16 Why does a fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?
17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.
18 One without sense enters an agreement and puts up security for his friend.
Proverbs 17:16-18
1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle. The man’s oration to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
2 I am more stupid than any other man, and I lack man’s ability to understand.
3 I have not gained wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son — if you know?
5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
6 Don’t add to His words, or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.
7 Two things I ask of You; don’t deny them to me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.
9 Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?” or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.
10 Don’t slander a servant to his master or he will curse you, and you will become guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filth.
13 There is a generation — how haughty its eyes and pretentious its looks.
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, devouring the oppressed from the land and the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters: “Give, Give!” Three things are never satisfied; four never say, “Enough!”:
16 Sheol; a childless womb; earth, which is never satisfied with water; and fire, which never says, “Enough!”
17 As for the eye that ridicules a father and despises obedience to a mother, may ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures eat it.
18 Three things are beyond me; four I can’t understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship at sea, and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
21 The earth trembles under three things; it cannot bear up under four:
22 a servant when he becomes king, a fool when he is stuffed with food,
23 an unloved woman when she marries, and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.
24 Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:
25 the ants are not a strong people, yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 hyraxes are not a mighty people, yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 locusts have no king, yet all of them march in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught in your hands, yet it lives in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their stride, even four are stately in their walk:
30 a lion, which is mightiest among beasts and doesn’t retreat before anything,
31 a strutting rooster, a goat, and a king at the head of his army.
32 If you have been foolish by exalting yourself or if you’ve been scheming, put your hand over your mouth.
33 For the churning of milk produces butter, and twisting a nose draws blood, and stirring up anger produces strife.
Proverbs 30:1-33
17 Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
18 I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.
19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.
20 So I began to give myself over to despair concerning all my work that I had labored at under the sun.
21 When there is a man whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.
22 For what does a man get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?
23 For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.
24 There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,
25 because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from Him?
26 For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Ecclesiastes 2:17-26
8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.
Matthew 3:8
1 Now brothers, I want to clarify for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your stand on it.
2 You are also saved by it, if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you — unless you believed for no purpose.
3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
10 Especially those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold, arrogant people! They do not tremble when they blaspheme the glorious ones;
11 however, angels, who are greater in might and power, do not bring a slanderous charge against them before the Lord.
2 Peter 2:10-11