Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 128[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
128 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers,[c]
each one who keeps his commands.[d]
2 You[e] will eat what you worked so hard to grow.[f]
You will be blessed and secure.[g]
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine[h]
in the inner rooms of your house;
your children[i] will be like olive branches,
as they sit all around your table.
4 Yes indeed, the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed in this way.[j]
5 May the Lord bless you[k] from Zion,
that you might see[l] Jerusalem prosper
all the days of your life,
6 and that you might see[m] your grandchildren.[n]
May Israel experience peace.[o]
Labor is Beneficial When Its Rewards Are Shared
9 Two people are better than one,
because they can reap[a] more benefit[b] from their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up,
but pity[c] the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.
11 Furthermore, if two lie down together, they can keep each other warm,
but how can one person keep warm by himself?
12 Although an assailant may overpower[d] one person,
two can withstand him.
Moreover, a three-stranded cord is not quickly broken.
Labor Motivated by Prestige Seeking
13 A poor but wise youth is better than an old and foolish king
who no longer knows how to receive advice.
14 For he came out of prison[e] to become king,
even though he had been born poor in what would become his[f] kingdom.
15 I considered all the living who walk on earth,[g]
as well as the successor[h] who would arise[i] in his place.
16 There is no end to all the people[j] nor to the past generations,[k]
yet future generations[l] will not rejoice in him.
This also is profitless and like[m] chasing the wind.
Warning to the Rich
5 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud[a] over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure![b] 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[c] 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.[d] 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.[e]
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