Proverbs 2 Cross References - ISV

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. ⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright and is a shield to those who walk in integrity— ⁸ guarding the paths of the just and protecting the way of his faithful ones. ⁹ Then you will understand what is right, just, and upright—every good path. ¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. ¹¹ Discretion will protect you; understanding will watch over you, ¹² delivering you from the way of evil, from men who speak perverse things, ¹³ and from those who abandon the right path to travel along the ways of darkness; ¹⁴ who delight in doing evil, and rejoice in the perverseness of evil; ¹⁵ whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways, ¹⁶ delivering you from the adulteress, from the immoral woman with her seductive words, ¹⁷ someone who abandoned the companion of her youth and forgot the covenant of her God. ¹⁸ For her house leads down to death, and her paths down to the realm of the dead. ¹⁹ None who go to her return, nor do they reach the paths of life. ²⁰ This is how you will walk in the way of good men and will keep to the paths of the righteous. ²¹ For the upright will live in the land, and people of integrity will remain in it. ²² But the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

⁶ Let these words that I’m commanding you today be always on your heart. ⁷ Teach them repeatedly to your children. Talk about them while sitting in your house or walking on the road, and as you lie down or get up. ⁸ Tie them as reminders on your forearm, bind them on your forehead, ⁹ and write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates.”

¹² I haven’t wandered away from the commands that he has spoken; I’ve treasured what he has said more than my own meals.”

⁹ Bet
The Benefits of the WordHow can a young man keep his behavior pure? By guarding it in accordance with your word. ¹⁰ I have sought you with all of my heart; do not let me drift away from your commands. ¹¹ I have stored what you have said in my heart, so I won’t sin against you.

³ for acquiring the discipline that produces wise behavior, righteousness, justice, and upright living;

¹ The Blessings of Trusting God My son, don’t forget my instruction, and keep my commandments carefully in mind.

¹ Diligently Pursue Wisdom Listen, children, to your father’s instruction, and pay attention in order to gain understanding.

¹⁰ Listen, my son: accept my words, and you’ll live a long, long time.

²⁰ Remembering the Counsel of a Wise FatherMy son, pay attention to my words, and listen closely to what I say. ²¹ Do not let them out of your sight; keep them within your heart. ²² For they are life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

²¹ by binding them to your heart continuously, fastening them around your neck.

¹ On Avoiding the Immoral Woman My son, guard what I say and treasure my commands.

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.”

¹⁹ However, Mary continued to treasure all these things in her heart and to ponder them.

⁵¹ Then he went back with them, returning to Nazareth and remaining in submission to them. His mother continued to treasure all these things in her heart.

⁴⁴ “Listen carefully to these words. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.”

⁴⁷ If anyone hears my words and doesn’t keep them, I don’t condemn him, because I didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it. ⁴⁸ The one who rejects me and doesn’t receive my words has something to judge him: The word that I’ve spoken will judge him on the last day,

¹⁵ This is a trustworthy saying that deserves complete acceptance: To this world Messiah came, sinful people to reclaim. I am the worst of them.

¹² teach us to keep account of our days so we may develop inner wisdom.

¹¹¹ I have inherited your decrees forever, because they are the joy of my heart. ¹¹² As a result, I am determined to carry out your statutes forever.

¹ How Fools Talk Whoever isolates himself pursues selfish ends; he resists all sound advice.

¹⁷ Sayings of the WisePay attention and listen to the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my teaching, ¹⁸ for it is pleasant when you treasure them within you and have them ready on your lips. ¹⁹ As a result, your trust will be in the LORD, that’s why I’m teaching you today, even you. ²⁰ Have I not written for you 30 sayings containing counsel and knowledge, ²¹ to teach you true and reliable advice, so you can give truthful answers to those who sent you?

¹² Learn diligently, and listen to words of knowledge.

²⁵ I committed myself to understand, to learn, to search for wisdom and explanations, and to understand both the evil that is foolishness and the stupidity that is delusion.

⁹ I observed all this, and carefully considered everything that is undertaken on earth, especially the time when someone dominates another to his detriment.

¹⁶ When I dedicated myself to experience wisdom and to observe what is undertaken on earth—even going without sleep day and night—

³ Pay attention to me, come to me; and listen, so that you may live; then I’ll make an everlasting covenant with you, as promised by my faithful, sure love for David.

⁹ Let the person who has ears listen!”

¹¹ These people were more receptive than those in Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive the message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if those things were so.

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?”
¹⁰ The LORD was pleased that Solomon had asked for this, ¹¹ so God told him: “Because you asked for this, and you didn’t ask for a long life for yourself, and you didn’t ask for the lives of your enemies, but instead you’ve asked for discernment so you can understand how to govern, ¹² look how I’m going to do precisely what you asked. I’m giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you.

¹² “Only may the LORD give you discretion and understanding as he places you in charge over Israel, so you can keep the Law of the LORD your God.

⁴ Cause me to understand your ways, LORD; teach me your paths. ⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me; for you are the God who delivers me. All day long I have waited for you.

³⁴ Give me understanding and I will observe your instruction. I will keep it with all of my heart.

⁷³ Yod
Prayer for God’s GraceYour hands made and formed me; give me understanding, that I may learn your commands.

¹²⁵ Since I am your servant, give me understanding, so I will know your decrees.

¹⁶⁹ Tav
The Joy of God’s WordMay my cry arise before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word.

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

¹⁷ I love those who love me, and those who seek me will find me.

¹³ So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who keep asking him!”

¹⁷ I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the most glorious Father, would give you a wise spirit, along with revelation that comes through knowing the Messiah fully. ¹⁸ Then, with the eyes of your hearts enlightened, you will know the confidence that is produced by God having called you, the rich glory that is his inheritance among the saints,

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.

²¹ To those who are longing for death— even though it does not come? To those who search for it more than for hidden treasure?

¹² Wisdom is of Greater Value than Precious Stones“Where can wisdom be found? Where is understanding’s home? ¹³ Mankind doesn’t appreciate their value; and you won’t find it anywhere on earth. ¹⁴ The deepest ocean says, ‘It’s not within me.’ and the sea says, ‘You’ll never find it with me.’ ¹⁵ You can’t buy it with gold, and its value cannot be calculated in silver. ¹⁶ It cannot be compared to gold from Ophir, with precious onyx, or with sapphire. ¹⁷ It cannot be compared to gold and fine glass crystal, nor can it be exchanged for gold-plated weaponry. ¹⁸ Don’t even bother to mention coral and crystal— wisdom is more valuable than a bag of rubies. ¹⁹ It can neither be compared with the topaz of Ethiopia nor valued in comparison to pure gold.”
²⁰ Wisdom is from God“From where, then, does wisdom originate? Where does understanding live?

¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, even much fine gold. They are sweeter than honey, even the drippings from a honeycomb.

¹⁴ I find joy in the path of your decrees, as if I owned all kinds of riches.

⁷² Instruction that comes from you is better for me than thousands of gold and silver coins.

¹²⁷ I truly love your commands more than gold, including fine gold.

¹⁴ because her profit is better than the profit of silver, and her yield than fine gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁸ Wealth and honor accompany me, as do enduring wealth and righteousness. ¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, better than even refined gold, and my benefit surpasses the purest silver.

¹⁶ How much better than gaining gold is the acquisition of wisdom, the attainment of wisdom better than silver!

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

⁸ Consider someone who is alone, having neither son nor brother. There is no end to all of his work, and he is never satisfied with wealth. “So for whom do I work,” he asks, “and deprive myself of pleasure?” This, too, is pointless and a terrible tragedy.

¹⁹ Teaching about Treasures
“Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But keep on storing up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, ²¹ because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

²¹ Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.” ²² But when the young man heard this statement he went away sad, because he had many possessions.

²⁹ In fact, everyone who has left his homes, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

⁸ The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people are more clever than enlightened people in dealing with their own.

¹⁰ Give me wisdom now, so I may go in and out among this people, because who can rule this great people that belongs to you?
¹¹ God told Solomon, “Since you had this in mind, to ask neither to focus on riches, wealth, honor, or the lives of those who hate you, nor have you requested a long life, but instead you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may rule my people over whom I have established you as king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. Furthermore, I will give you riches, wealth, and honor—such as none of the kings owned who lived before you and none after you are to ever attain their equal.”

²⁸ He has commanded mankind: ‘To fear the Lord—that is wisdom; to move away from evil—that is understanding.’”

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

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is where wisdom begins, and knowing holiness demonstrates understanding.

²⁴ Rather, let the one who boasts, boast in this: that he understands and knows me, for I am the LORD who acts with gracious love, justice, and righteousness in the land. I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

⁷ I’ll give them the ability to know me, for I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God when they return to me with all their heart.

³⁴ No longer will a person teach his neighbor or his relative: ‘Know the LORD.’ Instead, they’ll all know me, from the least to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD. “Indeed, I’ll forgive their iniquity, and I’ll remember their sin no more.”

⁴⁰ I’ll make an everlasting covenant with them that I won’t turn away from doing good for them. I’ll put the fear of me in their hearts so they won’t turn away from me. ⁴¹ I’ll rejoice over them to do good for them, and I’ll faithfully plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.’

³ Let us know, let us pursue knowledge of the LORD; his coming is as certain as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the autumn and spring rains come on the earth.

⁷ Ask, Search, Knock
“Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened for you. ⁸ Because everyone who keeps asking will receive, and the person who keeps searching will find, and the person who keeps knocking will have the door opened.

²⁷ All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and the person to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

²² 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 the person to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

⁹ Ask, Search, Knock
So I say to you: Keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened for you, ¹⁰ because everyone who keeps asking will receive, and the person who keeps searching will find, and the person who keeps knocking will have the door opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for bread, would give him a stone, or if he asks for a fish, would give him a snake instead of the fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, would he give him a scorpion? ¹³ So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who keep asking him!”

³ And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah.

²⁰ We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true God. We are in union with the one who is true, his Son Jesus the Messiah, who is the true God and eternal life.

³ and I’ve filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all kinds of craftsmanship

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?”

¹² look how I’m going to do precisely what you asked. I’m giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you.

²⁹ Solomon’s FameGod gave Solomon wisdom and great discernment. His insights were as numerous as sand on the seashore.

⁸ However, a spirit exists in mankind, and the Almighty’s breath gives him insight.

⁷ God’s Revelation in the LawThe Law of the LORD is perfect, restoring life. The testimony of the LORD is steadfast, making foolish people wise.

⁹⁸ Your commands make me wiser than my adversaries, since they are always with me.

¹⁰⁴ I obtain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.

²³ Because the command is a lamp and the Law a light, rebukes that discipline are a way of life—

⁵ Understand prudence, you naïve people; and gain an understanding heart, you foolish ones. ⁶ Listen, because I have noble things to say, and what I have to say will reveal what is right. ⁷ For my mouth speaks the truth— wickedness is detestable to me. ⁸ Everything I have to say is just; there isn’t anything corrupt or perverse in my speech. ⁹ Everything I say is sensible to someone who understands, and correct to those who have acquired knowledge.

²⁰ for instruction and for testimony? Surely they are speaking like this because the truth hasn’t dawned on them.

¹³ Then all your children will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s prosperity.

¹⁷ As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge, aptitude for learning, and wisdom. Daniel also could understand all kinds of visions and dreams.

²¹ It is God who alters the times and seasons, and he removes kings and promotes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

²³ To you, God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, because you have given me wisdom and power; you have now revealed to me what we asked of you by making known to us what the king commanded.”

¹⁵ because I will give you the ability to speak, along with wisdom, that none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ‘And all of them will be taught by God.’ Everyone who has listened to the Father and has learned anything comes to me.

¹⁷ Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow.

⁸ The proud beasts haven’t walked there; lions have never passed over it.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD grants grace and favor; the LORD will not withhold any good thing from those who walk blamelessly.

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.

¹⁴ Counsel belongs to me, along with sound judgment. I am understanding. Power belongs to me.

⁸ The wisdom of the prudent helps him know how to live, but a fool’s stupidity deceives him.

¹⁸ Whoever lives blamelessly will be delivered, but whoever is perverted will fall without warning.

⁵ Everything God says is pure; he is a shield for those who take refuge in him.

¹⁹ For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject.”

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah is God’s power and God’s wisdom.

³⁰ It is because of God that you are in union with the Messiah Jesus, who for us has become wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

⁶ God’s Spirit Reveals EverythingHowever, when we are among mature people, we do speak a message of wisdom, but not the wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are passing off the scene. ⁷ Instead, we speak about God’s wisdom in a hidden secret, which God destined before the world began for our glory.

¹⁸ True WisdomLet no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in the ways of this world, he must become a fool to become really wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. For it is written, “He catches the wise with their own trickery,”

³ In him are stored all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

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.

¹⁵ That kind of wisdom does not come from above. No, it is worldly, self-centered, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.
¹⁷ However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of compassion and good deeds, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

³ Indeed, lover of people, all of his holy ones are in your control. They gather at your feet to do as you have instructed.

²⁶ Israel’s Defender“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens with its lofty clouds to help you. ²⁷ The God of old is a dwelling place, with everlasting arms underneath. He drove out your enemies before you and said: ‘Destroy them!’ ²⁸ So Israel lives in confidence, isolated as the fountain of Jacob in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens rain down dew. ²⁹ How blessed are you, Israel! Who can be like you, a people delivered by the LORD, your shield of help and your finely crafted sword. May your enemies cower before you. You will tread down their high places.”

⁹ He guards the steps of his faithful ones, while the wicked are made silent in darkness. He grants the request of the one who prays. He blesses the year of the righteous. Indeed it’s not by strength that a person prevails.

⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.

³ He revives my life; he leads me in pathways that are righteous for the sake of his name.

²³ A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and the LORD delights in his way. ²⁴ Though he stumbles, he will not fall down flat, for the LORD will hold up his hand.

²⁸ Indeed, the LORD loves justice, and he will not abandon his godly ones. They are kept safe forever, but the lawless will be chased away, and the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

³¹ The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps will not slip.

⁹ He gives us life and does not permit our feet to slip.

⁵ The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade at your right side. ⁶ The sun will not ravage you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ The LORD will guard you from all evil, preserving your life. ⁸ The LORD will guard your goings and comings, from this time on and forever.

²⁰ The LORD preserves everyone who loves him, but he will destroy all of the wicked.

²¹ Benefits of WisdomMy son, do not let wisdom leave your sight. Carefully observe sound judgment and discernment, ²² and they will be life to you and a graceful ornament for your neck. ²³ Then you will travel safely on your way, and your foot will not stumble. ²⁴ When you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant.

²⁰ I walk on the way of righteousness, along paths that are just,

⁹ No lions will be there— no— nor will any ferocious beasts get up on it, and they will not be found there. “But the redeemed will walk there,

⁹ saying to captives, ‘Come out!’ and to those who are in darkness, ‘Be free!’ “They will feed on all the mountains, and their pasture will be on all the barren hills. ¹⁰ They won’t hunger or thirst, nor will the desert heat or sun beat upon them; for the one who has compassion on them will drive them and guide them alongside springs of water.

²⁸ I give them eternal life, they’ll never be lost, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ What my Father has given me is more important than anything, and no one can snatch it from the Father’s hand.

⁵ Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of this era.

²⁴ Final PrayerNow to the one who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand joyful and faultless in his glorious presence,

⁸ The LORD is good and just; therefore he will teach sinners concerning the way. ⁹ He will guide the humble to justice; he will teach the humble his way.

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you concerning the path you should walk; I will direct you with my eye.

⁹⁹ I am more insightful than my teachers, because your decrees are my meditations.

¹⁰⁵ Nun
God’s Word a LightYour word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my pathway.

⁸ In the morning let me hear of your gracious love, for in you I trust. Cause me to know the way I should take, because I have set my hope on you. ⁹ Deliver me from my enemies, LORD. I have taken refuge in you. ¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

² These proverbs are for gaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; ³ for acquiring the discipline that produces wise behavior, righteousness, justice, and upright living; ⁴ for giving prudence to the naïve, and knowledge and discretion to the young. ⁵ Let the wise listen and increase their learning; let the person of understanding receive guidance ⁶ in understanding proverbs, clever sayings, words of the wise, and their riddles.

⁸ God’s Holy Highway“A highway will be there—yes, there— and people will call it ‘The Holy Way’. As for unclean people, they will not journey on it, but it will be for whomever is traveling on that Way— not even fools will get lost.

¹⁷ “This is what the LORD says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you how to succeed, who directs you in the path by which you should go.

¹⁶ Israel Refuses to RepentThis is what the LORD says: “Stand beside the roads and watch. Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is. Walk in it and find rest for yourselves. But they said, ‘We won’t walk in it!’

¹³ The Narrow Gate
“Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the road is spacious that leads to destruction, and many people are entering by it. ¹⁴ How narrow is the gate and how constricted is the road that leads to life, and there aren’t many people who find it!”

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

³⁴ May my thoughts be pleasing to him; indeed, I will rejoice in the LORD!

⁹⁷ Mem
Loving God’s WordHow I love your instruction! Every day it is my meditation.

¹⁰³ How pleasing is what you have to say to me— tasting better than honey.

¹¹¹ I have inherited your decrees forever, because they are the joy of my heart.

¹⁶² I find joy at what you have said like one who has discovered a great treasure.

³³ Wisdom is at rest in the mind of the discerning— even fools know this.

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.

¹³ My son, eat honey, because it’s good for you; indeed, drippings from the honeycomb are sweet to your taste; ¹⁴ Keep in mind that wisdom is like that for your soul; if you find it, there will be a future for you, and what you hope for won’t be cut short.

¹⁶ Your words were found, and I consumed them. Your words were joy and my hearts delight, because I bear your name, LORD God of the Heavenly Armies.

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.

²¹ Integrity and justice will preserve me, because I wait on you.

⁶ Do not abandon her, and she will protect you. Love her, and she will watch over you.

²² During your travels wisdom will lead you; she will watch over you while you rest; and when you are startled from your sleep, she will commune with you. ²³ Because the command is a lamp and the Law a light, rebukes that discipline are a way of life— ²⁴ to protect you from the evil woman, from the words of the seductive woman.

¹⁵ Now there was found within it a poor, but wise man. He delivered the city by his wisdom, but not one person remembered that poor man.
¹⁶ So I concluded, “Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless, the wisdom of the poor is rejected—his words are never heard.” ¹⁷ The softly spoken words of the wise are to be heard rather than the shouts of a ruler of fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, and a single sinner can destroy a lot of good.

¹⁰ If someone’s ax is blunt—the edge isn’t sharpened— then more strength will be needed. Putting wisdom to work will bring success.

¹⁵ Wise BehaviorSo, then, be careful how you live. Do not be unwise but wise,

⁴ As for the ways of mankind, I have, according to the words of your lips, avoided the ways of the violent. ⁵ Because my steps have held fast to your paths, my footsteps have not faltered.

⁴ I do not sit with those committed to what is false, nor do I travel with hypocrites. ⁵ I hate the company of those who practice evil, nor do I sit with the wicked.

⁴ I will not allow anyone with a perverted mind in my presence; I will not be involved with anything evil.

⁴ Don’t let my heart turn toward evil or involve itself in wicked activities with men who practice iniquity. Let me not feast on their delicacies.

¹⁰ Avoid Evil CounselMy son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. ¹¹ If they say, “Come with us! Let’s lie in wait for blood; let’s ambush some innocent person for no reason at all. ¹² Let’s swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those who go down into the Pit. ¹³ We’ll find all kinds of valuable wealth, and we’ll fill our houses with spoil. ¹⁴ Throw your lot in with us, and all of us will have one purse.” ¹⁵ My son, do not go along with them, and keep your feet away from their paths! ¹⁶ For they run toward evil; these enticers shed blood without hesitation. ¹⁷ Look, it is useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds, ¹⁸ but these people lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush only themselves. ¹⁹ Such is the way of all those who seek illicit gain— it takes away the lives of those who possess it.

³² Indeed, a perverse man is utterly disgusting to the LORD, but he takes the upright into his confidence.

¹⁴ Avoiding the Ways of the WickedDo not enter the path of the wicked, or go along the way of evil men. ¹⁵ Avoid it! Don’t travel on it! Turn away from it, and pass on by. ¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they are doing evil, and they are robbed of their sleep unless they cause someone to stumble. ¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness, and they drink the wine of violence.

¹³ The fear of the LORD is to hate evil. Pride, arrogance, an evil lifestyle, and perverted speech I despise.

⁶ Leave your naïve ways, and live. Walk in the path of understanding.”

²⁰ Whoever keeps company with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools suffers harm.

²⁸ A deceitful man stirs dissension, and anyone who gossips separates friends. ²⁹ A violent man entices his companion and leads him on a path that is not good. ³⁰ Whoever winks knowingly is plotting deceit; anyone who purses his lips is bent towards evil.

³ For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your tongue mutters wickedness. ⁴ No one brings a lawsuit fairly, and no one goes to law honestly; they have relied on empty arguments and they tell lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity. ⁵ They hatch adders’ eggs and weave a spider’s web; whoever eats their eggs dies, and any crushed egg hatches out futility.

³⁰ Indeed, some of your own men will arise and distort the truth in order to lure the disciples into following them.

³³ Stop being deceived: “Wicked friends lead to evil ends.”

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.

¹³ “Then there are those who rebel against the light; they are not acquainted with its ways; and they don’t stay on its course. ¹⁴ The murderer rises at dawn to kill the poor and needy; at night, he is like a thief. ¹⁵ The adulterer watches for twilight, saying, ‘No eye is watching me’ while he veils his face. ¹⁶ They break into houses in the dark; during the day they remained sealed in. They don’t know daylight.

³ All have turned away, together they have become corrupt; no one practices what is good, not even one.

³ The words from his mouth are vain and deceptive. He has abandoned behaving wisely and doing good.

⁵ They neither know nor understand; they walk about in the dark while all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness, and they do not know what they are stumbling over.

¹⁶ Whoever wanders from the path of understanding will end up where the dead are gathered.

²⁶ “When a righteous person turns from his righteous deeds and does evil, he’ll die because of that evil. He’ll die because of his unrighteous acts that he committed.

¹² Human Effort is Useless in Sustaining Righteousness“And now, Son of Man, say this to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous won’t save them when they keep on committing crimes against me, the wickedness of the wicked won’t keep them from remaining away when they’re turning from their wickedness, and no righteous person will keep on living by their righteousness when they sin.’
¹³ “If I tell the righteous person that he will certainly live, if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits evil, none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the wrong that he commits.

⁶ those who turn away from the LORD, don’t seek the LORD, and never ask for his help.”
The Approaching Day of the LORD

⁴³ The Return of the Unclean Spirit
“Whenever an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through waterless places looking for a place to rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will go back to my home that I left.’ When it arrives, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and settle there. And so the final condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That’s just what will happen to this evil generation!”

⁶ John’s Witness to the WordThere was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

⁹ When the man in charge of the banquet tasted the water that had become wine (without knowing where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called for the bridegroom ¹⁰ and told him, “Everyone serves the best wine first, and the cheap kind when people are drunk. But you have kept the best wine until now!” ¹¹ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

¹⁹ And this is the basis for judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who practices wickedness hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his actions may not be exposed.

³⁵ Jesus replied to the crowd, “The light is among you only for a short time. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The person who walks in the darkness is in the darkness and does not know where he is going.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

⁵ For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. ⁶ Therefore, let’s not fall asleep like others do, but let’s stay awake and be sober. ⁷ For people who go to sleep, go to sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night.

¹⁰ because Demas, having fallen in love with this present world, has abandoned me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

⁴ For it is impossible to keep on restoring to repentance time and again people who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have become partners with the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ and who have fallen away, as long as they continue to crucify the Son of God to their own detriment by exposing him to public ridicule.

²⁰ For if, after escaping the world’s corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah, they are again entangled and conquered by those corruptions, then their last condition is worse than their former one. ²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them. ²² The proverb is true that describes what has happened to them: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “A pig that is washed goes back to wallow in the mud.”

¹⁹ They left us, but they were not part of us, for if they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. Their leaving made it clear that none of them was really part of us.

²³ Just as the fool considers wickedness his joy, so is wisdom to the discerning man.

¹⁵ “What right does my beloved have in my house, when she has carried out many evil schemes? Can sacrificial flesh turn disaster away from you, so you can rejoice?”

³ They please the king with their evil, and the princes with their dishonesty.

¹⁵ The adversary captures them with a hook, gathering them up in a fishing net. He collects them with a dragnet, rejoicing and gloating over his catch.

¹¹ When this happens, you will not be ashamed of your actions by which you sinned against me, because I will remove from among you those who revel in pride. Arrogance will have no place in my holy mountain.

⁴ So he went off and discussed with the high priests and the Temple police how he could betray Jesus to them. ⁵ They were delighted, and agreed to give him money.

³² Although they know God’s just requirement—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do these things but even applaud others who practice them.

⁶ is never glad with sin; she’s always glad to side with truth, and pleased that truth will win.

⁵ But those who are not his children acted corruptly against him; they are a defective and perverted generation.

⁵ But for those who choose their own devious paths, the LORD will lead them away, along with those who practice evil. Peace be upon Israel.

⁸ The conduct of a guilty man is perverse, but the behavior of the pure is upright.

⁸ The Illusions of False Prophecy“Go now, and write it down on a tablet in their presence, inscribing it in a book, so that for times to come it may be an everlasting witness. ⁹ For they are a rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to hear the LORD’s instruction. ¹⁰ They say to the seers, ‘Don’t see visions,’ and to the prophets, ‘Don’t give us visions of what is right! Instead, tell us welcome things, prophesy illusions, ¹¹ get out of the way, turn aside from the path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.”
¹² Rejecting God’s MessageTherefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you reject this message, and put your trust in oppression and enjoy it, and since you rely on it, ¹³ therefore, for you this sin will become like a breach in a high wall that is about to collapse, bulging out, and whose crash comes suddenly—in an instant.

⁸ The pathway of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their courses. They have made their roads crooked; no one who walks in them will know peace.”

¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and innocent, God’s children without any faults among a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world

³ who could see that the LORD was with Joseph, because the LORD made everything prosper that Joseph did. ⁴ That’s how Joseph pleased Potiphar as he served him. Eventually, Potiphar appointed Joseph as overseer of his entire household. Moreover, he entrusted everything that he owned into his care. ⁵ From the time he appointed Joseph to be overseer over his entire household and everything that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The LORD’s blessing rested on Joseph, whether in Potiphar’s household or in Potiphar’s fields. ⁶ Everything that he owned, he entrusted into Joseph’s care. He never concerned himself about anything, except for the food he ate.
Potiphar’s Wife Accuses JosephNow Joseph was well built and good looking. ⁷ That’s why, sometime later, Joseph’s master’s wife looked straight at Joseph and propositioned him: “Come on! Let’s have a little sex!”
⁸ But he refused, telling his master’s wife, “Look! My master doesn’t have to worry about anything in the house with me in charge, and he has entrusted everything into my care. ⁹ No one has more authority in this house than I do. He has withheld nothing from me, except you, and that’s because you’re his wife. So how can I commit such a horrible evil? How can I sin against God?”
¹⁰ She kept on talking to him like this day after day, but he wouldn’t listen to her. Not only would he refuse to have sex with her, he refused even to stay around her. ¹¹ One day, though, he went into the house to do his work. None of the household servants were inside, ¹² so she grabbed Joseph by his outer garment and demanded “Let’s have some sex!”
Instead, Joseph ran outside, leaving his outer garment still in her hand.

²⁶ Didn’t Solomon, king of Israel, sin by doing these things, even though among many nations there was no king like him who was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel? Even so, foreign women caused him to sin. ²⁷ Should we listen to you and do all of this terrible evil by transgressing against our God to marry foreign wives?”

³ For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil. ⁴ But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a double-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps lead to Sheol. ⁶ You aren’t thinking about where her life is headed; her steps wander, but you do not realize it. ⁷ Now, children, listen to me. Don’t turn away from what I am saying. ⁸ Keep far away from her, and don’t go near the entrance to her house, ⁹ so that you don’t give your honor to others, and waste your best years; ¹⁰ so that strangers don’t enrich themselves at your expense, and your work won’t end up the possession of foreigners. ¹¹ You will cry out in anguish when your end comes, when your flesh and body are consumed, ¹² and you will say, “How I hated instruction, and my heart rejected correction! ¹³ I did not obey my teachers and did not listen to my instructors. ¹⁴ Now I am at the point of utter disaster in the assembly and in the congregation.”
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?

²⁴ to protect you from the evil woman, from the words of the seductive woman.

⁵ so they can keep you from an adulterous woman, from the immoral woman with her seductive words.
⁶ A Father’s WarningFor from a window in my house I peered through the lattice work, ⁷ and I noticed among the naïve— that is, I discerned among the youths— a senseless young man. ⁸ Proceeding down the street near her corner, he makes his way toward her house ⁹ at twilight, during the evening, even during the darkest part of the night. ¹⁰ Look! A woman makes her way to meet him, dressed as a prostitute and intending to entrap him. ¹¹ She is brazen and defiant— her feet don’t remain at home. ¹² Now she is in the street, now in the plazas, she lurks near every corner. ¹³ So she grabs hold of him and kisses him, with a brazen face she speaks to him, ¹⁴ “I have given my peace offerings, and today I fulfilled my vows. ¹⁵ Therefore, I’ve come out to meet you, I’ve looked just for you, and I found you! ¹⁶ I’ve decorated my bed with new coverings— embroidered linen from Egypt. ¹⁷ I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. ¹⁸ Come, let’s make love until dawn; let’s comfort ourselves with love, ¹⁹ because my husband isn’t home. He left on a long trip. ²⁰ He took a fist full of cash and he’ll return home in a month.” ²¹ She leads him astray with great persuasion; with flattering lips she seduces him. ²² All of a sudden he follows her like an ox fit for slaughter or like a fool fit for a trap ²³ until an arrow pierces his liver. As a bird darts into a snare, he doesn’t realize his fatal decision.

¹⁴ The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; a man experiencing the LORD’s wrath will fall into it.

²⁷ because a prostitute is a deep pit, and the adulterous woman a narrow well.

⁵ A strong man who flatters his neighbor is setting a trap where he walks.

²⁶ I discovered for myself a bitterness that surpasses that of death: the woman whose heart is full of snares and nets, whose hands are chains of bondage. Whoever pleases God will escape from her, but the transgressor will be trapped by her.

¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed and enjoy the wife of your youth.

⁴ Have you not just called out to me, ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—

⁸ God’s Betrothal to Jerusalem“When I passed by you again, I looked at you, and noticed that it was your proper time for love. I spread my cloak over you to cover your nakedness. I made a solemn promise to you and entered into a covenant with you,” declares the Lord GOD. “You belong to me.

⁵⁹ “since the Lord GOD says, ‘I’ll deal with you according to what you’ve done, when you despised your oath by breaking the covenant.
⁶⁰ “‘Meanwhile, as for me, I’ll remember my covenant with you from when you were young, because I’ll establish an eternal covenant with you.

¹⁴ Yet you ask, ‘For what reason?’ Because the LORD acts as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you were unfaithful to her, your partner, the wife of your covenant. ¹⁵ Did he not make them one? And the vestige of the spirit remains in him. And why did he make them one? He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and don’t be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
¹⁶ “Indeed, the LORD God of Israel says that he hates divorce, along with the one who conceals his violence by outward appearances,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. “So guard yourselves carefully, and don’t be unfaithful.”

⁴ But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a double-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death; her steps lead to Sheol. ⁶ You aren’t thinking about where her life is headed; her steps wander, but you do not realize it. ⁷ Now, children, listen to me. Don’t turn away from what I am saying. ⁸ Keep far away from her, and don’t go near the entrance to her house, ⁹ so that you don’t give your honor to others, and waste your best years; ¹⁰ so that strangers don’t enrich themselves at your expense, and your work won’t end up the possession of foreigners. ¹¹ You will cry out in anguish when your end comes, when your flesh and body are consumed, ¹² and you will say, “How I hated instruction, and my heart rejected correction! ¹³ I did not obey my teachers and did not listen to my instructors. ¹⁴ Now I am at the point of utter disaster in the assembly and in the congregation.”

²⁶ because the price of a whore is a loaf of bread, and an adulterous woman stalks a man’s precious life. ²⁷ Can a man scoop fire into his bosom without burning his clothes? ²⁸ Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet? ²⁹ So also is it with someone who has sex with his neighbor’s wife; anyone touching her will not remain unpunished. ³⁰ A thief isn’t despised if he steals to meet his needs when he is hungry, ³¹ but when he is discovered, he must restore seven-fold, forfeiting the entire value of his house. ³² Whoever commits adultery with a woman is out of his mind; by doing so he corrupts his own soul. ³³ He will receive a beating and dishonor, and his shame won’t disappear, ³⁴ because jealousy incites a strong man’s rage, and he will show no mercy when it’s time for revenge. ³⁵ He will not consider any payment, nor will he be willing to accept it, no matter how large the bribe.

²² All of a sudden he follows her like an ox fit for slaughter or like a fool fit for a trap ²³ until an arrow pierces his liver. As a bird darts into a snare, he doesn’t realize his fatal decision. ²⁴ So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to what I have to say. ²⁵ Don’t be led astray by her lifestyle, and don’t imitate her behavior. ²⁶ For many are the victims whom she has conquered, and many are her slain. ²⁷ Her house leads to Sheol, descending to death’s catacombs.

¹⁸ But he does not realize that the dead lurk there, and her invited guests wind up in the depths of Sheol.

⁹ You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don’t you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, ¹⁰ thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and by the Spirit of our God.

¹⁹ Now the actions of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity, ²⁰ idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions, ²¹ envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

⁵ For you know very well that no immoral or impure person, or anyone who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and of God.

⁸ But people who are cowardly, unfaithful, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

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

¹² So I allowed them to continue in their stubbornness, living by their own advice.

¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that grows brighter until the full light of day.

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

¹⁴ However, I’m not going to punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because their men are themselves immoral— they offer sacrifices with prostitutes. These people who aren’t discerning will stumble.

²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”
²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished. “Who, then, can be saved?” they asked.
²⁶ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

¹⁸ so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us.

⁶³ I am united with all who fear you, and with everyone who keeps your precepts.

¹¹⁵ Leave me, you who practice evil, that I may observe the commands of my God.

⁷ Tell me, you whom I love, where do you graze your flock? Where do you make your flock lie down at noon? Why should I be considered a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
⁸ The LoverIf you don’t know, most beautiful of women, go out after the flock and graze your young goats beside the shepherd’s tents.

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

¹¹ Praise for DemetriusDear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The person who does what is good is from God. The person who does what is evil has never seen God.

¹ Job’s FaithfulnessThere once was a man in the land of Uz named Job. The man was blameless as well as upright. He feared God and kept away from evil.

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.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness.

⁹ Those who do evil will perish. But those who wait on the LORD will inherit the land.

¹¹ The humble will inherit the land; they will take in abundant peace.

²² For those blessed by God will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be cut off.

²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land, and they will dwell in it forever.

⁴ A light shines in the darkness for the upright, for the one who is gracious, compassionate, and just. ⁵ It is good for the person who lends generously, conducting his affairs with fairness. ⁶ He will never be shaken; the one who is just will always be remembered.

³⁰ The righteous will never be overthrown, but the wicked will never inhabit the land.

²² He slowly will dislodge these nations before you, but he won’t destroy them quickly, so the wild animals won’t multiply around you.

⁶³ Just as the LORD delighted to prosper and increase you, so now the LORD will delight to destroy, exterminate, and banish you from the land that you are about to enter to possess.”
⁶⁴ Scattering among the Nations“He’ll scatter you among the peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you’ll serve other gods made of wood and stones, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.

¹⁶ His roots wither underneath, while his branches above are being cut off. ¹⁷ No one remembers him anywhere in the land; no one names streets in his honor. ¹⁸ He is driven away from light to darkness, made to wander the landscape.

³⁰ that the wicked person is spared from times of calamity, that he is rescued on the day of wrath?

²⁰ Indeed, the wicked will perish. The LORD’s enemies will be consumed like flowers in the fields. They will vanish like smoke.

³⁷ Observe the blameless! Take note of the upright! Indeed, the future of that man is peace. ³⁸ Sinners will be destroyed together; the future of the wicked will be cut off.

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

³⁵ May sinners disappear from the land and the wicked live no longer. Bless the LORD, my soul! Hallelujah!

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.

¹⁰ Encouragement to the Righteous“Tell the righteous that things will go well, because they will enjoy the fruit of their actions.”
¹¹ Warning to the Wicked“How terrible it will be for the wicked! Disaster is headed their way, because what they did with their hand will be repaid to them.