation of your throne; gracious love and truth meet before you.

⁴ A mighty king who loves justice, you have established fairness. You have exercised justice and righteousness over Jacob.

¹⁵ Kings reign by me, and rulers dispense justice through me.

¹² Kings detest wrongdoing, for through righteousness the throne is established.

⁸ A king sits on a throne of justice, sifting out all sorts of evil with his glance.

¹⁴ When a king faithfully administers justice to the poor, his throne will be established forever.

⁷ Of the growth of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule over his kingdom, sitting on the throne of David, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.

⁸ The Restoration of Israel“This what the LORD says: “I’ll answer you in a time of favor, and on a day of salvation I’ll help you. I have watched over you, and given you as a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to reassign the inheritances that have been devastated;

¹³ An Oracle against Jehoiakim“How terrible for him who builds his house without righteousness, and its upper rooms without justice, who makes his neighbor work for nothing, and does not pay him his wage. ¹⁴ How terrible for him who says, ‘I’ll build a large house for myself with spacious upper rooms, who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it red.’ ¹⁵ Are you a king because you try to outdo everyone with cedar? Your father ate and drank and upheld justice and righteousness, did he not? And then it went well for him. ¹⁶ He judged the case of the poor and needy. And then it went well for him. Isn’t this what it means to know me? ¹⁷ But your eyes and heart are on nothing but your dishonest gain, shedding the blood of innocent people, and practicing oppression and extortion.”

²⁰ His successor will send out a tax collector for royal splendor, but in a short period of time he’ll be shattered, though neither in anger nor in battle.’”

³ And speaking of evil, they practice it eagerly—with both hands! Both leader and judge demand a bribe, the famous confess their perverted desires, and they scheme together.

¹⁷ “So your humble servant is saying, ‘Please, your majesty, let what the king has to say be of comfort, because just as the angel of God is, so also is your majesty the king to discern both good and evil. And may the LORD your God remain present with you.’”
¹⁸ In reply, the king asked the woman, “Please don’t conceal anything about which I’m going to be asking you now.”
So the woman replied, “Please, your majesty, let the king speak.”
¹⁹ Then the king asked, “Is Joab behind all of this with you?”
“As your soul lives, your majesty, the king,” the woman answered, “no one can divert anything left or right from what your majesty the king has spoken! As a matter of fact, it was your servant Joab! He was there, giving me precise orders about everything that your humble servant was to say. Your servant Joab did this, ²⁰ intending to change the outcome of this matter. Nevertheless, your majesty is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to be aware of everything that’s going on throughout the earth.”
²¹ David Authorizes Absalom’s ReturnThen the king addressed Joab, “Look! I’ll do this thing that you’ve requested. Go bring back the young man Absalom.”
²² At this, Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrating himself to bless the king, and then said, “Today your servant realizes that he’s found favor with you, your majesty, in that the king has acted on the request of his servant.” ²³ Then Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
²⁴ Nevertheless, the king said, “Let him return to his own home and not show his face to me.” So Absalom returned to his own home and did not show his face to the king.

⁵ Now as for the one who testifies against his friends to take their property, even the eyes of his children will fail.

⁹ But as for the wicked, they do not speak truth at all. Inside them there is only wickedness. Their throat is an open grave, on their tongue is deceitful flattery.

² Everyone speaks lies to his neighbor; they speak with flattering lips and hidden motives.

¹⁷ Look, it is useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds,

⁵ so they can keep you from an adulterous woman, from the immoral woman with her seductive words.

²¹ She leads him astray with great persuasion; with flattering lips she seduces him.

¹⁹ Whoever spreads gossip betrays confidences; so don’t get involved with someone who talks too much.

²⁴ Someone who hates hides behind his words, harboring deceit within himself. ²⁵ Though he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven detestable things in his heart.

²⁸ A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

¹³ He sent fire from on high, making it penetrate my bones. He stretched out a net at my feet, forcing me to turn back. He made me desolate; I’m fainting all day long.

¹ Judgment against Israel “Hear this, priests, pay attention, house of Israel, listen, royal family! For judgment is coming your way, because you have been a trap to Mizpah, a snare spread out on Mount Tabor.

²⁰ A Question about Paying Taxes
So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honest men in order to trap him in what he would say. They wanted to hand him over to the jurisdiction of the governor, ²¹ so they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you’re right in what you say and teach, and that you don’t favor any individual, but teach the way of God truthfully.

¹⁸ because such people are not serving the Messiah our Lord, but their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

⁵ As you know, we did not come with flattering words or with a scheme to make money. God is our witness!

¹ The Song of MosesThen Moses and the Israelis sang this song to the LORD: “I’ll sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.

⁷ His strong steps are restricted, and his own advice trips him up. ⁸ “For he has stumbled into a net with his own feet; he walked right into the network! ⁹ The trap seizes him by the heel; a snare tightens its hold on him. ¹⁰ A rope lies hidden in the dirt; a trap lies waiting for him where he is walking.”

⁶ He rains on the wicked burning coals and sulfur; a scorching wind is their destiny.

¹¹ Light shines on the righteous; gladness on the morally upright.

¹⁵ There’s exultation for deliverance in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD is victorious!

¹⁶ I will clothe its priests with salvation and its godly ones will shout for joy.

²² The wicked person’s iniquities will capture him, and he will be held with the cords of his sin.

⁵ The righteousness of the innocent creates a level path, but the wicked fall by their wickedness. ⁶ The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are trapped by their evil desires.

¹³ An evil man’s sinful speech ensnares him, but the righteous person escapes from trouble.

¹² In addition, no human being knows his time: Like fish captured in a cruel net, or as birds caught in a snare, so also are human beings caught by bad timing that surprises them.

¹⁴ Then he will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel he’ll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself, a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Many will stumble on them; They’ll fall and be broken; They’ll be snared and captured.

² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace by which we have been established, and we boast because of our hope in God’s glory. ³ Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

²⁶ so that they might escape from the devil’s snare, even though they’ve been held captive by him to do his will.

² Responding Wisely to LifeConsider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials,

⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

⁴ We are writing these things so that our joy may be full.

⁹ David’s young men came to Nabal and told him all this in David’s name, and then they waited. ¹⁰ Nabal answered David’s servants: “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹ Should I take my food, my water, and my meat that I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to men who came from who knows where?”

¹⁶ I was a father to the needy; I diligently inquired into the case of those I didn’t know.

¹³ No Abuse of Servants“If I’ve refused to help my male and female servants when they complain against me,

²¹ if I’ve raised my hand against an orphan when I thought I would against him in court,

⁷ I will rejoice and be glad in your gracious love, for you see my affliction and take note that my soul is distressed.

¹ To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
When Things Go Wrong Blessed is the one who is considerate of the destitute; the LORD will deliver him when the times are evil.

¹³ Whoever refuses to hear the cry of the poor will also cry himself, but he won’t be answered.

⁸ Speak for those who cannot speak; seek justice for all those on the verge of destruction. ⁹ Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.

²⁸ and have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They don’t argue the case of the orphan to secure justice. They don’t defend the rights of the poor.

⁷ They’ve treated mothers and fathers among you with contempt. They’ve oppressed the foreigner among you. They’ve maltreated the orphan and the widow among you.

²⁹ The people of the land were vigorously oppressive and took possession of plunder by violence. They’ve afflicted the poor and the needy and unjustly treated the foreigner. ³⁰ I sought for a man among them to build the wall and stand in the breach in my presence on behalf of the land so that it won’t be destroyed, but I found no one, ³¹ so I poured my indignation over them. With my fierce anger, I’ve consumed them. I brought the consequences of their behavior upon them,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

¹ “He will say, ‘Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you officials of the house of Israel! You should know justice, should you not?— ² you who despise good and love evil, who tear off the skin of my people, along with the flesh from their bones. ³ You eat the flesh of my people, flaying their skin from them. You break their bones, chopping them in pieces like meat for a pot, like meat destined for a soup kettle.’ ⁴ “Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not listen to them. In fact, he will hide his face from them at that time, because they were so wicked in what they were doing.”

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.

¹⁰ Now let me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may consume them, but I’ll make a great nation of you.”
¹¹ But Moses implored the LORD his God: “LORD, why are you angry with your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a show of force? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intention to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your anger and change your mind about the calamity against your people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants to whom you swore by yourself as you told them, ‘I’ll increase the number of your descendants like the stars of the heavens, I’ll give your descendants all of this land about which I have spoken, and they are to possess it forever.’”
¹⁴ So the LORD changed his mind about the calamity he had said he would bring on his people.

⁴⁸ He stood between the dead and the living and restrained the plague.

¹¹ “Eleazar’s son Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from Israel. Because his zealousness reflected my own zeal for them, I didn’t consume Israel in my jealousy.

¹⁸ I fell down in the LORD’s presence, just as I had the first 40 days and nights. I did not eat food or drink water because of your sin. You had sinned by committing this evil in the sight of the LORD, thereby provoking him to anger. 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 As the angel was stretching out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD was grieved because of the calamity, so he told the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Stay your hand!” So the angel of the LORD remained near the threshing floor that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.
¹⁷ When David saw the angel who had been attacking the people, he told the LORD, “Look, I’m the one who has sinned! I did the evil. These are only sheep! What did they do? Please, let your hand fall on me and on my household!”

¹¹ Through the blessing of the righteous a city is built up, but what the wicked say tears it down.

¹⁴ The king’s wrath results in a death sentence, but whoever is wise will appease him.

¹⁴ God’s Precious Cornerstone“Therefore hear the message from the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people that are in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Because you said: ‘We have entered into a covenant with death, and we have an agreement with Sheol, so when the overwhelming scourge makes its choice, it cannot reach us, since we have made lies our refuge and have concealed ourselves inside falsehood’ ¹⁶ therefore this is what the LORD God says: “Look! I am laying a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation: Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily. ¹⁷ And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and floods will overflow your hiding place. ¹⁸ “Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be trampled by it. ¹⁹ As often as it sweeps through, it will carry you away, for it will sweep by morning after morning in the day; but understanding this message will bring sheer terror at night, ²⁰ because the bed is too short to stretch out on, and its blankets too narrow to wrap around oneself!
²¹ God is on Mount PerazimFor the LORD will stand upon Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself in the Valley of Gibeon; to carry out his work— his strange deed, and to perform his task— his alien task! ²² But as for you, don’t start mocking, or your chains will become tighter; for I have heard from the LORD of the Heavenly Armies about destruction, and it is decreed against the whole land.

¹ The Destiny of the JudgedThen the LORD told me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing before me, I wouldn’t be favorably disposed toward this people. Send them out of my presence! Let them go!

³⁰ I sought for a man among them to build the wall and stand in the breach in my presence on behalf of the land so that it won’t be destroyed, but I found no one,

² And so it came about that when the swarm had finished eating the grass of the land, I was saying, “Lord GOD, forgive—please! How will Jacob stand, since he is small?”
³ So the LORD relented from this. “This will not happen,” said the LORD.
⁴ The Vision of FireThis is what the Lord GOD showed me: Look! The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire, and it was drying up the great depths of the ocean and consuming the land. ⁵ So I kept on saying, “Lord GOD, forgive—please! How will Jacob stand, since he is so small?”
⁶ So the LORD relented from this. “This will not happen, either,” said the Lord GOD.

³⁹ Those who passed by kept insulting him, shaking their heads, ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days—save yourself! If you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
⁴¹ In the same way the high priests, along with the scribes and elders, were also making fun of him. They kept saying, ⁴² “He saved others but can’t save himself! He is the king of Israel. Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him, if he wants to do so now. After all, he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were near him overheard this and asked him, “We aren’t blind, too, are we?”
⁴¹ Jesus told them, “If you were blind, you would not have any sin. But now that you insist, ‘We see,’ your sin still exists.”

⁴⁷ So the high priests and the Pharisees assembled the Council and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”
⁴⁹ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, told them, “You don’t know anything! ⁵⁰ You don’t realize that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.”

¹⁵ who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, who have persecuted us, and who please neither God nor any group of people, ¹⁶ as they try to keep us from telling the gentiles how they can be saved. As a result, they are constantly adding to the number of sins they have committed. However, wrath has overtaken them at last!

⁵ In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it can boast of great achievements. A huge forest can be set on fire by a little flame. ⁶ The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell.

¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will save the person who is sick. The Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
¹⁶ Therefore, make it your habit to confess your sins to one another and to pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. ¹⁷ Elijah was a person just like us, and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and rain never came to the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the skies poured out rain, and the ground produced its crops.

⁴ Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness, or you will be just like him.

¹³ He begins his speech with foolishness, and concludes it with evil madness.

⁶ Despising the Holy“Never give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them with their feet and then turn around and attack you.”

¹⁷ ‘A wedding song we played for you, the dance you all did scorn. A woeful dirge we chanted, too, but then you would not mourn.’
¹⁸ Because John didn’t come eating or drinking, yet people say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Absolved from every act of sin, is wisdom by her kith and kin.”

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.

¹¹ “I regret that I made Saul king, because he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the LORD all night.

³¹ As long as Jesse’s son lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established! Now send someone and bring David to me. He’s a dead man!”
³² Jonathan asked his father Saul, “Why should he be killed? What did he do?” ³³ Then Saul threw the spear that was beside him to strike Jonathan down. So Jonathan realized that his father was determined to kill David.

¹¹ Saul Orders the Execution of the PriestsThe king sent for Ahitub’s son Ahimelech the priest and for all his father’s family who were priests at Nob. All of them came to the king. ¹² Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub!”
And he said, “Here I am, your majesty.”
¹³ Then Saul asked him, “Why have you conspired against me—you and Jesse’s son—by giving him food and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him, so he can rise up against me to lie in wait, as he’s doing today?”
¹⁴ Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your officials is as faithful as David? He is the king’s son-in-law, the captain of your bodyguard, and he’s honored in your household. ¹⁵ Is today the first time I inquired of God for him? Absolutely not! The king shouldn’t accuse his servant, or any of my father’s family of anything, because your servant didn’t know anything at all about this.”
¹⁶ The king said, “Ahimelech, you will surely die, you and all your father’s family!” ¹⁷ The king told the guards, who were standing beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD because they supported David, and because they knew he was fleeing, but didn’t inform me.” But the officials of the king did not want to lift their hands to attack the priests of the LORD.
¹⁸ Then the king told Doeg, “You turn and attack the priests.” Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests. That day he killed eighty-five men who carry the linen ephod. ¹⁹ He attacked the priestly town of Nob with the sword. Men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys and sheep were put to the sword.
²⁰ Abiathar Takes the Ephod to DavidOne man, Ahimelech’s son Abiathar, a grandson of Ahitub, escaped and fled to David. ²¹ Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. ²² David told Abiathar, “I knew on that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I’m responsible for the deaths of your father’s whole family. ²³ Stay with me, and don’t be afraid because the one who seeks my life, seeks your life. Indeed, you will be safe with me.”

²⁰ Later on, Ahab asked Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
But Elijah answered, “I’ve found you because you sold yourself to do what the LORD considers to be evil!

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.”

⁷ “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 won’t prophesy anything good about me. Instead, he always prophesies evil. He is Imla’s son Micaiah.”
But Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab, “Kings should never talk like that.”

¹⁵ Listen and pay attention! Don’t be proud, for the LORD has spoken. ¹⁶ Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at twilight. You hope for light, but he turns it into deep darkness. He changes it into heavy gloom. ¹⁷ If you don’t listen, I’ll cry secretly because of your pride. My eyes will cry bitterly, flowing tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

²⁰ Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit to take my life. Remember! I stood before you and spoke good on their behalf in order to turn your wrath away from them.

¹⁴ They told him, “Are you aware that Baalis, the king of the people of Ammon, has sent Nethaniah’s son Ishmael to take your life?” But Ahikam’s son Gedaliah did not believe them.
¹⁵ Then Kareah’s son Jonathan spoke privately to Gedaliah at Mizpah: “Let me go kill Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, and no one will know. Why should he take your life? Otherwise all the Judeans who have gathered around you will be scattered, and the remnant of Judah will perish.”
¹⁶ Ahikam’s son Gedaliah replied to Kareah’s son Jonathan, “Don’t do this! You’re lying about Ishmael!”

¹⁸ John had been telling Herod, “It’s not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t do it

²⁴ So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
²⁵ Immediately the girl hurried back to the king with her request, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
²⁶ The king was deeply saddened, yet because of his oaths and his guests he was reluctant to refuse her. ²⁷ So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John’s head. The soldier went and beheaded him in prison.

³⁴ Jesus kept saying, “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they’re doing.” Then they divided his clothes among them by throwing dice.

³⁴ I myself do not accept human testimony, but I am saying these things so that you may be saved.

¹⁸ The World’s Hatred“If the world hates you, you should realize that it hated me before you. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as one of its own. But because you do not belong to the world and I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.

⁶⁰ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” After he had said this, he died.

¹ The Person who Believes will be SavedBrothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God about the Jews is that they would be saved.

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. ¹³ So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

¹⁷ So he finally disclosed everything. He told her, “A razor has never touched my head, because I’ve been a Nazirite for God before I was born. If I am shaved, then my strength will abandon me and I will become weak like every human being.”

¹⁶ The anger of a fool becomes readily apparent, but the prudent person overlooks an insult.

²³ A prudent man keeps what he knows to himself, but the hearts of fools shout forth their foolishness.

³³ Wisdom is at rest in the mind of the discerning— even fools know this.

¹¹ A person’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is to his credit that he ignores an offence.

¹³ therefore the prudent person remains silent at such a time, for the time is evil.

⁵ Don’t trust your friends, don’t confide in a companion, watch what you say to your wife.

⁸ But all of you have conspired against me, and no one tells me about my son’s covenant with Jesse’s son. None of you feels sorry for me and tells me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in wait, as he’s doing this day.”
⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s servants answered: “I saw Jesse’s son coming to Nob to Ahitub’s son Ahimelech. ¹⁰ Ahimelech inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

¹⁹ The People of Ziph Betray DavidPeople from Ziph came up to Saul at Gibeah and informed him, “David is hiding with us in the strongholds in Horesh and on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon, isn’t he? ²⁰ Now, your majesty, whenever you want to come down, come down, and our part will be to hand him over to the king.”
²¹ Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, because you have been gracious to me. ²² Go and again make sure, find out and investigate where he is and who has seen him there, for people tell me that he’s very clever. ²³ Investigate and find out all the hiding places there where he hides, and return to me with reliable information. Then I’ll go down with you, and if he’s in the land, I’ll search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”

⁷ Meanwhile, Saul had a mistress named Rizpah, who was the daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth asked Abner, “Why did you have sex with my father’s mistress?”
⁸ What Ish-bosheth said made Abner furious, so he replied, “A dog’s head for Judah—is that what I am? Up until today I’ve kept on showing loyalty to your father Saul’s dynasty, to his relatives and friends, and I haven’t turned you over to David, but you’re charging me today with moral guilt regarding this woman! ⁹ Therefore may God do to me—and more also!—just as the LORD has promised to David, since I’m doing this for him: ¹⁰ I will take away the kingdom from the dynasty of Saul by making the throne of David firm over Israel and Judah—from Dan to Beer-sheba!”
¹¹ Ish-bosheth couldn’t say another word in response to Abner, because he was terrified of him.

⁵ Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, left and arrived during the hottest part of the day at the home of Ish-bosheth while he was taking a noon day nap. ⁶ They entered the house as though they intended to obtain some grain and stabbed him in the abdomen. Then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped. ⁷ While they were in the house, they struck him, killed him, and cut off his head while he was lying on his bed in his bedroom. They took his head, and traveled all night along the Arabah road.
⁸ David Punishes the Killers of Ish-boshethThey brought Ish-bosheth’s head to David at Hebron and told the king, “Look! Here’s the head of your enemy Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, who sought your life. Today the LORD has given your majesty the king vengeance on Saul and his descendants.”
⁹ David responded to Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite: “As the LORD lives, who has saved my life in every adversity, ¹⁰ when the man who told me ‘Look! Saul is dead!’ thought he was bringing me good news, I arrested him and had him killed at Ziklag as the reward I gave him for his news. ¹¹ How much worse will it be, then, when evil men kill an innocent man on his own bed in his own house! Shouldn’t I avenge his blood—which you are responsible for shedding—by removing you from the earth?” ¹² So David commanded his personal guards, and they killed Rechab and Baanah, cut off their hands and feet, and hung up their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. They took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.

¹¹ So the leading men of the city, along with the elders and nobles who lived there, did precisely what Jezebel had directed them to do. They followed the instructions that she had set forth in the memos: ¹² They proclaimed a public fast and seated Naboth in the front row. ¹³ Two wicked men came in, sat down in front of them, and testified against Naboth in public, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

⁶ But Jehu wrote them another letter: “If you’re loyal to me, and if you intend to obey my commands, then bring the heads of your master’s sons and meet me in Jezreel about this time tomorrow.”
Now the king’s sons, totaling 70 men, were living with the leading men of the city, who were their guardians. ⁷ When the letter from Jehu arrived, the city leaders arrested the king’s sons, slaughtered all 70 of them, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.

² Your tongue, like a sharp razor, devises wicked things and crafts treachery. ³ You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking uprightly. Interlude ⁴ You love all words that destroy, you deceitful tongue!

⁵ I will destroy the one who secretly slanders a friend. I will not allow the proud and haughty to prevail. ⁶ My eyes are looking at the faithful of the land, so they may live with me; The one who lives a life of integrity will serve me. ⁷ A deceitful person will not sit in my house; A liar will not remain in my presence.

²³ The north wind brings rain, and a backbiting tongue an angry look.

²⁵ “If you loan money to my people, to the poor among you, don’t be like a creditor to them and don’t impose interest on them. ²⁶ If you take your neighbor’s coat as collateral, you are to return it to him by sunset,

³⁵ Treatment of Poor Israelis“If your relative becomes so poor that he is indebted to you, then you are to support him. You are to let him live with you just like the resident alien and the traveler. ³⁶ You are not to take interest or profit from him. Instead, you are to fear your God and let your relative live with you. ³⁷ You are not to loan him money with interest or sell him your food at a profit.

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.”
⁶ I became very livid when I heard their complaining and these charges. ⁷ So after thinking it over carefully, I accused the officials and nobles openly, “Every one of you is charging your fellow countrymen interest!” So I opened a public investigation against them.

³ Look at me! Answer me, LORD, my God! Give light to my eyes! Otherwise, I will sleep in death;

² The rich and the poor have this in common— the LORD created both of them.

⁴⁵ so that you will become children of your Father in heaven, because he makes his sun rise on both evil and good people, and he lets rain fall on the righteous and the unrighteous.

⁹ Jesus Calls Matthew
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s desk and told him, “Follow me.” So he got up and followed him.

¹⁰ thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

¹ God Has Brought Us from Death to LifeYou used to be dead because of your offenses and sins

¹¹ Job Remembers His Acts of Kindness“When people heard me speak, they blessed me; when people saw me, they approved me, ¹² because I delivered the poor who were crying for help, along with orphans who had no one to help them. ¹³ Those who were about to die blessed me, and I made widows sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness like clothing; my just decisions were like a robe and a turban. ¹⁵ I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. ¹⁶ I was a father to the needy; I diligently inquired into the case of those I didn’t know. ¹⁷ I broke the fangs of the wicked, and made him drop the prey.”
¹⁸ Job Remembers His Previous Condition“I used to say: ‘I will die in my home. I’m going to live as many days as there are grains of sand on the shore.

² May he rule your people with right decisions and your oppressed ones with justice. ³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people and the hills bring righteousness. ⁴ May he defend the afflicted of the people and deliver the children of the poor, but crush the oppressor.

¹² For he will deliver the needy when they cry out for help, and the poor when there is no deliverer. ¹³ He will have compassion on the poor and the needy, and he will save the lives of the needy. ¹⁴ He will redeem them from oppression and violence, since their lives are precious in his sight.

² “How long will you judge partially by showing favor on the wicked? Interlude ³ “Defend the poor and the fatherless. Vindicate the afflicted and the poor.

² I will declare that your gracious love was established forever; in the heavens itself, you have established your faithfulness.

²⁸ Gracious love and truth preserve a king; through love his throne is made secure.

⁵ Purge the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

¹⁶ A Commander-in-Chief who is a cruel oppressor lacks understanding, but whoever hates unjust gain will live longer.

⁴ A king brings stability to a land through justice, but a man who takes bribes brings it to ruin.

¹⁷ Learn to practice what is good; seek justice, alleviate oppression, defend orphans in court, and plead the widow’s case.

⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the growth of his government and peace there will be no end. He will rule over his kingdom, sitting on the throne of David, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will accomplish this.

⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy, and decide with equity for earth’s poor. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and the wicked will be killed with the breath of his lips.

¹⁶ He judged the case of the poor and needy. And then it went well for him. Isn’t this what it means to know me?

²⁷ Therefore, your majesty, may my advice be acceptable to you: Stop your sinning, do what’s right, and put a stop to your wickedness by showing kindness to the oppressed. Perhaps your tranquility will continue.”

³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. ³³ He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

⁸ But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter. ⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. That is why God, your God, anointed you rather than your companions with the oil of gladness.”

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.

⁵ Whoever harvests during summer acts wisely, but the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.

²⁴ Whoever does not discipline his son hates him, but whoever loves him is diligent to correct him.

²¹ The man who fathers a fool does so to his sorrow— the father of a fool has no joy.

²⁵ A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to his mother.

⁶ Train a child in the way appropriate for him, and when he becomes older, he will not turn from it.

¹⁵ A child’s heart has a tendency to do wrong, but the rod of discipline removes it far away from him.

¹³ Don’t withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with a rod, he won’t die. ¹⁴ Punish him with a rod, and you will rescue his soul from Sheol.

¹⁷ Correct your son and he will comfort you; he will also delight your soul.

²¹ If you pamper a servant from his childhood, later on he’ll become ungrateful.

¹⁰ For a short time they disciplined us as they thought best, but God does it for our good, so that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, for those who have been trained by it, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.

³⁴ Wait on the LORD, Keep faithful to his way, and he will exalt you to possess the land. You will see the wicked cut off.

³⁶ But then he passed away; in fact, he simply was not there. When I looked for him, he could not be found.

¹⁰ The righteous person will rejoice when he sees your vengeance; when he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked.

⁸ Only observe it with your eyes, and you will see how the wicked are paid back.

⁹ Look at your enemies, LORD! Look at your enemies, for they are destroyed; everyone who practices iniquity will be scattered.

¹¹ My eyes gloated over those who lie in wait for me; when those of evil intent attack me, my ears will hear.

⁸ His heart is steadfast, he will not fear. In the end he will look in triumph over his enemy.

² As the righteous grow powerful, people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, people groan.

⁴ Lord, who won’t fear and praise your name? For you alone are holy, and all the nations will come and worship you because your judgments have been revealed.”

²⁰ Be happy about her, heaven, saints, apostles, and prophets, for God has condemned her for you!”

¹⁸ Discipline your son while there is still hope— but don’t set your heart on his destruction.

¹⁵ The rod and rebuke bestow wisdom, but an undisciplined child brings shame to his mother.

²⁵ The Descendants of Levi Punish the Guilty IsraelisWhen Moses saw that the people were out of control—since Aaron had let them get out of control, something that incited ridicule from their enemies—

¹ The LORD Calls SamuelMeanwhile the boy Samuel was serving the LORD before Eli. A word from the LORD was rare in those days, and visions were infrequent.

¹⁹ because the LORD was humiliating Judah because of King Ahaz of Israel, since Ahaz had brought about a lack of restraint within Judah and had remained unfaithful to the LORD.

¹ BOOK I (Psalms 1-41)
The Righteous and the Wicked How blessed is the person, who does not take the advice of the wicked, who does not stand on the path with sinners, and who does not sit in the seat of mockers. ² But he delights in the LORD’s instruction, and meditates in his instruction day and night.

¹¹ Moreover your servant is warned by them; and there is great reward in keeping them.

⁹ We see no signs for us; there is no longer a prophet, and no one among us knows the future.

² How blessed are those who observe his decrees, who seek him with all of their heart,

¹⁶ Whoever obeys a commandment keeps himself safe, but someone who is contemptuous in conduct will die.

⁶ My people are destroyed because they lack knowledge of me. Because you rejected that knowledge, I will reject you as a priest for me. Since you forget the Law of your God, I will also forget your children.

¹¹ A Famine of the Word of God“Look! The days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine throughout the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water— but rather a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. ¹² People will stagger from sea to sea, from north to east. They will run back and forth, searching for a message from the LORD, but they won’t find it.

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he was deeply moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

²⁸ But he said, “Instead, how blessed are those who hear God’s word and obey it!”

¹⁷ If you understand these things, how blessed you are if you put them into practice!

²¹ The person who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I, too, will love him and reveal myself to him.”
²² Judas (not Iscariot) asked him, “Lord, how is it that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”
²³ Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Then my Father will love him, and we will go to him and make our home within him.

¹³ “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
¹⁴ How, then, can people call on someone they have not believed? And how can they believe in someone they have not heard about? And how can they hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are those who bring the good news!”

²⁵ But the one who looks at the perfect law of freedom and remains committed to it—thereby demonstrating that he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of what that law requires—will be blessed in what he does.

¹⁴ “How blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city!

¹⁶ “I call to my servant, but he doesn’t respond, even though I beg to him earnestly.

³ A whip is for the horses, a bridle is for the donkey, a rod is for the back of fools.

²² Under a slave when he becomes a king, a fool when he is overfed,

²⁹ Being slow to get angry compares to great understanding as being quick-tempered compares to stupidity.

⁵ Plans of the persistent surely lead to productivity, but all who are hasty will surely become poor.

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

¹¹ The fool vents all his feelings, but the wise person keeps them to himself.

² Don’t be impulsive with your mouth nor be in a hurry to talk in God’s presence. Since God is in heaven and you’re on earth, keep your speech short.

¹⁹ You must understand this, my dear brothers. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

¹² Hatred awakens contention, but love covers all transgressions.

¹⁷ A quick tempered person does foolish things, and a devious man is hated.

¹⁸ The quickly angered man stirs up contention, but anyone who controls his temper calms a dispute.

¹⁹ The person who loves transgression loves strife; the person who builds a high gate invites destruction.

²⁴ Don’t make friends with a hot-tempered man, and do not associate with someone who is easily angered,

²¹ Charcoal is to hot coals as wood is to fire; so also a quarrelsome man fuels strife.

³³ Just as whipping milk produces butter, and twisting the nose causes bleeding, so also stirring up anger produces contention.

¹⁶ For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.

² Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way these 40 years in the desert, to humble and test you in order to make known what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to be hungry, yet he fed you with manna that neither you nor your ancestors had known, in order to teach you that human beings are not to live by food alone—instead human beings are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

¹⁶ and fed you in the desert with manna that neither you nor your ancestors had known, to humble and test you so that things go well with you later.

²⁵ But Hezekiah’s response wasn’t commensurate with what had been done for him because he was arrogant in heart, so wrath came upon him, upon Judah, and upon Jerusalem. ²⁶ But Hezekiah humbled himself while he was arrogant in heart, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem joined him in this. As a result, the LORD’s wrath did not come upon them during Hezekiah’s lifetime.

¹⁰ Manasseh Repents and is RestoredThe LORD kept on speaking to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention to him, ¹¹ so the LORD brought in the army commanders who worked for the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him in bronze chains, and took him off to Babylon. ¹² But when he was in trouble, he sought the face of the LORD his God, humbled himself magnificently before the God of his ancestors,

²³ except that he never humbled himself to the LORD like his father Manasseh had done. In fact, Amon multiplied his own guilt ²⁴ until his servants finally conspired against him and executed him in his own palace.

²⁹ “For when they’re humbled, you may respond; ‘It’s their pride!’ but he delivers the humble.

¹² stared down and subdued every proud person, trampled the wicked right where they are,

² When pride appears, disgrace accompanies it, but humility is present with wisdom.

³³ The fear of the LORD teaches wisdom, and humility precedes honor.

¹⁸ Pride precedes destruction; an arrogant spirit appears before a fall.

¹² Before a man’s downfall, his mind is arrogant, but humility precedes honor.

¹¹ The haughty looks of mankind will be brought low, the lofty pride of human beings will be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted at that time. ¹² “For the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has reserved a time to oppose all who are proud and haughty, and the self-exalting— they will be humbled.

¹⁵ “For this is what the high and lofty One says, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “He lives in the height and in holiness, and also with the one who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

² All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But this is the one to whom I will look favorably: to the one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my message.

³⁰ he commented to himself, “Isn’t Babylon great? I’ve built a royal palace in it by my own might and power, for the sake of my majesty.”
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! ³² You’re to be driven away from people. You’re to live with the wild animals of the field. You are to be made to eat grass like cattle, and seven years will pass you by until you realize that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires.’”
³³ The decree was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar immediately. He was driven away from people to eat grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky, until his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”
³⁴ The King’s Sanity Returns“When that period of time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity returned to me. I blessed the Most High, praising and honoring the one who lives forever: For his sovereignty is eternal, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation. ³⁵ All who live on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he wishes with the heavenly armies and with those who live on earth. No one can hold back his power or say to him, ‘What did you do?’
³⁶ At that moment I recovered my sanity, and my honor and majesty returned to me, for the sake of my kingdom. My advisors and officials sought me out, my throne was restored, and even more greatness than I had before was added to me. ³⁷ In conclusion, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and give glory to the King of heaven: For everything he does is true, his ways are just, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

²⁰ But when he became arrogant and his spirit hardened, he was removed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. ²¹ He was driven away from human society and given the mind of an animal. He lived with wild donkeys, ate grass like cattle, and his body was soaked with dew from the sky until he realized that the Most High God is sovereign over human kingdoms and places over them whomever he desires.

³ The Blessed Attitudes
“How blessed are those who are destitute in spirit, because the kingdom from heaven belongs to them!

⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom from heaven,

¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

¹¹ Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹⁴ I tell you, this man, rather than the other one, went down to his home justified, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

²³ Immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.

⁶ But he gives all the more grace. And so he says, “God opposes the arrogant but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. ⁸ Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the Lord’s presence, and he will exalt you.

⁵ Be Humble and AlertIn a similar way, you young people must submit to the elders. All of you must clothe yourselves with humility for the sake of each other, because: “God opposes the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble.”

¹ Laws of Public Testimony“If someone sins because he has failed to testify after receiving notice to testify as a witness regarding what he has observed or learned, he is to be held responsible.”

² He told his mother, “Do you remember those 1,100 silver coins that were stolen from you and about which you uttered a curse when I could hear it? Well, I have the silver. I took it.”
So she replied, “May my son be blessed by the LORD.”

¹⁸ When you see a thief, you befriend him, and you keep company with adulterers. ¹⁹ You give your mouth free reign for evil, and your tongue devises deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. ²¹ These things you did, and I kept silent, because you assumed that I was like you. But now I am going to rebuke you, and I will set forth my case before your very own eyes.” ²² Consider this, you who have forgotten God— Otherwise, I will tear you in pieces and there will be no deliverer:

¹¹ If they say, “Come with us! Let’s lie in wait for blood; let’s ambush some innocent person for no reason at all. ¹² Let’s swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those who go down into the Pit. ¹³ We’ll find all kinds of valuable wealth, and we’ll fill our houses with spoil. ¹⁴ Throw your lot in with us, and all of us will have one purse.” ¹⁵ My son, do not go along with them, and keep your feet away from their paths! ¹⁶ For they run toward evil; these enticers shed blood without hesitation. ¹⁷ Look, it is useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds, ¹⁸ but these people lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush only themselves. ¹⁹ Such is the way of all those who seek illicit gain— it takes away the lives of those who possess it.

³² Whoever commits adultery with a woman is out of his mind; by doing so he corrupts his own soul.

³⁶ But whoever sins against me destroys himself; everyone who hates me loves death.”

³² Whoever ignores instruction hates himself, but anyone who heeds reproof gains understanding.

² A king’s anger is like a lion’s roar; anyone who angers him forfeits his life.

²³ Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. All of them are lovers of bribes and are runners after gifts. They don’t bring justice to orphans, and the widow’s case never comes up for review in their court.”

¹⁷ Then he began to teach them: “It is written, is it not, ‘My house is to be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you’ve turned it into a hideout for bandits!”

¹¹ When he was about to enter Egypt, he told his wife Sarai, “Look, I’m aware that you’re a beautiful woman. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘She is his wife.’ Then they’ll kill me, but allow you to live. ¹³ Please say that you are my sister, so things will go well for me for your sake. That way, you’ll be saving my life.”

² because Abraham kept saying about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister,” King Abimelech of Gerar summoned them and took Sarah into his household.

¹¹ “I thought that there’s no fear of God in this place,” Abraham replied, “and that they would kill me because of my wife.

⁷ Isaac Lies about His WifeLater on, the men of that place asked about his wife, so he replied, “She’s my sister,” because he was afraid to call her “my wife.” He kept thinking, “…otherwise, the men around here will kill me on account of Rebekah, since she’s very beautiful.”

²² Aaron said, “Sir, don’t be angry. You know the people—that they’re intent on evil. ²³ They told me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us because, as for this fellow Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ ²⁴ So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold ornaments, tear them off.’ When they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

²⁴ “I’ve sinned,” Saul replied to Samuel. “I’ve broken the LORD’s command and your word, because I was afraid of the people and listened to them.

¹ David Escapes to Philistine TerritoryDavid told himself, “One of these days I’ll perish by Saul’s hand. There is nothing better for me to do than to escape to Philistine territory. Saul will give up searching for me anymore within the borders of Israel, so I’ll escape from him.”

¹¹ David did not leave a man or woman alive to bring to Gath. He told himself, “Otherwise, they’ll say, ‘This is what David is doing, and this has been his practice all the time he has lived in Philistine territory.’”

³ Elijah was terrified, so he got up and ran for his life to Beer-sheba, which is part of Judah, and left his servant there

²⁰ When they received assistance against them, the Hagrites and all of their allies were handed over to their control, because they cried out to God during the battle. He honored their entreaty, because they had placed their trust in him.

²⁹ As for me, I am afflicted and hurting; may your deliverance, God, establish me on high.

¹⁴ The LORD SpeaksBecause he has focused his love on me, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name.

⁸ It is better to take shelter in the LORD than to trust in people.

¹ A Song of Ascents
God is Secure Those who are trusting in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be overthrown. They remain forever.

²⁰ Whoever listens to a word of instruction prospers, and anyone who trusts in the LORD is blessed.

¹⁰ The name of the LORD is a strong tower; a righteous person rushes to it and is lifted up above the danger.

²⁵ An arrogant man stirs up dissension, but anyone who trusts in the LORD prospers.

⁵ Everything God says is pure; he is a shield for those who take refuge in him.

¹⁸ It is good for you to grab hold of this and not let go, because whoever fears God will escape all of these extremes.

¹¹ “Whom did you so dread— and while you feared me— that you lied, and you did not remember me, and did not lay to heart these things? Haven’t I remained silent for a long time, and still you don’t fear me?”

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and announced: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and were willing to risk their lives in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God.

²³ The king was ecstatic, so he gave orders for Daniel to be released from the pit. Daniel was taken up from the pit, and no injury was found to have been inflicted on him, because he had believed in his God.

²⁸ Stop being afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

¹² Then the disciples came and asked him, “Do you realize that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”

⁶⁹ Peter Denies Jesus
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl came up to him and said, “You, too, were with Jesus the Galilean.”
⁷⁰ But he denied it in front of them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he exclaimed.
⁷¹ As he went out to the gateway, another woman saw him and told those who were there, “This man was with Jesus from Nazareth.”
⁷² Again he denied it and swore with an oath, “I don’t know the man!”
⁷³ After a little while, the people who were standing there came up and told Peter, “Obviously you’re also one of them, because your accent gives you away.”
⁷⁴ Then he began to curse violently. “I don’t know the man!” he swore solemnly. Just then a rooster crowed.

⁴ Fear God
“But I tell you, my friends, never be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can’t do anything more.

² He came to Jesus at night and told him, “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, because no one can perform these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.”

²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, since the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be thrown out of the synagogue.

⁴² Yet many people, even some of the authorities, believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not admit it so they would not be thrown out of the synagogue. ⁴³ For they loved the praise of human beings more than the praise of God.

¹² From then on, Pilate tried to release him, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you release this fellow, you’re not a friend of Caesar! Anyone who claims to be a king is defying Caesar!”
¹³ When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat in a place called The Pavement, which in Hebrew is called Gabbatha.

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.

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.

²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God.

¹⁴ and may God Almighty cause the man to show compassion toward you. May he send all of you back, including your other brother and Benjamin. Now as for me, if I lose my children, I lose them.”

²⁷ Ezra’s Response to the LetterBlessed be the LORD God of our ancestors, who placed this decree into the king’s heart to beautify the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem ²⁸ and who showed gracious love to me before the king, before his advisors, and before all of the king’s mighty officials.
And I was strengthened because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me. So I gathered together the leaders of Israel to go with me.

¹¹ “And now, Lord, I ask you to listen to the prayer of your servant—and to the prayers of your servants who delight in revering your Name. I ask you, please prosper your servant today by granting him to receive favor from this man.”
Now I was the king’s senior security advisor.

¹⁶ “Go and gather all the Jewish people who are in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night or day. Both I and my young women will also fast in the same way, and then I’ll go in to the king, even though it’s against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

⁹ Deliver us, LORD! Answer us, our King, on the day we cry out!

¹² Also to you, Lord, belongs gracious love, because you reward each person according to what he does.

⁷ When a person’s ways please the LORD, even his enemies will be at peace with him.

⁶ Many curry favor of an official; everyone is a friend of the gift giver.

²¹ Many plans occupy the mind of a man, but the LORD’s purposes will prevail.

¹ Thoughts on the Sovereignty of God A king’s heart is a water stream that the LORD controls; he directs it wherever he pleases.

⁹ Remember the former things from long ago, Because I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like me. ¹⁰ I declare from the beginning things to follow, and from ancient times things that have not yet been done; saying, ‘My purpose will stand, and he will accomplish everything that I please.’ ¹¹ I am calling a bird of prey from the east, and from a far country a man with his purpose. Indeed, I’ve spoken; I will certainly make it happen; I’ve planned it; and I will certainly carry it out.

⁴ “I said: ‘I’ve labored for nothing. I’ve exhausted my strength on futility and on emptiness.’ Yet surely my recompense is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.

³⁵ All who live on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he wishes with the heavenly armies and with those who live on earth. No one can hold back his power or say to him, ‘What did you do?’

⁴ For my conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who examines me.

¹¹⁵ Leave me, you who practice evil, that I may observe the commands of my God.

²¹ I hate those who hate you, LORD, do I not? I loathe those who rebel against you, do I not ?

⁹ To devise folly is sin, and people detest a scoffer.

¹⁰ Bloodthirsty men hate the innocent person, but the upright show concern for his life.

⁸ In a single month I got rid of three shepherds because I grew tired of them, and they despised me.

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

¹⁷ I am giving you these commandments so that you may love one another.”

²³ The person who hates me also hates my Father.

¹³ So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.