1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water;
he turns it wherever he wants.
2 All a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion,
but the Lord evaluates his thoughts.
3 To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
what the wicked cultivate is sin.
5 The plans of the diligent lead only to plenty,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
6 Making a fortune by a lying tongue is like a vapor driven back and forth;
they seek death.
7 The violence done by the wicked will drag them away
because they have refused to do what is right.
8 The way of the guilty person is devious,
but as for the pure, his way is upright.
9 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop
than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
10 The appetite of the wicked has desired evil;
his neighbor is shown no favor in his eyes.
11 When a scorner is punished, the naive becomes wise;
when a wise person is instructed, he gains knowledge.
12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked;
he overthrows the wicked to their ruin.
13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he too will cry out and will not be answered.
14 A gift given in secret subdues anger,
and a bribe given secretly subdues strong wrath.
15 Doing justice brings joy to the righteous
and terror to those who do evil.
16 The one who wanders from the way of wisdom
will end up in the company of the departed.
17 The one who loves pleasure will be a poor person;
whoever loves wine and anointing oil will not be rich.
18 The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
and the treacherous are taken in the place of the upright.
19 It is better to live in the wilderness
than with a quarrelsome and easily provoked woman.
20 There is desirable treasure and olive oil in the dwelling of the wise,
but a foolish person devours all he has.
21 The one who pursues righteousness and love
finds life, bounty, and honor.
22 A wise man went up against the city of the mighty
and brought down the stronghold in which they trust.
23 The one who guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps his life from troubles.
24 A proud and arrogant person, whose name is “Scoffer,”
acts with overbearing pride.
25 What the sluggard desires will kill him,
for his hands have refused to work.
26 All day long he has craved greedily,
but the righteous person gives and does not hold back.
27 The wicked person’s sacrifice is an abomination;
how much more when he brings it with evil intent!
28 A lying witness will perish,
but the one who reports accurately speaks forever.
29 A wicked person has put on a bold face,
but as for the upright, he establishes his ways.
30 There is no wisdom and there is no understanding,
and there is no counsel against the Lord.
31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but the victory is from the Lord.
1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.
21 So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 23 For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.