Wisdom of Sirach 19, 20
1 A working man who is a drunk will not become wealthy,
And he who despises small things will fail little by little.
2 Wine and women will draw away intelligent men,
And he who joins himself to prostitutes shall become very reckless.
3 Decay and worms will inherit him,
And his reckless soul will be carried away.
Don’t Gossip
4 He who trusts quickly is unwise in heart,
And he who sins will err against his own soul.
5 He who rejoices in evil shall be condemned,
6 And he who hates talkativeness will sin less.
7 Never repeat a word and you will lose nothing at all;
8 With friend or enemy, do not report it,
And unless it is a sin for you, do not reveal it.
9 For someone heard you and watched you,
And in time will hate you.
10 Have you heard a word? Let it die with you.
Take courage; it will not burst you.
11 But a fool will suffer birth-pangs because of such a word,
Like a woman in labor with a child.
12 Like an arrow stuck in the flesh of a thigh,
So is a word inside a fool.
13 Question a friend; perhaps he did not do it.
And if he did something, perhaps he will not repeat it.
14 Question a neighbor; perhaps he did not say it.
And if he did say it, may he not say it twice.
15 Question a friend, for often it is slander.
So do not believe every word.
16 A person slips, but it was not his intention;
For who has not sinned with his tongue?
17 Question your neighbor before you threaten him,
And give place to the law of the Most High.
The Wise and the Clever
18 All wisdom is the fear of the Lord,
And in all wisdom there is the doing of the Law.
19 Wisdom is not the knowledge of evil,
Nor is there discernment in the counsel of sinners.
20 There is a cleverness that is an abomination,
And there is a fool who is lacking in wisdom.
21 Better is a man who is afraid but lacks understanding,
Than a man who abounds in discernment but transgresses the law.
22 There is a precise cleverness which itself is unjust;
And there is one who is offensive that justice may be revealed.
23 There is an evildoer bowed down in mourning,
But inwardly he is full of deceit.
24 He covers his face and pretends to be deaf,
But when no one notices, he will take advantage of you.
25 If he is prevented from sinning because he lacks strength,
When he later finds an opportunity, he will do evil.
26 A man will be known by his appearance,
And a man of intelligence will be known
By his countenance when you meet him.
27 The clothing of a man and the way he laughs and walks
Give indication of who he is.
When to Speak
1 There is a rebuke which is not timely,
And there is he who is silent but has discernment.
2 How much better it is to rebuke than to seethe with anger.
3 He who confesses his fault will be kept from loss.
4 Like the desire of a eunuch to violate a maiden,
So is the man who executes justice by violence.
5 There is a man who is silent but is found to be wise,
And there is a man who is hateful because he talks too much.
6 There is a man who is silent because he has no answer,
And there is a man who is silent because he knows when to speak.
7 A wise man will keep silent until it is the right time to speak,
But an arrogant and undiscerning man will speak out of turn.
8 The man who talks too much will be detested,
And the man who stands on his rights will be hated.
Buying and Selling
9 There is prosperity in the midst of adversities,
But there is also a sum realized by a sale for a loss.
10 There is a gift that will not profit you,
And there is a gift where the repayment is double.
11 There is a loss because of glory,
And there is a man who raises his head from a humble state.
12 There is a man who buys much with little,
But pays for it sevenfold.
13 A wise man will make himself beloved through his words,
But the kindnesses of fools will be forgotten.
14 The gift of a senseless man will not benefit you,
For his eyes are many instead of one.
15 He will give little but insult much,
And he will open his mouth like a herald.
Today he will lend but tomorrow he will demand it back;
Such a man is hateful.
A Man without Grace
16 A fool will say, “I have no friend,
And I get no thanks for my good deeds.
17 Those who eat my bread are worthless in their speech.”
How many will laugh scornfully at him, and how often?
18 A slip on the ground is better than a slip of the tongue;
Thus the downfall of evil will come speedily.
19 A man without grace is like a story told at the wrong time;
It will continue on the lips of the ignorant.
20 A parable from the lips of a fool will be rejected,
For he does not tell it at its proper time.
Commentary on Sinners
21 There is one who is hindered from sinning because of his poverty,
So when he rests, he will not be pierced with sorrow.
22 There is one who may lose his life through shame,
Or lose it because of his foolish countenance.
23 There is one who makes a promise to a friend because of shame,
And needlessly gains him as an enemy.
24 A lie is an evil disgrace in a man;
It will continue on the lips of the ignorant.
25 A thief is preferable to a continual liar;
Both, however, will inherit destruction.
26 The character of a liar brings dishonor,
And his shame is continually with him.
Ways of the Wise
27 A wise man will advance himself with his words,
And a man with discernment will please great men.
28 A man who works the earth will raise up his harvest,
And he who pleases great men will atone for wrongdoing.
29 Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise,
And like a muzzle on the mouth they turn aside rebukes.
30 Wisdom hidden and unseen treasure:
What profit is there in either of them?
31 Better is the man who hides his foolishness
Than a man who hides his wisdom.
Psalm 70:1–13
1 By David; of the sons of Jonadab and the first ones taken captive.
O God, in You I hope; may I never be put to shame.
2 Deliver me in Your righteousness, and set me free;
Incline Your ear to me and save me.
3 Be to me a God for protection
And a strong place for salvation,
For You are my foundation and my refuge.
4 O my God, deliver me from the hand of the sinner,
From the hand of those who transgress the law and act unjustly;
5 For You are my patience, O Lord;
The Lord is my hope from my youth.
6 By You I have been supported from birth;
From my mother’s womb You have been my protector;
My song shall be always of You.
7 I am become as a wonder to many,
And You are my strong helper.
8 Let my mouth be filled with Your praise,
That I may sing of Your glory
And of Your magnificence all the day long.
9 Do not abandon me in the time of old age;
When my strength fails, do not forsake me.
10 For my enemies speak against me,
And those who watch for my soul plot together,
11 Saying, “God forsook him;
Pursue and lay hold of him,
For there is no deliverer.”
12 O God, do not stand far off from me;
O my God, give heed to help me.
13 Let those who falsely accuse my soul be shamed and forsaken;
Let those who seek evils for me be covered with shame and reproach.
Proverbs 14:21–25
21 He who dishonors the poor sins,
But he who has mercy on the poor is very blessed.
22 Deceivers devise evil things,
But good men devise mercy and truth.
23 Devisers of evil things do not understand mercy and faithfulness,
But mercies and faithfulness are with devisers of good things.
24 To everyone who is careful there is an abundance,
But he who is pleasure-taking and slothful shall be in want.
25 The crown of the wise is astuteness,
But the pastime of the undiscerning is evil.
2 Corinthians 11:1–15
1 Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me.
2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!
Paul and False Apostles
5 For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.
6 Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things.
7 Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?
8 I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.
9 And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself.
10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no one shall stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows!
12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.