14House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers,

But a prudent wife is from the Lord.

15Laziness casts into a deep sleep,

And an idle man will suffer hunger.

16He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul,

But he who is careless of conduct will die.

17One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord,

And He will repay him for his good deed.

18Discipline your son while there is hope,

And do not desire his death.

19A man of great anger will bear the penalty,

For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again.

20Listen to counsel and accept discipline,

That you may be wise the rest of your days.

21Many plans are in a man’s heart,

But the counsel of the Lord will stand.

22What is desirable in a man is his kindness,

And it is better to be a poor man than a liar.

23The fear of the Lord leads to life,

So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

24The sluggard buries his hand in the dish,

But will not even bring it back to his mouth.

18Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

23This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

1) How does Proverbs connect generosity and humility to life rooted in the fear of יהוה?

2) How does John describe love as the evidence of genuine faith and obedience?

3) What concrete ways can you practice truth-filled love toward others this week?

On Life and Conduct

1Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity

Than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.

2Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge,

And he who hurries his footsteps errs.

3The foolishness of man ruins his way,

And his heart rages against the Lord.

4Wealth adds many friends,

But a poor man is separated from his friend.

5A false witness will not go unpunished,

And he who tells lies will not escape.

6Many will seek the favor of a generous man,

And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.

7All the brothers of a poor man hate him;

How much more do his friends abandon him!

He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

8He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;

He who keeps understanding will find good.

9A false witness will not go unpunished,

And he who tells lies will perish.

10Luxury is not fitting for a fool;

Much less for a slave to rule over princes.

11A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger,

And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.

12The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,

But his favor is like dew on the grass.

13A foolish son is destruction to his father,

And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping.

Jesus Appears at the Sea of Galilee

1After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. 2Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3Simon Peter *said to them, “I am going fishing.” They *said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

4But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5So Jesus *said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” 6And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. 7Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved *said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea. 8But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

9So when they got out on the land, they *saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. 10Jesus *said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.” 11Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus Provides

12Jesus *said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. 13Jesus *came and *took the bread and *gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 14This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.

The Love Motivation

15So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 16He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.

Our Times Are in His Hand

18Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” 19Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”

20Peter, turning around, *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21So Peter seeing him *said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” 22Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” 23Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

24This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

25And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written.