Ecclesiastes 1
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king of Israel in Jerusalem.†
The Vanity of Life
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!”†
3 What advantage does a man have in all his labor In which he toils under the sun?†
4 A generation comes and a generation goes, But the earth stands forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets And returns to its place.
6 The wind rises and goes toward the south And swirls towards the north. The wind whirls in a circular motion And returns full circle.
7 All the rivers flow to the sea, Yet the sea shall not be filled. To the place where the rivers flow, There they return again.
8 All words are wearisome, And a man will not be able to say them. Neither will the eye be satisfied with seeing, Nor will the ear be filled with hearing.†
9 What has been is what will be, And what has been done is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun.
10 Who will speak and say, “See, this is new”? For it has already been in the ages That have passed before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things, And indeed, there shall be no remembrance of later things By the things that will come after that.
Futility of Man’s Wisdom
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.†
13 I gave my heart to seek out and to prepare myself in wisdom concerning all the things done under heaven; for God has given painful distraction to the sons of men to be occupied therewith.
14 I beheld all the works done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and is the choice of one’s spirit.†
15 That which has become crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be counted.†
16 I spoke in my heart, saying, “Behold, I have become great, and have acquired wisdom beyond all before me in Jerusalem; and my heart has experienced much wisdom and knowledge.”
17 I gave my heart to know wisdom and knowledge, to learn proverbs and understanding. And this, too, was waywardness of spirit.†
18 For in the abundance of wisdom There is abundance of knowledge, And he who increases knowledge will increase suffering.
Psalms 118
129 Wondrous are Your testimonies; For this reason my soul searches them out.
130 The revelation of Your words gives light, And it causes children to understand.
131 I opened my mouth and drew in my breath, For I longed for Your commandments.
132 Look upon me and have mercy on me, According to the judgment of those who love Your name.
133 Direct my steps according to Your teaching And let no lawlessness rule over me.
134 Ransom me from the slander of men, And I will keep Your commandments.
135 Make Your face shine upon Your servant And teach me Your ordinances.
136 My eyes poured down streams of tears Because they did not keep Your law.
137 Righteous are You, O Lord, And upright is Your judgment.
138 You commanded Your testimonies exceedingly In righteousness and truth.
139 The zeal of Your house caused me to yearn for home, For my enemies forgot Your words.
140 Your teaching is exceedingly purified in fire, And Your servant loves it.
141 I am young, and beheld as nothing, But I have not forgotten Your ordinances.
142 Your righteousness is righteousness forever, And Your law is truth.
143 Affliction and trouble found me, But Your commandments are my meditation.
144 Your testimonies are righteousness forever; Give me understanding, and I shall live.
Proverbs of Solomon 26
24 Money given with deceit is like a sharp piece of broken pottery; So smooth lips hide a heart that causes pain.
25 A weeping enemy promises everything with his lips, But in his heart he devises deceits.
26 If your enemy entreats you with a loud voice, Do not consent, for there are seven vices in his soul.
27 He who hides enmity contrives deceit, But being well known in the assemblies, he exposes his own sins.
28 He who digs a pit for his neighbor shall fall into it, And he who rolls a stone rolls it upon himself.
29 A lying tongue hates the truth, And an unguarded mouth causes confusion.
John 12
Judgment of This World: The Cross
29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”†
30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.†
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
34 The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
Become Sons of Light
35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.†
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
Who Has Believed Jesus’ Words?
37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” †
41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.†
42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;†
43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Jesus’ Words: From the Father
44 Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.
45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.†
48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”