Proverbs 22; Proverbs 23; Proverbs 24; 2 Corinthians 8

Proverbs 22

1 A good name is better than great riches: and good favour is above silver and gold.

2 The rich and poor have met one another: the Lord is the maker of them both.

3 The prudent man saw the evil, and hid himself: the simple passed on, and suffered loss.

4 The fruit of humility is the fear of the Lord, riches and glory and life.

5 Arms and swords are in the way of the perverse: but he that keepeth his own soul, departeth far from them.

6 It is a proverb: A young man according to his way, even when he is old, he will not depart from it.

7 The rich ruleth over the poor: and the borrower is servant to him that lendeth.

8 He that soweth iniquity, shall reap evils, and with the rod of his anger he shall be consumed.

9 He that is inclined to mercy, shall be blessed: for of his bread he hath given to the poor. He that maketh presents, shall purchase victory and honour: but he carrieth away the souls of the receivers.

10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention shall go out with him, and quarrels and reproaches shall cease.

11 He that loveth cleanness of heart, for the grace of his lips shall have the king for his friend.

12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge: and the words of the unjust are overthrown.

13 The slothful man saith: There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the midst of the streets.

14 The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit: he whom the Lord is angry with, shall fall into it.

15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of correction shall drive it away.

16 He that oppresseth the poor, to increase his own riches, shall himself give to one that is richer, and shall be in need.

17 Incline thy ear, and hear the words of the wise: and apply thy heart to my doctrine:

18 Which shall be beautiful for thee, if thou keep it in thy bowels, and it shall flow in thy lips:

19 That thy trust may be in the Lord, wherefore I have also shewn it to thee this day.

20 Behold I have described it to thee three manner of ways, in thoughts and knowledge:

21 That I might shew thee the certainty, and the words of truth, to answer out of these to them that sent thee.

22 Do no violence to the poor, because he is poor: and do not oppress the needy in the gate:

23 Because the Lord will judge his cause: and will afflict them that have afflicted his soul.

24 Be not a friend to an angry man, and do not walk with a furious man:

25 Lest perhaps thou learn his ways, and take scandal to thy soul.

26 Be not with them that fasten down their hands, and that offer themselves sureties for debts:

27 For if thou have not wherewith to restore, what cause is there that he should take the covering from thy bed?

28 Pass not beyond the ancient bounds which thy fathers have set.

29 Hast thou seen a man swift in his work? he shall stand before kings, and shall not be before those that are obscure.

Proverbs 23

1 When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face:

2 And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.

3 Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.

4 Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence

5 Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.

6 Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:

7 Because, like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.

8 The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt lose thy beautiful words.

9 Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.

10 Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:

11 For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.

12 Let thy heart apply itself to instruction and thy ears to words of knowledge.

13 Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.

14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell

15 My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:

16 And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.

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

18 Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.

19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way

20 Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:

21 Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together, shall be consumed: and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags

22 Hearken to thy father, that begot thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.

23 Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

24 The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.

25 Let thy father and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.

26 My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.

27 For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

28 She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.

29 Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

30 Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink off their cups.

31 Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,

32 But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.

33 Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.

34 And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep when the stern is lost.

35 And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake and find wine again?

Proverbs 24

1 Seek not to be like evil men, neither desire to be with them:

2 Because their mind studieth robberies, and their lips speak deceits.

3 By wisdom the house shall be built, and by prudence it shall be strengthened.

4 By instruction the storerooms shall be filled with all precious and most beautiful wealth.

5 A wise man is strong: and a knowing man, stout and valiant.

6 Because war is managed by due ordering: and there shall be safety where there are many counsels.

7 Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he shall not open his mouth.

8 He that deviseth to do evils, shall be called a fool.

9 The thought of a fool is sin: and the detractor is the abomination of men.

10 If thou lose hope, being weary in the day of distress, thy strength shall be diminished.

11 Deliver them that are led to death: and those that are drawn to death, forbear not to deliver.

12 If thou say: I have not strength enough: he that seeth into the heart, he understandeth, and nothing deceiveth the keeper of thy soul, and he shall render to a man according to his works.

13 Eat honey, my son, because it is good, and the honeycomb most sweet to thy throat.

14 So also is the doctrine of wisdom to thy soul: which when thou hast found, thou shalt have hope in the end, and thy hope shall not perish.

15 Lie not in wait, nor seek after wickedness in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest.

16 For a just man shall fall seven times, and shall rise again: but the wicked shall fall down into evil.

17 When thy enemy shall fall, be not glad, and in his ruin let not thy heart rejoice:

18 Lest the Lord see, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

19 Contend not with the wicked, nor seek to be like the ungodly.

20 For evil men have no hope of things to come, and the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

21 My son, fear the Lord, and the king: and have nothing to do with detractors.

22 For their destruction shall rise suddenly: and who knoweth the ruin of both?

23 These things also to the wise: It is not good to have respect to persons in judgment.

24 They that say to the wicked man: Thou art just: shall be cursed by the people, and the tribes shall abhor them.

25 They that rebuke him shall be praised: and a blessing shall come upon them.

26 He shall kiss the lips, who answereth right words.

27 Prepare thy work without, and diligently till thy ground: that afterward thou mayst build thy house.

28 Be not witness without cause against thy neighbour: and deceive not any man with thy lips.

29 Say not: I will do to him as he hath done to me: I will render to every one according to his work.

30 I passed by the field of the slothful man, and by the vineyard of the foolish man:

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

32 Which when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and by the example I received instruction.

33 Thou wilt sleep a little, said I, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest.

34 And poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an armed man.

2 Corinthians 8

1 Now we make known unto you, brethren, the grace of God that hath been given in the churches of Macedonia.

2 That in much experience of tribulation, they have had abundance of joy and their very deep poverty hath abounded unto the riches of their simplicity.

3 For according to their power (I bear them witness) and beyond their power, they were willing:

4 With much entreaty begging of us the grace and communication of the ministry that is done toward the saints.

5 And not as we hoped: but they gave their own selves, first to the Lord, then to us by the will of God;

6 Insomuch, that we desired Titus, that, as he had begun, so also he would finish among you this same grace.

7 That as in all things you abound in faith and word and knowledge and all carefulness, moreover also in your charity towards us: so in this grace also you may abound.

8 I speak not as commanding: but by the carefulness of others, approving also the good disposition of your charity.

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor for your sakes: that through his poverty you might be rich.

10 And herein I give my advice: for this is profitable for you who have begun not only to do but also to be willing, a year ago.

11 Now therefore perform ye it also in deed: that as your mind is forward to be willing, so it may be also to perform, out of that which you have.

12 For if the will be forward, it is accepted according to that which a man hath: not according to that which he hath not.

13 For I mean not that others should be eased and you burdened, but by an equality.

14 In this present time let your abundance supply their want, that their abundance also may supply your want: that there may be an equality,

15 As it is written: He that had much had nothing over; and he that had little had no want.

16 And thanks be to God, who hath given the same carefulness for you in the heart of Titus.

17 For indeed he accepted the exhortation: but, being more careful, of his own will he went unto you.

18 We have sent also with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel through all the churches.

19 And not that only: but he was also ordained by the churches companion of our travels, for this grace, which is administered by us, to the glory of the Lord and our determined will:

20 Avoiding this, lest any man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us.

21 For we forecast what may be good, not only before God but also before men.

22 And we have sent with them our brother also, whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent: with much confidence in you,

23 Either for Titus, who is my companion and fellow labourer towards you, or our brethren, the apostles of the churches, the glory of Christ.

24 Wherefore shew ye to them, in the sight of the churches, the evidence of your charity and of our boasting on your behalf.