1 Do not be envious of evil people,
Nor desire to be with them;
2 For their minds plot violence,
And their lips talk of trouble.
3 By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A wise man is strong,
And a person of knowledge increases power.
6 For by wise guidance you will wage war,
And in an abundance of counselors there is victory.
7 Wisdom is too exalted for a fool,
He does not open his mouth at the gate.
8 One who plans to do evil,
People will call a schemer.
9 The devising of foolishness is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to humanity.
10 If you show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress,
Your strength is meager.
11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to the slaughter, Oh hold them back!
12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He who weighs the hearts not consider it?
And does He who watches over your soul not know it?
And will He not repay a person according to his work?
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good;
Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
14 Know that wisdom is the same for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 Do not lie in ambush, you wicked person, against the home of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a righteous person falls seven times and rises again,
But the wicked stumble in time of disaster.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
18 Otherwise, the Lord will see and be displeased,
And turn His anger away from him.
19 Do not get upset because of evildoers
Or be envious of the wicked;
20 For there will be no future for the evil person;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, fear the Lord and the king;
Do not get involved with those of high rank,
22 For their disaster will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin that can come from both of them?
23 These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 One who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Peoples will curse him, nations will scold him;
25 But for those who rebuke the wicked there will be delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26 One who gives a right answer
Kisses the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside,
And make it ready for yourself in the field;
Afterward, then, build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor for no reason,
And do not deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “I shall do the same to him as he has done to me;
I will repay the person according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of a lazy one,
And by the vineyard of a person lacking sense,
31 And behold, it was completely overgrown with weeds;
Its surface was covered with weeds,
And its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw, I reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come like a drifter,
And your need like an armed man.
1 I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my countrymen, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and daughters, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the temple service, and the promises; 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” 10 And not only that, but there was also Rebekah, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? Far from it! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I show compassion.” 16 So then, it does not depend on the person who wants it nor the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very reason I raised you up, in order to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the earth.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, you foolish person, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? 21 Or does the potter not have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one object for honorable use, and another for common use? 22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with great patience objects of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon objects of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24 namely us, whom He also called, not only from among Jews, but also from among Gentiles, 25 as He also says in Hosea:
“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel may be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved; 28 for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.” 29 And just as Isaiah foretold:
“If the Lord of armies had not left us descendants,
We would have become like Sodom, and would have been like Gomorrah.”
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, but the righteousness that is by faith; 31 however, Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though they could by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
And the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”