Pure and undefiled religion before ¹  God the Father ²  is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

For the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself. ¹ 

The one who acquires wisdom ¹  loves himself; ²  the one who preserves understanding will prosper. ³ 

And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength ¹  and to love your neighbor as yourself ²  is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

There is gold, and an abundance of rubies, but ¹  words of knowledge ²  are like ³  a precious jewel.

The fear of the Lord is to hate ¹  evil; I hate arrogant pride ²  and the evil way and perverse utterances. ³ 

The fear of the Lord provides wise instruction, ¹  and before honor comes humility. ² 

The one who trusts in his own heart ¹  is a fool, but the one who walks in wisdom ²  will escape. ³ 

¹ who though he existed in the form of God ²  did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,

Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat ¹  of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy. ² 

The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain and the one who gives to the rich ¹  – both end up only in poverty.

Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ¹  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ²  achieved by an ³  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ⁴ 

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: ¹  to eat and drink, ²  and find enjoyment in all their ³  hard work ⁴  on earth ⁵  during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward. ⁶ 

Is this really the kind of fasting I want? ¹  Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, ²  bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out ³  on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the Lord?