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]

¹⁶ Moreover, I notice that throughout the earth justice is giving way to crime, and even the police courts are corrupt. ¹⁷ I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everything man does, both good and bad.”

¹⁸ And then I realized that God is letting the world go on its sinful way so that he can test mankind, and so that men themselves will see that they are no better than beasts. ¹⁹ For men and animals both breathe the same air, and both die. So mankind has no real advantage over the beasts; what an absurdity! ²⁰ All go to one place—the dust from which they came and to which they must return. ²¹ For who can prove that the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward into dust? ²² So I saw that there is nothing better for men than that they should be happy in their work, for that is what they are here for, and no one can bring them back to life to enjoy what will be in the future, so let them enjoy it now.

4 Next I observed all the oppression and sadness throughout the earth—the tears of the oppressed, and no one helping them, while on the side of their oppressors were powerful allies. ² So I felt that the dead were better off than the living. ³ And most fortunate of all are those who have never been born and have never seen all the evil and crime throughout the earth.

⁴ Then I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy! But this, too, is foolishness, chasing the wind. ^5-6 The fool won’t work and almost starves but feels that it is better to be lazy and barely get by, than to work hard, when in the long run it is all so futile.

⁷ I also observed another piece of foolishness around the earth. ⁸ This is the case of a man who is quite alone, without a son or brother, yet he works hard to keep gaining more riches. And to whom will he leave it all, and why is he giving up so much now? It is all so pointless and depressing.

² Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers, and remember to be thankful when they come. ³ Don’t forget to pray for us too, that God will give us many chances to preach the Good News of Christ for which I am here in jail. ⁴ Pray that I will be bold enough to tell it freely and fully and make it plain, as, of course, I should.

⁵ Make the most of your chances to tell others the Good News. Be wise in all your contacts with them. ⁶ Let your conversation be gracious as well as sensible, for then you will have the right answer for everyone.