Wisdom of Solomon 9
Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom
1 “O God of our fathers and the Lord of mercy, Who made all things by Your word†
2 And in Your wisdom built a man, That by You He might be the master of what is created,
3 And manage the world in holiness and righteousness, And pass judgment with uprightness of soul:
4 Give me the wisdom that sits by Your throne, And do not reject me from among Your servants;
5 Because I am Your servant and the son of Your maidservant, A weak man and lasting but a short time, And inferior in the understanding of judgment and laws.†
6 For though one is perfect among the sons of men, Yet if Your wisdom is absent from him, He will be regarded as nothing.†
7 You chose me to be the king of Your people And to be the judge over Your sons and daughters.
8 You gave command to build a temple on Your holy mountain And an altar in the city of Your habitation, A copy of Your holy tabernacle Which You prepared from the beginning.†
9 With You is wisdom, who knows Your works And was present when You made the world, And who understands what is pleasing in Your sight And what is upright within Your commandments.
10 Send her forth from Your holy heavens, And send her from Your glorious throne, That she might be present with me and labor And that I might know what is well-pleasing to You.
11 For she knows and understands all things, And she will guide me wisely in my actions And guard me with her glory.
12 Then my works shall be acceptable, And I will judge Your people righteously And shall be worthy of my father’s throne.
13 For what man will know the counsel of God? Or who will think about what the Lord wills?
14 For the reasoning of mortals is cowardly, And our intents are unsafe;
15 For a corruptible body weighs down the soul, And this earthly tent burdens a heart full of thoughts.†
16 We can barely form a conjecture of the things upon the earth, And the things at hand we find with toil; But who has searched out the things in the heavens?
17 Who has known Your counsel, Unless You have given him wisdom And sent him Your Holy Spirit from on high?†
18 And thus the paths of those on earth were made straight, And mankind was taught what pleases You; So they were saved by wisdom.”
Psalms 144
10 O Lord, let all Your works praise You And Your holy ones bless You.
11 They shall tell of Your kingdom’s glory, And they shall speak of Your power,
12 That all the sons of men may know Your power And the glory of Your kingdom’s magnificence.
13 Your kingdom is a kingdom of all the ages, And Your dominion is from generation to generation. The Lord is faithful in His words And holy in all His works.
14 The Lord supports all who stumble And restores all who are broken down.
15 All eyes hope in You, And You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand And fill every living thing with Your pleasure.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways And holy in all His works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He shall do the will of those who fear Him, And He shall hear their supplications and save them.
20 The Lord keeps all who love Him, But all the sinners He shall utterly destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the Lord’s praise, And let all flesh bless His holy name Forever and unto ages of ages.
Proverbs of Solomon 31
1 My words were spoken by God, The oracular response of a king, whom his mother instructed.†
A Mother’s Wisdom
2 “What, my child, will you keep? What? The words of God.” My firstborn son, I say to you, “What, the child of my womb? What, the child of my vows?”
3 Do not give your wealth to women, Nor your heart or life to remorse.
4 Do all things with counsel; Drink wine with counsel; Princes are prone to anger, but let them not drink wine,
5 Lest while they drink, they forget wisdom, And be unable to judge the weak uprightly.
Acts 7
44 “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,
45 which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,
46 who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.
47 But Solomon built Him a house.†
48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
49 ‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest?
50 Has My hand not made all these things?’
51 “ You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.†
52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
53 who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. ”
Stephen’s Martyrdom
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,†
56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”†
60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.