Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
21 When my (A)heart was embittered
And I was (B)pierced [a]within,
22 Then I was (C)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [b]a (D)beast [c]before You.
23 Nevertheless (E)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (F)guide me,
And afterward (G)receive me [d]to glory.
25 (H)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [e]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (I)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [f]strength of my heart and my (J)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (K)those who are far from You will (L)perish;
You have [g]destroyed all those who [h](M)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (N)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [i]God my (O)refuge,
That I may (P)tell of all Your works.
On Life and Conduct
22 A (A)good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor [a]have a common bond,
The Lord is the (B)maker of them all.
3 The (C)prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
But the [b]naive go on, and are punished for it.
4 The reward of humility and the [c]fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor and life.
5 (D)Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.
6 (E)Train up a child [d]in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The (F)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
8 He who (G)sows iniquity will reap vanity,
And the (H)rod of his fury will perish.
9 He who [e]is (I)generous will be blessed,
For he (J)gives some of his food to the poor.
10 (K)Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out,
Even strife and dishonor will cease.
11 He who loves (L)purity of heart
And [f]whose speech is (M)gracious, the king is his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the treacherous man.
13 The (N)sluggard says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of [g](O)an adulteress is a deep pit;
He who is (P)cursed of the Lord will fall [h]into it.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The (Q)rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
16 He (R)who oppresses the poor to make [i]more for himself
Or who gives to the rich, (S)will only come to poverty.
17 (T)Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;
18 For it will be (U)pleasant if you keep them within you,
[j]That they may be ready on your lips.
19 So that your (V)trust may be in the Lord,
I have [k]taught you today, even you.
20 Have I not written to you [l](W)excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21 To make you (X)know the [m]certainty of the words of truth
That you may [n](Y)correctly answer him who sent you?
9 What then? [a](A)Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both (B)Jews and (C)Greeks are (D)all under sin; 10 as it is written,
“(E)There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “(F)Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“(G)The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “(H)Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “(I)Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “(J)There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the (K)Law says, it speaks to (L)those who are [b]under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and (M)all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because (N)by the works [c]of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for [d](O)through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.