Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK I (Psalms 1-41)
The Righteous and the Wicked[a]
1 How blessed is the person,
who does not take[b] the advice of the wicked,
who does not stand on the path with sinners,
and who does not sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But he delights in the Lord’s instruction,[c]
and meditates in his instruction[d] day and night.
3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
yielding its fruit in its season,
and whose leaf does not wither.
He will prosper in everything he does.
What Causes Wonder
18 Three things cause wonder for me;
four are beyond my understanding:
19 The way an eagle flies in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 This is what an immoral woman is like:
she eats, wipes her mouth, then says
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot remain steady:
22 Under a slave when he becomes a king,
a fool when he is overfed,
23 an unloved woman when she finds a husband,
and a servant girl who inherits from her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
but they are very, very wise:
25 Ants aren’t a strong species,[a]
yet they prepare their food in the summer.
26 The rock badgers aren’t a strong species[b] either,
yet they build their dens in the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king,
but they all swarm in ranks.
28 Spiders can be caught by the hand,
yet they’re found in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in procession,
four which are stately in their gait:
30 The lion, mighty among the beasts,
retreats before nothing.
31 The strutting rooster, as well as the goat,
and a king with his army.
32 If you’ve foolishly exalted yourself
or if you’ve plotted evil,
put your hand over your mouth.
33 Just as whipping milk produces butter,
and twisting the nose causes bleeding,
so also stirring up anger produces contention.
The Restoration of Israel
25 For I want to let you know about this secret, brothers, so that you will not claim to be wiser than you are: Stubbornness has come to part of Israel until the full number of the gentiles comes to faith.[a] 26 In this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion;
he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
27 This is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”[b]
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake, but as far as election is concerned, they are loved for the sake of their ancestors. 29 For God’s gifts and calling never change. 30 For just as you disobeyed God in the past but now have received his mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they, too, have now disobeyed. As a result, they may[c] receive mercy because of the mercy shown to you. 32 For God has locked all people in the prison of their own disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
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