Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
5 To the overcomer, on the heritages, the psalm of David. Lord, perceive thou my words with ears; understand thou my cry. (To the overcomer, for the inheritance, the song of David. Lord, hear thou my words; understand my cry.)
2 My king (My King), and my God; give thou attention to the voice of my prayer. For, Lord, I shall pray to thee;
3 hear thou early my voice. Early I shall stand nigh to thee, and I shall see; (hear thou my voice in the morning. Early in the morning I shall stand near to thee, and I shall see thee;)
4 for thou art God not desiring wickedness. Neither an evil-willed man shall dwell beside thee; (for thou art not a God who desireth wickedness. No one with an evil will shall stand beside thee;)
5 neither unjust men shall dwell before thine eyes. Thou hatest all them that work wickedness; (nor shall the unrighteous stand before thine eyes. Thou hatest all those who do evil;)
6 thou shalt lose them that speak leasing. The Lord shall hold abominable a man-queller, and a guileful man. (thou shalt destroy those who tell lies. And the Lord shall hold as abominable man-killers, that is, murderers, and liars.)
7 But Lord, in the multitude of thy mercy, I shall enter into thine house; I shall worship to(ward) thine holy temple in thy dread. (But Lord, because of thy great love, I shall enter into thy House; I shall bow toward thy holy Temple in reverence for thee.)
8 Lord, lead thou forth me in thy rightwiseness for mine enemies; (ad)dress thou my way in thy sight. (Lord, lead thou me forth in thy righteousness, because my enemies be all around me; direct thou my way before thee/direct thou me along thy way.)
20 Forsooth Benhadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots; and he went up against Samaria, and fought, and besieged it.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city, and (they) said (to him), Benhadad saith these things,
3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine, and thy wives, and thy best sons be mine.
4 And the king of Israel answered, By thy word, my lord the king, I am thine, and all my things be thine.
5 And the messengers turned again, and said, Benhadad, that sent us to thee, saith these things (again), Thou shalt give to me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy sons.
6 Therefore tomorrow, in this same hour, I shall send my servants to thee, and they shall seek (throughout) thine house, and the house of thy servants; and they shall put in their hands, and take away all thing that shall please them.
7 Forsooth the king of Israel called all the elder men of the land, and said, Perceive ye, and see, that he setteth treason to us; for he sent to me for my wives, and sons, and for (my) silver, and gold, and I forsook not. (And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Perceive ye, and see, that this man hath set treason for us; for he sent to me for my wives, and my sons, and my silver, and my gold, and I agreed to it all.)
8 And all the greater men in birth (And all the men of great age, that is, the elders), and all the people said to him, Hear thou not, neither assent thou to him.
9 And he answered to the messengers of Benhadad, Say ye to my lord the king, I shall do all things, for which thou sentest in the beginning to me, thy servant; but I may not do this thing. And the messengers turned again, and told all things to him. (And so he answered to the messengers of Benhadad, and said, Say ye to my lord the king, I, thy servant, shall do all the things for which thou sentest to me at the beginning; but I cannot do this thing. And the messengers returned, and told all these things to Benhadad.)
10 Which sent again, and said, Gods do these things to me, and add these things too (And Benhadad sent them back again to Ahab, to say to him, The gods do these things to me, and add these things too), if the dust of Samaria shall suffice to the fist[ful]s of all the people that followeth me.
11 And the king of Israel answered, and said, Say ye to him, A girded man, that is, he that goeth to battle, have not glory evenly as a man ungirded, that is, as he that hath the victory, and hath put off his armours. (And Ahab, the king of Israel, answered, and said, Say ye to him, A girded man, that is, he who goeth to battle, hath not equal glory to an ungirded man, that is, he who already hath the victory, and hath put off his armour.)
12 And it was done, when Benhadad had heard this word, he drank, and also the kings, in shadowing places (in a shady place in their tents); and he said to his servants, Compass ye the city. And they compassed it.
13 And lo! one prophet nighed to Ahab, king of Israel, and said to him, The Lord God saith these things, Certainly thou hast seen all this multitude full great (Certainly thou hast seen all this very great multitude); lo! I shall betake it into thine hand today, that thou know that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said to Ahab, The Lord saith these things, By the squires, or the footmen, of the princes of (the) provinces. And Ahab said, Who shall begin to fight? And the prophet said, Thou.
15 Therefore he numbered the young men of the princes of [the] provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and two and thirty; and after them he numbered the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand. (And so he called for the young men who served the leaders of the provinces, and he found them to number two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he called for the people, yea, all the Israelites/the whole Israelite army, seven thousand of them.)
16 And they went out in midday. Forsooth Benhadad drank, and was drunken in his shadowing place, and (the) two and thirty kings with him, that came to the help of him. (And they went out at midday. And in a shady place in their tents, Benhadad drank, and became drunk, as did the thirty-two kings who were with him, who came to help him.)
17 And the young men of the princes of (the) provinces went out in the first front. Therefore Benhadad sent men, which told to him, and said, Men went out of Samaria (And Benhadad sent out men, who reported back to him, and said, Some men have come out of Samaria).
18 And he said, Whether they come for peace, take ye them quick; whether to fight, take ye them quick. [And he saith, Whether for peace they come, taketh them alive; whether that they fight, taketh them alive.]
19 Therefore the young men of the princes of (the) provinces went out, and the residue host followed (them);
20 and each smote the man that came against him. And (the) men of Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; also Benhadad, the king of Syria, fled on an horse with his knights.
21 Also the king of Israel went out, and smote (the) horses and chariots, and he smote Syria with a full great vengeance. (And the king of Israel went out, and struck down the horses and the chariots, and he struck down the Syrians with a very great slaughter.)
22 Forsooth a prophet nighed to the king of Israel, and said, Go thou, and be strengthened, and know, and see, what thou shalt do; for the king of Syria shall ascend against thee in the year following (for the king of Syria shall also come against thee next year).
4 Whereof be battles and chidings among you? Whether not of your covetings, that fight in your members?
2 Ye covet, and ye have not; ye slay, and ye have envy, and ye be not able to get [ye slay, and have envy, and ye be not able to get]. Ye chide, and make battle; and ye have not, for that ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and ye receive not; for that ye ask evil, as ye show openly in your covetings.
4 Adulterers, know not ye, that the friendship of this world is enemy to God? Therefore whoever will be the friend of this world, is made the enemy of God.
5 Whether ye guess [Whether ween ye], that the scripture saith vainly, The spirit that dwelleth in you, coveteth to envy?
6 But he giveth the more grace [Forsooth he giveth more grace]; for which thing he saith, God withstandeth proud men, but to meek men he giveth grace.
7 Therefore be ye subject to God; but withstand ye the devil, and he shall flee from you.
2001 by Terence P. Noble