Bible Readings for September 3, 2017

Today our passages are Ecclesiastes 4:1–6:12; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:7; Psalm 47:1-9; and Proverbs 22:16. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Steet, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

---

Ecclesiastes 4-6:12 (Contemporary English Version)

Ecclesiastes 4

 ¹I looked again and saw people being mistreated everywhere on earth. They were crying, but no one was there to offer comfort, and those who mistreated them were powerful. ²I said to myself, "The dead are better off than the living. ³But those who have never been born are better off than anyone else, because they have never seen the terrible things that happen on this earth."     ⁴Then I realized that we work and do wonderful things just because we are jealous of others. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind. ^[a] ⁵Fools will fold their hands
   and starve to death.
    ⁶Yet a very little food
   eaten in peace
   is better than twice as much
   earned from overwork
   and chasing the wind. ^[b]
    ⁷Once again I saw that nothing on earth makes sense. ⁸For example, some people don't have friends or family. But they are never satisfied with what they own, and they never stop working to get more. They should ask themselves, "Why am I always working to have more? Who will get what I leave behind?" What a senseless and miserable life!
   

It Is Better To Have a Friend

 ⁹You are better off to have a friend than to be all alone, because then you will get more enjoyment out of what you earn. ¹⁰If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble. ¹¹If you sleep alone, you won't have anyone to keep you warm on a cold night. ¹²Someone might be able to beat up one of you, but not both of you. As the saying goes, "A rope made from three strands of cord is hard to break."     ¹³You may be poor and young. But if you are wise, you are better off than a foolish old king who won't listen to advice. ¹⁴Even if you were not born into the royal family and have been a prisoner and poor, you can still be king. ¹⁵I once saw everyone in the world follow a young leader who came to power after the king was gone. ¹⁶His followers could not even be counted. But years from now, no one will praise him--this makes no more sense than chasing the wind.
   

Ecclesiastes 5

Be Careful How You Worship

 ¹Be careful what you do when you enter the house of God. Some fools go there to offer sacrifices, even though they haven't sinned. But it's best just to listen when you go to worship. ²Don't talk before you think or make promises to God without thinking them through. God is in heaven, and you are on earth, so don't talk too much. ³If you keep thinking about something, you will dream about it. If you talk too much, you will say the wrong thing.     ⁴God doesn't like fools. So don't be slow to keep your promises to God. ⁵It's better not to make a promise at all than to make one and not keep it. ⁶Don't let your mouth get you in trouble! And don't say to the worship leader, ^[c] "I didn't mean what I said." God can destroy everything you have worked for, so don't say something that makes God angry. ⁷Respect and obey God! Daydreaming leads to a lot of senseless talk. ^[d] ⁸Don't be surprised if the poor of your country are abused, and injustice takes the place of justice. After all, the lower officials must do what the higher ones order them to do. ⁹And since the king is the highest official, he benefits most from the taxes paid on the land. ^[e] ¹⁰If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn't make sense either. ¹¹The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won't do you any good--others will just spend it for you. ¹²If you have to work hard for a living, you can rest well at night, even if you don't have much to eat. But if you are rich, you can't even sleep.
    ¹³I have seen something terribly unfair. People get rich, but it does them no good. ¹⁴Suddenly they lose everything in a bad business deal, then have nothing to leave for their children. ¹⁵They came into this world naked, and when they die, they will be just as naked. They can't take anything with them, and they won't have anything to show for all their work. ¹⁶That's terribly unfair. They leave the world just as they came into it. They gained nothing from running after the wind. ¹⁷Besides all this, they are always gloomy at mealtime, and they are troubled, sick, and bitter. ^[f] ¹⁸What is the best thing to do in the short life that God has given us? I think we should enjoy eating, drinking, and working hard. This is what God intends for us to do. ¹⁹Suppose you are very rich and able to enjoy everything you own. Then go ahead and enjoy working hard--this is God's gift to you. ²⁰God will keep you so happy that you won't have time to worry about each day.
   

Ecclesiastes 6

Don't Depend on Wealth

 ¹There is something else terribly unfair, and it troubles everyone on earth. ²God may give you everything you want--money, property, and wealth. Then God doesn't let you enjoy it, and someone you don't even know gets it all. That's senseless and terribly unfair!     ³You may live a long time and have a hundred children. But a child born dead is better off than you, unless you enjoy life and have a decent burial. ^4-5That child will never live to see the sun or to have a name, and it will go straight to the world of darkness. But it will still find more rest than you, ⁶even if you live two thousand years and don't enjoy life. As you know, we all end up in the same place.
    ⁷We struggle just to have enough to eat, but we are never satisfied. ⁸We may be sensible, yet we are no better off than a fool. And if we are poor, it still doesn't do us any good to try to live right. ⁹It's better to enjoy what we have than to always want something else, because that makes no more sense than chasing the wind. ^[g] ¹⁰Everything that happens was decided long ago. We humans know what we are like, and we can't argue with God, because he is ^[h] too strong for us. ¹¹The more we talk, the less sense we make, so what good does it do to talk? ¹²Life is short and meaningless, and it fades away like a shadow. Who knows what is best for us? Who knows what will happen after we are gone?

Footnotes:

1. Ecclesiastes 4:4 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14.
2. Ecclesiastes 4:6 even. . . sinned: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Ecclesiastes 5:6 worship leader: Or "messenger."
4. Ecclesiastes 5:7 Daydreaming. . . talk: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Ecclesiastes 5:9 land: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 9.
6. Ecclesiastes 5:17 bitter: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
7. Ecclesiastes 6:9 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14,17.
8. Ecclesiastes 6:10 with God, because he is: Or "with anyone who is."

---

 

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7 (Contemporary English Version)

The Temple of the Living God

 ¹⁴Stay away from people who are not followers of the Lord! Can someone who is good get along with someone who is evil? Are light and darkness the same? ¹⁵Is Christ a friend of Satan? ^[a] Can people who follow the Lord have anything in common with those who don't? ¹⁶Do idols belong in the temple of God? We are the temple of the living God, as God himself says, "I will live with these people    and walk among them.
   I will be their God,
   and they will be
   my people."
    ¹⁷The Lord also says,
   "Leave them and stay away!
   Don't touch anything
   that isn't clean.
   Then I will welcome you
    ¹⁸and be your Father.
   You will be my sons
   and my daughters,
   as surely as I am God,
   the All-Powerful."
   

2 Corinthians 7

 ¹My friends, God has made us these promises. So we should stay away from everything that keeps our bodies and spirits from being clean. We should honor God and try to be completely like him.    

The Church Makes Paul Happy

 ²Make a place for us in your hearts! We haven't mistreated or hurt anyone. We haven't cheated anyone. ³I am not saying this to be hard on you. But, as I have said before, you will always be in our thoughts, whether we live or die. ⁴I trust you completely. ^[b] I am always proud of you, and I am greatly encouraged. In all my trouble I am still very happy. ⁵After we came to Macedonia, we didn't have any chance to rest. We were faced with all kinds of problems. We were troubled by enemies and troubled by fears. ⁶But God cheers up people in need, and that is what he did when he sent Titus to us. ⁷Of course, we were glad to see Titus, but what really made us glad is the way you cheered him up. He told how sorry you were and how concerned you were about me. And this made me even happier.    

Footnotes:

1. 2 Corinthians 6:15 Satan: The Greek text has "Beliar," which is another form of the Hebrew word "Belial," meaning "wicked" or "useless." The Jewish people sometimes used this as a name for Satan.
2. 2 Corinthians 7:4 I trust you completely: Or "I have always spoken the truth to you" or "I can speak freely to you."

---

Psalm 47:1-9 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 47

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

God Rules the Nations

 ¹All of you nations,    clap your hands
   and shout
   joyful praises to God.
    ²The LORD Most High is fearsome,
   the ruler of all the earth.
    ³God has put every nation
   under our power,
    ⁴and he chose for us the land
   that was the pride of Jacob,
   his favorite.
    ⁵God goes up to his throne,
   as people shout
   and trumpets blast.
    ⁶Sing praises to God our King,
    ⁷the ruler of all the earth!
   Praise God with songs.
    ⁸God rules the nations
   from his sacred throne.
    ⁹Their leaders come together
   and are now the people
   of Abraham's God.
   All rulers on earth
   surrender their weapons,
   and God is greatly praised!

---

Proverbs 22:16 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁶Cheat the poor to make profit
   or give gifts to the rich--
   either way you lose.

---

Verse of the Day

“[It Is Best To Obey the LORD]with this message: People of Israel, I am the holy LORD God, the one who rescues you. For your own good, I teach you, and I lead you along the right path.” - Isaiah 48:17

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

---

 

Thought for the Day

 

American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding, Henry J. Kaiser wrote, “When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.”