Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Rich and Poor Alike
Psalm 49
1 For the music director: a psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 Hear this, all you peoples.
Give ear, all you inhabitants of the world,
3 both low and high,
rich and poor together.
4 My mouth speaks wisdom,
My heart’s meditation is understanding.
5 I will turn my ear to a proverb.
I will utter my riddle on the harp:
6 Why should I fear in evil days?
when the iniquity of my deceivers surrounds me?
7 Or those trusting in their wealth,
boasting about their great riches?
8 No man can redeem his brother,
or give to God a ransom for him.
9 For the redemption of a soul is costly—
so, one should stop trying forever.
10 Will he live forever—
and never see the Pit?
11 Surely he must see, even wise men die.
The fool and the brutish will alike perish,
leaving their wealth to others.[a]
12 Their inward thought is:
Their houses are eternal,
their dwellings for generation after generation.
They name their lands after themselves.
Advice About Appetites
23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
consider carefully what is set before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you possess a large appetite.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich.
Be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 When you cast your eyes on riches, it is gone;
for it surely sprouts wings and flies off into the sky like an eagle.
6 Do not eat the food of a stingy person,
or desire his delicacies.
7 For as he thinks within himself, so is he.
“Eat and drink”, he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsel you ate,
and will waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool,
for he will disdain the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone,
or encroach on fields of the fatherless,
11 for their redeemer is strong.
He will plead their case against you.
33 O the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments
and how incomprehensible His ways!
34 For “who has known the mind of Adonai,
or who has been His counselor?”[a]
35 Or “who has first given to Him,
that it shall be repaid to him?”[b]
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.