Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The [a]Psalms of David
1 Whether it was Esdras, or any other that gathered the Psalms into a book, it seemeth he did set this Psalm first in manner of a preface, to exhort all godly men to study and meditate the heavenly wisdom. For the effect hereof is, 1 That they be blessed which give themselves wholly all their life to the holy Scriptures; 4 and that the wicked contemners of God, though they seem for a while happy, yet at length shall come to miserable destruction.
1 Blessed is the man that doth not walk in the [b]counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the (A)law of the Lord, and in his [c]law doth he meditate day and night.
3 For he shall be like a (B)tree planted by the rivers of waters, that will bring forth her fruits in due season: whose leaf shall not fade: so [d]whatsoever he shall do, shall prosper.
4 [e]The wicked are not so, but as the chaff, which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the [f]judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [g]knoweth the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked shall perish.
5 3 Whoredom is forbidden, 9 And prodigality. 15 He willeth a man to live on his labors and to help others, 18 To love his wife. 22 The wicked taken in their own wickedness.
1 My son, hearken unto my wisdom, and incline thine ear unto my [a]knowledge,
2 That thou mayest regard counsel, and thy lips observe knowledge.
3 For the lips [b]of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is more soft than [c]oil.
4 But the end of her is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her [d]feet go down to death, and her steps take hold on hell.
6 She weigheth not the way of life: [e]her paths are moveable: thou canst not know them.
7 Hear ye me now therefore, O children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep thy way far from her, and come not near the door of her house,
9 Lest thou give thine [f]honor unto others, and thy years to the cruel:
10 Lest the stranger should be filled with thy strength, and thy [g]labors be in the house of a stranger,
11 And thou mourn at thine end, (when thou hast consumed thy flesh and thy body)
12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and mine heart despised correction!
13 And have not obeyed the voice of them that taught me, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
14 I was almost brought into all evil in the midst of the Congregation and [h]assembly.
15 ¶ Drink the water of [i]thy cistern, and of the rivers out of the midst of thine own well.
16 Let thy fountains flow forth, and the rivers of waters in the streets.
17 But let them be thine, even [j]thine only, and not the strangers with thee.
18 Let thy [k]fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of thy [l]youth.
19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe: let her breasts satisfy thee at all times, and delight in her love continually.
20 For why shouldest thou [m]delight, my son, in a strange woman, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 For the ways of man are before the [n]eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his paths.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his own sin.
23 He shall [o]die for fault of instruction, and shall go astray through his great folly.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.