Proverbs

From Ears to Feet

Lesson #2 for January 10, 2015

Scriptures: [Proverbs 4-6:19; 1 Kings 3:9; Matthew 13:44; 1 Corinthians 10:13][i].

1.    So, what is the meaning of the title of the lesson for this week? Read Proverbs 4:26-27. What we hear-or, more precisely what we pay attention to, comprehend, and incorporate into our thinking-determines how we walk the path of life. Our overall paradigm determines how we face life and how we behave. A paradigm is a pattern of thinking that guides our lives.

2.    There is considerable evidence that our hearing and the balance mechanism in our ears impacts almost everything we do. Metaphorically speaking, instruction or education informs our paradigm. Read Proverbs 4:7ii.

3.    The ancient Egyptians used to picture students as boys with ears on their backs. They noted: “The ear of the boy is on his back; he listens when he is beaten.”

4.    Surely, we hope that it does not require beatings for us to listen to wise instruction. But, it is not enough just to know what is right and wrong; we must choose what is right.

5.    Read Proverbs 4iii. What was and is being implied by these messages? It should be obvious to all of us that the best instruction in the world does us no good if we are not paying attention. In ancient Hebrew thinking, the seat of wisdom was not located in the brain, but in the ears. Read 1 Kings 3:9iv where it says literally, give me “a hearing heart.”

6.    From where does wisdom come? From the “University of Hard Knocks”? Can we generate wisdom ourselves? Or, do we need to learn it from some outside source? As young children we learned from our parents. Parents need to understand that for their small children, they stand in the place of God. Part of wisdom is learning from the mistakes of others!

7.    But, unfortunately, as we grow older-and it seems especially as we pass through the teenage years-we discover that people hear what they want to hear! And unfortunately, it is often only from peers. What is implied by those words? Why is it so difficult to comprehend and seriously think about ideas that do not fit with what we want to hear?

8.    Read Matthew 13:44 and Jeremiah 29:13[v]. How do we form our world view or paradigm? Do we get our way of thinking from our parents? From our teachers? Or, do we finally put it together for ourselves from what we have learned from multiple sources?

9.    Is it easier to accept a new idea as you get older? Or, harder? Surely, we would all agree that when listening to a new idea that might impact how we live and what we believe about God, it requires careful listening and sometimes a lot of thought. Do we approach new religious ideas as did the noble Bereans? (Acts 17:11vi) What happened to Paul after the Damascus road?

10.    So, why is it harder for us to accept some new ideas than others? What is the role of our emotions in our relationship with God? Do you find that worshiping God at church or even in Sabbath school is an emotional experience? If so, what is it that stirs your emotions? Do they tend to be steered in a right or wrong direction? Do emotions guide us in some way? How are emotions related to the idea of “doing what is right because it is right”? Do you think emotions helped Jesus on crucifixion weekend?

11.    When a Christian determines that he is going to walk in the path in which God wants him to walk, what obstacles is he likely to meet? Read 1 Peter 5:8. How does one know which path that is? So long as we are walking the broad path along with the rest of the world, the Devil does not concern himself much about us. But, when we turn to follow Jesus, the Devil becomes very concerned. If enough people take the gospel seriously, it is a death sentence for him.

12.    Read Proverbs 5vii. A superficial reading of this proverb might suggest that it is a warning against association with prostitutes. A broader look at Scripture shows that an immoral woman represents spiritual apostasy, particularly among God’s chosen people. (See Isaiah 57:3; Jeremiah 3:2-9; 13:27; Ezekiel 16; 23; 43:7-9; Hosea 1-4; 5:3; 6:10; Nahum 3:4; Revelation 17:1,15-16; 19:2.)viii

13.    So, what is the best way to avoid becoming a fool? Remember James 1:13-15ix? Very often, our own thoughts or emotions lead us astray. The best safety comes in Bible study and prayer, focusing particularly on following the example of Jesus. This will help us to recognize temptation when it first appears and not allow it to lead us astray. We also need to remember that “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop.” (H. G. Bohn, “Hand-Book of Proverbs,” 1855) We need to keep our minds occupied with the important tasks that God has given us in preparation for the final days. Ellen White recommended that we should even keep a small Bible with us so that when we are waiting at a bus stop or in traffic or at a shop or in line somewhere, we can memorize Scripture. (LDE 66,67) Unfortunately, it seems that memorizing Scripture has become almost a lost art.

Perhaps the best protection of all against the temptation to love another woman or man is this: just love your own spouse, “the [wife or husband] of your youth” (vs. 18 [Prov. 5:18], NKJV). The author of Ecclesiastes resonated with this counsel: “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun” (Eccles. 9:9, NIV). Be thankful for what you have, and you won’t be looking elsewhere. Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for Monday, January 5, 2015. [Text in brackets is added.]

14.    Read 1 Corinthians 10:13[x]. Do you find this promise to be real in your own experience? When we are tempted, do we really want a way out?

15.    Read Proverbs 6:1-5xi. Do these words remind you of the old English proverb: “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” Or perhaps, the words of Voltaire: “Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies”? Should we follow this advice: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”? In Hebrew the word friend also means “neighbor,” that is, someone who is close to us. The closer we get to others, the more vulnerable we make ourselves to them. Human relationships are the most important in our lives, but sometimes, also the most dangerous and the most disturbing. How many of us have prayed for a good friend? How many friendships have been destroyed by financial dealings gone bad?

16.    But, what about in the spiritual realm? If someone tries to explain to us a “new truth,” are we like the noble Bereans, investigating to see if it is really true? Believing a lie is a deadly trap. How do you fit Exodus 22:25 and Exodus 23:2-3 with Proverbs 6:1-4xii? (Compare Proverbs 22:27xiii.) If we find ourselves in a fix we cannot handle, we should hasten to humble ourselves, admit our mistake, and ask for grace and forgiveness to get out of it.

17.    So, how do we learn to balance this advice with Galatians 6:2xiv where we are instructed to “bear one another’s burdens”?

18.    Read Proverbs 6:6-8xv. In what ways are ants good examples? They are certainly industrious and they work hard without any supervision. How many human beings do you know who voluntarily do the same? Would it be correct to call them creatures who “do what is right because it is right”? Are they programmed to do what they do? Or, is there some thinking capacity going on? The important thing to remember about ants is that they work hard to prepare for winter. How well do we do at looking forward and preparing for what is coming? Do we live our lives every day in light of the entire great controversy?

This is a question that demands consideration by every parent, every teacher, every student-by every human being, young or old. No scheme of business or plan of life can be sound or complete that embraces only the brief years of this present life and makes no provision for the unending future.—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 145.2; To Be Like Jesus 191.5.

19.    Do we guide our thinking and our Bible study every day based on a correct understanding of the issues in the great controversy? If we do not, we will not be able to fully appreciate what we are learning. The great controversy is the overarching reality for all existence.

20.    Read Proverbs 6:9-11xvi. What lesson can we learn from these verses about lazy people? Paul seemed to be blunt about lazy people when he said in 2 Thessalonians 3:10xvii, (GNB): “Whoever refuses to work is not allowed to eat.” Should that be our approach also?

21.    While the Bible commends those who work diligently to prepare for the future, it does not suggest we should do that 24/7. The Sabbath is God’s planned day of rest. We need to take advantage of it every week.

22.    Read Proverbs 6:12-15 and 6:16-19xviii. How would you summarize these two passages? Is it not clear that people’s actions reflect their inner motives?

You should control your thoughts. This will not be an easy task; you cannot accomplish it without close and even severe effort. Yet God requires this of you; it is a duty resting upon every accountable being. You are responsible to God for your thoughts. If you indulge in vain imaginations, permitting your mind to dwell upon impure subjects, you are, in a degree, as guilty before God as if your thoughts were carried into action. All that prevents the action is the lack of opportunity. Day and night dreaming and castle-building are bad and exceedingly dangerous habits. When once established, it is next to impossible to break up such habits, and direct the thoughts to pure, holy, elevated themes. You will have to become a faithful sentinel over your eyes, ears, and all your senses if you would control your mind and prevent vain and corrupt thoughts from staining your soul. The power of grace alone can accomplish this most desirable work. You are weak in this direction.—Ellen G. White, 2Testimonies 561.1 (1870); AH 334.4; CG 464.3; MYP 75.4; 1MCP 234.2; 2MCP 661.1.

23.    Read Proverbs 6:12-19xix. Both of these verbal images in Proverbs 6 point out that the people who are focused only on their own interests will never walk in the way of the righteous. Evil behavior affects everyone that it touches. Liars come to believe their own lies. What does that do to us? Look at the example of Lucifer. What has sin and rebellion done to him? What has he said and done to the entire universe? Are we being very careful to be sure that our mistakes and even our sins do not damage us or those around us?

24.    Are we searching the Bible on a daily basis to better understand and know the truth?

The student of the Bible should be taught to approach it in the spirit of a learner.

We are to search its pages, not for proof to sustain our opinions, but in order to know what God says.... (Education 189.1)

One of the chief causes of mental inefficiency and moral weakness is the lack of concentration.... With the immense tide of printed matter constantly pouring from the press, old and young form the habit of reading hastily and superficially, and the mind loses its power of connected and vigorous thought.—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 189.5; AH 415.1.

The habitations that the ants build for themselves show skill and perseverance.

Only one little grain at a time can they handle, but by diligence and perseverance they accomplish wonders.

Solomon points to the industry of the ant as a reproach to those who waste their hours in idleness or in practices that corrupt soul and body. The ant prepares for future seasons; but many gifted with reasoning powers fail to prepare for the future immortal life.—Ellen G. White, Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 190.1-2. [Bold type is added.]

25.    In light of the wisdom suggested by our study this week, how often do we put ourselves out to help others? Isn’t that what Jesus did? “Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13xx, NKJV) What is so wrong with the seven abominations mentioned in Proverbs 6:16-19xxi? Why are they so evil in God’s sight?

26.    Some of Solomon’s proverbs are quite similar to those of other ancient sages from other lands. Is that a case of plagiarism by Solomon?

27.    Why did the Israelites so often go astray despite having all this wisdom spelled out for them by their most prominent leaders? How often do we know what is right to do but fail to do it? It has been 2000 years since Jesus lived on this earth. Why do you think the Christian church wandered at times so far away from His example?

28.    Early Seventh-day Adventists and our spiritual forerunners like William Miller preached an endtime message. Why are we still here more than 170 years later?

29.    How often do we know something is wrong but we do it anyway? Why do we do such things? Are we daily inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives through prayer and Bible study to help us make the necessary changes so we can recognize and avoid temptation?

30.    Even after recognizing that we have made a mistake, how often do we refuse to admit it and apologize when necessary? Would you consider it correct to say that Jesus is the only Person who has ever lived on this earth who actually lived out the wisdom of Proverbs?

31.    How early in His life did Jesus recognize that He was going to be killed violently? Why did He allow Himself to be crucified? Couldn’t He have done a lot of good by avoiding such a fate for several more years?

32.    Since every Christian has been called to live a Christ-like life, how many are actually doing it? What would happen if a large number of Seventh-day Adventists actually started living that kind of life?

33.    David and Solomon were two of the greatest characters in the Bible. But, at important times in their lives, each of them failed to live by the wisdom which he had tried to teach his children. Disaster was the result. David tried to hide his sin but admitted it when faced with the truth. (2 Samuel 12xxii) Solomon did not finally return to God until his life was almost over; but, God asked him to write the book of Ecclesiastes anyway!

34.    David probably instructed his son, Solomon, using the wisdom found in this lesson. Why did he also say in Psalm 53:3xxiii (GNB): “But they have all turned away; they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right, not a single one.” (Compare Romans 3:12xxiv.)

35.    Does the instruction given in this lesson warn us against telling our children to, “Do as I say and not as I do”? Why is it that so many people are offended by the truth? Are we ever offended by hearing the truth?

36.    Think about some of the most popular television programs. Don’t the characters in those programs exhibit the seven things that God hates as described in Proverbs 6:16-19xxv? Should we be filling our minds with that kind of material? Are these seven things ways that people use to get ahead in life? How many people at work act as if the only way to get ahead is to trample on someone else?

37.    Are our churches places of healing for people who have been bruised in their everyday battles at work and at home? How can we make them more like spiritual hospitals to help anyone who comes? If they were really places of healing, would more people be attracted?

© 2014, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged.

i-Proverbs 4:1 My children, listen to what your father teaches you. Pay attention, and you will have understanding. 2 What I am teaching you is good, so remember it all. 3 When I was only a little boy, my parents' only son, 4 my father would teach me. He would say, "Remember what I say and never forget it. Do as I tell you, and you will live. 5 Get wisdom and insight! Do not forget or ignore what I say. 6 Do not abandon wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will keep you safe. 7 Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight. 8 Love wisdom, and she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will bring you honor. 9 She will be your crowning glory." 10 Listen to me, my child. Take seriously what I am telling you, and you will live a long life. 11 I have taught you wisdom and the right way to live. 12 Nothing will stand in your way if you walk wisely, and you will not stumble when you run. 13 Always remember what you have learned. Your education is your life - guard it well. 14 Do not go where evil people go. Do not follow the example of the wicked. 15 Don't do it! Keep away from evil! Refuse it and go on your way. 16 Wicked people cannot sleep unless they have done something wrong. They lie awake unless they have hurt someone. 17 Wickedness and violence are like food and drink to them. 18 The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come. 19 The road of the wicked, however, is dark as night. They fall, but cannot see what they have stumbled over. 20 My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. 21 Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. 22 They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. 23 Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. 24 Never say anything that isn't true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words. 25 Look straight ahead with honest confidence; don't hang your head in shame. 26 Plan carefully what you do, and whatever you do will turn out right. 27 Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Don't go one step off the right way. 1 My child, pay attention and listen to my wisdom and insight. 2 Then you will know how to behave properly, and your words will show that you have knowledge. 3 The lips of another man's wife may be as sweet as honey and her kisses as smooth as olive oil, 4 but when it is all over, she leaves you nothing but bitterness and pain. 5 She will take you down to the world of the dead; the road she walks is the road to death. 6 She does not stay on the road to life; but wanders off, and does not realize what is happening. 7 Now listen to me, sons, and never forget what I am saying. 8 Keep away from such a woman! Don't even go near her door! 9 If you do, others will gain the respect that you once had, and you will die young at the hands of merciless people. 10 Yes, strangers will take all your wealth, and what you have worked for will belong to someone else. 11 You will lie groaning on your deathbed, your flesh and muscles being eaten away, 12 and you will say, "Why would I never learn? Why would I never let anyone correct me? 13 I wouldn't listen to my teachers. I paid no attention to them. 14 And suddenly I found myself publicly disgraced." 15 Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone. 16 Children that you have by other women will do you no good. 17 Your children should grow up to help you, not strangers. 18 So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married - 19 pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love. 20 Son, why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man's wife? 21 The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching. 22 The sins of the wicked are a trap. They get caught in the net of their own sin. 23 They die because they have no self-control. Their utter stupidity will send them to their graves. 6:1 My child, have you promised to be responsible for someone else's debts? 2 Have you been caught by your own words, trapped by your own promises? 3 Well then, my child, you are in that person's power, but this is how to get out of it: hurry to him, and beg him to release you. 4 Don't let yourself go to sleep or even stop to rest. 5 Get out of the trap like a bird or a deer escaping from a hunter. 6 Lazy people should learn a lesson from the way ants live. 7 They have no leader, chief, or ruler, 8 but they store up their food during the summer, getting ready for winter. 9 How long is the lazy man going to lie around? When is he ever going to get up? 10 "I'll just take a short nap," he says; "I'll fold my hands and rest a while." 11 But while he sleeps, poverty will attack him like an armed robber. 12 Worthless, wicked people go around telling lies. 13 They wink and make gestures to deceive you, 14 all the while planning evil in their perverted minds, stirring up trouble everywhere. 15 Because of this, disaster will strike them without warning, and they will be fatally wounded. 16 There are seven things that the Lord hates and cannot tolerate: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people, a mind that thinks up wicked plans, feet that hurry off to do evil, a witness who tells one lie after another, and someone who stirs up trouble among friends

1 Kings 3:9 So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?"

Matthew 13:44 "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.

1 Corinthians 10:13 Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.

ii-Proverbs 4:7 Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight.

iii-Proverbs 4:1 My children, listen to what your father teaches you. Pay attention, and you will have understanding. 2 What I am teaching you is good, so remember it all. 3 When I was only a little boy, my parents' only son, 4 my father would teach me. He would say, "Remember what I say and never forget it. Do as I tell you, and you will live. 5 Get wisdom and insight! Do not forget or ignore what I say. 6 Do not abandon wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will keep you safe. 7 Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight. 8 Love wisdom, and she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will bring you honor. 9 She will be your crowning glory." 10 Listen to me, my child. Take seriously what I am telling you, and you will live a long life. 11 I have taught you wisdom and the right way to live. 12 Nothing will stand in your way if you walk wisely, and you will not stumble when you run. 13 Always remember what you have learned. Your education is your life - guard it well. 14 Do not go where evil people go. Do not follow the example of the wicked. 15 Don't do it! Keep away from evil! Refuse it and go on your way. 16 Wicked people cannot sleep unless they have done something wrong. They lie awake unless they have hurt someone. 17 Wickedness and violence are like food and drink to them. 18 The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come. 19 The road of the wicked, however, is dark as night. They fall, but cannot see what they have stumbled over. 20 My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. 21 Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. 22 They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. 23 Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. 24 Never say anything that isn't true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words. 25 Look straight ahead with honest confidence; don't hang your head in shame. 26 Plan carefully what you do, and whatever you do will turn out right. 27 Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Don't go one step off the right way.

iv-1 Kings 3:9 So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?"

v-Matthew 13:44 "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart.

vi-Acts 17:11 The people there were more open-minded than the people in Thessalonica. They listened to the message with great eagerness, and every day they studied the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was really true.

vii-Proverbs 5:1 My child, pay attention and listen to my wisdom and insight. 2 Then you will know how to behave properly, and your words will show that you have knowledge. 3 The lips of another man's wife may be as sweet as honey and her kisses as smooth as olive oil, 4 but when it is all over, she leaves you nothing but bitterness and pain. 5 She will take you down to the world of the dead; the road she walks is the road to death. 6 She does not stay on the road to life; but wanders off, and does not realize what is happening. 7 Now listen to me, sons, and never forget what I am saying. 8 Keep away from such a woman! Don't even go near her door! 9 If you do, others will gain the respect that you once had, and you will die young at the hands of merciless people. 10 Yes, strangers will take all your wealth, and what you have worked for will belong to someone else. 11 You will lie groaning on your deathbed, your flesh and muscles being eaten away, 12 and you will say, "Why would I never learn? Why would I never let anyone correct me? 13 I wouldn't listen to my teachers. I paid no attention to them. 14 And suddenly I found myself publicly disgraced." 15 Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone. 16 Children that you have by other women will do you no good. 17 Your children should grow up to help you, not strangers. 18 So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married - 19 pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love. 20 Son, why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man's wife? 21 The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching. 22 The sins of the wicked are a trap. They get caught in the net of their own sin. 23 They die because they have no self-control. Their utter stupidity will send them to their graves.

viii-Isaiah 57:3 Come here to be judged, you sinners! You are no better than sorcerers, adulterers, and prostitutes.

Jeremiah 3:2 Look up at the hilltops. Is there any place where you have not acted like a prostitute? You waited for lovers along the roadside, as an Arab waits for victims in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution. 3 That is why the rains were held back, and the spring showers did not come. You even look like a prostitute; you have no shame. 4 "And now you say to me, "You are my father, and you have loved me ever since I was a child. 5 You won't always be angry; you won't be mad at me forever.' Israel, that is what you said, but you did all the evil you could." 6 When Josiah was king, the Lord said to me, "Have you seen what Israel, that unfaithful woman, has done? She has turned away from me, and on every high hill and under every green tree she has acted like a prostitute. 7 I thought that after she had done all this, she would surely return to me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it all. 8 Judah also saw that I divorced Israel and sent her away because she had turned from me and had become a prostitute. But Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, was not afraid. She too became a prostitute 9 and was not at all ashamed. She defiled the land, and she committed adultery by worshiping stones and trees.

13:27 He has seen you do the things he hates. He has seen you go after pagan gods on the hills and in the fields, like a man lusting after his neighbor's wife or like a stallion after a mare. People of Jerusalem, you are doomed! When will you ever be pure?

Ezekiel 16:1 The Lord spoke to me again. 2 "Mortal man," he said, "point out to Jerusalem what disgusting things she has done. 3 Tell Jerusalem what the Sovereign Lord is saying to her: "You were born in the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. 4 When you were born, no one cut your umbilical cord or washed you or rubbed you with salt or wrapped you in cloths. 5 No one took enough pity on you to do any of these things for you. When you were born, no one loved you. You were thrown out in an open field. 6 "Then I passed by and saw you squirming in your own blood. You were covered with blood, but I wouldn't let you die. 7 I made you grow like a healthy plant. You grew strong and tall and became a young woman. Your breasts were well-formed, and your hair had grown, but you were naked. 8 "As I passed by again, I saw that the time had come for you to fall in love. I covered your naked body with my coat and promised to love you. Yes, I made a marriage covenant with you, and you became mine." This is what the Sovereign Lord says. 9 "Then I took water and washed the blood off you. I rubbed olive oil on your skin. 10 I dressed you in embroidered gowns and gave you shoes of the best leather, a linen headband, and a silk cloak. 11 I put jewels on you - bracelets and necklaces. 12 I gave you a nose ring and earrings and a beautiful crown to wear. 13 You had ornaments of gold and silver, and you always wore clothes of embroidered linen and silk. You ate bread made from the best flour, and had honey and olive oil to eat. Your beauty was dazzling, and you became a queen. 14 You became famous in every nation for your perfect beauty, because I was the one who made you so lovely." This is what the Sovereign Lord says. 15 "But you took advantage of your beauty and fame to sleep with everyone who came along. 16 You used some of your clothes to decorate your places of worship, and just like a prostitute, you gave yourself to everyone. 17 You took the silver and gold jewelry that I had given you, used it to make male images, and committed adultery with them. 18 You took the embroidered clothes I gave you and put them on the images, and you offered to the images the olive oil and incense I had given you. 19 I gave you food - the best flour, olive oil, and honey - but you offered it as a sacrifice to win the favor of idols." This is what the Sovereign Lord says. 20 "Then you took the sons and the daughters you had borne me and offered them as sacrifices to idols. Wasn't it bad enough to be unfaithful to me, 21 without taking my children and sacrificing them to idols? 22 During your disgusting life as a prostitute you never once remembered your childhood - when you were naked, squirming in your own blood." 23 The Sovereign Lord said, "You are doomed! Doomed! You did all that evil, and then 24 by the side of every road you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. 25 You dragged your beauty through the mud. You offered yourself to everyone who came by, and you were more of a prostitute every day. 26 You let your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, go to bed with you, and you used your prostitution to make me angry. 27 "Now I have raised my hand to punish you and to take away your share of my blessing. I have handed you over to the Philistines, who hate you and are disgusted with your immoral actions. 28 "Because you were not satisfied by the others, you went running after the Assyrians. You were their prostitute, but they didn't satisfy you either. 29 You were also a prostitute for the Babylonians, that nation of merchants, but they didn't satisfy you either." 30 This is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: "You have done all this like a shameless prostitute. 31 On every street you built places to worship idols and practice prostitution. But you are not out for money like a common prostitute. 32 You are like a woman who commits adultery with strangers instead of loving her husband. 33 A prostitute is paid, but you gave presents to all your lovers and bribed them to come from everywhere to sleep with you. 34 You are a special kind of prostitute. No one forced you to become one. You didn't get paid; you paid them! Yes, you are different." 35 Now then, Jerusalem, you whore! Hear what the Lord is saying. 36 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "You stripped off your clothes, and like a prostitute, you gave yourself to your lovers and to all your disgusting idols, and you killed your children as sacrifices to idols. 37 Because of this I will bring all your former lovers together - the ones you liked and the ones you hated. I will bring them around you in a circle, and then I will strip off your clothes and let them see you naked. 38 I will condemn you for adultery and murder, and in my anger and fury I will punish you with death. 39 I will put you in their power, and they will tear down the places where you engage in prostitution and worship idols. They will take away your clothes and jewels and leave you completely naked. 40 "They will stir up a crowd to stone you, and they will cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn your houses down and let crowds of women see your punishment. I will make you stop being a prostitute and make you stop giving gifts to your lovers. 42 Then my anger will be over, and I will be calm. I will not be angry or jealous any more. 43 You have forgotten how I treated you when you were young, and you have made me angry by all the things you did. That is why I have made you pay for them all. Why did you add sexual immorality to all the other disgusting things you did?" The Sovereign Lord has spoken. 44 The Lord said, "People will use this proverb about you, Jerusalem: "Like mother, like daughter.' 45 You really are your mother's daughter. She detested her husband and her children. You are like your sisters, who hated their husbands and their children. You and your sister cities had a Hittite mother and an Amorite father. 46 "Your older sister, with her villages, is Samaria, in the north. Your younger sister, with her villages, is Sodom, in the south. 47 Were you satisfied to follow in their footsteps and copy their disgusting actions? No, in only a little while you were acting worse than they were in everything you did. 48 "As surely as I am the living God," the Sovereign Lord says, "your sister Sodom and her villages never did the evil that you and your villages have done. 49 She and her daughters were proud because they had plenty to eat and lived in peace and quiet, but they did not take care of the poor and the underprivileged. 50 They were proud and stubborn and did the things that I hate, so I destroyed them, as you well know. 51 "Samaria did not sin half as much as you have. You have acted more disgustingly than she ever did. Your corruption makes your sisters look innocent by comparison. 52 And now you will have to endure your disgrace. Your sins are so much worse than those of your sisters that they look innocent beside you. Now blush and bear your shame, because you make your sisters look pure." 53 The Lord said to Jerusalem, "I will make them prosperous again - Sodom and her villages and Samaria and her villages. Yes, I will make you prosperous too. 54 You will be ashamed of yourself, and your disgrace will show your sisters how well-off they are. 55 They will become prosperous again, and you and your villages will also be restored. 56 Didn't you joke about Sodom in those days when you were proud 57 and before the evil you did had been exposed? Now you are just like her - a joke to the Edomites, the Philistines, and your other neighbors who hate you. 58 You must suffer for the obscene, disgusting things you have done." The Lord has spoken. 59 The Sovereign Lord says, "I will treat you the way you deserve, because you ignored your promises and broke the covenant. 60 But I will honor the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will make a covenant with you that will last forever. 61 You will remember how you have acted, and be ashamed of it when you get your older sister and your younger sister back. I will let them be like daughters to you, even though this was not part of my covenant with you. 62 I will renew my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. 63 I will forgive all the wrongs you have done, but you will remember them and be too ashamed to open your mouth." The Sovereign Lord has spoken.

23:1 The Lord spoke to me. 2 "Mortal man," he said, "there were once two sisters. 3 When they were young, living in Egypt, they lost their virginity and became prostitutes. 4 The older one was named Oholah (she represents Samaria), and the younger one was named Oholibah (she represents Jerusalem). I married both of them, and they bore me children 5 Although she was mine, Oholah continued to be a prostitute and was full of lust for her lovers from Assyria. 6 They were soldiers in uniforms of purple, noblemen and high-ranking officers; all of them were handsome young cavalry officers. 7 She was the whore for all the Assyrian officers, and her lust led her to defile herself by worshiping Assyrian idols. 8 She continued what she had begun as a prostitute in Egypt, where she lost her virginity. From the time she was a young woman, men slept with her and treated her like a prostitute. 9 So I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers whom she wanted so much. 10 They stripped her naked, seized her sons and daughters, and then killed her with a sword. Women everywhere gossiped about her fate. 11 "Even though her sister Oholibah saw this, she was wilder and more of a prostitute than Oholah had ever been. 12 She too was full of lust for the Assyrian noblemen and officers - soldiers in bright uniforms - and for the cavalry officers, all of those handsome young men. 13 I saw that she was completely immoral, that the second sister was as bad as the first. 14 "She sank deeper and deeper in her immorality. She was attracted by the images of high Babylonian officials carved into the wall and painted bright red, with sashes around their waists and fancy turbans on their heads 16 As soon as she saw them, she was filled with lust and sent messengers to them in Babylonia. 17 The Babylonians came to have sex with her. They used her and defiled her so much that finally she became disgusted with them. 18 She exposed herself publicly and let everyone know she was a whore. I was as disgusted with her as I had been with her sister. 19 She became more of a prostitute than ever, acting the way she did as a young woman, when she was a prostitute in Egypt 20 She was filled with lust for oversexed men who had all the lustfulness of donkeys or stallions. 21 (Oholibah, you wanted to repeat the immorality you were guilty of as a young woman in Egypt, where men played with your breasts and you lost your virginity. 22 "Now then, Oholibah, this is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to you. You are tired of those lovers, but I will make them angry with you and bring them to surround you. 23 I will bring all the Babylonians and Chaldeans, men from Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians. I will gather all those handsome young noblemen and officers, all those important officials and high-ranking cavalry officers. 24 They will attack you from the north, bringing a large army with chariots and supply wagons. Protected by shields and helmets, they will surround you. I will hand you over to them, and they will judge you by their own laws. 25 Because I am angry with you, I will let them deal with you in their anger. They will cut off your nose and your ears and kill your children. Yes, they will take your sons and daughters from you and burn them alive. 26 They will tear off your clothes and take your jewels. 27 I will put a stop to your lust and to the obscenities you have committed ever since you were in Egypt. You won't look at any more idols or think about Egypt any more." 28 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "I will hand you over to people you hate and are disgusted with. 29 And because they hate you, they will take away everything you have worked for and leave you stripped naked, exposed like a prostitute. Your lust and your prostitution 30 have brought this on you. You were a prostitute for the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. 31 You followed in your sister's footsteps, and so I will give you the same cup of punishment to drink." 32 The Sovereign Lord says, "You will drink from your sister's cup; it is large and deep. Everyone will scorn and mock you; the cup is full. 33 It will make you miserable and drunk, that cup of fear and ruin, your sister Samaria's cup. 34 You will drink and drain it dry, and with its broken pieces tear your breast. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken." 35 Now this is what the Sovereign Lord is saying: "Because you forgot me and turned your back on me, you will suffer for your lust and your prostitution." 36 The Lord said to me, "Mortal man, are you ready to judge Oholah and Oholibah? Accuse them of the disgusting things they have done 37 They have committed adultery and murder - adultery with idols and murder of the children they bore me. They sacrificed my children to their idols. 38 And that is not all they did. They profaned my Temple and broke the Sabbath, which I had established 39 The very day that they killed my children as sacrifices to idols, they came to my Temple and profaned it! 40 "Again and again they sent messengers to invite men to come from a great distance, and the men came. The two sisters would bathe and put on eye shadow and jewelry. 41 They would sit on a beautiful couch, and in front of them they would have a table covered with good things, including the incense and the olive oil that I had given them. 42 The sound of a carefree crowd could be heard, a group of men brought in from the desert. They put bracelets on the women's arms and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 And I said to myself that they were using as a prostitute a woman worn out by adultery. 44 They went back to these prostitutes again and again. They went back to Oholah and Oholibah, those immoral women. 45 Righteous men will condemn them on the charge of adultery and murder, because they practice adultery and their hands are stained with blood." 46 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "Bring a mob to terrorize them and rob them. 47 Let the mob stone them and attack them with swords, kill their children, and burn down their houses. 48 Throughout the land I will put a stop to immorality, as a warning to every woman not to commit adultery as they did. 49 And you two sisters - I will punish you for your immorality and your sin of worshiping idols. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord."

43:7 "Mortal man, here is my throne. I will live here among the people of Israel and rule them forever. Neither the people of Israel nor their kings will ever again disgrace my holy name by worshiping other gods or by burying the corpses of their dead kings. 8 The kings built the doorsills and doorposts of their palace right against the doorsills and doorposts of my Temple, so that there was only a wall between us. They disgraced my holy name by all the disgusting things they did, and so in my anger I destroyed them. 9 Now they must stop worshiping other gods and remove the corpses of their kings. If they do, I will live among them forever."

Hosea 1:1 This is the message which the Lord gave Hosea son of Beeri during the time that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. 2 When the Lord first spoke to Israel through Hosea, he said to Hosea, "Go and get married; your wife will be unfaithful, and your children will be just like her. In the same way my people have left me and become unfaithful." 3 So Hosea married a woman named Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. After the birth of their first child, a son, 4 the Lord said to Hosea, "Name him "Jezreel,' because it will not be long before I punish the king of Israel for the murders that his ancestor Jehu committed at Jezreel. I am going to put an end to Jehu's dynasty. 5 And in Jezreel Valley I will at that time destroy Israel's military power." 6 Gomer had a second child - this time it was a daughter. The Lord said to Hosea, "Name her "Unloved,' because I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. 7 But to the people of Judah I will show love. I, the Lord their God, will save them, but I will not do it by war - with swords or bows and arrows or with horses and horsemen." 8 After Gomer had weaned her daughter, she became pregnant again and had another son. 9 The Lord said to Hosea, "Name him "Not-My-People,' because the people of Israel are not my people, and I am not their God." 10 The people of Israel will become like the sand of the sea, more than can be counted or measured. Now God says to them, "You are not my people," but the day is coming when he will say to them, "You are the children of the living God!" 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited. They will choose for themselves a single leader, and once again they will grow and prosper in their land. Yes, the day of Jezreel will be a great day!

2:1 So call your fellow Israelites "God's People" and "Loved-by-the-Lord." 2 My children, plead with your mother - though she is no longer a wife to me, and I am no longer her husband. Plead with her to stop her adultery and prostitution. 3 If she does not, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will make her like a dry and barren land, and she will die of thirst. 4 I will not show mercy to her children; they are the children of a shameless prostitute. She herself said, "I will go to my lovers - they give me food and water, wool and linen, olive oil and wine." 6 So I am going to fence her in with thorn bushes and build a wall to block her way. 7 She will run after her lovers but will not catch them. She will look for them but will not find them. Then she will say, "I am going back to my first husband - I was better off then than I am now." 8 She would never acknowledge that I am the one who gave her the grain, the wine, the olive oil, and all the silver and gold that she used in the worship of Baal. 9 So at harvest time I will take back my gifts of grain and wine, and will take away the wool and the linen I gave her for clothing. 10 I will strip her naked in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to save her from my power. 11 I will put an end to all her festivities - her annual and monthly festivals and her Sabbath celebrations - all her religious meetings. 12 I will destroy her grapevines and her fig trees, which she said her lovers gave her for serving them. I will turn her vineyards and orchards into a wilderness; wild animals will destroy them. 13 I will punish her for the times that she forgot me, when she burned incense to Baal and put on her jewelry to go chasing after her lovers. The Lord has spoken. 14 So I am going to take her into the desert again; there I will win her back with words of love. 15 I will give back to her the vineyards she had and make Trouble Valley a door of hope. She will respond to me there as she did when she was young, when she came from Egypt. 16 Then once again she will call me her husband - she will no longer call me her Baal. 17 I will never let her speak the name of Baal again. 18 At that time I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and birds, so that they will not harm my people. I will also remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, and will let my people live in peace and safety. 19 Israel, I will make you my wife; I will be true and faithful; I will show you constant love and mercy and make you mine forever. 20 I will keep my promise and make you mine, and you will acknowledge me as Lord. 21 At that time I will answer the prayers of my people Israel. I will make rain fall on the earth, and the earth will produce grain and grapes and olives. 23 I will establish my people in the land and make them prosper. I will show love to those who were called "Unloved," and to those who were called "Not-My-People" I will say, "You are my people," and they will answer, "You are our God."

3:1 The Lord said to me, "Go again and show your love for a woman who is committing adultery with a lover. You must love her just as I still love the people of Israel, even though they turn to other gods and like to take offerings of raisins to idols." 2 So I paid fifteen pieces of silver and seven bushels of barley to buy her. 3 I told her that for a long time she would have to wait for me without being a prostitute or committing adultery; and during this time I would wait for her. 4 In just this way the people of Israel will have to live for a long time without kings or leaders, without sacrifices or sacred stone pillars, without idols or images to use for divination. 5 But the time will come when the people of Israel will once again turn to the Lord their God and to a descendant of David their king. Then they will fear the Lord and will receive his good gifts.

4:1 The Lord has an accusation to bring against the people who live in this land. Listen, Israel, to what he says: "There is no faithfulness or love in the land, and the people do not acknowledge me as God. 2 They make promises and break them; they lie, murder, steal, and commit adultery. Crimes increase, and there is one murder after another. 3 And so the land will dry up, and everything that lives on it will die. All the animals and birds, and even the fish, will die." 4 The Lord says, "Let no one accuse the people or reprimand them - my complaint is against you priests. 5 Night and day you blunder on, and the prophets do no better than you. I am going to destroy Israel, your mother. 6 My people are doomed because they do not acknowledge me. You priests have refused to acknowledge me and have rejected my teaching, and so I reject you and will not acknowledge your sons as my priests. 7 "The more of you priests there are, the more you sin against me, and so I will turn your honor into disgrace. 8 You grow rich from the sins of my people, and so you want them to sin more and more. 9 You will suffer the same punishment as the people! I will punish you and make you pay for the evil you do. 10 You will eat your share of the sacrifices, but still be hungry. You will worship the fertility gods, but still have no children, because you have turned away from me to follow other gods." 11 The Lord says, "Wine, both old and new, is robbing my people of their senses! 12 They ask for revelations from a piece of wood! A stick tells them what they want to know! They have left me. Like a woman who becomes a prostitute, they have given themselves to other gods. 13 At sacred places on the mountaintops they offer sacrifices, and on the hills they burn incense under tall, spreading trees, because the shade is so pleasant! "As a result, your daughters serve as prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. 14 Yet I will not punish them for this, because you yourselves go off with temple prostitutes, and together with them you offer pagan sacrifices. As the proverb says, "A people without sense will be ruined.' 15 "Even though you people of Israel are unfaithful to me, may Judah not be guilty of the same thing. Don't worship at Gilgal or Bethaven, or make promises there in the name of the living Lord. 16 The people of Israel are as stubborn as mules. How can I feed them like lambs in a meadow? 17 The people of Israel are under the spell of idols. Let them go their own way. 18 After drinking much wine, they delight in their prostitution, preferring disgrace to honor. 19 They will be carried away as by the wind, and they will be ashamed of their pagan sacrifices. ,

5:3 I know what Israel is like - she cannot hide from me. She has been unfaithful, and her people are unfit to worship me."

6:10 I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: my people have defiled themselves by worshiping idols.

Nahum 3:4 Nineveh the whore is being punished. Attractive and full of deadly charms, she enchanted nations and enslaved them.

Revelation 17:1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me and said, "Come, and I will show you how the famous prostitute is to be punished, that great city that is built near many rivers. 15 The angel also said to me, "The waters you saw, on which the prostitute sits, are nations, peoples, races, and languages. 16 The ten horns you saw and the beast will hate the prostitute; they will take away everything she has and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and destroy her with fire.

19:2 True and just are his judgments! He has condemned the prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. God has punished her because she killed his servants."

ix-James 1:13 If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, "This temptation comes from God." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. 15 Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

x-1 Corinthians 10:13 Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.

xi-Proverbs 6:1 My child, have you promised to be responsible for someone else's debts? 2 Have you been caught by your own words, trapped by your own promises? 3 Well then, my child, you are in that person's power, but this is how to get out of it: hurry to him, and beg him to release you. 4 Don't let yourself go to sleep or even stop to rest. 5 Get out of the trap like a bird or a deer escaping from a hunter.

xii-Exodus 22:25 "If you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest.

Exodus 23:2 Do not follow the majority when they do wrong or when they give testimony that perverts justice. 3 Do not show partiality to a poor person at his trial.

Proverbs 6:1 My child, have you promised to be responsible for someone else's debts? 2 Have you been caught by your own words, trapped by your own promises? 3 Well then, my child, you are in that person's power, but this is how to get out of it: hurry to him, and beg him to release you. 4 Don't let yourself go to sleep or even stop to rest.

xiii-Proverbs 22:27 If you should be unable to pay, they will take away even your bed.

xiv-Galatians 6:2 Help carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ.

xv-Proverbs 6:6 Lazy people should learn a lesson from the way ants live. 7 They have no leader, chief, or ruler, 8 but they store up their food during the summer, getting ready for winter.

xvi-Proverbs 6:9 How long is the lazy man going to lie around? When is he ever going to get up? 10 "I'll just take a short nap," he says; "I'll fold my hands and rest a while." 11 But while he sleeps, poverty will attack him like an armed robber.

xvii-2 Thessalonians 3:10 While we were with you, we used to tell you, "Whoever refuses to work is not allowed to eat."

xviii-Proverbs 6:12 Worthless, wicked people go around telling lies. 13 They wink and make gestures to deceive you, 14 all the while planning evil in their perverted minds, stirring up trouble everywhere. 15 Because of this, disaster will strike them without warning, and they will be fatally wounded. 16 There are seven things that the Lord hates and cannot tolerate: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people, a mind that thinks up wicked plans, feet that hurry off to do evil, a witness who tells one lie after another, and someone who stirs up trouble among friends

xix-Proverbs 6:12 A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, 13 Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers; 14 Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, Who spreads strife. 15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing. 16 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

xx-John 15:13 The greatest love you can have for your friends is to give your life for them.

xxi-Proverbs 6:16 There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.

xxii-2 Samuel 12:1 The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, "There were two men who lived in the same town; one was rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had many cattle and sheep, 3 while the poor man had only one lamb, which he had bought. He took care of it, and it grew up in his home with his children. He would feed it some of his own food, let it drink from his cup, and hold it in his lap. The lamb was like a daughter to him. 4 One day a visitor arrived at the rich man's home. The rich man didn't want to kill one of his own animals to fix a meal for him; instead, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared a meal for his guest." 5 David became very angry at the rich man and said, "I swear by the living Lord that the man who did this ought to die! 6 For having done such a cruel thing, he must pay back four times as much as he took." 7 "You are that man," Nathan said to David. "And this is what the Lord God of Israel says: "I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul. 8 I gave you his kingdom and his wives; I made you king over Israel and Judah. If this had not been enough, I would have given you twice as much. 9 Why, then, have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle; you let the Ammonites kill him, and then you took his wife! 10 Now, in every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah's wife. 11 I swear to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble on you. You will see it when I take your wives from you and give them to another man; and he will have intercourse with them in broad daylight. 12 You sinned in secret, but I will make this happen in broad daylight for all Israel to see.' " 13 "I have sinned against the Lord," David said. Nathan replied, "The Lord forgives you; you will not die. 14 But because you have shown such contempt for the Lord in doing this, your child will die." 15 Then Nathan went home. The Lord caused the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David to become very sick. 16 David prayed to God that the child would get well. He refused to eat anything, and every night he went into his room and spent the night lying on the floor. 17 His court officials went to him and tried to make him get up, but he refused and would not eat anything with them. 18 A week later the child died, and David's officials were afraid to tell him the news. They said, "While the child was living, David wouldn't answer us when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that his child is dead? He might do himself some harm!" 19 When David noticed them whispering to each other, he realized that the child had died. So he asked them, "Is the child dead?" "Yes, he is," they answered. 20 David got up from the floor, took a bath, combed his hair, and changed his clothes. Then he went and worshiped in the house of the Lord. When he returned to the palace, he asked for food and ate it as soon as it was served. 21 "We don't understand this," his officials said to him. "While the child was alive, you wept for him and would not eat; but as soon as he died, you got up and ate!" 22 "Yes," David answered, "I did fast and weep while he was still alive. I thought that the Lord might be merciful to me and not let the child die. 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Could I bring the child back to life? I will some day go to where he is, but he can never come back to me." 24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He had intercourse with her, and she bore a son, whom David named Solomon. The Lord loved the boy 25 and commanded the prophet Nathan to name the boy Jedidiah, because the Lord loved him. 26 Meanwhile Joab continued his campaign against Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon, and was about to capture it. 27 He sent messengers to David to report: "I have attacked Rabbah and have captured its water supply. 28 Now gather the rest of your forces, attack the city and take it yourself. I don't want to get the credit for capturing it." 29 So David gathered his forces, went to Rabbah, attacked it, and conquered it. 30 From the head of the idol of the Ammonite god Molech David took a gold crown which weighed about seventy-five pounds and had a jewel in it. David took the jewel and put it in his own crown. He also took a large amount of loot from the city 31 and put its people to work with saws, iron hoes, and iron axes, and forced them to work at making bricks. He did the same to the people of all the other towns of Ammon. Then he and his men returned to Jerusalem.

xxiii-Psalm 53:3 But they have all turned away; they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right, not a single one.

xxiv-Romans 3:12 All have turned away from God; they have all gone wrong; no one does what is right, not even one.

xxv-Proverbs 6:16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

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