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⁵ Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
   and make mere flesh their strength,
   whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
⁶ They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
   and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
   in an uninhabited salt land.

⁷ Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
   whose trust is the Lord.
⁸ They shall be like a tree planted by water,
   sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
   and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
   and it does not cease to bear fruit.

⁹ The heart is devious above all else;
   it is perverse—
   who can understand it?
¹⁰ I the Lord test the mind
   and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
   according to the fruit of their doings.

²⁵ My soul clings to the dust;
   revive me according to your word.
²⁶ When I told of my ways, you answered me;
   teach me your statutes.
²⁷ Make me understand the way of your precepts,
   and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
²⁸ My soul melts away for sorrow;
   strengthen me according to your word.
²⁹ Put false ways far from me;
   and graciously teach me your law.
³⁰ I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
   I set your ordinances before me.
³¹ I cling to your decrees, O Lord;
   let me not be put to shame.
³² I run the way of your commandments,
   for you enlarge my understanding.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; ¹⁴and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have died^* in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.^*

The Labourers in the Vineyard

20‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage,^* he sent them into his vineyard. ³When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; ⁴and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. ⁵When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” ⁷They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” ⁸When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” ⁹When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.^{* 10}Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.^{* 11}And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹²saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” ¹³But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?^{* 14}Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?”^{* 16}So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’^*