35 Bible Verses about Prudence

A foolish man lets his trouble be openly seen, but a sharp man keeps shame secret.

The wisdom of the man of good sense makes his way clear; but the unwise behaviour of the foolish is deceit.

The heart of the man of good sense gets knowledge; the ear of the wise is searching for knowledge.

A sharp man does everything with knowledge, but a foolish man makes clear his foolish thoughts.

The sharp man sees the evil and takes cover: the simple go straight on and get into trouble.

And Jesus said to them in answer, I will put one question to you, and if you give me the answer, I will say by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where did it come from? from heaven or from men? And they were reasoning among themselves, saying, If we say, From heaven; he will say to us, Why then did you not have faith in him? But if we say, From men; we are in fear of the people, because all take John to be a prophet. read more.
And they made answer and said, We have no idea. Then he said to them, And I will not say to you by what authority I do these things.

See, my servant will do well in his undertakings, he will be honoured, and lifted up, and be very high.

Then the Pharisees went and had a meeting to see how they might make use of his words to take him. And they sent to him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Master, we see that you are true, and that you are teaching the true way of God, and have no fear of anyone, because you have no respect for a man's position. Give us, then, your opinion of this: Is it right to give tax to Caesar, or not? read more.
But Jesus saw their trick and said, Oh false ones, why are you attempting to put me in the wrong? Let me see the tax money. And they gave him a penny. And he said to them, Whose is this image and name on it? They say to him, Caesar's. Then he said to them, Give to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's.

And while they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to give word to any man of the things they had seen, till the Son of man had come back from the dead.

And he gave them orders not to give news of it to anyone; but the more he made this request, so much the more they made it public.

Then he gave orders to the disciples to give no man word that he was the Christ.

And their eyes were made open. And Jesus said to them sharply, Let no man have knowledge of it.

And he gave them special orders not to say who he was.

See, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Be then as wise as snakes, and as gentle as doves.

Be wise in your behaviour to those who are outside, making good use of the time.

Take care then how you are living, not as unwise, but as wise;

And in the night I got up, taking with me a small band of men; I said nothing to any man of what God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem: and I had no beast with me but the one on which I was seated. And I went out by night, through the doorway of the valley, and past the dragon's water-spring as far as the place where waste material was put, viewing the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and the doorways which had been burned with fire. Then I went on to the door of the fountain and to the king's pool: but there was no room for my beast to get through. read more.
Then in the night, I went up by the stream, viewing the wall; then turning back, I went in by the door in the valley, and so came back. And the chiefs had no knowledge of where I had been or what I was doing; and I had not then said anything to the Jews or to the priests or the great ones or the chiefs or the rest of those who were doing the work.

So in the lowest part of the space at the back of the walls, in the open places, I put the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And after looking, I got up and said to the great ones and to the chiefs and to the rest of the people, Have no fear of them: keep in mind the Lord who is great and greatly to be feared, and take up arms for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses. And when it came to the ears of those who were against us, that we had knowledge of their designs and that God had made their purpose come to nothing, we all went back to the wall, everyone to his work read more.
And from that time, half of my servants were doing their part of the work, and half kept the spears and body-covers and the bows and the metal war-dresses; and the chiefs were at the back of the men of Judah. Those who were building the wall and those who were moving material did their part, everyone working with one hand, with his spear in the other; Every builder was working with his sword at his side. And by my side was a man for sounding the horn.

Then the high priests and the Pharisees had a meeting and said, What are we doing? This man is doing a number of signs. If we let him go on in this way, everybody will have belief in him and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation. But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, You have no knowledge of anything; read more.
You do not see that it is in your interest for one man to be put to death for the people, so that all the nation may not come to destruction. He did not say this of himself, but being the high priest that year he said, as a prophet, that Jesus would be put to death for the nation; And not for that nation only, but for the purpose of uniting in one body the children of God all over the world. And from that day they took thought together how to put him to death. So Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near to the waste land, to a town named Ephraim, where he was for some time with the disciples.

But the Pharisees went out and made designs against him, how they might put him to death. And Jesus, having knowledge of this, went away from there, and a great number went after him; and he made them all well, Ordering them not to give people word of him:

And Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great number from Galilee came after him: and from Judaea,

For this cause I will again do a strange thing among this people, a thing to be wondered at: and the wisdom of their wise men will come to nothing, and the sense of their guides will no longer be seen.

As it says in the holy Writings, I will put an end to the wisdom of the wise, and will put on one side the designs of those who have knowledge.

A man's good sense makes him slow to wrath, and the overlooking of wrongdoing is his glory.

A foolish man lets his trouble be openly seen, but a sharp man keeps shame secret.

After looking at a field with care, she gets it for a price, planting a vine-garden with the profit of her work.

Her mouth is open to give out wisdom, and the law of mercy is on her tongue.

A sharp man keeps back his knowledge; but the heart of foolish men makes clear their foolish thoughts.

A sharp man does everything with knowledge, but a foolish man makes clear his foolish thoughts.

A foolish man puts no value on his father's training; but he who has respect for teaching has good sense.

The heart of the man of good sense gets knowledge; the ear of the wise is searching for knowledge.

And they were all weeping, falling on Paul's neck and kissing him, Being sad most of all because he had said that they would not see his face again. And so they went with him to the ship.

And while we were waiting there for some days, a certain prophet, named Agabus, came down from Judaea. And he came to us, and took the band of Paul's clothing, and putting it round his feet and hands, said, The Holy Spirit says these words, So will the Jews do to the man who is the owner of this band, and they will give him up into the hands of the Gentiles. And hearing these things, we and those who were living in that place made request to him not to go to Jerusalem. read more.
Then Paul said, What are you doing, weeping and wounding my heart? for I am ready, not only to be a prisoner, but to be put to death at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And as he might not be moved we did no more, saying, Let the purpose of God be done.

And now, as you see, I am going to Jerusalem, a prisoner in spirit, having no knowledge of what will come to me there: Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me. But I put no value on my life, if only at the end of it I may see the work complete which was given to me by the Lord Jesus, to be a witness of the good news of the grace of God. read more.
And now I am conscious that you, among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom, will not see my face again.

For the foolish, when they took their lights, took no oil with them.

But the wise made answer, saying, There may not be enough for us and you; it would be better for you to go to the traders and get oil for yourselves.

Cursed are those who go deep to keep their designs secret from the Lord, and whose works are in the dark, and who say, Who sees us? and who has knowledge of our acts?

Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge!

The wise-hearted will be named men of good sense: and by pleasing words learning is increased.

A foolish man puts no value on his father's training; but he who has respect for teaching has good sense.

And in the night I got up, taking with me a small band of men; I said nothing to any man of what God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem: and I had no beast with me but the one on which I was seated. And I went out by night, through the doorway of the valley, and past the dragon's water-spring as far as the place where waste material was put, viewing the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and the doorways which had been burned with fire. Then I went on to the door of the fountain and to the king's pool: but there was no room for my beast to get through. read more.
Then in the night, I went up by the stream, viewing the wall; then turning back, I went in by the door in the valley, and so came back. And the chiefs had no knowledge of where I had been or what I was doing; and I had not then said anything to the Jews or to the priests or the great ones or the chiefs or the rest of those who were doing the work.

So in the lowest part of the space at the back of the walls, in the open places, I put the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And after looking, I got up and said to the great ones and to the chiefs and to the rest of the people, Have no fear of them: keep in mind the Lord who is great and greatly to be feared, and take up arms for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses. And when it came to the ears of those who were against us, that we had knowledge of their designs and that God had made their purpose come to nothing, we all went back to the wall, everyone to his work read more.
And from that time, half of my servants were doing their part of the work, and half kept the spears and body-covers and the bows and the metal war-dresses; and the chiefs were at the back of the men of Judah. Those who were building the wall and those who were moving material did their part, everyone working with one hand, with his spear in the other; Every builder was working with his sword at his side. And by my side was a man for sounding the horn. And I said to the great ones and the chiefs and the rest of the people, The work is great and widely spaced and we are far away from one another on the wall: Wherever you may be when the horn is sounded, come here to us; our God will be fighting for us. So we went on with the work: and half of them had spears in their hands from the dawn of the morning till the stars were seen. And at the same time I said to the people, Let everyone with his servant come inside Jerusalem for the night, so that at night they may keep watch for us, and go on working by day. So not one of us, I or my brothers or my servants or the watchmen who were with me, took off his clothing, everyone went armed to the water.

Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man.

And Huram said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, maker of heaven and earth, who has given to David the king a wise son, full of wisdom and good sense, to be the builder of a house for the Lord and a house for himself as king.

So Jesus no longer went about publicly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near to the waste land, to a town named Ephraim, where he was for some time with the disciples.

In so far as you have the light, put your faith in the light so that you may become sons of light. With these words Jesus went away and for a time was not seen again by them.

Give ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him: Teaching them his rules and his laws, guiding them in the way they have to go, and making clear to them the work they have to do. But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens; read more.
And let them be judges in the causes of the people at all times: and let them put before you all important questions, but in small things let them give decisions themselves: in this way, it will be less hard for you, and they will take the weight off you. If you do this, and God gives approval, then you will be able to go on without weariness, and all this people will go to their tents in peace.

Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom; And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban: And I have oxen and asses and flocks and men-servants and women-servants: and I have sent to give my lord news of these things so that I may have grace in his eyes. read more.
When the servants came back they said, We have seen your brother Esau and he is coming out to you, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was in great fear and trouble of mind: and he put all the people and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups; And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely. Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you: I am less than nothing in comparison with all your mercies and your faith to me your servant; for with only my stick in my hand I went across Jordan, and now I have become two armies. Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child. And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered. Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau, Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep, Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses. These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another. And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds? Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us. And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him; And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes. So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people. And in the night he got up, and taking with him his two wives and the two servant-women and his eleven children, he went over the river Jabbok. He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had.

A sharp man keeps back his knowledge; but the heart of foolish men makes clear their foolish thoughts.

The simple man has faith in every word, but the man of good sense gives thought to his footsteps.

Foolish behaviour is the heritage of the simple, but men of good sense are crowned with knowledge.

A sharp man does everything with knowledge, but a foolish man makes clear his foolish thoughts.

The heart of the man of good sense gets knowledge; the ear of the wise is searching for knowledge.

Then one of the servants in answer said, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Beth-lehemite, who is expert at playing, and a strong man and a man of war; and he is wise in his words, and pleasing in looks, and the Lord is with him.

The wise-hearted will be named men of good sense: and by pleasing words learning is increased.

The simple man has faith in every word, but the man of good sense gives thought to his footsteps.

At that time Jesus made answer and said, I give praise to you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things secret from the wise and the men of learning, and have made them clear to little children.

About Edom. This is what the Lord of armies has said. Is there no more wisdom in Teman? have wise suggestions come to an end among men of good sense? has their wisdom completely gone?

The wisdom of the man of good sense makes his way clear; but the unwise behaviour of the foolish is deceit.

The sharp man sees the evil and takes cover: the simple go straight on and get into trouble.

Wise purposes will be watching over you, and knowledge will keep you;

A foolish man puts no value on his father's training; but he who has respect for teaching has good sense.

And the scribe said to him, Truly, Master, you have well said that he is one, and there is no other but he: And to have love for him with all the heart, and with all the mind, and with all the strength, and to have the same love for his neighbour as for himself, is much more than all forms of offerings. And when Jesus saw that he gave a wise answer, he said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And every man after that was in fear of questioning him any more.

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you:

I, wisdom, have made wise behaviour my near relation; I am seen to be the special friend of wise purposes.

Which he gave us in full measure in all wisdom and care;

I, wisdom, have made wise behaviour my near relation; I am seen to be the special friend of wise purposes.

My son, keep good sense, and do not let wise purpose go from your eyes.

The sharp man sees the evil and takes cover: the simple go straight on and get into trouble.

Now when they came to the country by Jordan in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh put up there, by Jordan, a great altar, seen from far. And news came to the children of Israel, See, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have put up an altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the country by Jordan on the side which is Israel's. Then all the meeting of the children of Israel, hearing this, came together at Shiloh to go up against them to war. read more.
And the children of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, And with him they sent ten chiefs, one for every tribe of the children of Israel, every one of them the head of his house among the families of Israel. And they came to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and said to them, This is what all the meeting of the people of the Lord has said, What is this wrong which you have done against the God of Israel, turning back this day from the Lord and building an altar for yourselves, and being false to the Lord? Was not the sin of Baal-peor great enough, from which we are not clear even to this day, though punishment came on the people of the Lord, That now you are turned back from the Lord? and, because you are false to him today, tomorrow his wrath will be let loose on all the people of Israel. But if the land you now have is unclean, come over into the Lord's land where his House is, and take up your heritage among us: but do not be false to the Lord and to us by building yourselves an altar in addition to the altar of the Lord our God. Did not Achan, the son of Zerah, do wrong about the cursed thing, causing wrath to come on all the people of Israel? And not on him only came the punishment of death. Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, God, even God the Lord, God, even God the Lord, he sees, and Israel will see--if it is in pride or in sin against the Lord, That we have made ourselves an altar, being false to the Lord, keep us not safe from death this day; and if for the purpose of offering burned offerings on it and meal offerings, or peace-offerings, let the Lord himself send punishment for it; And if we have not, in fact, done this designedly and with purpose, having in our minds the fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? For the Lord has made Jordan a line of division between us and you, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad; you have no part in the Lord: so your children will make our children give up fearing the Lord. So we said, Let us now make an altar for ourselves, not for burned offerings or for the offerings of beasts: But to be a witness between us and you, and between the future generations, that we have the right of worshipping the Lord with our burned offerings and our offerings of beasts and our peace-offerings; so that your children will not be able to say to our children in time to come, You have no part in the Lord. For we said to ourselves, If they say this to us or to future generations, then we will say, See this copy of the Lord's altar which our fathers made, not for burned offerings or offerings of beasts, but for a witness between us and you. Never let it be said that we were false to the Lord, turning back this day from him and building an altar for burned offerings and meal offerings and offerings of beasts, in addition to the altar of the Lord our God which is before his House. Then Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the meeting and the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, hearing what the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh said, were pleased. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, Now we are certain that the Lord is among us, because you have not done this wrong against the Lord: and you have kept us from falling into the hands of the Lord. Then Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs went back from the land of Gilead, from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, and came to the children of Israel in Canaan and gave them the news. And the children of Israel were pleased about this; and they gave praise to God, and had no more thought of going to war against the children of Reuben and the children of Gad for the destruction of their land. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad gave to that altar the name of Ed. For, they said, It is a witness between us that the Lord is God.

David said to him, If you go on with me, you will be a trouble to me: But if you go back to the town and say to Absalom, I will be your servant, O king; as in the past I have been your father's servant, so now I will be yours: then you will be able to keep Ahithophel's designs against me from being put into effect. And have you not there Zadok and Abiathar the priests? so whatever comes to your ears from the king's house, give word of it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. read more.
See, they have with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, the son of Abiathar; by them you may send word to me of everything which comes to your ears. So Hushai, David's friend, went into the town, and Absalom came to Jerusalem.

Then Abigail quickly took two hundred cakes of bread and two skins full of wine and five sheep ready for cooking and five measures of dry grain and a hundred parcels of dry grapes and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them on asses. And she said to her young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing to her husband Nabal. Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them. read more.
Now David had said, What was the use of my taking care of this man's goods in the waste land, so that there was no loss of anything which was his? he has only given me back evil for good. May God's punishment be on David, if when morning comes there is so much as one male of his people still living. And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him. And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant. Let my lord give no attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing: for as his name is, so is he, a man without sense: but I, your servant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent. So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal. And let this offering, which your servant gives to my lord, be given to the young men who are with my lord. And may the sin of your servant have forgiveness: for the Lord will certainly make your family strong, because my lord is fighting in the Lord's war; and no evil will be seen in you all your days. And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag. And when the Lord has done for my lord all those good things which he has said he will do for you, and has made you a ruler over Israel; Then you will have no cause for grief, and my lord's heart will not be troubled because you have taken life without cause and have yourself given punishment for your wrongs: and when the Lord has been good to you, then give a thought to your servant.

And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever.

Then some of the responsible men of the land got up and said to all the meeting of the people, Micah the Morashtite, who was a prophet in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, said to all the people of Judah, This is what the Lord of armies has said: Zion will become like a ploughed field, and Jerusalem will become a mass of broken walls, and the mountain of the house like the high places of the woodland. Did Hezekiah and all Judah put him to death? did he not in the fear of the Lord make prayer for the grace of the Lord, and the Lord let himself be turned from the decision he had made against them for evil? By this act we might do great evil against ourselves. read more.
And there was another man who was a prophet of the Lord, Uriah, the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim; he said against this town and against this land all the words which Jeremiah had said: And when his words came to the ears of Jehoiakim the king and all his men of war and his captains, the king would have put him to death; but Uriah, hearing of it, was full of fear and went in flight into Egypt: And Jehoiakim the king sent Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt. And they took Uriah out of Egypt and came back with him to Jehoiakim the king; who put him to death with the sword, and had his dead body put into the resting-place of the bodies of the common people.

But one of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a man of learning in the law, of whom all the people had a high opinion, got up and made a suggestion for the men to be put outside for a little time. And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you do about these men. For before this there was Theudas, who said he was someone important, to whom about four hundred men gave their support: he was put to death, and his band was broken up and came to nothing. read more.
After this man, there was Judas of Galilee, at the time of the numbering, and some of the people went after him: he was put to death, and all his supporters were put to flight. And now I say to you, Do nothing to these men, but let them be: for if this teaching or this work is of men, it will come to nothing: But if it is of God, you will not be able to overcome them, and you are in danger of fighting against God.

And the men of Ephraim came and said to him, Why did you not send for us when you went to war against Midian? And they said sharp and angry words to him. And he said to them, What have I done in comparison with you? Is not that which Ephraim took up after the grape-cutting better than all the grapes which Abiezer got in from the grape-cutting? God has given into your hands the chiefs of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; what have I been able to do in comparison with you? And when he said this, their feeling about him became kinder.

And the town was full of noise and trouble, and they all came running into the theatre, having taken by force Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia who were journeying in company with Paul. And when Paul was about to go in to the people, the disciples did not let him. And some of the rulers of Asia, being his friends, sent to him, requesting him seriously not to put himself in danger by going into the theatre. read more.
And some said one thing, and some another: for there was no order in the meeting; and most of them had no idea why they had come together. Then they took Alexander out from among the people, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander, making a sign with his hand, was about to make a statement to the people in answer: But when they saw that he was a Jew, all of them with one voice went on crying out for about two hours, Great is Diana of Ephesus. And when the chief secretary had got the people quiet, he said, Men of Ephesus, is any man without knowledge that the town of Ephesus is the keeper of the holy place of the great Diana, who was sent down from Jupiter? So then, because these things may not be doubted, it would be better for you to be quiet, and do nothing unwise. For you have taken these men, who are not doing damage to the holy place or talking against our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and the workmen who are with him have a protest to make against any man, the law is open to them, and there are judges; let them put up a cause at law against one another. But if any other business is in question, let it be taken up in the regular meeting. For, truly, we are in danger of being made responsible for this day's trouble, there being no cause for it: and we are not able to give any reason for this coming together. And when he had said this, he sent the meeting away.

Then the king got up in the night and said to his servants, This is my idea of what the Aramaeans have done to us. They have knowledge that we are without food; and so they have gone out of their tents, and are waiting secretly in the open country, saying, When they come out of the town, we will take them living and get into the town. And one of his servants said in answer, Send men and let them take five of the horses which we still have in the town; if they keep their lives they will be the same as those of Israel who are still living here; if they come to their death they will be the same as all those of Israel who have gone to destruction: let us send and see.

And David went wherever Saul sent him, and did wisely: and Saul put him at the head of his men of war, and this was pleasing to all the people as well as to Saul's servants. Now on their way, when David came back after the destruction of the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, with songs and dances, meeting David with melody and joy and instruments of music. And the women, answering one another in their song, said, Saul has put to death his thousands and David his tens of thousands. read more.
And Saul was very angry and this saying was unpleasing to him; and he said, They have given David credit for tens of thousands, and to me for only thousands: what more is there for him but the kingdom? And from that day Saul was looking with envy on David. Now on the day after, an evil spirit from God came on Saul with great force and he was acting like a prophet among the men of his house, while David was making music for him, as he did day by day: and Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul, balancing the spear in his hand, said, I will give David a blow, pinning him to the wall. And David got away from him twice. And Saul went in fear of David, because the Lord was with David and had gone away from Saul. So Saul sent him away, and made him a captain over a thousand; and he went about his business before the people. And in all his undertakings David did wisely; and the Lord was with him. And when Saul saw how wisely he did, he was in fear of him. But David was loved by all Israel and Judah, for he went out and came in before them. And Saul said to David, Here is my oldest daughter Merab, whom I will give you for your wife: only be strong for me, fighting in the Lord's wars. For Saul said, Let it not be through me that his fate comes to him, but through the Philistines. And David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my father's family in Israel, that I am to be son-in-law to the king? But when the time came to give Merab, Saul's daughter, to David, she was given to Adriel of Meholath. And Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David: and Saul had word of it and was pleased. And Saul said, I will give her to him, so that she may be a cause of danger to him, and so that the hands of the Philistines may be against him. So Saul said to David, Today you are to become my son-in-law for the second time. And Saul gave his servants orders saying, Have talk with David secretly and say to him, See how the king has delight in you, and how you are loved by all his servants: then be the king's son-in-law. And Saul's servants said these things to David. And David said, Does it seem to you a small thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, of no great name? And the servants of Saul gave him an account of what David had said. And Saul said, Then say to David, The king has no desire for any bride-price, but only for the private parts of a hundred Philistines so that the king may get the better of his haters. But it was in Saul's mind that David might come to his end by the hands of the Philistines. And when his servants said these words to David, he was well pleased to be the son-in-law of the king. And the days were still not past. So David and his men got up and went, and put to death two hundred of the Philistines; and David took their private parts and gave the full number of them to the king, so that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for his wife. And it was clear to Saul that the Lord was with David; and he was loved by all Israel. And Saul's fear of David became all the greater, and he went on hating him, day by day. Then the rulers of the Philistines went out to war: and whenever they went out, David did more wisely than all the other servants of Saul, so that his name became greatly honoured.

And now let Pharaoh make search for a man of wisdom and good sense, and put him in authority over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him put overseers over the land of Egypt to put in store a fifth part of the produce of the land in the good years. And let them get together all the food in those good years and make a store of grain under Pharaoh's control for the use of the towns, and let them keep it. read more.
And let that food be kept in store for the land till the seven bad years which are to come in Egypt; so that the land may not come to destruction through need of food. And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God? And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you: You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck; And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name of Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph went through all the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he came before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before the face of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses. And Joseph got together all the food of those seven years, and made a store of food in the towns: the produce of the fields round every town was stored up in the town. So he got together a store of grain like the sand of the sea; so great a store that after a time he gave up measuring it, for it might not be measured. And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth. And to the first he gave the name Manasseh, for he said, God has taken away from me all memory of my hard life and of my father's house. And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow. And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end. Then came the first of the seven years of need as Joseph had said: and in every other land they were short of food; but in the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was in need of food, the people came crying to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to the people, Go to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do it. And everywhere on the earth they were short of food; then Joseph, opening all his store-houses, gave the people of Egypt grain for money; so great was the need of food in the land of Egypt. And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.

And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good. Your strength and that of the people will be completely used up: this work is more than you are able to do by yourself. Give ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him: read more.
Teaching them his rules and his laws, guiding them in the way they have to go, and making clear to them the work they have to do. But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens; And let them be judges in the causes of the people at all times: and let them put before you all important questions, but in small things let them give decisions themselves: in this way, it will be less hard for you, and they will take the weight off you. If you do this, and God gives approval, then you will be able to go on without weariness, and all this people will go to their tents in peace.

And the brothers straight away sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea: and they, when they came there, went to the Synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble than the Jews of Thessalonica, for they gave serious attention to the word, searching in the holy Writings every day, to see if these things were so. And a number of them had faith, and no small number of the Greek women of high position and of the men. read more.
But when the Jews of Thessalonica had news that Paul was preaching the word at Beroea, they came there, troubling the people and working them up. So the brothers sent Paul straight away to the sea: but Silas and Timothy kept there still. But those who went with Paul took him as far as Athens, and then went away, with orders from him to Silas and Timothy to come to him quickly.

And hearing it, they gave praise to God; and they said to him, You see, brother, what thousands there are among the Jews, who have the faith; and they all have a great respect for the law: And they have had news of you, how you have been teaching all the Jews among the Gentiles to give up the law of Moses, and not to give circumcision to their children, and not to keep the old rules. What then is the position? They will certainly get news that you have come. read more.
Do this, then, which we say to you: We have four men who have taken an oath; Go with these, and make yourself clean with them, and make the necessary payments for them, so that they may be free from their oath: and everyone will see that the statements made about you are not true, but that you put yourself under rule, and keep the law. But as to the Gentiles who have the faith, we sent a letter, giving our decision that they were to keep themselves from offerings made to false gods, and from blood, and from the flesh of animals put to death in ways against the law, and from the evil desires of the body. Then Paul took the men, and on the day after, making himself clean with them, he went into the Temple, giving out the statement that the days necessary for making them clean were complete, till the offering was made for every one of them.

Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge!

All is well for the man who is kind and gives freely to others; he will make good his cause when he is judged.

He who is wise will see these things; he who has good sense will have knowledge of them. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the upright will go in them, but sinners will be falling in them.

And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have made trouble for me and given me a bad name among the people of this country, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and because we are small in number they will come together against me and make war on me; and it will be the end of me and all my people.

Now Jacob had word of what Shechem had done to his daughter; but his sons were in the fields with the cattle, and Jacob said nothing till they came.

And he got up, fearing for his life, and went in flight, and came to Beer-sheba in Judah, parting there from his servant; While he himself went a day's journey into the waste land, and took a seat under a broom-plant, desiring for himself only death; for he said, It is enough: now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.

Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom; And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban: And I have oxen and asses and flocks and men-servants and women-servants: and I have sent to give my lord news of these things so that I may have grace in his eyes. read more.
When the servants came back they said, We have seen your brother Esau and he is coming out to you, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was in great fear and trouble of mind: and he put all the people and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups; And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely. Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you: I am less than nothing in comparison with all your mercies and your faith to me your servant; for with only my stick in my hand I went across Jordan, and now I have become two armies. Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child. And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered. Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau, Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep, Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses. These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another. And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds? Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us. And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him; And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes. So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people.

He who is wise will see these things; he who has good sense will have knowledge of them. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the upright will go in them, but sinners will be falling in them.

So the wise will say nothing in that time; for it is an evil time.

And Saul said, Not a man is to be put to death today: for today the Lord has made Israel safe.

Who was with the ruler, Sergius Paulus, an able man. This man sent for Barnabas and Saul, desiring to have knowledge of the word of God.

And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean. And God put into the heart of the captain of the unsexed servants kind feelings and pity for Daniel. And the captain of the unsexed servants said to Daniel, I am in fear of my lord the king, who has given orders about your food and your drink; what if he sees you looking less happy than the other young men of your generation? then you would have put my head in danger from the king. read more.
Then Daniel said to the keeper in whose care the captain of the unsexed servants had put Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Put your servants to the test for ten days; let them give us grain for our food and water for our drink. Then take a look at our faces and the faces of the young men who have food from the king's table; and, having seen them, do to your servants as it seems right to you. So he gave ear to them in this thing and put them to the test for ten days.

But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.

So the wise will say nothing in that time; for it is an evil time.

But he made a sign to them with his hand to be quiet, and gave them an account of how the Lord had taken him out of prison. And he said, Give the news to James and the brothers. And then he went away.

And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever.

But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he went up, not publicly, but in secret.

And so that no man might be able to say anything against us in the business of this giving which has been put into our hands:

And Joseph, her husband, being an upright man, and not desiring to make her a public example, had a mind to put her away privately.

Having got news of it, they went in flight to the towns of Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe, and the country round about:

Paul had a desire for him to go with him, and he gave him circumcision because of the Jews who were in those parts: for they all had knowledge that his father was a Greek.

But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.