Proverbs 16; Proverbs 17; Proverbs 18; 2 Corinthians 6

1 We may make our plans, but God has the last word.

2 You may think everything you do is right, but the Lord judges your motives.

3 Ask the Lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out.

4 Everything the Lord has made has its destiny; and the destiny of the wicked is destruction.

5 The Lord hates everyone who is arrogant; he will never let them escape punishment.

6 Be loyal and faithful, and God will forgive your sin. Obey the Lord and nothing evil will happen to you.

7 When you please the Lord, you can make your enemies into friends.

8 It is better to have a little, honestly earned, than to have a large income, dishonestly gained.

9 You may make your plans, but God directs your actions.

10 The king speaks with divine authority; his decisions are always right.

11 The Lord wants weights and measures to be honest and every sale to be fair.

12 Kings cannot tolerate evil, because justice is what makes a government strong.

13 A king wants to hear the truth and will favor those who speak it.

14 A wise person will try to keep the king happy; if the king becomes angry, someone may die.

15 The king's favor is like the clouds that bring rain in the springtime - life is there.

16 It is better - much better - to have wisdom and knowledge than gold and silver.

17 Those who are good travel a road that avoids evil; so watch where you are going - it may save your life.

18 Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.

19 It is better to be humble and stay poor than to be one of the arrogant and get a share of their loot.

20 Pay attention to what you are taught, and you will be successful; trust in the Lord and you will be happy.

21 A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is.

22 Wisdom is a fountain of life to the wise, but trying to educate stupid people is a waste of time.

23 Intelligent people think before they speak; what they say is then more persuasive.

24 Kind words are like honey - sweet to the taste and good for your health.

25 What you think is the right road may lead to death.

26 A laborer's appetite makes him work harder, because he wants to satisfy his hunger.

27 Evil people look for ways to harm others; even their words burn with evil.

28 Gossip is spread by wicked people; they stir up trouble and break up friendships.

29 Violent people deceive their friends and lead them to disaster.

30 Watch out for people who grin and wink at you; they have thought of something evil.

31 Long life is the reward of the righteous; gray hair is a glorious crown.

32 It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities.

33 People cast lots to learn God's will, but God himself determines the answer.

1 Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than have a banquet in a house full of trouble.

2 A shrewd servant will gain authority over a master's worthless son and receive a part of the inheritance.

3 Gold and silver are tested by fire, and a person's heart is tested by the Lord.

4 Evil people listen to evil ideas, and liars listen to lies.

5 If you make fun of poor people, you insult the God who made them. You will be punished if you take pleasure in someone's misfortune.

6 Grandparents are proud of their grandchildren, just as children are proud of their parents.

7 Respected people do not tell lies, and fools have nothing worthwhile to say.

8 Some people think a bribe works like magic; they believe it can do anything.

9 If you want people to like you, forgive them when they wrong you. Remembering wrongs can break up a friendship.

10 An intelligent person learns more from one rebuke than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times.

11 Death will come like a cruel messenger to wicked people who are always stirring up trouble.

12 It is better to meet a mother bear robbed of her cubs than to meet some fool busy with a stupid project.

13 If you repay good with evil, you will never get evil out of your house.

14 The start of an argument is like the first break in a dam; stop it before it goes any further.

15 Condemning the innocent or letting the wicked go - both are hateful to the Lord.

16 It does a fool no good to spend money on an education, because he has no common sense.

17 Friends always show their love. What are relatives for if not to share trouble?

18 Only someone with no sense would promise to be responsible for someone else's debts.

19 To like sin is to like making trouble. If you brag all the time, you are asking for trouble.

20 Anyone who thinks and speaks evil can expect to find nothing good - only disaster.

21 There is nothing but sadness and sorrow for parents whose children do foolish things.

22 Being cheerful keeps you healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.

23 Corrupt judges accept secret bribes, and then justice is not done.

24 An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.

25 Foolish children bring grief to their fathers and bitter regrets to their mothers.

26 It is not right to make an innocent person pay a fine; justice is perverted when good people are punished.

27 Those who are sure of themselves do not talk all the time. People who stay calm have real insight.

28 After all, even fools may be thought wise and intelligent if they stay quiet and keep their mouths shut.

1 People who do not get along with others are interested only in themselves; they will disagree with what everyone else knows is right.

2 A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is show how smart he is.

3 Sin and shame go together. Lose your honor, and you will get scorn in its place.

4 A person's words can be a source of wisdom, deep as the ocean, fresh as a flowing stream.

5 It is not right to favor the guilty and keep the innocent from receiving justice.

6 When some fool starts an argument, he is asking for a beating.

7 When a fool speaks, he is ruining himself; he gets caught in the trap of his own words.

8 Gossip is so tasty - how we love to swallow it!

9 A lazy person is as bad as someone who is destructive.

10 The Lord is like a strong tower, where the righteous can go and be safe.

11 Rich people, however, imagine that their wealth protects them like high, strong walls around a city.

12 No one is respected unless he is humble; arrogant people are on the way to ruin.

13 Listen before you answer. If you don't, you are being stupid and insulting.

14 Your will to live can sustain you when you are sick, but if you lose it, your last hope is gone.

15 Intelligent people are always eager and ready to learn.

16 Do you want to meet an important person? Take a gift and it will be easy.

17 The first person to speak in court always seems right until his opponent begins to question him.

18 If two powerful people are opposing each other in court, casting lots can settle the issue.

19 Help your relatives and they will protect you like a strong city wall, but if you quarrel with them, they will close their doors to you.

20 You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say.

21 What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words.

22 Find a wife and you find a good thing; it shows that the Lord is good to you.

23 When the poor speak, they have to be polite, but when the rich answer, they are rude.

24 Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers.

1 In our work together with God, then, we beg you who have received God's grace not to let it be wasted.

2 Hear what God says: "When the time came for me to show you favor, I heard you; when the day arrived for me to save you, I helped you." Listen! This is the hour to receive God's favor; today is the day to be saved!

3 We do not want anyone to find fault with our work, so we try not to put obstacles in anyone's way.

4 Instead, in everything we do we show that we are God's servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties.

5 We have been beaten, jailed, and mobbed; we have been overworked and have gone without sleep or food.

6 By our purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness we have shown ourselves to be God's servants - by the Holy Spirit, by our true love,

7 by our message of truth, and by the power of God. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves.

8 We are honored and disgraced; we are insulted and praised. We are treated as liars, yet we speak the truth;

9 as unknown, yet we are known by all; as though we were dead, but, as you see, we live on. Although punished, we are not killed;

10 although saddened, we are always glad; we seem poor, but we make many people rich; we seem to have nothing, yet we really possess everything.

11 Dear friends in Corinth! We have spoken frankly to you; we have opened our hearts wide.

12 It is not we who have closed our hearts to you; it is you who have closed your hearts to us.

13 I speak now as though you were my children: show us the same feelings that we have for you. Open your hearts wide!

14 Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together?

15 How can Christ and the Devil agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

16 How can God's temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said, "I will make my home with my people and live among them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

17 And so the Lord says, "You must leave them and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with what is unclean, and I will accept you.

18 I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."