1The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? 3Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. 6Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 7Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 8Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. 9Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

These versus talk about drinking, its says that it is not for kings and princes to drink wine and strong drink because it will pervert their judgement and make them forget the law. Then it says to give strong drink to those that will perish. I know that in the past when I have drank alcohol it definitely perverted my judgement and I forgot the law(actually I don’t think I really knew it then). Personally I don’t think its wrong to have a small glass of wine, but if it changes your train of thought at all just stay away from it, you are better safe than sorry. In verse 9 it says to judge righteously, what do you think that means? I believe that righteous judgement can only come from scripture, and its not the judgement of whether or not someone will be in the kingdom of God. It is simply judgement of a persons actions, if someone is claiming to be a christian but is not barring good fruit, it is the responsibility of those that are to rebuke that person with scripture. Don’t use your own judgement, use Gods, He gave you all the information you need to go by in the bible. Just remember to pick the beam out of your own eye before you try to get a splinter out of someone elses.

1Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? 2And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. 4And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. 5And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. 6And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. 7And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. 8And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. 10And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. 11And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. 12And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. 13Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning. 14And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. 15Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. 16And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. 17And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. 18Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

1Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. 2And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. 3And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years. 5And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. 6Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. 7Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah. 8And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. 9The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. 10And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 11And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; 13Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. 14And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. 15And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. 16And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. 18When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. 19So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? 20And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. 21I went out full and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

16A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident. 17He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated. 18The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. 19The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. 20The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends. 21He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. 22Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good. 23In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. 24The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly. 25A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies. 26In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. 27The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. 28In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince. 29He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. 30A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. 31He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. 32The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death. 33Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known. 34Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. 35The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.

I love proverbs, every time I read it I learn something new from it. Does it work that way for you too? Many places in chapter 14 talks of foolishness and the fact that we should depart from it and grow in wisdom. The bible teaches this in many places, and as I have said before if you can find it all over the place repeatedly, then it must be very important to pay attention to. Go back through this chapter and write down all the things that are said to be foolishness, and all the things that are said to be righteous and wise, and take a close look and then apply those things to your own life. I am sure that it will have a good effect on you, I know it does on me. Gods word is so amazing, I hope and pray that the people who read His word know that, even though it was written by men, they had nothing to do with what it says. It is the perfect book, and very good instruction for life.

this is a test