Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
21 I was very upset,
and my thoughts were confused.
22 I was stupid,
and I did not understand you properly.
I was no better than an animal.
23 But I am always near to you.
You hold my right hand,
as my guide.
24 You teach me the right way to go,
and you will lead me to glory.[a]
25 You are the only one in heaven or on earth
that I need to help me.
You are the only one that I want.
26 My body and my mind may become weak,
but God will always keep me safe and strong.
27 Those people who stay far away from you will die.
You destroy everybody who turns away from you.
28 But as for me, it is good for me to stay near to God.
I have gone to the Almighty Lord
as the place where I can be safe.
I will tell people about the great things that you have done.
More of Solomon's proverbs
25 These are more of Solomon's proverbs.[a] Hezekiah's men wrote them down when Hezekiah was king of Judah.[b]
2 God hides things because he is great. But great kings can explain things.
3 You can never know all the thoughts of a king. They go high above the sky and deep below the earth.
4 If you remove dirt from silver, a worker can use it to make a beautiful thing. 5 In the same way, you should keep wicked people away from the king. Then he will rule in a right way.
6 When you stand in front of the king, do not be proud. Do not stand where the important people stand. 7 Then it will be good if the king says to you, ‘Come and sit up here, near me.’ That would be better than if he sends you away while his officers watch.
8 If you see something bad happen, do not quickly go and tell a judge. Your neighbour may show that you are wrong. Then you will be ashamed. You will not know what to do.
9 If you argue with your neighbour, do not tell his secrets to other people. 10 If you do that, everyone will know about it. Then you will be ashamed for your whole life.
11 A wise word that you speak at the right time is a beautiful thing. It is like a gold apple on a silver plate. 12 When a wise person warns you, that is also a beautiful thing. It is like a gold ear-ring or a gold necklace.
13 When a faithful servant takes a message for his master, his master will have peace in his mind. It will keep him cool, like snow in the middle of summer.
14 Some people promise things, but they never do anything. Those people are like clouds and wind that do not bring any rain.
15 If you are patient, you may make a ruler change his mind. If you speak a quiet word, you can remove a difficult problem.
16 When you find honey, never eat more than you need. If you eat too much, you will become very sick.
17 Do not visit your neighbour's house too often. He may see you too much and he will start to hate you.
18 Some people may tell lies about their neighbour in court. Those people are like dangerous weapons, like sharp swords or arrows.
19 If you are in trouble and you trust someone who is not honest, it will not help you. He will be as useless as a bad tooth or a broken leg.
20 If you sing to a very sad man to make him happy, it only gives him more pain. It is like you are taking away his coat on a cold day, or you are putting vinegar on his wound.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him some water to drink. 22 If you help him, he will become ashamed, and the Lord will bless you with good things.
23 When the wind blows from the north, it brings rain. In the same way, when somebody tells other people's secrets, it brings anger.
24 It is better to live on the roof of your house than to live with a wife who always argues.
25 If you receive good news from a far away country, it is like cool water when you are tired and thirsty.
26 If you put dirt in a well, its good water becomes bad. It is the same with a righteous person who agrees to do wicked things.
27 It is bad for you to eat too much honey. If you always want people to praise you, it is also bad for you.
28 Somebody who cannot control his anger is in danger. He is like a city that no longer has a strong wall round it.
The old life and the new life
3 God has raised you with Christ to a new life. So you should want more and more the things that belong to heaven. That is where Christ is now. He sits there at God's right side. 2 So think about the good things that are there in heaven above. Do not think only about things that are on the earth. 3 Remember that your old nature has died. God is keeping your new life safe with Christ. 4 You have that new life because you belong to Christ. One day, Christ will show himself clearly to everyone. Then everyone will see that you are with him. They will see that you also are great, like he is.
5 Your old nature likes to do bad things that belong to this earth. But your old nature is dead, so do not do these bad things any more. Do not have sex with someone that you are not married to. Do not think bad, disgusting thoughts. Do not want to have sex in a wrong way. Do not want to do any kinds of bad things. Do not want to have many things for yourselves. That shows that you worship those things as your idol. 6 God will certainly punish people who do those kinds of bad things.
7 At one time, you lived like that. You did those kinds of bad things. 8 But now you must refuse to do all kinds of things like that. Do not become angry with people or shout at them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people. Do not speak any bad or disgusting words. 9 Do not deceive each other with lies. Remember that you have taken off your old nature, like an old coat. As a result, you can stop doing all the bad things that you liked to do before.
10 Now you have received a new nature. It is God who made it for you so that you can become more and more like him. You will learn to know him better and better. 11 People have this new nature only because they belong to Christ. That is the important thing. Jews are not different from Gentiles. It does not matter whether someone has circumcised you or not. It does not matter which country you come from or how clever you are. It does not matter whether you are a slave or a free person. Christ is all that matters. He lives in every believer.
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