Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

127 Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the LORD keeps the city, the keeper watches in vain.

² It is in vain for you to rise early, to lie down late, and eat the bread of sorrow; but He will surely give rest to His beloved.

³ Behold, children are the inheritance of the LORD, the fruit of the womb His reward.

⁴ As the arrows in the hand of the strong man are the children of youth.

⁵ Blessed is the man who has his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed when they speak with enemies in the gate. A song of degrees

¹⁶ And moreover, I have seen the place of judgment under the Sun, where wickedness was, and the place of justice, where iniquity was.

¹⁷ I thought in my heart, “God will judge the just and the wicked. For there is a time for every purpose and for every work.”

¹⁸ I considered the state of the children of men in my heart, that God had examined them, so that they too see themselves as beasts.

¹⁹ For the condition of the children of men and the condition of beasts is the same, as the one dies so dies the other. For they all have one breath. And there is no excellency of man above beast. For all is vanity.

²⁰ All go to one place. And all were of the dust. And all shall return to the dust.

²¹ Who knows whether the spirit of man ascends upward, and the spirit of the beast descends downward to the earth?

²² Therefore, I see that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his affairs, because that is his portion. For who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

4 So I turned and considered all the oppressions that are wrought under the Sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed. And no one comforts them. And lo, the strength is in the hand of those who oppress them. Yet no one comforts them.

² Therefore, I praised the dead who are already dead above the living who are still alive.

³ And I count him who has not even been born as better than them both. For he has not seen the evil works which are wrought under the Sun.

⁴ Also I beheld all work, and all perfection of work, and that this is the envy of a man against his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping at the wind.

⁵ The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.

⁶ Better is a handful with quietness, than two handfuls with labor and grasping at the wind.

⁷ Again I returned and saw vanity under the Sun.

⁸ There is one who has neither son nor brother. And there is no second. Still, there is no end of all his travail. Nor can his eye be satisfied with riches. Nor does he think, “For whom do I travail and defraud my soul of pleasures?” This also is vanity. This is an evil travail.

² Be steadfast in prayer, watching with thanksgiving;

³ praying also for us that God may open a door of utterance to us to speak the mystery of Christ (because of which I am also in bonds);

⁴ that I should make it clear as it behooves me to speak.

⁵ Walk wisely toward those who are outside, rescuing lost time.

⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, having been seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each one.