Biblical Living

Being a wife

What responsibilities does Scripture give a wife?

Scripture calls a wife to love her husband, respect him, submit to him as fitting in the Lord, and give faithful care to her household. It joins these responsibilities with purity, kindness, wisdom, trustworthiness, and fear of God.

Explore Biblical Living 57 guides

Read the instructions addressed to wives within the covenant union, the corresponding commands to husbands, and the life of faith before God.

Be faithful to the one-flesh union

Genesis 2:18–24 describes the woman as the helper corresponding to the man and culminates in the one-flesh union. In Matthew 19:3–6, Jesus cites this account when explaining marriage as a joining by God.

Malachi 2:14 calls the wife a companion and wife by covenant. Hebrews 13:4 directs believers to honor marriage and its intimacy. The wife’s faithfulness therefore belongs within a lasting union held before God.

The creation account supplies the foundation; the New Testament’s direct marriage instructions explain the conduct of a wife living within that union.

Further study: Biblical Studies Press · Biblical Studies Press

Love your husband and give him respect

Titus 2:4 directs older women to train younger women to love their husbands and children. Ephesians 5:33 directs the wife to reverence her husband: the word expresses respect in this relationship.

Ephesians 5:25–33 places the instruction after a sustained account of the husband’s love and the one-flesh union. Colossians 3:12–19 places its household teaching within compassion, kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness, and love.

A wife’s love and respect are thus joined to a whole character formed in the Lord. The text treats the marriage relationship as a meaningful responsibility within her life of faith.

Further study: Biblical Studies Press · Biblical Studies Press

Practice the submission Scripture addresses to a wife

Ephesians 5:22–24 addresses wives with submission to their own husbands, relates it to the Lord, and grounds its comparison in the church’s relation to Christ. Colossians 3:18 describes submission as fitting in the Lord. First Peter 3:1 also addresses wives in relation to their own husbands.

The instruction is therefore part of a wife’s obedience to the Lord within her marriage. Ephesians names the husband as head and immediately gives him the demanding pattern of Christ’s self-giving love. Keeping those commands together explains the relationship in which the wife’s responsibility is given.

The guide receives the stated instruction directly. The deeper research examines the precise authority implied by headship, the relationship of verses 21 and 22, and the significance of the head-and-body image. The biblical commands remain the starting point for that inquiry.

Further study: Biblical Studies Press · Peter Gurry · Denny Burk · Christy Hemphill

Cultivate purity, gentleness, and hope in God

First Peter 3:1–6 addresses wives, including those whose husbands do not obey the word. Peter emphasizes pure, reverent conduct and the inward character of a meek and quiet spirit, which he says is precious before God. The older KJV “conversation” means manner of life.

Peter places this teaching among the holy women who hoped in God and refers to Sarah’s relation to Abraham. Genesis 18:9–15 supplies the setting of Sarah’s reference to Abraham as lord, and Hebrews 11:11–12 sets her within the account of faith in God’s promise.

In 1 Peter 3:6–7, Peter concludes this instruction by joining doing good with freedom from terror, then addresses husbands with knowledge, honor, and joint inheritance. The wife’s character and hope belong to this full household setting before God.

Further study: Biblical Studies Press

Build the household through wise and faithful work

Proverbs 31:10–31 praises a wife who fears the LORD, is trusted by her husband, and works for the good of her household. The poem describes her providing food and clothing, considering and purchasing a field, planting a vineyard, selling what she makes, speaking with wisdom and kindness, and helping the poor. Through these activities, the passage illustrates thoughtful judgment, diligent work, faithful care for her household, and generosity toward others.

Titus 2:4–5 includes care of the home among the instructions for younger women. In the discussion of widows, 1 Timothy 5:14 counsels younger widows toward marriage, children, and household management. These texts give household care substantial value and concrete responsibility.

Proverbs 19:14 calls a prudent wife a gift from the Lord. Proverbs 31:30–31 identifies fear of the Lord as the center of her praise and calls for her work to be recognized. Wisdom, diligence, generosity, and reverence belong together in the portrait.

Further study: Biblical Studies Press · Elaine T. James · William D. Mounce

Honor your marriage through fidelity and mutual care

First Corinthians 7:2–5 gives wife and husband corresponding marital responsibilities. Paul speaks of each spouse rendering the due to the other, describes their bodily relation reciprocally, and specifies agreement for temporary abstinence devoted to prayer.

Song of Solomon 2:3–17 and 8:5–7 give the woman a sustained voice in desire, invitation, belonging, and steadfast love. Its poetry and Paul’s instruction bring affection and faithful responsibility into the same biblical study.

Paul also recognizes the married woman’s attention to pleasing her husband in 1 Corinthians 7:34. The immediate discussion concerns faithful devotion and the responsibilities of different callings.

Further study: David Instone-Brewer · Eric Ortlund

Speak with wisdom, kindness, and truth

Proverbs 31:26 associates the wife’s speech with wisdom and kindness. Proverbs 15:1 describes the reconciling power of a gentle answer. Ephesians 4:25–32 commands truthful, constructive words and kindness joined to forgiveness.

James 3:13–18 locates wise conduct in purity, peace, gentleness, mercy, and good fruit. Together these passages connect what a wife says with the character and purposes of the Lord she serves.

Teach and nurture children in the knowledge of God

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 connects love for God with diligent instruction of children. Proverbs 1:8–9 names the mother’s teaching alongside the father’s instruction and calls children to receive both.

In 2 Timothy 1:5 and 3:14–17, Paul remembers the faith of Lois and Eunice, and the Scriptures Timothy knew from childhood. Titus 2:4 addresses love for children. These passages place a mother’s faith, teaching, and care within the child’s formation.

Ephesians 6:1–4 addresses children’s honor toward both parents and the father’s particular duty of nurture. Reading the family instructions together gives the mother’s responsibilities their place in the household’s shared life before God.

Study the wives Scripture describes in their actual setting

Ruth 3:1–4:22 records her appeal to Boaz and the public redemption proceedings that lead to their marriage. Kinship responsibilities, witnesses, and family restoration explain the events.

First Samuel 25:23–35 records Abigail’s wise appeal and David’s recognition of her discernment. Acts 18:24–28 shows Priscilla and Aquila serving together in the instruction of Apollos. These are distinct biblical accounts of wisdom, faithfulness, and service.

The portrait in Proverbs 31:10–31 gathers many qualities into praise of a wife who fears the Lord. Read the narratives for their recorded circumstances and the poem for the character and work it celebrates.

Read the full teaching concerning the marriage bond

In Matthew 19:3–6, Jesus grounds marriage in the Creator’s joining, and Paul gives instructions to both wives and husbands in 1 Corinthians 7:10–16. His treatment includes believing and unbelieving spouses, peace, and the responsibilities of continuing marriage.

Matthew 5:31–32 and 19:7–12, Mark 10:10–12, and 1 Corinthians 7:10–16 and 39–40 also preserve the stated qualifications concerning separation, remarriage, and widowhood. Reading them together provides the context for faithful understanding of the marriage bond. The source study records the material interpretive questions while keeping the direct instruction accessible.

Further study: David Instone-Brewer

Continue reading: Being a father

Read the passages

Scripture in context

162 contextual selections for this subject, including the passages cited above and further related reading. Every selected range is reproduced in full from the KJV. Context notes identify the setting and kind of evidence.

Creation and covenant 5 selections
Genesis 1:26–31 KJV

Context: God creates male and female in his image, blesses them, and entrusts them with fruitfulness and care for the earth.

1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 2:4–25 KJV · In this guide

Context: The garden narrative joins work, God’s command, the corresponding helper, and the man and woman becoming one flesh.

2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

2:6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

2:11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

2:12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

2:13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

2:14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 3:1–24 KJV

Context: The whole narrative identifies disobedience, accountability, judgment, and God’s provision. The words about rule and painful toil occur within the judgment after sin.

3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

3:20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Genesis 5:1–2 KJV

Context: The genealogy opens by restating that God created male and female in his likeness and blessed them.

5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Galatians 4:21–31 KJV

Context: Paul explicitly interprets Sarah and Hagar figuratively in an argument about promise, freedom, and the two covenants.

4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

4:23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

4:25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

4:27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Biblical people and households 18 selections
Genesis 18:1–15 KJV · In this guide

Context: The promise of Isaac meets Abraham and Sarah in their old age. Sarah’s inward reference to Abraham as lord is the narrative background relevant to 1 Peter 3:6.

18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

18:3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

18:4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:

18:5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

18:6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

18:7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

18:8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

18:9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

18:13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

18:15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.

Genesis 21:1–21 KJV

Context: Sarah, Abraham, Hagar, and their sons appear within the fulfillment of God’s promise; God’s particular direction to Abraham in verse 12 belongs to this covenant history.

21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

21:2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

21:3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.

21:4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

21:5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.

21:6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.

21:7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

21:8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

21:10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

21:11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

21:15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

21:16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

21:20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

21:21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

Genesis 24:1–67 KJV

Context: The complete account shows prayer, hospitality, family deliberation, Rebekah’s stated willingness to go, and Isaac’s love. It is a patriarchal marriage narrative.

24:1 And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

24:2 And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

24:3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

24:4 But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

24:5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

24:6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

24:7 The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

24:8 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

24:9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

24:10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

24:11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

24:12 And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

24:13 Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

24:14 And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

24:15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

24:16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

24:17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

24:18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

24:19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.

24:20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

24:21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.

24:22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

24:23 And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?

24:24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.

24:25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

24:26 And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

24:27 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren.

24:28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.

24:29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

24:30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

24:31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

24:32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.

24:33 And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

24:34 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.

24:35 And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

24:36 And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

24:37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

24:38 But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.

24:39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.

24:40 And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:

24:41 Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

24:42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:

24:43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;

24:44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master’s son.

24:45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

24:46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

24:47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

24:48 And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.

24:49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

24:50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

24:51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD hath spoken.

24:52 And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.

24:53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

24:54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.

24:55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

24:56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.

24:57 And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.

24:58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

24:59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.

24:60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

24:61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

24:62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country.

24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

24:64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

24:65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

24:66 And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

24:67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Judges 13:1–25 KJV

Context: Samson’s birth account records the woman receiving the message and reasoning with Manoah about the Lord’s purposes; the episode concerns their particular calling.

13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

13:2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

13:4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:

13:7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

13:8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

13:9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.

13:10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.

13:11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.

13:12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?

13:13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.

13:14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

13:15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

13:16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.

13:17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

13:18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

13:19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.

13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.

13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

13:23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.

13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Ruth 1:1–22 KJV

Context: Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi and commitment to Naomi’s God are narrated amid bereavement, migration, and return to Bethlehem.

1:1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.

1:2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

1:3 And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

1:4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

1:5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

1:6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.

1:7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

1:8 And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.

1:9 The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

1:10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.

1:11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?

1:12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;

1:13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.

1:14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

1:15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.

1:16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

1:17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

1:18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.

1:19 So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?

1:20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.

1:21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

1:22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth 2:1–23 KJV

Context: Ruth works to provide food; Boaz notices her loyalty and provides access, protection, and generosity within Israel’s gleaning setting.

2:1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

2:2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

2:3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

2:4 And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.

2:5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

2:6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:

2:7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

2:8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:

2:9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

2:10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

2:11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

2:12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

2:13 Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.

2:14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.

2:15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:

2:16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

2:17 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.

2:18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.

2:19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.

2:20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

2:21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

2:22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.

2:23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.

Ruth 3:1–4:22 KJV · In this guide

Context: The threshing-floor encounter and public redemption proceedings belong together. Kinship, consent to redeem, witnesses, marriage, and family restoration complete the narrative.

3:1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

3:2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.

3:3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

3:4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

3:5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.

3:6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.

3:7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

3:8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.

3:9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

3:10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.

3:11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.

3:12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

3:13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.

3:14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.

3:15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.

3:16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

3:17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.

3:18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

4:1 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

4:2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

4:3 And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s:

4:4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.

4:5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

4:6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.

4:7 Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.

4:8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.

4:9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.

4:10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

4:11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth-lehem:

4:12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.

4:13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son.

4:14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.

4:15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.

4:16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.

4:17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

4:18 Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

4:19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,

4:20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,

4:21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

4:22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

1 Samuel 1:1–2:11 KJV

Context: Hannah prays, receives Samuel, fulfills her vow, and praises the Lord. Her particular answered prayer and dedication of Samuel belong to the narrative’s setting.

1:1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

1:2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

1:3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.

1:4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

1:5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.

1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

1:7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

1:8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?

1:9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.

1:10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

1:12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.

1:13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

1:14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

1:15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

1:16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

1:17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

1:18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

1:19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.

1:20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.

1:21 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.

1:22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever.

1:23 And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

1:24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.

1:25 And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

1:26 And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.

1:27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

1:28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

2:1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

2:4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

2:5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

2:6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

2:7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

2:11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.

1 Samuel 25:1–42 KJV · In this guide

Context: Abigail acts with discernment and speaks to David, who acknowledges that her counsel kept him from bloodshed. The full account supplies the circumstances of her action.

25:1 And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

25:2 And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

25:3 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

25:4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.

25:5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:

25:6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

25:7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.

25:8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.

25:9 And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.

25:10 And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.

25:11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

25:12 So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.

25:13 And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.

25:14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.

25:15 But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:

25:16 They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

25:17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

25:18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

25:19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal.

25:20 And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them.

25:21 Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.

25:22 So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

25:23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,

25:24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid.

25:25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send.

25:26 Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.

25:27 And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

25:28 I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.

25:29 Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.

25:30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel;

25:31 That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid.

25:32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:

25:33 And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

25:34 For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.

25:35 So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person.

25:36 And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

25:37 But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

25:38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died.

25:39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.

25:40 And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.

25:41 And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

25:42 And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

1 Kings 17:8–24 KJV

Context: The widow receives Elijah and responds to the Lord’s word in a famine; provision and her son’s restoration frame her confession.

17:8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

17:9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

17:11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

17:12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

17:13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

17:16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

17:17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

17:18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?

17:19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

17:20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

17:21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.

17:22 And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

17:23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

17:24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

2 Kings 4:1–37 KJV

Context: The widow’s provision and the Shunammite woman’s hospitality, distress, and restored son are distinct accounts within Elisha’s prophetic ministry.

4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

4:2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

4:4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

4:5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

4:6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

4:7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

4:8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

4:9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

4:10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.

4:11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

4:12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

4:13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

4:14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

4:15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

4:16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.

4:17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

4:18 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

4:19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

4:20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

4:21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.

4:22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

4:23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

4:24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.

4:25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:

4:26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

4:27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.

4:28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?

4:29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

4:30 And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.

4:31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

4:32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

4:33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.

4:34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

4:35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

4:36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.

4:37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

Matthew 15:21–28 KJV

Context: Jesus commends the woman’s faith within the encounter concerning her daughter and the mission to Israel.

15:21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

15:26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.

15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.

15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Mark 12:38–44 KJV

Context: The widow’s gift is read with the preceding sayings about scribes and widows’ houses, preserving both her costly giving and the surrounding temple critique.

12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,

12:39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:

12:40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

12:41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

12:43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

12:44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Luke 10:38–42 KJV

Context: Martha welcomes Jesus and Mary listens at his feet; Jesus affirms receiving his word in the midst of the household’s activity.

10:38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.

10:40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Acts 18:18–28 KJV · In this guide

Context: Priscilla and Aquila explain the way of God to Apollos more accurately within the narrative of mission and learning.

18:18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.

18:19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

18:20 When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;

18:21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

18:22 And when he had landed at Cæsarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.

18:23 And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.

18:24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

18:25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

18:26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

18:27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:

18:28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

Romans 16:1–16 KJV

Context: Paul names women and men as servants, coworkers, benefactors, and laborers, with specific commendations in the mission of the churches.

16:1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:

16:2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

16:3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:

16:4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

16:6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.

16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

16:8 Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.

16:9 Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.

16:10 Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ household.

16:11 Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.

16:12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.

16:13 Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

16:14 Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.

16:15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.

16:16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

2 Timothy 1:1–14 KJV · In this guide

Context: Paul remembers the sincere faith of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and mother Eunice while encouraging Timothy’s own faithful service.

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

1:2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

1:3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;

1:4 Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;

1:5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

1:11 Where unto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

1:13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

1:14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

Hebrews 11:8–19 KJV · In this guide

Context: Abraham and Sarah are remembered within the chapter’s sustained account of faith in God’s promise and the hope of a better country.

11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

11:16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

11:19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

Israel’s covenant laws 19 selections
Exodus 20:1–21 KJV

Context: Israel’s covenant commands include honoring parents, marital fidelity, truthful witness, and respect for a neighbor’s household.

20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,

20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.

20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Exodus 21:7–11 KJV

Context: This case law concerns an Israelite female servant taken into a household as a wife and specifies food, clothing, and marital provision in that ancient legal setting.

21:7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

21:8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

21:9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

21:10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

21:11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

Exodus 22:21–27 KJV

Context: Israel is commanded to treat strangers, widows, the fatherless, and poor borrowers with justice and compassion.

22:21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

22:23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

22:24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

22:25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.

22:26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:

22:27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.

Leviticus 18:1–30 KJV

Context: The whole chapter sets Israel’s sexual and kinship obligations within allegiance to the Lord; its commands require covenant and canonical context.

18:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

18:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.

18:3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

18:4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.

18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.

18:7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

18:8 The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness.

18:9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

18:10 The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.

18:11 The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

18:12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.

18:13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.

18:14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.

18:15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

18:16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.

18:17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.

18:18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.

18:19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.

18:20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.

18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

18:24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:

18:25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

18:26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

18:27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)

18:28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

18:29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

18:30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:1–18 KJV

Context: The holiness instructions include reverence for mother and father, care for the poor, honest judgment, and love for one’s neighbor.

19:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

19:3 Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.

19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.

19:5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will.

19:6 It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire.

19:7 And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.

19:8 Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.

19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.

19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.

19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 20:7–26 KJV

Context: Israel’s holiness legislation addresses family and sexual conduct within the covenant’s civil sanctions and its distinction from neighboring nations.

20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.

20:8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

20:9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

20:11 And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

20:12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

20:14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

20:15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.

20:16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

20:17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

20:18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

20:19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.

20:20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.

20:21 And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.

20:22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

20:23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

20:24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

20:25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

Numbers 5:11–31 KJV

Context: This priestly procedure belongs to Israel’s covenant law concerning an accusation within marriage; it is read as ancient case law in its own setting.

5:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

5:12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,

5:13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;

5:14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

5:15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

5:16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:

5:17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:

5:18 And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:

5:19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:

5:20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:

5:21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;

5:22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

5:23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:

5:24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.

5:25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:

5:26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.

5:27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.

5:28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.

5:29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;

5:30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.

5:31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

Numbers 6:1–21 KJV

Context: The Nazirite instruction explicitly applies to a man or woman making this particular vow of consecration within Israel’s covenant worship.

6:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

6:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:

6:3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

6:4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.

6:5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

6:6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.

6:7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.

6:8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.

6:9 And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.

6:10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

6:11 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.

6:12 And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.

6:13 And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

6:14 And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings,

6:15 And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings.

6:16 And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:

6:17 And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering.

6:18 And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.

6:19 And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:

6:20 And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine.

6:21 This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.

Numbers 27:1–11 KJV

Context: Zelophehad’s daughters bring their inheritance petition before Moses, and the Lord affirms their claim within Israel’s tribal inheritance system.

27:1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

27:2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

27:3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.

27:4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.

27:5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.

27:6 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

27:7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.

27:8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.

27:9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren.

27:10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren.

27:11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Numbers 30:1–16 KJV

Context: Israel’s laws address the vows of men, unmarried daughters, wives, widows, and divorced women. The text specifies responsibility and the circumstances of confirming or annulling vows.

30:1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded.

30:2 If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

30:3 If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth;

30:4 And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.

30:5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.

30:6 And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;

30:7 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.

30:8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her.

30:9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.

30:10 And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath;

30:11 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.

30:12 But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her.

30:13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.

30:14 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.

30:15 But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.

30:16 These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house.

Numbers 36:1–13 KJV

Context: This follow-up to Numbers 27 concerns marriage and the retention of inherited tribal land; it completes the daughters’ legal setting.

36:1 And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:

36:2 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.

36:3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.

36:4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

36:5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.

36:6 This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.

36:7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

36:8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.

36:9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.

36:10 Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:

36:11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brothers’ sons:

36:12 And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

36:13 These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

Deuteronomy 6:1–25 KJV · In this guide

Context: Love for the Lord, remembrance of deliverance, and diligent teaching of children belong to Moses’ covenant instruction to Israel.

6:1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

6:2 That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

6:3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

6:10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

6:11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

6:12 Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

6:14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

6:15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

6:17 Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

6:18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,

6:19 To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.

6:20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?

6:21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:

6:22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:

6:23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

6:24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Deuteronomy 7:1–11 KJV

Context: Israel’s marriage instruction belongs to its covenant allegiance in the land; the stated concern is turning from the Lord to other gods.

7:1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

7:2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

7:3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

7:4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

7:5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

7:8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

7:10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

7:11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

Deuteronomy 21:10–21 KJV

Context: Three ancient case laws concern a captive wife, inheritance where a man has two wives, and a rebellious son. They record Israel’s regulated legal circumstances.

21:10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,

21:11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;

21:12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

21:13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

21:14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

21:15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:

21:16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:

21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

21:19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

21:20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

21:21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Deuteronomy 22:13–30 KJV

Context: Marriage accusations and sexual offenses are treated as ancient Israelite legal cases with specified evidence and judgments.

22:13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,

22:14 And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:

22:15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:

22:16 And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;

22:17 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

22:18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;

22:19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

22:20 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:

22:21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

22:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

22:23 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;

22:24 Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

22:25 But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die:

22:26 But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:

22:27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.

22:28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;

22:29 Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

22:30 A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor discover his father’s skirt.

Deuteronomy 24:1–5 KJV · In this guide

Context: The first case regulates remarriage after intervening divorce; the following command gives a newly married man a year at home to bring joy to his wife. Jesus later discusses the divorce concession.

24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

24:2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.

24:3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;

24:4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

24:5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.

Deuteronomy 24:17–22 KJV

Context: Israel’s harvest provisions supply food for the stranger, fatherless, and widow; redemption from Egypt grounds this concern.

24:17 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge:

24:18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

24:19 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.

24:20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

24:21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

24:22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

Deuteronomy 25:5–10 KJV

Context: Levirate marriage concerns brothers dwelling together and preservation of a deceased brother’s family name in Israel. Ruth and the Gospel resurrection question draw on this setting.

25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.

25:6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

25:7 And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.

25:8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;

25:9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.

25:10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

Deuteronomy 31:9–13 KJV

Context: Men, women, children, and the resident stranger gather to hear the law, learn the fear of the Lord, and observe his words.

31:9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel.

31:10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

31:11 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

31:12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

31:13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Worship and service 13 selections
Exodus 35:20–35 KJV

Context: Men and women bring willing offerings, and skilled women spin material for the tabernacle; the account joins gifted work and worship.

35:20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

35:21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

35:22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.

35:23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.

35:24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’s offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.

35:25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

35:26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.

35:27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

35:28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

35:29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

35:30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

35:31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

35:32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

35:33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

35:34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35:35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

Nehemiah 8:1–12 KJV

Context: Men and women able to understand hear the law read and explained; the assembly responds with worship and shared rejoicing.

8:1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.

8:2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

8:3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

8:4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

8:5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:

8:6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

8:7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.

8:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

8:9 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.

8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

8:11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.

8:12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.

Joel 2:28–32 KJV

Context: The promised outpouring includes sons, daughters, servants, and handmaids, alongside the call to turn to the Lord; Peter quotes it at Pentecost.

2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Acts 1:12–14 KJV

Context: The apostles persevere together in prayer with women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

1:12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.

1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Acts 2:14–21 KJV

Context: Peter explains Pentecost by quoting Joel’s promise concerning the Spirit, sons and daughters, and salvation in the Lord.

2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

2:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

2:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 17:10–15 KJV

Context: The Bereans receive the word eagerly and examine the Scriptures daily; Luke explicitly includes believing women and men.

17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

17:12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

17:13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.

17:14 And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.

17:15 And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

1 Corinthians 11:2–16 KJV

Context: Paul addresses headship, praying and prophesying, head covering, creation, and the mutual dependence of man and woman in the Lord within gathered worship.

11:2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

11:4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

11:5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

11:6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

11:7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

11:8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

11:9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

11:10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

11:11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

11:12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

11:13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?

11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

11:15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

11:16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

1 Corinthians 14:26–40 KJV

Context: Instructions about tongues, prophecy, silence, women’s questions, and orderly worship belong to the same argument for the church’s edification.

14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

14:27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.

14:28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

14:29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

14:30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

14:31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.

14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

14:35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

14:36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

14:38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

14:39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.

14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

1 Timothy 2:1–15 KJV

Context: Prayer for all, men’s prayer, women’s godly conduct and learning, the teaching restriction, and the creation argument are read together.

2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

2:7 Where unto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

2:10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

1 Timothy 3:1–16 KJV

Context: Overseer and deacon qualifications concern recognizable character, faithful household care, and conduct in God’s household; they address particular church responsibilities.

3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

3:4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

3:5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)

3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

3:7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

3:8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

3:9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

3:10 And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.

3:11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.

3:12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

3:13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

3:14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:

3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

2 Timothy 3:1–9 KJV

Context: Paul describes corrupt teachers entering households and exploiting women; this supplies a related pastoral-letter setting for careful learning and truth.

3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

3:9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

1 Peter 4:7–11 KJV

Context: Peter calls believers to watchful prayer, fervent love, hospitality, and the use of gifts in service for God’s glory.

4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:1–11 KJV

Context: Elders are charged to shepherd willingly and by example; the wider church is addressed with humility, steadfastness, and trust in God.

5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

5:3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

5:11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Shared discipleship 37 selections
Deuteronomy 10:12–22 KJV

Context: Moses joins fear, love, and service of the Lord with the Lord’s care for the fatherless, widow, and stranger.

10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

10:13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

10:14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.

10:15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.

10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.

10:19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

10:21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.

10:22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.

Isaiah 58:1–14 KJV

Context: The prophetic summons connects worship with justice, food for the hungry, clothing, hospitality, and care for one’s own kin.

58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

58:10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Micah 6:1–8 KJV

Context: Within a covenant dispute recalling the Lord’s deliverance, justice, steadfast kindness, and humble walking with God answer the question of acceptable service.

6:1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.

6:2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.

6:3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.

6:4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

6:5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Zechariah 7:1–14 KJV

Context: The prophetic answer concerning fasting centers on true judgment, mercy, compassion, and treatment of widows, orphans, strangers, and the poor.

7:1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;

7:2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,

7:3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

7:4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

7:5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

7:6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

7:7 Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?

7:8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

7:9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

7:10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

7:11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

7:12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

7:13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:

7:14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

Matthew 5:1–16 KJV

Context: Jesus describes the character and vocation of his disciples through the Beatitudes and the images of salt and light.

5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 6:19–34 KJV

Context: Jesus calls disciples to allegiance to God and his kingdom, trusting the Father for their needs.

6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Matthew 22:34–40 KJV

Context: Jesus identifies love for God and neighbor as the two great commandments on which the law and prophets depend.

22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.

22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Mark 10:35–45 KJV

Context: Jesus answers the disciples’ request for rank by defining greatness through service and his own self-giving mission.

10:35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

10:36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

10:37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

10:38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

10:39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

10:40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

10:41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

10:42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

10:43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

10:44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Luke 14:25–35 KJV

Context: Jesus addresses crowds with the priority and cost of discipleship, naming family relationships within that demand for allegiance.

14:25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

14:34 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

14:35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Luke 18:1–8 KJV

Context: Jesus states the parable’s purpose as persistent prayer; the widow’s appeal serves that teaching rather than reporting a historical household.

18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

18:5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.

18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

John 13:1–17 KJV

Context: Jesus washes the disciples’ feet and gives them a pattern of humble service, grounded in his identity as their Lord and teacher.

13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

13:2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;

13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

13:4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

13:5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

13:6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

13:7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

13:8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

13:9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

13:10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

13:11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

13:13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

John 15:1–17 KJV

Context: The vine discourse joins abiding in Christ, fruitfulness, obedience, and love for one another.

15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Romans 1:18–32 KJV

Context: Paul’s account of humanity’s dishonoring of the Creator includes male and female sexual conduct within the larger argument that leads to universal need for the gospel.

1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Romans 12:1–21 KJV

Context: Paul connects renewed thinking with humble service, sincere love, hospitality, honor, patience, and peace.

12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

12:4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

12:8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

12:13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

1 Corinthians 5:1–13 KJV

Context: Paul addresses a particular sexual relationship and the Corinthian church’s responsibility for its own holiness.

5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.

5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:

5:10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?

5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

1 Corinthians 6:12–20 KJV

Context: Paul relates bodily conduct to union with Christ, the one-flesh quotation, the Spirit’s dwelling, and belonging to God.

6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.

6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 12:31–13:13 KJV

Context: Paul’s account of love stands between discussions of gifts and their use in the church; its character also informs love within a household.

12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1 Corinthians 16:13–24 KJV

Context: The congregation is called to watchfulness, steadfast faith, courage, strength, and love, followed by recognition of fellow workers.

16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

16:14 Let all your things be done with charity.

16:15 I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)

16:16 That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.

16:17 I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied.

16:18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.

16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

16:20 All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.

16:21 The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand.

16:22 If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.

16:23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

16:24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1 KJV

Context: Paul contrasts allegiance to God with idolatry and calls the church to holiness; marriage is an application rather than the passage’s sole stated subject.

6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Galatians 3:23–4:7 KJV

Context: Paul’s argument concerns faith, belonging to Christ, and inheritance as God’s children, explicitly including male and female.

3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Galatians 5:13–26 KJV

Context: Freedom serves through love, and the Spirit forms the character described as his fruit in the believing community.

5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 6:1–10 KJV

Context: Gentle restoration, bearing burdens, personal responsibility, and continuing in good works conclude Paul’s ethical instruction.

6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Ephesians 4:17–32 KJV · In this guide

Context: Putting on the new self takes shape in truth, work, speech that builds up, kindness, and forgiveness across the whole church.

4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

4:27 Neither give place to the devil.

4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 5:1–14 KJV

Context: The church is called to imitate God and walk in love after Christ’s self-giving, with holiness appropriate to life in the light.

5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

5:12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Ephesians 6:10–20 KJV

Context: The whole church is called to strength in the Lord, truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the word of God, and persevering prayer.

6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Philippians 2:1–18 KJV

Context: The church’s humility and attention to others are grounded in Christ’s self-giving, obedience, and exaltation.

2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

2:17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.

2:18 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

1 Thessalonians 4:1–12 KJV

Context: Holiness, bodily conduct, brotherly love, and responsible work are addressed to believers learning to please God.

4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

4:2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

4:5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

4:6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

4:8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

4:10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

4:11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

4:12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

2 Thessalonians 3:6–15 KJV

Context: Paul connects his own labor with the congregation’s responsibility for quiet work and continuing in good.

3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

3:7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;

3:8 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:

3:9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.

3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.

3:12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

3:15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

1 Timothy 6:3–21 KJV

Context: Paul contrasts greed with contentment and charges Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness; the rich are instructed to be generous.

6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, where unto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

6:13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;

6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

6:21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

2 Timothy 2:22–26 KJV

Context: Timothy is called to righteousness, faith, love, peace, patient teaching, and gentle correction.

2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

2:23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.

2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

Titus 2:1–15 KJV · In this guide

Context: Older and younger men and women receive distinct instructions, grounded in the grace that trains God’s people for godly life and good works.

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.

Titus 3:1–11 KJV

Context: Paul connects gentleness and readiness for good works with God’s kindness, salvation, and the renewal of the Holy Spirit.

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.

Hebrews 11:20–12:3 KJV

Context: The witnesses include men and women, Rahab by name, and varied experiences of faith; the exhortation culminates in endurance while looking to Jesus.

11:20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

11:21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

11:22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

11:23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:

11:33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

11:34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

James 1:19–27 KJV

Context: Receiving the word leads to doing it, disciplined speech, care of widows and orphans, and holiness.

1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

James 2:14–26 KJV

Context: James uses Abraham and Rahab to explain faith expressed in action, alongside the obligation to supply a brother’s or sister’s need.

2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

James 3:1–18 KJV · In this guide

Context: James addresses accountable teaching, the tongue, and wisdom from above, characterized by purity, peace, gentleness, mercy, and good fruit.

3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

1 John 3:11–24 KJV

Context: Christ’s self-giving supplies the pattern for practical love, sharing material goods, and loving in deed and truth.

3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Israel’s covenant history 4 selections
Ezra 9:1–10:44 KJV

Context: Ezra’s prayer and the assembly’s action address postexilic Israel’s covenant breach and intermarriage. Read the complete episode alongside the New Testament’s explicit mixed-marriage instructions.

9:1 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.

9:2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

9:3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

9:4 Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.

9:5 And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,

9:6 And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

9:7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.

9:8 And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.

9:9 For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

9:10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

9:11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.

9:12 Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.

9:13 And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;

9:14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

9:15 O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

10:1 Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore.

10:2 And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

10:3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

10:4 Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.

10:5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware.

10:6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

10:7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem;

10:8 And that whosoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.

10:9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain.

10:10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.

10:11 Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.

10:12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.

10:13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.

10:14 Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.

10:15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.

10:16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter.

10:17 And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.

10:18 And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.

10:19 And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass.

10:20 And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.

10:21 And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah.

10:22 And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah.

10:23 Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah, (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer.

10:24 Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.

10:25 Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah.

10:26 And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah.

10:27 And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza.

10:28 Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai.

10:29 And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth.

10:30 And of the sons of Pahath-moab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh.

10:31 And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon,

10:32 Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah.

10:33 Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei.

10:34 Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel,

10:35 Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh,

10:36 Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib,

10:37 Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau,

10:38 And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,

10:39 And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah,

10:40 Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai,

10:41 Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah,

10:42 Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph.

10:43 Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah.

10:44 All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Nehemiah 13:23–31 KJV

Context: Nehemiah addresses Judah’s covenant and language crisis, invoking Solomon’s history; this is a specific postexilic reform.

13:23 In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:

13:24 And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people.

13:25 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.

13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

13:27 Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?

13:28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me.

13:29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.

13:30 Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business;

13:31 And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

Jeremiah 29:1–14 KJV

Context: The exiles are told to build households, marry, raise families, and seek their city’s welfare during the specified Babylonian exile.

29:1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;

29:2 (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

29:3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

29:4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;

29:5 Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

29:6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.

29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

29:9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

29:14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Hosea 1:1–3:5 KJV

Context: Hosea’s marriage and the extended covenant imagery portray Israel’s unfaithfulness and the Lord’s promised restoration; the prophet’s commission is particular to this book.

1:1 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.

1:3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

1:4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

1:5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

1:6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.

1:7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

1:8 Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.

1:9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

2:1 Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ru-hamah.

2:2 Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

2:3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

2:4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they be the children of whoredoms.

2:5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

2:6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

2:7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.

2:8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

2:9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

2:10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

2:12 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.

2:14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.

2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

2:19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.

2:20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

2:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

2:22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.

2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

3:1 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

3:2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

3:3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:

3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

Wisdom and faithful conduct 29 selections
Psalms 1:1–6 KJV

Context: The opening psalm portrays a person shaped by delight in and meditation on the Lord’s instruction.

1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalms 15:1–5 KJV

Context: This complete poem joins integrity, truthful speech, faithful promises, and just treatment of neighbors with dwelling before the Lord.

15:1 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

15:2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

15:3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

15:5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Psalms 112:1–10 KJV

Context: The wisdom psalm celebrates fear of the Lord, generosity, justice, and steadfast trust amid difficulty.

112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

112:2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

112:3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

112:4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

112:5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

112:6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

112:8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.

112:9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

112:10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

Psalms 127:1–128:6 KJV

Context: Two complete Songs of Ascents connect household labor, children, and family blessing with dependence on and fear of the Lord.

127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

127:4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

127:5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

128:1 Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.

128:2 For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

128:3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

128:4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

128:5 The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

128:6 Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.

Proverbs 1:7–19 KJV · In this guide

Context: A son is instructed to receive his father’s instruction and his mother’s teaching, with fear of the Lord as the beginning of knowledge.

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.

Proverbs 2:1–22 KJV

Context: Seeking wisdom and fearing the Lord lead to upright paths; marital unfaithfulness is described as forsaking a companion and covenant.

2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

2:15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Proverbs 3:1–35 KJV

Context: The complete instruction joins trust in the Lord, steadfast love, wisdom, generosity, peace, and upright treatment of neighbors.

3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

3:2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

3:4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

3:8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

3:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

3:12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

3:14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

3:15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

3:16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

3:17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

3:20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

3:21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

3:22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

3:23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

3:25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

3:26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

3:28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

3:29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

3:30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

3:31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

3:32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

3:33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

3:34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

3:35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Proverbs 5:1–23 KJV

Context: The father’s whole instruction places delight in the wife of one’s youth within sexual fidelity and accountability before the Lord.

5:1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

5:2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

5:6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

5:7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

5:8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

5:9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

5:10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

5:11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

5:12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

5:13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

5:14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

5:15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.

5:16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.

5:17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.

5:18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

5:19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

5:20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

5:22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

5:23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Proverbs 6:1–19 KJV

Context: Wisdom addresses commitments, work, truthful conduct, and peace among brothers in a series of concrete instructions.

6:1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

6:2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

6:3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

6:4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

6:5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

6:7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

6:8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

6:9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

6:10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

6:11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

6:12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.

6:13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;

6:14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

6:15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Proverbs 6:20–35 KJV

Context: The paired teaching of father and mother guides the son’s conduct and marital fidelity.

6:20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

6:21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

6:22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

6:26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

6:28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

6:29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

6:30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

6:31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

6:33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

6:35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Proverbs 7:1–27 KJV

Context: A father’s instruction uses a narrated encounter to commend guarding wisdom and marital fidelity.

7:1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

7:2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

7:3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

7:4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

7:5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

7:6 For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,

7:7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

7:8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

7:9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:

7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

7:11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

7:12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

7:13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,

7:14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.

7:15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

7:16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.

7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

7:18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

7:19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

7:20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.

7:21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

7:22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;

7:23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

7:24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.

7:25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

7:26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.

7:27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 11:16–22 KJV

Context: These neighboring sayings concern honor, generosity, righteousness, and a woman’s discretion; their compact comparisons are wisdom poetry.

11:16 A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches.

11:17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.

11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.

11:19 As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.

11:20 They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.

11:21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.

11:22 As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

Proverbs 12:1–7 KJV

Context: These sayings place a virtuous wife alongside teachability, righteousness, truthful speech, and an established household.

12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

12:2 A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

12:3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

12:4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

12:5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

12:6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

12:7 The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.

Proverbs 14:1–3 KJV · In this guide

Context: The wise woman’s building of her house introduces sayings on upright conduct and wise speech; each proverb is a compact wisdom saying.

14:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

14:2 He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.

14:3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

Proverbs 15:1–4 KJV · In this guide

Context: The opening sayings contrast the effects of gentle and harsh speech and place speech within the Lord’s knowledge.

15:1 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

15:2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Proverbs 16:31–33 KJV

Context: These sayings value a righteous old age and mastery of one’s spirit, placing outcomes under the Lord.

16:31 The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

16:32 He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

Proverbs 18:22 KJV

Context: This self-contained proverb describes finding a wife as a good gift and favor from the Lord.

18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

Proverbs 19:13–14 KJV · In this guide

Context: The paired household sayings culminate in the prudent wife as a gift from the Lord.

19:13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

19:14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Proverbs 21:9–21 KJV

Context: Household sayings appear among instructions about generosity, justice, wisdom, and pursuing righteousness; their positive aim includes peace and faithful character.

21:9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

21:10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.

21:11 When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

21:12 The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.

21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

21:14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.

21:15 It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

21:16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.

21:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

21:18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.

21:19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

21:21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

Proverbs 23:19–26 KJV

Context: The son is urged toward wise discipline, attention to father and mother, truth, and wholehearted learning.

23:19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.

23:20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

23:21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

23:22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

23:24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.

23:25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

23:26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

Proverbs 25:21–28 KJV

Context: This group of sayings connects treatment of enemies, speech, household peace, and self-control.

25:21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:

25:22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.

25:23 The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.

25:24 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.

25:25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

25:26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

25:27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

Proverbs 27:15–18 KJV

Context: The sayings move from household contention to mutual sharpening and faithful attention to one’s responsibilities.

27:15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

27:16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

27:18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

Proverbs 30:18–23 KJV

Context: Agur’s numerical sayings use courtship, adultery, and household relationships as images of wonder and social disruption.

30:18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

30:19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

30:21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

30:22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

30:23 For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

Proverbs 31:1–9 KJV

Context: Lemuel’s mother instructs the king to exercise sober judgment and defend the rights of the poor and needy.

31:1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.

31:2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?

31:3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:

31:5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

31:6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.

31:7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

31:8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.

31:9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:10–31 KJV · In this guide

Context: The complete praise poem portrays a wife’s trustworthiness, labor, household care, generosity, wise speech, and fear of the Lord.

31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

31:11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

31:12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

31:13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

31:14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

31:16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

31:17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

31:18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

31:19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

31:23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

31:24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

31:25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

31:27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

31:29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Ecclesiastes 4:7–12 KJV

Context: The reflection contrasts lonely toil with the practical good of companionship; its immediate subject is broader than marriage.

4:7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

4:10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 9:1–12 KJV

Context: Reflection on mortality leads to grateful enjoyment of life, love for one’s wife, and wholehearted work within human limits.

9:1 For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.

9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.

9:8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.

9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

Ecclesiastes 12:9–14 KJV

Context: The book’s conclusion directs the reader to fear God and keep his commandments, with every deed accountable to him.

12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Song of Solomon 1:1–8:14 KJV

Context: The complete Song preserves the alternating voices, poetic images, mutual belonging, and enduring love around the shorter selections used in the teaching.

1:1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

1:3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.

1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.

1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.

1:6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?

1:8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.

1:9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.

1:10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.

1:11 We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.

1:12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.

1:13 A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.

1:14 My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of En-gedi.

1:15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.

1:16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.

1:17 The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

2:2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

2:5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

2:14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

3:1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

3:2 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

3:3 The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

3:4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

3:5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

3:7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

3:8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

3:9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.

3:10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

3:11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

4:1 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.

4:2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

4:3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

4:4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

4:5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

4:6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

4:7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

4:9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

4:10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

4:11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

4:13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

4:14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

4:15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

5:3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

5:4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

5:5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.

5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

5:7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

5:8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

5:9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

5:11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

5:12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.

5:13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

5:14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

5:15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

5:16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

6:1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.

6:4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.

6:5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.

6:6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.

6:7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.

6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.

6:9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

6:10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

6:11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.

6:12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.

6:13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

7:2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

7:3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

7:4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

7:5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

7:6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

7:7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

7:8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

7:9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

7:10 I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.

7:11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

7:12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

7:13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

8:1 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.

8:2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

8:3 His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.

8:4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

8:8 We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

8:9 If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

8:10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

8:12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

8:13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

8:14 Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Marriage and covenant 30 selections
Psalms 45:1–17 KJV

Context: The royal wedding poem addresses the king and bride; its royal and poetic setting belongs to its interpretation.

45:1 My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

45:2 Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.

45:3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.

45:4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.

45:5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.

45:6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

45:8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

45:9 Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.

45:10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house;

45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.

45:12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.

45:13 The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold.

45:14 She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.

45:15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.

45:16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.

45:17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

Song of Solomon 2:1–17 KJV · In this guide

Context: The lovers’ poetry voices mutual delight, belonging, and the timing of love through images of spring and invitation.

2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

2:2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

2:5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

2:9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

2:11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

2:13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

2:14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Song of Solomon 4:1–5:1 KJV

Context: The bridegroom’s praise and the woman’s invitation form a sustained poetic exchange about beauty, desire, and intimate union.

4:1 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.

4:2 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

4:3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

4:4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

4:5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

4:6 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.

4:7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

4:9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.

4:10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!

4:11 Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

4:13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

4:14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:

4:15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Song of Solomon 8:5–14 KJV · In this guide

Context: The closing poems celebrate love’s strength, enduring commitment, and the woman’s voice within the Song’s larger exchange.

8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

8:8 We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

8:9 If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

8:10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

8:11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

8:12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

8:13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

8:14 Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Isaiah 54:1–17 KJV

Context: The prophet addresses restored Zion through the image of a wife received by her Maker and through promises of covenant peace.

54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

54:9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.

54:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

54:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

54:14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

54:15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Isaiah 62:1–12 KJV

Context: Zion’s restoration is portrayed through naming, marriage, and the bridegroom’s joy; the subject is God’s covenant people.

62:1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

62:2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

62:3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

62:6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

62:7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

62:8 The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:

62:9 But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.

62:10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.

62:11 Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

62:12 And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

Jeremiah 3:1–25 KJV

Context: Jeremiah draws on marriage and divorce language in calling Israel and Judah to return to the Lord; prophetic analogy and covenant history guide the reading.

3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

3:2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

3:4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

3:5 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

3:7 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

3:9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

3:10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.

3:11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.

3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

3:16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

3:18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

3:19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.

3:20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

3:21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.

3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.

3:23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.

3:24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

3:25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

Jeremiah 31:27–40 KJV

Context: The promised new covenant recalls the Lord’s relation to Israel as a husband, then describes forgiveness and instruction written on the heart.

31:27 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

31:28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.

31:29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.

31:30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

31:35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

31:36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

31:37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

31:38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

31:39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.

31:40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

Ezekiel 16:1–63 KJV

Context: Jerusalem is portrayed through an extended marriage metaphor of covenant, unfaithfulness, judgment, and remembrance; the imagery addresses the city and its relation to God.

16:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

16:2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

16:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

16:4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

16:5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

16:6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

16:7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

16:9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.

16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.

16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

16:18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.

16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.

16:20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,

16:21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?

16:22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.

16:23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;)

16:24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

16:25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

16:26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.

16:27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.

16:28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.

16:29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.

16:30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;

16:31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;

16:32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!

16:33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.

16:34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.

16:35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD:

16:36 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;

16:37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

16:38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

16:39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.

16:40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

16:41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.

16:42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

16:43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.

16:44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

16:45 Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

16:46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

16:47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

16:48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

16:50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

16:51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.

16:52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

16:53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:

16:54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.

16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

16:56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,

16:57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.

16:58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD.

16:59 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

16:60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

16:61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

16:62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:

16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.

Malachi 2:10–16 KJV · In this guide

Context: The prophet addresses covenant treachery and identifies the wife as companion and wife by covenant. Verse 16 has a material translation question; the larger appeal to marital faithfulness is clear.

2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

2:11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

2:12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.

2:13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.

2:14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

Malachi 3:1–6 KJV

Context: The promised coming and purification are followed by the Lord’s witness concerning adultery, false oaths, laborers, widows, orphans, and strangers.

3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Matthew 5:27–32 KJV · In this guide

Context: Jesus addresses adultery, the heart, and divorce within the Sermon on the Mount. Read his stated exception and the serious figurative commands in that discourse.

5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Matthew 19:3–12 KJV · In this guide

Context: Jesus answers a divorce test by returning to male and female, one flesh, and God’s joining; he then addresses the disciples’ response and celibacy.

19:3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

19:7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

19:8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

19:10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

19:11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

19:12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Matthew 22:23–33 KJV

Context: Jesus answers the Sadducees’ levirate-marriage question and distinguishes resurrection life from marriage in the present age.

22:23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

22:24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

22:25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:

22:26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.

22:27 And last of all the woman died also.

22:28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

22:31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,

22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

22:33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

Mark 10:1–16 KJV · In this guide

Context: Mark records Jesus’ creation-based teaching on marriage, its application to husband and wife, and his reception of children.

10:1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judæa by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.

10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

10:10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.

10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

10:13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

10:16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

Mark 12:18–27 KJV

Context: Jesus answers the Sadducees’ levirate-marriage question by teaching about resurrection life and the power of God.

12:18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

12:19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

12:20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed.

12:21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.

12:22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.

12:23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.

12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

Luke 16:14–18 KJV · In this guide

Context: Jesus’ statement concerning divorce and remarriage follows his teaching on the law, the kingdom, and God’s knowledge of the heart.

16:14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

16:18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

Luke 20:27–40 KJV

Context: Luke records Jesus’ answer concerning marriage and resurrection, with its contrast between the present age and resurrection life.

20:27 Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

20:28 Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

20:29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.

20:30 And the second took her to wife, and he died childless.

20:31 And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.

20:32 Last of all the woman died also.

20:33 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.

20:34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

20:35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:

20:36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

20:37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

20:38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

20:39 Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said.

20:40 And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.

Romans 7:1–6 KJV · In this guide

Context: Paul uses the binding force of marriage and a spouse’s death as an analogy for believers’ relation to the law and the risen Christ.

7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

7:2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.

7:3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

1 Corinthians 7:1–16 KJV · In this guide

Context: Paul answers questions about marriage with reciprocal marital obligations, agreed abstinence, fidelity, and instruction concerning mixed-belief marriages.

7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.

7:4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.

7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

7:6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.

7:7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

7:9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

7:11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

7:12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

7:13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

7:15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

7:16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

1 Corinthians 7:17–40 KJV · In this guide

Context: Calling, present distress, married responsibilities, widowhood, and undivided devotion frame the rest of Paul’s counsel.

7:17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

7:18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.

7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

7:20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.

7:21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.

7:22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.

7:23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

7:24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

7:25 Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.

7:26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

7:27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

7:28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

7:29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;

7:30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;

7:31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

7:32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:

7:33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

7:34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.

7:35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.

7:36 But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.

7:37 Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.

7:38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.

7:39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

7:40 But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 9:1–14 KJV

Context: Paul names the right to travel with a believing wife while explaining apostolic rights and material support.

9:1 Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?

9:2 If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.

9:3 Mine answer to them that do examine me is this,

9:4 Have we not power to eat and to drink?

9:5 Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?

9:6 Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?

9:7 Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?

9:8 Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?

9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?

9:10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

9:11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?

9:12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.

9:13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?

9:14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

2 Corinthians 11:1–4 KJV

Context: Paul pictures the congregation as betrothed to Christ in his appeal for faithful devotion to the gospel.

11:1 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.

11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Ephesians 5:15–33 KJV · In this guide

Context: Spirit-filled life and submission precede the differentiated marriage instructions; Christ and the church, body care, and Genesis 2:24 shape their meaning.

5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Colossians 3:1–4:1 KJV · In this guide

Context: The household commands follow the new life of compassion, humility, patience, forgiveness, love, and gratitude, with every person accountable to the Lord.

3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

3:6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

3:7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

3:17 And what soever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

3:21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

3:23 And what soever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

4:1 Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

1 Timothy 4:1–5 KJV

Context: Paul’s response to teaching that forbids marriage grounds the thankful reception of God’s gifts in their Creator.

4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Hebrews 13:1–8 KJV · In this guide

Context: Brotherly love, hospitality, care for sufferers, honor for marriage, contentment, and remembrance of faithful leaders belong to the closing exhortation.

13:1 Let brotherly love continue.

13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

1 Peter 2:11–3:12 KJV · In this guide

Context: Honorable conduct amid opposition frames wives’ submission and witness, husbands’ knowledge and honor, and the community’s compassion and blessing.

2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

2:14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

2:16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

2:17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.

2:19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

2:23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

3:2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

3:3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

3:5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

3:6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

3:11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Revelation 19:1–10 KJV

Context: The marriage supper of the Lamb and the bride’s readiness form corporate imagery of Christ and his people within heavenly worship.

19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

19:2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

19:3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Revelation 21:1–14 KJV

Context: The new Jerusalem is pictured as the bride, the Lamb’s wife; this is corporate covenant imagery in the vision of God dwelling with his people.

21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

21:13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Parenthood and household care 7 selections
Malachi 4:4–6 KJV

Context: The book closes with remembrance of Moses’ law and the promised turning of fathers’ and children’s hearts before the day of the Lord.

4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

John 19:25–30 KJV

Context: At the cross Jesus entrusts his mother to the beloved disciple, who receives her into his household.

19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

19:27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

19:29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.

19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Acts 6:1–7 KJV

Context: The church responds to the neglect of widows through appointed service while maintaining prayer and the ministry of the word.

6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

6:4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

6:5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

6:6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Ephesians 6:1–4 KJV · In this guide

Context: Children honor and obey their parents, and fathers are charged to bring them up in the Lord’s nurture and instruction.

6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 2:1–12 KJV

Context: Paul describes his ministry through maternal tenderness and fatherly encouragement, calling the church to walk worthily of God.

2:1 For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:

2:2 But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

2:3 For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

2:5 For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:

2:6 Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

2:7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:

2:8 So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us.

2:9 For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God.

2:10 Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe:

2:11 As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

2:12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

1 Timothy 5:1–16 KJV · In this guide

Context: Respect across ages and the care of widows explain household provision, good works, and Paul’s counsel to younger widows.

5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

5:3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.

5:4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

5:5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

5:7 And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

5:9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,

5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

5:11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;

5:12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.

5:13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

5:15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.

5:16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.

2 Timothy 3:10–17 KJV · In this guide

Context: Paul recalls Timothy’s childhood knowledge of Scripture and its role in teaching, correction, and preparation for every good work.

3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

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Sources & interpretation

The teaching starts with the cited Scripture. These consulted works inform wording, context, and interpretive questions. No qualified human review has been recorded for this guide.

How does 1 Timothy 2:15 complete the argument?

The closing sentence speaks of salvation through childbearing and continuing in faith, love, holiness, and self-control. Its wording shifts from a singular subject to a plural condition.

  • One reading relates salvation and persevering faith to the maternal calling within ordinary life.
  • Another connects the childbirth language to the birth of the Messiah following the reference to Eve. The NET notes discuss the grammatical and contextual difficulties of these readings.

The named qualities of continuing faith, love, holiness, and self-control are explicit. Read the sentence alongside Paul’s account of God’s saving mercy in Titus 3 and faithful unmarried devotion in 1 Corinthians 7. The precise force of “through childbearing” remains qualified.

Further study: Michael W. Holmes, editor · Biblical Studies Press

Further examination: Explain the sentence’s connection to Adam and Eve, the childbirth expression, and the singular/plural shift while accounting for the surrounding teaching on salvation and different callings.

What does headship establish beyond the stated commands?

Ephesians addresses wives with submission and respect, and husbands with self-giving love, nourishment, and care. Verse 21 belongs to the surrounding argument.

  • Burk and Gurry argue that the asymmetry of the commands and the Christ/church comparison establish differentiated marital authority.
  • Hemphill argues that the complete head/body metaphor conveys unified interdependence; egalitarian readings understand 5:21 to shape reciprocal submission.

Teach submission, respect, self-giving love, nourishment, and care directly. A leadership reading has substantial support in the differentiated commands and Christ/church comparison; unity and interdependence are also explicit. Further claims about decision-making require their own textual argument.

Further study: Michael W. Holmes, editor · Biblical Studies Press · Denny Burk · Peter Gurry · Christy Hemphill

Further examination: Which account of the metaphor and the household argument best fits the complete passage, and what decisions follow from it? Check consistency with the existing Ephesians teaching without treating it as independent scholarly evidence.

How do the marriage, separation, and remarriage passages relate?

Jesus grounds marriage in creation. Matthew records a qualification concerning sexual immorality; Paul addresses separation, a departing unbelieving spouse, and freedom after a spouse’s death.

  • Interpretations differ over the reach of Matthew’s exception and whether Paul’s “not under bondage” includes permission to remarry.
  • Instone-Brewer uses documentary evidence to clarify how separation and marriage obligations functioned in Paul’s setting. That historical comparison supports contextual reading while leaving individual exegetical conclusions to be argued.

Read the parallel teachings together and retain every stated qualification. The positive instruction centers on covenant fidelity, reconciliation where Paul prescribes it, peace, and marriage in the Lord. The source note records the remaining exegetical differences without replacing the biblical language.

Further study: David Instone-Brewer · Biblical Studies Press

Further examination: Account for Matthew 5:32 and 19:9, Mark 10:11–12, Luke 16:18, Romans 7:1–6, and the complete argument of 1 Corinthians 7; distinguish express permission from inference.

  1. NET Bible: Genesis 2, translator notes

    Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible

    The notes describe the companion as suitable to the man and explain why “helper” does not itself establish lower worth.

    What was reviewed

    Notes 47–57 and 61–68, particularly notes 56–57 on Genesis 2:18. Accessed 2026-09-21.

    Online translator notes, not an independently inspected Hebrew lexicon. These observations alone cannot decide a complete doctrine of authority.

  2. NET Bible: Malachi 2, translator notes

    Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible

    Separates the clear description of a covenant wife from difficult Hebrew wording concerning hatred and divorce.

    What was reviewed

    Verses 10–16 and notes 19–25, especially covenant in verse 14 and the competing reconstructions of verse 16. Accessed 2026-09-21 · Read in part.

    The notes’ reconstruction and interpretation of Abraham are proposals. The guide rests its covenant claim on verse 14; displayed KJV wording remains unchanged.

  3. NET Bible: Titus 2, translator notes

    Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible

    Checks the sense of self-control and household instruction within the chapter’s grace-and-good-works argument.

    What was reviewed

    Chapter and notes 1–26. Accessed 2026-09-21.

    Translator notes are secondary; modern domestic arrangements are not prescribed by a gloss.

  4. NET Bible: Ephesians 5, translator notes

    Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible

    Explains the grammatical connection to Spirit-filled life and the variant presence of an explicit verb in 5:22.

    What was reviewed

    Notes 26 and 30–32, 39–46; connection of verses 21–22 and textual variants. Accessed 2026-09-21.

    Its textual preference is disputed by Gurry. The guide does not claim every Greek manuscript lacks the verb or make that variant settle marital authority.

  5. A Textual, Lexical, and Ethical Challenge to the “Principle of Reciprocity”

    Peter Gurry · Eikon / Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood · 2023-06-22

    Argues that the grounding of submission in headship supports differentiated authority; also prefers an explicit imperative in 5:22.

    What was reviewed

    Main article: summary, agreement, and textual, lexical, and ethical disagreement; notes 1–5. Accessed 2026-09-21.

    Complementarian response to another author. Cohick’s book and Gurry’s cited New Testament Studies article were not directly read, so neither is credited as an inspected source.

  6. Does Ephesians 5 teach mutual submission?

    Denny Burk · Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood · 2019-08-21

    Represents a complementarian argument: differentiated commands and the Christ/church analogy support ordered, nonreciprocal submission.

    What was reviewed

    Complete article body. Accessed 2026-09-19.

    An advocacy article with an explicit doctrinal position. Its broad lexical assertions were not independently verified.

  7. Kephale Is a Body Part: Unified Interdependence in Relationship in Ephesians 5

    Christy Hemphill · Priscilla Papers 35/2, pp. 3–9 / CBE International · 2021-05-05

    Presents an egalitarian account of the whole metaphor centered on unity and interdependence rather than an isolated dictionary definition of head.

    What was reviewed

    Main argument on interpreting the head/body metaphor, relational interdependence, and conclusion; selected notes. Accessed 2026-09-21 · Read in part.

    Read in part. Its cited linguistic works were not directly inspected. This is a substantive alternative argument, not a neutral consensus statement.

  8. NET Bible: 1 Peter 3, translator notes

    Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible

    Clarifies conduct, the inner person, intimidation, and husbands’ obligation to honor.

    What was reviewed

    Chapter and notes 1–12. Accessed 2026-09-19.

    The precise sense of weaker vessel remains interpretively limited; the explicit duty to honor is clearer than any proposed explanation of weakness.

  9. Commentary on Proverbs 31:10–31

    Elaine T. James · Working Preacher / Luther Seminary · 2021-09-19

    Highlights the poem’s praise of skilled, economic, and generous activity and the household resources assumed by its portrait.

    What was reviewed

    Complete commentary body and notes. Accessed 2026-09-21.

    A scholarly preaching commentary. Cited research by other authors was not directly read; the guide’s main claims are checked against the poem.

  10. Should Women “Work at Home”? How to Understand and Apply Titus 2:5

    William D. Mounce · Desiring God · 2023-10-19

    Explains the rare household-work vocabulary and relates it to Paul’s counsel for younger widows in 1 Timothy 5.

    What was reviewed

    Article body, particularly “Working at Home” and “Titus 2:5 in Biblical Context”. Accessed 2026-09-21.

    A Greek scholar’s pastoral exposition. Its modern family illustrations and conjectures about identical opponents in separate letters are not adopted.

  11. 1 Corinthians 7 in the Light of the Graeco-Roman Marriage and Divorce Papyri

    David Instone-Brewer · Tyndale Bulletin 52/1, pp. 101–116 · 2001

    Uses documentary evidence to explain separation and reciprocal marital obligations in Paul’s setting.

    What was reviewed

    Article abstract and PDF pp. 107–110: separation terminology, marriage-contract obligations, and comparison with 1 Corinthians 7. DOI: 10.53751/001c.30262. Accessed 2026-09-21 · Read in part.

    Read in part. Ancient documents are accessed through the author’s transcription and translation; his broader divorce and remarriage theology is not established by this excerpt.

  12. The Wisdom of the Song of Songs: A Pastoral Guide for Preaching and Teaching

    Eric Ortlund · Themelios 45/3, pp. 494–514 · 2020

    Reads the Song as human love poetry with theological significance, emphasizing the participation of both lovers.

    What was reviewed

    Article opening on p. 494, marriage discussion on pp. 500–501, and pp. 505–506 on desire and the woman’s voice. Accessed 2026-09-21 · Read in part.

    Read in part. His proposed narrative sequence is disputed and is not made a premise of this guide; books cited in the article were not thereby read.

  13. The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition, electronic v1.2

    Michael W. Holmes, editor · Society of Biblical Literature / Logos Bible Software · 2010; electronic v1.2 2023

    Directly checks the printed Greek wording: this edition omits an explicit verb in Ephesians 5:22 and retains both the women’s prayer/prophecy text and 1 Corinthians 14:34–35.

    What was reviewed

    Official text files: Eph 5:21–25, 28, 33; 1Tim 2:11–15; 1Cor 11:3, 5, 10–12 and 14:34–35. File hashes and direct URLs are in the reading receipt. CC BY 4.0. Accessed 2026-09-21 · Read in part.

    A critical edition is inspected, not its underlying manuscripts. Printed wording alone does not resolve every lexical sense or the historical scope of an instruction.

  14. NET Bible: 1 Timothy 2, translator notes

    Biblical Studies Press · NET Bible

    Records disputed senses and scope in the learning/teaching restriction and the difficult childbearing statement.

    What was reviewed

    Notes 11–25 on 2:8–15. Accessed 2026-09-21.

    The generalization about Jewish women’s learning in note 19 needs period-specific evidence; Deuteronomy 31:12 explicitly includes women in hearing the law. Cited lexicons were not directly read; the childbearing phrase remains qualified.