Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
128 A Song of the Ascents. O the happiness of every one fearing Jehovah, Who is walking in His ways.
2 The labour of thy hands thou surely eatest, Happy [art] thou, and good [is] to thee.
3 Thy wife [is] as a fruitful vine in the sides of thy house, Thy sons as olive plants around thy table.
4 Lo, surely thus is the man blessed who is fearing Jehovah.
5 Jehovah doth bless thee out of Zion, Look, then, on the good of Jerusalem, All the days of thy life,
6 And see the sons of thy sons! Peace on Israel!
5 Keep thy feet when thou goest unto a house of God, and draw near to hear rather than to give of fools the sacrifice, for they do not know they do evil.
2 Cause not thy mouth to hasten, and let not thy heart hasten to bring out a word before God, for God is in the heavens, and thou on the earth, therefore let thy words be few.
3 For the dream hath come by abundance of business, and the voice of a fool by abundance of words.
4 When thou vowest a vow to God, delay not to complete it, for there is no pleasure in fools; that which thou vowest -- complete.
5 Better that thou do not vow, than that thou dost vow and dost not complete.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger, that `it [is] an error,' why is God wroth because of thy voice, and hath destroyed the work of thy hands?
7 For, in the abundance of dreams both vanities and words abound; but fear thou God.
8 If oppression of the poor, and violent taking away of judgment and righteousness thou seest in a province, do not marvel at the matter, for a higher than the high is observing, and high ones [are] over them.
9 And the abundance of a land is for all. A king for a field is served.
10 Whoso is loving silver is not satisfied [with] silver, nor he who is in love with stores [with] increase. Even this [is] vanity.
11 In the multiplying of good have its consumers been multiplied, and what benefit [is] to its possessor except the sight of his eyes?
12 Sweet [is] the sleep of the labourer whether he eat little or much; and the sufficiency of the wealthy is not suffering him to sleep.
13 There is a painful evil I have seen under the sun: wealth kept for its possessor, for his evil.
14 And that wealth hath been lost in an evil business, and he hath begotten a son and there is nothing in his hand!
15 As he came out from the belly of his mother, naked he turneth back to go as he came, and he taketh not away anything of his labour, that doth go in his hand.
16 And this also [is] a painful evil, just as he came, so he goeth, and what advantage [is] to him who laboureth for wind?
17 Also all his days in darkness he consumeth, and sadness, and wrath, and sickness abound.
18 Lo, that which I have seen: [It is] good, because beautiful, to eat, and to drink, and to see good in all one's labour that he laboureth at under the sun, the number of the days of his life that God hath given to him, for it [is] his portion.
19 Every man also to whom God hath given wealth and riches, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to accept his portion, and to rejoice in his labour, this is a gift of God.
20 For he doth not much remember the days of his life, for God is answering through the joy of his heart.
21 therefore said Jesus again to them, `I go away, and ye will seek me, and in your sin ye shall die; whither I go away, ye are not able to come.'
22 The Jews, therefore, said, `Will he kill himself, because he saith, Whither I go away, ye are not able to come?'
23 and he said to them, `Ye are from beneath, I am from above; ye are of this world, I am not of this world;
24 I said, therefore, to you, that ye shall die in your sins, for if ye may not believe that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins.'
25 They said, therefore, to him, `Thou -- who art thou?' and Jesus said to them, `Even what I did speak of to you at the beginning;
26 many things I have to speak concerning you and to judge, but He who sent me is true, and I -- what things I heard from Him -- these I say to the world.'
27 They knew not that of the Father he spake to them;
28 Jesus, therefore, said to them, `When ye may lift up the Son of Man then ye will know that I am [he]; and of myself I do nothing, but according as my Father did teach me, these things I speak;
29 and He who sent me is with me; the Father did not leave me alone, because I, the things pleasing to Him, do always.'
30 As he is speaking these things, many believed in him;
31 Jesus, therefore, said unto the Jews who believed in him, `If ye may remain in my word, truly my disciples ye are, and ye shall know the truth,
32 and the truth shall make you free.'
33 They answered him, `Seed of Abraham we are; and to no one have we been servants at any time; how dost thou say -- Ye shall become free?'
34 Jesus answered them, `Verily, verily, I say to you -- Every one who is committing sin, is a servant of the sin,
35 and the servant doth not remain in the house -- to the age, the son doth remain -- to the age;
36 if then the son may make you free, in reality ye shall be free.
37 `I have known that ye are seed of Abraham, but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you;
38 I -- that which I have seen with my Father do speak, and ye, therefore, that which ye have seen with your father -- ye do.'