- Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your father,
and do not run to your brother’s house when troubles befall you;
far better is a friend nearby
than a brother who is far away. - When anyone turns a deaf ear to the law,
even his prayer is detestable. - Then Job arose, tore his cloak, and shaved his head. He threw himself prostrate on the ground and said:
“Naked I emerged from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will return.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.” - Banish grief from your heart
and ignore the sufferings of your body,
for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. - For:
“If anyone wishes to love life
and to experience good days,
he must restrain his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn away from evil and do good,
seek peace and pursue it.” - Take care, brethren, that none of you will ever have an evil and unbelieving heart that will cause you to forsake the living God.
- Help us, O God, our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and wipe away our sins
for your name’s sake. - And I heard a loud voice proclaim from the throne:
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with mankind;
he will dwell with them.
They will be his people,
and he will be their God,
God-with-them.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there will no longer be death.
Neither will there be any mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order has passed away.” - The brother who is in modest circumstances should take pride in being raised up. Likewise, the one who is rich should glory in being brought low, for he will disappear like a flower of the field.
- Then, after completing their fasting and prayer, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
- They will never again experience hunger or thirst,
nor will the sun or any scorching heat cause them discomfort.
For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd.
He will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. - You will not add to what I command you, nor will you take away from it, so that you might observe the commandments of the Lord, your God, that I am giving you.
- The love of money is the root of all evils, and in their desire for it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many serious wounds.
- So Christ, having been offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him.
- You will again show us compassion
and wash away our guilt;
you will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea. - Shun evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it. - Wash yourselves and become clean;
remove your evil deeds
far from my sight.
Cease to do evil. - This water prefigured Baptism, which now saves you. It does so not by the washing away of dirt from the body but by the pledge of a good conscience given to God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- The tax collector, however, stood some distance away and would not even raise his eyes to heaven. Rather, he kept beating his breast as he said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’
- Have mercy on me, O God,
in accord with your kindness;
in your abundant compassion
wipe away my offenses.
Wash me completely from my guilt,
and cleanse me from my sin. - Do not swerve either to the right or to the left;
keep your foot far from evil. - When you fix your gaze upon it,
it is gone before you realize it.
For it suddenly sprouts wings
and flies up to the sky like an eagle. - Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outer self is continuing to decay, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
- However, if the wicked renounce all of the sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is right and just, they shall surely live; they shall not die.
- When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each one of you from your wicked ways.
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