Sunday, 08 September

1.   My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; 2.   For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. 3.   Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, 4.   And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. 5.   Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6.   In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7.   Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. 8.   It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. 9.   Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; 10.   So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. 11.   My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; 12.   For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights. 13.   Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; 14.   For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. 15.   She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. 16.   Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. 17.   Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. 18.   She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her. 19.   The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens; 20.   By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew. 21.   My son, let them not depart from your eyes––Keep sound wisdom and discretion; 22.   So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. 23.   Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. 24.   When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. 25.   Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; 26.   For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught. 27.   Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so . 28.   Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it ," When you have it with you. 29.   Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake. 30.   Do not strive with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. 31.   Do not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways; 32.   For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD, But His secret counsel is with the upright. 33.   The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just. 34.   Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble. 35.   The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools.

1.   Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding; 2.   For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law. 3.   When I was my father’s son, Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, 4.   He also taught me, and said to me: "Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. 5.   Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6.   Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. 7.   Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. 8.   Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. 9.   She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you." 10.   Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. 11.   I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. 12.   When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble. 13.   Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life. 14.   Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. 15.   Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on. 16.   For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. 17.   For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. 18.   But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. 19.   The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble. 20.   My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21.   Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22.   For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. 23.   Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. 24.   Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. 25.   Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. 26.   Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. 27.   Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

1.   My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, 2.   That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. 3.   For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; 4.   But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two–edged sword. 5.   Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell. 6.   Lest you ponder her path of life––Her ways are unstable; You do not know them . 7.   Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8.   Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, 9.   Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one ; 10.   Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; 11.   And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, 12.   And say: "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13.   I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! 14.   I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation." 15.   Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. 16.   Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? 17.   Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. 18.   Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. 19.   As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. 20.   For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? 21.   For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths. 22.   His own iniquities entrap the wicked man , And he is caught in the cords of his sin. 23.   He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

1.   Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2.   "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3.   "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4.   "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him." 5.   And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." 6.   So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7.   "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8.   "But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9.   "Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10.   "So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’" 11.   Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12.   Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13.   And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14.   So when He saw them , He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15.   And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16.   and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17.   So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18.   "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" 19.   And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well."