ECCLESIASTES 7:1-9:18
2 CORINTHIANS 7:8-16
PSALM 48:1-14
PROVERBS 22:17-19
ECCLESIASTES 7:1-9:18
A good reputation is more valuable than the most expensive perfume. In the same way, the day you die is better than the day you are born. 2 It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. 4 A wise person thinks much about death, while the fool thinks only about having a good time now. 5 It is better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool! 6 Indeed, a fool's laughter is quickly gone, like thorns crackling in a fire. This also is meaningless. 7 Extortion turns wise people into fools, and bribes corrupt the heart. 8 Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride. 9 Don't be quick-tempered, for anger is the friend of fools. 10 Don't long for " the good old days," for you don't know whether they were any better than today. 11 Being wise is as good as being rich; in fact, it is better. 12 Wisdom or money can get you almost anything, but it's important to know that only wisdom can save your life. 13 Notice the way God does things; then fall into line. Don't fight the ways of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked? 14 Enjoy prosperity while you can. But when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. That way you will realize that nothing is certain in this life. 15 In this meaningless life, I have seen everything, including the fact that some good people die young and some wicked people live on and on. 16 So don't be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? 17 On the other hand, don't be too wicked either--don't be a fool! Why should you die before your time? 18 So try to walk a middle course--but those who fear God will succeed either way. 19 A wise person is stronger than the ten leading citizens of a town! 20 There is not a single person in all the earth who is always good and never sins. 21 Don't eavesdrop on others--you may hear your servant laughing at you. 22 For you know how often you yourself have laughed at others. 23 All along I have tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, " I am determined to be wise." But it didn't really work. 24 Wisdom is always distant and very difficult to find. 25 I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness. 26 I discovered that a seductive woman is more bitter than death. Her passion is a trap, and her soft hands will bind you. Those who please God will escape from her, but sinners will be caught in her snare. 27 " This is my conclusion," says the Teacher. " I came to this result after looking into the matter from every possible angle. 28 Just one out of every thousand men I interviewed can be said to be upright, but not one woman! 29 I discovered that God created people to be upright, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path."8:1 HOW wonderful to be wise, to be able to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person's face, softening its hardness. 2 Obey the king because you have vowed before God to do this. 3 Don't try to avoid doing your duty, and don't take a stand with those who plot evil. For the king will punish those who disobey him. 4 The king's command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. 5 Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right. 6 Yes, there is a time and a way for everything, even as people's troubles lie heavily upon them. 7 Indeed, how can people avoid what they don't know is going to happen? 8 None of us can hold back our spirit from departing. None of us has the power to prevent the day of our death. There is no escaping that obligation, that dark battle. And in the face of death, wickedness will certainly not rescue those who practice it. 9 I have thought deeply about all that goes on here in the world, where people have the power to hurt each other. 10 I have seen wicked people buried with honor. How strange that they were the very ones who frequented the Temple and are praised in the very city where they committed their crimes! 11 When a crime is not punished, people feel it is safe to do wrong. 12 But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off. 13 The wicked will never live long, good lives, for they do not fear God. Their days will never grow long like the evening shadows. 14 And this is not all that is meaningless in our world. In this life, good people are often treated as though they were wicked, and wicked people are often treated as though they were good. This is so meaningless! 15 So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people to do in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them. 16 In my search for wisdom, I tried to observe everything that goes on all across the earth. I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. 17 This reminded me that no one can discover everything God has created in our world, no matter how hard they work at it. Not even the wisest people know everything, even if they say they do.9:1 THIS, too, I carefully explored: Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God's hands, no one knows whether or not God will show them favor in this life. 2 The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether they are righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who take oaths are treated like people who don't. 3 It seems so tragic that one fate comes to all. That is why people are not more careful to be good. Instead, they choose their own mad course, for they have no hope. There is nothing ahead but death anyway. 4 There is hope only for the living. For as they say, " It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!" 5 The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered. 6 Whatever they did in their lifetime--loving, hating, envying--is all long gone. They no longer have a part in anything here on earth. 7 So go ahead. Eat your food and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! 8 Wear fine clothes, with a dash of cologne! 9 Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you in this world. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil. 10 Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. 11 I have observed something else in this world of ours. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise are often poor, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time. 12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a snare, people are often caught by sudden tragedy. 13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works. 14 There was a small town with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. 15 There was a poor, wise man living there who knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought any more about him. 16 Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long. 17 But even so, the quiet words of a wise person are better than the shouts of a foolish king. 18 A wise person can overcome weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
2 CORINTHIANS 7:8-16
I [Paul] am no longer sorry that I sent that letter to you [Corinthians], though I was sorry for a time, for I know that it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to have remorse and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death. 11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish the wrongdoer. You showed that you have done everything you could to make things right. 12 My purpose was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could show how much you really do care for us. 13 We have been encouraged by this.In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was at the way you welcomed him and set his mind at ease. 14 I had told him how proud I was of you--and you didn't disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true! 15 Now he cares for you more than ever when he remembers the way you listened to him and welcomed him with such respect and deep concern. 16 I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you.
PSALM 48:1-14
A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song.
1 How great is the LORD,
and how much we should praise him
in the city of our God,
which is on his holy mountain!
2 It is magnificent in elevation--
the whole earth rejoices to see it!
Mount Zion, the holy mountain,
is the city of the great King!
3 God himself is in Jerusalem's towers.
He reveals himself as her defender.
4 The kings of the earth joined forces
and advanced against the city.
5 But when they saw it, they were stunned;
they were terrified and ran away.
6 They were gripped with terror,
like a woman writhing in the pain of childbirth
7 or like the mighty ships of Tarshish
being shattered by a powerful east wind.
8 We had heard of the city's glory,
but now we have seen it ourselves--
the city of the LORD Almighty.
It is the city of our God;
he will make it safe forever.
Interlude9 O God, we meditate on your unfailing love
as we worship in your Temple.
10 As your name deserves, O God,
you will be praised to the ends of the earth.
Your strong right hand is filled with victory.
11 Let the people on Mount Zion rejoice.
Let the towns of Judah be glad,
for your judgments are just.
12 Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem.
Walk around and count the many towers.
13 Take note of the fortified walls,
and tour all the citadels,
that you may describe them
to future generations.
14 For that is what God is like.
He is our God forever and ever,
and he will be our guide until we die.
PROVERBS 22:17-19
Listen to the words of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction. For it is good to keep these sayings deep within yourself, always ready on your lips. I am teaching you today--yes, you--so you will trust in the LORD.
