Wisdom of Solomon 7:15-8:4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Prayer for Wisdom
15 May God grant me to speak with judgment
and to have thoughts worthy of what I have received,
for he is the guide even of wisdom
and the corrector of the wise.(A)
16 For both we and our words are in his hand,
as are all understanding and skill in crafts.(B)
17 For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,
to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements,(C)
18 the beginning and end and middle of times,
the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
19 the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,(D)
20 the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals,
the powers of spirits[a] and the thoughts of human beings,
the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;(E)
21 I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,
22 for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.
The Nature of Wisdom
There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
agile, clear, unpolluted,
distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,
23 irresistible, beneficent, humane,
steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,
all-powerful, overseeing all,
and penetrating through all spirits
that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.(F)
24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.(G)
25 For she is a breath of the power of God
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.(H)
26 For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.(I)
27 Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God and prophets,(J)
28 for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
29 She is more beautiful than the sun
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be more radiant,(K)
30 for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.
8 She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,
and she orders all things well.(L)
Love for Wisdom
2 I loved her and sought her from my youth;
I desired to take her for my bride
and became enamored of her beauty.(M)
3 She glorifies her noble birth by living with God,
and the Lord of all loves her.(N)
4 For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God
and an associate in his works.
Footnotes
- 7.20 Or winds
Matthew 6:19-34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Concerning Treasures
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] consume and where thieves break in and steal,(A) 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust[b] consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.(B) 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The Eye
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,(C) 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Serving Two Masters
24 “No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.[c](D)
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[d] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?(E) 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?(F) 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life?[e] 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God[f] and his[g] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(G)
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
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Wisdom of Solomon 8:5-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
5 If riches are a desirable possession in life,
what is richer than wisdom, the active cause of all things?(A)
6 And if understanding is effective,
who more than she is fashioner of what exists?(B)
7 And if anyone loves righteousness,
her labors are virtues,
for she teaches self-control and prudence,
justice and courage;
nothing in life is more profitable for mortals than these.
8 And if anyone longs for wide experience,
she knows the things of old and infers the things to come;
she understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles;
she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders
and of the outcome of seasons and times.(C)
Wisdom Indispensable to Rulers
9 Therefore I determined to take her to live with me,
knowing that she would give me good counsel
and encouragement in cares and grief.(D)
10 Because of her I shall have glory among the multitudes
and honor in the presence of the elders, though I am young.(E)
11 I shall be found keen in judgment,
and in the sight of rulers I shall be admired.(F)
12 When I am silent they will wait for me,
and when I speak they will give heed;
if I speak at greater length,
they will put their hands on their mouths.(G)
13 Because of her I shall have immortality
and leave an everlasting remembrance to those who come after me.(H)
14 I shall govern peoples,
and nations will be subject to me;(I)
15 dread monarchs will be afraid of me when they hear of me;
among the people I shall show myself capable and courageous in war.
16 When I enter my house, I shall find rest with her,
for companionship with her has no bitterness,
and life with her has no pain but gladness and joy.(J)
17 When I considered these things inwardly
and pondered in my heart
that in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,(K)
18 and in friendship with her, pure delight,
and in the labors of her hands, unfailing wealth,
and in the experience of her company, understanding,
and renown in sharing her words,
I went about seeking how to get her for myself.(L)
Revelation 3:7-22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Message to Philadelphia
7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of the Holy One, the True One,
who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will shut,
who shuts and no one opens:(A)
8 “I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door that no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.(B) 9 I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not but are lying—I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you.(C) 10 Because you have kept my word of endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.(D) 11 I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one takes away your crown. 12 If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.(E) 13 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
The Message to Laodicea
14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin[a] of God’s creation:(F)
15 “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.(G) 18 Therefore I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white robes to clothe yourself and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.(H) 19 I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.(I) 20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me.(J) 21 To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.(K) 22 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
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- 3.14 Or beginning
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.