Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is a psalm that Asaph wrote.
God has helped me to understand[a]
73 God is truly good to the people of Israel,
to people who want to serve him honestly.
2 But this is what happened to me:
I nearly slipped and fell over.
I could no longer stand properly.
3 When I saw that wicked people had plenty of things,
I was jealous of those proud people.
4 Their bodies are fat and strong,
and they feel no pain in their lives.
5 They do not have trouble like other people.
They seem to have no problems.
6 Their pride is like their necklace.
They like to be cruel,
as they like to wear clothes.
7 Their greedy eyes lead them into sin.
Their minds think of evil things to do.
8 They laugh at people
and they say bad things about them.
They proudly speak about cruel things
that they want to do to people.
9 They think that they rule in heaven,
as well as on the earth!
10 As a result, God's people become confused,
and they listen to them.
They think that everything is true
that those wicked people say.[b]
11 They say, ‘Does God really know what we do?
Does the Most High God know everything?’
12 Take a good look,
and see how wicked those people are!
They have no troubles,
and they become richer and richer.
13 I decided that I had tried to do what is right,
but it did not help me at all!
I had refused to do anything wrong,
for no good reason!
14 I had trouble each and every day.
Punishment came to me every morning!
15 If I had spoken aloud things like that,
I would have turned against your own people.
16 When I thought about all this,
it was so hard for me to understand.
17 But I went into your temple, God.
Then I understood what would happen
to wicked people in the end.
18 Yes, I realized that they are in a dangerous place,
where they will easily slip.
You will cause them to fall down to their death.
19 It will take just a moment to destroy them!
Great fear will sweep them away!
20 They will completely disappear,
like a dream disappears after you wake up.
Lord, when you decide to do something,
you will forget that they were there!
11 The Lord hates traders who do not use true weights.
He is happy when they are honest and they use true weights.
2 If people are proud, they will soon become ashamed.
But if people are humble, they become wise.
3 Good people are honest, and that shows them the right way to live.
But wicked people are not honest, and that destroys them.
4 When it is time for God to punish you, money will not help you to escape.
But if you are righteous, that will save you from death.
5 An honest man who is righteous has a straight path to walk on.
But the sins of a wicked person will cause him to fall down.
6 When honest people are righteous, that will keep them safe.
But the bad things that wicked people want will catch them in a trap.
7 When a wicked person dies, he has no hope for anything good.
Everything that he hoped his strength would give him disappears!
8 Righteous people escape from trouble.
The trouble happens to wicked people instead.
9 People who do not respect God say things that destroy their friends.
But the knowledge that righteous people have keeps them safe.
10 When righteous people do well, everyone in the city is happy.
And people shout with joy when wicked people die.
11 A city becomes great when honest men bring God's blessing to it.
But when wicked people give bad advice, they will destroy the city.
12 When someone insults his neighbour, it shows that he is foolish.
But a wise person stays quiet.
13 If a person talks too much about other people, he will soon tell their secrets.
But someone that you can trust will not tell your secrets to other people.
14 A nation will fall if it has no wise leaders.
But it will do well if there are people who give good advice.
15 If you promise to pay a stranger's debt, you will be sorry.
You will be safe if you do not agree to do that.
16 A kind woman receives honour,
but cruel men only get riches for themselves.
17 A faithful person helps himself with good things,
but a cruel person brings trouble on himself.
18 A wicked person gets riches that soon disappear.
But someone who lives in a good way will surely receive good things.
19 If someone continues to do what is right, he will live.
But if someone loves to do evil things, he will die.
20 The Lord hates people who have wrong thoughts.
But he is pleased with people who live in an honest way.
21 Be sure about this: Evil people will receive the punishment that they deserve.
But people who are righteous will escape.
22 A beautiful woman who turns away from wisdom
is like a gold ring in a pig's nose.
23 Righteous people want good things to happen.
Wicked people only hope to cause anger.
24 Somebody may share his things with other people,
but he still becomes richer.
Somebody else may keep the things that he should give to others,
but he still becomes poor.
25 If you help other people with your money, you will do well.
If you give water to thirsty people, you will not be thirsty yourself.
26 If you refuse to sell food to hungry people, they will curse you.
But if you sell it to them, they will praise you.
27 If you try to do good things, people will respect you.
But if you want evil things to happen, they will happen to you!
28 If somebody trusts his riches to keep him safe,
he will fall like a leaf that falls from a tree.
But a righteous person will grow strong,
like a fresh green leaf.
29 Anyone who causes trouble for his family will not receive any good thing from them.
A foolish person like that will become the servant of a wise person.
30 The good things that a righteous person does bring life.
A person who saves people's lives shows that he is wise.
31 Righteous people receive what they deserve, here on this earth.
So you can be sure that cruel and wicked people will receive their punishment.
3 So think carefully about how Jesus lived on earth. Bad people did very bad things against him, but he continued to be strong. Think about him, and then you will not become weak as Christians. You will not stop trusting God.
4 You have been fighting against sin in your lives. But you have not yet had to fight like that until someone killed you. 5 God speaks to you as his children. Do not ever forget these words in the Bible that will make you strong:[a]
‘My son, when the Lord shows you what is right,
do not easily forget it.
Do not be upset when he punishes you.
6 The Lord does that to everyone that he loves.
He punishes everyone that he accepts as a son.’
7 When you have troubles in your life, you must be patient and strong. Remember that God is teaching you what is right because you are his children. There has never been any son whose father did not punish him. 8 God teaches all his children not to do wrong things. So if he does not punish you, it shows that you are not really his children. Instead, you are like children who do not really belong to him. 9 Also, we have all had human fathers who punished us. As a result, we respected them. So think about our Father that our spirits belong to. We must surely obey him, and then he will give us true life.
10 Our human fathers punished us for a few years. They did this in a way that they thought was good. But God punishes us in a way that will really help us. As a result, we can become completely good, like he is. 11 Punishment never makes us happy at the time when we receive it. No, the pain makes us sad. But later we know that the punishment has taught us good things. It helps us to live in a right way that gives us peace in our minds.
12 So be strong as servants of God! If your hands feel weak, lift them up! If your knees are not strong, stand up straight! 13 Walk straight in front of you, step by step! Your example will help other Christians to serve God well. People who cannot walk well will not become worse and fall down. Instead, their legs will become strong again.[b]
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