Proverbs 30 Cross References - MSB

¹ These are the words of Agur son of Jakeh—the burden that this man declared to Ithiel: “I am weary, O God, and worn out. ² Surely I am the most ignorant of men, and I lack the understanding of a man. ³ I have not learned wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One. ⁴ Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know! ⁵ Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. ⁶ Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar. ⁷ Two things I ask of You—do not refuse me before I die: ⁸ Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. ⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God. ¹⁰ Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt. ¹¹ There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers. ¹² There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth. ¹³ There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes and pretentious are their glances— ¹⁴ there is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, devouring the oppressed from the earth and the needy from among men. ¹⁵ The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’: ¹⁶ Sheol, the barren womb, land never satisfied with water, and fire that never says, ‘Enough!’ ¹⁷ As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it. ¹⁸ There are three things too wonderful for me, four that I cannot understand: ¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a maiden. ²⁰ This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’ ²¹ Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: ²² a servant who becomes king, a fool who is filled with food, ²³ an unloved woman who marries, and a maidservant who supplants her mistress. ²⁴ Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise: ²⁵ The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; ²⁶ the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks; ²⁷ the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation; ²⁸ and the lizard can be caught in one’s hands, yet it is found in the palaces of kings. ²⁹ There are three things that are stately in their stride, and four that are impressive in their walk: ³⁰ a lion, mighty among beasts, refusing to retreat before anything; ³¹ a strutting rooster; a he-goat; and a king with his army around him. ³² If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth. ³³ For as the churning of milk yields butter, and the twisting of the nose draws blood, so the stirring of anger brings forth strife.”

¹ These are the words of King Lemuel—the burden that his mother taught him:

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 You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. ⁴ You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall inform Me.’ ⁵ My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. ⁶ Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

¹⁰ For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.

²² I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.

⁶ A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand,

¹² and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

⁵ Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”

¹⁴ Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.

² The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

¹² These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they will be destroyed. ¹³ They will receive the wages is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you. ¹⁴ Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed. ¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

⁷ Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? ⁸ They are higher than the heavens—what can you do? They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know? ⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

³ And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.”

¹⁰ Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

¹¹ Get out of the way; turn off the road. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!”

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.

¹⁴ “I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. ¹⁵ But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’

²⁷ All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

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.

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

³³ O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

¹⁸ will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and depth and height ¹⁹ of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

⁷ To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut (except Him who opens) and no one can open.

⁸ And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

²⁹ And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.

¹³ Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.

⁵ And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD. ⁶ Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

⁵⁸ If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God—

¹² It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’

¹⁸ “Why do you ask my name,” said the angel of the LORD, “since it is beyond comprehension?”

⁸ He wraps up the waters in His clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their own weight.

⁴ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. ⁵ Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it? ⁶ On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone, ⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸ Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, ⁹ when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket, ¹⁰ when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors, ¹¹ and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’? ¹² In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place, ¹³ that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it? ¹⁴ The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment. ¹⁵ Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken. ¹⁶ Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep? ¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? ¹⁸ Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this. ¹⁹ Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides, ²⁰ so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home? ²¹ Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great! ²² Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail, ²³ which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle? ²⁴ In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth? ²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt, ²⁶ to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives, ²⁷ to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass? ²⁸ Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹ From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven, ³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen? ³¹ Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? ³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs? ³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? ³⁴ Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you? ³⁵ Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? ³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind? ³⁷ Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens ³⁸ when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together? ³⁹ Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions ⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket? ⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?

⁷ I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.

²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.

² For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

¹⁸ You have ascended on high; You have led captives away. You have received gifts from men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.

² He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent, ³ laying the beams of His chambers in the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the wings of the wind. ⁴ He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants. ⁵ He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved. ⁶ You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. ⁷ At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away— ⁸ the mountains rose and the valleys sank to the place You assigned for them— ⁹ You set a boundary they cannot cross, that they may never again cover the earth. ¹⁰ He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains. ¹¹ They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. ¹² The birds of the air nest beside the springs; they sing among the branches. ¹³ He waters the mountains from His chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of His works. ¹⁴ He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: ¹⁵ wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart. ¹⁶ The trees of the LORD have their fill, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted, ¹⁷ where the birds build their nests; the stork makes her home in the cypresses. ¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats, the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers. ¹⁹ He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set. ²⁰ You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl. ²¹ The young lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God. ²² The sun rises, and they withdraw; they lie down in their dens. ²³ Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening. ²⁴ How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures. ²⁵ Here is the sea, vast and wide, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both great and small. ²⁶ There the ships pass, and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there. ²⁷ All creatures look to You to give them their food in due season. ²⁸ When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good things. ²⁹ When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust. ³⁰ When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth. ³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works. ³² He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smolder. ³³ I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. ³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD. ³⁵ May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul. Hallelujah!

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance? ¹³ Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or informed Him as His counselor? ¹⁴ Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding? ¹⁵ Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust. ¹⁶ Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel, nor its animals enough for a burnt offering. ¹⁷ All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness. ¹⁸ To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him? ¹⁹ To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? ²⁰ To one bereft of an offering who chooses wood that will not rot, who seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple? ²¹ Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth? ²² He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. ²³ He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless. ²⁴ No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground, than He blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble. ²⁵ “To whom will you liken Me, or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One. ²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. ²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”? ²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. ²⁹ He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. ³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. ³¹ But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

⁸ By oppression and judgment He was taken away, and who can recount His descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was stricken for the transgression of My people.

⁶ In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.

²¹ She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

²² And turning to the disciples, He said, “All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

¹³ No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

⁶ But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down)

⁸ This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.” ⁹ What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended first to the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

¹² He has eyes like blazing fire, and many royal crowns on His head. He has names written on Him, and a name written that only He Himself knows.

¹ After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

³ But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.

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

³⁰ As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

² I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

⁹ O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and shield. ¹⁰ O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and shield. ¹¹ You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and shield.

¹⁴⁰ Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it.

² He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer. He is my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

² You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

³² See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.

⁷ Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf or speak deceitfully for Him? ⁸ Would you show Him partiality or argue in His defense? ⁹ Would it be well when He examined you? Could you deceive Him like a man?

¹⁵ In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.

¹⁸ I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, may God take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.

⁵ One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!” ⁶ Solomon replied, “You have shown much loving devotion to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and uprightness of heart. And You have maintained this loving devotion by giving him a son to sit on his throne this very day. ⁷ And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number. ⁹ Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”

⁹ After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?” “Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

² You have granted his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

⁴ One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.

⁴² But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,

¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, ¹⁶ the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”

¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.

¹⁸ When they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat.

²¹ Every morning each one gathered as much as was needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. ²² On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much food—two omers per person—and all the leaders of the congregation came and reported this to Moses.

²⁹ Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He will give you bread for two days. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is; no one may leave his place.”

³⁵ The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land where they could settle; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

³⁰ And the king provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life.

¹² I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.

⁹ Lowborn men are but a vapor, the exalted but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor. ¹⁰ Place no trust in extortion, or false hope in stolen goods. If your riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

²⁹ Remove me from the path of deceit and graciously grant me Your law.

³⁷ Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

⁶ Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.

⁸ He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁵ When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

² “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

¹⁸ Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,

⁴ No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

³⁴ And the king of Babylon provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life, until the day of his death.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

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

³ Give us each day our daily bread.

⁸ “Now draw some out,” He said, “and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,

¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.

⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, so certainly we cannot carry anything out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

² But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

⁷ You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

¹ “If someone sins by failing to testify when he hears a public charge about something he has witnessed, whether he has seen it or learned of it, he shall bear the iniquity.

¹⁰ And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, ¹¹ with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful not to forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

¹⁰ When you eat and are satisfied, you are to bless the LORD your God for the good land that He has given you. ¹¹ Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses in which to dwell, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all that you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

²⁰ When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to other gods and worship them, and they will reject Me and break My covenant.

¹⁵ But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.

²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”

¹⁵ So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, and do not let him mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!” ¹⁶ And the servants of Sennacherib spoke further against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ He also wrote letters mocking the LORD, the God of Israel, and saying against Him: “Just as the gods of the nations did not deliver their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand.”

²⁵ They captured fortified cities and fertile land and took houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled; they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness. ²⁶ But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.

²⁴ If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security, ²⁵ if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much, ²⁶ if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, ²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, ²⁸ this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high.

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.

³⁰ Men do not despise the thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger. ³¹ Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.

²⁴ A partner to a thief hates his own soul; he receives the oath, but does not testify.

³¹ You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’?

¹⁴ Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect in the splendor I bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD. ¹⁵ But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.

⁴⁹ Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them, as you have seen.

¹⁷ This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’

³⁰ the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

⁶ When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.

⁷² And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”

⁷⁴ At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.

²² And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” 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.

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.

¹⁵ Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you.

⁹ But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with Saul’s servants, answered: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. ¹⁰ Ahimelech inquired of the LORD for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

⁹ and said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’?

¹⁹ Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

¹⁵ “Will you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. And the man replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you to them.”

¹ When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. ² “Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.” ³ “Where is your master’s grandson?” asked the king. And Ziba answered, “Indeed, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he has said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my grandfather.’” ⁴ So the king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!” “I humbly bow before you,” said Ziba. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king!”

²⁶ “My lord the king,” he replied, “because I am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ But my servant Ziba deceived me, ²⁷ and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do what is good in your eyes.

²² Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada’s son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.” ²³ In the spring, the army of Aram went to war against Joash. They entered Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people, and they sent all the plunder to their king in Damascus. ²⁴ Although the Aramean army had come with only a few men, the LORD delivered into their hand a very great army. Because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers, judgment was executed on Joash.

²⁶ The people will curse the hoarder of grain, but blessing will crown the one who sells it.

²³ These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good. ²⁴ Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

²⁷ Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.

²¹ Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.

⁸ At this time some astrologers came forward and maliciously accused the Jews, ⁹ saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue, ¹¹ and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace. ¹² But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.” ¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up? ¹⁵ Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I have made. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?” ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

¹³ Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”

²⁴ At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for God is able to make him stand.

¹⁷ Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.

⁹ If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.

²⁰ and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” ²¹ Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

¹⁶ ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

²⁰ Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.

¹² There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth. ¹³ There is a generation—how haughty are their eyes and pretentious are their glances— ¹⁴ there is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, devouring the oppressed from the earth and the needy from among men.

¹⁷ As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it.

⁷ But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

⁴ For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ ⁶ then he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition.

¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), ¹² he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

⁸ If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

⁵ Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.

¹³ Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

¹³ When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.” ¹⁴ But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?”

⁹ ‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, with no iniquity in me.

² For his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin.

² Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

² All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.

² All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.

¹⁶ Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

⁵ They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

²² Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD. ²³ “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young she-camel galloping here and there, ²⁴ a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire. Who can restrain her passion? All who seek her need not weary themselves; in mating season they will find her.

³⁵ you say, ‘I am innocent. Surely His anger will turn from me.’ Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

¹⁴ Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?

²⁵ I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.

¹ “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

³⁹ “Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?

¹⁵ So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.

¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.

⁵ He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has washed us from our sins by His blood,

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.

¹ A song of ascents. Of David. My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty. I do not aspire to great things or matters too lofty for me.

¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the guides of the wicked—are sin.

¹¹ The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

¹⁶ The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—

² “Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god. ³ Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you! ⁴ By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries. ⁵ By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.

⁹ Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you.

³⁶ Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished. ³⁷ He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

⁴ Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright—but the righteous will live by faith—

³ Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of sin—the son of destruction—is revealed. ⁴ He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself as God in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

¹⁷ I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.

⁷ Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless. ⁹ He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.

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.”

⁴ Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.

² Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.

⁴ My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts—with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

⁶ O God, shatter their teeth in their mouths; O LORD, tear out the fangs of the lions.

¹⁸ Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

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

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

¹ Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.

⁷ The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

⁵ Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’ ⁶ Next, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. ⁷ After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.

⁷ They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name.

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.”

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

¹ Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands. ² They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.

¹ Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice? ² You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones. ³ You eat the flesh of my people after stripping off their skin and breaking their bones. You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot, like meat in a cauldron.” ⁴ Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done. ⁵ This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:

¹⁴ With his own spear You pierced his head, when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though ready to secretly devour the weak.

³ Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.

¹³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

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.

⁸ They had hair like that of women, and teeth like those of lions.

¹⁶ There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:

²¹ Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:

²⁴ Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise:

²⁹ There are three things that are stately in their stride, and four that are impressive in their walk:

¹¹ Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain: ¹² “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

³ “But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

⁴⁴ Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and children. You are the sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.

¹⁸ When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.

³ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.

⁶ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, delivering them up to Edom.

⁹ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they delivered up a whole congregation of exiles to Edom and broke a covenant of brotherhood.

¹¹ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly.

¹³ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.

¹ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Moab, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he burned to lime the bones of Edom’s king.

⁴ This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they reject the Law of the LORD and fail to keep His statutes; they are led astray by the lies in which their fathers walked.

³ Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.

³² Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.

³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham.

⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

³ In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction will not sleep.

¹³ They will receive the wages is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you. ¹⁴ Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed. ¹⁵ They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness.

¹¹ Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion. ¹² These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted.

¹ When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

²⁰ Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

⁵ and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own.

²¹ But when he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent. ²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. ²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it across their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. ²⁴ When Noah awoke from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.” ²⁶ He also declared: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the servant of Shem. ²⁷ May God expand the territory of Japheth; may he dwell in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant.”

¹⁸ If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined, ¹⁹ his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown,

²⁶ Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.

⁴⁴ “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

⁹ Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair. ¹⁰ When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”

¹⁴ But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree. ¹⁵ And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him. ¹⁶ Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab had restrained them. ¹⁷ They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.

¹⁰ And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain from heaven poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

²² Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

¹¹ There is a generation of those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.

³ You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

¹⁶ If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged in marriage and sleeps with her, he must pay the full dowry for her to be his wife.

²⁷ Does the eagle soar at your command and make his nest on high?

³¹ But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

¹¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him ¹³ by sleeping with another man, and it is concealed from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she was not caught in the act), ¹⁴ and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself— ¹⁵ then he is to bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity. ¹⁶ The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD. ¹⁷ Then he is to take some holy water in a clay jar and put some of the dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. ¹⁸ After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’— ²¹ and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell. ²² May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’ ²³ And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause her bitter suffering. ²⁵ The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water. ²⁷ When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people. ²⁸ But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children. ²⁹ This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, ³⁰ or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law.

⁶ She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.

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.

³ His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

¹⁰ But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹ Why should I take my bread and water and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give them to these men whose origin I do not know?”

²⁵ My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent.

³⁶ When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light. ³⁷ In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him and he became like a stone. ³⁸ About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead.

¹⁶ So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.

¹⁰ Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

⁷ I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.

⁴ “I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them.” ⁵ The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable.

¹³ A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

⁹ Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁹ Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

¹⁵ A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—

²¹ A servant pampered from his youth will bring grief in the end.

⁷ But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.

⁶ Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise. ⁷ Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler, ⁸ it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.

⁵ The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats, the cliffs a refuge for the rock badgers.

⁴ But if you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow. ⁵ They will cover the face of the land so that no one can see it. They will devour whatever is left after the hail and eat every tree that grows in your fields. ⁶ They will fill your houses and the houses of all your officials and every Egyptian—something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen since the day they came into this land.’” Then Moses turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.

¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. ¹⁴ The locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt. Never before had there been so many locusts, and never again will there be. ¹⁵ They covered the face of all the land until it was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left behind. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came—young locusts without number.

⁴ What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

⁶ For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness. ⁷ It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white.

⁷ They charge like mighty men; they scale the walls like men of war. Each one marches in formation, not swerving from the course. ⁸ They do not jostle one another; each proceeds in his path. They burst through the defenses, never breaking ranks. ⁹ They storm the city; they run along the wall; they climb into houses, entering through windows like thieves. ¹⁰ Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness. ¹¹ The LORD raises His voice in the presence of His army. Indeed, His camp is very large, for mighty are those who obey His command. For the Day of the LORD is great and very dreadful. Who can endure it?

²⁵ I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you.

³ And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. ⁴ They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them for five months, and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion. ⁶ In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them. ⁷ And the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads, and faces like the faces of men. ⁸ They had hair like that of women, and teeth like those of lions. ⁹ They also had thoraxes like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months. ¹¹ They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.

²⁴ Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”

¹⁸ Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” So he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!”

¹⁴ The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.

² The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.

⁵ Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.

⁴ “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth.

²⁸ Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent, and discerning when he holds his tongue.

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

³ Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. ⁴ For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

¹⁶ Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf. ¹⁷ They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You.

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

¹⁸ A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.

²⁸ A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.

¹⁴ To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.

²¹ Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

²⁵ A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.

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