Wisdom of Sirach 45
Moses
1 He brought from him a man of mercy Who found favor in the eyes of all flesh, Beloved by God and man, Moses, whose remembrance is blessed.†
2 He made him equal in glory to the saints And magnified him in the fears of his enemies.
3 With his words he caused signs to cease, And the Lord honored him in the presence of kings. He gave him commands for His people And showed him His glory.
4 He sanctified him because of his faithfulness and gentleness And chose him out of all flesh.
5 He caused him to hear His voice, Then led him into the darkness And gave him the commandments face to face: The law of life and knowledge, To teach Jacob His covenant And His judgments to Israel.
Aaron
6 He exalted Aaron, a holy man like himself, His brother from the tribe of Levi.
7 He established an everlasting covenant with him And gave him the priesthood of the people. He blessed him with orderly behavior And covered him with an adornment of glory.†
8 He clothed him with the consummation of boasting And confirmed him with instruments of strength: The linen breeches, the long robe, and the ephod.
9 And He encircled him with tassels, With many golden bells all around, To sound their ring at his steps, Making their ringing sound As he walked in the temple, A reminder for the children of his people.
10 With a holy garment, with gold and hyacinth And purple cloth with embroidered work, With the oracle of judgment, the Urim and Thummim, With woven scarlet by the work of an artisan,
11 With entwined scarlet, the work of a skilled craftsman, With precious stones engraved like a seal In a setting of gold, in a cut stone, a jeweler’s work, With a memorial in engraved letters, According to the number of the tribes of Israel.
12 He set a golden crown over the priestly turban, A figure of the holy seal, a distinction of honor, The work of an expert, Things desirable to the eyes, richly adorned!
13 There was never so much beauty before his time. No outsider was ever clothed in these garments, Only his sons and his offspring perpetually.
14 His sacrifices shall be a whole burnt offering Perpetually, twice every day.
15 Moses ordained him and anointed him with holy oil. It was an eternal covenant for him And for his seed forever, To minister to the Lord and serve as priest; To bless His people in His name.†
16 He chose him from all the living To offer sacrifices to the Lord, Incense and sweet-smelling offerings as a remembrance To make atonement for Your people.
17 He gave him authority with His commandments In covenants of judgments, To teach Jacob the testimonies And to enlighten Israel in His law.
18 Outsiders conspired against him And were jealous of him in the desert, The men who gathered with Dothan and Abiram, And even the company of Korah with anger and wrath.
19 The Lord saw and was not pleased, And they were brought to an end by the anger of His wrath. He performed wonders against them To consume them in His flaming fire.
20 He also brought Aaron glory And gave him an inheritance. He divided the firstfruits for him; He prepared bread in abundance from the firstfruits.
21 For they will eat the sacrifices to the Lord, Which He gave to him and to his seed.
22 But in the land of the people He will have no inheritance, And there is no portion for him among the people; For the Lord Himself is his portion and his inheritance.†
Phineas
23 Then Phineas the son of Eleazar is the third in glory, When he showed zeal in the fear of the Lord; And he stood fast when the people turned away, By the goodness of the eagerness of his soul, And he made atonement for Israel.
24 Therefore He established a covenant of peace with him, To be in charge of the sanctuary And leader of his people, That the priesthood might be with him and his seed forever.
25 A covenant was also established with David, The son of Jesse from the tribe of Judah. The heritage of the king is from son to son only, And the heritage of Aaron is for his seed.
26 May He give you wisdom in your heart To judge His people in righteousness, That their good things might not disappear, And their glory throughout their generations.†
Psalms 45
1 For the End; for the sons of Korah; a psalm concerning hidden things. †
2 God is our refuge and power; A help in afflictions that severely befall us.
3 Therefore we will not fear when the earth is troubled, And when the mountains are removed into the hearts of the seas.
4 Their waters roared and were troubled; The mountains were troubled by His might. (Pause)
5 The torrents of the river gladden the city of God; The Most High sanctified His tabernacle.
6 God is in her midst; she shall not be shaken; God shall help her early in the morning.
7 The nations were troubled; kingdoms fell; He uttered His voice; the earth shook.
8 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our protector. (Pause)
9 Come, behold the works of the Lord, The wonders He wrought on the earth.
10 When He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth, He will break the bow and shatter the weapon; And He will burn up the shields in fire.
11 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.
12 The Lord of hosts is with us, The God of Jacob is our protector.
Proverbs of Solomon 9
12 My son, if you become wise in yourself, you shall also be wise toward your neighbor; But if you prove to be evil, you alone will go through troubles.
13 He who supports himself with lies will shepherd winds And chase flying birds;
14 For he abandoned the ways of his own vineyard And strayed from paths of his own farming;
15 And he will pass through a waterless desert, A land assigned to drought, And he gathers barrenness with his hands.
1 Corinthians 2
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,†
5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Understanding Unity: Wisdom of the Spirit
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.†
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.†
9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” †
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.†
11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.†
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.†