Sirach 14:20-15:10
Revised Standard Version
The Happiness of Seeking Wisdom
20 Blessed is the man who meditates on[a] wisdom
and who reasons intelligently.
21 He who reflects in his mind on her ways
will also ponder her secrets.
22 Pursue wisdom[b] like a hunter,
and lie in wait on her paths.
23 He who peers through her windows
will also listen at her doors;
24 he who encamps near her house
will also fasten his tent peg to her walls;
25 he will pitch his tent near her,
and will lodge in an excellent lodging place;
26 he will place his children under her shelter,
and will camp under her boughs;
27 he will be sheltered by her from the heat,
and will dwell in the midst of her glory.
15 The man who fears the Lord will do this,
and he who holds to the law will obtain wisdom.[c]
2 She will come to meet him like a mother,
and like the wife of his youth she will welcome him.
3 She will feed him with the bread of understanding,
and give him the water of wisdom to drink.
4 He will lean on her and will not fall,
and he will rely on her and will not be put to shame.
5 She will exalt him above his neighbors,
and will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly.
6 He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing,
and will acquire an everlasting name.
7 Foolish men will not obtain her,
and sinful men will not see her.
8 She is far from men of pride,
and liars will never think of her.
9 A hymn of praise is not fitting on the lips of a sinner,
for it has not been sent from the Lord.
10 For a hymn of praise should be uttered in wisdom,
and the Lord will prosper it.
Footnotes
- Sirach 14:20 Other authorities read dies in
- Sirach 14:22 Gk her
- Sirach 15:1 Gk her
Acts 15:22-35
Revised Standard Version
The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsab′bas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, 23 with the following letter: “The brethren, both the apostles and the elders, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cili′cia, greeting. 24 Since we have heard that some persons from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled[a] and from unchastity. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, exhorted the brethren with many words and strengthened them. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brethren to those who had sent them.[b] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 15:29 Other early authorities omit and from what is strangled
- Acts 15:33 Other ancient authorities insert verse 34, But it seemed good to Silas to remain there
Sirach 16:1-14
Revised Standard Version
God’s Punishment of Sinners
16 Do not desire a multitude of useless children,
nor rejoice in ungodly sons.
2 If they multiply, do not rejoice in them,
unless the fear of the Lord is in them.
3 Do not trust in their survival,
and do not rely on their multitude;
for one is better than a thousand,[a]
and to die childless is better than to have ungodly children.
4 For through one man of understanding a city will be filled with people,
but through a tribe of lawless men it will be made desolate.
5 Many such things my eye has seen,
and my ear has heard things more striking than these.
6 In an assembly of sinners a fire will be kindled,
and in a disobedient nation wrath was kindled.
7 He was not propitiated for the ancient giants
who revolted in their might.
8 He did not spare the neighbors of Lot,
whom he loathed on account of their insolence.
9 He showed no pity for a nation devoted to destruction,
for those destroyed in their sins;
10 nor for the six hundred thousand men on foot,
who rebelliously assembled in their stubbornness.
11 Even if there is only one stiff-necked person,
it will be a wonder if he remains unpunished.
For mercy and wrath are with the Lord;[b]
he is mighty to forgive, and he pours out wrath.
12 As great as his mercy, so great is also his reproof;
he judges a man according to his deeds.
13 The sinner will not escape with his plunder,
and the patience of the godly will not be frustrated.
14 He will make room for every act of mercy;
every one will receive in accordance with his deeds.[c]
Footnotes
- Sirach 16:3 The text of this line is uncertain
- Sirach 16:11 Gk him
- Sirach 16:14 Other authorities add 15 The Lord hardened Pharaoh so that he did not know him; in order that his works might be known under heaven. 16 His mercy is manifest to the whole of creation, and he divided his light and darkness with a plumb line.
Acts 15:36-16:5
Revised Standard Version
Paul and Barnabas Separate
36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return and visit the brethren in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 And Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphyl′ia, and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cili′cia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Ico′nium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions which had been reached by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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