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.
God Allows Unfairness
16 I also saw this here on earth:
Where there should have been justice, there was evil.
Where there should have been fairness, there was wickedness.
17 I certainly believe that
God has planned a time for every thing and every action.
He will judge both good people and bad people.
18 But I decided that God leaves it the way it is to test people. He wants to show them they are just like animals. 19 The same thing happens to animals and to people. They both have the same breath. So they both die. People are no better off than the animals. The lives of both are soon gone. 20 Both end up the same way. Both came from dust. And both will go back to dust. 21 Who can be sure that the spirit of man goes up to God? Or who can be sure that the spirit of an animal goes down into the ground? 22 So I saw the best thing a person can do is to enjoy his work. That is all he has. No one can help a person see what will happen in the future.
Is It Better to Be Dead?
4 Again I saw all the people who were treated badly here on earth.
I saw their tears.
I saw that they had no one to comfort them.
Cruel people had all the power.
There was no one to comfort the people they hurt.
2 I decided that the dead
are better off than the living.
3 But those who have never been born
are better off still.
They have not seen the evil
that is done here on earth.
Why Work So Hard?
4 I realized the reason people work hard and try to succeed: They are jealous of each other. This, too, is useless. It is like chasing the wind.
5 Some say that it is foolish to fold your hands and do nothing.
You will starve to death!
6 Maybe so, but I say it is better to be content
with what little you have.
Otherwise, you will always be struggling for more.
That is like chasing the wind.
7 Again I saw something here on earth that was senseless:
8 I saw a person who had no family.
He had no son or brother.
He always worked hard.
But he was never satisfied with what he had.
He never asked himself, “For whom am I working so hard?
Why don’t I let myself enjoy life?”
This also is very sad and senseless.
What the Christians Are to Do
2 Continue praying and keep alert. And when you pray, always thank God. 3 Also pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message. Pray that we can preach the secret truth that God has made known about Christ. I am in prison because I preach this truth. 4 Pray that I can speak in a way that will make it clear as I should.
5 Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers. Use your time in the best way you can. 6 When you talk, you should always be kind and wise. Then you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.