Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK I
(Psalms 1–41)
Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 How happy is the man
who does not follow[a] the advice of the wicked
or take[b] the path of sinners
or join a group[c] of mockers!(A)
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree planted beside streams of water[d]
that bears its fruit in season[e](C)
and whose leaf does not wither.(D)
Whatever he does prospers.(E)
Everything is Futile
1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem.(B)
2 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”(C)
3 What does a man gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?(D)
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it returns to its place(F)
where it rises.
6 Gusting to the south,
turning to the north,
turning, turning, goes the wind,(G)
and the wind returns in its cycles.
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
The streams are flowing to the place,
and they flow there again.
8 All things[b] are wearisome;
man is unable to speak.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing(H)
or the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of those who[c] came before;(I)
and of those who[d] will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.
The Limitations of Wisdom
12 I, the Teacher,(J) have been[e] king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I applied my mind to seek(K) and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven.(L) God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.(M) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.[f](N)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(O)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself,[g] “Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me,(P) and my mind has thoroughly grasped[h] wisdom and knowledge.” 17 I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge,(Q) madness and folly;(R) I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.[i](S)
18 For with much wisdom is much sorrow;(T)
as knowledge increases, grief increases.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’[a] 31 You, therefore, testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ sins
33 “Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?[c](B) 34 This is why I am sending you prophets,(C) sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues(D) and hound from town to town. 35 So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you,[d] from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah,(E) son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.(F) 36 I assure you: All these things will come on this generation!(G)
Jesus’ Lamentation over Jerusalem
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem!(H) She who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks[e] under her wings, yet you were not willing!(I) 38 See, your house is left to you desolate.(J) 39 For I tell you, you will never see Me again until you say, ‘He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One’!”(K)[f]
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