Proverbs Chapter 1

{1:1} The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

{1:2} To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

{1:3} To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

{1:4} To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

{1:5} A wise [man] will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

{1:6} To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

{1:7} The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.

{1:8} My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

{1:9} For they [shall be] an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

{1:10} My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

{1:11} If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

{1:12} Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

{1:13} We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

{1:14} Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

{1:15} My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

{1:16} For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

{1:17} Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

{1:18} And they lay wait for their [own] blood; they lurk privily for their [own] lives.

{1:19} So [are] the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; [which] taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

{1:20} Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

{1:21} She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, [saying, ]

{1:22} How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

{1:23} Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

{1:24} Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

{1:25} But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

{1:26} I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

{1:27} When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

{1:28} Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

{1:29} For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

{1:30} They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

{1:31} Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

{1:32} For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

{1:33} But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Zephaniah Chapter 3

{3:1} Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

{3:2} She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.

{3:3} Her princes within her [are] roaring lions; her judges [are] evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

{3:4} Her prophets [are] light [and] treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

{3:5} The just LORD [is] in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

{3:6} I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.

{3:7} I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, [and] corrupted all their doings.

{3:8} Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination [is] to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, [even] all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

{3:9} For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

{3:10} From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, [even] the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.

{3:11} In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.

{3:12} I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.

{3:13} The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make [them] afraid.

{3:14} Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

{3:15} The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, [even] the LORD, [is] in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

{3:16} In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: [and to] Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.

{3:17} The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

{3:18} I will gather [them that are] sorrowful for the solemn assembly, [who] are of thee, [to whom] the reproach of it [was] a burden.

{3:19} Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.

{3:20} At that time will I bring you [again,] even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

Zephaniah Chapter 2

{2:1} Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;

{2:2} Before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you.

{2:3} Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

{2:4} For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

{2:5} Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD [is] against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

{2:6} And the sea coast shall be dwellings [and] cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.

{2:7} And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.

{2:8} I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified [themselves] against their border.

{2:9} Therefore [as] I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, [even] the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.

{2:10} This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified [themselves] against the people of the LORD of hosts.

{2:11} The LORD [will be] terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and [men] shall worship him, every one from his place, [even] all the isles of the heathen.

{2:12} Ye Ethiopians also, ye [shall be] slain by my sword.

{2:13} And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness.

{2:14} And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; [their] voice shall sing in the windows; desolation [shall be] in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

{2:15} This [is] the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I [am,] and [there is] none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, [and] wag his hand.

Zephaniah Chapter 1

{1:1} The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

{1:2} I will utterly consume all [things] from off the land, saith the LORD.

{1:3} I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

{1:4} I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, [and] the name of the Chemarims with the priests;

{1:5} And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship [and] that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;

{1:6} And them that are turned back from the LORD; and [those] that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.

{1:7} Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD [is] at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

{1:8} And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

{1:9} In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.

{1:10} And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, [that there shall be] the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

{1:11} Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

{1:12} And it shall come to pass at that time, [that] I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.

{1:13} Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit [them;] and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.

{1:14} The great day of the LORD [is] near, [it is] near, and hasteth greatly, [even] the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

{1:15} That day [is] a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

{1:16} A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

{1:17} And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

{1:18} Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

The Book of Obadiah

{1:1} The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

{1:2} Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.

{1:3} The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation [is] high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

{1:4} Though thou exalt [thyself] as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

{1:5} If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave [some] grapes?

{1:6} How are [the things] of Esau searched out! [how] are his hidden things sought up!

{1:7} All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee [even] to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, [and] prevailed against thee; [they that eat] thy bread have laid a wound under thee: [there is] none understanding in him.

{1:8} Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise [men] out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?

{1:9} And thy mighty [men,] O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

{1:10} For [thy] violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

{1:11} In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou [wast] as one of them.

{1:12} But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

{1:13} Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid [hands] on their substance in the day of their calamity;

{1:14} Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.

{1:15} For the day of the LORD [is] near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

{1:16} For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, [so] shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

{1:17} But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

{1:18} And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be [any] remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken [it. ]

{1:19} And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and [they of] the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead.

{1:20} And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] that of the Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

{1:21} And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

Nahum Chapter 3

{3:1} Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies [and] robbery; the prey departeth not;

{3:2} The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

{3:3} The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and [there is] a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and [there is] none end of [their] corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

{3:4} Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

{3:5} Behold, I [am] against thee, saith the LORD of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

{3:6} And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.

{3:7} And it shall come to pass, [that] all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

{3:8} Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, [that had] the waters round about it, whose rampart [was] the sea, [and] her wall [was] from the sea?

{3:9} Ethiopia and Egypt [were] her strength, and [it was] infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

{3:10} Yet [was] she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

{3:11} Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

{3:12} All thy strong holds [shall be like] fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

{3:13} Behold, thy people in the midst of thee [are] women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars.

{3:14} Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.

{3:15} There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

{3:16} Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and fleeth away.

{3:17} Thy crowned [are] as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, [but] when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they [are. ]

{3:18} Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell [in the dust:] thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth [them. ]

{3:19} [There is] no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

Nahum Chapter 2

{2:1} He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make [thy] loins strong, fortify [thy] power mightily.

{2:2} For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.

{2:3} The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men [are] in scarlet: the chariots [shall be] with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.

{2:4} The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.

{2:5} He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.

{2:6} The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.

{2:7} And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead [her] as with the voice of doves, tabering upon their breasts.

{2:8} But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, [shall they cry;] but none shall look back.

{2:9} Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for [there is] none end of the store [and] glory out of all the pleasant furniture.

{2:10} She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain [is] in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.

{2:11} Where [is] the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, [even] the old lion, walked, [and] the lion's whelp, and none made [them] afraid?

{2:12} The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.

{2:13} Behold, I [am] against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard.

Nahum Chapter 1

{1:1} The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

{1:2} God [is] jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies.

{1:3} The LORD [is] slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit [the wicked:] the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds [are] the dust of his feet.

{1:4} He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.

{1:5} The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.

{1:6} Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

{1:7} The LORD [is] good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

{1:8} But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

{1:9} What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.

{1:10} For while [they be] folden together [as] thorns, and while they are drunken [as] drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. {1:11} There is [one] come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.

{1:12} Thus saith the LORD: Though [they be] quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.

{1:13} For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.

{1:14} And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, [that] no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.

{1:15} Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

Titus Chapter 3

{3:1} Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,

{3:2} To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, [but] gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

{3:3} For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, [and] hating one another.

{3:4} But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

{3:5} Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

{3:6} Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

{3:7} That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

{3:8} [This is] a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

{3:9} But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

{3:10} A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

{3:11} Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

{3:12} When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.

{3:13} Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.

{3:14} And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.

{3:15} All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace [be] with you all. Amen.

Titus Chapter 2

{2:1} But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

{2:2} That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

{2:3} The aged women likewise, that [they be] in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

{2:4} That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

{2:5} [To be] discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

{2:6} Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

{2:7} In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine [shewing] uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

{2:8} Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

{2:9} [Exhort] servants to be obedient unto their own masters, [and] to please [them] well in all [things;] not answering again;

{2:10} Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

{2:11} For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

{2:12} Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

{2:13} Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

{2:14} Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

{2:15} These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.