Proverbs 21

king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand:
He directs it wherever he chooses.
2 All a person’s ways seem right to him,
but the Lord weighs hearts.
3 Doing what is righteous and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
4 The lamp that guides the wicked —
haughty eyes and an arrogant heart ​— ​is sin.
5 The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit,
but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor.
6 Making a fortune through a lying tongue
is a vanishing mist, a pursuit of death.
7 The violence of the wicked sweeps them away
because they refuse to act justly.
8 A guilty one’s conduct is crooked,
but the behavior of the innocent is upright.
9 Better to live on the corner of a roof
than to share a house with a nagging wife.
10 A wicked person desires evil;
he has no consideration for his neighbor.
11 When a mocker is punished,
the inexperienced become wiser;
when one teaches a wise man,
he acquires knowledge.
12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked;
he brings the wicked to ruin.
13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
will himself also call out and not be answered.
14 A secret gift soothes anger,
and a covert bribe, fierce rage.
15 Justice executed is a joy to the righteous
but a terror to evildoers.
16 The person who strays from the way of prudence
will come to rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.
17 The one who loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.
18 The wicked are a ransom for the righteous,
and the treacherous, for the upright.
19 Better to live in a wilderness
than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.
20 Precious treasure and oil are in the dwelling of a wise person,
but a fool consumes them.
21 The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love
will find life, righteousness, and honor.
22 A wise person went up against a city of warriors
and brought down its secure fortress.
23 The one who guards his mouth and tongue
keeps himself out of trouble.
24 The arrogant and proud person, named “Mocker,”
acts with excessive arrogance.
25 A slacker’s craving will kill him
because his hands refuse to work.
26 He is filled with craving all day long,
but the righteous give and don’t hold back.
27 The sacrifice of a wicked person is detestable ​—
how much more so
when he brings it with ulterior motives!
28 A lying witness will perish,
but the one who listens will speak successfully.
29 A wicked person puts on a bold face,
but the upright one considers his way.
30 No wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel
will prevail against the Lord.
31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but victory comes from the Lord.

Proverbs 22

good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold.
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
the Lord makes them all.
3 A sensible person sees danger and takes cover,
but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.
4 Humility, the fear of the Lord,
results in wealth, honor, and life.
5 There are thorns and snares on the way of the crooked;
the one who guards himself stays far from them.
6 Start a youth out on his way;
even when he grows old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is a slave to the lender.
8 The one who sows injustice will reap disaster,
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
9 A generous person will be blessed,
for he shares his food with the poor.
10 Drive out a mocker, and conflict goes too;
then quarreling and dishonor will cease.
11 The one who loves a pure heart
and gracious lips ​— ​the king is his friend.
12 The Lord’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the treacherous.
13 The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the public square! ”
14 The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit;
a man cursed by the Lord will fall into it.
15 Foolishness is bound to the heart of a youth;
a rod of discipline will separate it from him.
16 Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself,
and giving to the rich ​— ​both lead only to poverty.
WORDS OF THE WISE
17 Listen closely, pay attention to the words of the wise,
and apply your mind to my knowledge.
18 For it is pleasing if you keep them within you
and if they are constantly on your lips.
19 I have instructed you today ​— ​even you —
so that your confidence may be in the Lord.
20 Haven’t I written for you thirty sayings
about counsel and knowledge,
21 in order to teach you true and reliable words,
so that you may give a dependable report
to those who sent you?
22 Don’t rob a poor person because he is poor,
and don’t crush the oppressed at the city gate,
23 for the Lord will champion their cause
and will plunder those who plunder them.
24 Don’t make friends with an angry person,
and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered one,
25 or you will learn his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.
26 Don’t be one of those who enter agreements,
who put up security for loans.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
even your bed will be taken from under you.
28 Don’t move an ancient boundary marker
that your ancestors set up.
29 Do you see a person skilled in his work?
He will stand in the presence of kings.
He will not stand in the presence of the unknown. –

2 Corinthians 4

THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL
Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up.
2 Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth. 3 But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. 6 For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

TREASURE IN CLAY JARS
7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. 15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

— 2 Corinthians 4:1-18 (CSB)