Proverbs 19:21–29

⁹A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

²⁴¶ The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:

¹THE preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.

¹⁰The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

¹¹The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

¹⁰Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

³⁰There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.

¹¹In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

¹³But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

²⁶This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

²⁷For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?

¹THE king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

³⁸And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:

³⁹But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

³⁵And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

²⁷For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

²⁸For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

¹¹For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.

²⁹Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

⁸And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

⁴And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

⁵Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

⁶For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

⁷And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

²⁰But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

⁶³Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

⁶⁴Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

⁴For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

²A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

⁶Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:

⁷Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

²⁴He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

²⁵And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.

²⁵But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

¹⁷Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:

¹⁸That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

⁴And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.

⁵But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.

⁴They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

¹⁹And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

²⁰Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

¹²For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

⁸But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:

⁶And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

⁷For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

⁸She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

⁴¹¶ And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

⁴²And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

⁴³And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

⁴⁴For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

²How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

³For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;

¹BETTER is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

²In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

²Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

³Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,

¹⁷I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

⁵He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail.

¹⁵My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;

⁹Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

⁶Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

²⁶In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

²⁷The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

¹⁰And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

¹¹And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

²¹There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.

⁸For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

⁵Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

⁶So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

¹¹Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

¹²I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

¹⁴O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

¹⁶¶ Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

¹⁷And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

²⁷The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

¹⁷But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

¹⁸The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

¹⁹He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

²⁰The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

¹⁹To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

⁹Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

⁶But godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

⁸And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

⁹But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

²¶ But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

⁹O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.

¹⁰The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

¹¹Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

⁹The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

¹³His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.

¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

¹⁸And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

³¹Then had the churches rest throughout all Judæa and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

¹⁹The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.

¹³The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

¹⁴As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.

¹⁵The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.

⁹How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

¹⁰Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

³⁰I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

³¹And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.

³²Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

³³Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

³⁴So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

²⁰And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

²⁷The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

¹⁵Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

²³And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

¹¹Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.

¹¹When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

¹⁰A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.

⁵A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

¹⁹As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

⁸Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

⁹Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

¹¹And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.

²¹And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

⁵He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

²A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.

²⁴Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.

¹⁷The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

¹⁸¶ If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

¹⁹Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

²⁰And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

²¹And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

¹THE proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.

²²Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

²³Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

²⁴The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.

²⁵Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

¹⁴Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.

⁷Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.

¹¹There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

¹²And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

¹³And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

¹⁴And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

¹⁵And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

¹⁶And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

³⁰But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

³If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

⁴He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

⁵Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

²⁴And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

¹BELOVED, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

¹⁵¶ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

⁷Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

¹³For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

¹⁴And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

¹⁰If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

²²And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

²³Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.

²⁴But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?

²⁵And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

²⁶And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;

²⁷And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.

²⁸And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.

⁷But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

¹BUT there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

²And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

¹IF there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

²And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

³Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

⁴Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

¹⁴That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

⁵And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

⁶He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

⁷Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

⁸For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

⁹And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

¹⁰For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

¹¹But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

¹²And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

¹³Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

¹⁴¶ And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

¹²Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

⁶¶ Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

²I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

¹⁶How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

¹¹Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

¹²And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,

¹³And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

⁷What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water?

²Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

³And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

⁴And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

¹³And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

¹²Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;

¹³Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:

¹⁰And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.

⁸They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

¹⁴¶ Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

¹⁵Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

¹⁶¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

¹⁷Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

¹⁸¶ And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

¹⁴The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.

¹¹He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

⁵His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.

¹³In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

¹²If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

³Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

⁴And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

⁵For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

⁶Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

⁷But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

⁴⁰Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;

⁴¹Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

⁶For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

²²Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

²⁰For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:

¹⁰A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.

⁶A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.

³⁴Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

²²He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;