Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ For they have no pain;
    their bodies are sound and sleek.
⁵ They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not plagued like other people.^(D)
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
    violence covers them like a garment.^(E)
7 Their eyes swell out with fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.^(F)
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
    loftily they threaten oppression.^(G)
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
    and their tongues range over the earth.

¹⁰ Therefore the people turn and praise them^[a]
    and find no fault in them.^[b]
11 And they say, “How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”^(H)
12 Such are the wicked;
    always at ease, they increase in riches.^(I)
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean
    and washed my hands in innocence.^(J)
14 For all day long I have been plagued
    and am punished every morning.^(K)

¹⁵ If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”
    I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
¹⁶ But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me a wearisome task,^(L)
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
    then I perceived their end.^(M)
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.^(N)
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
    swept away utterly by terrors!^(O)
20 They are^[c] like a dream when one awakes;
    on awaking you despise their phantoms.^(P)

11 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
    but an accurate weight is his delight.^(A)
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but wisdom is with the humble.^(B)
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
    but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.^(C)
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
    but righteousness delivers from death.^(D)
5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps their ways straight,
    but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.
⁶ The righteousness of the upright saves them,
    but the treacherous are taken captive by their schemes.^(E)
7 When the wicked die, hope perishes,
    and the expectation of strength comes to nothing.^(F)
8 The righteous are delivered from trouble,
    and the wicked come into it instead.^(G)
9 With their mouths the godless would destroy their neighbors,
    but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
¹⁰ When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,
    and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.^(H)
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
    but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.^(I)
12 Whoever belittles another lacks sense,
    but an intelligent person remains silent.^(J)
13 A gossip goes about telling secrets,
    but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence.^(K)
14 Where there is no guidance, a nation^[a] falls,
    but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.^(L)
15 To guarantee loans for a stranger brings trouble,
    but there is safety in refusing to do so.
¹⁶ A gracious woman gets honor,
    but she who hates virtue is covered with shame.^[b]
The timid become destitute,^[c]
    but the aggressive gain riches.^(M)
17 Those who are kind reward themselves,
    but the cruel do themselves harm.
¹⁸ The wicked earn no real gain,
    but those who sow righteousness get a true reward.^(N)
19 Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,
    but whoever pursues evil will die.
²⁰ Crooked minds are an abomination to the Lord,
    but those of blameless ways are his delight.^(O)
21 Be assured, the wicked will not go unpunished,
    but those who are righteous will escape.^(P)
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
    is a beautiful woman without good sense.
²³ The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
    the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
²⁴ Some give freely yet grow all the richer;
    others withhold what is due and only suffer want.^(Q)
25 A generous person will be enriched,
    and one who gives water will get water.^(R)
26 The people curse those who hold back grain,
    but a blessing is on the head of those who sell it.^(S)
27 Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,
    but evil comes to the one who searches for it.^(T)
28 Those who trust in their riches will wither,^[d]
    but the righteous will flourish like green leaves.^(U)
29 Those who trouble their households will inherit wind,
    and the fool will be servant to the wise.
³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
    and the wise capture souls.^(V)
31 If the righteous are repaid on earth,
    how much more the wicked and the sinner!^(W)

“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord
    or lose heart when you are punished by him,^(B)
6 for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves
    and chastises every child whom he accepts.”^(C)