Those forty days, then, and forty nights, I lay prostrate before the LORD, because he had threatened to destroy you. And I prayed to the Lord and said: O Lord GOD, do not destroy your people, the heritage you redeemed in your greatness and have brought out of Egypt with your strong hand. Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not look upon the stubbornness of this people nor upon their wickedness and sin, lest the land from which you have brought us say, “The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he promised them, and out of hatred for them, he brought them out to let them die in the wilderness.” They are your people and your heritage, whom you have brought out by your great power and with your outstretched arm.

Plans are made in human hearts,

but from the LORD comes the tongue’s response.

All one’s ways are pure in one’s own eyes,

but the measurer of motives is the LORD.

Entrust your works to the LORD,

and your plans will succeed.

The LORD has made everything for a purpose,

even the wicked for the evil day.

Every proud heart is an abomination to the LORD;

be assured that none will go unpunished.

By steadfast loyalty guilt is expiated,

and by the fear of the LORD evil is avoided.

When the LORD is pleased with someone’s ways,

he makes ev

Perseverance in Trial. 2^b Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,^* 3for you know that the testing^* of your faith produces perseverance. 4And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5But if any of you lacks wisdom,^* he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.^c 6But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.^d 7For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.

The Rich Official. 18ⁱ An official asked him this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”^j 19Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20You know the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.’”^k 21And he replied, “All of these I have observed from my youth.” 22^{* l} When Jesus heard this he said to him, “There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23But when he heard this he became quite sad, for he was very rich.

On Riches and Renunciation. 24Jesus looked at him [now sad] and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?” 27And he said, “What is impossible for human beings is possible for God.”^m 28Then Peter said, “We have given up our possessions and followed you.” 29ⁿ He said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30who will not receive [back] an overabundant return in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.”