Old/New Testament
22 A good name is to be chosen instead of many riches. Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor meet together. The Lord is the maker of them all. 3 A wise man sees sin and hides himself, but the foolish go on, and are punished for it.
4 The reward for not having pride and having the fear of the Lord is riches, honor and life.
5 Thorns and traps are in the way of the sinful. He who watches himself will stay far from them.
6 Bring up a child by teaching him the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn away from it.
7 The rich rules over the poor. The man who uses something that belongs to someone else is ruled by the one who let him use it.
8 He who plants sin will gather trouble, and the heavy stick of his anger will break.
9 He who gives much will be honored, for he gives some of his food to the poor.
10 Send away the man who laughs at the truth, and arguing, fighting and shame will stop.
11 He who loves a pure heart and is kind in his speaking has the king as his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over much learning, but He destroys the words of the man who is not faithful.
13 The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of a sinful woman is a deep hole. He with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.
15 A foolish way is held in the heart of a child, but the punishing stick will send it far from him.
16 He who makes it hard for the poor by getting more for himself, or who gives to the rich, will become poor himself.
17 Turn your ear and hear the words of the wise, and open your mind to what they teach. 18 For it will be pleasing if you keep them in your heart, so they may be ready on your lips. 19 I have taught you today, even you, so that your trust may be in the Lord. 20 Have I not written to you great things of wise teaching and much learning 21 to show you that the words of truth are sure, so you may give a true answer to him who sent you?
22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, or crush those who suffer at the gate. 23 For the Lord will stand by them and help them, and take the life of those who rob them.
24 Do not have anything to do with a man given to anger, or go with a man who has a bad temper. 25 Or you might learn his ways and get yourself into a trap.
26 Do not be among those who make promises and put themselves up as trust for what others owe. 27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take your bed from under you?
28 Do not take away the old land-mark which your fathers have set.
29 Do you see a man who is good at his work? He will stand in front of kings. He will not stand in front of men who are not important.
23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, think about what is in front of you. 2 Put a knife to your neck if you are a man who is given to much eating. 3 Do not desire his special foods, for they are put there for no good reason.
4 Do not work hard to be rich. Stop trying to get things for yourself. 5 When you set your eyes upon it, it is gone. For sure, riches make themselves wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
6 Do not eat the bread of a man who thinks only about himself. Do not have a desire for his fine food. 7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you. 8 You will spit up the piece of food you have eaten, and waste your good words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will hate the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not take away the old land-mark, or go into the fields of those without a father. 11 For the One Who saves them is strong. He will stand by them and give them help against you. 12 Open your heart to teaching, and your ears to words of much learning.
13 Do not keep from punishing the child if he needs it. If you beat him with the stick, he will not die. 14 Beat him with the stick, and save his soul from hell.
15 My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will be glad also. 16 My heart will be full of joy when your lips speak what is right.
17 Do not let your heart be jealous of sinners, but live in the fear of the Lord always. 18 For sure there is a future and your hope will not be cut off. 19 Listen, my son, and be wise. Lead your heart in the way. 20 Do not be with those who drink too much wine or eat too much meat. 21 For the man who drinks too much or eats too much will become poor, and much sleep will dress a man in torn clothes.
22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not hate your mother when she is old. 23 Buy truth, and do not sell it. Get wisdom and teaching and understanding.
24 The father of one who is right with God will have much joy. He who has a wise son will be glad in him. 25 Let your father and mother be glad, and let her who gave birth to you be full of joy.
26 Give me your heart, my son. Let your eyes find joy in my ways. 27 For a woman who sells the use of her body is like a deep hole. A sinful woman is a narrow well. 28 She lies in wait as a robber, and makes many more men not faithful.
29 Who has trouble? Who has sorrow? Who is fighting? Who is complaining? Who is hurt without a reason? Who has eyes that have become red? 30 Those who stay a long time over wine. Those who go to taste mixed wine. 31 Do not look at wine when it is red, when it shines in the cup, when it is smooth in going down. 32 In the end it bites like a snake. It stings like the bite of a snake with poison. 33 Your eyes will see strange things. Your mind will say the wrong things. 34 And you will be like one who lies down in the center of the sea, or like one who lies above a ship’s sail. 35 “They hit me, but I was not hurt. They beat me, but I did not know it. When will I wake up? I will look for another drink.”
24 Do not be jealous of sinful men. Do not want to be with them. 2 For their hearts make plans to hurt others and their lips talk about trouble.
3 A house is built by wisdom. It is made strong by understanding, 4 and by much learning the rooms are filled with all riches that are pleasing and of great worth.
5 A wise man is strong. A man of much learning adds to his strength. 6 For by wise leading you will make war, and the fight is won when there are many wise men to help you make the plans.
7 Wisdom is too hard for a fool to understand. He does not open his mouth in the gate. 8 He who plans to do wrong will be called a trouble maker. 9 Planning to do foolish things is sin, and the man who laughs at the truth is hated by men.
10 If you are weak in the day of trouble, your strength is small.
11 Save those who are being taken away to death. Keep them from being killed. 12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,” does not He Who knows what is in hearts see it? Does not He Who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will He not pay each man for his work?
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good. Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. 14 Know that wisdom is like this to your soul. If you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
15 O sinful man, do not lie in wait against the house of the man who is right with God. Do not destroy his resting place. 16 For a man who is right with God falls seven times, and rises again, but the sinful fall in time of trouble.
17 Do not be full of joy when the one who hates you falls. Do not let your heart be glad when he trips. 18 The Lord will see it and will not be pleased, and He will turn away His anger from him.
19 Do not worry yourself because of those who do wrong, and do not be jealous of the sinful. 20 For there will be no future for the sinful man. The lamp of the sinful will be put out.
21 My son, fear the Lord and the king. Have nothing to do with those who are given to change. 22 For their trouble will rise up all at once, and who knows how much both of them will destroy?
23 These also are sayings of the wise. It is not good to show favor in judging. 24 He who says to the sinful, “You are right and good,” will be spoken against by people and hated by nations. 25 But those who speak strong words to the sinful will find joy and good will come upon them. 26 To give the right answer is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Get your work done outside. Make your fields ready. Then after that, build your house.
28 Do not speak against your neighbor without a reason, and do not lie with your lips. 29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me. I will pay the man for what he has done.”
30 I passed by the field of the lazy man, by the grape-vines of the man without understanding. 31 And see, it was all grown over with thorns. The ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 When I saw it, I thought about it. I looked and received teaching. 33 “A little sleep, a little rest, a little folding of the hands to rest,” 34 and your being poor will come as a robber, and your need like a man ready to fight.
The Christian Way to Give
8 Christian brothers, we want you to know how the loving-favor of God has been shown in the churches in the country of Macedonia. 2 They have been put to the test by much trouble, but they have much joy. They have given much even though they were very poor. 3 They gave as much as they could because they wanted to. 4 They asked from their hearts if they could help the Christians in Jerusalem. 5 It was more than we expected. They gave themselves to the Lord first. Then they gave themselves to us to be used as the Lord wanted. 6 We asked Titus to keep on helping you finish this act of love. He was the one to begin this. 7 You are rich in everything. You have faith. You can preach. You have much learning. You have a strong desire to help. And you have love for us. Now do what you should about giving also. 8 I am not saying that you must do this, but I have told you how others have helped. This is a way to prove how true your love is. 9 You know of the loving-favor shown by our Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich, but He became poor for your good. In that way, because He became poor, you might become rich.
10 This is what I think. You had better finish what you started a year ago. You were the first to want to give a gift of money. 11 Now do it with the same strong desires you had when you started. 12 If a man is ready and willing to give, he should give of what he has, not of what he does not have. 13 This does not mean that others do not have to give and you have to give much. You should share alike. 14 You have more than you need now. When you have need, then they can help you. You should share alike. 15 The Holy Writings say, “The man who gathered much did not have too much. The man who did not gather much had enough.” (A)
Titus Will Be Coming
16 I thank God that He gave Titus the same desire to help you. 17 He was glad when we asked him to help you. He decided himself to go to you. 18 We are sending the Christian brother along. He is respected in the churches for his preaching. 19 Not only that, but he has been asked by the churches to travel with me to Jerusalem. He will help in giving them the gift. The Lord will be honored by it because it shows how we want to help each other.
20 We want everyone to trust us with the way we take this large gift of money to them. 21 We want to do the right thing. We want God and men to know we are honest. 22 We are sending another Christian brother with them. We have tested him many times. His faith has proven to be true. He wants very much to help because he trusts you. 23 Titus works with me to help you. The other two Christian brothers have been sent by the churches. Their lives honor Christ. 24 Show these men you love them and let the churches see your love. Show them the reason I am proud of you.
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