Wisdom of Sirach 8
Kings and Commoners
1 Do not contend sharply with a powerful man, Lest you fall into his hands.†
2 Do not quarrel with a rich man, Lest he resist your force, For gold has destroyed many And perverted the hearts of kings.
3 Do not contend sharply with a talkative man, And do not heap wood on his fire.
4 Do not jest with an uncultivated man, Lest your forefathers be insulted.
5 Do not insult a man who turns away from sin; Remember that we are all valuable.
6 Do not dishonor a man in his old age, For some of us are growing old as well.†
7 Do not rejoice over any dead person; Remember that we all must die.
8 Do not disregard a saying of the wise, But be conversant with their proverbs; Because from them you will gain instruction And how to serve noble people.
9 Do not miss a saying of the old, For they themselves learned from their fathers; Because from them you will gain understanding And be able to give an answer in time of need.
10 Do not kindle the coals of a sinner, For you may be burned by his flame.†
11 Do not let the presence of an insolent man Arouse you from your seat, Lest he lie in wait as an ambush against your words.
12 Do not lend to a man stronger than you; But if you do, consider it lost.
13 Do not give surety beyond your ability to pay; But if you do give surety, be as careful as one who has to pay.
14 Do not go to law against a judge, For they will decide for him because of his reputation.
15 Do not travel on a journey with a reckless man, Lest he weigh you down; For he will do his will, And you will perish with him in his folly.
16 Do not cause a fight with an angry man, And do not go into a lonely place with him, Because murder is as nothing in his eyes, And where there is no help, he will strike you down.
17 Do not consult with a fool, For he will not keep a matter confidential.†
18 Do nothing confidential in the presence of a stranger, For you do not know what he will give birth to.
19 Do not open your heart to everyone, Lest unkindness be shown to you.
Psalms 17
1 For the End; by the child of the Lord, David; what things he spoke to the Lord, even the words of this ode, in the day the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul; †
2 thus he said: “I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
3 The Lord is my foundation, my refuge, my deliverer; My God is my helper, on Him I will hope, My champion, the horn of my salvation, and my protector.
4 I will call upon the Lord and praise Him, And I shall be saved from my enemies.
5 The anguish of death surrounded me; The floods of the lawless troubled me greatly;
6 The anguish of Hades encircled me; The snares of death ran me down.
7 In my affliction I called upon the Lord, And I cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His holy temple, And my cry shall come before Him, into His ears.
8 Then the earth was shaken and was trembling; And the foundations of mountains were stirred up, And they were shaken, because God was angry with them.
9 Smoke ascended in His wrath, And burst into flame from His face; Coals were kindled by Him.
10 He bowed heaven and descended, And darkness was under His feet.
11 And He rode upon the cherubim, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness His hiding place; His tabernacle was around Him, Dark water in the clouds of the sky.
13 Because of the brightness before Him, the clouds, The hail and the fiery coals passed through.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven, The Most High gave forth His voice;
15 And He sent forth His arrows, and scattered them; And He multiplied lightning, and threw them into utter confusion.
16 Then the springs of the waters were seen, And the foundations of the world were uncovered By Your rebuke, O Lord, By the breathing of the breath of Your wrath.
17 He sent from on high, and He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
Proverbs of Solomon 3
6 In all your ways know wisdom, That she may cut a straight path for you; And your foot will not stumble.
7 Do not rely on your own discernment, But fear God, and turn away from every evil.
8 Then there shall be healing for your body And care for your bones.
9 Honor the Lord from your righteous labors, And offer Him the firstfruits from the fruits of your righteousness,
10 That your storehouses may be filled with abundance of grain, And your winepresses may gush with wine.
Acts 18
The Church in Corinth
1 After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.†
2 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.
3 So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers.
4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
Teaching in Corinth
5 When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
6 But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”†
7 And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.
8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.
9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent;
10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”
11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
The Proconsul’s Refusal
12 When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,†
13 saying, “This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”
14 And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you.
15 But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters. ”
16 And he drove them from the judgment seat.
17 Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.
Report to Jerusalem and Antioch
18 So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.†
19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.†
20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent,
21 but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.†
In Ephesus: Apollos Instructed
22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.
23 After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.†
25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.
26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace;
28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.