Proverbs 17-18; 2 Corinthians 2

From today's Bible reading:

Proverbs 17:

Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting with strife.

A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.

Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.

Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.

The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the LORD.

A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.

To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Proverbs 18:

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;
he breaks out against all sound judgment.

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.

The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.
A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.

Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.

If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.

(Listen!)

A man's spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

A man's gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.

The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.

(The last word in cross examination!)

The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.

(Flip a coin!)

A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.

From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.

(A verse for people who talk for a living.)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the LORD.

The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.


2 Corinthians 2:

This is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.

Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive.

Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there.

So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.

Who is sufficient for these things?

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.