A Little Foolishness

10 Dead flies make a ^(A)perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor. ² A wise man’s heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish ^(B)man’s heart directs him toward the left. ³ Even when the fool walks along the road, his ^[a]sense is lacking and he ^[b](C)demonstrates to everyone that he is a fool. ⁴ If the ruler’s ^[c]temper rises against you, ^(D)do not abandon your position, because ^(E)composure allays great offenses.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler— ^6 (F)folly is set in many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places. ⁷ I have seen ^(G)slaves riding ^(H)on horses and princes walking like slaves on the land.

^8 (I)He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a ^(J)serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. ⁹ He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them. ¹⁰ If the ^[d]axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must ^[e]exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success. ¹¹ If the serpent bites ^[f](K)before being charmed, there is no profit for the charmer. ^12 (L)Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a ^(M)fool consume him; ¹³ the beginning of ^[g]his talking is folly and the end of ^[h]it is wicked ^(N)madness. ¹⁴ Yet the ^(O)fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him ^(P)what will come after him? ¹⁵ The toil of ^[i]a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to a city. ¹⁶ Woe to you, O land, whose ^(Q)king is a lad and whose princes ^[j]feast in the morning. ¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength and not for ^(R)drunkenness. ¹⁸ Through ^(S)indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks. ¹⁹ Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and ^(T)wine makes life merry, and ^(U)money ^[k]is the answer to everything. ²⁰ Furthermore, ^(V)in your bedchamber do not ^(W)curse a king, and in your sleeping rooms do not curse a rich man, for a bird of the heavens will carry the sound and the winged creature will make the matter known.

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the choir director; ^[a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(A)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^(B)to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had ^(C)fasted forty days and forty nights, He ^[a]then became hungry. ³ And ^(D)the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the ^(E)Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘^(F)Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil *took Him into ^(G)the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

and

⁷ Jesus said to him, “^[b]On the other hand, it is written, ‘^(I)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

^8 (J)Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹ and he said to Him, “^(K)All these things I will give You, if You fall down and ^[c]worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘^(L)You shall worship the Lord your God, and ^[d]serve Him only.’” ¹¹ Then the devil *left Him; and behold, ^(M)angels came and began to minister to Him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹² Now when Jesus heard that ^(N)John had been taken into custody, ^(O)He withdrew into Galilee; ¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and ^(P)settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

^17 (S)From that time Jesus began to ^[g]preach and say, “^(T)Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The First Disciples

^18 (U)Now as Jesus was walking by ^(V)the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, ^(W)Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He *said to them, “^[h]Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, ^[i](X)James the son of Zebedee, and ^[j]John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Ministry in Galilee

²³ Jesus was going ^(Y)throughout all Galilee, ^(Z)teaching in their synagogues and ^(AA)proclaiming the ^[k]gospel of the kingdom, and ^(AB)healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

²⁴ The news about Him spread ^(AC)throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, ^(AD)demoniacs, ^[l](AE)epileptics, ^(AF)paralytics; and He healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds ^(AG)followed Him from Galilee and ^(AH)the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from ^(AI)beyond the Jordan.