Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
128 Blessed are all those who have respect for the Lord.
They live as he wants them to live.
2 Your work will give you what you need.
Blessings and good things will come to you.
3 As a vine bears a lot of fruit,
so may your wife have many children by you.
May they sit around your table
like young olive trees.
4 Only a man who has respect for the Lord
will be blessed like that.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion.
May you enjoy the good things that come to Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
6 May you live to see your grandchildren.
May Israel enjoy peace.
9 Two people are better than one.
They can help each other in everything they do.
10 Suppose either of them falls down.
Then the one can help the other one up.
But suppose a person falls down and doesn’t have anyone to help them up.
Then feel sorry for that person!
11 Or suppose two people lie down together.
Then they’ll keep warm.
But how can one person keep warm alone?
12 One person could be overpowered.
But two people can stand up for themselves.
And a rope made out of three cords isn’t easily broken.
Getting Ahead Is Meaningless
13 A poor but wise young man is better off than an old but foolish king. That king doesn’t pay attention to a warning anymore. 14 The young man might have come from prison to become king. Or he might have been born poor within the kingdom but still became king. 15 I saw that everyone was following the young man who had become the new king. 16 At first, all the people served him when he became king. But those who came later weren’t pleased with the way he was ruling. That doesn’t have any meaning either. It’s like chasing the wind.
A Warning to Rich People
5 You rich people, listen to me. Cry and weep, because you will soon be suffering. 2 Your riches have rotted. Moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver have lost their brightness. Their dullness will be a witness against you. Your wanting more and more will eat your body like fire. You have stored up riches in these last days. 4 You have even failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields. Their pay is crying out against you. The cries of those who gathered the harvest have reached the ears of the Lord. He rules over all. 5 You have lived an easy life on earth. You have given yourselves everything you wanted. You have made yourselves fat like cattle that will soon be butchered. 6 You have judged and murdered people who aren’t guilty. And they weren’t even opposing you.
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