Proverbs 22 Cross References - MSB

¹ A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold. ² The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all. ³ The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences. ⁴ The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD are wealth and honor and life. ⁵ Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them. ⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. ⁷ The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. ⁸ He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed. ⁹ A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. ¹⁰ Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease. ¹¹ He who loves a pure heart and gracious lips will have the king for a friend. ¹² The LORD’s eyes keep watch over knowledge, but He frustrates the words of the faithless. ¹³ The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!” ¹⁴ The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it. ¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. ¹⁶ Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty. ¹⁷ Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge— ¹⁸ for it is pleasing when you keep them within you and they are constantly on your lips. ¹⁹ So that your trust may be in the LORD, I instruct you today—yes, you. ²⁰ Have I not written for you thirty sayings about counsel and knowledge, ²¹ to show you true and reliable words, that you may soundly answer those who sent you? ²² Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate, ²³ for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them. ²⁴ Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man, ²⁵ or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. ²⁶ Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts. ²⁷ If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you? ²⁸ Do not move an ancient boundary stone which your fathers have placed. ²⁹ Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will be stationed in the presence of kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

⁴⁷ The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than your own name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king has bowed in worship on his bed,

¹ A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.

²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

¹⁰ and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

³ Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.

⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.

¹⁵ Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?

¹⁹ who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world, ² both low and high, rich and poor alike.

³¹ Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.

¹³ The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁹ Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. ²⁰ And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.”

² Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ³ If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit here under footstool,” ⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

²⁰ Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their servants and livestock to shelter, ²¹ but those who disregarded the word of the LORD left their servants and livestock in the field.

⁷ I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment,

²² He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap, ²³ until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life.

¹⁶ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment. ¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!” ¹⁸ But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

¹⁶ A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless.

¹² The prudent see danger and take cover; but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

¹ A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.

²⁰ Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed. ²¹ For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.

¹⁵ So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house. ¹⁸ And let no one in the field return for his garments.

² For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ For while people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. ⁵ You are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not sleep as the others do, but let us remain awake and sober.

¹⁸ Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁹ Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. ¹⁰ Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

¹ Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments. 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.

¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

²¹ He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion finds life, righteousness, and honor.

⁶ He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.

¹⁵ For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

⁸ For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.

⁶ But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

¹³ know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.

⁸ For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh.

⁶ On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.

²⁶ to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd. ²⁷ For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

³ He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

¹⁵ Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the faithless is difficult.

¹⁹ The way of the slacker is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

¹⁷ The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.

¹⁶ He who keeps a commandment preserves his soul, but he who is careless in his ways will die.

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God does not keep on sinning; the One who was born of God protects Himself, and the evil one cannot touch him.

²⁰ But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”

⁹ Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

⁷ And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

²⁸ I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.

²⁶ And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.

² Now here is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. ³ Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”

³ that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us. ⁴ We will not hide them from their children, but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might, and the wonders He has performed. ⁵ For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, ⁶ that the coming generation would know them—even children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children

⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

¹⁵ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

¹ Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves!”

⁴ Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. ⁵ We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”

²³ The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.

¹⁶ Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.

²² Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,

² people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.

⁶ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.

¹ Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.”

¹¹ Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted. ¹² For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous. You oppress the righteous by taking bribes; you deprive the poor of justice in the gate.

⁴ Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land,

⁶ Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!”

²⁵ Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.

⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

¹ Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

⁴ Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

⁸ As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.

³ For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.

³ The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.

⁴ For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.

⁵ Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.

²⁹ Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.

³¹ For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD; He will strike them with His scepter.

⁷ For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.

¹³ You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men,

⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. ⁸ The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

⁷ If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. ⁸ Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs. ⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. ¹⁰ Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand. ¹¹ For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.

⁵⁶ The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter

¹⁶ If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, ¹⁷ if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless— ¹⁸ though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— ¹⁹ if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, ²⁰ if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble. ² The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to surrender him to the will of his foes. ³ The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness and restore him from his bed of sickness.

⁹ He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

²⁵ A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

¹⁷ Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.

¹³ Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

¹ Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. ² Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

⁸ But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.

⁷ Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk, ¹⁰ and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. ¹¹ The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. ¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.

¹⁵ Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

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 took Me in, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

²² greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.

³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Therefore be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ³⁷ Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

¹³ But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,

³⁵ In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

¹ Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia. ² In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity.

⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each one should give what he decides in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” ¹⁰ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that through us your giving will produce thanksgiving to God.

¹⁸ Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, ¹⁹ treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of eternal life.

¹⁰ For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the labor of love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.

¹⁶ And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

⁹ Show hospitality to one another without complaining.

⁹ But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son, ¹⁰ and she said to Abraham, “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!”

¹ Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews ² before his associates and the army of Samaria, saying, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Can they restore the wall by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?” ³ Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”

²⁸ Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me.

⁵ Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.

⁶ A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.

²⁴ Mocker is the name of the proud and arrogant man—of him who acts with excessive pride.

²⁰ Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases. ²¹ Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?

¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people are to obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ Pharaoh also told Joseph, “I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁶ Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years of abundance, the land brought forth bountifully. ⁴⁸ During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it. ⁴⁹ So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance, like the sand of the sea, that he stopped keeping track of it; for it was beyond measure. ⁵⁰ Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. ⁵¹ Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” ⁵² And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” ⁵³ When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt. ⁵⁵ When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” ⁵⁶ When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

⁶ this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him. ⁷ So in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, he went up to Jerusalem with some of the Israelites, including priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants. ⁸ Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. ⁹ He had begun the journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰ For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel. ¹¹ This is the text of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and scribe, an expert in the commandments and statutes of the LORD to Israel:

⁴ “What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven ⁵ and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city where my fathers are buried, so that I may rebuild it.” ⁶ Then the king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set a time.

³ For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews and highly favored by his many kinsmen, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.

² You are the most handsome of men; grace has anointed your lips, since God has blessed you forever.

⁶ My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me.

³⁵ A king delights in a wise servant, but his anger falls on the shameful.

¹³ Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he who speaks honestly is beloved.

⁴⁶ At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸ Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

²⁰ When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever! ²² My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.” ²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den, and when Daniel was lifted out of the den, no wounds whatsoever were found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

²² All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.

⁹ For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”

¹² He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success. ¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

¹⁹ So shall they fear the name of the LORD where the sun sets, and His glory where it rises. For He will come like a raging flood, driven by the breath of the LORD. ²⁰ “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD. ²¹ “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

³⁹ But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

⁹ Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, ¹⁰ and from the least to the greatest they heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.” ¹¹ They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery. ¹² But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ²⁴ But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.

⁸ But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. ⁹ Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas ¹⁰ and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness fell over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.

⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith. ⁹ But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.

³ And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed. ⁶ These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish. ⁷ When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb. ¹⁰ And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and give one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them. ¹¹ But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them.

¹⁴ But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. ¹⁵ Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that had poured from the dragon’s mouth. ¹⁷ And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And I stood on the shore of the sea.

³² So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature. ³³ We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”

¹³ The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!” ¹⁴ As a door turns on its hinges, so the slacker turns on his bed. ¹⁵ The slacker buries his hand in the dish; it wearies him to bring it back to his mouth. ¹⁶ The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

¹⁹ When the LORD saw this, He rejected them, provoked to anger by His sons and daughters.

²⁰ Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. ²¹ Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.

²⁶ Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.

¹² So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

¹⁶ It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words ¹⁷ who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. ¹⁸ For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. ¹⁹ None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.

³ Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, ⁴ in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol. ⁶ She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable. ⁷ So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth. ⁸ Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house, ⁹ lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel; ¹⁰ lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner. ¹¹ At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent, ¹² and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! ¹³ I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors. ¹⁴ I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” ¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. ¹⁶ Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? ¹⁷ Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. ¹⁸ May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth: ¹⁹ A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever. ²⁰ Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger? ²¹ For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths. ²² The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him. ²³ He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

²⁴ to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. ²⁵ Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes. ²⁶ For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. ²⁷ Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned? ²⁸ Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet? ²⁹ So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.

⁵ that they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words. ⁶ For at the window of my house I looked through the lattice. ⁷ I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment, ⁸ crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house, ⁹ at twilight, as the day was fading into the dark of the night. ¹⁰ Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart. ¹¹ She is loud and defiant; her feet do not remain at home. ¹² Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner. ¹³ She seizes him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him: ¹⁴ “I have made my peace offerings; today I have paid my vows. ¹⁵ So I came out to meet you; I sought you, and I have found you. ¹⁶ I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt. ¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon. ¹⁸ Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses! ¹⁹ For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. ²⁰ He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.” ²¹ With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him. ²² He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap, ²³ until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life. ²⁴ Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth. ²⁵ Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths. ²⁶ For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number. ²⁷ Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

²⁷ For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.

²⁶ And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

⁴ Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!

⁵ Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

²⁴ He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.

¹⁸ Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be party to his death.

¹³ Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die. ¹⁴ Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.

¹⁵ A rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

¹⁷ Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.

⁶ Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.

³ All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.

¹⁰ Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

¹⁹ For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build. ²⁰ Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure. ²¹ Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure. ²² In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him. ²³ When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats. ²⁴ Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him. ²⁵ It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him. ²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. ²⁷ The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. ²⁸ The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath. ²⁹ This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”

⁵ “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

²² Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate, ²³ for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.

³ A destitute leader who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no food.

²² A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty awaits him.

² They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance. ³ Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

⁹ “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’ ¹¹ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. ¹² They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts. ¹³ And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts. ¹⁴ But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”

³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

¹² Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. ¹³ But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

²⁴ So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’

¹³ For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹ Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days. ⁴ Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter.

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

³ and for receiving instruction in wise living and in righteousness, justice, and equity.

² if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, ³ if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, ⁴ if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, ⁵ then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;

⁴ he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live. ⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them. ⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you. ⁷ Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding. ⁸ Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.

¹ My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight, ² that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

³³ Listen to instruction and be wise; do not ignore it. ³⁴ Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my doorway.

¹² Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

²⁵ I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

⁹ All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.

¹⁶ When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—

³ Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.

⁵ While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

¹⁸ For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me. ¹⁹ Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

¹³ With my lips I proclaim all the judgments of Your mouth.

¹⁰³ How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!

¹¹¹ Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

¹⁶² I rejoice in Your promise like one who finds great spoil.

¹⁷¹ My lips pour forth praise, for You teach me Your statutes.

¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight your soul.

¹⁷ All her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful.

⁶ Listen, for I speak of noble things, and the opening of my lips will reveal right.

¹³ Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.

²¹ The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.

⁷ The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the hearts of fools.

²¹ The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant speech promotes instruction.

¹³ Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste. ¹⁴ Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.

¹¹ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.

⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.

³⁸ Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”

¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.

⁸ Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

² Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”

⁴ Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.

⁷ But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.

²¹ Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.

⁶ The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.

¹² Though I wrote for them the great things of My law, they regarded them as something strange.

¹⁵ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

¹⁹ We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. ²¹ For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but holy men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

³ Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

³¹ But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

¹⁵ But in your hearts sanctify the God Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect,

¹³ I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God.

⁶ You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.

¹² because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper. ¹³ The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban. ¹⁵ I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame. ¹⁶ I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.

¹⁶ If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,

²¹ if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,

¹⁰ Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, ¹¹ for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.

²⁹ The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.

¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

⁵ “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

¹² May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD take vengeance on you, but my hand will never be against you.

¹⁵ May the LORD be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”

³⁹ On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking for her in marriage.

¹ Of David. Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.

¹⁰ All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”

¹ Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.

⁵ A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation.

¹² I know that the LORD upholds justice for the poor and defends the cause of the needy.

¹¹ for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.

¹ Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.

³⁴ Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.

³⁶ Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.

⁹ Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.

⁸ Because you have plundered many nations, the remnant of the people will plunder you—because of your bloodshed against man and your violence against the land, the city, and all their dwellers.

²² An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” ¹⁷ “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

³⁵ but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.

²⁰ He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.

³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

¹ My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge with a stranger, ² if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth, ³ then do this, my son, to free yourself, for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go, humble yourself, and press your plea with your neighbor. ⁴ Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids. ⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

¹⁵ He who puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but the one who hates indebtedness is secure.

¹⁸ A man lacking judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.

¹³ Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

²⁶ If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset, ²⁷ because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

¹⁶ Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger; get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

¹⁴ You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

¹⁷ ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

² Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.

¹⁰ Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

⁴⁶ Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

⁸ How blessed are your men! How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

²⁸ Now Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor. So when Solomon noticed that the young man was industrious, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.

⁴ Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

²⁴ The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.

¹⁰ Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

²¹ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

²³ His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

¹¹ Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.