Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 128[a]
The Blessed Home of the Just
1 A song of ascents.
I
Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
and who walk in his ways.(A)
2 What your hands provide you will enjoy;
you will be blessed and prosper:(B)
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your home,
Your children like young olive plants
around your table.(C)
4 Just so will the man be blessed
who fears the Lord.
II
Chapter 27
1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what any day may bring forth.
2 Let another praise you, not your own mouth;
a stranger, not your own lips.
3 Stone is heavy, and sand a burden,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.(A)
4 Anger is cruel, and wrath overwhelming,
but before jealousy who can stand?[a]
5 [b]Better is an open rebuke
than a love that remains hidden.
6 Trustworthy are the blows of a friend,
dangerous, the kisses of an enemy.[c]
7 One who is full spurns honey;
but to the hungry, any bitter thing is sweet.
8 Like a bird far from the nest
so is anyone far from home.[d]
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
but by grief the soul is torn asunder.
10 Do not give up your own friend and your father’s friend;
do not resort to the house of your kindred when trouble strikes.
Better a neighbor near than kin far away.[e]
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart,
so that I can answer whoever taunts me.[f]
12 The astute see an evil and hide;
the naive continue on and pay the penalty.(B)
13 Take the garment of the one who became surety for a stranger;(C)
if for a foreign woman, exact the pledge![g]
14 Those who greet their neighbor with a loud voice[h] in the early morning,
a curse can be laid to their charge.
15 For a persistent leak on a rainy day
the match is a quarrelsome wife;(D)
16 Whoever would hide her hides a stormwind
and cannot tell north from south.
17 Iron is sharpened by iron;
one person sharpens another.[i]
18 Those who tend a fig tree eat its fruit;
so those attentive to their master will be honored.
19 As face mirrors face in water,
so the heart reflects the person.
20 Sheol and Abaddon can never be satisfied;(E)
so the eyes of mortals can never be satisfied.[j]
21 The crucible for silver, the furnace for gold,
so you must assay the praise you receive.
22 Though you pound fools with a pestle,
their folly never leaves them.
23 [k]Take good care of your flocks,
give careful attention to your herds;
24 For wealth does not last forever,
nor even a crown from age to age.
25 When the grass comes up and the new growth appears,
and the mountain greens are gathered in,
26 The lambs will provide you with clothing,
and the goats, the price of a field,
27 And there will be ample goat’s milk for your food,
food for your house, sustenance for your maidens.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds.(A) 9 Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.(B)
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.[a] If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?(C)
Warning Against Presumption.[b] 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”— 14 you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.[c] You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.(D) 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it,[d] we shall live to do this or that.” 16 But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 (E)So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.[e]
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.