Wisdom of Sirach 22
1 A lazy man may be compared to a filthy stone, And everyone hisses at his dishonor.†
2 A lazy man may be compared to the filth of manure; Everyone who picks it up will shake it off his hand.
A Father’s Disgrace
3 The disgrace of a father is begetting an undisciplined son, And a foolish daughter is born to his loss.†
4 A sensible daughter will bring an inheritance to her husband, But a shameful one is a grief to her father.
5 An arrogant daughter shames both father and husband, And she will be dishonored by both.
6 An ill-timed statement is like mournful music, But the chastising and instruction of wisdom are always timely.
The Fool
7 He who teaches a fool is like one who glues pottery together, Or like trying to arouse one from a sound sleep.
8 He who tells something to a fool tells it to a drowsy man, And at the end he will say, “What is it?”
9 If children live honestly, and have wherewithal, They shall cover the baseness of their parents.
10 But children, being haughty, through disdain and want of nurture Stain the nobility of their kindred.
11 Weep for a dead man, for he left the light behind; But weep over a fool, for he left intelligence behind. Weep gladly for a dead man, because he is at rest; But the life of the fool is worse than death.†
12 Mourning for a dead man lasts seven days, But mourning for a fool or an ungodly man lasts all his life.
13 Do not hold a conversation with a fool, And do not visit with a senseless man. Beware of him, so as to avoid trouble, And you will not be defiled when he shakes himself off. Stay away from him, and you will find rest And not be exhausted by his insanity.†
14 What will be heavier than lead? And what will be his name but “Fool”?
15 Sand, salt, and a piece of iron are easier to bear Than a senseless man.
16 A wooden beam bound together in a building Will not be broken loose in an earthquake; So a heart strengthened by reasonable counsel Will not be afraid in a crisis.
17 A heart settled on intelligent thought Is like a plaster decoration on a smooth wall.
18 As fences set on a high place will not stand firm against the wind, So a cowardly heart in the thought of a fool Cannot stand firm against any kind of fear.
Building Friendships
19 He who pokes his eye will cause tears to fall, And he who pierces a heart reveals its feeling.
20 Throwing a rock at birds scares them away, And disgracing a friend will break up a friendship.
21 If you draw a sword against a friend, Do not despair, for a restoration of friendship is possible.
22 If you open your mouth against a friend, Do not worry, for reconciliation is possible. But as for reviling or arrogance or revealing secrets or a treacherous blow— with behavior like this any friend will flee.†
23 Gain your neighbor’s trust when he is poor, So you may be fulfilled with him when he prospers. Stand by him in his time of trouble, That when he gets his inheritance, you may share it with him.
24 As the smoke and vapor of a furnace precede a fire, So abuses precede bloodshed.
25 I will not be ashamed to shelter a friend, And I will not hide from his face.
26 If anything bad happens to me because of him, Everyone who hears about it will beware of him.
27 Who will set a guard over my mouth, And a prudent seal over my lips, That I may not fall because of them, And that my tongue may not destroy me?†
Psalms 28
1 A psalm by David; the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles. †Bring to the Lord, O you sons of God, Bring to the Lord the sons of rams; Bring to the Lord glory and honor.
2 Bring to the Lord the glory due His name; Worship the Lord in His holy court.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; The God of glory thundered; The Lord is upon the many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is strong; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord shatters cedars, And the Lord shall grind to powder the cedars of Lebanon;
6 And He shall grind them fine like the young bull, and like Lebanon, But His beloved shall be like a son of unicorns.
7 The voice of the Lord cuts through fiery flames;
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert, And the Lord will shake the desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord causes deer to calve, And uncovers the thickets; And in His temple, everyone speaks of His glory.
10 The Lord shall dwell in the deluge, And the Lord shall sit as King forever.
11 The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Proverbs of Solomon 5
Another Warning
20 Do not be intimate with a strange woman, Neither cling to the embrace of a woman not your own;†
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of God, And He keeps close watch on all his paths.
22 Lawless women ensnare a man, But each man is bound by the chains of his own sins.
23 Such a man dies with the uninstructed And is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance; And he is destroyed by lack of discernment.
Acts 27
21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss.
22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve,
24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.
26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.”
27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea , about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land.
28 And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms.
29 Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come.
30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow,
31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”†
32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.
33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing.
34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.”
35 And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.†
36 Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves.
37 And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship.
38 So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.
39 When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible.
40 And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore.
41 But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves.†
42 And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape.
43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land,
44 and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.