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Sirach 2.1-11

Duties towards God

2My child, when you come to serve the Lord,
   prepare yourself for testing.^*
² Set your heart right and be steadfast,
   and do not be impetuous in time of calamity.
³ Cling to him and do not depart,
   so that your last days may be prosperous.
⁴ Accept whatever befalls you,
   and in times of humiliation be patient.
⁵ For gold is tested in the fire,
   and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation.^*
⁶ Trust in him, and he will help you;
   make your ways straight, and hope in him.

⁷ You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy;
   do not stray, or else you may fall.
⁸ You who fear the Lord, trust in him,
   and your reward will not be lost.
⁹ You who fear the Lord, hope for good things,
   for lasting joy and mercy.^*
¹⁰ Consider the generations of old and see:
   has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?
Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord^* and been forsaken?
   Or has anyone called upon him and been neglected?
¹¹ For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;
   he forgives sins and saves in time of distress.

Psalm 37

Exhortation to Patience and Trust

Of David.
¹ Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of wrongdoers,
² for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will make your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

⁷ Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
over those who carry out evil devices.

⁸ Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

¹⁰ Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight in abundant prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous,
and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
   to bring down the poor and needy,
   to kill those who walk uprightly;
¹⁵ their sword shall enter their own heart,
   and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ Better is a little that the righteous person has
than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will abide for ever;
¹⁹ they are not put to shame in evil times,
in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰ But the wicked perish,
and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
but the righteous are generous and keep giving;
²² for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³ Our steps^* are made firm by the Lord,
when he delights in our^* way;
²⁴ though we stumble,^* we^* shall not fall headlong,
for the Lord holds us^* by the hand.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old,
   yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
   or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are ever giving liberally and lending,
   and their children become a blessing.

²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;
so you shall abide for ever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.

The righteous shall be kept safe for ever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it for ever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak justice.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.

³² The wicked watch for the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
³³ The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

³⁴ Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

³⁵ I have seen the wicked oppressing,
and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.^*
³⁶ Again I^* passed by, and they were no more;
though I sought them, they could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
for there is posterity for the peaceable.
³⁸ But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
   he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and rescues them;
   he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
   because they take refuge in him.

Mark 9.30-37

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; ³¹for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’ ³²But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?

33 Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ ³⁴But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. ³⁵He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ ³⁶Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’