Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

3 The psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom, his son. Lord, why be they multiplied that trouble me? many men rise against me. (The song of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. Lord, why be there so many who trouble me? why be there so many who rise up against me?)

² Many men say of my soul, None health there is to him in his God. (Many say of me, There is no help for him from his God.)

³ But thou, Lord, art mine up-taker; my glory, and enhancing mine head. (But thou, Lord, art my defender; my glory, and the one who lifteth up my head.)

⁴ With my voice I cried to the Lord; and he heard me from his holy hill. (I cried to the Lord with my voice; and he answered me from his holy hill.)

⁵ I slept, and rested, and I rose up; for the Lord received me (for the Lord had protected me).

⁶ I shall not dread thousands of people (en)compassing me; (I shall not fear even thousands of people surrounding me;)

⁷ Lord, arise thou; my God, make me safe. For thou hast smitten all men being adversaries to me without cause; thou hast all-broken the teeth of sinners. (Lord, rise thou up; my God, save me. Thou hast struck down all who be my adversaries; thou hast broken all the teeth of the sinners.)

⁸ Health is of the Lord; and thy blessing is on thy people. (Victory is from the Lord/Salvation, or deliverance, is from the Lord; and thy blessing is upon thy people.)

⁵ Behold ye in heathen men, and see ye, and wonder ye, and greatly dread ye; for a work is done in your days, which no man shall believe, when it shall be told. (Behold ye the heathen, and see ye, and wonder ye, and greatly fear ye; for a work is done in your days, which no one shall believe, when it shall be told to them.)

⁶ For lo! I shall raise Chaldees, a bitter folk and swift, going on the breadth of earth, that he wield tabernacles not his. (For lo! I shall raise up the Chaldeans, a swift and bitter nation, going upon the breadth of the earth, in order to take tents, or homes, not their own.)

⁷ It is horrible, and dreadful; the doom and the burden thereof shall go out of itself. (They be terrible, and fearful, that is, they instill terror, and fear; and law, and justice, or judgement, shall go out from them alone.)

⁸ His horses be lighter than leopards, and swifter than eventide wolves, and his horsemen shall be scattered abroad; for why his horsemen shall come from far, they shall fly as an eagle hasting to eat. (Their horses be lighter than leopards, and swifter than wolves in the night, and their horsemen shall be spread abroad everywhere; yea, their horsemen shall come from afar, and they shall fly like eagles hastening to eat.)

⁹ All (these) men shall come to prey, the faces of them is as a burning wind; and he shall gather as gravel (the) captivity, (All these men shall come for prey, their faces be like the burning wind; and they shall gather up captives like the sand,)

¹⁰ and he shall have victory of kings, and tyrants shall be of his scorning. He shall laugh on all stronghold, and shall bear together [an] heap of earth, and shall take it. (and they shall have victory over kings, and only scorn, or mocking, for any tyrant. They shall laugh at every stronghold, or every fortress, and shall bear together heaps of earth, and then shall take, or shall capture, them.)

¹¹ Then the spirit [of him] shall be changed, and he shall pass forth, and fall down; this is the strength of him, of his god. (Then their spirit shall be changed, and they shall pass forth, and shall fall down/Then they shall pass forth like the changing wind, and shall fall down; for their own strength was their god.)

¹² Whether thou art not from the beginning, thou, Lord my God, mine holy, and we shall not die? Lord, into doom thou hast set him, and thou groundedest him strong, that thou shouldest chastise. (Lord, art thou not God from the beginning? yea, my God, my Holy One, and so we shall not die. Lord, thou hast ordained them for judgement, and thou hast used them, O strong God, to chastise, or to discipline, us.)

¹³ Thine eyes be clean, see thou not evil, and thou shalt not be able to behold to wickedness. Why beholdest thou not on men doing wickedly, and thou art still, while the unpious man devoureth a more just man than himself? (Thine eyes be pure, thou seest no evil, and thou art not able to look upon wickedness. But why beholdest thou not upon those doing wickedly, and thou art silent, while the wicked devour those who be more just, or more righteous, than themselves?)

¹⁴ And thou shalt make men as fishes of the sea, and as a creeping thing not having a prince. (And shalt thou make people like the fish of the sea, and like the creeping things that do not have a leader?/And why makest thou people like the fish of the sea, and like the creeping things that do not have a leader?)

¹⁵ He shall lift up all in the hook; he drew it in his great net, and gathered into his net; on this thing he shall be glad, and make joy withoutforth. (For they lift up all the people by their hooks; they gather them into their great nets, and draw them along in their nets; and then they be happy, and rejoice, over this.)

¹⁶ Therefore he shall offer to his great net, and shall make sacrifice to his net; for in them his part is made fat, and his meat is chosen. (And they even make offerings to their great nets, and make sacrifices to their nets; for by them their portions be made fat, and their meats be chosen and tasty.)

¹⁷ Therefore for this thing he spreadeth abroad his great net, and evermore he ceaseth not for to slay folks. (And so for this they spread abroad their great nets, and they never cease to slaughter the nations.)

² My brethren, deem ye all joy [guess ye all joy], when ye fall into diverse temptations,

³ witting, that the proving of your faith worketh patience;

⁴ and patience hath a perfect work, that ye be perfect and whole, and fail in nothing. [soothly patience hath a perfect work, that ye be perfect and whole, in nothing failing.]

⁵ And if any of you needeth wisdom, ask he of God, which giveth to all men largely [that giveth to all men largely], and upbraideth not; and it shall be given to him.

⁶ But ask he in faith, and doubt nothing [nothing doubting]; for he that doubteth, is like to a wave of the sea, which is moved and borne about of the wind [the which of wind is moved and borne about].

⁷ Therefore guess not that man, that he shall take any thing of the Lord.

⁸ A man double in soul is unstable in all his ways.

⁹ And a meek brother have glory in his enhancing. [Forsooth a meek brother glory in his enhancing.]

¹⁰ and a rich man in his lowness; for as the flower of grass he shall pass.

¹¹ The sun rose up with heat, and dried the grass, and the flower of it felled down, and the fairness of his face perished; and so a rich man withereth in his ways.^[a]