To The Word – Day 70

₁Hear this, everyone!

Listen, all people everywhere,

₂great and small alike,

rich and poor together.

₃My thoughts will be clear;

I will speak words of wisdom.

₄I will turn my attention to proverbs

and explain their meaning as I play the harp.

₅I am not afraid in times of danger

when I am surrounded by enemies,

₆by evil people who trust in their riches

and boast of their great wealth.

₇A person can never redeem himself;

he cannot pay God the price for his life,

₈because the payment for a human life is too great.

What he could pay would never be enough

₉to keep him from the grave,

to let him live for ever.

₁₀Anyone can see that even the wise die,

as well as the foolish and stupid.

They all leave their riches to their descendants.

₁₁Their graves are their homes for ever;

there they stay for all time,

though they once had lands of their own.

₁₂No one's greatness can save him from death;

he will still die like the animals.

₁₃See what happens to those who trust in themselves,

the fate of those who are satisfied with their wealth —

₁₄they are doomed to die like sheep,

and Death will be their shepherd.

The righteous will triumph over them,

as their bodies quickly decay

in the world of the dead far from their homes.

₁₅But God will rescue me;

he will save me from the power of death.

₁₆Don't be upset when someone becomes rich,

when his wealth grows even greater;

₁₇he cannot take it with him when he dies;

his wealth will not go with him to the grave.

₁₈Even if he is satisfied with this life

and is praised because he is successful,

₁₉he will join all his ancestors in death,

where the darkness lasts for ever.

₂₀His greatness cannot save him from death;

he will still die like the animals.

₁The Almighty God, the LORD, speaks;

he calls to the whole earth from east to west.

₂God shines from Zion,

the city perfect in its beauty.

₃Our God is coming, but not in silence;

a raging fire is in front of him,

a furious storm is round him.

₄He calls heaven and earth as witnesses

to see him judge his people.

₅He says, “Gather my faithful people to me,

those who made a covenant with me by offering a sacrifice.”

₆The heavens proclaim that God is righteous,

that he himself is judge.

₇“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel.

I am God, your God.

₈I do not reprimand you because of your sacrifices

and the burnt offerings you always bring me.

₉And yet I do not need bulls from your farms

or goats from your flocks;

₁₀all the animals in the forest are mine

and the cattle on thousands of hills.

₁₁All the wild birds are mine

and all living things in the fields.

₁₂“If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food,

for the world and everything in it is mine.

₁₃Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

₁₄Let the giving of thanks be your sacrifice to God,

and give the Almighty all that you promised.

₁₅Call to me when trouble comes;

I will save you,

and you will praise me.”

₁₆But God says to the wicked,

“Why should you recite my commandments?

Why should you talk about my covenant?

₁₇You refuse to let me correct you;

you reject my commands.

₁₈You become the friend of every thief you see

and you associate with adulterers.

₁₉“You are always ready to speak evil;

you never hesitate to tell lies.

₂₀You are ready to accuse your own relatives

and to find fault with them.

₂₁You have done all this, and I have said nothing,

so you thought that I was like you.

But now I reprimand you

and make the matter plain to you.

₂₂“Listen to this, you that ignore me,

or I will destroy you,

and there will be no one to save you.

₂₃Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honours me,

and I will surely save all who obey me.”