| Sirach 15: 15 - 20 | |
| 15 | If you will, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. |
| 16 | He has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand for whichever you wish. |
| 17 | Before a man are life and death, and whichever he chooses will be given to him. |
| 18 | For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything; |
| 19 | his eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows every deed of man. |
| 20 | He has not commanded any one to be ungodly, and he has not given any one permission to sin Psalms 119: 1 - 2, 4 - 5, 17 - 18, 33 - 34 1Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!2Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,4Thou hast commanded thy precepts to be kept diligently.5O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping thy statutes!17Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live and observe thy word.18Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.33Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the end.34Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart. Corinthians 2: 6 - 10 6Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.7But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification.8None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.9But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,"10God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. |
| Matthew 5: 17 - 37 | |
| 17 | "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. |
| 18 | For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. |
| 19 | Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. |
| 20 | For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. |
| 21 | "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' |
| 22 | But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. |
| 23 | So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, |
| 24 | leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. |
| 25 | Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; |
| 26 | truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny. |
| 27 | "You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' |
| 28 | But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. |
| 29 | If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. |
| 30 | And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. |
| 31 | "It was also said, `Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' |
| 32 | But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. |
| 33 | "Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' |
| 34 | But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, |
| 35 | or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. |
| 36 | And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. |
| 37 | Let what you say be simply `Yes' or `No'; anything more than this comes from evil. |
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