Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Mem: Sweeter Than Honey
97 How I love your laws!
I meditate on them all day long.
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
because it is always with me.
99 I have more wisdom than all my teachers,
because your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I have more understanding than the elders,
because I guard your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet off every evil path
in order to keep your words.
102 I have not turned from your judgments,
because you yourself have instructed me.
103 How sweet are your sayings to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 From your precepts I gain understanding.
Therefore, I hate every false road.
Lady Wisdom’s Banquet
9 Wisdom has built her house.
She has carved out her seven pillars.
2 She has prepared her meat.
She has mixed her wine.
She has already set her table.
3 She has sent out her servant girls.
She calls from the highest point in the city,
4 “Whoever is naïve,[a] let him turn in here.”
To someone who lacks sense she says,
5 “Come, eat my food,
and drink the wine that I have mixed.
6 Abandon your naïve ways and live.
Travel the road to understanding.”
Lady Wisdom’s Proverbs
7 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults,
and whoever warns a wicked person invites abuse.
8 Do not warn a mocker, or he will hate you.
Warn a wise person, and he will love you.
9 Give advice to a wise person, and he will become even wiser.
Teach a righteous person, and he will add to his learning.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning[b] of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding,
11 because through me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage.
But if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.
Lady Folly’s Banquet
13 The woman Folly is boisterous.
She is deluded. She knows nothing.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
on a throne on the heights of the city,
15 in order to call to those who pass by on the street,
those who are simply going along on their way,
16 “Whoever is gullible, let him turn in here.”
To someone who lacks sense she says,
17 “Stolen waters are sweet,
and food eaten in secret is delicious.”
18 But he does not know that the souls of the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of hell.[c]
2 My children, I write these things to you so that you will not sin. If anyone does sin, we have an Advocate before the Father: Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the whole world.
3 This is how we know that we have known him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 If anyone keeps God’s word, the love of God is truly made complete in him. This is how we know that we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk as Jesus[a] walked.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.