Reflective Bible Study

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Read Matthew 7:13-14 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

¹ “You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.

² “You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. ³ And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.

⁴ “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. ⁵ If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.

⁶ “In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.

⁷ “Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.

⁸ “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.

⁹ “You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ “Plant and harvest your crops for six years, ¹¹ but let the land be renewed and lie uncultivated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.

¹² “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed.

¹³ “Pay close attention to all my instructions. You must not call on the name of any other gods. Do not even speak their names.

Read Exodus 23:1-13 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

^1-6 At the end of twenty years, Solomon had quite a list of accomplishments. He had:

• built The Temple of God and his own palace;
• rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given him and colonized them with Israelites;
• marched on Hamath Zobah and took it;
• fortified Tadmor in the desert and all the store-cities he had founded in Hamath;
• built the fortress cities Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, complete with walls, gates, and bars;
• built Baalath and store-cities;
• built chariot-cities for his horses.

Solomon built impulsively and extravagantly—whenever a whim took him. And in Jerusalem, in Lebanon—wherever he fancied.

Read Jeremiah 9:23-26 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

²³ This is what the Lord says:
“The wise must not brag about their wisdom.
    The strong must not brag about their strength.
    The rich must not brag about their money.
²⁴ But if people want to brag, let them brag
    that they understand and know me.
Let them brag that I am the Lord,
    and that I am kind and fair,
    and that I do things that are right on earth.
This kind of bragging pleases me,” says the Lord.

²⁵ The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh: ²⁶ the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and the desert people who cut their hair short. The men in all those countries are not circumcised. And the whole family of Israel does not give itself to serving me.”

Read Jeremiah 9:23-26 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!