Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Book One

Psalm 1^[a]

¹ Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

² But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.^(A)

³ And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].^(B)

⁴ Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor ^[b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

⁶ For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God’s will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).

¹⁸ There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I do not understand:

¹⁹ The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid.

²⁰ This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, I have done no wickedness.

²¹ Under three things the earth is disquieted, and under four it cannot bear up:

²² Under a servant when he reigns, a [empty-headed] fool when he is filled with food,

²³ An unloved and repugnant woman when she is married, and a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.

²⁴ There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:

²⁵ The ants are a people not strong, yet they lay up their food in the summer;^(A)

²⁶ The conies are but a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks;^(B)

²⁷ The locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands;

²⁸ The lizard you can seize with your hands, yet it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹ There are three things which are stately in step, yes, four which are stately in their stride:

³⁰ The lion, which is mightiest among beasts and turns not back before any;

³¹ The war horse [well-knit in the loins], the male goat also, and the king [when his army is with him and] against whom there is no uprising.

³² If you have done foolishly in exalting yourself, or if you have thought evil, lay your hand upon your mouth.^(C)

³³ Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood; so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife.

²⁵ Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the ^[a]full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in,

²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob.^(A)

²⁷ And this will be My covenant (My agreement) with them when I shall take away their sins.^(B)

²⁸ From the point of view of the Gospel (good news), they [the Jews, at present] are enemies [of God], which is for your advantage and benefit. But from the point of view of God’s choice (of election, of divine selection), they are still the beloved (dear to Him) for the sake of their forefathers.

²⁹ For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]

³⁰ Just as you were once disobedient and rebellious toward God but now have obtained [His] mercy, through their disobedience,

³¹ So they also now are being disobedient [when you are receiving mercy], that they in turn may one day, through the mercy you are enjoying, also receive mercy [that they may share the mercy which has been shown to you—through you as messengers of the Gospel to them].

³² For God has consigned (penned up) all men to disobedience, only that He may have mercy on them all [alike].