Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song for going up to the Temple.

27 Never brag about what you will do in the future; you have no idea what tomorrow will bring.

² Never praise yourself. Let others do it.

³ A stone is heavy, and sand is hard to carry, but the irritation caused by a fool is much harder to bear.

⁴ Anger is cruel and can destroy like a flood, but jealousy is much worse.

⁵ Open criticism is better than hidden love.

⁶ You can trust what your friend says, even when it hurts. But your enemies want to hurt you, even when they act nice.

⁷ When you are full, you will not even eat honey. When you are hungry, even something bitter tastes sweet.

⁸ A man away from home is like a bird away from its nest.

⁹ Perfume and incense make you feel good, and so does good advice from a friend.

¹⁰ Don’t forget your own friends or your father’s friends. If you have a problem, go to your neighbor for help. It is better to ask a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.

¹¹ My son, be wise. This will make me happy. Then I will be able to answer those who criticize me.

¹² Wise people see trouble coming and get out of its way, but fools go straight to the trouble and suffer for it.

¹³ When you make a deal with a stranger, get something from him and any other foreigners with him to make sure he will pay you.

¹⁴ Don’t wake up your neighbors early in the morning with a shout of “Good morning!” They will treat it like a curse, not a blessing.

¹⁵ A complaining wife is like water that never stops dripping on a rainy day. ¹⁶ Stopping her is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold oil in your hand.

¹⁷ As one piece of iron sharpens another, so friends keep each other sharp.

¹⁸ People who take care of fig trees are allowed to eat the fruit. In the same way, people who take care of their masters will be rewarded.

¹⁹ Just as you can see your own face reflected in water, so your heart reflects the kind of person you are.

²⁰ Just as the place of death and destruction is never full, people always want more and more.

²¹ People use fire to purify gold and silver. In the same way, you are tested by the praise people give you.

²² Even if you pound fools to powder like grain in a bowl, you will never force the foolishness out of them.

²³ Learn all you can about your sheep. Take care of your goats the best you can. ²⁴ Neither wealth nor nations last forever. ²⁵ Cut the hay, and new grass will grow. Then gather the new plants that grow on the hills. ²⁶ Cut the wool from your lambs, and make your clothes. Sell some of your goats, and buy some land. ²⁷ Then there will be plenty of goat’s milk for you and your family, with enough to keep the servants healthy.

⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives.^[a] You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure. ⁹ Be sad, be sorry, and cry! Change your laughter into crying. Change your joy into sadness. ¹⁰ Be humble before the Lord, and he will make you great.

You Are Not the Judge

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, don’t say anything against each other. If you criticize your brother or sister in Christ or judge them, you are criticizing and judging the law they follow. And when you are judging the law, you are not a follower of the law. You have become a judge. ¹² God is the one who gave us the law, and he is the Judge. He is the only one who can save and destroy. So it is not right for you to judge anyone.

Let God Plan Your Life

¹³ Some of you say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money.” Listen, think about this: ¹⁴ You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a fog. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. ¹⁵ So you should say, “If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But now you are proud and boast about yourself. All such boasting is wrong. ¹⁷ If you fail to do what you know is right, you are sinning.