Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
21-22 I was so stupid.
I thought about such people and became upset.
God, I was upset and angry with you!
I acted like a senseless animal.
23 But I am always with you.
You hold my hand.
24 You lead me and give me good advice,
and later you will lead me to glory.[a]
25 In heaven, God, I have only you.
And if I am with you, what on earth could I want?
26 Maybe my mind[b] and body will become weak,
but God is my source of strength.[c]
He is mine forever!
27 God, people who leave you will be lost.
You will destroy all who are not faithful to you.
28 As for me, all I need is to be close to God.
I have made the Lord God my place of safety.
And, God, I will tell about all that you have done.
29 Some people refuse to bend when someone corrects them. Eventually they will break, and there will be no one to repair the damage.
2 When the rulers are good, the people are happy. When the rulers are evil, the people complain.
3 A son who loves wisdom makes his father happy. One who wastes his money on prostitutes will lose his wealth.
4 A nation will be strong when it has a fair and just king. A nation will be weak when it has a king who is selfish and demands gifts.
5 If you give false praise to others in order to get what you want, you are only setting a trap for yourself.
6 Evil people are defeated by their sin, but good people will sing and be happy.
7 Good people want to do what is right for the poor, but the wicked don’t care.
8 Proud people who laugh at what is right cause problems that divide whole cities, but people who are wise are able to calm those who are angry.
9 If someone who is wise tries to settle a problem with a fool, the fool will argue and say stupid things, and they will never agree.
10 If you always try to be honest, murderers will hate you, but those who do what is right will want you to be their friend.
11 Fools are quick to express their anger, but wise people are patient and control themselves.
12 If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be evil.
13 In one way the poor and those who steal from them are the same—the Lord made them both.
14 If a king judges the poor fairly, he will rule for a long time.
15 Punishment and discipline can make children wise, but children who are never corrected will bring shame to their mother.
16 If the wicked are ruling the nation, sin will be everywhere, but those who live right will win in the end.
17 Correct your children whenever they are wrong. Then you will always be proud of them. They will never make you ashamed.
18 If a nation is not guided by God, the people will lose self-control, but the nation that obeys God’s law will be happy.
19 Servants will not learn a lesson if you only talk to them. They might understand you, but they will not obey.
20 There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.
21 Give your servants everything they want, and they will learn to be wasteful.
22 An angry person causes arguments, and someone who is quick-tempered is guilty of many sins.
23 Your pride can bring you down. Humility will bring you honor.
24 You are your own worst enemy if you take part in a crime. You will not be able to tell the truth even when people threaten you.
25 Fear can be a trap, but if you trust in the Lord, you will be safe.
26 Many people want the friendship of a ruler, but the Lord is the only one who judges people fairly.
27 Good people think the wicked are disgusting, and the wicked feel disgust for those who are honest.
People Wonder if Jesus Is the Messiah
25 Then some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “This is the man they are trying to kill. 26 But he is teaching where everyone can see and hear him. And no one is trying to stop him from teaching. Maybe the leaders have decided that he really is the Messiah. 27 But when the real Messiah comes, no one will know where he comes from. And we know where this man’s home is.”
28 Jesus was still teaching in the Temple area when he said loudly, “Do you really know me and where I am from? I am here, but not by my own decision. I was sent by one who is very real. But you don’t know him. 29 I know him because I am from him. He is the one who sent me.”
30 When Jesus said this, the people tried to grab him. But no one was able even to touch him, because the right time for him had not yet come. 31 But many of the people believed in Jesus. They said, “We are waiting for the Messiah to come. When he comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”
The Jewish Leaders Try to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard what the people were saying about Jesus. So the leading priests and the Pharisees sent some Temple police to arrest him. 33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer. Then I will go back to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me, but you will not find me. And you cannot come where I am.”
35 These Jews said to each other, “Where will this man go that we cannot find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live? Will he teach the Greek people there? 36 He says, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me.’ He also says, ‘You cannot come where I am.’ What does this mean?”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International