Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prologue—Psalms 1–2[a]
Psalm 1[b]
True Happiness
1 Blessed[c] is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sit in the company of scoffers.
2 Rather, his delight is in the law of the Lord,[d]
and on that law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted near streams of water,
which bears fruit in its season,
and whose leaves never wither.[e]
In the same way,
everything he does will prosper.
4 This is not true of the wicked,
for they are like chaff that the wind blows away.[f]
5 Therefore, the wicked will not stand firm at the judgment,[g]
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over[h] the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Chapter 5
Keep Far Away from an Adulteress[a]
1 My son, pay close attention to my wisdom,
and listen carefully to my discernment,
2 so that you may always act prudently
and your lips may safeguard knowledge.
3 The lips of an adulteress[b] drip with honey
and her mouth is smoother than oil,
4 but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood[c]
and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;[d]
her steps lead directly to the netherworld.
6 Far from following the path of life,
she unknowingly wanders off in different directions.
7 So now, my son, listen to me,
and do not stray from the advice that I offer.
8 Keep far away from her
and do not go anywhere near the door of her house,
9 lest you turn over your life to others
and your years to one without mercy,
10 lest strangers grow prosperous on your wealth[e]
and your arduous toil enrich another man’s house.
11 Then, at the end of your life, you will groan
when your flesh and your body are consumed.
12 You will say, “Why did I despise discipline
and allow my heart to spurn correction?
13 Why did I fail to heed the voice of my teachers
and refuse to listen to my instructors?
14 Now I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the midst of the public assembly.”[f]
Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth[g]
15 Drink the water from your own cistern,
fresh water from your own well.[h]
16 Do not allow your springs[i] to overflow,
gushing forth water into the streets.
17 Let them be for you alone
and not be shared by strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
19 a lovely deer, a graceful fawn—
let her affection fill you with delight
and ever hold you captive.[j]
20 Why then be seduced by another man’s wife, my son,
and succumb to the embraces of an adulteress?
21 For each man’s ways are observed by the Lord,
and he examines each man’s paths.
22 The wicked man will be ensnared by his own iniquities
and held fast in the bonds of his sins.
23 He will perish for lack of discipline,
condemned by his own excessive folly.
34 The Simile of Salt.[a]“Salt is good. But if salt loses its taste, what can be done to make it salty once again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the dungheap. Thus, it can only be thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
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