If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints!
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church?
I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers?
. . .
Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.
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.”
When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.
For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”
Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”
And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
. . .
“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he must repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.
If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed.
But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft.
If what was stolen is actually found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double.
If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and allows them to stray so that they graze in someone else’s field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.
. . .
Then he said to the judges, “Consider carefully what you do, for you are not judging for man, but for the LORD, who is with you when you render judgment.
And now, may the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”
Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, priests, and heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.
He commanded them, saying, “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD.
For every dispute that comes before you from your brothers who dwell in their cities—whether it regards bloodshed or some other violation of law, commandments, statutes, or ordinances—you are to warn them, so that they will not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath will not come upon you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.
. . .
After Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where they entered a garden.
Now Judas His betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with His disciples.
So Judas brought a band of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees. They arrived at the garden carrying lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus, knowing all that was coming upon Him, stepped forward and asked them, “Whom are you seeking?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. Jesus said, “I am He.” And Judas His betrayer was standing there with them.
. . .
When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.
Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
A divine verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth must not betray justice.
Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are His concern.
. . .
And he would add, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land, then everyone with a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would give him justice.”
Asa’s son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place, and he strengthened himself against Israel.
He stationed troops in every fortified city of Judah and put garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek out the Baals,
but he sought the God of his father and walked by His commandments rather than the practices of Israel.
So the LORD established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought him tribute, so that he had an abundance of riches and honor.
. . .
If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed.
But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed. A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft.
“You must not make idols for yourselves or set up a carved image or sacred pillar; you must not place a sculpted stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am the LORD your God.
You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.
If you follow My statutes and carefully keep My commandments,
I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.
Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have your fill of food to eat and will dwell securely in your land.
. . .
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,
and He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
. . .
He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to his own chariots and horses, to run in front of his chariots.
After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”
Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”
. . .
Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven must be done diligently for His house. For why should wrath fall on the realm of the king and his sons?
And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates—all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them.
If anyone does not keep the law of your God and the law of the king, let a strict judgment be executed against him, whether death, banishment, confiscation of property, or imprisonment.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,
. . .
Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.
Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
A land in rebellion has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.
A destitute leader who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no food.
Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.
Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD comprehend fully.
. . .
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.
So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, as well as the king of Maacah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba while the Ammonites came from their cities and marched out for battle.
On hearing this, David sent Joab and the entire army of mighty men.
The Ammonites marched out and arrayed themselves for battle at the entrance to the city, while the kings who had come stayed by themselves in the open country.
When Joab saw the battle lines before him and behind him, he selected some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans.
. . .
But Paul said to the officers, “They beat us publicly without a trial and threw us into prison, even though we are Roman citizens. And now do they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! Let them come themselves and escort us out!”
After we had torn ourselves away from them, we sailed directly to Cos, and the next day on to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded it and set sail.
After sighting Cyprus and passing south of it, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.
We sought out the disciples in Tyre and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they kept telling Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to pray with us.
. . .
Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,
where the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their case against Paul. They urged Festus
to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
But Festus replied, “Paul is being held in Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.
So if this man has done anything wrong, let some of your leaders come down with me and accuse him there.”
. . .
If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.
Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.
“Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God:
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed.
. . .
Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.
Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.
. . .
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
A wise man’s heart inclines to the right, but the heart of a fool to the left.
Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking, and he shows everyone that he is a fool.
If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.
If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.
However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property.
If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.
. . .
“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say.”
But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
. . .
And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said.
Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
. . .
And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.
. . .
and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”
. . .
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
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.
. . .
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.
. . .
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God.
When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, you shall offer it for your acceptance.
. . .
But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.
This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses.
So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves.
For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.
. . .
Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
. . .
The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.
Casting the lot ends quarrels and separates strong opponents.
An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.
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.
Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;
for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.
By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
. . .
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been stricken with grief and have removed from your fellowship the man who did this?
Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus,
hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.
. . .
Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
But those who persist in sin should be rebuked in front of everyone, so that the others will stand in fear of sin.
But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.
and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.
His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
according to the eternal purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence.
So I ask you not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
. . .
Disaster upon disaster will come, and rumor after rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction from the priests will perish, as will counsel from the elders.
Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’
But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;
if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;
and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town.
Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?
Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’
. . .
And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.”
Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles.
And David said to his men, “Strap on your swords!” So David and all his men put on their swords, and about four hundred men followed David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,
you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
. . .
“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:
If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.
If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’
. . .
The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.
Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side.
But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
. . .
Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,
and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.
Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially.
And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”
. . .