Proverbs 18 Cross References - ISV

¹ How Fools Talk Whoever isolates himself pursues selfish ends; he resists all sound advice. ² A fool finds no satisfaction in trying to understand, for he would rather express his own opinion. ³ When an evil person comes, contempt also comes, along with dishonor and disgrace. ⁴ The words a man says are as deep waters— a fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream. ⁵ It’s not good to be partial towards an evil person, thereby depriving the righteous of justice. ⁶ A fool’s words bring strife, and his mouth invites fighting. ⁷ A fool’s mouth is his unraveling, and his lips entrap himself. ⁸ The words of a gossip are like choice morsels as they descend to the innermost parts of the body.
⁹ Avoiding Fools and Their FoolishnessWhoever is lazy regarding his work is also a brother to the master of destruction. ¹⁰ The name of the LORD is a strong tower; a righteous person rushes to it and is lifted up above the danger. ¹¹ The wealth of a rich person is his fortified city; in his own imagination, it is like a high wall. ¹² Before a man’s downfall, his mind is arrogant, but humility precedes honor. ¹³ Whoever answers before listening is both foolish and shameful. ¹⁴ A man’s spirit can sustain him during his illness, but who can bear a crushed spirit? ¹⁵ The mind of a discerning person gains knowledge, while the ears of wise people seek out knowledge. ¹⁶ A person’s gift opens doors for him, bringing him access to important people. ¹⁷ The first to put forth his case seems right, until someone else steps forward and cross-examines him. ¹⁸ Casting dice settles a dispute, deciding between strong contenders. ¹⁹ An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and his disputes are like the bars of a fortress. ²⁰ The positive words that a man speaks fill his stomach; he will be satisfied with what his lips produce. ²¹ The power of the tongue is life and death— those who love to talk will eat what it produces. ²² Whoever finds a wife finds what is good, and receives favor from the LORD. ²³ The poor person pleads for mercy, but the wealthy man responds harshly. ²⁴ A man with many friends can still be ruined, but a true friend sticks closer than a brother.

¹⁶ Otherwise, how shall it be known that your people and I have received favor from you, unless you go with us and that we, your people and I, are distinguished from all the people on the surface of the earth?”

¹ The Benefits of Embracing Wisdom My son, if you accept my words, and treasure my instructions— ² making your ear attentive to wisdom, and turning your heart to understanding— ³ if, indeed, you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, ⁴ if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, ⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD and learn to know God. ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness— an outsider cannot share in its joy.

¹⁴ Starting a quarrel is like spilling water— so drop the dispute before it escalates.

³ Avoiding strife brings a man honor, but every fool is quarrelsome.

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

²¹ My son, fear both the LORD and the king, and don’t keep company with rebels.

¹⁷ Picking up a dog by the ears— that’s what someone is like who meddles in another’s fight.

⁸ Yes, LORD, in the path of your judgments we wait; your name and your Law are the soul’s desire. ⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me searches for you. For when your judgments come upon the earth, the world’s inhabitants learn righteousness.

¹⁷ I didn’t sit in the company of those who have fun, and I didn’t rejoice. Because of your hand on me, I sat alone, for you filled me with indignation.

³ and to speak to the priests assigned to the Temple of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies along with the prophets, asking, “Am I to go about mourning, denying myself throughout the fifth month, as I have these many years?”

¹¹ He answered them, “You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom from heaven, but it hasn’t been given to them,

⁴⁴ The Parable about a Hidden Treasure“The kingdom from heaven is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found and hid. In his excitement he went and sold everything he had and bought that field.”

³⁵ Jesus Goes on a Preaching Tour
In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went to a deserted place and prayed there.

¹¹ He told them, “The secret about the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything comes in parables

¹ Greetings from PaulFrom: Paul, a servant of Jesus the Messiah, called to be an apostle and set apart for God’s gospel,

¹⁷ Therefore, “Get away from them and separate yourselves from them,” declares the Lord, “and don’t touch anything unclean. Then I will welcome you.

¹⁵ Wise BehaviorSo, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of your time because the times are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

¹⁹ These are the people who cause divisions. They are worldly, devoid of the Spirit.

¹⁵ Balaam’s Final PropheciesThen Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: “The declaration by Beor’s son Balaam, a declaration by the strong, blind man. ¹⁶ A declaration from one who hears what God has to say, who knows what the Most High knows, who saw the vision that the Almighty revealed, who keeps stumbling with open eyes.

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

⁷ The Major ThemeThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

²² “You naïve ones, how long will you love naiveté? And how long will scoffers delight in scoffing or fools hate knowledge?”

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

¹⁶ Every sensible person acts from knowledge, but a fool demonstrates folly.

¹⁶ What is this? A fool has enough money to buy wisdom, but is senseless?

³ Furthermore, the way a fool lives shows he has no sense; he proclaims to everyone that he’s a fool.

³⁴ Then the whole city went out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

¹ Concerning Food Offered to IdolsNow concerning food offered to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

¹² In the same way, since you’re so desirous of spiritual gifts, you must keep on desiring them for building up the church.

¹⁵ Some are preaching the Messiah because of jealousy and dissension, while others do so because of their good will.

¹⁵ They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor’s son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong. ¹⁶ But he was rebuked for his offense. A donkey that normally cannot talk spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s insanity.
¹⁷ These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸ By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him.

³⁰ Saul’s Anger toward JonathanSaul flew into a rage and told Jonathan, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have chosen Jesse’s son to your shame and to the shame of your mother who bore you?

⁴ Nehemiah’s Prayer“Listen, our God, because we are being mocked. Let their insults fall back on them, and let them be dragged away as captives into exile.

⁹ Zeal for your house consumes me, and the mockeries of those who insult you fall on me.

²⁰ Insults broke my heart. I despaired and looked for sympathy; but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.

³ Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy, for we have had more than enough of contempt. ⁴ Our lives overflow with scorn from those who live at ease, with contempt from those who are proud.

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

¹⁰ Throw out the mocker and strife departs, too; furthermore, quarrels and discord will end.

¹⁶ As the wicked grow powerful, transgression increases, but the righteous will observe their downfall.

³⁹ Those who passed by kept insulting him, shaking their heads, ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days—save yourself! If you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
⁴¹ In the same way the high priests, along with the scribes and elders, were also making fun of him. They kept saying, ⁴² “He saved others but can’t save himself! He is the king of Israel. Let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him, if he wants to do so now. After all, he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
⁴⁴ In a similar way, the bandits who were being crucified with him kept insulting him.

⁴ They insult you now because they are surprised that you are no longer joining them in the same excesses of wild living.

¹⁴ If you are insulted because of the name of the Messiah, you are blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God is resting on you.

² I will tell a parable, speaking riddles from long ago—

¹¹ What the righteous say is a flowing fountain, but what the wicked say conceals violence.

¹⁴ What the wise have to teach is a fountain of life and causes someone to avoid the snares of death.

²² Anyone who has understanding is a fountain of life, but foolishness brings punishment to fools.

⁵ The intentions of a person’s heart are deep waters, but a discerning person reveals them.

³⁴ You children of serpents! How can you say anything good when you are evil? The mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart.

¹⁴ But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never become thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become a well of water for him, springing up to eternal life.”

³⁸ The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have rivers of living water flowing from his heart.” ³⁹ Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who were believing in him were to receive, because the Spirit was not yet present and Jesus had not yet been glorified.

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

⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

¹⁵ “You are not to be unjust in deciding a case. You are not to show partiality to the poor or honor the great. Instead, decide the case of your neighbor with righteousness.”

¹⁶ I charged your judges at that time, ‘When you hold a hearing between brothers, judge fairly between a man and his brother or between foreigners. ¹⁷ When you hold a hearing, don’t be partial in judgment toward the least important or toward the great. Never fear men, because judgment belongs to God. If the matter is difficult for you, bring it to me for a hearing.’

¹⁹ You must not twist justice, show favoritism, or take bribes, because a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the speech of the righteous.

⁹ In the memos, she wrote the following directives: “Proclaim a public fast and seat Naboth in the front row. ¹⁰ Seat two wicked men in front of him, and make them testify against him. Tell them to claim ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
¹¹ So the leading men of the city, along with the elders and nobles who lived there, did precisely what Jezebel had directed them to do. They followed the instructions that she had set forth in the memos: ¹² They proclaimed a public fast and seated Naboth in the front row. ¹³ Two wicked men came in, sat down in front of them, and testified against Naboth in public, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
¹⁴ Afterwards, they sent a message to Jezebel that said, “Naboth has been stoned. He’s dead.”

⁷ Why do you speak falsely on God’s behalf and speak deceitfully about him? ⁸ Will you show partiality to him? Will you plead God’s case?

¹⁹ Who isn’t partial to princes? Who doesn’t give preference to the nobles over the poor? Nevertheless, all of them are his handiwork.

² “How long will you judge partially by showing favor on the wicked? Interlude

¹⁵ Exonerating the wicked and condemning the righteous are both detestable to the LORD.

²³ Sayings of the WiseHere are some more proverbs from wise people: It isn’t good to show partiality in judgment.

²¹ To show partiality isn’t good, yet for a piece of bread the valiant will transgress.

²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of justice!”

¹⁴ I’ll drive back justice, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth has fallen in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

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

¹⁶ They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance.

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

¹⁰ Arrogance only brings quarreling, but those receiving advice are wise.

³ What a fool says brings a rod to his back, but the words of the wise protect them.

¹⁶ The wise person fears and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and overconfident.

²⁷ A worthless person concocts evil gossip— his lips are like a burning fire. ²⁸ A deceitful man stirs dissension, and anyone who gossips separates friends.

¹⁹ The person who has great anger must pay the consequences, because if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

²⁹ Condemnation is appropriate for mockers, just as beatings are for the backs of fools.

²⁴ Don’t make friends with a hot-tempered man, and do not associate with someone who is easily angered, ²⁵ or you may learn his ways and find yourself caught in a trap.

²⁴ It’s better to live in a corner on the roof than in a house with a contentious woman.

³ Rocks are heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation outweighs them both.

⁹ When a wise man has a dispute with a fool, the fool either rages or laughs without relief.

³⁵ When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and cried out, “Oh no! My daughter! You have terribly burdened me! You’ve joined those who are causing me trouble, because I’ve given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.

²⁴ Saul Issues a Rash EdictThe men of Israel were hard pressed on that day, and Saul required the army to take an oath: “Cursed is the person who eats food before evening and before I’ve been avenged of my enemies.” So no one tasted food.
²⁵ Later on, all the soldiers entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ The people came into the woods and there was flowing honey, but no one put his hand to his mouth to eat it because the people were afraid due to the oath. ²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard that his father had required the army to swear an oath, so he stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. He brought it back to his mouth and his eyes brightened. ²⁸ Then one of the people responded: “Your father strictly ordered the army to take an oath. That’s why he said, ‘Cursed is the person who eats food today,’ and so the army is exhausted.”
²⁹ Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better if the army had eaten freely today of their enemy’s spoil that they found, because the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.”
³¹ That day they struck down the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, and the army was very weary. ³² The army grabbed the spoil, took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground, and then the army ate them with the blood. ³³ Someone reported this to Saul: “Right now the army is sinning against the LORD by eating meat with the blood.” He said, “You have acted treacherously. Roll a large stone to me today.”
³⁴ Then Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the soldiers and say to them, ‘Let each man bring his ox and his sheep to me, and you are to slaughter them here and eat. But don’t sin against the LORD by eating meat with the blood.’” So every soldier brought his ox with him that night, and they slaughtered them there. ³⁵ Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first altar that he built to the LORD.
³⁶ Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until dawn, and let’s not leave a single one of them alive.”
They said, “Do whatever seems good to you!”
But the priest said, “Let’s draw near to God here.”
³⁷ Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.
³⁸ Saul said, “All you army officers are to come here to find out what constitutes this sin today. ³⁹ Indeed, as the LORD who delivers Israel lives, even if the sin is with my son Jonathan, he will surely die!” Not a single one of the soldiers answered him. ⁴⁰ Then he told all Israel, “You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.”
The people told Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”
⁴¹ Then Saul told the LORD God of Israel, “Judge us properly.” Jonathan and Saul were selected, but the army was cleared. ⁴² Saul said, “Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan,” and Jonathan was selected. ⁴³ Saul told Jonathan, “Tell me what you’ve done.”
So Jonathan spoke to him: “I did taste a little honey from the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I’m ready to die!”
⁴⁴ Saul said, “May God do this to me and even more, if you don’t surely die, Jonathan!”
⁴⁵ Then the army told Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who brought about this great deliverance in Israel? As the LORD lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground, because today he did this with God’s help.”
⁴⁶ Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back to their territory.

⁸ They tripped over their own tongues, and everyone who was watching ran away.

⁹ May those who surround me discover that the trouble they talk about falls on their own head!

² trapped by your own words, and caught by your own words,

⁸ The wise person accepts commands, but the chattering fool will be brought down.

¹⁴ Those who are wise store up knowledge, but when the fool speaks, destruction is near.

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

³ Anyone who guards his words protects his life; anyone who talks too much is ruined.

¹¹ If a serpent strikes despite being charmed, there’s no point in being a snake charmer. ¹² The words spoken by the wise are gracious, but the lips of a fool will devour him. ¹³ He begins his speech with foolishness, and concludes it with evil madness. ¹⁴ The fool overflows with words, and no one can predict what will happen. As to what will happen after him, who can explain it?

²³ He swore with an oath to her, “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom.”
²⁴ So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
²⁵ Immediately the girl hurried back to the king with her request, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
²⁶ The king was deeply saddened, yet because of his oaths and his guests he was reluctant to refuse her. ²⁷ So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John’s head. The soldier went and beheaded him in prison. ²⁸ Then he brought John’s head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

¹⁴ They went to the high priests and elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to taste any food before we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now then, you and the Council must notify the tribune to bring him down to you on the pretext that you want to look into his case more carefully, but before he arrives we’ll be ready to kill him.”
¹⁶ But the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, so he came and got into the barracks and told Paul. ¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, because he has something to tell him.”
¹⁸ So the centurion took him, brought him to the tribune, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”
¹⁹ The tribune took him by the hand, stepped aside to be alone with him, and asked, “What have you got to tell me?”
²⁰ He answered, “The Jewish leaders have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Council tomorrow as though they were going to examine his case more carefully. ²¹ Don’t believe them, because more than 40 of them are planning to ambush him. They’ve taken an oath not to eat or drink before they’ve killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent.”
²² The tribune dismissed the young man and ordered him not to tell anyone that he had notified him.

¹⁶ Social Responsibility“You are not to go around slandering your people.
“You are not to stand idle when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the LORD.

² Your tongue, like a sharp razor, devises wicked things and crafts treachery.

³ who sharpen their tongues like swords, and aim their bitter words like arrows, ⁴ shooting at the innocent from concealment. Suddenly they shoot, fearing nothing.

¹⁸ Some speak rashly like the cutting of a sword, but what the wise say promotes healing.

²⁸ A deceitful man stirs dissension, and anyone who gossips separates friends.

²⁰ On Gossip and BackbitingWithout wood, the fire goes out. Without a gossip, contention stops. ²¹ Charcoal is to hot coals as wood is to fire; so also a quarrelsome man fuels strife. ²² The words of a gossip are like delicate morsels; they sink down deep within.

²⁹ I’ve become a brother to jackals, and a friend to ostriches.

⁴ Lazy hands bring poverty, but hard-working hands lead to wealth.

²⁰ Don’t associate with heavy drinkers or dine with gluttons, ²¹ because drunks and gluttons tend to become poor, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

³⁰ I went by the field belonging to a lazy man, by a vineyard belonging to a senseless person. ³¹ There it was, overgrown with thistles, the ground covered with thorns, its stone wall collapsed. ³² As I observed, I thought about it; I watched, and learned a lesson: ³³ “A little sleep! A little slumber! A little folding of my hands to rest!” ³⁴ Then your poverty will come upon you like a robber, your need like an armed bandit.

²⁴ Whoever steals from his father or mother but claims, “It’s no sin,” is a companion to someone who demolishes.

²⁶ “His master answered him, ‘You evil and lazy servant! So you knew that I harvested where I haven’t planted and gathered where I haven’t scattered any seed?

¹³ A few days later, the younger son gathered everything he owned and traveled to a distant country. There he wasted it all on wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.

¹ The Parable about a Dishonest ManagerNow Jesus was saying to the disciples, “A rich man had a servant manager who was accused of wasting his assets. ² So he called for him and asked him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You can’t be my manager any longer. Now give me a report about your management!’

¹¹ Never be lazy in showing such devotion. Be on fire with the Spirit. Serve the Lord.

¹² Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.

¹ God Appears to AbramWhen Abram was 99 years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and announced, “I am God Almighty. Live in constant awareness that I’m always with you, and be blameless.

¹¹ Deliver me from my brother Esau’s control, because I’m terrified of him, and I’m afraid that he’s coming to attack me, the mothers, and their children.

²⁸ “Your name won’t be Jacob anymore,” the man replied, “but Israel, because you exerted yourself against both God and men, and you’ve emerged victorious.”
²⁹ “Please,” Jacob inquired, “Tell me your name.”
But he asked, “Why are you asking about my name?” And he blessed Jacob there.

¹³ Moses told God, “Look! When I go to the Israelis and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me to you,’ they’ll say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I say to them?”
¹⁴ God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and then said, “Tell the Israelis: ‘I AM sent me to you.’”
¹⁵ God also told Moses, “Tell the Israelis, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

³ I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, and did I not reveal to them my name ‘LORD’?

⁵ The LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed the name of the LORD. ⁶ The LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and filled with gracious love and truth. ⁷ He graciously loves thousands, and forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. But he does not leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the ancestors on their children, and on their children’s children to the third and fourth generation.”

⁶ David was in great danger because all the people were bitter because of their sons and daughters, and they were talking about stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

³ He is my God, my strong stone— in him I will find my refuge— my shield, the strength of my salvation, my high tower, my way of escape, and the one who is saving me. You will save me from violence.

⁴⁵ Foreigners came cringing to me; they obeyed as soon as they heard me. ⁴⁶ Foreigners lost their courage, coming trembling from their strongholds. ⁴⁷ The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock, and may my God be exalted, the Rock who is my salvation!

⁵¹ Great is the salvation he brings to his king, showing gracious love to his anointed, to David and to his offspring forever.

² The LORD is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my stronghold in whom I take refuge, my shield, the glory of my salvation, and my high tower.”

¹ Davidic
Confidence in the LORD The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom will I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom will I be afraid?

³ On days when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. ⁴ In God, whose word I praise, in God I put my trust. I will not fear what mortal man can do to me.

³ For you have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength before the enemy. ⁴ Let me make my home in your tent forever; let me hide under the shelter of your wings. Interlude

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

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

² he is my gracious love and my fortress, my strong tower and my deliverer, my shield and the one in whom I find refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁴ “Trust in the LORD forever, for in the LORD GOD you have an everlasting rock.

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

⁶ In his time Judah will be delivered and Israel will dwell in safety. This is the name by which he will be known: ‘The LORD Our Righteousness.’

¹⁹ The LORD God is my strength— he will make my feet like those of a deer, equipping me to tread on my mountain heights.
For the choir director:
On my stringed instruments.

²³ “See, a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,”
which means, “God with us.”

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” declares the Lord God, “the one who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

³¹ For their rock isn’t like our Rock, as even our enemies admit.

²⁴ No Trust in Wealth and Heavenly Bodies“If I’ve put my confidence in gold, if I’ve told gold, ‘You’re my security,’ ²⁵ if I’ve found joy in great wealth that I own, if I’ve earned a lot with my own hands,

⁶ those who put confidence in their wealth and boast about their great riches? ⁷ No man can redeem the life of another, nor can he give to God a sufficient payment for him— ⁸ for it would cost too much to redeem his life, and the payments would go on forever— ⁹ that he should go on living and not see corruption.

⁵ But God will tear you down forever; he will take you away, even snatching you out of your tent! He will uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude ⁶ The righteous will fear when they see this, but then they will laugh at him, saying, ⁷ “Look, here is a young man who refused to make God his strength; instead, he trusted in his great wealth and made his wickedness his strength.

¹⁰ Don’t trust in oppression or put false hope in stealing; if you become wealthy, do not set your heart on it. ¹¹ God spoke once, but I heard it twice, “Power belongs to God.”

¹⁵ The rich hide within the fortress that is their wealth, but the poor are dismayed due to their poverty.

⁴ Wealth won’t help in the time of judgment, but righteousness will deliver from death.

¹² Indeed, wisdom gives protection, just like money does, but it’s better to know that wisdom gives life, to those who have mastered it.

¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ ²⁰ But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’ ²¹ That’s how it is with the person who stores up treasures for himself rather than with God.”

⁶ As a result, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
⁷ Job’s Friends are RestoredAfter these words had been spoken by the LORD to Job, the LORD spoke to Eliphaz from Teman: “My anger is burning against you along with your two friends, since you haven’t spoken correctly about me, as did my servant Job. ⁸ So take seven bulls and seven rams and bring them to my servant Job. And bring a whole burnt offering for yourselves and my servant Job will pray for you. I’ll encourage him by not responding as your disgraceful folly deserves, since you didn’t speak about me correctly as did my servant Job. ⁹ So Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamath did precisely as the LORD had spoken to them, because the LORD showed favor to Job.
¹⁰ Job’s Prosperity ReturnsThe LORD restored Job’s prosperity after he prayed for his friends. The LORD doubled everything that Job had once possessed. ¹¹ Then all his brothers and sisters and all those who knew him before arrived. They ate food with him in his house, mourned for him, and consoled him for all the trouble that the LORD had brought and placed on him. Some gave him gold bullion and some brought gold earrings.
¹² The LORD blessed Job during the latter part of his life more than the former, since he owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³ He also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ He named the first daughter Jemima, the second Keziah, and the name of the third was Keren-happuch. ¹⁵ No one could find more beautiful women in the whole land than Job’s daughters. Their father gave them their inheritance along with their brothers. ¹⁶ Job lived 140 years after this, and saw his children and grandchildren to the fourth generation. ¹⁷ Then Job died at an old age, having lived a full life.

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

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

²³ A person’s pride will bring about his downfall, but the humble in spirit will gain honor.

⁵ “How terrible it will be for me!” I cried, “because I am ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips! And my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies!”
⁶ The Calling of IsaiahThen one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a burning coal in his hand that he had taken from the altar with tongs. ⁷ He touched my mouth and said, “Look! Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sins atoned for.”
⁸ Then I heard the voice of the LORD as he was asking, “Whom will I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am!” I replied. “Send me.”
⁹ “Go!” he responded. “Tell this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ ¹⁰ Dull the mind of this people, deafen their ears, and blind their eyes. By doing so, they won’t see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed.”
¹¹ Then I asked, “For how long, LORD?”
He replied: “Until cities lie waste, without inhabitants, and houses without people; and the land becomes utterly desolate. ¹² Until the LORD removes people far away, and there are many empty places in the middle of the land. ¹³ Even though a tenth of its people remain in it, it will once again be burned, like a terebinth or an oak tree, the stump of which, though the tree has been felled, still contains holy seed.”

⁴⁹ Look! This was the sin of your sister Sodom and her daughters: Pride, too much food, undisturbed peace, and failure to help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ In their arrogance, they committed detestable practices in my presence, so when I saw it, I removed them.

² “Son of Man, tell Tyre’s Commander-in-Chief, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Because your heart is arrogant, and because you keep saying, ‘I have taken my seat, I am a god, seated in God’s seat right in the middle of the sea,’ and because you’re a man, and not a god, even though you pretend that you have a god-like heart…

⁹ Is that when you’ll say, ‘I’m God’ to the face of those who will be killing you? After all, you’re a man, and have never been a god, especially when you’re under the control of those who will defile you!

²³ “You’ve exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven.
“You’ve had the vessels from his Temple brought into your presence.
“And you, your officials, and your wives and mistresses drank wine from them.
“You praised gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which can’t see, hear, or demonstrate knowledge.
“But you didn’t honor God, who holds in his power your very life and all your ways.
²⁴ “Therefore, the hand that wrote this inscription was sent from his presence.

²⁰ Gabriel’s Answer: The Seventy Weeks“While I was still speaking in prayer, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and placing my request in the presence of the LORD my God on behalf of the holy mountain of God—

²³ Because you’re highly regarded, the answer was issued when you began your prayer, and I’ve come to tell you. Pay attention to my message and you’ll understand the vision.

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

²¹ Therefore, at a set time Herod put on his royal robes, sat down on the royal seat, and made a speech to them. ²² The people kept shouting, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” ²³ Immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.

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

¹⁴ You must thoroughly investigate and inquire if it is true that this detestable thing exists among you. If it is so,

⁴ So the king told Ziba, “Pay attention! Everything that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!”
In response Ziba said, “I’m submitting to you. Let me find favor in your sight, your majesty the king!”

²⁴ David Meets MephiboshethMeanwhile, Saul’s grandson Mephibosheth also went out to greet the king. He had not taken care of his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. ²⁵ When he arrived from Jerusalem to greet the king, the king asked him, “So why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?”
²⁶ He replied, “Well, your majesty, since your servant is lame, I told myself, ‘I’ll have my donkey saddled and I’ll ride on it so I can leave with the king.’ But my servant Ziba deceived me ²⁷ by slandering your servant to your majesty. But your majesty the king is like an angel from God: so do what you think is best. ²⁸ Everyone from my grandfather’s household deserved nothing but death from your majesty the king, but you provided a place for your servant among those who have been eating from your table. So what right do I have to ask for anything more from the king?”
²⁹ In response, the king told him, “What’s the point of us talking anymore? My decision is that you and Ziba divide the fields.”
³⁰ But Mephibosheth told the king, “Let him take all of it, now that your majesty the king has returned safely to his palace.”

¹⁰ The king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Hammedatha the Agagite’s son Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people. ¹¹ The king told Haman, “The silver is given to you, along with the people, to do with them as you see fit.”
¹² The king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and all that Haman commanded was written to the regional authorities of the king, to the governors who were over each province, and to the officials of each people. This order was translated in the name of King Ahasuerus into the language of each province and bore the seal of the king’s signet ring. ¹³ Letters were sent by couriers to all of the king’s provinces to annihilate, to kill, and to destroy all the Jewish people, both young and old, women and children, and to confiscate their goods on a single day—the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar. ¹⁴ A copy of the letter was to be issued as an edict in every province and published to all the people, telling them to be ready for that day. ¹⁵ The couriers went out, urged on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in Susa the capital. The king and Haman sat down to drink, while the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

⁵ She said, “If it pleases the king, and if I’ve found favor with him, and if the matter is proper in the king’s opinion, and if I’m pleasing to the king, let an order be issued revoking the letters devised by Hammedatha the Agagite’s son Haman, which ordered the destruction of the Jewish people throughout the king’s provinces. ⁶ Indeed, how can I bear to see this disaster happen to my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my kinsmen?”
⁷ King Ahasuerus told Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I’ve given Haman’s property to Esther, and they have hanged him on the pole because he tried to harm the Jewish people. ⁸ Now, in the name of the king, you write what seems good to you concerning the Jewish people, and seal it with the king’s signet ring, for a document written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be revoked.”
⁹ The king’s scribes were summoned at that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, which is the month Sivan, and everything that Mordecai commanded the Jewish people, the regional authorities, the governors, and the provincial officials of the 127 provinces from India to Cush was written down for each province according to its script, for each people according to their language, and for the Jewish people according to their script and language. ¹⁰ He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He sent the letters by couriers on horseback, riding steeds especially bred for the king.
¹¹ What the king granted the Jewish people in every town was the right to assemble and defend themselves, to annihilate, kill, and destroy every armed force of a people or a province that was hostile to them, including children and women, and to plunder their property. ¹² Throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the one day for the Jewish people to do this was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. ¹³ A copy of the document was to be issued as law in each and every province and published for all people, indicating that the Jewish people were to be ready to take vengeance on their enemies on that day. ¹⁴ The couriers, mounted on the royal steeds, left quickly, urged on by the king’s command. The edict was also issued in Susa the capital.
¹⁵ The Jewish People Celebrate the King’s EdictMordecai left the king’s presence in royal robes of blue and white, wearing a large golden crown and a purple robe made of fine linen; and the city of Susa shouted with joy. ¹⁶ For the Jewish people, there was light and joy, gladness and honor. ¹⁷ In each and every province, and in each and every city, in the places where the king’s order and edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jewish people, along with a festival and a holiday. Many of the people of the land became Jews, because they had come to fear the Jewish people.

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

²⁵ It is a trap for a person to declare quickly, “This is sacred,” and only later to have second thoughts about the vows.

⁹ So King Darius signed the edict contained in the written document.

¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly upset, because he was determined to make every effort to save Daniel before the sun set.

⁵¹ “Surely our Law does not condemn a person without first hearing from him and finding out what he is doing, does it?”

²⁰ Job Blesses God Despite the CatastropheThen Job stood up, tore his robe, shaved his head, fell to the ground, bowed very low, ²¹ and exclaimed: “I left my mother’s womb naked, and I will return to God naked. The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken. May the name of the LORD be blessed.”

⁷ So Satan left the LORD’s presence and struck Job with terrible boils from the sole of his feet to the top of his head. ⁸ Job took a broken piece of pottery to scrape himself while sitting among the ashes.
⁹ Job Refuses to Curse GodThen his wife told him, “Do you remain firm in your integrity? Curse God and die!”
¹⁰ But he replied to her, “You’re talking like foolish women do. Are we to accept what is good from God but not tragedy?”
Throughout all of this, Job did not sin by what he said.

⁴ “The arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit absorbs their poison; God’s terrors have been arranged just for me!

¹⁴ But then you scared me with dreams; you terrified me with visions. ¹⁵ I would rather die by strangulation than continue living.

¹⁵ “‘Woe to me if I’m guilty! If I’m innocent, I cannot lift my head, because I am filled with disgrace. Look at my affliction! ¹⁶ But if I do lift up my head, you will hunt me like a lion! You will perform miracles in order to fight against me. ¹⁷ “‘You have brought new witnesses against me, you’re even more angry with me— you’ve brought fresh troops to attack me!

⁹ “What profit is there in my death if I go down to the Pit? Can dust worship you? Can it proclaim your faithfulness?” ¹⁰ Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me! LORD, help me!

³ When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away by my groaning all day long. ⁴ For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; my strength was exhausted as in a summer drought. Interlude

² because your arrows have sunk deep into me, and your hand has come down hard on me. ³ My body is unhealthy due to your anger, and my bones have no rest due to my sin. ⁴ My iniquities loom over my head; like a cumbersome burden, they are too heavy for me.

¹⁰ Like the shattering of my bones are the taunts of my oppressors, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” ¹¹ Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for once again I will praise him, since his presence saves me and he is my God.

³ because of the voice of the enemy, and because of the oppression of the wicked. They bring down evil upon me, and in anger they hate me.

⁵ Fear and trembling have overwhelmed me, and horror has covered me.

² When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; my hands were raised at night and they did not grow weary. I refused to be comforted. ³ I remember God, and I groan; I meditate, while my spirit grows faint. Interlude

¹⁴ Why, LORD, have you rejected me? Why have you hidden your face from me? ¹⁵ Since my youth I have been oppressed and in danger of death. I bear your dread and am overwhelmed. ¹⁶ Your burning anger overwhelms me; your terrors destroy me.

²² Indeed, I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

³ He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their injuries.

¹³ A happy heart enlightens the face, but a sad heart reflects a broken spirit.

²² A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit drains one’s strength.

³³ He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to feel distressed and troubled. ³⁴ So he told them, “I’m deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Wait here and stay awake.”

³ Not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ endurance produces character, and character produces hope. ⁵ Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

³⁵ Who will separate us from the Messiah’s love? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or a violent death do this? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long. We are thought of as sheep headed for slaughter.”
³⁷ In all these things we are triumphantly victorious due to the one who loved us.

¹² Paul’s Reason for BoastingFor this is what we boast about: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world with pure motives and godly sincerity, without earthly wisdom but with God’s grace—especially toward you.

⁷ So forgive and comfort him, or else he will drown in his excessive grief.

⁹ but he has told me, “My grace is all you need, because my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most happily boast about my weaknesses, so that the Messiah’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why I take such pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for the Messiah’s sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.

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

⁶ You greatly rejoice in this, even though you have to suffer various kinds of trials for a little while,

⁹ So give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people, so I can discern between good and evil. Otherwise, how will I be able to govern this great people of yours?”

⁹⁷ Mem
Loving God’s WordHow I love your instruction! Every day it is my meditation. ⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my adversaries, since they are always with me. ⁹⁹ I am more insightful than my teachers, because your decrees are my meditations. ¹⁰⁰ I have more common sense than the elders, for I observe your precepts. ¹⁰¹ I keep away from every evil choice so that I may keep your word. ¹⁰² I do not avoid your judgments, for you pointed them out to me. ¹⁰³ How pleasing is what you have to say to me— tasting better than honey. ¹⁰⁴ I obtain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.

⁵ Let the wise listen and increase their learning; let the person of understanding receive guidance

⁵ Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget or turn aside from the words of my mouth!

⁷ Wisdom is of utmost importance, therefore get wisdom, and with all your effort work to acquire understanding.

⁹ Counsel a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will add to his learning.

¹⁴ A discerning mind seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on stupidity.

²³ Purchase truth, but don’t sell it; store up wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

⁸ But others fell on good soil, and when they came up, they produced 100 times as much as was planted.” As he said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”
⁹ The Purpose of the Parables
Then his disciples began to ask him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ So he said, “You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are given in parables, so that ‘they might look but not see, and they might listen but not understand.’”

³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet and kept listening to what he was saying.

¹⁵ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to give you the wisdom you need for salvation through faith in the Messiah Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good action.

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

²⁰ You are to tell him, ‘Look! Your servant Jacob is coming along behind us.’”
Jacob was thinking, “I’ll pacify him with the presents that are being sent ahead of me. Then, when I meet him, perhaps he’ll accept me.”

¹⁰ “Please,” Jacob implored him, “don’t refuse. If I’m to receive favor from you, then receive this gift from me, because seeing your face is like seeing the face of God, since you have favorably accepted me.

¹¹ Jacob Gives Instructions for the Trip“If that’s the way it has to be,” their father Israel replied, “then do this: take some of the best produce of the land in your containers and take them to the man as a gift—some resin ointment, some honey, fragrant resins, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds.

²⁷ Now let this present that your servant has brought to your majesty be given to the young men who follow your majesty.

⁸ A bribe works wonders in the eyes of its giver; wherever he turns he prospers.

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

¹⁴ Privately given gifts pacify wrath, and payments made secretly appease great anger.

¹ David’s Experience with His AdversariesNow just as David happened to have passed the summit of the Mount of Olives, suddenly Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba met him, accompanied by a couple of saddled donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 pieces of summer fruit, and a skin of wine! ² The king asked Ziba, “What are those for?”
Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for your young men to eat, and the wine is for whoever wants to drink if they get weary in the wilderness.”
³ Then the king asked, “Where is your master’s son?”
“He’s staying in Jerusalem!” Ziba answered the king. “He’s saying ‘The nation of Israel will restore my father’s kingdom to me today!’”

²⁴ David Meets MephiboshethMeanwhile, Saul’s grandson Mephibosheth also went out to greet the king. He had not taken care of his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. ²⁵ When he arrived from Jerusalem to greet the king, the king asked him, “So why didn’t you come with me, Mephibosheth?”
²⁶ He replied, “Well, your majesty, since your servant is lame, I told myself, ‘I’ll have my donkey saddled and I’ll ride on it so I can leave with the king.’ But my servant Ziba deceived me ²⁷ by slandering your servant to your majesty. But your majesty the king is like an angel from God: so do what you think is best.

¹³ Whoever answers before listening is both foolish and shameful.

⁵ For we have found this man a perfect pest and an agitator among all Jews throughout the world. He is a ringleader in the sect of the Nazarenes ⁶ and even tried to profane the Temple, but we arrested him.

¹² They never found me debating with anyone in the Temple or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or throughout the city, ¹³ and they cannot prove to you the charges they are now bringing against me.

² by lot, just as the LORD commanded through Moses for the nine tribes and the half-tribe,

²¹ Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was chosen. Finally, Kish’s son Saul was chosen, but when they looked for him, they couldn’t find him. ²² So they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?”
The LORD said, “He is here, hiding among the baggage.”
²³ They ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the others by a head. ²⁴ Then Samuel told all the people, “Do you see the man whom the LORD has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people.”
Then all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
²⁵ Samuel explained to the people the regulations concerning kingship. He wrote them in a scroll and placed it in the LORD’s presence. Then Samuel sent all the people to their own houses. ²⁶ Saul also went to his house in Gibeah, and the soldiers whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷ But some troublemakers said, “How can this man deliver us?” They despised him and did not bring him a gift. But Saul remained silent.
The Ammonites Threaten Jabesh-gilead²⁸Meanwhile, Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been severely oppressing the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and not allowing Israel to have a deliverer. No one was left among the Israelis across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. However, 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead.

⁴² Saul said, “Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan,” and Jonathan was selected.

⁶³ The descendants of Merari were allotted 12 towns according to their families from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

³¹ These individuals also cast lots corresponding to their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, in the presence of King David, Zadok, and Ahimelech, and in the presence of the heads of the ancestral households of the priests and of the descendants of Levi, and the eldest was treated as impartially as was the younger brother.

¹ Inhabitants of JerusalemThe leaders of the people who lived in Jerusalem, along with the rest of the people, decided to choose one out of ten of them by lot to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, leaving the other nine of them in their towns.

³³ The dice is cast into someone’s lap, but the outcome is from the LORD.

⁵ but he did not look favorably upon Cain and his offering.
When Cain became very upset and depressed, ⁶ the LORD asked Cain, “Why are you so upset? Why are you depressed? ⁷ If you do what is appropriate, you’ll be accepted, won’t you? But if you don’t do what is appropriate, sin is crouching near your doorway, turning toward you. Now as for you, will you take dominion over it?”
⁸ Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the wilderness.” When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁴¹ So Esau harbored animosity toward Jacob because of the way his father had blessed him. Esau kept saying to himself, “The time to mourn for my father is very near. That’s when I’m going to kill my brother Jacob.”
⁴² Eventually, what Rebekah’s older son Esau had been saying was reported to her, so she sent for her younger son Jacob and warned him, “Look! Your brother is planning to get even by killing you. ⁴³ Son, you’d better do what I say! Get up, run off to my brother Laban in Haran, ⁴⁴ and stay there with him a few days until your brother’s fury subsides. ⁴⁵ After that happens and he has forgotten what you’ve done to him, I’ll send for you so you can return from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”

⁶ Later, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We went to your brother Esau. He’s now coming to meet you—and he has 400 men with him!”
⁷ Feeling mounting terror and distress, Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, doing the same with the flocks, the cattle, and the camels. ⁸ Jacob was thinking, “If Esau comes to one group and attacks it, then the remaining group may escape.”
⁹ Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, O God of my father Isaac, O LORD, you who told me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives and I’ll cause things to go well for you.’ ¹⁰ I’m unworthy of all your gracious love, your faithfulness, and everything that you’ve done for your servant. When I first crossed over this river, I had only my staff. But now I’ve become two groups. ¹¹ Deliver me from my brother Esau’s control, because I’m terrified of him, and I’m afraid that he’s coming to attack me, the mothers, and their children.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his brothers, since he was born to him in his old age, so he had made a richly-embroidered tunic for him. ⁴ When Joseph’s brothers realized that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him so much that they were unable to speak politely to him.
⁵ Joseph’s DreamsRight about this time, Joseph had a dream and then told it to his brothers. As a result, his brothers hated him all the more!

¹¹ As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this.

¹⁸ Joseph’s Brothers Plot to Kill HimNow as soon as they saw him approaching from a distance, before he arrived they plotted together to kill him. ¹⁹ “Look!” they said. “Here comes the Dream Master! ²⁰ Come on! Let’s kill him and toss him into one of the cisterns. Then we’ll report that some wild animal devoured him and wait to see what becomes of his dreams!”
²¹ When Reuben heard about it, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. “Let’s not do any killing,” ²² Reuben told them. “And no blood shedding, either. Instead, let’s toss him into this cistern that’s way out here in the wilderness. But don’t lay a hand on him.” (Reuben intended to free Joseph and return him to his father.)
²³ Joseph is Sold into SlaveryAs it was, when Joseph arrived where his brothers were, they stripped off the tunic that Jacob had given him—that is, the richly-embroidered tunic that he was wearing. ²⁴ They grabbed him and tossed him into the cistern, but the cistern was empty. (There was no water in it.) ²⁵ After this, while they were seated, eating their food, they looked around and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with camels carrying spices, balm, and myrrh for sale down in Egypt.
²⁶ Then Judah suggested to his brothers, “Where’s the profit in just killing our brother and shedding his blood? ²⁷ Come on! Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites! That way, we won’t have laid our hands on him. After all, he’s our brother, our own flesh.”
So Judah’s brothers listened to him.

²² But Absalom never said a word, either good or bad, to Amnon. Nevertheless, he hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar.

²⁸ Then Absalom instructed his young men, “Please keep watching Amnon until he’s drunk. Then I’ll tell you, ‘Attack Amnon!’ As soon as I do, kill him and don’t be afraid! You have your orders, so be strong and brave!”

²³ Then King Solomon took this oath in the name of the LORD: “May God do so to me, and more besides, if Adonijah hasn’t endangered his life by bringing up this subject. ²⁴ Now therefore, as the LORD lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of my father David, and who has established a dynasty, just like he promised, Adonijah will surely be executed today.” ²⁵ So King Solomon sent for Jehoiada’s son Benaiah, who attacked and killed Adonijah.

¹⁶ When all of Israel saw that the king wasn’t listening to them, the people responded to the king’s message, “What’s the point in following David? We have no inheritance in the descendants of Jesse. Let’s go home, Israel! David, take care of your own household!’ So Israel left for home.

¹⁷ Abijah and his army defeated them in a tremendous slaughter that resulted in 500,000 special forces from Israel being slain.

¹⁹ a false witness snorting lies, and someone sowing quarrels between brothers.

³² Whoever controls his temper is better than a warrior, and anyone who has control of his spirit is better than someone who captures a city.

³⁹ The disagreement was so sharp that they parted ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus,

¹³ An evil man’s sinful speech ensnares him, but the righteous person escapes from trouble. ¹⁴ By his fruitful speech a man can remain satisfied, and a man’s handiwork will reward him.

² From the fruit of his words a man receives benefit, but the treacherous crave violence.

¹⁸ for it is pleasant when you treasure them within you and have them ready on your lips.

²¹ to teach you true and reliable advice, so you can give truthful answers to those who sent you?

¹¹ Like golden apples set in silver is a word spoken at the right time. ¹² Like a gold earring and a necklace of pure gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

¹⁹ Transgression is at work where people talk too much, but anyone who holds his tongue is prudent. ²⁰ What the righteous person says is like precious silver; the thoughts of the wicked are compared to small things. ²¹ What the righteous person says nourishes many, but fools die because they lack discerning hearts.

³¹ The words of the righteous overflow with wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut out.

³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who wins people is wise.

² From the fruit of his words a man receives benefit, but the treacherous crave violence. ³ Anyone who guards his words protects his life; anyone who talks too much is ruined.

⁴ The words a man says are as deep waters— a fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream. ⁵ It’s not good to be partial towards an evil person, thereby depriving the righteous of justice. ⁶ A fool’s words bring strife, and his mouth invites fighting. ⁷ A fool’s mouth is his unraveling, and his lips entrap himself.

¹⁹ when I create the fruit of the lips: Peace to the one who is far away or near,” says the LORD, “and I’ll heal him.

³⁵ A good person brings good things out of a good treasure house, and an evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure house. ³⁶ I tell you, on Judgment Day people will give an account for every thoughtless word they have uttered, ³⁷ because by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

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

¹⁶ To some people we are a deadly fragrance, while to others we are a living fragrance. Who is qualified for this?

¹⁵ So it is not surprising if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their doom will match their deeds!

²⁹ Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you.

¹⁰ Guard What is TrueFor there are many people who are rebellious, especially those who are converts from Judaism. They speak utter nonsense and deceive people. ¹¹ They must be silenced, because they are the kind of people who ruin whole families by teaching what they should not teach in order to make money in a shameful way.

⁶ The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. Placed among the parts of our bodies, the tongue contaminates the whole body and sets on fire the course of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷ For all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures can be or have been tamed by humans, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is an uncontrollable evil filled with deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in God’s likeness.

¹⁸ By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error.

¹⁸ The Creation of the WomanLater, the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the woman to be an authority corresponding to him.”

⁶⁷ Later, Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent that had belonged to his mother Sarah and married her. Isaac loved her, and that’s how he was comforted following the loss of his mother.

²⁰ Jacob served seven years for Rachel, but it seemed like only a few days because of his love for her.
²¹ Eventually, Jacob told Laban, “Bring me my wife, now that my time of service has been completed, so I can go be with her.”

²⁸ So Jacob completed another seven years’ work, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

⁴ and find favor and a good reputation with God and men.

¹⁵ The Delights of Marital FaithfulnessDrink water from your own cistern, and fresh water from your own well. ¹⁶ Should your springs flow outside, or streams of water in the street? ¹⁷ They should be for you alone and not for strangers who are with you. ¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed and enjoy the wife of your youth. ¹⁹ Like a loving deer, a beautiful doe, let her breasts satisfy you all the time. Be constantly intoxicated by her love. ²⁰ Why should you be intoxicated by an adulteress, my son, and embrace the bosom of a foreign woman? ²¹ Indeed, what a man does is always in the LORD’s presence, and he weighs all his paths. ²² The wicked person’s iniquities will capture him, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. ²³ He will die for lack of discipline, and he goes astray because of his great folly.

³⁵ because those who find me find life and gain favor from the LORD.

⁴ A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband, but a wife who puts him to shame is like bone cancer.

¹⁴ A house and self-sufficiency are a father’s inheritance, but from the LORD comes an insightful wife.

¹⁰ The Honorable WomanWho can find a capable wife? Her value far exceeds the finest jewels. ¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her; as a result, he lacks nothing of value. ¹² She will bring good to him—never evil— every day of her life. ¹³ She seeks out wool and flax, working with eager hands. ¹⁴ She is like a seagoing ship that brings her food from far away. ¹⁵ She rises while it is still night, preparing meals for her family and providing for her women servants. ¹⁶ She evaluates a field and purchases it; from the proceeds she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She clothes herself with fortitude, and fortifies her arms with strength. ¹⁸ She is confident that her profits are sufficient. Her lamp does not go out at night. ¹⁹ She works with her own hands on her clothes— her hands work the sewing spindle. ²⁰ She reaches out to the poor, opening her hands to those in need. ²¹ She is unafraid of winter’s effect on her household, because all of them are warmly clothed. ²² She creates her own bedding, using fine linen and violet cloth. ²³ Her husband is well known; he sits among the leaders of the land. ²⁴ She designs and sells linen garments, supplying accessories to clothiers. ²⁵ Strength and dignity are her garments; she smiles about the future. ²⁶ She speaks wisely, teaching with gracious love. ²⁷ She looks discretely to the affairs of her household, and she is never lazy. ²⁸ Her children stand up and encourage her, as does her husband, who praises her: ²⁹ “Many women have done wonderful things,” he says, “but you surpass all of them!” ³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty fades; but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised. ³¹ Reward her for her work— let her actions result in public praise.

⁹ Find joy in living with your wife whom you love every day of your pointless life that God gave you on earth, because this is your life assignment and your work to do on earth.

¹² Jacob fled into the land of Aram; Israel served there to obtain his wife, tending sheep to gain his wife.

² Because sexual immorality is so rampant, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.

⁷ As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he knew who they were, but he remained disguised and asked them gruffly, “Where are you from?”
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We’re here to buy food.”

³⁰ “The man who was in charge of the land spoke harshly to us,” they said. “He accused us of being spies!

² Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know about the LORD, nor will I let Israel go!”

⁷ She asked us, ‘Please allow me to glean what’s left of the grain behind the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued working from dawn until now, except for a short time in a shelter.”

³⁶ Anyone who remains in your family will come and prostrate themselves before him for a small wage or a loaf of bread and will say, “Please put me in one of the priest’s offices so I can eat a piece of bread.”’”

¹⁰ Nabal answered David’s servants: “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters.

¹⁷ Now, be aware of this and consider what you should do. Calamity is being planned against our master and against his entire household. He’s such a worthless person that no one can talk to him.”

¹ The Miracle of the Oil Vessels
Now there happened to be a certain woman who had been the wife of a member of the Guild of Prophets. She cried out to Elisha, “My husband who served you has died, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. But a creditor has come to take away my children into indentured servitude!”
² Elisha responded, “What shall I do for you? Tell me what you have in your house.”
She replied, “Your servant has nothing in the entire house except for a flask of oil.”

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

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

⁹ A brother of humble means should rejoice in his having been exalted, ¹⁰ and a rich person in his having been humbled, because he will fade away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass. The flower in it drops off, and its beauty is gone. That is how the rich person will fade away in his pursuits.

³ If you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Please take this seat,” but you say to the poor man, “Stand over there” or “Sit on the floor at my feet,”

⁶ But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court?

⁴ Jonathan spoke to his father Saul favorably about David. “The king shouldn’t wrong his servant David because he has not wronged you and because what he has done has been very beneficial for you. ⁵ He risked his life and struck down the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a spectacular deliverance for all Israel. You saw that and rejoiced, so why would you do wrong and shed innocent blood by killing David without cause?”

²⁶ David Shares the Spoil with the People of JudahDavid came to Ziklag, and he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, and to his friends, telling them, “Look, this is a gift for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD ²⁷ in Bethel, Ramoth-negev, Jattir, ²⁸ Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, ²⁹ Rachal, in the Jerahmeelite towns, in the Kenite towns, ³⁰ in Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach, ³¹ Hebron, and for all those places where David and his men had frequented.”

²⁶ I am in distress for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been most kind to me. Your love for me was extraordinary— beyond love from women.

¹ David Shows Kindness to MephiboshethLater on, David asked, “Is there anyone left alive from Saul’s household to whom I can show gracious love in memory of Jonathan?”
² A household servant of Saul named Ziba was called to appear before David, and the king asked him, “Are you Ziba?”
“I am your servant,” Ziba replied.
³ At this the king asked, “Isn’t there still someone left from Saul’s household to whom I may show God’s gracious love?”
“There’s Jonathan’s son. He has maimed feet, ” Ziba answered.
⁴ So David asked, “Where is he?”
Ziba responded, “He’s in Lo-debar at the home of Ammiel’s son Makir.”
⁵ At this, King David sent for him and brought him from the home of Ammiel’s son Makir in Lo-debar. ⁶ When Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and a grandson of Saul, approached David, he threw himself on his face out of respect.
“Mephibosheth!” David said as he greeted him.
“Hello! I am your servant,” he replied.
⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” David reassured him, “because I’m going to show gracious love to you in memory of your father Jonathan. I’m going to restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you’ll always have a place at my table!”
⁸ Mephibosheth bowed low again and asked, “Who am I, your servant, that you would pay attention to a dead dog like me?”
⁹ At this, the king called for Saul’s servant Ziba and told him, “I’m restoring to your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. ¹⁰ You and your servants are to farm the land on his behalf and bring in the crops in order to provide for your master’s grandson. Meanwhile, Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will always have a place at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and 20 servants.)
¹¹ Later, Ziba told the king, “Your servant will do everything that your majesty the king commands him.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons. ¹² Mephibosheth fathered a son named Mica, and everyone who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. ¹³ Mephibosheth continued to live in Jerusalem, always eating at the king’s table, since he was maimed in both feet.

¹⁷ But Absalom asked Hushai, “So this is how you demonstrate your loyalty to your closest friends? Why didn’t you leave with your friend?”

²⁷ When David arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi (Nahash’s son from the Ammonite town of Rabbah), Makir (Ammiel’s son from Lo-debar), and Barzillai (from Rogelim in Gilead) were already there. ²⁸ They brought along bedding, bowls, clay basins, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grains, beans, peas, ²⁹ honey, cheeses, sheep, and cheese made from cow’s milk for David and his entourage because they had been reasoning, “The people are hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the wilderness.”

³⁰ But Mephibosheth told the king, “Let him take all of it, now that your majesty the king has returned safely to his palace.”
³¹ David’s Mercy for BarzillaiBarzillai the Gileadite also had come down from Rogelim to cross the Jordan River with the king and to see him on his way from there. ³² Now Barzillai was a very old man at the age of 80 years. A very wealthy man, Barzillai had provided for king David during his sojourn in Mahanaim. ³³ So the king invited Barzillai, “Cross the Jordan River with me, live with me in Jerusalem, and I’ll provide for you there.”
³⁴ “How many more years do I have to live,” Barzillai replied to the king, “that I should move to Jerusalem with the king? ³⁵ I’m now 80 years old! I can hardly tell the difference between what tastes good or bad! I can’t tell what I eat or drink! I can’t hear the voice of men and women when they sing! So why should your servant be an added burden to your majesty the king? ³⁶ Your servant will cross the Jordan River with the king for a short distance, but why should the king offer me this reward? ³⁷ Please let your servant return so I can die in my own home town near the grave of my father and mother. Meanwhile, here is your servant Chimham! Let him accompany your majesty the king. Please do for him whatever seems best to you.”
³⁸ So the king answered, “Chimham will accompany me, and I’ll do for him whatever seems best to you! I’ll do anything for you that you want!” ³⁹ Then all the people crossed the Jordan River, followed by the king. The king embraced Barzillai, blessed him, and then Barzillai returned to his home.

⁷ The king exempted Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the promise to the LORD that existed between David and Saul’s son Jonathan.

³⁸ All these warriors arrived in battle order at Hebron, fully intending to establish David as king over all Israel. Furthermore, all of the rest of Israel were united in their intent to make David king. ³⁹ They spent three days eating and drinking with David, since their relatives had supplied provisions for them.
⁴⁰ Their neighbors came from as far away as the territories of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, bringing provisions loaded on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought abundant provisions of meal, fig bars, raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep, because there was joy in Israel.

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is there for times of trouble.

⁹ Ointments and perfume encourage the heart; in a similar way, a friend’s advice is sweet to the soul.

⁴⁹ So Judas immediately went up to Jesus and said, “Hello, Rabbi!” and kissed him tenderly.
⁵⁰ Jesus asked him, “Friend, why are you here?” Then the other men surged forward, took hold of Jesus, and arrested him.

¹³ No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends, if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends, because I’ve made known to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father.