Sunday, 22 September

1.   Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. 2.   A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, But a fool’s heart at his left. 3.   Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool. 4.   If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, Do not leave your post; For conciliation pacifies great offenses. 5.   There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler: 6.   Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place. 7.   I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants. 8.   He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. 9.   He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, And he who splits wood may be endangered by it. 10.   If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success. 11.   A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different. 12.   The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; 13.   The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. 14.   A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him? 15.   The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city! 16.   Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17.   Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time––For strength and not for drunkenness! 18.   Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks. 19.   A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry; But money answers everything. 20.   Do not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter.

1.   Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. 2.   Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth. 3.   If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. 4.   He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap. 5.   As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. 6.   In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good. 7.   Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun; 8.   But if a man lives many years And rejoices in them all, Yet let him remember the days of darkness, For they will be many. All that is coming is vanity. 9.   Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. 10.   Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity.

1.   Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": 2.   While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain; 3.   In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim; 4.   When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters of music are brought low; 5.   Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets. 6.   Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. 7.   Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. 8.   "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "All is vanity." 9.   And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. 10.   The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright––words of truth. 11.   The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well–driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12.   And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. 13.   Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. 14.   For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

26.   Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. 27.   And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. 28.   But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29.   "For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ 30.   "Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"’ 31.   "For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?" 32.   There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 33.   And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34.   Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots. 35.   And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God." 36.   The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37.   and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself." 38.   And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39.   Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." 40.   But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41.   "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." 42.   Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." 43.   And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." 44.   Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45.   Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46.   And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’" Having said this, He breathed His last. 47.   So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!" 48.   And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49.   But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. 50.   Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51.   He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52.   This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53.   Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54.   That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. 55.   And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56.   Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.