PRUDENCE


Taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (C) 1978 by the New 
York Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

GEN 32:3  Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the 
land of Seir, the country of Edom.

4  He instructed them: "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 
'Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained 
there till now.

5  I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and 
maidservants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find 
favor in your eyes.'"

6  When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, "We went to your 
brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are 
with him."

7  In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him 
into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well.

8  He thought, "If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left 
may escape."

9  Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, 
O LORD, who said to me, 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I 
will make you prosper,'

10  I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your 
servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have 
become two groups.

11  Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he 
will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children.

12  But you have said, 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your 
descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.'"

13  He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a 
gift for his brother Esau:

14  two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and 
twenty rams,

15  thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and 
twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

16  He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said 
to his servants, "Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds."

17  He instructed the one in the lead: "When my brother Esau meets you and 
asks, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns all 
these animals in front of you?'

18  then you are to say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a 
gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.'"

19  He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who 
followed the herds: "You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet 
him.

20  And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.'" For he 
thought, "I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, 
when I see him, perhaps he will receive me."

21  So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night 
in the camp.

34:5  When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons 
were in the fields with his livestock; so he kept quiet about it until they 
came home.

30  Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought trouble on me by 
making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in 
this land. We are few in number, and if they join forces against me and 
attack me, I and my household will be destroyed."

41:33  "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him 
in charge of the land of Egypt.

34  Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the 
harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

35  They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming 
and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the 
cities for food.

36  This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during 
the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country 
may not be ruined by the famine."

37  The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.

38  So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom 
is the spirit of God?"

39  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, 
there is no one so discerning and wise as you.

40  You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to 
your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

41  So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole 
land of Egypt."

42  Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on 
Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain 
around his neck.

43  He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted 
before him, "Make way!" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of 
Egypt.

44  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no 
one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt."

45  Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath 
daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went 
throughout the land of Egypt.

46  Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king 
of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled 
throughout Egypt.

47  During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully.

48  Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of 
abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the 
food grown in the fields surrounding it.

49  Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it 
was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

50  Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by 
Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

51  Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has 
made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household."

52  The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made 
me fruitful in the land of my suffering."

53  The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end,

54  and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was 
famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was 
food.

55  When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh 
for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he 
tells you."

56  When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened the 
storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe 
throughout Egypt.

57  And all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because 
the famine was severe in all the world.

EXO 18:17  Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good.

18  You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The 
work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.

19  Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with 
you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their 
disputes to him.

20  Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the 
duties they are to perform.

21  But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, 
trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over 
thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

22  Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them 
bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide 
themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it 
with you.

23  If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the 
strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."

JOS 22:10  When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of 
Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an 
imposing altar there by the Jordan.

11  And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the 
border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side,

12  the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against 
them.

13  So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land 
of Gilead--to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

14  With him they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of 
Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.

15  When they went to Gilead--to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of 
Manasseh--they said to them:

16  "The whole assembly of the LORD says: 'How could you break faith with 
the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and 
build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now?

17  Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not 
cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the 
community of the LORD!

18  And are you now turning away from the LORD? "'If you rebel against the 
LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel.

19  If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the LORD'S land, where 
the LORD'S tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel 
against the LORD or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other 
than the altar of the LORD our God.

20  When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted 
things, did not wrath come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not 
the only one who died for his sin.'"

21  Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of 
the clans of Israel:

22  "The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He 
knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience 
to the LORD, do not spare us this day.

23  If we have built our own altar to turn away from the LORD and to offer 
burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings 
on it, may the LORD himself call us to account.

24  "No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to 
ours, 'What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?

25  The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you--you 
Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the LORD.' So your descendants 
might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.

26  "That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar--but not for 
burnt offerings or sacrifices.'

27  On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the 
generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary 
with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the 
future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share 
in the LORD.'

28  "And we said, 'If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we 
will answer: Look at the replica of the LORD'S altar, which our fathers 
built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us 
and you.'

29  "Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD and turn away from him 
today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and 
sacrifices, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his 
tabernacle."

30  When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community--the heads of 
the clans of the Israelites--heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to 
say, they were pleased.

31  And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and 
Manasseh, "Today we know that the LORD is with us, because you have not 
acted unfaithfully toward the LORD in this matter. Now you have rescued the 
Israelites from the LORD'S hand."

32  Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to 
Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and 
reported to the Israelites.

33  They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no 
more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the 
Reubenites and the Gadites lived.

34  And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness 
Between Us that the LORD is God.

1SA 11:13  But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day 
the LORD has rescued Israel."

18:5  Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul 
gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul's 
officers as well.

6  When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, 
the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with 
singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes.

7  As they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his 
tens of thousands."

8  Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David 
with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more 
can he get but the kingdom?"

9  And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

10  The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was 
prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually 
did. Saul had a spear in his hand

11  and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I'll pin David to the wall." But 
David eluded him twice.

12  Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left 
Saul.

13  So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand 
men, and David led the troops in their campaigns.

14  In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with 
him.

15  When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him.

16  But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their 
campaigns.

17  Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her 
to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the 
LORD." For Saul said to himself, "I will not raise a hand against him. Let 
the Philistines do that!"

18  But David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my family or my father's 
clan in Israel, that I should become the king's son-in-law?"

19  So when the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, 
she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

20  Now Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told 
Saul about it, he was pleased.

21  "I will give her to him," he thought, "so that she may be a snare to 
him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul 
said to David, "Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law."

22  Then Saul ordered his attendants: "Speak to David privately and say, 
'Look, the king is pleased with you, and his attendants all like you; now 
become his son-in-law.'"

23  They repeated these words to David. But David said, "Do you think it is 
a small matter to become the king's son-in-law? I'm only a poor man and 
little known."

24  When Saul's servants told him what David had said,

25  Saul replied, "Say to David, 'The king wants no other price for the 
bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his 
enemies.'" Saul's plan was to have David fall by the hands of the 
Philistines.

26  When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become 
the king's son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed,

27  David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He 
brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that 
he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter 
Michal in marriage.

28  When Saul realized that the LORD was with David and that his daughter 
Michal loved David,

29  Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the 
rest of his days.

30  The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often 
as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul's officers, 
and his name became well known.

25:18  Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two 
skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred 
cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on 
donkeys.

19  Then she told her servants, "Go on ahead; I'll follow you." But she did 
not tell her husband Nabal.

20  As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David 
and his men descending toward her, and she met them.

21  David had just said, "It's been useless--all my watching over this 
fellow's property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has 
paid me back evil for good.

22  May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave 
alive one male of all who belong to him!"

23  When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down 
before David with her face to the ground.

24  She fell at his feet and said: "My lord, let the blame be on me alone. 
Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say.

25  May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like 
his name--his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your 
servant, I did not see the men my master sent.

26  "Now since the LORD has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from 
avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the LORD lives and as 
you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like 
Nabal.

27  And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be 
given to the men who follow you.

28  Please forgive your servant's offense, for the LORD will certainly make 
a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD'S battles. Let 
no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live.

29  Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my 
master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your 
God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of 
a sling.

30  When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised 
concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel,

31  my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of 
needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD has 
brought my master success, remember your servant."

2SA 15:33  David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to 
me.

34  But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your 
servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past, but now I will be 
your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel's advice.

35  Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them 
anything you hear in the king's palace.

36  Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are 
there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear."

37  So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering 
the city.

1KI 12:7  They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and 
serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your 
servants."

19:3  Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in 
Judah, he left his servant there,

4  while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a 
broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had 
enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."

2KI 7:12  The king got up in the night and said to his officers, "I will 
tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so 
they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, 'They will 
surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.'"

13  One of his officers answered, "Have some men take five of the horses 
that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the 
Israelites left here--yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who 
are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened."

NEH 2:12  I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone 
what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts 
with me except the one I was riding on.

13  By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and 
the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken 
down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.

14  Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there 
was not enough room for my mount to get through;

15  so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned 
back and reentered through the Valley Gate.

16  The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, 
because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or 
officials or any others who would be doing the work.

4:13  Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of 
the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their 
swords, spears and bows.

14  After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the 
officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember 
the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons 
and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

15  When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God 
had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

16  From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half 
were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted 
themselves behind all the people of Judah

17  who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work 
with one hand and held a weapon in the other,

18  and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But 
the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

19  Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, 
"The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from 
each other along the wall.

20  Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will 
fight for us!"

21  So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the 
first light of dawn till the stars came out.

22  At that time I also said to the people, "Have every man and his helper 
stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and 
workmen by day."

23  Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off 
our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.

JOB 34:3  For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food.

4  Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what 
is good.

PSA 39:1  I said, "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will 
put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence."

112:5  Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts 
his affairs with justice.

PRO 6:1  My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have 
struck hands in pledge for another,

2  if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your 
mouth,

8:12  "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and 
discretion.

11:13  A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

15  He who puts up security for another will surely suffer, but whoever 
refuses to strike hands in pledge is safe.

29  He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the 
fool will be servant to the wise.

12:8  A man is praised according to his wisdom, but men with warped minds 
are despised.

16  A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an 
insult.

23  A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools 
blurts out folly.

13:16  Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his 
folly.

14:8  The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the 
folly of fools is deception.

15  A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his 
steps.

16  A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and 
reckless.

18  The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

15:5  A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction 
shows prudence.

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

16:20  Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who 
trusts in the LORD.

21  The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote 
instruction.

17:2  A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son, and will share the 
inheritance as one of the brothers.

18  A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security 
for his neighbor.

18:15  The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise 
seek it out.

16  A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of 
the great.

19:2  It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and 
miss the way.

20:5  The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of 
understanding draws them out.

16  Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in 
pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.

18  Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance.

21:5  The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to 
poverty.

20  In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a 
foolish man devours all he has.

23  He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

22:3  A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going 
and suffer for it.

7  The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

26  Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for 
debts;

27  if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under 
you.

23:1  When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,

2  and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

3  Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

9  Do not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words.

24:6  for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.

27  Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build 
your house.

25:8  do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if 
your neighbor puts you to shame?

9  If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another man's 
confidence,

10  or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad 
reputation.

26:4  Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him 
yourself.

5  Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own 
eyes.

27:12  The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going 
and suffer for it.

29:8  Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger.

ECC 7:16  Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise-- why destroy 
yourself?

17  Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool-- why die before your time?

8:2  Obey the king's command, I say, because you took an oath before God.

3  Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. Do not stand up for a 
bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.

10:1  As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs 
wisdom and honor.

10  If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but 
skill will bring success.

JER 26:17  Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the 
entire assembly of people,

18  "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. 
He told all the people of Judah, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: 
"'Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, 
the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.'

19  "Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? 
Did not Hezekiah fear the LORD and seek his favor? And did not the LORD 
relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? 
We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!"

20  (Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who 
prophesied in the name of the LORD; he prophesied the same things against 
this city and this land as Jeremiah did.

21  When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, 
the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear 
to Egypt.

22  King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt, along 
with some other men.

23  They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had 
him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of 
the common people.)

DAN 1:8  But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and 
wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself 
this way.

9  Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel,

10  but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has 
assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the 
other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."

11  Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed 
over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,

12  "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables 
to eat and water to drink.

13  Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the 
royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see."

14  So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

HOS 14:9  Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He 
will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in 
them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

AMO 5:13  Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the 
times are evil.

MAT 1:19  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want 
to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

5:25  "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to 
court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you 
over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you 
may be thrown into prison.

26  I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last 
penny.

7:6  "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If 
you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you 
to pieces.

9:30  and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no 
one knows about this."

12:14  But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

15  Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and 
he healed all their sick,

16  warning them not to tell who he was.

16:20  Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the 
Christ.

MAR 3:7  Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd 
from Galilee followed.

12  But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.

5:43  He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told 
them to give her something to eat.

7:36  Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the 
more they kept talking about it.

8:30  Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

9:9  As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to 
tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the 
dead.

LUK 14:28  "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first 
sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete 
it?

29  For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone 
who sees it will ridicule him,

30  saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

31  "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he 
not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to 
oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

32  If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a 
long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

JOH 7:10  However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, 
not publicly, but in secret.

11:47  Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the 
Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man 
performing many miraculous signs.

48  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then 
the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

49  Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke 
up, "You know nothing at all!

50  You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the 
people than that the whole nation perish."

51  He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he 
prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,

52  and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of 
God, to bring them together and make them one.

53  So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

54  Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead 
he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where 
he stayed with his disciples.

12:36  Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may 
become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid 
himself from them.

ACT 12:17  Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described 
how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers 
about this," he said, and then he left for another place.

14:6  But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of 
Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,

16:3  Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him 
because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his 
father was a Greek.

17:10  As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to 
Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.

11  Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, 
for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the 
Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

12  Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek 
women and many Greek men.

13  When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word 
of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring 
them up.

14  The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy 
stayed at Berea.

15  The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with 
instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

19:29  Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius 
Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one 
man into the theater.

30  Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let 
him.

31  Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a 
message begging him not to venture into the theater.

32  The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some 
another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.

33  The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted 
instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense 
before the people.

34  But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for 
about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

35  The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all 
the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of 
the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?

36  Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and 
not do anything rash.

37  You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed 
temples nor blasphemed our goddess.

38  If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against 
anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press 
charges.

39  If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled 
in a legal assembly.

40  As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of 
today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this 
commotion, since there is no reason for it."

41  After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

20:22  "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not 
knowing what will happen to me there.

23  I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and 
hardships are facing me.

24  However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish 
the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of 
testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

25  "Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the 
kingdom will ever see me again.

37  They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.

38  What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his 
face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

21:10  After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus 
came down from Judea.

11  Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet 
with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem 
will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"

12  When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go 
up to Jerusalem.

13  Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am 
ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of 
the Lord Jesus."

14  When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will 
be done."

20  When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You 
see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are 
zealous for the law.

21  They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the 
Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their 
children or live according to our customs.

22  What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come,

23  so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow.

24  Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their 
expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will 
know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself 
are living in obedience to the law.

25  As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that 
they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the 
meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

26  The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. 
Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of 
purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

23:6  Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others 
Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the 
son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection 
of the dead."

ROM 14:16  Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.

1CO 6:12  "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is 
beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered 
by anything.

8:8  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not 
eat, and no better if we do.

9  Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a 
stumbling block to the weak.

10  For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge 
eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been 
sacrificed to idols?

11  So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your 
knowledge.

12  When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak 
conscience, you sin against Christ.

13  Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will 
never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

10:25  Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of 
conscience,

26  for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."

27  If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat 
whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.

28  But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then 
do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for 
conscience' sake--

29  the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my 
freedom be judged by another's conscience?

30  If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced 
because of something I thank God for?

31  So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory 
of God.

32  Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of 
God--

33  even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my 
own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

2CO 8:20  We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this 
liberal gift.

COL 4:5  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of 
every opportunity.

JAM 1:19  My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to 
listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

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