Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
128 Blessed [happy and sheltered by God’s favor] is everyone who fears the Lord [and worships Him with obedience],
Who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments.(A)
2
For you shall eat the fruit of [the labor of] your hands,
You will be happy and blessed and it will be well with you.
3
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
Within the innermost part of your house;
Your children will be like olive plants
Around your table.
4
Behold, for so shall the man be blessed and divinely favored
Who fears the Lord [and worships Him with obedience].
5
May the Lord bless you from Zion [His holy mountain],
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life;
6
Indeed, may you see your [family perpetuated in your] children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
Warnings and Instructions
27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring.(A)
2
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.
3
Stone is heavy and the sand weighty,
But a fool’s [unreasonable] wrath is heavier and more burdensome than both of them.
4
Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood,
But who is able to endure and stand before [the sin of] jealousy?
5
Better is an open reprimand [of loving correction]
Than love that is hidden.(B)
6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend [who corrects out of love and concern],
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful [because they serve his hidden agenda].
7
He who is satisfied loathes honey,
But to the hungry soul any bitter thing is sweet.
8
Like a bird that wanders from her nest [with its comfort and safety],
So is a man who wanders from his home.
9
Oil and perfume make the heart glad;
So does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart.
10
Do not abandon your own friend and your father’s friend,
And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster.
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.
11
My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,
That I may reply to him who reproaches (reprimands, criticizes) me.(C)
12
A prudent man sees evil and hides himself and avoids it,
But the naive [who are easily misled] continue on and are punished [by suffering the consequences of sin].(D)
13
[The judge tells the creditor,] “Take the garment of one who is surety (guarantees a loan) for a stranger;
And hold him in pledge when he is surety for an immoral woman [for it is unlikely the debt will be repaid].”(E)
14
He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be counted as a curse to him [for it will either be annoying or his purpose will be suspect].
15
A constant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious (quarrelsome) woman are alike;(F)
16
Whoever attempts to restrain her [criticism] might as well try to stop the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.
17
As iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens [and influences] another [through discussion].
18
He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit,
And he who faithfully protects and cares for his master will be honored.(G)
19
As in water face reflects face,
So the heart of man reflects man.
20
Sheol (the place of the dead) and Abaddon (the underworld) are never satisfied;
Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.(H)
21
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold [to separate the impurities of the metal],
And each is tested by the praise given to him [and his response to it, whether humble or proud].
22
Even though you pound a [hardened, arrogant] fool [who rejects wisdom] in a mortar with a pestle like grain,
Yet his foolishness will not leave him.
23
Be diligent to know the condition of your flocks,
And pay attention to your herds;
24
For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
25
When the grass is gone, the new growth is seen,
And herbs of the mountain are gathered in,
26
The lambs will supply wool for your clothing,
And the goats will bring the price of a field.
27
And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And for the maintenance of your maids.
8 Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. 9 Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].
11 Believers, do not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks [self-righteously] against a brother or [a]judges his brother [hypocritically], speaks against the Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy [the one God who has the absolute power of life and death]; but who are you to [hypocritically or self-righteously] pass judgment on your neighbor?
13 Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit.” 14 [b]Yet you do not know [the least thing] [c]about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air]. 15 Instead [d]you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast [vainly] in your pretension and arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.
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