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.
The Theme
1 The words of the Teacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Utterly pointless,”[b]
says the Teacher.
“Absolutely pointless;
everything is pointless.”
3 What does a man gain
from all of the work that he undertakes on earth?[c]
The Predictability of Life
4 A generation goes,
a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises,
the sun sets,
then rushes back to where it arose.
6 The wind blows southward,
then northward, constantly circulating,
and the wind comes back again in its courses.
7 All the rivers flow toward the sea,
but the sea is never full;
then rivers return to the headwaters[d] where they began.
8 Everything is wearisome,
more than man is able to express.
The eye is never satisfied by seeing,
nor the ear by hearing.
9 Whatever has happened, will happen again;
whatever has been done, will be done again.
There is nothing new on earth.
10 Does anything exist about which someone might say,
“Look at this! Is this new?”
It happened ages ago;
it existed before we did.
11 No one remembers those in the past,
nor will they be remembered
by those who come after them.
A Testimony to an Unwise Search
12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven.[e] God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.[f] 14 I observed every activity done on earth. My conclusion: all of it is pointless—like chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight;
what is not there cannot be counted.
16 I told myself, “I have become greater and wiser than anyone who ruled before me in Jerusalem—yes, I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and knowledge, and about insanity and foolishness. And I discovered that this is also like chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom there is much sorrow;
the more someone adds to knowledge,
the more someone adds to grief.
29 “How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. 30 Then you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our ancestors, we would have had no part with them in shedding[a] the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Therefore, you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Then finish what your ancestors started![b] 33 You snakes, you children of serpents! How can you escape being condemned to hell?[c]
34 “That is why I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. 35 As a result, you will be held accountable for[d] all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel[e] to the blood of Berechiah’s son Zechariah,[f] whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 I tell all of you[g] with certainty, all these things will happen to those living today.”[h]
Jesus Rebukes Jerusalem(A)
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! 38 Look! Your house is left abandoned! 39 I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[i]
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