Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

17 The prayer of David. Lord, hear thou my rightfulness; behold thou my prayer. Perceive thou with ears my prayer; not made in guileful lips. (The prayer of David. Lord, hear thou my plea for justice; consider thou my prayer. Listen thou to my prayer; for it is not made with deceitful, or lying, lips.)

² My doom come forth of thy cheer; thine eyes see they equity. (Let my judgement come forth from thy lips; let thine eyes be fixed on justice.)

³ Thou hast proved mine heart, and hast visited (me) in [the] night; thou hast examined, or assayed, me by fire, and wickedness is not found in me.

⁴ That my mouth speak not (of) the works of men; for the words of thy lips I have kept hard ways. (My mouth shall not speak of the works of men; by the words of thy lips I have kept myself from bad ways.)

⁵ Make thou perfect my goings in thy paths; that my steps be not moved. (Make thou perfect my goings on thy paths; so that my steps will not slip, or stumble/so that I do not fall.)

⁶ I cried, for thou, God, heardest me; bow down thy ear to me, and hear thou my words. (I cried, for I know that thou, God, shalt answer me; bow down thy ear to me, and listen to my words.)

⁷ Make wonderful thy mercies; that makest safe them that hope in thee. (Show thou me thy constant love, thou who savest me; with thy right hand save thou those who trust in thee, from those who stand against them.)

⁸ Keep thou me as the apple of thine eye; and from them that against-stand thy right hand. Cover thou me under the shadow of thy wings; (Keep thou me as the apple of thine eye. Cover thou me, or hide me, under the shadow of thy wings;)

⁹ from the face of unpious men, that have tormented me. Mine enemies have (en)compassed my soul; (from the face of the unpious, or of the wicked, who torment me. My enemies have surrounded me;)

⁵ When brethren dwell together, and one of them is dead without free children, the wife of the dead brother shall not be wedded to another man, but his brother shall take her, and he shall raise (up) the seed of his brother.

⁶ And he shall call her first begotten son by his name, that is, of the dead brother, (so) that his name be not done away from Israel.

⁷ And if he will not take the wife of his brother, which is due to him by law, the woman shall go to the gate of the city; and she shall ask the greater men in birth, and she shall say to them, My husband’s brother will not raise the seed of his brother in Israel, neither he will take me into marriage (and she shall say to the men of great age, that is, the elders, My husband’s brother will not raise up his brother’s descendants in Israel, nor will he take me into marriage).

⁸ And at once they shall make him to be called, and they shall ask him. If he answer, and say, I will not take her to wife (And If he answer, and say, I will not take her for a wife);

⁹ the woman shall go to him before the elder men of Israel, and she shall take his shoe off from his foot (and she shall take off the shoe from his foot), and she shall spit into his face, and she shall say to them, Thus it shall be done to the man, that buildeth not his brother’s house;

¹⁰ and his name shall be called in Israel, The house of the man unshod (The house of the unshod, or the shoeless, man).

²² And they heard him till [to] this word; and they raised their voice, and said, Take away from the earth such a manner man; for it is not leaveful, that he live.

²³ And when they cried, and cast away their clothes, and threw dust in the air,

²⁴ the tribune commanded him to be led into the castles, and to be beaten with scourges, and to be tormented, that he knew [that he should know], for what cause they cried so to him.

²⁵ And when they had bound him with cords, Paul said to a centurion standing nigh to him, Whether it is leaveful to you, to scourge a Roman, and uncondemned? [And when they had restrained him with bonds, or ropes, Paul said to a centurion standing nigh to him, If it is leaveful to you, to scourge a man Roman, and uncondemned?]

²⁶ And when this thing was heard, the centurion went to the tribune, and told to him, and said [saying], What art thou to doing? for this man is a citizen of Rome [forsooth this man is a citizen Roman].

²⁷ And the tribune came nigh, and said to him, Say thou to me, whether thou art a Roman [Forsooth the tribune coming to, said to him, Say thou to me, if thou art a Roman]? And he said, Yea.

²⁸ And the tribune answered, I with much sum got this freedom. And Paul said, And I was born a citizen of Rome [And Paul saith, I soothly and am born].

²⁹ Therefore at once [Therefore anon] they that should have tormented him, departed away from him. And the tribune dreaded, after that he knew, that he was a citizen of Rome, and for he had bound him [and that he had bound him].

³⁰ But in the day following he would know more diligently, for what cause he were accused of the Jews, and unbound him, and commanded [the] priests and all the council to come together. And he brought forth Paul, and set him among them.

23 And Paul beheld into the council, and said, Brethren [Paul forsooth beholding into the council, saith, Men brethren], I with all good conscience have lived before God, till into this day.

² And Ananias, prince of priests, commanded to men that stood nigh to him, that they should smite his mouth. [Soothly Ananias, prince of priests, commanded to men standing nigh, to smite his mouth.]

³ Then Paul said to him, Thou whited wall, God [shall] smite thee; thou sittest, and deemest me by the law, and against the law thou commandest me to be smitten. [Then Paul said to him, Thou wall made white, God shall smite thee; and thou sitting deemest me after the law, and against the law commandest me to be smitten.]

⁴ And they that stood nigh, said, Cursest thou the highest priest of God? [And they that stood nigh, said, Cursest thou the high priest of God?]

⁵ And Paul said, Brethren, I knew not, that he is [the] prince of priests; for it is written, Thou shalt not curse the prince of thy people.

⁶ But Paul knew, that one part was of Sadducees, and the other of Pharisees; and he cried in the council, Brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am deemed of the hope and of the again-rising of dead men. [Forsooth Paul witting, for one part was of Sadducees, and the tother of Pharisees, he cried in the council, Men brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; of the hope and again-rising of dead I am deemed.]

⁷ And when he had said this thing, dissension was made betwixt [made between] the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was parted.

⁸ For Sadducees say, that no rising again of dead men is, neither angel, neither spirit; but Pharisees acknowledge ever either. [Forsooth Sadducees say, to be no rising again of dead, neither angel, neither spirit; forsooth Pharisees acknowledge both.]

⁹ And a great cry was made. And some of the Pharisees rose up [rised up], and fought, saying, We find nothing of evil in this man; what if a spirit, either an angel spake to him [what if a spirit spake to him, or angel]?

¹⁰ And when great dissension was made, the tribune dreaded, lest Paul should be drawn to pieces of them; and he commanded knights to go down, and to take him from the middle of them, and to lead him into the castles.^[a]

¹¹ And in the night following the Lord stood nigh to him, and said, Be thou steadfast; for as thou hast witnessed of me in Jerusalem, so it behooveth thee to witness also at Rome.