Proverbs 1:20-33

Common English Bible

Listen to “Woman Wisdom”

²⁰Wisdom shouts in the street;
    in the public square she raises her voice.
²¹Above the noisy crowd, she calls out.
    At the entrances of the city gates, she has her say:
²²“How long will you clueless people love your naïveté,
    mockers hold their mocking dear,
    and fools hate knowledge?
²³You should respond when I correct you.
    Look, I’ll pour out my spirit on you.
    I’ll reveal my words to you.
²⁴I invited you, but you rejected me;
    I stretched out my hand to you,
    but you paid no attention.
²⁵You ignored all my advice,
    and you didn’t want me to correct you.
²⁶So I’ll laugh at your disaster;
    I’ll make fun of you when dread comes over you,
²⁷        when terror hits you like a hurricane,
        and your disaster comes in like a tornado,
        when distress and oppression overcome you.
²⁸Then they will call me, but I won’t answer;
    they will seek me, but won’t find me
²⁹        because they hated knowledge
        and didn’t choose the fear of the Lord.
³⁰They didn’t want my advice;
    they rejected all my corrections.
³¹They will eat from the fruit of their way,
    and they’ll be full of their own schemes.
³²The immature will die because they turn away;
    smugness will destroy fools.
³³Those who obey me will dwell securely,
    untroubled by the dread of harm.”

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Psalm 19

Common English Bible

Psalm 19

For the music leader. A psalm of David.

19 Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
    the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
²One day gushes the news to the next,
    and one night informs another what needs to be known.
³Of course, there’s no speech, no words—
        their voices can’t be heard—
⁴    but their sound^[a] extends throughout the world;
        their words reach the ends of the earth.

God has made a tent in heaven for the sun.
⁵The sun is like a groom
    coming out of his honeymoon suite;
    like a warrior, it thrills at running its course.
⁶It rises in one end of the sky;
    its circuit is complete at the other.
        Nothing escapes its heat.

⁷The Lord’s Instruction is perfect,
    reviving one’s very being.^[b]
The Lord’s laws are faithful,
    making naive people wise.
⁸The Lord’s regulations are right,
    gladdening the heart.
The Lord’s commands are pure,
    giving light to the eyes.
⁹Honoring the Lord is correct,
    lasting forever.
The Lord’s judgments are true.
    All of these are righteous!
¹⁰They are more desirable than gold—
        than tons of pure gold!
    They are sweeter than honey—
        even dripping off the honeycomb!
¹¹No doubt about it:
    your servant is enlightened by them;
    there is great reward in keeping them.
¹²But can anyone know
    what they’ve accidentally done wrong?
    Clear me of any unknown sin
¹³        and save your servant from willful sins.
        Don’t let them rule me.
Then I’ll be completely blameless;
    I’ll be innocent of great wrongdoing.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth
    and the meditations of my heart
    be pleasing to you,
    Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Footnotes

Psalm 19:4 LXX, Vulg, Sym; MT line or string
Psalm 19:7 Or soul

Isaiah 50:4-9

Common English Bible

God’s faithful servant

⁴The Lord God gave me an educated tongue
    to know how to respond to the weary
    with a word that will awaken them in the morning.^[a]
    God awakens my ear in the morning to listen,
    as educated people do.
⁵The Lord God opened my ear;
    I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn my back.
⁶Instead, I gave my body to attackers,
    and my cheeks to beard pluckers.
I didn’t hide my face
    from insults and spitting.
⁷The Lord God will help me;
    therefore, I haven’t been insulted.
Therefore, I set my face like flint,
    and knew I wouldn’t be ashamed.
⁸The one who will declare me innocent is near.
    Who will argue with me?
Let’s stand up together.
    Who will bring judgment against me?
    Let him approach me.
⁹Look! The Lord God will help me.
    Who will condemn me?
Look, they will wear out like clothing;
    the moth will eat them.

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Footnotes

Isaiah 50:4 Heb uncertain

Psalm 116:1-9

Common English Bible

Psalm 116

116 I love the Lord because he hears
    my requests for mercy.
²I’ll call out to him as long as I live,
    because he listens closely to me.
³Death’s ropes bound me;
    the distress of the grave^[a] found me—
    I came face-to-face with trouble and grief.
⁴So I called on the Lord’s name:
    “Lord, please save me!”^[b]

⁵The Lord is merciful and righteous;
    our God is compassionate.
⁶The Lord protects simple folk;
    he saves me whenever I am brought down.
⁷I tell myself, You can be at peace again,
    because the Lord has been good to you.
⁸You, God, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    and my foot from stumbling,
⁹    so I’ll walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.

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Footnotes

Psalm 116:3 Heb Sheol
Psalm 116:4 Or my soul; also in 116:7-8

James 3:1-12

Common English Bible

Taming the tongue

3 My brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers, because we know that we teachers will be judged more strictly. ²We all make mistakes often, but those who don’t make mistakes with their words have reached full maturity. Like a bridled horse, they can control themselves entirely. ³When we bridle horses and put bits in their mouths to lead them wherever we want, we can control their whole bodies.

⁴Consider ships: They are so large that strong winds are needed to drive them. But pilots direct their ships wherever they want with a little rudder. ⁵In the same way, even though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts wildly.

Think about this: A small flame can set a whole forest on fire. ⁶The tongue is a small flame of fire, a world of evil at work in us. It contaminates our entire lives. Because of it, the circle of life is set on fire. The tongue itself is set on fire by the flames of hell.

⁷People can tame and already have tamed every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish. ⁸No one can tame the tongue, though. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we both bless the Lord and Father and curse human beings made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰Blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it just shouldn’t be this way!

¹¹Both fresh water and salt water don’t come from the same spring, do they? ¹²My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree produce olives? Can a grapevine produce figs? Of course not, and fresh water doesn’t flow from a saltwater spring either.

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Mark 8:27-38

Common English Bible

Jesus predicts his death

²⁷Jesus and his disciples went into the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

²⁸They told him, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the prophets.”

²⁹He asked them, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Human One^[a] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts, and be killed, and then, after three days, rise from the dead.” ³²He said this plainly. But Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him. ³³Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, then sternly corrected Peter: “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”

³⁴After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. ³⁵All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me and because of the good news will save them. ³⁶Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? ³⁷What will people give in exchange for their lives? ³⁸Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Human One^[b] will be ashamed of that person when he comes in the Father’s glory with the holy angels.”