Proverbs Bible Study Commentary

Lessons about wisdom

An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book o !roverbs
www.easyenglish.info

Keith Simons
This commentary has been through Advanced Checking. Words in boxes are from the Bible.

Chapters in the Book of Proverbs

Proverbs 1 Proverbs ! Proverbs " Proverbs # Proverbs $ Proverbs % Proverbs & Proverbs ' Proverbs ( Proverbs 1) Proverbs 11 Proverbs 1! Proverbs 1" Proverbs 1# Proverbs 1$ Proverbs 1% Proverbs 1& Proverbs 1' Proverbs 1( Proverbs !) Proverbs !1 Proverbs !! Proverbs !" Proverbs !# Proverbs !$ Proverbs !% Proverbs !& Proverbs !' Proverbs !( Proverbs ") Proverbs "1

About the Book of Proverbs

*ing +olomon ruled the nation of ,srael for #) years. -e brought .eace and wealth to the nation. +olomon/s workmen built .alaces0 and the great tem.le 1house of 2od in 3erusalem4. The .eo.le of ,srael learned arts0 sciences and music. When he was young0 +olomon obeyed 2od. -e asked 2od for wisdom0 and 2od gave it to him 11 *ings "5(0 1!4. 6ther rulers0 including the 7ueen of +heba0 visited +olomon 11 *ings 1)5181"4. +he asked him many 7uestions. -is answers showed great knowledge of many sub9ects. -e taught about .lants0 animals and fish. +olomon became more and more famous. +olomon learned and wrote many .roverbs 1wise words4. -e collected "))) .roverbs 11 *ings #5!(8"#4. The Book of Proverbs contains many of these .roverbs. The Book of Proverbs also contains other lessons about wisdom. And the Book of Proverbs contains many .oems about wisdom. +olomon also wrote :cclesiastes and the +ong of +olomon in the Bible. The Bible also contains some other books about wisdom. These books are 3ob0 :cclesiastes and 3ames. And 3esus taught lessons about wisdom in ;atthew cha.ters $ to & and <uke cha.ters 11 to 1%.

Sections of the Book of Proverbs

The Book of Proverbs has % main sections5 +olomon/s wise lessons 1Proverbs 151 to Proverbs (51'4 The .roverbs 1wise words4 of +olomon 1Proverbs 1)51 to Proverbs !!51%4 ") wise lessons 1Proverbs !!51& to Proverbs !#5"#4 ;ore of +olomon/s .roverbs 1wise words4 1Proverbs !$51 to Proverbs !(5!&4 The .u==les of Agur and <emuel 1Proverbs ")51 to Proverbs "15(4 A .oem about a .erfect wife 1Proverbs "151)8"14
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Solomons Wise Lessons

(Proverbs 1 1 to Proverbs ! 1"#

Proverbs chapter 1
v1 This book sets out +olomon/s .roverbs 1wise words4. +olomon was >avid/s son0 and the king of ,srael. -is .roverbs will hel. you in many ways. v$ ?ou will receive wisdom and disci.line. ?ou will understand words of wisdom. v% ?ou will be careful and wise. ?our actions will be right and fair. v& ,f you are sim.le0 then you will learn more. ?oung .eo.le will learn knowledge0 and learn to be careful. v' The wise .erson will become wiser. The intelligent .erson will be ready to acce.t advice. v( ?ou will understand wise words and stories. ?ou will understand even difficult words of wisdom. @erse 1 +olomon wrote both .roverbs 1wise words4 and songs. ,n all0 he collected "))) .roverbs 11 *ings #5!(8"#4. The Book of Proverbs contains many of them. This book teaches us how we should live. ,t ex.lains the way of wisdom. ,t warns us about being foolish. @erses !8" The wise .erson honours 2od0 and 2od .rotects him. A foolish .erson refuses to obey 2od. There are many dangers for such a .erson. The Book of Proverbs ex.lains these dangers. +olomon tells us about four ty.es of .erson. :ach will benefit from +olomon/s wise words. @erse # )he simple person Today0 we should not call someone Asim.le/. We might offend him. -e would think that we su..osed him to be stu.id. ,n the Book of Proverbs0 a sim.le .erson is someone who is not wise. By the word Asim.le/0 +olomon means more than this. A sim.le .erson has not learned to be wise. +o he is in danger. :vil .eo.le can easily lead sim.le .eo.le to do evil actions. But nobody is really good. A:veryone does evil things. :veryone fails when you use 2od/s standards/ 1Bomans "5!"4. We are all sim.le .eo.le by 2od/s standards. 2od wants the sim.le .erson to learn his wisdom. This begins when we invite 2od into our lives. Then 2od will hel. us to become wise. We must grow in wisdom0 and we must grow in our knowledge of 2od. *oun+ people The Book of Proverbs is .oetry. +ome .oems are very short and other .oems are longer. The style of the .oems may seem unusual. +ometimes0 one line has the same meaning as the next. +ometimes lines contrast with each other. ,n other .laces0 the meaning develo.s from line to line. Watch out for these different styles. These .oems hel. us to remember the .roverbs. The .eo.le believed that they should remember .roverbs 1wise words4. Cathers taught .roverbs to their sons. ;others taught them to their daughters. 2randchildren learned them from their grand.arents. Children had to use their memories. The adults tested the children/s memories. ,n this way0 children learned to be wise. ,n the future0 when .roblems came0 they would know the right thing to do.
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Cor the same reason0 we should learn Bible verses today. We should teach them to our children. ,n this way0 we shall learn true wisdom. ;any things in the world change. There are new inventions0 for exam.le television. There are new illnesses0 for exam.le A,>+. There are revolutions and new governments. Wisdom does not change. +olomon gave advice that is still good. -e wrote wise words and they are still wise today. Today/s young .eo.le will grow old. Wisdom that we teach them now will remain with them. @erses $8% )he ,ise person A wise .erson loves wisdom. A-e loves 2od/s law. -e is always thinking about it./ 1Psalm 15!4. -e always wants to learn more. -e is never too tired to think about wisdom. -e still makes mistakes. A+how a wise man how he is wrongD -e will love you for your correction./ 1Proverbs (5'4. -e even wants you to teach him. ATeach a wise man and he will become still wiser./ 1Proverbs (5(4. We can all learn more. We can all grow in knowledge. The Bible teaches us 2od/s wisdom. )he intelli+ent person <ike the wise .erson0 the intelligent .erson wants to learn. -e will ask for advice. -e is trying to understand 2od/s ways. As he studies0 he will know more. -e will even understand difficult words of wisdom. v- Bes.ect 2odD *nowledge begins with this lesson. Cools hate wisdom and disci.line. @erse & When you learned :nglish0 you started with easy words. When you learn any sub9ect0 you must start with easy lessons. The first lesson in wisdom is that we must res.ect 2od. -e made everything. -e is greater than we are. We must give honour to him. A .erson who does not know 2od may be clever. -e may have many skills. We can learn many things from him. +uch a .erson lacks something im.ortant. -e has learnt many lessons. But he has missed the first lesson. Wisdom begins when a .erson res.ects 2od. We should try to show a better way to this .erson. The o..osite of a wise .erson is a fool. 1?ou would offend a .erson0 if you called him a fool.4 A fool intends to do evil things. A sim.le .erson does evil things0 because he does not know wisdom. But a fool does evil things0 because he hates wisdom. We want to show 2od/s way to such .eo.le. But this is difficult. 3esus said0 A>o not give valuable things to .igs/ 1;atthew &5%4. Wisdom is valuable. +ometimes we must leave a fool to be foolish. A .ig does not a..reciate things that are valuable to us. A fool does not a..reciate the value of wisdom. We can learn from the mistakes of fools. We must not co.y their mistakes. A fool hates wisdom and disci.line. ,f we are wise0 we shall love wisdom and disci.line. v" ;y son0 listen to your fatherD >o not forget your mother/s words. v! Wear them like a crown for your head or a chain for your neck. v1. ;y son0 if evil men tem.t you0 do not give in to themD v11 They might say0 ACome with usD We shall attack an innocent man. v1$ We shall destroy him. We will be as cruel as hell to that man. v1% We shall take his riches. -is wealth will belong to us. v1& 3oin usD We shall share everything./ v1' ;y son0 do not listen to themD >o not follow themD v1( They are 7uick to do wrong deeds. They do not hesitate to kill innocent men. v1- ?ou cannot set a tra. for birds whilst they watch you. v1" These thieves attack only themselves. v1! ,n the end0 a thief will destroy himself. -is evil .lan will cause his own death.
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@erses '8( ,n +olomon/s time0 both .arents educated their children. ,t is good when children can learn from both .arents. We should listen to wisdom. Wisdom is beautiful0 and it is valuable. To .ossess it is like a crown on the head. 6r0 it is like a gold chain round the neck. To obtain wisdom0 we must study. And we need disci.line. We cannot become wise 7uickly. But wisdom will im.rove our lives. +ome .eo.le imagine that they know a 7uicker way to im.rove their lives. +olomon warns about such .eo.le in verses 1)81(. They offer friendshi. 1verse 1#4. But their friendshi. cannot last because their .lan is evil. They offer rich rewards 1verse 1"4. But really they will suffer a terrible fate 1verse 1(4. Wisdom is much better than any evil .lan. @erses 1)81% )he thieves plan ,n +olomon/s story0 a band of thieves have a cruel .lan. The thieves ask a young man to 9oin them. Together0 they will attack someone else. They will steal from him0 and murder him. The young man and the thieves soon will become wealthy. The young man does not realise the true .lot. @erses 1&81( The truth is this. The thieves also intend to kill the young man. This means that the thieves will kee. all the money. +olomon/s story teaches us about evil behaviour. An evil life is not fun. ,t is dangerous. The evil .erson risks a terrible end. The young man in the story thought that he would become wealthy. ,n reality0 he lost everything. +olomon warns us not to make the same mistake. v$. Wisdom is like a woman who calls aloud in the street. +he shouts in the market .lace v$1 +he calls at the city s7uare. +he s.eaks at the city gate. v$$ A,f you are sim.le0 then change your waysD ,f you insult .eo.le0 then you must sto.D ,f you are foolish0 then you must learn the truthD v$% ,f you answer me0 then , shall teach my thoughts to you. v$& But you have refused my wisdom. Eobody listened to me. v$' ?ou did not hear my advice. ?ou did not change your life when , corrected you. v$( ?our .unishment will be severe0 and , shall laugh at you. v$- :vil things will destroy you0 like a sudden storm. Troubles will attack you0 like a sudden wind. Troubles and .ain will overcome you. v$" AThen these .eo.le will call to me. ,n that day0 , shall not answer. They will search for me0 but they will not find me. v$! They hated knowledge and did not res.ect 2od. v%. They did not acce.t advice or correction. v%1 AAs a .lant has fruit0 their evil behaviour will have an evil reward. v%$ ,f they are sim.le0 they will wander and die. <a=y attitudes will destroy a fool.
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v%% But the .erson who listens to wisdom is safe. -e can relax and he will not be afraid./ @erses !)8!% )he ,oman called Wisdom ,n his second story0 +olomon tells us about a woman. This woman/s name is Wisdom. The woman is u.set0 and she is angry. This is why she shouts. -er children are not obeying her. They refuse her advice. +he walks through the streets and she com.lains to everyone. +he even goes to the city gate. ,n ancient times0 9udges were at the city gate. +he wants to obtain a 9udgement against her children. They are sim.le0 evil and foolish 1verse !!4. They deserve .unishment 1verse !%4. @erses !&8"" +he obtains 9udgement. Their .unishment is severe. This is because they refused wisdom. They did evil things. Eow they will suffer a terrible .unishment. Their .unishment is sudden0 like a storm. ,t is .owerful0 like the wind. 1@erse !&4 We are all like Wisdom/s children. We can learn to be wise. 6r we can refuse to listen to wise words. Wisdom begins when we res.ect 2od 1verse &4. ,f we res.ect 2od0 then 2od will reward us. But if we do evil things0 then we shall suffer a terrible .unishment. :verybody does evil things. +o we must turn to 2od. We must be sincere. Then 2od will forgive us and teach us his wisdom. -e sent 3esus to take away our .unishment.

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Proverbs chapter $
v1 ;y son0 acce.t my wordsD -ide my commands inside yourselfD v$ ?ou must listen to wisdom. ?ou should desire to learn. v% Ask for knowledgeD Cry aloud to learn moreD v& <ook for wisdom0 as you would look for silverD +earch for it0 as you would search for goldD v' Then you will understand how to res.ect 2od. Then you will really know 2od. v( This is because wisdom is 2od/s gift. 2od/s words .rovide knowledge and wisdom. v- -e brings success to those who do right. -e .rotects honest .eo.le. v" -e guards good .eo.le. -e .rotects those who trust him. @erses 18# )he search for ,isdom We must greatly desire wisdom. We must listen to it. We must desire it. We must ask 7uestions0 so that we can learn more. We must hunt for wisdom0 like someone who searches for gold. Psalm #!51 is similar. A;y s.irit needs 2od like a deer 1wild animal4 needs the streams of water./ The animal searches for water. We also must search for wisdom. Also see 3ob !'. A man digs dee. into the earth. -e breaks through the rock. -e enters .laces that no animal has seen. -e finds gold and silver. -e discovers many things. -owever0 he cannot find wisdom there. Wisdom is not in the dee. sea. ?ou cannot buy wisdom 8 not even with gold. ABes.ect 2odD This is true wisdom. Befuse to do evil thingsD This is true intelligence./ 13ob !'5!'4 @erses $8' )he re,ard of ,isdom ,f we res.ect 2od0 then we shall become wise. 2od gives his wisdom to us. We are his .eo.le0 and he guards us. -e defends us0 and he .rotects us. Psalm !" com.ares 2od to a man who owns shee.. The farmer looks after his shee.. -e .rovides their food and water. -e cares about them. ,n the same way0 2od looks after us. When we are in danger0 2od .rotects us. v! 2od/s wisdom will teach you what is right. ?ou will understand how to make good decisions. ?ou will see what is fair. ?ou will walk in good .aths. v1. Wisdom will enter your heart. *nowledge will be a .leasure for your mind. v11 Bight decisions will .rotect you. The things that you have learned will guard you. v1$ Wisdom will save you from evil men. Wisdom will save you from their evil words. v1% :vil men leave the right road. They walk down dark .aths. v1& They love to do wrong things. They are glad to do evil things.
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v1' They choose the wrong .ath. Their way is wrong. @erses (81$ )he /ourney of life The Bible often com.ares life to a 9ourney. Abraham/s whole life was a 9ourney. -e travelled from Fr to -aran0 and then to Canaan. A-e searched for the city that 2od built./ 1-ebrews 1151)4 -e did not find this .lace on earth. AThese .eo.le wanted a better .lace0 in heaven. 2od is not ashamed to be called their 2od. -e has .re.ared a city for them./ 1-ebrews 1151%4 3esus com.ared life to a 9ourney. A:nter by the narrow gateD >o not choose the wide gate or the easy roadD ;any .eo.le go that way. The easy road leads to death. <ook for the small gate and the narrow road. 6nly a few .eo.le find it0 but it leads to life./ 1;atthew &51"81#4 The Book of Proverbs also tells us about two ways. ,n verse 1"0 evil men walk in dark .aths. They hide from the light0 because light would show u. their evil behaviour. ,n verse 1$0 +olomon says that evil men choose the wrong .aths. ,t is easy to choose the wrong .ath in the darkD This wrong .ath is like their evil behaviour. Their behaviour is like a road that leads to death and hell 1verse 1'4. ,f we follow 2od/s wisdom0 then our .aths are good 1verse (4. We are like travellers who choose the right way. We know where we are going. We act fairly. 6ur decisions are good. This is the right road for life/s 9ourney. ,t leads to heaven 1verse 1(4. v1( Wisdom will also save you from wrong desires. Another man/s wife will not attract you. +he tem.ts you to come to her. But she has left her husband. v1- When she married him0 she made .romises. 2od heard those .romises. v1" >o not go into her houseD -er house leads to death. -er .aths lead to hell. v1! ,f you go to her0 then you will not return. ?ou will not go to heaven. @erses 1%81( ,n these verses0 a woman tries to tem.t a man. >euteronomy $ lists 1) commands that 2od gave. 6ne command was0 A>o not have sex with someone elseGs wife or husband./ 1>euteronomy $51'4 The woman in the Book of Proverbs refuses to follow this command. A man who goes to her is in danger. +olomon is teaching us about other wrong actions. +ometimes wrong actions are attractive. +ometimes evil thoughts tem.t us. +ometimes we might think that 2od/s law is not fair. Perha.s the man likes the woman. -owever0 he must not go to her. We must not do wrong actions0 when evil thoughts test us. The devil even tested 3esus 1;atthew #518114. But 3esus did nothing that was wrong against 2od. 2od gives his wisdom to us. -is Bible teaches us how we should live. ,f we turn from 2od0 this is like leaving your husband or wife. When you became a Christian0 you .romised to follow 2od. :vil thoughts may still tem.t you. 6ther religions may tem.t you. +ex may tem.t you. >o not break your .romise to 2odD 3esus said0 A, am the way. The only way to the father 12od4 is through me./ 13ohn 1#5%4 :ven +olomon0 who wrote the Book of Proverbs0 turned away from 2od in the end. -e had many wives. +ome followed other religions. With his wives0 +olomon .rayed to other gods. The Bible says that +olomon/s actions were evil. 11 *ings 115181"4 We should learn from +olomon/s mistake. 2od gave great wisdom to +olomon. +olomon taught wisdom. -is Book of Proverbs still teaches wisdom to us today. We must follow 2od. We must desire 2od/s wisdom. We must not be like +olomon when he turned from 2od. v$. >o right0 and you will walk with good men. ?ou will go along the right .aths. v$1 Those that do right will live in the land. They will remain there. The land will be theirs. v$$ :vil .eo.le must leave the land. Their enemies will lead them away.
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@erses !)8!! )he land 2od gave land to the nation of ,srael. -e warned them to follow his commands. ,f the nation turned away from 2od0 then they would lose their land. 1>euteronomy !'4 +olomon knew that 2od had warned them. After +olomon0 the .eo.le served false gods. +ome kings were good0 but most were evil. 2od did not .unish that nation immediately. 2od told the .eo.le to return to him. They did not return. After a war0 they lost their land. As Christians0 our land is not this world. We are only visitors0 because we belong elsewhere. 6ur real home is in heaven 1-ebrews 1151"81%4. We must follow 2od. -e will lead us to heaven. -e has .re.ared a .lace for us in heaven 13ohn 1#518#4.

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Proverbs chapter %
v1 ;y son0 do not forget my law. *ee. my commands in your heart. v$ ;y commands will bring you long life. They will bring you wealth. @erse 1 Cha.ter " begins0 as usual0 with advice for +olomon/s son. +olomon encourages his son to remember his commands. The son must remember the words. But he should also aim for a dee.er ex.erience. Wisdom should enter his heart. Wisdom should guide his thoughts. Wisdom should control his emotions and desires. @erse ! The son will benefit from wisdom. +olomon mentions health and wealth. Wisdom brings health0 because wisdom teaches safe actions. A wise .erson eats good food and takes care of his body. Wisdom brings wealth0 because the wise .erson is careful. The wise .erson works hard and he does not waste money. >o not think that health and wealth show wisdom. A thief can become wealthy0 because he steals. An evil .erson can take money from other .eo.le. +ometimes 2od gives health and wealth to a .erson0 but not always. ABemember 2odD -e makes you able to get wealthH/ 1>euteronomy '51'4 True health is not only the health of the body. ?our relationshi. with 2od must also be healthy. ,n fact0 your relationshi. with 2od is more im.ortant than your body. +ee ;atthew $5!(8"). +olomon was very wealthy. But he knew that true wealth is not money. +ee Proverbs "51#81$. Wisdom is worth more than silver or gold. Wisdom is worth more than all our money. v% Eever let love and trust leave you. Wear them about your neck. Write them on your heart. v& ?ou will win love and honour. 2od and .eo.le will show you love and honour @erses "8# <ove and trust should always be with us. As +olomon writes this0 he is thinking about >euteronomy %5&8(. ATeach 2od/s law to your children. Talk about 2od/s law at homeD Talk about it0 when you travelD Talk about it0 when you lie downD Talk about it0 when you wakeD Tie the words of 2od/s law on your handsD Tie the words about your headD Write 2od/s law at the side of your doors and gatesD/ AWear them about your neck./ ?ou cannot really wear love and trust. But you can show your love and trust to other .eo.le. :verybody will know your attitudes when they see your behaviour. AWrite them on your heart./ ?ou cannot really write Alove and trust/ on your heart. But love and trust should direct your whole life0 even in .rivate. <ove and trust should direct your thoughts0 .lans and attitudes. <ove and trust should always be in your heart and mind. <ove and trust should not be 9ust ideas. We must not remember them today0 and then forget them tomorrow. They must be .art of our lives. They should guide every decision. v' Trust in 2od with your whole heart. >o not de.end on your own intelligenceD v( Wherever you go0 think about 2od. -e will clear the .ath for you to follow. @erses $ @erses $ and % are very im.ortant. ,t is a good idea to learn them. They will hel. us if we worry about the future.
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ATrust in 2od./ Peo.le trust many things. +ome trust money. +ome trust governments. 6ther .eo.le trust luck or fate. ?ou might trust your family or your church. +ometimes all these things will fail. But 2od never fails. A2od is like a castle. We are safe with him0 because he is strong. -e is always with us. -e .rotects us whenever there are troubles./ 1Psalm #%514 A?our whole heart./ Perha.s you trust 2od sometimes0 but not at other times. +ome .eo.le become Christians0 but do not trust 2od with their whole hearts. 2od is .art of their lives0 but only .art. ;aybe they want 2od at home0 but not at work. 2od wants our whole hearts. We should always desire his wisdom. -e wants us to live as Christians at work and at home. We must trust 2od0 even when our lives are difficult. 2od encourages us to trust him in everything. A>o not de.end on your own intelligenceD/ 2od is wiser than we are. We may know many things0 but 2od knows everything. We must not be .roud. We must not imagine that we are wiser than 2od. @erse % The future is unknown to us. But 2od knows the future. -e is able to lead us. -e can guide us. We should trust him0 and not our own ideas. +o we should .ray to 2od about our lives. We should ask him to hel. us and to guide us. AWherever you go0 think about 2od./ These words remind us that life is like a 9ourney. We shall have many ex.eriences. +ome ex.eriences will be good. 6ther ex.eriences will be bad. Wherever we are0 we should think about 2od. We should remember 2od/s .lace in our lives. ,f life is like a 9ourney0 then we must follow 2od. -e knows the right .ath. -is way is the right way. A-e will clear the .ath for you to follow./ Another translation is5 A-e will show the right .ath to you./ We can trust 2od to guide us. v- >o not be .roud about your own wisdom. Bes.ect 2od and refuse to do evil actions. v" This will bring health to your body. This will bring strength to your bones. @erse & Wron+ types of ,isdom and intelli+ence There is a wrong ty.e of wisdom. @erse & mentions Ayour own wisdom/. There is also a wrong ty.e of intelligence. @erse $ mentions Ayour own intelligence/. There is a difference between our own wisdom and 2od/s wisdom. Also0 there is a difference between our own intelligence and 2od/s intelligence. 2od is wiser than we are. And 2od is more intelligent than any .erson is. +ee ,saiah $$5'8(. We must not be .roud. All true wisdom comes from 2od. 6ur own ideas may be good. But they are never better than 2od/s wisdom. 2od teaches his wisdom to us. ,t is 2od/s gift to us. >o not confuse your own ideas with 2od/s wisdomD @erse ' +ometimes our wrong ideas cause illnesses. Cor exam.le0 excess alcohol will make us ill. But 2od/s wisdom does not hurt us. 2od is kind to us and he hel.s us. -e cares about our bodies. -e also cares about our s.irits. Eobody will be ill in heaven 1Bevelation !15#4. The wisdom that we need is 2od/s wisdom. v! Fse your wealth to give honour to 2od. 2ive him the first .art of your harvest. v1. Then your harvest will be vast. ?our new wine will be .lentiful. @erses (81) ,n ;alachi "5%81!0 ;alachi accuses the .eo.le. -e says that they have stolen from 2od. This is because they have not given their gifts for 2od/s work.
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The truth is that all our .ossessions belong to 2od. -e made the world. +o he made everything that we have. 6ur own lives belong to him. As Christians0 we should be generous. We should give for 2od/s work. We should also give to hel. .oor .eo.le. Peo.le may say0 A,f , give0 then , shall not have enough for myself./ We should be sensible0 but we must also trust 2od. 2od says0 A, do not need your animals. :very animal in the forest is mine. , own the cows on 1))) hills./ 1Psalm $)5(81)4 ,f we give our money for 2od/s work0 then 2od will .rovide for us. 3esus said0 A,f you give to 2od0 then he will give to you. -e will .rovide .lenty of food for you. ,f you are generous0 then 2od will be generous with you./ 1<uke %5"'4. 2od does not need our wealth. -owever0 he chooses to work with us. We should be glad to give to 2od. A2od loves a 9oyful giver./ 1! Corinthians (5&4 As we give to other .eo.le0 2od gives good things to us. AH , will o.en heaven. , will give good things to you. ?ou will receive so many good things0 that you cannot find s.ace for them./ 1;alachi "51)4 v11 ;y son0 do not be angry when 2od teaches you. >o not dislike it when he s.eaks strictly to you. v1$ 2od s.eaks strictly to .eo.le whom he loves. -e is like a father. -e s.eaks strictly to his favourite son. @erses 1181! ;any .eo.le do not want to learn how to behave well. They want to choose how they will live their lives. 2od is our father. A father teaches his son. +ometimes0 the father must correct or .unish his son. ,n the same way0 2od corrects us. 2od does not correct us because he is angry. 2od corrects us because he loves us. A human father should not .unish his child because the father is angry. Bather0 the father corrects the child because the father loves his child. ,f 2od corrects us0 then we should be glad. -is correction teaches us to do the right things. -is correction will save us from troubles. 3esus s.oke about this in 3ohn 1$518'. -e com.ares 2od to a gardener. We are like a vine 1fruit tree4. A,f a branch has no fruit0 2od cuts it shorter. -e does this so that the branch will have more fruit./ 13ohn 1$5!4 2od does not forget about us. -e watches us. -e sees our errors. ,n love0 he corrects us. -e might correct us by some word that we read in the Bible. -e might use the advice of other .eo.le0 for exam.le0 a minister or friend. -e might even use someone who is not a Christian. A,f you hear 2od/s voice today0 do not refuse himD/ 1-ebrews "51$4 There is a different0 ancient translation of verse 1!. -ebrews 1!5% co.ies this translation. ,t says0 A2od .unishes everyone whom he receives as a son./ -ebrews 1!5&811 ex.lains these words. 2od corrects us0 because we are his children. ,f he did not correct us0 we should not be his children. We res.ect our natural fathers who correct us. ,n the same way0 we must res.ect 2od. +ometimes correction includes .unishment. APunishment is not .leasant at the time. Punishment seems .ainful. <ater0 however0 it .roduces something good. We learn .eace0 and we learn right actions./ 1-ebrews 1!5114 v1% Wisdom is like a woman. +he makes the .erson who finds her ha..y. +he makes the .erson who learns her lessons ha..y. v1& +he is worth more than silver. +he is even more valuable than gold. v1' +he is more valuable than .recious stones. Eo valuable things com.are with Wisdom. v1( -er right hand gives long life. -er left hand gives wealth and honour. v1- -er ways are .leasant.
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-er .aths are beautiful. v1" ,f you gras. her0 she will give a good life to you. +he brings ha..iness to those who hug her. @erses 1"81' ,n Proverbs 15!)8""0 +olomon describes wisdom as a woman. This ha..ens again in Proverbs "51"81'. There is a difference. ,n Proverbs 10 Wisdom is angry with evil .eo.le. They have refused her advice. ,n Proverbs "0 we read about the .eo.le who love Wisdom. Wisdom brings good things to themI long life0 wealth and honour 1verse 1%4. When we walk with Wisdom0 our life is .leasant and beautiful 1verse 1&4. @erses 1#81$ These verses com.are Wisdom to valuable ob9ects. +he is worth more than .recious stones. -er value is more than silver or gold. ?ou can .ut your money in a bank. The bank will .ay you an income. -owever0 the bank is not as good as Wisdom. ,f you give your life to Wisdom0 she will .ay more than any bank. Eo bank can make your life longer. But Wisdom can give a long life. Eo bank can .romise you a .lace in heaven. But wisdom can .romise this. Eo bank can make you right with 2od. Wisdom can do this. @erse 1' The ha..iness that wisdom brings is not 9ust an emotion. This is the same ha..iness that 3esus describes in ;atthew $5"81!. When 2od forgives our evil actions0 we receive his 9oy in our s.irits. +ometimes our lives will still be difficult. +ometimes0 we shall be very sad. :ven then0 2od will comfort us. -e will look after us. Although we are sad0 2od/s 9oy will still be in our hearts. And we will have good lives0 because 2od will hel. us. >avid wrote0 A:ven when death is near0 you 12od4 are with me. +o0 , am not afraid. ?ou guide and comfort me/ 1Psalm !"5#4. >avid was not ha..y when he was in danger. But he knew that 2od/s 9oy was in his s.irit. +o he was not afraid of the dangers that surrounded him. v1! 2od created the world by his wisdom. -e created the heavens by his skill. v$. -is knowledge caused the rivers to flow. And the clouds dro..ed gentle rain. @erse 1(8!) We all need wisdom. :ven 2od used his wisdom to make the world. This .aragra.h is similar to 3ohn 1518". A,n the beginning was the word. The word was with 2od. The word was 2od. -e was with 2od in the beginning. 2od made everything by his word. -e made nothing without the word./ 3ohn ex.lains that Athe word/ means 3esus. 3esus was always with 2od0 because 3esus is 2od. v$1 ;y son0 hold firmly to wisdom and right decisions. >o not let them esca.e from youD v$$ These things will bring you a long and beautiful life. They are like a .recious stone on a chain about your neck. v$% ,f you are wise0 then your 9ourney will be safe. And your foot will not tri.. v$& When you lie down0 you will not be afraid. ?ou will slee. in .eace. v$' >o not fear sudden dangersD An evil man will lose everything. v$( But 2od will .rotect you. -e will save you from dangers. @erse !! )rue beauty
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@erse !! reminds us of verse ". @erse " tells us to wear love about our necks. ,n many countries0 women dis.lay their beautiful ob9ects. They wear gold0 silver and .recious stones on chains about their necks. @erse !! encourages us. There are .lenty of beautiful things for us. Bight decisions0 love and wisdom are all beautiful things. They are better than any .recious stone. 2old and silver may be beautiful. Wisdom is more beautiful than any valuable ob9ects. @erses !"8!% This is another .assage that com.ares life with a 9ourney. This .assage teaches us that 2od will .rotect us. We have nothing to fear. ;any Psalms teach a similar lesson. +ee Psalm 1!10 Psalm #%510 and Psalm %!5!. @erse !# gives us s.ecial comfort. We cannot .rotect ourselves at night. ,n the dark0 there are many dangers. ;any .eo.le struggle to slee.. We should trust in 2od. -e can kee. us safe. -e can .rotect us. A?ou do not benefit if you wake early. ?ou do not need to work at night for your food. 2od gives slee. to the .eo.le whom he loves./ 1Psalm 1!&5!4 v$- Be kind to those who deserve good things. >o not refuse if you can hel. them. v$" ,f you can hel. your neighbour today0 then hel. himD >o not wait until tomorrowD v$! ?our neighbour trusts you. >o not .lot against himD >o not hurt himD v%. >o not accuse an innocent man. -e is not guilty0 and he has not hurt you. @erses !&8!' 3esus said0 A<ove your neighbour as much as you love yourselfD/ 1;ark 1!5"14 ,n <uke 1)5")8"&0 3esus told the story of the 2ood +amaritan 1<uke 1)5")8"&4. A +amaritan was a .erson from a nation that the .eo.le from 3erusalem disliked 13ohn #5(4. 3esus told his story to ex.lain the word Aneighbour/. ,n the story0 a +amaritan rescued a man from 3erusalem. The +amaritan cared0 because this man needed hel.. +o0 3esus argued0 this other man was the +amaritan/s neighbour. We should do the same. We should care about everyone whom 2od sends to us. 3esus discussed this sub9ect again in ;atthew $5#"8#'. A?ou have heard the words5 J<ove your neighbour. -ate your enemy.K , am telling you to love your enemies. Pray for anyone who attacks you./ 1;atthew $5#"8##4 The .eo.le in 3esus/ time thought that they should hate their enemies. But the Bible does not tell us to hate our enemies. ,n fact0 3esus said that we should love our enemies. 3esus even .rayed for the .eo.le who killed him. ACather0 forgive themD They do not know what they are doing./ 1<uke !"5"#4 v%1 >o not be 9ealous of cruel menD >o not behave like themD v%$ 2od hates evil men. -onest men are friends of 2od. @erse "1 Peo.le like to follow a leader. They might co.y a film star. They might act like their teacher. They could behave like their ruler. We must be careful if we choose a model. ,f we co.y an evil .erson0 then we shall become evil. :ven a holy .erson makes mistakes and could lead us in the wrong way. @erse "! 2od has both friends and enemies. ,f we are evil0 2od hates us as enemies. This is because he hates our evil actions. -owever0 2od wants evil .eo.le to change their lives. 2od has great love0 even for his enemies. This is why he sent 3esus. ABemember thisD J3esus came into the world to save evil .eo.le.K , was the worstD/ 11 Timothy 151$. Paul wrote this .assage.4

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-onest .eo.le are 2od/s friends. We can all become honest. Cirst0 we must trust in 3esus. 3esus/ death takes away the .unishment for our evil actions. Then 2od forgives us. -e makes us his friends. Eow we must learn more. 2od will teach us. -e will use the Bible to teach us. -e will also use other .eo.le. We should live 2od/s way. We should try to be honest. 2od will hel. us. Cormerly0 we o..osed 2od. We were his enemies. But when we trusted 2od0 2od forgave us. We became 2od/s friends. We are now 2od/s own .eo.le. +ee :.hesians "5118!!. v%% 2od curses the evil man/s house. -e is kind to the good man/s home. v%& 2od insults those who insult other .eo.le. But 2od is kind to humble .eo.le. v%' Wise .eo.le will receive honour. Cools will receive shame. @erses ""8"$ 2od deals with different .eo.le differently. @erse "" 2od will do good things for us if we obey him. -e is kind to us0 and he is kind to our homes too. The word Ahome/ shows that 2od will hel. our families also. Contrast this with the evil man. 2od curses both the evil man0 and those who live in the evil man/s house. The evil man/s family suffer0 because of his evil actions. +ince 3esus died0 this has changed. :ach .erson must trust 2od for himself or herself. AThen these words will become untrue5 JThe fathers ate sour fruit0 and the children have a sour taste in their mouthsDK ,nstead0 everyone will die because of his own wrong actions. Whoever eats sour fruit will taste it for himself./ 13eremiah "15!(8")4 @erse "# The time for 9udgement is coming. 2od will be our 9udge. We should serve 2od0 and we should be humble. We must not be .roud. When 2od is our 9udge0 he will show us kindness and love. +ome .eo.le are .roud. They insult other .eo.le. They must turn from their evil behaviour. Then 2od will forgive them. ,f they refuse 2od/s love0 2od will .unish them. 2od loves us0 although we do not deserve his love. -e offers his kindness to everyone. We must be humble to receive it. ,f we trust in ourselves0 we cannot receive his love. Eobody will go to heaven because they deserve it. We have all done wrong things. We all deserve 2od/s .unishment. This is why 2od sent 3esus. 3esus did not deserve 2od/s .unishment. 3esus suffered the .unishment that we deserve. ,f we turn to 2od0 he will forgive us. -e saves us0 because he is kind. This verse0 Proverbs "5"#0 is an im.ortant Bible verse. Both 3ames and Peter used this verse in their own books. +ee 3ames #5% and 1 Peter $5%.

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Proverbs chapter &

v1 ;y sons0 listen to your father/s instruction. As you listen to me0 you will understand more. v$ ;y lessons are good. >o not leave the things that , teach you. v% , was only a boy in my father/s house. , was young0 and my mother/s only child. v& ;y father taught me. -e said0 A+tudy my words dee.lyD *ee. my commands0 and so learn to live a good life. v' 2et wisdomD <earn to be wiseD >o not forget my wordsD >o not turn away from themD v( >o not leave wisdom. 1Wisdom is like a woman.4 +he will .rotect you. <ove herD +he will watch over you. v- Wisdom is better than everything else0 so get wisdomD :ven if it costs you everything0 learn to be wiseD v" 2ive honour to wisdom. 1Wisdom is like a woman.4 +he will lift you higher. -ug her0 and she will give honour to you. v! Wisdom/s gifts are like a beautiful crown./ @erses 18( This .oem is not 9ust about +olomon/s family. ,t is about all families. ,t tells us that a father should teach his son. When he grows older0 the son should teach his own children. +olomon/s family was ,srael/s royal family. ,n the .oem0 the father does not teach about being a king. -e does not s.eak about wealth and money. -e does not ex.lain how to lead the nation. Cor this father0 only one thing matters. -is son must learn wisdom. We can teach our children about many things. We must not forget to teach them wisdom. This is the most im.ortant lesson of all. @erses 18! The .oem begins with commands to listen. The father will teach a valuable lesson to his sons. @erse " The advice did not begin with the father0 who is writing the .oem. The father learned this lesson from his own father. The lesson is good0 because it is ancient. 2randfather followed this advice. And he saw that it was good advice. This is why he taught it to the boy/s father. The father has lived by this advice too. +o now he teaches it to his own sons. The words of verse " s.eak about the father/s childhood. These words suggest a loving home. The father was grandmother/s only child0 so he was close to her. 2randfather taught his lessons with love to his little child. @erse # The grandfather began his lessons in the same way as the .oet. The grandfather also em.hasised that the lesson was im.ortant. Today0 many .eo.le say that things are im.ortant. A salesman will say that his advice is im.ortant. This is because the salesman wants us to buy his .roducts. We can doubt salesmen and .oliticians. But we must not doubt 2od/s word. The Book of Proverbs re.eats its advice0 because wisdom really is im.ortant. @erses $8% At last0 we hear the advice. This is the lesson that grandfather taught. We must learn to be wise. As in earlier cha.ters0 he com.ares wisdom to a woman. Wisdom0 like a woman0 deserves our love. <ike a woman0 she will .rotect you0 if you love her.
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@erse & Wisdom is better than everything else. ,t is better than money. ,t is better than beauty. ,t is better than health. Wisdom is worth more than everything that you own. Bemember that these words come from ,srael/s royal family. They had great wealth. But wisdom is more im.ortant than wealth. @erse ' As in verse %0 the .oet com.ares wisdom to a woman. ,n verse %0 the .oet tells us to love Wisdom. ,n verse '0 he tells us to hug her. We should get closer and closer to Wisdom. We shall benefit if we do so. Wisdom will lift us higher and give honour to us. <ike a woman0 Wisdom looks after those who love her. @erse ( At the end of this .oem0 the royal family s.eaks about a crown. This crown is not a gold crown or a silver crown. ,t is a crown for a king0 but a .oor .erson can wear a crown0 too. Wisdom gives honour to us. This gift is like a beautiful crown. ,n the introduction to this .oem0 we saw that it was about every family. This .oem was not 9ust about ,srael/s royal family. :very family can teach wisdom. :very .erson can trust 2od and learn to be wise. We can all wear wisdom/s crown. 3esus said0 A2od will give honour to anyone who serves me./ 13ohn 1!5!%4 v1. ;y son0 believe my wordsD They will bring you long life. v11 , am guiding you in a wise way. , am leading you along straight .aths. v1$ ?ou will walk in safety. When you run0 you will not fall. v1% -old on to my instructionsD <earn them wellD 2uard my instructions0 and they will give you a long life. v1& >o not choose the same .ath as wicked menD >o not walk with evil menD v1' *ee. off evil .athsD >o not travel on themD Turn awayD 2o elsewhereD v1( :vil men cannot slee. before they have done an evil action. They cannot slee. before they have tri..ed u. someoneD v1- An evil man thinks that his evil ways are better than bread. An evil man thinks that cruelty is better than wine. This .assage returns to the idea that life is like a 9ourney. @erse 1) ,f we .lan our 9ourneys wisely0 then we are safer. We can avoid many dangers. ,n the same way0 if we are wise0 then our lives will be safer. @erse 11 We shall not walk alone. Wisdom will be our guide and our guard. Bemember that this whole book is about 2od/s wisdomD 2od .rotects us0 when we live our lives in his way. 3esus said0 A>o not worry about clothes. <ook at the flowers in the fields. The flowers do not work or make clothes. But even the wealthy king +olomon did not dress as well as the flowers. 2od dresses the grasses in the field beautifully0 although tomorrow they will burn in the fire. -e will .rovide your clothes also0 although you hardly believe./ 1;atthew %5!'8")4 3esus ex.lained that the same was true about food and drink. 2od cares for us. -e will .rovide what we need for each day. -e will lead us to our home in heaven. @erse 1! AThe .eo.le who trust in 2od will become stronger. They will be so strong0 that they will be like the eagle 1a large0 strong bird4. They will run0 but they will not become tired. They will walk0 but they will not become weak./ 1,saiah #)5"14
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@erse 1" We must guard the good things that 2od has given to us. +ometimes evil things might seem attractive. We might remember our behaviour before we knew 2od. We might see an evil action and we might want to do the same. A+tay awakeD PrayD >o not allow evil things to tem.t youD/ 3esus told this to his followers in ;ark 1#5"'. Paul wrote0 A+tand firm in freedom0 because Christ has freed usD/ 12alatians $514 @erses 1#81$ +olomon em.hasises his words. We should not behave like evil .eo.le. We should not listen to their advice. Their advice is never wise. We must not do the same things that evil .eo.le do. Their behaviour is never wise. ,f we co.y their actions0 then we are in great danger. @erse 1% As +olomon em.hasises the lesson0 he uses humour. -e tells us to imagine the evil man. This man is a very evil man. +o0 he cannot even slee. until he has done an evil action. At midnight he gets u.. -e has still not done his evil action. -e struggles to think an evil thought. The time is very late0 but this man must act now. -e cannot even slee. until he has com.leted his evil task. The story shows us that evil things are .owerful. :vil things will control us0 like dangerous drugs or alcohol. We can become like slaves0 to our own evil actions. 2od can set us free0 but we must turn to him. @erse 1& +olomon continues his 9oke. The evil man has woken. -e is eating a meal. We are looking at his food. We ex.ect to find bread or meat or vegetables. The evil man is eating none of these. This man does not want food. ,nstead0 he chooses evil behaviour. -e does not think that food will make him strong. ,nstead0 he thinks that his evil actions will make him strong. -e wants to do evil things0 more than he desires his food. -e thinks that evil things are essential for his life. This evil man does not think that he needs milk or water or wine. -e su..oses that he can manage without these things. -e does not want something to drink. ,nstead he thinks that cruelty is essential for his life. -e wants cruelty0 more than he wants a drink. v1" The good man walks at early dawn. The light shines brighter and brighter as the day begins. v1! The evil man is like someone who walks at night0 in the dee.est darkness. -e does not even know why he fell. @erses 1'81( This is a beautiful short .oem. ,t contrasts a good man and an evil man. +ometimes .eo.le think that everyone is the same. +ome .eo.le say that everyone is good. The Bible does not say this. The Bible says that we all have turned from 2od. We must turn back to him. 6nly 2od can make us good. The good man has a good life. -e does not yet know everything that 2od wants to teach him. -e has not yet received all the gifts that 2od will give to him. -is life is like a man who walks at dawn. At dawn0 there is only a little light. But the light will soon become brighter. And soon the good man will know 2od better. Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 1"51!. AEow0 we see an image in a .oor mirror. ,n heaven0 we shall see clearly. Eow0 , only know a little. 6ne day0 , shall know com.letely0 as 2od knows me com.letely./ Paul is writing about the time when he will see 2od in heaven. The evil man has the o..osite fate. -e is like a man who walks on a dark .ath. A 9ourney at midnight is dangerous. A traveller cannot see in the darkness. Without any lights0 the traveller will tri. and fall. ,n the same way0 the evil man is in great danger. -e will suffer because of his evil behaviour. 2od will .unish him.

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;any .eo.le0 who are not Christians0 want 2od in their lives. They know that they are in danger. They are like someone who travels at night. Christians should s.eak to them. We should share what 2od has given to us. 2od will hel. those who ask him. When these .eo.le first trust 2od0 they will know little about 2od. ,n time0 they will know more0 as they live 2od/s way. ,n heaven0 they will know 2od fully. A .ath becomes brighter as the day begins. And they will know more0 as they trust 2od more. v$. ;y son0 listen to meD +tudy my wordsD v$1 >o not forget my wordsD Bemember themD v$$ ,f you study my words0 you will receive health and strength. v$% These lessons will .rotect your mind. They will save your life. v$& >o not s.eak evil wordsD >o not tell liesD v$' <ook aheadD >o not even glance at the evil things that surround youD v$( Choose the best lifeD Choose the best route for life/s 9ourney. v$- >o not allow evil things to tem.t you away from the right .athD >o not turn right or leftD @erses !)8!& Wise words are like medicine. They benefit every .art of our bodies. @erses !)8!! These verses show us the sub9ect of this .assage. :ach cha.ter of Proverbs 18& begins in a similar style. -ere the sub9ect is health. Wisdom is like a medicine0 because wisdom im.roves our lives. Fnlike a medicine0 wisdom does not heal our bodies. Wisdom heals our s.irits. Wisdom leads us to 2od. @erse !" We should be careful about our thoughts. We should love good things and hate evil things. @erse !# 3ames "5181! ex.lains this verse. 3ames com.ares our tongues to a fire. 6ur words can be .owerful. We can use words to say good things. But we can use words to say evil things0 too. 6ur mouths can .raise 2od0 but they can curse other .eo.le. We must be careful about our words. @erse !$ We look forward0 when we follow 2od. We should not look away from him. 3esus warned about this in <uke 1&5"18"!. A3esus said0 J>o not begin the work0 then look backD ,f you look back0 you cannot serve 2od.K / 1<uke (5%!4 @erses !%8!& Again0 this com.ares life to a 9ourney. We will live Athe best life/ if we obey 2od. This is like the best route for a 9ourney. ,f we serve 2od0 then we will hel. other .eo.le. We will be like a .ostman who brings good news. A6n the mountains0 the .ostman takes a good message. -e has good news about .eace and rescue. -e says to 3erusalem0 J2od is king.K / 1,saiah $!5&4

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Proverbs chapter '

Cha.ter $ is a .oem. The .oem has two sub9ects5 1. A married woman tem.ts a man who is not her husband. !. :vil things are like this woman0 because sometimes these things attract us. But evil things offend 2od. We must obey 2od0 and refuse to do evil things. +olomon discusses both sub9ects at the same time. This is similar to Proverbs !51%81(. The actions of the woman show us how evil ideas can attract us. v1 ;y son0 listen to my wisdomD -ear my knowledgeD v$ Then you will know how to behave. ?ou will know what to say. v% A married woman may tem.t you. -er li.s are sweet like honey. -er s.eech is attractive0 as oil is smooth. v& -owever0 soon her li.s will taste bitter. +oon she will cut you0 as with a sword. v' +he will cause your death. +he will lead you to your grave. v( +he does not think about the way of life. +he does not know that she has wandered from 2od/s ways. @erses 18! +olomon begins his lesson in the usual way. -e reminds us why we need wisdom and knowledge. With wisdom and knowledge0 we can avoid danger. @erse " A married woman attracts a young man. +he seems so beautiful. When he kisses her0 her li.s seem to taste like honey. When he listens to her0 her words are so attractive. -e does not think about the woman/s husband. -e does not think about 2od/s law. -e does not even think about the results of his actions. -e only thinks about her. +ometimes evil ideas attract us. These ideas might seem sweet and .leasant. +ometimes it seems easy to do the wrong thing0 and it seems hard to do the right thing. We should not do evil things. We should say0 AThis offends 2od. ,t might hurt other .eo.le. ,t could .lace me in danger./ The devil offered bread to 3esus when 3esus was hungry. 1;atthew #518#4 3esus refused. -e said0 A;an does not live by bread alone. A man must live by 2od/s instructions./ 1>euteronomy '5"4. We also must refuse to do evil things. @erse # :vil ideas may seem attractive0 but they are really terrible. When the man kissed the woman0 even her li.s tasted sweet. <ater the taste in his mouth will be bitter. <ater he will know the results of his actions. At first0 the woman/s s.eech was attractive. <ater she will be like a sword. +he will attack him and hurt him. :vil things are often like this. :vil behaviour always causes .ain and trouble. The devil uses evil ideas to try to destroy us. @erse $ ,f our behaviour is evil0 then the result0 in the end0 is death. +olomon/s son might die if he follows the married woman. +olomon does not say how his son could die. The woman/s angry husband may kill the young man. The woman herself might be a murderer. 6r the whole town might .unish the son for his evil actions. 6ccasionally0 evil actions lead straight to death. Fsually0 the .rocess is slower0 ste. by ste.. :very evil action brings death nearer0 because our evil behaviour takes us away from 2od. We can only receive true life0 if we trust 2od.
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When the Bible s.eaks about death0 often this does not mean the death of our bodies. 6ften the Bible means the death of our s.irits. ,f your s.irit is dead0 then you will go to hell. ,f your s.irit is alive0 you will go to heaven. A3esus became alive again after he died0 by the -oly +.irit. ,f the -oly +.irit lives in you0 then your bodies will also live again./ 1Bomans '5114 The result of our evil actions is death. But 2od brings life to our bodies and s.irits by his -oly +.irit. @erse % Again0 the verse com.ares life to a 9ourney. +ometimes a .erson0 like this woman0 refuses to hear 2od/s law. The woman lives in the way that she chooses. +he does not care about what is right or good. +he lives by her emotions. +he has forgotten 2od. +he does not know where her life will lead. +he does not even know that her actions are wrong. We have heard 2od/s law. We know what is wise. We must trust 2od. We must not co.y .eo.le like this woman. v- Eow0 my sons0 listen to meD >o not turn aside from my wordsD v" Choose a .ath that does not go near this woman/s houseD *ee. away from her doorD v! >o not waste the strength of your youthD >o not give your best years to someone who is cruelD v1. >o not let other .eo.le en9oy your wealthD >o not work like a slave to make another man wealthyD @erses &8' +olomon advises that his son should not even meet the married woman. +olomon/s son must be very careful. -e should not enter her house. -e should not even walk near her door. ,f the son walks near her door0 then he might enter. ,f he enters0 he might listen to her. -er s.eech is attractive 1verse "4. +he will tem.t him. ,f he listens to her0 he might want to have sex with her. +olomon/s father0 >avid0 had a similar ex.erience 1! +amuel 1181!4. Crom a distance0 he saw a beautiful woman. +he was having a bath0 naked. >avid did not look away. ,f he had looked away0 he would have avoided many troubles. ,nstead0 >avid watched the woman. -e sent a servant to call her. +he was a married woman0 but she came to >avid. >avid talked with her. They had sex. They even had a baby together. >avid tried to hide his actions. -e even caused the woman/s husband to die in battle. Then >avid married the woman. 2od knew what >avid had done. >avid/s older sons fought >avid0 because of his evil deed. The baby0 who was >avid/s youngest son0 died. 2od did not kill >avid for his evil deed. This was because >avid turned to 2od. >avid asked 2od to forgive him. -is .rayer is in Psalm $1. <ater0 >avid and the same woman had another son. This second son was +olomon0 who wrote the Book of Proverbs. @erses (81) A young man should not waste his strength with another man/s wife. -e should use his strength wisely. When he marries0 .erha.s he will have his own family. We must all be careful with our strength. We should use our strength for good things0 not for evil things. 6ur energy is .recious. 6ur time is valuable. v11 When you are old0 then you will be sad. When your body is weak0 then you will s.eak. v1$ A, was very stu.id. , hated disci.line. And , refused correction. v1% , did not obey my teachers. , did not learn my lessons.
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v1& +uddenly , suffered great shame. ;y wrong actions have ruined me in .ublic./ @erses 1181# These verses teach us the result0 if we live for our desires. ,n the end our wrong desires will ruin us. They will bring us to des.air. +olomon warns his son. -e ex.lains what will ha..en to a foolish son. The son will become an old man one day. Then the son will ask himself what his life achieved. -e will see that he achieved nothing. -e ruined his life0 because he did not serve 2od. ,nstead0 the foolish son served his emotions and desires. -e wasted his energy on cruel .eo.le 1verse (4. -is strength brought wealth to another man/s home 1verse 1)4. We should think about our lives. 3esus s.oke about this in ;atthew &5!#8!&. A wise man built a house on rock. When the storms came0 the house was strong. A fool built his house on sand. When the storms came0 the house fell down. We should be like the wise man in 3esus/ story. We should build our lives on a strong base. That base should be 2od. When .roblems come0 2od will .rotect us. And he will hel. us. ,f we build a house on something weak0 the house will fall down 1;atthew &5!%8!&4. ,n the same way0 our lives need a strong base. 6ur emotions are not a strong base for our lives. ,f we trust our emotions0 we shall become very weak. <et us build our lives in 2od/s way. Paul wrote about sex in 1 Corinthians %51!8!). -e said0 A?our body does not belong to you. 3esus bought your body0 for a .rice./ 1Paul means the .rice of 3esus/ death for us. We belong to 2od.4 ATherefore0 use your body to give honour to 2od./ 11 Corinthians %51(b8!)4 v1' ?ou should drink water from your own ta.sD And you should be loyal to your wife. v1( >o not have sex with another woman. And do not let your water .our into the streetD v1- ?our wife0 like your water0 should be yours0 only. >o not share your water with other menD v1" :n9oy your own waterD And en9oy your own wife alwaysD v1! +he gives love and grace0 like a deer 1a beautiful wild animal4. -er breasts always satisfy you. -er love always attracts you. v$. ;y son0 do not get close to another man/s wife. >o not allow her to tem.t you to do a wrong action. @erses 1$81& -ere0 +olomon talks about water. ,n dry countries0 water is valuable. Clean water is very .recious. ?ou should not waste water. ,t should not flow into the streets. ,t should not .our out0 into the town. ?our family and your animals should drink it. ?ou should water your cro.s. Fse it wiselyD Think about your own life in the same way. ?ou should use your strength wisely. ,f you follow your emotions0 you will waste your energy. ?ou should have sex with your husband or wife0 and not with anyone else. 6ur lives belong to 2od. 2od has shown us how we should live. -e will be kind to us when we obey his instructions. As your own ta.s belong to you 1verse 1$40 so a husband and wife belong together. @erses 1'8!) ;arriage is 2od/s gift. A husband and wife should give themselves to each other. They should en9oy their marriage. They should love each other. They attract each other0 and this is good. v$1 2od sees everything that you do. -e watches all your actions. v$$ :vil actions are like a tra. for an evil man.
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-is own evil deeds are like an enemy who ties u. the evil man. v$% An evil man will die0 because he has no disci.line. -e wanders because he is a fool. @erse !1 Perha.s0 like >avid0 we do some wrong things in secret 1! +amuel cha.ters 11 and 1!4. A woman might tem.t a man. They might think that nobody knows. They are wrong because 2od knows. -e sees our secret actions. -e knows everything that we do in .rivate. <ike >avid0 if we have done wrong things0 we should turn to 2od. >avid/s .rayer in Psalm $1 will hel. us to understand why we must ask 2od to forgive us. @erses !!8!" The evil man is foolish. -e thinks that he is free. But his evil behaviour will make him into a slave. -e can hide his actions from other .eo.le. But he cannot hide from 2od 1Eumbers "!5!"4. This man/s evil behaviour will destroy him. This man should invite 2od into his life. This man needs to ask 2od to forgive him. 2od will save the evil man0 but only if the man trusts 2od.

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Proverbs chapter (
v1 ;y son0 follow this advice when you make a mistake. Perha.s you .romised to .ay a neighbour/s debt. ?ou thought that your neighbour would return your money. v$ But your .lan failed. +o your words became like a tra. for an animal. v% Collow my advice0 and free yourselfD +ince your neighbour can hurt you0 be humbleD Ask your neighbour to free youD v& >o not delayD >o not waitD >o not slee.D v' Cree yourselfD Bun0 as a wild animal runs from its hunterD :sca.e0 as a bird flies from a tra.D @erses 18! ,n this .oem0 +olomon com.ares our mistakes to a hunter/s tra.. When a hunter works0 he may build tra.s. -e hides his tra.s so that animals will not see them. -e ho.es that the animals will fall into his tra.s. Then he can kill and eat the animals. ,n our lives0 our mistakes can be like tra.s. Perha.s we want to do the right thing. Perha.s our .lans are good. But our best .lans could fail. Then0 like a tra.0 our .lans can destroy us. ,n verse 10 +olomon/s son had good intentions. -e wanted to hel. his neighbour. The son trusted the neighbour. The son tried to do the right thing0 but the neighbour would not do the right thing. ,f his neighbour could not .ay0 +olomon/s son .romised to .ay instead. Eow0 his neighbour has failed to .ay. The lender ex.ects +olomon/s son to .ay. The son/s .lan failed and now he is in danger. +ometimes we .lace ourselves in danger. 6ur own choices can become like tra.s. ;any .eo.le suffer from alcohol or from dangerous drugs. 6riginally0 they 9ust wanted to en9oy themselves. When they tried to sto.0 they failed. Eow they must ask 2od to hel. them. They must remember that 2od is greater than them. A doctor could also hel. them. We all do wrong things against 2od. This behaviour is also like a tra.. We cannot free ourselves. Paul wrote0 AWhen , want to do good things0 evil thoughts attract me. ;y s.irit loves 2od/s law. But my body fights against my mind. , am like someone in .rison. This is because evil behaviour controls my body./ 1Bomans &5!18!"4 But there is an answer to this .roblem. 2od can free us. ,f we ask 2od0 then he will forgive us. And he will hel. us to control our behaviour. -e will teach disci.line to us. Paul continued0 AThank8you0 2od. 2od frees me through 3esus Christ./ 1Bomans &5!$4 @erse " Be humbleD The Bible warns us not to be .roud. 3esus said0 A,f you are humble0 like a little child0 then you will be great in heaven./ 1;atthew 1'5&4 3ames wrote0 ABe humble. Then 2od will give you honour./ 13ames #51)4 ,f +olomon/s son was .roud0 he could not esca.e. -e is like an animal in a tra.. -e cannot free himself. -e must ask for freedom. -e must ask for hel.. We have all done wrong things0 against 2od. We must be humble. We must ask 2od to forgive us. 6nly 2od can do this. @erse # ,f we want freedom0 then we must not be la=y. We must not delay until tomorrow. ,f we delay0 then we might never take action. 2od calls us to trust him now. >o not be like *ing Agri..a. Paul s.oke to the king about 3esus. Agri..a answered0 A?ou cannot .ersuade me so 7uickly to become a Christian./ -e was not ready to trust 2od. Perha.s he was never ready to trust 2od. 1Acts !%5!'4

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:arlier0 Paul s.oke to a ruler called Celix. Celix said0 A, will s.eak to you at a convenient time./ Celix never trusted 2od. -e waited. Although he s.oke again to Paul0 Celix never found the Aconvenient time/ to trust in 2od. 1Acts !#5!$4 @erse $ We should act 7uickly0 like an animal that runs to esca.e from a hunter. v( >o not be la=yD Think about the antD 1Ants are insects. They live in large grou.s.4 <earn from the ant0 and so be wiseD v- ,t has no king. ,t has no general and no ruler. v" Without any leadershi.0 ants store food in summer. They also collect the harvest. @erses %8' As Christians0 we should work. We might have a 9ob. We might look after .eo.le0 for exam.le our families. We might do 2od/s work0 .erha.s as a church leader. We might do various tasks. Whatever we do0 we should not be la=y. +olomon writes about insects. Ants are a common ty.e of insect. Ants work together0 in grou.s. They are wise because they store food. They do not waste their time. ,n ! Thessalonians "51)0 some Christians refused to work. The church gave food to them. Paul told the church not to do this. A,f a man will not work0 then he shall not eat./ -e added0 A>o not get too tired to do the right things./ 1! Thessalonians "51"4 Paul obeyed this lesson himself. >aily0 he s.oke about 2od to the .eo.le. -owever0 the church did not .rovide Paul/s wages. Paul deserved money0 because he worked for 2od. Paul deserved money0 but he did not acce.t money from the church. ,nstead0 he decided to work. -e made tents. -e earned enough money for himself0 and also for other Christian workers. -e worked very hard. Paul did this0 because 3esus taught0 A2od makes the giver even more glad than the .erson who receives./ 1Acts !)5"$4 We also must work to hel. other .eo.le. ABelief is good0 only if you do good things. Perha.s someone has no food and no clothes. ?ou might tell him0 J2o awayD , ho.e that you will be warm. , ho.e that you get a meal.K But then you do nothing to hel.. This is not good. Belief achieves nothing unless you hel. .eo.le./ 13ames !51#81&4 v! ?ou are la=y. -ow long will you lie thereL v1. ?ou say0 A<et me have another slee.. <et me have some more rest. <et me relax./ v11 Then suddenly you awake. ?ou find that you have become .oor. ?ou have lost everything. ,t is as if a thief has stolen everything. @erses (811 +olomon em.hasises that we must not be la=y. When it is time to work0 we must not slee.. ,n verse (0 +olomon asks the slee.er how long he will slee.. ,n verse 1)0 we hear what the slee.er thinks. -e does not want to get u.. -owever0 he must wake. ,t is time to work. ,t is as if a thief is at the door. The slee.er must act 7uickly. 6therwise0 he is in great trouble. -e might lose everything. 1 Thessalonians $ discusses this idea. -owever0 the situation in 1 Thessalonians is different. The Bible says that0 one day0 3esus will return to this world. That day will come suddenly0 like the arrival of a thief. +ome .eo.le will not be ready. AWe must not slee.. We must stay awake. We must be ready. +lee.ers slee. at night. >runks drink alcohol at night. But we belong to the day./ 11 Thessalonians $5%8'4. v1$ <ook out for the evil manD <ook out for the thiefD -is mouth is s.eaking false words. v1% <ook out for his signalsD -e shuts his eyes. -e moves his feet. -e ta.s his fingers.
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v1& -e is .lotting evil .lans in his heart. -e starts arguments. v1' -is .unishment will be sudden. There will be no remedy for him. @erses 1!81$ +ometimes0 an evil .erson is easy to identify. At other times0 we must be careful. ! Thessalonians !5& mentions a Asecret/ evil .ower. The evil man in verses 1!81$ is dangerous because his evil .lan is secret. -is signals are small0 but these signals might hel. us to identify him. ;atthew &51$8!) ex.lains how to identify evil .eo.le. We must look for the results of these .eo.le/s actions. AA good tree cannot have bad fruit. A bad tree cannot have good fruit./ 1;atthew &51'4 ,f we see a .oisonous tree0 its fruit is .oisonous. ,f we see a good tree 1for exam.le0 an a..le tree40 its fruit is good. Consider the actions of the man in Proverbs %51!81$. ,n verse 1!0 he s.eaks false words. +uch behaviour is not good. ,t warns us about the man/s true character. ,n verse 1#0 he starts arguments. This man/s behaviour is evil. We should not trust him. We cannot see that the man is .lotting an evil .lan in his heart 1verse 1#4. -owever0 we can already hear his arguments. And we can hear his false words. The results of his actions are wrong. -e is like the bad tree in ;atthew &51'. The man/s actions are evil0 so his .lan will also be evil. v1( 2od o..oses % things. ,n fact he hates & things5 v1- .roud eyes a mouth that s.eaks lies hands that murder v1" a heart that makes evil .lans the feet of a .erson who rushes to do evil deeds v1! a witness who tells lies a man who starts arguments between brothers. @erse 1% @erses 1%81( use a different style of .oetry. The .oet writes a list of things that 2od o..oses. This style is also in Proverbs ") and in the Book of Amos. The numbers in these lists are not im.ortant. -owever0 the sub9ects are im.ortant. -ere the .oet tells us that 2od hates these evil actions. @erse 1& AProud eyes/. The .oet is describing someone who is .roud. -e mentions Aeyes/0 because we see other .eo.le with our eyes. The evil man thinks that he is greater than other .eo.le. Perha.s he even thinks that he is greater than 2od. 2od o..oses .roud .eo.le. 2od wants us to be humble. A<ies/ and Amurder/ are in the 1) commands. 2od gave this law to ;oses. +ee >euteronomy #. @erse 1' Today we might say Amind/ instead of Aheart/. 2od knows our thoughts. -e knows our secret .lans. @erse 1( Contrast this verse with Psalm 1""51. A,t is good when brothers live together calmly./ The evil man wants to start an argument0 or even a war. ABrothers/ does not only mean family members here. ,t can also mean neighbours and friends. ,t could even mean nations. Peace is good 8 it is 2od/s gift. +ometimes a war might be right0 if0 for exam.le0 one side does a terribly evil deed. -owever0 even in war0 we must look after .eo.le and try to work for .eace. We should always .ray for .eace. v$. ;y son0 kee. my commandsD >o not forget the things that your mother taught youD v$1 Always kee. these words in your heartD
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Wear these words about your neckD v$$ When you walk0 my words will guide you. When you slee.0 they will .rotect you. When you wake0 they will s.eak to you. v$% These commands are like a lam.. This lesson is like a light. Correction and disci.line are the way to live. v$& This lesson will .rotect you when a married woman tem.ts you. ,t will .rotect you from her attractive words. v$' >o not allow her beauty to tem.t youD >o not allow her .retty eyes to attract youD v$( A man may hire certain women for sex. These women will make him .oor. But if the man has sex with another man/s wife0 it will cost him everything. ,n the end it will lead to his death. v$- >o not light a fire against your bodyD ,t will burn your clothes. v$" >o not walk on hot coalsD They will burn your feet. v$! The same ha..ens if you slee. with another man/s wife. ,f you even touch her0 that man will .unish you. @erses !)8!1 We should love wisdom. Wisdom should be in our hearts and in our minds. We cannot .hysically kee. wisdom in our hearts. We might not .hysically carry wise words about our necks. But we can live in a wise manner. @erse !! <ife is like a 9ourney. Wisdom will guide us each day. Wisdom will hel. us to make the right decisions. At night when we slee.0 our wise decisions will .rotect us. As we wake0 we can think about wisdom. The relationshi. between us and 2od must be like this. 2od will guide us to make good decisions every day. The Bible will teach us the right way. At night0 2od watches over us. -e .rotects us. As we wake0 we should think about 2od/s word. @erse !" This is similar to Psalm 11(51)$. A2od/s word is like a lam. for my feet. 2od/s word is like a light for my .ath./ @erse !# +olomon is writing about sex0 but he is also writing about other evil actions. +ometimes an idea about an evil action attracts us. +ometimes we want to do evil things. But we should refuse to do evil things. +olomon has taught this lesson to us before. +ee Proverbs !51%81(0 and Proverbs $. -e will also ex.lain the same lesson in Proverbs &. -e re.eats the lesson because this is im.ortant. ,n Proverbs %5!$8!(0 +olomon ex.lains about .unishment. A husband will .unish the man that slee.s with the husband/s wife. ,n the same way0 our evil behaviour leads to .unishment. 2od will always .unish our evil behaviour. There are .unishments in this world0 for exam.le0 .rison. The Bible teaches us about heaven and hell after we die. :veryone has done evil things0 so everyone must turn to 2od. We all must trust 2od0 because only 2od can forgive us. When 3esus died0 he suffered our .unishment. @erse !% ,f a man has sex with a woman0 she might use him for her advantage. +he might ask for money. +he might .ut him in danger. -e might even die. @erses !&8!'
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Cire is dangerous. ,t can burn you. Fse fire carefullyD +ex is also dangerous. ?ou should only have sex with your husband or wife. 6therwise0 it is dangerous. Be carefulD 6ur evil actions are dangerous. These actions can send us to hell. :sca.e from evil thingsD Trust in 2odD v%. We can understand why a hungry thief steals food. v%1 -owever0 if we catch him0 he must .ay & times over. -e might lose all his money. v%$ The man0 who slee.s with another man/s wife0 has a worse fate. -e is making a wrong decision. -e is destroying himself. v%% -e will receive .ain and insults. -is shame lasts always. v%& The woman/s husband will be 9ealous and angry. -e will not forgive. v%' -e will refuse money. Eo gift can take away his anger. @erses ")8"1 This thief is hungry. -e has no food. -is family also have no food. +o0 this thief steals0 because he needs food. We can sym.athise with him. -owever0 the law will .unish him. The law does not forgive. The law does not ask if he needed food. -is .unishment is severe. +ome .eo.le do wrong actions0 because they hate 2od. 6ther .eo.le sincerely want to do good things0 but they still do evil things. :veryone must trust in 2od0 because everyone does wrong actions. A,f you obey one law0 but not another0 then you are still guilty. ?our actions are against the whole law0 not 9ust one .art./ 13ames !51)8114 @erses "!8"$ The thief 1in verse ")4 suffered a severe .unishment. The man 1in verse "!4 will have a worse .unishment. This man had sex with another man/s wife. The husband will .unish him. There is a double .unishment for the man who had sex with the wife. -e receives .unishment because his actions were evil. -e also receives .unishment from the angry husband. The Bible says that 2od can be angry. -e is angry about our evil behaviour. -e is angry when our actions are unfair. -e is angry with us0 if we turn against him. A man/s anger may be terrible. 2od/s anger is much worse. A2od/s anger comes from heaven. -e hates .eo.le/s wicked actions. ;en hide the truth when they do wrong things./ 1Bomans 151'4 A2od/s anger is against the .eo.le who do not obey 2od./ 1:.hesians $5%4 2od is angry0 but he also loves us. ;icah .rays this to 2od5 AThere is no other god like you. ?ou forgive the evil things that your .eo.le have done. ?ou are not always angry. ?ou want to love us. ?ou will care for us again. ?ou will forgive our wrong actions. ?ou will forgive com.letely. ?ou will act as if you threw the records of our evil deeds into the sea./ 1;icah &51'81(4

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Proverbs chapters - to !
The last0 and greatest0 of +olomon/s lessons0 begins here. +ince cha.ter 10 we have read the words that +olomon taught to his son. Eow0 in cha.ters &8(0 +olomon teaches his final lesson to his son. 1+olomon/s lessons end in cha.ter (. Crom cha.ter 1)0 the Book of Proverbs lists short .roverbs 1wise words4.4 ,n these cha.ters0 +olomon writes three great .oems. The first great .oem is in cha.ter &. This .oem is about a woman who tem.ts a sim.le man. This man behaves like a fool0 because he trusts her. -e does not realise what will ha..en to him. The second great .oem is in cha.ter '. This .oem is a s.eech. The s.eaker is the woman called Wisdom. :veryone should listen to her words. The final great .oem is cha.ter (. This .oem contrasts the woman called Wisdom0 against another woman0 called AThe Coolish Woman/. Both women invite the sim.le .eo.le to a meal. ,f you acce.t the right invitation0 then you will live. ,f you acce.t the other invitation0 then you will die.

Proverbs chapter v1 ;y son0 kee. my words safelyD Bemember my commandsD v$ ?ou will live if you obey my commands. Protect these instructions as carefully as you .rotect your eyesD v% Tie my words on your fingersD *ee. my words in your heartD v& Wisdom is like your sister. These lessons are like your closest friend. v' Wisdom will .rotect you from another man/s wife. Wisdom will save you from the woman who tem.ts you. @erses 18# Previously0 +olomon told us to learn to be wise 1Proverbs !5!4. Eow0 he tells us to kee. wisdom in our hearts. Previously0 +olomon told us to acce.t wisdom 1Proverbs !514. Eow he tells us that Wisdom is like our sister. 1-e is com.aring wisdom to a woman.4 +olomon/s lesson is a very .ersonal lesson. Wisdom must be close to us. Wisdom must become .art of us. Wisdom must be .art of our lives. Wisdom must guide every decision. @erse $ :s.ecially0 wisdom will .rotect us when evil things attract us. As in earlier cha.ters0 +olomon writes about sex. -owever0 he is thinking about all ty.es of evil behaviour. -is story warns us about .eo.le who tem.t us with their evil ideas. ,n the story0 a woman tem.ts a man to have sex. +olomon shows how one .erson can tem.t another .erson. -e also shows us the result if we do evil things. v( , stood at my window. , looked through the curtains. v- , was watching the sim.le .eo.le. , saw a young man. -e was a youth. And he had not learned to be wise. v" -e walked along the street. -e went near to the corner where a certain woman lived. -e was walking towards her house. v! The time was late. The day was ending. The night was beginning. The sky was becoming dark. @erse %
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The story begins here. +olomon was watching the .eo.le. -e was watching0 because he wanted to learn more. -e wanted to see other .eo.le/s mistakes. -e wanted to understand more. -e wanted to become wiser. @erse & +olomon saw a young man who was Asim.le/. 1+ee my note on Proverbs 15#.4 This young man had not learned to be wise. -e was in danger0 because he was not wise. ,t was easy to tem.t him. -e did not think about what was right. @erse ' We want to shout to the young man0 A+to.D/ -e walked along the wrong road. >own that road0 there was danger. -e a..roached the .lace where the woman would tem.t him. The young man was sim.le. -e did not think about wisdom. Perha.s his father never taught the young man. Perha.s the young man never listened to his lessons. ;aybe he forgot about wisdom. -e made a terrible mistake. @erse ( The young man was in the wrong .lace0 at the wrong time. :ven when we are strong0 we might think wrong thoughts. -owever0 when we are weak0 evil ideas can tem.t us more easily. Eight was beginning. The young man was looking for fun. -e did not trust in 2od. -e was very weak. ABe carefulD ?our enemy is the devil. -e walks about0 like a lion. -e is looking for someone to kill and to eat./ 11 Peter $5'4 We must stand firm and trust in 2od. v1. Then0 a woman came out. +he met him. -er clothes were thin and they showed the sha.e of her body. +he had a .lan. v11 1+he is noisy and .roud. +he never stays at home. v1$ +he walks from the street to the city s7uare. +he waits at every corner.4 v1% +he hugged the young man and she kissed him. +he s.oke to him. -er face looked .roud and without shame. @erse 1) The young man was alone. Perha.s he was lonely. -e was weak. -e wanted fun. Then0 the woman came. +he looked .retty. +he looked sexy. 1That is0 her clothes showed the sha.e of her body.4 The young man liked her. -e needed an activity for that evening. The woman looked like the answer to his .roblem. Women should choose their clothes carefully. They want to look beautiful. ,n some countries0 sexy clothes are fashionable. But0 these clothes can tem.t men. These clothes can cause many .roblems. A?ou should be beautiful. -owever0 you should not use clothes0 haircuts or gold0 to make you look beautiful. ,nstead0 your s.irit should be beautiful. ?ou should be gentle and 7uiet. 2od considers these things valuable./ 11 Peter "5"8#4 @erse 1181! This woman went everywhereD The young man could not miss herD This is like any evil idea. ,f you try to do evil things0 then you will do evil things. There is a woman like this in every town. +he is in every street. And there are always evil things that we could do. @erse 1" The man and woman hugged. Then they kissed. This is like tem.ting an animal into a tra.. The animal might still esca.e. There is still ho.e. The animal must act 7uickly to esca.e. ,t must not delay. The man could still esca.e. -e could still run away from the woman. :ach moment brought the man into more and more danger. +oon he would be unable to esca.e. v1& The woman said0 A, have .lenty of food at my home.
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, have done the things that , needed to do. v1' , came out to meet you. , searched for you. Eow , have found you. v1( , have made my bed with beautiful cottons. , have use the best cloth from :gy.t. v1- ;y bed smells of wonderful .erfumes 1attractive smells that a woman uses to attract a man4. v1" Come0 and drink with meD -ave sex with me until morningD We will en9oy ourselves with love. v1! ;y husband is not at home. -e went on a long 9ourney. v$. -e took enough money. -e will not return until next month./ v$1 The woman .ersuaded the young man. +he led him away. +he tem.ted him with easy words. v$$ +uddenly0 he followed her. -e was like a cow on the day when it will die. -e was like a deer 1animal4 that walks into the hunter/s tra.. v$% An arrow shootsD -e was like a bird that enters a tra.. -e did not realise that his action would cause his death. @erse 1$ This was a lie. @erse 11 told us0 Ashe never stays at home/. The woman was looking for any man. To her0 this man was not s.ecial. +he 9ust wanted to have sex with him. +he 9ust wanted to destroy him. @erse 1%81& The woman talked about her bed. Eow0 we are sure that she was thinking about sex. +he wanted to get the man into her bed. +urely the man realised her .lan. Perha.s he hesitated. ,f so0 he did not esca.e. ,nstead0 he waited. -e let her s.eak. +he s.oke0 and tem.ted him more. @erse 1' Then the young man knew the truth. +he invited him to stay for the night0 in her bed. +he .romised love0 but really she wanted sex. @erse 1( The woman told the young man that he was safe. But0 she had a husband. ,f the young man sle.t with the woman0 then the husband would be angry. This is dangerous. ,f the young man were wise0 he would esca.e now. -e should run away. -e must not delay. A right decision would save him. A wrong decision could kill him. Crom his window0 +olomon watched them. -e heard the woman/s words. -e saw the man make his decision. +olomon ho.ed that the young man was wise. +olomon ho.ed that the young man would make the right decision. @erse !! The end came suddenly. As +olomon watched by the moon/s light0 the young man turned. The woman started to walk away. Then the young man followed the woman. Together they walked into her house. Eobody could sto. them. Eobody could save the young man. The way that the man followed the woman reminded +olomon of something. ,t reminded him of an animal that was soon to die. <ike a bird in a tra.0 the young man had lost everything. Wisdom would have saved him. @erse !"
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+olomon saw no more. But then he says that the young man died. +olomon is ex.laining what might ha..en to such a man in the end. +olomon/s message is clear. We should learn to be wise. Then we shall esca.e from danger. We must refuse to do evil things. 6therwise0 we shall be in great danger. v$& Eow0 my sons0 listen to me. -ear my wordsD v$' >o not allow your heart to follow this woman. >o not wander into her .aths. v$( This woman has attacked many .eo.le. +he has caused a whole crowd of .eo.le to die. v$- -er house is on the road to hell. +he will lead you to your death. @erse !# +olomon s.eaks to his Asons/ 1.lural4. ,n verse 10 he was s.eaking only to one son. The story was a .ersonal lesson0 to a loved son. Eow0 he s.eaks to us all. We all need to be wise. We all need to be careful. @erse !$ +olomon is not writing about the actual woman whom he saw. -e is writing about women like her. But he is really thinking about evil ideas. These thoughts can s.oil your life. They will take you to death and hell 1verse !&4. 6bey 2odD >o not obey your evil thoughtsD @erses !%8!& ,n the story0 the woman offered love0 but instead she caused great danger. +he offered fun and life0 but she gave only death. :vil ideas might seem attractive. But such thoughts are really lies. ,n reality0 evil behaviour will only hurt us. :vil behaviour has ruined the lives of many .eo.le. And evil behaviour continues to ruin lives today.

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Proverbs chapter "

v1 The woman0 who is called Wisdom0 calls out. The woman0 who is called ,ntelligence0 is shouting. v$ +he shouts from the hills by the road. +he stands at the cross8roads. v% +he is at the city gate. +he shouts at the entrance to the city. @erse 1 This is the second of +olomon/s three great .oems. Wisdom0 like a woman0 gives a s.eech to all the .eo.le. ,n verse 10 there are not two women. Wisdom is one woman0 but she has two names. -er names are Wisdom and ,ntelligence. This is because wisdom is the same thing as intelligence. Bight decisions and accurate knowledge are also the same thing as wisdom. All these things will be ours when we trust in 2od. They do not come immediately. We need to learn to be wise. This is a slow .rocess. :ach day0 we should learn new lessons. 2od teaches us in different ways. +ometimes he teaches us from the Bible. +ometimes he uses other .eo.le to teach us. +ometimes he uses nature or other methods to teach us. ,f we are teachers0 then we must be .atient. ,t takes many years to learn law or medicine. ,n the same way0 many .eo.le are slow to learn wisdom. :ven for true Christians0 some lessons can take years to learn. A church leader is a ty.e of teacher. -e teaches the .eo.le that he serves. 6ften0 he must re.eat the same lessons several times. The teacher must try to be a model for his .eo.le. -e cares for them. -e tries to advise them about the Bible. -e .rays for them. The teacher himself also needs to learn more. -e knows that he is not .erfect. @erses !8" The evil woman 1in Proverbs &51!4 went everywhere. Wisdom is also everywhere. Wherever .eo.le are0 Wisdom is there. 1Wisdom is like a woman.4 +he is waiting to advise them. +he wants to hel. them. +he will guide them to make right decisions. +he will show them good ways. +he will hel. them to trust in 2od. ;any .eo.le do not listen to Wisdom. They do not want her advice. +he still calls out0 because her message is im.ortant to everyone. v& A, am calling to you0 men. , am shouting to everybody. v' ,f you are sim.le0 then learn to be wise. ,f you are foolish0 then learn to be intelligent. v( <isten to meD ;y words are good. ;y words are right. v- , am telling the truth to you. , hate evil words. v" All my words are fair. , do not say anything that is wrong. v! The wise .erson knows that all my words are right. The intelligent .erson knows that my words are .erfect. v1. ;y lessons are better than silver. ;y knowledge is better than gold. v11 Wisdom is more valuable than .recious stones. Eo valuable things com.are with her./
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@erse # This is a message to everyone. Wisdom 1the woman4 s.eaks to the .eo.le in every nation. ?ou may be rich or .oor. ?ou may be a ruler0 or an ordinary .erson. ?ou may be a man or a woman. ?ou may be young or old. :veryone needs to be wise. @erse $ +olomon uses s.ecial meanings for the words Asim.le/ and Afoolish/. The Afool/ is .roud and la=y. -e does not want to serve 2od. -e hates wisdom. -e .refers to do evil things. ,f you try to teach a fool0 he will hate you. -e will only learn if 2od changes him. The Asim.le/ .erson does not know what is right or wrong. -e has not learned to be wise. -e chooses to do evil things0 because Aeverybody does it/. But you can teach a sim.le .erson. A sim.le .erson can learn to be wise. @erses %8( The woman called Wisdom s.eaks good words. -er words are always true 1verse %4. They are fair 1verse &4. +he does not s.eak wrong words 1verse &4. :verything that she says is .erfect 1verse (4. 2od is like this. -e uses the Bible to teach us. The Bible is the word of 2od. The Bible is always true 1Psalm 11(5'(4. The Bible is fair 1Psalm 11(5&$4. The Bible is never wrong 1Psalm 11(5%'4. ,t is .erfect 1Psalm 11(51"&81"'4. @erses 1)811 ;oney is not really valuable. +ilver and gold are beautiful0 but they cannot give a good life to you. Wisdom is valuable. Wisdom is better than money0 silver or gold. The Bible is also better than these things. A, love 2od/s commands more than the .urest gold./ 1Psalm 11(51!&4 @erses 1)811 are similar to Proverbs "51#81$. ,n Proverbs "0 +olomon is s.eaking to his son about the woman called Wisdom. A+he is worth more than silver. +he is even more valuable than gold. +he is more valuable than .recious stones. Eo valuable things com.are with her./ Eow0 in verses 1)8110 Wisdom herself agrees that this is true. v1$ A, am Wisdom. , am skilful. , have knowledge. , make the right decisions. v1% To res.ect 2od is to hate evil things. , hate .roud and greedy .eo.le. , hate lies. And , hate evil deeds. v1& ;y advice is good. ;y decisions are right. , am intelligent. , have .ower. v1' *ings rule by my wisdom. Bulers make fair laws by my wisdom. v1( Princes govern by my wisdom. :very good leader has my wisdom. v1- , love the .eo.le who love me. :veryone that looks for me can find me. v1" ;y gifts are wealth and honour. And my wealth will last0 because it is good. v1! The results of my work are better than fine gold. The reward that , give is better than fine silver. v$. ;y actions are fair and right. v$1 , give wealth to those who love me. , fill their rooms with valuable things./ @erse 1! ,f you are wise0 then you will also be skilful. ?our wisdom will hel. you to make the right decisions. @erse 1" The first lesson in wisdom is that we must res.ect 2od.
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Wisdom hates these things5 :vil deeds. When we serve 2od0 we should not do evil actions. 2od will teach us to do the right things. ,f we do wrong things0 then we must ask 2od to forgive us. Proud .eo.le. A .roud .erson trusts in himself. -e will not listen to 2od. -e will not listen to other .eo.le. 2reedy .eo.le. 2od wants us to be generous. <ies. 2od loves the truth. @erses 1$81% +olomon0 who wrote the Book of Proverbs0 was a king. -e knew that he was res.onsible for many .eo.le. When he was young0 he wanted to be a good king. -e studied wisdom so that he would rule wisely. All rulers and leaders can learn from him. A king should not use his .ower to steal money from other .eo.le. -is .eo.le should not suffer so that he can have fun. -e should care about the .eo.le. -e should rule them fairly. -is laws should be fair. -e should use his .ower carefully. :veryone who has res.onsibility for other .eo.le should think about this. :m.loyers0 rulers and 9udges need 2od/s wisdom. Church leaders also need 2od/s wisdom. @erses 1'81( The best wealth is not money or gold. Bich .eo.le can lose their money. But wisdom is not like money. When we learn wisdom0 it will benefit our whole lives. @erse !1 The woman called Wisdom is generous. +he gives true wealth. We can love many things. +ome .eo.le love wine. But too much wine will kill them. +ome .eo.le love money. But they can lose everything in a single day. ,f we love wisdom0 then 2od will look after us. -e cares about us. 3esus said0 A<ove 2od0 with all your heart0 s.irit and mindD This is the first and greatest law./ 1;atthew !!5"&8"'4 v$$ 2od used his wisdom when he started his work. This was before ancient times. v$% ;y name is WisdomD , existed from the beginning. , existed even before 2od created the world. v$& , was born before he made the seas. , was there before the waters flowed. v$' ;y birth was before 2od made the mountains. , was born before he made the hills. v$( , was there0 before the earth0 or the soil0 or the fields. v$- , was there5 when 2od made the heavens when he drew the hori=ons u.on the seas v$" when he .ut the clouds in the sky when he made the dee. waters v$! when he chose the limits of the sea 1-e made a law that the waters would not flood the earth.4 when he set the earth firmly in .lace. v%. When he did all this0 , was his worker. , worked at his side. >ay after day0 , was glad to be with him. v%1 , was glad when , saw his world. Peo.le were my delight./ The woman called Wisdom continues her s.eech. +he ex.lains how 2od made the world. @erse !!
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We all need wisdom. :ven 2od used his wisdom to make the world. ,n the beginning0 before ancient times0 wisdom was there. @erse !" Wisdom is like 2od/s word. 2od/s word existed in the beginning. And 2od/s word created the world0 when 2od the Cather gave his command. 13ohn 1514 The Aword/ is another name for 3esus. 3esus always existed with 2od in heaven. 3esus is the +on of 2od. There is only one 2od0 but 3esus is 2od. This is difficult to understand. We cannot understand everything about 2od. We must trust 2od about the things that we do not understand. @erse !#8!( The .oem described how 2od made the world. 2od worked carefully. -e loves .eo.le. +o he .re.ared a beautiful home for us. Com.are this with 2enesis 1. The .oem talks about the Abirth/ of wisdom. This is .oetry. The .oet is not saying that one day0 wisdom was born. -e does not think that before this0 there was no wisdom. 2od was wise0 even before ancient times. 2od was wise0 even before he made the world. 2od has always been wise. @erses ")8"1 2od worked with Wisdom. 1+olomon continues to com.are wisdom with a woman.4 Together0 2od and Wisdom were glad to see the world. Together0 they were ha..y about 2od/s work. :s.ecially0 they were glad to see the .eo.le. 2od made .eo.le to be in his image 12enesis 15!%4. This means that .eo.le should behave like him. Peo.le should use wisdom. When .eo.le make things0 they should be wise. When they lead other .eo.le0 they should be wise. These verses are also sad. They describe what 2od wanted. 2od/s .lan was that he would live with us. But the .eo.le refused 2od/s love 12enesis "5(81"4. They refused wisdom. 3esus died to bring us back to 2od. We should trust in 2od. We should greatly desire 2od/s wisdom. v%$ A;y sons0 listen to me. , am called Wisdom. , will bless you if you kee. my commands. v%% <isten to my lesson0 and be wiseD >o not refuse my wisdomD v%& , make the man ha..y who hears me. >aily0 he watches at my door and waits for me. v%' The .erson who finds me finds life. 2od will be kind to him. v%( -owever0 the .erson who does not find me hurts himself. ,f you hate me0 then you love death./ @erse "! The woman0 Wisdom0 asks us to listen to her. +he will bless us. +he will teach us to be wise. We must not refuse her advice. @erses "#8"$ ,f a man listens to wisdom0 then he will benefit. This man does not 9ust listen to one lesson0 and then walk away. :very day0 he wants more wisdom. -e is like a child who is waiting at his mother/s door. The child waits for mother to wake0 so that she will teach himD We should always want to learn more wisdom. 2od will be kind to us0 if we do this. @erse "% ,f a man refuses wisdom0 then he will suffer. -is .unishment is severe. A man who hates wisdom will die.

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Proverbs chapter !
+olomon/s last0 great lesson to his son is almost com.lete. Perha.s +olomon .aused here. ;aybe he thought about whether he had taught enough. -is young son needed the full facts. The son needed to decide between wise behaviour and evil behaviour. -is decision would guide his entire life. ,n the future0 the son would be king0 like his father +olomon. Then0 the son would become .owerful. +olomon wanted the son to choose wisdom. +olomon decided to add a final0 great .oem. This .oem would ex.lain wisdom to his son0 but it would also ex.lain the o..osite of wisdom. Then0 at last0 the son would know enough. Then0 the son could make his own decision. The son must choose whether he wanted to be wise. ,f not0 the son would be a fool0 and the whole nation would suffer. v1 The woman called Wisdom has built a s.lendid house. +he has made & columns for her house. v$ +he has .re.ared the food. +he has .oured out the wine. -er table is ready for a meal. v% -er servants have left to fetch the guests. +he declares her message from the highest .lace in the city. @erse 1 The woman0 called Wisdom0 has worked hard. +he has decided to invite guests. +he has even built a s.ecial house to give them a s.ecial welcome. The house has & columns0 so it is large. ,t is com.lete0 and it is .erfect. The number & may refer to the & instructions in verses %81!. @erse ! :verything is ready. The woman0 Wisdom0 has made a great meal for her guests. -er guests will not remain hungry. Wisdom has .re.ared everything that they need. 2od .rovides the things that we need. Paul wrote0 A;y 2od will .rovide everything that you need. -e will do this from the riches that are in 3esus./ 1Phili..ians #51(4 3esus said0 A<ook at the birdsD They do not grow their own food. -owever0 2od feeds them. ?ou are more valuable than the birds./ 1;atthew %5!%4 The Bible com.ares heaven with an invitation to a meal. AThe +.irit and the bride say0 JComeDK <et everyone who hears re.eat0 JComeDK ,f you need to drink0 then comeD Take the free gift of the water of lifeD/ 1Bevelation !!51&4 ACome0 if you need to drinkD Come to the waterD ,f you have no money0 then still comeD Without any money0 you can buy and you can eatD Buy wine and milkD ?ou do not need money0 because there is no cost./ 1,saiah $$514 @erse " The servants of Wisdom 1the woman4 go to fetch the guests. Wisdom herself has invited the guests. :veryone can hear her message because everyone must choose whether to learn to be wise. ,n <uke 1#51$8!#0 3esus told a story about a meal. A man invited all his friends to a great meal0 but they all refused. The man was very angry. ,f his friends would not come0 then other .eo.le must en9oy his great meal. -e invited .oor .eo.le and ill .eo.le. -e invited blind .eo.le. -e invited .eo.le who could not walk. :verybody was welcome. 3esus/ story means that we should invite everyone to become Christians. ,f our friends refuse0 we must invite other .eo.le. We can invite .oor .eo.le and ill .eo.le. We can invite .eo.le that we do not like. We can even invite our enemies. 2od wants us to do this. ,n heaven0 2od is .re.aring a great meal. 2od/s house must be full of .eo.le. ,f our friends refuse0 they will not be at 2od/s great meal. 6ther .eo.le will take their .lace. v& A,f you are sim.le0 then come hereD/ +he says this to the unwise .eo.le. v' ACome0 and eat my foodD >rink the wine that , have .ouredD v( <eave your sim.le ways and live wiselyD/
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v- >o not sto. someone who is insulting other .eo.leD -e will only insult you. >o not correct an evil manD -e will attack you. v" >o not correct someone who is insulting other .eo.leD -e will hate you for your interru.tion. +how a wise man how he is wrongD -e will love you for your correction. v! Teach a wise man and he will become still wiser. Teach a good man and he will learn more. v1. Bes.ect 2odD This is the first lesson in wisdom. *now 2odD This is intelligence. v11 , am Wisdom. ,f you learn from me0 you will have a long life. v1$ ,f you are wise0 then your wisdom will reward you. ,f you insult other .eo.le0 then only you will suffer./ @erse # Wisdom0 the woman0 chooses her guests carefully. They are not the guests whom we might select. +he does not choose only clever .eo.le0 whose conversation will be good. +he does not choose only famous .eo.le0 so that other .eo.le will res.ect her. +he does not even select wealthy .eo.le. Wisdom/s guests are Asim.le/ .eo.le. They are .eo.le who do not know about good and evil behaviour. They are .eo.le who do many wrong things. These .eo.le have not yet learned to be wise. Wisdom0 the woman0 wants to teach them. +he wants to show the right way to them. +he wants to lead them to 2od. 3esus said0 AWhen you make a meal0 do not invite your friendsD >o not invite your brothers or your relativesD >o not invite your rich neighboursD ,f you do0 they might invite you back. ?ou wanted to give a gift0 but they will re.ay you. When you make a great meal0 invite .oor .eo.leD ,nvite ill .eo.leD ,nvite blind .eo.leD ,nvite .eo.le who cannot walk. Then 2od will be kind to you. These .eo.le cannot invite you back. ,nstead0 2od will reward you in heaven./ 1<uke 1#51!81#4 @erse % A .erson must do two things to become a Christian5 -e must turn from evil behaviour. The woman called Wisdom0 says0 A<eave your sim.le ways0 and liveD/ -e must trust in 2od. The woman called Wisdom says0 A<ive wiselyD/ Peter ex.lained this in Acts "51(. ABefuse to do evil thingsD Turn to 2odD ,f you do this0 then 2od will forgive you. -e will give a new life to you./ @erse & +ome .eo.le will never listen to you. They refuse to follow advice. They refuse all correction. @erse ' Perha.s0 you think that you are wise. -ere is a test for you. A wise man loves the .erson who corrects him. A wise man learns from the .erson who sees his 1the wise man/s4 errors. ,f you love such a .erson then you are really wise. @erse ( A Christian should always want to learn. The verse s.eaks about a Awise man/ and a Agood man/. A Christian should want to be both Awise/ and Agood/. At church0 he should learn from the .reacher 1that is0 the s.eaker4. At home0 he should learn from his family. At work0 he should learn to be fair and honest. When he is alone0 he should .ray. -e should read the Bible and learn from 2od. ,f he does this0 he will become wiser. -e will learn more. -e will know 2od more and more. @erse 1) A wise .erson is not always intelligent or clever. -e might know only a few things. ;aybe0 he has only learnt his first lesson.

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This is the first lesson5 ABes.ect 2odD/ 2od must be first in our lives. 2od is more im.ortant than our businesses. 2od is more im.ortant than our friends. 2od is even more im.ortant than our families. When we make a decision0 we must first think about 2od. We must ask whether our .lans are good or evil. We must decide whether our .lans give honour to 2od. This is only the first lesson. But it is a great lesson. This lesson will teach us to be wise. ,f we res.ect 2od0 then evil ideas will not attract us. ,f we res.ect 2od0 then we shall try to be fair and honest with other .eo.le. ,f we res.ect 2od0 then money will not control our lives. ,f we res.ect 2od0 then we shall want to learn from 2od. @erse 11 Wisdom0 like a woman0 cares for us. +he is like a mother. ,f a child does not listen to his mother0 then he is in danger. ,f a child learns from his mother0 her instructions will kee. him safe. @erse 1! Wisdom offers a real reward. Wisdom will benefit our whole lives. ,f you refuse to be wise0 then you will suffer. The woman called Wisdom finishes her s.eech. This is her final s.eech in the Book of Proverbs. The .oem is also a..roaching its end. But then we see another woman. This second woman is also shouting out. +he also has an invitation. +he too offers a meal. ,f you are sim.le0 then you might confuse this other woman with Wisdom. ,f you are sim.le0 then you might make a terrible mistake. v1% Another woman shouts aloud. +he is called AThe Coolish Woman/. +he knows nothing. +he has no disci.line. v1& +he sits by the door of her house. +he sits in the highest .lace in the city. v1' +he calls to those who .ass her. +he calls as they walk straight ahead. v1( A,f you are sim.le0 then come hereD/ +he says this to the unwise .eo.le. v1- AThe water that we steal0 tastes good. The food that we eat in secret is wonderful./ v1" >ead .eo.le are in her house. The man that she attracts does not know this. -e does not know that her .revious guests are in hell. @erse 1" The second woman is called AThe Coolish Woman/. Peo.le who acce.t her invitation are foolish. This is why she has this name. Wisdom0 the woman0 says that knowledge is valuable 1Proverbs '51)4. The Coolish Woman does not think so. +he thinks that knowledge has no value. +he knows nothing. @erse 1# The woman called Wisdom .re.ared a fine meal for her guests. Wisdom even built a s.lendid house for them. But the Coolish Woman is la=y. The Coolish Woman did none of these things. +he does not even stand to invite her guests. +he sits down. The messages of the two women both come from the highest .lace in the city. +o everyone will hear both messages. Eobody will miss them. :veryone will receive both invitations. We cannot acce.t both invitations. We must choose. :ither we follow wisdom0 or we are foolish. @erse 1$ The .eo.le walk straight ahead. +olomon com.ares life to a 9ourney. We should walk straight ahead. +ee Proverbs #5!$8!%. We must not allow evil things to attract us. The Coolish Woman calls to .eo.le. +he wants to tem.t them away from the straight .ath. +he wants to take them on the .ath to her house. +he will lead them away from 2od. ,n the end she will destroy them.
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@erse 1% We heard this invitation earlier0 in verse #. The Coolish Woman gives the same words of invitation as the woman called Wisdom. The Coolish Woman also calls Asim.le/ .eo.le. :vil .eo.le have decided already to be foolish. The sim.le .eo.le have not yet decided. The Coolish Woman tries to .ersuade them. +he wants to tem.t them. @erse 1& The Coolish Woman also offers a meal to her guests. -owever0 her meal does not belong to her. +he stole the water. +he must eat in secret. AWater/ reminds us of Proverbs $51$81'. ,n that .assage0 Awater/ refers to love and sex. +o0 the Coolish Woman offers sex. +he Astole/ sex0 so this is not sex between a husband and wife. This is the same invitation as Proverbs &51'8!). This is why the meal is secret. +o the meal also gives the idea of sex. The woman tem.ts the sim.le man with evil ideas. +olomon is thinking about all evil things0 not 9ust sex. ,f we are foolish0 then we shall choose to do evil things. ,f we refuse to be wise0 then we also refuse to follow 2od. :vil actions might feel Agood/. :vil actions might feel Awonderful/. These are only feelingsI they are not reality. The reality is that evil behaviour is always wrong. The reality is that evil behaviour will destroy us. The reality is that 2od hates all evil things. @erse 1' A>eath is like a wage for the .erson who does evil things. But 2od gives us life that will last always0 through 3esus./ 1Bomans %5!"4 >eath and hell are the .unishments for our evil actions. +o we must not do evil things. ,nstead0 we should serve 2od. And we should ask 2od to forgive us. 2od wants us to trust him. 2od/s love is like a free gift. 2od offers real life. We shall not die. We shall live always with him0 in heaven. This is the best invitation. We must make our choice. We can be wise0 or we can be foolish. ;ake the right decisionD 2od wants us all to learn to be wise.

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)he sad story of Solomon and his son

The Book of Proverbs hides a sad story. +olomon was a wise king for most of his life. When he became old0 +olomon forgot his wisdom. -e had many wives. -is wives tem.ted him to serve false gods. -e did not remember 2od0 who gave wisdom to him. -e served false gods. The real 2od was angry with +olomon 11 *ings 115181)4. +olomon wrote Proverbs 151 to Proverbs (51' for his son. -e wanted his son to learn wisdom. +olomon tried to teach his son. +olomon/s son was called Behoboam. Behoboam became the king when +olomon died. Behoboam never followed wisdom. When he became king0 his first decision was to refuse wisdom. -e refused to obey the advice of +olomon/s wise advisers. ,nstead0 he chose advisers who knew nothing 11 *ings 1!5181(4. Behoboam/s first decision was a terrible decision. ;ost of the .eo.le refused to serve Behoboam. There was a revolution and a war. The nation s.lit in two. +olomon led a great nation. -is nation was always at .eace. -is son0 Behoboam0 led a small nation. Behoboam was always at war 11 *ings 1#5")4.

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)he Proverbs (,ise ,ords# of Solomon

(Proverbs 1. 1 to Proverbs $$ 1(#
The second ma9or section in the Book of Proverbs is Proverbs 1)510 to Proverbs !!51%. This section contains "&$ short .oems. ;ost .oems have two lines0 and each .oem is one verse long. :ach .oem is called a A.roverb/. The structure of this section is unusual. +olomon did not se.arate the .roverbs into grou.s. The .roverbs change from one sub9ect to another. -owever0 their order does matter. +olomon uses an Aorganic/ 1that is0 Anatural/4 order. This order is similar to a conversation. Cor exam.le0 one .roverb might ex.lain the .revious one. Another .roverb might contrast with the .revious one. Together0 these .roverbs are like a conversation. ,magine that a grou. of wise .eo.le are talking about wisdom. :ach .erson in the grou. s.eaks briefly. They all listen to each other. Then0 each .erson tells his thoughts or ideas to the other .eo.le. The conversation would be similar to this section of the Book of Proverbs. Because of this structure0 you cannot s.lit these .roverbs into smaller sections. Proverbs 1)51 to Proverbs !!51% belong together. To hel. us to understand their meaning0 , have se.arated the .roverbs into smaller grou.s. 1The cha.ter numbers are not .art of the original book. +ometimes0 they are in the wrong .ositions. Proverbs !!51& should really start a new cha.ter.4 The .roverbs describe our lives. 6ften0 they describe good things in our lives0 for exam.le0 wisdom. +ometimes they describe bad things. They do not always ex.lain whether something is good or bad. ?ou need to use your own wisdom to decide. Cor exam.le0 Proverbs 1)51$ says0 A2reat wealth .rotects a rich man. <ack of wealth ruins a .oor man./ This does not mean that we should try to get great wealth. Proverbs '51) told us that wisdom was better than wealth. Proverbs 1)51$ describes our lives. We should want wisdom more than we want wealth. These .roverbs discuss many different sub9ects. -owever0 all these sub9ects start with the first .roverb. This .roverb is about the difference between a wise son and a foolish son. The difference is 1of course4 wisdom.

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Proverbs chapter 1.
v1 A wise son brings 9oy to his father. A foolish son causes .ain to his mother. v$ ,f you steal money0 then it has no value. ,f you do the right things0 then your actions can save you from death. v% 2od .rovides for good .eo.le. ,f you do evil things0 he will not satisfy your desires. v& The la=y .erson becomes .oor. The busy .erson becomes rich. v' The wise son harvests cro.s in summer. The son that slee.s during the harvest is stu.id. v( 2od gives wonderful things to the good man. Whatever the evil man s.eaks causes trouble. v- With 9oy we remember the good man. We forget the evil man. @erse 1 +everal words in this verse contrast with other words. AWise/ contrasts with Afoolish/. ACather/ contrasts with Amother/. A3oy/ contrasts with A.ain./ ,t does not matter whether you are young or old. ,t does not matter whether you are a man or a woman. ,t does matter whether you are wise or foolish. ,f you are wise0 then you res.ect 2od. ABes.ect 2odD This is the first lesson in wisdom. *now 2odD This is intelligence./ 1Proverbs (51)4 ?our wisdom will hel. other .eo.le. Cor exam.le0 this verse says that wisdom will bring 9oy to a father. ,f you are foolish0 then you live for your own .leasure. ,f you do this0 then you refuse 2od/s wisdom. 6ther .eo.le will suffer because you are a fool. Cor exam.le0 this verse says that a fool will cause .ain to his mother. @erse ! A,f you steal money0 then it has no value./ ?ou could argue that this is not true. ,f someone steals money0 then he can still s.end it. -e can buy many things. A thief can become wealthy. But +olomon argues that this wealth is worth nothing. Wisdom is better than money0 because wisdom can save your life. +o if a .oor man is wise0 then he is richer than a foolish king. @erse " A good .erson is someone who trusts 2od. A good .erson always tries to res.ect 2od. This .erson may make many mistakes0 but he loves 2od. 2od looks after the good .erson. An evil .erson loves cruelty. -e .lots to destroy other .eo.le. 2od o..oses the evil .erson. 2od will ruin this .erson/s .lans. @erses #8$ A wise .erson is not la=y. -e is not afraid to work hard. -e does not steal to make himself rich. -e does not ex.ect other .eo.le to give money to him. A wise man learns from his studies. But a wise man can also learn when he works. @erse % 2od gives good things to the good man. 2od hel.s the man. 2od gives honour to the man. 6ther .eo.le res.ect the good man0 because 2od is .leased with that man. The evil man is not like this. -e hates 2od/s wisdom. -e loves cruelty. :vil things surround him. :ven his words cause trouble. @erse &
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2ood things ha..en when we are with good .eo.le. :vil things ha..en when we are with evil .eo.le. We do not even need to meet them. When we remember them0 this is enough. A memory about a good .erson makes us ha..y. But we try to forget evil men. We .refer not to remember them. We ourselves should do good things0 not evil things. 2od can hel. us to do this. Then0 we shall be hel.ing our families 1verse 14 and also our towns. v" The wise .erson obeys commands. The fool fails because he listens only to himself. v! ,f you choose the right way0 then you will be safe. ,f you wander on a wrong .ath0 you are in danger. v1. :ven a tiny evil signal causes .ain. The fool fails because he listens only to himself. v11 A good man/s words bring life0 as water flows from a fountain. Whatever the evil man s.eaks0 causes trouble. v1$ -ate causes fights. <ove covers everything that is wrong. v1% An intelligent .erson s.eaks wise words. A .erson who has no wisdom will receive .unishment. v1& The knowledge of a wise man increases. The words of a fool cause trouble. @erse ' A wise man obeys instructions. -e tries to learn from other .eo.le. ,f you give instructions to a fool0 he does not listen. By Afool/0 +olomon means a .erson who refuses to obey 2od. A fool only thinks his own thoughts. -e only hears his own words. -e only does what he wants to do. A fool is .roud. -e thinks that he is wiser than other .eo.le. -e thinks that he knows better than 2od. -e trusts only in himself. @erse ( <ife is like a 9ourney. ,f we follow 2od/s commands0 then we choose the right way to live. 2od will .rotect us. ,f we refuse 2od/s wisdom0 then we are in danger. This is like a traveller who wanders in the wrong direction. 6ur wrong actions will lead us to death and hell. @erse 1) A<ook out for the evil manD <ook out for the thiefD -is mouth is s.eaking false words. <ook out for his signalsD -e shuts his eyes. -e moves his feet. -e ta.s his fingers. -e is .lotting evil .lans in his heart. -e starts arguments. -is .unishment will be sudden. There will be no remedy for him./ 1Proverbs %51!81$4. ,n this .assage0 an evil man said few words0 but .lotted an evil .lan. -is tiny movements showed that he had an evil .lan. ,n the first line of verse 1)0 the man is silent. ,n the second line0 the man talks loudly to himself. Both men are evil. Both men have evil .lans. A .erson who 7uietly makes evil .lans causes trouble. -e is res.onsible for his .lans. Whether an evil man is silent or noisy0 2od will .unish him. 2od knows all our .lans0 and 2od will .unish our evil actions. @erse 11 When a good man s.eaks0 we should listen. -is words bring life to us. They are like water that .ours from a fountain. -is words0 like the water0 are .lentiful and good. And his words bless everyone who listens to him. When an evil man s.eaks0 do not listenD -is words always cause trouble for everyone.
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@erse 1! A<ove covers everything that is wrong./ This is a beautiful line. When we love someone0 we try not to think about their mistakes. 6ur love covers their mistakes0 so that we do not think about their errors. 2od loves us. -e sent 3esus. When 3esus died0 he suffered our .unishment. Because of this0 2od forgives us. 2od does not sim.ly cover our evil deeds. A2od has taken our evil deeds away. 2od has moved our evil deeds far0 far away from us./ 1Psalm 1)"51!4 @erses 1"81# A wise .erson studies. -e wants to learn more knowledge. A .erson who refuses 2od/s wisdom is a fool. A fool hates 2od. 2od will .unish him for his evil deeds. -owever0 the fool will also .unish himself. -is words cause trouble0 both for himself and for other .eo.le. v1' 2reat wealth .rotects a rich man. <ack of wealth ruins a .oor man. v1( A good man earns a good life. An evil man earns .unishment. v1- 6bey wise instructionsD Then you will teach .eo.le how to live. But if you refuse correction0 you will lead .eo.le in the wrong way. v1" ,f you hide your hate0 then you are lying. ,f you lie about other .eo.le0 then you are a fool. v1! ,f someone says many things0 then he will say some evil things. There is wisdom in silence. v$. A good man/s words are valuable. An evil man/s desires are worth nothing. v$1 The words of a good man feed many .eo.le. Cools die because they do not have wisdom. v$$ 2od gives wealth to the man who .leases him. And that man/s wealth will not cause him any trouble. v$% A fool loves evil things. A wise .erson loves wisdom. @erse 1$ This is true0 but it is not good. A rich man can use his money to .rotect himself. A .oor .erson cannot do this. When there is danger0 the .oor man suffers first. As Christians0 we should care about .oor .eo.le. We should give money to hel. them. +ee :.hesians !51). @erse 1% Wealth brings some good things0 but wealth cannot give a good life. +olomon does not write0 Aa rich man earns a good life/. -e writes0 Aa good man earns a good life/. We can be confident of this. This is like wages for a 9ob. -owever0 we cannot earn heaven. This is because we cannot make ourselves good. We have all done evil things. We all deserve .unishment. 6nly 2od can forgive us. We must trust in 2od. 2od can make us good. 3esus died to suffer our .unishment. @erses 1&8!1 6ther .eo.le can benefit from our wisdom. 6ther .eo.le will suffer if we refuse 2od/s wisdom. These verses ex.lain this. @erse 1& A wise .erson acce.ts correction. -e wants advice. 6ther .eo.le will benefit from this. They will co.y the wise man/s actions. The wise .erson leads other .eo.le. -e shows them the right way to live.

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A church leader must be careful. 6ther .eo.le will co.y his actions. A2od will be a strict 9udge with us because we teach other .eo.le./ 13ames "514 When a .erson refuses correction0 other .eo.le will suffer. 6ther .eo.le will make the same mistake. Eobody will learn. @erse 1' We should forgive other .eo.le. :ven when someone hurts us0 we should not hate that .erson. ,nstead we should .ray for them. ;any .eo.le secretly hate someone else. The first line says that this is like a lie. 6ther .eo.le talk about the .erson whom they hate. Perha.s they actually tell lies about that .erson. This ha..ens in the second line of this verse. This verse teaches that both of these are wrong. We should not hate someone silently. We should not talk about a .erson whom we hate. ,nstead we should forgive such a .erson. @erse 1( +olomon is not saying that we should not s.eak. -owever0 some .eo.le s.eak too much. ,f we want to hel. .eo.le0 then we should listen to them. We should try to understand their .roblems. Then0 maybe0 we can hel. them. We can .ray for them. Perha.s we can advise them. Perha.s we can take them to someone else who can hel.. ,f0 for exam.le0 someone has died0 many .eo.le are afraid to s.eak to the family. We should care0 and we should sym.athise. We should talk to the family. -owever we should not talk too much. +ometimes0 we can care with our words. +ometimes0 we can care by our actions. Best of all0 we can be with the sad .erson. @erse !) ,f we serve 2od0 then our words will hel. other .eo.le. 6ur words are valuable0 so we should use them wisely. We should use them5 to encourage other .eo.le to sym.athise to hel. .eo.le.

An evil man wants evil things. -e makes evil .lans. -e tries to destroy other .eo.le. This is why his desires are worth nothing. @erse !1 The words of a good .erson are valuable to other .eo.le. This may be like a mother0 whose own food feeds her baby. ,n some countries0 a mother will take food from her own mouth. Then0 she will give this food to her child. ,n the same way0 a good man/s words are like food. -is words feed other .eo.le/s minds and s.irits. 6ther .eo.le become stronger0 because of the wise man/s words. @erse !! ,f 2od gives wealth to a good .erson0 then this is good news for everyone. By his kindness0 2od is good to the rich man0 and his friends and neighbours. :veryone benefits0 because the man will use his wealth wisely. -e is generous. This rich man does not worry0 because he trusts 2od to .rotect him. An evil man/s wealth brings troubles. :veryone suffers because he uses the money for his evil .ur.oses. @erse !" ,n this verse0 +olomon asks us what we love. A wise .erson loves wisdom. We might think that wisdom is good. This is not enough. We might think that wisdom is .owerful. ;any .eo.le think these things0 and some of them are fools. A?ou believe in one 2od. This is not good enoughD :ven the devils believe in one 2od. They are afraid of him./ 13ames !51(4
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We should love wisdomI and we should love 2od. v$& A wicked .erson will suffer the troubles that he ex.ects. A good man will receive the things that he desires. v$' A storm .asses. And wicked .eo.le cannot last. But good .eo.le are always safe. v$( ,f you send a la=y man with your message0 then you will suffer. -e is like acid in your mouth. -e is like smoke in your eyes. v$- Bes.ect 2od0 and live longD Be evil0 and die soonD v$" A good man wants good things. +o0 he will be ha..y. A wicked man wants wicked things. +o0 he will fail totally. v$! A good .erson is safe because he follows 2od/s way. An evil .erson will die. -e refused to follow 2od/s way. v%. A good man is like a tree whose roots are firm in the land. The evil man will not remain in the land. v%1 When a good .erson s.eaks0 his words are wise. But evil words deserve a cruel .unishment. v%$ The good man says the right thing. The evil man says the wrong thing. @erses !#8") These .roverbs are about time. +olomon discusses different situations. -e ex.lains what will ha..en in the future. @erse !# ,f you desire the right things0 then 2od will give them to you. ,f you desire wisdom0 then 2od will give wisdom to you. ,n the same way0 a wicked .erson will suffer the troubles that worry him. -e is afraid of death and hell. -is wicked behaviour will bring him to death and hell. -e will lose everything. @erse !$ A storm will swee. away wicked .eo.le because they have no firm security. But 2od will kee. safe the .erson who trusts in him. +ee ;atthew &5!#8!&. @erse !% There is humour in this verse. ,f you send a la=y man with a message0 your message may never arrive. ,nstead0 send a wise man with the message. ,t will soon arrive. @erses !&8!' The good man res.ects 2od. -e will have a long life. -e will be ha..y. The evil man refuses 2od/s wisdom. The evil man will die soon. -is .lans will fail. -e will achieve nothing. These verses are rather general. +ome good .eo.le die young. +ome evil .eo.le live long. +olomon is ex.laining sim.le .rinci.les. ;ore com.lex ex.lanations are elsewhere in the Bible. We must learn sim.le .rinci.les before we can understand com.lex ex.lanations. This is the .rinci.le. A good .erson has a good life. An evil .erson has a bad life. This .rinci.le is enough0 for now. @erse !( 3esus said0 A, am the way and the truth and the life./ 13ohn 1#5%4 6ur lives are like 9ourneys. We must live 2od/s way. 2od will take us to the .lace where we belong. This is good news for Christians. We belong in heaven.
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This is bad news for evil .eo.le. The Bible says that they will go to hell. They should change their lives and trust in 2od. 2od will forgive them0 if they turn to him. @erse ") +ee my notes on Athe land/0 under Proverbs !5!)8!!. ,n verse ")0 +olomon com.ares a good man to a tree. Both belong in the .lace where 2od has .lanted them. :ven when trouble comes0 they can stand firm. AA storm .asses. And wicked .eo.le cannot last. But good .eo.le are always safe/ 1verse !$4. 2ood .eo.le are safe. We have security when we trust 2od. @erses "18"! @erse "! encourages us. ;any .eo.le worry that they will say the wrong thing. A good man always says the right thing. ,f we trust in 2od0 then 2od will hel. us. ,f we study the Bible0 then we shall s.eak 2od/s words. ,f we .ray0 then 2od will guide us. We do not need to worry. We need to be humble. ,f we serve 2od0 then we shall not s.eak evil words. We shall not even know how to s.eak evil wordsD When we s.eak0 other .eo.le will benefit.

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Proverbs chapter 11
v1 2od hates false measurements. 2od loves honest measurements. v$ A .roud man suffers shame. A humble man becomes wise. v% A good man is honest. -e is like a traveller who chooses the right way. :vil actions will ruin evil men. v& ;oney has no value in the day of 9udgement. ,f you do the right things0 then this can save you from death. v' An honest man is like a traveller who walks along good .aths. This is because his actions are right. But the evil actions of evil men ruin their lives. v( ,f you do the right things0 you will be free. ,f you do the wrong things0 you will go to .rison. @erse 1 6ur actions0 like our words0 are im.ortant to 2od. At work0 we should not cheat other .eo.le. We must be fair. ,n a sho.0 a kilo or .ound weight should be accurate. ,f we use false measurements0 we lie to our customers. We should be honest. @erse ! -umble .eo.le know that 2od is great. 2od likes humble .eo.le. 2od likes humble .eo.le because they look after other .eo.le. A humble .erson considers that other .eo.le are im.ortant. A .roud .erson thinks only about himself. @erse " An honest man is a good man. -e loves the truth. -is decisions will be right. 3esus met a man called Eathanael. 3esus said0 AThis man is a genuine member of the nation of ,srael. This man is totally honest./ 13ohn 15#&4 Eathanael had the right attitudes0 and these attitudes hel.ed him to find 3esus. An evil man is not honest. -e will suffer because of his lies. @erse # A 9udge in court does not ask whether a man is wealthy. ,f a man is guilty0 then the 9udge will .unish him. The 9udge does not care whether the guilty man is rich or .oor. 2od will be the 9udge of everybody. We have all done evil things0 so we all deserve .unishment. 6ur money cannot save us from 2od/s .unishment. We must trust in 2od. 2od can forgive us. -e will teach us to do the right things. @erse $ +olomon com.ares life to a 9ourney. We must be honest. Then we will be like travellers who walk along good .aths. We shall take the correct route to heaven. This is a good0 straight .ath. ,t does not bend into dangerous .laces. We shall not lose our way. @erse % We have a sim.le choice. We can choose to do good things. 6r we can choose to do evil things. We can choose to do the right things. 6r we can choose to do the wrong things. We can choose freedom0 or .rison. The decision to obey 2od is also a sim.le choice. A wise .erson invites 2od into his life. This .erson loves 2od0 and 2od looks after him. But a foolish .erson will not listen to 2od/s wisdom. v- When an evil man dies0 he loses everything. -is best ho.es achieved nothing. v" 2od will rescue a good man who is in trouble.
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But an evil man will not avoid trouble. v! ,f a man does not res.ect 2od0 then the man/s words will ruin his neighbour/s life. A good man will esca.e because of his knowledge. v1. ,f good men succeed0 then the .eo.le in their city are glad. ,f evil men die0 then the .eo.le in their city shout for 9oy. v11 The words of good .eo.le will make their city great. But the words of evil .eo.le will destroy a city. v1$ 6nly a fool will say bad things about his neighbour. A wise man would rather say nothing. v1% ,f you s.eak too much0 you will tell someone else/s secrets. ,f you can kee. a secret0 then .eo.le will trust you. v1& Without advice0 the nation loses the war. With many advisers0 the nation wins the war. @erse & >eath is terrible for an evil man. -e will lose all of his money. -e will lose all of his .ossessions. -e will lose everything that he achieved in life. -e will discover that he was wrong. But then it will be too late. The true Christian will have a different ex.erience. Paul wrote0 AWhile , live0 3esus comes first. When , die0 , shall benefitH , want to go to be with 3esus. -eaven will be much better than this world. -owever0 , must live longer0 because , need to hel. you./ 1Phili..ians 15!10 !"8!#4 @erses '8( Both verses ex.lain that a good .erson can avoid troubles. ,n verse '0 2od cares about a good man. But an evil man will suffer. @erse ( ex.lains how a good man can avoid trouble. -e is wise0 because he has studied many things. -is knowledge .rotects him. -e is safer than someone who knows nothing. -owever0 an evil man0 who does not know 2od0 can be dangerous. :ven his neighbour can suffer. @erses 1)811 An evil man/s words destroy his neighbour 1verse (4. ,n verse 1)0 everyone suffers because of the evil man. Perha.s the evil man ruled the city. Perha.s he was very cruel. The evil man/s death means that the .eo.le will be free. This is why they shout for 9oy. This is why they want good men to succeed. @erse 11 ex.lains the reaction of the .eo.le in verse 1). ,n verse 110 when evil men talk about a city0 they .lot to destroy it. Perha.s their .lan is to steal from the .eo.le. Perha.s the evil men want the .eo.le in the city to be their slaves. Words can be terrible. The words of evil men can destroy a city. The words of good men also achieve great things. Because of their words0 the city becomes great. They .ray0 and 2od hel.s the city. They s.eak about 2od0 and .eo.le trust in 2od. @erse 1! Words are .owerful. ,t is better to say nothing0 than to s.eak evil words. @erse 1" This verse is also about silence. We must think before we s.eak. Christian leaders often hear other .eo.le/s secrets. Peo.le should be able to trust their church leaders. The church leader should not tell someone/s secret to another .erson. @erse 1# 6rdinary .eo.le need advice. Church leaders need advice. The leaders of cities need advice 1verses 1)8114. :ven entire nations need advice. 2ood and bad words affect the lives of ordinary .eo.le. But good and bad words can also affect whole nations.

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The wise .erson is not afraid to ask for advice. +ometimes0 we need to ask many advisers before we receive the best advice. v1' >o not .romise to .ay someone else/s debt0 if they do not .ay it. ?ou yourself will suffer. ,f you do not .romise0 then you are safe. v1( A kind woman benefits from her kindness0 because .eo.le res.ect her. Cruel men get only one benefit5 wealth. v1- A kind man benefits himself. A cruel man brings troubles u.on himself. v1" An evil man does not get benefits that last. The .erson whose behaviour is right gets a certain reward. v1! ,f a man is really good0 then he will live. But an evil man will die. v$. 2od hates evil men. -e loves good men. v$1 Be sure about thisD :vil .eo.le will receive their .unishment. 2ood .eo.le will go free. @erse 1$ We should make a .romise only if we can carry out our .romise. +ee also Proverbs %518$. @erses 1%81' ;any .eo.le ask about the benefits that a Christian receives. These verses com.are kind .eo.le with cruel .eo.le. *indness brings a real reward 1verse 1'4. Peo.le res.ect the kind .erson 1verse 1%4. This is a real benefit for a kind .erson 1verse 1&4. A cruel man causes himself .ain 1verse 1&4. -e receives money as his benefit 1verse 1%4. -owever0 this is not a real benefit 1verse 1'4. -e cannot take his money with him when he dies 1verse 1(4. @erse 1( Eobody is Areally good/0 exce.t 2od 1<uke 1'51(4. Eobody deserves to live with 2od in heaven. -eaven is 2od/s gift to us0 but we must trust in him. @erse !)8!1 These verses ex.lain sim.le .rinci.les. These .rinci.les ex.lain many things. 2od wants us to live good lives0 but we are all evil. 2od hates our evil actions. 2od will .unish evil .eo.le. ,f we want to be good0 then 2od will hel. us. -e wants to forgive us. -e sent 3esus. We deserve .unishment for our evil actions0 but we do not need to suffer this .unishment. When 3esus died0 he received our .unishment. ,f we ask 2od0 then he will forgive us. We can be free from the evil things that are in our lives. Then0 when we die0 we shall go to heaven. 2od loves good .eo.le. When we trust in him0 2od will change us. As we learn 2od/s wisdom0 2od will make us into his .eo.le. A2od called you from the darkness. -e called you into his wonderful light. Before this you were not a nation. Eow you are 2od/s .eo.le./ 11 Peter !5(81)4 v$$ A beautiful woman can be foolish. +he is like a .ig whose nose has a gold ring. v$% A good man wants to achieve good things. But an evil man/s desires will cause his .unishment. @erse !! +olomon uses humour in this verse. +olomon and his nation hated .igs. :verybody in ,srael believed that .igs were unholy animals. The .eo.le never ate .ig meat 1<eviticus 115&4. An ugly .ig does not become beautiful0 even if it has a gold ringD ,n the same way0 a foolish woman is never really beautifulD 1By Afoolish/0 +olomon means a .erson who refuses 2od/s wisdom.4
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A beautiful woman should be kind and generous. The woman/s face might be ugly or .retty. But she is really beautiful if she does good thingsD 11 Peter "5"8#4 @erse !" A good man wants good things0 and he will receive good things. An evil man wants evil things. 2od will .unish this man0 because the man/s actions are evil. v$& 6ne man gives0 and his wealth increases. Another man does not give to anybody0 and he becomes .oor. v$' A generous man will become rich. As he hel.s other .eo.le0 so he himself receives hel.. v$( +ometimes a man kee.s food for himself when other .eo.le are hungry. Peo.le curse him. They bless the man who will sell his food. v$- <ook for the things that are goodD ?ou will find kindness. <ook for the things that are evilD :vil things will come to you. v$" ,f you trust your wealth0 you will fail. ,f you do good things0 your life will develo.. v$! >o not bring trouble u.on your familyD ,n the end0 you will have nothing. A fool will be a servant to someone who is wiser than him. v%. The good man receives a good life as his reward. A wise .erson can understand how to teach wisdom to other .eo.le. v%1 :ven in this world0 the good man gets what he deserves. +o does the man who hates 2od. :ven the evil man will get what he deserves. @erse !# A6ne man gives0 and his wealth increases. Another man does not give to anybody0 and he becomes .oor./ This is a .u==le. When a man gives0 he loses money. When a man does not give0 he saves his money. This verse says the o..osite. +olomon has not made a mistake. When someone is generous0 2od is kind to this .erson. +ometimes 2od gives more money to this .erson. 1<uke %5"'4 @erse !$ There are many generous .eo.le who have great wealth. 2od has .rovided for them0 so they .rovide for other .eo.le by their money. Then 2od .rovides the giver with more wealth0 so that they can give even more. @erse !% This verse is about greedy .eo.le. ,n business0 we are generous0 if we are fair. When .oor .eo.le are hungry0 some sho.kee.ers might refuse to sell food for a reasonable .rice. Then hungry .eo.le would have to .ay a higher .rice or remain hungry. The fair sho.kee.er sells at a fair .rice. @erse !& There is a good reward for the .erson who does the right thing. There is a severe .unishment for the .erson who does evil things. @erse !' Wealth does not matter. ,f we are wealthy0 we must not trust in wealth. 6nce a wealthy young man wanted to follow 3esus. 3esus told him to give everything to .oor .eo.le. 3esus loved the young man0 but the young man refused. The young man trusted his wealth more than he trusted 2od. 1;ark 1)51&8!"4
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@erse !( A .erson might ex.ect to receive money from his .arents. ,f he u.sets them0 then he will get nothing. -e will become .oor. Perha.s he will have to be someone/s .oor servant. -e must suffer0 because he is foolish. @erse ") We can bring 2od/s life to other .eo.le. 6ur wisdom can show other .eo.le the way to 2od. This is another reason to learn 2od/s wisdom. @erse "1 2od is fair with everybody. The good man will receive good things. 2od will .rovide for him. 2od is also fair with evil .eo.le. They will receive a fair .unishment.

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Proverbs chapter 1$
v1 A .erson who loves knowledge will acce.t correction. 6nly a stu.id .erson hates correction. v$ 2od is kind to a good man. 2od .unishes a man who .lots to do evil things. v% An evil man never has security. A good man/s life makes him strong. v& A good wife is like a crown for her husband. A bad wife causes trouble for her husband. -e will feel as if his bones are weak. v' A good man makes .lans that are fair. An evil man/s advice will include many lies. v( An evil man/s words are like tra.s that can kill. A good man/s words will save. v- >efeat destroys an evil man. A good man/s house stays safe. v" Peo.le will .raise a wise man. But .eo.le hate a man who has an evil mind. @erse 1 We can benefit when someone shows our mistakes to us. When we see our mistakes0 we can learn to do better. Eobody is .erfect. :verybody has something to learn. ;any .eo.le fear correction. They do not want other .eo.le to know about their mistakes. They try to hide their errors. As Christians0 we should be humble. We should a..reciate .eo.le who correct us. @erse ! There is a real difference between good behaviour and evil behaviour. 2od cares about a good man. 2od is kind to that man. And 2od will hel. that man. ,f we make evil .lans0 then we refuse to obey 2od/s commands. 2od will .unish the evil man. @erse " This verse is not about the strength of a man/s body. ,t is about our whole lives. The good man has a strong belief in 2od. The good man uses his knowledge to make decisions. -is emotions do not control him. When troubles come0 he is confident. This verse reminds us of 3esus/ story in ;atthew &5!#8!&. A strong house is safe0 when a storm comes. A weak house is in danger0 and it will fall down. 2od will .rotect us if we trust in him. But an evil man is weak. Troubles will destroy him. @erse # A wife should be honest0 fair and kind. ,f so0 then her husband will be .roud of her. +he is valuable and .recious to him0 like a crown. -e is glad that she is with him. A bad wife hurts her husband. ,f the wife is evil0 then the husband will suffer. -e will even feel weak. A husband and wife should look after each other. They should love each other. Both should trust in 2od. 2od will teach them to be good .artners. @erse $ A good man does not .lot evil .lans. -is .lans res.ect 2od. The good man tries to hel. other .eo.le by his .lans. Cor exam.le0 someone might o.en a sho. that sells food. ,f the sho.kee.er is a good .erson0 then he wants to sell good food at a fair .rice. But an evil sho.kee.er might want to sell .oor food at an ex.ensive .rice.
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The second .art of this verse is about advice. ?ou cannot trust an evil man/s advice. When he is advising you0 he is .lotting an evil .lan. ?ou do not know his .lan. An evil man will not give sound advice. -is advice is a lie. -e wants to cheat you. @erse % The evil man is like a hunter. -is .lans are like a hunter/s tra.s. The evil man wants to steal from other .eo.le. -e even wants to kill them. A sim.le .erson is in danger. ,f someone does not know about a hunter/s tra.0 that .erson could fall into the tra.. The good man is safe. -e s.eaks the right words. These words are better than the evil man/s .lans. The good man/s words will .rotect him. @erse & This reminds us of verse ". An evil man is never strong. When the evil man is in trouble0 he may lose everything. -e will not ask 2od to hel. him. -is life is in danger. A good man is never weak. @erse & s.eaks about his Ahouse/. This word also means his family. A good man and his family are safe0 even when troubles come. The man who trusts 2od is not afraid. :ven if the good man loses everything0 2od will hel. him. @erse ' +ome .eo.le .raise wealthy .eo.le0 or famous .eo.le. 6ther .eo.le follow kings and rulers. As Christians0 we should res.ect wise .eo.le. A wise .erson0 who serves 2od0 deserves honour. v! 6ne man may be unim.ortant0 but he has a servant. Another man may be famous0 but he has no food. The first man has a better life. v1. A good man looks after his animals. :ven the kindest actions of an evil man are cruel. v11 A farmer who works hard will have .lenty of food. But a .erson who merely imagines will earn nothing. v1$ :vil men think that they can get their money by stealing. 2ood men earn their money .ro.erly. They are like trees that grow .ro.erly from the roots. @erse ( This is a .u==le. A famous .erson can be very .oor. An unim.ortant .erson can be wealthy. 6ften0 we do not understand why a .erson should be .oor or wealthy. +ome .eo.le .retend that they are wealthy. 6r0 .erha.s0 they .retend to be .oor. We see these .eo.le0 and we do not always understand their behaviour. ,t does not matter whether someone is im.ortant or not. ,t does not matter what .eo.le .retend. ,t does not matter whether a .erson is famous or not. ,t does matter whether a .erson has food or not. We must try to understand the things that really matter. @erse 1) A good man is never cruel. -e is not cruel to .eo.le0 and he is not cruel to animals. :very action of a good man is kind. @erse 11 A farmer deserves his harvest. -e has worked hard. -e has looked after his animals. -e has .loughed his land and he has sowed his seeds. -e has .rotected his cro.s from the weather. -e has rescued the .lants from animals and insects. -is reward is the harvest. The .erson who merely imagines is la=y. -e may make .lans0 but he does no work. -e would be a very .oor farmer. -is imagination cannot hel. his .lants and animals to grow. ,f the la=y man refuses to work0 his .lans will achieve nothing. @erse 1! >ifferent .eo.le have different ideas about work. +ome .eo.le work with their hands. ;anagers use their intelligence as they work. An evil .erson thinks that he is working. -e uses his hands to steal from other .eo.le. -e uses his intelligence to make evil .lans. -e thinks that he deserves to be wealthy.
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An evil .erson does not behave in the .ro.er way. -e does not obey 2od/s law. An evil man might seem im.ressive. -e might be wealthy. -e might seem clever. -owever0 he is like a tree without roots. The .art of his life that you see might seem good. The .art that you do not see is terrible. -is thoughts are terrible because they are evil. A good man is like a tree that grows .ro.erly from its roots. -e is strong 1verse "4 because he trusts in 2od. v1% When an evil man talks0 his words are like a tra.. -is own words will cause him trouble. An honest man gets out of trouble. v1& A man/s words are like his work. Both can bring a good reward. v1' The fool thinks that he already knows the right way. The wise man listens to advice. v1( ,f you insult a fool0 he becomes angry immediately. An insult does not bother a wise man. v1- An honest witness s.eaks the truth. A lying witness tells lies. v1" :vil words are like a sword. They will hurt you. A wise man/s words can hel. to cure an in9ury. v1! The truth is always true. <ies can only last for a moment. v$. Peo.le who make evil .lans are lying in their hearts. Peo.le who work for .eace have 9oy in their hearts. v$1 2ood .eo.le are safe. :vil .eo.le always have troubles. v$$ 2od hates lies. 2od loves truth. v$% A wise man does not need to say what he knows. A fool tells you all his foolish ideas. @erse 1" An evil man/s words are like a hunter/s tra.. -e is like a stu.id hunter who falls into his own tra.. @erse 1# This verse encourages us to think about our words. @erses 1181" remind us that work is im.ortant. We receive wages for our efforts. ,t matters to 2od0 whether our work is good or evil. But our words are also im.ortant. 6ur words can encourage .eo.le. They can show kindness. They can advise. They can teach and correct. They can lead .eo.le to 2od. 2od will reward us for our words. We shall get what we deserve. @erse 1$ +ome .eo.le always think that they are right. 6n a 9ourney0 they never ask for directions. When they are ill0 they do not go to a doctor. :ven if they do go to a doctor0 they do not obey his advice. They are .roud0 and +olomon calls them Afools/. A wise man behaves differently. -e is humble. -e listens to advice. @erse 1% As Christians0 we try not to insult other .eo.le. But sometimes other .eo.le will insult us. And we must learn how to behave in this situation. A fool is a .erson that hates wisdom. -e wants to do evil things. A fool is .roud0 so he hates an insult. An insult u.sets him0 so he is angry. ,f we are wise0 then insults will not bother us.
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;any .eo.le insulted 3esus. They said that 3esus had a devil 1;ark "5!!4. 3esus/ family thought that 3esus was mad 1;ark "5!14. :ven when 3esus was dying0 .eo.le insulted him 1;ark 1$5!(4. This did not u.set 3esus. -e even .rayed for them 1<uke !"5"#4. -e taught us to do the same 1;atthew $51181!4. Peo.le may insult us because we belong to 3esus. But 2od will hel. us if .eo.le insult us. @erse 1& ,f you want to know the truth0 then ask an honest .erson. ?ou cannot trust a .erson who lies. @erse 1' Words can hurt0 and words can heal. An evil man/s words can cause much damage. -e might u.set or insult .eo.le. -e might use words to make an evil .lan. Cor exam.le0 an evil lawyer can use clever words to write an unfair contract. Words might not hurt in a .hysical way0 but they can cause real trouble. Words do not heal in a .hysical way either. -owever0 they can bring hel. and comfort. @erse 1( The truth does not change. ,f something is true now0 then it will always be true. This is like wisdom 1Proverbs '5!!8"14. This is also like 3esus0 because 3esus never changes 1-ebrews 1"5'4. <ies do change. When someone lies0 he is always changing his story. A;any witnesses s.oke lies against 3esus. -owever0 their accounts were all different from each other./ 1;ark 1#5$%4 @erse !) ?ou cannot see a .erson/s heart or mind. -owever0 you can understand their thoughts0 if you look at their behaviour. 3esus ex.lained this in ;atthew &51$8!). @erse !1 2od .rotects good .eo.le. -e does not .rotect evil .eo.le. +ee Psalm (1. @erse !! +ometimes0 we need to remember sim.le facts. +ome wise words are com.lex0 like a .u==le. 6ther wise words are very easy to understand. :ven a little child can understand this verse. @erse !" A wise man is still wise0 even if he does not s.eak. When 3esus was in court0 he remained silent 1;atthew !%5%"4. ,saiah wrote0 AA shee. is silent before the farmer cuts its wool. +o he 13esus4 remained silent./ 1,saiah $"5&4. +ome .eo.le are always s.eaking. They want everyone to hear their ideas. ,f a fool talks constantly0 all his words will be foolish. -e needs to be silent0 and to listen. Then a wise man can s.eak and teach wisdom to the fool. v$& Work hard0 and you will lead .eo.le. Be la=y0 and you will be a slave. v$' ,f you worry0 then you will be sad. *ind words will make you 9oyful again. v$( A good man will be a good guide to his friend. An evil man leads himself on to the wrong .ath. v$- A la=y man hunted for food. But afterwards0 he did not even bother to cook the food. But a wise .erson is careful with his .ossessions. v$" The good man receives life. Collow himD ?ou will live alwaysD @erse !# :m.loyers watch their workers. The em.loyer wants to know which workers are working hard. -e also wants to know who is la=y. A good worker will receive more res.onsibility. A la=y worker might lose his 9ob. ,n the end0 the la=y worker could even become a slave. @erse !$

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This verse ex.resses sym.athy. A .erson who worries is sad. <ife can be hard. Peo.le fear many things. As Christians0 we should look after other .eo.le. We should s.eak words of kindness and sym.athy. We should s.eak words that encourage. We should tell .eo.le to trust 2od. Then we shall bring 9oy into .eo.le/s lives. @erse !% 6ther .eo.le benefit when someone res.ects 2od. Peo.le can learn from us. 6ur lives can teach .eo.le about 2od. This is like a man who leads his friend on a 9ourney. <ife is like a 9ourney. But an evil man is like a traveller who has no guide. This traveller must guide himself on his 9ourney. -e does not know the correct route0 so he will go the wrong way. +o the evil man will do the wrong things. -e will suffer because his actions are evil. @erse !& The la=y man wasted his food. A wise .erson would cook his food and en9oy it. A la=y .erson wastes his life. -e achieves nothing0 because he refuses to work. A wise .erson achieves many things by his hard work. @erse !' <ife is like a 9ourney. 6n our 9ourney0 we should follow good .eo.le. We should co.y their behaviour. And we should learn to do the right things. :s.ecially0 we should follow 3esus 13ohn '51!4. Then 2od will give a .lace in heaven to us. 2od has .re.ared a home for us in heaven 13ohn 1#5!8"4.

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Proverbs chapter 1%
v1 A wise son obeys his father/s instructions. +omeone who insults other .eo.le will not listen to words of correction. v$ 2ood words have a good effect that lasts. But the effect of an evil man/s words is cruelty. v% Take care with your wordsD They will .rotect your life. Careless talk will destroy you. v& The la=y .erson gets nothing that he wants. The worker gets everything that he desires. v' A good man hates lies. An evil man is awful. -e causes shame. v( A .erfect man is safe0 because he is good. An evil man will suffer a terrible fate. v- 6ne man .retends that he is rich. Beally0 he has nothing. Another man .retends that he is .oor. Beally0 he is rich. v" A rich man has to use his wealth to .rotect his life from thieves. A man who has no money is never in danger of thieves. v! A good man is like a bright light. An evil man is like a candle that is going out. @erse 1 When we teach .eo.le about 2od0 some .eo.le will listen. 6ther .eo.le refuse to listen. This is not our fault. +ome .eo.le are ready to hear us0 but other .eo.le are not. We should .ray for them all. +ometimes0 someone who refused our message will later acce.t it. +ee ;ark #518!). +ometimes0 many .eo.le must teach the Bible0 before .eo.le believe it. Paul com.ared this to a .lant0 in the field. -e wrote0 A, sowed the seed. Another man called A.ollos gave water to it. 2od made the seed grow. The .erson who sows is not im.ortant. The .erson who gives water is not im.ortant. 6nly 2od is im.ortant0 because only 2od makes .lants grow./ 11 Corinthians "5%8&4 @erse ! As a tree has fruit0 so good words have a good effect. +uch words inform and hel. other .eo.le. An evil man/s words have a bad effect on himself and other .eo.le. @erse " 6ur words can .lace us in danger. 6r our words can .rotect us. 6ur words can make evil .lans. 6r our words can encourage and hel. other .eo.le. We have a choice. @erse # :verybody desires good things. A .erson should work and earn money. Then he can buy the things that he desires. @erse $ A good man hates lies0 but an evil man loves to tell lies. This is why the evil man causes shame. @erse % We cannot make ourselves .erfect. We must ask 2od to forgive us. -e loves us. -e even sent 3esus to suffer our .unishment. 6nly 2od can make us .erfect. 6nly 2od can forgive us for our evil deeds. @erses &8' @erse & is similar to Proverbs 1!5(.

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There is an interesting connection between verses & and '. A man0 who .retends to be wealthy0 .laces himself in danger. Fnlike a rich man0 however0 he cannot use money to save himself. ,t is safer to .retend that you are .oorD ,n verse '0 a rich man has many benefits. -e can use his money to save himself. -owever0 the .oor man esca.es this danger. The thieves do not want to steal from a .oor man. The thieves know that a .oor man has nothing for them to steal. +ome benefits of wealth are not real. @erse ( <ight is better than darkness. 6n a 9ourney at night0 the wise man carries a bright light. -e is safe0 because of his light. -e knows the right way0 because of his light. -e will arrive home safely. 6n the same 9ourney0 the evil man has only a candle0 but its light is weak. -e cannot see the right .ath. -e will lose his way. -e is in great danger. A2od/s word is like a lam. for my feet. 2od/s word is like a light for my .ath./ 1Psalm 11(51)%4 2od/s word is the Bible. The Bible is like a light0 because it guides us. The Bible teaches us how to live. v1. Proud .eo.le always argue. Wise .eo.le ask for advice. v11 A thief/s money soon disa..ears. +ave your moneyD ?our savings will grow. v1$ When you must wait for something0 you are sad. When you receive it0 you will be truly content. v1% ,f you refuse to obey instructions0 you will suffer troubles. But if you obey such commands0 you will be safe. v1& When a wise man teaches0 he gives life. -is directions will change the life of a man who is in danger of death. v1' +tudy wisdom carefully0 and you will receive love. <ife is hard for the .erson that lies. @erse 1) Proud .eo.le argue because they s.eak their own thoughts. A .roud .erson always thinks that he is right. -e will not listen to anyone else. A wise .erson behaves differently. Although a wise .erson is wise0 he is willing to hear the advice of other .eo.le. A wise .erson has great understanding0 because he listens to other .eo.le. @erse 11 An evil .erson does not s.end his money wisely. 6ften he does not save it for the future. -e wastes it. Perha.s he s.ends it on beer and wine. Perha.s he .laces bets. Perha.s he takes risks. +ometimes thieves steal the money from him. ,f a wise .erson has money0 he s.ends it carefully. -e saves the money that he does not need today. -e is generous and he hel.s other .eo.le. ;oney is worth more0 when a wise .erson owns it. @erse 1! We do not receive everything immediately. +ometimes0 we must wait. This can be difficult. We may not see 7uick results from our .rayers. We should wait for 2od/s time. 2od will answer our .rayers0 if we ask for the right things. 3esus told a story about an unfair 9udge. The 9udge refused to hel. a widow. +he a..ealed to him many times. Cinally0 the 9udge agreed to hel. 1<uke 1'518'4. 2od is better and kinder than an unfair 9udge. 2od will hel. us0 when we .ray. @erse 1" Peo.le write books of instructions to hel. us. We should read and obey the instructions. Then0 we shall be safer. A foolish .erson refuses to read instructions. -e thinks that he knows what to do. 2od gave his commands to us in order to hel. us. We should obey his commands. And we should live in the right way. Then we shall receive 2od/s reward.
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@erse 1# 6ur church leaders and teachers need wisdom. They should res.ect 2od. Their lives should .lease 2od. Then when they teach0 the .eo.le will benefit from their words. 6rdinary wisdom can save a .erson from natural dangers and death. 2od/s wisdom can save a .erson from the danger of hell. 2od/s wisdom will bring that .erson to heaven. @erse 1$ We should listen to other .eo.le. We should try to hel. them with their .roblems. ,f we are wise0 then .eo.le will a..reciate this. Peo.le will ask for our advice and they will res.ect us. They will love us0 because of our wisdom. ,f we learn from 2od0 then we shall become wiser. 2od will love us0 because we res.ect him. But nobody res.ects the .erson that lies. This .erson does not deserve love from anyone. v1( A wise man uses his understanding to act wisely. A fool shows that he is stu.id by his actions. v1- A bad servant0 who does not deliver a message0 causes trouble. But a res.onsible servant will deliver the message. ,nstead of worry0 he gives health. v1" ,f you refuse correction0 then you will become .oor. ?ou will suffer shame. ,f you acce.t correction0 then .eo.le will res.ect you. v1! ,t is good to receive what you desire. Cools hate the idea that they should sto. their evil behaviour. v$. ,f you walk with wise .eo.le0 then you will become wise. ,f fools are your friends0 then you will suffer. v$1 Trouble is like an enemy who follows an evil man. But the good man/s reward is success. v$$ A good man/s wealth .rovides for his grandchildren. An evil man may store his wealth0 but good men will benefit from it. @erse 1% A wise .erson does not waste his knowledge. -e loves knowledge0 and he uses it well. -e uses his knowledge to hel. other .eo.le. -e uses his knowledge to stay safe. The wise man/s knowledge is like a workman/s tools. A fool has no understanding0 so he makes the wrong decisions. :veryone can see this. :veryone realises that this man is stu.id. @erse 1& ,f we are Christians0 then we carry a message from 2od to the .eo.le in the world. This message is very im.ortant. We must always tell the truth. We must not kee. 2od/s message as a secret. 6ur message0 as Christians0 is a good message. This message cures the s.irits of men and women. This message will hel. .eo.le to know 2od. This message will .rotect them from evil .lots. This message will teach the way to heaven. 2od loves the .eo.le from every country. -e will forgive them0 if they trust in him. These are all good things. @erse 1' We are like soldiers in 2od/s army. We should learn disci.line. +ometimes we make mistakes. 2od shows us that we are wrong. We must not refuse 2od/s correction. ,f we gladly acce.t 2od/s correction0 then 2od will give honour to us. @erse 1( When 2od gives good things to somebody0 then that .erson is glad. The .erson is even ha..ier if he has had to wait for these things. A fool is someone who refuses to res.ect 2od. -e does not think to ask 2od for good things0 because a fool hates 2od. The fool refuses to turn from his evil behaviour0 because he loves evil things. A fool will not wait for good things. ,nstead0 a fool wants evil things0 now. @erse !)
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Choose your friends carefullyD A .erson who is a friend of wise .eo.le listens to them. Then0 he learns from them0 and he himself becomes wiser. ,n the same way0 a friend of fools can suffer their troubles. ,f your friends do not love 2od0 then think about this. ?ou need to bring 2od/s message to your friends. ?ou must refuse to do evil things0 if they test you. ?ou should also have wise0 Christian friends. They will hel. you to become a strong Christian. @erse !1 Trouble is like an enemy who follows an evil man. The enemy will catch the evil man and attack him. This means that an evil .erson will suffer his .unishment. -e cannot avoid it. But success is like a friend who follows a good man. The good man will succeed. 2od will make sure of this. @erse !! A good man/s success hel.s other .eo.le. -e will be able to hel. his children. -e will even be able to hel. his grandchildren. An evil man tries to co.y this. -e stores his money. -e thinks that he is very wealthy. But he cannot benefit from his great wealth. When he dies0 he will lose it all. ,n the end0 everything belongs to 2od. +ee <uke 1!51%8!1. v$% Cields can .roduce .lenty of food. But an evil man may not let .oor .eo.le cultivate the fields. Then the .oor .eo.le cannot .roduce food for themselves. v$& ,f a father will not smack his son0 then that father hates his son. A father who loves his son corrects his son. v$' When a good man eats0 he eats enough food. But an evil man/s stomach is always hungry. @erse !" :vil .eo.le can destroy many good things. This is one reason why today many .eo.le are .oor. 2od has given great wealth to the .eo.le of the world. 2od gave land0 which can .roduce .lentiful su..lies of food. But often0 evil men .revent the su..ly of food to .oor .eo.le. As Christians0 we must be fair and generous. :s.ecially0 .oor .eo.le need our hel.. @erse !# A good .arent should sometimes .unish his child. The .arent does not hate the child. ,nstead0 the .arent loves the child. This is why the .arent gives the child a smack. This .unishment will teach the child to have disci.line. @erse !$ This verse is not only about food. ,t is about satisfaction. An evil .erson always wants more things. -e wants more food. -e wants more money. -e wants more .ossessions. -e wants to be famous and successful. :ven if he is already famous0 then he wants to become more famous. A good .erson does not need these things. -e is content with the things that 2od gives to him.

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Proverbs chapter 1&

v1 The wise woman builds her house. The foolish woman .ulls down her own house with her own hands. @erse 1 This is a little story that uses humour. We walk along the street and we see two women. Both women are working on their homes. The first woman is wise. +he carefully builds her house. +kilfully0 she makes a beautiful home for her family. We ex.ect that the other woman is doing the same. -owever0 we are wrong. ,n fact0 the second woman is .ulling down her own home. The story means this. A wise woman loves her family. +he looks after them. +he works hard to hel. them. A wise woman is a woman who serves 2od. A foolish woman hates 2od and loves evil things. +he might think that she loves her family. -owever0 her evil actions do not hel. her family. ,nstead0 her evil actions hurt her family. v$ ,f someone does the right things0 then that .erson res.ects 2od. But a .erson who does evil things hates 2od. v% A fool/s words bring a whi. to his back. But a wise man/s words .rotect the wise man. @erse ! We should res.ect 2od. +o we should do the things that .lease him. +ee the instructions in -ebrews 1". +ome .eo.le hate 2od. They might not realise that they hate 2od. But their actions .rove this. They refuse to obey 2od. ,nstead0 they do evil things. 3esus said0 A,f you love me0 you will obey my commands./ 13ohn 1#51$4. @erse " A fool/s .ride makes him talk too much. -is many words will lead him into trouble. A wise man s.eaks with care. -is words will save him from many dangers. v& ,f you have no oxen 1strong farm animals40 then you will have no food for your animals. But the strength of the oxen brings a .lentiful harvest. v' An honest witness tells the truth. A false witness tells lies. v( A man who insults other .eo.le cannot discover wisdom. Wise .eo.le easily discover knowledge. v- Avoid a foolish manD -e s.eaks without knowledge. v" +ensible .eo.le think about their actions. The foolish thoughts of a fool lie to him. v! Cools insult the guilty .erson who confesses his evil deed. But good .eo.le are glad. @erse # The wise farmer knows that he needs oxen 1strong farm animals4 to .lough his fields. Without them0 he cannot .roduce cro.s. 6xen can be difficult animals for a farmer. They need .lenty of food. The farmer must work hard to look after them. -owever0 oxen used to be essential animals on the farm. +olomon/s farmers used oxen like tractors0 to .ull the .lough. Without oxen0 the harvest would be .oor.

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+ome church members are easy to look after. They are .olite and friendly0 and everyone likes them. -owever0 they do few things for 2od/s work. 6ther church members act like the oxen. +uch church members may ask difficult 7uestions. They have many .roblems. +ometimes0 they make serious errors. They are difficult to look after. -owever0 we must learn to a..reciate these members too. +ometimes0 they will achieve great things for 2od. Peter was like this 8 see ;ark '5"18""0 ;atthew !%5&# and 2alatians !51181#. We might not choose these church members0 but 2od chose them for his work. @erse $ ?ou must make your choice. A .erson might say nice things. -e might be very clever. ;any .eo.le might want to hear his words. -owever0 if his words are lies0 then he cannot hel. us. An honest .erson might seem to be unfriendly. -e might be anxious. -e might even be angry. Perha.s nobody wants to hear his words. -owever0 he is telling the truth. <ike the oxen 1strong farm animals4 in verse #0 we may not like his character. -owever0 his honest words can really hel. us. @erse % *nowledge is not difficult to find. ,t is everywhere. -onest .eo.le will tell their knowledge to us 1as in verse $4. The Bible will teach 2od/s knowledge to us. ;any other books will teach human knowledge to us. -owever0 if someone insults other .eo.le0 he will not learn knowledge or wisdom. Perha.s he insults honest .eo.le0 so he cannot hear the honest words. Perha.s he insults everyone0 and only listens to his own ideas. @erse & A fool is someone who hates 2od/s wisdom. ?ou cannot learn from this man0 because he himself has learned nothing from 2od. @erse ' A sensible .erson is cautious. -e uses his knowledge to make good .lans. -e thinks carefully and he obtains advice. -is decisions are good. A fool thinks that his decisions are right. -owever0 a fool hates 2od0 so his decisions are evil. The fool does wrong things0 because he does evil things instead of good things. -is evil thoughts are lies. -e trusts in his own lies0 and suffers as a result. @erse ( When someone becomes a Christian0 he will receive a welcome from other Christians. +ee <uke 1$. -owever0 some .eo.le will laugh at a new Christian. +olomon calls these .eo.le0 Afools/. By Afools/0 he means .eo.le that do not res.ect 2od. They hate 2od0 and they hate Christians too. They laugh at the new Christian because he has confessed his evil deeds. This is because they love to do evil things. ,f someone trusts in 2od0 then this .erson seems stu.id to them. v1. Eobody else knows our saddest feelings. But nobody else knows our greatest 9oys. v11 +omeone will destroy the wicked man/s house. The good man may only have a tent0 but he will succeed. v1$ +ometimes0 a man thinks that he chooses the right .ath. But that man will die because he chose the wrong .ath. v1% :ven when we laugh0 the heart can ache. :ven 9oy can lead to sorrow 1sad feelings4. @erse 1) We try to sym.athise with other .eo.le. We try to share their 9oys and sorrows 1sad feelings4. 6ur efforts are kind and good0 but we cannot really understand their feelings. 6nly 2od really knows the true feelings of a .erson/s heart.
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@erse 11 The wicked man might be rich. -e might live in a wealthy house. The good man might be .oor. -e might only live in a .oor tent. 6ther .eo.le might think that a wicked man is really good. They might see his wealth. They might even su..ose that 2od is .leased with that man. 2od knows the truth. When 2od acts as 9udge0 2od will not care about a man/s wealth. 2od will still .unish a wicked man. The wicked man might not even know who destroyed his house. -e might not realise why he lost his wealth. 2od has .unished this wicked man. @erse 1! >ifferent .eo.le have many ideas and many theories. ,n this verse0 +olomon describes our lives0 and not 9ust our 9ourneys. 6n a 9ourney0 if a man chooses the wrong road0 he might be in danger. Thieves might attack him. They could kill him. ,n the same way0 if we choose to live evil lives0 in the end 2od will .unish us. We have our own ideas and theories0 but these do not matter. The only way to 2od is to follow 3esus 13ohn 1#5%4. @erse 1" When we laugh0 sometimes we are sad. 6ther .eo.le do not know this. They think that we are ha..y if we laugh. 2od knows our real feelings. -e cares about us. v1& A man will receive what he deserves. This is true both for a good man0 and for a man that turns away from 2od. v1' A sim.le man believes anything. A wise man thinks about his actions first. v1( A wise man res.ects 2od and refuses to do evil deeds. A fool is sure that he is right. -e acts in a hurry. v1- ,f you become angry 7uickly0 then your actions will be foolish. A wise .erson is .atient. v1" +im.le .eo.le will become fools. Wise .eo.le will receive knowledge. This reward will be like a crown. v1! :vil men must give honour to good men. Wicked .eo.le must be humble0 when they a..roach a good man. v$. :veryone 1even a neighbour4 avoids a .oor .erson. Wealthy .eo.le have many friends. v$1 ?our actions are evil if you hate your neighbour. 2od will be .leased with you if you are kind to .oor .eo.le. @erse 1# -ere0 +olomon com.ares a good man with a man who turns away from 2od. A good man receives good things0 because he deserves good things. An evil man receives evil things0 because he deserves evil things. The man who turns away from 2od used to be a good man. -e turned back to do evil deeds. -e too will receive what he deserves. +ee ! Timothy #51#0 3ude $8%0 and -ebrews 1)5!%8"1. ABut we are not the .eo.le that turn back. 2od will not destroy us. We are the .eo.le who believe in 2od. Therefore0 2od will .rotect us./ 1-ebrews 1)5"(4 @erse 1$ +olomon com.ares a wise .erson and a sim.le .erson. Fnlike a fool0 a sim.le .erson does not hate 2od. ?ou can teach a sim.le .erson. -e can learn to do good things. 6r he can learn to do evil things. -e believes anything that you tell him. ?ou can teach a wise .erson too. -owever0 you cannot teach him to do evil deeds0 because he is sensible. -e thinks carefully about your words. -e works out whether you are correct.
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@erse 1% ,n this verse0 +olomon com.ares a wise .erson and a fool. A wise .erson res.ects 2od0 but a fool hates 2od. The fool thinks that he himself is always right. A fool will not learn from anyone else. -e is angry if someone tries to correct him. -e loves to do evil actions. @erse 1& +olomon contrasts two different ty.es of .eo.le. The first .erson is 7uick. ,n a moment0 he becomes very angry. -e has a terrible tem.er. -e does not think about his actions. -e does evil things so 7uickly that he cannot think first. The second .erson is slow. -e takes a long time to make his .lans. -e thinks about them carefully. @erse 1' ,f a sim.le man learns to do evil deeds0 then he becomes a fool. When he is sim.le0 he does not choose to be evil. -e does evil things because he is not wise. -e does evil things by mistake. When he becomes a fool0 the same .erson hates 2od. Eow0 the man loves to do evil actions. -e refuses to learn good things. We should hel. sim.le .eo.le to believe in 2od. Then they can become wise. Then their reward will be knowledge. As a king receives a crown0 so they will receive knowledge. 6ther .eo.le will see their knowledge and res.ect them. @erse 1( This is not our ex.erience today. +olomon is describing what should ha..en. Beally0 a good man is im.ortant. -e is even more im.ortant than a famous .erson0 or a king. Peo.le should res.ect him. @erse !) This is terribleD Peo.le love a rich man0 because they want to benefit from his money. Peo.le hate a .oor man0 because he has nothing to give to them. Christians must not behave like this. +ee 3ames !518&. @erse !1 ,n verse !)0 the neighbour tried to avoid the .oor man. ,n verse !10 +olomon ex.lains that this attitude is evil. 2od is .leased with the generous .erson. 2od is kind to the .erson who is kind to .oor .eo.le. v$$ Those who .lot evil deeds are like travellers on the wrong road. But if your .lan is good0 then you will find love and truth. v$% ,f you work hard0 then you will get your reward. ,f you are always talking0 then you will become .oor. v$& 2od gives wealth to a wise man. A foolish fool is stu.idD @erse !! <ife is like a 9ourney. A .erson who .lots evil deeds is like a traveller on the wrong road. The traveller/s road might lead to danger. And the evil man/s life will cause his death. And his evil life will take him to hell. -is evil .lans might bring him money0 but he will lose everything. A .erson who makes a good .lan is like a traveller on the right road. -is .lan will achieve good things0 for exam.le0 love and truth. @erse !" ,n the end0 even the best .lan is only words. Words without work cannot earn money. Words alone do not achieve results. 6nly work can bring success. +ee 3ames !51#81&. @erse !# A wise .erson deserves wealth and honour. -owever0 many wise .eo.le are not wealthy. This may be because0 for a wise .erson0 wisdom is more im.ortant than money. A wise .erson works hard0 but he does not work merely to get money. -e works hard to get more wisdom. A fool hates wisdom. -e might work to get money0 but he is stu.id. -e can only earn foolish things. -e should work to get wisdom. v$' A witness who tells the truth saves lives.
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A false witness can ruin someone by his lies. v$( The man who res.ects 2od is safe. 2od is like a castle for him. 2od will .rotect the man0 and he will .rotect his children too. v$- Bes.ect 2od0 and liveD Bes.ect 2od0 and he will save you from deathD v$" A king cannot rule without the su..ort of his .eo.le. Without his .eo.le/s hel.0 he has no army to win a war. v$! A .atient .erson has great understanding. ,f you become angry 7uickly0 then you are a fool. v%. ,f your mind is content0 your body will be strong. But if you are 9ealous0 even your bones will be weak. v%1 ,f you are cruel to .oor .eo.le0 then you hate 2od. Bemember that 2od made them too. Be kind to .oor .eo.le. Then you will give honour to 2od. v%$ When trouble comes0 evil .eo.le suffer. A good .erson is safe0 even when he dies. v%% A wise .erson has wisdom in his heart. Cools do not know wisdom. v%& ,f the .eo.le are good0 then their nation becomes great. But if the .eo.le are evil0 then their nation suffers shame. v%' A king is .leased with a wise servant. A king is angry if his servant causes shame. @erse !$ An honest man s.eaks the truth. -e can rescue .eo.le from death0 because he is honest. -e will tell .eo.le if their actions are wrong. -e will show them what is right and good. A man who s.eaks lies causes great troubles. -is lies can ruin other .eo.le/s lives. Peo.le suffer because of his lies. @erses !%8!& 2od .rotects .eo.le who res.ect him. :ven their families can benefit. +ee Psalm #% and ! Timothy 15$. @erse !' +olomon was a king. ,f there were many .eo.le in a country0 then there would be a large army. The country could win wars. 6r the country could be at .eace0 because nobody would attack it. +olomon wanted .eace for his country. @erse !( Patience is good. A:veryone should be 7uick to listen. :veryone should be slow to s.eak. :veryone should be slow to become angry./ 13ames 151(4 A .atient .erson will learn many things. This is how he becomes intelligent. +ee 3ames $5&811. @erse ") 6ur emotions are .owerful. Anger 1verse !(4 and 9ealous attitudes can even affect our health. +o can good attitudes0 like ha..iness. Paul wrote0 A, have learned how to be content in every situation. , am content whether , am hungry or full. , am content whether , have .lenty0 or nothing./ 1Phili..ians #51!4 @erse "1 +olomon tells us to hel. .oor .eo.le0 because 2od made them. When we love .oor .eo.le0 we love 2od. +ee ;atthew !$5"#8#$. @erse "! :vil .eo.le have no .rotection when troubles come. 2od will .rotect good .eo.le who trust in him. When they die0 they will go to heaven. +ee verse !%.
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@erse "" Another translation of the second line is0 A:ven fools can hear wisdom./ The wise .erson does not only think about wisdom occasionally. -e is always thinking about wisdom. -e is always learning new things. -e loves wisdom. Wisdom is always in his heart and in his mind. A foolish .erson hates wisdom. -e might hear wise words 1Proverbs '5$0 Proverbs 15!)8!&4. -owever0 a fool will not obey these wise words. A fool does not understand wisdom. -e only knows his own foolish ideas. @erse "# +olomon was a king. -e wanted his nation to become a great nation. ,f his .eo.le were evil0 then 2od would .unish their nation. -e wanted his .eo.le to serve 2od. And he wanted them to do the right things. Then their nation would be a great nation. @erse "$ A king needs servants and advisers. +olomon knew this0 because he was the king of ,srael. 2od is our king 1Bevelation 1&51#4. As Christians0 we are 2od/s servants. 2od does not need advisers0 but he wants wise servants.

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Proverbs chapter 1'

v1 A 7uiet answer reduces anger. But an im.atient word increases anger. v$ A wise man/s words are full of knowledge. A fool/s words are .lentiful0 but his words are all foolish. v% 2od sees everything. -e watches both good .eo.le and evil .eo.le. v& Words that comfort other .eo.le bring strength and health. <ying words hurt a .erson/s s.irit. v' A fool hates his father/s instructions. ,f you learn from correction0 then you are wise. v( A good man has .recious .ossessions. An evil man receives trouble as his wages. v- A wise man/s words teach knowledge to many .eo.le. The heart of a fool cannot do this. v" A wicked man might sacrifice 1kill4 an animal to give to 2od. 2od hates this. 2od loves the .rayer of a good man. @erse 1 ,f we choose our words carefully0 then we will get a good reaction. When we tell .eo.le about 2od0 we should be .olite. We should not use angry words. These will u.set .eo.le. -owever0 sometimes0 we must warn .eo.le. 3esus did this in 3ohn !51"81%. @erse ! We love to listen to wise .eo.le. Their words teach us and encourage us. We do not benefit from the words of a foolish .erson0 who hates wisdom. A fool will say many things. -owever0 everything that he says is foolish. @erse " 2od knows everything 11 3ohn "5!14. -e knows what the result of our actions will be. -e watches good .eo.le so that he can .rotect them. -e watches evil .eo.le so that he can .unish their evil actions. @erse # 6ur words can comfort other .eo.le. Words can hel. .eo.le0 and they can encourage .eo.le. <ies never achieve these good things. <ies hurt other .eo.le. <ies u.set .eo.le and cause great .roblems. @erse $ ,f someone hates wisdom0 then he hates instructions. -e is angry if someone corrects him. A wise .erson learns from correction. -e wants to know if he is wrong. Because he learns from correction0 a wise .erson becomes even wiser. @erse % A good man has .recious .ossessions. -e cannot buy these .ossessions with money0 and he cannot sell them. They are not .hysical ob9ects0 but they are real. They are things like wisdom and knowledge. These things are really valuable. An evil man also earns things. -e might earn money0 but he also earns something else. -e earns trouble. -e will suffer trouble because his actions are evil. @erse & The wise man teaches the things that he knows. 6ther .eo.le hear and they benefit from his advice. ,f we are wise0 then we can hel. many .eo.le.
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The fool/s heart does not benefit anyone. A fool hates 2od0 and hates wisdom. +olomon does not mean the fool/s .hysical heart. +olomon means the fool/s emotions0 thoughts and s.irit. There is no wisdom there0 because the fool/s thoughts are all evil. @erse ' The .eo.le of ,srael sacrificed 1killed4 animals as a gift to 2od 1<eviticus cha.ters 1 to &4. ,f an evil .erson did this0 2od would not acce.t the gift. 2od wants us to be holy. -e wants us to ask him to forgive us. -e wants us to trust in him. Eo gift can forgive us. 6nly 2od0 who loves us0 can forgive us. +ee Psalm $151%81& and <uke 1'51)81#. v! 2od hates the behaviour of a wicked man. 2od loves .eo.le who do the right things. v1. Correction is bitter for someone who starts to do the wrong things. The .erson who hates correction will die. v11 2od can even see beyond the grave into hell. +o he also knows our thoughts. v1$ A .erson who insults other .eo.le hates correction. -e will not ask a wise man for advice. v1% ?ou smile when you are glad. But when you are very sad0 your s.irit suffers. v1& A wise man wants to learn more knowledge. But a fool wants foolish things more than he wants food. @erses ( 6ur behaviour shows what sort of .eo.le we are. 2od hates the actions of wicked .eo.le. 2od hates their evil thoughts and .lans. We should do the right things. We should trust 2od. We should obey his instructions. 2od will hel. us to do the right things. -e loves us. @erse 1) +olomon ex.lains about .eo.le who start to do evil things. 2od will correct them. +ometimes0 as a father smacks his child0 this correction will be bitter. 2od corrects the .erson so that the .erson will return to 2od. +ee 3ohn 1$5!. ,f a .erson does not acce.t 2od/s correction0 then that .erson will suffer. +ee 1 Timothy #51#. That .erson/s .unishment will be severe. +ee 3ohn 1$5%0 -ebrews "5&81" and 1 Corinthians 115!&8"). But we must encourage that .erson to return to 2od. 2od forgives even very evil .eo.le0 if they confess their bad behaviour to him. @erse 11 +ome .eo.le think that 2od does not know their thoughts and actions. They are wrong. 2od even sees beyond the grave into hell. 2od knows all our thoughts0 and all our actions. We cannot esca.e from 2od. :ven when we die0 2od will be our 9udge. @erse 1! This .erson insults other .eo.le0 because he is .roud. Eobody can correct him. -e always thinks that he himself is right. -e will not ask for advice. -e does not res.ect a wise .erson. @erse 1" ?our thoughts and emotions control your whole body. We smile when we are glad. We are sad if our ex.eriences u.set us. ,f we .ray0 2od will comfort us 13ames $51"4. @erse 1# Both a fool and a wise man have im.ortant desires. The wise man wants more knowledge. The fool wants foolish things. By Afool/0 +olomon means someone who hates wisdom. Cor a fool0 this is like his need for food. -e is hungry0 not for food0 but to do an evil action. +ee Proverbs #51%81&. v1' When someone is unha..y0 he feels miserable every day. Cor a cheerful .erson0 every day is like a .arty.
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v1( A man who res.ects 2od may have few .ossessions. But that man/s life is better than the wealthy man who has many troubles. v1- A man with a loving family may have only vegetables to eat. Another man eats the best meat0 but his family hate him. The first man/s meal is better. v1" ,f you are angry0 then you will start arguments. ,f you are .atient0 then you will cause 7uarrels to end. v1! A slow man says0 APlants grew in front of meD/ But a good man is like someone who travels along a clear road. @erses 1$81% A Christian may be .oor. But he has every reason to be cheerful. +ee Phili..ians #5#0 1 Peter 15' and Psalm (%51181". 2od/s love is like a .arty. +ee Psalm !"5$0 ,saiah $$518!0 and <uke 1#51$8!". Cor other .eo.le0 their lives can be difficult. They might be rich or .oor0 but they all need 2od/s hel.. And we0 too0 should try to hel. them. @erse 1& ;any .eo.le want the best meat0 instead of a few vegetables. But love is better than hate. We want to eat in a .lace where .eo.le love us. +ometimes it is better to be .oor than to be rich. +ome things matter more than money or wealth. <ove matters more than wealth. :s.ecially0 the love of 2od matters more than wealth. This is why the .oor man in verse 1% has a good life. @erse 1' We should be .atient. A .atient man can even hel. enemies to become friends. This might take many years. But a .atient .erson can often achieve success in the end. +ometimes0 it takes many years to hel. someone to trust 2od. This may be es.ecially difficult if0 at first0 the .erson hates 2od. We must be .atient. We should show 2od/s love to the .erson0 when we get an o..ortunity. @erse 1( A slow man can be very slow. -e has lots of excuses. +olomon uses humour here. Eobody could be so slow that .lants grew on his .ath. The truth is that the man was very la=y. The good man is like someone who travels along a good0 clear road. A good .erson is .atient 1verse 1'4. But0 at the right time0 a good .erson acts very 7uickly. -e is not la=yD -e will achieve the things that he desires. v$. A wise son brings 9oy to his father. A foolish son hates his mother. v$1 A man who is not wise is like a traveller who gladly chooses the wrong route. A wise man is like a traveller who chooses a straight .ath. v$$ Without advice0 .lans fail. With many advisers0 .lans succeed. v$% A man is glad when he says the right words. ,t is wonderful to say the right words at the right time. v$& The wise man/s life is like a 9ourney that leads u.wards. And his 9ourney does not lead towards the graves or to hell. v$' 2od destroys the house of a .roud man. But 2od .rotects a widow/s fences. v$( 2od hates the thoughts of evil .eo.le. -onest .eo.le s.eak words that .lease 2od. v$- A .erson0 who wants to make lots of money0 causes trouble for his family. But the .erson that hates bribes 1secret gifts4 will have a good life. @erse !)

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This is like Proverbs 1)510 but the second line is different. AA foolish son causes .ain to his mother./ 1Proverbs 1)514. AA foolish son hates his mother./ 1Proverbs 1$5!)4 The foolish 1or evil4 son might not think that he hates his mother. -owever0 his evil actions .rove that he hates her. -e causes trouble and .ain for her0 because he does evil things. @erse !1 ,f someone is not wise0 then foolish 1evil4 things attract him. This is like a traveller who chooses the wrong route for a 9ourney. +ome .eo.le love to do evil things. They gladly choose to do evil things. A wise .erson does not make this mistake. -e is careful to do the right things. -e is like a traveller whose .ath is straight and direct. :vil things do not attract a wise .erson. A traveller on a straight road does not want to wander onto the wrong .ath. And a wise .erson never wants to do anything that is evil. @erse !! ;any .eo.le do not like to receive advice. Perha.s they are .roud and so they do not like to hear other .eo.le/s ideas. ,f you do not obtain advice0 then your .lans will often fail. We should not make this mistake. ,f we are wise0 then we shall ask many .eo.le for advice. +ome of the advice that we receive will be bad advice. Cor this reason0 we should have many advisers. We should obtain the best advice. @erse !" An adviser should always try to give correct advice. -e thinks and he .rays about his words. -e considers the .robable results of his advice. -e wants to say the right words0 at the right time. -e wants to hel.0 because his advice can bring success to his friend/s .lan. An adviser is glad when he gives good advice. @erse !# +olomon uses humour. <ife is like a 9ourney. When we live wisely0 we are going towards heaven. This is like a 9ourney where we are going u.wards. +o we are travelling away from the graves and from hell. +olomon imagines that the wise man is walking u. a hill. +ometimes0 it is hard to walk u. a hill. -owever0 the wise man needs always to travel u.wards. -e cannot travel downwards 1o..osite of u.wards40 because that way leads to death0 the grave and hell. @erse !$ :verything that 2od does is right. +ome .eo.le will .raise a .roud man. +ome .eo.le think that .roud .eo.le are very great. 2od does not think this. ,n the end0 2od will .unish .roud .eo.le. +ome .eo.le do not care about widows. They might say0 AThat old woman has no husband to .rotect her. We can steal her wealth./ But 2od will .rotect the widow. -e does not only .rotect her house. -e .rotects her land0 too. -e even guards her fences. +ee >euteronomy 1(51#I >euteronomy 1)51'I ,saiah $#5#8$I ;ark 1!5"'8##I 1 Timothy $5". @erse !% 2od knows our thoughts0 and he hears our words. The evil .erson thinks about evil .lans. -e might .lot against other .eo.le. -e might try to steal from them. 2od knows these thoughts0 and he hates these .lans. An honest .erson s.eaks the truth. 2od loves the truth0 so 2od loves the words of honest .eo.le. @erse !& Peo.le give bribes 1secret gifts4 so that other .eo.le will do wrong things. Cor exam.le0 if a 9udge acce.ts a bribe0 then he might .unish an innocent man. ,f a government official acce.ts a bribe0 then he might allow the giver to meet the king. The Bible teaches that we should not give bribes 1secret gifts4. The Bible also teaches that we should not acce.t bribes. We should not do evil things to get more money. This behaviour will only bring trouble to us and to our families. ,nstead0 we should refuse bribes. ,f we refuse bribes0 then 2od will hel. us to have good lives. v$" A good man thinks carefully before he answers.
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An evil man answers immediately but his words cause trouble. v$! 2od is far away from evil .eo.le. But 2od hears a good man/s .rayer. v%. +mile0 and make .eo.le ha..yD Bring good news0 and make .eo.le strongerD v%1 <isten to correctionD Then you will be stronger. ?ou will become a wise man. v%$ ,f you refuse to follow instructions0 then you hate yourself. <isten to correctionD Then you will learn to be res.onsible. v%% Bes.ect 2od0 and learn to be wiseD ,t is more im.ortant to be humble0 than to receive honour. @erse !' 3esus answered 7uestions in ;ark 115!&8"" and ;ark 1!51"8#). 3esus studied the Bible. -is answers were wise. 3esus thought about what the Bible says. And he knew the right answers. We too need to think about .roblems. :s.ecially0 we must discover what the Bible says. Then we shall learn 2od/s wisdom. An evil man hates 2od. The evil man does not think about what is right. ,nstead0 he answers 7uickly. ,f an evil man does think about his answers0 then he makes an evil .lan. ,f he does not think about his answer0 his .lans are still evil. @erse !( A2od is not deaf or weak. The result of your evil actions is that you have moved far away from 2od./ 1,saiah $(518!4 -owever0 2od is close to a good .erson. 2od even knows a good .erson/s silent .rayers. +ee ;atthew %5%8'. @erse ") :ven our smiling faces can cheer other .eo.leD Peo.le are glad0 if we smile. 6ur words can achieve more than our ha..y faces. The Christian message is good news. 2od can change .eo.le/s lives. -e will forgive them0 if they trust him. This good news will make .eo.le strong. @erse "1 ,f someone learns from words of correction0 then that .erson will become wiser. We all make mistakes. A wise .erson learns not to re.eat his mistakes. -e knows that correction is valuable. @erse "! When other .eo.le correct us0 we become wiser. And we become more res.onsible. Correction is a good thing. But someone who refuses to obey instructions will suffer as a result. This is as if he hates himself. We should learn disci.line. And we should learn to be wise. @erse "" :s.ecially0 we shall learn to be wise0 if we res.ect 2od. Wisdom is 2od/s gift to us. We must res.ect 2od. This is the first and most im.ortant lesson in wisdom 1Proverbs 15&4. Peo.le want to receive honour. But many .eo.le do not want to be humble. We need to be humble0 because we need to learn from 2od. We also need to learn from other .eo.le. ,f we are humble0 then 2od will be .leased with us. 2od gives honour to humble .eo.le. ,f we are humble0 then the result is honour. This is the first of a series of .roverbs 1wise words4 about 2od. This series continues in the next cha.ter.

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Proverbs chapter 1(
The sub9ect of the book now begins to change. ,n earlier cha.ters0 the main sub9ect is the difference between wise actions and evil actions. The earlier .roverbs 1wise words4 com.are a good man with an evil man 1Proverbs cha.ters 1) to 1$4. <ater cha.ters do not em.hasise this 1Proverbs cha.ters 1% to !!4. ,nstead0 they ex.lain wise thoughts0 actions and advice. v1 A man makes .lans in his heart. But 2od brings about the result that he wants. v$ A man su..oses that all his actions are right. But 2od knows a man/s secret thoughts. v% 2ive all your .lans to 2od. And then your .lans will succeed. v& 2od uses everything for his own .ur.oses. -e even uses evil .eo.le for a day of .unishment. v' 2od hates all .roud .eo.le. Be sure that they will not avoid 2od/s .unishment. v( 2od forgives our evil actions0 by his love and truth. A man who res.ects 2od will avoid evil behaviour. v- When a man/s actions .lease 2od0 2od will change that man/s enemies into friends. v" A good man may have few .ossessions. -is life is better than the life of a man who gets many .ossessions unfairly. v! A man chooses his route. But 2od directs each ste.. @erse 1 We should ask 2od to hel. us to s.eak the right words. The A.lans of our hearts/ are our thoughts and ideas. We do not know everything. 2od knows the things that we do not know. We need his hel. to say the right words. +ee ;ark 1"511. @erse ! :ven an evil man thinks that he is right. -e even .ersuades himself. 6ther .eo.le might believe him. But 2od knows the truth about that man. @erse " When we .ray0 we should give our .lans to 2od. We ask 2od to bring about the best result. We cannot control our own .lans. We do not even know what will ha..en tomorrow. +ee 3ames #51". @erse # A man/s .lan may succeed0 or it may fail. 2od/s .lans will always succeed. 2od can use a horse 1Eumbers !!5!18!'4. 6r 2od can use a stone 1<uke "5'4. 6r 2od can even use a foreign king 1:=ra 1514. 2od can use evil .eo.le to .unish other evil .eo.le. 2od used *ing Eebuchadne==ar to .unish the nation of 3udah 1>aniel 1518!4. @erse $ A .roud .erson refuses to listen to 2od or to other .eo.le. -e has his own ideas. -e thinks that he is better than everyone else. 2od will .unish .roud .eo.le. 2od wants us to be humble. @erse % 2od does not want to .unish us. 2od loves us. We must trust in him. 3esus died to suffer the .unishment for our evil deeds. 2od wants to forgive our evil actions. We res.ect 2od0 so we should not do evil things. -owever0 sometimes we still make mistakes. ,f we ask 2od0 then he will forgive us0 because of 3esus. +ee 1 3ohn !51.
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@erse & 6ur lives should .lease 2od. We should do the things that are right. We should res.ect 2od. 2od can cause our enemies to become our friends. This does not always ha..en immediately. Cirst0 we ourselves must become friends of 2od. 2od acce.ts us because 3esus died for us. +ee :.hesians !51"81# and 3ohn 1#5!&. @erse ' ;ost Christians are not wealthy. +ee 1 Corinthians 15!%. We may have few .ossessions. -owever0 we should earn our money fairly. 2od hel.s the .oor man who is honest. 2od will .unish the rich man who is not honest. @erse ( We all make .lans for the future0 but we cannot control everything. :vents that we do not ex.ect will ha..en. There will be .roblems. We might need to change our .lans. We might not understand the reasons. ,n all these changing circumstances0 2od is directing us. 2od will show us where we should go. -e will teach us what we should do. +ee Acts 1%5%81). v1. A king s.eaks as if he s.eaks 2od/s words. +o a king must be fair in his 9udgements. v11 -onest measurements come from 2od. 2od made the kilo0 .ound and ounce. v1$ *ings think that evil behaviour is terrible. A king establishes his government by good actions. v1% *ings want to hear honest words. *ings need advisers who s.eak the truth. v1& ,f a king becomes angry0 somebody may die. A wise man will aim to .lease a king. v1' ,f a king smiles0 then his .eo.le will not worry. -is .leasure is like rain in s.ring. @erse 1) +olomon was a king. ,n verses 1)81$0 he ex.lains how kings and other rulers behave. 2od has given authority to kings. Their decisions are im.ortant and affect many .eo.le. +o a king must always be res.onsible. At the time of *ing +olomon0 the king was also a 9udge 1see 1 *ings "51%8!'4. This is why the king makes a A9udgement/. 2od rules the whole world0 but a king rules a country. We must .ray for kings and rulers 11 Timothy !5!4. @erse 11 -onest attitudes are im.ortant to 2od. We must not cheat .eo.le. :verybody must res.ect other .eo.le/s .ossessions. :ven a king must not cheat .eo.le. @erse 1! ,f a king is evil0 his nation will suffer. A king should not behave in an evil way. A good king wants his .eo.le to do good things. -e encourages the .eo.le to be honest. -e makes fair laws. Then the .eo.le will res.ect the law and do right things. 2od will be .leased with the king and the .eo.le. @erse 1" ,f a servant is honest0 then the king should reward him. The servant might bring bad news. -is honest words might u.set the king. But the king needs honest servants to s.eak wise words of advice. ,f the adviser is not honest0 then he cannot hel. the king. Com.are the advisers in 1 *ings 1!5%81%. @erse 1#
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An angry king is very dangerous. ;any .eo.le may suffer if the king is unha..y 1;atthew !51%4. When the king is angry0 his servants must call a wise man. The wise man will know what to say to the king. Then the king will make a wise decision0 instead of an angry decision. @erse 1$ The wise servant wants the king to be ha..y. The king should not be angry. :vents should not u.set the king. Then the king will make good decisions. -e will care about his .eo.le. -e will serve 2od and act fairly. v1( <earn to be wiseD Wisdom is better than gold. Choose to be intelligentD ,ntelligence is better than silver. v1- The honest man is like a traveller who selects a high0 safe road. Choose a safe roadD ?ou will save your life. v1" The .roud man will fall with a crash. -e tries to make himself great. But0 in the end0 he will lose everything. v1! ,t is better to be humble and .oor than to be .roud and rich. v$. ?ou will succeed if you obey instructions. Trust in 2od. Then you will be really ha..y. v$1 Peo.le say that a wise .erson is sensible. Peo.le learn more easily0 if the words are .leasant. v$$ ,f you have knowledge0 then you will have a good life. A fool will suffer because he is foolish. v$% A wise man/s words come from his heart. Peo.le learn more willingly0 when they listen to him. v$& Pleasant words are like honey. <ike honey0 .leasant words bring .leasure to the s.irit. <ike honey0 .leasant words are good for the body. v$' A road might seem to be the right route. But the .erson that travels on that road will die. v$( -unger makes a man work harder. -e knows that he must work to buy food. @erse 1% 2old0 silver and money are not really valuable. ,f we only want to earn money0 then we are wasting our lives. Wisdom and knowledge are really valuable. :s.ecially0 we should learn how to res.ect 2od. @erse 1& <ife is like a 9ourney. The honest man is like a traveller who chooses the high road. ,t might be a difficult road0 because a high road goes over mountains. -owever0 the traveller chooses this road because it is safe. The honest man has a guard for his 9ourney. 2od is his guard. 2od will .rotect you0 if you are honest. @erse 1' To be .roud is es.ecially evil. The .roud man thinks that he is better than anyone else. -e thinks that he deserves every luxury. 2od does not a..rove of this. 2od wants .eo.le to be humble0 so that they can learn wisdom. 2od will .unish the .roud .erson. A .roud man will fall down with a crash. 2od will force the man to be humble. @erse 1( A man who is rich and .roud is selfish. -e will want to kee. his .ossessions to himself. -umble but .oor .eo.le are much more likely to share what they have.
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@erse !) A wise .erson obeys instructions. -e learns more0 and so he becomes even more wise. We must trust in 2od. Peo.le may trust many different things. They may trust in money0 or governments. But the wise .erson trusts 2od0 so 2od hel.s him. @erse !1 Another translation of the second line is0 APleasant words .ersuade .eo.le./ A wise .erson is sensible0 because he is careful. -e thinks about his actions0 and obtains advice. Peo.le like to listen to .leasant words. They can learn from nice words. ,f we are careful0 we can use .leasant words to teach the Christian message. +ee ;atthew 1)51%. @erse !! +olomon does not only mean the life of our bodies. Bather0 he means the life0 or energy0 of our s.irits. *nowledge hel.s us to res.ect 2od. 6ur s.irits are more im.ortant than our bodies0 because our bodies will die. 1+ee <uke 1!5#8$.4 -owever0 if we trust in 2od0 our s.irits will continue to live0 in heaven. @erse !" Another translation of the second line is0 A+o his words .ersuade .eo.le./ A wise man/s words are honest. -e does not think one thing0 but say something else. -e does not lie. Peo.le trust the words of a wise .erson0 because they know him. They know that he s.eaks the truth. +o he can .ersuade them to do the right things. @erse !# -oney was a favourite food for +olomon. ,t has a beautiful smell and a good flavour. +olomon also used it as a medicine. Pleasant words are like honey. Both are good for the body. Both bring .leasure. Both can hel. you. @erse !$ ,n our lives0 there are many dangers. Peo.le might trust in false religions. They might follow evil leaders. 6r they might drink too much alcohol. There are many other dangers also. <ike the road0 these things might seem good. The truth is that they are dangerous. They are dangerous for our bodies and for our s.irits. We need to ask 2od for wisdom to avoid these dangers. @erse !% Peo.le should not be la=y. +ee Proverbs %5%811. They should work to earn what they need. This is a natural way to behave. 6ur hunger reminds us that we should work. +ee ! Thessalonians "5%81). v$- An evil man makes evil .lans. -is words are like fire. They burn and destroy. v$" An evil man starts arguments. A .erson who gossi.s turns friends into enemies. v$! A cruel man uses force on his neighbour. -e wants to make him go along a dangerous .ath. v%. A man shuts his eye for a moment. -e is .lotting an evil .lan. With a 7uick movement of his li.s0 he arranges his evil .lot. @erses !&8") are about different ty.es of .eo.le who cause trouble. They have many different methods to cause trouble5 lies and insults 1verse !&4 gossi. and whis.ers 1verse !'4 the use of force 1verse !(4 silent signals 1verse ")4.

@erse !&
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This evil man makes evil .lans. -e is dangerous. ,t is even dangerous to listen to this man. ,f you listen to his words0 they are like a fire. -is .lans will destroy you. >o not even go near himD @erse !' -ere is another evil man. This evil man gossi.s. -e starts arguments. -e will turn your friends into enemies. When this evil man has s.oken0 your best friend will hate you. @erse !( A cruel man will try to make other .eo.le behave like him. -e will try to frighten them with a loud voice. -e will even use force. The cruel man/s neighbour should be very careful. -e cannot trust the cruel man. @erse ") This man hardly says anything. But he has an evil .lan. +ee Proverbs %51!81$. The movements of his face are signals. ?ou might be able to recognise his character if you watch his face. When this man is ready0 he will take action. Then everyone will suffer from his cruelty. v%1 An old .erson/s grey hair is like a crown. <ive a good life to receive this crownD v%$ ,t is better to be .atient0 than to fight. ,t is better to control your tem.er0 than to overcome a city in battle. @erse "1 This .erson is an old man0 who res.ects 2od. The man/s grey hair looks like a crown. This old man deserves a real crown0 because he is wise. We should res.ect 2od and do good things. Then0 we too shall deserve honour0 like the old man. This man is not like the man in verse "). The man in verse ") caused trouble for other .eo.le. But the man in verse "1 did good things. -e s.oke wise words. And the result was that other .eo.le benefited. +o the man in verse "1 deserves great honour. @erse "! The last man in this .assage is a .atient man. -e is not angry. -e does not fight. -e achieves results0 because he works slowly and carefully. -e can achieve more than a man who wins a war. v%% ;en think that things ha..en by chance. But 2od controls everything. @erse "" ,n the Bible0 .eo.le sometimes made decisions by lot 1that is0 by a game of chance4. 3esus had 1! disci.les 1s.ecial students4. 6ne of these was 3udas0 who hel.ed to arrest 3esus. Then 3udas killed himself. Afterwards0 the Christians decided to a..oint a new disci.le 1a s.ecial student of 3esus4. They asked 2od to guide them. Then they chose ;atthias by lot 1Acts 15!18!$4. We do not need to use lots like this today0 because 2od has given his -oly +.irit to guide us. 13ohn 1%51"4. -owever0 often we cannot ex.lain some events in our lives. Things ha..en0 and we do not always know why. +ome .eo.le might say0 AThis ha..ened by chance/ 1that is0 by accident4. But we know that 2od is guiding us by his -oly +.irit. We know that 2od controls these events.

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Proverbs chapter 1v1 6ne man eats dry bread in a calm and 7uiet .lace. But that man/s meal is better than the food at a .arty where there are arguments. v$ A wise servant will gain authority over an evil son. This servant will share the family/s wealth with the son/s brothers. v% -ot fire tests gold and silver. But 2od tests a .erson/s heart. v& An evil man will listen to evil talk. A man who tells lies will listen to lies. v' ,f you insult .oor .eo.le0 then you hate 2od. This is because 2od made these .eo.le. >o not be glad when other .eo.le suffer. 2od will .unish you for this. v( An old .erson is .roud of his grandchildren. A child is .roud of his .arents. @erse 1 >ry bread is not a good meal. We might .refer the rich food at a .arty. But a 7uiet .lace is better than a .lace where .eo.le argue. A .arty can be noisy and un.leasant. Any arguments will u.set .eo.le and s.oil the meal. The man would be ha..ier if he stayed at home. Cor this man0 dry bread is better than s.ecial food at a .arty. ,f .ossible0 we should not argue. @erse ! An evil son deserves to be a servant. A wise servant deserves to be a son. ,f the evil son does not change his ways0 he will lose his inheritance. 1An inheritance is the family/s money and .ossessions. Eormally0 a child receives an inheritance when his .arents die.4 The wise servant will receive a share of the inheritance instead of the evil son. +ee 3ohn '5"(0 Acts 1"5#!8#%0 and 2alatians "5!%8!(. A member of Abraham/s family ought to be a child of 2od. :ach .erson who is a member of Abraham/s family deserves this. ,t is like that .erson/s inheritance. But if that .erson refuses to follow 3esus0 then that .erson loses his inheritance. ,nstead0 everyone who is not from this family can become a child of 2od. :veryone who follows 3esus is a child of 2od. @erse " The hottest fire cleans gold and silver. The fire burns waste materials. This is how the gold and silver become .ure. ,n the same way0 2od tests our hearts. -e wants us to be free from evil thoughts and desires. +ee ,saiah %5%8& and ;alachi "5!8#. @erse # +ome .eo.le do not like honest words. They want to listen to evil .lans. Then they co.y the evil .lans0 and they do evil things themselves. @erse $ +ee Proverbs 1#5"1. 2od cares about .oor .eo.le. -e does not want them to suffer. -e wants us to hel. them. @erse % This is how 2od wants families to behave. 2rand.arents should be .roud of their grandchildren. Children should be .roud of their .arents. -owever0 evil behaviour .revents this. +ee Proverbs 1)51. ,f we are evil0 then we bring troubles to our families. v- A fool should not s.eak .roud words. A ruler who lies is worse. v" A bribe 1secret gift4 works like magic.
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,f you give bribes 1secret gifts40 then you will always succeed. @erse & +olomon uses humour here. A fool 1an evil .erson4 should be careful about his words. -is words will cause trouble. ,nstead0 he should say nothing. Certainly0 he should not try to s.eak in a clever way. 16f course0 a fool would not obey +olomon/s advice.4 -owever0 some things are much worse than a fool who tries to im.ress .eo.le with his .roud words. Cor exam.le0 .eo.le will not res.ect a ruler who lies. @erse ' Again0 +olomon uses humour. -e does not want us to give bribes 1secret gifts4. +olomon teaches that bribes are terrible. Bribes encourage .eo.le to do evil things. +ee Proverbs 1$5!&. A bribe 1secret gift4 is like magic0 because it changes .eo.le. +uddenly0 .eo.le forget to do the right thing. ,nstead0 they do something else0 because of the bribe. We should always do the right thing. +o we should never give bribes. And we should refuse to acce.t bribes. v! When someone makes a mistake0 say nothing. Then0 you will bring love into the situation. ,f you tell other .eo.le about someone/s mistake0 then you will cause friends to turn into enemies. v1. A wise man will learn0 when you correct him. The wise man learns more than if you whi. a fool0 even 1)) times. v11 An evil man always refuses to obey the law. +end a cruel .oliceman to catch himD v1$ A mother bear is very dangerous if you take her young bears away. -owever0 it is better to meet her0 than to meet a foolish fool. v1% A man may do evil things to .eo.le who hel. him. That man will always suffer for his evil actions. v1& An argument is like the start of a flood. +to. the argument0 while you can. @erse ( +ometimes we do not need to .oint out a mistake. We should forgive other .eo.le0 and hel. them not to re.eat their errors. +ee ;atthew 1'5!18!!. @erse 1) By Afool/0 +olomon means someone who hates wisdom. Because of his attitude0 he will not learn from a .unishment. ?ou could whi. the fool 1)) times0 and he would still do evil things. A wise man does not need a .unishment0 when he makes a mistake. A few words are enough to correct a wise man. This is because a wise man always wants to do the right thing. @erse 11 This evil man refuses to change his behaviour. :ven .unishment will not sto. his evil behaviour. A ruler will send an official to .ut the evil man in .rison. @erse 1! Bears are very dangerous animals. :ven when a bear is content0 you are in danger. This bear is a very angry bear0 which you must avoid. The bear could kill you. A fool is someone who hates wisdom. -e loves evil things and he hates 2od. A Afoolish fool/ is even worse. ?ou must avoid him. ,t is safer to meet the angry bear. There are some .eo.le0 whom nobody can control. They are very evil .eo.le. We should realise this. We can .ray for them. But we might be in danger if we try to hel. them. 2od can change their hearts 8 but we cannot do this. @erse 1" ,t is evil to hurt .eo.le who hel. you. But some evil .eo.le do this.
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As we hel. other .eo.le0 we should realise this. The .eo.le that we hel. may not be honest. They might be cruel or unfair. As Christians0 we serve 2od0 rather than other .eo.le. We hel. them0 because we love 2od. 2od rewards us. ,f we are in difficulties0 then we should obtain advice and hel.. We should not remain in a situation that is too difficult for us. @erse 1# When .eo.le argue0 they might become angry. ,f they become angry0 then they might fight. ,f they fight0 then they will hate each other. A sim.le argument might cause serious troubles. ,t is easier to sto. an argument when it begins. <ater0 this might be im.ossible. We should not allow our arguments to become serious .roblems. v1' 6ne 9udge frees guilty men. Another 9udge .unishes innocent men. 2od hates evil 9udges. v1( A fool wastes his money. This is because the fool does not want to get wisdom. v1- A friend will always love you. A brother was born to hel. you with your troubles. v1" When a neighbour receives money on loan0 an unwise man .romises to .ay. v1! ,f you like to argue0 then you love evil behaviour. A .roud man has a high gate. ,t will fall down. v$. A man who has an evil heart will not be successful. A man who lies will have many troubles. @erse 1$ 3udges should make fair decisions. We all must be honest. A 9udge should not acce.t a bribe 1secret gift4. -e should not follow his own feelings and emotions. -e should listen to the evidence. -e should try to make the right decision. A 9udge is evil if he does not .unish guilty men. A 9udge is evil if he .unishes innocent men. This is always true0 even if the 9udge has reasons for his unfair actions. @erse 1% +olomon uses humour here. By Afool/0 he means a .erson who hates wisdom. The fool wastes his money. -e might buy ordinary things0 or even sensible things. -owever0 +olomon says that the fool wastes his money. The fool did not get the one thing that he needed. Wisdom is the only thing that a fool really needs. A fool wastes everything until he gets wisdom. Wisdom is .recious. ,t is worth more than gold 1Proverbs '51)4. We cannot buy wisdom0 but we can learn to be wise. @erse 1& A real friend does not forget you0 if you become .oor. -e hel.s you when you have troubles. A brother or sister should be a true friend. +olomon uses humour here. -e says that your brother was born to hel. you. :ven his birth was 2od/s .lan. 2od knew that you would need hel. one day. @erse 1' The unwise man agrees to .ay money that his neighbour owes. -e is unwise0 because he cannot trust his neighbour. ,f the neighbour refuses to .ay0 then the unwise man will suffer. +ee Proverbs %518$. @erse 1( There will be results from our actions. +ome .eo.le like to argue. These .eo.le will cause .roblems. They will cause hate and anger. A .roud man might build a high gate to .rotect himself from other .eo.le. 6r0 he might build the gate to show that he is im.ortant. 2od hates .roud .eo.le 1Proverbs 1%5$4. -e wants us to be humble.
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+olomon uses humour here. The .roud man/s gate is too high. ,t is not safe. Perha.s it trembles0 when the .roud man o.ens it. ,t is too heavy. ,t will fall down. This gate is like the .roud man himself. -e will fail. -e will lose everything. 2od will make him humble. 1Proverbs 1%51'4 @erse !) The first man has an evil heart. This means that his desires are evil. -e cannot be successful0 because 2od will .unish him. The second man tells lies. And he will suffer because of his lies. They will cause many troubles for him. v$1 ,f your son is a fool0 then you will be sad. The father of a fool is never 9oyful. v$$ -a..iness is like a medicine. ,f you are sad0 then you will become weak. v$% An evil man receives a bribe 1secret gift4. Then a 9udge makes the wrong decision. v$& A wise man looks carefully to choose the right way. A fool stares into the distance. v$' A foolish son brings trouble to his father. A foolish son causes .ain to his own mother. @erse !1 A fool hates 2od0 and hates wisdom. By Afool/0 +olomon means someone who is evil. Because the son is evil0 the father suffers. The father might suffer0 because the son makes evil .lans against his father. 6r the father might be sad because he sees his son/s evil actions. Peo.le might become wealthy0 if they do evil things. Their evil deeds might make them famous or im.ortant. But0 in the end0 an evil .erson will suffer because of his evil actions. And other .eo.le will suffer too. @erse !! -a..iness is like a medicine for our s.irits and for our bodies. We feel stronger and healthier0 when we are content. 6ur emotions are .owerful0 so we should try to control them. We can be content even when we are .oor. This is because 2od has forgiven us. ,f we have 2od/s gift of wisdom0 then our troubles will not u.set us. ,nstead0 we shall trust 2od to hel. us. +ee Phili..ians #51181!0 -ebrews 1"5$0 and 1 Timothy %5%8'. @erse !" The .eo.le might not know why a 9udge makes a wrong decision. They might think that he made a mistake. The truth is often that someone is evil. Perha.s a .oliceman0 or a lawyer0 or the 9udge himself0 received a bribe 1secret gift4. Bribes are evil0 because they cause the law to be unfair. +ee also verse 1$. @erse !# <ife is like a 9ourney. The wise man is like a traveller who chooses the right route. This is because the wise man is aiming to get to heaven. +o the wise man is careful to choose the correct .ath. -e thinks carefully about his decisions0 because he is wise. The fool hates wisdom. -e does not think carefully about what he should aim at. +o0 he stares into the distance. -e is like a stu.id traveller who does not even want to find the right .ath. @erse !$ This son refuses to learn to be wise. +o0 the son acts foolishly. -e u.sets his .arents. And they suffer because of him. v$( >o not .unish an innocent manD >o not whi. honest officialsD v$- A man who has knowledge0 chooses his words carefully. A wise man kee.s his tem.er under control.
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v$" A fool should say nothing. Then .eo.le will think that he is wise. @erse !% This verse is good advice for any .erson who has authority. When there is bad news0 many .eo.le would blame innocent .eo.le. ;any rulers do not want to hear about troubles. +ometimes .eo.le hate an honest adviser. 1+ee 1 *ings !!.4 -owever0 someone with authority needs to know the truth0 even if the truth is bad news. -e needs honest advisers. -e should not blame innocent .eo.le. 6rdinary .eo.le also need to know the truth. We should ask honest .eo.le for advice. We cannot trust the advice of someone who is not honest. @erse !& A wise man thinks carefully. -e does not suddenly become angry. 6ther .eo.le might think that he is slow. They are wrong0 because it might take a long time to make a good decision. @erse !' This verse is good advice for a fool. +olomon is using humour here0 because a fool hates wisdom and good advice. Actually0 +olomon is .retending that he is advising a fool. -e does this because he has a good lesson to teach us all. A fool/s words are all evil and foolish. +o he should be silent. Then he can say nothing that is evil. Then everybody will think that he is a wise man. The lesson for everyone is this. We should not s.eak too much. We should be careful about our words. We should think before we s.eak. Then we shall be able to use wise words.

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Proverbs chapter 1"

v1 An unfriendly man is selfish. -e is not sensible. v$ A fool does not like knowledge. A fool likes to s.eak his own o.inions. v% The words Aevil/ and Ahate/ belong together. The words Ashame/ and A.unishment/ belong together. v& A man/s words are like dee. waters. But wisdom flows like a stream. v' >o not .refer evil .eo.leD Be fair to innocent .eo.leD v( When a fool s.eaks0 he may start an argument. -e deserves a .unishment0 because of his words. v- A fool receives .unishment for his words. -is own words cause his .roblems. v" When someone gossi.s0 his words are like a favourite food. The words0 like the food0 enter right into a man. v! A la=y man will cause trouble. @erse 1 <ook after .eo.le that you do not knowD +ometimes angels 12od/s servants from heaven4 are our guests. 1-ebrews 1"5!4 A sensible .erson should be friendly. ,f someone is not friendly0 then he is selfish. -e cares about himself0 but he does not care about other .eo.le. And he refuses to consider their o.inions. @erse ! A fool hates wisdom. -e really knows nothing0 but he loves his own ideas. -e thinks that his thoughts are more im.ortant than the truth. We should not behave like this. ,nstead0 we should listen to other .eo.le. Then we shall learn to be wise. @erse " 6ften0 an evil .erson hates other .eo.le. -e hates0 because he is evil. -e is evil0 because he hates. This .erson will receive both shame and .unishment. -e will feel shame0 when he receives his .unishment. @erse # A man/s words may be hard to understand. The man may try to hide his real thoughts. ,t is difficult for a swimmer to dive down to the dee. water. Wisdom is easy to understand. ,t is easy to distinguish good things from evil things. ,t is easy to distinguish right things from wrong things. Wisdom is like a flowing stream. Anyone can easily collect water from a flowing stream. Anyone can easily learn to be wise. @erse $ We should be fair to everyone0 es.ecially in court. An evil .erson does not deserve honour. -e should not benefit from his evil actions. ,f he is guilty0 he deserves .unishment. We should res.ect an innocent .erson. -e should not receive .unishment. Be fair to himD @erses %8&

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A fool hates wisdom. A wise man thinks carefully about his words. But a fool does not think before he s.eaks. +o the fool/s words cause arguments. -is words cause trouble. And the fool deserves .unishment for his evil words. @erse ' This verse is the same as Proverbs !%5!!. Peo.le listen0 when someone gossi.s. They en9oy the stories. They even believe that the stories are true. This is dangerous. These stories are like food0 because of how they affect us. The stories enter the mind0 even as food enters the stomach. These stories can cause troubles0 even as bad food causes illness. And such stories can even make friends into enemies. We should be careful about the words that we hear. We should not encourage .eo.le to gossi.. @erse ( ,f you are la=y0 then this may cause trouble for other .eo.le. To be la=y is almost the same thing as to be dangerous. v1. 2od is like a strong castle. 2ood men are safe0 when they trust in 2od. v11 A rich man/s wealth is in his castle. -e thinks that nobody can enter it. v1$ A man is .roud0 until he falls. A man must be humble0 before he can receive honour. v1% 6nly fools answer before they have listened. v1& A man/s s.irit brings strength to him0 when he is ill. But if his s.irit is weak0 the man must suffer. @erses 1)811 These two verses are about different castles. A castle was a strong building0 which would be safe0 even during a war. A good man trusts in 2od. -e can relax0 because 2od will kee. him safe. A rich man trusts in a strong building. -e thinks that his money is safe in his castle. -e trusts his castle. -e does not trust 2od. This rich man thinks that thieves cannot enter the castle/s high walls. -e is wrong. -e is not safe. @erse 1! The Bible teaches that a truly great man is a humble man. +ee ;ark (5""8"$. @erse 1" A wise man listens carefully before he advises anyone. A fool 1that is0 an evil man4 does not need to listen. -e already has .lenty of foolish ideas to tell you. The fool thinks that he knows everything. Beally0 he knows nothing. -e is wrong0 because he hates wisdom. +o he has never learned anything. @erse 1# ?our s.irit needs to be strong. ?our s.irit can hel. you when your body is weak. ,f your s.irit is weak0 then you will struggle. 6ur s.irits will become strong0 if we trust 2od. <ike our bodies0 our s.irits need exercise. We should study the Bible and .ray to 2od. We should go to church and meet other Christians. We should look after and encourage other .eo.le. All these activities will hel. us. ,f we do these things0 2od will make our s.irits stronger. +ee 1 Thessalonians $51%8!!0 -ebrews 1"5181) and Phili..ians #51". v1' A wise man/s mind is always ready to learn knowledge. A wise man/s ears listen for knowledge. v1( A bribe 1secret gift4 makes new o..ortunities. :ven rulers listen to men who .ay bribes 1secret gifts4. v1- The first .erson to s.eak seems right
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until someone asks him 7uestions. v1" A lot 1that is0 a game of chance4 could settle an argument when strong men o..ose each other. v1! >o not u.set your brotherD ,t is easier to win in battle than to agree with him. ,t would be easier to enter a castle. @erses 1$81( *ing +olomon was also a 9udge. These verses are about 9udgements in court. @erse 1$ This verse is a little .oem about the .arts of the body. The wise man/s mind loves wisdom. +o he studies to be even wiser. The wise man always listens with his ears. -e listens so that he will hear more knowledge. Then his mind can learn it0 and the man will become wiser. ,n .articular0 a 9udge needs to listen carefully. Then he will know the truth in a matter. @erse 1% Bribes 1secret gifts4 are evil. They tem.t .eo.le to do wrong things. 3udges must be aware of the dangers of bribes 1secret gifts4. @erse 1& A 9udge must listen to both o..osing sides. :veryone believes the first .erson to s.eak. The lawyers must ask hard 7uestions. Then they will discover whether this .erson/s words are true. We should not believe everyone who s.eaks about 2od. The s.eaker might seem right. But we must ask 7uestions0 to discover whether the s.eaker really believes the Bible. +ee 1 Corinthians 1!5"I ! Corinthians 1"5$I 2alatians 15%8(I 3ude 1&8!". @erse 1' ,f strong men o..ose each other0 then they might want to fight. The argument could cause great .ain and trouble. This .roblem seems im.ossible to solve. -owever0 a very sim.le solution might be .ossible. The two men might settle their argument by lot 1that is0 by chance4. Peo.le in the Bible often used lots to make decisions. They trusted 2od to make the decision when they used lots. 2od is wiser than any human 9udge is. +o the .eo.le res.ected 2od/s decision and settled their arguments. +ee Proverbs 1%5"". We do not need to use lots today0 because 2od has given his -oly +.irit to us. The -oly +.irit will guide us to make the right decisions. @erse 1( Camily arguments can be serious .roblems. Belatives can struggle to solve an argument0 if you u.set them. ,t is hard to .ersuade your brother to forgive you. ,f you have hurt him0 then he might refuse to acce.t you. When the relationshi. is close0 it can be much harder to solve such .roblems. We should avoid arguments. ,f we have done something wrong0 then we should confess our error. We should say that we are sorry. ,f someone else makes a mistake0 we should forgive that .erson. We should care about other .eo.le. +o we should try not to u.set them. v$. A man/s words are like his food. 2ood words are like the harvest. v$1 Words can bring life or death. Words have effects. v$$ When a man finds a wife0 2od has been kind to him. v$% A .oor man asks for hel.. But a rich man refuses to hel.. v$& A man might have many friends0 but none would hel. him. Another man has only one friend0 but that friend is closer than a brother.
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@erse !) 6ur words make us what we are. Bad food makes a man weak. Bad words will also make a man weak. Bad words are0 for exam.le0 lies or evil .lans. 2ood food makes a man strong. 2ood words will also make him strong. 2ood words are0 for exam.le0 true words or words that encourage. 2ood words bring many benefits. This is why good words are like the harvest. @erse !1 When a 9udge makes his 9udgement0 he can .unish a man with death. When a thief makes an evil .lan0 his words can .lot a man/s death. 6ur words also bring results. We can tell .eo.le how to become Christians. We can advise .eo.le wisely. We can hel. .eo.le with our words. Words are .owerful. @erse !! +ee Proverbs "151)8!1. When a man marries a woman0 this is good. +ee 2enesis !5!)8!#. 2od has been good to them0 so they love each other. They should look after each other. They should encourage and hel. each other. They must try to be a good husband and a good wife. 2od has been kind to them0 so they should try to be kind to each other. @erse !" This is terrible. The rich man is greedy. -e does not think that 2od cares about the .oor man. The rich man does not use his wealth to hel. the .oor man. ,nstead0 the rich man wastes his money on luxury. 2od will .unish him. @erse !# The friends ought to hel. the first man. But when he needs hel.0 they all avoid him. This often ha..ens. ;any friends are not loyal. When troubles come0 such friends leave. The second man has only one friend. But this friend is a different ty.e of friend. There is real love in this friendshi.. When troubles come0 this friend is like a brother. This friend really cares. 3esus is like this friend. -e cares for us0 even if nobody else cares. -e even died for us0 so that 2od would forgive us. 3esus said0 AEobody loves more than the man who dies for his friends. ?ou are my friends0 if you obey me./ 13ohn 1$51"81#4

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Proverbs chapter 1!
v1 A man may be .oor but he still remains honest. -e is better than the fool0 whose words are false. v$ An unwise man is eager. But he has no knowledge. -e is like a man who hurries down the wrong road. v% A foolish man ruins his own life. But he blames 2od for his troubles. v& A wealthy man gains many friends. But a .oor man cannot kee. the few friends that he has. v' An untrue witness in a court will receive .unishment. Any .erson who lies will not avoid .unishment. v( ;any .eo.le .raise a ruler. :veryone is the friend of a man who gives gifts. v- A .oor man/s relatives hate him. -is friends avoid him. -e follows them0 and he calls for them. But he cannot find them. @erses 18& ,n these verses0 +olomon discusses things that are wrong. ;any wrong things ha..en in this world. @erse 1 A fool hates wisdom0 so his words are lies. -e tries to give a false im.ression. -e should not s.eak these evil words. -e should be honest. ,t would be better if this man were .oor0 but honest. @erse ! +olomon describes a man who is in a hurry. But the man acts without sufficient knowledge. -e will cause troubles and .roblems. All his actions will be wrong actions. All his decisions will be wrong decisions. -e is like a runner who is going down the wrong road. +uch a runner will not arrive at the right .lace. And a man without sufficient knowledge will not make the right decisions. We too will make many mistakes0 if we do not learn knowledge and wisdom. @erse " A foolish man hates wisdom and he hates 2od. This man causes his own .roblems. But he is not sorry about his evil actions. ,nstead0 he blames 2od for his troubles. Eow the man hates 2od even more. @erse # ;any .eo.le .refer wealthy friends0 and dislike .oor .eo.le. +uch behaviour is wrong. +ee 3ames !518#0 Proverbs 1'5!#0 and <uke 1#51!81#. @erse $ ,f a man lies0 then he deserves .unishment. @erse % The .eo.le .raise the ruler0 because they want his hel.. These .eo.le are not .raising the ruler because he is a good ruler. ,n fact0 these .eo.le may think that he is a bad ruler. They are .raising the ruler0 but only because they want him to su..ort them. This is called Aflattery/. The .eo.le .raise the ruler0 but their words are not honest. The ruler might think that he has many friends. -e is wrong. These .eo.le only want his money. ,f the ruler becomes .oor0 then he will have no friends. +ee Proverbs 1'5!#.
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@erse & 2od loves .oor .eo.le 1<uke #51'4. As Christians0 we must be the friends of .oor .eo.le. 2reedy .eo.le will not hel. .oor .eo.le. But Christians can show .oor .eo.le that 2od loves .oor .eo.le too. v" ,f you love wisdom0 then you love yourself. ,f you love wisdom0 then you will succeed. v! The untrue witness receives .unishment. ,n the end the man who lies will die. v1. ,t is not right if a fool lives in luxury. ,t is worse if a slave rules over .rinces. v11 A man/s wisdom makes him .atient. -e even forgives other .eo.le/s mistakes. v1$ An angry king is like a roaring lionD A king/s .leasure is like dew 1water4 on the grass. @erse ' Wisdom is a good thing. ,f you are wise0 then you will benefit from your wisdom. Wisdom im.roves your whole life. <earn to be wiseD Wisdom is better than wealth or fame. Eothing is better than wisdom0 because wisdom teaches us to res.ect 2od. @erse ( This is similar to verse $. -ere0 at verse (0 it contrasts with verse '. We have a choice. The wise man loves wisdom0 so he succeeds. The foolish man lies0 so he will die. -is death is the .unishment for his evil words. @erse 1) ,n the first line0 the fool is someone who hates wisdom. -e should suffer for his evil actions0 but this fool does not suffer. ,nstead0 he lives in luxury. +olomon thinks that this is terrible. ,n the second line0 a .rince rules a country. -owever0 the .rince is unha..y0 because he has a secret. The .rince is afraid of his slave. The slave controls the .rince. +olomon says that this is even worse. +olomon was a king. Perha.s he knew this .rince and his slave. We do not know who they were. But +olomon seems to write about them again in :cclesiastes %518" and :cclesiastes 1)5$8&. @erse 11 A wise man forgives the mistakes of other .eo.le. This shows that the wise man is a great man. +ee ;atthew %51#81$. @erse 1! When a king is angry0 he is dangerous0 like a lion. +tay away from himD But a king can be calm and 7uiet. Then it is good to be with him. This is like dew 1water4 on the grass0 when it is cool in the early morning. v1% A foolish son ruins his father. A wife who argues is like a constant leak of water. v1& Parents give houses and wealth. 2od gives a wise wife. v1' A la=y man slee.s. ,f he does not work0 then he will not be able to buy food. v1( ,f you obey the commands0 you will live. ,f you refuse to obey the commands0 you will die. v1- The man who hel.s .oor .eo.le lends to 2od. 2od will reward that man. @erse 1"
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This man has a foolish son0 and a wife who argues. -e has many troubles. -is son is evil and hates wisdom. The man suffers because his son is evil. The wife who argues always u.sets her husband. Water is .recious. ,f there is a leak0 then this wastes the .recious water. The wife who argues is like a leak of water. +he wastes her husband/s strength. -e is weak0 because of the arguments. @erse 1# This man has a wise wife and careful .arents. -is .arents have saved money to .rovide for him. -is wife is the gift of 2od. This man has a good life0 because of his wise wife and wise .arents. Parents can .rovide houses and wealth. But only 2od can give a wise wife to the man. @erse 1$ This man is too la=y. -e is still aslee.. -e must awake and work. 6therwise0 he will be hungry. +ee Proverbs %5%811. @erse 1% This verse briefly ex.lains >euteronomy !'. ,f we obey 2od/s law0 then 2od will hel. us. ,f we do not obey0 then we shall suffer. -owever0 everyone does evil things. 1+ee Bomans "5!".4 +o we must ask 2od to forgive us 1Acts 1&5")8"14. 2od forgives us0 because 3esus suffered our .unishment 1Acts "51'4. @erse 1& 2od cares about .oor .eo.le. -e wants us to hel. them. +ee ;atthew !$5"18#%. v1" Teach your son while he is young. 6therwise0 his behaviour will lead to his death. v1! An angry man will receive .unishments regularly. ,f you rescue him once0 then you must rescue him many times. @erse 1' Perha.s you have an evil son. As he becomes older0 his behaviour may become worse. Perha.s he will die when a 9udge .unishes him. But we know that 2od will .unish that son. Perha.s you can still rescue your son. Perha.s if you .unish him0 he will change his behaviour. Perha.s your son will .ray to 2od. Perha.s your son will ask 2od to forgive him. >o not be afraid to .unish your sonD ?ou may save him from a much worse .unishment. @erse 1( >isci.line is not 9ust for young .eo.le. Adults should also learn to have disci.line. ,n other words0 they should teach themselves to behave well. But some .eo.le easily become angry. ?ou might work hard to rescue such a man from his .unishment. But if he becomes angry again0 then you must rescue him again. Try to teach this .erson not to be angry. -e should learn to be .atient. An angry .erson has many troubles0 because of his anger. v$. <isten to adviceD Collow instructionsD ,n the end0 you will be wise. v$1 A man may make many .lans. But 2od decides what ha..ens. v$$ A man needs a loyal friend who would .refer to be .oor than to lie. v$% ,f you res.ect 2od0 then you will have a good life. Then you will be content. Troubles will not u.set you. v$& When a la=y man has a meal0 he .uts his hand into the bowl. Then he is too la=y to lift his hand to his mouth. v$' Whi. a man who insults other .eo.leD Then sim.le .eo.le will learn wisdom.
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Correct a wise man and he will gain knowledge. v$( A son might steal from his father. The same son might send his mother away. -e is a terrible son. -is .arents will suffer shame because of him. @erse !) :veryone needs to learn to be wise. Eobody is born wise. ?ou0 too0 can learn to be wise. ?ou must listen to your lessons. ?our lessons are the advice that you receive. ?ou must obey the instructions. This re7uires effort. ,t takes time. But0 in the end0 you will be wise. @erse !1 We make our .lans. But we cannot control even our own lives. +ee 3ames #51"81$. ,f we trust 2od0 then 2od will guide us. +ee my notes on Proverbs 1%51. +ee Acts 1%5%81). Paul had many .lans0 but these were not 2od/s .lans. Paul needed to .ray0 so that he would know 2od/s .lans. @erse !! A loyal friend is the best ty.e of friend. +uch a friend is always sincere. -e does not try to gain by lies0 because he is loyal. -e does not even care if he becomes .oor because of his friendshi.. The second line is similar to Proverbs 1(51. @erse !" We must res.ect 2od 8 see Proverbs 15&. ,f we res.ect 2od0 then 2od will hel. us. When troubles come0 he will .rotect us. +ee Psalm #%51. @erse !# +olomon uses humour here. This is a very la=y man. -e is too la=y0 even to eat. This means the same as verse 1$. A la=y man refuses to work0 so he will earn nothing. Because he earns nothing0 he will be hungry. +olomon/s story in verse !# ex.lains this as a 9oke. @erse !$ The man who insults other .eo.le might not learn from his .unishment. ,n :nglish0 we say that this man has a Aclosed mind/. This means that he refuses to learn from anyone else. But other .eo.le can learn when they see this man/s .unishment. +im.le .eo.le do wrong things0 because they have not learned to be wise. +im.le .eo.le will learn when the evil man receives his .unishment. They will see the .unishment. +o they will realise that the man is evil. They will learn that the man/s actions were wrong. +o they themselves will begin to learn wisdom. ,n :nglish0 we say that sim.le .eo.le have an Aem.ty mind/. This means that they have learned little yet. But they might learn if they get a shock. ,f a wise man does something wrong0 then you should correct him. Because he is wise0 he will learn from the correction. -e will become even wiser. ,n :nglish0 we say that such a man has an Ao.en mind/. That is0 he wants to learn0 even if the truth is .ainful. @erse !% This son does not 9ust do one evil thing. -e does many evil things. -is .arents cannot control him. They must avoid him. They can only .ray to 2od for their son. The son will suffer for his own evil actions. v$- ,f you do not listen to instructions0 my son0 then you will learn nothing. @erse !& This is the only verse in Proverbs 1)51 to Proverbs !!51% where +olomon s.eaks to his own son. These cha.ters form a very long lesson. Perha.s +olomon/s son is tired. Perha.s the son wants to do something else. But he must not walk away. -e needs to listen to this lesson. -e needs to learn this knowledge. -e must be .atient and learn more. v$" A witness who lies in court is laughing at the law itself. An evil man en9oys evil things. -e is like a drunk who is always wanting another drink. v$! Punishments are ready for those who insult.
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Whi.s are ready for the backs of fools. @erse !' The first line is like 3ames !51). ,f a witness lies0 then the 9udge might make the wrong decision. Because of this0 the law will be unfair. A guilty man might go free. An innocent man might suffer .unishment. <ies are always evil0 but es.ecially in court. The second line is like Proverbs #51&. This line means that the evil man loves his evil behaviour. An evil man always wants to do more evil things. @erse !( The man who lies0 in verse !'0 insults the law itself. -e deserves his .unishment. Cools hate wisdom0 and love to do evil things. <ike the man that lies0 fools also deserve severe .unishments. The .unishments are ready. +ometimes evil .eo.le avoid .unishment in this world. But they cannot esca.e from 2od. +o they must change their lives before it is too late. They must ask 2od to forgive them. They must do this without delay 8 because the .unishments are ready.

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Proverbs chapter $.
v1 Wine is like a man who insults you. Beer is like a man who shouts at you. ,f wine and beer tem.t you0 then you are not wise. v$ An angry king is like a roaring lion. ,f you make the king angry0 then you will die. v% ,f a man avoids arguments0 then he deserves honour. A fool always argues. v& A la=y man does not .lough the ground during the cold weather. When the harvest is due0 he looks for food. -e finds nothing. @erse 1 A drunk might say that alcohol is like a friend to him. +olomon does not agree. A friend would not insult you. But wine and beer do this. Alcohol insults your mind and confuses your thoughts. ,t can hurt your body and .ut you in danger. ,t causes divorces and u.sets families. A wise .erson should not allow wine and beer to tem.t him. @erse ! This verse is similar to Proverbs 1(51!. >o not make a king angryD -e might order your death. +ee also the .rayer in Acts #5!#8!). +ometimes .eo.le 1and even kings4 will o..ose us0 because we are Christians. @erse " A wise man tries not to argue. -e is .olite 8 see Acts !%5!8". +ometimes he says nothing0 to avoid an argument 8 see ;ark 1#5%1. But sometimes he must s.eak0 although other .eo.le will be angry 1;ark 1#5%!8%$4. -is wisdom will guide him to know what to say. A fool is evil and he hates wisdom. -e loves arguments0 because he loves his evil behaviour. @erse # +olomon uses humour here. The farmer in verse # was too la=y to .lough his land. When the harvest is due0 he gets a bad sur.rise. There is no food. :ven a stu.id farmer knows that he must .lough the ground. This farmer was la=y0 so he will be hungry. ,f we work hard0 then we shall have enough food. Work is good. We should not be la=y. v' 6nly a wise man can get water from a dee. well. +o only a wise man can understand another .erson/s thoughts. v( ;any men say that they are loyal. But you cannot find a man anywhere who does not tell lies. v- A good man lives an honest life. Because of his life0 his children are glad. v" A king sits on his throne 1royal chair4 as a 9udge. -e does not .ermit anything that is evil in his court. v! +urely nobody can say0 A;y heart is innocent. ;y behaviour is always right. ;y actions are never wrong./ @erse $ +ometimes it is difficult to hel. a friend. 6ften a friend does not want to talk. -e does not want to ex.lain his .roblems. A wise .erson will s.eak gently to his friend. The wise .erson will encourage his friend to ex.lain the .roblem. The wise man must be slow and .atient. -e acts like a man who takes water from a dee. well. After a long time0 he will succeed. Then the wise man will understand his friend/s .roblem. +o the wise man can hel. his friend. @erse %
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Peo.le often say that they are loyal to their friends. Troubles will test whether their words were true. Anyone can say such words. But when .roblems come0 many .eo.le do not try to hel. their friends. ,n verses % and (0 +olomon tries to find an honest man. ;any .eo.le seem honest. They say the right words. But when +olomon in7uires further0 these .eo.le disa..oint +olomon. :verybody does wrong things. +ee Psalm $"5"0 ,saiah $"5%0 and Bomans "5!". 3esus was always honest and he always s.oke the truth. 3ohn lived with 3esus for " years 11 3ohn 1518"4. 3ohn tells us that 3esus did nothing evil 11 3ohn "5$4. This is why 3esus could take the .unishment for our evil actions. 3esus did this when he died for us 11 Peter "51'4. This is how 2od forgives our evil actions. @erse & The children benefit if their father is honest. ,f we are honest and good0 then 2od will hel. our children. But only 3esus was really honest. 3esus is 2od 1Colossians !5(0 3ohn 1)5")4. ,f we trust 2od0 then we are 2od/s children 1,saiah $"51)4. +o 2od is kind to us 11 3ohn "514. @erse ' ,n +olomon/s time0 the king was also a 9udge. 2od is also a king and 9udge 1Bevelation 1(51%I !)51181!4. 2od gives authority to human 9udges 13ohn 1(51)8114. +o we must res.ect them. A human 9udge is 2od/s servant 1Bomans 1"518$4. A human 9udge does not allow lies in his court. -e does not allow any evil behaviour in his court. ,n the same way0 2od .unishes all our evil actions 1Bevelation !)51"81$4. Eobody can lie to 2od. -e knows everything 11 3ohn "5!)4. @erse ( +ee verse %. We cannot say this 11 3ohn 15'4. 6nly 3esus can truly say this. -owever0 if we trust in 2od0 then 2od forgives our evil actions. We are 2od/s children. We do not continue to do evil things 11 3ohn "5(4. But if we do evil things0 then we should tell the truth to 2od. We should confess our evil action to 2od. We should tell him about our errors 11 3ohn 15(4. Then 2od will forgive us0 because of 3esus 11 3ohn !514. v1. There are false scales and false measurements. 2od hates all lies. v11 We test even children by their actions. We watch whether their behaviour is true and right. v1$ 2od made eyes that see. 2od made ears that hear. @erse 1) +ho.s use scales and measurements. ,f these are false0 then the sho.kee.er is cheating the customer. +olomon says that the sho.kee.er has lied. 2od hates all lies. @erse 11 A good child behaves well. A bad child behaves badly. We test children by their actions. 2od tests everybody by their actions. We all must do the things that .lease 2od. 1;atthew &5!)4 @erse 1! 2od made our eyes and ears. Therefore0 he knows how to see and to hear. 2od sees our actions. 2od hears our words. -e knows the things that we have done. -e is a fair 9udge. We cannot lie to 2od. v1% ,f you love to slee.0 then you will become .oor. +tay awake0 and you will have .lenty of food. v1& The buyer says0 A,t is badD ,t is badD/ Then he goes away. Proudly0 he tells everyone about his good .urchase. v1' There is much gold. There are many .recious stones. But a wise .erson/s knowledge is really rare and .recious.
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v1( ,f a man .romises to .ay a foreigner/s debt0 then take his coat. ,f he .romises on behalf of a foreign woman0 then kee. his coatD 6therwise0 he may never .ay. v1- When a man steals food0 the food tastes sweet. But he will not en9oy his meal. ,n the end0 his meal will be like a mouthful of stones. v1" ,f you are making a .lan for a war0 then get adviceD @erse 1" This is similar to Proverbs 1(51$. +lee. is good0 but it is not good to be la=y. The la=y man becomes .oor0 because he refuses to work. The worker earns his wages0 so that he has .lenty of food. @erse 1# This buyer bargains for a chea. .rice. Perha.s he even cheats the seller. The buyer says that the seller is selling something bad. But later0 he tells the o..osite to his friends. -e has bought something good at a chea. .rice. Peo.le do not always mean the things that they say. And many .eo.le try to make a .rofit unfairly. We should be honest 1;atthew $5"&4. @erse 1$ 2old and .recious stones seem valuable. They are beautiful and ex.ensive. But many .eo.le own them. And these things are not very useful. *nowledge is useful. *nowledge is more valuable than gold or .recious stones. *nowledge is also rare. +ee ;atthew &51#. @erse 1% ?ou cannot trust this man/s .romise. -e has .romised on behalf of a foreigner. Perha.s the man is hiding an evil secret. Therefore0 you must kee. his coat0 until he .ays. +ee also :xodus !!5!%8!&. @erse 1& A man eats a meal. -is food tastes good and sweet. -e en9oys the meal. But suddenly0 something is wrong. The meal tastes awful. -e breaks his teeth. -is mouth is full of stonesD :vil actions are like this. :vil behaviour may tem.t us and attract us. We might feel ha..y when we do an evil action. But soon it will feel terrible. ,n the end0 we feel shame. The man in verse 1& stole his food. 6r .erha.s he cheated someone else to get the meal. ,n the end0 he receives his .unishment. @erse 1' Be careful when you make an im.ortant decisionD When a king goes to war0 .eo.le will die. -e must not decide to go to war while he is angry. -e must think carefully. -e must obtain good advice0 from honest advisers. +ee <uke 1#5"18"". v1! ,f a man gossi.s0 then he tells secrets. Choose friends who do not s.eak much. v$. A man may insult his father and mother. Put out that man/s light0 in total darknessD v$1 ?ou can get money 7uickly0 but0 in the end0 it brings trouble. v$$ >o not say0 A?ou have done wrong things to me. +o , will .unish you./ Wait for 2odD -e will save youD v$% 2od hates wrong measurements. Calse scales do not .lease 2od. @erse 1(
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?ou cannot trust this man. -e gossi.s0 so he will tell your secrets to everyone. We should not gossi.. +ee 3ames #51181!. @erse !) We must res.ect our .arents. 2od orders us to do this. +ee >euteronomy $51%0 and ;atthew 1$5#8 %. The second line of verse !) means that this man deserves death. A man who insults his .arents deserves a terrible .unishment 1:xodus !151&4. @erse !1 There are many ways to get money 7uickly. ?ou might steal money. ?ou might cheat other .eo.le. ?ou might make an evil .lan. These methods are all evil. ,f you do these things0 then you will suffer .unishments and troubles. ?ou should earn money from your work. This is slower than if you steal. But 2od will be .leased with you because you are honest. @erse !! +ometimes we want to .unish .eo.le who hurt us. This is not a good attitude. We should forgive .eo.le 1Bomans 1!51&8!14. We should even love our enemies 1;atthew $5##4. But 2od will .unish evil .eo.le0 if they do not ask 2od to forgive them. 1+ee >euteronomy "!5"$.4 @erse !" This is similar to verse 1). ;any .eo.le think that small lies do not matter. +olomon does not agree with this idea. +olomon re.eats the lesson0 because it is im.ortant. 2od hates all lies. v$& 2od directs a man/s life. This is why nobody can understand his own life. v$' When you .romise to give a gift0 think firstD 6therwise0 later you will be sorry. v$( A wise king acts as if evil men are like the wheat harvest. -e scatters them0 and he drives a wheel over them. v$- 2od sees a man/s s.irit. 2od can see the man/s secret thoughts. v$" <ove and truth .rotect a king. <ove will make his government safe. v$! The best thing about youths is their strength. 2rey hair gives honour to old .eo.le. v%. When a wound hurts0 the bad .art heals. +o a whi. .unishes and removes evil behaviour from a man. @erse !# We try to understand our own lives. We try to understand our ex.eriences. 6ften we do not know why things ha..en. But 2od knows. -e directs our lives. And he guides us. -e is like a farmer who looks after his shee. 1Psalm !"I 3ohn 1)518114. @erse !$ 3udges 115")8#) ex.lains this. 3e.hthah .romised to kill and to give to 2od0 whatever greeted him first. -e ex.ected an animal to greet him. -owever0 his daughter greeted him. We should be careful about gifts and .romises. ,t is better not to carry out a .romise0 than to do something evil. But you should not make a .romise that you cannot carry out. +ee also ;atthew $5""8"&. @erse !% A farmer drives a wheel over the wheat0 to se.arate the grain from the straw. Then he scatters the grain0 so that the wind blows away the straw.

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A king attacks evil men. The king must .rotect his country0 so his army fights against the evil men. This is like the farmer0 who drives a wheel over the wheat to se.arate the straw from the grain. 1Com.are this verse with Amos 15".4 ,f the king does not kill the evil men0 then he scatters them. ,f many evil men work together0 then they are strong and dangerous. After the king scatters them0 they are alone and weak. 2od also does this. -e .unishes evil .eo.le and he scatters them 1Psalm !4. 2od does this0 so that 2od/s .eo.le are safe. @erse !& 2od even knows our thoughts. -e knows whether our .lans are good or evil. 6ther .eo.le might think that we are good and honest. But 2od knows the truth. @erse !' +ome rulers think that they should be cruel. +olomon/s own son0 Behoboam0 thought this 11 *ings 1!51"81#4. -e was wrong. Cruelty does not make a king safe. ,f a ruler is cruel0 then the .eo.le hate him. They want a revolution and a new government. <ove .rotects a king. A ruler should love the .eo.le. -e should look after them and .rotect them. Then the .eo.le will love him. +ee 1 3ohn "5&81!. @erse !( We res.ect a youth/s strength. We call young .eo.le Acham.ions/ and Aheroes/ when they win in s.orts. We must also res.ect old .eo.le. Their grey hair reminds us about their long lives. 6ften old .eo.le have great wisdom. They are too old to be cham.ions in s.ort. But they can still be our cham.ions and heroes0 because of their wisdom. @erse ") Eobody likes .ain. But a wound often heals0 whilst it hurts. The body removes the bad .art of the wound0 and this hurts. ,n +olomon/s country0 9udges might .unish a guilty man with the whi.. The second line means0 APunishment removes a man/s evil behaviour./ Eo .unishment is .leasant. But the intention is to teach good behaviour. ,f we smack a child0 then the child learns to behave. When a 9udge .unishes a thief0 the thief should learn not to steal. 2od sometimes .unishes Christians. -e does this because he loves us. -e wants us to learn how to be holy. +ee -ebrews 1!5$811. This verse also reminds us about 3esus. Before 3esus died0 the soldiers whi..ed his back. They made him suffer greatly0 although he had done nothing wrong. Then they .laced nails through his hands and feet. The nails fixed him to the wooden cross where he died. 3esus suffered the .unishment that we deserve for our evil deeds. -e suffered because 2od loves us. 2od forgives us because 3esus suffered. We need sim.ly to confess our evil deeds and to trust 2od. Because 3esus suffered our .unishment0 2od removes our evil behaviour. And because 3esus suffered our .unishment0 we can be friends of 2od. +ee 1 Peter !5!# and ,saiah $"5$.

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Proverbs chapter $1
v1 A king is like a canal that 2od controls. 2od leads the king in the way that 2od decides. v$ A man su..oses that all his actions are right. But 2od knows the man/s secret thoughts. v% >o the things that are right and fairD This matters more to 2od than any gift. @erse 1 2od directs both good and evil kings. 2od directed *ing Eebuchadne==ar to destroy 3erusalem. This was a .unishment because the .eo.le in 3erusalem were very evil 1! Chronicles "%51$81&I >aniel 15!4. <ater0 2od gave a dream to Eebuchadne==ar. This dream was about the future 1>aniel !5!'4. <ater0 when Eebuchadne==ar became .roud0 2od made him humble 1>aniel #5!'8"#4. Afterwards0 Eebuchadne==ar wrote0 A2od is always king. -e always rules in heaven./ 1>aniel #5"#4. Eebuchadne==ar was an evil king who had served false gods 1>aniel "5$8%4. But in the end0 he .raised the real 2od 1>aniel #5"&4. @erse ! We might think that we are always right. But 2od knows our real intentions. @erse " Two men0 called Cain and Abel0 gave gifts to 2od. 2od did not acce.t Cain/s gift0 so Cain was angry. 2od warned Cain0 A>o the things that are rightD Then , 12od4 will acce.t you. But if you do wrong things0 then your evil attitudes will control you./ Cain did not obey 2od/s advice. ,nstead0 Cain killed Abel 12enesis #5"8'4. +ee also Psalm $151%81&. v& :vil men are .roud. They are .roud when they think about themselves. And they are .roud when they think about other .eo.le. The actions of evil men are always wicked. v' When a .erson .lans carefully0 he will make a .rofit. When a .erson acts too 7uickly0 he will become .oor. v( A .erson who lies might make money. -owever0 his wealth will disa..ear0 like steam. -is lies will cause his death. v- The cruelty of wicked men will destroy them. They refuse to do the right things. v" A guilty man is like a traveller who chooses the wrong way. An innocent man is like a traveller who chooses the right way. v! 6ne man lives in a corner of the roof. But this home is better than a big house0 if his wife always argues. v1. A wicked man wants to do evil things. -e is never kind to his neighbour. v11 +omeone who insults other .eo.le should receive .unishment. Then0 sim.le .eo.le will learn to be wise. When you teach a wise man0 he will gain knowledge. v1$ 2od0 who is good0 notices the actions of a wicked man. 2od0 who is good0 will ruin the wicked man. @erse #
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:vil .eo.le are .roud. They think that they are more im.ortant than other .eo.le. And evil .eo.le think that they do not need 2od. :vil .eo.le are .roud when they look at other .eo.le. When they see other .eo.le0 they hate those .eo.le. The desires and actions of evil .eo.le are all wicked. @erse $ A businessman must think hard when he makes his .lans. Then his business will succeed. -e must think carefully0 before he makes each decision. This is true about all our .lans. We should not make .lans in a hurry. We must use intelligence0 and make our .lans carefully. ,f we follow our emotions0 then our .lans will fail. @erse % This .erson cheats and steals to get money. -e refuses to work to earn his money. 2od will .unish him0 even if 9udges do not .unish him. +uddenly he will lose all his money. +ee <uke 1!5!)8!1. @erse & ;any evil .eo.le love to be cruel. They use cruelty to get money. They use cruelty to control other .eo.le. But evil .eo.le will also suffer in the end. :vil .eo.le will receive a severe .unishment. @erse ' <ife is like a 9ourney. A guilty .erson is like a traveller who chooses the wrong .ath. A guilty .erson/s actions may cause his death. -is actions may take him to hell. +o he needs to confess his evil deeds to 2od. But an innocent .erson is like a traveller who chooses the right .ath. This innocent .erson has chosen to live his life in 2od/s way. And 2od will guide him. +ee Psalm 1. @erse ( The corner of a roof is not a comfortable .lace to live. But it is better than a big house0 if the man/s wife argues. This man esca.es to his roof. We should not argue. We should aim to be content. +ee Phili..ians #511. @erse 1) This man is wicked. -e does not want to do the right things. -e wants to do evil things. This is why he is unfriendly. -e hates his neighbour. A wicked .erson does not want to hel. his neighbour or anyone else. @erse 11 The man who insults might not learn from his .unishment. But other .eo.le can learn. +im.le .eo.le have not learned to be wise. +o sim.le .eo.le do evil things. But the sim.le .eo.le will see the .unishment of the man who insults. +o the sim.le .eo.le will be able to learn from that man/s error. A wise man does not need a .unishment. -e will learn his lessons. Teach him0 and he will become even wiser. @erse 1! 2od sees evil .eo.le. -e watches their evil actions. -e knows their evil thoughts. 2od will .unish them. v1% Perha.s a man does not listen to the cries of .oor .eo.le. Then nobody will listen to him0 when he too cries for hel.. v1& A secret gift takes away a man/s anger. A bribe 1secret gift4 in the .ocket causes an angry man to be calm. v1' When a 9udge is fair0 good men are ha..y. But evil men are afraid. v1( +ometimes a .erson decides not to be wise. -e is like a traveller who wanders to his death.
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v1- The .erson who loves luxury will become .oor. The .erson who loves wine and oil will never be rich. v1" Wicked .eo.le must .ay0 instead of good .eo.le. Peo.le who do evil things must .ay0 instead of honest .eo.le. @erse 1" 2od cares about .oor .eo.le. We also should care about them0 and try to hel. them. ,f we do this0 then 2od will hel. us. When we have .roblems0 we can cry out to 2od. 2od will hear our .rayers. +ee Psalm #)51. @erse 1# +olomon does not want us to give bribes 1secret gifts4. -e teaches that bribes are evil. +ee Proverbs 1$5!&. A man might seem to be very angry. Perha.s the man really is angry. 6r .erha.s he 9ust wants money. Perha.s he is like the buyer in Proverbs !)51#. +o this angry man is bargaining for more money. ,f someone goes to court0 then he might be very angry. 6r he might .retend to be angry0 so that he can win more money. @erse 1$ We want 9udges to be fair. We want them to make the right decisions. We want them to refuse bribes 1secret gifts4. An evil .erson does not think this. A fair 9udge will .unish evil .eo.le as they deserve. A good 9udge will send evil .eo.le to .rison. A good 9udge will not allow them to cheat other .eo.le. -e will refuse bribes 1secret gifts4. -e will o..ose the .lans of evil .eo.le. @erse 1% <ife is like a 9ourney. ,f we follow 2od0 then he will guide us. We shall not be like travellers who wander on the wrong .ath. ,f we do not obey 2od0 then we are in danger. This is like a man who wanders on to a dangerous road. @erse 1& This .erson wastes his money. -e buys ex.ensive wine and oil. -e does not save his money. -e s.ends it on every luxury. This .erson will drink the wine. -e will use the oil. +oon nothing remains. -e has s.ent all his money0 so he is .oor. We should be careful with our money. Then we shall not waste our money but we shall s.end it wisely. 6ur money can .rovide for us0 and for our families. ,t can hel. .oor .eo.le. ,t can even hel. with 2od/s work. @erse 1' This is 2od/s .rinci.le. ,t is not a human .rinci.le. 6n this earth0 good .eo.le sometimes suffer0 even when wicked .eo.le do not suffer 1Psalm !!5&8'4. +ometimes innocent .eo.le suffer 1<uke 1"518$4. -owever0 in the end 2od will .unish evil .eo.le. +ometimes evil .eo.le suffer instead of good .eo.le0 even on this earth. ,n :sther cha.ters $8&0 an evil man 1-aman4 suffered the .unishment that -aman .lotted against a good man 1;ordecai4. Another exam.le is :xodus 1!5"$8"%. But in the end0 2od will .unish all evil .eo.le 1<uke 1"5$4. +o we must refuse to do evil deeds. And we must trust in 2od. ,f we do this0 2od will forgive us. v1! A man might live in the desert. -owever0 life is better there than with an angry wife who always argues. v$. 2ood food and oil are in the wise man/s house. A foolish man wastes whatever he has. v$1 ,f you try to get love and goodness0 you will receive a good life. And you will receive goodness and honour. v$$ A wise man attacks the city of the strong men.
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They trust in their castle0 but the wise man destroys it. v$% Be careful what you sayD Protect yourself from dangerD @erse 1( This is similar to verse (. -owever0 this man lives in the desert. The desert is a terrible .lace to live. But it is better to live there than to listen to constant arguments. @erse !) This reminds us of verse 1&. The foolish man wastes everything. The wise man stores the best things. The wise man works hard so that0 in winter0 he will have .lenty of food. This shows to us the wise man/s character. A wise man does not only store food. A wise man also stores wisdom and knowledge in his mind. @erse !1 We should not desire money0 or fame0 or foolish things. ,nstead0 we should desire love and goodness. <ove and goodness come from 2od. A2od is love./ 11 3ohn #51%4 2od gives good gifts 1;atthew &5114. 2od wants to give love and goodness to us. And he will also give other gifts to us0 for exam.le0 long life and honour. @erse !! A wise man is not afraid of strong men. -e is wise0 so he serves 2od. Through his wisdom0 he can even destroy a strong castle. Wisdom is better than strength. +olomon tells a similar story in :cclesiastes (51"81%. ,n that .assage0 the wise man defends his city0 when a strong man attacks. Both .assages remind us about 3esus. -e is like the wise man. The devil is like the strong man. 3esus describes the devil as a Astrong man/ in ;ark "5!%8!&. When 3esus died for us0 he defeated the devil 1-ebrews !51#4. 2od/s wisdom defeated the .ower of the devil 1:.hesians !518$4. @erse !" 6ur words can be dangerous. We might gossi. or tell lies. We might insult other .eo.le. We might even make evil .lans. We do not want to suffer a .unishment for our evil words. We should ask 2od to forgive us. And we should be careful with our words. +ee 3ames "5181!. v$& A man may be .roud and insult everyone. -e thinks that he is greater than anyone else. v$' The la=y man/s desires will cause his death. This is because he refuses to work. v$( -e is always greedy. A good man will give generously. -e kee.s nothing 9ust for himself. v$- 2od hates a gift from a wicked man. ,t is even worse when the wicked man has an evil reason for the gift. v$" A witness who lies in court will bring about his own .unishment. A good listener will have something hel.ful to say. v$! A wicked man dis.lays a bold face. But an honest man thinks first about his actions. @erse !# This verse ex.lains how to identify a .roud .erson. A .roud man does not res.ect anyone else. -e only thinks about himself. 2od wants us to be humble. +ee 3ames #51). @erses !$8!% These two verses belong together. They com.are a la=y man with a good man.
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This la=y man is greedy. -e wants food. -e needs money. But he refuses to work. +o he tries to .ersuade other .eo.le to give these things to him. -e will fail. -e will die because he cannot earn anything. This good man is generous. -e is not greedy. -e hel.s other .eo.le. -e might even hel. the la=y man0 although the la=y man does not deserve any hel.. The good man works0 so he earns wages. -is is glad to receive his wages0 so that he can give more money. -e has desires0 but his desires are not like the la=y man/s desires. The good man does not want luxuries. -e desires to hel. other .eo.le. -e wants to give. @erse !& ,f a wicked man gives a gift to 2od0 that man is still wicked. -e does not change his behaviour. -e does not confess his evil deeds. -e does not ask 2od to forgive him. This is more im.ortant than any gift. +ee Psalm #)5%8' and Psalm $151%81&. This man is wicked and his reasons are wicked. Perha.s he wants other .eo.le to res.ect him. 1Com.are ;atthew %5!4. Perha.s he thinks that he can deceive 1lie to4 2od. Perha.s he thinks that 2od is like a man. A man might acce.t the wicked man/s gift 1Proverbs !151#4. 2od will not acce.t it. 2od knows the wicked man/s heart. 2od knows the true reasons for his gift. @erse !' 2od .unishes .eo.le who lie. <ies are evil 1>euteronomy $5!)0 ;ark 1)51(4. But a good listener will say hel.ful things. +uch a .erson learns from what he hears. +o his words will not suggest a wicked scheme. The second line might mean0 AThe words of a man who does not lie will always be true./ 6r0 AThe man who listens to lies will also die./ 6r0 AThe man who hears a lie will tell everyone./ 6r0 APeo.le do not forget an honest man./ Perha.s the second line means many different things. Perha.s +olomon intended this. :ach of these .ossible meanings teaches a true lesson. @erse !( When .eo.le see this wicked man0 he seems bold. Beally0 he is not bold0 but he is stu.id. An honest man would think about his actions. An honest man would be much more careful. v%. There is no wisdom that can defeat 2od. There is no knowledge that can defeat 2od. There is no .lan that can defeat 2od. v%1 ?ou can .re.are a horse for the battle. -owever0 only 2od can bring victory 1success4. @erse ") +ome .eo.le think that selfish ambitions are wise 13ames "51#81$4. This is not really wisdom0 and it cannot defeat 2od. +ome .eo.le think that they are clever. They think that there is no 2od. The Bible calls them Afools/ 1Psalm 1#514. Their intelligence cannot defeat 2od. Their knowledge cannot defeat 2od. The devil .lots against us. -e wants to destroy us 11 Peter $5'4. But his .lans cannot defeat 2od. ,n the end0 2od will destroy the devil 1Bevelation !)51)4. :vil .eo.le might think that they are strong. They might insult 2od. They might even think that they are stronger than 2od. But 2od is in heaven. When he hears this0 he laughs at them. Their insults cannot bother 2od. 1Psalm !518#4 @erse "1 Cor +olomon0 his horses were like today/s tanks. 1Tanks are strong0 .owerful0 army vehicles.4 A horse was strong and fast in a battle. ,t could .ull a chariot 1vehicle4 or carry a soldier. The enemy was afraid of the horses. -orses need food0 water and exercise. +oldiers trained the horses for the battle. But the strength of the horses could not win the battle. A large0 .owerful army does not always win the war0 even today. 2od decides who wins. +ee 1 +amuel 1#5%81$0 3oshua $51"8%5!$ and 1 +amuel 1&.

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Proverbs chapter $$
v1 ,t is better to be a res.onsible .erson than to have great wealth. ,t is better that .eo.le trust you than for you to receive silver and gold. v$ Bich .eo.le and .oor .eo.le have this in common. 2od made them all. @erse 1 Wisdom is more valuable than wealth 1Proverbs '51)4. 6ther .eo.le should be able to trust us. Christians should be res.onsible .eo.le0 who are always careful and sensible. @erse ! 2od made everybody. +o we are all res.onsible to him. 2od made rich .eo.le. -e gave wealth to them0 so that they could hel. .oor .eo.le 1Proverbs 1#5"14. 2od also made .oor .eo.le. -e cares about them 1,saiah %1514. -e will .unish rich .eo.le who refuse to hel. .oor .eo.le 1Proverbs 1&5$4. v% When a wise man sees danger0 he stays in a safe .lace. But sim.le .eo.le do nothing0 so they suffer. v& Be humbleD Bes.ect 2odD ?ou will receive wealth and honour. And you will have a life that satisfies you. v' There are many dangers for a wicked man. -is life is like a .ath where there are shar. ob9ects and tra.s. A man who cares about his s.irit avoids such dangers. v( Teach a child how he should behaveD When he is old0 he will continue to do the right things. @erse " A sim.le .erson has not learned to be wise. -e does not watch for dangers. -e does not go to a safe .lace. 1+ee Psalm #%518!.4 -e suffers0 because he is not wise. @erse # 2od is greater than we are. Therefore0 we must be humble. The wise .erson res.ects 2od 1Proverbs 15&4. 2od .rotects him and hel.s him. +ome wise .eo.le are not wealthy 1Proverbs 1(514. But their wisdom is more valuable than money 1Proverbs '51)8114. Beally0 they are wealthy0 because 2od will give great wealth to them in heaven. 1+ee Bevelation !15"8#0 Bevelation !151'8!1 and ,saiah $$5!. +ee also ;ark 1)5!(8!).4 +imilarly0 other .eo.le might not give honour to wise .eo.le 1;atthew $51181!4. But 2od gives honour to them 13ohn 1!5!%4. @erse $ ,n this book0 +olomon warns us about many dangers. Wicked .eo.le suffer from all these dangers0 because they refuse to learn wisdom 1Proverbs #51(4. They even suffer from their own evil actions. They are like a stu.id hunter0 who falls into his own tra. 1Proverbs $5!!8!"4. But we can be safe from these dangers. ,f we are wise0 then we shall not be wicked. We shall obey +olomon/s advice. We shall learn about dangers and avoid them. 1Proverbs $5'4. @erse % This verse is a lesson for teachers to learn. ,t is also good advice for .arents. We should teach even the youngest children. We should teach them about wisdom. We should teach them to obey 2od/s commands. And we should encourage them to trust in 3esus. +cience0 languages and maths are good sub9ects. Art and music can teach us many skills. But these things are not the same as wisdom. The first lesson about wisdom is that we must res.ect 2od.
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When our children grow older0 they will remember our lessons. <essons about 2od will always be valuable to our children. 2od/s wisdom can guide our entire lives. This wisdom can .rotect us from danger. Also0 wisdom teaches us to trust in 2od. +o 2od/s wisdom will teach us the way to heaven. v- Wealthy .eo.le rule over .oor .eo.le. The borrower 1a .erson who owes money on loan4 must serve the lender. @erse & +olomon collected "))) wise lessons 1.roverbs4 11 *ings #5"!4. This section contains over #)) .roverbs 1Proverbs 1)8!!4. -ere0 +olomon is almost at the end of his list. As he finishes his work0 he re.eats the main .rinci.les. Wealthy .eo.le are .owerful0 because of their money. They should use their .ower wisely. They should be generous. They should not cause .oor .eo.le to suffer. A wealthy man should care about his servants. ,t is not good to owe a debt 1Proverbs %514. We should work hard and save money. We should s.end our money wisely. We should not waste it on luxuries. Then we may .erha.s avoid the need for a loan. v" When a man is evil0 he himself suffers troubles. -is cruelty and his anger will end. @erse ' :vil actions are like seeds. ,f a man sows seeds0 then he will receive a harvest. ,f a man does evil things0 then he will suffer trouble. 6ther .eo.le might suffer from his evil actions. But the man himself will also suffer. 2od knows that the man is evil. 2od will .unish him 1-osea '5&4. +ometimes evil .eo.le are strong and .owerful. An evil king might rule a country with his large army. We might think that nobody could defeat him. But 2od is more .owerful than any king or ruler 1:.hesians 15!)8!14. ,n 2od/s time0 the rule of evil .eo.le over this world will end. But 2od/s words will not end. 2od/s .ower will not end. 2od will always be the only 2od. 1;ark 1"5"1I -ebrews 1!5!%8!'4 v! 2od is kind to a generous man. This man shares his food with .oor .eo.le. @erse ( 2od wants us to be generous. -e wants us to share the wealth that he has given to us 1>euteronomy '51&81'4. 2od cares about .oor .eo.le. ,f we hel. other .eo.le0 then we are doing 2od/s work 1<uke %5"'4. +o0 2od will reward us 1;ark 1)5!(8")4. v1. ,f a man makes trouble for other .eo.le0 send him away. The troubles will go with him. @erse 1) Peo.le who cause trouble by their evil words do not deserve a welcome. +uch .eo.le may lie or gossi.. 6r they may insult other .eo.le. We should send away these evil .eo.le 1;atthew 1'51&4. The troubles will end when they leave. And .erha.s our actions will warn them that their behaviour was evil 11 Timothy 15!)4. v11 A king a..reciates an honest friend who also s.eaks gracefully. @erse 11 Because +olomon was a king0 his decisions affected many .eo.le. -is friends needed to advise him and to inform him. -e needed to choose the right friends. +olomon needed honest friends who would s.eak the truth. -e needed friends who s.oke kind words. -e did not want angry friends or dangerous friends. -e did not want friends who told lies. ,t did not matter whether his friends were rich or .oor. -e needed wise friends. +olomon/s son0 Behoboam0 had the wrong friends. They were rich0 and they loved luxuries. They were not kind. They were cruel. They gave bad advice. Because of their bad advice0 there was a revolution. Behoboam lost most of his country 11 *ings 1!51)81%4.
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:verybody needs good friends. We need friends to encourage and to advise us. We want friends who will .ray for us. We need to meet with other Christians. We should go to a church that believes the Bible. +ee -ebrews 1)5!$. v1$ 2od .rotects knowledge about his truth. But the .lans of evil men will fail. @erse 1! Peo.le may fail0 but 2od/s word will never fail. 2od .reserves his truth. Eobody can successfully o..ose 2od. 2od will not allow anyone to destroy the truth. A*nowledge/ here means knowledge about 2od0 and about what he re7uires. ,n 3eremiah "%5!&8!'0 an evil king tried to destroy the words that 2od gave to the .ro.het 1holy man4 3eremiah. The king threw 3eremiah/s book into the fire. The book burned0 but 2od .rotected the knowledge about his truth. After the book burned0 2od told 3eremiah to write the book again. +o the king/s .lan to destroy the .ro.het/s words failed. v1% A la=y man says0 AA lion is outsideD/ 6r0 he says0 AA murderer will kill me on the roadD/ @erse 1" When +olomon writes about the la=y man0 he usually uses humour. This la=y man has an excuse for everything. -e cannot even leave his house. The la=y man tells us that there is a lion outside. We look0 but we cannot see any lion. -e tells us that a murderer is outside. We cannot see any murderer0 either. The truth is that the man 9ust wants an excuse to be la=y. 2od needs .eo.le to work for him 1;atthew (5"&8"'4. 2od wants us to teach his good news. 2od wants .eo.le to hear about the Bible. 2od wants to forgive .eo.le. We must work for 2od. We must not be la=y. +ometimes there will be dangers. +ometimes these dangers are real 1;atthew 1)5"#8"'4. We must be wise and careful. 1;atthew 1)51%81&4. But if we suffer0 2od will reward us 1;atthew 1)5"(4. +o we should not be afraid 1;atthew 1)5!%4. Bead ;atthew 1). v1& A married woman who tem.ts other men is like a dee. well. A man will fall into it0 if 2od is angry with him. @erse 1# A dee. well is very dangerous. ,f you fall in0 then you cannot easily climb out. Perha.s nobody will hear your cries. Perha.s nobody can rescue you. Perha.s you will die. :vil deeds are dangerous. ,f evil things tem.t you0 these things are dangerous. These things can cause many troubles. Perha.s sex tem.ts you. 6r .erha.s money tem.ts you. 6r0 other things might tem.t you. ?ou should refuse. Then 2od will .rotect you 13ames #5&I 1 Peter $5'8(4. 2od is angry with evil .eo.le 1>euteronomy 15!%0 "#4. ,f a .erson does evil things0 then he will suffer many troubles. But0 if he asks 2od to forgive him0 then 2od will forgive 1Psalm $151&4. v1' A child is by nature foolish. -e will do silly things. A smack will teach him to behave more wisely. @erse 1$ By Afoolish/0 +olomon means Aevil/. We all do evil things 1Bomans &51(4. This is because men and women refused to obey 2od 12enesis "4. :ven a child does wrong things. But the child can learn to do the right things. And we can all learn to obey 2od. Cirst0 we must ask 2od to forgive us. We must trust in 2od. Then 2od will teach his wisdom to us. We should teach our children. We should ex.lain how they should behave. We should encourage them to res.ect 2od. When they can understand this0 they should ask 2od to forgive their evil behaviour. 6ur children are not Christians merely because we believe. They themselves must trust in 2od.
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+ometimes we must .unish our children. We do not .unish them because we are angry. We .unish them because we love them. A smack does not always need to hurt. 6ften a smack should be gentle. ,t is like a lesson. ,t teaches the child to behave more wisely. v1( 6ne man is cruel to .oor .eo.le0 in order to make himself wealthy. Another man gives gifts to rich .eo.le. Both of them will become .oor in the end. @erse 1% +olomon finishes this section of his book0 with a .u==le. +olomon describes two men. :ach man has a .lan. :ach man thinks that his .lan will make him wealthy. -owever0 both .lans will fail. Both men will become .oor. These men become .oor0 because their .lans are not wise. Both .lans are evil .lans. +o 2od o..oses these .lans. And 2od .unishes the men. The first man wanted to be wealthy. +o he was cruel to .oor .eo.le. Perha.s he was an em.loyer. -e decided to .ay .oor wages for hard work. 6r .erha.s he was a landlord. The rent was ex.ensive and the houses were dangerous. 6r .erha.s he was 9ust a thief. -e stole money from the .oor .eo.le. All these .lans are evil. The second man did not think about .oor .eo.le. -e wanted to get money from wealthy .eo.le. Perha.s his gifts were bribes 1secret gifts4. -e wanted government officials to like him. Then they would hel. him to make a .rofit. -e thought that this would make him rich. 6r .erha.s he gave gifts to im.ress other .eo.le. -e wanted .eo.le to think that he was wealthy or im.ortant. ,n the end0 he wasted all his money. Peo.le make many .lans to become wealthy. But0 in the end0 wealth does not matter. When we die0 we shall lose all our money 1:cclesiastes !51'I 1 Timothy %5&4. But when we die0 we do not lose wisdom. Wisdom teaches us to res.ect 2od 1Proverbs 15&4. We must not trust in money. We must trust in 2od.

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%. Wise Lessons
(Proverbs $$ 1- to Proverbs $& %&#
v1- <isten carefully to the AWise <essons/D <earn them wellD v1" Bemember themD Be ready to re.eat them to other .eo.leD v1! , am teaching you M yes0 youD , am teaching you so that you will trust 2od. v$. -ere are ") Wise <essons. These lessons will teach wisdom and knowledge to you. v$1 These lessons are true and certain. ?ou will give good answers to those who sent you. The last ma9or section of the Book of Proverbs begins here. The section includes several different .arts. There are5 short .roverbs 1wise words4I longer lessonsI .u==lesI

and a .oem. @erses 1&8!1 Wise lessons are valuable. And they are im.ortant. We need to study these lessons. We should learn them. These lessons teach us how we should live. And they will teach us how to answer other .eo.le/s 7uestions. There are ") wise lessons in Proverbs !!51& to Proverbs !#5!!. The number A")/ was im.ortant to +olomon. ,t meant that there were many lessons. And they were great lessons. 6ther ancient books from different nations also contain ") wise lessons. The .eo.le from these nations believed that their own books contained great lessons too. But the Bible is a s.ecial book. 2od .rovided the Bible to teach us how we should live. -e hel.ed the authors of the Bible to write the right things. And 2od guides us by the Bible today. v$$ >o not cheat .oor .eo.le because they are .oor. >o not be cruel to them in the court. v$% 2od will defend them. 2od will attack those who attack .oor .eo.le. @erses !! 8 !" 2od looks after .oor .eo.le. 2od does not think that .oor .eo.le are less im.ortant than rich .eo.le. 2od considers that a widow/s coin is more valuable than a rich man/s large gift. 1;ark 1!5#18##4. 6ther .eo.le might not .rotect .oor .eo.le. But 2od will .rotect .oor .eo.le. -e made them0 and they belong to him. 3esus said0 A, tell good news to the .oor .eo.le./ 1;atthew 115$4. We too must care about .oor .eo.le. The first Christians were not wealthy. 11 Corinthians 15!%4. But they shared their money with .oor .eo.le 1Bomans 1!51"4. And we too should hel. .oor .eo.le. v$& ,f a man has a bad tem.er0 then do not become his friend. ,f a man is angry0 then do not go with him. v$' ?ou might learn his bad attitudes. -is anger could destroy you. @erses !# 8 !$
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Anger causes many .roblems. Anger can cause fights and arguments. ,t can even cause wars. Avoid the com.any of .eo.le who have a bad tem.er. ?ou will get into trouble. v$( When someone else receives a loan0 do not .romise to .ay the debt. v$- ,f you cannot .ay0 then you will lose everything. ?ou will even lose the bed that you are lying on. @erses !% 8 !& We should be careful with money. ;oney is 2od/s gift0 so we should use our money wisely. We should not risk our money on foolish schemes. We should not waste it on a bet. And we should not hel. 9ealous .eo.le who demand our money. @erse !% seems to describe a common .roblem at +olomon/s time. +ee Proverbs %518$I Proverbs 1151$ and Proverbs 1&51'. 3esus also mentioned that we should be careful to calculate the cost of our .lans 1<uke 1#5!'8")4. We should hel. .oor .eo.le with our money. But we should choose carefully whom we hel.. And we should decide carefully how to hel. them. +o we need to ask 2od to guide us. ,n verse !&0 the man is lying in bed because he is la=y. We need to work in order to look after money. We must not be la=y about our money. And we must not be la=y about other gifts that 2od .rovides. 3esus told a story about this sub9ect 8 <uke 1(5118!&. v$" >o not move an ancient fence. 6bey the ancient agreement. @erse !' Perha.s your boundary is ancient. Perha.s your family agreed the boundary with your neighbour/s family0 many years ago. But .erha.s now0 you need more land. And your neighbour will not sell his land. ?ou could 9ust move your fence. ?our neighbour might not even realise that the boundary has moved. And you will have the land that you desire. But before you act0 think firstD There was an ancient agreement. Perha.s0 before the agreement0 there were many arguments. Perha.s your family even fought your neighbour/s family. ,f you do not obey the agreement0 then these troubles might start again. An agreement is like a .romise. :veryone should res.ect an agreement. And you should res.ect your neighbour/s .ro.erty. ,f a neighbour does not want to sell his land0 then you cannot buy it. And you are a thief if you take his land without an agreement. +ee 1 *ings !1. ,n ancient ,srael0 the Aland/ had a s.ecial meaning. 2od owned the land 1<eviticus !$5!"4. Proverbs !!5!' re.eats 2od/s command in >euteronomy 1(51#. +o these ancient boundaries were not merely agreements between neighbours0 like our boundaries today. The ancient boundaries in ,srael were an agreement between the .eo.le and 2od. And anyone who moved a boundary was refusing to obey 2od/s law. v$! A skilled workman serves kings. -e will not serve ordinary .eo.le. @erse !( *ing +olomon built many great buildings. -is workmen built .alaces. And they built the magnificent Tem.le 1house of 2od4 in 3erusalem. +olomon res.ected a skilled workman. -e knew that skills are im.ortant. -e knew that a skilled workman deserves honour. As the king0 +olomon selected the best workmen to work for him. We should learn skills. And we should learn them well. We should try to be ex.erts at our work. When we work well0 we honour 2od with our work. A,n every kind of work0 work hardD ?ou are working for 2od. ?ou are not really working for men. And you will receive 2od/s reward0 because you are serving Christ./ 1Colossians "5!"8!#4. Paul wrote this to a grou. of Christians who were slaves 1see Colossians "5!!4.

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Proverbs chapter $%
v1 When a ruler invites you for a meal0 be carefulD Think0 before you eatD v$ ,f you might be greedy0 then hold your knife near your neckD v% >o not allow the ruler/s good food to tem.t youD -is food is like a lie. @erses 18" A ruler does not invite you so that you can taste his fine food. -e invites you because he wants to discuss serious matters with you. ?ou should not think much about his food or his wine. But you must think about your words. ?our advice must be good. ?ou need to s.eak wise words. +olomon uses humour in verse !. Eormally you .lace your knife near your .late. But +olomon 9okes that your knife should be near your neck. ,n your imagination0 hold your knife there to warn you. Then you will remember that your life is short. ?ou will remember not to be greedy. And you will remember to advise the ruler wisely. +olomon continues his advice in verse ". Be careful if an im.ortant .erson invites you to a s.ecial meal. -e could want you to do something for him. Eehemiah ! ex.lains this lesson. Eehemiah was the king/s servant. The king ex.ected Eehemiah to be ha..y in the royal service. But Eehemiah had received sad news. +o Eehemiah .rayed to 2od. And he s.oke carefully to the king. 2od answered Eehemiah/s .rayer. And the king gave to Eehemiah the things that Eehemiah re7uested. v& >o not work hard to become richD Be wise0 and sto.D v' >o not even glance at moneyD <ike a bird that flies away0 money can suddenly disa..ear. @erses #8$ The Book of Proverbs encourages us to work hard. But some .eo.le work too hard0 because they want to become wealthy. These .eo.le suffer because they use all their energy in their work. Their families suffer too. We ought to be sensible. We can lose our money 7uickly. When we die0 we cannot take our money with us 1<uke 1!51%8!1I 1 Timothy %5&4. ;any things matter more than money. <ove is more im.ortant than money. Wisdom is more im.ortant than money. And 2od is more im.ortant than money or anything else. v( >o not eat a selfish man/s foodD >o not allow his good food to tem.t youD v- -is thoughts and attitude are always about himself. -e says0 A:at and drinkD/ But he does not really want you to take any of his food. v" This man will make you feel ill. When you s.eak with him0 you waste your time. @erses %8' +ome .eo.le .retend to be our friends. But they do not care about us. They might say the right words. They might invite us to their homes. But they do not want to share their .ossessions with us. ,nstead0 they want to kee. their things for themselves. This is not a good attitude. We should not co.y it. The first Christians were very generous. They shared their .ossessions 1Acts #5"!8"&4. They did this because they loved each other. We might not co.y their actions today. But we should still be generous. We should still invite .eo.le to our homes. And we should be glad to share our food with our guests 1-ebrews 1"5!4. v! >o not s.eak to a foolD A fool will hate your wise words.
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@erse ( +olomon uses the word Afool/ to describe an evil .erson. This .erson hates 2od. +o this .erson hates wisdom. This .erson does not want wise advice0 because that advice would tell him to sto. his evil behaviour. -e will not obey your wise words. +ee ;atthew &5%. v1. >o not move an ancient fenceD >o not steal a field from a child that has no father. v11 2od will defend that child. 2od will o..ose you0 on behalf of that child. @erses 1)811 As in Proverbs !!5!'0 +olomon reminds us that the boundaries in ,srael mattered to 2od in a s.ecial way. But verses 1)811 are also about a child that has no father. Perha.s the child/s father died. Eow the child has nobody who will .rotect the child/s .ro.erty. Perha.s nobody cares about that child. But 2od is like a father to that child. 2od will .rotect the child. 2od will not allow you to steal from that child. 2od defends the child who has no .arents. +ee Psalm 1)51#. 2od cares for children. 3esus said0 AAllow the little children to come to meD/ 1;ark 1)51#4 v1$ <earn instructionsD <isten to knowledgeD v1% Teach your child to do the right thingsD A smack might save him from death. v1& +mack himD +ave his s.irit from deathD v1' ;y son0 if you learn to be wise0 then , shall be glad. v1( , shall be glad when you s.eak the right words. @erses 1!81# +ometimes you need to .unish a child with a smack. A smack will not kill your child. But a smack will teach him the right way to behave. And your child will learn how to live wisely. ?our .unishment now may save your child from a much worse .unishment later in life. ?ou could even save him from the evil behaviour that might cause his death. Perha.s you do not need to hurt your child in order to teach that child. The law in some countries may not allow you to hit your child. But you must teach your child. And you must sto. your child when that child/s behaviour is wrong. Then the child will learn to do the right things. @erses 1$81% But you will be glad if your child learns to be wise. ?ou will be es.ecially glad if you had to .unish your child. ?ou must teach your child to be wise. ?ou must teach the child to res.ect 2od. And if you do the right things0 your child will co.y your behaviour. And your child will also teach other .eo.le to be wise. v1- When evil men seem to be successful0 do not be 9ealous. ?ou should continue to trust 2od. v1" ,n the end0 your reward will be certain. ?our ho.e will not be in vain. @erses 1&81' Perha.s you are 9ealous because some evil .eo.le are wealthy. 6r they are famous0 or im.ortant 1Psalm &"5"8$4. But you must desire the right things. +o do not be 9ealous when you see evil .eo.le. ,nstead0 think about 2od. Bemember that 2od loves you. Bemember the things that 2od wants you to do. And 2od will reward you. v1! <isten0 my sonD Be wiseD >esire the right thingsD v$. Avoid the com.any of those who s.end their time with too much food and drink. v$1 Peo.le that love food and wine become .oor.
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They become slee.y0 so that they waste everything. @erses 1(8!1 The father warns his son. The son must not be greedy for food. And he must not be a drunk. This is because greedy .eo.le and drunks become la=y. They want only to eat and to drink. They do not want to work. Their ex.ensive habits will waste all their money. This is how they become .oor. v$$ <isten to your fatherD -e gave your life to you. >o not hate your mother when she is oldD v$% Buy the truth0 and do not sell it at any .rice. 2et wisdom also. And get disci.line and understanding. v$& The father of a good man has great 9oy. A wise son gives .leasure to his father. v$' ,f you are wise0 then your father and mother will be glad. ,f you are wise0 your mother will have great 9oy. @erses !!8!$ ,f the son loves his .arents0 then he should listen to them. -e should obey their instructions. And he should learn to be wise. Then his .arents will be glad. They will have great 9oy0 because their son will be a wise man. +o0 the son should choose the best things in life. -e should not choose money or .ossessions. -e should choose the truth. And he should choose wisdom0 disci.line and understanding. These 7ualities will cause the son to become a great man. A wise son is better than a rich son. A wise son is better than a famous son. And a wise son is much better than a foolish son. @erse !! reminds us about 2od/s command in :xodus !)51!. Children should res.ect their .arents. ,n verse !"0 we cannot buy and sell truth with money. But truth and wisdom cost much in effort to obtain. +o do wisdom and understanding. v$( ;y son0 obey me with all your heartD Co.y the way that , live. v$- A woman who sells sex is like a dee. hole. A married woman who tem.ts you is like a narrow well. v$" <ike a robber0 this woman waits for you. +he causes men to do evil things. @erses !%8!' The son must be careful about sex. +ome women sell sex. They are like a dee. hole that a hunter uses as a tra. for animals. And some married women tem.t other men. They are like a narrow well that a man cannot esca.e from 13eremiah "'5%8'4. Wells and holes are dangerous whether they are dee. or narrow. And sex is dangerous0 unless you are with your husband or wife. +ex can cause many troubles. ,n verse !'0 a robber waits to attack. The wrong woman is as dangerous as a robber. The son might su..ose that the woman waits to greet him. 6r he might su..ose that she loves him. But she does not obey 2od/s law. And she will cause him0 too0 to do evil things. v$! +ome .eo.le are sad and they cry. They argue and they com.lain. Their eyes are red and their bodies have bruises. v%. These things ha..ened because wine tem.ted them. They went to taste the wine. v%1 >o not look at wineD >o not say0 A,t is .rettyD ,t is redD/
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>o not swallow itD v%$ ,n the end0 wine will hurt you. Wine is like a .oisonous snake0 which will bite you. v%% The alcohol will confuse your brain. ?our eyes will see strange sights. v%& ?ou will shake like a man who slee.s at sea. ?ou will feel like a man who balances on a shi.. v%' ?ou will say0 AThe .eo.le hit me0 but they cannot hurt me. They whi. me0 but , feel nothing. , must awake0 because , need more alcohol./ @erse !( The writer .oints out a grou. of .eo.le. They are sad. They argue. They cry. Perha.s we su..ose that a terrible event has ha..ened. @erse ") The writer tells us what is wrong. These .eo.le drank too much wine. Alcohol tem.ted them. This is terrible0 he argues. @erse "1 Wine may look attractive. But it causes many troubles. When a .erson begins to drink alcohol0 that .erson sometimes cannot sto.. This is an illness called Aalcoholism/. ,f someone cannot control alcohol0 that .erson needs hel.. That .erson should learn not to drink alcohol again. >octors might hel. them. A grou. called AAlcoholics Anonymous/ might hel.. And that .erson/s friends should ex.lain the .roblems that alcohol causes. Alcohol causes many illnesses. Alcohol can cause death. @erse "! The writer tells us about a drunk/s strange ex.eriences. ,f someone has an alcohol .roblem0 that .erson should obtain hel. early. That .erson should not wait until they suffer these strange ex.eriences. The writer seems to know these ex.eriences well. Perha.s the writer himself suffered this .roblem. >runks may see strange things. +ome drunks imagine that they see snakes. A drunk might imagine that the snakes are attacking him. @erse "" Alcohol confuses a drinker. A drinker cannot think sensible thoughts. 6ften0 he thinks that he needs to drink more alcohol. Beally0 he needs to sto.. @erse "# When the drinker drinks too much alcohol0 he feels like someone on a shi.. The drinker cannot walk in a straight line. -e might shake. -e might fall. -e might be sick. @erse "$ Eow the drinker hurts himself. But he might not feel the .ain. The next day0 he might feel terrible .ains. These .ains are called a Ahangover/. But the drunk does not learn from his error. -e will make the same mistake again0 many times. This is because alcohol confuses the brain. The drunk does not realise that he must refuse alcohol. -e thinks that he needs more alcohol. -e su..oses that alcohol will cure his .roblems. Beally0 alcohol causes all his .roblems.

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Proverbs chapter $&

v1 >o not be 9ealous of evil men. >o not try to meet them. v$ They make cruel .lans in their minds. And they discuss how to cause trouble. @erses 18! ?ou should not 9oin a grou. of evil .eo.le. Their secret .lans are cruel. And they .lot trouble with their conversations. ?ou should not be 9ealous of these .eo.le. ?ou do not want to suffer their .unishment. v% Wisdom is like someone who builds a house. And intelligence is like the .erson who establishes the house. v& *nowledge is like the .erson who furnishes the house with rare and beautiful ob9ects. @erses "8# The writer describes a fine house. Perha.s the house is really a .alace0 because the house has rare and beautiful ob9ects. This house can be like our lives. A house is safe if its builder was skilled. And our lives are safe0 if we are wise. And we should use our intelligence. And we should study to gain more intelligence. We need wisdom0 intelligence and knowledge. Then0 our lives will be good lives. v' A wise man is .owerful. A man who has knowledge is strong. v( Before you fight a war0 get adviceD To win the war0 you need many advisers. @erses $8% ?ou can count the number of soldiers in an army. But the number of soldiers does not win the battle. ?our soldiers may be strong and brave. But this does not win the battle. The army needs a wise commander. And the commander needs good advice. 6ne adviser is not enough. The commander needs many advisers. ?ou need advisers whenever you have a difficult .roblem. ?ou cannot solve these .roblems yourself. ?ou need other .eo.le to hel. you. Choose your advisers carefullyD ?ou need wise advisers. v- A fool does not understand wisdom. When men gather at the court0 a fool can say nothing. @erse & ,n ancient ,srael0 the men from a city would meet at the city gate. They would discuss the city/s .roblems together. +ometimes they would act like 9udges in a court. +ometimes they would decide whether to fight a war. All the men would gather. But the oldest men would s.eak first. The .eo.le thought that the oldest men would be the wisest men. Then the younger men would s.eak. But a Afool/ is someone who hates wisdom. -e does not even know the meaning of Awisdom/. +o the fool would not s.eak at the court. -e has no wisdom0 so he cannot advise. Eobody wants to hear his foolish words. v" When a man makes evil .lans0 .eo.le call him a A.lotter/. v! Coolish .lots are evil. Peo.le hate the .erson who insults them. @erses '8(
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This man makes evil .lots. And the .eo.le hate him. They hate him because all his ideas are evil. Perha.s he wants to cause trouble. 6r .erha.s he wants to benefit himself unfairly. v1. ,f troubles make you weak0 you are never strong. @erse 1) We must learn to be strong0 even when we have troubles. We must learn to advise well0 even when .eo.le o..ose us. We must teach 2od/s message0 even if .eo.le hate us. v11 ,f someone is going to die0 then rescue himD +ave him from deathD v1$ ?ou cannot say0 A, did not know about this./ 2od knows your thoughts. And you need 2od/s hel.0 because 2od guards your life. 2od is a 9udge0 and he knows your actions. @erses 1181! ?ou should not .retend that you do not see someone else/s troubles. -el. that .ersonD Perha.s you can save him. 2od knows your actions. 2od will be your 9udge. +ee :=ekiel ""518(. 2od told :=ekiel to warn the .eo.le about their evil actions. ,f :=ekiel warned the .eo.le0 then :=ekiel would save his own life. But 2od would still .unish the .eo.le if they continued their evil behaviour. But if :=ekiel did not warn the .eo.le0 2od would .unish :=ekiel. 2od has given a message to us 13ohn "51%4. We must take this message to all the .eo.le in the world 1;atthew !'51(8!)4. And 2od will hel. us to teach this message0 because 2od is always with us. v1% ;y son0 eat honeyD -oney is good0 and it is sweet. v1& Wisdom is like honey. Wisdom will make your s.irit strong. ,f you find wisdom0 you will receive your reward. ?our ho.e will not be in vain. @erses 1"81# -oney was a valuable food. 6ther foods do not taste like honey. And honey is useful as a food and as a medicine. Wisdom is also s.ecial. Wisdom is .recious. +ometimes we must study hard to become wise. But wisdom is good. We all need wisdom. v1' >o not wait as a thief outside a good man/s house. >o not attack his home. v1( :ven if a good man falls & times0 he will rise again. But trouble destroys a wicked man. @erses 1$81% ,n verse 1$0 the writer uses humour. -e writes a lesson for thieves. 6f course0 the writer really thinks that thieves are evil. But he .retends that he is teaching thieves. -e advises the thieves not to steal from good men. ,f they try to steal from a good man0 they will fail. But even if the thieves succeed0 the good man will not suffer. ,f a good man falls0 he will rise again. ,f he falls again0 then he will rise again. This will ha..en many times0 because 2od .rotects a good man. When the thief attacks0 this is like a fall. +o 2od will .rotect the good man. The thief will be fighting against 2od. +o the thief cannot succeed. But the thief himself is a wicked man. ,n the end0 the thief will suffer for his evil actions. v1- >o not be glad when your enemy falls. >o not be ha..y when you see his troubles. v1" 2od will be angry with you0 instead of your enemy.
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@erses 1&81' When your enemy suffers0 .erha.s you are glad. But you should not be glad. ,nstead0 you should be cautious. Perha.s your enemy is suffering because 2od has .unished your enemy for his evil actions. But if your own actions are evil0 then 2od will .unish you0 too. We all must ask 2od to forgive our evil actions. Bemember that 2od is the 9udge of everyone. v1! >o not worry about evil .eo.le. >o not be 9ealous of wicked .eo.le. v$. An evil man has no ho.e for the future. A wicked .erson will die. @erses 1(8!) Perha.s you are afraid of evil .eo.le. 6r .erha.s you are 9ealous of their money or im.ortance. Then0 remember what will ha..en to them. ,n the end they will die. 2od is a fair 9udge. And he will .unish them for their evil behaviour. +o serve 2odD And learn to avoid evil actionsD v$1 Bes.ect 2od0 and res.ect the king0 my son. >o not o..ose them. v$$ Both 2od and the king will suddenly destroy those that o..ose them. Both can cause great troubles. @erses !18!! 2od is like a king. 2od will .unish his enemies. ?ou might esca.e from an angry king. But you cannot esca.e from 2od/s anger. +o do not be an enemy of 2od. 2od wants you to confess your evil actions. -e sent 3esus to die for you. 3esus is 2od/s sonI and 3esus suffered the .unishment for your evil behaviour. ,f you acce.t 3esus into your life0 2od will forgive you. And you will become a friend of 2od. Because we res.ect 2od0 we also res.ect our rulers 11 Peter !51&4. We .ray for kings and other rulers 11 Timothy !5!4. And we should try to be good citi=ens. v$% -ere are some more Wise <essons5 A 9udge must be fair. v$& A 9udge might say to a guilty man0 A?ou are innocent./ But the .eo.le will curse that 9udge. The nations will hate him. v$' -owever0 the 9udge who .unishes the guilty man does well. 2od will be very kind to that 9udge. @erses !"8!$ The ") Wise <essons are com.lete. They are im.ortant lessons. But there is more wisdom that the writer wants to teach us. An unfair 9udge is terrible. 2od will .unish that 9udge. But a fair 9udge makes the right decision. -e deserves honour. v$( An honest re.ly is like a kiss on the li.s. @erse !% ,f someone loves you0 then that .erson will be honest. ?ou might not like your friend/s honest words. Those honest words might be bad news. ?ou might even .refer someone who lies. But honest words are better than a kiss. ?our enemy could kiss you. But honest words .rove that your friend really loves you. v$- Cirst0 work outside in the fields. Afterwards0 build your house. @erse !& This is good0 .ractical advice. ?ou need to work in the fields to grow your cro.s. Without food0 you will die. ,f you still have energy0 afterwards you can build your house. But the .erson that builds his house first will have no food. We should carry out our most im.ortant work first.
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v$" >o not o..ose your neighbour in a court without a .ro.er reason. >o not lie about him. v$! >o not say0 A, will .unish that man for his behaviour. , will make him suffer because he was wrong./ @erses !'8!( ,f you s.eak false evidence against your neighbour0 your attitudes are wrong. ?ou should not be o..osing your neighbour without a .ro.er reason. ,f your neighbour is guilty0 then 2od will .unish your neighbour. 2od is the 9udge. +o you should not .unish your neighbour if he has u.set you. ,nstead0 you should forgive your neighbour. +ee ;atthew 1'5!18!! and ;ark 115!$. v%. , .assed the la=y man/s field. , .assed the garden that belongs to that unwise man. v%1 Weeds were everywhere. The .lants were wild. :ven the garden wall had fallen down. v%$ , thought about the things that , saw. , learned a lesson from that .lace. v%% ,f you are la=y0 you may say0 ABelax and slee.D Cold your arms and restD/ v%& But such attitudes will make you .oor0 as 7uickly as a thief attacks. ?our losses will overcome you. @erses ")8"# There ought to be cro.s in this field. But the la=y man did not sow any seed. There ought to be food in this garden. But the la=y man did not look after the food .lants. Eow the garden is wild. Eow there are only weeds. The writer does not tell us whether the la=y man died. But we know that the la=y man had no food. +o .erha.s the la=y man starved. +o the writer learned a lesson. -e learned that he must work hard. Best is good. And slee. is good. But if we are la=y0 then we shall suffer.

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0ore of Solomons Proverbs (,ise ,ords#

(Proverbs $' 1 to Proverbs $! $-#

Proverbs chapter $'

v1 -ere are more of +olomon/s .roverbs 1wise words4. The officials co.ied these .roverbs0 when -e=ekiah was the king of 3udah. @erse 1 *ing -e=ekiah lived !$) years after *ing +olomon. -e=ekiah was a good king. -e served 2od. -e=ekiah established again the tem.le 1house of 2od in 3erusalem40 which +olomon built. *ing -e=ekiah/s officials found some more .roverbs 1wise words4. +o they added these .roverbs to +olomon/s book. +olomon wrote these .roverbs 1wise words4. 6r .erha.s these .roverbs were .art of +olomon/s collection. The style of these .roverbs 1wise words4 is different from the style of the .roverbs in cha.ters 1) to !!. +ome of these later .roverbs are longer than the earlier .roverbs. And many of these .roverbs are in sub9ect grou.s. v$ ;ysteries .rove that 2od is great. But a king is great if he understands a mystery. v% The skies are high. The earth is dee.. And nobody can know the heart of a king. v& Bemove the dirt from the silverD And the skilled workman will make a beautiful ob9ect. v' Bemove evil .eo.le from the governmentD And the king will rule well. v( >o not try to be im.ortant. >o not sit with the great men. v- Then the king will say to you0 ACome hereD ?ou are im.ortantD/ But otherwise0 he will say0 A2o awayD 6ther men are more im.ortant than you./ @erse ! ;ysteries show one way that kings differ from 2od. We know that 2od is great. We see many mysteries that are the works of 2od. We see .lants and animals. But we do not know how 2od made them. We do not even know how our own bodies work. These things are mysteries to us. But they are the works of 2od. Because of such mysteries0 we realise that 2od is great. But a king is great if he understands mysteries. The king needs to realise if his .eo.le are unha..y. And he has to decide what he should do. The solution to the .roblem might be a mystery. The decision may be difficult. The king needs the best advisers. But if the king/s decision is right0 then he is a great king. @erse " We cannot see all the stars0 because the sky is too high. And we cannot know a king/s emotions or secret thoughts. ,n .ublic0 the king might seem bold. But in .rivate0 he might be afraid. @erses #8$ The workman cannot make a beautiful ob9ect with dirty silver. And the king cannot rule well if his government is evil. Paul taught us to .ray for kings and governments 11 Timothy !518!4. @erses %8& This is similar to 3esus/ words in <uke 1#5&811. We should be humble. Then 2od will give honour to us.
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v" When you see something0 do not argue too 7uickly. Perha.s you are wrong about your neighbour. Then you will be ashamed. v! ,nstead0 discuss the matter with your neighbour himself. >o not tell his secrets to other .eo.le. v1. 6therwise0 someone may hear0 who can make you ashamed. And everyone will blame you. v11 The right words are like gold a..les on a silver tray. v1$ A wise man corrects someone who listens. The wise man/s words are beautiful and valuable0 like gold. v1% Choose a man whom you can trust to deliver your message. -e will .lease you. -e is like cool snow during the harvest. v1& +ometimes there are clouds and winds0 but no rain falls. And sometimes a man .romises gifts0 but he gives nothing. v1' A .atient man can convince a ruler. A gentle word is like a hammer that can break a boneD @erses '81) ,f you are unha..y with someone0 you should discuss the matter with that .erson first. ?ou should not gossi.. @erse 11 We should always want to say the right words. The right words are beautiful0 like gold. The right words are valuable0 like silver. But the right words are also rare0 like silver or gold. Peo.le do not often say the right words. ,nstead0 they say the wrong words. Cor exam.le0 .eo.le s.eak their own ideas. 6r they make evil .lans. 6r they gossi.. 6r they insult .eo.le. 6r they lie0 or they argue. And these words are the wrong words. But the right words are wise. The right words teach us about 2od. The right words hel. us. They comfort us. <et us s.eak the right wordsD @erse 1! ;any .eo.le do not like correction. These .eo.le do not want to know that their actions are wrong. But when someone acce.ts correction0 that .erson is glad. That .erson is glad because he will not continue to do the wrong things. +o that .erson .raises the wise man. The wise .erson has taught a beautiful lesson to the other .erson. And the other .erson thinks that the lesson was valuable0 like gold. @erse 1" ?ou can trust this man. -e does the things that he .romises. -e will deliver your letter. And you will be as ha..y as a man who finds snow on a hot day. As Christians0 we should do the things that we have .romised to do. Then other .eo.le will be able to trust us. And these .eo.le will learn from us that they can also trust 2od. @erse 1# +olomon lived in a dry country. -is .eo.le needed rain for their cro.s. +o the .eo.le were sad when the clouds did not bring rain. This man behaved like these clouds. -e did not do the things that he .romised. -is .romises seemed genuine. But he never gave the gifts that he .romised. -e should not have .romised these things. 3esus said0 A J?esK means JyesK. And JnoK means JnoK. Any other ideas are from the devil./ 1;atthew $5"&. +ee also 3ames $51!.4 @erse 1$ A .atient .erson can achieve great things. -is gentle words may not seem as im.ressive as other .eo.le/s words. But the .atient .erson will continue until he succeeds. And0 in the end0 his gentle words are very .owerful. +ee 3ames $5&811.
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v1( ,f you eat too much honey0 then you will be sick. v1- ,f you visit your neighbour too often0 then he will hate you. @erses 1%81& -oney is good. But too much honey will make you sick. Criendshi. is good. And visits to your neighbour are good. But you must be careful. ?our neighbour needs to meet other .eo.le. And your neighbour needs to do other things. ,f you visit your neighbour too often0 then you will u.set your neighbour. We must learn how to control our own behaviour. v1" +ome .eo.le use a whi.0 a sword0 or an arrow. 6ther .eo.le lie about their neighbour. v1! +ome .eo.le have a bad tooth or a bad foot. 6ther .eo.le trust a fool when they are in trouble. v$. +ome .eo.le will steal a coat on a cold day. 6r0 they will .our acid on soa.. 6ther .eo.le sing when someone is sad. @erse 1' There are many cruel .eo.le who want to attack their neighbour. They could hurt their neighbour with a whi.. 6r they might use a sword. But you can also hurt your neighbour if you lie about him. ?ou might argue0 A;y lie is merely words. Words do not hurt./ But your neighbour will suffer because of your evil words 1:xodus !)51%4. @erse 1( A bad tooth causes .ain. And it continues to cause .ain. A fool is an evil man who hates wisdom. ?ou cannot trust this evil man. -e will not hel. you when you are in trouble. ,nstead0 he will cause you to suffer. -is advice will be evil. And his actions will be evil. +o you will continue to suffer. @erse !) These .eo.le are all cruel. ,f someone steals a coat on a cold day0 then that thief is very cruel. ,f someone .ours acid on soa.0 that .erson is cruel. -e s.oils the soa.. Eow0 nobody can use the soa.. A singer might not seem cruel. But this singer is cruel also. +omeone is sad. But this singer is ha..y. The singer does not think about the sad man. And the singer does not try to hel. the sad man. ,nstead0 the singer continues to sing. And this u.sets the sad man. +o the sad man becomes sadder. And the singer does not even realise that his actions are cruel. v$1 ,f your enemy is hungry0 then give food to him. ,f your enemy needs a drink0 then give water to him. v$$ -e will feel as if burning coal is on his head. But 2od will reward you. @erses !18!! >o not attack your enemyD >o not fight himD ,nstead0 trust 2odD 2od will .rotect you. Pray for your enemyD <ove your enemyD 3esus taught this lesson in ;atthew $5#"8#'. While 3esus was dying0 he .rayed for his enemies 1<uke !"5"#4. And 3esus forgave a criminal who insulted him 1;ark 1$5"! and <uke !"5"(8#"4. ?our enemy might be u.set when you hel. him. -e does not want to acce.t your kind gifts. -e might continue to insult you. But 2od sees that your actions are right. And 2od will reward you. v$% The wind brings rain. A secret whis.er brings an angry reaction. v$& 6ne man lives on the corner of his roof. -is life is better than the man who lives with an arguing wife. v$' 2ood news from abroad is like a cool drink.
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Both comfort a tired .erson. @erse !" Perha.s you do not want a friend to hear your words. +o you whis.er. ?our friend might not hear your actual words. But he knows that you are whis.ering. +o your friend guesses that your words are not good. 6r he guesses that you are gossi.ing. And he is angry. ,f you whis.er about another .erson0 someone else may re.eat your words to that .erson. Then you can ex.ect an angry reaction from that .erson. As the wind brings rain0 your whis.er will cause this angry reaction. @erse !# ,f your husband or wife always argues0 life is hard. This man has esca.ed. -e has gone to his roof0 to avoid the argument. We should try not to argue. Corgive other .eo.le/s errorsD <earn to be calmD >o not be like this man/s wife who continues to argue. @erse !$ We wait for news about our friends and relatives. They may be distant0 but we still care about them. And we are glad to hear their good news. We ourselves may have many troubles. But their good news comforts us. v$( ;uddy water is more useful than the good man who su..orts a wicked man/s .lan. v$- Too much honey is not a good meal. And a man0 who tries to be great0 is not a great man. v$" A man who has no disci.line is like a city without walls. @erse !% This is terrible. This good man is hel.ing a wicked man with an evil .lan. The good man is not trying to do evil things. But he has not realised that he must o..ose the .lan. -e has not realised the evil effects of the wicked man/s .lan. -e did not know that a wicked man/s .lans are always evil. ?ou should not drink muddy water. ,t is not safe. But even muddy water is more useful than that good man. The good man ought to be useful. +o he ought to o..ose the evil .lan. @erse !& ?ou might like honey. But you cannot eat only honey. +o you make a mistake if there is too much honey in your meal. This man also has made a mistake. -e wants to be a great man. +o he .retends that he is already a great man. But he is not a great man. ,nstead0 he is stu.id. This man ought to be humble. Then other .eo.le will decide whether the man is really great. @erse !' When +olomon/s workmen built a city0 they built strong walls round that city 11 *ings (51$81(4. The walls were im.ortant defences. They .rotected the city from attack. We ought to learn disci.line. >isci.line is like the city walls0 because disci.line makes us strong. We may have many .roblems. But we shall act wisely if we have disci.line.

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Proverbs chapter $(
v1 +now should not fall in summer. Bain should not fall during the harvest. And a fool should not receive honour. v$ A bird does not sto. as it flies. And the effects of an insult do not .ause. ,nstead0 the insult continues to cause trouble. @erse 1 We all know the seasons in our own countries. We know when to ex.ect rain or snow. We know what should ha..en. And we know the reaction that an evil man deserves. A fool is an evil man who hates wisdom. And he does not deserve any honour. @erse ! A flying bird does not .ause. ,t continues to fly. 6therwise0 it would fall. An insult is like the bird0 because an insult continues to cause trouble. Perha.s the insult was only one word. Perha.s you s.oke that word many months ago. But the insult u.set your friend. And he is still unha..y. ?ou ought to go to your friend. Ask him to forgive you. 6therwise0 your stu.id insult will continue to cause trouble. v% Whi. the horseD Control the animalD Punish the foolD v& >o not answer a fool with foolish wordsD ?ou will become like him. v' Answer a fool with foolish wordsD 6therwise0 he will think that he is wise. v( +omeone might cut off his own feet. 6r he might cause himself an in9ury. Another .erson might send a fool with a message. v- ,f a man cannot walk0 his legs hang down. The man has legs0 but they do not hel. him. And when a fool s.eaks a .roverb 1wise words40 these words do not hel. the fool. v" +omeone might tie u. a stone in cloth. 1Then0 he cannot attack when he needs to throw the stone.4 Another .erson might give an honour to a fool. v! A drunk carries a thorn bush. 1A thorn bush is a weed with shar. .oints0 which will cause the drunk to bleed.4 And when a fool s.eaks a .roverb 1wise words40 these words cause .ain. v1. 6ne man shoots arrows everywhereD And another man em.loys someone that he does not know. This man would even em.loy a fool. v11 A dog returns to the .lace where the dog was sick. And a fool re.eats his foolish behaviour. v1$ A man thinks that he is wise. :ven a fool has more ho.e than that manD These verses all describe a fool. +olomon uses the word Afool/ to describe someone who hates wisdom.
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@erse " When a horse .ulls a cart0 the driver whi.s the horse. This is because the driver needs to control the animal. A fool is an evil man. -e refuses to listen to wise advice. ,f you are a 9udge0 then you must .unish this evil man. Fnless someone controls an evil .erson0 that .erson will continue his evil behaviour. @erses #8$ The fool is an evil man who hates your wise words. +olomon uses humour here0 because verse # is the o..osite of verse $. But both verses are correct. @erse # The fool hates wisdom. +o his words are foolish. ?ou do not want to be foolish. +o do not answer him with foolish wordsD @erse $ >o not answer a fool with sensible wordsD >o not allow him to think that he is wiseD -e deserves only a stu.id answer. +o answer him with foolish wordsD The truth is that this evil .erson will not obey good advice. -e does not care whether your words are sensible or foolish. -e will even use your own words against you. This man is very evil. Perha.s you should say nothing to him 1;atthew !&51!81#4. 6r .erha.s 2od will hel. you to know the right words 1;atthew 1"5114. @erse % The .erson who causes his own in9ury is stu.id. But the .erson who sends a fool is also stu.id. A fool will not do the right things. Perha.s he will not deliver the message. Perha.s he will change the words. Perha.s he will deliver an enemy/s message instead. ,f you send a fool with your message0 then you will suffer. @erse & A fool might re.eat a .roverb 1wise words4. But a fool is stu.id0 so he does not understand the .roverb. -e says the right words0 but he is still stu.id. ,f he understood the words0 the fool would sto. his silly behaviour. But he refuses to do this. +o his .roverb cannot hel. him. :ven the devil can re.eat a Bible verse 1;atthew #5% and Psalm (151181!4. But the devil did not understand the verse. -e tried to use the verse to test 3esus. But 3esus told the devil that the devil was wrong 1;atthew #5&4. @erse ' +olomon/s father was >avid. >avid used a stone from a bag to kill his enemy0 2oliath 11 +amuel 1&5#)4. But >avid did not tie the stone to the bag. This action would be stu.id. This action would waste both the stone and the bag. And only a stu.id .erson gives honour to a fool. A fool is an evil .erson who hates wise words. A fool does not deserve any honours. The .erson who gave the honour wasted his time. @erse ( This drunk carries a thorn bush. 1A thorn bush is a weed with shar. .oints.4 The drunk will hurt himself. And he might hurt other .eo.le. This fool s.eaks a .roverb 1wise words4. But he is a fool. +o he is evil0 and he hates wise words. -e re.eats the .roverb as an evil scheme. -e wants .eo.le to think that he is wise. And he wants .eo.le to trust him. The fool will hurt .eo.le with his .roverb. @erse 1) The man who shoots arrows everywhere is clearly dangerous. But the em.loyer might not seem to be dangerous. ,n fact0 this em.loyer is also dangerous. -e would even em.loy a fool. The fool is an evil man. -e might steal from his em.loyer. And the fool might cause many troubles. The em.loyer will suffer because of the fool/s evil schemes. @erse 11 ?ou cannot cure a fool. A fool is an evil .erson. -e will re.eat his evil behaviour. This is terrible. ?ou cannot change this man. 6nly 2od can sto. the fool/s evil behaviour. A fool is not like a sim.le .erson. A sim.le .erson is someone who has not learned to be wise. But you can teach a sim.le .erson to do the right things. @erse 1!
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+olomon thinks that this man is even worse than a fool. 1But .erha.s +olomon uses humour here.4 This man imagines that he is wise. But he is not wise. -e thinks that his advice is good. But his advice is wrong. -e tries to hel. everyone. But really0 he causes .roblems for them. We must be very careful when we advise. We must study well. We must listen to other .eo.le. And then we shall not co.y this man/s errors. v1% The la=y man says0 AThere is a lion outsideD The lion is angry. And the lion is on the streetsD/ v1& A door o.ens. ,t moves0 but it never goes anywhere. The door is like a la=y man on his bed. -e might move. But he will not go anywhere. v1' When a la=y man has a meal0 he .uts his hand into the bowl. Then he is too la=y to lift his hand to his mouth. v1( A la=y man thinks that he is very wise. -e thinks that he is wiser than & intelligent menD @erse 1" +olomon uses humour whenever he discusses a la=y man. The la=y man has his excuse. And .erha.s there is a lion. But we know that0 really0 this man is la=y. -e only wants an excuse not to work. @erse 1# This man is very la=y. -e is still in his bed. -e might turn. -e might even move. But he will not get u.. -e is too la=y. +o +olomon says0 this man is like a door. The door moves. But it is still in its doorway. The door never goes anywhere. @erse 1$ Eow0 the la=y man has a meal. -e is la=y. But he knows how to take things. And la=y .eo.le often take things from other .eo.le. Cor exam.le0 a la=y .erson might ask for a gift. But the la=y .erson does not know how to en9oy these things. And he does not know how to use them. The la=y man takes the food. But he is too la=y to eat it. @erse 1% This la=y man is like the man in verse 1!. Both men think that they are wise. But the la=y man thinks that he is the wisest of all men. The la=y man thinks this because he refuses to work. But he is not clever when he avoids a task. The la=y man may become .oor. -e may suffer for his attitude. -e might even starve. The la=y man ought to work. -e should learn a skill. Then .eo.le will res.ect him. Then he will deserve honour. v1- >o not gras. a dog/s earsD And do not interru.t when other .eo.le argueD v1" A mad man shoots burning arrows. v1! Another man lies. Then he says0 A, was 9okingD/ v$. Without fuel0 there is no fire. ,f nobody gossi.s0 there is no argument. v$1 Wood starts a fire. A man who disagrees starts an argument. v$$ When someone gossi.s0 his words are like a favourite food. The words0 like the food0 enter right into a man. v$% A chea. .ot might have a silky surface. And an evil man might s.eak well. @erse 1& A dog is angry if you gras. its ears. ,t will bite you.
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+ome .eo.le are angry if someone interru.ts their argument. Perha.s that .erson wants to hel.. Perha.s he su..oses that he can hel. them to be calm. But when he interru.ts0 he will have to deal with their anger too. @erses 1'81( :veryone can see that this mad man is dangerous. But the other man is also dangerous. -is lie caused trouble. Then he claims that the lie was 9ust a 9oke. +o his humour caused trouble for everyone. @erse !) A fire will not burn without fuel. When someone gossi.s0 their words are like fuel. And an argument is like fire. +o0 if .eo.le do not gossi.0 they avoid arguments. We should learn to be careful with our words. +ee 3ames ". @erse !1 ?ou need wood to start a fire. A man who disagrees is like the wood. -e can start a terrible argument. But we cannot always agree with everyone. And we cannot avoid every argument. But we should think before we s.eak. ,f we say nothing0 we might avoid the argument. @erse !! This verse is the same as Proverbs 1'5'. +olomon uses humour here. When someone gossi.s0 their words are like a s.ecial food. Peo.le en9oy it when someone gossi.s. Cood enters the stomach. And when someone gossi.s0 their stories enter the mind. Peo.le remember the stories. And they re.eat the stories. +o they gossi. too. +oon many .eo.le will hear the stories0 even if the stories are not true. When someone gossi.s0 their words cause many .roblems. We should learn not to gossi.. @erse !" ?ou cannot believe everything that you see. +ome .ots seem silky on the outside. But they are 9ust chea. .ots. ?ou cannot believe everything that you hear. +ome evil men s.eak clever words. But they are still evil men. ?ou must not trust them v$& A cruel man uses his clever words to hide his true thoughts. But there are evil ideas in his mind. v$' -is words may be beautiful0 but do not believe himD ,n his mind0 he has & evil .lans. v$( -is evil .lans might be secret. But soon everyone will discover that he is wicked. And the court will .unish him. @erses !#8!% -ere is an evil man who s.eaks clever words. And some .eo.le think that his words are wonderful. They do not realise that his .lans are evil. They do not know his evil ideas. And if they trust him0 they will suffer. +oon everyone will know the man/s evil scheme. And a 9udge will .unish that man. v$- 6ne man digs a hole 1because he wants to hurt someone else4. But that man will fall into his own hole. Another man rolls a stone. But that stone will roll back over him. v$" A man who lies hurts other .eo.le. -e hates them. Another man .retends that someone else is great. -e causes trouble. @erse !& These men wanted to cause trouble for other .eo.le. But in fact0 these men suffered because of their own cruel actions. :verything that went wrong in their lives was their own fault.

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,t is never good to hate other .eo.le. We should never try to cause trouble. ,f we do0 we shall cause trouble in our own lives. @erse !' Both men cause trouble because their words are not sincere. When the first man lies0 the .eo.le believe him. Then they do the wrong thing0 because of the lie. The second .erson .retends that someone else is great. -e does this because he wants a gift from that .erson. These words also cause trouble.

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Proverbs chapter $v1 >o not become .roud about your .lans for tomorrow. ?ou do not know what will ha..en tomorrow. v$ >o not .raise yourselfD <et someone else .raise you0 if you deserve it. v% +tones are heavy. +and is heavy. But a fool/s anger causes more strain than a heavy weight. v& Anger is cruel. ,t is like a flood. But a 9ealous .erson is in a worse state. @erse 1 +ee 3ames #51"81& and <uke 1!51%8!1. 2od controls your life. ?ou could die tomorrow. +o trust 2od about the future. And be ready to meet 2od 1Amos #51!4. @erse ! >o not say that you are im.ortantD Be humbleD 3esus said0 A,f someone wants to become great0 he should become a servant. And if someone wants to be your leader0 he should become a slave. , did not come as a king. , came as a servant. And , will die so that 2od will forgive many .eo.le./ 1;ark 1)5#"8#$4 @erse " The anger of the fool 1evil .erson4 causes great strain. But a good .erson should not be angry. +ee :.hesians #5"1. ,nstead0 a good .erson should forgive other .eo.le/s errors. 1:.hesians #5"!4 @erse # Anger is terrible. But0 like the flood0 the anger will soon end. The waters of a flood will soon go away. And an angry man will soon become calm again. But a 9ealous .erson is in a worse state. This feeling will not end 7uickly. ,nstead0 it will continue to cause trouble for a long time. +ee >euteronomy $5!1. v' A friend/s word of correction is better than love that is secret. v( >o not trust the soft kisses of an enemy. But a good friend will tell you the truth. @erses $8% A word of correction might be un.leasant. ?ou do not want your friend to see your error. And you may not want your friend to talk about such matters. But he warns you because you are wrong. -e s.eaks the truth to you because he wants to hel. you. -e does these things because he loves you. +ee also my note on Proverbs !#5!%. But your enemy does not love you. :ven his kiss has an evil reason. +ee ;ark 1#5##8#%. v- When someone has eaten too much0 he will not even eat honey. But a hungry man thinks that even bitter foods taste good. v" A man away from home is like a mother bird away from her nest. v! A beautiful smell causes 9oy. And a friend causes 9oy0 if he advises well. v1. >o not forget your friendD >o not forget your father/s friendD When you are in trouble0 do not go to your brotherD A near neighbour is better than a distant brother. v11 ;y son0 be wiseD , shall be glad if you are wise. And , shall be able to answer my enemy.
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@erse & 6ur reactions de.end on our circumstances. A rich man cannot recognise the best foods. -e has eaten too much. +o he cannot even en9oy honey. But a very .oor man will not even see good food. -e is glad to have anything to eat. The rich man has a huge meal0 but he does not en9oy it. The .oor man has a tiny meal. But he is hungry and his meal tastes good. +ometimes a .oor .erson en9oys life more than a rich .erson. But both men can have a better life if the rich man is generous. @erse ' A mother bird that wanders from her nest cannot look after her young birds. And a man who leaves his home cannot look after a family. That man may have no children. But if he has children0 he cannot teach them to be wise. +uch a man cannot establish a strong family. @erse ( We like to smell flowers. We like to smell good food. And many other smells give 9oy to us. These smells are beautiful. And we have great 9oy when our friends hel. us. We are glad when their advice is good. @erse 1) +ome young .eo.le will not ask older .eo.le to hel. them. But often0 a family friend is more willing to hel. than your own friends. ?our father/s friend used to hel. your father0 and .erha.s your father/s friend would like to hel. you now. 6lder .eo.le have .lenty of ex.erience0 and their advice is often wise. When you have troubles0 such .eo.le may be better hel.ers than even a brother. @erse 11 A father is res.onsible for his son/s good behaviour. ,f the boy develo.s well0 his character is .roof of the father/s success. v1$ When a wise man sees danger0 he stays in a safe .lace. But sim.le .eo.le do nothing0 so they suffer. v1% ,f a man .romises to .ay a foreigner/s debt0 then take his coat. ,f he .romises on behalf of a foreign woman0 then kee. his coatD 6therwise0 he may never .ay. v1& A man shouts a greeting and wakes his neighbour very early in the morning. But his angry neighbour will consider that the man is a great nuisance. v1' A wife who argues sounds like constant rainfall. v1( ?ou cannot sto. the wind. ?ou cannot gras. oil in your hand. And you cannot sto. this wife/s constant arguments. v1- ?ou use an iron tool to make another iron tool shar.er. +o one man im.roves another. @erse 1! +ee Proverbs !!5". @erse 1" +ee Proverbs !)51%. @erse 1# +olomon uses humour here. This stu.id man will waken his neighbour. The man wanted to show how cheerful he was. But the neighbour will still be angry. We must think about the .robable results of our actions. And we should not waken our neighbours. @erses 1$81% Wives should try not to u.set their husbands. +ome wives are always arguing. But a good wife is calm. +he gently teaches her husband when he is wrong. And she works hard0 so that he is content. +ee Proverbs "151)8"1.
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@erse 1& Criendshi. is good. Criends should encourage each other. They should hel. each other. And they should teach each other about 2od. ,n the Bible0 3onathan and >avid were s.ecial friends. +ee 1 +amuel 1'518#I 1(518%I !)518#!I !"51%. v1" The man that looks after a fruit tree will eat the fruit. The servant who looks after his master will receive his reward. v1! As water reflects a face0 so a man/s thoughts show his character. v$. >eath and hell always claim more lives. And nothing can satisfy a man/s desire. v$1 Test silver with heatD Test gold with fireD ,f you .raise a man0 then you will test him. v$$ ?ou can strike a fool as hard as you strike grain. But he will still be a fool. @erse 1' A good farmer deserves his harvest. And a good servant deserves a reward. -is master should .ay this servant well. @erse 1( We see our own good and bad 7ualities when we notice the same 7ualities in other .eo.le. @erse !) Eothing satisfies a man/s desires. And nothing can satisfy death and hell. 6nly 3esus can com.letely satisfy human desires 13ohn #51"81#4. But as Christians0 we must learn to be content. +ee Phili..ians #51181". @erse !1 ?ou can find out whether gold is real in a fire. 2old does not burn. And silver does not burn. And you can test a man/s attitudes. +ome .eo.le are .roud if you .raise them. +ome .eo.le are foolish if you .raise them. And humble .eo.le will still be humble0 even if you .raise them. @erse !! ?ou strike grain to make flour. A fool is an evil .erson who hates wisdom. A 9udge might order a cruel .unishment for an evil .erson. But an evil .erson will learn nothing0 even if you strike him many times. After his .unishment0 that evil man will still be evil. -e will learn nothing from his .unishment. v$% <ook after your animalsD Be careful on your farm. v$& Wealth does not last. :ven a king/s family can lose their land. v$' +tore the hayD Eew grass will grow. 2ather grass from the hills. v$( The wool of shee. will be your clothing. The .rofit from your goats will .rovide the rent for your fields. v$- ?ou will have .lenty of goat/s milk. The milk will feed you and your family. And the milk will .rovide for your servant girls. @erses !"8!&

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+olomon is describing a farm. -e warns the farmer to be res.onsible. ,f the farmer does not work0 he could lose his land. But if the farmer works hard0 his family will be content. The shee. and goats will grow well. And the farmer will make a .rofit from his animals. The farmer will also obtain clothes and milk from his animals. The farmer will receive a good income. The farmer will live well. And his family will live well. :ven his servant girls will en9oy their lives0 because the farmer is res.onsible. These verses teach us several lessons5 >o not only aim to make money 1verse !#4. 2od created the seasons of the year. +o .lan your work at the right time of year 1verse !$4. Fse wisely the things that 2od has created. Then 2od will su..ly the things that you need 1verses !%8!&4.

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Proverbs chapter $"

v1 A wicked .erson runs away0 even if nobody is chasing him. But good .eo.le are as bold as lions. v$ A country of evil .eo.le has many rulers. But with one wise ruler0 a country has security. v% A strong0 .oor man might cheat weak0 .oor .eo.le. -e is like a storm that destroys their cro.s. v& Peo.le that do not obey the law .raise wicked .eo.le. But .eo.le that obey the law o..ose wicked .eo.le. v' :vil .eo.le cannot understand the word Afair/. But .eo.le that res.ect 2od are always fair. @erse 1 A wicked man has a bad conscience. And he does not trust 2od. +o a wicked man has no ho.e for the future. And he is afraid of many things. But the good man has a good conscience. -e trusts 2od. The good man is not afraid that he might lose his money. -e knows that 2od will .rovide. The good man is not even afraid of death. 2od will take the good man to heaven when the good man dies. +o the good man has courage. +ee >aniel " and ;atthew %5!$8"#. @erse ! An evil country has many rulers. This is because evil .eo.le hate each other. +o they o..ose each other and they fight for .ower. +uch a country is never at .eace. But a good country has one ruler. The .eo.le res.ect their ruler. And the ruler is fair. +o that country is a good .lace to live. @erse " +ometimes a .oor man becomes .owerful. But he might not use his .ower fairly. -e might be very cruel. -e does not remember that he is like the other .oor .eo.le. -e thinks that he is better than them. +o he cheats them. -e acts as if they are his slaves. @erse # ,f you res.ect the law0 then you do not want evil .eo.le to succeed. ?ou want to sto. their evil .lans. ,f their evil .lans succeed0 then everybody will suffer. And other .eo.le will not res.ect the law. :s.ecially0 the .olice should o..ose the .lans of wicked .eo.le. @erse $ :vil .eo.le do not know how to be fair. They do not even see why someone should want to be fair. But if you res.ect 2od0 you will be fair with everybody. v( ,t is better to be honest and .oor0 than to be rich and evil. v- ,f you obey the law0 then you are a wise son. But if you are greedy0 you cause shame to your father. v" 6ne man charges excess interest 1money for a loan4. -e becomes wealthy. But his money will .ass to someone else. And that .erson will be generous to .oor .eo.le. v! 2od hates even the .rayers of a man who will not obey 2od/s law. v1. ,f a man .lots against good .eo.le0 he will suffer from his own evil scheme. But a good .erson will receive good things. v11 A rich man might think that he is wise. But a .oor man who is wise knows the truth about that rich man. v1$ When good .eo.le succeed0 everybody is glad. When wicked men become .owerful0 men will hide themselves.
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@erse % Perha.s you can become rich by an evil method. Perha.s you can get more money if you lie to .eo.le. 6r .erha.s you have another evil scheme to increase your wealth. But your evil deeds will ruin your relationshi. with 2od. +ee ,saiah $(518!. Peo.le can do many terrible things for money 11 Timothy %51)4. +o do not allow money to tem.t you. A .oor0 honest man is better than a rich0 evil man. @erse & ;oney does not tem.t everybody. Cood and drink can tem.t some .eo.le. ,n the second line0 the son u.sets his father. This is because the son only wants to eat. This son is greedy. And he does not care about other things. -e does not even care about 2od/s law. @erse ' This wealthy man is an evil man. -e lends money. But he does not charge fairly. +o he obtains a big income. And the .eo.le who are in debt will suffer. 1+ee :xodus !!5!$.4 But0 in the end0 the wealthy man will die. Perha.s his son will be generous. And .erha.s his son will care about .oor .eo.le. As we earn our money0 we should be fair. We should not cause other .eo.le to suffer. And we ourselves should be generous to .oor .eo.le. @erse ( An evil man refuses to obey 2od/s law. And even his .rayers are evil. Perha.s he .rays that his evil .lans will succeed. 6r .erha.s he .rays to an evil god. The true 2od hates these .rayers. +o 2od will not answer this man/s .rayers. @erse 1) A man may have evil .lans against good .eo.le. But 2od cares about good .eo.le. 2od will not allow evil .lans to succeed. ,nstead0 the evil man will suffer from his own evil schemes. @erse 11 This rich man thinks that he is wise. -e thinks this because he is wealthy. +o he su..oses that he is wiser than other .eo.le. But the .oor man who is wise knows the truth about the rich man. This .oor man knows why the rich man is wealthy. This rich man is wealthy because he cheats .oor .eo.le. ,f the rich man were wise0 he would res.ect 2od. And he would res.ect 2od/s law. +o this rich man cannot be wise. +ome wise .eo.le are rich. But many wise .eo.le are .oor. And a .oor .erson who is wise is better than a rich fool. @erse 1! We want good .eo.le to succeed. We want good .eo.le to be in the government. And we want our rulers to serve 2od. Then our country will be a good country. But if wicked .eo.le are the rulers0 then the country is a bad .lace. The law is not fair. :verybody suffers. +o we should .ray for our rulers 11 Timothy !5!4. v1% >o not .retend that you are innocent. ?ou cannot succeed if you .retend this. ,nstead0 confess your evil actions. 2od will forgive you if you sto. your evil behaviour. v1& 2od is kind to .eo.le who res.ect him. But a man who refuses to change will suffer many troubles. @erse 1" This is a very im.ortant lesson. ?ou must confess your evil deeds to 2od. ?ou must invite 2od into your life. 2od will forgive you0 because of 3esus. ?ou cannot sto. your evil behaviour by your own efforts. But 2od will hel. you. Trust 2od nowD >o not delayD @erse 1# ,f you res.ect 2od0 then 2od will hel. you. And you will become wise 1Proverbs 15&4.
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But some .eo.le refuse to obey 2od/s message. They do not invite 2od into their lives. They continue their evil deeds. They do not want 2od to hel. them. The Book of Proverbs calls these .eo.le Afools/. 2od will be their 9udge. And he will .unish them for their evil deeds. v1' A wicked man may rule over weak .eo.le. -e is like a cruel lion or an angry bear. v1( A cruel ruler lacks wisdom. But a ruler who refuses bribes 1secret gifts4 or unfair .rofits will have a long life. v1- A murderer must always run away from .eo.le. Eobody should assist him. @erse 1$ <ions and bears are strong animals. They attack. And they kill. A wicked ruler is like these animals. -e does not care about his .eo.le. -e only cares about himself. -e will attack his own .eo.le. -e will even kill his own .eo.le. And the .eo.le are weak0 so they cannot defend themselves. @erse 1% A ruler should not be cruel. -e should not attack his own .eo.le. ,f he does0 he is not wise. A ruler needs his .eo.le to .rotect him from his enemy. The ruler/s own .eo.le hate a cruel ruler. +o this cruel ruler is stu.id. A wise .erson is honest. -e does not cheat. -e does not steal money. -e is fair with everybody. And 2od will hel. that honest .erson. The honest .erson will have a good life. @erse 1& A murderer has a bad conscience. +o he is afraid of .eo.le. At any time0 they could guess what he has done. A murderer knows that he deserves .unishment. -is actions are very evil. 2od/s law says0 A>o not murderD/ 1>euteronomy $51&4. +o do not hel. a murderer to esca.e. But 2od can forgive even a murderer. But the murderer must confess his evil deed. And he must humbly ask 2od to forgive him. +ee 1 +amuel cha.ters 11 8 1! and Psalm $1. v1" An honest man will be safe. An evil man will suddenly suffer. v1! A farmer who works hard will have .lenty of food. A la=y man/s imagination will only make him .oor. v$. ,f you can trust a man0 that man deserves a rich reward. But a man who only wants money deserves a .unishment. v$1 Always be fairD But some .eo.le will obey an evil re7uest0 even if their reward is a mere sandwich. v$$ A greedy man is eager to become rich. -e does not realise that his attitude will make him .oor. @erse 1' The honest man is safe because 2od .rotects him. 2od sees the man/s honest behaviour. And 2od loves that man. But sometimes0 honest .eo.le suffer. +ee the Book of 3ob in the Bible. 2od allowed the devil to test 3ob. 3ob/s friends thought that 3ob suffered because of his evil deeds. But 3ob was an honest man. 2od is a fair 9udge. -e cared about 3ob. 2od did not rescue 3ob immediately. 3ob was .atient 13ames $5114. But in time0 2od hel.ed 3ob. And in time0 2od will rescue everyone who loves 2od. But an evil man will suffer. This man might not suffer immediately. But 2od is a fair 9udge. And in time0 2od will .unish that man. And the .unishment will be sudden. +o the evil man must not delay. -e must invite 2od into his life now. 2od will forgive the evil man0 if the evil man humbly confesses his evil deeds to 2od. @erse 1(
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>o not be la=yD >o not continue to slee. when you should workD ?ou might .refer to imagine good things. ?ou might not want to work. But your imagination cannot .rovide your food. +o you need to work. +ome church leaders imagine that their churches will achieve many things. They s.eak about their ideas. But they do not want to work. They do not want to teach 2od/s message. They do not care about .eo.le who are not Christians. Perha.s these church leaders do not even invite .eo.le to come to their churches. They only want to en9oy themselves. And they only want to imagine good things. +uch attitudes are not good. Church leaders need to work. They must not be la=y. Then their ideas might become reality. And many .eo.le will hear 2od/s message. +ee 3ohn #5"#8"' and ;atthew !'51'8!). @erse !) ?ou can trust the first man. +o .ay him wellD Christians should behave like this man. 6ther .eo.le should be able to trust a Christian. But the second man only wants your money. -e wants the money0 but he does not care about the work. +o he is not careful. -e does not do the 9ob well. And he does not deserve the money. ,nstead0 he deserves a .unishment. As Christians0 we should not love money 11 Timothy %51)4. And we should not love our .ossessions. We should love 2od. And we should love to do the right things. @erse !1 A good .erson is always fair. But some .eo.le do not care whether their actions are good or evil. They only want money. 6r they only want a reward. And if someone rewards them0 they will do anything. They would even do evil things. A sandwich is not a big reward. But even such a small gift is enough to .ersuade some .eo.le to do an evil deed. @erse !! This man is greedy. -e does not want to share anything with other .eo.le. -e su..oses that this attitude will make him rich. But his scheme is stu.id. -e needs friends0 but he will lose his friends. They will hate his attitudes. And the greedy man will waste his own .ossessions. And 2od will .unish this man because the man is not generous. +o the greedy man/s scheme will fail. And he will become .oor. v$% ,t is better to correct a man than to .retend that he is right. v$& A man steals from his .arents. -e says0 A, deserve this moneyD/ -e is as bad as the worst thief. v$' The greedy man causes arguments. But the man that trusts in 2od will succeed. v$( ,f you trust yourself0 then you are a .roud fool. ,f you are wise in 2od/s ways0 then you will be safe. v$- ,f you are generous to .oor .eo.le0 then you will always have enough for yourself. But if you avoid .oor .eo.le0 then you will suffer many insults. v$" When wicked men become .owerful0 .eo.le must hide. When wicked .eo.le fail0 good .eo.le succeed. @erse !" We all need to know the truth. We need to know when we are wrong. We need to acce.t words of correction. These words may not seem .leasant. We might feel terrible when we hear these words. We might .refer to hear that we are right. But a lie does not hel. us. @erse !# This man ought to .rovide for his .arents. -e should look after them. +ee ;ark &5(81". ,nstead0 the man steals his .arents/ money. And he imagines that he deserves the money. This is terrible. This man is a very evil son.
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3esus told a story about a similar sub9ect in <uke 1$5118!#. A young man took his father/s money. This son wasted all the money. But he returned to his father. And he confessed his evil deed to his father. The father forgave him. The father in the story is like 2od. And the son is like us. We all do evil things. But if we humbly confess our evil deeds0 2od will forgive us. @erse !$ ,f you love your own .ossessions0 you cause trouble. +o trust 2odD -e will .rotect you. And he will .rovide for you. @erse !% >o not trust yourselfD Trust 2odD ?ou will become wise if you trust 2od. And you will be safe0 because 2od will .rotect you. @erse !& 2od wants us to be generous. ,f we are generous0 then 2od will hel. us. +ee Psalm "&5!$8!% and <uke %5"'. @erse !' +ee Proverbs !'51!.

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Proverbs chapter $!
v1 A man might refuse to change his behaviour0 even if many .eo.le try to correct him. A terrible trouble will suddenly ruin that man/s life. Eo remedy can save him. v$ When good .eo.le succeed0 everybody is ha..y. When wicked .eo.le rule0 everybody suffers. v% A man/s wisdom brings 9oy to his father. But a man0 who loves to have sex0 wastes his money on women. v& When the king is fair0 his nation is safe. When a king acce.ts bribes 1secret gifts40 he destroys his nation. @erse 1 We try to hel. .eo.le. But they will not always follow our advice. We can try to teach such .eo.le. And we can warn them. But we cannot change their behaviour. ,n the end0 they will lose their last chance. ,f they refuse to learn0 then 2od will .unish them. +ee Proverbs 15!#8"". @erse ! We do not want wicked rulers. We should .ray that our rulers will be good rulers. :veryone will benefit if our rulers are good. @erse " A father is glad if his son grows to be wise. But some sons are foolish. They love .leasure. They love sex. And they slee. with many women. These sons waste their own money. They waste their own strength. Perha.s they even waste their fathers/ money. +o their fathers are sad. +olomon/s son did not grow to be wise. This son0 called Behoboam0 was a foolish king. -e loved .leasure. -is selfish attitudes caused his country to s.lit in two. -is .eo.le suffered greatly because of him. @erse # +olomon was a king. And he was also a 9udge. -e believed that a ruler must be fair. -e taught his officials to refuse bribes 1secret gifts4. <ater -e=ekiah became king. -is officials found this good advice and they co.ied it 1Proverbs !$514. -e=ekiah was a good king who res.ected 2od. And this verse is still good advice today. Peo.le do many evil things because of bribes. v' A man may .raise his neighbour with words that are not sincere. +uch a man will cause trouble. v( An evil man will suffer because of his own evil actions. But a good man can sing. And he will be glad. @erse $ The first man has an evil scheme. -e uses words that are not sincere to .raise his neighbour. +o this evil man .retends that his neighbour is a great man. The evil man wants the neighbour to trust him. Then the neighbour will give gifts to the evil man. 6r .erha.s the evil man will steal from the neighbour. We are not sure about the meaning of the second line. Perha.s it means that the .ur.ose of such words is to cause trouble for the neighbour. 6r .erha.s the meaning is that the evil man will cause trouble for himself0 as in verse %. @erse % This evil man causes his own .roblems. But a good .erson has great 9oy. +o he sings. v- 2ood .eo.le want fair laws that will hel. .oor .eo.le. But wicked men do not want this. v" ,nsults will cause a city/s inhabitants to be angry.
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But wise men will hel. the .eo.le to be calm. v! When a wise man o..oses a fool0 the fool might laugh. 6r the fool might be angry. But the fool will not be calm. v1. Cruel men hate an honest man. They want to kill him. v11 A fool can become very angry. But a wise man behaves well. @erse & ,f the law is fair0 .oor .eo.le will benefit. The law will .rotect them0 so that they will not starve. ,n :ngland0 1$) years ago0 many good .eo.le worked hard to free slaves. These good .eo.le .ersuaded the government to make good laws. But many .eo.le o..osed these good laws. +elfish .eo.le will always o..ose good laws. These .eo.le do not care about .oor .eo.le. @erse ' Peo.le hate insults. The inhabitants of this city will be very angry. They might even want to attack the .eo.le who insulted them. But this reaction is not always sensible. Wise men will hel. the city/s inhabitants to be calm. Then .eo.le can consider the situation carefully. And they will make a sensible decision. When we are angry0 we cannot always make sensible decisions. We should try to become calm. Then our decisions will be good decisions. @erse ( By Afool/0 +olomon means an evil man. This evil man does not like the wise man/s sensible words. The evil man hates the wise man. And the wise man/s calm words may u.set the evil man. +o the evil man/s reaction is foolish. Perha.s he insults the wise man. 6r .erha.s the evil man is angry. But the evil man cannot be calm. @erse 1) Cruel .eo.le o..ose honest .eo.le. Cruel .eo.le do not want anyone to be honest. The honest .erson could ruin their evil schemes. +o cruel .eo.le think that honest .eo.le are their enemies. @erse 11 A fool is an evil .erson. And he has many evil schemes. ,f you u.set this man0 he will be very angry. But a wise .erson should not be very angry. The evil .erson may try to u.set him. But the wise man kee.s calm. v1$ When a ruler listens to lies0 his officials become wicked. v1% There are .oor .eo.le. And there are evil rulers. 2od allows them all to see the reality of the situation. v1& ,f a king is fair to .oor .eo.le0 his nation will always be safe. @erse 1! A ruler needs good advisers who s.eak the truth. The ruler should not .refer officials who lie. ,f he does0 then the whole government will be evil. @erse 1" These .eo.le are .oor because their rulers are evil. 2od allows the .eo.le to know this. And 2od also allows the rulers to realise this. @erse 1# A king should care about his .oor .eo.le. -e should defend them. The king should not allow cruel .eo.le to cheat the .oor .eo.le. 2ood laws o..ose cruel .eo.le. 2ood laws defend .oor .eo.le.
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v1' A smack teaches wisdom. A mother must teach disci.line to her child. 6therwise0 the child/s behaviour will cause shame to her. v1( When wicked .eo.le succeed0 there is more evil behaviour. But0 in time0 this evil situation will end. v1- Correct your sonD Then he will bring relief to you. ?ou will be glad0 because of your son. v1" Peo.le do evil things when they do not know 2od/s message. But 2od is .leased with the .erson who obeys 2od/s law. v1! ?ou cannot teach your servant with mere words. -e can understand your words0 but he will not obey you. v$. :ven a fool is better than a man who s.eaks without thought. v$1 ,f you give s.ecial luxuries to your servant0 he will cause you trouble in the end. @erse 1$ +ee Proverbs !!51$. This mother is u.set because her child is evil. +he should .unish her child. Then her child will learn good behaviour. 6therwise0 the child will continue to do evil things0 even when the child becomes old. @erse 1% Wicked .eo.le will not always succeed. ,n time0 2od will .unish them. Then good .eo.le will rule the country. We see that some .eo.le are very evil. Perha.s there always seems to be some evil rulers. But0 in the end0 2od will .unish evil .eo.le. :ven the countries that we know in this world last only for a short time. But 2od/s rule in heaven never ends. +o he is always king. 1>aniel #5"4. 2od rules from heaven. ,n heaven0 nobody is evil. ,n heaven0 nobody suffers. ,n heaven0 there is no .ain. +ee Bevelation !15#. @erse 1& +ee verse 1$. When your child learns to do the right things0 you will be glad. @erse 1' ,f someone does evil things0 then tell 2od/s message to that .erson. Tell that .erson about 3esus. Tell that .erson about 2od/s love. And tell that .erson that he must invite 2od into his life. +ome .eo.le will obey your advice. They will invite 2od into their lives. They will learn to do the right things. And they will serve 2od0 because they acce.ted 2od/s message. @erse 1( +ometimes .eo.le cannot understand our words. They need to see our actions. This servant might be a child. +o the master must .unish his servant as a child. The servant/s .unishment should be fair. Then he will learn right behaviour. @erse !) Think before you s.eakD Perha.s you need to obtain advice from wise .eo.le. ;ake a good decisionD Then0 when you s.eak0 your words will be wise. @erse !1 This servant might be a child. Be sensible when you give gifts to your children. 2ive gifts that will hel. them. This verse is difficult to translate. 6ther .ossible meanings are5 ,f you give your child only luxuries0 he will become a servant. And he will suffer in the end. ,f you give honour to your servant boy0 in the end he will become your son. v$$ The man who has a bad tem.er is always ready to start arguments. -e will cause a lot of trouble. v$% A .roud man will become humble.
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But a humble man will receive honour. v$& ,n court0 even a thief/s friend becomes his enemy. The thief/s friend .romises to 2od to tell the truth. Then the thief/s friend does not dare to say anything. v$' ,f you are afraid of .eo.le0 then this fear will cause troubles for you. But the .erson that trusts 2od is safe. v$( ;any .eo.le want 9udges to hel. them. But only 2od deals fairly with everyone. v$- 2ood .eo.le hate evil .eo.le. :vil .eo.le hate good .eo.le. @erse !! Anger is dangerous. A bad tem.er causes many troubles. We should learn to stay calm. @erse !" The .roud man wants to be a great man. But 2od will not allow such a man to become great. +ee Proverbs 1%51'. But 2od loves humble .eo.le. And 2od will give honour to them. +ee <uke 15$18$". 3esus was humble. Although 3esus is 2od0 3esus became a man. And he lived like a servant. -e even died like a criminal. But 2od has given the greatest honour to 3esus. And everyone will know that 3esus is 2od. +ee Phili..ians !5$811. @erse !# The thief/s friend does not hel. the thief. When the thief is in court0 the thief wants his friend to lie. ,n court0 the friend .romises to 2od to tell the truth. The friend is not afraid of the court. But he is afraid of 2od. And this friend remembers that 2od will .unish .eo.le who lie. +o0 when the lawyers ask their 7uestions0 the thief/s friend says nothing. @erse !$ Peo.le will cause many troubles. There are many cruel .eo.le. But do not be a cowardD 2od will .rotect you. Trust in him. +ee Psalm (1. @erse !% Perha.s you trust 9udges. Perha.s you think that the court will hel. you. But there are some evil 9udges. And even good 9udges sometimes make wrong decisions. +o trust 2od. -e is fair with everyone. @erse !& 2ood .eo.le and evil .eo.le have nothing in common. >o not su..ose that evil .eo.le will su..ort you. ,f you do the right things0 then evil .eo.le will still hate you. And do not su..ort an evil man/s scheme. -is scheme will be cruel. 6r his scheme will be evil. 6r his scheme might even be terrible. ,t will not be a good scheme0 because the man himself is evil. ,nstead0 warn the evil man. -e must confess his evil deeds to 2od. And he must invite 2od into his life.

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)he Pu11les of A+ur and Lemuel

(Proverbs %. 1 to Proverbs %1 !#
These .assages are by Agur 1Proverbs ")4 and *ing <emuel 1Proverbs "1518(4. We do not know anything about these men. The Bible does not mention them elsewhere. But we learn some things about them from these .assages. And we learn many things about wisdom from their words. +olomon was not the only teacher of wisdom. The Bible mentions other wise men who lived at the same time as him 11 *ings #5")8"14. ;any .eo.le studied wisdom at this time.

Proverbs chapter %.
v1 These are the words of Agur 1son of 3akeh4. Agur said5 2od0 , am tired. 6h 2od0 , am tired and weak. v$ , am so stu.idD , do not even know the things that a man should know. v% , have not studied wisdom. , know nothing about 2od. @erses 18" Agur had been studying hard. -e had seen many wonderful things that he could not ex.lain. -e had tried to understand 2od. And he had tried to understand the world. But 2od is so great 11 Corinthians 15!$4. And the world is too difficult to ex.lain 13ob "'4. Eow Agur was tired 1:cclesiastes 1!51!4. ,n verses ! and "0 Agur was using irony. That is0 he was using words in a s.ecial way. -e was not really a stu.id man who knew nothing. ,n fact0 he knew many things about 2od 1verse #4. But his own knowledge seemed like nothing when he thought about 2od. Wisdom is so wonderful that Agur/s own thoughts seemed foolish. And the world is so com.lex that Agur felt stu.id. v& Perha.s someone went u. to heaven. And .erha.s he came down to earth. Perha.s he controls the winds0 as if the winds are in his hands. Perha.s he controls the seas0 as if the seas are in his coat. Perha.s he even established the north and the south. But , do not know him , do not know his name0 nor his son/s name. Tell me0 if you know him. @erse # Agur wanted someone to teach him. -e so wanted to learn about 2od. Agur/s ideas in this verse are like 2od/s 7uestions in 3ob "'. Agur knew that somebody must have created the world. But he did not realise that 2od created the world. Agur knew that somebody must control the wind and the seas. But he did not realise that 2od controls these things. @erse # is an im.ortant verse. The verse shows that 2od guided the Bible writers 1see ! Timothy "51%4. @erse # is about 3esus0 who is 2od/s son. But Agur knew nothing about 3esus. Agur lived over 1))) years before 3esus was born. Eobody knew about 3esus then. But Agur mentioned sub9ects that nobody knew before 3esus. The .eo.le of Agur/s time did not know that 3esus is 2od/s son. They did not even think that 2od had a son. 1+ee 3ohn 1)5")8"%.4 But Agur wanted to know about 2od/s son. And 3esus is 2od/s son 13ohn "51%4. The .eo.le of Agur/s time believed that 2od was in heaven. They did not think that 2od would come to earth. But Agur thought that 2od would come to earth. And 3esus came to earth to save us 1Phili..ians !5$8'4.
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Agur knew few things 1verse !4. But 2od guided Agur0 so that Agur wrote great words in the Bible. v' 2od/s words are always .erfect. -e .rotects everyone that trusts him. v( >o not change what 2od has said. -e will correct you. And he will .rove that you are lying. @erses $8% Agur wanted someone to teach him. But Agur already knew some things. -e knew that 2od/s word is .erfect. And Agur was right. The Bible is .erfect. Agur also knew that we must teach the Bible accurately. This is also right. Agur knew that 2od will .unish our evil actions. This is also right. But Agur did not ex.lain some im.ortant .rinci.les. -e did not say that 2od loves us. -e did not say that 2od wants to forgive us. Agur was afraid of 2od0 because he did not know about 2od/s love. v- 6h0 2od0 , .ray for two things. >o not refuse meD , shall soon die. v" Protect me from all liesD >o not make me rich or .oorD 2ive me today/s bread0 onlyD v! 6therwise0 , might become rich. Then , would forget you. , would say0 AThere is no 2od./ 6r , might become .oor. Then , might steal. And , might fail to res.ect 2od. @erses &8( Agur had a s.ecial .rayer. But it was a strange .rayer. Agur had a .articular reason why he did not want to become rich. -e thought that he would forget 2od. But money does not cause .eo.le to forget 2od. ;any rich .eo.le serve 2od. And they use their money wisely. They are generous and they hel. .oor .eo.le. There was also a .articular reason why Agur did not want to become .oor. -e thought that he might steal. But if someone is .oor0 this does not cause him to steal. ;any .oor .eo.le serve 2od0 and they do not steal. These .eo.le need many things0 but they are still honest. And there are many rich .eo.le who are evil. +ome rich .eo.le even steal from .oor .eo.le. Whether you are rich or .oor0 you should still serve 2od. v1. When you s.eak to a master0 do not insult his servantD When the master insults you0 then you will suffer. @erse 1) This is sensible advice. But .erha.s Agur was afraid. Agur did not mention that you could a.ologise. And Agur did not mention that the servant might forgive you. Agur also ex.lained his fears in verses 1181#. Another translation of the second line is5 AWhen the servant insults you0 then you will suffer./ v11 +ome .eo.le insult their fathers. And they do not bless their mothers. v1$ +ome .eo.le think that they themselves are innocent. But they are guilty. v1% +ome .eo.le are .roud. They think that other .eo.le are ho.eless. v1& And some .eo.le0 with their swords and knives0 are like animals that attack. They want to kill .oor .eo.le. They want to kill weak .eo.le. 2od .unishes all evil behaviour. @erse 11
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These .eo.le do not res.ect their .arents. +ee >euteronomy $51% and >euteronomy !&51%. @erse 1! :veryone has done evil things. We all must ask 2od to forgive us. +ee Bomans "5(81!. @erse 1" 2od o..oses .roud .eo.le. We should be humble. +ee 3ames #5%. @erse 1# These .eo.le are murderers. +ee >euteronomy $51&. v1' A leech 1animal4 has a double tongue that constantly demands blood. There are " things that you can never satisfy. # things will never say0 A, have enough./ These things are5 v1( hellI a woman who has no childrenI the soilI 1The soil always wants rain.4 fire. 1Cire always tries to burn more things.4 @erses 1$81% A leech is a small animal that drinks blood. The leech bites a .erson. Then the leech holds that .erson/s skin. Then the leech drinks the .erson/s blood. The .erson cannot remove the leech while the leech drinks blood. +ome .eo.le behave like leeches. These .eo.le are always causing trouble. They desire many things. +o they try to obtain other .eo.le/s .ossessions. And0 like the leeches0 such .eo.le make constant demands. Agur used several lists in this cha.ter. The numbers at the start of each list are a ty.e of .oetry. These numbers are not im.ortant. This is a list of things that make constant demands0 like the leech5 -ell is never full. This is because hell is always claiming more lives. We must tell .eo.le about 2od. ,f they invite 2od into their lives0 2od will .rotect them from hell/s .unishment. A woman who has no children always wants children. This is sad. But .erha.s she can ado.t a child. And .erha.s she would like to hel. with children/s activities at church. +he has no children0 but she can love other .eo.le/s children. And we can encourage her. The soil always needs more rain. +olomon lived in a dry country. Without rain0 there would be no harvest. Cire always tries to burn more things. ?ou must control fire carefully. 6therwise0 it will burn your .ossessions and your home. v1- ,f a son insults his .arents0 he deserves to die. -is dead body does not deserve a .ro.er grave. @ultures and ravens 1birds4 will eat his body. @erse 1& +ee also verse 11. Agur again warns that we must res.ect our .arents. The behaviour of a son who insults his .arents is terrible. Agur describes a terrible fate for that son. The son did not res.ect his .arents. And nobody will res.ect the son0 even after his death. Eobody will care enough even to bury his body. This fate would u.set everybody in ,srael. They thought that .ro.er graves were very im.ortant. v1" There are " wonderful things. There are # things that , cannot ex.lain. These things are5 v1! an eagle 1bird4 that moves in the skyI
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 a snake that moves on a rockI a shi. that moves on the seaI and a man with a woman. v$. A woman has sex with a man who is not her husband. +he acts as if she has only eaten. ,nnocently0 she says0 A, did nothing wrong./ @erses 1'81( Agur did not know how these things move. They move smoothly in .laces where it is difficult to move. And these things leave no trace as they move. +o Agur considered that they were great mysteries. -e did not know how a bird flies through the air. -e did not know how a snake could move without legs on a smooth rock. -e did not know how a shi. sails on the sea.

And he did not know how a man loves a woman. This is not like the other things in this list. But love between a man and a woman is also a strange mystery. @erse !) Agur heard what this woman said. But Agur knew what she had done. +he thought that it did not matter. But 2od also knew and he will .unish this woman. Peo.le often act as if their evil deeds are innocent. 6ften they even manage to confuse their own minds. Their behaviour was evil. But they may actually think that they are innocent. 2od knows the truth about what we have done. v$1 There are " things that u.set everyone. # things disturb everything. These things are5 v$$ a slave who becomes the kingI a greedy foolI v$% a hateful woman who marriesI a servant girl who takes the .lace of the master/s wife. @erses !18!" :ach .erson in this list has suddenly become .owerful. But they lack the skills that they need for their new situations. They may become .roud. Their characters do not match their new situations. These events may disturb us. We do not ex.ect such events to ha..en. The slave does not know how to lead anyone. -e has obeyed other .eo.le/s instructions for his whole life. But now he is the king0 and he must lead the entire nation. The fool is an evil man. -e does not deserve a good meal. But this fool eats .lenty. And he is still greedy. -e has no sense. -e is .roud. -e does not know when he should sto.. A hateful woman has 9ust married a man. But after she marries0 she is still hateful. -er attitudes are wrong. +he is a bad wife for her husband. And she will be a .oor mother to her children. The master/s original wife deserves her husband/s love. But he does not care about her. This is very sad. We soon discover why her husband does not love her. The woman/s own servant girl has become the master/s new wife. The husband chooses his servant girl0 instead of his wife. This is terrible. The two women will hate each other. 1Com.are 2enesis 1%518%.4 v$& There are # ty.es of animals that are very small. But they are also very wise. These animals are5 v$' ants0 which are tiny insects. But they store food during the summer. v$( conies0 which are small animals. But they make their home between rocks.
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 v$- locusts0 which are insects. They have no leader. But they advance like an army. v$" li=ards0 which are small animals. ?ou can easily catch li=ards in your hand. But li=ards can even live in kings/ .alaces. @erses !#8!' -ere are # ty.es of animals. :ach is both small and wise. +o we can learn a lesson about wisdom from these animals. Ants store food for the winter. And we should .re.are for the future0 too. +ee Proverbs %5%8'. Conies are weak animals. But they still have a home. They live together in small grou.s. And they a..oint one animal as a guard to watch for the large birds that may attack the conies. We should look after our homes too. We need homes where we can bring u. our families in safety. <ocusts march like an army but without a commander. <ocusts work together. And we too should work with other .eo.le. +ee -ebrews 1)5!$. <i=ards are clever. They can even avoid the guards and live in .alaces. And we need to be clever0 too. +ee ;atthew 1)51%. v$! There are " things that are im.ressive. There are # things that are really .owerful. These things are5 v%. the lion0 called Athe king of animals/. <ions are afraid of nothing. v%1 a mating cock 1male bird4I a male goatI a king0 who has his army to .rotect him. @erses !(8"1 These animals are im.ressive because they are bold. A lion is very strong. ,t is bold. And everybody res.ects a lion. A mating cock 1bird4 might not be strong. But the cock is still bold0 because it wants to im.ress a female bird. A male goat will attack anything. But a goat is not a wise animal. A goat attacks even when it does not need to attack. And even when the danger is great0 the goat still attacks. The goat does not realise that it should try to esca.eD A king/s words and actions are bold. But really0 a king is very weak. -e would not be bold if he did not have an army. Another man might have one or two guards to .rotect him. But a king needs a whole army. v%$ Perha.s you have been .roud0 like a fool. Perha.s you have .lotted an evil .lan. Then .ut your hand on your mouthD 1That is0 be silent.4 v%% ,f you stir milk0 you get butter. ,f you hurt the nose0 you get blood. +o0 if you cause anger0 you get trouble. @erses "!8"" Agur advised this evil man to say nothing. ;ere words cannot save an evil man from his .unishment. +o Agur told the evil man to .ut his hand on his mouth. 1That is0 to be silent.4 ,f the evil man s.oke0 he would cause more anger. Then the evil man would suffer even more trouble 1verse ""4.

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Proverbs chapter %1
v1 These are the words of *ing <emuel. This section is a difficult .u==le that his mother taught to him. v$ 6h0 my sonD ;y own sonD ?ou are the answer to my .rayers. @erses 18! <emuel was not a king of ,srael. But his name means Ahe belongs to 2od/ in the -ebrew language. 1-ebrew was the language of the .eo.le in ,srael.4 <emuel/s birth was the answer to his mother/s .rayers 1verse !4. The .ro.het 1holy man4 +amuel was also born as the answer to his mother/s .rayers 11 +amuel 15181'4. +amuel became a very great .ro.het. And <emuel/s mother wanted <emuel to be a good king. +he wanted him to be fair. And she wanted him to rule well. +o she taught him this lesson. v% >o not waste your strength with womenD >o not go with women who destroy kingsD @erse " ;any women try to tem.t an im.ortant .erson like a king. +olomon himself loved many women. -e thought that these women would make him ha..y 1:cclesiastes !518114. But +olomon did evil things because of these women 11 *ings 115181"4. v& 6h0 <emuel0 you are the kingD *ings should not drink wineD *ings should not want beerD v' ,f kings drink alcohol0 then they will forget the law. Then suffering .eo.le will lose everything. v( 2ive beer to .eo.le who are dyingD 2ive wine to .eo.le in troubleD v- <et them drinkD Then they will forget that they are .oor. They will not remember that they are sad. @erses #8$ *ings must be careful about alcohol. ,n fact0 everybody needs to be careful about alcohol. Alcohol causes .eo.le to make stu.id mistakes. And alcohol confuses the brain. ,t causes many troubles. But a king is also res.onsible for other .eo.le. +o the king has a s.ecial reason to refuse alcohol. The king/s .eo.le need hel. when they are suffering. The king will be unable to .rotect them if he is a drunk. Church leaders too always need to be careful. +ee 3ames "51. A church leader must not be a drunk 1Titus 15&4. And many church leaders have decided not to drink any alcohol. They decide this because they are res.onsible for other .eo.le. And these church leaders do not want to cause .roblems for weaker .eo.le 11 Corinthians '5(81"4. @erses %8& This is a strange .assage. <emuel/s mother knew that a king should not drink alcohol. But she su..osed that .oor .eo.le should drink lots of beer and wine in order to forget their troubles. But she was wrong. Alcohol cannot cure the .roblems of .oor .eo.le. Their lives will not be better if they become drunks. ,n fact0 their lives will be worse. Poor .eo.le cannot afford wine and beer. They will become weaker if they drink alcohol. And they might be unable to do their work. These .eo.le are .oor now. But they will become .oorer. 6ften rich .eo.le give stu.id advice to .oor .eo.le. The rich .eo.le are trying to hel.. But they are not .oor. +o they do not know the .roblems of .oor .eo.le.
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We need accurate knowledge to advise well. 6ur ex.eriences are different from other .eo.le/s ex.eriences. +o we must study their .roblems well0 before we can advise. 6therwise0 we might cause even more .roblems. v" >efend weak .eo.leD Protect .oor .eo.leD +.eak out on their behalfD v! When you are their 9udge0 be fairD >efend everyone who needs your hel.D @erses '8( A king should care about .oor .eo.le. ,n fact0 everyone should care about .oor .eo.le. But a king has greater res.onsibility. *ing <emuel was also a 9udge. +o <emuel/s mother advised him to hel. .oor .eo.le in the court. Perha.s .oor .eo.le cannot afford lawyers. Perha.s .oor .eo.le do not s.eak well. +o <emuel should .rotect them0 because nobody else would hel. them. ,n Proverbs ")0 Agur did not understand some im.ortant sub9ects. -e did not realise that we need to confess our evil deeds to 2od. And he did not ex.lain that 2od forgives. ,n Proverbs "1518(0 <emuel/s mother did not realise some im.ortant sub9ects. +he did not realise that rich .eo.le should be generous. +he knew that <emuel must .rotect .oor .eo.le. +he knew that the law must be fair. But she did not tell <emuel to give any money or food to .oor .eo.le. +ee Proverbs "15!).

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A Poem about a perfect ,ife

(Proverbs %1 1.2%1#
The Book of Proverbs ends with a s.ecial .oem. ;en did the most im.ortant .ublic 9obs when +olomon was alive. The officials were male 11 *ings #5181(4. The soldiers and workmen were male 11 *ings (5!!8!"4. But women were im.ortant in their families. Women were im.ortant in their towns and villages. And women were even im.ortant in the .alaces 11 *ings 1)5181"I 1 *ings (51%I 1151(4. ,n fact0 +olomon even describes wisdom as a woman 1Proverbs '4. +olomon does not write about a man called Wisdom. But he does write about a woman called Wisdom. +o someone wrote this .oem to describe the .erfect wife. Perha.s +olomon did not write this .oem. +olomon had many wives. And his wives caused trouble for him 11 *ings 114. +o +olomon/s wives were not good wives. The .erfect wife in this .oem was an im.ortant .erson. :verybody res.ected her. The .eo.le even res.ected her husband because of her. Women should co.y this .erfect wife. And men can learn things from her0 too. The original language of this .oem is called -ebrew. This .oem has a s.ecial structure because the .oem uses the -ebrew al.habet. +o0 in -ebrew0 verse 1) begins with the first letter of the al.habet. @erse 11 begins with the next letter. This structure continues until verse "1. @erse "1 begins with the last letter of the -ebrew al.habet. v1. ?ou must search hard to obtain a good wife. -er value is more than .recious stones. v11 -er husband always trusts her. -e has everything that he needs. @erse 1) 2od wants men and women to marry 12enesis !51'4. ,t is good to marry 1-ebrews 1"5#4. But 2od may not want everyone to marry. Paul was not married 11 Corinthians &5&8'4. A husband and wife should look after each other. A husband should be glad if he has a good wife. A good wife will benefit her husband greatly. A man who has great wealth does not always have a good life. But a man who has a good wife will also have a good life. +o a good wife is better than great wealth. @erse 11 The husband can trust his wife. +he is careful. +he will not waste his .ossessions. -e will have everything that he needs. v1$ -is wife always brings good things to him. +he never hurts him0 during her entire life. v1% +he selects wool and cloth. +he is eager to work with her hands. v1& +he is like a trading shi.. +he goes far to get good food. v1' +he gets u. early0 before sunrise. +he .rovides food for her family0 and for her servant girls. @erse 1! This wife selects good things for her husband. @erses 1"81$ describe things that she obtains for him. +he always tries to hel. him. +he does not hurt him. +he does not waste his .ossessions. +he does not u.set him with arguments 1Proverbs !15(4. +he does not cause trouble. @erse 1" The wife makes clothes by hand. And she is ha..y to do this work.
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@erse 1# +he selects good food. But .erha.s there is no good food in the local sho.s. This woman does not want to use .oor 7uality food. +o she travels until she finds the best foods. @erse 1$ +he works hard0 even before dawn. +he does not only .rovide food for her husband. +he also .rovides food for her family. And she even .rovides for servant girls. :veryone in the house has good food0 because this wife works hard. Another translation of the second line is5 ABefore sunrise0 she .rovides food for her family. And she gives out work to her servant girls./ This woman does not waste time. +he uses her time well. v1( +he chooses a field. +he buys it. With her own money0 she .lants fruit bushes. v1- +he works hard. -er arms are strong. v1" +he trades well. At night0 her light is on. v1! +he works with her hands. +he makes cloth for clothing. v$. +he is generous to .oor .eo.le. +he hel.s those who are weak. @erse 1% This woman is wise. +he .re.ares for the future. -er fruit bushes will not .rovide fruit this year. And .erha.s the bushes will not .rovide fruit for a few years. 1Com.are <eviticus 1(5!"8!$. 2od told the .eo.le not to eat fruit from a new tree for # years. This is good advice for farmers. ?oung fruit trees are weak if you allow the fruit to develo. too soon.4 But afterwards0 the family will en9oy the fruit for many years. @erse 1& +he herself works with her hands. +he has servants 1verse 1$40 but she is not la=y. +he works with them. +o she becomes strong and healthy. @erse 1' This woman starts to work before dawn 1verse 1$4. And she continues to work late at night 1verse 1'4. +he buys and sells. @erse 1( At this time0 there were no machines to make cloth. +o women would make cloth by hand. And clothes were .recious. This woman/s work was very valuable. @erse !) But this woman does not work so that her family will be wealthy. +he cares about everyone. +he earns money so that she can hel. .oor .eo.le. +he is kind and generous. +he looks after old .eo.le and ill .eo.le. +he wants to hel. everyone. v$1 +he is not afraid of snow. All her family have good warm clothes. v$$ +he makes covers for her bed. +he wears the finest clothing. v$% :veryone res.ects her husband. -e is a 9udge0 and he sits with the wise men at the city gate. v$& -is wife makes clothes. And she sells them. +he makes belts for the merchants.
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@erse !1 +now does not often fall in ,srael. ,t is a warm country. But this woman is ready for cold weather. The whole family have warm clothes0 because this woman makes the clothes. @erse !! But this woman does not 9ust make .ractical clothes. +he loves her work. +he is ha..y when she works. +o she makes good clothes. And she makes fine covers for the bed. @erse !" This woman is humble. ?ou might su..ose that she wants to be im.ortant. But she does not work for this reason. ,nstead0 she is ha..y to hel. her husband. -e is im.ortant because of her. -e does not worry about clothes or food. +he .rovides his food and clothes. +o he can do an im.ortant 9ob. -e is a 9udge. And he advises at the city gate. Eobody .ays the husband for his advice. But he can do his im.ortant work because his wife looks after him. @erse !# This woman earns the money that her family needs. +he makes belts and clothes by hand. And she sells these things. v$' +he has strength and honour. +he is not afraid of the future. v$( +he s.eaks wisely. +he teaches well. v$- +he looks after her family. +he is not la=y. v$" -er children bless her. -er husband .raises her. v$! -e says0 A;any women are good. But you are the very best wife./ @erse !$ Eow the writer describes the woman/s character. This woman does not worry about the future. +he .re.ares carefully. Perha.s she saves her money. And she teaches her children to be wise 1verses !%8!&4. +o she is ready for future events. :ven if the family suffer troubles0 she is ready. @erse !% We know that this woman/s husband is a wise man 1verse !"4. But the wife is also wise. +he teaches her children. And .erha.s she advises her friends. @erses !&8!' +ome .eo.le behave well in .ublic. But at home0 they do not behave well. But this woman does not care whether anyone sees her good works. -er own family see her in .rivate. And they know that she is a good .erson. +o they bless her. @erse !( Eow the husband s.eaks. -e realises that some other women are good like his wife. But he does not want to be with these other women. -is own wife is very s.ecial in his o.inion. -e loves her. -e a..reciates her work. -e thanks her. This husband does not want a younger woman. -e does not want a more beautiful woman. -e realises that some 7ualities matter more than youth and beauty. And his wife has these s.ecial 7ualities. v%. Women may lose their beauty and grace. +o .raise the woman who res.ects 2odD v%1 2ive a good reward to herD -er good work .roves that she deserves honour from everyone.
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@erse ") ,n this verse0 we discover why this woman is a great .erson. -er s.ecial 7ualities are not beauty and grace. When she is older0 this woman might lose her beauty. And she might lose her grace. But she will still be a great .erson. And she will still be a great wife. This woman is great because she res.ects 2od. The first lesson in wisdom is that we must res.ect 2od 1Proverbs 15&4. :very woman needs to learn this lesson. And every man needs to learn this lesson too. This woman has learned this lesson well. +o this woman is really wise. And we can see that she is wise5 +he res.ects 2od. +he is not la=y. +he is not .roud. +he works hard. And she is glad to work. +he is generous to .oor .eo.le. -er husband can trust her. +he studies carefully. And she has learned to be wise. +he teaches. +he uses her money wisely. +he is loyal.

+he is skilled. And she has many skills. This woman has learned the lessons in the Book of Proverbs. +he is a model of a wise .erson. :very woman should be like this woman. And every man0 too0 can learn from her behaviour. ,f we learn to act like this woman0 then we shall be wise. @erse "1 We0 too0 know that this woman deserves honour. And we should all try to be like her.

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Book List
@arious writings and sermons by C.-. +.urgeon0 3. Wesley0 2. Whitefield and other classic writers. Eotes on the Book of Proverbs 8 3ohn Wesley The Book of Proverbs by A.B. Causset 8 in Commentary Critical and E"#lanatory on the $hole Bible by 3amieson0 Causset and Brown Proverbs by +.+. Bu==ell 8 in %he Bible &nowledge Commentary edited by Walvoord and Nuck Proverbs by 2.W. Thatcher and other articles 8 in %he %em#le Bible 'ictionary edited by :wing O Thomson ?oung/s Analytical Concordance +trong/s :xhaustive Concordance Analytical -ebrew and Chaldee <exicon by B. >avidson Bibles 8 E,@0 *3@0 T:@0 B+@0 ;offatt0 3ewish translation 11(1&40 occasional use of -ebrew text and other translations. Christ in all the +cri.tures 8 A.;. -odgkin

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