Preach the message, ¹  be ready ²  whether it is convenient or not, ³  reprove, rebuke, exhort ⁴  with complete patience and instruction.

But Christ ¹  is faithful as a son over God’s ²  house. We are of his house, ³  if in fact we hold firmly ⁴  to our confidence and the hope we take pride in. ⁵ 

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves rightly in every respect.

By his sovereign plan he gave us birth ¹  through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. ¹ 

Their ¹  corpses will lie in the street ²  of the great city that is symbolically ³  called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified.

Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; ¹  his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, ²  if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!

Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream ¹  the same night. ²  Each man’s dream had its own meaning. ³ 

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, ¹  he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread ²  on my head.

In the morning he ¹  was troubled, so he called for ²  all the diviner-priests ³  of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, ⁴  but no one could interpret ⁵  them for him. ⁶ 

Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant ¹  of the captain of the guards, ²  was with us there. We told him our dreams, ³  and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. ⁴ 

So be sure to do them, because this will testify of your wise understanding ¹  to the people who will learn of all these statutes and say, “Indeed, this great nation is a very wise ²  people.”

Is this how you repay ¹  the Lord, you foolish, unwise people? Is he not your father, your creator? He has made you and established you.

When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. ¹  Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!”

The man’s name was Nabal, ¹  and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise ²  and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

Huram also said, “Worthy of praise is the Lord God of Israel, who made the sky and the earth! He has given David a wise son who has discernment and insight and will build a temple for the Lord, as well as a royal palace for himself. ¹ 

When its branches get brittle, ¹  they break; women come and use them for kindling. ²  For these people lack understanding, ³  therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them; the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Even these men ¹  stagger because of wine, they stumble around because of beer – priests and prophets stagger because of beer, they are confused ²  because of wine, they stumble around because of beer; they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, ³  they totter while making legal decisions. ⁴ 

The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ¹  so that I know how to help the weary. ²  He wakes me up every morning; he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ³ 

In every matter of wisdom and ¹  insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times ²  better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.