Proverbs 3:28–31

¹³¶ Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

¹²And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:

¹³In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God.

¹⁴¶ Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:

¹⁵At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.

¹¹Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.

¹⁰Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

¹⁸That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

⁶In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

³Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:

¹BOAST not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

¹⁴Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

¹WOE to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

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.

²⁹A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.

³⁰He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass.

²⁰For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.

²⁰He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.

³For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord.

¹⁸¶ Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

¹⁹Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.

²⁰Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

¹⁸An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

²²Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.

²⁴And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

²²An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.

¹⁸If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

¹⁹Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

²⁰Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

²¹Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

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

⁸Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.

⁹Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:

¹⁴The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.

³⁹But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

⁴⁰And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

⁴¹And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

⁶But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.

⁷Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

⁸Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

¹BE not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.

¹FRET not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

⁸¶ If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.

²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

¹⁷Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

¹²The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.

¹⁹Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;

²⁰For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.

¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

¹⁸And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

¹²To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

¹³Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

¹⁵Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

⁷Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

⁹For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

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.

²⁴Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

²⁵Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

³For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.