Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹² Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise thy God, O Zion!

¹³ For He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath blessed thy children within thee.

¹⁴ He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

¹⁵ He sendeth forth His commandment upon the earth; His word runneth very swiftly.

¹⁶ He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes;

¹⁷ He casteth forth His ice like morsels; who can stand before His cold?

¹⁸ He sendeth out His word, and melteth them; He causeth His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

¹⁹ He showeth His word unto Jacob, His statutes and His judgments unto Israel.

²⁰ He hath not dealt so with any nation; and as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord!

1 The Proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

² to know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

³ to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity;

⁴ to give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man knowledge and discretion.

⁵ A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsel

⁶ to understand a proverb and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

¹³ Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show his works out of good conduct and with the meekness of wisdom.

¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

¹⁵ Such wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

¹⁶ For where envy and strife are, there is confusion and every evil work.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of those who make peace.