Wisdom of Sirach 28
1 He who seeks revenge will find it from the Lord, And He will surely punish his sins.†
Showing Mercy
2 Forgive a wrong done you by your neighbor; Then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.†
3 Can a man preserve wrath against his neighbor And still seek healing from the Lord?†
4 Can he show no mercy toward a man like himself And still beg God for mercy for himself?†
5 If he being flesh keeps his anger continually, Who will atone for his sins?
6 Remember the end of your life And cease from enmity; Remember destruction and death And stand fast in the commandments.†
7 Remember the commandments And do not vent your wrath against your neighbor; Remember the covenant of the Most High And overlook faults.
Cease Quarreling and Evil Talk
8 Refrain from quarreling and you will decrease your sins, For a man who is hot-tempered will kindle quarreling.
9 A sinful man will trouble his friends, And among those who live in peace he will inject unfriendliness.
10 The heat of a fire will be kindled according to the amount of wood; So also the heat of a fire will be kindled according to the obstinacy of quarreling. According to the strength of a man, so his anger shall be; And according to his wealth, he will increase his wrath.
11 A hasty quarrel kindles a fire, And a vigorous quarrel sheds blood.
12 If you blow on a spark, it will kindle a fire, But if you spit on it, it will be quenched; Yet both come out of your mouth.
13 Curse a slanderous and deceitful man, For he has destroyed many who were at peace.
14 Slander has unsettled many And scattered them from nation to nation; And it has destroyed strong cities And overturned the houses of great men.
15 Slander has driven away courageous women And robbed them of their labors.
16 He who devotes himself to slander will not find rest, Nor shall he dwell in quietness.
17 The blow from a whip causes a wound, But a blow from the tongue breaks bones.
18 Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, But not so many as those who have fallen because of the tongue.
19 Blessed is the man who is sheltered from it, Who has not passed through the anger of the tongue; Who does not drag its yoke And is not bound by its chains.
20 For its yoke is a yoke of iron, And its chains are chains of bronze.
21 Its death is an evil death, And Hades is preferable to it.
22 An evil tongue will not prevail over the godly, And they will not be burned in its flame.
23 Those who forsake the Lord will fall into it, And among them it will be kindled; And it will not be quenched. It will set upon them like a lion, And like a leopard it will mangle them.
24 See that you fence in your possessions with thorns; Lock up your silver and gold.†
25 Make balances and scales for your words And bar and bolt the door of your mouth.†
26 Beware lest you make a slip with your tongue, Lest you fall victim before him who lies in wait.
Psalms 32
13 The Lord looked attentively from heaven; He saw all the sons of men.
14 From His prepared dwelling-place, He looked upon all who dwell on the earth,
15 He who alone fashioned their hearts, He who understands all their works.
16 A king is not saved by his large army, And a giant shall not be saved by his immense strength;
17 A horse is a false hope for salvation, And it shall not be saved by its enormous power.
18 Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their souls from death And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul shall wait for the Lord; He is our helper and protector;
21 For our heart shall be glad in Him, And we hope in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, As we hope in You.
Proverbs of Solomon 6
Playing with Fire
26 When you walk about, bring along this commandment And let it be with you;†
27 And as you sleep, let it guard you, That when you arise, it may speak to you.
28 For a commandment of law is a lamp and a light, And the way of life is reproof and instruction,
29 That you may keep yourself from a married woman And from the slanderous tongue of a strange woman.
30 Do not let the desire of beauty conquer you; Neither be caught by her eyes, Nor captivated by her eyelids;
31 For the value of a prostitute is only one loaf, And such a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.
Romans 5
Righteousness as a Living Reality
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,†
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.†
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.†
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.†
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Reign of Sin, Reign of Grace
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—†
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.†
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.†
15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.†
16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.†
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.†
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,†
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.