Thursday, May 25, 2023

 Proverbs 31

¹The sayings of King Lemuel--an oracle his mother taught him:

²"O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, ³do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. ⁴"It is not for kings, O Lemuel-- not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, ⁵lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. ⁶Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; ⁷let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.

⁸"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. ⁹Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

¹⁰A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. ¹¹Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. ¹²She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. ¹³She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. ¹⁴She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. ¹⁵She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. ¹⁶She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. ¹⁸She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. ¹⁹In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. ²⁰She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. ²¹When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. ²²She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. ²³Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. ²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. ²⁵She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. ²⁶She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. ²⁷She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. ²⁸Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ²⁹"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." ³⁰Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. ³¹Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

 

 

Psalm 119:113–120

¹¹³I hate double-minded men, but I love your law. ¹¹⁴You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. ¹¹⁵Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God! ¹¹⁶Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. ¹¹⁷Uphold me, and I will be delivered; I will always have regard for your decrees. ¹¹⁸You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their deceitfulness is in vain. ¹¹⁹All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love your statutes. ¹²⁰My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.

 

 

2 Peter 2:10–22

¹⁰This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; ¹¹yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. ¹²But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.

¹³They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. ¹⁴With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed--an accursed brood! ¹⁵They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. ¹⁶But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey--a beast without speech--who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

¹⁷These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. ²⁰If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. ²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. ²²Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."