Wisdom of Sirach 29
Loans and Gifts
1 He who shows mercy will lend to his neighbor, And he who makes him strong with a helping hand Keeps the commandments.†
2 Lend to your neighbor in the time of his need, And when you borrow, repay your neighbor on time.
3 Keep your word and be trustworthy with him, And on every occasion you will find what you need.
4 Many men, supposing a loan is like a windfall, Cause trouble to those who help them.
5 He will kiss the lender’s hand until he receives the loan, And to get his neighbor’s money he will lower his voice; But at the time of repayment, he will put it off, And repay only with words of indifference, And blame the times.
6 If the lender is firm with him, he will barely get back half the loan, And will consider it as a windfall. If the borrower does not repay anything, He has robbed him of his money, And needlessly made him an enemy. The lender will then repay him with curses and insults, And dishonor instead of glory.
7 Many men, not because they are evil, Have refused to lend; They have become afraid of being needlessly robbed.
8 However, be patient with a man of humble circumstances, And do not keep him waiting for your alms.
9 Because of the commandment, help a poor man, And in his need, do not turn him away empty.
10 Lose your money for the sake of a brother and friend; Do not let it rust under a stone and be lost.†
11 Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, For this will profit you more than gold.†
12 Store alms in your storerooms, And they will deliver you from all affliction.
13 More than a mighty shield and better than a strong spear Almsgiving will fight for you against your enemy.
14 A good man will go surety for his neighbor, But a man who has lost his sense of shame will forsake him.
15 Do not forget the kindness his surety has done for you, For he has given his life for you.
16 A sinner will overthrow the good things of his surety, And the ungrateful man will forsake his deliverer on purpose.
17 Suretyship has destroyed many prosperous men And tossed them about like waves of the sea.
18 Suretyship has driven influential men from their homes, And they have wandered among foreign nations.
19 The sinner who chances upon suretyship And the man who pursues profit-taking will fall into judgment.
20 Help your neighbor according to your ability, But watch out for yourself lest you fall.
21 The principle of life is water, bread, and clothing, And a house that offers privacy.
22 The life of a poor man under a shelter of logs Is better than great food in another man’s house.
23 Be content with little or much, And you will not hear your guest insulted.
24 Going from house to house is a bad way to live, And where you are visiting, you dare not open your mouth.
25 You will entertain guests and give drink to the ungrateful, And besides this you will hear bitter words:
26 “Come here, stranger; set the table, And if you have any food at hand, feed me.”
27 “Get out, stranger, somebody more important is here; My brother has come as my guest; I need my house.”
28 These things are hard for a sensible man to take: The rebuke of a household and the abuse of a creditor.
Psalms 33
1 By David; when he changed his countenance before Abimelech, who let him go, and he departed. †
2 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
3 My soul shall be praised in the Lord; Let the gentle hear, and be glad.
4 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
5 I sought the Lord, and He heard me; And He delivered me from all my sojourning.
6 Come to Him, and be enlightened, And your face shall never be ashamed.
7 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, And saved him from all his afflictions.
8 The Angel of the Lord shall encamp around those who fear Him, And He will deliver them.
9 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who hopes in Him.
10 Fear the Lord, you His saints, For there is no want for those who fear Him.
11 Rich men turned poor and went hungry; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. (Pause)
Proverbs of Solomon 6
32 Shall anyone bind fire to his bosom And his garments not burn?†
33 Or will anyone walk about on coals of fire And not burn his feet?
34 Likewise is the one who goes in to a married woman; He shall not be guiltless, nor any who touch her.
35 It is not surprising if anyone who steals is caught, For he steals that he may fill his hungry soul;
36 But if he is caught, he will repay sevenfold, And by giving all his goods, he shall deliver himself.
Romans 6
Baptism: Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?†
2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?†
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?†
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, †
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.†
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.†
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,†
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.†
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.†
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.†
13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.†
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Baptism: Freedom from Sin Under Grace
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!†
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?†
17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.†
18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.†
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.†
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.†
21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.†
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.†
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.†