Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all you nations.
Listen, all you who live in this world.
2 Listen, people, whether you are ordinary or important.
Listen, people, whether you are rich or poor.
3 My mouth will speak wise words.
What I think about in my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will pay attention to a proverb.
I will explain my riddle as I play the harp.
5 Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
Why should I fear when sinners are all around me?
They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.
6 They trust in their wealth.
They brag about how rich they are.
7 No one can pay for the life of anyone else.
No one can give God what that would cost.
8 The price for a life is very high.
No payment is ever enough.
9 No one can pay enough to live forever
and not rot in the grave.
10 Everyone can see that even wise people die.
People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away.
All of them leave their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever.
Their graves will be their homes for all time to come.
Naming lands after themselves won’t help either.
12 Even though people may be very rich, they don’t live on and on.
They are like the animals. They die.
Saying 7
23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
look carefully at what’s in front of you.
2 Put a knife to your throat
if you like to eat too much.
3 Don’t long for his fancy food.
It can fool you.
Saying 8
4 Don’t wear yourself out to get rich.
Don’t trust how wise you think you are.
5 When you take even a quick look at riches, they are gone.
They grow wings and fly away into the sky like an eagle.
Saying 9
6 Don’t eat the food of anyone who doesn’t want to share it.
Don’t long for his fancy food.
7 He is the kind of person
who is always thinking about how much it costs.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you.
But he doesn’t mean it.
8 You will throw up what little you have eaten.
You will have wasted your words of praise.
Saying 10
9 Don’t speak to foolish people.
They will laugh at your wise words.
Saying 11
10 Don’t move old boundary stones.
Don’t try to take over the fields of children whose fathers have died.
11 That’s because the God who guards them is strong.
He will stand up for them in court against you.
Praise to God
33 How very rich are God’s wisdom and knowledge!
How he judges is more than we can understand!
The way he deals with people is more than we can know!
34 “Who can ever know what the Lord is thinking?
Or who can ever give him advice?” (Isaiah 40:13)
35 “Has anyone ever given anything to God,
so that God has to pay them back?” (Job 41:11)
36 All things come from him.
All things are directed by him.
All things are for his praise.
May God be given the glory forever! Amen.
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