Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises unto my God while I have my life.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath leaves him, and he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven, and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faithfulness forever,
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
the Lord raises those who are brought down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord preserves the sojourners;
He lifts up the fatherless and widow,
but on the way of the wicked He brings disaster.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, unto all generations.
Praise you the Lord!
2 The rich and poor have this in common,
the Lord is the maker of them all.
3 A prudent man foresees the evil and hides himself,
but the simple pass on and are punished.
4 By humility and the fear of the Lord
are riches, and honor, and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
he who guards his soul will be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He who sows iniquity will reap vanity,
and the rod of his anger will fail.
9 He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he gives of his bread to the poor.
10 Cast out the scorner, and contention will go out;
yes, strife and reproach will cease.
11 He who loves pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips
the king will be his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,
and He overthrows the words of the transgressor.
13 The slothful man says, “There is a lion without!
I will be slain in the streets!”
14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
he who is detested by the Lord will fall therein.
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child,
but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.
16 He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
and he who gives to the rich, will surely come to want.
8 I say this not as a command, but to prove through the authenticity of others, the sincerity also of your love. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that through His poverty you might be rich.
10 And in this matter I give my advice. It is appropriate for you, who began last year not only to give, but also to willingly give. 11 Now therefore complete the task, so that, as there was a willingness to do so, there may be a performance of it according to your means. 12 For if there is a willing mind first, the gift is accepted according to what a man possesses and not according to what he does not possess.
13 I do not mean that other men have relief, and you be burdened, 14 but for equality, that your abundance now at this time may supply their need, and their abundance may supply your need—that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had no excess. And he who gathered little had no lack.”[a]
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.