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21  When my heart became embittered ♦︎
   and I was pierced to the quick,
22  I was but foolish and ignorant; ♦︎
   I was like a brute beast in your presence.
23  Yet I am always with you; ♦︎
   you hold me by my right hand.
24  You will guide me with your counsel ♦︎
   and afterwards receive me with glory.
25  Whom have I in heaven but you? ♦︎
   And there is nothing upon earth that I desire
      in comparison with you.
26  Though my flesh and my heart fail me, ♦︎
   God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27  Truly, those who forsake you will perish; ♦︎
   you will put to silence the faithless who betray you.
28  But it is good for me to draw near to God; ♦︎
   in the Lord God have I made my refuge,
      that I may tell of all your works.

29One who is often reproved, yet remains stubborn,
   will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
² When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
   but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
³ A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad,
   but to keep company with prostitutes is to squander one’s substance.
⁴ By justice a king gives stability to the land,
   but one who makes heavy exactions ruins it.
⁵ Whoever flatters a neighbour
   is spreading a net for the neighbour’s feet.
⁶ In the transgression of the evil there is a snare,
   but the righteous sing and rejoice.
⁷ The righteous know the rights of the poor;
   the wicked have no such understanding.
⁸ Scoffers set a city aflame,
   but the wise turn away wrath.
⁹ If the wise go to law with fools,
   there is ranting and ridicule without relief.
¹⁰ The bloodthirsty hate the blameless,
   and they seek the life of the upright.
¹¹ A fool gives full vent to anger,
   but the wise quietly holds it back.
¹² If a ruler listens to falsehood,
   all his officials will be wicked.
¹³ The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
   the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.
¹⁴ If a king judges the poor with equity,
   his throne will be established for ever.
¹⁵ The rod and reproof give wisdom,
   but a mother is disgraced by a neglected child.
¹⁶ When the wicked are in authority, transgression increases,
   but the righteous will look upon their downfall.
¹⁷ Discipline your children, and they will give you rest;
   they will give delight to your heart.
¹⁸ Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint,
   but happy are those who keep the law.
¹⁹ By mere words servants are not disciplined,
   for though they understand, they will not give heed.
²⁰ Do you see someone who is hasty in speech?
   There is more hope for a fool than for anyone like that.
²¹ A slave pampered from childhood
   will come to a bad end.^*
22 One given to anger stirs up strife,
   and the hothead causes much transgression.
²³ A person’s pride will bring humiliation,
   but one who is lowly in spirit will obtain honour.
²⁴ To be a partner of a thief is to hate one’s own life;
   one hears the victim’s curse, but discloses nothing.^*
25 The fear of others^* lays a snare,
   but one who trusts in the Lord is secure.
²⁶ Many seek the favour of a ruler,
   but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.
²⁷ The unjust are an abomination to the righteous,
   but the upright are an abomination to the wicked.

Is This the Christ?

25 Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? ²⁶And here he is, speaking openly, but they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Messiah?^{* 27}Yet we know where this man is from; but when the Messiah^* comes, no one will know where he is from.’ ²⁸Then Jesus cried out as he was teaching in the temple, ‘You know me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true, and you do not know him. ²⁹I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.’ ³⁰Then they tried to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet come. ³¹Yet many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, ‘When the Messiah^* comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?’^*

Officers Are Sent to Arrest Jesus

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. ³³Jesus then said, ‘I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. ³⁴You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’ ³⁵The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? ³⁶What does he mean by saying, “You will search for me and you will not find me” and, “Where I am, you cannot come”?’