Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 112

¹ Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who fears (reveres and worships) the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.^(A)

² His [spiritual] offspring shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

³ Prosperity and welfare are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

⁴ Light arises in the darkness for the upright, gracious, compassionate, and just [who are in right standing with God].

⁵ It is well with the man who deals generously and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice.^(B)

⁶ He will not be moved forever; the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) shall be in everlasting remembrance.^(C)

⁷ He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firmly fixed, trusting (leaning on and being confident) in the Lord.

⁸ His heart is established and steady, he will not be afraid while he waits to see his desire established upon his adversaries.

⁹ He has distributed freely [he has given to the poor and needy]; his righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) endures forever; his horn shall be exalted in honor.^(D)

¹⁰ The wicked man will see it and be grieved and angered, he will gnash his teeth and disappear [in despair]; the desire of the wicked shall perish and come to nothing.

4 Now listen and give heed, O Israel, to the statutes and ordinances which I teach you, and do them, that you may live and go in and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, gives you.

² You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

³ Your eyes still see what the Lord did because of Baal-peor; for all the men who followed the Baal of Peor the Lord your God has destroyed from among you,^(A)

⁴ But you who clung fast to the Lord your God are alive, every one of you, this day.

⁵ Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land which you are entering to possess.

⁶ So keep them and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

⁷ For what great nation is there who has a god so near to them as the Lord our God is to us in all things for which we call upon Him?

⁸ And what large and important nation has statutes and ordinances so upright and just as all this law which I set before you today?

⁹ Only take heed, and guard your life diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your [mind and] heart all the days of your life. Teach them to your children and your children’s children—

¹⁰ Especially how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, the Lord said to me, Gather the people together to Me and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn [reverently] to fear Me all the days they live upon the earth and that they may teach their children.

¹¹ And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick gloom.

¹² And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the voice of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.

¹³ And He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments, and He wrote them on two tables of stone.

¹⁴ And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you the statutes and precepts, that you might do them in the land which you are going over to possess.

5 Everyone who believes (adheres to, trusts, and relies on the fact) that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah) is a born-again child of God; and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him (His offspring).

² By this we come to know (recognize and understand) that we love the children of God: when we love God and obey His commands (orders, charges)—[when we keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and His teaching].

³ For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous).

⁴ For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith.

⁵ Who is it that is victorious over [that conquers] the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on that fact]?