Wisdom of Solomon 11
Wisdom in the Wilderness
1 Wisdom prospered their works by the hand of a holy prophet.
2 They traveled through an uninhabited desert And pitched their tents in impassable places.
3 They held their ground in wars And defended themselves against their enemies.
4 They thirsted and called upon You, And water was given them from a flinty rock, And a quenching of thirst from a hard stone;†
5 For through the things by which their enemies were punished, They themselves when in need Had kindness shown to them.
6 In place of a spring of an ever-flowing river, Troubled and defiled with blood,
7 In rebuke of the decree to slay the infants— You gave them abundant water unexpectedly,
8 Showing through their thirst at that time How You punished their enemies.
9 For when they were tested, Though they were disciplined in mercy, They learned how the ungodly were tormented When judged in wrath.†
10 For You tested them, admonishing them like a father, But You examined the ungodly Like a severe king passing sentence.
11 Whether present or absent, They were likewise consumed,
12 For twofold grief possessed them And a groaning over the memory of all that happened.
13 For when they heard that through their own punishments The holy people had kindness shown to them, They understood it was the Lord’s doing.
14 For they marveled at the outcome of the man They had cast out mockingly and exposed long before, For they did not thirst for godliness as do the righteous.
15 In return for the wrongdoing of their senseless reasoning, In which they were led astray And worshiped irrational serpents and worthless animals, You sent upon them a multitude of animals in vengeance,
16 So they might learn that one is punished By the things by which he sins.
17 For Your all-powerful hand, Which created the world out of unformed matter, Did not lack the resource to send upon them A multitude of bears or bold lions,
18 Or newly created unknown beasts full of anger, Either snorting a breath of fire Or scattering like chaff a thick cloud of smoke, Or flashing terrible sparks from their eyes.
19 Not only could their damage utterly destroy men, But their mere outward appearance could terrify and kill them.
20 Even without these, men could fall in a single breath When they are pursued by justice And scattered like chaff by the breath of Your power; But You have ordered all things by measure, number, and weight.
The God Who Loves Mankind
21 For great power is always present with You, And who can oppose the might of Your arm?
22 Because the entire world before You Is like a small additional weight on scales, And like a drop of dew early in the morning That falls on the ground.†
23 But You are merciful to all, for You can do all things; And You overlook the sins of men to bring them to repentance.
24 For You love all the things that exist, And You detest nothing of the things You made; For You would not even make anything You hated.†
25 How could anything continue to exist unless You willed it? Or how could anything be preserved Unless it was called into existence by You?†
26 You spare all things, because they are Yours, O Master who love human beings.
Psalms 146
1 Alleluia; of Aggeus and Zacharias. †Praise the Lord, for a psalm is a good thing; Let praise be sweet to our God.
2 The Lord is building Jerusalem, And He shall gather together the dispersion of Israel;
3 He heals the brokenhearted And He binds up all their wounds.
4 He numbers the multitude of stars And calls them all by name.
5 Great is our Lord, and great is His strength; His understanding exceeds every measure.
6 The Lord raises up the gentle, But humbles sinners to the ground.
7 Begin with thanksgiving to the Lord; Sing to our God with the harp,
8 To Him who covers heaven with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass grow on the mountains And the green growth for the service of men,
9 To Him who gives the cattle their food And who gives food to the nestlings of ravens When they call upon Him.
10 He shall not take pleasure in the strength of a horse, Nor be pleased with the legs of a man;
11 The Lord is pleased with those who fear Him, And with those who hope in His mercy.
Psalms 147
1 Alleluia; of Aggeus and Zacharias. †Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; Praise your God, O Zion,
2 For He strengthens the bars of your gates; He blesses your children within you;
3 He who grants your borders peace, And fills you with the finest of wheat;
4 He who sends His teaching to earth Until His word shall run swiftly,
5 Giving snow like wool, Sprinkling mist like ashes,
6 Casting His ice like morsels; Who shall withstand His winter?
7 He shall send His word and melt them; His wind shall blow, and the waters shall flow,
8 He who declares His word to Jacob, His ordinances and judgments to Israel.
9 He did not do so with other nations, Nor did He show His judgments to them.
Proverbs of Solomon 31
A Virtuous Wife
10 Who will find a courageous wife? For such a one is more valuable than precious stones.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her; She will not be at a loss for fine spoils, For she provides good things for her husband all her life.
12 She weaves wool and linen cloth And is productive with her hands.
13 She is like a ship trading afar off, So she procures her livelihood.
14 She also rises before dawn And gives food to her household, And appoints tasks for her maidservants.
15 Seeing a farm, she buys it, And from the fruits of her hands she plants her plot of land.
Acts 8
The Ethiopian Eunuch
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,†
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”†
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”†
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. †
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.†
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”†
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.