Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Davidic Psalm.
Praise to the Majestic Lord
29 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings;
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord wearing holy attire.
3 The voice of the Lord was heard[a] above the waters;
the God of glory thundered;
the Lord was heard[b] over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord snaps the cedars;[c]
the Lord snaps the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes them stagger like a calf,
even Lebanon and Sirion[d] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord shoots out flashes of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the voice of the Lord shakes[e] the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord causes deer to give birth,
and strips the forest bare.
In his Temple all of them shout, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sat enthroned over the flood,
and the Lord sits as king forever.
11 The Lord will give strength to his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace.
The Theme
1 The words of the Teacher,[a] the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 “Utterly pointless,”[b]
says the Teacher.
“Absolutely pointless;
everything is pointless.”
3 What does a man gain
from all of the work that he undertakes on earth?[c]
The Predictability of Life
4 A generation goes,
a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises,
the sun sets,
then rushes back to where it arose.
6 The wind blows southward,
then northward, constantly circulating,
and the wind comes back again in its courses.
7 All the rivers flow toward the sea,
but the sea is never full;
then rivers return to the headwaters[d] where they began.
8 Everything is wearisome,
more than man is able to express.
The eye is never satisfied by seeing,
nor the ear by hearing.
9 Whatever has happened, will happen again;
whatever has been done, will be done again.
There is nothing new on earth.
10 Does anything exist about which someone might say,
“Look at this! Is this new?”
It happened ages ago;
it existed before we did.
11 No one remembers those in the past,
nor will they be remembered
by those who come after them.
The Messiah is God’s Power and Wisdom
18 For the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject.”[a]
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? God has turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense, hasn’t he? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God,[b] God was pleased to save those who believe through the nonsense of our preaching. 22 Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach the Messiah[c] crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to gentiles, 24 but to those who are called,[d] both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah[e] is God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 For God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom,[f] and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.[g]
26 Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards,[h] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is nonsense in the world to make the wise feel ashamed. God chose what is weak in the world to make the strong feel ashamed. 28 And God chose what is insignificant in the world, what is despised, what is nothing, in order to destroy what is something, 29 so that no one[i] may boast in God’s presence. 30 It is because of God[j] that you are in union with the Messiah[k] Jesus, who for us has become wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written, “The person who boasts must boast in the Lord.”[l]
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.