Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

³ Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
    for we have had more than enough of contempt.^(C)
4 Our soul has had more than its fill
    of the scorn of those who are at ease,
    of the contempt of the proud.^(D)

² “Listen! My thoughts urge me to answer
    because of the agitation within me.
³ I hear censure that insults me,
    and a spirit beyond my understanding answers me.^(A)
4 Do you not know this from of old,
    ever since mortals were placed on earth,^(B)
5 that the exulting of the wicked is short
    and the joy of the godless is but for a moment?^(C)
6 Even though they mount up high as the heavens
    and their head reaches to the clouds,^(D)
7 they will perish forever like their own dung;
    those who have seen them will say, ‘Where are they?’
⁸ They will fly away like a dream and not be found;
    they will be chased away like a vision of the night.^(E)
9 The eye that saw them will see them no more,
    nor will their place behold them any longer.^(F)
10 Their children will seek the favor of the poor,
    and their hands will give back their wealth.^(G)
11 Their bodies, once full of youth,
    will lie down in the dust with them.^(H)