Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 128
A pilgrimage song.
128 Everyone who honors the Lord,
who walks in God’s ways, is truly happy!
2 You will definitely enjoy what you’ve worked hard for—
you’ll be happy; and things will go well for you.
3 In your house, your wife will be like a vine full of fruit.
All around your table, your children will be like olive trees, freshly planted.
4 That’s how it goes for anyone who honors the Lord:
they will be blessed!
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion.
May you experience Jerusalem’s goodness your whole life long.
6 And may you see your grandchildren.
Peace be on Israel!
27 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
for you don’t know what a day will bring.
2 Let another person praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand weighs much,
but the nuisance of fools is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel and anger is a flood,
but who can withstand jealousy?
5 A public correction is better than hidden love.
6 Trustworthy are the bruises of a friend;
excessive are the kisses of an enemy.
7 Someone who is full refuses honey,
but anything bitter tastes sweet to a hungry person.
8 Like a bird wandering from its nest,
so is one who wanders from home.
9 Oil and incense make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of friends comes from their advice.[a]
10 Don’t desert your friend or a friend of your family;
don’t go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes.
Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
11 Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
so I can answer those who insult me.
12 Prudent people see evil and hide;
the simpleminded go right to it and get punished.
13 Take the garment of the person who secures a loan for a stranger;
take his pledge for a foreigner.
14 Greeting a neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning
will be viewed as a curse.
15 The constant dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious woman are alike;
16 anyone who can control her
can control the wind
or pick up oil in his hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens a friend.
18 Those who tend a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and those who look after their master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face,
so the heart reflects one person to another.
20 The grave[b] and the underworld[c] are never satisfied;
and people’s eyes are never satisfied.
21 A crucible is for silver and a furnace for gold;
so are people in the presence of someone who praises them.
22 Even if you grind fools in a mortar,
even grinding them along with the grain,
their folly won’t be driven from them.
23 Know your flock well;
pay attention to your herds,
24 for no treasure lasts forever,
nor a crown generation after generation.
25 When the grass goes away, new growth appears,
and the plants of the hills are gathered,
26 then the lambs will provide your clothes,
and the goats will be the price of your fields.
27 There will be enough goat’s milk for your food,
for the food of your house,
and to nourish your young women.
8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Cry out in sorrow, mourn, and weep! Let your laughter become mourning and your joy become sadness. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11 Brothers and sisters, don’t say evil things about each other. Whoever insults or criticizes a brother or sister insults and criticizes the Law. If you find fault with the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge over it. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, and he is able to save and to destroy. But you who judge your neighbor, who are you?
Warning the proud and wealthy
13 Pay attention, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such-and-such a town. We will stay there a year, buying and selling, and making a profit.” 14 You don’t really know about tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for only a short while before it vanishes. 15 Here’s what you ought to say: “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast and brag, and all such boasting is evil. 17 It is a sin when someone knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible