Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Happy Home
A song for going up to worship.
128 Happy are those who respect the Lord
and obey him.
2 You will enjoy what you work for.
You will be blessed with good things.
3 Your wife will give you many children.
She will be like a vine that produces a lot of fruit.
Your children will bring you much good.
They will be like olive branches that produce many olives.
4 This is how the man who respects the Lord
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion.
May you enjoy the good things of Jerusalem all your life.
6 May you see your grandchildren.
Let there be peace in Israel.
Friends and Family Give Strength
9 Two people are better than one.
They get more done by working together.
10 If one person falls,
the other can help him up.
But it is bad for the person who is alone when he falls.
No one is there to help him.
11 If two lie down together, they will be warm.
But a person alone will not be warm.
12 An enemy might defeat one person,
but two people together can defend themselves.
A rope that has three parts wrapped together
is hard to break.
Fame and Power Are Useless
13 A young person may be poor but wise. He is better than a foolish, old king who doesn’t listen to advice. 14 I saw such a young person become king. He had been born poor in the kingdom. He had even gone to prison before becoming king. 15 I watched some of the people who live on earth follow him. They made him their king. 16 Yes, a great many people followed him at first. But later, they did not like him, either. So fame and power are shown to be useless. They are like chasing the wind.
A Warning to the Rich
5 You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because of the trouble that will come to you. 2 Your riches will rot, and your clothes will be eaten by moths. 3 Your gold and silver will rust, and rust will be a proof that you were wrong. It will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure for the last days. 4 Men worked in your fields, but you did not pay them. They harvested your crops and are crying out against you. Now the Lord of heaven’s armies has heard their cries. 5 Your life on earth was full of rich living. You pleased yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready to be killed. 6 You showed no mercy to the innocent man. You murdered him. He cannot stand against you.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.