The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.

Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?

A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise. Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”

Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.

But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.

For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man consumes them.

May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner.

Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it? Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man could not finish what he started to build.’

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

“Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed. . . .

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.

The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.

So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom.

“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays his folly.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:

Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.

Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;

Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways; for the LORD detests the perverse, but He is a friend to the upright.

A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

The prudent see danger and take cover; but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities. This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine.”

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

This also comes from the LORD of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.

Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ . . .

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. . . .

But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,

In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.

What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness.

Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men,

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

It is the same with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, strive to excel in gifts that build up the church.

Do everything in love.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints— the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel . . .

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. . . .

Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: “Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Can two walk together without agreeing where to go? Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his den if he has caught nothing? Does a bird land in a snare where no bait has been set? Does a trap spring from the ground when it has nothing to catch? . . .

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her

Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower of his glorious splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, the pride of those overcome by wine. Behold, the Lord has one who is strong and mighty. Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest, like a driving rain or flooding downpour, he will smash that crown to the ground. The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards will be trampled underfoot. The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, set on the summit above the fertile valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest: Whoever sees it will take it in his hand and swallow it. On that day the LORD of Hosts will be a crown of glory, a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people, . . .

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why spend money on that which is not bread, and your labor on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods. Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David. Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory on you.” . . .

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. . . .

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Dishonest wealth will dwindle, but what is earned through hard work will be multiplied.

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail. The desire of a man is loving devotion; better to be poor than a liar.

Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.

and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.

These are the words of King Lemuel—the burden that his mother taught him: What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows? Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink, lest they drink and forget what is decreed, depriving all the oppressed of justice. . . .

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May He send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion. May He remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Selah May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy at your victory and raise a banner in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your petitions. . . .

Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”