Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book 1 (Psalms 1-41)
Psalm 1[a]
1 How blessed[b] is the one[c] who does not follow[d] the advice[e] of the wicked,[f]
or stand in the pathway[g] with sinners,
or sit in the assembly[h] of scoffers.[i]
2 Instead[j] he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands;[k]
he meditates on[l] his commands[m] day and night.
3 He is like[n] a tree planted by flowing streams;[o]
it[p] yields[q] its fruit at the proper time,[r]
and its leaves never fall off.[s]
He succeeds in everything he attempts.[t]
4 Not so with the wicked!
Instead[u] they are like wind-driven chaff.[v]
5 For this reason[w] the wicked cannot withstand[x] judgment,[y]
nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly.[z]
6 Certainly[aa] the Lord guards the way of the godly,[ab]
but the way of the wicked ends in destruction.[ac]
Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil[a]
5 My child,[b] be attentive to my wisdom,
pay close attention[c] to my understanding,
2 in order to safeguard[d] discretion,[e]
and that your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips[f] of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her seductive words[g] are smoother than olive oil,
4 but in the end[h] she is bitter[i] as wormwood,[j]
sharp as a two-edged[k] sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.[l]
6 Lest[m] she should make level[n] the path leading to life,[o]
her paths have wandered,[p] but she is not able to discern it.[q]
7 So now, children,[r] listen to me;
do not turn aside from the words I speak.[s]
8 Keep yourself[t] far[u] from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your vigor[v] to others
and your years to a cruel person,
10 lest strangers devour[w] your strength,[x]
and your labor[y] benefit[z] another man’s house.
11 And at the end of your life[aa] you will groan[ab]
when your flesh and your body are wasted away.[ac]
12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline!
My heart spurned reproof!
13 For[ad] I did not obey[ae] my teachers[af]
and I did not heed[ag] my instructors.[ah]
14 I almost[ai] came to complete ruin[aj]
in the midst of the whole congregation!”[ak]
15 Drink water from your own cistern
and running water from your own well.[al]
16 Should your springs be dispersed[am] outside,
your streams of water in the wide plazas?[an]
17 Let them be for yourself[ao] alone,
and not for strangers with you.[ap]
18 May your fountain be blessed,[aq]
and may you rejoice[ar] in the wife you married in your youth[as]—
19 a loving doe,[at] a graceful deer;
may her breasts satisfy you at all times,
may you be captivated[au] by her love always.
20 But why should you be captivated,[av] my son, by an adulteress,
and embrace the bosom of a different woman?[aw]
21 For the ways of a person[ax] are in front of the Lord’s eyes,
and the Lord[ay] weighs[az] all that person’s[ba] paths.
22 The wicked[bb] will be captured by his[bc] own iniquities,[bd]
and he will be held[be] by the cords of his own sin.[bf]
23 He will die because[bg] there was no discipline;
because of the greatness of his folly[bh] he will reel.[bi]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.