The Wisdom of Solomon 5
1 Then the righteous man will stand with confidence In the presence of those who afflict him; And those who reject his labors,
2 When they see him, will be shaken with dreadful fear; And they shall be amazed at his unexpected salvation.
3 They will speak among themselves with regret, And in anguish of spirit they will groan and say,
4 “This is the man whom we fools once held in derision And made a byword of disgrace. We considered his life to be madness And his death as without honor.
5 How has he been numbered among the sons of God? And how is his portion among the saints?†
6 Therefore we went astray from the way of truth, For the light of righteousness did not shine on us, And the sun did not rise upon us.
7 We were satisfied with the paths of lawlessness, And we traveled through impassable deserts; But the way of the Lord we have not known.
8 What has arrogance profited us? And how has our wealth with its false pretension helped us?
9 “All those things have passed by like a shadow And like news that escapes notice;
10 Like a ship that passes through the waves of water, Which after passing through, no trace can be found, Nor the pathway of its keel in the waves;
11 Or like a bird, when it flies through the air, No proof of its journey is found; And the light air, whipped by the beating of its pinions And divided by the force of its rushing motion, Is traveled through by the movement of its wings, But after this no sign of its approach is found therein;
12 Or like an arrow, when it is shot at an object, The divided air immediately comes together, So that no one knows its pathway.
13 Thus we also, after we are born, come to an end, Yet have no sign of virtue to show, But have been entirely consumed in our vice.”
14 Because the hope of the ungodly man Is like dust carried by the wind And like a light frost driven away by a storm, It is dispersed like smoke before the wind, And it passes like the remembrance of a guest Who stays only one day.
15 But the righteous live forever, And their reward is with the Lord; And their care is by the Most High.
16 Therefore they shall receive a kingly dwelling of dignity And a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord, Because He will shelter them with His right hand And protect them with His arm.
17 He will take His zeal as His full armor And will turn His creation into weapons against His enemies.†
18 He will wear righteousness as a breastplate And put on impartial judgment as a helmet.
19 He will take holiness as an unconquerable shield
20 And sharpen His relentless wrath for a sword; And creation will fight with Him against the senseless.
21 Well-aimed flashes of lightning will strike And leap to their object as from a well-drawn bow of clouds;
22 And hailstones full of anger will be hurled As from an engine of war. The water of the sea will be vexed with them, And the rivers will wash over them severely.
23 A powerful wind will oppose them, And like a storm it will winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste all the earth, And wrongdoing will overturn the thrones of rulers.
Psalms 141
1 Understanding; by David, when he was in the cave; a prayer.
2 I cried to the Lord with my voice, With my voice I prayed to the Lord.
3 I shall pour out my supplication before Him; I shall declare my affliction in His presence.
4 When my spirit fainted within me, Then You knew my paths; For on the way I was going, they hid a trap for me.
5 I looked on my right, and saw There was no one who knew me; Refuge failed me, And there was no one who cared for my soul.
6 I cried to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my hope, My portion in the land of the living.
7 Attend to my supplication, For I was humbled exceedingly; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I.
8 Bring my soul out of prison To give thanks to Your name, O Lord; The righteous shall wait for me, until You reward me.”
Proverbs of Solomon 30
Lessons from the Animals
16 The leech had three dearly loved daughters, And these three did not satisfy her, And the fourth did not satisfy her, for her to say, “It is enough.”†
17 Hades and the love of a woman And Tartarus and the earth not satisfied with water, And water and fire will not say, “It is enough.”
18 The eye that mocks his father and dishonors the old age of his mother, Let the ravens of the valleys pick it out, And the young eagles devour it.
19 Now there are three things I cannot understand, And a fourth I do not know:
20 The track of a flying eagle, And the ways of a serpent upon a rock,
21 And the paths of a ship passing through the sea, And the ways of a man in his youth.
Acts 5
The Apostles Arrested
17 Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,
18 and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,†
20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”
21 And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
22 But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported,
23 saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!”
24 Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be.
25 So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”
26 Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,
28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.†
30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.†
31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
33 When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.
34 Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.†
35 And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men.
36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing.†
37 After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed.
38 And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;
39 but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”
Apostolic Evangelism
40 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.†
42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.