Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed. The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

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

Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

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

He who winks the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will come to ruin.

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm. . . .

“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons: This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ‘May the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. . . .

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

A gift in secret soothes anger, and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath.

But as for you, speak the things that are consistent with sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and perseverance. Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good. In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited. . . .

The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. Many a man proclaims his loving devotion, but who can find a trustworthy man? The righteous man walks with integrity; blessed are his children after him.

Now this is what the LORD says—He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine!

Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders. Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

It is not good to eat too much honey or to search out one’s own glory.

So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate. It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow. This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead. There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten. . . .

The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.” And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. . . .

By now Abraham was old and well along in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh, and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling, but will go to my country and my kindred to take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” . . .

Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well. When all the flocks had been gathered there, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. “My brothers,” Jacob asked the shepherds, “where are you from?” “We are from Haran,” they answered. “Do you know Laban the grandson of Nahor?” Jacob asked. “We know him,” they replied. . . .

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.

For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.

On my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and squares. I will seek the one I love. So I sought him but did not find him. I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city: “Have you seen the one I love?” I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held him and would not let go until I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the chamber of the one who conceived me. O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right. . . .

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but turning from evil is detestable to fools. He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.

May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:

How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O daughter of the prince! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a master. Your navel is a rounded goblet; it never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by the lilies. Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus. Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple threads; the king is captured in your tresses. . . .

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. In His own time He has made His word evident in the proclamation entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior. To Titus, my true child in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself. And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt. So David marched out and prospered in everything Saul sent him to do, and Saul set him over the men of war. And this was pleasing in the sight of all the people, and of Saul’s officers as well. . . .

I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all. For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them. I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:

For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel, because I, the LORD, will speak whatever word I speak, and it will be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a message and bring it to pass, declares the Lord GOD.’” Furthermore, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’ Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled, declares the Lord GOD.’”

If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. This is why the ancients were commended. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. . . .

In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. . . .

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD. All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD. Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved. The LORD has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster. Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured that he will not go unpunished. . . .

From the fruit of his mouth a man’s belly is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD. The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly. A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.

For the choirmaster. A song. A Psalm. Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You. All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You; they sing praise to Your name.” Selah Come and see the works of God; how awesome are His deeds toward mankind. . . .

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelech, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah, and they entered the land of Moab and settled there. Then Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons, who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. And after they had lived in Moab about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and without her husband. . . .

This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.) The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated: This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce. . . .