Sirach 18:15-33
Revised Standard Version
The Right Spirit in Giving Alms
15 My son, do not mix reproach with your good deeds,
nor cause grief by your words when you present a gift.
16 Does not the dew assuage the scorching heat?
So a word is better than a gift.
17 Indeed, does not a word surpass a good gift?
Both are to be found in a gracious man.
18 A fool is ungracious and abusive,
and the gift of a grudging man makes the eyes dim.
The Need of Reflection and Self-control
19 Before you speak, learn,
and before you fall ill, take care of your health.
20 Before judgment, examine yourself,
and in the hour of visitation you will find forgiveness.
21 Before falling ill, humble yourself,
and when you are on the point of sinning, turn back.
22 Let nothing hinder you from paying a vow promptly,
and do not wait until death to be released from it.
23 Before making a vow,[a] prepare yourself;
and do not be like a man who tempts the Lord.
24 Think of his wrath on the day of death,
and of the moment of vengeance when he turns away his face.
25 In the time of plenty think of the time of hunger;
in the days of wealth think of poverty and need.
26 From morning to evening conditions change,
and all things move swiftly before the Lord.
27 A wise man is cautious in everything,
and in days of sin he guards against wrongdoing.
28 Every intelligent man knows wisdom,
and he praises the one who finds her.
29 Those who understand sayings become skilled themselves,
and pour forth apt proverbs.
Self-Control
30 Do not follow your base desires,
but restrain your appetites.
31 If you allow your soul to take pleasure in base desire,
it will make you the laughingstock of your enemies.
32 Do not revel in great luxury,
lest you become impoverished by its expense.
33 Do not become a beggar by feasting with borrowed money,
when you have nothing in your purse.
Footnotes
- Sirach 18:23 Or offering a prayer
Acts 17:16-34
Revised Standard Version
Paul in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the market place every day with those who chanced to be there. 18 Some also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers met him. And some said, “What would this babbler say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took hold of him and brought him to the Are-op′agus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you present? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears; we wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
22 So Paul, standing in the middle of the Are-op′agus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, 28 for
‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your poets have said,
‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from among them. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among them Dionys′ius the Are-op′agite and a woman named Dam′aris and others with them.
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Sirach 19:13-30
Revised Standard Version
13 Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it;
but if he did anything, so that he may do it no more.
14 Question a neighbor, perhaps he did not say it;
but if he said it, so that he may not say it again.
15 Question a friend, for often it is slander;
so do not believe everything you hear.
16 A person may make a slip without intending it.
Who has never sinned with his tongue?
17 Question your neighbor before you threaten him;
and let the law of the Most High take its course.[a]
True and False Wisdom
20 All wisdom is the fear of the Lord,
and in all wisdom there is the fulfilment of the law.[b]
22 But the knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom,
nor is there prudence where sinners take counsel.
23 There is a cleverness which is abominable,
but there is a fool who merely lacks wisdom.
24 Better is the God-fearing man who lacks intelligence,
than the highly prudent man who transgresses the law.
25 There is a cleverness which is scrupulous but unjust,
and there are people who distort kindness to gain a verdict.
26 There is a rascal bowed down in mourning,[c]
but inwardly he is full of deceit.
27 He hides his face and pretends not to hear;
but where no one notices, he will forestall you.
28 And if by lack of strength he is prevented from sinning,
he will do evil when he finds an opportunity.
29 A man is known by his appearance,
and a sensible man is known by his face, when you meet him.
30 A man’s attire and open-mouthed laughter,
and a man’s manner of walking, show what he is.
Footnotes
- Sirach 19:17 Other authorities add and do not be angry. 18 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of acceptance, and wisdom obtains his love. 19 The knowledge of the Lord’s commandments is life-giving discipline; and those who do what is pleasing to him enjoy the fruit of the tree of immortality.
- Sirach 19:20 Other authorities add and the knowledge of his omnipotence. 21 When a servant says to his master, “I will not act as you wish,” even if later he does it, he angers the one who supports him.
- Sirach 19:26 Gk blackness
Acts 18:1-23
Revised Standard Version
Paul in Corinth
18 After this he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aq′uila, a native of Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them; 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked, for by trade they were tentmakers. 4 And he argued in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedo′nia, Paul was occupied with preaching, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius[a] Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Acha′ia, the Jews made a united attack upon Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading men to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, I should have reason to bear with you, O Jews; 15 but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sos′thenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to this.
Paul’s Return to Antioch
18 After this Paul stayed many days longer, and then took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aq′uila. At Cen′chre-ae he cut his hair, for he had a vow. 19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there; but he himself went into the synagogue and argued with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined; 21 but on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.
22 When he had landed at Caesare′a, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phryg′ia, strengthening all the disciples.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Acts 18:7 Other early authorities read Titus
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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