Wisdom of Sirach 46
Joshua and Caleb
1 Mighty in battle was Joshua the son of Nun And successor to Moses in prophecies. He became, in accordance with his name, A great savior of God’s chosen ones, To punish the enemies who rose up against them That he might give Israel its inheritance.†
2 How glorious he was when he lifted up his hands And stretched out his sword against the cities.
3 Who stood so firm before him? For he led the wars for the Lord.†
4 Was not the sun held back by his hand, And one day become as two?†
5 He called upon the Most High, the Lord, When enemies oppressed him from all sides. Then the great Lord answered him With hailstones of mighty power.
6 He shattered that nation with war, And at the descent of Beth Horon He destroyed his opponents, So the nations might know his full armor, That he fought his battle in the sight of the Lord.†
7 For indeed he followed behind the Lord. Even in the days of Moses he showed mercy, He and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh: They withstood the assembly To prevent the people from sinning And to stop their evil murmuring.
8 Indeed, these two alone were preserved From the six hundred thousand on foot, To lead them into an inheritance, Into a land flowing with milk and honey.
9 The Lord gave Caleb strength And remained with him until old age; For he went up to the hill country, And his seed took it as an inheritance,
10 So all the children of Israel Might know that it is good to follow the Lord.
The Judges
11 The judges also, each by his name, Those whose heart did not fall into idolatry, And whoever did not turn away from the Lord— May their memory be blessed!
12 May their bones revive from their place, And may the name of those honored live again in their sons!†
Samuel
13 The prophet of the Lord, Samuel, beloved by his Lord, Established a kingdom and anointed rulers for his people.
14 He judged the assembly by the law of the Lord, And the Lord watched over Jacob.
15 By his faithfulness he proved to be a true prophet, And by his words he was known to be faithful in vision.
16 Thus he called upon the Lord, the Mighty One, When enemies troubled him on every side, And when he offered a young lamb.
17 Then the Lord thundered from heaven And with a great sound made His voice heard.
18 He destroyed the leaders of the Tyrians And all the rulers of the Philistines.
19 And before the time of his sleep in perpetuity, Samuel called men to witness Before the Lord and His anointed: “I have not taken any man’s possessions, Even to my sandals.” Indeed, no man brought any charges against him.†
20 Even after he fell asleep, he prophesied And showed the king his end, And raised up his voice out of the earth With a prophecy to wipe away the lawlessness of the people.†
Psalms 46
1 For the End; a psalm for the sons of Korah. †
2 Oh, clap your hands, all you nations; Shout to God with the voice of rejoicing;
3 For the Lord Most High is fearsome, A great King over all the earth.
4 He subdued the peoples under us And the nations under our feet.
5 He chose us for His inheritance, Jacob’s beauty, which He loved. (Pause)
6 God ascended with a shout, The Lord with the sound of the trumpet.
7 Sing praises to God; sing praises; Sing praises to our King; sing praises;
8 For God is King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.
9 God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.
10 The rulers of the people gather together With the God of Abraham, For God’s mighty ones of the earth are greatly exalted.
Proverbs of Solomon 9
16 A woman in need of a morsel is without discernment and overbold; She has no sense of shame.
17 She sits upon the doors of her own house, Upon a seat openly in the streets,
18 Calling to those who pass by And who go straight along their paths,
19 “He who is very lacking in discernment, let him turn aside to me; And he who is in need of discernment, I exhort, saying,
20 ‘Grasp with pleasure the secret bread And the sweet water of theft.’ ”
1 Corinthians 3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.†
2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
Wisdom in the Apostolic Ministry
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.†
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.†
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Wisdom in Christ’s Church
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.†
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness” ;
20 and again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:†
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours.
23 And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.