Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord, an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I [c]have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in noblemen,
In [d]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [e]the earth;
On that very day his (I)plans perish.
5 (J)Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and everything that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [f]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of those who are blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous.
9 The Lord (U)watches over strangers;
He [g](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [h]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, Zion, to all generations.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
2 The rich and the poor [a]have a common bond,
The Lord is the (A)Maker of them all.
3 A (B)prudent person sees evil and hides himself,
But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.
4 The reward of humility and [b]the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor, and life.
5 (C)Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
One who guards himself will be far from them.
6 (D)Train up a child [c]in the way he should go,
Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.
7 The (E)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
8 One who (F)sows injustice will reap disaster,
And the (G)rod of his fury will perish.
9 One who [d]is (H)generous will be blessed,
Because he (I)gives some of his food to the poor.
10 (J)Drive out the scoffer, and strife will leave,
Even quarreling and dishonor will cease.
11 One who loves (K)purity of heart
And [e]whose speech is (L)gracious, the king is his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord protect knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the treacherous person.
13 The [f](M)lazy one says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of [g](N)an adulteress is a deep pit;
He who is (O)cursed of the Lord will fall [h]into it.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The (P)rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
16 One (Q)who oppresses the poor to make [i]more for himself,
Or gives to the rich, (R)will only come to poverty.
8 I (A)am not saying this as a command, but as proving, through the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love as well. 9 For you know (B)the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that (C)though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 10 I (D)give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin (E)a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. 11 But now finish [a]doing it also, so that just as there was the (F)willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. 12 For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable (G)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For this is not for the relief of others and for your hardship, but by way of equality— 14 at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for (H)their need, so that their abundance also may [b]serve as assistance for (I)your need, so that there may be equality; 15 as it is written: “(J)The one who had gathered much did not have too much, and the one who had gathered little did not have too little.”
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