Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

34 (Of Dovid, when he feigned insanity before Avimelech, who drove him away, and he went out) ^1 (2) I will make a bracha of praise unto Hashem at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

^2 (3) My nefesh shall make its boast in Hashem; the anavim (humble) shall hear thereof, and be glad.

^3 (4) O magnify Hashem with me, and let us exalt Shmo together.

^4 (5) I sought Hashem, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

^5 (6) They looked unto Him, and were radiant; and their panim were not ashamed.

^6 (7) The oni (poor man) cried, and Hashem heard him, and saved him out of all his tzoros.

^7 (8) The Malach Hashem encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.

^8 (9) O taste and see that Hashem is tov; ashrei is the man that taketh refuge in Him.

2 Now the days of Dovid drew near that he should die; and he charged Sh’lomo Bno, saying,

² I go the derech kol ha’aretz; be thou chazak therefore, and show thyself a man;

³ And be shomer over the mishmeret (requirement, charge) of Hashem Eloheicha, to walk in His derakhim, to be shomer over His chukkot (decrees), and His mitzvot, and His mishpatim (ordinances), and His edot (testimonies), as it is written in the Torat Moshe, so that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and wherever thou turnest;

⁴ So that Hashem may uphold His Davar (Word, Promise) which He spoke concerning me, saying, If thy banim are shomer over their derech, to walk before Me in emes with all their lev and with all their nefesh, there shall not yikaret l’cha (be cut off of you, fail thee) Ish on the Kisse Yisroel.

⁵ Moreover thou knowest also what Yoav Ben Tzeruyah did to me, and what he did to the two sarim of the Tzivos Yisroel (Armies of Yisroel), unto Avner Ben Ner, and unto Amasa Ben Yeter, whom he killed, and the shefach dahm of war in shalom (peacetime), and put the dahm of milchamah (war) upon his khagorah (sword belt) that was about his loins, and on his na’alayim (sandals) that were on his raglayim.

⁶ Do therefore according to thy chochmah, and let not his gray head go down to Sheol in shalom.

⁷ But show chesed unto the Bnei Barzillai the Gileadi, and let them be of those that eat at thy shulchan; for so they stood by me when I fled from before Avshalom achicha.

⁸ And, hinei, thou hast with thee Shime’i Ben Gera the Binyamini of Bachurim, which cursed me with a kelalah (curse) nimretzet (grievous, strong) on the day when I went to Machanayim; but he came down to meet me at Yarden, and I swore a shevu’ah to him by Hashem, saying, I will not put thee to death with the cherev.

⁹ Now therefore hold him not guiltless; for thou art an ish chacham, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his gray head bring thou down with dahm to She’ol.

⁷ Keep asking and it shall be given to you; keep searching and you shall find; keep knocking and the delet shall be opened to you.

⁸ For everyone asking receives, and the one searching finds, and to the one knocking the delet will be opened.

⁹ Or what man is there among you the ben of whom will ask for lechem (bread), and he will give him a stone.

¹⁰ Or if he asks for a dag (fish), will give him a nachash (snake)?

¹¹ Therefore, if you, being ra’im (evil ones), know to give matanot tovot (good gifts) to your yeladim, how much more does your Av shbaShomayim give hatov (the good) to the ones asking Him.