Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the poor and needy.

Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you. For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions.

At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident. Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”

And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come.

Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.

I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.

When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death.

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

Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.

What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. . . .

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. . . .

With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be! Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. . . .

He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your instruction; nothing can make them stumble.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” “I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.”

they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

“What have I done now?” said David. “Was it not just a question?”

But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!”

and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden— and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel, you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death. On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you. . . .

If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction. You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt. You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless. . . .

But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

“Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him. And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel. A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

Luxury is unseemly for a fool—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes! A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God— as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two, or at most three, should speak in turn, and someone must interpret. But if there is no interpreter, he should remain silent in the church and speak only to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should stop. . . .

After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of the earth.” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD, for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.) Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.” . . .

Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see your pure and reverent demeanor. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were submissive to their husbands, . . .

Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you. For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. . . .

I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. And the grace of our Lord overflowed to me, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

I hope you will bear with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that. I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily. I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.” . . .

As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For He says: “In the time of favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation! We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no one can discredit our ministry. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities; in beatings, imprisonments, and riots; in labor, sleepless nights, and hunger; . . .

Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal, and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.” And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.” . . .

About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him. . . .

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them, and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike. And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. . . .

Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’” When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” When he would not be dissuaded, we fell silent and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” After these days, we packed up and went on to Jerusalem. . . .

and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’ ‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!” . . .

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him. You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know has been made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him that has given him this complete healing in your presence. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. . . .

Has not My hand made all these things?’ You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers— you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.” On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him. . . .

This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up. And when the locusts had eaten every green plant in the land, I said, “Lord GOD, please forgive! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” So the LORD relented from this plan. “It will not happen,” He said. This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. Then I said, “Lord GOD, please stop! How will Jacob survive, since he is so small?” . . .

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few. As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. . . .

After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him. All the royal servants at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded that this be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage. Then the royal servants at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the command of the king?” Day after day they warned him, but he would not comply. So they reported it to Haman to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage. . . .

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!” So Mordecai went and did all that Esther had instructed him.

But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.

“Son of man,” He said to me, “stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me. “Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me. They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. . . .

For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. . . .

But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.

O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders—plans formed long ago—in perfect faithfulness. Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Therefore, a strong people will honor You. The cities of ruthless nations will revere You. For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall, like heat in a dry land. You subdue the uproar of foreigners. As the shade of a cloud cools the heat, so the song of the ruthless is silenced. . . .

Listen to Me, you who know what is right, you people with My law in your hearts: Do not fear the scorn of men; do not be broken by their insults. For the moth will devour them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will last forever, My salvation through all generations.” Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon? Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over? So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee. . . .

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch. Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. You will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem in the palm of your God. No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride. For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you. . . .

My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, . . .

“Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?” “Therefore behold,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me.” “Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, ‘The LORD declares it.’” “Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD. “Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you are to say to them, ‘What burden? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’ . . .

At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the LORD: “This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all the cities of Judah who come to worship there. Do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and turn—each from his evil way of life—so that I may relent of the disaster I am planning to bring upon them because of the evil of their deeds. And you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘If you do not listen to Me and walk in My law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent you again and again even though you did not listen, . . .

I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.

Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, . . .

So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?” Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever. . . .

Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.” One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.” “Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load. . . .

So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But remain in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them. But some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, took the consecrated bread and gave it to his companions, and ate what is lawful only for the priests to eat.” Then Jesus declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” . . .

“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by. “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts. . . .

A wise heart will receive commandments, but foolish lips will come to ruin. He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out. He who winks the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will come to ruin. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions. . . .

A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a devious man is hated. The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. The evil bow before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. The poor man is hated even by his neighbor, but many are those who love the rich. He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor. . . .

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good. A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. A fool rejects his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction is prudent. . . .

He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.

He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.

Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer. A gift in secret soothes anger, and a covert bribe pacifies great wrath. Justice executed is a joy to the righteous, but a terror to the workers of iniquity. The man who strays from the path of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead. He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich. . . .

If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.

Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence, lest the one who hears may disgrace you, and your infamy never go away. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters. . . .

He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue. He who robs his father or mother, saying, “It is not wrong,” is a companion to the man who destroys. A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper. He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe. Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses. . . .

Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the Law. A servant cannot be corrected by words alone; though he understands, he will not respond. Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him. A servant pampered from his youth will bring grief in the end. An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—my appeal for mercy. Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live. The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!” The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. . . .

The arrogant utterly deride me, but I do not turn from Your law. I remember Your judgments of old, O LORD, and in them I find comfort. Rage has taken hold of me because of the wicked who reject Your law.

A song of ascents. Of David. If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel now declare— if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, then the floods would have engulfed us, then the torrent would have overwhelmed us, then the raging waters would have swept us away. . . .

A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. O LORD, how my foes have increased! How many rise up against me! Many say of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head. To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me. . . .

Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong. For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 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. . . .

A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed. They are free of the burdens others carry; they are not afflicted like other men. . . .

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire. He held in his hand a small scroll, which lay open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. Then he cried out in a loud voice like the roar of a lion. And when he cried out, the seven thunders sounded their voices. When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to put it in writing. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven. . . .

who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not. As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sternly, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth. To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled. . . .