Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song for going up to the Temple.

Introduction

1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel. ² They will help you learn to be wise, to accept correction, and to understand wise sayings. ³ They will teach you to develop your mind in the right way. You will learn to do what is right and to be honest and fair. ⁴ These proverbs will make even those without education smart. They will teach young people what they need to know and how to use what they have learned. ⁵ Even the wise could become wiser by listening to these proverbs. They will gain understanding and learn to solve difficult problems. ⁶ These sayings will help you understand proverbs, stories with hidden meanings, words of the wise, and other difficult sayings.

⁷ Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.

Advice to a Son

⁸ My son,^[a] listen to your father when he corrects you, and don’t ignore what your mother teaches you. ⁹ What you learn from your parents will bring you honor and respect, like a crown or a gold medal.^[b]

¹⁰ My son, those who love to do wrong will try to trick you. Don’t listen to them. ¹¹ They will say, “Come with us. Let’s hide and beat to death anyone who happens to walk by. ¹² We will swallow them whole, as the grave swallows the dying. ¹³ We will take everything they have and fill our houses with stolen goods. ¹⁴ So join us, and you can share everything we get.”

¹⁵ My son, don’t follow them. Don’t even take the first step along that path. ¹⁶ They run to do something evil, and they cannot wait to kill someone.

¹⁷ You cannot trap birds with a net if they see you spreading it out. ¹⁸ But evil people cannot see the trap they set for themselves. ¹⁹ This is what happens to those who are greedy. Whatever they get destroys them.

Let God Be the Judge

2 So do you think that you can judge those other people? You are wrong. You too are guilty of sin. You judge them, but you do the same things they do. So when you judge them, you are really condemning yourself. ² God judges all who do such things, and we know his judgment is right. ³ And since you do the same things as those people you judge, surely you understand that God will punish you too. How could you think you would be able to escape his judgment? ⁴ God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.

⁵ But you are so stubborn! You refuse to change. So you are making your own punishment greater and greater. You will be punished on the day when God will show his anger. On that day everyone will see how right God is to judge people. ⁶ He will reward or punish everyone for what they have done. ⁷ Some people live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that cannot be destroyed. They live for those things by always continuing to do good. God will give eternal life to them. ⁸ But others are selfish and refuse to follow truth. They follow evil. God will show his anger and punish them. ⁹ He will give trouble and suffering to everyone who does evil—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews. ¹⁰ But he will give glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews. ¹¹ God judges everyone the same. It doesn’t matter who they are.