Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song for going up to the Temple.

¹⁰ Son, listen to me. Do what I say, and you will live a long time. ¹¹ I am teaching you about wisdom and guiding you on the right path. ¹² As you walk on it, you will not step into a trap. Even if you run, you will not trip and fall. ¹³ Always remember this teaching. Don’t forget it. It is the key to life, so guard it well.

¹⁴ Don’t take the path of the wicked; don’t follow those who do evil. ¹⁵ Stay away from that path; don’t even go near it. Turn around and go another way. ¹⁶ The wicked cannot sleep until they have done something evil. They will not rest until they bring someone down. ¹⁷ Evil and violence are their food and drink.

¹⁸ The path of those who live right is like the early morning light. It gets brighter and brighter until the full light of day. ¹⁹ But the path of the wicked is like a dark night. They trip and fall over what they cannot see.

²⁰ My son, pay attention to what I say. Listen closely to my words. ²¹ Don’t let them out of your sight. Never stop thinking about them. ²² These words are the secret of life and health to all who discover them. ²³ Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life.

²⁴ Don’t bend the truth or say things that you know are not right. ²⁵ Keep your eyes on the path, and look straight ahead. ²⁶ Make sure you are going the right way, and nothing will make you fall. ²⁷ Don’t go to the right or to the left, and you will stay away from evil.

¹² People who have the law and those who have never heard of the law are all the same when they sin. People who don’t have the law and are sinners will be lost. And, in the same way, those who have the law and are sinners will be judged by the law. ¹³ Hearing the law does not make people right with God. They will be right before him only if they always do what the law says.

¹⁴ Those who are not Jews don’t have the law. But when they naturally do what the law commands without even knowing the law, then they are their own law. This is true even though they don’t have the written law. ¹⁵ They show that in their hearts they know what is right and wrong, the same as the law commands, and their consciences agree. Sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done wrong, and this makes them guilty. And sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done right, and this makes them not guilty.

¹⁶ All this will happen on the day when God will judge people’s secret thoughts through Jesus Christ. This is part of the Good News that I tell everyone.