Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
21 When my heart was filled with bitterness
and my mind was seized ⌞with envy⌟,
22 I was stupid, and I did not understand.
I was like a dumb animal in your presence.
23 Yet, I am always with you.
You hold on to my right hand.
24 With your advice you guide me,
and in the end you will take me to glory.
25 As long as I have you,
I don’t need anyone else in heaven or on earth.
26 My body and mind may waste away,
but God remains the foundation of my life
and my inheritance forever.
27 Without a doubt, those who are far from you will die.
You destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
28 Being united with God is my highest good.
I have made the Almighty Lord my refuge
so that I may report everything that he has done.
22 A good name is more desirable than great wealth.
Respect is better than silver or gold.
2 The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord is the maker of them all.
3 Sensible people foresee trouble and hide ⌞from it⌟,
but gullible people go ahead and suffer ⌞the consequence⌟.
4 On the heels of humility (the fear of the Lord)
are riches and honor and life.
5 A devious person has thorns and traps ahead of him.
Whoever guards himself will stay far away from them.
6 Train a child in the way he should go,
and even when he is old he will not turn away from it.
7 A rich person rules poor people,
and a borrower is a slave to a lender.
8 Whoever plants injustice will harvest trouble,
and this weapon of his own fury will be destroyed.
9 Whoever is generous will be blessed
because he has shared his food with the poor.
10 Drive out a mocker, and conflict will leave.
Quarreling and abuse will stop.
11 Whoever loves a pure heart and whoever speaks graciously
has a king as his friend.
12 The Lord’s eyes watch over knowledge,
but he overturns the words of a treacherous person.
13 A lazy person says,
“There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be murdered in the streets!”
14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit.
The one who is cursed by the Lord will fall into it.
15 Foolishness is firmly attached to a child’s heart.
Spanking will remove it far from him.
16 Oppressing the poor for profit
⌞or⌟ giving to the rich
certainly leads to poverty.
Listen to My Advice
17 Open your ears, and hear the words of wise people,
and set your mind on the knowledge I give you.
18 It is pleasant if you keep them in mind
⌞so that⌟ they will be on the tip of your tongue,
19 so that your trust may be in the Lord.
Today I have made them known to you, especially to you.
20 Didn’t I write to you previously with advice and knowledge
21 in order to teach you the words of truth
so that you can give an accurate report to those who send you?
9 What, then, is the situation? Do we have any advantage? Not at all. We have already accused everyone (both Jews and Greeks) of being under the power of sin, 10 as Scripture says,
“Not one person has God’s approval.
11 No one understands.
No one searches for God.
12 Everyone has turned away.
Together they have become rotten to the core.
No one does anything good,
not even one person.
13 Their throats are open graves.
Their tongues practice deception.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes.
14 Their mouths are full of curses and bitter resentment.
15 They run quickly to murder people.
16 There is ruin and suffering wherever they go.
17 They have not learned to live in peace.
18 They are not terrified of God.”
19 We know that whatever the Scriptures say applies to everyone under their influence, and no one can say a thing. The whole world is brought under the judgment of God. 20 Not one person can have God’s approval by any effort to follow the laws in the Scriptures. These laws show what sin is.
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