Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A song to sing as we climb.
Solomon wrote this song.
Every good thing comes from God[a]
127 The Lord must build your house.
If not, the work of the builders is useless.
The Lord must keep the city safe.
If not, the city guards are useless.
2 It will not help you to work all day for food, and never stop.
God gives food to the people that he loves.
Even while they sleep, God takes care of them.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord.
He blesses us with descendants.
4 If you have sons while you are a young man,
they are like a soldier's arrows.
5 If a man has many sons,
God has blessed him.[b]
When his enemies speak against him at the city gate,
they will not win.[c]
Pleasure has no purpose
2 I said to myself, ‘I will enjoy the good things of life. I will see if that helps me to be happy.’ But I realized that this too had no purpose. 2 I said, ‘It is foolish to laugh all the time. If I only try to please myself, it does not really help me.’
3 I thought about wine. If I drink a lot of wine, I thought that might make me happy. I might enjoy foolish things. I used wisdom to think about this. People only live for a short time on the earth. I thought this might be the best way for people to enjoy life.
4 I also did a lot of great things for myself. I built houses. I planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and fields of trees. I planted many different kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made large pools of water. I used the water to help my trees to grow well. 7 I bought male slaves and female slaves. Their children became my slaves too. I had many animals, including sheep, goats and cows. I had more animals than any of the rulers in Jerusalem who lived before me. 8 I stored a lot of silver and gold for myself. Other kings and rulers paid me with many valuable things. I had men and women who would sing for me. I had many beautiful slave wives to give me as much pleasure as any man could want. 9 As a result, I was greater than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem before me. And I continued to follow the way of wisdom.
10 If I saw something that I wanted
I took it for myself.
If something would give me pleasure,
I did it.
So all my work made me very happy.
My hard work gave me things to enjoy.
11 Then I thought about everything that I had done,
and all my hard work.
After all that, I realized that none of these things had a purpose.
I was like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
None of the things on earth have any value.
12 Then I decided to think about wisdom.
I also thought about foolish ways to live.
I thought, ‘The next king will not do any more
than I have already done.’
13 I realized that it is better to be wise than foolish.
In the same way, the light is better than the dark.
14 Wise people can see where they are going.
Foolish people walk in the dark.
But at the end of their lives, there is no difference.
They both die.
15 Then I thought, ‘I will also die, as foolish people do.
So what value have I received from my great wisdom?’
I said to myself, ‘Wisdom too has no purpose.’
16 People forget about wise people
as quickly as they forget about fools.
One day, nobody will remember any of them.
It is true! As fools all have to die, wise people will also die.
17 So I hated life. Everything that happens on the earth only brings me trouble. Nothing has any purpose. It is as useless as somebody who tries to catch the wind.
Do what is right, at home and at work
18 Wives, obey your husbands. That is the right thing to do, because you belong to the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives. Do not bring trouble to them.
20 Children, always obey your parents. That pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not cause your children to be upset. If you do, they might think that they never do anything that is good.
22 Slaves, always obey your human masters. Do not do good work only when they can see you. Some people only work to make other people like them. Instead, serve your masters well because you want to. That will show that you respect the Lord as your master. 23 Whatever things you are doing, do them well. Remember that you are serving the Lord. You are not only serving people. 24 You know that you will receive the good things that the Lord has promised to his people. He will give you what is right for you. The Lord Jesus Christ is the master that you serve. 25 Remember that God will punish anyone who does wrong things. He always judges people correctly, whoever they are.
4 Masters, be fair to your servants. Give them what is right. Remember that you also serve a master, and he is in heaven.
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