Proverbs 6 Cross References - NSB

¹ My son, if you serve as surety for your friend and you give your pledge to him, ² You are snared with the words of your mouth. You are captured by the words of your mouth! ³ You are now in the power of that person. Here is what you should do: Go and beg for permission to call off the agreement. ⁴ Do this before you fall asleep. Do not allow your eyes to close. ⁵ Deliver your self like a deer from the hand of the hunter, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler (bird catcher). ⁶ Go to the ant, you lazy person. Consider her ways and be wise! ⁷ The lowly ant has no guide or overseer. ⁸ It prepares its food in the summer and gathers food at the harvest. ⁹ How long will you sleep, O lazy person? When will you arise from your sleep? ¹⁰ »A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. ¹¹ Your poverty comes like a traveler. Your need comes like an armed man. ¹² An ungodly person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth. ¹³ He winks with his eyes, he speaks with his feet, he teaches with his fingers. ¹⁴ Fraud is in his heart, he devises mischief continually; he sows discord. ¹⁵ His disaster will come suddenly. Suddenly he is broken beyond repair. ¹⁶ Jehovah hates these six things: Yes, seven are an abomination to him: ¹⁷ A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run quickly to badness, ¹⁹ A false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brothers. ²⁰ My son, obey your father's command, and do not abandon the law of your mother: ²¹ Constantly bind them upon your heart, and tie them about your neck. 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. ²⁵ Do not lust after her beauty in your heart. Do not let her attract you with her eyelids. 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.

⁹ »I guarantee that he will come back. You can hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here in front of you, you can blame me the rest of my life.

³² »I promised my father I would bring him home safely. If I do not, I told my father he could blame me the rest of my life. ³³ »Sir, I am your slave. Please let me stay here in place of Benjamin. Please let him return home with his brothers.

³ »Please guarantee my bail. Who else will guarantee it with a handshake?

¹⁵ He that is surety for a stranger will suffer. He that hates being surety is sure.

¹⁸ A man without understanding shakes hands and becomes surety for his friend.

¹⁶ Take his garment that is surety for a stranger and hold it as a pledge for a seductress.

²⁶ Do not give pledges and be guarantors for debts.

¹³ Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take him as pledge as surety for a fornicator.

¹⁸ But if he has wronged you and owes you anything at all, charge this to me. ¹⁹ I Paul write with my own hand. I will repay. I do not say that you owe your own self (life) to me.

²² Jesus became the guarantee of a better covenant.

¹³ The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips. The righteous will depart from trouble.

⁷ A fool's mouth is his ruin. His lips are the snares of his life.

³ Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him: »Thus says Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

¹⁴ »I am in a desperate situation,« David told Gad. »Please let us fall into Jehovah’s hands because he is very merciful. But do not let me fall into human hands.«

⁵ Shemaiah the prophet approached Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them: »Jehovah says: ‘You have forsaken me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak.’«

¹² He did what Jehovah his God considered evil. He did not humble himself in front of the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke Jehovah’s word.

⁸ You have not handed me over to the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large place.

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the presence of God, and he will exalt you.

⁴ get into my bed, shut my eyes, or close my eyelids

¹⁰ »A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest. ¹¹ Your poverty comes like a traveler. Your need comes like an armed man.

¹⁰ Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you are going.

¹⁷ »you on the housetop do not go down to remove the things in your house. ¹⁸ »You in the field do not return to get your clothes.

³⁵ »Watch therefore for you do not know when the lord of the house comes. It could be in the evening, at midnight or in the morning (when the cock crows). ³⁶ »He could come suddenly and find you sleeping.

¹ ([Psalm of David]) I have taken refuge in Jehovah. How can you say to me: »Flee to your mountain like a bird?«

³ He is the one who will rescue you from the bird hunter’s trap (fowler’s snare) and from deadly plagues.

⁷ »We escaped as a bird out of the trap of fowlers (bird catchers). The trap is broken, and we have escaped.

¹⁷ Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

⁷ »Ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the air and they will tell you. ⁸ »Speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.

⁹ How long will you sleep, O lazy person? When will you arise from your sleep?

²⁶ As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy man to those who sent him.

⁴ The lazy man desires and has nothing. The diligent man will be made rich.

¹⁹ The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns. But the way of the righteous is a wide path.

⁹ He is lazy in his work. His brother destroys.

¹⁵ Laziness propels one into a deep sleep. An idle person will suffer hunger.

²⁴ A lazy man hides his hand in the dish and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

⁴ The lazy man will not plow because of the cold. He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

²⁵ The desire of the lazy killed him for his hands refuse to work.

¹³ The lazy man says: »There is a lion outside. I will be killed in the streets.«

³⁰ I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding. ³¹ It was all grown over with thorns and nettles, and the wall of stone was broken down. ³² Then I saw, and considered it well. I looked on it, and received instruction: ³³ »Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.« ³⁴ Your poverty will come like a robber and your want like an armed man.

¹³ The lazy man says: »There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.« ¹⁴ As the door turns on its hinges, so does the lazy man on his bed. ¹⁵ The lazy man hides his hand in his bosom. It wearies him to lift it to his mouth. ¹⁶ The lazy man is wiser in his own conceit than seven men who can answer with good sense.

²⁵ The ants are beings that are not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer.

³ »The bull knows its owner, and donkey knows where its master feeds it. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand!«

²⁶ »Look at the birds of the sky, they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you worth more than they?

²⁶ »But his lord answered: ‘You wicked and lazy servant. You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter.

¹¹ Do not lag behind in diligence. Be fervent in spirit serving God.

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

³⁹ »Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions

²⁶ »Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south? ²⁷ »Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes its nest on high? ²⁸ »It lives on the rock and makes its home in the fastness of the rocky crag. ²⁹ »It spies the pray from there. Its eyes see it from far away. ³⁰ »Its young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there it is.

⁴ »Will he beg you to let him go? Will he plead with you for mercy? ⁵ »Will he make an agreement with you and promise to serve you forever? ⁶ »Will you tie him like a pet bird, like something to amuse your servant women? ⁷ »Will fishermen bargain over him? Will merchants cut him up to sell? ⁸ »Can you fill his hide with fishing spears or pierce his head with a harpoon? ⁹ »Indeed, hope of overcoming him is false. Should you be overwhelmed at the sight of him? ¹⁰ »No one is as fierce that he would dare stir him up. Who then is able to stand against me? ¹¹ »Who has preceded me that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is mine. ¹² »I will not conceal his limbs, his mighty power, or his graceful proportions. ¹³ »Who can remove his outer coat? Who can approach him with a double bridle? ¹⁴ »Who can open the doors of his face, with his terrible teeth all around? ¹⁵ »His rows of scales are his pride, Shut up tightly as a seal. ¹⁶ »One is so near another that no air can come between them. ¹⁷ »They are joined one to another, they stick together and cannot be parted. ¹⁸ »Its sneezes flash forth light, and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. ¹⁹ »From its mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap out. ²⁰ »Out of its nostrils comes smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. ²¹ »Its breath kindles coals, and a flame comes out of its mouth. ²² »In its neck abides strength, and terror dances before it. ²³ »The folds of its flesh cling together; it is firmly cast and immovable. ²⁴ »Its heart is as hard as stone, as hard as the lower millstone. ²⁵ »When it raises itself up the gods are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. ²⁶ »Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail, nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin. ²⁷ »It considers iron to be like straw and bronze to be like rotten wood. ²⁸ »An arrow will not make it run away. Stones from a sling turn to dust against it. ²⁹ »It considers clubs to be like stubble, and it laughs at a rattling javelin. ³⁰ »Its underside is like sharp pieces of broken pottery. It stretches out like a threshing sledge on the mud. ³¹ »It makes the deep sea boil like a pot. It stirs up the ocean like a boiling kettle. ³² »It leaves a shining path behind it so that the sea appears to have silvery hair. ³³ »Nothing on land can compare to it. It was made fearless. ³⁴ »It looks down on all high things. It is king of everyone who is arrogant.

²⁷ The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks.

⁵ He who gathers in summer is a wise son. He who sleeps at the harvest is a son who causes shame.

¹⁹ They store up for them a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on the life that is life indeed.

⁸ Pay attention, you stupid (senseless) people! When will you become wise, you fools?

²² »How long, you simple (stupid) (foolish) ones, will you love simplicity (foolishness) (stupidity)? The scoffers delight in scoffing. Fools hate knowledge!

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

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

¹¹ You know the time. It is the hour for you to awake from sleep. Now our salvation is nearer than when we became believers.

¹⁴ For this reason it says: »Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.«

² For you know perfectly that the »Day of Jehovah« will come like a thief in the night. (Zephaniah 1:14) ³ When they say, »Peace and security!« then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They will not escape. ⁴ You do not live in the dark. That day should not overtake you by surprise as a thief would. 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.

⁶ Go to the ant, you lazy person. Consider her ways and be wise!

³³ Your eyes will see strange things and your heart (and mind) will utter perverse things. ³⁴ You will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea; like one who lies on top of a mast.

⁴ He becomes poor who deals with a lazy hand. The hand of the diligent makes rich.

³⁴ Your poverty will come like a robber and your want like an armed man.

²⁸ Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard David talking to the men. Then Eliab became angry with David. »Why did you come here,« he asked him,« and with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how overconfident and headstrong you are. You came here just to see the battle.«

³ The wicked person boasts about his selfish desires. He blesses the covetous, which Jehovah abhors.

⁷ His mouth is full of curses, deception, and oppression. Trouble and wrongdoing are on the tip of his tongue.

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

² Your tongue makes up wickedness. It is like a sharp razor, you master of deceit. ³ You prefer evil to good. You prefer lying to speaking the truth. ⁴ You love words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

⁷ See what pours out of their mouths, swords from their lips! They think: Who will hear us?

⁸ They ridicule. They speak maliciously. They speak arrogantly about oppression. ⁹ They set their mouth in the heavens and their tongue parades through the earth.

¹² It will deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.

²⁴ Put away from you a deceitful mouth. Get rid of devious speech.

¹⁴ Fraud is in his heart, he devises mischief continually; he sows discord.

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

⁶ Righteousness will deliver the upright. Greed will capture the unfaithful.

²⁷ An ungodly man digs up evil. It lies on his lips like a burning fire.

⁴ The evildoer pays attention to false lips. A liar listens attentively to a wicked tongue.

² One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, and the other basket had very bad figs that could not be eaten because they were rotten.

⁸ »‘Like the bad figs that cannot be eaten because they are rotten,« says Jehovah, »so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt. ⁹ »‘»I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. They will be a disgrace and an example. They will become something ridiculed and cursed wherever I scatter them. ¹⁰ »‘»I will send wars, famines, and plagues until they disappear from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors.«’«

³⁴ »You offspring of vipers. How can you who are evil speak good things? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

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

¹³ They also learn to be idle, going about from house to house; and not only idle, but gossipers and busybodies, speaking things that they should not.

¹⁰ There are many unruly (rebellious) men, vain talkers, and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision. ¹¹ They must be stopped. Their mouths must be shut up, for they subvert entire households. They teach things that should not be taught, for the sake of dishonest gain.

²¹ Therefore get rid of all filthiness and wickedness. Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save you.

⁶ The tongue is like fire, the place of iniquity among our members. It defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of our life. It is set ablaze like the ever-burning fires in the Valley of Hinnom (Greek: Gehenna: symbolic of total destruction).

¹² »Why does your heart carry you away? Why do your eyes flash?

¹⁹ Do not let my treacherous enemies gloat over me. Do not let those who hate me for no reason wink maliciously.

⁶ She does not ponder the path of life. Her unstable ways she does not know.

¹⁰ He who winks the eye [in a jesture of malice] causes trouble. A babbling fool will fall.

⁴ He plans wickedness upon his bed. He walks on a path that is not good. He does not despise evil.

¹⁴ Who rejoice in doing evil? They delight in the perversity of the wicked.

²⁹ Do not plan anything that will hurt your neighbors. They live beside you, trusting you.

¹⁸ A heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run quickly to badness, ¹⁹ A false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brothers.

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.

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

⁸ He who sows unrighteousness will reap vanity. The rod of his anger will fail.

¹⁷ He who meddles in someone else’s quarrel is like one who takes a dog by the ears. ¹⁸ This is like a mad man who throws firebrands, arrows, and death. ¹⁹ So is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says: »I was only joking.« ²⁰ Without wood the fire goes out. Without a talebearer strife ceases. ²¹ As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle disputes. ²² The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts.

⁷ As for a rogue, his weapons are evil. He devises wicked schemes to destroy the afflicted with slander, even though the needy one speaks what is right.

²⁰ But the wicked are like the troubled and restless sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

² Jehovah said to me: »Son of man, these are the men who plan evil and give bad advice in this city (Jerusalem).

⁷ »The people of Israel plant the wind, but they harvest a storm. A field of grain that does not ripen will never produce any grain. Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would eat it all.

¹ »Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! When the morning comes they do it because they are able to (it is in the power of their hands).

¹⁷ Now I beseech you, brothers, mark those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine you have learned and avoid them.

⁷ Do not be deceived. God is not mocked! A man will harvest what he sows. ⁸ He that sows to his own flesh will harvest corruption of the flesh. But he that sows to the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

¹⁶ They mocked God’s messengers. They despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until Jehovah became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them.

²² »Consider this, you who do not remember God. Otherwise, I will tear you to pieces, and there will be no one to deliver.

¹⁸ Surely you set them in slippery places. You threw them down into destruction. ¹⁹ How are they destroyed, suddenly! They are utterly consumed with terrors. ²⁰ It is like waking up from a dream, O Jehovah. When you awake you will despise everything they represent.

²⁷ »Trouble and distress will surround you like a whirlwind, like a great storm.

¹ He who is often reprimanded and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

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. ¹⁴ »It will break like pottery. It will be smashed. Nothing will be left of it. No piece will be big enough to carry live coals from a fireplace or to dip water from a reservoir.«

¹¹ »‘Say to them: ‘Jehovah of Hosts says: »Like this I will break this people and this city. It is just like one breaks a potter's vessel that cannot again be repaired. They will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial.«’

³ When they say, »Peace and security!« then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They will not escape.

¹⁰ »Do not sacrifice your children in the fires on your altars. Do not let your people practice divination or look for omens or use spells or charms. ¹¹ »Do not allow them to consult the spirits of the dead. ¹² »Jehovah your God hates people who do these disgusting things. That is why he is driving those nations out of the land as you advance.

¹⁸ »Do not bring the hire (fee) of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of Jehovah your God for any vow offering. Both of these are an abomination to Jehovah your God.

⁴ »her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife. She has been defiled. That is an abomination before Jehovah, and you shall not bring sin on the land Jehovah your God gives you as an inheritance.

¹⁶ »Everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to Jehovah your God.

⁵ Jehovah tests (examines) righteous and wicked people alike. He hates wicked people and the ones who love violence.

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

¹ A false scale balance is an abomination to Jehovah. A perfect weight is his delight.

²⁰ Those who are of a perverse heart are abomination to Jehovah. The way of the upright is his delight.

⁸ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah! The prayer of the upright is his delight. ⁹ The way of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah. He loves the one who follows after righteousness.

¹⁵ Justify the wicked or condemn the just. Both are abomination to Jehovah.

¹⁰ Differing weights and differing measures, both of them are an abomination to Jehovah.

²³ Many and different weights are an abomination to Jehovah and a false balance is not good.

¹⁸ There are three things that are too wonderful for me, yes, four I do not know:

²¹ Under three things the earth is disquieted, and for four it cannot bear:

²⁴ There are four things that are little upon the earth, but they (chakam: teach wisdom) are exceeding wise:

²⁹ »There are three things that go well, yes, four go well:

³ »I will not hold back punishment,« said Jehovah, »For the many transgressions of Damascus. This is because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.

⁶ Jehovah said: »I will not withdraw punishment from Gaza for they transgressed many times. They captured all the people and delivered them to Edom.

⁹ Jehovah continued: »For the many transgressions of Tyre I will not withdraw punishment! They captured all the people and delivered them to Edom. They did not remember the brotherly covenant.

¹¹ Jehovah declared: »For three and four transgressions of Edom, I will not withdraw punishment. He pursued his brother with the sword. He showed no compassion but was driven with anger and eternal wrath.

¹ Jehovah said: »I will not withdraw punishment for the many transgressions of Moab. He burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

⁴ Jehovah continued: »I will not withdraw punishment for the many transgressions of Judah. For they have rejected the Law of Jehovah! They have not kept his statutes. Their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.

⁶ Jehovah said: »I will not withdraw punishment for (three sins of Israel, even for four) the many transgressions of Israel! They sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes.

²⁷ Nothing impure will ever enter it. The shameful and deceitful will not enter. Only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life will enter.

¹⁰ »Innocent blood will not be shed in your land that Jehovah your God gives you as an inheritance. Blood guiltiness will not be on you.

²⁵ »‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to punish an innocent person.’ All the people will say: ‘Amen.’

⁴ and especially because of all the innocent people he killed. Jehovah would not forgive Manasseh for that.

⁶ You destroy those who speak falsehood. Jehovah abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

⁴ In his arrogant attitude he does not search for God. His faulty reasoning concludes: »There is no God.«

²⁷ You save humble people, but you humiliate the proud.

¹⁸ Let their lying lips be speechless, since they speak against righteous people with arrogance and contempt.

⁶ That is why arrogance is their necklace and violence covers them like clothing. ⁷ Their eyes stand out with fatness, and their heart’s imagination run wild. ⁸ They ridicule. They speak maliciously. They speak arrogantly about oppression.

⁵ I will destroy anyone who secretly slanders his neighbor. I will not tolerate anyone with a conceited look or arrogant heart.

² O Jehovah, rescue me from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue. ³ You deceitful tongue, what can Jehovah give you? What more can he do for you?

¹ ([Psalm of David]) O Jehovah, my heart is not proud, my eyes are not haughty. I do not involve myself in great matters. I do not get involved in things too difficult for me.

¹¹ If they say: »Come with us. Let us lie in wait to kill someone. Let us ambush the innocent without cause.

²² Lying lips are an abomination to Jehovah. Those who deal truly are his delight.

⁵ A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness utters lies.

⁷ Excellent speech does not fit a fool; much less do lying lips a prince.

⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart, and the arrogance and pride produced by the wicked are sin.

²⁸ A lying tongue hates those afflicted by it and a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹³ There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up.

¹⁵ »When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you offer many prayers, I will not listen because your hands are full of blood.

¹¹ The arrogant people will be humbled. High and mighty people will be brought down. On that day Jehovah alone will be exalted.

⁹ The expression on their faces will be held against them. They boast about their sins! They are like those of the people of Sodom. They do not even bother to hide them. How horrible it will be for these people. They have brought disaster on themselves.

¹⁶ Jehovah also said: »Because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, and go along with mincing steps and tinkle the bangles on their feet,

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. ⁶ Their webs cannot be used for clothes. They cannot cover themselves with their works for their works are evil. Their hands have committed acts of violence. ⁷ Their feet run to do evil. They hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil. Ruin and destruction are on their highways.

¹ Hear the word of Jehovah, you children of Israel! For Jehovah has a legal case against the inhabitants of the land. There is no truth! There is no goodness. There is no knowledge of God in the land. ² They do nothing but swear, deceive, kill, steal and commit adultery! There is violence and bloodshed in the land.

⁴⁴ »You are from your father [Satan] the Devil (slanderer) (false accuser)! You want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning. He does not stand for the truth. There is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own lies. He is a liar and the father of the lie!

⁵ Likewise, you younger men, be subject to the older men. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility and serve one another. God resists the proud, but gives loving kindness to the humble.

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

⁵ Jehovah saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become. Every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

¹⁶ For their feet run to evil. They hurry to shed blood.

⁸ He who devises (plans) to do evil is called a troublemaker.

⁷ Their feet run to do evil. They hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil. Ruin and destruction are on their highways.

¹⁷ »Let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor. Do not love a false oath (perjury): for all these are things that I hate,« said Jehovah.

¹⁵ »Their feet are swift to shed blood.« (Proverbs 1:15)

¹⁶ »Do not (lie) accuse anyone falsely.

¹ »Do not spread false rumors. Do not help a guilty person by offering false testimony.

¹⁶ »This is what you must do whenever a witness takes the stand to accuse a person falsely of a crime. ¹⁷ »The two people involved must stand in Jehovah’s presence, in front of the priests and judges who are serving at that time. ¹⁸ »The judges must make a thorough investigation. If it is found that the witness lied when he testified against the other Israelite, ¹⁹ do to him what he planned to do to the other person. Get rid of this evil. ²⁰ »When other people hear about this, they will be afraid. Never again will such an evil thing be done among you.

¹⁰ »Get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death.« ¹¹ So the elders and nobles in authority in his town did as Jezebel said in the letter she sent them. ¹² They gave orders for a day of public sorrow and put Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ The two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people. They said: »Naboth has been cursing God and the king.« Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying: »Naboth has been stoned and is dead.« ¹⁵ Jezebel, hearing that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, said to Ahab: »Get up and take as your heritage the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he would not give you for money. Naboth is dead.«

¹² Do not surrender me to the will of my opponents. False witnesses have risen against me. They breathe out violence.

¹¹ Violent witnesses bring charges against me. They ask me things I know nothing about.

¹⁷ He who speaks truth shows righteousness, but a false witness deceit.

²⁸ A perverse man sows discord. A whisperer separates good friends.

⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished. The liar will not escape.

⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished and the liar will perish.

¹⁰ Throw out the scoffer and contention will go away, yes, strife and reproach will cease.

¹⁸ A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.

²⁰ Without wood the fire goes out. Without a talebearer strife ceases.

¹⁹ »Evil thoughts come from the heart! Thoughts about murder, adultery, fornication, theft, lying, and slander come from the heart!

⁵⁹ The chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were looking for false witness against Jesus. They wanted to put him to death.

¹³ They brought false witnesses, which said: »This man will not stop speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.

²³ But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing they produce quarrels (controversy) (fighting).

¹⁴ If you have bitter jealousy (envy) and greedy ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and lie against the truth. 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.

¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

⁹ I wrote something to the congregation. But Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, did not receive us. ¹⁰ If I come, I will remind you of what he does. He unjustly accuses us with wicked words and is never satisfied. He does not allow the brothers to greet one another and he throws them out of the congregation.

¹⁸ »If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not listen or obey his father or his mother when they chastise him,

¹⁶ »‘Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or mother. All the people will say: Amen.

⁸ My son, listen to the instruction of your father. Do not forsake the law of your mother. ⁹ Discipline and education are a graceful ornament on your head, and a golden chain around your neck.

¹ My son, pay attention to my words, and preserve my commandments within you. ² Obey my commandments and live, and my teaching like the pupil of your eye. ³ Bind them upon your fingers. Write them upon the table of your heart. ⁴ Say to wisdom: »You are my sister!« Call understanding your friend.

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

¹¹ There is a generation that curses their father, and doe not bless their mother.

¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.

¹⁶ »This festival will be like a mark on your hand and like a band on your forehead, because Jehovah used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt.«

⁸ »Bind them for a sign upon your hand. They shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

³ Do not let kindness and truth leave you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

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

²¹ Do not let them leave your sight. Hold them in the midst of your heart!

³ It is known that you are a letter of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is not written on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh that are of the heart.

⁴ I have avoided cruelty because of your word regardless of what others have done.

³ O send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me! Let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling places.

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word.

¹¹ Your word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you.

²⁴ Your laws are my delight and counsel.

⁵⁴ Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.

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

¹⁴⁸ My eyes anticipate the night watches that I may meditate on your word.

¹¹ Discretion will protect you. Understanding will watch over you.

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.

¹⁸ »He will turn back to the coastlands and will capture many. However, a prince will cause the reproach offered by him to cease. He will cause his reproach to turn upon him. ¹⁹ »Then he will turn his attention toward the fortresses of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and will not be found. ²⁰ »Then one will stand up in his place who will send an oppressor (tax collecter) to pass through the glory of the kingdom. However, he will be destroyed within a few days, neither in anger, nor in battle. ²¹ »A contemptible person will stand in his place. He will be one whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom. He will come in time of security, and will obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

¹⁷ »‘Never hate your brother in your heart. Be sure to correct your neighbor so that you will not be guilty of sinning along with him.

⁸ The statutes of Jehovah are correct. They make the heart rejoice. The commandments of Jehovah are radiant. They make the eyes shine.

⁹⁸ Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine. ⁹⁹ I have more insight than all my teachers, for your laws are my meditation. ¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the aged, since I have observed your precepts.

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

⁵ A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness. It is like lotion for my head. My head will not refuse it, because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.

¹⁸ She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who hold her. Happy are all who keep her.

⁴ Father taught me. He said: »Remember my words in your heart. Obey my commandments and live.

¹³ Take firm hold of instruction and do not let go. Obey her for she is your life.

¹² You say: »How I have hated instruction! My heart despised reproof.

²⁴ The way of life leads upward for the wise. That he may depart from the grave beneath.

³¹ The ear that hears the reproof of life abides among the wise.

¹⁵ The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

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.

⁸ »Also say to this people, ‘Jehovah says: »Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

¹⁹ We have the word of prophecy made sure (steadfast) (firm)! You do well that you pay attention [to God’s Word] as you would to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the daystar rises, in your hearts.

⁵ »'Think how far you have fallen! Turn from your sins (repent) and do what you did at first. If you do not turn from your sins, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.

¹⁶ You will be able to resist any immoral woman who tries to seduce you with her smooth talk.

³ The lips of an immoral woman drip as a honeycomb. Her mouth is smoother than oil.

⁵ That they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words.

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.

² Late one afternoon, David got up from his nap and went to the palace roof. He walked around on the roof. He saw a woman taking a bath. She was very beautiful. ³ He sent a messenger to find out who she was. He learned that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. ⁴ So David sent messengers to get her. She came to him and they had sexual intercourse. She had just cleansed herself after her monthly period. Then she went home. ⁵ The woman became pregnant. So she sent someone to tell David that she was pregnant.

³⁰ Jehu went to Jezreel. Jezebel had news of what happened. Painting her eyes and dressing her hair with ornaments, she put her head out of the window.

⁹ »You have ravished my heart, my sister, and my spouse. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain around your neck.

²⁸ »However, I tell you that whoever looks at a woman with lustful thoughts commits adultery with her in his heart.

¹⁴ Each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his evil desire (lust). He is enticed (allured). ¹⁵ Then evil desires, when conceived, give birth to sin: and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

¹⁴ she called her household servants and said to them: »Look! My husband brought this Hebrew here to fool around with us. He came in and tried to go to bed with me. I screamed as loud as I could.

³⁶ »‘Your descendants who survive will have to go to that priest and ask him for money and food, and beg to be allowed to help the priests, in order to have something to eat.’«

¹⁰ Strangers will be filled with your financial strength. Strangers will benefit from your hard work.

²³ Till a dart strikes through his liver. The bird hurries to the snare without knowing it would cost his life.

³ He who loves wisdom makes his father rejoice. But he who keeps company with fornicators wastes his wealth.

⁸ Scornful men bring a city into a snare. Wise men turn away anger.

⁸ ‘»Therefore, the Lord Jehovah says: ‘»Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,’ declares the Lord Jehovah.«

¹⁸ »Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Jehovah says: »How horrible it will be for women who sew magic charms for people's wrists and make magic veils of every size for people's heads. You want to trap people. You want to control the lives of my people for your own profit.

¹³ »In a short time the younger son sold his share of the property. He left home with the money and traveled to a far away country where he wasted his money in reckless living. ¹⁴ »He spent everything! When a famine spread over that country he was left with nothing. ¹⁵ »He went to work for a citizen of that country who sent him to his farm to take care of the pigs.

³⁰ »This son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes. When he comes home you kill the prize calf for him!

⁹ »If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, ¹⁰ then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her. ¹¹ »For that would have been shameful (a crime), a sin to be judged. ¹² »That would be a fire consuming down to destruction, and it would burn all my harvest to the root.

⁴ »They all commit adultery. They are like a heated oven, an oven so hot that a baker does not have to fan its flames when he makes bread. ⁵ »On the day of the king's celebration, the officials become drunk from the heat of wine, and the king joins mockers. ⁶ »They become hot inside like an oven while they lie in ambush. All night long their anger smolders, but in the morning it burns like a raging fire. ⁷ »They are all as hot as an oven. They consume their rulers like a fire. All their kings die in battle, and none of them calls to me.

⁵ The tongue also is a little member. It boasts great things. Consider how great a forest fire a small fire kindles!

¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. »What have you done to me?« he asked. »Why did you not tell me she was your wife? ¹⁹ »Why did you say: ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!«

⁴ Abimelech had not come near her. He said: »Lord, I am innocent! Would you destroy my people and me? ⁵ »Abraham said that she was his sister. She said the same thing. I did this with a clear conscience. I have done no wrong!« ⁶ God said to him in a dream: »Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. In fact, I kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. ⁷ »Give the man’s wife back to him now. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.«

¹⁰ »Do you know what you have done?« Abimelech shouted. »If someone had slept with her, you would have made our whole nation guilty!« ¹¹ So Abimelech charged all the people, saying: »He who touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.«

¹⁰ »‘If a man commits adultery with the wife of an Israelite, both he and the woman should be put to death.

³ He sent a messenger to find out who she was. He learned that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. ⁴ So David sent messengers to get her. She came to him and they had sexual intercourse. She had just cleansed herself after her monthly period. Then she went home.

⁹ »‘Why have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle! You let the Ammonites kill him. Then you took his wife! ¹⁰ »‘In every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah’s wife.

²¹ Ahithophel answered: »Some of your father’s wives were left here to take care of the palace. You should have sex with them. Then everyone will find out that you have publicly disgraced your father. This will make you and your followers even more powerful.«

⁵ Every one proud in heart is an abomination to Jehovah. Though they unite they will all be punished.

⁸ They were like well-fed stallions wild with desire, each lusting for his neighbor's wife. ⁹ »Why should I not punish the people of Judah?« Says Jehovah, »Should I take retribution (vengeance)?«

¹¹ »Some commit adultery, and others seduce their daughters-in-law or their half sisters.

⁵ »I will approach you people for judgment! I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers and those acting fraudulently with the wages of the worker, the widow and the fatherless. I will be a speedy witness against those who swear falsely and take advantage of the stranger, and do not show me reverence,« said Jehovah of Hosts.

¹ Concerning the things that you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch (have sex with) a woman.

³⁹ »Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions

¹ »A man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it. He must pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. ² »If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guiltiness on his account. ³ »But if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of murder. A thief must make up for what he has stolen. If he is unable to do so, he should be sold as a slave to pay for what he stole. ⁴ »If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession, whether it is a bull, donkey, or a sheep, he must make up for the loss with double the amount.

⁶ »For doing such a cruel thing he should pay back four times for the lamb he took, for he had no compassion.«

¹⁸ »What he toiled for he must give back uneaten. He will not enjoy the profit from his trading.

²⁵ »He was not able to make payment. So his lord gave orders for him to be sold. His wife, sons, and daughters were all to be sold along with every possession. The money would be used for payment of what he owed.

⁸ Zacchaeus stood before Jesus and said: »Lord, I now give half of all my possessions to the poor. If I have defrauded any one I will give back four times the amount taken.«

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.

³⁹ The king said to Joseph: »God has shown you all this. Therefore it is obvious that you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else.

¹⁴ »Do not commit adultery.

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.

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.

⁷ I saw among the simple ones, I discerned among the youth, a young man without understanding.

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.

³⁶ »But he who sins against me wrongs himself. All who hate me love death.«

⁴ »Who is simple? Let him turn in here! He who lacks understanding,« she says to him,

¹⁶ »Let the inexperienced (naïve) one come in here,« and to the person who lacks understanding she says: ¹⁷ »Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.« ¹⁸ He does not know the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.

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. 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.

⁸ They were like well-fed stallions wild with desire, each lusting for his neighbor's wife.

²¹ »‘Hear this, you stupid and senseless people! You have eyes, but you cannot see. You have ears, but you cannot hear.’«

³¹ ‘»Give up all the evil you have been doing. Get yourselves new minds and hearts. Why do you Israelites want to die?

¹¹ Prostitution, wine and new wine take away the understanding. ¹² My people ask counsel at their stock, and their staff declares to them; for the spirit of adultery caused them to go astray. They have played the harlot, departing from their God.

⁹ »You are destroying yourself, Israel. You are against me, your helper.

²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools. ²³ They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. ²⁴ God gave them up to uncleanness because of the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves.

⁴ Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled: for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

⁴ »You are like a raging flood. But you will not be the most important, for you slept with my concubine. You dishonored your father’s bed.

¹⁹ Delilah lulled Samson to sleep in her lap and called a man, who cut off Samson’s seven locks of hair. Then she tormented him, for he had lost his strength. ²⁰ She shouted: »Samson! The Philistines are coming!« He woke up and thought: »I will get loose and go free, as always.« He did not know that Jehovah had left him. ²¹ The Philistines captured him and put his eyes out. They took him to Gaza, chained him with copper chains. They put him to work grinding at the mill in the prison.

⁵ Jehovah did this because David had done what was right in Jehovah’s eyes. He obeyed his commandments, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

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.

¹ ([Psalm of David]) O Jehovah, do not correct me or discipline me in your burning anger. ² Your arrows have struck me. Your hand has struck me hard. ³ No healthy spot is left on my body because of your rage. There is no peace in my bones because of my sin. ⁴ My guilt has overwhelmed me. Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear. ⁵ My wounds smell rotten. They fester because of my stupidity. ⁶ I am bent over and bowed down very low. All day I walk around in sadness. ⁷ My insides are filled with burning pain, and no healthy spot is left on my body. ⁸ I am numb and completely devastated. I roar because my heart is filling with anguish.

¹ ([[Psalm of David] when the prophet Nathan came to him after David's adultery with Bathsheba:]) Have mercy on me, O God, in keeping with your loving-kindness. According to your unlimited compassion, wipe out my transgressions.

⁸ Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

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.

⁶ Jesse the father of King David. David and Uriah’s wife Bath-sheba were the father and mother of Solomon.

¹⁴ »‘A husband may have a fit of jealousy and suspect his wife, whether she was actually unfaithful or not.

¹¹ Jehovah said to Moses: »Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of the priest Aaron, turned my fury away from the Israelites. Since he stood up for me, I did not have to stand up for myself and destroy them.

²⁹ When he arrived at his house he got a knife. He took his concubine’s body and cut it into twelve pieces. He sent one piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ³⁰ Everyone who saw it said: »No such deed has been seen or done since the people of Israel left Egypt! We must do something about this! What will we do?«

⁴ Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

⁶ (The Shulamite to her Beloved) »Set me as a signature ring seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For Love is as strong as death. Zeal (devotion) is as fixed as the grave. And zeal burns like coals of fire, the very flame of Jehovah.

²² Do we provoke Jehovah to rivalry (indignation) (anger)? Are we stronger than he?

¹ Naaman was a great soldier. He was commander of the Syrian army and highly respected and esteemed by the king of Syria (Aram). Jehovah gave victory to the Syrian forces through Naaman. He suffered from a dreaded skin disease.

³ I was my father’s son, tender and the only son to my mother.

¹³ She put her arms around him and kissed him, and with an impudent look she said:

²⁵ »Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth:

⁹ Man has been humbled. Everyman has been humiliated. Do not forgive them.

⁹ »I caused you to be despised and low before all the people. You are contemptible and do not keep my ways. You show partiality when applying the law.«