who despises a vile person
    but honors(A) those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath(B) even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;

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35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes(A) and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.(B)

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Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath,(A) but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’(B)

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My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless(A)
    will minister to me.

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The perverse of heart(A) shall be far from me;
    I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

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14 We know that we have passed from death to life,(A) because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.(B)

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No longer will the fool(A) be called noble
    nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
For fools speak folly,(B)
    their hearts are bent on evil:(C)
They practice ungodliness(D)
    and spread error(E) concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty(F)
    and from the thirsty they withhold water.

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I say of the holy people(A) who are in the land,(B)
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

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21 I will show no partiality,(A)
    nor will I flatter anyone;(B)
22 for if I were skilled in flattery,
    my Maker(C) would soon take me away.(D)

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All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

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10 They honored us(A) in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

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17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else.(A) Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

18 “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar(B) sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor.(C) 19 Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death;(D) those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled.(E) 20 But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride,(F) he was deposed from his royal throne(G) and stripped(H) of his glory.(I) 21 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign(J) over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.(K)

22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son,[a] have not humbled(L) yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against(M) the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives(N) and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand.(O) But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life(P) and all your ways.(Q) 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

25 “This is the inscription that was written:

mene, mene, tekel, parsin

26 “Here is what these words mean:

Mene[b]: God has numbered the days(R) of your reign and brought it to an end.(S)

27 Tekel[c]: You have been weighed on the scales(T) and found wanting.(U)

28 Peres[d]: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes(V) and Persians.”(W)

29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck,(X) and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.(Y)

30 That very night Belshazzar,(Z) king(AA) of the Babylonians,[e] was slain,(AB) 31 and Darius(AC) the Mede(AD) took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.[f]

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 5:22 Or descendant; or successor
  2. Daniel 5:26 Mene can mean numbered or mina (a unit of money).
  3. Daniel 5:27 Tekel can mean weighed or shekel.
  4. Daniel 5:28 Peres (the singular of Parsin) can mean divided or Persia or a half mina or a half shekel.
  5. Daniel 5:30 Or Chaldeans
  6. Daniel 5:31 In Aramaic texts this verse (5:31) is numbered 6:1.

63 I am a friend to all who fear you,(A)
    to all who follow your precepts.(B)

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13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”

“No,” the king of Israel answered, “because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.”

14 Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you.

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The Gibeonites Avenged

21 During the reign of David, there was a famine(A) for three successive years; so David sought(B) the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

The king summoned the Gibeonites(C) and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.)

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18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath(A) to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled(B) against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath(C) we swore to them.”

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25 As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control(A) and the judgment(B) to come, Felix was afraid(C) and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

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When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. Everywhere and in every way, most excellent(A) Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.

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49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven(A) is my brother and sister and mother.”

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Favoritism Forbidden

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious(A) Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.(B) Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges(C) with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters:(D) Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world(E) to be rich in faith(F) and to inherit the kingdom(G) he promised those who love him?(H) But you have dishonored the poor.(I) Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?(J) Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a](K) you are doing right. But if you show favoritism,(L) you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. James 2:8 Lev. 19:18

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