Contentment

⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.

⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

⁵ The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,

⁶ even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?

⁷ All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.

⁸ What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others?

⁹ Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”

²² Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best.

²³ Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.

²⁴ The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

²⁵ I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts— the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust — My great army that I sent against you.

²⁶ You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to shame.

¹¹ I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.

¹² I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need.

⁵ The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.

⁶ The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.

For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

When they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat.

⁸ Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

¹² And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call the Shunammite woman.” And when he had called her, she stood before him,

¹³ and Elisha said to Gehazi, “Now tell her, ‘Look, you have gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’” “I have a home among my own people,” she replied.

And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has safely come to his own house, let Ziba take it all!”

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.

¹⁰ He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.

¹¹ When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?

¹² The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.

¹⁸ Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.

¹⁹ Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

²⁰ For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into a bag pierced through.”

He died at a ripe old age, full of years, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon reigned in his place.

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.

⁹ “I already have plenty, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what belongs to you.”

¹⁰ But Jacob insisted, “No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me favorably.

¹¹ Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” So Jacob pressed him until he accepted.

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

⁴² They all ate and were satisfied,

⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.

I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the waters.

⁶ After Moses had given an order, they sent a proclamation throughout the camp: “No man or woman should make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing more,

⁷ since what they already had was more than enough to perform all the work.

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

The people ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

And the king of Babylon provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life, until the day of his death.

And when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”

So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?