Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Ayin
Praying for God’s Deliverance
121 I have acted with justice and righteousness;
do not abandon me to my oppressors.
122 Back up your servant in a positive way;
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes fail as I look[a] for your salvation
and for your righteous promise.
124 Act toward your servant consistent with your gracious love,
and teach me your statutes.
125 Since I am your servant, give me understanding,
so I will know your decrees.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
since they have violated your instruction.[b]
127 I truly love your commands more than gold,
including fine gold.
128 I truly consider all of your precepts—all of them—to be just,
while I despise every false way.
Solomon’s Wisdom is Tested
16 Right about then, two prostitutes approached the king and requested an audience with him. 17 One woman said, “Your majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Three days later, this woman also gave birth. We lived alone there. There was nobody else with us in the house. It was just the two of us. 19 This woman’s son died overnight because she laid on top of him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night, took my son from me while your servant was asleep, and laid him to her breast after laying her dead son next to me. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son, and he was dead. But when I examined him carefully in the light of day, he turned out not to be my son whom I had borne!”
22 “Not so,” claimed the other woman. “The living child is my son, and the dead one is yours.”
But the first woman said, “Not so! The dead child is your son and the living one is my son.” This is what they testified before the king.
23 The king said, “One of them claims, ‘This living son is mine, and your son is the dead one’ and the other claims ‘No. Your son is the dead one and my son is the living one.’ 24 “Somebody get me a sword.” So they brought a sword to the king. 25 “Divide the living child in two!” he ordered. “Give half to the one and half to the other.”
26 The woman whose child was still alive cried out to the king, because her heart yearned for her son. “Oh no, your majesty!” she said. “Give her the living child. Please don’t kill him.”
But the other woman said, “Cut him in half! That way, he’ll belong to neither one of us.”
27 The king announced his decision: “Give the living child to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She is his mother.” 28 When this decision that the king had handed down was announced, everybody in Israel was amazed at[a] the king, because they all saw that God’s wisdom was in him, enabling him to administer justice.
Live Wisely
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his noble conduct that his actions are done humbly and wisely. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, stop boasting and slandering the truth. 15 That kind of wisdom does not come from above. No, it is worldly, self-centered, and demonic. 16 For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.
17 However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of compassion and good deeds,[a] and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is grown from the seed of peace[b] planted by peacemakers.
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