Proverbs 2 Cross References - LEB

¹ My child, if you will receive* my sayings, and hide my commands with you, ² in order to incline your ear toward wisdom, then you shall apply your heart to understanding. ³ For if you cry out for understanding,* if you lift* your voice for insight, ⁴ if you seek her like silver and search her out _⌊like treasure_⌋,* ⁵ then you will understand the fear of Yahweh, and the knowledge of God you will find. ⁶ For Yahweh will give wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. ⁷ For the upright, he stores* sound judgment, a shield for those who walk uprightly, ⁸ in order to guard paths of justice and keep* the way of his faithful ones. ⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice and uprightness—every good course— 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. ¹⁹ Of all who go to her, none shall return, nor do they reach paths of life. ²⁰ So that you will walk on the road of those who are good, and the paths of those who are righteous you shall keep. ²¹ For those who are upright will dwell in the land,* and those who are blameless* will remain in it. ²² And those who are wicked will be cut off from the land, and those who are treacherous will be uprooted from it.

⁶ And these words that I am commanding you _⌊today_⌋* shall be on* your heart.* ⁷ And you shall recite them to your children, and you shall talk about them at the time of your living in your house and at the time of your going on the road and at the time of your lying down and at the time of your rising up. ⁸ And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as an emblem between your eyes. ⁹ And you shall write them on the doorframe of your house and on your gates.

¹² From the commandment of his lips, indeed* I have not departed; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily food.

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By taking heed according to your word. ¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought you; do not let me stray from your commands. ¹¹ In my heart I have hidden your word,* so that I may not sin against you.

³ to gain _⌊insightful instruction_⌋,* righteousness and justice and equity,

¹ My child, do not forget my instruction, and may your heart guard my commands.

¹ Children, listen to the instruction of a father, and be attentive in order to know insight.

¹⁰ Listen, my child, take my sayings, and the years of your life shall be great.

²⁰ My child, be attentive to my words; to my sayings incline your ear. ²¹ May they not escape from your _⌊sight_⌋;* keep them in the midst of your heart. ²² For they are life to those who find them and healing _⌊to the entire body_⌋.*

²¹ Bind them on your heart continually; tie them upon your neck.

¹ My child, guard my sayings; store my commandments with you.

⁴⁴ "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and* concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.

¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering them* in her heart.

⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was submitting to them. And his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

⁴⁴ "_⌊You take these words to heart_⌋,* for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."

⁴⁷ And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,* I will not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ The one who rejects me and does not accept my words has one who judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

¹⁵ The saying is trustworthy and worthy of all acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

¹² So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

¹¹¹ I have taken as my own your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart. ¹¹² I have inclined my heart to do your statutes forever, to the end.

¹ He who is selfish seeks a craving;* against all sound judgment he shows contempt.

¹⁷ Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise; you shall apply your heart* to my teaching. ¹⁸ For it is pleasant if you guard them _⌊within you_⌋;* together they will be ready upon your lips. ¹⁹ In order for your trust to be in Yahweh, I have made them known to you _⌊today_⌋*—even* you. ²⁰ Have I not written for you thirty sayings with admonitions and knowledge? ²¹ In order to show you what is right—sayings of truth— in order to return a true saying to him who sent you.

¹² Apply your heart* to instruction, and your ear to sayings of knowledge.

²⁵ I set my mind to try to seek wisdom and the plan, and to know that wickedness is foolishness and that folly is delusion.

⁹ I saw all this as I applied my heart to all the deeds done under the sun: _⌊sometimes those in authority harm others_⌋.*

¹⁶ I applied my mind to know wisdom and to understand the business that is done on earth—how neither day nor night one's eyes see sleep.

³ Extend your ear, and come to me! Listen so that* your soul may live, and I will _⌊make_⌋* an everlasting covenant with* you, the enduring proofs of _⌊the mercies shown to_⌋* David.

⁹ The one who has ears, let him hear!"

¹¹ Now these were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. _⌊They_⌋* accepted the message with all eagerness, examining the scriptures every day to see if these things were so.

⁹ Give to your servant a listening heart to judge your people, to discern between good and bad, because who is able to judge this, your difficult people?" ¹⁰ The word was good in the eyes of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. ¹¹ And God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing and you did not ask for yourself _⌊a long life_⌋* and you did not ask riches for yourself and you did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you have asked for yourself _⌊the ability to make wise judgments_⌋;* ¹² behold, I do hereby do according to your word. I hereby give you a wise and discerning heart; there was no one like you before you, nor afterwards will one like you arise.

¹² Only may Yahweh give to you understanding and insight that he might give you charge over Israel and the keeping of the law of Yahweh your God.

⁴ Make me know your ways, O Yahweh. Teach me your paths. ⁵ Cause me to walk in your truth and teach me, because you are the God of my salvation. I await you _⌊all day long_⌋.*

³⁴ Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and heed it with my whole heart.

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

¹²⁵ I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your statutes.

¹⁶⁹ Let my cry come before you, O Yahweh; give me understanding according to your word.

⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will straighten your paths.

¹⁷ I love _⌊those who love me_⌋,* and those who seek me diligently shall find me.

¹³ Therefore if you, although you* are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, _⌊the glorious Father_⌋*,* may give you a spirit of wisdom* and revelation in the knowledge of him ¹⁸ (the eyes of your hearts having been enlightened), so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance among the saints,

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.

²¹ who wait for death, but* _⌊it does not come_⌋,* and search* for it more than for treasures,

¹² "But* from where will wisdom be found? And _⌊where in the world_⌋* is the place of understanding? ¹³ A human being does not know its proper value, and it is not found in the land of the living. ¹⁴ The deep says, 'It is not in me,' and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' ¹⁵ "Refined gold cannot be gotten in its place, and silver cannot be weighed out as its price. ¹⁶ It cannot be bought for the gold of Ophir, for precious onyx or* sapphire. ¹⁷ Gold and glass cannot be compared with it, and its substitution cannot be an ornament of refined gold. ¹⁸ Black corals and crystal will not be mentioned, and wisdom's price is more than red corals. ¹⁹ The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be bought for pure gold. ²⁰ Indeed,* from where does wisdom come? And _⌊where in the world_⌋* is the place of understanding?

¹⁰ more desirable than gold, even much fine gold; and sweeter than honey, even honey in the comb.

¹⁴ In the way of your testimonies I have rejoiced as I would over all riches.

⁷² The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver coins.

¹²⁷ Therefore I love your commands more than gold, even fine gold.

¹⁴ For her* income is better than the income of silver, and her revenue than that of gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies, and all your desires shall not compare with her.

¹⁸ Fortune and glory are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. ¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold,* even refined gold, and my yield than choice silver.

¹⁶ Getting wisdom: _⌊how much_⌋* better than gold! And getting understanding: it is chosen _⌊over_⌋* silver.

²³ Buy truth and do not sell it, wisdom and instruction and understanding.

⁸ Sometimes a man is all alone with no companion; he also has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eye is not satisfied with wealth. He laments, "For whom am I toiling and depriving _⌊myself_⌋* of pleasure?" This also is vanity—it is an unhappy business!

¹⁹ "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming insect* destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming insect* destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²¹ Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the proceeds* to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me." ²² But when* the young man heard the statement, he went away sorrowful, because he was one who had many possessions.

²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife* or children or fields on account of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

⁸ And the master praised the dishonest manager, because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are shrewder than the sons of light with regard to their own generation.*

¹⁰ Now, give to me wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this, your great people?" ¹¹ Then God said to Solomon, "Because this was with your heart and you did not ask for wealth, possessions, honor, and the lives of your enemies, and also did not ask for _⌊long life_⌋,* but have asked for wisdom and knowledge that you might judge my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge is given to you. And I will also give to you wealth, possessions, and honor, the like of which was not had by the kings who were before you, nor will there be the like after you."

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

⁷ Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; wisdom and instruction, fools despise.

¹⁰ The start of wisdom is fear of Yahweh, and knowledge of the Holy One,* insight.

²⁴ _⌊But only_⌋* in this must the one who boasts boast, that he has insight, and that he knows me, that I am Yahweh, showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

⁷ And I will give to them a heart to know me, that I am Yahweh, and _⌊they will be my people_⌋,* and _⌊I will be their God_⌋,* for they will return to me with the whole of their heart.

³⁴ And they will no longer teach each one his neighbor, or each one his brother, _⌊saying_⌋,* 'Know Yahweh,' for all of them will know me, from their _⌊smallest_⌋* and up to their _⌊greatest_⌋,"* _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh, "for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember."

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. ⁴¹ And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart, and with all my inner self."*

³ Let us know, let us press on to know Yahweh; his rising is sure like the dawn. He will come like the showers to us, like the spring rain that waters the earth.

⁷ "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

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.*

²² All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him."*

⁹ And I tell you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ But what father from among you, if his* son will ask for a fish, instead of a fish will give him a snake? ¹² Or also, if he will ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ Therefore if you, although you* are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

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

²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, in order that we may know the one who is true, and we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life.

³ And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom and with skill* and with knowledge and with every kind of craftsmanship,

⁹ Give to your servant a listening heart to judge your people, to discern between good and bad, because who is able to judge this, your difficult people?"

¹² behold, I do hereby do according to your word. I hereby give you a wise and discerning heart; there was no one like you before you, nor afterwards will one like you arise.

²⁹ God gave wisdom to Solomon and very great discernment, as well as _⌊breadth of understanding_⌋,* as the sand which is on the edge of the seashore.

⁸ "Truly, it is a spirit in a human being, and the breath of Shaddai teaches them.

⁷ The law of Yahweh is perfect, reviving life.* The testimony of Yahweh is firm, making wise the simple.

⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, because they* are ever with me.

¹⁰⁴ From your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way.

²³ For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light, and the way of life* is the reproof of discipline,

⁵ Learn prudence, O simple ones; fools, learn _⌊intelligence_⌋.* ⁶ Listen! For noble things I will speak, and upright things from the opening of my lips. ⁷ My mouth will utter truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. ⁸ All sayings of my mouth are in righteousness; none of them are twisted and crooked. ⁹ All of them are straight to him who understands, and upright to those who find knowledge.

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

¹³ And all your children shall be pupils of Yahweh, and the peace of your children shall be great.

¹⁷ _⌊And as for these four young men_⌋,* God* gave to them knowledge and insight into all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had insight into all visions* and dreams.

²¹ And he changes the times and the seasons, and he deposes kings and he sets up kings; he gives wisdom* to wise men and knowledge to men who know understanding.

²³ To you, O God of my ancestors,* I give thanks and I give praises, for the wisdom and the power you gave to me, and now you have made known to me what we have asked from you, for you have made known to us the matter of the king."

¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom that all your opponents will not be able to resist or contradict.

⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.'* Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me.

¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of change.

⁸ _⌊Proud wild animals_⌋* have not trodden it; the lion in its prime has not prowled over it.

¹¹ Because Yahweh God is a sun and a shield; Yahweh gives grace and honor. He does not withhold good from those who walk blamelessly.

² my loyal love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, and one in whom I take refuge, the one who subdues peoples* under me.

¹⁴ _⌊Advice and sound judgment_⌋* are mine; I am understanding, _⌊strength is mine_⌋.*

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

¹⁸ He who walks in integrity will be safe, but he who takes crooked paths will fall in one.

⁵ Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield for him who takes refuge in him.

¹⁹ For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will confound."*

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

³⁰ But from him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

⁶ Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but wisdom not of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing, ⁷ but we speak the hidden wisdom of God in a mystery, which God predestined before the ages for our glory,

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,"*

³ in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

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.

¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy,

³ Moreover,* _⌊he loves his people_⌋,* all the holy ones were in your hand, and they bowed down to* your feet, _⌊each one accepted directions from you_⌋.*

²⁶ "There is no one like God, O, Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, and with his majesty through the skies. ²⁷ The God of _⌊ancient time_⌋* is a hiding place, and underneath are the arms of eternity,* and he drove out _⌊from before_⌋* you your enemy, and he said, 'Destroy them!' ²⁸ So Israel dwells alone and carefree, the spring of Jacob in a land of grain and wine; his heavens even drip dew. ²⁹ Blessed are you, O Israel. Who is like you, a people who is saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your triumph, and your enemies, they shall fawn before you,* and you shall tread on their backs."

⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful* ones, but the wicked will be destroyed* in the darkness, because a man will not prevail by his might.

⁶ for Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,* but the way of the wicked will perish.

³ He restores my life.* He leads me in _⌊correct paths_⌋* for the sake of his name.

²³ The steps of a man are established by Yahweh, and he takes pleasure in his way. ²⁴ Though he fall, he will not be cast headlong, for Yahweh supports him with his hand.

²⁸ For Yahweh loves justice and will not forsake his faithful ones. They are protected forever. But the children of the wicked will be cut off.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart. His steps will not slip.

⁹ the one who has kept our soul among the living, and has not allowed our foot to slip.

⁵ Yahweh is your protector; Yahweh is your shade at your right hand. ⁶ The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ Yahweh will protect you from all evil;* he will protect your life. ⁸ Yahweh will protect your going out and your coming in from now until forever.

²⁰ Yahweh protects all those who love him, but all the wicked he will exterminate.

²¹ My child, may they* not escape from your _⌊sight_⌋;* may you keep sound wisdom and prudence. ²² They shall be life for your soul* and adornment* for your neck. ²³ Then you will walk in the confidence of your ways, and your foot will not stumble. ²⁴ If you sit down, you will not panic,* and if you lie down, then your sleep shall be sweet.

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

⁹ No lion shall be there, and no ferocious wild beast shall go up it. It shall not be found there, but* the redeemed shall walk there.

⁹ saying to the _⌊prisoners_⌋,* "Come out!" to those who are in darkness, "Show yourselves!" they shall feed _⌊along_⌋* the ways, and their pasturage shall be on all the barren heights. ¹⁰ They shall not be hungry or thirsty, and heat and sun shall not strike them, for he who takes pity on them will lead them, and he will guide them to springs of water.

²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish _⌊forever_⌋,* and no one will seize them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them* to me, is greater than all, and no one can seize them* from the Father's hand.

⁵ who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,

²⁴ Now to the one who is able to protect you from stumbling and make you to stand before his glory blameless* with exultation,

⁸ Good and right is Yahweh; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. ⁹ He causes the humble to walk in justice, and teaches the humble his way.

⁸ I* will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go. I will advise you with my eye upon you.

⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

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 Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh. I take refuge in you.* ¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; your Spirit is good. Lead me onto level ground.

² To know wisdom and instruction, to understand sayings of understanding, ³ to gain _⌊insightful instruction_⌋,* righteousness and justice and equity, ⁴ to give shrewdness* to the simple, knowledge and purpose* to the young, ⁵ may the wise hear and increase learning, and the one who understands gain direction,* ⁶ to understand a proverb and an expression, words of wisdom and their riddles.

⁸ And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not travel through it, but* it is for them, he who walks on the way; and fools shall not wander about.

¹⁷ Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, the holy one of Israel:
"I am Yahweh your God, _⌊who teaches_⌋* you to profit, leads you in the way you should go.

¹⁶ Thus says Yahweh: "Stand at the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is, and walk in it, and find rest for your inner selves.* But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'*

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!

⁶ Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him. I will be glad in Yahweh.

⁹⁷ How I love your law! The whole day it is my meditation.

¹⁰³ How smooth* are your words* to my palate, more than honey in my mouth.

¹¹¹ I have taken as my own your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

¹⁶² I am rejoicing over your word, like one who finds great spoil.

³³ In the heart* of him who has understanding, wisdom rests, but even in the midst of fools it becomes known.

¹ He who is selfish seeks a craving;* against all sound judgment he shows contempt. ² A fool will not take pleasure in understanding, but in expressing his heart.*

¹³ My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the dripping of the honeycomb is sweet to your taste. ¹⁴ Thus know wisdom for the sake of your soul,* if you find it, then there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁶ Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became to me as jubilation, even as the joy of my heart, for your name is called on me, O Yahweh God of hosts.

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God,

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

⁶ Do not forsake her—then she will guard you; love her and she will keep you.

²² _⌊When you walk_⌋,* she* will lead you, _⌊When you lie down_⌋,* she will watch over you, and when you awake, she will converse with you. ²³ For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light, and the way of life* is the reproof of discipline, ²⁴ in order to preserve you from an evil woman,* from the smoothness of the tongue of _⌊an adulteress_⌋.*

¹⁵ Now, a poor wise man was found in it, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. ¹⁶ So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, yet the wisdom of the poor is despised, and his words are not heard. ¹⁷ The words of the wise are heard in peace more than the shouting of a ruler is heard among the fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

¹⁰ If the ax is blunt but one does not sharpen its edge, _⌊he must exert more effort_⌋,* but the advantage of wisdom is it brings success.

¹⁵ Therefore, consider carefully how you live, not as unwise but as wise,

⁴ As for the works of humankind, by the word of your lips, I have kept from the ways of the violent. ⁵ I have held my steps in your path My feet will not slip.

⁴ I do not sit with deceitful people, nor will I go about with hypocrites. ⁵ I hate the crowd of evildoers, and with the wicked I will not sit.

⁴ A perverse heart will depart from me; I will not know evil.

⁴ Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked deeds with men who do iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies.

¹⁰ My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent. ¹¹ If they say, "Come with us! We shall lie in wait for blood; we shall ambush the innocent without cause.* ¹² Like Sheol,* we will swallow them alive and whole, _⌊like those who descend to the pit_⌋.* ¹³ We shall find all precious wealth, we shall fill our houses with booty, ¹⁴ you shall throw your lot in our midst, there will be one purse for all of us." ¹⁵ My child, do not walk in their way.* Keep your foot from their paths, ¹⁶ for their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed blood, ¹⁷ for "in vain* is the net scattered, in the sight of any _⌊winged bird_⌋."* ¹⁸ They lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush their own lives. ¹⁹ Thus are the ways of all who are greedy for gain— it will take the life of its possessors.

³² for he who is perverse is an abomination of Yahweh, but those who are upright are his confidence.

¹⁴ In the path of the wicked do not go; do not walk in the way of those who do evil. ¹⁵ Avoid it; do not transgress it; turn away from it and pass by. ¹⁶ For they will not sleep if they have not done wrong, and they are robbed of their sleep if they do not cause stumbling. ¹⁷ For they ate the bread of wickedness, and they drank the wine of violence.

¹³ The fear of Yahweh is hatred of evil, pride, and arrogance and an evil way. And I hate a mouth of perversity.

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.

²⁸ A person of perversity will spread dissent, and he who whispers separates a close friend. ²⁹ A person of violence will entice his neighbor and cause him to walk on a way that is not good. ³⁰ He who winks his eyes does so in order to plan perverse things; he who purses his lips will bring evil to pass.

³ For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue speaks wickedness. ⁴ There is nobody _⌊who pleads with_⌋* justice, and there is nobody who judges with honesty. They rely on nothing and speak vanity. They conceive trouble and beget iniquity; ⁵ they hatch viper eggs, and they weave a spider web. One who eats their eggs dies, and that which is pressed is hatched as a serpent.

³⁰ And from among you yourselves men will arise, speaking _⌊perversions of the truth_⌋* in order to draw away the disciples after them.

³³ Do not be deceived! "Bad company corrupts good morals."*

¹⁷ Therefore "come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord, "and do not touch what is unclean,* and I will welcome you,*

¹³ "Those are among the ones rebelling against the light; they do not recognize his ways, and they do not stay in his paths. ¹⁴ _⌊At dusk_⌋* the murderer rises; he kills the needy and the poor, and in the night he is like a* thief. ¹⁵ And the eye of the adulterer waits for dusk, saying, _⌊'No eye will see me,'_⌋* and he places a covering on his face. ¹⁶ He digs through houses in the darkness; by day they shut themselves in— they do not know the light

³ All have gone astray; they are altogether corrupt. There is not one who does good; there is not even one.

³ The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit. He has ceased to have insight and to do good.

⁵ They do not know or consider.* They go about in the darkness, so that all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked ones is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.

¹⁶ Whoever wanders from the way of understanding, in the assembly of the dead* he will rest.

²⁶ When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and he does injustice, then* he will die because of them; because of his injustice that he did he will die!

¹² "So* you, son of man,* say to _⌊your people_⌋* that the righteousness of the righteous shall not save him in the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked _⌊will not cause him to stumble_⌋* on the day of his returning from his wickedness; and the righteous will not be able to live by it on the day when he returns to his sin. ¹³ When I say to the righteous, 'Certainly he will live,' and he trusted in* his righteousness, and he turns and he does injustice, all of his righteousness* will not be remembered, and because of his injustice that he did, because of it he will die.

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

⁴³ "Now whenever an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it travels through waterless places searching for rest, and does not find it.* ⁴⁴ Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came out.' And when it* arrives it finds the house* unoccupied and swept and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and* live there. And the last state of that person becomes worse than the first. So it will be for this evil generation also!"

⁶ A man came, sent from God, _⌊whose name was_⌋* John.

⁹ Now when the head steward tasted the water which had become wine and did not know where it was from—but the servants who had drawn the water knew—the head steward summoned the bridegroom ¹⁰ and said to him, "_⌊Everyone_⌋* serves the good wine first, and whenever they are drunk, the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" ¹¹ This beginning of signs Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee, and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

¹⁹ And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who practices evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed.

³⁵ So Jesus said to them, "Yet a little time the light is with you! Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness does not overtake you! And the one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

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.

⁵ for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. ⁶ So then, we must not sleep like the rest, but must be on the alert and be self-controlled. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.

¹⁰ For Demas deserted me, because he* loved the present age, and went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia; Titus went to Dalmatia.

⁴ For it is impossible concerning those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and become sharers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ and having fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, because they* have crucified again for themselves the Son of God and held him up to contempt.

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."*

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. But they went out*, in order that it might be shown that all of them are not of us.

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

¹⁵ _⌊What rights has my beloved in my house_⌋* when she has done many wicked things?* Can the flesh of holiness pass over you? For _⌊you engage in your wickedness_⌋,* then you exult.

³ By their wickedness they make the king glad, and the officials by their treacheries.

¹⁵ He brings up all of them with a fishhook; he drags them up with a fishnet; he gathers them in his dragnet. Therefore, he rejoices and exults.

¹¹ On that day you shall not be humiliated on account of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against me. For then I shall remove from your midst those exulting in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in _⌊my holy mountain_⌋.*

⁴ And he went away and* discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard how he could betray him to them. ⁵ And they were delighted, and came to an agreement with him to give him* money.

³² who, although they* know the requirements of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only do they do the same things, but also they approve of those who do them.

⁶ it does not rejoice at unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth,

⁵ They have behaved corruptly toward* him; they are not his children; this is their flaw, a generation crooked and perverse.

⁵ But regarding those who turn aside to their crooked ways, Yahweh will lead them away with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.

⁸ Crooked is the way of a man and a foreigner, but the pure is upright in his conduct.

⁸ Now go, write it on a tablet with them, and inscribe it on a scroll, _⌊that_⌋* it may be _⌊for the time to come_⌋,* forever, forever. ⁹ For it is a people of rebellion, deceitful children, children who are not willing to hear the instruction of Yahweh, ¹⁰ who say to those who do see, "You must not see!" and to the seers, "You must not see truth for us; speak smooth things to us, see illusions, ¹¹ turn aside from the way, turn aside from the path, put an end to the holy one of Israel from our face." ¹² Therefore the holy one of Israel says this:
"Because you are rejecting this word and you trust in oppression and _⌊cunning_⌋* and you rely on it, ¹³ therefore this iniquity shall come for you like a breach about to fall, bulging out on a high wall _⌊that breaks_⌋* suddenly, in an instant.

⁸ They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their firm paths. They have made their paths crooked for themselves; everyone _⌊who walks_⌋* in it knows no peace.

¹⁵ in order that you may become blameless and innocent, children of God without fault* in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as stars in the world,*

³ And his master observed that Yahweh was with him, and everything that was in his hand to do Yahweh made successful. ⁴ And Joseph found favor in his eyes and he served him. Then he appointed him* over his house and all that he owned he put into his hand. ⁵ And it happened that from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph. And the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ And he left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and _⌊he did not worry about anything_⌋* except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was _⌊well built and handsome_⌋.* ⁷ And it happened that after these things his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." ⁸ But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master _⌊does not worry about_⌋* what is in the house, and everything he owns he has put in my hand. ⁹ He has no greater authority in this house than me, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, since you are his wife. Now how could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" ¹⁰ And it happened that as she spoke to Joseph _⌊day after day_⌋,* he did not heed her to lie beside her or to be with her. ¹¹ _⌊But one particular day_⌋* he came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, ¹² she seized him by his garment and said, "Lie with me!" And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and he went outside.

²⁶ Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin. ²⁷ Should we listen to you all and do this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?"

³ For the lips of the strange woman will drip honey, and smoother than oil is her mouth.* ⁴ But her end is bitter as the wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold of Sheol.* ⁶ She does not observe* the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. ⁷ Now, O children, listen to me; do not depart from the sayings of my mouth. ⁸ Keep your paths far from her, and do not go near to the door of her house, ⁹ lest you give your honor to the others, and your years to the merciless, ¹⁰ lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, ¹¹ and you groan at your end, when your flesh and body are consumed, ¹² and say "How I hated discipline, and I despised reproof!" ¹³ and "I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, and I did not incline my ear to my instructors! ¹⁴ I was almost at utter* ruin* in the midst of the assembly and congregation." ¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern and flowing waters from inside your own well. ¹⁶ Shall your springs be scattered outward? In the streets, shall there be streams of water? ¹⁷ May they be yours alone, and not for strangers who are with you. ¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife* of your youth. ¹⁹ She is a deer of love and a doe of grace; may her breasts satisfy you _⌊always_⌋;* by her love may you be intoxicated continually. ²⁰ Why should you be intoxicated, my child, by a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

²⁴ in order to preserve you from an evil woman,* from the smoothness of the tongue of _⌊an adulteress_⌋.*

⁵ In order to guard yourself from _⌊an adulteress_⌋,* from the foreigner who _⌊makes her words smooth_⌋.* ⁶ For at the window of my house, through my lattice, I looked down. ⁷ And I saw among the simple, I observed among the youth, a young man lacking _⌊sense_⌋,* ⁸ passing on the street _⌊at_⌋* her corner, and he takes the road to her house, ⁹ at twilight, at the day's evening, in the midst of night and the darkness. ¹⁰ Then behold! A woman comes to meet him with the garment of a prostitute* and _⌊a secret heart_⌋.* ¹¹ She is loud and stubborn; her feet do not stay at her house. ¹² Now in the street, now in the square, _⌊at_⌋* every corner she lies in wait. ¹³ She took hold of * him and kissed him. Her face was impudent, and she said to him, ¹⁴ "Sacrifices of peace offerings are upon me; _⌊today_⌋* I completed my vows. ¹⁵ So* I have come out to meet you, to seek your face, and I have found you. ¹⁶ With coverings I have adorned my couch, spreads of the linen of Egypt; ¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. ¹⁸ Come, let us take our fill of love making, until the morning let us delight in love. ¹⁹ For there is no man* in his home; he has gone on a _⌊long journey_⌋.* ²⁰ The bag of money he took in his hand, for on the day of the full moon he will come home." ²¹ She persuades him with the greatness of her teachings; with her smooth lips she compels him. ²² He goes after her suddenly; like an ox to the slaughter he goes, and like a stag to the instruction of a fool, ²³ until an arrow pierces his _⌊entrails_⌋,* like a bird rushing into a snare, but he does not know that _⌊it will cost him his life_⌋.*

¹⁴ A deep pit is the mouth of an _⌊adulteress_⌋,* he with whom Yahweh is angry will fall there.

²⁷ For a deep pit is a prostitute,* and a narrow well is _⌊an adulteress_⌋.*

⁵ A strong man who flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.

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.

¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife* of your youth.

⁴ Have you not just now called to me, 'My father, you are the close friend of my youth?

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_⌋.*

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_⌋.*

¹⁴ But you ask, "_⌊For what reason_⌋?"* Because Yahweh stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have been unfaithful, even though she is your marriage partner and _⌊your wife by covenant_⌋.* ¹⁵ _⌊Did not one God make them?_⌋* But a remnant of the spirit is his.* And what does the one God desire? An offspring of God.* _⌊You must be attentive to_⌋* your spirit, and you must not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ "For I hate divorce,"* says Yahweh, the God of Israel, "and he who covers his clothing with violence," says Yahweh of hosts. "_⌊You must be attentive to_⌋* your spirit and you must not be unfaithful."

⁴ But her end is bitter as the wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold of Sheol.* ⁶ She does not observe* the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. ⁷ Now, O children, listen to me; do not depart from the sayings of my mouth. ⁸ Keep your paths far from her, and do not go near to the door of her house, ⁹ lest you give your honor to the others, and your years to the merciless, ¹⁰ lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, ¹¹ and you groan at your end, when your flesh and body are consumed, ¹² and say "How I hated discipline, and I despised reproof!" ¹³ and "I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, and I did not incline my ear to my instructors! ¹⁴ I was almost at utter* ruin* in the midst of the assembly and congregation."

²⁶ For the price of a woman, a prostitute,* is the price of a loaf of bread, but the _⌊woman belonging to a man_⌋* hunts precious life. ²⁷ Can a man carry fire in his lap, and his clothes not burn? ²⁸ If a man walks upon the hot coals, will his feet not be burned? ²⁹ Thus, he who goes to the wife of his neighbor, any who touches her shall not go unpunished. ³⁰ People do not despise a thief when he steals to fill himself* when he is hungry. ³¹ But if he is found, he will pay sevenfold, every possession of his house he shall give. ³² He who commits adultery with a woman lacks _⌊sense_⌋,* he destroys himself* who does it. ³³ A wound and dishonor he will find, and his disgrace will not be wiped out. ³⁴ For jealousy is the fury of a husband, and he will not show restraint on the day of revenge. ³⁵ He will not accept _⌊any compensation_⌋,* and he will not be willing, though the bribe is large.

²² He goes after her suddenly; like an ox to the slaughter he goes, and like a stag to the instruction of a fool, ²³ until an arrow pierces his _⌊entrails_⌋,* like a bird rushing into a snare, but he does not know that _⌊it will cost him his life_⌋.* ²⁴ And now, my children, listen to me, and be attentive to the sayings of my mouth. ²⁵ May your heart not turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her path. ²⁶ For many slain she has laid low, and countless* are all of her killings. ²⁷ The ways of Sheol* are her house, descending to chambers of death.

¹⁸ But he does not know that the dead* are there, in the depths of Sheol* are her guests.

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Neither sexually immoral people, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor passive homosexual partners, nor dominant homosexual partners, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor greedy persons, not drunkards, not abusive persons, not swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And some of you were these things, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus* and by the Spirit of our God.

¹⁹ Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are sexual immorality, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, things which I am telling you in advance, just as I said before, that the ones who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

⁵ For this you know _⌊for certain_⌋*, that every sexually immoral person, or unclean person, or greedy person (who is an idolater), does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

⁸ But as for the cowards and unbelievers and detestable persons and murderers and sexually immoral people and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their share is in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.

¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral people and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and who practices falsehood.

¹² So I let them* go in the stubbornness of their heart; they walked in their counsels.

¹⁸ But the path of the righteous ones is like the light of dawn, leading and shining until the day _⌊is full_⌋.*

²³ Can a Cushite change his skin, or a leopard his spots? Then you also will be able to do good, who are accustomed to doing evil.

¹⁴ _⌊I will not punish your daughters_⌋* when they play the whore, or your daughters-in-law* when they commit adultery; because they go aside with whores, and they sacrifice with temple prostitutes, a people that does not understand comes to ruin.

²⁴ And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person into* the kingdom of God." ²⁵ So when* the disciples heard this,* they were extremely amazed, saying, "Then who can be saved?" ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them* and* said to them, "With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

¹⁸ in order that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge may have powerful encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us,

⁶³ I am a companion of all who fear you and heed your precepts.

¹¹⁵ Turn aside from me, you evildoers, for I will keep the commands of my God.

⁷ Tell me, you whom my _⌊heart_⌋* loves, where do you pasture your flock, where do your sheep lie down at the noon? _⌊For why should I be like_⌋* one who is veiled* beside the flocks of your companions? ⁸ If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow _⌊the tracks_⌋* of the flock, and pasture your little lambs* beside the tents of the shepherds.

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

¹¹ Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

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.

¹² So* Yahweh blessed Job's latter days more than his beginning. _⌊Thus he had_⌋* fourteen thousand sheep and goats and six thousand camels and a thousand pair of oxen and a thousand female donkeys.

³ Trust Yahweh and do good. Abide in the land and feed on faithfulness.*

⁹ For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh— they will possess the land.

¹¹ But the afflicted will possess the land, and they will take pleasure in an abundance of peace.

²² For those blessed by him shall possess the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²⁹ The righteous will possess the land and abide in it forever.

⁴ His light rises in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and compassionate and righteous. ⁵ It goes well for a man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his _⌊business properly_⌋.* ⁶ For he will not be shaken forever; the righteous _⌊will be remembered forever_⌋.*

³⁰ The righteous one is forever; he will not be removed. But the wicked will not remain in the land.*

²² And Yahweh your God will clear away these nations _⌊from before you_⌋* little by little; you will not be able to finish them off quickly, _⌊lest_⌋* the _⌊wild animals_⌋* _⌊multiply_⌋* _⌊against you_⌋.*

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.

¹⁶ His roots dry up _⌊below_⌋,* and its branches* wither away above.* ¹⁷ His remembrance perishes from the earth, and there is not a name for him on the street. ¹⁸ "They thrust him from light into darkness, and they drive him out from the world.

³⁰ Indeed, the wicked is spared from the day of disaster; he is delivered from the day of wrath.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish, and the enemies of Yahweh will be like the splendor of the pastures. They vanish; in smoke they vanish.

³⁷ Observe the blameless and look at the upright, for there is a future for a man of peace. ³⁸ But transgressors shall be destroyed altogether. The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

⁵ but God will pull you down forever. He will snatch you and tear you away from your tent, and he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

³⁵ Let sinners perish completely from the earth, and the wicked _⌊not remain alive_⌋.* Bless Yahweh, O my soul. Praise Yah.*

²² His iniquities shall ensnare him, the evildoer, and in the vanity of his sin he shall be caught. ²³ He shall die _⌊for lack of_⌋* discipline, and in the greatness of his folly he shall be lost.

¹⁰ Tell the innocent* that it is good for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. ¹¹ Woe to the wicked!* It is bad! For what is done by his hands will be done to him.