Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁷ The law of the Lord is without wem, and converteth souls; the witnessing of the Lord is faithful, and giveth wisdom to little, either meek, children. (The Law of the Lord is without blemish, or without fault, and converteth souls; the teaching of the Lord is faithful, and giveth wisdom to the simple.)

⁸ The rightfulnesses of the Lord be rightful, gladdening hearts (The precepts of the Lord be right, gladdening hearts); the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening eyes.

⁹ The holy dread of the Lord dwelleth into the world of world; the dooms of the Lord be true, justified into themselves. (The fear of the Lord is holy, or pure/Reverence for the Lord is holy, or pure, and it remaineth forever and ever; the judgements of the Lord be true, and justified unto themselves.)

¹⁰ Desirable more than gold, and a stone much precious; and sweeter than honey and honeycomb. (They be more desirable than gold, or very precious stones; and sweeter than honey from a honeycomb.)

¹¹ For why thy servant keepeth those; much yielding is in those to be kept./Forsooth thy servant keepeth those; much yielding, or reward, is in those dooms to be kept. (For they instruct thy servant; and in obeying those judgements, there is much reward.)

¹² Who understandeth trespasses? make thou me clean from my privy sins; (Who understandeth his own trespasses? Lord, make thou me clean from my secret sins;)

¹³ and of alien sins spare thy servant. If those have not lordship of me, then I shall be undefouled of alien sins, or without wem; and I shall be cleansed of the most sin. (and spare thy servant from willful sins. For if they have no rule, or lordship, over me, then I shall be undefiled, or without blemish, or without fault; and I shall be cleansed from all great sin.)

¹⁴ And the speeches of my mouth shall be such, that they please; and the thinking of mine heart is ever[more] in thy sight. Lord, mine helper; and mine again-buyer. (May the words out of my mouth be such, that they please thee; and may the thinking of my heart be acceptable before thee forevermore, O Lord; my helper, and my redeemer.)

¹³ Forsooth in the tother day, Moses sat that he should deem the people, which stood nigh to Moses, from the morrowtide till to the eventide. (And the next day, Moses sat down to judge the people, who stood about him, from the morning until the evening.)

¹⁴ And when his ally had seen this, that is, all things which he did in the people, he said, What is this that thou doest in the people? why sittest thou alone, and all the people abideth thee from the morrowtide till to eventide? (And when his father-in-law had seen this, that is, all the things which he did for the people, Jethro said, What is this that thou doest for the people? why sittest thou alone, and all the people waiteth for thee from the morning until the evening?)

¹⁵ To whom Moses answered, The people cometh to me, and asketh the sentence of God;

¹⁶ and when any strife befalleth to them, they come to me, that I deem betwixt them (so that I can judge between them), and show (them) the commandments of God, and his laws.

¹⁷ And Jethro said, Thou doest a thing that is not good,

¹⁸ thou art wasted with a fond travail, both thou, and this people that is with thee; the work is above thy strengths, thou alone mayest not suffer it (thou cannot do it all alone).

¹⁹ But hear thou my words, and my counsels, and the Lord shall be with thee; be thou to the people in these things that pertain to God, that thou tell (them) the things that be said to the people; (But hear thou my words, and my counsel, and the Lord shall be with thee; it is right to represent the people before God, and to bring their causes to him;)

²⁰ and show to the people the ceremonies, and [the] custom(s) of worshipping, and the way by which they ought to go, and the work which they ought to do.

²¹ Forsooth purvey thou of all the people wise men, and dreading God, in which is truth, and which hate avarice; and ordain thou of them tribunes, and centurions, and quinquagenaries, and deans [and ordain of them rulers upon thousands, and rulers upon hundreds, and rulers upon fifty, and rulers upon ten], (But find thou out of the people some men who be wise, and who fear God, in whom is truth, and who hate greed; and make thou them leaders of a thousand, and of a hundred, and of fifty, and of ten,)

²² which shall deem the people in all time; soothly whatever thing is greater, tell they to thee, and deem they only [the] less(er) things, and be it easier to thee, when the burden is parted into other men. (and they shall judge their people at all times; but whatever case is hard, or too difficult, let them tell that to thee, and judge they only the simple cases, and so it shall be easier for thee, when the burden is shared with these other men.)

²³ If thou shalt do this, thou shalt fulfill the commandment of God, and thou shalt be able to bear his commandments; and all this people shall turn again with peace to their places (and all these people shall return to their places in peace).

²⁴ And when these things were heard, Moses did all things which Jethro counselled.

²⁵ And when noble men of all Israel were chosen, Moses ordained them princes of the people (And when some noble men were chosen out of all Israel, Moses ordained them the people’s leaders), tribunes, and centurions, and quinquagenaries, and deans [rulers upon thousands, and rulers upon hundreds, and rulers upon fifties, and rulers upon ten],

²⁶ which deemed the people in all time; forsooth, whatever thing was harder, they told to Moses, and they deemed [the] easier things only. (who judged the people at all times; but whatever case was hard, or too difficult, they told it to Moses, and they judged only the easy, or the simple, cases.)

²⁷ And Moses let go his ally, which turned again, and went into his land. (And then Moses let his father-in-law go, and he returned to his own land.)

¹³ And they saw the steadfastness of Peter and of John, and when it was found that they were men unlettered, and lay men [that there were men without letters, and idiots], they wondered, and they knew them that they were with Jesus.

¹⁴ And they saw the man that was healed, standing with them, and they might nothing gainsay. [And seeing the man standing with them, that was healed, they might nothing against-say.]

¹⁵ But they commanded them to go forth without the council. And they spake together,

¹⁶ and said [saying], What shall we do to these men? for [soothly] the sign is made known by them to all men, that dwell at Jerusalem; it is open, and we be not able to deny [and we may not deny].

¹⁷ But that it be no more published into the people, menace we to them, that they speak no more in this name to any man.

¹⁸ And they called them, and commanded to them [And they calling them announced to them], that on no manner they should speak, neither teach [nor teach], in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered, and said to them, If it be rightful in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, deem ye.

²⁰ For we must needs speak those things, that we have seen and heard. [Forsooth we may not not speak the things that we have seen and heard.]

²¹ And they menaced them, and let them go, and found not how they should punish them, for the people; for all men clarified that thing that was done in that that was befallen.^[a]

²² For the man was more than forty years old, in whom this sign of healing was made [in whom this sign of health was made].

²³ And when they were delivered, they came to their fellows, and told to them, how great things the princes of priests and the elder men had said to them.^[b]

²⁴ And when they heard, with one heart they raised voice to the Lord, and said, Lord, thou that madest heaven and earth, sea, and all things that be in them,

²⁵ which saidest by the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of our father David, thy child, Why heathen men gnashed with teeth together, and the peoples thought vain things? [which by the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of our father David, thy child, saidest, Why heathen men wrathed, or beat with teeth together, and peoples thought vain things?]

²⁶ Kings of the earth stood nigh, and princes came together into one, against the Lord, and against his Christ.

²⁷ For verily Herod and Pontius Pilate, with heathen men, and peoples of Israel, came together in this city against thine holy child Jesus, whom thou anointedest, [For they came together verily in this city against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou anointedest, Herod and Pontius Pilate, with heathen men, and peoples of Israel,]

²⁸ to do the things, that thine hand and thy counsel deemed to be done.

²⁹ And now, Lord, behold into the threatenings of them, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all trust [and give to thy servants with all trust to speak thy word],

³⁰ in that thing that thou hold forth thine hand, that healings and signs and wonders be made by the name of thine holy Son Jesus. [in that thing that thou hold forth thine hand, healths and signs and wonders to be made by the name of thine holy Son Jesus.]

³¹ And when they had prayed, the place was moved, in which they were gathered; and all were filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake the word of God with trust.