5 *If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking.

14 We are certain God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him.

9 But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

5 With all your heart

you must trust the Lord

and not your own judgment.

6 Always let him lead you,

and he will clear the road

for you to follow.

6 Always let him lead you,

and he will clear the road

for you to follow.

11 I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering.

14 *A city without wise leaders

will end up in ruin;

a city with many wise leaders

will be kept safe.

33 We make our own decisions,

but the Lord alone

determines what happens.

1 It’s selfish and stupid

to think only of yourself

and to sneer at people

who have sense.*

2 Fools have no desire to learn,

instead they would rather

give their own opinion.

3 Wrongdoing leads to shame

and disgrace.

4 Words of wisdom

are a stream that flows

from a deep fountain.

5 It’s wrong to favor the guilty

and keep the innocent

from getting justice.

6 Foolish talk will get you

into a lot of trouble.

7 Saying foolish things

is like setting a trap

to destroy yourself.

8 There’s nothing so delicious

as the taste of gossip!

It melts in your mouth.

9 Being lazy is no different

from being a troublemaker.

10 The Lord is a mighty tower

where his people can run

for safety—

11 the rich think their money

is a wall of protection.

12 Pride leads to destruction;

humility leads to honor.

13 *It’s stupid and embarrassing

to give an answer

before you listen.

14 Being cheerful helps

when you are sick,

but nothing helps

when you give up.

16 Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live.

17 The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds.

7 After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them.

1 The church at Antioch had several prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon, also called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, who was Herod’s* close friend, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and going without eating,* the Holy Spirit told them, "Appoint Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have chosen them." 3 Everyone prayed and went without eating for a while longer. Next, they placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul to show that they had been appointed to do this work. Then everyone sent them on their way.

31 When you eat or drink or do anything else, always do it to honor God.

1 *Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us.

5 One night while Solomon was in Gibeon, the Lord God appeared to him in a dream and said, "Solomon, ask for anything you want, and I will give it to you."

6 Solomon answered:

My father David, your servant, was honest and did what you commanded. You were always loyal to him, and you gave him a son who is now king. 7 Lord God, I’m your servant, and you’ve made me king in my father’s place. But I’m very young and know so little about being a leader. 8 And now I must rule your chosen people, even though there are too many of them to count.

9 Please make me wise and teach me the difference between right and wrong. Then I will know how to rule your people. If you don’t, there is no way I could rule this great nation of yours.

10,11 God said:

Solomon, I’m pleased that you asked for this. You could have asked to live a long time or to be rich. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead, you asked for wisdom to make right decisions. 12 So I’ll make you wiser than anyone who has ever lived or ever will live.

9 his wife asked, "Why do you still trust God? Why don’t you curse him and die?"

10 Job replied, "Don’t talk like a fool! If we accept blessings from God, we must accept trouble as well." In all that happened, Job never once said anything against God.