Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of fthe Sons of Korah.
1 gHear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 hboth low and high,
rich and poor together!
3 My mouth shall speak iwisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to ja proverb;
I will solve my kriddle to the music of the lyre.
5 lWhy should I fear in mtimes of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6 those who ntrust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly no man ocan ransom another,
or pgive to God qthe price of his life,
8 for rthe ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
and snever see the pit.
10 For he sees tthat even the wise die;
uthe fool and the stupid alike must perish
and vleave their wealth to others.
11 Their wgraves are their homes forever,1
their dwelling places xto all generations,
though they ycalled lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp zwill not remain;
ahe is like the beasts that perish.
The Lord’s Love for Israel
1 uWhen Israel was a child, vI loved him,
and out of Egypt I wcalled xmy son.
2 yThe more they were called,
the more they went away;
zthey kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
3 Yet it was aI who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that bI healed them.
4 cI led them with cords of kindness,1
with the bands of love,
and dI became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and eI bent down to them and fed them.
5 fThey shall not2 return to the land of Egypt,
but gAssyria shall be their king,
hbecause ithey have refused to return to me.
6 jThe sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them kbecause of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent lon turning away from me,
and though mthey call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
nHow can I make you olike Admah?
How can I treat you olike Zeboiim?
pMy heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
qfor I am God and not a man,
rthe Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.3
10 sThey shall go after the Lord;
the will roar like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling ufrom the west;
11 they shall come trembling like birds vfrom Egypt,
and wlike doves xfrom the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 sSomeone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, t“Man, uwho made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, v“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, w“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, x‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ybarns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up zfor many years; relax, aeat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, b‘Fool! zThis night cyour soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, dwhose will they be?’ 21 So is the one ewho lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Put On the New Self
1 bIf then you have been raised with Christ, seek cthe things that are above, where Christ is, dseated at the right hand of God. 2 eSet your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For fyou have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ gwho is your1 life happears, then you also will appear with him iin glory.
5 jPut to death therefore kwhat is earthly in you:2 lsexual immorality, impurity, mpassion, evil desire, and covetousness, nwhich is idolatry. 6 oOn account of these the wrath of God is coming.3 7 pIn these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now qyou must put them all away: ranger, wrath, malice, sslander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 tDo not lie to one another, seeing that uyou have put off vthe old self4 with its practices 10 and whave put on xthe new self, ywhich is being renewed in knowledge zafter the image of aits creator. 11 bHere there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,5 free; but Christ is call, and in all.
