Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

57 To the victory, lose thou not the seemly song, either the sweet song, of David, when he fled from the face of Saul into the den. God, have mercy on me, have thou mercy on me; for my soul trusteth in thee. And I shall hope in the shadow of thy wings; till wickedness pass. (To victory, destroy thou not the comely song, or the sweet song, of David, when he fled from the face of Saul into the cave. God, have mercy on me, have thou mercy on me; for my soul trusteth in thee. And I shall trust in the shadow of thy wings, until all wickedness pass by.)

² I shall cry to God alder-highest; to God that did well to me. (I shall cry to the Most High God; to God who did so much good for me.)

³ He sent from heaven, and delivered me; he gave into shame them that defoul me. God sent his mercy and his truth, (He sent from heaven, and saved me; he shamed those who persecute me. God showed his love and his faithfulness,)

⁴ and delivered my soul from the midst of whelps of lions; I slept troubled, or disturbed. The sons of men, the teeth of them be armours and arrows; and their tongue is a sharp sword. (and saved me from the midst of those ravenous lions. Yea, those sons of men, whose teeth be like arms, or spears, and arrows; and whose tongues be like sharp swords.)

⁵ God, be thou enhanced above heavens; and thy glory above all earth. (God, be thou exalted above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth.)

⁶ They made ready a snare to my feet; and they greatly bowed my life. They delved a ditch before my face; and they felled down into it. (They prepared a snare for my feet; and they greatly bowed down my life. They dug a ditch before me; but they themselves fell down into it.)

⁷ God, mine heart is ready, mine heart is ready; I shall sing, and I shall say psalm. (God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready; I shall sing, yea, I shall sing a song.)^[a]

⁸ My glory, rise thou up; psaltery and harp, rise thou up; I shall rise up early. (My spirit, rise thou up; lute and harp, rise thou up; yea, I shall rise up in the morning.)

⁹ Lord, I shall acknowledge to thee among peoples; and I shall say psalm [to thee] among heathen men. (Lord, I shall praise thee/Lord, I shall confess thee/Lord, I shall give thanks to thee among the peoples; and I shall sing a song to thee among the heathen.)

¹⁰ For thy mercy is magnified till to heavens; and thy truth till to the clouds. (For thy love reacheth above the heavens; and thy faithfulness up to the clouds.)

¹¹ God, be thou enhanced above heavens; and thy glory above all earth. (God, be thou exalted above the heavens; and let thy glory be over all the earth.)

³⁶ Forsooth Abigail came to Nabal; and lo! a feast was to him in his house, as the feast of a king; and the heart of Nabal was merry, certainly he was full drunken; and she showed not to him a word, little or great, till the morrow. (And Abigail came back to Nabal; and lo! he was giving a feast in his house, a feast fit for a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry, for he was very drunk; and so she did not tell him anything, little or great, until the morning.)

³⁷ But in the morrowtide, when Nabal had voided the wine, his wife showed to him all these words; and his heart was almost dead within, and he was made as a stone. (But in the morning, when Nabal had voided the wine, his wife told him everything; and his heart was almost dead within, and he was made like a stone.)

³⁸ And when ten days had passed, the Lord smote Nabal, and he was dead (and he died).

³⁹ The which thing when David had heard, Nabal to be dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord God, that hath venged the cause of my shame of the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil, and the Lord hath yielded the malice of Nabal into the head of him. Therefore David sent, and spake to Abigail, that he would take her (as a) wife to him. (Which thing when David had heard, that is, that Nabal had died, he said, Blessed be the Lord God, who hath avenged the cause of my shame at the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil; yea, the Lord hath yielded the malice of Nabal onto his own head. Then David sent word to Abigail that he would take her for his wife.)

⁴⁰ And the servants of David came to Abigail into Carmel, and spake to her, and said, David sent us to thee, that he take thee into wife to him. (And so David’s servants came to Abigail at Carmel, and spoke to her, and said, David sent us to tell thee, that he would take thee as his wife.)

⁴¹ And she rose up, and worshipped low to the earth (and bowed low to the ground), and said, Lo! (let) thy servantess be into an handmaid, that she wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

⁴² And Abigail hasted, and rose (up), and ascended on an ass (and mounted her donkey); and five damsels, (the) followers of her feet, went with her, and she followed the messengers of David, and (so) was made [a] wife to him.

³⁹ And he went out, and went after the custom into the hill of Olives [And he gone out, went by custom into the hill of Olives]; and the disciples followed him.

⁴⁰ And when he came to the place, he said to them, Pray ye, lest ye enter into temptation.

⁴¹ And he was taken away from them, as much as is a stone's cast; and he kneeled, and prayed,

⁴² and said [saying], Father, if thou wilt, do away this cup from me; nevertheless not my will be done, but thine [nevertheless not my will, but thine be done].

⁴³ And an angel appeared to him from heaven, and comforted him [comforting him].

⁴⁴ And he was made in agony, and prayed the longer [And he made in agony, either anguish, prayed longer]; and his sweat was made as drops of blood running down into the earth.

⁴⁵ And when he was risen from prayer [And when he had risen from prayer], and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for heaviness.

⁴⁶ And he said to them, What sleep ye? Rise ye, and pray ye [Rise ye, and pray], that ye enter not into temptation.