Wisdom of Sirach 41
Dealing with Death
1 O death, how bitter is the memory of you To a man at peace with his possessions, To a man without distractions and prosperous in everything, And still strong enough to enjoy his food.†
2 O death, your judgment is good To the man in need and failing in strength In his extreme old age, distracted by everything, And stubborn and short on patience.
3 Do not fear the judgment of death; Remember those before you and after you.
4 This is the judgment from the Lord to all flesh, And how can you reject the good pleasure of the Most High? Whether you lived ten or a hundred or a thousand years, There is in Hades no inquiry into your life.
5 The children of sinners are loathsome children, And they frequent the dwellings of the ungodly.†
6 The inheritance of the children of sinners will perish, And with their seed the disgrace will continue.
7 The children will blame their godless father, For because of him they will be denounced.
8 Woe to you, the ungodly men Who forsook the law of God Most High.
9 And when you are born, you will be born to a curse, And when you die, your portion will be a curse.
10 Whatever is from the earth shall return to the earth, So the ungodly go from a curse to destruction.
11 The mourning of men is about their bodies, But the evil name of sinners will be blotted out.
12 Have regard for your name, For it will remain with you longer Than a thousand great chests of gold.†
13 The days of a good life are numbered, But a good name will remain forever.
14 Observe instruction and live in peace, my children, But hidden wisdom and invisible treasure— What benefit are these?
15 A man who hides his foolishness Is better than a man who hides his wisdom.
Shame, Proper and Improper
16 Therefore, be ashamed on the basis of my word, For it is not good to protect every kind of shame, And not everything is highly esteemed by all with confidence.
17 Be ashamed of fornication before father or mother; Of a lie before your leader or ruler;
18 Of an offense before a judge or ruler; Of lawlessness before the assembly of the people;†
19 Of wrongdoing before your partner or friend; Of theft in the place where you dwell.
20 Be ashamed before the truth of God and His covenant, And of bad manners at the table;
21 Of contemptuous behavior in receiving and giving; Of silence before those who greet you;
22 Of looking at a prostitute; Of rejecting the appeal of a kinsman;
23 Of carrying off someone’s portion or gift, And of staring at another man’s wife;
24 Of meddling with his maidservant— And do not come near her bed.
25 Be ashamed of insulting words before friends, And do not be insulting after making a gift;
26 Of repeating and telling what you hear And revealing secrets.†
27 So be truly modest And find favor before every man.
Psalms 41
1 For the End; for understanding; for the sons of Korah. †
2 As the deer longs for the springs of waters, So my soul longs for You, O God.
3 My soul thirsts for the living God; When shall I come and appear before the face of God?
4 My tears were my bread day and night, When they said to me each day, “Where is your God?”
5 I remembered these things, and poured out my soul within me; For I shall enter the place of the wondrous tabernacle, even the house of God, To celebrate a festival with a voice of great joy and praise.
6 Why are you so sad, O my soul? And why do you trouble me? Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him; My God is the salvation of my countenance.
7 My soul within me was troubled; Therefore I will remember You From the land of the Jordan and Hermon, From the small mountain.
8 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows went over me.
9 By day the Lord shall command His mercy, And by night His ode will be with me, A prayer to the God of my life.
10 I will say to God, “You are my protector. Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go about with a sad face when my enemies afflict me?”
11 Those who afflict me revile me when they break my bones, When they speak to me each day, saying, “Where is your God?”
12 Why are you so sad, O my soul? And why do you trouble me? Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him. My God is the salvation of my countenance.
Psalms 42
1 A psalm by David. †Judge me, O God, and pass judgment in my cause against an unholy nation; Deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
2 For You, O God, are my strength; Why do You cast me off? Why do I go about with a sad face when my enemy afflicts me?
3 Send out Your light and Your truth; They guided me and led me to Your holy mountain And to Your tabernacles.
4 And I will come to the altar of God, To the God who makes glad my youth; I will give thanks to You with the lyre, O God, my God.
5 Why are you so sad, O my soul? And why do you trouble me? Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him; My God is the salvation of my countenance.
Proverbs of Solomon 8
27 When He prepared heaven, I was present with Him, And when He set apart His throne upon the winds.
28 When He made strong the things above the clouds, And made sure the fountains under heaven,
29 And made strong the foundations of the earth, I was working beside Him;†
30 I was He in whom He rejoiced; Daily and continually I was gladdened by His face.
31 When He completed the world, He rejoiced, And He rejoiced in the sons of men.†
Romans 15
Christian Unity for God’s Glory
1 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.†
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.†
5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ’s Priestly Work for Gentiles
7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,
9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” †
10 And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!”
11 And again: “Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!”
12 And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s Missionary Work to the Gentiles
14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.†
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God,
16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.†
17 Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God.
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—†
19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation,†
21 but as it is written: “To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand.”