Bible Readings for September 2, 2013

Today our passages are Ecclesiastes 1:1–3:22; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Psalm 46:1-11; and Proverbs 22:15. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Ecclesiastes 1-3:22 (Contemporary English Version)

Ecclesiastes 1

Nothing Makes Sense

 ¹When the son of David was king in Jerusalem, he was known to be very wise, ^[a] and he said: ²Nothing makes sense!    Everything is nonsense.
   I have seen it all--
   nothing makes sense!
    ³What is there to show
   for all of our hard work
   here on this earth?
    ⁴People come, and people go,
   but still the world
   never changes.
    ⁵The sun comes up,
   the sun goes down;
   it hurries right back
   to where it started from.
    ⁶The wind blows south,
   the wind blows north;
   round and round it blows
   over and over again.
    ⁷All rivers empty into the sea,
   but it never spills over;
   one by one the rivers return
   to their source. ^{[b] 8}All of life is far more boring
   than words could ever say.
   Our eyes and our ears
   are never satisfied
   with what we see and hear.
    ⁹Everything that happens
   has happened before;
   nothing is new,
   nothing under the sun.
    ¹⁰Someone might say,
   "Here is something new!"
   But it happened before,
   long before we were born.
    ¹¹No one who lived in the past
   is remembered anymore,
   and everyone yet to be born
   will be forgotten too.
   

It Is Senseless To Be Wise

 ¹²I said these things when I lived in Jerusalem as king of Israel. ¹³With all my wisdom I tried to understand everything that happens here on earth. And God has made this so hard for us humans to do. ¹⁴I have seen it all, and everything is just as senseless as chasing the wind. ^{[c] 15}If something is crooked,    it can't be made straight;
   if something isn't there,
   it can't be counted.
    ¹⁶I said to myself, "You are by far the wisest person who has ever lived in Jerusalem. You are eager to learn, and you have learned a lot." ¹⁷Then I decided to find out all I could about wisdom and foolishness. Soon I realized that this too was as senseless as chasing the wind.
    ¹⁸The more you know,
   the more you hurt;
   the more you understand,
   the more you suffer.
   

Ecclesiastes 2

It Is Senseless To Be Selfish

 ¹I said to myself, "Have fun and enjoy yourself!" But this didn't make sense. ²Laughing and having fun is crazy. What good does it do? ³I wanted to find out what was best for us during the short time we have on this earth. So I decided to make myself happy with wine and find out what it means to be foolish, without really being foolish myself.     ⁴I did some great things. I built houses and planted vineyards. ⁵I had flower gardens and orchards full of fruit trees. ⁶And I had pools where I could get water for the trees. ⁷I owned slaves, and their sons and daughters became my slaves. I had more sheep and goats than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem. ⁸Foreign rulers brought me silver, gold, and precious treasures. Men and women sang for me, and I had many wives ^[d] who gave me great pleasure. ⁹I was the most famous person who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was very wise. ¹⁰I got whatever I wanted and did whatever made me happy. But most of all, I enjoyed my work. ¹¹Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind. ^[e] Nothing on earth is worth the trouble.

Wisdom Makes Sense

 ¹²I asked myself, "What can the next king do that I haven't done?" Then I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and stupidity. ¹³And I discovered that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. ¹⁴Wisdom is like having two good eyes; foolishness leaves you in the dark. But wise or foolish, we all end up the same.     ¹⁵Finally, I said to myself, "Being wise got me nowhere! The same thing will happen to me that happens to fools. Nothing makes sense. ¹⁶Wise or foolish, we all die and are soon forgotten." ¹⁷This made me hate life. Everything we do is painful; it's just as senseless as chasing the wind.
    ¹⁸Suddenly I realized that others would someday get everything I had worked for so hard, then I started hating it all. ¹⁹Who knows if those people will be sensible or stupid? Either way, they will own everything I have earned by hard work and wisdom. It doesn't make sense.
    ²⁰I thought about all my hard work, and I felt depressed. ²¹When we use our wisdom, knowledge, and skill to get what we own, why do we have to leave it to someone who didn't work for it? This is senseless and wrong. ²²What do we really gain from all of our hard work? ²³Our bodies ache during the day, and work is torture. Then at night our thoughts are troubled. It just doesn't make sense.
    ²⁴The best thing we can do is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working ^[f]. I believe these are God's gifts to us, ²⁵and no one enjoys eating and living more than I do. ²⁶If we please God, he will make us wise, understanding, and happy. But if we sin, God will make us struggle for a living, then he will give all we own to someone who pleases him. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind. ^[g]
   

Ecclesiastes 3

Everything Has Its Time

 ¹Everything on earth    has its own time
   and its own season.
    ²There is a time
   for birth and death,
   planting and reaping,
    ³for killing and healing,
   destroying and building,
    ⁴for crying and laughing,
   weeping and dancing,
    ⁵for throwing stones
   and gathering stones,
   embracing and parting.
    ⁶There is a time
   for finding and losing,
   keeping and giving,
    ⁷for tearing and sewing,
   listening and speaking.
    ⁸There is also a time
   for love and hate,
   for war and peace.
   

What God Has Given Us To Do

 ⁹What do we gain by all of our hard work? ¹⁰I have seen what difficult things God demands of us. ¹¹God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done, and he puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. ¹²I know the best thing we can do is to always enjoy life, ¹³because God's gift to us is the happiness we get from our food and drink and from the work we do. ¹⁴Everything God has done will last forever; nothing he does can ever be changed. God has done all this, so that we will worship him.     ¹⁵Everything that happens
   has happened before,
   and all that will be
   has already been--
   God does everything
   over and over again. ^[h]

The Future Is Known Only to God

 ¹⁶Everywhere on earth I saw violence and injustice instead of fairness and justice. ¹⁷So I told myself that God has set a time and a place for everything. He will judge everyone, both the wicked and the good. ¹⁸I know that God is testing us to show us that we are merely animals. ¹⁹Like animals we breathe and die, and we are no better off than they are. It just doesn't make sense. ²⁰All living creatures go to the same place. We are made from earth, and we return to the earth. ²¹Who really knows if our spirits go up and the spirits of animals go down into the earth? ²²We were meant to enjoy our work, and that's the best thing we can do. We can never know the future.    

Footnotes:

1. Ecclesiastes 1:1 known to be very wise: This stands for the Hebrew word often translated "preacher" or "teacher." The word may refer to someone who was a very wise leader or to someone who had become wise from collecting sayings about wisdom.
2. Ecclesiastes 1:7 return to their source: Or "flow into the sea."
3. Ecclesiastes 1:14 chasing the wind: Or "eating the wind."
4. Ecclesiastes 2:8 many wives: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Ecclesiastes 2:11 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14.
6. Ecclesiastes 2:24 The best. . .working: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Ecclesiastes 2:26 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14,17.
8. Ecclesiastes 3:15 God does. . . again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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2 Corinthians 6:1-13 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Corinthians 6

 ¹We work together with God, and we beg you to make good use of God's kindness to you. ²In the Scriptures God says,    "When the time came,
   I listened to you,
   and when you needed help,
   I came to save you."
   That time has come. This is the day for you to be saved.
    ³We don't want anyone to find fault with our work, and so we try hard not to cause problems. ⁴But in everything and in every way we show that we truly are God's servants. We have always been patient, though we have had a lot of trouble, suffering, and hard times. ⁵We have been beaten, put in jail, and hurt in riots. We have worked hard and have gone without sleep or food. ⁶But we have kept ourselves pure and have been understanding, patient, and kind. The Holy Spirit has been with us, and our love has been real. ⁷We have spoken the truth, and God's power has worked in us. In all our struggles we have said and done only what is right.
    ⁸Whether we were honored or dishonored or praised or cursed, we always told the truth about ourselves. But some people said we did not. ⁹We are unknown to others, but well known to you. We seem to be dying, and yet we are still alive. We have been punished, but never killed, ¹⁰and we are always happy, even in times of suffering. Although we are poor, we have made many people rich. And though we own nothing, everything is ours.
    ¹¹Friends in Corinth, we are telling the truth when we say that there is room in our hearts for you. ¹²We are not holding back on our love for you, but you are holding back on your love for us. ¹³I speak to you as I would speak to my own children. Please make room in your hearts for us.

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Psalm 46:1-11 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 46

(A special song for the people of Korah and for the music leader.)

God Is Our Mighty Fortress

 ¹God is our mighty fortress,    always ready to help
   in times of trouble.
    ²And so, we won't be afraid!
   Let the earth tremble
   and the mountains tumble
   into the deepest sea.
    ³Let the ocean roar and foam,
   and its raging waves
   shake the mountains.
    ⁴A river and its streams
   bring joy to the city,
   which is the sacred home
   of God Most High.
    ⁵God is in that city,
   and it won't be shaken.
   He will help it at dawn.
    ⁶Nations rage! Kingdoms fall!
   But at the voice of God
   the earth itself melts.
    ⁷The LORD All-Powerful
   is with us.
   The God of Jacob
   is our fortress.
    ⁸Come! See the fearsome things
   the LORD has done on earth.
    ⁹God brings wars to an end
   all over the world.
   He breaks the arrows,
   shatters the spears,
   and burns the shields. ^{[a] 10}Our God says, "Calm down,
   and learn that I am God!
   All nations on earth
   will honor me."
    ¹¹The LORD All-Powerful
   is with us.
   The God of Jacob
   is our fortress.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 46:9 shields: Or " chariots."

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Proverbs 22:15 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁵All children are foolish,
   but firm correction
   will make them change.

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Verse of the Day

“Our LORD, your love is seen all over the world. Teach me your laws.” - Psalm 119:64

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Jane Wagner, American writer, director and producer, wrote, “Why is it when we talk to God we're said to be praying — but when God talks to us, we're said to be schizophrenic?”