Proverbs 22:16–21

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

²³For the Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

¹³For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

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

²Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

³Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

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.

⁵Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

⁵For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

¹²¶ Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.

¹³But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:

¹⁴And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

³³And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

³⁴And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

³⁵But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

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

³A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

¹⁹Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

²⁰Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

²¹There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

²²In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

²³When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

²⁴He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

²⁵It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

²⁶All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

²⁷The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

²⁸The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

²⁹This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

²²He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

²⁴And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

²And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.

³Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

⁹Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

¹⁰And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

¹¹But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

¹²Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.

¹³Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:

¹⁴But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

¹²Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

¹²So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

²⁵I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:

²So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

³Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

⁴If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

⁵Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

¹MY son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

⁵While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

¹⁶¶ When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)

⁹All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.

³Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

¹MY son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

²That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

³³Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

³⁴Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

⁴He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

⁶Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

⁷Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

⁸Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

¹⁶Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

¹⁰¶ When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

⁶Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

³⁸He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

⁷The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

¹⁰³How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

¹⁵By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

¹⁸For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.

¹⁹Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.

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.

²¹The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

¹³My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

¹⁴So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

¹¹¹Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.

¹³With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

¹⁶²I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.

¹⁷¹My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

⁷For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

⁸Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

²Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

⁵¶ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

²¹Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

⁴Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

⁷Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

¹⁹We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

²⁰Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

²¹For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

⁶Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

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.

¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

⁶The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

¹²I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

¹⁵But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

³It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

⁴That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

¹³These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

³¹But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.