by Wells, Steve
8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
(149.8) “To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron.”
9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 150
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
(150.4) “Praise him with the timbrel and dance.”
100 Is dancing a sin?
5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
PROVERBS
Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. — Proverbs 23.13-142
There are a lot of good sayings in Proverbs. Here are a few of my favorites:
“Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.” 3.3
“Rejoice with the wife of thy youth…Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.” 5.18-19
“Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning.” 7.18
“He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.” 11.29
“The simple believeth every word.” 14.15
“A soft answer turneth away wrath.” 15.1
“The hoary head is a crown of glory.” 16.31
“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth.” 24.17
“Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.” 24.29
“Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.” 27.2
“Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” 31.6-7
But there’s plenty of bad stuff, too. For example:
God will laugh at your misfortunes, mock you when you are afraid, and ignore you when you ask him for help. 1.26-28
Watch out for those strange, brawling, angry, contentious, adulterous, odious women. 2.16-18, 5.3-5, 6.24-26, 7.5-27, 21.19, 22.14, 23.27-28, 25.24, 27.15, 30.20, 30.23
Foolish women are simple and know nothing; they drag innocent men into hell. 9.13
“As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.” 11.22
Beat the hell out of your children. 13.24, 19.18, 22.15, 23.13-14, 29.15
“The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil; so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.” 20.30
The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous. 21.18
Beat your slaves just like you do your children. Don’t try to correct them with words. 29.19
If you mock your father or disobey your mother, the ravens will pick out your eyeballs and feed them to the eagles. 30.17
On the whole, though, I’d say the good in Proverbs outweighs the bad, which is something I can say for only one other book in the Bible: Ecclesiastes (by far the best book in the Bible).
PROVERBS 1
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
(1.1) “The proverbs of Solomon” The book of Proverbs was written several centuries after Solomon supposedly lived. It wasn’t written by Solomon; it was forged by someone who claimed to be Solomon.
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
(1.7) “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”
132 Should we fear God?
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
(1.8) “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.”
107 How should parents be treated?
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
(1.26-28) God will laugh at your misfortunes, mock you when you are afraid, and ignore you when you ask him for help. And if you seek him, you will not find him.
300 Can God be found?
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
(1.26) “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.”
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
(1.27) “When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.”
28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
(1.28) “Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.”
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
(1.33) “Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Whoever listens to God (or wisdom, or whoever is talking here) will always be safe.
PROVERBS 2
2 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
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p; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
(2.2) “Incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding.”
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
(2.3-5) “If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding … then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”
300 Can God be found?
6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
(2.6) “The LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
(2.7) “He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous.”
35 Has there ever been a righteous person?
8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
(2.10-12)
10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
(2.10) “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;”
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
(2.11) “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:”
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
(2.12) “To deliver thee from the way of the evil man.”
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
(2.16-19) God warns us about the dangers of “strange women.” Strange men are OK though.
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
(2.16) “Deliver thee from the strange woman.”
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
(2.18) “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.”
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
(2.19) “None that go unto her return again.”
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
(2.20) “Keep the paths of the righteous.”
35 Has there ever been a righteous person?
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
PROVERBS 3
3 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
(3.1-2) “Forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For … long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” If you keep the commandments, you’ll have a long and peaceful life.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
(3.3) “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.”
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
(3.5) “Lean not unto thine own understanding.” Don’t try to understand things; just accept whatever the Bible and your religious leaders tell you.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
(3.7) “Fear the Lord.”
132 Should we fear God?
8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
(3.9-10) “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” If you give money to God, he will make you rich and you’ll have lots of wine.
71 Is it OK to drink alcohol?
11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
(3.13) “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.” A special anthem was composed from these words for Darwin’s funeral at Westminster Abbey.
309 Does wisdom make people happy?
14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.
23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
(3.27-31)
27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
(3.27) “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.”
28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
(3.28) “Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.” Help your neighbor, if you can.
29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
(3.29-31) “Devise not evil against thy neighbour … Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.” Don’t devise plots against your neighbor, fight without cause, or imitate an oppressor.
32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
(3.32) “His secret is with the righteous.”
35 Has there ever been a righteous person?
33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
(3.33) “He blesseth the habitation of the just.”
33 Has there ever been a just person?
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bsp; 34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
(3.35) “The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.”
293 Is wisdom a good thing?
PROVERBS 4
4 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
(4.5) “Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not.”
6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
(4.7) “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
293 Is wisdom a good thing?
8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
(4.14-15) “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.”
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.