Bible Readings for September 7, 2012

Today our passages are Song of Solomon 1:1–8:14; 2 Corinthians 8:16–9:15; Psalm 49:1–51:19; and Proverbs 22:22-25. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

 

Song of Solomon 1-8:14 (The Message)

Song of Solomon 1

 ¹The Song—best of all songs—Solomon's song! The Woman  ^2-3 Kiss me—full on the mouth!
   Yes! For your love is better than wine,
   headier than your aromatic oils.
The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.
   No wonder everyone loves to say your name!

 ⁴ Take me away with you! Let's run off together!
   An elopement with my King-Lover!
We'll celebrate, we'll sing,
   we'll make great music.
Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine.
   Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?

 ^5-6 I am weathered but still elegant,
   oh, dear sisters in Jerusalem,
Weather-darkened like Kedar desert tents,
   time-softened like Solomon's Temple hangings.
Don't look down on me because I'm dark,
   darkened by the sun's harsh rays.
My brothers ridiculed me and sent me to work in the fields.
   They made me care for the face of the earth,
   but I had no time to care for my own face.

 ⁷ Tell me where you're working
   —I love you so much—
Tell me where you're tending your flocks,
   where you let them rest at noontime.
Why should I be the one left out,
   outside the orbit of your tender care?

The Man

 ⁸ If you can't find me, loveliest of all women,
   it's all right. Stay with your flocks.
Lead your lambs to good pasture.
   Stay with your shepherd neighbors.

 ^9-11 You remind me of Pharaoh's
   well-groomed and satiny mares.
Pendant earrings line the elegance of your cheeks;
   strands of jewels illumine the curve of your throat.
I'm making jewelry for you, gold and silver jewelry
   that will mark and accent your beauty.

The Woman

 ^12-14 When my King-Lover lay down beside me,
   my fragrance filled the room.
His head resting between my breasts—
   the head of my lover was a sachet of sweet myrrh.
My beloved is a bouquet of wildflowers
   picked just for me from the fields of Engedi.

The Man

 ¹⁵ Oh, my dear friend! You're so beautiful!
   And your eyes so beautiful—like doves!

The Woman

 ^16-17 And you, my dear lover—you're so handsome!
   And the bed we share is like a forest glen.
We enjoy a canopy of cedars
   enclosed by cypresses, fragrant and green.

Song of Solomon 2

    I'm just a wildflower picked from the plains of Sharon, a lotus blossom from the valley pools.

The Man

 ² A lotus blossoming in a swamp of weeds—
   that's my dear friend among the girls in the village.

The Woman

 ^3-4 As an apricot tree stands out in the forest,
   my lover stands above the young men in town.
All I want is to sit in his shade,
   to taste and savor his delicious love.
He took me home with him for a festive meal,
   but his eyes feasted on me!

 ^5-6 Oh! Give me something refreshing to eat—and quickly!
   Apricots, raisins—anything. I'm about to faint with love!
His left hand cradles my head,
   and his right arm encircles my waist!

 ⁷ Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
   by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
   until the time is ripe—and you're ready.

 ^8-10 Look! Listen! There's my lover!
   Do you see him coming?
Vaulting the mountains,
   leaping the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle, graceful;
   like a young stag, virile.
Look at him there, on tiptoe at the gate,
   all ears, all eyes—ready!
My lover has arrived
   and he's speaking to me!

The Man

 ^10-14 Get up, my dear friend,
   fair and beautiful lover—come to me!
Look around you: Winter is over;
   the winter rains are over, gone!
Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
   The whole world's a choir—and singing!
Spring warblers are filling the forest
   with sweet arpeggios.
Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,
   and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms.
Oh, get up, dear friend,
   my fair and beautiful lover—come to me!
Come, my shy and modest dove—
   leave your seclusion, come out in the open.
Let me see your face,
   let me hear your voice.
For your voice is soothing
   and your face is ravishing.

The Woman

 ¹⁵ Then you must protect me from the foxes,
   foxes on the prowl,
Foxes who would like nothing better
   than to get into our flowering garden.

 ^16-17 My lover is mine, and I am his.
   Nightly he strolls in our garden,
Delighting in the flowers
   until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.    Turn to me, dear lover.
   Come like a gazelle.
Leap like a wild stag
   on delectable mountains!

Song of Solomon 3

    Restless in bed and sleepless through the night, I longed for my lover.
   I wanted him desperately. His absence was painful.
So I got up, went out and roved the city,
   hunting through streets and down alleys.
I wanted my lover in the worst way!
   I looked high and low, and didn't find him.
And then the night watchmen found me
   as they patrolled the darkened city.
   "Have you seen my dear lost love?" I asked.
No sooner had I left them than I found him,
   found my dear lost love.
I threw my arms around him and held him tight,
   wouldn't let him go until I had him home again,
   safe at home beside the fire.

 ⁵ Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem,
   by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
   until the time is ripe—and you're ready.

 ^6-10 What's this I see, approaching from the desert,
   raising clouds of dust,
Filling the air with sweet smells
   and pungent aromatics?
Look! It's Solomon's carriage,
   carried and guarded by sixty soldiers,
   sixty of Israel's finest,
All of them armed to the teeth,
   trained for battle,
   ready for anything, anytime.
King Solomon once had a carriage built
   from fine-grained Lebanon cedar.
He had it framed with silver and roofed with gold.
   The cushions were covered with a purple fabric,
   the interior lined with tooled leather.

 ¹¹ Come and look, sisters in Jerusalem.
   Oh, sisters of Zion, don't miss this!
My King-Lover,
   dressed and garlanded for his wedding,
   his heart full, bursting with joy!

Song of Solomon 4

The Man

 ^1-5 You're so beautiful, my darling, so beautiful, and your dove eyes are veiled
By your hair as it flows and shimmers,
   like a flock of goats in the distance
   streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
Your smile is generous and full—
   expressive and strong and clean.
Your lips are jewel red,
   your mouth elegant and inviting,
   your veiled cheeks soft and radiant.
The smooth, lithe lines of your neck
   command notice—all heads turn in awe and admiration!
Your breasts are like fawns,
   twins of a gazelle, grazing among the first spring flowers.

 ^6-7 The sweet, fragrant curves of your body,
   the soft, spiced contours of your flesh
Invite me, and I come. I stay
   until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love,
   beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.

 ^8-15 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
   Leave Lebanon behind, and come.
Leave your high mountain hideaway.
   Abandon your wilderness seclusion,
Where you keep company with lions
   and panthers guard your safety.
You've captured my heart, dear friend.
   You looked at me, and I fell in love.
   One look my way and I was hopelessly in love!
How beautiful your love, dear, dear friend—
   far more pleasing than a fine, rare wine,
   your fragrance more exotic than select spices.
The kisses of your lips are honey, my love,
   every syllable you speak a delicacy to savor.
Your clothes smell like the wild outdoors,
   the ozone scent of high mountains.
Dear lover and friend, you're a secret garden,
   a private and pure fountain.
Body and soul, you are paradise,
   a whole orchard of succulent fruits—
Ripe apricots and peaches,
   oranges and pears;
Nut trees and cinnamon,
   and all scented woods;
Mint and lavender,
   and all herbs aromatic;
A garden fountain, sparkling and splashing,
   fed by spring waters from the Lebanon mountains.

The Woman

 ¹⁶ Wake up, North Wind,
   get moving, South Wind!
Breathe on my garden,
   fill the air with spice fragrance.    Oh, let my lover enter his garden!
   Yes, let him eat the fine, ripe fruits.

Song of Solomon 5

The Man

 ¹ I went to my garden, dear friend, best lover! breathed the sweet fragrance.
I ate the fruit and honey,
   I drank the nectar and wine.    Celebrate with me, friends!
   Raise your glasses—"To life! To love!"

The Woman

 ² I was sound asleep, but in my dreams I was wide awake.
   Oh, listen! It's the sound of my lover knocking, calling!

The Man

"Let me in, dear companion, dearest friend,
   my dove, consummate lover!
I'm soaked with the dampness of the night,
   drenched with dew, shivering and cold."

The Woman

 ³ "But I'm in my nightgown—do you expect me to get dressed?
   I'm bathed and in bed—do you want me to get dirty?"

 ^4-7 But my lover wouldn't take no for an answer,
   and the longer he knocked, the more excited I became.
I got up to open the door to my lover,
   sweetly ready to receive him,
Desiring and expectant
   as I turned the door handle.
But when I opened the door he was gone.
   My loved one had tired of waiting and left.
And I died inside—oh, I felt so bad!
   I ran out looking for him
But he was nowhere to be found.
   I called into the darkness—but no answer.
The night watchmen found me
   as they patrolled the streets of the city.
They slapped and beat and bruised me,
   ripping off my clothes,
These watchmen,
   who were supposed to be guarding the city.

 ⁸ I beg you, sisters in Jerusalem—
   if you find my lover,
Please tell him I want him,
   that I'm heartsick with love for him.

The Chorus

 ⁹ What's so great about your lover, fair lady?
What's so special about him that you beg for our help?

The Woman

 ^10-16 My dear lover glows with health—
   red-blooded, radiant!
He's one in a million.
   There's no one quite like him!
My golden one, pure and untarnished,
   with raven black curls tumbling across his shoulders.
His eyes are like doves, soft and bright,
   but deep-set, brimming with meaning, like wells of water.
His face is rugged, his beard smells like sage,
   His voice, his words, warm and reassuring.
Fine muscles ripple beneath his skin,
   quiet and beautiful.
His torso is the work of a sculptor,
   hard and smooth as ivory.
He stands tall, like a cedar,
   strong and deep-rooted,
A rugged mountain of a man,
   aromatic with wood and stone.
His words are kisses, his kisses words.
   Everything about him delights me, thrills me
      through and through!    That's my lover, that's my man,
   dear Jerusalem sisters.

Song of Solomon 6

The Chorus

 ¹ So where has this love of yours gone, fair one?
Where on earth can he be?
   Can we help you look for him?

The Woman

 ^2-3 Never mind. My lover is already on his way to his garden,
   to browse among the flowers, touching the colors and forms.
I am my lover's and my lover is mine.
   He caresses the sweet-smelling flowers.

The Man

 ^4-7 Dear, dear friend and lover,
   you're as beautiful as Tirzah, city of delights,
Lovely as Jerusalem, city of dreams,
   the ravishing visions of my ecstasy.
Your beauty is too much for me—I'm in over my head.
   I'm not used to this! I can't take it in.
Your hair flows and shimmers
   like a flock of goats in the distance
   streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
Your smile is generous and full—
   expressive and strong and clean.
Your veiled cheeks
   are soft and radiant.

 ^8-9 There's no one like her on earth,
   never has been, never will be.
She's a woman beyond compare.
   My dove is perfection,
Pure and innocent as the day she was born,
   and cradled in joy by her mother.
Everyone who came by to see her
   exclaimed and admired her—
All the fathers and mothers, the neighbors and friends,
   blessed and praised her:

 ¹⁰ "Has anyone ever seen anything like this—
   dawn-fresh, moon-lovely, sun-radiant,
   ravishing as the night sky with its galaxies of stars?"

 ^11-12 One day I went strolling through the orchard,
   looking for signs of spring,
Looking for buds about to burst into flower,
   anticipating readiness, ripeness.
Before I knew it my heart was raptured,
   carried away by lofty thoughts!

 ¹³ Dance, dance, dear Shulammite, Angel-Princess!
   Dance, and we'll feast our eyes on your grace!
Everyone wants to see the Shulammite dance
   her victory dances of love and peace.

Song of Solomon 7

    Shapely and graceful your sandaled feet, and queenly your movement—
Your limbs are lithe and elegant,
   the work of a master artist.
Your body is a chalice,
   wine-filled.
Your skin is silken and tawny
   like a field of wheat touched by the breeze.
Your breasts are like fawns,
   twins of a gazelle.
Your neck is carved ivory, curved and slender.
   Your eyes are wells of light, deep with mystery.
   Quintessentially feminine!
Your profile turns all heads,
   commanding attention.
The feelings I get when I see the high mountain ranges
   —stirrings of desire, longings for the heights—
Remind me of you,
   and I'm spoiled for anyone else!
Your beauty, within and without, is absolute,
   dear lover, close companion.
You are tall and supple, like the palm tree,
   and your full breasts are like sweet clusters of dates.
I say, "I'm going to climb that palm tree!
   I'm going to caress its fruit!"
Oh yes! Your breasts
   will be clusters of sweet fruit to me,
Your breath clean and cool like fresh mint,
   your tongue and lips like the best wine.

The Woman

 ^9-12 Yes, and yours are, too—my love's kisses
   flow from his lips to mine.
I am my lover's.
   I'm all he wants. I'm all the world to him!
Come, dear lover—
   let's tramp through the countryside.
Let's sleep at some wayside inn,
   then rise early and listen to bird-song.
Let's look for wildflowers in bloom,
   blackberry bushes blossoming white,
Fruit trees festooned
   with cascading flowers.
And there I'll give myself to you,
   my love to your love!

 ¹³ Love-apples drench us with fragrance,
   fertility surrounds, suffuses us,
Fruits fresh and preserved
   that I've kept and saved just for you, my love.

Song of Solomon 8

    I wish you'd been my twin brother, sharing with me the breasts of my mother,
Playing outside in the street,
   kissing in plain view of everyone,
   and no one thinking anything of it.
I'd take you by the hand and bring you home
   where I was raised by my mother.
You'd drink my wine
   and kiss my cheeks.

 ^3-4 Imagine! His left hand cradling my head,
   his right arm around my waist!
Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem:
   Don't excite love, don't stir it up,
   until the time is ripe—and you're ready.

The Chorus

 ⁵ Who is this I see coming up from the country,
   arm in arm with her lover?

The Man

I found you under the apricot tree,
   and woke you up to love.
Your mother went into labor under that tree,
   and under that very tree she bore you.

The Woman

 ^6-8 Hang my locket around your neck,
   wear my ring on your finger.
Love is invincible facing danger and death.
   Passion laughs at the terrors of hell.
The fire of love stops at nothing—
   it sweeps everything before it.
Flood waters can't drown love,
   torrents of rain can't put it out.
Love can't be bought, love can't be sold—
   it's not to be found in the marketplace.
My brothers used to worry about me:

 ^8-9 "Our little sister has no breasts.
   What shall we do with our little sister
   when men come asking for her?
She's a virgin and vulnerable,
   and we'll protect her.
If they think she's a wall, we'll top it with barbed wire.
   If they think she's a door, we'll barricade it."

 ¹⁰ Dear brothers, I'm a walled-in virgin still,
   but my breasts are full—
And when my lover sees me,
   he knows he'll soon be satisfied.

The Man

 ^11-12 King Solomon may have vast vineyards
   in lush, fertile country,
Where he hires others to work the ground.
   People pay anything to get in on that bounty.
But my vineyard is all mine,
   and I'm keeping it to myself.
You can have your vast vineyards, Solomon,
   you and your greedy guests!

 ¹³ Oh, lady of the gardens,
   my friends are with me listening.
   Let me hear your voice!

The Woman

 ¹⁴ Run to me, dear lover.
   Come like a gazelle.
Leap like a wild stag
   on the spice mountains.

 

2 Corinthians 8:16-9:15 (The Message)

 ^10-20So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands. This isn't so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you're shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written,

   Nothing left over to the one with the most,
   Nothing lacking to the one with the least.
I thank God for giving Titus the same devoted concern for you that I have. He was most considerate of how we felt, but his eagerness to go to you and help out with this relief offering is his own idea. We're sending a companion along with him, someone very popular in the churches for his preaching of the Message. But there's far more to him than popularity. He's rock-solid trustworthy. The churches handpicked him to go with us as we travel about doing this work of sharing God's gifts to honor God as well as we can, taking every precaution against scandal.
 ^20-22We don't want anyone suspecting us of taking one penny of this money for ourselves. We're being as careful in our reputation with the public as in our reputation with God. That's why we're sending another trusted friend along. He's proved his dependability many times over, and carries on as energetically as the day he started. He's heard much about you, and liked what he's heard—so much so that he can't wait to get there.
 ^23-24I don't need to say anything further about Titus. We've been close associates in this work of serving you for a long time. The brothers who travel with him are delegates from churches, a real credit to Christ. Show them what you're made of, the love I've been talking up in the churches. Let them see it for themselves!

2 Corinthians 9

 ^1-2If I wrote any more on this relief offering for the poor Christians, I'd be repeating myself. I know you're on board and ready to go. I've been bragging about you all through Macedonia province, telling them, "Achaia province has been ready to go on this since last year." Your enthusiasm by now has spread to most of them.  ^3-5Now I'm sending the brothers to make sure you're ready, as I said you would be, so my bragging won't turn out to be just so much hot air. If some Macedonians and I happened to drop in on you and found you weren't prepared, we'd all be pretty red-faced—you and us—for acting so sure of ourselves. So to make sure there will be no slipup, I've recruited these brothers as an advance team to get you and your promised offering all ready before I get there. I want you to have all the time you need to make this offering in your own way. I don't want anything forced or hurried at the last minute.
 ^6-7Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.
 ^8-11God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you're ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,

   He throws caution to the winds,
      giving to the needy in reckless abandon.
   His right-living, right-giving ways
      never run out, never wear out.
This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.
 ^12-15Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they'll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!

Psalm 49-51:19 (The Message)

Psalm 49

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

 ^1-2 Listen, everyone, listen— earth-dwellers, don't miss this.
   All you haves
      and have-nots,
   All together now: listen.

 ^3-4 I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
      my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
   I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
      I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp.

 ^5-6 So why should I fear in bad times,
      hemmed in by enemy malice,
   Shoved around by bullies,
      demeaned by the arrogant rich?

 ^7-9 Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue,
      pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
   The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
      and even then it doesn't guarantee
   Life forever, or insurance
      against the Black Hole.

 ^10-11 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
      wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
   They leave all their prowess behind,
      move into their new home, The Coffin,
   The cemetery their permanent address.
      And to think they named counties after themselves!

 ¹² We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
      Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

 ^13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
      who only look out for themselves:
   Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
      they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
   They waste away to nothing—
      nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
   But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
      he reaches down and grabs me.

 ^16-19 So don't be impressed with those who get rich
      and pile up fame and fortune.
   They can't take it with them;
      fame and fortune all get left behind.
   Just when they think they've arrived
      and folks praise them because they've made good,
   They enter the family burial plot
      where they'll never see sunshine again.

 ²⁰ We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
      Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

Psalm 50

An Asaph Psalm

 ^1-3 The God of gods—it's God!—speaks out, shouts, "Earth!"
      welcomes the sun in the east,
      farewells the disappearing sun in the west.
   From the dazzle of Zion,
      God blazes into view.
   Our God makes his entrance,
      he's not shy in his coming.
   Starbursts of fireworks precede him.

 ^4-5 He summons heaven and earth as a jury,
      he's taking his people to court:
   "Round up my saints who swore
      on the Bible their loyalty to me."

 ⁶ The whole cosmos attests to the fairness of this court,
      that here God is judge.

 ^7-15 "Are you listening, dear people? I'm getting ready to speak;
      Israel, I'm about ready to bring you to trial.
   This is God, your God,
      speaking to you.
   I don't find fault with your acts of worship,
      the frequent burnt sacrifices you offer.
   But why should I want your blue-ribbon bull,
      or more and more goats from your herds?
   Every creature in the forest is mine,
      the wild animals on all the mountains.
   I know every mountain bird by name;
      the scampering field mice are my friends.
   If I get hungry, do you think I'd tell you?
      All creation and its bounty are mine.
   Do you think I feast on venison?
      or drink draughts of goats' blood?
   Spread for me a banquet of praise,
      serve High God a feast of kept promises,
   And call for help when you're in trouble—
      I'll help you, and you'll honor me."

 ^16-21 Next, God calls up the wicked:    "What are you up to, quoting my laws,
      talking like we are good friends?
   You never answer the door when I call;
      you treat my words like garbage.
   If you find a thief, you make him your buddy;
      adulterers are your friends of choice.
   Your mouth drools filth;
      lying is a serious art form with you.
   You stab your own brother in the back,
      rip off your little sister.
   I kept a quiet patience while you did these things;
      you thought I went along with your game.
   I'm calling you on the carpet, now,
      laying your wickedness out in plain sight.

 ^22-23 "Time's up for playing fast and
      loose with me.
   I'm ready to pass sentence,
      and there's no help in sight!
   It's the praising life that honors me.
      As soon as you set your foot on the Way,
   I'll show you my salvation."

A David Psalm, After He Was Confronted by Nathan

    About the Affair with Bathsheba

Psalm 51

 ^1-3Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
   Scrub away my guilt,
      soak out my sins in your laundry.
   I know how bad I've been;
      my sins are staring me down.

 ^4-6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
      it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
   You have all the facts before you;
      whatever you decide about me is fair.
   I've been out of step with you for a long time,
      in the wrong since before I was born.
   What you're after is truth from the inside out.
      Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

 ^7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
      scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
   Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
      set these once-broken bones to dancing.
   Don't look too close for blemishes,
      give me a clean bill of health.
   God, make a fresh start in me,
      shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
   Don't throw me out with the trash,
      or fail to breathe holiness in me.
   Bring me back from gray exile,
      put a fresh wind in my sails!
   Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
      so the lost can find their way home.
   Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
      and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
   Unbutton my lips, dear God;
      I'll let loose with your praise.

 ^16-17 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
      a flawless performance is nothing to you.
   I learned God-worship
      when my pride was shattered.
   Heart-shattered lives ready for love
      don't for a moment escape God's notice.

 ^18-19 Make Zion the place you delight in,
      repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.
   Then you'll get real worship from us,
      acts of worship small and large,
   Including all the bulls
      they can heave onto your altar!

 

Proverbs 22:22-25 (The Message)

1

 ^22-23 Don't walk on the poor just because they're poor,
   and don't use your position to crush the weak,
Because God will come to their defense;
   the life you took, he'll take from you and give back to them.

2

 ^24-25 Don't hang out with angry people;
   don't keep company with hotheads.
Bad temper is contagious—
   don't get infected.

 

Verse of the Day

 

“We announce the message about Christ, and we use all our wisdom to warn and teach everyone, so that all of Christ's followers will grow and become mature.” - Colossians 1:28

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

British poet and critic Edith Sitwell wrote, “I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty… But I am too busy thinking about myself.”

Bible Readings for September 6, 2012

Today our passages are Ecclesiastes 10:1–12:14; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15; Psalm 49:1-20; and Proverbs 22:20-21. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

 

Ecclesiastes 10-12:14 (The Message)

Ecclesiastes 10

    Dead flies in perfume make it stink, And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.

 ² Wise thinking leads to right living;
   Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.

 ³ Fools on the road have no sense of direction.
   The way they walk tells the story: "There goes the fool again!"

 ⁴ If a ruler loses his temper against you, don't panic;
   A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.  ^5-7 Here's a piece of bad business I've seen on this earth, An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
   Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
   While maturity is made to take a backseat.
   I've seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
   While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.
 ⁸ Caution: The trap you set might catch you.
   Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.
 ⁹ Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.
   Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.
 ¹⁰ Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;
   Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.
 ¹¹ If the snake bites before it's been charmed,
   What's the point in then sending for the charmer?
 ^12-13 The words of a wise person are gracious.
   The talk of a fool self-destructs—
   He starts out talking nonsense
   And ends up spouting insanity and evil.

 ¹⁴ Fools talk way too much,
   Chattering stuff they know nothing about.

 ¹⁵ A decent day's work so fatigues fools
   That they can't find their way back to town.
 ^16-17 Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,
   And whose princes party all night.
   Lucky the land whose king is mature,
   Where the princes behave themselves
   And don't drink themselves silly.
 ¹⁸ A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;
   A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.

 ¹⁹ Laughter and bread go together,
   And wine gives sparkle to life—
   But it's money that makes the world go around.

 ²⁰ Don't bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
   And don't abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
   Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
   Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.

Ecclesiastes 11

   Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns.

 ² Don't hoard your goods; spread them around.
   Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.

 ^3-4 When the clouds are full of water, it rains.
   When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.
   Don't sit there watching the wind. Do your own work.
   Don't stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.

 ⁵ Just as you'll never understand
      the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,
   So you'll never understand
      the mystery at work in all that God does.

 ⁶ Go to work in the morning
      and stick to it until evening without watching the clock.
   You never know from moment to moment
      how your work will turn out in the end.

Before the Years Take Their Toll

 ^7-8 Oh, how sweet the light of day,
   And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
   Even if you live a long time, don't take a single day for granted.
   Take delight in each light-filled hour,
   Remembering that there will also be many dark days
   And that most of what comes your way is smoke.

 ⁹ You who are young, make the most of your youth.
   Relish your youthful vigor.
   Follow the impulses of your heart.
   If something looks good to you, pursue it.
   But know also that not just anything goes;
   You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.

 ¹⁰ Live footloose and fancy-free—
   You won't be young forever.
   Youth lasts about as long as smoke.

Ecclesiastes 12

    Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young,
   Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,
   Before your vision dims and the world blurs
   And the winter years keep you close to the fire.

 ^3-5 In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
   Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
   The shades are pulled down on the world.
   You can't come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
   The hum of the household fades away.
   You are wakened now by bird-song.
   Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
   Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
   Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
   Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
   Yes, you're well on your way to eternal rest,
   While your friends make plans for your funeral.

 ^6-7 Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.
   Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
   The body is put back in the same ground it came from.
   The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.

 ⁸ It's all smoke, nothing but smoke.
   The Quester says that everything's smoke.

The Final Word

 ^9-10 Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.

 ¹¹ The words of the wise prod us to live well.
   They're like nails hammered home, holding life together.
   They are given by God, the one Shepherd.  ^12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There's no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you're no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:
   Fear God.
   Do what he tells you.
 ¹⁴ And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil.

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (The Message)

2 Corinthians 8

The Offering

 ^1-4Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians.  ^5-7This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That's what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you're articulate, you're insightful, you're passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too.
 ^8-9I'm not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians' enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich.
 ^10-20So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands. This isn't so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you're shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written,

   Nothing left over to the one with the most,
   Nothing lacking to the one with the least.
I thank God for giving Titus the same devoted concern for you that I have. He was most considerate of how we felt, but his eagerness to go to you and help out with this relief offering is his own idea. We're sending a companion along with him, someone very popular in the churches for his preaching of the Message. But there's far more to him than popularity. He's rock-solid trustworthy. The churches handpicked him to go with us as we travel about doing this work of sharing God's gifts to honor God as well as we can, taking every precaution against scandal.

Psalm 49:1-20 (The Message)

Psalm 49

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

 ^1-2 Listen, everyone, listen— earth-dwellers, don't miss this.
   All you haves
      and have-nots,
   All together now: listen.

 ^3-4 I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
      my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
   I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
      I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp.

 ^5-6 So why should I fear in bad times,
      hemmed in by enemy malice,
   Shoved around by bullies,
      demeaned by the arrogant rich?

 ^7-9 Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue,
      pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
   The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
      and even then it doesn't guarantee
   Life forever, or insurance
      against the Black Hole.

 ^10-11 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
      wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
   They leave all their prowess behind,
      move into their new home, The Coffin,
   The cemetery their permanent address.
      And to think they named counties after themselves!

 ¹² We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
      Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

 ^13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
      who only look out for themselves:
   Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
      they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
   They waste away to nothing—
      nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
   But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
      he reaches down and grabs me.

 ^16-19 So don't be impressed with those who get rich
      and pile up fame and fortune.
   They can't take it with them;
      fame and fortune all get left behind.
   Just when they think they've arrived
      and folks praise them because they've made good,
   They enter the family burial plot
      where they'll never see sunshine again.

 ²⁰ We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
      Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

 

Proverbs 22:20-21 (The Message)

The Thirty Precepts of the Sages

Don't Move Back the Boundary Lines

 ^17-21 Listen carefully to my wisdom;
   take to heart what I can teach you.
You'll treasure its sweetness deep within;
   you'll give it bold expression in your speech.
To make sure your foundation is trust in God,
   I'm laying it all out right now just for you.
I'm giving you thirty sterling principles—
   tested guidelines to live by.
Believe me—these are truths that work,
   and will keep you accountable
   to those who sent you.

 

Verse of the Day

 

“Jesus replied: If anyone loves me, they will obey me. Then my Father will love them, and we will come to them and live in them.” - John 14:23

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform John Dewey wrote, “Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another.”

Bible Readings for September 5, 2012

Today our passages are Ecclesiastes 10:1–12:14; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15; Psalm 49:1-20; and Proverbs 22:20-21. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

 

Ecclesiastes 10-12:14 (The Message)

Ecclesiastes 10

    Dead flies in perfume make it stink, And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.

 ² Wise thinking leads to right living;
   Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.

 ³ Fools on the road have no sense of direction.
   The way they walk tells the story: "There goes the fool again!"

 ⁴ If a ruler loses his temper against you, don't panic;
   A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.  ^5-7 Here's a piece of bad business I've seen on this earth, An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
   Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
   While maturity is made to take a backseat.
   I've seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
   While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.
 ⁸ Caution: The trap you set might catch you.
   Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.
 ⁹ Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.
   Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.
 ¹⁰ Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;
   Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.
 ¹¹ If the snake bites before it's been charmed,
   What's the point in then sending for the charmer?
 ^12-13 The words of a wise person are gracious.
   The talk of a fool self-destructs—
   He starts out talking nonsense
   And ends up spouting insanity and evil.

 ¹⁴ Fools talk way too much,
   Chattering stuff they know nothing about.

 ¹⁵ A decent day's work so fatigues fools
   That they can't find their way back to town.
 ^16-17 Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup,
   And whose princes party all night.
   Lucky the land whose king is mature,
   Where the princes behave themselves
   And don't drink themselves silly.
 ¹⁸ A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;
   A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.

 ¹⁹ Laughter and bread go together,
   And wine gives sparkle to life—
   But it's money that makes the world go around.

 ²⁰ Don't bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
   And don't abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
   Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
   Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.

Ecclesiastes 11

   Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns.

 ² Don't hoard your goods; spread them around.
   Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.

 ^3-4 When the clouds are full of water, it rains.
   When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.
   Don't sit there watching the wind. Do your own work.
   Don't stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.

 ⁵ Just as you'll never understand
      the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,
   So you'll never understand
      the mystery at work in all that God does.

 ⁶ Go to work in the morning
      and stick to it until evening without watching the clock.
   You never know from moment to moment
      how your work will turn out in the end.

Before the Years Take Their Toll

 ^7-8 Oh, how sweet the light of day,
   And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
   Even if you live a long time, don't take a single day for granted.
   Take delight in each light-filled hour,
   Remembering that there will also be many dark days
   And that most of what comes your way is smoke.

 ⁹ You who are young, make the most of your youth.
   Relish your youthful vigor.
   Follow the impulses of your heart.
   If something looks good to you, pursue it.
   But know also that not just anything goes;
   You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.

 ¹⁰ Live footloose and fancy-free—
   You won't be young forever.
   Youth lasts about as long as smoke.

Ecclesiastes 12

    Honor and enjoy your Creator while you're still young,
   Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,
   Before your vision dims and the world blurs
   And the winter years keep you close to the fire.

 ^3-5 In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
   Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
   The shades are pulled down on the world.
   You can't come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
   The hum of the household fades away.
   You are wakened now by bird-song.
   Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
   Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
   Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
   Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
   Yes, you're well on your way to eternal rest,
   While your friends make plans for your funeral.

 ^6-7 Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.
   Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
   The body is put back in the same ground it came from.
   The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.

 ⁸ It's all smoke, nothing but smoke.
   The Quester says that everything's smoke.

The Final Word

 ^9-10 Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth.

 ¹¹ The words of the wise prod us to live well.
   They're like nails hammered home, holding life together.
   They are given by God, the one Shepherd.  ^12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There's no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you're no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:
   Fear God.
   Do what he tells you.
 ¹⁴ And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil.

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (The Message)

2 Corinthians 8

The Offering

 ^1-4Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province. Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians.  ^5-7This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That's what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you're articulate, you're insightful, you're passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too.
 ^8-9I'm not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians' enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich.
 ^10-20So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands. This isn't so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you're shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written,

   Nothing left over to the one with the most,
   Nothing lacking to the one with the least.
I thank God for giving Titus the same devoted concern for you that I have. He was most considerate of how we felt, but his eagerness to go to you and help out with this relief offering is his own idea. We're sending a companion along with him, someone very popular in the churches for his preaching of the Message. But there's far more to him than popularity. He's rock-solid trustworthy. The churches handpicked him to go with us as we travel about doing this work of sharing God's gifts to honor God as well as we can, taking every precaution against scandal.

Psalm 49:1-20 (The Message)

Psalm 49

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

 ^1-2 Listen, everyone, listen— earth-dwellers, don't miss this.
   All you haves
      and have-nots,
   All together now: listen.

 ^3-4 I set plainspoken wisdom before you,
      my heart-seasoned understandings of life.
   I fine-tuned my ear to the sayings of the wise,
      I solve life's riddle with the help of a harp.

 ^5-6 So why should I fear in bad times,
      hemmed in by enemy malice,
   Shoved around by bullies,
      demeaned by the arrogant rich?

 ^7-9 Really! There's no such thing as self-rescue,
      pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
   The cost of rescue is beyond our means,
      and even then it doesn't guarantee
   Life forever, or insurance
      against the Black Hole.

 ^10-11 Anyone can see that the brightest and best die,
      wiped out right along with fools and dunces.
   They leave all their prowess behind,
      move into their new home, The Coffin,
   The cemetery their permanent address.
      And to think they named counties after themselves!

 ¹² We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
      Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

 ^13-15 This is what happens to those who live for the moment,
      who only look out for themselves:
   Death herds them like sheep straight to hell;
      they disappear down the gullet of the grave;
   They waste away to nothing—
      nothing left but a marker in a cemetery.
   But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death,
      he reaches down and grabs me.

 ^16-19 So don't be impressed with those who get rich
      and pile up fame and fortune.
   They can't take it with them;
      fame and fortune all get left behind.
   Just when they think they've arrived
      and folks praise them because they've made good,
   They enter the family burial plot
      where they'll never see sunshine again.

 ²⁰ We aren't immortal. We don't last long.
      Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

 

Proverbs 22:20-21 (The Message)

The Thirty Precepts of the Sages

Don't Move Back the Boundary Lines

 ^17-21 Listen carefully to my wisdom;
   take to heart what I can teach you.
You'll treasure its sweetness deep within;
   you'll give it bold expression in your speech.
To make sure your foundation is trust in God,
   I'm laying it all out right now just for you.
I'm giving you thirty sterling principles—
   tested guidelines to live by.
Believe me—these are truths that work,
   and will keep you accountable
   to those who sent you.

 

Verse of the Day

 

“Jesus came to them and said: I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.” - Matthew 28:18-20

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota Crazy Horse said, “A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.”

Bible Readings for September 4, 2012

Today our passages are Ecclesiastes 7:1–9:18; 2 Corinthians 7:8-16; Psalm 48:1-14; and Proverbs 22:17-19. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 

 

Ecclesiastes 7-9:18 (The Message)

Ecclesiastes 7

Don't Take Anything for Granted

 ¹ A good reputation is better than a fat bank account. Your death date tells more than your birth date.

 ² You learn more at a funeral than at a feast—
   After all, that's where we'll end up. We might discover
      something from it.

 ³ Crying is better than laughing.
   It blotches the face but it scours the heart.

 ⁴ Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving.
   Fools waste their lives in fun and games.

 ⁵ You'll get more from the rebuke of a sage
   Than from the song and dance of fools.

 ⁶ The giggles of fools are like the crackling of twigs
   Under the cooking pot. And like smoke.

 ⁷ Brutality stupefies even the wise
   And destroys the strongest heart.

 ⁸ Endings are better than beginnings.
   Sticking to it is better than standing out.

 ⁹ Don't be quick to fly off the handle.
   Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head.

 ¹⁰ Don't always be asking, "Where are the good old days?"
   Wise folks don't ask questions like that.

 ^11-12 Wisdom is better when it's paired with money,
   Especially if you get both while you're still living.
   Double protection: wisdom and wealth!
   Plus this bonus: Wisdom energizes its owner.

 ¹³ Take a good look at God's work.
   Who could simplify and reduce Creation's curves and angles
   To a plain straight line?

 ¹⁴ On a good day, enjoy yourself;
   On a bad day, examine your conscience.
   God arranges for both kinds of days
   So that we won't take anything for granted.

Stay in Touch with Both Sides

 ^15-17 I've seen it all in my brief and pointless life—here a good person cut down in the middle of doing good, there a bad person living a long life of sheer evil. So don't knock yourself out being good, and don't go overboard being wise. Believe me, you won't get anything out of it. But don't press your luck by being bad, either. And don't be reckless. Why die needlessly?  ¹⁸ It's best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it.

 ¹⁹ Wisdom puts more strength in one wise person
   Than ten strong men give to a city.

 ²⁰ There's not one totally good person on earth,
   Not one who is truly pure and sinless.

 ^21-22 Don't eavesdrop on the conversation of others.
   What if the gossip's about you and you'd rather not hear it?
   You've done that a few times, haven't you—said things
   Behind someone's back you wouldn't say to his face?

How to Interpret the Meaning of Life

 ^23-25 I tested everything in my search for wisdom. I set out to be wise, but it was beyond me, far beyond me, and deep—oh so deep! Does anyone ever find it? I concentrated with all my might, studying and exploring and seeking wisdom—the meaning of life. I also wanted to identify evil and stupidity, foolishness and craziness.  ^26-29 One discovery: A woman can be a bitter pill to swallow, full of seductive scheming and grasping. The lucky escape her; the undiscerning get caught. At least this is my experience—what I, the Quester, have pieced together as I've tried to make sense of life. But the wisdom I've looked for I haven't found. I didn't find one man or woman in a thousand worth my while. Yet I did spot one ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we're the ones who've made a mess of things.

Ecclesiastes 8

    There's nothing better than being wise, Knowing how to interpret the meaning of life.
   Wisdom puts light in the eyes,
   And gives gentleness to words and manners.

No One Can Control the Wind

 ^2-7 Do what your king commands; you gave a sacred oath of obedience. Don't worryingly second-guess your orders or try to back out when the task is unpleasant. You're serving his pleasure, not yours. The king has the last word. Who dares say to him, "What are you doing?" Carrying out orders won't hurt you a bit; the wise person obeys promptly and accurately. Yes, there's a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part. It's true that no one knows what's going to happen, or when. Who's around to tell us?

 ⁸ No one can control the wind or lock it in a box.
   No one has any say-so regarding the day of death.
   No one can stop a battle in its tracks.
   No one who does evil can be saved by evil.  ⁹ All this I observed as I tried my best to understand all that's going on in this world. As long as men and women have the power to hurt each other, this is the way it is.

One Fate for Everybody

 ¹⁰ One time I saw wicked men given a solemn burial in holy ground. When the people returned to the city, they delivered flowery eulogies—and in the very place where wicked acts were done by those very men! More smoke. Indeed.  ¹¹ Because the sentence against evil deeds is so long in coming, people in general think they can get by with murder.
 ^12-13 Even though a person sins and gets by with it hundreds of times throughout a long life, I'm still convinced that the good life is reserved for the person who fears God, who lives reverently in his presence, and that the evil person will not experience a "good" life. No matter how many days he lives, they'll all be as flat and colorless as a shadow—because he doesn't fear God.
 ¹⁴ Here's something that happens all the time and makes no sense at all: Good people get what's coming to the wicked, and bad people get what's coming to the good. I tell you, this makes no sense. It's smoke.
 ¹⁵ So, I'm all for just going ahead and having a good time—the best possible. The only earthly good men and women can look forward to is to eat and drink well and have a good time—compensation for the struggle for survival these few years God gives us on earth.
 ^16-17 When I determined to load up on wisdom and examine everything taking place on earth, I realized that if you keep your eyes open day and night without even blinking, you'll still never figure out the meaning of what God is doing on this earth. Search as hard as you like, you're not going to make sense of it. No matter how smart you are, you won't get to the bottom of it.

Ecclesiastes 9

 ^1-3 Well, I took all this in and thought it through, inside and out. Here's what I understood: The good, the wise, and all that they do are in God's hands—but, day by day, whether it's love or hate they're dealing with, they don't know.     Anything's possible. It's one fate for everybody—righteous and wicked, good people, bad people, the nice and the nasty, worshipers and non-worshipers, committed and uncommitted. I find this outrageous—the worst thing about living on this earth—that everyone's lumped together in one fate. Is it any wonder that so many people are obsessed with evil? Is it any wonder that people go crazy right and left? Life leads to death. That's it.

Seize Life!

 ^4-6 Still, anyone selected out for life has hope, for, as they say, "A living dog is better than a dead lion." The living at least know something, even if it's only that they're going to die. But the dead know nothing and get nothing. They're a minus that no one remembers. Their loves, their hates, yes, even their dreams, are long gone. There's not a trace of them left in the affairs of this earth.

 ^7-10 Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,
   Drink wine with a robust heart.
   Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
   Dress festively every morning.
   Don't skimp on colors and scarves.
   Relish life with the spouse you love
   Each and every day of your precarious life.
   Each day is God's gift. It's all you get in exchange
   For the hard work of staying alive.
   Make the most of each one!
   Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!
   This is your last and only chance at it,
   For there's neither work to do nor thoughts to think
   In the company of the dead, where you're most certainly headed.  ¹¹ I took another walk around the neighborhood and realized that on this earth as it is—

    The race is not always to the swift,
   Nor the battle to the strong,
   Nor satisfaction to the wise,
   Nor riches to the smart,
   Nor grace to the learned.
   Sooner or later bad luck hits us all.

 ¹² No one can predict misfortune.
   Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds in a trap,
   So men and women are caught
   By accidents evil and sudden.

Wisdom Is Better than Muscle

 ^13-15 One day as I was observing how wisdom fares on this earth, I saw something that made me sit up and take notice. There was a small town with only a few people in it. A strong king came and mounted an attack, building trenches and attack posts around it. There was a poor but wise man in that town whose wisdom saved the town, but he was promptly forgotten. (He was only a poor man, after all.)  ¹⁶ All the same, I still say that wisdom is better than muscle, even though the wise poor man was treated with contempt and soon forgotten.

 ¹⁷ The quiet words of the wise are more effective
   Than the ranting of a king of fools.

 ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than warheads,
   But one hothead can ruin the good earth.

2 Corinthians 7:8-16 (The Message)

 ^8-9I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don't feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I'm glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss.
 ¹⁰Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.
 ^11-13And now, isn't it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You're more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you've come out of this with purity of heart. And that is what I was hoping for in the first place when I wrote the letter. My primary concern was not for the one who did the wrong or even the one wronged, but for you—that you would realize and act upon the deep, deep ties between us before God. That's what happened—and we felt just great.
 ^13-16And then, when we saw how Titus felt—his exuberance over your response—our joy doubled. It was wonderful to see how revived and refreshed he was by everything you did. If I went out on a limb in telling Titus how great I thought you were, you didn't cut off that limb. As it turned out, I hadn't exaggerated one bit. Titus saw for himself that everything I had said about you was true. He can't quit talking about it, going over again and again the story of your prompt obedience, and the dignity and sensitivity of your hospitality. He was quite overwhelmed by it all! And I couldn't be more pleased—I'm so confident and proud of you.

Psalm 48:1-14 (The Message)

Psalm 48

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

 ^1-3 God majestic, praise abounds in our God-city!
   His sacred mountain,
      breathtaking in its heights—earth's joy.
   Zion Mountain looms in the North,
      city of the world-King.
   God in his citadel peaks
      impregnable.

 ^4-6 The kings got together,
      they united and came.
   They took one look and shook their heads,
      they scattered and ran away.
   They doubled up in pain
      like a woman having a baby.

 ^7-8 You smashed the ships of Tarshish
      with a storm out of the East.
   We heard about it, then we saw it
      with our eyes—
   In God's city of Angel Armies,
      in the city our God
   Set on firm foundations,
      firm forever.

 ^9-10 We pondered your love-in-action, God,
      waiting in your temple:
   Your name, God, evokes a train
      of Hallelujahs wherever
   It is spoken, near and far;
      your arms are heaped with goodness-in-action.

 ¹¹ Be glad, Zion Mountain;
      Dance, Judah's daughters!
      He does what he said he'd do!

 ^12-14 Circle Zion, take her measure,
      count her fortress peaks,
   Gaze long at her sloping bulwark,
      climb her citadel heights—
   Then you can tell the next generation
      detail by detail the story of God,
   Our God forever,
      who guides us till the end of time.

 

Proverbs 22:17-19 (The Message)

The Thirty Precepts of the Sages

Don't Move Back the Boundary Lines

 ^17-21 Listen carefully to my wisdom;
   take to heart what I can teach you.
You'll treasure its sweetness deep within;
   you'll give it bold expression in your speech.
To make sure your foundation is trust in God,
   I'm laying it all out right now just for you.
I'm giving you thirty sterling principles—
   tested guidelines to live by.
Believe me—these are truths that work,
   and will keep you accountable
   to those who sent you.

 

Verse of the Day

 

“Now follow the example of the correct teaching I gave you, and let the faith and love of Christ Jesus be your model. You have been trusted with a wonderful treasure. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives within you.” - 2 Timothy 1:13-14

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic and classical philologist Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

Bible Readings for September 3, 2012

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 Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

Ecclesiastes 4-6:12 (The Message)

Ecclesiastes 4

Slow Suicide

^1-3 Next I turned my attention to all the outrageous violence that takes place on this planet—the tears of the victims, no one to comfort them; the iron grip of oppressors, no one to rescue the victims from them. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead instead of the living who are still alive. But luckier than the dead or the living is the person who has never even been, who has never seen the bad business that takes place on this earth. ⁴ Then I observed all the work and ambition motivated by envy. What a waste! Smoke. And spitting into the wind.

⁵ The fool sits back and takes it easy,
His sloth is slow suicide.

⁶ One handful of peaceful repose
Is better than two fistfuls of worried work—
More spitting into the wind.

Why Am I Working Like a Dog?

^7-8 I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness: a solitary person, completely alone—no children, no family, no friends—yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy for more and more, never bothering to ask, "Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?" More smoke. A bad business.

^9-10 It's better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there's no one to help, tough!

¹¹ Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

¹² By yourself you're unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped. ^13-16 A poor youngster with some wisdom is better off than an old but foolish king who doesn't know which end is up. I saw a youth just like this start with nothing and go from rags to riches, and I saw everyone rally to the rule of this young successor to the king. Even so, the excitement died quickly, the throngs of people soon lost interest. Can't you see it's only smoke? And spitting into the wind?

Ecclesiastes 5

God's in Charge, Not You

¹ Watch your step when you enter God's house.
Enter to learn. That's far better than mindlessly offering
a sacrifice,
Doing more harm than good.

² Don't shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think.
Don't be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear.
God's in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better.

³ Overwork makes for restless sleep.
Overtalk shows you up as a fool.

^4-5 When you tell God you'll do something, do it—now.
God takes no pleasure in foolish gabble. Vow it, then do it.
Far better not to vow in the first place than to vow and not pay up.

⁶ Don't let your mouth make a total sinner of you.
When called to account, you won't get by with
"Sorry, I didn't mean it."
Why risk provoking God to angry retaliation?

⁷ But against all illusion and fantasy and empty talk
There's always this rock foundation: Fear God!

A Salary of Smoke

^8-9 Don't be too upset when you see the poor kicked around, and justice and right violated all over the place. Exploitation filters down from one petty official to another. There's no end to it, and nothing can be done about it. But the good earth doesn't cheat anyone—even a bad king is honestly served by a field.

¹⁰ The one who loves money is never satisfied with money,
Nor the one who loves wealth with big profits. More smoke.

¹¹ The more loot you get, the more looters show up.
And what fun is that—to be robbed in broad daylight?

¹² Hard and honest work earns a good night's sleep,
Whether supper is beans or steak.
But a rich man's belly gives him insomnia.

^13-17 Here's a piece of bad luck I've seen happen:
A man hoards far more wealth than is good for him
And then loses it all in a bad business deal.
He fathered a child but hasn't a cent left to give him.
He arrived naked from the womb of his mother;
He'll leave in the same condition—with nothing.
This is bad luck, for sure—naked he came, naked he went.
So what was the point of working for a salary of smoke?
All for a miserable life spent in the dark?

Make the Most of What God Gives

^18-20 After looking at the way things are on this earth, here's what I've decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that's about it. That's the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It's useless to brood over how long we might live.

Ecclesiastes 6

Things Are Bad

^1-2 I looked long and hard at what goes on around here, and let me tell you, things are bad. And people feel it. There are people, for instance, on whom God showers everything—money, property, reputation—all they ever wanted or dreamed of. And then God doesn't let them enjoy it. Some stranger comes along and has all the fun. It's more of what I'm calling smoke. A bad business. ^3-5 Say a couple have scores of children and live a long, long life but never enjoy themselves—even though they end up with a big funeral! I'd say that a stillborn baby gets the better deal. It gets its start in a mist and ends up in the dark—unnamed. It sees nothing and knows nothing, but is better off by far than anyone living. ⁶ Even if someone lived a thousand years—make it two thousand!—but didn't enjoy anything, what's the point? Doesn't everyone end up in the same place?

⁷ We work to feed our appetites;
Meanwhile our souls go hungry. ^8-9 So what advantage has a sage over a fool, or over some poor wretch who barely gets by? Just grab whatever you can while you can; don't assume something better might turn up by and by. All it amounts to anyway is smoke. And spitting into the wind.

¹⁰ Whatever happens, happens. Its destiny is fixed.
You can't argue with fate. ^11-12 The more words that are spoken, the more smoke there is in the air. And who is any better off? And who knows what's best for us as we live out our meager smoke-and-shadow lives? And who can tell any of us the next chapter of our lives?

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7 (The Message)

^14-18Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

"I'll live in them, move into them;
I'll be their God and they'll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
leave it for good," says God.
"Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I'll be a Father to you;
you'll be sons and daughters to me."
The Word of the Master, God.

2 Corinthians 7

¹ With promises like this to pull us on, dear friends, let's make a clean break with everything that defiles or distracts us, both within and without. Let's make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of God.

More Passionate, More Responsible

^2-4Trust us. We've never hurt a soul, never exploited or taken advantage of anyone. Don't think I'm finding fault with you. I told you earlier that I'm with you all the way, no matter what. I have, in fact, the greatest confidence in you. If only you knew how proud I am of you! I am overwhelmed with joy despite all our troubles. ^5-7When we arrived in Macedonia province, we couldn't settle down. The fights in the church and the fears in our hearts kept us on pins and needles. We couldn't relax because we didn't know how it would turn out. Then the God who lifts up the downcast lifted our heads and our hearts with the arrival of Titus. We were glad just to see him, but the true reassurance came in what he told us about you: how much you cared, how much you grieved, how concerned you were for me. I went from worry to tranquility in no time!

Psalm 47:1-9 (The Message)

Psalm 47

A Psalm of the Sons of Korah

^1-9 Applause, everyone. Bravo, bravissimo! Shout God-songs at the top of your lungs!
God Most High is stunning,
astride land and ocean.
He crushes hostile people,
puts nations at our feet.
He set us at the head of the line,
prize-winning Jacob, his favorite.
Loud cheers as God climbs the mountain,
a ram's horn blast at the summit.
Sing songs to God, sing out!
Sing to our King, sing praise!
He's Lord over earth,
so sing your best songs to God.
God is Lord of godless nations—
sovereign, he's King of the mountain.
Princes from all over are gathered,
people of Abraham's God.
The powers of earth are God's—
he soars over all.

Proverbs 22:16 (The Message)

¹⁶ Exploit the poor or glad-hand the rich—whichever,
you'll end up the poorer for it.


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."

Bible Readings for September 1, 2012

Today our passages are Job 40:1–42:17; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Psalm 45:1-17; and Proverbs 22:14. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

 

Job 40-42:17 (The Message)

Job 40

God then confronted Job directly: "Now what do you have to say for yourself?
Are you going to haul me, the Mighty One, into court and press charges?"

Job Answers God

I'm Ready to Shut Up and Listen

^3-5 Job answered: "I'm speechless, in awe—words fail me.
I should never have opened my mouth!
I've talked too much, way too much.
I'm ready to shut up and listen."

God's Second Set of Questions

I Want Straight Answers

^6-7 God addressed Job next from the eye of the storm, and this is what he said: "I have some more questions for you,
and I want straight answers.

^8-14 "Do you presume to tell me what I'm doing wrong?
Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?
Do you have an arm like my arm?
Can you shout in thunder the way I can?
Go ahead, show your stuff.
Let's see what you're made of, what you can do.
Unleash your outrage.
Target the arrogant and lay them flat.
Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees.
Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them!
Dig a mass grave and dump them in it—
faceless corpses in an unmarked grave.
I'll gladly step aside and hand things over to you—
you can surely save yourself with no help from me!

^15-24 "Look at the land beast, Behemoth. I created him as well as you.
Grazing on grass, docile as a cow—
Just look at the strength of his back,
the powerful muscles of his belly.
His tail sways like a cedar in the wind;
his huge legs are like beech trees.
His skeleton is made of steel,
every bone in his body hard as steel.
Most magnificent of all my creatures,
but I still lead him around like a lamb!
The grass-covered hills serve him meals,
while field mice frolic in his shadow.
He takes afternoon naps under shade trees,
cools himself in the reedy swamps,
Lazily cool in the leafy shadows
as the breeze moves through the willows.
And when the river rages he doesn't budge,
stolid and unperturbed even when the Jordan goes wild.
But you'd never want him for a pet—
you'd never be able to housebreak him!"

Job 41

I Run This Universe

^1-11"Or can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod and stuff him in your creel?
Can you lasso him with a rope,
or snag him with an anchor?
Will he beg you over and over for mercy,
or flatter you with flowery speech?
Will he apply for a job with you
to run errands and serve you the rest of your life?
Will you play with him as if he were a pet goldfish?
Will you make him the mascot of the neighborhood children?
Will you put him on display in the market
and have shoppers haggle over the price?
Could you shoot him full of arrows like a pin cushion,
or drive harpoons into his huge head?
If you so much as lay a hand on him,
you won't live to tell the story.
What hope would you have with such a creature?
Why, one look at him would do you in!
If you can't hold your own against his glowering visage,
how, then, do you expect to stand up to me?
Who could confront me and get by with it?
I'm in charge of all this—I run this universe!

^12-17 "But I've more to say about Leviathan, the sea beast,
his enormous bulk, his beautiful shape.
Who would even dream of piercing that tough skin
or putting those jaws into bit and bridle?
And who would dare knock at the door of his mouth
filled with row upon row of fierce teeth?
His pride is invincible;
nothing can make a dent in that pride.
Nothing can get through that proud skin—
impervious to weapons and weather,
The thickest and toughest of hides,
impenetrable!

^18-34 "He snorts and the world lights up with fire,
he blinks and the dawn breaks.
Comets pour out of his mouth,
fireworks arc and branch.
Smoke erupts from his nostrils
like steam from a boiling pot.
He blows and fires blaze;
flames of fire stream from his mouth.
All muscle he is—sheer and seamless muscle.
To meet him is to dance with death.
Sinewy and lithe,
there's not a soft spot in his entire body—
As tough inside as out,
rock-hard, invulnerable.
Even angels run for cover when he surfaces,
cowering before his tail-thrashing turbulence.
Javelins bounce harmlessly off his hide,
harpoons ricochet wildly.
Iron bars are so much straw to him,
bronze weapons beneath notice.
Arrows don't even make him blink;
bullets make no more impression than raindrops.
A battle ax is nothing but a splinter of kindling;
he treats a brandished harpoon as a joke.
His belly is armor-plated, inexorable—
unstoppable as a barge.
He roils deep ocean the way you'd boil water,
he whips the sea like you'd whip an egg into batter.
With a luminous trail stretching out behind him,
you might think Ocean had grown a gray beard!
There's nothing on this earth quite like him,
not an ounce of fear in that creature!
He surveys all the high and mighty—
king of the ocean, king of the deep!"

Job 42

Job Worships God

I Babbled On About Things Far Beyond Me

^1-6 Job answered God: "I'm convinced: You can do anything and everything.
Nothing and no one can upset your plans.
You asked, 'Who is this muddying the water,
ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?'
I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me,
made small talk about wonders way over my head.
You told me, 'Listen, and let me do the talking.
Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.'
I admit I once lived by rumors of you;
now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!
I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise!
I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."

God Restores Job

I Will Accept His Prayer

^7-8 After God had finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, "I've had it with you and your two friends. I'm fed up! You haven't been honest either with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has. So here's what you must do. Take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my friend Job. Sacrifice a burnt offering on your own behalf. My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer. He will ask me not to treat you as you deserve for talking nonsense about me, and for not being honest with me, as he has." ⁹ They did it. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did what God commanded. And God accepted Job's prayer. ^10-11 After Job had interceded for his friends, God restored his fortune—and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble God had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts. ^12-15 God blessed Job's later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job's daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance. ^16-17 Job lived on another 140 years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man, a full life.

2 Corinthians 5:11-21 (The Message)

^11-14That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It's no light thing to know that we'll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God. God alone knows how well we do this, but I hope you realize how much and deeply we care. We're not saying this to make ourselves look good to you. We just thought it would make you feel good, proud even, that we're on your side and not just nice to your face as so many people are. If I acted crazy, I did it for God; if I acted overly serious, I did it for you. Christ's love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.

A New Life

^14-15Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own. ^16-20Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. ²¹How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

Psalm 45:1-17 (The Message)

Psalm 45

A Wedding Song of the Sons of Korah

¹ My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness.
I pour it out in a poem to the king,
shaping the river into words:

^2-4 "You're the handsomest of men;
every word from your lips is sheer grace,
and God has blessed you, blessed you so much.
Strap your sword to your side, warrior!
Accept praise! Accept due honor!
Ride majestically! Ride triumphantly!
Ride on the side of truth!
Ride for the righteous meek!

^4-5 "Your instructions are glow-in-the-dark;
you shoot sharp arrows
Into enemy hearts; the king's
foes lie down in the dust, beaten.

^6-7 "Your throne is God's throne,
ever and always;
The scepter of your royal rule
measures right living.
You love the right
and hate the wrong.
And that is why God, your very own God,
poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king
from among your dear companions.

^8-9 "Your ozone-drenched garments
are fragrant with mountain breeze.
Chamber music—from the throne room—
makes you want to dance.
Kings' daughters are maids in your court,
the Bride glittering with golden jewelry. ^10-12 "Now listen, daughter, don't miss a word:
forget your country, put your home behind you.
Be here—the king is wild for you.
Since he's your lord, adore him.
Wedding gifts pour in from Tyre;
rich guests shower you with presents."

^13-15 (Her wedding dress is dazzling,
lined with gold by the weavers;
All her dresses and robes
are woven with gold.
She is led to the king,
followed by her virgin companions.
A procession of joy and laughter!
a grand entrance to the king's palace!)

^16-17 "Set your mind now on sons—
don't dote on father and grandfather.
You'll set your sons up as princes
all over the earth.
I'll make you famous for generations;
you'll be the talk of the town
for a long, long time."

Proverbs 22:14 (The Message)

¹⁴ The mouth of a whore is a bottomless pit;
you'll fall in that pit if you're on the outs with God.


Verse of the Day

“Point your kids in the right direction— when they're old they won't be lost.” - Proverbs 22:6

Today's passage is from the The Message.

Thought for the Day

 

French surgeon and biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for pioneering vascular suturing techniques Alexis Carrel wrote, "All of us, at certain moments of our lives, need to take advice and to receive help from other people."