Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

17 Unto the end, for David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this canticle, in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. [2 Kings 22.]

² I will love thee, O Lord, my strength:

³ The Lord is my firmament, my refuge, and my deliverer. My God is my helper, and in him will I put my trust. My protector and the horn of my salvation, and my support.

⁴ Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies.

⁵ The sorrows of death surrounded me: and the torrents of iniquity troubled me.

⁶ The sorrows of hell encompassed me: and the snares of death prevented me.

⁷ In my affliction I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God: And he heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry before him came into his ears.

⁸ The earth shook and trembled: the foundations of the mountains were troubled and were moved, because he was angry with them.

⁹ There went up a smoke in his wrath: and a fire flamed from his face: coals were kindled by it.

⁵ When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry to another: but his brother shall take her, and raise up seed for his brother:

⁶ And the first son he shall have of her he shall call by his name, that his name be not abolished out of Israel.

⁷ But if he will not take his brother's wife, who by law belongeth to him, the woman shall go to the gate of the city, and call upon the ancients, and say: My husband's brother refuseth to raise up his brother's name in Israel: and will not take me to wife.

⁸ And they shall cause him to be sent for forthwith, and shall ask him. If he answer: I will not take her to wife:

⁹ The woman shall come to him before the ancients, and shall take off his shoe from his foot, and spit in his face, and say: So shall it be done to the man that will not build up his brother's house:

¹⁰ And his name shall be called in Israel, the house of the unshod.

²² And they heard him until this word, and then lifted up their voice, saying: Away with such an one from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live.

²³ And as they cried out and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air,

²⁴ The tribune commanded him to be brought into the castle, and that he should be scourged and tortured: to know for what cause they did so cry out against him.

²⁵ And when they had bound him with thongs, Paul saith to the centurion that stood by him: Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?

²⁶ Which the centurion hearing, went to the tribune, and told him, saying: What art thou about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.

²⁷ And the tribune coming, said to him: Tell me, art thou a Roman? But he said: Yea.

²⁸ And the tribune answered: I obtained the being free of this city with a great sum. And Paul said: But I was born so.

²⁹ Immediately therefore they departed from him that were about to torture him. The tribune also was afraid after he understood that he was a Roman citizen, and because he had bound him.

³⁰ But on the next day, meaning to know more diligently for what cause he was accused by the Jews, he loosed him, and commanded the priests to come together, and all the council: and bringing forth Paul, he set him before them.

23 And Paul looking upon the council, said: Men, brethren, I have conversed with all good conscience before God until this present day.

² And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

³ Then Paul said to him: God shall strike thee, thou whited wall. For sittest thou to judge me according to the law, and contrary to the law commandest me to be struck?

⁴ And they that stood by said: Dost thou revile the high priest of God?

⁵ And Paul said: I knew not, brethren, that he is the high priest. For it is written: Thou shalt not speak evil of the prince of thy people.

⁶ And Paul knowing that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, cried out in the council: Men, brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees: concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

⁷ And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the multitude was divided.

⁸ For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

⁹ And there arose a great cry. And some of the Pharisees rising up, strove, saying: We find no evil in this man. What if a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel?

¹⁰ And when there arose a great dissension, the tribune fearing lest Paul should be pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.

¹¹ And the night following the Lord standing by him, said: Be constant; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.