September 14: Proverbs 17–18; Psalm 69:19–36; John 11

Proverbs 17–18 (Listen)

17Better is a dry morsel with quiet
than a house full of feasting^{Hebrew sacrifices“>1} with strife.
2A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and the LORD tests hearts.
4An evildoer listens to wicked lips,
and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;
he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
7Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
8A bribe is like a magic^{Or precious“>2} stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
wherever he turns he prospers.
9Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
10A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
11An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.
13If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.
14The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
16Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
17A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18One who lacks sense gives a pledge
and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
22A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23The wicked accepts a bribe in secret^{Hebrew a bribe from the bosom“>3}
to pervert the ways of justice.
24The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25A foolish son is a grief to his father
and bitterness to her who bore him.
26To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,
nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,
and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
18Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;
he breaks out against all sound judgment.
2A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
3When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5It is not good to be partial to^{Hebrew to lift the face of“>4} the wicked
or to deprive the righteous of justice.
6A fool’s lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7A fool’s mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
9Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.
10The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.
12Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
13If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.
14A man’s spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16A man’s gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.
17The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.
18The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.
19A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
20From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.
21Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
22He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the LORD.
23The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
24A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

(ESV)

Psalm 69:19–36 (Listen)

19You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
20Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
21They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.


22Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.^{Hebrew; a slight revocalization yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome) a snare, and retribution and a trap“>1}
23Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
24Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.
25May their camp be a desolation;
let no one dwell in their tents.
26For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27Add to them punishment upon punishment;
may they have no acquittal from you.^{Hebrew may they not come into your righteousness“>2}
28Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous.


29But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, set me on high!


30I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31This will please the LORD more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32When the humble see it they will be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33For the LORD hears the needy
and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.


34Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35For God will save Zion
and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

(ESV)

John 11 (Listen)

The Death of Lazarus

11Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So, when he heard that Lazarus^{Greek he; also verse 17“>1} was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16So Thomas, called the Twin,^{Greek Didymus“>2} said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

I Am the Resurrection and the Life

17Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^{Greek fifteen stadia; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters“>3} off, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.^{Some manuscripts omit and the life“>4} Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved^{Or was indignant; also verse 38“>5} in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept. 36So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus

38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

54Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

55Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56They were looking for^{Greek were seeking for“>6} Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” 57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

(ESV)