Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

127 Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders’ work is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, sentries do no good. ² It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest.

³ Children are a gift from God; they are his reward. ⁴ Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows to defend him.

⁵ Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. That man shall have the help he needs when arguing with his enemies.^[a]

2 ^1-2 I said to myself, “Come now, be merry; enjoy yourself to the full.” But I found that this, too, was futile. For it is silly to be laughing all the time; what good does it do?

³ So after a lot of thinking, I decided to try the road of drink, while still holding steadily to my course of seeking wisdom.

Next I changed my course again and followed the path of folly, so that I could experience the only happiness most men have throughout their lives.

^4-6 Then I tried to find fulfillment by inaugurating a great public works program: homes, vineyards, gardens, parks, and orchards for myself, and reservoirs to hold the water to irrigate my plantations.

^7-8 Next I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born within my household. I also bred great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings before me. I collected silver and gold as taxes from many kings and provinces.

In the cultural arts, I organized men’s and women’s choirs and orchestras.

And then there were my many beautiful concubines.

⁹ So I became greater than any of the kings in Jerusalem before me, and with it all I remained clear-eyed, so that I could evaluate all these things. ¹⁰ Anything I wanted I took and did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work. This pleasure was, indeed, my only reward for all my labors.

¹¹ But as I looked at everything I had tried, it was all so useless, a chasing of the wind, and there was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

¹² Now I began a study of the comparative virtues of wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusion I did^[a]— ^13-14 that wisdom is of more value than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness; for the wise man sees, while the fool is blind. And yet I noticed that there was one thing that happened to wise and foolish alike— ¹⁵ just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I realized that even wisdom is futile. ¹⁶ For the wise and fool both die, and in the days to come both will be long forgotten. ¹⁷ So now I hate life because it is all so irrational; all is foolishness, chasing the wind.

¹⁸ You wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, for that is what the Lord has planned for you. ¹⁹ And you husbands must be loving and kind to your wives and not bitter against them nor harsh.

²⁰ You children must always obey your fathers and mothers, for that pleases the Lord. ²¹ Fathers, don’t scold your children so much that they become discouraged and quit trying.

²² You slaves must always obey your earthly masters, not only trying to please them when they are watching you but all the time; obey them willingly because of your love for the Lord and because you want to please him. ²³ Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, ²⁴ remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your full portion of all he owns. He is the one you are really working for. ²⁵ And if you don’t do your best for him, he will pay you in a way that you won’t like—for he has no special favorites who can get away with shirking.

4 You slave owners must be just and fair to all your slaves. Always remember that you, too, have a Master in heaven who is closely watching you.