civilization

^12:28Thus, in receiving an immoveable kingdom, we have grace. So, through grace, let us be of service, by pleasing God with fear and reverence. ^12:29For our God is a consuming fire.

^13:1May fraternal charity remain in you. ^13:2And do not be willing to forget hospitality. For by it, certain persons, without realizing it, have received Angels as guests. ^13:3Remember those who are prisoners, just as if you were imprisoned with them, and those who endure hardships, just as if you were in their place. ^13:4May marriage be honorable in every way, and may the marriage bed be immaculate. For God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

³⁰And indeed, God, having looked down to see the ignorance of these times, has now announced to men that everyone everywhere should do penance. ³¹For he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in equity, through the man whom he has appointed, offering faith to all, by raising him from the dead.”

¹Does not wisdom call out, and prudence bestow her voice? ²At the summits and the tops of exalted places, standing above the ways, in the midst of the paths, ³beside the gates of the city, at the very doors, she speaks, saying: ⁴“O men, to you I call out, and my voice is to the sons of men. ⁵O little ones, understand discernment. And you who are unwise, turn your souls. ⁶Listen, for I will speak about great things, and my lips will be opened, so as to foretell what is right.

¹It is for man to prepare the soul, and for the Lord to govern the tongue. ²All the ways of a man are open to his eyes; the Lord is the one who weighs spirits. ³Open your works to the Lord, and your intentions will be set in order. ⁴The Lord has wrought all things because of himself. Likewise the impious is for the evil day. ⁵All the arrogant are an abomination to the Lord. Even if hand will be joined to hand, he is not innocent. The beginning of a good way is to do justice. And this is more acceptable with God than to immolate sacrifices. ⁶By mercy and truth, iniquity is redeemed. And by the fear of the Lord, one turns away from evil.

¹Alleluia. Praise the Lord, because the psalm is good. Delightful and beautiful praise shall be for our God. ²The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He will gather together the dispersed of Israel. ³He heals the contrite of heart, and he binds up their sorrows. ⁴He numbers the multitude of the stars, and he calls them all by their names. ⁵Great is our Lord, and great is his virtue. And of his wisdom, there is no number. ⁶The Lord lifts up the meek, but he brings down the sinner, even to the ground.

¹It is a luxurious thing, wine, and inebriation is tumultuous. Anyone who is delighted by this will not be wise. ²Just like the roaring of a lion, so also is the dread of a king. Whoever provokes him sins in his own soul. ³Honor is for the man who separates himself from contentions. But all the foolish meddle in altercations. ⁴Because of the cold, the lazy one was not willing to plough. Therefore, in the summer, he will beg, and it will not be given to him. ⁵Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep waters. But a wise man will draw it out. ⁶Many men are called merciful. But who will find a faithful man?

¹⁰And in him, you have been filled; for he is the head of all principality and power. ¹¹In him also, you have been circumcised with a circumcision not made by hand, not by the despoiling of the body of flesh, but by the circumcision of Christ. ¹²You have been buried with him in baptism. In him also, you have risen again through faith, by the work of God, who raised him up from the dead. ¹³And when you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he enlivened you, together with him, forgiving you of all transgressions, ¹⁴and wiping away the handwriting of the decree which was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken this away from your midst, affixing it to the Cross. ¹⁵And so, despoiling principalities and powers, he has led them away confidently and openly, triumphing over them in himself.

²Let the mountains listen to the judgment of the Lord, and the strong foundations of the earth. For the judgment of the Lord is with his people, and he will enter into judgment with Israel.

¹⁸And my people will be seated in the beauty of peacefulness, and in the tabernacles of faithfulness, and in the opulence of restfulness. ¹⁹But hail will be in the descent of the forest, and the city will be brought exceedingly low.

¹Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I hold, so that I may subjugate the nations before his face, and I may turn the backs of kings, and I may open the doors before him, and so that the gates will not be shut. ²I will go before you. And I will humble the glorious ones of the earth. I will shatter the gates of brass, and I will break apart the bars of iron. ³And I will give you hidden treasures and the knowledge of secret things, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls your name. ⁴For the sake of Jacob, my servant, and Israel, my elect, I have even called you by your name. I have taken you up, and you have not known me. ⁵I am the Lord, and there is no one else. There is no god beside me. I girded you, and you have not known me. ⁶So may those who are from the rising of the sun, and those who are from its setting, know that there is no one beside me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

⁴⁰And then, with very many other words, he testified and he exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this depraved generation.”