Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Vanity of Life.
For the choir director, for [a]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will (A)guard my ways
That I (B)may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard (C)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was (D)mute [b]and silent,
I [c]refrained even from good,
And my [d]sorrow grew worse.
3 My (E)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me to know (F)my end
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how (G)transient I am.
5 “Behold, You have made (H)my days as handbreadths,
And my (I)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Surely every man [e]at his best is [f]a mere (J)breath. [g]Selah.
6 “Surely every man (K)walks about as [h]a phantom;
Surely they make an (L)uproar for nothing;
He (M)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My (N)hope is in You.
8 “(O)Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Make me not the (P)reproach of the foolish.
9 “I have become (Q)mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is (R)You who have done it.
10 “(S)Remove Your plague from me;
Because of (T)the opposition of Your hand I am [i]perishing.
11 “With (U)reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;
You (V)consume as a moth what is precious to him;
Surely (W)every man is a mere breath. Selah.
Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
17 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a (A)parable to the house of Israel, 3 [a]saying, ‘Thus says the Lord [b]God, “A great (B)eagle with (C)great wings, long pinions and a full plumage of many colors came to (D)Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar. 4 He plucked off the topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a city of traders. 5 He also took some of the seed of the land and planted it in [c](E)fertile soil. He [d]placed it beside abundant waters; he set it like a (F)willow. 6 Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and yielded shoots and sent out branches.
7 “But there was [e]another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was (G)planted, that he might water it. 8 It was planted in good [f]soil beside abundant waters, that it might yield branches and bear fruit and become a splendid vine.”’ 9 Say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting leaves wither? And neither by great [g]strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. 10 Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not (H)completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?”’”
12 For all who have sinned [a](A)without the Law will also perish [b]without the Law, and all who have sinned [c]under the Law will be judged [d]by the Law; 13 for it is (B)not the hearers [e]of the Law who are [f]just before God, but the doers [g]of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have [h]the Law do [i](C)instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having [j]the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show (D)the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, (E)according to my gospel, (F)God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.