Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.

For the music director; set to ^[a]Al-tashheth. A ^[b]Mikhtam of David, ^[c]when he fled from Saul in the cave.

The Lord Exalted for His Goodness.

A Psalm of Praise, of David.

The Futility of Pleasure and Possessions

2 I said ^[a]to myself, “Come now, I will test you with ^(A)pleasure. So ^[b]enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility. ^2 (B)I said of laughter, “It is senseless,” and of pleasure, “What does this accomplish?” ³ I explored with my ^[c]mind how to ^(C)refresh my body with wine while my ^[d]mind was guiding me wisely; and how to seize ^(D)foolishness, until I could see ^(E)what good there is for the sons of mankind ^[e]to do under heaven for the few ^[f]years of their lives. ⁴ I enlarged my works: I ^(F)built houses for myself, I planted ^(G)vineyards for myself; ⁵ I made ^(H)gardens and ^(I)parks for myself, and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; ⁶ I made ^(J)ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves, and I had ^[g](K)slaves born at home. I also possessed flocks and ^(L)herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I also amassed for myself silver and ^(M)gold, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself ^(N)male and female singers, and the pleasures of the sons of mankind: many concubines.

⁹ Then I became ^(O)great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. ^10 (P)All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them. I did not restrain my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor; and this was my ^(Q)reward for all my labor. ¹¹ So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had ^[h]exerted, and behold, all was ^(R)futility and striving after wind, and there was ^(S)no benefit under the sun.

Wisdom Surpasses Foolishness

¹² So I turned to ^(T)consider wisdom, insanity, and foolishness; for what will the man do who will come after the king, except ^(U)what has already been done? ¹³ Then I saw that ^(V)wisdom surpasses foolishness as light surpasses darkness. ¹⁴ The wise person’s eyes are in his head, but the ^(W)fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that ^(X)one and the same fate happens to ^[i]both of them. ¹⁵ Then I said ^[j]to myself, “^(Y)As is the fate of the fool, it will also happen to me. ^(Z)Why then have I been extremely wise?” So ^[k]I said to myself, “This too is futility.”

Introduction

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle (^(B)not sent from men nor through human agency, but ^(C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who ^(D)raised Him from the dead), ² and all ^(E)the brothers who are with me,

To ^(F)the churches of Galatia:

^3 (G)Grace to you and peace from ^[a]God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who ^(H)gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from ^(I)this present evil ^[b]age, according to the will of ^(J)our God and Father, ^5 (K)to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Distortion of the Gospel

⁶ I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting ^(L)Him who called you ^[c]by the grace of Christ, for a ^(M)different gospel, ⁷ which is not just another account; but there are some who are ^(N)disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we, or ^(O)an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be ^[d](P)accursed! ⁹ As we ^(Q)have said before, even now I say again: ^(R)if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be ^[e](S)accursed!

¹⁰ For am I now ^(T)seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a ^(U)bond-servant of Christ.

Paul Defends His Ministry

¹¹ For ^(V)I would have you know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel which was preached by me is ^(W)not ^[f]of human invention. ¹² For ^(X)I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a ^(Y)revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For you have heard of ^(Z)my former way of life in Judaism, how I ^(AA)used to persecute ^(AB)the church of God beyond measure and ^(AC)tried to destroy it; ¹⁴ and I ^(AD)was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my ^[g]countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ^(AE)ancestral traditions. ¹⁵ But when ^[h]He who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and ^(AF)called me through His grace was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might ^(AG)preach Him among the Gentiles, ^(AH)I did not immediately consult with ^[i](AI)flesh and blood, ^17 (AJ)nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to ^(AK)Damascus.

Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “^(A)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from ^[a]joy over it he goes and ^(B)sells everything that he has, and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

⁴⁵ “Again, ^(C)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, ^(D)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at ^(E)the ^[b]end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and they ^(F)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(G)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” ⁵² And ^[c]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”