Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
146 Praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Don’t put your trust in human leaders.
Don’t trust in people who can’t save you.
4 When they die, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those who depend on the God of Jacob for help.
Blessed are those who put their hope in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth and the ocean.
He made everything in them.
He remains faithful forever.
7 He stands up for those who are treated badly.
He gives food to hungry people.
The Lord sets prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to those who are blind.
The Lord lifts up those who feel helpless.
The Lord loves those who do what is right.
9 The Lord watches over the outsiders who live in our land.
He takes good care of children whose fathers have died.
He also takes good care of widows.
But he causes evil people to fail
in everything they do.
10 The Lord rules forever.
The God of Zion will rule for all time to come.
Praise the Lord.
2 The Lord made rich people and poor people.
That’s what they have in common.
3 Wise people see danger and go to a safe place.
But childish people keep going and suffer for it.
4 Being humble comes from having respect for the Lord.
This will bring you wealth and honor and life.
5 Thorns and traps lie in the paths of evil people.
But those who value their lives stay far away from them.
6 Start children off on the right path.
And even when they are old, they will not turn away from it.
7 Rich people rule over those who are poor.
Borrowers are slaves to lenders.
8 Anyone who plants evil gathers a harvest of trouble.
Their power to treat others badly will be destroyed.
9 Those who give freely will be blessed.
That’s because they share their food with those who are poor.
10 If you drive away those who make fun of others, fighting also goes away.
Arguing and unkind words will stop.
11 A person who has a pure and loving heart and speaks kindly
will be a friend of the king.
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge.
But he does away with the words of those who aren’t faithful.
13 People who don’t want to work say, “There’s a lion outside!”
Or they say, “I’ll be murdered if I go out into the streets!”
14 The mouth of a woman who commits adultery is like a deep pit.
Any man the Lord is angry with falls into it.
15 Children are going to do foolish things.
But correcting them will drive that foolishness far away.
16 You might treat poor people badly or give gifts to rich people.
Trying to get rich in these ways will instead make you poor.
8 I am not commanding you to do it. But I want to test you. I want to find out if you really love God. I want to compare your love with that of others. 9 You know the grace shown by our Lord Jesus Christ. Even though he was rich, he became poor to help you. Because he became poor, you can become rich.
10 Here is my opinion about what is best for you in that matter. Last year you were the first to give. You were also the first to want to give. 11 So finish the work. Then your desire to do it will be matched by your finishing it. Give on the basis of what you have. 12 Do you really want to give? Then the gift is measured by what someone has. It is not measured by what they don’t have.
13 We don’t want others to have it easy at your expense. We want things to be equal. 14 Right now you have plenty in order to take care of what they need. Then they will have plenty to take care of what you need. The goal is to even things out. 15 It is written, “The one who gathered a lot didn’t have too much. And the one who gathered a little had enough.” (Exodus 16:18)
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