Wisdom of Solomon 8:21-9:18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
21 But I perceived that I would not possess wisdom unless God gave her to me—
and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift she was—
so I appealed to the Lord and implored him,
and with my whole heart I said,(A)
Prayer for Wisdom
9 “O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy,
who have made all things by your word(B)
2 and by your wisdom have formed humankind
to have dominion over the creatures you have made(C)
3 and rule the world in holiness and righteousness
and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul,(D)
4 give me the wisdom that sits by your throne,
and do not reject me from among your children.(E)
5 For I am your servant, the son of your female servant,
a man who is weak and short-lived,
with little understanding of judgment and laws,(F)
6 for even one who is perfect among humans
will be regarded as nothing without the wisdom that comes from you.
7 You have chosen me to be king of your people
and to be judge over your sons and daughters.(G)
8 You have given command to build a temple on your holy mountain
and an altar in the city of your habitation,
a copy of the holy tent that you prepared from the beginning.(H)
9 With you is wisdom, she who knows your works
and was present when you made the world;
she understands what is pleasing in your sight
and what is right according to your commandments.(I)
10 Send her forth from the holy heavens,
and from the throne of your glory send her,
that she may labor at my side
and that I may learn what is pleasing to you.(J)
11 For she knows and understands all things,
and she will guide me wisely in my actions
and guard me with her glory.
12 Then my works will be acceptable,
and I shall judge your people justly
and shall be worthy of the throne[a] of my father.
13 For who can learn the counsel of God?
Or who can discern what the Lord wills?(K)
14 For the reasoning of mortals is worthless,
and our designs are likely to fail,
15 for a perishable body weighs down the soul,
and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful[b] mind.(L)
16 We can hardly guess at what is on earth,
and what is at hand we find with labor,
but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
17 Who has learned your counsel
unless you have given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?(M)
18 And thus the paths of those on earth were set right,
and people were taught what pleases you
and were saved by wisdom.”(N)
Matthew 7:1-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.(A) 2 For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
Profaning the Holy
6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.(B)
Ask, Search, Knock
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.(C) 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.(D) 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? 10 Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake? 11 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.(E)
The Narrow Gate
13 “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy[a] that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.(F) 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 7.13 Other ancient authorities read for the road is wide and easy
Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-11:10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Wisdom Led the Israelites out of Egypt
15 Holy people and blameless offspring
wisdom[a] delivered from a nation of oppressors.(A)
16 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord
and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.(B)
17 She gave to holy people the reward of their labors;
she guided them along a marvelous way
and became a shelter to them by day
and a starry flame through the night.(C)
18 She brought them over the Red Sea
and led them through deep waters,(D)
19 but she drowned their enemies
and cast them up from the depth of the sea.(E)
20 Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly;
they sang hymns, O Lord, to your holy name
and praised with one accord your defending hand,(F)
21 for wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute
and made the tongues of infants speak clearly.(G)
Wisdom Led the Israelites through the Desert
11 Wisdom[b] prospered their works by the hand of a holy prophet.(H)
2 They journeyed through an uninhabited wilderness
and pitched their tents in untrodden places.(I)
3 They withstood their enemies and fought off their foes.(J)
4 When they were thirsty, they called upon you,
and water was given them out of flinty rock
and from hard stone a remedy for their thirst.(K)
5 For through the very things by which their enemies were punished,
they themselves received benefit in their need.
6 Instead of the fountain of an ever-flowing river,
stirred up and defiled with blood(L)
7 in rebuke for the decree to kill the infants,
you gave them abundant water unexpectedly,(M)
8 showing by their thirst at that time
how you punished their enemies.(N)
9 For when they were tried, though they were being disciplined in mercy,
they learned how the ungodly were tormented when judged in wrath.(O)
10 For you tested them as a parent[c] does in warning,
but you examined the ungodly[d] as a stern king does in condemnation.(P)
Revelation 4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Heavenly Worship
4 After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”(A) 2 At once I was in the spirit,[a] and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne!(B) 3 And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. 4 Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads.(C) 5 Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God,(D) 6 and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.
Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and back:(E) 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.(F) 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing,
“Holy, holy, holy,
the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.”(G)
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever,(H) 10 the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing,(I)
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”(J)
Footnotes
- 4.2 Or in the Spirit
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.