Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
All Good Things Come from God
A song for going up to worship. Of Solomon.
127 If the Lord doesn’t build the house,
the builders are working for nothing.
If the Lord doesn’t guard the city,
the guards are watching for nothing.
2 It is no use for you to get up early
and stay up late,
working for a living.
The Lord gives sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord.
Babies are a reward.
4 Sons who are born to a young man
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Happy is the man
who has his bag full of arrows.
They will not be defeated
when they fight their enemies in court.
Does “Having Fun” Bring Happiness?
2 I said to myself, “I will try having fun. I will enjoy myself.” But I found that this is also useless. 2 It is foolish to laugh all the time. Having fun gets nothing done. 3 I decided to cheer myself up with wine. At the same time my mind was still thinking wisely. I wanted to find a way to enjoy myself. I wanted to see what was good for people to do during their few days of life.
Does Hard Work Bring Happiness?
4 Then I did great things. I built houses, and I planted vineyards for myself. 5 I planted gardens, and I made parks. I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made pools of water for myself. And I used them to water my growing trees. 7 I bought men and women slaves. Slaves were also born in my house. I had large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. I had more than anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I also gathered silver and gold for myself. I took treasures from kings and other areas. I had men and women singers. I had all the wives a man could ever want. 9 I became very famous. I was greater than anyone who had lived in Jerusalem before me. My wisdom helped me in all this.
10 Anything I saw and wanted, I got for myself.
I did not miss any pleasure I desired.
I was pleased with everything I did.
And this pleasure was the reward for all my hard work.
11 But then I looked at what I had done.
I thought about all the hard work.
Suddenly I realized it was just a waste of time, like chasing the wind!
There is nothing to gain from anything we do here on earth.
Maybe Wisdom Is the Answer
12 Then I began to think again about being wise.
And I thought also about being foolish and doing crazy things.
But after all, what more can any king do?
He can only do what some other king has already done.
13 I saw that being wise is certainly better than being foolish,
just as light is better than darkness.
14 A wise man sees where he is going.
But a foolish person is like someone walking around in the dark.
Yet I saw that
both the foolish person and the wise man end the same way.
15 I thought to myself,
“What happens to a foolish person will happen to me, too.
So what do I get for being so wise?”
I said to myself,
“Being wise is also useless.”
16 The wise man and the foolish person
will both die!
People will not remember either one forever.
In the future, both will be forgotten.
Is There Real Happiness in Life?
17 So I hated life. It made me sad to think that everything here on earth is useless. It is like chasing the wind.
Your New Life with Other People
18 Wives, be under the authority of your husbands. This is the right thing to do in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and be gentle to them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things. This pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not nag your children. If you are too hard to please, they may want to stop trying.
22 Slaves, obey your masters in all things. Do not obey just when they are watching you, to gain their favor. But serve them honestly, because you respect the Lord. 23 In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were working for the Lord, not for men. 24 Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 But remember that anyone who does wrong will be punished for that wrong. And the Lord treats everyone the same.
4 Masters, give the things that are good and fair to your slaves. Remember that you have a Master in heaven.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.