Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 37[a]
Fate of the Wicked and Reward of the Righteous
1 Of David.
Do not fume because of evildoers
or envy those who do wrong.
2 They will wither quickly like the grass
and fade away like the green herb.[b]
3 Put your trust in the Lord and do good,
that you may dwell in the land[c] and be secure.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will grant you what your heart[d] desires.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
place your trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause, like the noonday.[e]
7 Wait quietly for the Lord
and be patient until he comes.
Do not fret over the man who prospers
because of his evil schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn away from wrath;
do not fret—it does nothing but harm.
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land.[f]
10 In a short while, the wicked will be no more;
no matter how diligently you search, you will not be able to find him.
11 But the meek[g] will possess the land
and enjoy an abundance of peace.
39 [a]The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in times of trouble.
40 The Lord will help them and deliver them;
he will rescue them from the wicked and save them
because they flee to him for refuge.
18 But Judah came before him and said, “My lord, let your servant please speak a word in the ear of my lord. Let your anger not burn against your servant, for you are as great as Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 We told my lord, ‘We have an aged father and a younger brother who was born in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only remaining son of his mother, and his father loves him.’
21 “You said to your servants, ‘Bring him here to me, so that I can see him with my own eyes.’ 22 We told my lord, ‘The young one cannot leave his father; if he were to leave his father he would die.’ 23 But you said to your servants, ‘If your younger brother does not come down here with you, you shall not see my face.’ 24 When we returned to your servant, my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 “Our father said, ‘Return to buy a little more food for us.’ 26 We answered, ‘We cannot return down there if our younger brother does not go down with us. Otherwise, we will not be admitted into the presence of that man, if our younger brother is not with us.’
27 “Your servant, my father, said, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. 29 If you carry away this one and something were to happen to him, you would make this gray head go down with sorrow into the netherworld.’
30 “Now, when I go back to your servant, my father, and the young one is not with me (for the life of one is bound to the other), 31 he will surely die as soon as he sees that the young one is not with me. Thus, your servants will have made the gray head of your servant, our father, go down into the netherworld. 32 Your servant made himself a pledge for the young one with my father: ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear this guilt before you all my life.’
33 “Let your servant remain as the slave of my lord instead of the young one. Let the young one return back with his brothers. 34 How could I return to my father without having the young one with me? I could not bear to see the evil that I will have done to my father.”
57 Reconciling with Others before the Judgment.[a]“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 Thus, when you are going to court with your opponent, make an effort to settle the matter with him on the way. If you fail to do so, he may drag you before the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the officer, and the officer will throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not be given your freedom until you have paid your debt down to the very last penny.”
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