1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways!
2 You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house, your sons, like young olive trees around your table.
4 In this very way the man who fears the Lord will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion, so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life
6 and will see your children’s children! Peace be with Israel.
Psalm 128:1-6 (HCSB)
1 Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her female servants; she calls out from the highest points of the city:
4 “Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!” To the one who lacks sense, she says,
5 “Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave inexperience behind, and you will live; pursue the way of understanding.
7 The one who corrects a mocker will bring dishonor on himself; the one who rebukes a wicked man will get hurt.
8 Don’t rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will learn more.
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For by Wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for your own benefit; if you mock, you alone will bear the consequences.”
13 The woman Folly is rowdy; she is gullible and knows nothing.
14 She sits by the doorway of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling to those who pass by, who go straight ahead on their paths:
16 “Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!” To the one who lacks sense, she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten secretly is tasty!”
18 But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Proverbs 9:1-18 (HCSB)
2 And all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia.
Galatians 1:2 (HCSB)
1 We must, therefore, pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.
2 For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment,
3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.
4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to His will.
Hebrews 2:1-4 (HCSB)
1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,
2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,
4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 (HCSB)