Proverbs 29

Translation: ESV

He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,

    will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,

    but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

3 He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

    but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

4 By justice a king builds up the land,

    but he who exacts gifts tears it down.

5 A man who flatters his neighbor

    spreads a net for his feet.

6 An evil man is ensnared in his transgression,

    but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor;

    a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.

8 Scoffers set a city aflame,

    but the wise turn away wrath.

9 If a wise man has an argument with a fool,

    the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.

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10 Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless

    and seek the life of the upright.

11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit,

    but a wise man quietly holds it back.

12 If a ruler listens to falsehood,

    all his officials will be wicked.

13 The poor man and the oppressor meet together;

    the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.

14 If a king faithfully judges the poor,

    his throne will be established forever.

15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,

    but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.

16 When the wicked increase, transgression increases,

    but the righteous will look upon their downfall.

17 Discipline your son, and he will give you rest;

    he will give delight to your heart.

18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,

    but blessed is he who keeps the law.

19 By mere words a servant is not disciplined,

    for though he understands, he will not respond.

20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

    There is more hope for a fool than for him.

21 Whoever pampers his servant from childhood

    will in the end find him his heir.

22 A man of wrath stirs up strife,

    and one given to anger causes much transgression.

23 One's pride will bring him low,

    but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

24 The partner of a thief hates his own life;

    he hears the curse, but discloses nothing.

25 The fear of man lays a snare,

    but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

26 Many seek the face of a ruler,

    but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice.

27 An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,

    but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.

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Deuteronomy 32

Translation: ESV

32 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,

    and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

2 May my teaching drop as the rain,

    my speech distill as the dew,

like gentle rain upon the tender grass,

    and like showers upon the herb.

3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;

    ascribe greatness to our God!

4 “The Rock, his work is perfect,

    for all his ways are justice.

A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,

    just and upright is he.

5 They have dealt corruptly with him;

    they are no longer his children because they are blemished;

    they are a crooked and twisted generation.

6 Do you thus repay the Lord,

    you foolish and senseless people?

Is not he your father, who created you,

    who made you and established you?

7 Remember the days of old;

    consider the years of many generations;

ask your father, and he will show you,

    your elders, and they will tell you.

8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,

    when he divided mankind,

he fixed the borders of the peoples

    according to the number of the sons of God.

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9 But the Lord's portion is his people,

    Jacob his allotted heritage.

10 “He found him in a desert land,

    and in the howling waste of the wilderness;

he encircled him, he cared for him,

    he kept him as the apple of his eye.

11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,

    that flutters over its young,

spreading out its wings, catching them,

    bearing them on its pinions,

12 the Lord alone guided him,

    no foreign god was with him.

13 He made him ride on the high places of the land,

    and he ate the produce of the field,

and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,

    and oil out of the flinty rock.

14 Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,

    with fat of lambs,

rams of Bashan and goats,

    with the very finest of the wheat—

    and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.

15 “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;

    you grew fat, stout, and sleek;

then he forsook God who made him

    and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.

16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;

    with abominations they provoked him to anger.

17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,

    to gods they had never known,

to new gods that had come recently,

    whom your fathers had never dreaded.

18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you,

    and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

19 “The Lord saw it and spurned them,

    because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.

20 And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;

    I will see what their end will be,

for they are a perverse generation,

    children in whom is no faithfulness.

21 They have made me jealous with what is no god;

    they have provoked me to anger with their idols.

So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;

    I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

22 For a fire is kindled by my anger,

    and it burns to the depths of Sheol,

devours the earth and its increase,

    and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;

    I will spend my arrows on them;

24 they shall be wasted with hunger,

    and devoured by plague

    and poisonous pestilence;

I will send the teeth of beasts against them,

    with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.

25 Outdoors the sword shall bereave,

    and indoors terror,

for young man and woman alike,

    the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

26 I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;

    I will wipe them from human memory,”

27 had I not feared provocation by the enemy,

    lest their adversaries should misunderstand,

lest they should say, “Our hand is triumphant,

    it was not the Lord who did all this.”’

28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,

    and there is no understanding in them.

29 If they were wise, they would understand this;

    they would discern their latter end!

30 How could one have chased a thousand,

    and two have put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock had sold them,

    and the Lord had given them up?

31 For their rock is not as our Rock;

    our enemies are by themselves.

32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom

    and from the fields of Gomorrah;

their grapes are grapes of poison;

    their clusters are bitter;

33 their wine is the poison of serpents

    and the cruel venom of asps.

34 “‘Is not this laid up in store with me,

    sealed up in my treasuries?

35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense,

    for the time when their foot shall slip;

for the day of their calamity is at hand,

    and their doom comes swiftly.’

36 For the Lord will vindicate his people

    and have compassion on his servants,

when he sees that their power is gone

    and there is none remaining, bond or free.

37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,

    the rock in which they took refuge,

38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices

    and drank the wine of their drink offering?

Let them rise up and help you;

    let them be your protection!

39 “‘See now that I, even I, am he,

    and there is no god beside me;

I kill and I make alive;

    I wound and I heal;

    and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

40 For I lift up my hand to heaven

    and swear, As I live forever,

41 if I sharpen my flashing sword

    and my hand takes hold on judgment,

I will take vengeance on my adversaries

    and will repay those who hate me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

    and my sword shall devour flesh—

with the blood of the slain and the captives,

    from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’

43 “Rejoice with him, O heavens;

    bow down to him, all gods,

for he avenges the blood of his children

    and takes vengeance on his adversaries.

He repays those who hate him

    and cleanses his people's land.”

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Moses' Death Foretold

48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”

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James 3

Translation: ESV

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

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7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Wisdom from Above

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

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Proverbs 15

Translation: ESV

A soft answer turns away wrath,

    but a harsh word stirs up anger.

2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

    but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

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3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

    keeping watch on the evil and the good.

4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

    but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

5 A fool despises his father's instruction,

    but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

    but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

    not so the hearts of fools.

8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

    but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

    but he loves him who pursues righteousness.

10 There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;

    whoever hates reproof will die.

11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;

    how much more the hearts of the children of man!

12 A scoffer does not like to be reproved;

    he will not go to the wise.

13 A glad heart makes a cheerful face,

    but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

    but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

15 All the days of the afflicted are evil,

    but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord

    than great treasure and trouble with it.

17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is

    than a fattened ox and hatred with it.

18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

    but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

19 The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,

    but the path of the upright is a level highway.

20 A wise son makes a glad father,

    but a foolish man despises his mother.

21 Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,

    but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.

22 Without counsel plans fail,

    but with many advisers they succeed.

23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,

    and a word in season, how good it is!

24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent,

    that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.

25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud

    but maintains the widow's boundaries.

26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,

    but gracious words are pure.

27 Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,

    but he who hates bribes will live.

28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

    but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

29 The Lord is far from the wicked,

    but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

    and good news refreshes the bones.

31 The ear that listens to life-giving reproof

    will dwell among the wise.

32 Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,

    but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

33 The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,

    and humility comes before honor.

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Proverbs 21

Translation: ESV

1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

    he turns it wherever he will.

2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,

    but the Lord weighs the heart.

3 To do righteousness and justice

    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart,

    the lamp of the wicked, are sin.

5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,

    but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue

    is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.

7 The violence of the wicked will sweep them away,

    because they refuse to do what is just.

8 The way of the guilty is crooked,

    but the conduct of the pure is upright.

9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

    than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

10 The soul of the wicked desires evil;

    his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.

11 When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;

    when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

12 The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;

    he throws the wicked down to ruin.

13 Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor

    will himself call out and not be answered.

14 A gift in secret averts anger,

    and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous

    but terror to evildoers.

16 One who wanders from the way of good sense

    will rest in the assembly of the dead.

17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;

    he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,

    and the traitor for the upright.

19 It is better to live in a desert land

    than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

20 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling,

    but a foolish man devours it.

21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness

    will find life, righteousness, and honor.

22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty

    and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue

    keeps himself out of trouble.

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24 “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man

    who acts with arrogant pride.

25 The desire of the sluggard kills him,

    for his hands refuse to labor.

26 All day long he craves and craves,

    but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;

    how much more when he brings it with evil intent.

28 A false witness will perish,

    but the word of a man who hears will endure.

29 A wicked man puts on a bold face,

    but the upright gives thought to his ways.

30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel

    can avail against the Lord.

31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,

    but the victory belongs to the Lord.

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Psalm 145 (MT: Psalm 146)

Translation: ESV

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

1 Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

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3 Put not your trust in princes,

    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

    on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

    whose hope is in the Lord his God,

6 who made heaven and earth,

    the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

7     who executes justice for the oppressed,

    who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

8     the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

    the Lord loves the righteous.

9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;

    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The Lord will reign forever,

    your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

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Psalm 81 (MT: Psalm 82)

Translation: ESV

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of Asaph.

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Date: June 27 2024

1 God has taken his place in the divine council;

    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

2 “How long will you judge unjustly

    and show partiality to the wicked? (Selah)

3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;

    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy;

    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,

    they walk about in darkness;

    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 I said, “You are gods,

    sons of the Most High, all of you;

7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,

    and fall like any prince.”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;

    for you shall inherit all the nations!

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