Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)
1 Great blessings belong to those
who don’t listen to evil advice,
who don’t live like sinners,
and who don’t join those who make fun of God.[a]
2 Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings
and think about them day and night.
3 So they grow strong,
like a tree planted by a stream—
a tree that produces fruit when it should
and has leaves that never fall.
Everything they do is successful.
4 But the wicked are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 When the time for judgment comes, the wicked will be found guilty.
Sinners have no place among those who do what is right.[b]
6 The Lord shows his people how to live,
but the wicked have lost their way.
More Wise Sayings
23 These are also words from the wise:
A judge must be fair. He must not support some people simply because he knows them. 24 The people will turn against a judge who lets the guilty go free. Even the people of other nations will curse him. 25 But if a judge punishes the guilty, then people will be happy with him, and he will be a blessing to them.
26 An honest answer is as pleasing as a kiss on the lips.
27 First get your fields ready, next plant your crops, and then build your house.
28 Don’t speak against someone without a good reason, or you will appear foolish.
29 Don’t say, “You hurt me, so I will do the same to you. I will punish you for what you did to me.”
30 I walked past a field that belonged to a lazy man. It was a vineyard that belonged to someone who understood nothing. 31 Weeds were growing everywhere! Wild vines covered the ground, and the wall around the vineyard was broken and falling down. 32 I looked at this and thought about it. This is what I learned: 33 a little sleep, a little rest, folding your arms, and taking a nap— 34 these things will make you poor very quickly. Soon you will have nothing, as if a thief broke in and took everything away.
39 You carefully study the Scriptures. You think that they give you eternal life. These same Scriptures tell about me! 40 But you refuse to come to me to have that life.
41 “I don’t want praise from you or any other human. 42 But I know you—I know that you have no love for God. 43 I have come from my Father and speak for him, but you don’t accept me. But when other people come speaking only for themselves, you accept them. 44 You like to have praise from each other. But you never try to get the praise that comes from the only God. So how can you believe? 45 Don’t think that I will be the one to stand before the Father and accuse you. Moses is the one to accuse you. And he is the one you hoped would save you. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 47 But you don’t believe what he wrote, so you can’t believe what I say.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International