14 Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

² He who walks in uprightness reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, but he who is contrary and devious in his ways despises Him.

³ In the ^[a]fool’s own mouth is a rod [to shame] his pride, but the wise men’s lips preserve them.

⁴ Where no oxen are, the grain crib is empty, but much increase [of crops] comes by the strength of the ox.

⁵ A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness breathes out falsehoods.

⁶ A scoffer seeks Wisdom in vain [for his very attitude blinds and deafens him to it], but knowledge is easy to him who [being teachable] understands.

⁷ Go from the presence of a foolish and self-confident man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

⁸ The Wisdom [godly Wisdom, which is comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of [self-confident] fools is to deceive.

⁹ Fools make a mock of sin and sin mocks the fools [who are its victims; a sin offering made by them only mocks them, bringing them disappointment and disfavor], but among the upright there is the favor of God.^(A)

¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

¹¹ The house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tent of the upright shall flourish.

¹² There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.

¹³ Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of mirth is heaviness and grief.

¹⁴ The backslider in heart [from God and from fearing God] shall be filled with [the fruit of] his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights].

¹⁵ The simpleton believes every word he hears, but the prudent man looks and considers well where he is going.

¹⁶ A wise man suspects danger and cautiously avoids evil, but the fool bears himself insolently and is [presumptuously] confident.

¹⁷ He who foams up quickly and flies into a passion deals foolishly, and a man of wicked plots and plans is hated.

¹⁸ The simple acquire folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹ The evil men bow before the good, and the wicked [stand suppliantly] at the gates of the [uncompromisingly] righteous.

²⁰ The poor is hated even by his own neighbor, but the rich has many friends.

²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins [against God, his fellowman, and himself], but happy (blessed and fortunate) is he who is kind and merciful to the poor.

²² Do they not err who devise evil and wander from the way of life? But loving-kindness and mercy, loyalty and faithfulness, shall be to those who devise good.

²³ In all labor there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty.

²⁴ The crown of the wise is their wealth of Wisdom, but the foolishness of [self-confident] fools is [nothing but] folly.

²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives, but a deceitful witness speaks lies [and endangers lives].

²⁶ In the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children shall always have a place of refuge.

²⁷ Reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.^(B)

²⁸ In a multitude of people is the king’s glory, but in a lack of people is the prince’s ruin.

²⁹ He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is hasty of spirit exposes and exalts his folly.^(C)

³⁰ A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.

³¹ He who oppresses the poor reproaches, mocks, and insults his Maker, but he who is kind and merciful to the needy honors Him.^(D)

³² The wicked is overthrown through his wrongdoing and calamity, but the [consistently] righteous has hope and confidence even in death.

³³ Wisdom rests [silently] in the mind and heart of him who has understanding, but that which is in the inward part of [self-confident] fools is made known.^(E)

³⁴ Uprightness and right standing with God (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) elevate a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵ The king’s favor is toward a wise and discreet servant, but his wrath is against him who does shamefully.^(F)

20 Then I saw an angel descending from heaven; he was holding the key of the Abyss (the bottomless pit) and a great chain was in his hand.

² And he gripped and overpowered the dragon, that old serpent [of primeval times], who is the devil and Satan, and [securely] bound him for a thousand years.

³ Then he hurled him into the Abyss (the bottomless pit) and closed it and sealed it above him, so that he should no longer lead astray and deceive and seduce the nations until the thousand years were at an end. After that he must be liberated for a short time.

⁴ Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom authority to act as judges and to pass sentence was entrusted. Also I saw the souls of those who had been slain with axes [beheaded] for their witnessing to Jesus and [for preaching and testifying] for the Word of God, and who had refused to pay homage to the beast or his statue and had not accepted his mark or permitted it to be stamped on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived again and ruled with Christ (the Messiah) a thousand years.^(A)

⁵ The remainder of the dead were not restored to life again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

⁶ Blessed (happy, ^[a]to be envied) and holy (spiritually whole, of unimpaired innocence and proved virtue) is the person who takes part (shares) in the first resurrection! Over them the second death exerts no power or authority, but they shall be ministers of God and of Christ (the Messiah), and they shall rule along with Him a thousand years.

⁷ And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his place of confinement,

⁸ And he will go forth to deceive and seduce and lead astray the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth—Gog and Magog—to muster them for war; their number is like the sand of the sea.^(B)

⁹ And they swarmed up over the broad plain of the earth and encircled the fortress (camp) of God’s people (the saints) and the beloved city; but fire descended from heaven and consumed them.^(C)

¹⁰ Then the devil who had led them astray [deceiving and seducing them] was hurled into the fiery lake of burning brimstone, where the beast and false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (through the ages of the ages).

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and the One Who was seated upon it, from Whose presence and from the sight of Whose face earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

¹² I [also] saw the dead, great and small; they stood before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life. And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done [^[b]their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors] in accordance with what was recorded in the books.

¹³ And the sea delivered up the dead who were in it, death and Hades (^[c]the state of death or disembodied existence) surrendered the dead in them, and all were tried and their cases determined by what they had done [according to their motives, aims, and works].

¹⁴ Then death and Hades (^[d]the state of death or disembodied existence) were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

¹⁵ And if anyone’s [name] was not found recorded in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.

9 The burden or oracle (the thing to be lifted up) of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach [in Syria], and Damascus shall be its resting place, for the Lord has an eye upon mankind as upon all the tribes of Israel,

² And Hamath also, which borders on [Damascus], Tyre with Sidon, though they are very wise.

³ And Tyre has built herself a stronghold [on an island a half mile from the shore, which seems impregnable], and heaped up silver like dust and fine gold like the mire of the streets.

⁴ Behold, the Lord will ^[a]cast her out and dispossess her; He will smite her power in the sea and into it and [Tyre] shall be devoured by fire.

⁵ [The strong cities of Philistia] shall see it and fear; ^[b]Ashkelon, Gaza also, and be sorely pained, and Ekron, for her confidence and expectation shall be put to shame, and a king [monarchial government] shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

⁶ And a mongrel people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.

⁷ And I will take out of [the Philistines’] mouths and from between their teeth the abominable idolatrous sacrifices eaten with the blood. And they too shall remain and be a remnant for our God, and they shall be like chieftains (the head over a thousand) in Judah, and Ekron shall be like one of the Jebusites [who at last were merged and had lost their identity in Israel].

⁸ Then I will encamp about My house as a guard or a garrison so that none shall march back and forth, and no oppressor or demanding collector shall again overrun them, for now My eyes are upon them.

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O Daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you; He is [uncompromisingly] just and having salvation [triumphant and victorious], patient, meek, lowly, and riding on a donkey, upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.^(A)

¹⁰ And I will cut off and exterminate the war chariot from Ephraim and the [war] horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off; and He shall speak the word and peace shall come to the nations, and His dominion shall be from the [Mediterranean] Sea to [any other] sea, and from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth!^(B)

¹¹ As for you also, because of and for the sake of the [covenant of the Lord with His people, which was sealed with sprinkled] covenant blood, I have released and sent forth your imprisoned people out of the waterless pit.^(C)

¹² Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.^(D)

¹³ For I have bent Judah for Myself as My bow, filled the bow with Ephraim as My arrow, and will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and will make you [Israel] as the sword of a mighty man.

¹⁴ And the Lord shall be seen over them and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning, and the Lord God will blow the trumpet and will go forth in the windstorms of the south.

¹⁵ The Lord of hosts shall defend and protect them; and they shall devour and they shall tread on [their fallen enemies] as on slingstones [that have missed their aim], and they shall drink [of victory] and be noisy and turbulent as from wine and become full like bowls [used to catch the sacrificial blood], like the corners of the [sacrificial] altar.

¹⁶ And the Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of His people, for they shall be as the [precious] jewels of a crown, lifted high over and shining glitteringly upon His land.

¹⁷ For how great is God’s goodness and how great is His beauty! And how great [He will make Israel’s] goodliness and [Israel’s] beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive and fresh wine the maidens.

10 Ask of the Lord rain in the time of the latter or spring rain. It is the Lord Who makes lightnings which usher in the rain and give men showers, and grass to everyone in the field.

² For the teraphim (household idols) have spoken vanity (emptiness, falsity, and futility) and the diviners have seen a lie and the dreamers have told false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people go their way like sheep; they are afflicted and hurt because there is no shepherd.

³ My anger is kindled against the shepherds [who are not true shepherds] and I will punish the goat leaders, for the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as His beautiful and majestic horse in the battle.^(E)

⁴ Out of him [Judah] shall come forth the ^[c]Cornerstone, out of him the tent peg, out of him the battle bow; every ruler shall proceed from him.^(F)

⁵ And they shall be like mighty men treading down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle, and they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and the [oppressor’s] riders on horses shall be confounded and put to shame.

⁶ And I will strengthen the house of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph [Ephraim]. I will bring them back and cause them to dwell securely, for I have mercy, loving-kindness, and compassion for them. They shall be as though I had not cast them off, for I am the Lord their God, and I will hear them.

⁷ Then Ephraim [the ten tribes] shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall rejoice as through wine; yes, their children shall see it and rejoice; their hearts shall feel great delight and glory triumphantly in the Lord!

⁸ I will hiss for them [as the keeper does for his bees] and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall increase [again] as they have increased [before, in Egypt].^(G)

⁹ And though I sow them among the nations, yet they shall [earnestly] remember Me in far countries, and with their children they shall live and shall return [to God and the land He gave them].

¹⁰ I will bring them [all Israel] home again from the land of Egypt and gather them out of Assyria, and I will bring them into the land [on the east and on the west of the Jordan, into] Gilead and Lebanon, and room enough shall not be found for them.

¹¹ And [the Lord] will pass through the sea of distress and affliction [at the head of His people, as He did at the Red Sea]; and He will smite down the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the [river] Nile shall be dried up and put to shame; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down and the scepter or rod [of the taskmasters of Egypt] shall pass away.

¹² And I will strengthen [Israel] in the Lord, and they shall walk up and down and glory in His name, says the Lord.