Proverbs 2 Cross References - NSB

¹ My son, take my words to heart and treasure my commandments within you. ² Pay close attention to wisdom, and let your [mind and] heart (inner being) reach for discernment. ³ Call out for insight. Lift up your voice for understanding. ⁴ Search for wisdom as if it were silver. Hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure! ⁵ If you do these things you will have respect for Jehovah and you will find the true knowledge of God! ⁶ Jehovah gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. ⁷ He stores up insightful (sound) (substantial) wisdom for the upright. He is a shield for those who walk in integrity. ⁸ He guards those on paths of justice. He watches over the way of his godly ones. ⁹ You will understand righteousness and justice. You will have equity and every good course in life. ¹⁰ Wisdom enters your heart. Knowledge gives you pleasure. ¹¹ Discretion will protect you. Understanding will watch over you. ¹² It will deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things. ¹³ Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness? ¹⁴ Who rejoice in doing evil? They delight in the perversity of the wicked. ¹⁵ The wicked are crooked. They are devious in their ways. ¹⁶ You will be able to resist any immoral woman who tries to seduce you with her smooth talk. ¹⁷ She is unfaithful to her own husband and forgets her sacred vows to God. ¹⁸ If you go to her house, you are traveling the road to death. To go there is to approach the dead. ¹⁹ No one who visits her ever comes back. He cannot return to the road to life. ²⁰ You must follow the example of good people and live a righteous life. ²¹ The upright will live in the land. The blameless people of integrity will remain. ²² The wicked will be cut off from the land. The unfaithful will be uprooted.

⁶ »These words that I command you this day must be in your heart. ⁷ »Carefully teach them to your sons. Talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way. Speak about them when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ »Bind them for a sign upon your hand. They shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ »Write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates.

¹² »I have not departed from the command of his lips. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word. ¹⁰ With all my heart I have sought you. Do not let me wander from your commandments. ¹¹ Your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you.

³ To receive instruction with wisdom, justice, judgment and integrity.

¹ My son, do not forget my law. Let your heart obey my commandments.

¹ Listen my sons to what your father teaches you. Pay attention and gain understanding.

¹⁰ Listen to me, my son. Accept what I tell you and live a long life.

²⁰ My son, pay attention to my words. Incline your ear (extend your hearing) to my sayings. ²¹ Do not let them leave your sight. Hold them in the midst of your heart! ²² For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.

²¹ Constantly bind them upon your heart, and tie them about your neck.

¹ My son, pay attention to my words, and preserve my commandments within you.

⁴⁴ »The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found the treasure and hid it again in the field. He is so filled with joy he sells everything he owns and buys the field.

¹⁹ Mary remembered all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

⁵¹ He went with them to Nazareth. He remained subject to them. His mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

⁴⁴ »Let these words sink into your ears. The Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men.«

⁴⁷ »If any man hears my sayings and does not obey them I will not judge him. I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. ⁴⁸ »He that rejects me and does not accept my message has one that judges him. The word (divine expression) (God’s Word) that I spoke shall judge him now and in the last day. (Deuteronomy 18:19)

¹⁵ Faithful is the saying, and worthy of acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.

¹² Teach us to number each of our days so that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.

¹¹¹ I have inherited your laws forever, for they are the joy of my heart. ¹¹² I have inclined my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.

¹ A man of solitude (who keeps to himself) (isolates himself) seeks his own (selfish) desire. He objects to sound wisdom.

¹⁷ Incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise. Apply your heart and mind to my knowledge. ¹⁸ It is pleasant that you keep them within you. They will be firmly established on you lips. ¹⁹ Your trust may be in Jehovah. I taught you today, even you. ²⁰ Have I not written to you excellent things in counsel and knowledge? ²¹ I make you know the certainty of the words of truth. And you will answer the words of truth to those who speak to you.

¹² Apply your heart to instruction (discipline), and your ears to words of knowledge.

²⁵ I applied my heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom. I looked for the explanation, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness.

⁹ I have seen all this and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time when one man rules over another to his own misery and harm.

¹⁶ When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes)

³ Give ear and come to me; listen to me, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

⁹ »He that has ears let him hear.«

¹¹ The Bereans were nobler than those in Thessalonica because they received the word with all readiness of mind and examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul told them was true.

⁹ ‘Give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice. Help me know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?« ¹⁰ Jehovah was pleased that Solomon asked for this. ¹¹ He said to him: »Because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself or riches or the death of your enemies, ¹² »I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had. There has never been nor will ever be anyone like you.

¹² »May Jehovah give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of Jehovah your God.

⁴ Make your ways known to me, O Jehovah, and teach me your paths. ⁵ Make me walk (guide me) (bend me) in your truth and teach me because you are my God of salvation. I wait all day long for you.

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

⁷³ Your hands made me and fashioned me. Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.

¹²⁵ I am your servant! Give me understanding that I may know your law.

¹⁶⁹ Let my cry come before you, O Jehovah. Give me understanding according to your word.

⁶ In all your ways acknowledge (recognize) Him and He will make your paths straight.

¹⁷ »I love those who love me. Those who earnestly seek me will find me.

¹³ »If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?«

¹⁷ May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit (mental disposition) of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. ¹⁸ Have the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know the hope of his calling, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the holy ones,

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God. He gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him.

²¹ »They long for death that does not come. They search for it more than for hidden treasure.

¹² »Where can wisdom be found? Where is the place of understanding? ¹³ »No man knows where it is. It cannot be found in this world of the living. ¹⁴ »The deep ocean says: ‘It is not in me.’ The sea proclaims: ‘Not in me either!’ ¹⁵ »Gold will not buy it; neither will any amount of silver. ¹⁶ »It cannot be bought with the gold from Ophir or with precious onyx or sapphire. ¹⁷ »Neither gold nor crystal can equal its value. Nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold. ¹⁸ »Wisdom is more valuable than gems. ¹⁹ »Topaz from Ethiopia cannot equal its value. It cannot be bought for any amount of pure gold. ²⁰ »Where does wisdom come from? Where does understanding live?

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

¹⁴ I have rejoiced in the way of your written word, as much as in all riches.

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

¹²⁷ Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more then fine gold.

¹⁴ The profit from wisdom is better than the profit from silver. Her gain is better than fine gold. ¹⁵ She (wisdom) is more precious than pearls. Nothing you desire compares with wisdom.

¹⁸ »Riches and honor are with me. Yes, durable riches and righteousness. ¹⁹ »My fruit is better than gold, yes, better than fine gold. My yield is better than choice silver.

¹⁶ How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding instead of silver!

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

⁸ There is a man who is by himself, without a companion. He is without son or brother. There is no end to all his work. He never has enough wealth. Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. He never asks: »For whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?« This too is vanity and a terrible problem.

¹⁹ »Do not accumulate large amounts of wealth on earth. This is where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ »Accumulate wealth in heaven where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Your heart will be where you keep your wealth.

²¹ Jesus then replied: »If you wish to be complete, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. You will have wealth in heaven. Then follow me!« ²² But hearing these words, the young man went away grieving, for he was very wealthy.

²⁹ »Everyone who has given up houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or child, or land, for my name, will receive many times as much, and have everlasting life.

⁸ »The master of the dishonest manager praised him for doing a shrewd thing. People of this world are more astute at handling their affairs than people who belong to the light.

¹⁰ »Please give me the wisdom and knowledge I need to rule over them. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?« ¹¹ God replied to Solomon: »You have made the right choice. Instead of asking for wealth, treasure, fame or the death of your enemies or even for long life for yourself, you have asked for wisdom and knowledge so that you can rule my people, over whom I have made you king. ¹² »For this reason I will give you wisdom and knowledge. And in addition, I will give you more wealth, treasure, and fame than any king has ever had before or will ever have again.«

²⁸ »To man he said: ‘Respect for Jehovah is wisdom! To stay away from evil is understanding.’«

⁷ Respect for Jehovah (YHWH) is the beginning of knowledge (truth) (understanding) (wisdom). Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

¹⁰ Respect for Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the holy One is understanding (discernment) (truth) (wisdom).

²⁴ »If they want to brag, instead let them advocate (glory) (celebrate) that they understand and know me. They should advocate that I, Jehovah, act out of love, righteousness, and justice on the earth. This kind of celebration pleases me,« declares Jehovah.

⁷ »‘I will give them a heart (will) (desire) to know me. I am Jehovah! They will be my people, and I will be their God! They will return to me with their whole heart.

³⁴ »No longer will each person teach his neighbors or his relatives by saying: ‘Know Jehovah.’ »All of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,« declares Jehovah. »I will forgive their wickedness and I will no longer hold (remember) their sins against them.«

⁴⁰ »I will make an eternal promise to them that I will never stop blessing them. I will make them respect me so that they will never turn away from me. ⁴¹ »I will enjoy blessing them. With all my heart and all my being I will faithfully plant them in this land.’«

³ »Let us get to know Jehovah! Let us press on (run after) (follow) to get to know him. As surely as the sun rises he will appear. He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.«

⁷ »Ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened for you. ⁸ »Everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds, and everyone who knocks will have it opened.

²⁷ »All things have been delivered to me from my Father. Only the Father knows the Son, and only the Son knows the Father. The Son tells others about the Father so that they can know him too.

²² »All things have been delivered to me from my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father. And no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son is willing to reveal him.«

⁹ »I say to you: Ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ »Every one who asks receives. Everyone who seeks will find. It will be opened to everyone who knocks. ¹¹ »What father would give his son a stone when he asked for a loaf? What father would give a serpent when his son asked for a fish? ¹² »If he asked for an egg would he give a scorpion? ¹³ »If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?«

³ »This is everlasting life that they should have *deep, intimate knowledge of you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have commissioned. *(Greek: ginosko: know, perceive, be sure, understand)

²⁰ We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding. We know him that is true for we are in him who is true, [and] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and everlasting life.

³ »I filled him with the Spirit of God (my power). I gave him understanding, skill, and ability for every kind of artistic work.

⁹ ‘Give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice. Help me know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?«

¹² »I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had. There has never been nor will ever be anyone like you.

²⁹ God gave Solomon great wisdom and insight, and knowledge too great to be measured.

⁸ »But truly it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that makes for understanding.

⁷ The law of Jehovah is perfect. It gives new life. The testimony of Jehovah is dependable. It makes the simple wise.

⁹⁸ Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine.

¹⁰⁴ I get understanding from your precepts. Therefore I hate every false way.

²³ For the commandment is a lamp. The law is light. Reproofs for instruction are the way of life.

⁵ »O you simple ones, understand wisdom and, you fools, be of an understanding heart. ⁶ »Listen for I speak of excellent things. The truth comes from my lips. ⁷ »My mouth will speak truth! Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. ⁸ »All my speech is righteous. Nothing crooked or perverse comes from my mouth. ⁹ »They are all straight talk to him who understands. It is proper to those who find knowledge.

²⁰ They should go to the teachings and to the written instructions. If people do not speak these words, it is because there is no light (truth) in them.

¹³ »Your sons will all be taught by Jehovah. Your sons will have an abundance of peace.

¹⁷ God gave these young people knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of all types of literature and learning. Daniel had understanding and wisdom in all visions and dreams.

²¹ »He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to the discerning.

²³ »I thank you, and praise you, O God of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and might. You have made known to me what we desired from you. For you have made known to us the king's situation.«

¹⁵ »I will give you ability to talk and words of wisdom, which your adversaries shall not be able to resist or refute.

⁴⁵ »It is written in the prophets: Jehovah shall teach them all. Every one who hears the Father and has learned comes to me. (Jeremiah 31:34)

¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. It comes down from the Father of lights (truth and spiritual purity), with whom there is no variation. He does not change like shifting shadows.

⁸ »No proud beast has ever walked on it. No ferocious lion has ever passed over it.

¹¹ For Jehovah God is a sun and shield. Jehovah will give favor and honor. He will not withhold blessing from those who walk faithfully in truth.

² My loving kindness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; and my shield in whom I trust; who subdues my people under me.

¹⁴ »Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I understand and I am very strong.

⁸ The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way. The folly of fools is deception.

¹⁸ Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved: but he who is perverse in his ways will fall at once.

⁵ Every word of God is pure. He is a shield to those who trust him.

¹⁹ It is written: »I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.« (Isaiah 29:14)

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

³⁰ It is because of him you are united with Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

⁶ How is it we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who come to nothing (are doomed to destruction)? ⁷ We speak the wisdom of God in a secret, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages (generations and human entities) for our glory.

¹⁸ Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this age is foolishness with God. It is written: »He catches the wise in their own craftiness (deception).« (Job 5:13)

³ In him is concealed all the hidden treasures of God’s wisdom and knowledge.

¹⁵ From childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to make you wise to salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ God inspired all Scripture! It is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. (Greek: theopneustos: God-breathed) ¹⁷ Thus the man of God may be completely equipped for every good work.

¹⁵ This wisdom is not a wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfishness are, there is confusion and every evil deed. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable (yielding), full of mercy and good fruits, without discord (partiality), without hypocrisy.

³ »Jehovah loves his people. All Your holy ones are in your hand. They followed in your steps and everyone receives your words.

²⁶ »There is none like the God of Jeshurun (Israel). He rides the heavens to give you help. He goes through the skies in his majesty. ²⁷ »The eternal God is a dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He drove out the enemy from before you, and said: ‘Destroy!’ ²⁸ »Israel dwells in security. The fountain of Jacob is secluded in a land of grain and new wine. His heavens also drop down dew. ²⁹ »You are blessed O Israel. Who is like you, a people saved by Jehovah? He is the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cringe before you and you will tread upon their high places.«

⁹ »He guards the feet of his holy ones. The wicked are silenced in darkness. Man will not prevail by strength.

⁶ Jehovah knows (is fully aware of) the way of the righteous. But the way of the wicked will perish.

³ He restores me and he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

²³ Jehovah directs a person's steps and Jehovah delights in his way. ²⁴ When he falls, he will not be thrown down headfirst because Jehovah holds on to his hand.

²⁸ Jehovah loves justice, and he will not abandon his godly ones. They will be kept safe forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be destroyed.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart. His steps do not waver (slip).

⁹ He has kept us alive and has not allowed us to fall.

⁵ Jehovah is your keeper. Jehovah is your shade on your right hand. ⁶ The sun will not strike you by day. The moon will not strike you by night. ⁷ Jehovah will protect you from all evil. He will protect (preserve) you. ⁸ May Jehovah guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.

²⁰ Jehovah protects all who love him, but he will destroy the wicked.

²¹ My son, do not let them depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion! ²² They will mean life to you and adornment to your neck. ²³ You will walk in your way safely. Your foot will not stumble. ²⁴ When you lie down you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

²⁰ »I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:

⁹ No lions will be there. No fierce animals will pass that way! Those whom Jehovah has rescued will travel home by that road.

⁹ Say to those who are bound: »Go forth, to those in the darkness and show yourselves. They will feed along the roads and their pasture is on all bare heights. ¹⁰ »They will never be hungry or thirsty. The sun and the burning hot wind will not strike them. The one who has compassion on them will lead them and guide them to springs.

²⁸ »I give them eternal life. They will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ »My Father has given them to me. He is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

⁵ You are protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

²⁴ Now to him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish with exceeding joy.

⁸ Jehovah is good and decent. That is why he teaches sinners the way they should live. ⁹ He leads humble people to do what is right, and he teaches them his way.

⁸ Jehovah says: »I will instruct you. I will teach you the way that you should go. I will advise you as my eyes watch over you.

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

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

⁸ Let me hear your loving kindness in the morning. For I trust in you! Teach me the way in which I should walk for to you I am lifted up. ⁹ Deliver me, O Jehovah, from my enemies. I take 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 To know wisdom and instruction. To discern and understand words. ³ To receive instruction with wisdom, justice, judgment and integrity. ⁴ To give wisdom and refinement to the simple. To the young man knowledge and discretion. ⁵ A wise man will hear and will increase learning. A man of understanding will procure wise counsel. ⁶ This will help him understand a proverb and the interpretation as well as the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁸ There will be a highway there, called: »The Road of Holiness.« No sinner will ever travel that road. No fools will mislead those who follow it.

¹⁷ This is what Jehovah your Defender (Redeemer), the Holy One of Israel, says: »I am Jehovah your God. I teach you what is best for you. I lead you where you should go.

¹⁶ Jehovah says: »Stand by the way [of life] and see and ask for the ancient paths. Walk in the good way and you will find rest.« But you said: »We will not walk in it!«

¹³ »Enter through the narrow gate, since the gate to destruction is wide and the road that leads to destruction is wide and many enter through it. ¹⁴ »Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way to life. Only a few put forth the effort. Yes, only a few people enter the narrow gate.

⁶ Jesus proclaimed: »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. I will find joy in Jehovah.

⁹⁷ O How I love your law! It is my meditation all day long.

¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

¹¹¹ I have inherited your laws forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

¹⁶² I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure.

³³ Wisdom rests in the heart of the man with understanding. That in the heart of fools is made known.

¹ A man of solitude (who keeps to himself) (isolates himself) seeks his own (selfish) desire. He objects to sound wisdom. ² A fool (stupid person) does not like understanding when revealing his thoughts.

¹³ My son, eat honey because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to your taste. ¹⁴ The knowledge of wisdom is sweet to you. When you find the knowledge of wisdom there is a reward. Your hope will not fail.

¹⁶ »You spoke to me, and I listened to every word. I belong to you, Lord Jehovah. Your words filled my heart with joy and happiness.

¹⁶ Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom. Teach and admonish one another with psalms, praises to God, and spiritual songs. Sing with gratitude in your hearts to God.

²¹ Integrity and honesty will protect me because I wait for you.

⁶ »Do not abandon wisdom, and she will protect you. Love her, and she will keep you safe.

²² When you go, they will lead you; when you sleep they will watch over you and when you awake, they will talk to you. ²³ For the commandment is a lamp. The law is light. Reproofs for instruction are the way of life. ²⁴ This will keep you from the evil woman and from the smooth tongue of an adulterous woman.

¹⁵ Now there was found in it a poor wise man. By his wisdom he delivered the city. Yet no man remembered that same poor man. ¹⁶ Then I said: »Wisdom is better than strength.« Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. ¹⁷ The words of the wise heard in quietness are more than the loud cry of the ruler of fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, yet one sinner destroys much good.

¹⁰ If the ax is dull, and he does not whet the edge, he must put forth more effort. Wisdom helps him to succeed.

¹⁵ Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise.

⁴ I have avoided cruelty because of your word regardless of what others have done. ⁵ My steps have remained firmly in your paths. My feet have not slipped.

⁴ I do not sit with deceitful men, and I will not be found among hypocrites. ⁵ I hate the assembly of evildoers and will not sit with wicked people.

⁴ A perverse heart shall depart from me. I will not know a wicked person.

⁴ Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil or to become involved with wickedness, with people who are troublemakers. Do not let me taste their delicacies.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners tempt you do not consent. ¹¹ If they say: »Come with us. Let us lie in wait to kill someone. Let us ambush the innocent without cause. ¹² »Let us swallow them alive and whole just as the grave does, and just as the dead go into the pit. ¹³ »We will find precious material possessions and we fill our houses with plunder. ¹⁴ »Throw in with us. Let us all have one purse.« ¹⁵ My son, do not walk in the way with them. Withhold your food from their path! ¹⁶ For their feet run to evil. They hurry to shed blood. ¹⁷ Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. ¹⁸ They lie in wait for their own blood (murder). They set an ambush for their own lives. ¹⁹ So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust dishonest gain. Greed takes away the life of its owner.

³² Jehovah hates people who do evil. He takes righteous people into his confidence.

¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked. Do not walk in the way of evil men. ¹⁵ Avoid it! Do not pass by it. Turn away from it, and pass on! ¹⁶ They do not sleep unless they have done evil. Their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. ¹⁷ They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

¹³ »Respect for Jehovah means to hate evil. I hate: pride, and arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.

⁶ »Forsake the foolish, and live. Travel in the way of understanding.«

²⁰ The one who walks with wise men will be wise. A companion of fools will be destroyed.

²⁸ A perverse man sows discord. A whisperer separates good friends. ²⁹ A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him in bad ways. ³⁰ He shuts his eyes to devise perversity. He moves his lips to bring evil.

³ Your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers are desecrated with sin. You speak lies, and you mutter wicked things. ⁴ No one calls for justice and no one pleads his case truthfully. People trust pointless arguments and speak lies. They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. ⁵ They hatch viper eggs and weave spider webs. Those who eat their eggs will die. When an egg is crushed, a poisonous snake is hatched.

³⁰ »Such men will arise from among you speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.

³³ Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.

¹⁷ Therefore come out from among them and be separate (set off) (severed from them) (excluded from them), said Jehovah. Do not touch the unclean thing and I will receive you. (Isaiah 52:11) (Jeremiah 51:45)

¹³ »There are those who rebel against the light. They are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. ¹⁴ »The murderer rises at dusk to kill the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief. ¹⁵ »The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight. He says: ‘No eye will see me.’ Then he disguises his face. ¹⁶ »In the dark they dig through houses. By day they shut themselves up. They do not know the light.

³ Everyone has turned away. Together they have become rotten to the core. No one, not even one person, does good things.

³ The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit and he ceased to be wise and do good.

⁵ Wicked people do not know or understand anything. As they walk around in the dark, all the foundations of the earth shake.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble.

¹⁶ The man who wanders from the way of understanding will remain in the congregation of the dead.

²⁶ ‘»When a righteous person turns away from doing right and does evil things, he will die. He will die because of the evil things he has done.

¹² »Son of man, tell the Israelites that when someone good sins, the good he has done will not save him. If an evil person stops doing evil he will not be punished, and if a good man starts sinning, his life will not be spared. ¹³ »I may promise life to someone good, but if he starts thinking that his past goodness is enough and begins to sin, I will not remember any of the good he did. He will die because of his sins.

⁶ »The same for those who have turned back from following Jehovah, and those who have not sought Jehovah or inquired of Him.«

⁴³ »When an unclean spirit goes out of a man it passes through the desert seeking rest. It does not find it. ⁴⁴ »It tries to return to the place from where it came. It finds it empty, swept, and fixed up. ⁴⁵ »Then it takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself. They enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. It will also be like this with this evil generation.«

⁶ God sent a man named John. (Malachi 3:1)

⁹ The master of the feast did not know about the water turned into wine. He tasted it and called the bridegroom. ¹⁰ He said to him: »Every man sets out the good wine first. When the men have drunk freely the lower quality wine is served. You have kept the good wine until now.« ¹¹ This was the first miracle Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. It gave evidence of his glory and his disciples believed in him.

¹⁹ »This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world. People loved the darkness rather than the light for their works were evil. ²⁰ »Every one who does evil hates the light. He does not come to the light because his works would be reproved.

³⁵ Jesus said to them: »The light will be with you for a little while. Walk while you have the light, that darkness does not overtake you. He who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.

²¹ for when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God. They did not thank him and were vain in their reasoning, for their foolish hearts were darkened.

⁵ You are all the children (sons) of light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night, not of darkness. ⁶ Therefore, let us not sleep like others do. But let us watch and be sober. ⁷ They that sleep do so in the night. They that get drunk are drunk in the night.

¹⁰ For Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

⁴ Those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ if they shall fall away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. This is because they personally impale the Son of God again, and expose him to public shame.

²⁰ After they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled and overcome; the last state is worse with them than the first. ²¹ For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² It happened to them according to the true proverb: »The dog returns to his own vomit, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire.«

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us. If they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it made it plain that they all are not of us.

²³ It is like sport to a fool to do mischief. A man of understanding has wisdom.

¹⁵ »What right do these people I love have to be in my house when they do so many deceitful things? Can the meat from their sacrifices turn tragedy away from them? They exult (celebrate) when they do evil.

³ »They make kings happy with the wicked things they do. They make officials happy with the lies they tell.

¹⁵ He brings them all up with the hook. He gathers them away in his net. He gladly gathers them and rejoices.

¹¹ »At that time you will no longer be ashamed of your transgression against me. I will remove everyone who is proud and arrogant. You will never again be haughty on my holy mountain.

⁴ He went away to discuss with the chief priests and captains, how he might deliver Jesus to them. ⁵ They were glad, and pledged to give him money.

³² They know the judgment of God, that those who commit such things are worthy of death! And yet, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who do them.

⁶ Love does not rejoice with evil, but rejoices with the truth.

⁵ »They have corrupted themselves; they are not His sons. They are a blemished, crooked and perverse generation.

⁵ Jehovah will lead those who turn away from their crooked ways with the workers of iniquity. Israel will have peace.

⁸ The guilty travel a crooked path. The pure walk on a straight road.

⁸ Write this on a tablet for them, and inscribe it in a book so that it will be there in the future as a permanent witness. ⁹ These people are rebellious and deceitful children. They refuse to listen to Jehovah’s Law. ¹⁰ They say to the seers: »Do not see the future.« They say to those who have visions: ‘Do not have visions that tell us what is right. Tell us what we want to hear. Prophesy illusions. ¹¹ »‘Get out of our way! Stop blocking our path! Get the Holy One of Israel out of our sight.’« ¹² This is what the Holy One of Israel says: »You have rejected this warning, trusted oppression and deceit, and you leaned upon them for support. ¹³ »For that reason your sin will be like a high wall with a bulging crack, ready to fall. All of a sudden it will fall.

⁸ They do not know the way of peace. There is no justice on their highways. They made their paths crooked. Those who walk on them will never know peace.

¹⁵ That way you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. You are seen as lights in the world.

³ Joseph’s master saw that Jehovah was with him. Jehovah made him succeed in everything he did. ⁴ Potiphar was pleased with him and made him his personal servant. He put him in charge of his house and everything he owned. ⁵ Jehovah blessed the Egyptian’s household and everything he had in his house and in his fields because of Joseph. ⁶ Potiphar turned over everything he had to the care of Joseph. He did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Joseph was well built and good-looking. ⁷ Soon his master’s wife began to desire Joseph and asked him to go to bed with her. ⁸ He refused, and said to her: »My master does not have to concern himself with anything in the house, because I am here. He has put me in charge of everything he has. ⁹ »No one in this house is greater than I. He has kept nothing back from me except you. You are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?« ¹⁰ She kept asking Joseph day after day. He refused to go to bed with her or be with her. ¹¹ One day he went into the house to do his work. None of the household servants were there. ¹² She grabbed him by his coat and said: »Come to bed with me!« But he ran outside and left his coat in her hand.

²⁶ »Was it not in these things that Solomon, king of Israel, did wrong? Among a number of nations there was no king like him. He was dear to his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But even he was made to do evil by strange women. ²⁷ »Are we then without protest to let you do all this great evil, sinning against our God by taking strange women for your wives?«

³ The lips of an immoral woman drip as a honeycomb. Her mouth is smoother than oil. ⁴ But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death. Her steps take hold of the grave. ⁶ She does not ponder the path of life. Her unstable ways she does not know. ⁷ Hear me now my son. Do not depart from the words of my mouth. ⁸ Keep far away from her. Do not go near the door of her house. ⁹ You will give your honor (majesty) to others and your years to the cruel one. ¹⁰ Strangers will be filled with your financial strength. Strangers will benefit from your hard work. ¹¹ You mourn at last, when your flesh and your body are consumed. ¹² You say: »How I have hated instruction! My heart despised reproof. ¹³ »I did not obey the voice of my teachers. I did not listen to my instructors! ¹⁴ »I was very near total ruin in the midst of the congregation.« ¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern. Drink running water from your own well. ¹⁶ Should your waters overflow in the streets, like streams of water in public places? ¹⁷ Let them be yours alone. Do not share with strangers. ¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed. Rejoice with the wife of your youth. ¹⁹ She is like a loving deer and a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Always be delighted with her love. ²⁰ Why will you be intimate with an immoral woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

²⁴ This will keep you from the evil woman and from the smooth tongue of an adulterous woman.

⁵ That they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words. ⁶ I looked out the window of my house. ⁷ I saw among the simple ones, I discerned among the youth, a young man without understanding. ⁸ He passed through the street near her corner. He went to her house. ⁹ In the twilight, in the evening, in the darkness of the night: ¹⁰ He met an evil hearted woman dressed seductively like an immoral woman. ¹¹ She is loud and rebellious and never stays at home. ¹² Now in the streets and squares, she waits at every corner. ¹³ She put her arms around him and kissed him, and with an impudent look she said: ¹⁴ »I have peace offerings with me since I paid my vows. ¹⁵ »So I came to meet you and seek your presence. I found you. ¹⁶ »I covered my bed with fine linen from Egypt. ¹⁷ »I perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. ¹⁸ »Come; let us take our fill of love until morning. Let us comfort ourselves with love. ¹⁹ »My husband is not at home. He went on a long trip. ²⁰ »He took a bag of money with him. He will come home at the appointed day.« ²¹ She seduced him with her persuasive words. She forced him with her flattering lips. ²² He immediately goes after her. He is like a bull that goes to the slaughter. Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, ²³ Till a dart strikes through his liver. The bird hurries to the snare without knowing it would cost his life.

¹⁴ The mouth of the adulterous is a deep pit. The one who is cursed by Jehovah will fall into it.

²⁷ A prostitute is a deep pit. An adulterous wife is a well of tribulation.

⁵ A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

²⁶ I find what was worse than death is the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands are chains. He who pleases God will escape from her. But she will capture the sinner.

¹⁸ Let your fountain be blessed. Rejoice with the wife of your youth.

⁴ »‘Now you call to me. You say, ‘Father!’ »You have been my friend ever since I was young.

⁸ »‘Then I passed by you and saw that you were at the time for love. So I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became mine, declares the Lord Jehovah.

⁵⁹ »The Lord Jehovah says: ‘I will treat you the way you deserve, because you ignored your promises and broke the covenant. ⁶⁰ ‘»I will honor the covenant I made with you when you were young. I will make a covenant with you that will last forever.

¹⁴ »You ask: Why do you not accept our offerings? It is because Jehovah is a witness between you and the wife of your youth. The one to whom you have been unfaithful! She is your companion, the wife of your marriage vows. ¹⁵ »Did God make you one? Your flesh and spirit belong to him. What does God look for but godly descendants? Do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth. ¹⁶ ‘»I hate divorce and he who covers his garment with violence,’ said Jehovah, the God of Israel. Jehovah of Hosts declares: ‘Guard yourselves and do not deal treacherously.’«

⁴ But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death. Her steps take hold of the grave. ⁶ She does not ponder the path of life. Her unstable ways she does not know. ⁷ Hear me now my son. Do not depart from the words of my mouth. ⁸ Keep far away from her. Do not go near the door of her house. ⁹ You will give your honor (majesty) to others and your years to the cruel one. ¹⁰ Strangers will be filled with your financial strength. Strangers will benefit from your hard work. ¹¹ You mourn at last, when your flesh and your body are consumed. ¹² You say: »How I have hated instruction! My heart despised reproof. ¹³ »I did not obey the voice of my teachers. I did not listen to my instructors! ¹⁴ »I was very near total ruin in the midst of the congregation.«

²⁶ A prostitute will cost you your last crust of bread. An adulteress will cost you your life. ²⁷ Can a man have fire in his lap and his clothes not be burned? ²⁸ Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be burned? ²⁹ He who has sex with another mans wife; anyone who embraces her will not be innocent. ³⁰ Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. ³¹ But if he is caught, he must repay sevenfold. He must give everything in his house. ³² He who commits adultery with a woman lacks judgment and destroys himself. ³³ He will get wounds and be dishonored. His shame will not be wiped away. ³⁴ Jealousy enrages a man. He will not be spared in the day of vengeance. ³⁵ He will not regard any ransom, nor will he be content when you give many gifts.

²² He immediately goes after her. He is like a bull that goes to the slaughter. Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, ²³ Till a dart strikes through his liver. The bird hurries to the snare without knowing it would cost his life. ²⁴ Listen to me dear sons and pay attention to the words of my mouth. ²⁵ Do not let your heart go after her ways. Do not stray in her paths. ²⁶ She has wounded many. Many strong men have been slain by her. ²⁷ Her house is the way to the grave, going down to the chambers of death.

¹⁸ He does not know the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.

⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor people who worship idols, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous (greedy), nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists, will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ That is what some of you were. You have been washed clean and now you are sanctified. The Spirit of our God declares you righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh (sinful human nature) are apparent. They are: fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, wrath, contentions, divisions, sects, ²¹ envies, drunkenness, revelries, and things like these. I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that those who practice such things would not inherit the kingdom of God.

⁵ For you know this with certainty, that no fornicator, no unclean person, no covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁸ »But the fearful and unbelieving, abominable and murderers, fornicators and those practicing spiritism, idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur: which is the second death.«

¹⁵ »'Outside are the dogs (impure men) and those who practice spiritism, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who tells lies.'

¹² »Therefore I gave them over to their stubborn hearts. They walked in their own counsel.

¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the shining light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the more perfect day.

²³ »Can Ethiopians change the color of their skin or leopards change their spots? Can you do good when you are taught to do wrong?

¹⁴ I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when they commit adultery. The men go out with harlots, and they sacrifice with the prostitutes. The people that do not understand will fall (be overthrown).

²⁴ »Again I say, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of God.« ²⁵ The disciples were greatly surprised when they heard this. »Who, then, may have salvation?« they asked. ²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said: »With men this is not possible. All things are possible with God!«

¹⁸ God did this to offer encouragement so we may rely on the hope offered to us. We have taken refuge in that hope and it is impossible for God to lie. These two things can never be changed.

⁶³ I am a companion of all those who reverence you and keep your precepts.

¹¹⁵ Depart from me, evildoers, that I may observe the commandments of my God.

⁷ (To Her Beloved) »Tell me, O you whom I love where you feed your flock and where you make it rest at noon. Why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions?« ⁸ (The Beloved) »If you do not know, O you fairest among women, follow the footsteps of the flock. Feed your kids beside the shepherds' tents.

¹² We desire that you are not lazy, but follow those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

¹¹ Beloved, do not imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is from God. He who does evil has not seen God.

¹ A man named Job lived in Uz. He was a man of integrity! He was decent, he respected God, and he stayed away from evil.

¹² Jehovah blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.

³ Trust Jehovah and do good things. Live in the land, and practice being faithful.

⁹ For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who wait for Jehovah will inherit the land.

¹¹ The meek (gentle) (mild) (humble) will inherit the earth and will delight in the abundance 0f peace.

²² Those blessed by him will inherit the land. But those cursed by him will be destroyed.

²⁹ The righteous will inherit (seize) (take possession of) the earth, and dwell on it forever (in perpetuity).

⁴ Light shines in the darkness for the upright. He is gracious, compassionate, and fair. ⁵ All goes well for the person who is generous and lends willingly. He earns an honest living. ⁶ He will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered.

³⁰ The righteous will never be removed. The wicked will not inhabit the earth.

²² »Jehovah your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be able to put an end to them quickly. This is because the wild beasts are too numerous (and will multiply) around you.

⁶³ »Jehovah was very glad to make you prosperous and numerous. Now Jehovah will be more than glad to destroy you and wipe you out. You will be torn out of the land you are about to enter and possess. ⁶⁴ »Jehovah will scatter you among all the people of the world. He will scatter you from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve gods made of wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors ever knew.

¹⁶ »His roots dry up below and his branches wither above. ¹⁷ »The memory of him perishes from the earth. He has no name in the street. ¹⁸ »He is driven from light into darkness and is banished from the world.

³⁰ »They say the wicked are spared in the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath?

²⁰ But the wicked will perish! The enemies of Jehovah will be like the glory of the pastures. They vanish, like smoke they vanish away.

³⁷ Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright. His future will be filled with peace. ³⁸ But transgressors will be altogether destroyed. The posterity of the wicked will be destroyed.

⁵ God will destroy you forever. He will remove you from your dwelling place from out of the land of the living.

³⁵ Let sinners be consumed from the world. Let the wicked no longer exist. Bless Jehovah with all my being! Praise Jehovah!

²² His own iniquities will catch the wicked. He will be held with the cords of his sins. ²³ He dies without instruction. He goes astray because of his foolishness.

¹⁰ Tell the righteous that blessings will come to them. They will taste the fruit of their labor. ¹¹ How horrible it will be for the wicked! Disaster will strike them. What they have done to others will be done to them.