Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
First Book—Psalms 1–41
Psalm 1[a]
True Happiness in God’s Law
I
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the way[b] of sinners,
nor sit in company with scoffers.(A)
2 Rather, the law of the Lord[c] is his joy;
and on his law he meditates day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree(C)
planted near streams of water,
that yields its fruit in season;
Its leaves never wither;
whatever he does prospers.
II
Chapter 1
1 The words of David’s son, Qoheleth, king in Jerusalem:[a](A)
Vanity of Human Toil
3 What profit have we from all the toil
which we toil at under the sun?[c](C)
4 One generation departs and another generation comes,
but the world forever stays.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
then it presses on to the place where it rises.
6 Shifting south, then north,
back and forth shifts the wind, constantly shifting its course.
7 All rivers flow to the sea,
yet never does the sea become full.
To the place where they flow,
the rivers continue to flow.
8 All things are wearisome,[d]
too wearisome for words.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
nor has the ear enough of hearing.(D)
9 What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun!(E) 10 Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us.(F) 11 There is no remembrance of past generations;(G) nor will future generations be remembered by those who come after them.[e]
I. Qoheleth’s Investigation of Life
Twofold Introduction. 12 I, Qoheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13 and I applied my mind to search and investigate in wisdom all things that are done under the sun.(H)
A bad business God has given
to human beings to be busied with.
14 I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after wind.[f](I)
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and you cannot count what is not there.[g]
16 (J)Though I said to myself, “See, I have greatly increased my wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has broad experience of wisdom and knowledge,” 17 yet when I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, I learned that this also is a chase after wind.(K)
18 For in much wisdom there is much sorrow;
whoever increases knowledge increases grief.[h]
29 [a]“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,[b] you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, 30 (A)and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ 31 (B)Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets; 32 now fill up what your ancestors measured out! 33 (C)You serpents, you brood of vipers, how can you flee from the judgment of Gehenna? 34 [c](D)Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, 35 so that there may come upon you all the righteous blood shed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
The Lament over Jerusalem.[d] 37 (E)“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!(F) 38 (G)Behold, your house will be abandoned, desolate. 39 (H)I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.