Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Ascents
The Blessings of Fearing God
128 How blessed[a] are all who fear the Lord
as they follow in his ways.
2 You will eat from the work of your hands;
you will be happy, and it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children[b] like olive shoots surrounding your table.
4 See how the man will be blessed
who fears the Lord.
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
and may you observe the prosperity of Jerusalem
every day that you live!
6 And may you see your children’s children!
Peace be on Israel!
Advice in Worship
5 [a]Watch your step whenever you visit God’s house, and come more ready to listen than to offer a fool’s sacrifice, since fools[b] never think they’re doing evil.
2 [c]Don’t be impulsive with your mouth
nor be in a hurry to talk in God’s presence.
Since God is in heaven
and you’re on earth,
keep your speech short.
3 Too many worries lead to nightmares,
and a fool is known from talking too much.
Keep Your Promises to God
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t fail to keep it, since he isn’t pleased with fools. Keep what you promise— 5 it’s better that you don’t promise than that you do promise and not follow through.[d] 6 Never let your mouth cause you[e] to sin and don’t proclaim in the presence of the angel,[f] “My promise[g] was a mistake,” for why should God be angry at your excuse[h] and destroy what you’ve undertaken? 7 In spite of many daydreams, pointless actions, and empty words, it is more important to fear God.
The Use and Abuse of Wealth
8 Don’t be surprised when you see the poor oppressed and the violent perverting both justice and verdicts[i] in a province, for one high official watches another, and there are ones higher still over them. 9 Also, the increase of the land belongs to everyone; the king himself is served by his[j] field.
10 Whoever loves money will never have enough money.
Whoever loves luxury will not be content with abundance.
This also is pointless.
11 When possessions increase,
so does the number of consumers;
therefore what good are they to their owners,
except to look at them?
12 Sweet is the sleep of a working man,
whether he eats a little or a lot,
but the excess wealth of the rich
will not allow him to rest.
13 I have observed a painful tragedy on earth:
Wealth hoarded by its owner harms him,
14 and that wealth is lost in troubled circumstances.
Then a son is born,
but there is nothing left for him.[k]
15 Just as he came naked from his mother’s womb,
he will leave[l] as naked as he came;
he will receive no profit from his efforts—
he cannot carry away even a handful.
16 This is also a painful tragedy:
However a person comes, he also departs;
so what does he gain as he labors after the wind?
17 Furthermore, all his days he lives[m] in darkness
with great sorrow, anger, and affliction.
The Use and Abuse of Accomplishment
18 Look! I observed that it is good and prudent to eat, drink, and enjoy all that is good of a person’s[n] work that he does on earth during the limited days of his life, which God gives him, for this is his allotment. 19 Furthermore, for every person to whom God has given wealth, riches, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept this allotment, and to rejoice in his work—this is a gift from God. 20 For he will not brood much over the days of his life, since God will keep him occupied with the joys of his heart.
The One from Above
21 Later on, he told them again, “I’m going away, and you’ll look for me, but you will die in your sin.[a] You cannot come where I’m going.”
22 So the Jewish leaders[b] were asking, “He isn’t going to kill himself, is he? Is that why he said,[c] ‘You cannot come where I’m going’?”
23 He told them, “You are from below, I’m from above. You are of this world, but I’m not of this world. 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I AM, you’ll die in your sins.”
25 Then they asked him, “Who are you?”
Jesus told them, “What have I been telling you all along?[d] 26 I have much to say about you and to condemn you for.[e] But the one who sent me is truthful,[f] and what I’ve heard from him I declare to the world.”
27 They didn’t realize that he was talking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own authority. Instead, I speak only what the Father has taught me. 29 Moreover, the one who sent me is with me. He has never left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” 30 While he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Freedom and Slavery
31 So Jesus told those Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They replied to him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves to anybody. So how can you say, ‘You will be set free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, I tell all of you[g] emphatically, that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.[h] 35 The slave does not remain in the household forever, but the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”
The Real Children of Abraham
37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are trying to kill me because you’ve not received what I’ve told you. 38 I declare what I’ve seen in my[i] Father’s presence, and you’re doing what you’ve heard from your father.”
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