Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
Pitfalls of Immorality
5 My son, (A)give attention to my wisdom,
(B)Incline your ear to my understanding;
2 That you may (C)observe discretion
And your (D)lips may reserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of an [a](E)adulteress (F)drip honey
And (G)smoother than oil is her [b]speech;
4 But in the end she is (H)bitter as wormwood,
(I)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet (J)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
6 [c]She does not ponder the (K)path of life;
Her ways are (L)unstable, she (M)does not know it.
7 (N)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And (O)do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 (P)Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the (Q)door of her house,
9 Or you will give your vigor to others
And your years to the cruel one;
10 And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;
11 And you groan at your [d]final end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 And you say, “How I have (R)hated instruction!
And my heart (S)spurned reproof!
13 “I have not listened to the voice of my (T)teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!
14 “I was almost in utter ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern
And [e]fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your (U)springs be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be yours alone
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (V)fountain be blessed,
And (W)rejoice in the (X)wife of your youth.
19 As a loving (Y)hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be [f]exhilarated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an [g](Z)adulteress
And embrace the bosom of a (AA)foreigner?
21 For the (AB)ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He (AC)watches all his paths.
22 His (AD)own iniquities will capture the wicked,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
23 He will (AE)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.