Ben Sira 10:1-18; Revelation 9:1-12; Luke 10:25-37

Ben Sira 10:1-18

1 A wise magistrate will educate his people, and the rule of an understanding man will be well ordered.

2 Like the magistrate of the people, so are his officials; and like the ruler of the city, so are all its inhabitants.

3 An undisciplined king will ruin his people, but a city will grow through the understanding of its rulers.

4 The government of the earth is in the hands of the Lord, and over it he will raise up the right man for the time.

5 The success of a man is in the hands of the Lord, and he confers his honor upon the person of the scribe.

6 Do not be angry with your neighbor for any injury, and do not attempt anything by acts of insolence.

7 Arrogance is hateful before the Lord and before men, and injustice is outrageous to both.

8 Sovereignty passes from nation to nation on account of injustice and insolence and wealth.

9 How can he who is dust and ashes be proud? for even in life his bowels decay.

10 A long illness baffles the physician; the king of today will die tomorrow.

11 For when a man is dead, he will inherit creeping things, and wild beasts, and worms.

12 The beginning of man's pride is to depart from the Lord; his heart has forsaken his Maker.

13 For the beginning of pride is sin, and the man who clings to it pours out abominations. Therefore the Lord brought upon them extraordinary afflictions, and destroyed them utterly.

14 The Lord has cast down the thrones of rulers, and has seated the lowly in their place.

15 The Lord has plucked up the roots of the nations, and has planted the humble in their place.

16 The Lord has overthrown the lands of the nations, and has destroyed them to the foundations of the earth.

17 He has removed some of them and destroyed them, and has extinguished the memory of them from the earth.

18 Pride was not created for men, nor fierce anger for those born of women.

Revelation 9:1-12

1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key of the shaft of the bottomless pit;

2 he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.

3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth;

4 they were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those of mankind who have not the seal of God upon their foreheads;

5 they were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the torture of a scorpion, when it stings a man.

6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death will fly from them.

7 In appearance the locusts were like horses arrayed for battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,

8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth;

9 they had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle.

10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings, and their power of hurting men for five months lies in their tails.

11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abad'don, and in Greek he is called Apol'lyon.

12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

Luke 10:25-37

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?"

27 And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

28 And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.

32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,

34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'

36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"

37 He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."