Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 49[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me –
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them –
8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough –
9 so that they should live on for ever
and not see decay.
10 For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses[b] for ever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had[c] named lands after themselves.
12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
Saying 7
23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[a] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Saying 9
6 Do not eat the food of a stingy host,
do not crave his delicacies;
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[b]
‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.
Saying 11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender is strong;
he will take up their case against you.
Doxology
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[a] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counsellor?’[b]
35 ‘Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?’[c]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.