Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹¹ Children, come and listen to me!
    I will teach you how to respect the Lord.
¹² Do you want to live a good life?
Do you want your life to be long and happy?
¹³ If so, do not speak any evil words.
    Do not tell lies to deceive people.
¹⁴ Do good things instead of evil things.
Try to bring peace into people's lives.

² ‘You people think that you know everything.
    You think that there will be no wisdom after you die.
³ But I understand things as well as you.
    You are no better than I am.
Everyone knows the things that you have been saying.
⁴ I am a person who prayed to God and he answered me.
    But my friends now laugh at me.
I have always lived completely in the right way.
    But still my friends laugh at me.
⁵ Some people never have any troubles.
    They think that people who suffer are fools.
If people are in trouble,
    they knock them down!
⁶ But robbers seem to live in peace.
They cause God to be angry
    but they think that they are safe.
They trust their own strength as their god.

⁷ Ask the animals and they will teach you.
    The birds in the sky would tell you the truth.
⁸ Speak to the earth and it will teach you.
    The fish in the sea would tell you what is right.
⁹ Any of them could tell you that the Lord has done this.
¹⁰ He has authority over the life of all the animals.
    He gives breath to all people so that they can live.
¹¹ We use our mouths to taste food.
    And we use our ears to test what we hear.
¹² Old people are often wise.
    People who have lived for a long time understand things better.
¹³ God is wise and he is also powerful.
    He understands things and he gives good advice.
¹⁴ If God destroys something,
    nobody can repair it.
If God puts someone in prison,
    that person cannot escape.
¹⁵ If God stops the rain, the land becomes dry.
    If he sends lots of rain, there are floods.
¹⁶ God has strength and wisdom.
He has power over people who tell lies,
    and the people that they deceive.
¹⁷ He causes clever people to become ashamed.
    He causes leaders to do foolish things.
¹⁸ He takes authority away from kings.
    He dresses them like slaves.
¹⁹ He causes priests to become ashamed.
    He removes the power of important people.
²⁰ He stops faithful men from giving advice.
    He removes the wisdom of old men.
²¹ He causes rulers to be ashamed.
    He destroys the power of strong men.
²² He shows people things that have been secrets.
    He shines light into dark places.
²³ He can make nations become great.
    He can also destroy them.
He can make their land become bigger.
    He can also send their people away to other places.
²⁴ He stops the world's leaders from understanding things properly.
    He sends them to travel through empty deserts.
²⁵ They try to walk in the dark, without any light.
    He causes them to walk like drunk men.