Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
11 For the sake of your name,[a] O Lord,
pardon my iniquity, great though it be.
12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord?
He will be shown the path he should choose.[b]
13 He will enjoy lasting prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.[c]
14 The Lord manifests himself to those who fear him,[d]
and he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever upon the Lord,
for he alone can free my feet from the snare.
16 [e]Turn to me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.
17 Relieve the anguish of my heart[f]
and free me from my distress.
18 Look upon my affliction and suffering,
and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how numerous are my enemies,
and how fierce is their hatred of me.
20 Preserve my life and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I seek refuge in you.
Chapter 19
Better Poor and Honest than Wealthy and Perverse[a]
1 It is better to be poor and lead an honest life
than to be wealthy and perverse in one’s ways.
2 Zeal is useless when not accompanied by knowledge,
and acting hastily causes one to stumble.
3 A man’s own folly leads to his ruin,
yet it is against the Lord that his heart rages.[b]
4 Wealth attracts many friends,
but a poor man’s only friend will desert him.
5 A false witness will not escape punishment,
neither will the one who tells lies.
6 Many court the favor of the great,
and everyone is a friend to a man who bestows gifts.
7 The poor man is despised by all his brothers;
how much more do his friends desert him!
He pursues them with entreaties
but all in vain.
8 Whoever gains wisdom loves his own soul;
one who cherishes understanding will prosper.
9 A false witness will not escape punishment,
and the one who tells lies will perish.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11 A man with good sense is slow to anger,
and he earns glory for overlooking an offense.
12 A king’s anger is like the roaring of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A foolish son[c] is a calamity to his father,
and a nagging wife is like an endless dripping of water.
14 A house and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is a gift from the Lord.
15 Laziness results in excessive sleep,
and an idle man suffers hunger.[d]
16 Whoever observes the commandments will live,
but the one who scorns them will die.
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord[e]
who will recompense him for his kindness.
The Message of Love[a]
11 For from the beginning
you have heard the message
that we should love one another,
12 unlike Cain who was from the evil one
and slew his brother.
And why did he slay him?
Because his own deeds were evil
while those of his brother were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, my brethren,
if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed
from death to life
because we love our brethren.
Whoever does not love remains in death.
15 Anyone who hates his brother
is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer
has eternal life abiding in him.
16 This is how we know what love is:
he laid down his life for us,
and we in turn must be prepared
to lay down our lives for our brethren.
17 If anyone is rich in worldly possessions
and sees a brother in need
but refuses to open his heart,
how can the love of God abide in him?
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