Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song to sing as we climb.
A happy family
128 If people respect the Lord
and they obey his commands,
God has blessed them!
2 You will eat the food that you have worked hard to grow.
You will have everything that you need.
You will be happy!
3 Your wife will be like a vine that grows in your home,
and it gives many grapes.
Your children will sit around your table,
like the branches of an olive tree that are around you.[a]
4 Yes, if a man respects the Lord,
that is how God blesses him.
5 The Lord rules from Zion,
and I pray that he will bless you.[b]
Then you will see that Jerusalem is a good place to live in
for as long as you live.
6 I pray that you will live to see your grandchildren.
May Israel have peace!
Think before you speak
5 When you go to God's temple, be careful what you do. Listen carefully when you come near to God. Do not offer sacrifices in the way that foolish people do. They do not even know that they are doing something bad.
2 You should not speak too soon.
Think carefully before you make a promise to God.
God is in heaven and you are here on the earth.
So do not say too much.
3 If you worry about many things,
you will have many dreams.
If you talk too much,
you will say foolish things.
4 If you make a promise to God,
quickly do what you have promised.
God is not pleased with foolish people.
So give what you have promised to give.
5 It is better not to promise anything
than to promise something and then not do it.
6 Do not say things that cause you to do something wrong. Do not say to the priest, ‘My promise was a mistake.’ That would make God angry with you. He might destroy everything that you have worked to get for yourself. 7 If you dream all the time or if you talk all the time, that has no purpose. Instead, respect God and obey him.
Money does not make you happy
8 You may see a place where poor people are suffering. Powerful people may be hurting them. Do not be surprised if you see that. The judges may not be doing what is right and fair. That happens because the government's officers have to obey people who are more important than them. 9 All of them take something for themselves from the land. The king himself receives his share of the crops.
10 People who love money never have enough.
They may get more and more valuable things,
but they are never happy.
This also has no purpose.
11 As a person's money becomes more,
there are more people who want a share of it.
Money does not help the people who have a lot of it.
They see it, but it quickly disappears.
12 Someone who has worked hard all day will sleep well at night.
That is true even if they have not had much food to eat.
But the rich man worries about his riches.
So he does not sleep well.
13 I have seen another terrible thing that happens on the earth.
Some people may store their riches,
but it does not help them in a time of trouble.
14 Something may happen in the future
that causes their money to disappear.
After they die,
no money remains for their children.
15 When people are born,
they bring nothing with them.
When they die,
they take nothing away with them.
All their hard work finally leaves them with nothing.
16 This is also a terrible thing to happen.
People leave this earth with nothing,
as they came into it with nothing.
All their hard work has been useless,
like someone who tries to catch the wind.
17 Even if people are rich, they do not enjoy their food.
They suffer all through their lives.
They are upset, angry and sick.
18 But I realized that there is one good thing for people to do. We should be happy to eat and to drink. And we should enjoy the hard work that we do on the earth. That is what God wants us to do during the short time that he has given us on this earth. 19 God gives some people a lot of money and valuable things. He helps them to enjoy those things and to be happy with their work. All of this is a gift from God. 20 People like that do not think a lot about what has happened in their lives. God helps them to be happy as they are busy with their work.
Jesus says that he comes from above
21 Jesus said to them again, ‘I will go away and you will look for me. But even when you die, God will still not have forgiven your sins. You cannot go where I will go.’ 22 So the Jewish leaders said to each other, ‘Perhaps he means that he will kill himself. He says, “You cannot go where I will go.” Perhaps that is why he says this.’ 23 Jesus answered, ‘You belong to the things down here in the world. But I have come from above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. 24 I told you that when you die, God will not have forgiven you. You must believe that “I am who I am.”[a] If not, you will die and God will certainly not have forgiven you.’
25 Then the Jewish leaders asked Jesus, ‘So, who are you?’ He answered, ‘I have told you who I am from the beginning. 26 I have many things I could say about you. I could show that you have done many wrong things. But the one who sent me speaks to me. I tell people only what I have heard him say to me. What he says is true.’ 27 They did not understand that he was speaking to them about his Father.[b] 28 So Jesus said to them, ‘You will lift up the Son of Man on a cross. Then you will know that “I am who I am”. And you will know that I do nothing by myself. I say only what the Father has taught me to say. 29 He who sent me is with me. I always do the things that make him happy. So he has never gone away and left me alone.’ 30 Many people who heard Jesus say these things believed in him.[c]
The truth about God will make you free
31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who now believed him, ‘Continue to obey the words that I have spoken to you. If you do that, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know what is true. And that will make you free.’ 33 They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham. We have never been anyone's slaves. But you say that we will become free. What do you mean?’
34 Jesus answered them, ‘I tell you this: Everyone who does wrong things is a slave to sin. 35 A slave does not belong to a family for ever. But a son does belong to a family for ever. 36 So, if the Son makes you free, you will really be free. 37 I know that you belong to Abraham's family. But you are looking for a way to kill me. That is because you have no place in yourselves for my words. 38 I speak about the things that my Father has shown me. You do the things that you have heard from your father.’
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