Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God Will Punish the Proud
For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, “David is in Ahimelech’s house.”
52 Mighty warrior, why do you brag about the evil you do?
God’s love will continue forever.
2 You think up evil plans.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
making up lies.
3 You love wrong more than right
and lies more than truth. Selah
4 You love words that bite
and tongues that lie.
5 But God will ruin you forever.
He will grab you and throw you out of your tent;
he will tear you away from the land of the living. Selah
6 Those who do right will see this and fear God.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look what happened to the man
who did not depend on God
but depended on his money.
He grew strong by his evil plans.”
8 But I am like an olive tree
growing in God’s Temple.
I trust God’s love
forever and ever.
9 God, I will thank you forever for what you have done.
With those who worship you, I will trust you because you are good.
12 “But where can wisdom be found,
and where does understanding live?
13 People do not understand the value of wisdom;
it cannot be found among those who are alive.
14 The deep ocean says, ‘It’s not in me;’
the sea says, ‘It’s not in me.’
15 Wisdom cannot be bought with gold,
and its cost cannot be weighed in silver.
16 Wisdom cannot be bought with fine gold
or with valuable onyx or sapphire gems.
17 Gold and crystal are not as valuable as wisdom,
and you cannot buy it with jewels of gold.
18 Coral and jasper are not worth talking about,
and the price of wisdom is much greater than rubies.
19 The topaz from Cush cannot compare to wisdom;
it cannot be bought with the purest gold.
20 “So where does wisdom come from,
and where does understanding live?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
even from the birds of the air.
22 The places of destruction and death say,
‘We have heard reports about it.’
23 Only God understands the way to wisdom,
and he alone knows where it lives,
24 because he looks to the farthest parts of the earth
and sees everything under the sky.
25 When God gave power to the wind
and measured the water,
26 when he made rules for the rain
and set a path for a thunderstorm to follow,
27 then he looked at wisdom and decided its worth;
he set wisdom up and tested it.
28 Then he said to humans,
‘The fear of the Lord is wisdom;
to stay away from evil is understanding.’”
The Way to Heaven Is Hard
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. The gate is wide and the road is wide that leads to hell, and many people enter through that gate. 14 But the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to true life. Only a few people find that road.
People Know You by Your Actions
15 “Be careful of false prophets. They come to you looking gentle like sheep, but they are really dangerous like wolves. 16 You will know these people by what they do. 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, but a bad tree produces 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 In the same way, you will know these false prophets by what they do.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.