Sirach 20:1-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Silence and Speech
20 There is a rebuke that is untimely,
and there is the person who is wise enough to keep silent.(A)
2 How much better it is to rebuke than to fume!(B)
3 And the one who admits his fault will be kept from ridicule.(C)
4 Like a eunuch lusting to violate a young woman
is the person who makes decisions under compulsion.(D)
5 Some people keep silent and are found[a] to be wise,
while others are detested for being talkative.(E)
6 Some people keep silent because they have nothing to say,
while others keep silent because they know when to speak.(F)
7 The wise remain silent until the right moment,
but the arrogant and the fool miss the right moment.(G)
8 Whoever talks too much is detested,
and whoever pretends to authority is hated.[b](H)
Paradoxes
9 There may be good fortune for a person in adversity,
and a windfall may result in a loss.
10 There is the gift that profits you nothing
and the gift to be paid back double.
11 There are losses for the sake of glory,
and there are some who have raised their heads from humble circumstances.(I)
12 Some buy much for little
but pay for it seven times over.
13 The wise make themselves beloved by only few words,[c]
but the courtesies of fools are wasted.(J)
14 A fool’s gift will profit you nothing,[d]
for he looks for recompense sevenfold.[e]
15 He gives little and insults much;
he opens his mouth like a town crier.
Today he lends, and tomorrow he asks it back;
such a one is hateful.[f](K)
16 The fool says, “I have no friends,
and I get no thanks for my good deeds.”
Those who eat his bread are evil-tongued.
17 How many will ridicule him, and how often![g]
Inappropriate Speech
18 A slip on the pavement is better than a slip of the tongue;
the downfall of the wicked will occur just as speedily.(L)
19 A coarse person is like an inappropriate story,
continually on the lips of the ignorant.(M)
20 A proverb from a fool’s lips will be rejected,
for he does not tell it at the proper time.(N)
Footnotes
- 20.5 Gk: Heb thought
- 20.8 Other ancient authorities add How good it is to show repentance when you are reproved, for so you will escape deliberate sin!
- 20.13 Heb: Gk by words
- 20.14 Other ancient authorities add so it is with the envious who give under compulsion
- 20.14 Syr: Gk he has many eyes instead of one
- 20.15 Other ancient authorities add to God and humans
- 20.17 Other ancient authorities add for he has not honestly received what he has, and what he does not have is unimportant to him
Acts 18:24-19:7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Ministry of Apollos
24 Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos from Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures.(A) 25 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.(B) 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. 27 And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers,(C) 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah[a] is Jesus.(D)
Paul in Ephesus
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples.(E) 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 Then he said, “Into what, then, were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.”(F) 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”(G) 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied,(H) 7 altogether there were about twelve of them.
Footnotes
- 18.28 Or the Christ
Sirach 20:21-31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
21 One may be prevented from sinning by poverty,
so when he rests he feels no remorse.(A)
22 One may lose his life through shame
or lose it because of a foolish person.[a](B)
23 One may make promises to a friend out of shame
and so make an enemy for nothing.
Lying
24 A lie is an ugly blot on a person;
it is continually on the lips of the ignorant.(C)
25 A thief is preferable to a habitual liar,
but both will inherit ruin.
26 The character of liars leads to disgrace,
and their shame is ever with them.
Proverbial Sayings[b]
27 Wise persons advance themselves by their words,
and those who are sensible please the great.(D)
28 Those who cultivate the soil heap up their harvest,
and those who please the great atone for injustice.(E)
29 Favors and gifts blind the eyes of the wise;
like a muzzle on the mouth they stop reproofs.(F)
30 Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure—
of what value is either?(G)
31 Better are those who hide their folly
than those who hide their wisdom.[c](H)
Acts 19:8-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
8 He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God.(A) 9 When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.[a](B) 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.(C)
The Sons of Sceva
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,(D) 12 so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.(E) 13 Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”(F) 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit said to them in reply, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. 17 When this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.(G) 18 Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices. 19 A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books[b] was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.(H)
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