7 Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;

only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

7-12 If you reason with an arrogant cynic, you’ll get slapped in the face;

confront bad behavior and get a kick in the shins.

So don’t waste your time on a scoffer;

all you’ll get for your pains is abuse.

But if you correct those who care about life,

that’s different—they’ll love you for it!

Save your breath for the wise—they’ll be wiser for it;

tell good people what you know—they’ll profit from it.

Skilled living gets its start in the Fear-of-God,

insight into life from knowing a Holy God.

It’s through me, Lady Wisdom, that your life deepens,

and the years of your life ripen.

Live wisely and wisdom will permeate your life;

mock life and life will mock you.

33 Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living—

first you learn humility, then you experience glory.

1-10 Hallelujah!

I give thanks to God with everything I’ve got—

Wherever good people gather, and in the congregation.

God’s works are so great, worth

A lifetime of study—endless enjoyment!

Splendor and beauty mark his craft;

His generosity never gives out.

His miracles are his memorial—

This God of Grace, this God of Love.

He gave food to those who fear him,

He remembered to keep his ancient promise.

He proved to his people that he could do what he said:

Hand them the nations on a platter—a gift!

He manufactures truth and justice;

All his products are guaranteed to last—

Never out-of-date, never obsolete, rust-proof.

All that he makes and does is honest and true:

He paid the ransom for his people,

He ordered his Covenant kept forever.

He’s so personal and holy, worthy of our respect.

The good life begins in the fear of God—

Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God.

His Hallelujah lasts forever!

12-19 "But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom?

Where does Insight hide?

Mortals don’t have a clue,

haven’t the slightest idea where to look.

Earth’s depths say, ‘It’s not here’;

ocean deeps echo, ‘Never heard of it.’

It can’t be bought with the finest gold;

no amount of silver can get it.

Even famous Ophir gold can’t buy it,

not even diamonds and sapphires.

Neither gold nor emeralds are comparable;

extravagant jewelry can’t touch it.

Pearl necklaces and ruby bracelets—why bother?

None of this is even a down payment on Wisdom!

Pile gold and African diamonds as high as you will,

they can’t hold a candle to Wisdom.

20-22 "So where does Wisdom come from?

And where does Insight live?

It can’t be found by looking, no matter

how deep you dig, no matter how high you fly.

If you search through the graveyard and question the dead,

they say, ‘We’ve only heard rumors of it.’

5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

6-8 And here’s why: God gives out Wisdom free,

is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding.

He’s a rich mine of Common Sense for those who live well,

a personal bodyguard to the candid and sincere.

He keeps his eye on all who live honestly,

and pays special attention to his loyally committed ones.

6-8 And here’s why: God gives out Wisdom free,

is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding.

He’s a rich mine of Common Sense for those who live well,

a personal bodyguard to the candid and sincere.

He keeps his eye on all who live honestly,

and pays special attention to his loyally committed ones.

1-5 Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you;

collect my counsels and guard them with your life.

Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom;

set your heart on a life of Understanding.

That’s right—if you make Insight your priority,

and won’t take no for an answer,

Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold,

like an adventurer on a treasure hunt,

Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours;

you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God.

19-23 That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying,

"Blessed be the name of God,

forever and ever.

He knows all, does all:

He changes the seasons and guides history,

He raises up kings and also brings them down,

he provides both intelligence and discernment,

He opens up the depths, tells secrets,

sees in the dark—light spills out of him!

God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise!

You made me wise and strong.

And now you’ve shown us what we asked for.

You’ve solved the king’s mystery."

19-23 That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying,

"Blessed be the name of God,

forever and ever.

He knows all, does all:

He changes the seasons and guides history,

He raises up kings and also brings them down,

he provides both intelligence and discernment,

He opens up the depths, tells secrets,

sees in the dark—light spills out of him!

God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise!

You made me wise and strong.

And now you’ve shown us what we asked for.

You’ve solved the king’s mystery."

17-19 God gave these four young men knowledge and skill in both books and life. In addition, Daniel was gifted in understanding all sorts of visions and dreams. At the end of the time set by the king for their training, the head of the royal staff brought them in to Nebuchadnezzar. When the king interviewed them, he found them far superior to all the other young men. None were a match for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

17,18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

17,18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

17,18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

13-16 Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

6-10 We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it’s not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don’t find it lying around on the surface. It’s not the latest message, but more like the oldest—what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. The experts of our day haven’t a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn’t have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. That’s why we have this Scripture text:

No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this,

Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—

What God has arranged for those who love him.

But you’ve seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you.

22-25 While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so cheap, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s "weakness."

18-20 Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being relevant. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture,

He exposes the hype of the hipsters.

The Master sees through the smoke screens

of the know-it-alls.

18-20 Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being relevant. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture,

He exposes the hype of the hipsters.

The Master sees through the smoke screens

of the know-it-alls.

2-4 I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret."

5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;

don’t sulk under his loving correction.

It’s the child he loves that God corrects;

a father’s delight is behind all this.

5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;

don’t sulk under his loving correction.

It’s the child he loves that God corrects;

a father’s delight is behind all this.

8 Let me give you some good advice;

I’m looking you in the eye

and giving it to you straight:

9 He gives the rejects his hand,

And leads them step-by-step.

4 Show me how you work, God;

School me in your ways.

5 Take me by the hand;

Lead me down the path of truth.

You are my Savior, aren’t you?

23,24 Stalwart walks in step with God;

his path blazed by God, he’s happy.

If he stumbles, he’s not down for long;

God has a grip on his hand.

7-10 Hurry with your answer, God!

I’m nearly at the end of my rope.

Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me!

That would be certain death.

If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice,

I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.

Point out the road I must travel;

I’m all ears, all eyes before you.

Save me from my enemies, God—

you’re my only hope!

Teach me how to live to please you,

because you’re my God.

Lead me by your blessed Spirit

into cleared and level pastureland.

7-10 Hurry with your answer, God!

I’m nearly at the end of my rope.

Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me!

That would be certain death.

If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice,

I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you.

Point out the road I must travel;

I’m all ears, all eyes before you.

Save me from my enemies, God—

you’re my only hope!

Teach me how to live to please you,

because you’re my God.

Lead me by your blessed Spirit

into cleared and level pastureland.

11,12 Keep up your reputation, God—give me life!

In your justice, get me out of this trouble!

In your great love, vanquish my enemies;

make a clean sweep of those who harass me.

And why? Because I’m your servant.

11,12 Point me down your highway, God;

direct me along a well-lighted street;

show my enemies whose side you’re on.

Don’t throw me to the dogs,

those liars who are out to get me,

filling the air with their threats.

105-112 By your words I can see where I’m going;

they throw a beam of light on my dark path.

I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back

from living by your righteous order.

Everything’s falling apart on me, God;

put me together again with your Word.

Adorn me with your finest sayings, God;

teach me your holy rules.

My life is as close as my own hands,

but I don’t forget what you have revealed.

The wicked do their best to throw me off track,

but I don’t swerve an inch from your course.

I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever—

what a gift! And how happy it makes me!

I concentrate on doing exactly what you say—

I always have and always will.

* * *

105-112 By your words I can see where I’m going;

they throw a beam of light on my dark path.

I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back

from living by your righteous order.

Everything’s falling apart on me, God;

put me together again with your Word.

Adorn me with your finest sayings, God;

teach me your holy rules.

My life is as close as my own hands,

but I don’t forget what you have revealed.

The wicked do their best to throw me off track,

but I don’t swerve an inch from your course.

I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever—

what a gift! And how happy it makes me!

I concentrate on doing exactly what you say—

I always have and always will.

* * *

17-24 Be generous with me and I’ll live a full life;

not for a minute will I take my eyes off your road.

Open my eyes so I can see

what you show me of your miracle-wonders.

I’m a stranger in these parts;

give me clear directions.

My soul is starved and hungry, ravenous!—

insatiable for your nourishing commands.

And those who think they know so much,

ignoring everything you tell them—let them have it!

Don’t let them mock and humiliate me;

I’ve been careful to do just what you said.

While bad neighbors maliciously gossip about me,

I’m absorbed in pondering your wise counsel.

Yes, your sayings on life are what give me delight;

I listen to them as to good neighbors!

* * *

129-136 Every word you give me is a miracle word—

how could I help but obey?

Break open your words, let the light shine out,

let ordinary people see the meaning.

Mouth open and panting,

I wanted your commands more than anything.

Turn my way, look kindly on me,

as you always do to those who personally love you.

Steady my steps with your Word of promise

so nothing malign gets the better of me.

Rescue me from the grip of bad men and women

so I can live life your way.

Smile on me, your servant;

teach me the right way to live.

I cry rivers of tears

because nobody’s living by your book!

* * *

1 How well God must like you—

you don’t walk in the ruts of those blind-as-bats,

you don’t stand with the good-for-nothings,

you don’t take your seat among the know-it-alls.

2,3 Instead you thrill to God’s Word,

you chew on Scripture day and night.

You’re a tree replanted in Eden,

bearing fresh fruit every month,

Never dropping a leaf,

always in blossom.

15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

* * *

20-23 Good friend, follow your father’s good advice;

don’t wander off from your mother’s teachings.

Wrap yourself in them from head to foot;

wear them like a scarf around your neck.

Wherever you walk, they’ll guide you;

whenever you rest, they’ll guard you;

when you wake up, they’ll tell you what’s next.

For sound advice is a beacon,

good teaching is a light,

moral discipline is a life path.

11-16 Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,

Climb out of your coffins;

Christ will show you the light!

So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

11-16 Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,

Climb out of your coffins;

Christ will show you the light!

So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

20 Take good counsel and accept correction—

that’s the way to live wisely and well.

20 Take good counsel and accept correction—

that’s the way to live wisely and well.

8 Grow a wise heart—you’ll do yourself a favor;

keep a clear head—you’ll find a good life.

18 Form your purpose by asking for counsel,

then carry it out using all the help you can get.

5,6 It’s better to be wise than strong;

intelligence outranks muscle any day.

Strategic planning is the key to warfare;

to win, you need a lot of good counsel.

29 Slowness to anger makes for deep understanding;

a quick-tempered person stockpiles stupidity.

10 Arrogant know-it-alls stir up discord,

but wise men and women listen to each other’s counsel.

3 Careful words make for a careful life;

careless talk may ruin everything.

15 Fools are headstrong and do what they like;

wise people take advice.

2 The stuck-up fall flat on their faces,

but down-to-earth people stand firm.

8 A wise heart takes orders;

an empty head will come unglued.

15 Wise men and women are always learning,

always listening for fresh insights.

2 Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse;

all they do is run off at the mouth.

28 Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise;

as long as they keep their mouths shut, they’re smart.

1-6 These are the wise sayings of Solomon,

David’s son, Israel’s king—

Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right,

to understand what life means and where it’s going;

A manual for living,

for learning what’s right and just and fair;

To teach the inexperienced the ropes

and give our young people a grasp on reality.

There’s something here also for seasoned men and women,

still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—

Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,

the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.

5,6 Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

5,6 Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

22-25 Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.

13-18 You’re blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom,

when you make friends with Madame Insight.

She’s worth far more than money in the bank;

her friendship is better than a big salary.

Her value exceeds all the trappings of wealth;

nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.

With one hand she gives long life,

with the other she confers recognition.

Her manner is beautiful,

her life wonderfully complete.

She’s the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her.

Hold her tight—and be blessed!

32-36 "So, my dear friends, listen carefully;

those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.

Mark a life of discipline and live wisely;

don’t squander your precious life.

Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me,

awake and ready for me each morning,

alert and responsive as I start my day’s work.

When you find me, you find life, real life,

to say nothing of God’s good pleasure.

But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul;

when you reject me, you’re flirting with death."

16 Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money;

choose insight over income every time.

9 We plan the way we want to live,

but only God makes us able to live it.

1 Mortals make elaborate plans,

but God has the last word.

11,12 Wisdom is better when it’s paired with money,

Especially if you get both while you’re still living.

Double protection: wisdom and wealth!

Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner.

10 Don’t always be asking, "Where are the good old days?"

Wise folks don’t ask questions like that.

24-26 The best you can do with your life is have a good time and get by the best you can. The way I see it, that’s it—divine fate. Whether we feast or fast, it’s up to God. God may give wisdom and knowledge and joy to his favorites, but sinners are assigned a life of hard labor, and end up turning their wages over to God’s favorites. Nothing but smoke—and spitting into the wind.

7-10 Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,

Drink wine with a robust heart.

Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!

Dress festively every morning.

Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.

Relish life with the spouse you love

Each and every day of your precarious life.

Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange

For the hard work of staying alive.

Make the most of each one!

Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!

This is your last and only chance at it,

For there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think

In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed.

* * *

8-11 "I don’t think the way you think.

The way you work isn’t the way I work."

God’s Decree.

"For as the sky soars high above earth,

so the way I work surpasses the way you work,

and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies

and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,

Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,

producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,

So will the words that come out of my mouth

not come back empty-handed.

They’ll do the work I sent them to do,

they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

8-11 "I don’t think the way you think.

The way you work isn’t the way I work."

God’s Decree.

"For as the sky soars high above earth,

so the way I work surpasses the way you work,

and the way I think is beyond the way you think.

Just as rain and snow descend from the skies

and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,

Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,

producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,

So will the words that come out of my mouth

not come back empty-handed.

They’ll do the work I sent them to do,

they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

27-31 Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,

or, whine, Israel, saying,

"God has lost track of me.

He doesn’t care what happens to me"?

Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?

God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.

He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.

He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.

And he knows everything, inside and out.

He energizes those who get tired,

gives fresh strength to dropouts.

For even young people tire and drop out,

young folk in their prime stumble and fall.

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.

They spread their wings and soar like eagles,

They run and don’t get tired,

they walk and don’t lag behind.

27-31 Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,

or, whine, Israel, saying,

"God has lost track of me.

He doesn’t care what happens to me"?

Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?

God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.

He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.

He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.

And he knows everything, inside and out.

He energizes those who get tired,

gives fresh strength to dropouts.

For even young people tire and drop out,

young folk in their prime stumble and fall.

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.

They spread their wings and soar like eagles,

They run and don’t get tired,

they walk and don’t lag behind.

4-9 The Master, God, has given me

a well-taught tongue,

So I know how to encourage tired people.

He wakes me up in the morning,

Wakes me up, opens my ears

to listen as one ready to take orders.

The Master, God, opened my ears,

and I didn’t go back to sleep,

didn’t pull the covers back over my head.

I followed orders,

stood there and took it while they beat me,

held steady while they pulled out my beard,

Didn’t dodge their insults,

faced them as they spit in my face.

And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me,

so I’m not disgraced.

Therefore I set my face like flint,

confident that I’ll never regret this.

My champion is right here.

Let’s take our stand together!

Who dares bring suit against me?

Let him try!

Look! the Master, God, is right here.

Who would dare call me guilty?

Look! My accusers are a clothes bin of threadbare

socks and shirts, fodder for moths!

* * *

1-3 Doom to those who go off to Egypt

thinking that horses can help them,

Impressed by military mathematics,

awed by sheer numbers of chariots and riders—

And to The Holy of Israel, not even a glance,

not so much as a prayer to God.

Still, he must be reckoned with,

a most wise God who knows what he’s doing.

He can call down catastrophe.

He’s a God who does what he says.

He intervenes in the work of those who do wrong,

stands up against interfering evildoers.

Egyptians are mortal, not God,

and their horses are flesh, not Spirit.

When God gives the signal, helpers and helped alike

will fall in a heap and share the same dirt grave.

* * *

27-29 And at the harvest, the delicate herbs and spices,

the dill and cumin, are treated delicately.

On the other hand, wheat is threshed and milled, but still not endlessly.

The farmer knows how to treat each kind of grain.

He’s learned it all from God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

who knows everything about when and how and where.

1-5 A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse’s stump,

from his roots a budding Branch.

The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him,

the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding,

The Spirit that gives direction and builds strength,

the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God.

Fear-of-God

will be all his joy and delight.

He won’t judge by appearances,

won’t decide on the basis of hearsay.

He’ll judge the needy by what is right,

render decisions on earth’s poor with justice.

His words will bring everyone to awed attention.

A mere breath from his lips will topple the wicked.

Each morning he’ll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots,

and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land.

9-12 "If you get rid of unfair practices,

quit blaming victims,

quit gossiping about other people’s sins,

If you are generous with the hungry

and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,

your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.

I will always show you where to go.

I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—

firm muscles, strong bones.

You’ll be like a well-watered garden,

a gurgling spring that never runs dry.

You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,

rebuild the foundations from out of your past.

You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,

restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,

make the community livable again.

33-36 Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.

Is there anyone around who can explain God?

Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do?

Anyone who has done him such a huge favor

that God has to ask his advice?

Everything comes from him;

Everything happens through him;

Everything ends up in him.

Always glory! Always praise!

Yes. Yes. Yes.

27 All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes!

26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

24-30 What a wildly wonderful world, God!

You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,

made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.

Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,

brimming with fish past counting,

sardines and sharks and salmon.

Ships plow those waters,

and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.

All the creatures look expectantly to you

to give them their meals on time.

You come, and they gather around;

you open your hand and they eat from it.

If you turned your back,

they’d die in a minute—

Take back your Spirit and they die,

revert to original mud;

Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—

the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.

2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,

who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.

He heals the heartbroken

and bandages their wounds.

He counts the stars

and assigns each a name.

Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;

we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.

God puts the fallen on their feet again

and pushes the wicked into the ditch.

21-24 When I was beleaguered and bitter,

totally consumed by envy,

I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox

in your very presence.

I’m still in your presence,

but you’ve taken my hand.

You wisely and tenderly lead me,

and then you bless me.

12-17 Oh! Teach us to live well!

Teach us to live wisely and well!

Come back, God—how long do we have to wait?—

and treat your servants with kindness for a change.

Surprise us with love at daybreak;

then we’ll skip and dance all the day long.

Make up for the bad times with some good times;

we’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime.

Let your servants see what you’re best at—

the ways you rule and bless your children.

And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us,

confirming the work that we do.

Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

30,31 Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone,

rolls virtue around on his tongue.

His heart pumps God’s Word like blood through his veins;

his feet are as sure as a cat’s.

3,4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,

settle down and stick to your last.

Keep company with God,

get in on the best.

7,8 And here I am, your invited guest—

it’s incredible!

I enter your house; here I am,

prostrate in your inner sanctum,

Waiting for directions

to get me safely through enemy lines.

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,

all radiant from the shining of your face.

Ever since you took my hand,

I’m on the right way.

9 "Watch them come! They’ll come weeping for joy

as I take their hands and lead them,

Lead them to fresh flowing brooks,

lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths.

Yes, it’s because I’m Israel’s Father

and Ephraim’s my firstborn son!

23-25 I know, God, that mere mortals

can’t run their own lives,

That men and women

don’t have what it takes to take charge of life.

So correct us, God, as you see best.

Don’t lose your temper. That would be the end of us.

Vent your anger on the godless nations,

who refuse to acknowledge you,

And on the people

who won’t pray to you—

The very ones who’ve made a meal out of Jacob,

yes, made a meal

And devoured him whole,

people and pastures alike.

11-15 "Tell them this, ‘The stick gods

who made nothing, neither sky nor earth,

Will come to nothing

on the earth and under the sky.’"

But it is God whose power made the earth,

whose wisdom gave shape to the world,

who crafted the cosmos.

He thunders, and rain pours down.

He sends the clouds soaring.

He embellishes the storm with lightnings,

launches wind from his warehouse.

Stick-god worshipers looking mighty foolish,

god-makers embarrassed by their handmade gods!

Their gods are frauds—dead sticks,

deadwood gods, tasteless jokes.

When the fires of judgment come, they’ll be ashes.

1 Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;

you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.

5 Justice makes no sense to the evilminded;

those who seek God know it inside and out.

20,21 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!

Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!

Glory down all the generations!

Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

1-4 Well, this is my third visit coming up. Remember the Scripture that says, "A matter becomes clear after two or three witnesses give evidence"? On my second visit I warned that bunch that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways that when I came back I wouldn’t go easy on them. Now, preparing for the third, I’m saying it again from a distance. If you haven’t changed your ways by the time I get there, look out. You who have been demanding proof that Christ speaks through me will get more than you bargained for. You’ll get the full force of Christ, don’t think you won’t. He was sheer weakness and humiliation when he was killed on the cross, but oh, he’s alive now—in the mighty power of God! We weren’t much to look at, either, when we were humiliated among you, but when we deal with you this next time, we’ll be alive in Christ, strengthened by God.

4-11 In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,

but don’t be crushed by it either.

It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;

the child he embraces, he also corrects.

God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off big-time, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

8,9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

34 "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

41,42 "On Judgment Day, the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about ‘proofs.’ On Judgment Day, the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that will condemn this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon. Wisdom far greater than Solomon’s is right in front of you, and you quibble over ‘evidence.’

24,25 "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

12-15 "But before any of this happens, they’ll arrest you, hunt you down, and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I’ll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.

21-24 Jesus said, "I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you’re still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I’m up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it’s the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man’s whole body well on the Sabbath? Don’t be hypercritical; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right."

19,20 With Lady Wisdom, God formed Earth;

with Madame Insight, he raised Heaven.

They knew when to signal rivers and springs to the surface,

and dew to descend from the night skies.

7-12 "But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you;

let the birds tell you what’s going on.

Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics.

Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories.

Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree

that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand—

Every living soul, yes,

every breathing creature?

Isn’t this all just common sense,

as common as the sense of taste?

Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom,

that you have to grow old before you understand life?

13-25 "True wisdom and real power belong to God;

from him we learn how to live,

and also what to live for.

If he tears something down, it’s down for good;

if he locks people up, they’re locked up for good.

If he holds back the rain, there’s a drought;

if he lets it loose, there’s a flood.

Strength and success belong to God;

both deceived and deceiver must answer to him.

He strips experts of their vaunted credentials,

exposes judges as witless fools.

He divests kings of their royal garments,

then ties a rag around their waists.

He strips priests of their robes,

and fires high officials from their jobs.

He forces trusted sages to keep silence,

deprives elders of their good sense and wisdom.

He dumps contempt on famous people,

disarms the strong and mighty.

He shines a spotlight into caves of darkness,

hauls deepest darkness into the noonday sun.

He makes nations rise and then fall,

builds up some and abandons others.

He robs world leaders of their reason,

and sends them off into no-man’s-land.

They grope in the dark without a clue,

lurching and staggering like drunks."

1-13 Job continued by saying:

"So what’s new? I know all this.

The question is, ‘How can mere mortals get right with God?’

If we wanted to bring our case before him,

what chance would we have? Not one in a thousand!

God’s wisdom is so deep, God’s power so immense,

who could take him on and come out in one piece?

He moves mountains before they know what’s happened,

flips them on their heads on a whim.

He gives the earth a good shaking up,

rocks it down to its very foundations.

He tells the sun, ‘Don’t shine,’ and it doesn’t;

he pulls the blinds on the stars.

All by himself he stretches out the heavens

and strides on the waves of the sea.

He designed the Big Dipper and Orion,

the Pleiades and Alpha Centauri.

We’ll never comprehend all the great things he does;

his miracle-surprises can’t be counted.

Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don’t see him;

quietly but surely he’s active, and I miss it.

If he steals you blind, who can stop him?

Who’s going to say, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’

God doesn’t hold back on his anger;

even dragon-bred monsters cringe before him.

8 But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,

what God is looking for in men and women.

It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,

be compassionate and loyal in your love,

And don’t take yourself too seriously—

take God seriously.

5-7 And he was diligent in appointing judges in the land—each of the fortress cities had its judge. He charged the judges: "This is serious work; do it carefully. You are not merely judging between men and women; these are God’s judgments that you are passing on. Live in the fear of God—be most careful, for God hates dishonesty, partiality, and bribery."

13-15 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, "Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money." You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, "If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that."