Proverbs 22:1–7

¹A GOOD name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

²⁰Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

⁴⁷And moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed.

¹⁰And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

³And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

³⁹And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

¹⁵Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

⁷The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

³¹He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

¹⁹How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.

¹³The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the Lord lighteneth both their eyes.

²For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

³And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

⁴Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

⁵Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

²¹And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

¹HEAR this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

²Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

¹⁹¶ There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

²⁰And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

¹²A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

¹⁶A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

¹HE, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

²For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

³For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

⁴But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

⁵Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

⁶Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

⁷By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

⁷And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

²⁰¶ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

²¹For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

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

²³Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

²⁰He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:

²¹And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.

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:

¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

¹⁶Then let them which be in Judæa flee into the mountains:

¹⁷Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

¹⁸Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

¹⁶Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

¹⁷Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

¹⁸But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

¹⁰Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

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.

²¹He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

¹PRAISE ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

²His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

³Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

¹⁵For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

⁶And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.

⁶But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

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.

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.

¹⁸We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

²⁰But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

²¹Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

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

⁸For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.

¹⁵Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

¹⁶He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.

³He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

²⁶With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

²⁷For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

¹³Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.

⁶Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

¹HE that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

⁷And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

⁴And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

¹⁵And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

⁹Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;

³Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

⁴We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.

⁵For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:

⁶That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:

²⁸Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.

²⁶And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.

²And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.

³Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

¹NOW there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

²⁵But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

¹⁶He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

³¹He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

²³The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

⁶But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

²²Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

¹GO to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

¹¹Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

¹²For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.

⁴There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards.

⁵Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.

¹HEAR this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.

⁴¶ Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

⁶That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

²And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

⁶¶ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

⁴Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.