One Story That Leads to Jesus, Day 161
Proverbs 25
25These are more proverbs of Solomon, collected by the advisers of King Hezekiah of Judah.H4912H8010H582H2396H4428H3063H62752It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.H3519H430H5641H1697H3519H4428H2713H16973No one can comprehend the height of heaven, the depth of the earth, or all that goes on in the king’s mind!H8064H7312H776H6011H3820H4428H27144Remove the impurities from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.H1898H5509H3701H3318H3627H68845Remove the wicked from the king’s court, and his reign will be made secure by justice.H1898H7563H6440H4428H3678H3559H66646Don’t demand an audience with the king or push for a place among the great.H1921H6440H4428H5975H4725H14197It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table than to be sent away in public disgrace. Just because you’ve seen something,H2896H559H5927H8213H6440H5081H5869H72008don’t be in a hurry to go to court. For what will you do in the end if your neighbor deals you a shameful defeat?H3318H4118H7378H6213H319H7453H36379When arguing with your neighbor, don’t betray another person’s secret.H7378H7379H7453H1540H5475H31210Others may accuse you of gossip, and you will never regain your good reputation.H8085H2616H1681H772511Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.H1697H212H655H1696H8598H2091H4906H370112To one who listens, valid criticism is like a gold earring or other gold jewelry.H5141H2091H2481H3800H2450H3198H8085H24113Trustworthy messengers refresh like snow in summer. They revive the spirit of their employer.H6793H7950H3117H7105H539H6735H7971H7725H5315H11314A person who promises a gift but doesn’t give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain.H376H1984H8267H4991H5387H7307H165315Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones.H753H639H7101H6601H7390H3956H7665H163416Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!H4672H1706H398H1767H7646H695817Don’t visit your neighbors too often, or you will wear out your welcome.H3365H7272H7453H1004H7646H813018Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.H376H6030H8267H5707H7453H4650H2719H8150H267119Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.H4009H898H3117H6869H7465H8127H7272H415420Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.H5710H899H7135H3117H2558H5427H7891H7892H7451H382021If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.H8130H7457H3899H398H6771H4325H824822You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.H2846H1513H7218H3068H799923As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!H6828H7307H2342H1653H2194H6440H5643H395624It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.H2896H3427H6438H1406H4079H4066H802H2267H100425Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.H7119H4325H5889H5315H2896H8052H4801H77626If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.H6662H4131H6440H7563H7515H4599H7843H472627It’s not good to eat too much honey, and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself.H2896H398H7235H1706H2714H3519H351928A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.H376H4623H7307H5892H6555H2346
Proverbs 26
26Honor is no more associated with fools than snow with summer or rain with harvest.H7950H7019H4306H7105H3519H5000H36842Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.H6833H5110H1866H5774H7045H2600H9353Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle, and a fool with a rod to his back!H7752H5483H4964H2543H7626H3684H14604Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.H6030H3684H200H77375Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.H6030H3684H200H2450H58696Trusting a fool to convey a message is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!H7971H1697H3027H3684H7096H7272H8354H25557A proverb in the mouth of a fool is as useless as a paralyzed leg.H7785H6455H1809H4912H6310H36848Honoring a fool is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot.H6872H6887H68H4773H5414H3519H36849A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk.H2336H5927H3027H7910H4912H6310H368410An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots at random.H7227H2342H7936H3684H7936H567411As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.H3611H7725H6892H3684H8138H20012There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise.H7200H376H2450H5869H8615H368413The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!”H6102H559H7826H1870H738H733914As a door swings back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed.H1817H5437H6735H6102H429615Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.H6102H2934H3027H6747H3811H7725H631016Lazy people consider themselves smarter than seven wise counselors.H6102H2450H5869H7651H7725H294017Interfering in someone else’s argument is as foolish as yanking a dog’s ears.H5674H5674H7379H2388H3611H24118Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weaponH3856H3384H2131H2671H419419is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.”H376H7411H7453H559H783220Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.H657H6086H784H3518H5372H4066H836721A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.H6352H1513H6086H784H4079H4066H376H2787H737922Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.H1697H5372H3859H3381H2315H99023Smooth words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a clay pot.H1814H8193H7451H3820H2789H6823H3701H550924People may cover their hatred with pleasant words, but they’re deceiving you.H8130H5234H8193H7896H4820H713025They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them. Their hearts are full of many evils.H6963H2603H539H7651H8441H382026While their hatred may be concealed by trickery, their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.H8135H3680H4860H7451H1540H695127If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead.H3738H7845H5307H1556H68H772528A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin.H8267H3956H8130H1790H2509H6310H6213H4072
Proverbs 27
27Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.H1984H4279H3045H3117H32052Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—a stranger, not your own lips.H2114H1984H6310H5237H81933A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.H68H3514H2344H5192H191H3708H3515H81474Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous.H2534H395H639H7858H5975H6440H70685An open rebuke is better than hidden love!H1540H8433H2896H5641H1606Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.H539H6482H157H5390H8130H62807A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.H7649H5315H947H5317H7457H5315H4751H49668A person who strays from home is like a bird that strays from its nest.H6833H5074H7064H376H5074H47259The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.H8081H7004H8055H3820H4986H7453H5315H609810Never abandon a friend—either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance. It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.H7453H1H7453H5800H935H251H1004H3117H343H2896H7934H7138H251H735011Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad. Then I will be able to answer my critics.H1121H2449H3820H8055H7725H1697H277812A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.H6175H7200H7451H5641H6612H5674H606413Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.H3947H899H6148H2114H2254H523714A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!H1288H7453H1419H6963H7925H1242H2803H704515A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day.H2956H1812H5464H3117H4079H4066H802H773716Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands.H6845H6845H7307H8081H3225H712117As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.H1270H2300H1270H376H2300H6440H745318As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit, so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.H5341H8384H398H6529H8104H113H351319As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.H4325H6440H6440H3820H120H12020Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied.H7585H11H10H3808H7646H5869H120H764621Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.H4715H3701H3564H2091H376H6310H411022You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.H3806H191H4388H8432H7383H5940H200H549323Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds,H3045H3045H6440H6629H7896H3820H573924for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.H2633H5769H5145H1755H175525After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears and the mountain grasses are gathered in,H2682H1540H1877H7200H6212H2022H62226your sheep will provide wool for clothing, and your goats will provide the price of a field.H3532H3830H6260H4242H770427And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself, your family, and your servant girls.H5795H2461H1767H3899H3899H1004H2416H5291
Psalms 6
6[For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.] O LORD, don't rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage.H5329H5058H8067H4210H1732H3068H3198H639H3256H25342Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. Heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.H2603H3068H536H3068H7495H6106H9263I am sick at heart. How long, O LORD, until you restore me?H5315H3966H926H30684Return, O LORD, and rescue me. Save me because of your unfailing love.H7725H3068H2502H5315H3467H26175For the dead do not remember you. Who can praise you from the grave?H4194H2143H7585H30346I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears.H3021H585H3915H4296H7811H4529H6210H18327My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.H5869H6244H3708H6275H68878Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.H5493H6466H205H3068H8085H6963H10659The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.H3068H8085H8467H3068H3947H860510May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified. May they suddenly turn back in shame.H341H954H3966H926H7725H954H7281
Dublin, OH
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