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Psalm 126

1  When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, ♦︎
   then were we like those who dream.
2  Then was our mouth filled with laughter ♦︎
   and our tongue with songs of joy.
3  Then said they among the nations, ♦︎
   ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
4  The Lord has indeed done great things for us, ♦︎
   and therefore we rejoiced.
5  Restore again our fortunes, O Lord, ♦︎
   as the river beds of the desert.
6  Those who sow in tears ♦︎
   shall reap with songs of joy.
7  Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed, ♦︎
   will come back with shouts of joy,
      bearing their sheaves with them.

Psalm 127

1  Unless the Lord builds the house, ♦︎
   those who build it labour in vain.
2  Unless the Lord keeps the city, ♦︎
   the guard keeps watch in vain.
3  It is in vain that you hasten to rise up early
      and go so late to rest, eating the bread of toil, ♦︎
   for he gives his beloved sleep.
4  Children are a heritage from the Lord ♦︎
   and the fruit of the womb is his gift.
5  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, ♦︎
   so are the children of one’s youth.
6  Happy are those who have their quiver full of them: ♦︎
   they shall not be put to shame
      when they dispute with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128

1  Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, ♦︎
   and walk in his ways.
2  You shall eat the fruit of the toil of your hands; ♦︎
   it shall go well with you, and happy shall you be.
3  Your wife within your house
      shall be like a fruitful vine; ♦︎
   your children round your table,
      like fresh olive branches.
4  Thus shall the one be blest ♦︎
   who fears the Lord.
5  The Lord from out of Zion bless you, ♦︎
   that you may see Jerusalem in prosperity
      all the days of your life.
6  May you see your children’s children, ♦︎
   and may there be peace upon Israel.

2And now, O priests, this command is for you. ²If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse on you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them,^* because you do not lay it to heart. ³I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and I will put you out of my presence.^*

4 Know, then, that I have sent this command to you, so that my covenant with Levi may hold, says the Lord of hosts. ⁵My covenant with him was a covenant of life and well-being, which I gave him; this called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. ⁶True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in integrity and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. ⁷For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. ⁸But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, ⁹and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction.

The Covenant Profaned by Judah

10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors? ¹¹Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. ¹²May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob anyone who does this—any to witness^* or answer, or to bring an offering to the Lord of hosts.

13 And this you do as well: You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favour at your hand. ¹⁴You ask, ‘Why does he not?’ Because the Lord was a witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ¹⁵Did not one God make her?^* Both flesh and spirit are his.^* And what does the one God^* desire? Godly offspring. So look to yourselves, and do not let anyone be faithless to the wife of his youth. ¹⁶For I hate^* divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and covering one’s garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to yourselves and do not be faithless.

Boasting about Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.’ ¹⁴Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.’ ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

Warning to Rich Oppressors

5Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. ²Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure^* for the last days. ⁴Listen! The wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. ⁵You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.