Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 29
The God of Glory Thunders
Heading
A psalm by David.
The God of Glory Thunders
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you sons of God,[a]
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name.
Bow down to the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is heard over the waters.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders above the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord thunders in power.
The voice of the Lord thunders in majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars.
The Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Mount Lebanon skip like a calf.
Sirion[b] skips like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord slashes with flashes of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness.
The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord destroys the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
So in his temple they all say, “Glory!”
10 The Lord is seated over the flood.
The Lord is seated as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people.
The Lord blesses his people with peace.
2 I thought in my heart, “Go ahead, test yourself with[a] pleasure to see what is good.”[b] But, oh, that too is vapor.
2 About laughter, I said, “Madness!” About pleasure, “What good is it?”
3 As my heart kept guiding me with wisdom, I put it to work researching how to relax my body[c] with wine and how to grasp why people do stupid things.[d] My goal was to see what was good for people to do under the sky, during the few days of their lives.
4 I undertook great projects. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted every kind of fruit tree in them. 6 I made reservoirs of water for myself to irrigate a forest of sprouting trees. 7 I acquired male and female servants. I also had slaves that were born in my own house. Livestock too! I had more herds and flocks than anyone before me in Jerusalem. 8 I piled up silver and gold for myself, as well as treasures from kings and provinces. I acquired male singers and female singers for myself, and what gives great pleasure to men—one concubine after another.[e]
9 So I became great, and I surpassed all who were in Jerusalem before me. Nevertheless, my wisdom still stayed with me. 10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not withhold from them. I did not hold my heart back from any pleasure. My heart even took pleasure in all my hard work. This was what I got from all my hard work.
11 But when I turned my attention to everything that my hands had done and to how hard I had worked for it—note this—it was all vapor, all chasing the wind. There was no benefit under the sun.
2 As for me, brothers, when I came to you, I did not come with superior speech or wisdom in order to proclaim to you the testimony[a] of God. 2 For I had no intention of knowing anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 I came to you[b] in weakness, in fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not marked by persuasive words of human[c] wisdom, but by a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
In-Depth Wisdom Is for Spiritual People
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, but it is not a wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are being reduced to nothing. 7 Instead we speak God’s wisdom that has been hidden in mystery—before the ages, God foreordained that this wisdom would result in our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this world knew it. (If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.) 9 But as it is written:
What no eye has seen and no ear has heard
and no human mind has conceived—
that is what God has prepared for those who love him.[d]
10 But God revealed it to us through his[e] Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.