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.)

²³ Soothly the servants of the king of Syria said to him, The Gods of hills be the Gods of the sons of Israel (The gods of the hills be the gods of the Israelites), therefore they overcame us; but it is better that we fight against them in [the] field places, and we shall get them there.

²⁴ Therefore do thou this word, or counsel; remove thou all [the] kings from thine host, and set thou princes for them; (And so do thou this thing, or follow thou this counsel; remove thou all the kings from thy army, and put thou other leaders in their place;)

²⁵ and restore thou the number of knights, that felled of thine, and [the] horses after the former horses, and restore thou [the] chariots, by the chariots which thou haddest before; and we shall fight against them in [the] field places, and thou shalt see, that we shall get them. He believed to the counsel of them, and did so (He believed in their counsel, and did so).

²⁶ Therefore after that the year had passed, Benhadad numbered men of Syria (Benhadad called for the Syrians), and he went up into Aphek, to fight against Israel.

²⁷ Forsooth the sons of Israel were numbered; and when meats were taken, they went forth even against (them); and they, as two little flocks of goats, setted tents against men of Syria. Forsooth men of Syria filled the land. (And the Israelites were also called for; and when provisions were taken, they went forth opposite them; and they, as but two little flocks of goats, pitched their tents opposite the Syrians. And the Syrians filled the land.)

²⁸ And one prophet of God nighed, and said to the king of Israel, The Lord God saith these things, For (the) men of Syria said, God of hills is the Lord of them, and he is not God of valleys (The god of the hills is their Lord, and he is not the god of the valleys), (and so) I shall give all this great multitude in(to) thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

²⁹ And seven days these and they dressed battle arrays even against each other; and in the seventh day the battle was joined altogether, and the sons of Israel smote of the men of Syria an hundred thousand of footmen in one day. (And for seven days these and they directed battle arrays opposite each other; and then on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the Israelites struck down a hundred thousand Syrian footmen in one day.)

³⁰ And they that (were) left fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall felled down upon seven and twenty thousand of (the) men that (were) left. Forsooth Benhadad fled, and entered into the city, into a closet that was within a closet;

³¹ and his servants said to him, [Lo!] We have heard that the kings of the house of Israel be merciful, therefore put we sackcloths in our loins, and cords in our heads (and so let us put sackcloths on our loins, and cords on our heads), and go we out to the king of Israel; in hap he shall save our lives.

³² They girded their loins with sackcloths, and put cords in their heads, and they came to the king of Israel, and said to him, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let my soul live. And he said, If Benhadad liveth yet, he is my brother. (And so they girded up their loins with sackcloths, and put cords on their heads, and they came to the king of Israel, and said to him, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And Ahab said, If Benhadad yet liveth, he is my brother, that is, I will make peace with him.)

³³ Which thing the men of Syria took for a gracious word, and they ravished hastily the word of his mouth (and they hastily took hold of the word of his mouth), and said, Thy brother Benhadad liveth. And Ahab said to them, Go ye, and bring ye him to me. Therefore Benhadad went out to him, and he raised up Benhadad into his chariot.

³⁴ [The] Which Benhadad said to him, I shall yield the cities which my father took from thy father, and make thou streets to thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria; and I shall be bound to peace, and I shall depart from thee. Therefore Ahab made [a] bond of peace with him, and delivered him. (And Benhadad said to Ahab, I shall give back the cities which my father took from thy father, and then thou can make streets of commerce, or for trading, for thyself in Damascus, like my father made in Samaria. And Ahab said, On those terms I shall be bound in peace with thee, and then thou can depart from me. And so he made a covenant with him, and let him go.)

11 Therefore I say, Whether God hath put away his people? God forbid [Far be it]. For [and] I am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the lineage of Benjamin.

² God hath not put away his people, which he before-knew. Whether ye know not [Whether ye witen not], what the scripture saith in Elias? How he prayeth God against Israel,

³ Lord, they have slain thy prophets, they have under-delved thine altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

⁴ But what saith God's answer to him? I have left to me seven thousands of men [I have left to me seven thousand of men], that have not bowed their knees before Baal.

⁵ So therefore also in this time, the remnants [the reliefs] be made safe, by the choosing [after the choosing] of the grace of God.

⁶ And if it be by the grace of God, it is not now of works; else grace is not now grace.

⁷ What then? Israel hath not gotten this that he sought [Israel hath not gotten that that he sought], but election hath gotten; and the others be blinded.

⁸ As it is written, God gave to them a spirit of compunction, eyes that they see not, and ears, that they hear not, into this day.

⁹ And David saith, Be the board of them made into a snare before them, and into catching, and into cause of stumbling, and into yielding to them [and into catching, and into offence, and into yielding again to them].

¹⁰ Be the eyes of them made dark, that they see not; and bow thou down always the back of them [and bow down all-gates the back of them].