Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)
1 Great blessings belong to those
who don’t listen to evil advice,
who don’t live like sinners,
and who don’t join those who make fun of God.[a]
2 Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings
and think about them day and night.
3 So they grow strong,
like a tree planted by a stream—
a tree that produces fruit when it should
and has leaves that never fall.
Everything they do is successful.
4 But the wicked are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 When the time for judgment comes, the wicked will be found guilty.
Sinners have no place among those who do what is right.[b]
6 The Lord shows his people how to live,
but the wicked have lost their way.
1 These are the words from the Teacher, a son of David and king of Jerusalem.
2 Everything is so meaningless. The Teacher says that it is all a waste of time![a] 3 Do people really gain anything from all the hard work they do in this life[b]?
Things Never Change
4 People live and people die, but the earth continues forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun goes down, and then it hurries to rise again in the same place.
6 The wind blows to the south, and the wind blows to the north. The wind blows around and around. Then it turns and blows back to the place it began.
7 All rivers flow again and again to the same place. They all flow to the sea, but the sea never becomes full.
8 Words cannot fully explain things,[c] but people continue speaking.[d] Words come again and again to our ears, but our ears don’t become full. And our eyes don’t become full of what we see.
Nothing Is New
9 All things continue the way they have been since the beginning. The same things will be done that have always been done. There is nothing new in this life.
10 Someone might say, “Look, this is new,” but that thing has always been here. It was here before we were.
11 People don’t remember what happened long ago. In the future, they will not remember what is happening now. And later, other people will not remember what the people before them did.
Does Wisdom Bring Happiness?
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I decided to study and to use my wisdom to learn about everything that is done in this life. I learned that it is a very hard thing that God has given us to do. 14 I looked at everything done on earth, and I saw that it is all a waste of time. It is like trying to catch the wind.[e] 15 If something is crooked, you cannot say it is straight. And if something is missing, you cannot say it is there.
16 I said to myself, “I am very wise. I am wiser than all the kings who ruled Jerusalem before me. I know what wisdom and knowledge really are.”
17 I decided to learn how wisdom and knowledge are better than thinking foolish thoughts. But I learned that trying to become wise is like trying to catch the wind. 18 With much wisdom comes frustration. The one who gains more wisdom also gains more sorrow.
29 “It will be bad for you teachers of the law and you Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets. And you show honor to the graves of the godly people who were killed. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived during the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped them kill these prophets.’ 31 So you give proof that you are descendants of those who killed the prophets. 32 And you will finish the sin that your ancestors started!
33 “You are snakes! You are from a family of poisonous snakes! You will not escape God. You will all be judged guilty and go to hell! 34 So I tell you this: I send to you prophets and teachers who are wise and know the Scriptures. You will kill some of them. You will hang some of them on crosses. You will beat some of them in your synagogues. You will chase them from town to town.
35 “So you will be guilty for the death of all the good people who have been killed on earth. You will be guilty for the killing of that godly man Abel. And you will be guilty for the killing of Zechariah[a] son of Berachiah. He was killed between the Temple and the altar. You will be guilty for the killing of all the good people who lived between the time of Abel and the time of Zechariah. 36 Believe me when I say that all these things will happen to you people who are living now.
Jesus Warns the People of Jerusalem(A)
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. You stone to death those that God has sent to you. Many, many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather them together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me. 38 Now your house will be left completely empty. 39 I tell you, you will not see me again until that time when you will say, ‘Welcome! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’[b]”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International