Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Futility of Boastful Wickedness.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of David, [b]when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52 Why do you (A)boast in evil, O mighty man?
The (B)lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
2 Your tongue devises (C)destruction,
Like a (D)sharp razor, (E)O worker of deceit.
3 You (F)love evil more than good,
(G)Falsehood more than speaking what is right. [c]Selah.
4 You love all words that devour,
O (H)deceitful tongue.
5 [d]But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and (I)tear you away from your tent,
And (J)uproot you from the (K)land of the living. Selah.
6 The righteous will (L)see and fear,
And will (M)laugh at him, saying,
7 “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But (N)trusted in the abundance of his riches
And (O)was strong in [e]his evil desire.”
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 “But (A)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 “(B)Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 “(C)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 “(D)Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (E)wisdom is above that of pearls.
19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in (F)pure gold.
20 “(G)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 “[a](H)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “(I)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 “For He (J)looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
25 “When He imparted (K)weight to the wind
And (L)meted out the waters by measure,
26 When He set a (M)limit for the rain
And a course for the (N)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the (O)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “(A)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of the (B)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are (C)ravenous wolves. 16 You will [a](D)know them by their fruits. [b]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So (E)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 (F)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [c]know them (G)by their fruits.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.