Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Praise the Lord,^(A) my soul.

² I will praise the Lord all my life;^(B)
    I will sing praise^(C) to my God as long as I live.^(D)
3 Do not put your trust in princes,^(E)
    in human beings,^(F) who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;^(G)
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.^(H)
5 Blessed are those^(I) whose help^(J) is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

⁶ He is the Maker of heaven^(K) and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful^(L) forever.
⁷ He upholds^(M) the cause of the oppressed^(N)
    and gives food to the hungry.^(O)
The Lord sets prisoners free,^(P)
8     the Lord gives sight^(Q) to the blind,^(R)
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,^(S)
    the Lord loves the righteous.^(T)
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner^(U)
    and sustains the fatherless^(V) and the widow,^(W)
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

¹⁰ The Lord reigns^(X) forever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

² Rich and poor have this in common:
    The Lord is the Maker of them all.^(A)

³ The prudent see danger and take refuge,^(B)
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.^(C)

⁴ Humility is the fear of the Lord;
    its wages are riches and honor^(D) and life.^(E)

⁵ In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,^(F)
    but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

⁶ Start^(G) children off on the way they should go,^(H)
    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.^(I)

⁷ The rich rule over the poor,
    and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸ Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,^(J)
    and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.^(K)

⁹ The generous will themselves be blessed,^(L)
    for they share their food with the poor.^(M)

¹⁰ Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
    quarrels and insults are ended.^(N)

¹¹ One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
    will have the king for a friend.^(O)

¹² The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
    but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³ The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!^(P)
    I’ll be killed in the public square!”

¹⁴ The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;^(Q)
    a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.^(R)

¹⁵ Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.^(S)

¹⁶ One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
    and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.