Proverbs 21

⁹A man’s heart plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

²²For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the Lord had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.

²⁴A man’s steps are from the Lord, so how can anyone understand his own way?

¹⁰and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

¹The plans of the heart belong to man, but the reply of the tongue is from the Lord.

²⁷Blessed 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,

²⁸and who has shown me favor before the king, his counselors, and all his powerful officials. And because the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, I took courage and gathered the leaders of Israel to return with me.

²All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the Lord.

¹⁵So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.

²⁵There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

¹⁰I, the Lord, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

¹²There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.

⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the Lord does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.”

²²But Samuel declared: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

⁶For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

⁶With what shall I come before the Lord when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?

⁷Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

³³and to love Him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

²¹This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!

²²For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices,

¹⁷haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

⁵Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

¹³To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.

¹⁷So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,

¹⁴I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!

⁴The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.

⁴Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

¹¹and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.

¹²Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.

²³Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches are not forever, nor does a crown endure to every generation.

²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.

²⁹A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.

¹¹Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.

²Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.

²¹An inheritance gained quickly will not be blessed in the end.

¹¹Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”

³⁶But he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”

⁹Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

²¹He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion finds life, righteousness, and honor.

⁶Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

⁹Now hear this, O leaders of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and pervert all that is right,

¹⁰who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.

³Then he told me, “This is the curse that is going out over the face of all the land, for according to one side of the scroll, every thief will be removed; and according to the other side, every perjurer will be removed.

⁴I will send it out, declares the Lord of Hosts, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain inside his house and destroy it, down to its timbers and stones.”

²²Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,

²³for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who rob them.

¹⁶His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

³And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.

¹⁰Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.

²²Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.

²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

¹⁵whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious.

³for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?

²The Lord looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.

³All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

¹³A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

¹⁹Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.

¹⁵A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—

¹⁶restraining her is like holding back the wind or grasping oil with one’s right hand.

²⁴Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

⁴A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.

¹Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.

¹⁶For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

²You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.

³You eat the flesh of my people after stripping off their skin and breaking their bones. You chop them up like flesh for the cooking pot, like meat in a cauldron.”

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he trustfully dwells beside you.

²¹For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

²²greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.

⁶These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.

⁶For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the Lord; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

⁷The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

²⁵Strike a mocker, and the simple will beware; rebuke the discerning man, and he will gain knowledge.

¹⁵The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.

⁹Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

⁵On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.

¹He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.

²¹Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

³⁵I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,

³⁶yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.

⁴³Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the Lord.

⁶through which the world of that time perished in the flood.

⁷And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

³²The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.

³I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.

²⁷Whoever gives to the poor will not be in need, but he who hides his eyes will receive many curses.

¹⁴For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

²For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

¹⁶But now you have changed your minds and profaned My name. Each of you has taken back the menservants and maidservants whom you had set at liberty to go wherever they wanted, and you have again forced them to be your slaves.

¹⁷Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the Lord—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

⁶Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.

¹⁶A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.

⁸A bribe is a charm to its giver; wherever he turns, he succeeds.

³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

⁴so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

³⁵Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and he said to her, “Go home in peace. See, I have heeded your voice and granted your request.”

²³A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.

²⁹The way of the Lord is a refuge to the upright, but destruction awaits those who do evil.

²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

⁵You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?

¹²I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live,

¹²because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.

¹³The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

⁴¹The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.

⁴²And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

³⁸But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”

⁵But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.

²⁶If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,

²⁷but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.

⁶and those who turn back from following the Lord, neither seeking the Lord nor inquiring of Him.”

¹⁴Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.

¹⁹They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

⁶But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.

⁴traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.

¹¹At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,

²⁰Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumes them.

¹³After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living.

¹⁴After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need.

⁸The righteous man is delivered from trouble; in his place the wicked man goes in.

³For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.

⁴Because you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and nations in place of your life.

⁴Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

⁵But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

¹⁸For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,

⁸“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

⁹“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

⁹Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.

⁷How far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain. Selah

⁵Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!

⁶Too long have I dwelt among those who hate peace.

²If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.

³The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil.

⁴But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps.

³Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

¹⁹Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

⁶The house of the righteous has great treasure, but the income of the wicked is trouble.

¹¹Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.

¹⁴After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

⁴The rewards of humility and the fear of the Lord are wealth and honor and life.

⁹The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness.

¹¹But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

¹⁴Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

¹⁹Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.

⁵A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.

¹³I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:

¹⁴There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.

⁶Now the king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites said to David: “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you.” For they thought, “David cannot get in here.”

⁷Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David).

¹⁶a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.”

¹⁷When he had come near to her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he replied. “Listen to the words of your servant,” she said. “I am listening,” he answered.

³He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

²¹Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

²⁷A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.

²⁸Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent, and discerning when he holds his tongue.

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.

¹³An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.

¹⁹When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

¹Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

⁸The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.

⁹Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.

¹²Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?

²⁹Judgments are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.

⁴The slacker craves yet has nothing, but the soul of the diligent is fully satisfied.

²⁶‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.

²⁴The slacker buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth.

²⁴The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.

¹⁶The slacker is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly.

¹⁹The way of the slacker is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

²⁶They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.

⁹He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.

³³I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.

³⁴You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.

²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.

³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.

³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

³Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

¹³Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.

²⁰What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”

²¹“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.

²²Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.

¹¹“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

¹²When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts?

¹³And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,

⁵A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.

⁹A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.

¹⁶If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,

¹⁷both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time.

¹“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

¹¹Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

⁷This is what the Lord of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless directs their path, but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.

¹⁸Consider carefully from this day forward—from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid—consider carefully:

¹⁹Is there still seed in the barn? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet yielded fruit. But from this day on, I will bless you.”

²⁸Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die.

⁵Oh, that my ways were committed to keeping Your statutes!

³⁹But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

²¹Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the Lord will prevail.

²³This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.

²⁷The Lord of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?

¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

²⁰And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

⁹Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!

¹⁰Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”

⁷Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

¹Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the Lord.

¹⁷A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.

¹⁸Surely the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion

¹⁰He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

³But You, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.

²⁰Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord God is our rescuer from death.