The Berean Pursuit

To mortals belong the plans of the heart,
    but from Yahweh comes the answer of the tongue.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
    but Yahweh weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to Yahweh,
    and your plans will be established.
All Yahweh has made is for his purpose,
    and even the wicked for the day of trouble.
An abomination of Yahweh are all who are arrogant of heart;
    rest assured, he will not go unpunished.
By loyalty and faithfulness, iniquity will be covered over,
    and by fear of Yahweh one turns from evil.
When the ways of a man are pleasing to Yahweh,
    even his enemies he will cause to make peace with him.
Better is little with righteousness
    than great income with no justice.
The mind of a person will plan his ways,
    and Yahweh will direct his steps.
A decision is upon the lips of a king;
    in judgment his mouth will not sin.
A balance and scales of justice belong to Yahweh;
    all the weights of the bag are his work.
An abomination to kings is doing evil,
    for by righteousness the throne will be established.
The delight of kings are the lips of righteousness,
    and he who speaks what is upright he will love.
The wrath of a king is a messenger of death,
    but one who is wise will appease it.
In the light of the face of the king there is life,
    and his favor is like a cloud of spring rain.
Getting wisdom: how much better than gold!
    And getting understanding: it is chosen over silver.
The highway of the upright, it turns from evil,
    he who guards himself keeps his way.
Before destruction comes pride,
    and before a fall, a haughty spirit.
Better a lowly spirit with the poor
    than dividing the spoil with the proud.
He who is attentive to a matter will find goodness,
    and he who trusts in Yahweh, his own happiness.
The wise of heart is called perceptive,
    but he who is pleasant of lips will increase persuasiveness.
A fountain of life is wisdom for its owner,
    but the instruction of fools is folly.
The heart of the wise will make his mouth judicious,
    and upon his lips, it will add persuasiveness.
Pleasant sayings are a honeycomb,
    sweetness to the soul and healing to the bones.
There is a way that seems upright to a man,
    but its end is the way of death.
The life of a worker works for him,
    for his hunger urges him.
A man of wickedness concocts evil,
    and his lips are like a scorching fire.
A person of perversity will spread dissent,
    and he who whispers separates a close friend.
A person of violence will entice his neighbor
    and cause him to walk on a way that is not good.
He who winks his eyes does so in order to plan perverse things;
    he who purses his lips will bring evil to pass.
A crown of glory is gray hair;
    by a righteous life it is gained.
He who is slow to anger is better than him who is mighty,
    and he who controls his spirit than him who captures a city.
The lot will be cast into the lap,
    but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.

Better a dry morsel and quiet with it
    than a house filled with feasts of strife.
A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,
    and in the midst of brothers he will share his inheritance.
A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace is for the gold,
    but Yahweh will test hearts.
He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness,
    and the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.
He who mocks the poor insults him who made him;
    he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.
The crown of the elderly are grandchildren,
    and the glory of children is their fathers.
Fine speech is not becoming a fool,
    still less is false speech for a ruler.
The bribe is a stone of magic in the eyes of its owner;
    everywhere he will turn, he will prosper.
He who forgives an affront fosters love,
    but he who waits on a matter will alienate a friend.
A rebuke strikes him who understands
    deeper than one hundred blows to a fool.
An evil person will seek only rebellion,
    and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
May a man meet a she-bear robbed of offspring
    and not a fool in his folly.
For he who returns evil for good,
    evil will not depart from his house.
Like the release of water is the beginning of strife;
    before it breaks out, stop the quarrel.
He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,
    the two of them are both abominations of Yahweh.
Why is this? A price in the hand of a fool,
    in order to buy wisdom where there is no sense.
The friend loves at all times,
    but a brother is born for adversity.
A person who lacks sense pledges;
    he becomes security before his neighbor.
He who loves transgression loves strife;
    he who builds his high thresholds seeks destruction.
He who is crooked of heart will not find goodness,
    and he who is perverse, by his tongue he will fall into calamity.
He who begets a fool, there is trouble for him;
    the father of a fool will not rejoice.
A cheerful heart is good medicine,
    but a downcast spirit will dry out bones.
The wicked will accept a bribe from the lap,
    in order to pervert the ways of justice.
He who understands sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool, to the end of the earth.
A grief to his father is the child of a fool,
    and bitterness to her who bore him.
Also, imposing a fine on the righteous is not good,
    nor to flog nobles for uprightness.
He who spares his sayings knows knowledge,
    and a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
Even a fool who keeps silent shall be considered wise;
    he who closes his lips is intelligent.

He who is selfish seeks a craving;
    against all sound judgment he shows contempt.
A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,
    but in expressing his heart.
With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also,
    and with dishonor, disgrace.
Deep waters are words of the mouth of a man;
    a gushing stream is a fountain of wisdom.
Being partial to faces of evil is not good,
    nor to subvert the righteous at the judgment.
The lips of a fool will bring strife,
    and his mouth calls out for a flogging.
The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,
    and his lips are a snare to his soul.
The words of a whisper are like delicious morsels,
    and they themselves go down to inner parts of the body.
Even he who is slack in his work,
    he is brother to a master of destruction.
A tower of strength is the name of Yahweh;
    into him the righteous will run and be safe.
The wealth of the rich is his strong city,
    and like a wall, it is high in his imagination.
In the presence of destruction, the heart of a man will be haughty,
    but in the presence of honor, humble.
He who returns a word before he will hear,
    folly itself belongs to him as well as shame.
The spirit of a man will endure his sickness,
    but a broken spirit, who may bear it?
An intelligent mind will acquire knowledge,
    and the ear of the wise will seek knowledge.
The gift of a person will open doors for him,
    and before the great, it gives him access.
The first in his dispute is deemed righteous,
    but his neighbor will come and examine him.
The lot will put an end to disputes,
    and between powerful contenders it will decide.
A brother who is offended is worse than a city of strength,
    and quarrels are like the bars of a fortification.
From the fruit of a man’s mouth, his stomach will be satisfied,
    as for the yield of his lips, it will satisfy.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
    and those who love her will eat of her fruit.
He who finds a wife finds good,
    and he will obtain favor from Yahweh.
The poor may speak entreaties,
    but the rich will answer roughly.
A man of many friends will come to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

"Because of this, I will praise you among the Gentiles,
    and I will sing praise to your name."

"Rejoice, Gentiles, with his people."

"Praise the Lord, all the Gentiles,
    and let all the peoples praise him."

"The root of Jesse will come,
    even the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles will put their hope."

"Those to whom it was not announced concerning him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand."