Proverbs 14 Cross References - LEB

¹ The _⌊wisest of women_⌋* builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her hands. ² He who walks in uprightness fears Yahweh, but he who is devious in his ways displeases him. ³ In the mouth of a fool is the rod of pride, but the lips of the wise preserve them. ⁴ _⌊When there are no_⌋* oxen the manger is empty, but an abundance of crops comes by the strength of an ox.* ⁵ A faithful witness does not lie, but he who breathes out falsehood is a witness of deceit. ⁶ A scoffer seeks wisdom, but there is none, but knowledge _⌊comes easily to him who understands_⌋.* ⁷ Leave _⌊the presence of a foolish man_⌋,* for you will not come to know _⌊words of knowledge_⌋.* ⁸ The wisdom of the clever is understanding his ways, but the folly of fools is deceit. ⁹ Fools mock* the guilt offering, but among the upright, it is favorable. ¹⁰ The heart* knows the bitterness of its soul,* but in its joy, it will not share itself with a stranger. ¹¹ The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. ¹² There is a way that seems upright _⌊to_⌋* a man, but its end is the way of death. ¹³ Even in laughter, a heart may be sad, and the end of joy may be grief. ¹⁴ From his ways, the perverse of heart will be satisfied, and _⌊from his own_⌋,* so shall a good man. ¹⁵ The simple will believe every word, but the clever will consider his step. ¹⁶ The wise is cautious and turns from evil, but the fool throws off restraint and is confident. ¹⁷ He who is short of _⌊temper_⌋* will act foolishly, and the man who schemes will be hated. ¹⁸ The simple are adorned with folly, but the clever are crowned with knowledge. ¹⁹ The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. ²⁰ The poor is disliked even by his neighbor, but the lovers of the rich are many. ²¹ He who despises his neighbor is a sinner, but he who has mercy on the poor blesses him. ²² Have they not erred, those who plan evil? But loyalty and faithfulness belong to those who plan good. ²³ In all toil, there is profit, but the _⌊talk_⌋* of lips leads only to poverty. ²⁴ The crown of the wise is their wealth; the folly of fools is folly. ²⁵ He who saves lives* is a witness of truth, but he who utters lies is a betrayer. ²⁶ In the fear of Yahweh, there is confidence of strength, and for his children, there will be refuge. ²⁷ The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life, in order to turn from the snares of death. ²⁸ In the multitude of people is the glory of the king, but without a population, a prince is ruined. ²⁹ He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but the hasty of spirit* exalts folly. ³⁰ A heart* of tranquility* is life to the flesh, but causes bones of passion to rot. ³¹ He who oppresses the poor insults him who made him, but he who has mercy on the poor honors him. ³² By his evildoing, the wicked will be overthrown, and the righteous will find refuge in his death. ³³ In the heart* of him who has understanding, wisdom rests, but even in the midst of fools it becomes known. ³⁴ Righteousness will exalt a nation, but sin is a reproach to a people. ³⁵ The favor of a king is for the servant who deals wisely, but his wrath will be on him who acts shamefully.

¹¹ And all of the people who were at the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman coming into your house as Rachel and as Leah, who _⌊together_⌋* built the house of Israel. May you have strength in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem.

³¹ _⌊If it wasn't enough that he went_⌋* after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he also took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal the king of the Sidonians. He went and served Baal and bowed down to him.

²⁴ The one who dies for Ahab in the city, the dogs will eat; the one who dies in the open country, the birds of heaven will eat." ²⁵ Truly, there was no one like Ahab who had sold himself by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, whose wife Jezebel urged him on.

¹ Now Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, so she prepared to destroy all of the offspring of the royal family.

¹³ A woman of foolishness is loud, simple, and does not know _⌊it_⌋.* ¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house, upon a throne at the high places of town, ¹⁵ in order to call to those who pass by the road, those who go straight on their way:

¹³ A foolish child is a ruin to his father, and the quarreling of a woman* is a continuous dripping.

⁹ Better to dwell on the corner of a roof than to share a house with a woman* of contention.

¹⁹ Better to live in a land of wilderness than with a wife of quarrels and provocation.

³ By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established. ⁴ And by knowledge, rooms are filled with all riches, precious and pleasant.

¹⁰ A woman* of excellence,* who will find? For her worth is far more than precious jewels. ¹¹ The heart of her husband* trusts in her, and gain he will not lack. ¹² She does him good, but not harm all the days of her life. ¹³ She seeks wool and flax, and she works with the diligence of _⌊her hands_⌋.* ¹⁴ She is like the ships of a merchant; from far off she brings her food;* ¹⁵ And she arises while it is still night, and gives food to her household, and tasks to her servant girls. ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it, from the fruit of _⌊her hand_⌋* she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She girds her waist in strength, and makes her arms strong. ¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is good; her lamp does not go out in the night. ¹⁹ Her hands she puts onto the distaff,* and her palms hold a spindle. ²⁰ Her palm she opens to the poor, and her hand she reaches out to the needy. ²¹ She does not fear for her house when it snows, for _⌊her entire household_⌋* is clothed in crimson. ²² She makes for herself coverings; her clothing is fine linen and purple. ²³ Her husband* is known at the gates, in his seat among the elders of the land. ²⁴ Linen garments she makes and sells, and she supplies sashes for the merchants. ²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs _⌊at the future_⌋.* ²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom, and instruction of kindness is upon her tongue. ²⁷ She looks after the ways of her household, and the bread of idleness she will not eat. ²⁸ Her children rise and consider her happy, her husband* also, and he praises her; ²⁹ "Many daughters have done excellence,* but _⌊you surpass_⌋* all of them." ³⁰ Charm* is deceit and beauty* is vain;* but a woman who fears Yahweh shall be praised. ³¹ Give to her from the fruit of her hand, and may they praise her works in the city gates.

⁶ Then Solomon said, "You have shown great loyal love with your servant David my father, as he walked before you in faithfulness and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with you. You have shown for him this great loyal love, and you have given a son to him who is sitting on his throne as it is this day.

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose* name was Job. That* man was blameless and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil.

⁴ I am a laughingstock to my friends:* 'He calls on God, and he answers him.' A righteous, blameless man is a laughingstock.

²⁸ And to the human beings he said, 'Look, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'"

²¹ Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, because I wait for you.

¹ Praise Yah!* Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh; he takes great delight in his commands.

³ Be gracious to us, O Yahweh, be gracious to us, for long enough we have had our fill of contempt. ⁴ For long enough our soul has had its fill of the derision of the self-confident, the contempt of the arrogant.

¹⁵ _⌊who are crooked in their ways_⌋,* and devious in their paths;

¹² He who lacks _⌊sense_⌋* belittles his neighbor, but a person of intelligence will remain silent.

¹⁷ The highway of the upright, it turns from evil, he who guards himself* keeps his way.

¹ Better a poor person walking in integrity than one who is perverse _⌊in his speech_⌋* and is a fool.

⁶ Better to be poor and walking in one's integrity than to be crooked of ways when one is rich.

¹³ Now that all has been heard, here is the final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

⁵ "My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. This required reverence, and he revered* me and stood in awe _⌊before_⌋* my name. ⁶ The instruction of truth* was in his mouth, and wickedness was not found on his lips. In peace and in uprightness* he walked with me, and he brought back many from sin.*

¹⁶ The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me. But the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

¹⁴ Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.

³¹ Then the church throughout all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being strengthened. And living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it was increasing in numbers.*

²² And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man—and well spoken of by the whole nation of the Jews—was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you."

³⁵ but in every nation the one who fears him and who does what is right is acceptable to him.

⁴ Or do you despise the wealth of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

² for people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ hardhearted, irreconcilable, slanderous, without self-control, savage, with no interest for what is good,

³ Do not increase speaking _⌊very proud_⌋* words! Let no arrogance go forth from your mouth, for Yahweh is a God of knowledge whose deeds are not weighed.*

²¹ From the scourge of the tongue you shall be hidden, and you shall not be afraid of* destruction when it comes.

³ May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips, the tongue speaking great boasts—

¹⁸ Let lying lips be dumb, that speak against the righteous* unrestrained with arrogance and contempt.

¹ For the music director. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite came and informed Saul. And he said to him, "David has come to the house of Ahimelech."*
Why do you boast about evil, O mighty man? The loyal love of God endures _⌊continually_⌋.* ² Your tongue plans destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceit.

⁴ My soul is among lions. I lie down among those who devour— the children* of humankind whose teeth are spears and arrows and whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁶ The words of the wicked are an ambush of blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them.

⁶ The lips of a fool will bring strife, and his mouth calls out for a flogging.

²⁴ The proud, haughty one: "scoffer" is his name; he acts with arrogance of pride.

⁸ He who sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his anger will fail.

²⁵ The _⌊greedy person_⌋* will stir up strife, but he who trusts in Yahweh will be enriched.

²⁰ and concerning the horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up and _⌊before which three horns fell_⌋,* and this horn _⌊had eyes_⌋* and a mouth speaking _⌊boastfully_⌋,* and its appearance was larger than its companions.

⁹ that* if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.

⁵ So also the tongue is a small member of the body* and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness,* the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire _⌊the course of human existence_⌋*, being set on fire by hell.

¹⁸ _⌊For by speaking high-sounding but empty words_⌋*, they entice with desires of the flesh and with licentiousness those who are scarcely escaping from those who live in error,

¹⁰ Because you have kept the word of my patient endurance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole inhabited world, to put to the test those who live on the earth.

¹¹ And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives until death.

⁵ And after these things I looked, and the temple, the tent of the testimony in heaven, was opened, ⁶ and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out from the temple, dressed in clean, bright linen garments, and girded with golden belts around their* chests.

²³ There is much food in the field of the poor, but _⌊it is swept away_⌋* by _⌊injustice_⌋.*

⁶ "And I* in turn gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you did not return to me," is the declaration of Yahweh.

⁹ For in the law of Moses it is written, "You must not muzzle an ox while it* is threshing."* It is not about oxen God is concerned, is it?* ¹⁰ Or doubtless does he speak _⌊for our sake_⌋*? For it is written _⌊for our sake_⌋*, because the one who plows ought to plow in hope and the one who threshes ought to do so in hope of a share. ¹¹ If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too great a thing if we reap material things from you?

¹⁶ "You shall not testify against your neighbor with a false witness.

¹ " 'You will not _⌊spread_⌋* a false report. Do not lift your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.

¹³ Then the two men, _⌊scoundrels_⌋,* came, sat opposite him, and the _⌊scoundrels_⌋* witnessed against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king," so they brought him outside of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died.

¹² All of the prophets were likewise prophesying, saying, "Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king." ¹³ Then the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Please now, the words of the prophet are _⌊unanimously_⌋* favorable to the king. Please let your words be as one word with them, and speak favorably." ¹⁴ Then Micaiah said, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* surely only as Yahweh speaks to me, that will I speak."

¹⁹ a false witness who breathes lies and sends out discord* between brothers.

¹⁷ He who will speak truth will reveal righteousness, but the witness of falsehood, deceit.

⁵ The righteous hates a word of falsehood; the wicked will bring shame and _⌊disgrace_⌋.*

²⁵ He who saves lives* is a witness of truth, but he who utters lies is a betrayer.

⁵ A witness of falsehood will not go unpunished, and he who breathes lies will not escape.

⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes lies will perish.

¹⁸ Uncover my eyes, that I may look at* wonderful things from your law.

⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, because they* are ever with me. ⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. ¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the elders, for I keep your precepts.

⁹ All of them are straight to him who understands, and upright to those who find knowledge.

²⁴ He who understands sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool, to the end of the earth.*

² A fool will not take pleasure in understanding, but in expressing his heart.*

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

²⁰ for teaching and for testimony?" _⌊surely they who speak like this have no dawn_⌋.*

⁹ The wise will be put to shame, they will be dismayed, and they will get taken. Look, they have rejected the word of Yahweh, and what is wisdom to them?

²² "The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is sincere, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Therefore if the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

²⁵ At that time Jesus answered and* said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to young children.* ²⁶ Yes, Father, for to do so _⌊was your gracious will_⌋.* ²⁷ All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and _⌊anyone to whom_⌋* the Son wants to reveal him.*

¹¹ And he answered and* said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. ¹² For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to immorality, that their bodies would be dishonored among themselves, ²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed for eternity. Amen. ²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to degrading passions, for their females exchanged the natural relations for those contrary to nature, ²⁷ and likewise also the males, abandoning the natural relations with the female, were inflamed in their desire toward one another, males with males committing the shameless deed, and receiving in themselves the penalty that was necessary for their error. ²⁸ And just as they did not see fit _⌊to recognize God_⌋*, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things that are not proper,

³¹ But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, did not attain to the law. ³² Why that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if by works. They stumbled over the _⌊stone that causes people to stumble_⌋*,

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks himself to be wise among you in this age, let him become a fool, in order that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, "The one who catches the wise in their craftiness,"*

² If anyone thinks he knows anything, he has not yet known as it is necessary to know.

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him.

³ above all knowing this, that in the last days scoffers will come with scoffing, following according to their own desires ⁴ and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For _⌊ever since_⌋* the fathers fell asleep, all things have continued just as they have been from the beginning of creation." ⁵ For when* they maintain this, it escapes their notice that the heavens existed long ago and the earth held together out of water and through water by the word of God,

⁶ Lay aside simplicity and live; walk in the way of understanding."

²⁰ Walk with the wise and be wise, but as for the companion of fools, he will suffer harm.

²⁷ Cease to listen to instruction, my child, _⌊and you will stray_⌋* from sayings of knowledge.

¹¹ But now I have written to you not to associate with any so-called brother, if he is a sexually immoral person or a greedy person or an idolater or an abusive person or a drunkard or a swindler—with such a person not even to eat.

¹¹ And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even expose them.

¹⁰ The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom; all who do them* have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.

⁵ Oh that my ways were steadfast, to keep your statutes!

³⁴ Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and heed it with my whole heart. ³⁵ Cause me to walk in the path of your commands, for I delight in it.

⁷³ Your hands have made me and established me; give me understanding that I may learn your commands.

⁸ Cause me to hear your loyal love in the morning, for I trust you. Cause me to know the way that I should go, for I lift up my soul to you.

⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice and uprightness—every good course—

²⁰ In the way of righteousness I walk, in the midst of paths of justice,

¹⁸ The wicked earns* _⌊deceptive gain_⌋,* but he who sows righteousness, a _⌊true reward_⌋.*

²⁰ Lift up your eyes and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, _⌊your magnificent flock_⌋?*

¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!" ' ²⁰ But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your life* is demanded from you, and the things which you have prepared—whose will they be?'

²² that you take off, according to your former way of life, the old man, who is being destroyed according to deceitful desires,

¹⁷ Because of this do not become foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

⁹ Because of this also we, from the day we heard about it,* did not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual insight, ¹⁰ so that you may live in a manner worthy of the Lord, _⌊to please him in all respects_⌋*, bearing fruit in every good deed and increasing in the knowledge of God,

¹³ But evil people and imposters will progress to the worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the holy writings that are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ in order that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his* good behavior his works, with the humility of wisdom.

¹⁶ _⌊How much less_⌋* he who is abominable and corrupt,* a man drinking wickedness like water.

⁷ What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water? ⁸ And he goes on the road in company with instigators of mischief, and walks with men of wickedness. ⁹ Indeed, he says, 'A man does not profit when he takes delight in God.'

²² "_⌊How long_⌋,* O simple ones, will you love simplicity? And how long will scoffers delight in their scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?

⁴ And you shall find favor and good sense* in the eyes of God and humankind.

³⁵ For he who finds me is he who finds* life, and he obtains favor from Yahweh.

²³ It is like a sport for a fool to do wrong, wisdom for a person of understanding.

² The good obtains favor from Yahweh, but anyone who schemes, he condemns.

¹⁵ Good sense grants favor, but the way of the faithless is coarse.

¹⁸ Like a maniac who shoots firebrands, arrows, and death, ¹⁹ so is a man who deceives his neighbor, but says "Am I not joking?"

²⁰ This is the way of a woman committing adultery: she eats and wipes her mouth, and says "I have not done wrong."

¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For the one who serves Christ in this way is well-pleasing to God and approved by people.

¹⁸ for they said to you,* "In the end time there will be scoffers following according to their own ungodly desires."

²¹ Then each said to his brother, "Surely we are guilty on account of our brother when we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded for mercy to us and we would not listen. Therefore this trouble has come to us."

¹⁰ She was _⌊deeply troubled_⌋,* so she prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly.

²⁷ So she came to the man of God at the mountain, and she caught hold of his feet. Then Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said, "Let her alone, for her soul is bitter, and Yahweh has hidden it from me and has not told me."

² "If only my vexation could be well weighed, and my calamity could be lifted up together with it in the balances, ³ for then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; therefore my words have been rash, ⁴ for the arrows of Shaddai are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

¹¹ "Even* I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in my spirit's anguish; I will complain in my inner self's* bitterness.

¹⁸ He will not allow me to _⌊catch_⌋* my breath; rather, he will fill me with bitterness.

¹ "My inner self* loathes my life; _⌊I want to give vent to my complaint_⌋;* I want to speak out of the bitterness of my inner self.*

¹⁴ Intimate fellowship with Yahweh is for those who fear him, and he makes known his covenant to them.

¹³ A heart* of gladness will make good _⌊countenance_⌋,* but in sorrow of heart* a spirit is broken.

¹⁴ The spirit of a man will endure his sickness, but a broken spirit, who may bear it?

¹⁴ And the Spirit lifted me and took me, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Yahweh was strong on me.

³³ And he took along Peter and James and John with him, and he began to be distressed and troubled. ³⁴ And he said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake."

²⁷ "Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, deliver me from this hour'? But for this reason I have come to this hour!

¹⁸ "I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.

²³ Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and _⌊will take up residence with him_⌋.*

⁷ And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds* in Christ Jesus.

⁸ whom, although you* have not seen, you love; in whom now you believe, although you* do not see him, and you rejoice greatly with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

¹⁷ The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give to him some of the hidden manna, and I will give to him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, that no one knows except the one who receives it.'

⁶ If you are pure and upright, indeed,* now he will rouse himself for you, and he will restore your righteous abode.

¹⁵ He will lean himself against his house, but* it will not stand; he will take hold of it, but* it will not endure.

³⁴ for the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.

¹⁴ He is torn from his tent _⌊in which he trusted_⌋,* and it brought him to the king of terrors. ¹⁵ "_⌊Nothing_⌋* remains for him in his tent; sulfur is scattered upon his dwelling place.

²¹ Surely these are the dwellings of the godless, and this is the dwelling place of him who knows not God."

²⁶ _⌊Total darkness_⌋* is hidden for his treasures;* _⌊an unfanned fire_⌋* will devour him; the remnant* _⌊will be consumed_⌋* in his tent. ²⁷ The heavens will reveal his guilt, and the earth will rise up against him. ²⁸ The products of his house will be carried away* like gushing waters* on the day of his wrath.

²⁸ For you say, 'Where is the nobleman's house, and where are _⌊the tents in which the wicked dwell_⌋?'*

¹³ "This is the portion of the wicked human being with God, and they receive from Shaddai the inheritance of the ruthless. ¹⁴ If their children multiply, it is for the sword, and his offspring _⌊do not have enough to eat_⌋.* ¹⁵ Their* survivors are buried through* the plague, and their* widows do not weep. ¹⁶ If he heaps up silver like the dust and fashions clothing like the clay, ¹⁷ he makes it ready, and the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver. ¹⁸ "He builds his house like the moth, and like a booth that a watchman has made. ¹⁹ He goes to bed with wealth, but* _⌊he will do so no more_⌋;* he opens his eyes, and _⌊it is gone_⌋.* ²⁰ Terrors overtake him like the water; a storm wind carries him off in the night. ²¹ The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone, and it sweeps him away from his place. ²² And it hurls at him, and it has no compassion; he will quickly flee from its power. ²³ It claps its hands over him, and it hisses at him from its place.

² His _⌊descendants_⌋* will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. ³ Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine _⌊within_⌋* your house. Your children* will be like olive shoots about your table.

³³ The curse of Yahweh is on the house of the wicked, and the abode of the righteous ones he blesses.

²⁸ He who trusts in his wealth is he who will fall, but like a green leaf the righteous will flourish.

⁷ The wicked are overthrown and _⌊are no more_⌋,* but the house of the righteous shall stand.

¹² The righteous observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked to ruin.

²⁰ Precious treasure and oil are in the house of the wise, but the foolish person* will devour them.*

¹¹ And Yahweh will lead you continually, and satisfy your soul in a barren land, and he will strengthen your bones, and you shall be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring of water whose water does not fail. ¹² And they shall rebuild ancient ruins from you; you shall erect the foundations of _⌊many generations,_⌋* and _⌊you shall be called_⌋* the bricklayer of the breach, the restorer of paths to live in.

⁴ 'I have sent it out,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts, 'and it will go into the house of the thief and into the house of the one swearing _⌊falsely by my name_⌋,* and it will spend the night in that* house and will destroy it, with its timber and its stone.'"

²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed, and its fall was great."

¹⁵ The way of a fool is upright in his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise.

²⁵ There is a way that seems upright _⌊to_⌋* a man, but its end is the way of death.

¹² There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, but from its filthiness it will not be cleansed.

¹³ "Enter through the narrow gate, because broad is the gate and spacious is the road that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it, ¹⁴ because narrow* is the gate and constricted is the road that leads to life, and there are few who find it!

²⁴ "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able to,

²¹ Therefore what sort of fruit did you have then, about which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

³ For if anyone thinks he is something although he* is nothing, he is deceiving himself.

⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

²² But be doers of the message and not hearers only,* deceiving yourselves,

⁴ But her end is bitter as the wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

² I said of laughter, "It is folly!" and of pleasure, "_⌊What does it accomplish?_⌋"*

¹⁰ I neither withheld anything from my eyes that they desired, nor did I deprive any pleasure from my heart. My heart rejoiced in all my toil, for this was my reward from all my toil. ¹¹ Yet when I considered* all the effort which I expended and the toil with which I toiled to do, then behold, "Everything is vanity and chasing wind! There is nothing profitable under the sun!"

⁵ Better to listen to the rebuke of the wise than for a man to listen to the song of fools. ⁶ Like the sound of thorns under a pot, so also the laughter of fools. This also is vanity!

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth! Follow the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes— but know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.

²⁵ But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain.

⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your* joy to gloominess.

⁷ As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give to her so much torment and mourning, because in her heart she said, 'I sit as a queen, and am not a widow, and I will never see mourning!' ⁸ Because of this her plagues will come in one day— death and mourning and famine— and she will be burned up with fire, because the Lord God who passes judgment on her is powerful!"

³¹ They shall eat from the fruit of their way, and they shall be sated from their own schemes, ³² for the waywardness of the simple ones will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

¹⁴ From the fruit of the mouth of a man, he is filled with good, and the reward of _⌊a man's labor_⌋* will return to him.

¹⁰ The heart* knows the bitterness of its soul,* but in its joy, it will not share itself with a stranger.

¹⁹ Your wickedness will chastise you, and your apostasies will reprove you. Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter, your forsaking of Yahweh, your God, and fear of me is not in you," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.

⁵ Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in enduring apostasy? They have kept hold of deceit, they have refused to return.*

⁵ Thus says Yahweh,
"Cursed is the person who trusts in humankind and makes flesh his _⌊strength_⌋,* and turns aside his heart from Yahweh.

³¹ and so I poured out my indignation on them. With the fire of my wrath I destroyed them; I returned their way upon their head," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

¹⁶ Indeed, like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; Now Yahweh will feed them, like a lamb in broad pasture.*

⁶ and those who turned back from _⌊following_⌋* Yahweh, and who did not seek Yahweh, and did not inquire of him."

¹⁴ But whoever drinks of this water which I will give to him will never be thirsty for eternity, but the water which I will give to him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."

¹² For our reason for boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, in holiness* and purity of motive from God, not* in merely human wisdom, but by the grace of God.

⁴ But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in someone else.

⁸ because the one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

¹² Watch out, brothers, lest there be in some of you an evil, unbelieving heart, with the result that you fall away* from the living God.

²⁰ For if, after they* have escaped from the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord* and Savior Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled in these things and succumb to them, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them. ²² The statement of the true proverb has happened to them, "A dog returns to its own vomit,"* and "A sow, after* washing herself, returns* to wallowing in the mud."*

²⁶ May the path of your foot be balanced and all your ways be sure.

⁸ The wisdom of the clever is understanding his ways, but the folly of fools is deceit.

³ The clever sees danger and hides, but the simple go on and suffer.

¹² When the clever sees danger, he hides; the simple go on and suffer.

¹³ Therefore, whoever has insight will keep silent in that time, for it is a time of evil.

⁷ who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and* wished to hear the word of God.

¹⁸ For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own stomach, and by smooth speech and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ¹⁹ For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, and I want you to be wise toward what is good, but innocent toward what is evil.

¹⁴ so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with reference to the scheming of deceit.

¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

⁹ Then Esau said, "_⌊I have enough_⌋* my brother; _⌊keep what you have_⌋."*

¹⁸ On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live; I fear God.

² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "Thus may the gods do to me, and may they add to it, surely at this time tomorrow I will make your life as the life of one of them!"

¹⁰ Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, "Thus may the gods do to me and thus may they add if the dust of Samaria is sufficient for the hollow of a hand for all of the people who are at my feet." ¹¹ The king of Israel answered and said, "Tell him, 'Let not him who girds on his armor boast as one who takes off his armor.'"

¹⁸ Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come out for war, seize them alive."

¹⁵ The former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and they took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels. Also, their servants controlled the people, but I did not do so because of the fear of God.

²¹ if I have raised my hand against an orphan because I saw my supporters at the gate, ²² then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket. ²³ Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me, and _⌊I was powerless_⌋* because of his majesty.

¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.

¹²⁰ My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear Yahweh and retreat from evil.

²² He goes after her suddenly; like an ox to the slaughter he goes, and like a stag to the instruction of a fool,

⁶ By loyalty and faithfulness, iniquity will be covered over,* and by fear of Yahweh _⌊one turns_⌋* from evil.

¹⁴ Happy is the person who fears continuously, but he who is stubborn of heart,* will fall into calamity.

⁹ If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man, then there is rankling and ridicule,* but there is no relief.

¹³ He begins by saying what is foolish and ends by uttering what is wicked delusion.

¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent and* arrested John and bound him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not permitted for you to have your brother's wife." ¹⁹ So Herodias held a grudge against him and was wanting to kill him, and was not able to do so.

²⁴ And she went out and* said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" And she said, "The head of John the baptizer." ²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and* asked, saying, "I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately."

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, "We are not also blind, are we?"*

²² Abstain from every form of evil.

⁶ But _⌊he considered it beneath him_⌋* to lay hands on Mordecai only, for they told him of Mordecai's people, and Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were in the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁵ And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who _⌊gave himself the right to do this_⌋?"* ⁶ And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman!" And Haman was terrified before the king and queen.

¹⁸ a devising heart, plans of deception, feet that hurry to run to evil,*

¹⁶ As for a fool, _⌊on that very day_⌋* he makes his anger known, but he who ignores an insult is prudent.

²⁹ He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but the hasty of spirit* exalts folly.

¹⁸ A man who is hot-tempered will stir up strife, but he who is slow to _⌊anger_⌋,* he will calm contention.

³² He who is slow to anger* is better than him who is mighty, and he who controls his spirit than him who captures a city.

²⁴ Do not befriend an owner* of _⌊anger_⌋,* and with a man of wrath you shall not associate;

²² A man of anger will stir strife, and the owner of anger, much transgression.

⁹ Do not be quick in your spirit to anger, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

⁷ And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil; he plans evil devices to ruin the poor with words of deception even* when the speech of the needy is right.

²⁶ For wicked people are found among my people, they lie in wait like the hiding of fowlers, they set up a trap, they catch humans. ²⁷ Like a cage full of birds,* so their houses are full of fraud. _⌊Therefore_⌋* they have become great, and they have become rich. ²⁸ They have grown fat, they have grown sleek, also, _⌊their evil deeds have no limit_⌋.* They do not judge with justice, the legal cause of the orphan, or allow it to succeed, and the legal case of the poor, they do not defend. ²⁹ Because of these things shall I not punish?" _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?

¹⁹ Understand this, my dear brothers: every person must be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,

³⁵ They will inherit the honor of the wise, but stubborn fools, disgrace.

⁷ The beginning of wisdom: Get wisdom! With all that is in your possession, gain insight. ⁸ Cherish her and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. ⁹ She will give a garland for your head; she shall bestow a crown of glory upon you."

²⁹ He who brings trouble to his household, he will inherit wind,* and a fool will serve the wise of heart. ³⁰ The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life, and he who captures souls* is wise.

¹⁹ O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth, and they will say, "Our ancestors* have inherited only lies,* vanity, and there is no profit in them.

¹⁷ But certainly we will do _⌊everything_⌋* that went out from our mouths,* to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors,* our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for then _⌊we had enough to eat_⌋,* and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster.

³ But the ones having insight will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and the ones providing justice for the many* will be like the stars _⌊forever and ever_⌋.*

²⁹ "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!' ³¹ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! ³² And you—fill up the measure of your fathers!

⁸ Finally, the crown of righteousness is reserved for me, that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

¹⁸ because you* know that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your ancestors not with perishable things like silver or gold,

⁴ And when* the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

⁶ Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He was the one who sold food to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

²⁸ And they said, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." And they knelt and bowed down.

⁸ And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to Yahweh, and let him remove the frogs from me and from my people, and let me release the people so that they can sacrifice to Yahweh."

²⁷ And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I have sinned this time. Yahweh is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones. ²⁸ Pray to Yahweh. The thunder of God and hail _⌊are enough_⌋,* and I will release you, and _⌊you will no longer have to stay_⌋."*

⁸ And all of these your servants will come down to me and bow to me, saying, 'Go out, you and all the people who are at your feet.' And afterward I will go out." And he went out from Pharaoh _⌊in great anger_⌋.*

³⁶ All the remainder of your household will come to bow down _⌊before_⌋* him for a bit of silver or a loaf of bread and will say, "Please assign me to one of the _⌊priestly offices_⌋* so that I can eat a morsel of bread." '"

¹² Jehoshaphat said, "The word of Yahweh is with him." So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went down to him.

⁷ The king rose in his anger _⌊from the banquet_⌋* and went to the palace garden, and Haman stood to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for _⌊he realized that the king was determined to make an end to his life_⌋.* ⁸ And the king returned from the palace garden to the _⌊banquet hall_⌋,* where Haman was lying prostrate on the couch that Esther was on, and the king said, "Will he also molest the queen with me in the house?" As the words* went from the king's mouth they covered Haman's face.

¹⁴ Like sheep they are destined to Sheol; death will shepherd them. But the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their forms will be for Sheol to consume, far from his lofty abode.

²⁹ He who brings trouble to his household, he will inherit wind,* and a fool will serve the wise of heart.

¹⁴ And the children of those who oppressed you shall come to you bending low, and all those who treated you disrespectfully shall bow down at the soles of your feet. And they shall call you the city of Yahweh, Zion of the holy one of Israel.

⁹ I will bear the rage of Yahweh, for I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes my justice. He will bring me out to the light; I will see his righteousness. ¹⁰ Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, "Where is Yahweh your God?" My eyes will look upon her; now she will become a trampling place, like mud in the streets.

¹⁶ The nations will see and be ashamed because of all their might. They will lay the hand on the mouth; their ears will be deaf. ¹⁷ They will lick the dust like the serpent, like the crawling things of the earth. They will come trembling from their strongholds to Yahweh our God. Let them fear and be afraid of you.

³ You will trample down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am going to act," says Yahweh of hosts.

³⁹ And they came and* apologized to* them, and after they* brought them* out they asked them* to depart from the city.

⁹ Behold, I am causing those of the synagogue of Satan, the ones who call themselves Jews and are not, but are lying—behold, I will make them _⌊come_⌋* and kneel down before your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

² And all of the king's servants who were at the gate of the king were kneeling and bowing down to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him, but Mordecai did not kneel and bow down.

¹⁰ But Haman controlled himself and went to his house, and he sent for and brought his friends and Zeresh his wife. ¹¹ And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his wealth and the number of his sons and all the ways that the king had honored him and promoted him above the officials and king's servants.

²¹ "For now you* have become _⌊such_⌋;* you see terrors, and you fear. ²² Is it because I have said, 'Give to me,' or,* 'Offer a bribe for me from your wealth'? ²³ or,* 'Save me from the foe's hand,' or,* 'Ransom me from the tyrants' hand'?

¹³ "He has removed my kinsfolk from me, and my acquaintances have only* turned aside from me. ¹⁴ My relatives have failed, and my close friends have forgotten me.

¹⁰ They abhor me; they keep aloof from me, and they do not withhold spit from my face

¹⁵ The wealth of the rich is the city of his strength; the ruin of the poor is their poverty.

⁴ Wealth adds many friends, but the poor will be left by his friends.

⁶ Many will seek favor before the generous, and everyone is the friend of a man of gifts.* ⁷ All the brothers of the poor, if they hate him, how much more will his friends keep away from him. He pursues them with words, and they are gone.*

¹³ "If I have rejected my male or* female slave's case when their complaint was against me, ¹⁴ then* what shall I do when God rises up? And when he enquires, how shall I answer him? ¹⁵ Did not he who made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

⁵ "Look at the heavens, and see; and observe the clouds that are higher than you. ⁶ If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?

²⁴ because he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and has not hid his face from him; but he listened to him when he cried for help.

¹ For the music director. A psalm of David.*
Blessed is the one who has regard for the poor; in the day of disaster, Yahweh delivers him. ² Yahweh protects him and keeps him alive; he is blessed in the land, and you do not give him into the will* of his enemies.

⁵ It goes well for a man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his _⌊business properly_⌋.*

⁹ _⌊He gives lavishly_⌋* to the needy; his righteousness endures forever. His horn rises high in honor.

²⁴ There is one who gives yet _⌊grows richer_⌋,* but he who withholds _⌊what is right_⌋* only finds need. ²⁵ A person of blessing will be enriched, and he who gives water also will be refreshed.

³¹ He who oppresses the poor insults him who made him, but he who has mercy on the poor honors him.

⁵ He who mocks the poor insults him who made him; he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

³ With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also, and with dishonor, disgrace.

¹⁷ He who lends to Yahweh is he who is kind to the poor, and his benefits he will repay to him.

²⁷ For he who gives to the poor, there is no lacking, but for he* who turns his eyes, there are many curses.

¹ Send out your bread on the water, for in many days you will find it. ² Divide your share in seven or in eight, for you do not know what disaster will happen on the earth.

⁷ Is it not to break your bread for the hungry? You must bring _⌊home_⌋* the poor, the homeless. When you see the naked, you must cover him, and you must not hide yourself from your _⌊relatives_⌋.* ⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall grow quickly. And your salvation shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, 'Here I am!' If you remove from among you the yoke, the _⌊finger-pointing_⌋* and _⌊evil speech_⌋,* ¹⁰ if* you offer your soul to the hungry, and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted, then* your light shall rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like noon.

²⁷ Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you and your sin remove* with righteousness and your iniquity with having mercy on the oppressed, _⌊in case there might be a prolongation of your prosperity_⌋.'"*

³⁴ Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something* to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something* to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.' ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,* or thirsty and give you something* to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you* as a guest, or naked and clothe you?* ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?' ⁴⁰ And the king will answer and* say to them, 'Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it* to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it* to me.' ⁴¹ Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴² For I was hungry and you did not give me anything* to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything* to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not care for me.' ⁴⁴ Then they will also answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?' ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it* to one of the least of these, you did not do it* to me.' ⁴⁶ And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and from the one who takes away your things, do not ask for them back.* ³¹ And just as you want people _⌊to do_⌋* to you, do _⌊the same_⌋* to them. ³² "And if you love those who love you, what kind of credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them! ³³ And if* you do good to those who do good to you, what kind of credit is that to you? Even the sinners do the same! ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive back, what kind of credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may get back an equal amount! ³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting back nothing, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful!*

⁹ And he also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and looked down on _⌊everyone else_⌋:*

³⁵ I have shown you with respect to all things that by* working hard in this way it is necessary to help those who are in need, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."*

¹² in order that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and patience.

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts?

¹⁴ What is the benefit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? That faith is not able to save him, is it?* ¹⁵ If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking food for the day, ¹⁶ and one of you should say to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and _⌊eat well_⌋*," but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what is the benefit?

¹⁷ But whoever has the world's material possessions and observes his brother _⌊in need_⌋* and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God reside in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. ¹⁹ By this* we know that we are of the truth and will convince our heart before him, ²⁰ that* if our heart condemns us, that God is greater than our heart and knows all things. ²¹ Dear friends, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God, ²² and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing _⌊in his sight_⌋*.

²⁷ And he said, "Blessed be Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld* his loyal love and his faithfulness from my master. I was on the way and Yahweh led me to the house of my master's brother."

⁸ But Yahweh said to David my father, 'Because it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart,

¹⁰ All the paths of Yahweh are loyal love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and statutes.*

⁷ May he live* forever in the presence of God. Appoint loyal love and faithfulness to preserve him.

²⁹ Do not plot harm against your neighbor who dwells in confidence beside you.

¹⁷ He who is short of _⌊temper_⌋* will act foolishly, and the man who schemes will be hated.

²² The craving of a man is his steadfast loyalty, and it is better to be poor than a _⌊liar_⌋.*

⁷ And a scoundrel, his weapons are evil; he plans evil devices to ruin the poor with words of deception even* when the speech of the needy is right. ⁸ But* the nobleman plans noble things, and he stands upon noble things.

⁷ Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy.

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ The winking of an eye causes* trouble, and the foolishness of lips comes to ruin.

²⁴ The hand of the diligent ones will rule, but the lazy will belong to forced labor.

¹⁹ He who tills his ground will have plenty bread, but he who follows fantasies will have plenty of poverty.

³ For a dream comes with many cares, and the voice of a fool with many words.

²⁷ Do not work for the food that perishes, but the food that remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has set his seal on this one."

¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we used to command this to you: that if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you are living irresponsibly, working at nothing, but being busybodies. ¹² Now we command and we exhort such people in the Lord Jesus Christ that, working with quietness, they eat their own bread.

¹³ And at the same time also, going around from house to house, they learn to be idle, and not only idle, but also gossipy and busybodies, saying the things that are not necessary.

¹⁰ For God is not unjust, so as to forget your work and the love which you demonstrated for his name by* having served the saints, and continuing to serve them. ¹¹ And we desire each one of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the full assurance of your hope until the end,

¹⁰ For he sees that the wise die, together with the fool and brute they perish, and leave their wealth to the next generation. ¹¹ Within them they think their houses are forever, their dwelling places from generation to generation. They _⌊name_⌋* their lands by their own names. ¹² But man cannot continue in his pomp. He is like the beasts that perish. ¹³ This is the journey* of those who have foolish confidence, and those after them who accept their sayings. Selah

²² If you crush a fool in the mortar with the pestle _⌊along with_⌋* the crushed grain, it will not drive folly from upon him.

¹¹ Wisdom is good with an inheritance; _⌊it benefits the living_⌋.* ¹² _⌊For wisdom offers protection like money offers protection_⌋.* But knowledge has an advantage—wisdom restores life to its possessor.

⁶ and he will be the security of your times, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of Yahweh is his treasure.

⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it runs out they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁹ "Now a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And a certain poor man _⌊named_⌋* Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate, ²¹ and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and* licked his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to _⌊Abraham's side_⌋.* And the rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he* was in torment and* saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus _⌊at his side_⌋.* ²⁴ And he called out and* said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!' ²⁵ But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain.

⁵ A faithful witness does not lie, but he who breathes out falsehood is a witness of deceit.

²¹ testifying both to Jews and to Greeks with respect to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.

²⁶ Therefore I testify to you on this very day that I am guiltless of the blood of all of you,* ²⁷ for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the whole purpose of God.

¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet, because for this reason I have appeared to you, to appoint you a servant and witness both to the things in which you saw me and to the things in which I will appear to you, ¹⁷ rescuing you from the people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, ¹⁸ to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' ¹⁹ "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem and all the region of Judea and to the Gentiles, I proclaimed that they should repent and turn to God, doing deeds worthy of repentance.

¹ Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, ² by the hypocrisy of liars, who are seared in their own conscience, ³ who forbid marrying and insist on abstaining from foods that God created for sharing in with thankfulness by those who believe and who know the truth,

³ above all knowing this, that in the last days scoffers will come with scoffing, following according to their own desires

⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, indeed now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my misery and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night."

⁷ The angel of Yahweh encamps around those who fear him, and he rescues them. ⁸ Taste and see that Yahweh is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. ⁹ Fear Yahweh, you his saints,* for there is no lack for those who fear him. ¹⁰ The young lions are in want and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh will not lack for any good thing. ¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.

⁶ For he will not be shaken forever; the righteous _⌊will be remembered forever_⌋.* ⁷ He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is steadfast, secure* in Yahweh. ⁸ His heart is sustained; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his enemies.

¹³ He will bless those who fear Yahweh, the small with the great. ¹⁴ May Yahweh give you increase, you and your children.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear Yahweh and retreat from evil. ⁸ There shall be healing for your _⌊flesh_⌋,* and refreshment for your body.

²⁵ Do not be afraid of sudden panic,* or the storm of wickedness that will come. ²⁶ Yahweh will be _⌊your confidence_⌋* and guard your foot from capture.

¹⁰ A tower of strength is the name of Yahweh; into him* the righteous will run and be safe.

²³ Fear of Yahweh leads to life; he who is filled with it will rest—he will not suffer harm.

¹⁸ It is good to take hold of the one and also must not let go of the other; for whoever fears God will hold both of them secure.

²⁰ Go, my people, enter into your chambers and shut your doors* behind you; hide for _⌊a very little_⌋* while, until the wrath has passed over. ²¹ For look! Yahweh is about to come out from his place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants* of the earth against him, and the earth will disclose her blood and will no longer cover her slain.

¹¹ Yahweh said,
"_⌊Surely_⌋* I will set you free _⌊to be good_⌋* for you, _⌊surely_⌋* I will cause the enemy to intercede with you in a time of trouble, and in a time of distress.

³⁹ And I will give to them one heart and one way, to revere me _⌊forever_⌋,* for good to them, and to their children after them. ⁴⁰ And I will _⌊make_⌋* with them _⌊an everlasting covenant_⌋* that I will not turn away from them, my doing good to them, and my reverence I will put in their hearts* so that they will not turn aside from me.

¹⁶ Then those who revered* Yahweh spoke _⌊with one another_⌋.* And Yahweh listened attentively* and heard, and a scroll of remembrance was written _⌊before him_⌋* of those who revere* Yahweh and ponder his name. ¹⁷ "They will be mine," says Yahweh of hosts, "on the day that I am acting, my treasured possession. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. ¹⁸ You will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.

² But for you who revere* my name, the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like _⌊fattened calves_⌋.*

⁵ The ropes of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.

¹⁰ for wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul.* ¹¹ Discretion will watch over you; understanding will protect you, ¹² in order to deliver you from the way of evil,* from a man who speaks devious things— ¹³ those who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in ways of darkness, ¹⁴ those who are happy to do evil, for they delight in the deviousness of evil, ¹⁵ _⌊who are crooked in their ways_⌋,* and devious in their paths; ¹⁶ in order to deliver you from a strange woman, from a foreign woman who flatters* with her sayings, ¹⁷ she who forsakes the partner of her youth and has forgotten the covenant of her God, ¹⁸ for her house sinks to death, and to the dead* are her paths.

¹⁴ The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, in order to avoid the snares of death.

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards himself* will keep away from them.

²⁶ I myself found that more bitter than death is the woman who is a trap, whose heart is a snare, and whose hands are bonds. The one who pleases God escapes from her, but the sinner is caught by her.

⁶ And he said to me, "It is done! I am* the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water from the spring of the water of life freely.*

¹² And as he oppressed them, so they became many, and so they spread out, and the Egyptians were afraid because of the presence of the _⌊Israelites_⌋.*

²² And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you will throw into the Nile, and every daughter you will let live."

²⁰ Judah and Israel were as many as the sand which is on the seashore in abundance, eating and drinking and rejoicing! ²¹ * Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms from the River* to the land of the Philistines, and up to the border of Egypt, who were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life.

²⁷ The _⌊Israelites_⌋* had been mustered and provisioned, and they went to engage them. The _⌊Israelites_⌋* encamped opposite them as two flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the land.

³² In those days, Yahweh began to reduce Israel, so Hazael defeated them in every territory of Israel, ³³ from the Jordan eastward: all of the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer which is on the Wadi Arnon and Gilead and Bashan.

⁷ For there was no army left over for Jehoahaz except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them as the dust at threshing.

³ Now the man, Moses, was more humble than any other person on the face of the earth,

⁸ Cherish her and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.

¹¹ The understanding of a person makes him slow to his _⌊anger_⌋,* and his glory overlooks offense.

²⁴ Do not befriend an owner* of _⌊anger_⌋,* and with a man of wrath you shall not associate; ²⁵ lest you learn his way and become entangled in a snare to yourself.*

⁸ do not hastily bring out to court, for* what will you do at its end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?

²⁸ A breached city where there is no wall is like a man who _⌊has no_⌋* self-control for his spirit.

⁶ The fool is set in many high places, but the rich sit in lowly places.

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with anger and the image of his face was changed _⌊toward_⌋* Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, so he _⌊ordered and said_⌋* to heat up the one furnace seven times what was usual to heat it up. ²⁰ And he commanded _⌊the strongest men of the guards_⌋* who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹ Then these men were bound with their garments, their trousers and their turbans and their other clothing, and they were thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. ²² _⌊Therefore_⌋* _⌊because_⌋* the word of the king was severe and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed these men who lifted up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. ²³ But these men, the three of them, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell down into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and they were bound. ²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and he rose up in haste and he asked, saying to his advisers, "Did we not throw three men, bound, into the midst of the fire? They answered, saying to the king, "Certainly, O king!" ²⁵ _⌊He answered_⌋,* saying, "Look, I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire and there is no damage to them, and the* appearance of the fourth man resembles the son of a god."

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he* saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent soldiers* and* executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region around it from the age of two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men.

²⁹ Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, it does not boast, it does not become conceited, ⁵ it does not behave dishonorably, it _⌊is not selfish_⌋*, it does not become angry, it does not keep a record of wrongs,

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy, ¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among* those who make peace.

² For vexation will slay the fool, and jealousy will kill the simple.

¹⁰ The wicked* sees it and is vexed. He gnashes his teeth and _⌊becomes weak_⌋.* The desire of the wicked* perishes.

⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless in your statutes, so that I may not be ashamed.

⁸ There shall be healing for your _⌊flesh_⌋,* and refreshment for your body.

²³ With all vigilance, keep your heart, for from it comes the source* of life.

⁴ A woman of strength* is the crown of her master,* but like rot in his bones is she who brings shame.

²² A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit will dry out bones.

⁹ And the patriarchs, because they* were jealous of Joseph, sold him* into Egypt. And God was with him,

²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greediness, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malevolence. They are gossipers,

⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power and love and self-discipline.

⁵ Or do you think that in vain the scripture says, "The spirit which he caused to dwell in us desires jealously"?*

¹³ "If I have rejected my male or* female slave's case when their complaint was against me, ¹⁴ then* what shall I do when God rises up? And when he enquires, how shall I answer him? ¹⁵ Did not he who made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us in the womb? ¹⁶ "If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them, or* I have caused the widow's eyes to fail,

⁵ "Because of the oppression of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the poor, now I will rise up," Yahweh says. "I shall put them in the safety for which they* long."

²¹ He who despises his neighbor is a sinner, but he who has mercy on the poor blesses him.

² Rich and poor have much in common; Yahweh is the maker of all of them.

¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor in order to enrich himself, or gives to the rich, _⌊will come to poverty_⌋.*

²² Do not rob the poor because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate; ²³ For Yahweh will plead their case and despoil those who despoil them of life.*

⁸ Do not be surprised if you see the poor being oppressed with violence or do not see justice and righteousness in the province. For one official is watched by a higher official, and there are even higher officials over them!

⁸ For you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have me."

⁷ But just as you excel in everything—in faith and in speaking and in knowledge and with all diligence and in the love from us that is in you—so may you excel in this grace also. ⁸ I am not saying this as a command, but proving the genuineness of your love by means of the diligence of others. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he* was rich, for your sake he became poor, in order that you, by his poverty, may become rich.

¹⁷ But whoever has the world's material possessions and observes his brother _⌊in need_⌋* and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God reside in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. ¹⁹ By this* we know that we are of the truth and will convince our heart before him, ²⁰ that* if our heart condemns us, that God is greater than our heart and knows all things. ²¹ Dear friends, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God,

²¹ And this is the commandment we have from him: that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

¹⁸ I wait for your salvation, O Yahweh.

¹⁵ Look,* though he kill me, I will hope in* him; however, I will defend my ways _⌊before him_⌋.*

¹⁸ "They thrust him from light into darkness, and they drive him out from the world.

²⁵ But* I myself* know that my redeemer is alive, and at the last he will stand up upon _⌊the earth_⌋.* ²⁶ And after my skin has been thus destroyed, but* from* my flesh I will see God, ²⁷ whom _⌊I will see for myself_⌋,* and whom my eyes will see and not a stranger.* _⌊My heart faints within me_⌋.*

²⁰ Terrors overtake him like the water; a storm wind carries him off in the night. ²¹ The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone, and it sweeps him away from his place. ²² And it hurls at him, and it has no compassion; he will quickly flee from its power.

¹¹ You will make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forever.

¹⁵ By contrast, I in righteousness shall see your face. Upon awakening I will be satisfied seeing your form.

⁴ Even when I walk in a dark valley, I fear no evil because you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

³⁷ Observe the blameless and look at the upright, for there is a future for a man of peace.

⁹ Before your pots can feel the heat of a thornbush, whether green or _⌊dry_⌋,* he will sweep it away.*

¹⁵ Upon _⌊such a man_⌋,* suddenly shall his calamity come; in a moment he will be damaged and there is no healing.*

¹⁶ For seven times the righteous will fall, but he will rise, but the wicked will be overthrown by calamity.

²⁶ "This is the explanation of the matter:* 'Mene'—God has numbered your kingdom and brought an end to it. ²⁷ " 'Tekel'—you have been weighed on scales and you have been found wanting.* ²⁸ " 'Peres'—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.'" ²⁹ Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple and placed a necklace of gold around his neck, and they made a proclamation concerning him that he would be the third ruler in authority in the kingdom. ³⁰ _⌊That same night_⌋* Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed.

²⁹ "Now dismiss your slave in peace, Lord, according to your word.

²¹ So he said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek me and will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come!"

²⁴ Thus I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins."

²² And what if God, wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?

⁵⁵ Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? ⁵⁶ Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! ⁵⁸ So then, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because you* know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

⁹ But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not be putting confidence in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,

⁸ so we are confident and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

²¹ For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

²³ But I am hard pressed _⌊between the two options_⌋*, having the desire to depart and to be with Christ, _⌊for this is very much better_⌋*.

³ Whenever they say "Peace and security," then sudden destruction will overtake them like the birth pains of _⌊a pregnant woman_⌋*, and they will not possibly escape.

¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will save me for his heavenly kingdom, to whom be the glory _⌊forever and ever_⌋*. Amen.

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write:
'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'"
"Yes," says the Spirit, "in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them."

²³ A clever person conceals knowledge, but the heart* of a fool* announces folly.

¹⁶ Anyone who is clever will act with intelligence, but the fool will display folly.

² The tongue of the wise will dispense knowledge, but the mouth of fools will pour out folly.

²⁸ A heart* of righteousness will ponder the answer, but a mouth of wickedness will pour out deceit.

¹¹ A fool gives all his breath,* but the wise holds back in quiet.

³ Even when the fool walks along the road, he lacks sense; he tells everyone that he is a fool.

⁶ And _⌊you must observe them diligently_⌋,* for that is your wisdom and your insight before the eyes of the people, who will hear all of these rules, and they will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people.' ⁷ For what great nation has for it a god near to it as Yahweh our God, whenever* we call upon him? ⁸ And what other great nation has for it* just rules and regulations just like* _⌊this whole_⌋* law that I am setting _⌊before_⌋* you _⌊today_⌋?*

¹ "And it will happen that if you indeed listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, _⌊to diligently observe_⌋* all his commandments that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋,* then Yahweh your God will set you above all the nations of the earth. ² And all of these blessings shall come upon you, and _⌊they shall have an effect on you_⌋* if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God: ³ "You will be blessed in the city, and you will be blessed in the field. ⁴ "Blessed will be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your livestock, _⌊the calf of your cattle and the lambs of your flock_⌋.* ⁵ "Blessed will be your basket and your kneading trough. ⁶ "Blessed will you be _⌊when you come in and blessed will you be when you go out_⌋.* ⁷ "Yahweh will cause your enemies _⌊who rise up against you to be defeated before you_⌋;* on one road* they shall come out against you, but on seven roads* they shall flee _⌊before you_⌋.* ⁸ Yahweh will command _⌊concerning you_⌋* the blessing to be in your barns and _⌊in all your endeavors_⌋;* and he will bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you. ⁹ Yahweh will establish you for _⌊himself_⌋* as a holy people as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and you walk in his ways. ¹⁰ And all of the peoples of the earth shall see that _⌊by the name of Yahweh you are called_⌋,* and _⌊they shall fear you_⌋.* ¹¹ And _⌊Yahweh will make you successful and prosperous_⌋,* in the fruit of your womb and on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors* to give to you. ¹² Yahweh shall open for you his _⌊rich_⌋* storehouse, even the heavens, to give the rain for* your land in its time and to bless all of the work of your hand, and you will lend to many nations; you will not borrow from them. ¹³ And Yahweh shall make you* as head and not the tail, and you shall be only at the top of the nations, and you shall not be at the bottom, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋* _⌊and diligently observe them_⌋.* ¹⁴ And you shall not turn aside from _⌊any of_⌋* the words that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋* to the right or left by going after other gods to serve them. ¹⁵ "_⌊And then_⌋* if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God _⌊by diligently observing_⌋* all of his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋,* then all of these curses shall come upon you, and they shall overtake you: ¹⁶ "You shall* be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field. ¹⁷ "Your basket shall be cursed and your kneading trough. ¹⁸ "The fruit of your womb shall be cursed and the fruit of you ground, the calves of your cattle and the lambs of your flock. ¹⁹ "You shall be cursed _⌊when you come in_⌋,* and you shall be cursed _⌊when you go out_⌋.* ²⁰ "Yahweh will send upon you* the curse,* the panic,* and the threat* _⌊in everything that you undertake_⌋,* _⌊until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly_⌋* _⌊because of_⌋* the evil of your deeds in that* you have forsaken me. ²¹ Yahweh will cause the plague to cling to you _⌊until it consumes you_⌋* from the land that you are going to,* to take possession of it. ²² Yahweh will afflict you with the wasting diseases and with the fever and with the inflammation and with the scorching heat and with the sword* and with the blight and with the mildew, and they shall pursue you _⌊until you perish_⌋.* ²³ And your heavens that are over your heads shall be like bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be like iron. ²⁴ Yahweh will change the rain of your land to fine dust and to sand; from the heaven it shall come down upon you _⌊until you are destroyed_⌋.* ²⁵ "Yahweh shall cause you to be defeated _⌊before_⌋* your enemies; on one road you shall go _⌊against_⌋* them,* but you will flee on seven roads _⌊before_⌋* them,* and you shall become a thing of horror to all of the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ And your dead bodies shall be as food for all of the birds of the heaven and to the animals of the earth, and there shall not be _⌊anyone to frighten them away_⌋.* ²⁷ "Yahweh shall afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scurvy and with _⌊the skin rash that cannot be healed_⌋.* ²⁸ Yahweh shall afflict you with madness and with blindness and with confusion of heart. ²⁹ And you shall be groping at noon just as the blind person gropes in the dark, and you shall not succeed in finding your way, and you shall only be abused and robbed _⌊all the time_⌋,* and there will not be _⌊anyone who will rescue you_⌋. * ³⁰ You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall sleep* with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not live in it; a vineyard you shall plant, but you shall not enjoy it. ³¹ Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, and you shall not eat it; your donkey shall be stolen right _⌊before you_⌋,* and it shall not be returned to you; your sheep and your goats shall be given to your enemies, and _⌊there shall not be anyone who rescues you_⌋.* ³² Your sons and your daughters shall be given to other people, and _⌊you will be looking on_⌋* _⌊longingly_⌋* for* them all day, _⌊but you will be powerless to do anything_⌋.* ³³ A people that you do not know shall consume the harvest of your land and all your labor, and you will be only oppressed and crushed _⌊for the rest of your lives_⌋.* ³⁴ You shall become mad _⌊because of what your eyes shall see_⌋.* ³⁵ Yahweh shall strike you with grievous boils on the knees and on the upper thighs from which _⌊you will not be able to be healed_⌋,* from the sole of your foot and up to your crown. ³⁶ Yahweh will bring you and your king whom you set up over you to a nation that you or your ancestors* have not known, and there you will serve other gods of wood and stone. ³⁷ And you will become a horror and a proverb and ridicule among all the peoples where Yahweh drives you there. ³⁸ "You shall carry out much seed to the field, but you shall gather little produce, for the locust shall devour it. ³⁹ You shall plant vineyards and you shall dress* them, but you shall not drink wine and you shall not gather grapes, for the worm shall eat it.* ⁴⁰ There shall be olive trees for you in all of your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself, for your olives* shall drop off. ⁴¹ You shall bear sons and daughters, but they shall not be _⌊yours_⌋,* for they shall go into captivity. ⁴² The cricket shall take possession of all your trees and the fruit of your ground. ⁴³ The alien that is in your midst shall ascend over you, higher and higher, but you shall go down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, but you shall be the tail. ⁴⁵ "And all of these curses shall come over you, and they shall pursue you, and they shall overtake you _⌊until you are destroyed_⌋,* because _⌊you did not listen_⌋* to the voice of Yahweh your God, _⌊by observing_⌋* his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. ⁴⁶ And they shall be among you as a sign and as a wonder and among your offspring _⌊forever_⌋.* ⁴⁷ "_⌊Because_⌋* of the fact that you did not serve Yahweh your God with joy and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything, ⁴⁸ then you shall serve your enemies, whom Yahweh will send against you under conditions of famine, in thirst, in nakedness, and in a lack of everything; and he shall place* a yoke of iron on your neck _⌊until he has destroyed you_⌋.* ⁴⁹ Yahweh will raise up against you a nation from far off, from the end of the earth, attacking as the eagle swoops down, _⌊a nation whose language you will not understand_⌋,* ⁵⁰ _⌊a grim-faced nation_⌋* _⌊who does not show respect_⌋* to the old and the young and does not show pity. ⁵¹ And it* shall consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground _⌊until you are destroyed_⌋,* and who will not leave for you any grain, wine, and olive oil, _⌊calves of your herds_⌋,* and _⌊lambs of_⌋* your flock _⌊until it has destroyed you_⌋.* ⁵² And it shall besiege you in all your towns _⌊until your high and fortified walls fall_⌋,* which you are trusting in* _⌊throughout your land_⌋;* and it shall besiege you in all of your towns in all of your land that Yahweh your God has given to you. ⁵³ And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and your daughters, whom Yahweh your God gave to you, _⌊during the siege and during the distress_⌋* your enemy inflicts upon you. ⁵⁴ The most refined and the very sensitive* man among you _⌊shall be mean with his brother_⌋* and _⌊against his beloved wife_⌋* and against the rest* of his children that he has left over, ⁵⁵ _⌊by refraining from giving_⌋* to even one of them any of the meat of his children that he eats, because there is not anything that is left over for him _⌊during the siege and distress_⌋* that your enemy inflicts upon you. ⁵⁶ The most refined and the most delicate woman among you, who shall* not venture to put the sole of her foot on the ground from being so delicate and from such gentleness, _⌊shall be mean to her beloved husband_⌋* and against her son and against her daughter, ⁵⁷ and even concerning her afterbirth _⌊that goes out_⌋* from between her feet and also concerning her children that she bears, because she eats them for lack of anything in secret _⌊during the siege and during the distress_⌋* that your enemy inflicts upon her in your _⌊towns_⌋.* ⁵⁸ "If _⌊you do not diligently observe_⌋* all the words of this law written in this scroll by revering this glorious and awesome name, Yahweh your God, ⁵⁹ then Yahweh shall overwhelm you with your plagues and the plagues of your offspring, severe plagues and lasting illnesses, grievous and enduring. ⁶⁰ And he shall bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt concerning which _⌊you were in dread_⌋* _⌊because of them_⌋.* ⁶¹ Also any illness and any plague* that is not written in the scroll of this law, he shall bring them, Yahweh, upon you until you are destroyed. ⁶² And you shall remain _⌊only a few people_⌋* in place of the fact you were formerly as the stars of heaven as far as number is concerned, because you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God. ⁶³ _⌊And then_⌋* as Yahweh delighted over you _⌊to make you prosperous_⌋* to make you numerous, so Yahweh shall delight over you to exterminate you* and to destroy you, and so you shall be plucked from the land that you are going there to take possession of it. ⁶⁴ And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth up to the other end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor* your ancestors,* gods of wood and stone. ⁶⁵ And among these nations you shall not find rest, and there shall not be a resting place for the sole of your foot, and Yahweh shall give you there an anxious heart and a weakening of eyes* and a languishing of your inner self.* ⁶⁶ And _⌊your life shall hang in doubt before you_⌋,* and you shall be startled* night and day, and you shall not be confident of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you shall say, '_⌊If only it was evening_⌋!'* and in the evening you shall say '_⌊If only it was morning_⌋!'* because of the dread of your heart that you shall feel, and because of the sight of your eyes that you shall see. ⁶⁸ And Yahweh shall bring you back to Egypt in ships by the route that I _⌊promised_⌋* to you that '_⌊You shall not see it again_⌋!'* And you shall sell yourself there to your enemies as slaves and as female slaves, but there will not be a buyer."

¹⁸ so that _⌊there is not_⌋* among you a man or a woman or a clan or a tribe _⌊whose heart_⌋* turns _⌊today_⌋* from being with Yahweh our God to go to serve the gods of these nations, so that there is not among you a root sprouting poison and wormwood. ¹⁹ And then when he hears the words of this oath, then* _⌊he will assure himself_⌋* in his heart, _⌊saying_⌋,* '_⌊Safety shall be mine even though I go in the stubbornness of my heart_⌋,'* thereby destroying the well-watered land along with the parched.* ²⁰ Yahweh will not be willing to forgive him, for by then the anger of Yahweh will smoke, and his passion against that man and all the curses written in this scroll will descend on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under heaven. ²¹ And Yahweh will single him out for calamity out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in the scroll of this law. ²² "And the next generation, that is, your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who will come from a distant land, when* they will see the plagues of that land and its diseases that Yahweh has inflicted upon it, will say, ²³ 'All its land is brimstone and salt left by fire, _⌊none of its land will be sown_⌋,* and it will not make plants sprout out and it will not grow any vegetation; it is as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Adman and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overturned in his anger and in his wrath.' ²⁴ And all the nations will say, '_⌊Why_⌋* has Yahweh done _⌊such a thing_⌋* to this land? What caused the fierceness of this great anger?' ²⁵ And they will say,* 'It is because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,* which he _⌊made_⌋* with them _⌊when he brought them out_⌋* from the land of Egypt. ²⁶ And they went and served other gods and bowed down to them, gods whom they did not know them and he* had not allotted to them. ²⁷ So _⌊the anger of Yahweh was kindled_⌋* against that land to bring upon it all the curses written in this scroll, ²⁸ and Yahweh uprooted them from their land in anger and in wrath and in great fury, and he cast them into another land, _⌊just as it is today_⌋.'*

⁶ And Joshua sent the people away, and the _⌊Israelites_⌋* went each to their* own inheritance to take possession of the land. ⁷ And the people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who saw all the great work Yahweh had done for Israel. ⁸ And Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, died _⌊at the age of one hundred and ten years_⌋.* ⁹ They buried him within the border of his inheritance in Timnah-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ Moreover, that entire generation was gathered to their* ancestors,* and another generation grew up after them who did not know Yahweh or the work he had done for Israel.* ¹¹ The _⌊Israelites_⌋* did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and _⌊they served_⌋* the Baals. ¹² They abandoned Yahweh the God of their ancestors,* who brought them out from the land of Egypt. They _⌊followed_⌋* other gods from the gods of the people who were around them; and they bowed down to them, and they provoked the anger of Yahweh. ¹³ They abandoned Yahweh, and they served Baal and the Ashtaroth. ¹⁴ So _⌊the anger of Yahweh was kindled_⌋* against Israel, and he gave them into the hand of plunderers; and they plundered them, and he sold them into the hand of their enemies from all sides. They were unable to withstand their enemies any longer.

³⁴ a fruitful land into a salty place, because of the evil of its inhabitants.

² "Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Thus says Yahweh,
"I remember concerning you the loyal love of your childhood,* the love of your betrothal-time, your going* after me in the desert,* in the land not sown. ³ Israel was holy to Yahweh, the first fruit of his produce. All those who ate it were held guilty; disaster came to them," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.'" ⁴ Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob, and all the clans* of the house of Israel. ⁵ Thus says Yahweh:
"What injustice did your ancestors* find in me that they were far from me, and they went after the vanity, and they became vain? ⁶ And they did not say, 'Where is Yahweh, the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt, the one who led us in the desert,* in a land of desert plains and gorges,* in a land of dryness and deep darkness, in a land _⌊that no one passes through_⌋,* and no human lives there?' ⁷ And I brought you to the land of the orchard, to eat its fruit, and its good things.* But you entered and defiled my land, and my inheritance you made a detestable thing.* ⁸ The priests did not say, 'Where is Yahweh?' and those who handle the law did not know me, and the shepherds have _⌊rebelled against me_⌋,* and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and they went after things which do not profit. ⁹ _⌊Therefore_⌋* I again bring a lawsuit against you," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "and with _⌊your children_⌋* I bring a lawsuit. ¹⁰ For go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, and send to Kedar and consider very closely, and see if there has been a thing like this: ¹¹ Has a nation exchanged gods? And they are not gods! But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit. ¹² Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder; be utterly desolate," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ¹³ "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the source* of living water, to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. ¹⁴ Is Israel a slave? Or _⌊a slave born in a house_⌋?* Why has he become plunder? ¹⁵ The young lions have roared against him, they have _⌊raised_⌋* their voices.* And they have made his land as horror; his cities are destroyed, _⌊without_⌋* an inhabitant. ¹⁶ Moreover, people of Memphis and Tahpanhes will _⌊shave_⌋* your skull.* ¹⁷ Did you not do this to yourself, by forsaking Yahweh, your God, at the time of your leading in the way? ¹⁸ And now _⌊why do you go_⌋* the way of Egypt to drink the waters of the Shihor? And _⌊why do you go_⌋* the way of Assyria to drink the waters of the _⌊Euphrates_⌋?* ¹⁹ Your wickedness will chastise you, and your apostasies will reprove you. Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter, your forsaking of Yahweh, your God, and fear of me is not in you," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord, Yahweh of hosts. ²⁰ "For from long ago you have broken your yoke, you tore to pieces your bonds. And you said, 'I will not serve!' But on every high hill and under every leafy tree you were lying down as a prostitute. ²¹ Yet I planted you as a choice vine, all of it a seed of trustworthiness. How then have you altered before me into something that is degenerate, the foreign vine? ²² For if you wash with natron, and you _⌊use much soap_⌋,* your guilt is sticking as a stain _⌊before_⌋* me," _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ²³ "How can you say, 'I have not defiled myself, I have not gone after the Baals?' Look at your way in the valley, know what you have done. You are a young she-camel, interweaving her ways. ²⁴ A wild ass accustomed to the desert,* in the desire of her soul. She gasps for wind in her rutting time. Who can quell* her lust? All those who seek her will not grow weary, in her month they will find her. ²⁵ Restrain your foot from being barefoot, and your throat from thirst. But you said, 'It is hopeless. No! For I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.'*

¹ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ² "Son of man,* make known to Jerusalem its detestable things, ³ and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites,* your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. ⁴ And as for your birth, _⌊on the day you were born_⌋* your umbilical cord was not cut, and _⌊you were not thoroughly washed clean with water_⌋,* and _⌊you were not thoroughly rubbed with salt_⌋,* and _⌊you were not carefully wrapped in strips of cloth_⌋.* ⁵ _⌊No eye took pity on you_⌋* to do to you one of these things to show compassion for you, and you were thrown _⌊into the open field_⌋* in their despising of you _⌊on the day you were born_⌋.* ⁶ " 'And I passed by you, and I saw you kicking about in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, "Live! ⁷ Grow up;* I will make you like a plant of the field." And you grew up, and you became tall and _⌊reached full womanhood_⌋.* Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked and bare. ⁸ " 'And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, _⌊your time of lovemaking had come_⌋,* and so I spread out my hem over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you, and I entered into* a covenant with you,' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, 'and _⌊you became mine_⌋.* ⁹ And I washed you with water, and I rinsed off your blood from on you, and I anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ And I clothed you with beautiful finished cloth, and I put sandals on you of fine leather, and I bound you in fine linen, and I covered you with costly fabric. ¹¹ And I adorned you with ornaments,* and I put a bracelet on your arms and a necklace on your neck. ¹² And I put an ornamental ring on your nose and earrings on your ears and a _⌊beautiful crown_⌋* on your head. ¹³ And you adorned yourself with gold and silver, and your clothing was fine linen and costly fabric and beautiful finished cloth; you ate finely milled flour and honey and olive oil, and you became exceedingly beautiful; _⌊you were fit to be a queen_⌋.* ¹⁴ And a name went out for you among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect because of my majesty that I bestowed on you,' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹⁵ 'And you trusted in your beauty, and you prostituted on account of your name, and you poured out your fornication on every one passing by, saying, "Let it be his." ¹⁶ And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful* shrines, and you prostituted on them; _⌊this had not happened before_⌋,* and it _⌊will not continue to happen_⌋.* ¹⁷ And you took _⌊your beautiful jewelry_⌋* made from my gold and from my silver that I had given to you, and you made for yourself _⌊male images_⌋,* and you prostituted with them. ¹⁸ And you took the clothes of your beautiful finished cloth, and you covered them and my oil and my incense you set _⌊before them_⌋.* ¹⁹ And my bread that I gave to you, finely milled flour and oil and honey with which I fed you, then you set it _⌊before them_⌋* as a _⌊pleasing odor_⌋,* and so it was,' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ²⁰ 'And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne for me, and you sacrificed them to them to be eaten,* _⌊as if your whorings were not enough_⌋.* ²¹ And you slaughtered my children, and you gave them _⌊to be sacrificed to them_⌋.* ²² And in all of your detestable things and your fornication you did not remember the days of your childhood _⌊when you were naked and bare_⌋,* when you were kicking about in your blood. ²³ " 'And then after all of your evil! Woe, woe, to you!' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ²⁴ 'And then you built for yourself a mound, and you made for yourself a high place in every public square. ²⁵ At the head of every street you built your high place and you disgraced your beauty and you spread your feet for every passerby, and you increased your whoring. ²⁶ And you prostituted with the _⌊Egyptians_⌋,* your neighbors _⌊who were sexually aroused_⌋,* and you increased your fornication to provoke me. ²⁷ And look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I reduced your portion, and I gave you into* the desire of your haters, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed because of your lewd _⌊conduct_⌋.* ²⁸ And you prostituted with the _⌊Assyrians_⌋* on account of _⌊your insatiable lust_⌋,* and you prostituted with them, and still you were not satisfied. ²⁹ And you increased your fornication to the land of traders,* to Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied. ³⁰ How hot with fever was your heart!' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. '_⌊When you did_⌋* all of these actions _⌊of a headstrong female prostitute_⌋,* ³¹ _⌊when you built_⌋* your mound at the head of every street and your high place you made on every street, yet* you were* not like a prostitute, as you were scorning your harlot's wages. ³² O, adulterous woman! In the place of her husband she received strangers. ³³ To all prostitutes they give a fee, but you, you gave your gifts to all of your lovers, and you bribed them to come to you from all around in your whorings! ³⁴ And it was the opposite with you from the other women in your whorings; _⌊no one solicited you as a prostitute_⌋.* _⌊You gave_⌋* a harlot's wages, and a harlot's wages were not given to you, and so it was just the opposite. ³⁵ " 'Therefore, prostitute, hear the word of Yahweh. ³⁶ Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because of the pouring out of your shame and because your nakedness was revealed in your whoring with your lovers, and on account of all of the idols of your detestable things, and according to the blood of your children whom you gave to them, ³⁷ therefore, look! I am gathering all of your lovers _⌊whom you were pleased about_⌋,* and all of whom you loved in addition to all of whom you hated, and I will gather them against you from _⌊everywhere_⌋,* and I will uncover your nakedness to them, and they will see all of your nakedness. ³⁸ And I will judge you with the judgment of women committing adultery and shedding blood, and I will give you the blood of rage and jealousy. ³⁹ And I will give you into their hand, and they will demolish your mound, and they will break down your high places, and they will strip you of your clothes, and they will take _⌊your beautiful jewelry_⌋,* and they will leave you naked and bare. ⁴⁰ And they will bring up against you a crowd, and they will stone you with stones,* and they will cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ And they will burn your houses with fire, and they will execute against you judgments _⌊before_⌋* many women, and I will stop you from prostitution, and also a harlot's wages you will not give* again. ⁴² And I will satisfy my rage on you, and my jealousy will turn away from you, and I will be calm, and I will not be angry any longer. ⁴³ _⌊Because_⌋* you did not remember* the days of your childhood and you made me angry with all of these. And in turn I, look, I will return your way upon your head,' _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, 'and did* you not do wickedness* in addition to all of your detestable things? ⁴⁴ Look! Everyone quoting a proverb* against you, he will quote, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Like her mother is her daughter!' ⁴⁵ You are a daughter of your mother who abhorred her husband and her children, and you are a sister of your sisters who abhorred their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. ⁴⁶ And your elder sister, she is Samaria, and her daughters, who are dwelling on your north, and your younger sister is the one dwelling on your south; she is Sodom and her daughters. ⁴⁷ And you have not only gone in their ways, but* you also did according to their detestable things. _⌊In such a short time_⌋* you behaved more corruptly than they in all of your ways. ⁴⁸ _⌊As surely as I live_⌋,'* _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh, 'surely your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do as* you and your daughters did. ⁴⁹ Look! This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: Pride, abundance of food, and _⌊prosperous ease_⌋* was to her and to her daughters, and _⌊she did not sustain the needy and the poor_⌋.* ⁵⁰ And they were proud, and they did a detestable thing _⌊before me_⌋,* and I removed them _⌊because_⌋* I saw it. ⁵¹ And Samaria did not sin _⌊according to even half of your sins_⌋,* and you caused your detestable things to increase more than they, and you made your sister righteous in comparison with all of your detestable things that you did.* ⁵² Also,* you bear your disgrace, by which you furnished justification to your sisters* through your sins by which you acted more abominably than they; they were more righteous than you, and also,* you be ashamed and bear your disgrace through your making your sister righteous. ⁵³ And I will restore their fortune, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and even the fortunes of your captivity in the midst of them, ⁵⁴ in order that you may bear your disgrace and you may be put to shame because of all that you did at your consoling them. ⁵⁵ And as for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, they will return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters, they will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state. ⁵⁶ And was not Sodom, your sister, a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride ⁵⁷ _⌊before_⌋* your evil was uncovered? It was like the time of the scorn of the daughters of Aram and all those around her, and of the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who are despising you. ⁵⁸ Your wickedness and your detestable things, you, you must bear them,' _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ⁵⁹ 'For thus says the Lord Yahweh: And I will do it* to you _⌊according to what you have done_⌋,* who despised the oath to break covenant. ⁶⁰ And I, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you _⌊an everlasting covenant_⌋.* ⁶¹ And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your sisters, _⌊both the older and the younger_⌋,* and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant. ⁶² And I, I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am Yahweh, ⁶³ in order that you will remember, and you will be ashamed, and _⌊you will not open your mouth again_⌋* _⌊because of_⌋* your disgrace when I forgive you for all that you have done!'" _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh.

¹ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ² "And you, son of man,* will you judge? Will you judge the _⌊bloody city_⌋?* Then you must make known to her all of her detestable things! ³ And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "A city pouring out blood in the midst of her; _⌊its time has come_⌋,* and it made idols for itself, becoming unclean. ⁴ By your blood that you poured out you have become guilty, and by your idols that you made you have become unclean, and you have brought your days near, _⌊and your appointed years have come_⌋.* Therefore I have made you a disgrace for the nations and a laughingstock to all of the countries. ⁵ The people near and the people far from you will make fun of you, _⌊the unclean and the terrified_⌋.* ⁶ Look! The princes of Israel, each one according to his strength,* they are in you _⌊for the shedding of blood_⌋.* ⁷ They have treated father and mother with contempt in you; _⌊they violated_⌋* the alien with* extortion; in the midst of you they mistreated the orphan and widow. ⁸ You despised my holy objects; my Sabbaths you profaned. ⁹ Slanderous men are _⌊among you_⌋* to shed blood, and they, _⌊among you_⌋,* eat upon the mountains; they do wickedness in the midst of you. ¹⁰ They uncover the nakedness of a father among* you; they violate a woman unclean of menstruation among* you. ¹¹ And a man does a detestable thing with the wife of his neighbor, and a man defiles his daughter-in-law in wickedness, and a man sexually violates among* you his sister, the daughter of his father. ¹² They take a bribe among* you in order to shed blood; and you take usury, and you make gain from your neighbors by extortion, and so you have forgotten me, _⌊declares_⌋* the Lord Yahweh. ¹³ And look! I strike my hand for your ill-gotten gain that you have made and at your blood that was in the midst of you. ¹⁴ Can your heart endure,* or can your hands be strong at the days in which I am dealing with you? I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act! ¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations, and I will disperse you through the countries, and I will purge your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ And I will be profaned by you before the eyes of the nations, and you will know that I am Yahweh." '" ¹⁷ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,* ¹⁸ "Son of man,* the house of Israel has become as silver dross to me; all of them are as bronze and tin and iron and lead in the midst of a furnace, even as silver dross, silver dross they became! ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because all of you have become as silver dross, therefore look! I am gathering you to the midst of Jerusalem, ²⁰ like the gathering of silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin to the middle of a furnace to blow fire on it for melting. Thus I will gather in my anger and in my rage, and I will _⌊deposit_⌋* you, and I will melt you. ²¹ And I will gather you, and I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and so I will melt you in the midst of her. ²² Thus you will be melted like the melting of silver in the midst of a furnace, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have poured out my rage on you.'" ²³ And the word of Yahweh _⌊came_⌋* to me, _⌊saying_⌋,*

¹ When Ephraim spoke,* there was terror; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.

⁴ A perverse heart will depart from me; I will not know evil. ⁵ One who slanders his neighbor in secret, him I will destroy. One haughty of eyes and _⌊arrogant_⌋* of heart, him I will not endure. ⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may live with me. He who walks in the way of integrity, he shall minister to me. ⁷ There will not live in the midst of my house a worker of deceit. One who speaks lies will not remain* before my eyes. ⁸ _⌊Each morning_⌋,* I will destroy all the wicked of the land, cutting off from the city of Yahweh all evildoers.

⁵ He who gathers in the summer is a child who is prudent; he who sleeps at the harvest is a child who brings shame.

² A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully, and in the midst of brothers he will share his inheritance.

¹² The rage of a king growls like a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. ¹³ A foolish child is a ruin to his father, and the quarreling of a woman* is a continuous dripping.

²⁶ He who does violence to a father, he who chases away a mother, is a child who causes shame and brings reproach.

⁸ A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes.

²⁶ A wise king winnows the wicked, and he will drive a wheel over them.

¹¹ He who loves purity of heart and has_⌊gracious speech_⌋,* his friend is the king.

⁵ Remove the wicked before a king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.*

¹² A ruler listening to a word of falsehood, all his officials are wicked.

⁴⁵ "Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their* food at the right time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he* comes back. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave should say _⌊to himself_⌋,* 'My master is staying away for a long time,' ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

²¹ His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!'

²³ His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!'

⁴² And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful wise manager whom the master will put in charge over his servants to give them* their* food allowance at the right time? ⁴³ Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he* comes back. ⁴⁴ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that slave should say _⌊to himself_⌋,* 'My master is taking a long time to return,' and he begins to beat the male slaves and the female slaves and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in two and assign his place with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷ And that slave who knew the will of his master and did not prepare or do according to his will _⌊will be given a severe beating_⌋.* ⁴⁸ But the one who did not know and did things deserving blows _⌊will be given a light beating_⌋.* And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be demanded, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will ask him for even more.