Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
18 There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:
19 The way of an (A)eagle in the sky,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the middle of the sea,
And the way of a man with a maid.
20 This is the way of an (B)adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth quakes,
And under four, it cannot bear up:
22 Under a (C)slave when he becomes king,
And a fool when he is satisfied with food,
23 Under an unloved woman when she gets a husband,
And a maidservant when she supplants her mistress.
24 Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The (D)ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The [a](E)shephanim are not mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet all of them go out in (F)ranks;
28 The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.
25 For (A)I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this (B)mystery—so that you will not be (C)wise in your own estimation—that a partial (D)hardening has happened to Israel until the (E)fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“(F)The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
27 “(G)This is [a]My covenant with them,
(H)When I take away their sins.”
28 [b]From the standpoint of the gospel they are (I)enemies for your sake, but [c]from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for (J)the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the (K)calling of God (L)are irrevocable. 30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For (M)God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.