Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the director: A maskil of David written when Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David is in Ahimelech’s house.”
52 Great warrior, why are you bragging about the evil you did?
You are a disgrace to God.
2 You are nothing but a hired killer,[a]
making plans to hurt people and making up lies!
3 You love evil more than goodness.
You love lies more than truth. Selah
4 You and your lying tongue love to hurt people.
5 So God will ruin you forever!
He will grab you and pull you from your home,[b] like someone pulling up a plant by the roots![c] Selah
6 Good people will see this
and learn to fear and respect God.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look what happened to the warrior who did not depend on God.
That fool thought his wealth and lies would protect him.”
8 But I am like a green olive tree growing in God’s Temple.
I will trust God’s faithful love forever and ever.
9 God, I praise you forever for what you have done.
I will speak your name[d] before your followers because it is so good!
12 “But where can anyone find wisdom?
Where can we get understanding?
13 People don’t know where wisdom is.
It cannot be found by anyone on earth.
14 The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not here with me.’
The sea says, ‘It’s not here with me.’
15 You cannot buy wisdom with even the purest gold.
There’s not enough silver in the world to pay for it.
16 You cannot buy it with gold from Ophir
or with precious onyx or sapphires.
17 Wisdom is worth more than gold or crystal.
It cannot be bought with expensive jewels set in gold.
18 It is far more valuable than coral and jasper,
more precious than rubies.
19 The topaz from Ethiopia cannot match its value,
which is greater than the purest gold.
20 “So where does wisdom come from?
Where can we find understanding?
21 Wisdom is hidden from every living thing on earth.
Even birds in the sky cannot see it.
22 Death and destruction[a] say,
‘We have never seen wisdom;
we have only heard rumors about it.’
23 “Only God knows the way to wisdom.
Only he knows where wisdom is.
24 He can see to the very ends of the earth.
He sees everything under the sky.
25 God gave the wind its power.
He decided how big to make the oceans.
26 He decided where to send the rain
and where the thunderstorms should go.
27 He looked at wisdom and discussed it.
He examined it and saw how much it is worth.
28 Then he said to humans,
‘To fear and respect the Lord is wisdom.
To turn away from evil is understanding.’”
The Way to Heaven and the Way to Hell(A)
13 “You can enter true life only through the narrow gate. The gate to hell is very wide, and there is plenty of room on the road that leads there. Many people go that way. 14 But the gate that opens the way to true life is narrow. And the road that leads there is hard to follow. Only a few people find it.
What People Do Shows What They Are(B)
15 “Be careful of false prophets. They come to you and look gentle like sheep. But they are really dangerous like wolves. 16 You will know these people because of what they do. Good things don’t come from people who are bad, just as grapes don’t come from thornbushes, and figs don’t come from thorny weeds. 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 You will know these false people by what they do.[a]
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International