Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
21 Thus my heart was grieved,
And I was [a]vexed in my mind.
22 (A)I was so foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
24 (B)You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
The Value of a Good Name
22 A (A)good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
Loving favor rather than silver and gold.
3 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are (D)punished.
4 By humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches and honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards his soul will be far from them.
7 The (F)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
10 (J)Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
Yes, strife and reproach will cease.
11 (K)He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips,
The king will be his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the faithless.
13 (L)The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be slain in the streets!”
14 (M)The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
(N)He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
(O)The rod of correction will drive it far from him.
16 He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.
Sayings of the Wise
17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your heart to my knowledge;
18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you;
Let them all be fixed upon your lips,
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord;
I have instructed you today, even you.
20 Have I not written to you excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21 (P)That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
(Q)That you may answer words of truth
To those who [d]send to you?
All Have Sinned(A)
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that (B)they are all under sin.
10 As it is written:
(C)“There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “Their(D) throat is an open [a]tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
(E)“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose(F) mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “Their(G) feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There(H) is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever (I)the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that (J)every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become [b]guilty before God. 20 Therefore (K)by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.