Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.
For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both (C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [a]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of adversity,
When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
6 Those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No one can by any means (K)redeem another
Or give God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of [b]his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
9 That he might (N)live on eternally,
That he might not [c](O)undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise people die;
The (Q)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [d](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have (U)named their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that [e]perish.
Precepts and Warnings
24 Do not be (A)envious of evil people,
Nor desire to (B)be with them;
2 For their [a]minds plot (C)violence,
And their lips (D)talk of trouble.
3 (E)By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are (F)filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A (G)wise man is [b]strong,
And a person of knowledge [c]increases power.
6 For (H)by wise guidance you will [d]wage war,
And (I)in an abundance of counselors there is victory.
8 One who (L)plans to do evil,
People will call a [e]schemer.
9 The (M)devising of foolishness is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to humanity.
10 If you (N)show yourself lacking courage on the day of distress,
Your strength is meager.
11 (O)Rescue those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to the slaughter, Oh hold them back!
12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He (P)who weighs the hearts not (Q)consider it?
And (R)does He who (S)watches over your soul not know it?
And will He not [f](T)repay a person according to his work?
The Christian’s Walk
17 (A)So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, (B)that you are to no longer walk just as the [a]Gentiles also walk, in the (C)futility of their minds, 18 being (D)darkened in their understanding, [b](E)excluded from the life of God because of the (F)ignorance that is in them, because of the (G)hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having (H)become callous, (I)have given themselves up to (J)indecent behavior [c]for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not (K)learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you (L)have heard Him and have (M)been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to (N)rid yourselves of the (O)old [d]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the (P)lusts of deceit, 23 and that you are to be (Q)renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to (R)put on the (S)new [e]self, which [f](T)in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
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