1Sa 14:37, 1Ch 10:14, Pro 1, Pro 27-28, Lam 2:9, Eze 20:1-3, Joh 9:31 | ESV | STEP | And Saul inquired of God , Shall I go down after the Philistines ? Will you give them into the hand of Israel ? But he did not answer him that day .

37 And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” ^aBut he did not answer him that day.

1 Chronicles 10:14

14 He ^bdid not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and ^cturned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

Proverbs 1

The Beginning of Knowledge

1 ^dThe proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in ^erighteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to ^fthe simple,
knowledge and ^gdiscretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and ^hincrease in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
ⁱthe words of the wise and their ^jriddles.
7 ^kThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

8 ^lHear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
9 for they are ^ma graceful garland for your head
and ⁿpendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners ^oentice you,
do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, ^plet us lie in wait for blood;
^qlet us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us ^rswallow them alive,
and whole, like ^sthose who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
15 my son, ^tdo not walk in the way with them;
^uhold back your foot from their paths,
16 for ^vtheir feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
17 ^wFor in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men ^xlie in wait for their own blood;
they ^yset an ambush for their own lives.
19 ^zSuch are the ways of everyone who is ^aagreedy for unjust gain;
^abit takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

20 ^acWisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at ^adthe entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O ^aesimple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will ^afscoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools ^aghate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof, ^{▼▼Or Will you turn away at my reproof?}
behold, I will ^aipour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 ^ajBecause I have called and ^akyou refused to listen,
have ^alstretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have ^amignored all my counsel
and ^anwould have none of my reproof,
26 I also ^aowill laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when ^apterror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like ^aqa storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 ^arThen they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they ^ashated knowledge
and ^atdid not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 ^auwould have none of my counsel
and ^avdespised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat ^awthe fruit of their way,
and have ^axtheir fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by ^aytheir turning away,
and ^azthe complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but ^bawhoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be ^bbat ease, without dread of disaster.”

Proverbs 27

1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
^bcfor you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let ^bdanother praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but ^bea fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before ^bfjealousy?
5 ^bgBetter is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Faithful are ^bhthe wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7 One who is full loathes ^bihoney,
but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
8 Like ^bja bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.
9 ^bkOil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. ^{▼▼Or and so does the sweetness of a friend that comes from his earnest counsel}
10 Do not forsake your friend and ^bmyour father’s friend,
and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
^bnBetter is a neighbor who is near
than a brother who is far away.
11 ^boBe wise, ^bpmy son, and ^bqmake my heart glad,
that I may ^branswer him who reproaches me.
12 ^bsThe prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but ^btthe simple go on and suffer for it.
13 ^buTake a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress. ^{▼▼Hebrew a foreign woman; a slight emendation yields (compare Vulgate; see also 20:16) foreigners}
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
15 ^bwA continual dripping on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp ^{▼▼Hebrew to meet with} oil in one’s right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another. ^{▼▼Hebrew sharpens the face of another}
18 ^bzWhoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who ^caguards his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
20 ^cbSheol and Abaddon are ^ccnever satisfied,
and ^cdnever satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 ^ceThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
22 ^cfCrush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
23 ^cgKnow well the condition of your flocks,
and ^chgive attention to your herds,
24 for ^ciriches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 ^cjWhen the grass is gone and the new growth appears
and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26 ^ckthe lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field.
27 ^clThere will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your girls.

Proverbs 28

1 ^cmThe wicked flee when no one pursues,
but ^cnthe righteous are bold as a lion.
2 When a land transgresses, ^coit has many rulers,
but with a man of understanding and knowledge,
its stability will long continue.
3 ^cpA poor man who oppresses the poor
is a beating rain that leaves no food.
4 Those who forsake the law ^cqpraise the wicked,
but those who keep the law ^crstrive against them.
5 Evil men ^csdo not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord ^ctunderstand it completely.
6 ^cuBetter is a poor man who ^cvwalks in his integrity
than a rich man who is ^cwcrooked in his ways.
7 The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,
but ^cxa companion of gluttons shames his father.
8 Whoever multiplies his wealth ^cyby interest and profit ^{▼▼That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor}
^dagathers it for him who is ^dbgenerous to the poor.
9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
even his ^dcprayer is an abomination.
10 Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way
^ddwill fall into his own pit,
but the blameless ^dewill have a goodly inheritance.
11 A rich man is wise in his ^dfown eyes,
but a poor man who has understanding ^dgwill find him out.
12 When ^dhthe righteous triumph, there is great glory,
but when ^dithe wicked rise, people hide themselves.
13 Whoever ^djconceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who ^dkconfesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
14 Blessed is the one who ^dlfears the Lord always,
but whoever ^dmhardens his heart will fall into calamity.
15 Like ^dna roaring lion or ^doa charging bear
is ^dpa wicked ruler over a poor people.
16 A ruler who ^dqlacks understanding is a cruel oppressor,
but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
17 If one is burdened with ^drthe blood of another,
he will be a fugitive until death; ^{▼▼Hebrew until the pit}
let no one help him.
18 ^dtWhoever ^duwalks in integrity will be delivered,
but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.
19 ^dvWhoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
but whoever hastens to be rich ^dwwill not go unpunished.
21 To show ^dxpartiality is not good,
but for ^dya piece of bread a man will do wrong.
22 A ^dzstingy man ^{▼▼Hebrew A man whose eye is evil} ^ebhastens after wealth
and does not know that ^ecpoverty will come upon him.
23 Whoever ^edrebukes a man will afterward find more favor
than ^eehe who flatters with his tongue.
24 Whoever robs his father or his mother
and says, “That is no transgression,”
is ^efa companion to a man who destroys.
25 A greedy man ^egstirs up strife,
but the one who trusts in the Lord will ^ehbe enriched.
26 Whoever ^eitrusts in his own mind is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
27 Whoever ^ejgives to the poor will not want,
but he who ^ekhides his eyes will get many a curse.
28 When ^elthe wicked rise, ^empeople hide themselves,
but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Lamentations 2:9

9 Her gates have sunk into the ground;
^enhe has ruined ^eoand broken her bars;
^epher king and princes are among the nations;
the law is no more,
and ^eqher prophets find
no vision from the Lord.

Ezekiel 20:1-3

Israel’s Continuing Rebellion

1 ^erIn the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of ^esthe elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, ^etand sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 ^eu“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? ^evAs I live, declares the Lord God, ^ewI will not be inquired of by you.

John 9:31

31 We know that ^exGod does not listen to sinners, but ^eyif anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.