Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

28 By David. Unto Thee, O Jehovah, I call, My rock, be not silent to me! Lest Thou be silent to me, And I have been compared With those going down to the pit.

² Hear the voice of my supplications, In my crying unto Thee, In my lifting up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

³ Draw me not with the wicked, And with workers of iniquity, Speaking peace with their neighbours, And evil in their heart.

⁴ Give to them according to their acting, And according to the evil of their doings. According to the work of their hands give to them. Return their deed to them.

⁵ For they attend not to the doing of Jehovah, And unto the work of His hands. He throweth them down, And doth not build them up.

⁶ Blessed [is] Jehovah, For He hath heard the voice of my supplications.

⁷ Jehovah [is] my strength, and my shield, In Him my heart trusted, and I have been helped. And my heart exulteth, And with my song I thank Him.

⁸ Jehovah [is] strength to him, Yea, the strength of the salvation of His anointed [is] He.

⁹ Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance, And feed them, and carry them to the age!

²⁹ And Reuben returneth unto the pit, and lo, Joseph is not in the pit, and he rendeth his garments,

³⁰ and he returneth unto his brethren, and saith, `The lad is not, and I -- whither am I going?'

³¹ And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood,

³² and send the long coat, and they bring [it] in unto their father, and say, `This have we found; discern, we pray thee, whether it [is] thy son's coat or not?'

³³ And he discerneth it, and saith, `My son's coat! an evil beast hath devoured him; torn -- torn is Joseph!'

³⁴ And Jacob rendeth his raiment, and putteth sackcloth on his loins, and becometh a mourner for his son many days,

³⁵ and all his sons and all his daughters rise to comfort him, and he refuseth to comfort himself, and saith, `For -- I go down mourning unto my son, to Sheol,' and his father weepeth for him.

³⁶ And the Medanites have sold him unto Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners.

⁴ For if God messengers who sinned did not spare, but with chains of thick gloom, having cast [them] down to Tartarus, did deliver [them] to judgment, having been reserved,

⁵ and the old world did not spare, but the eighth person, Noah, of righteousness a preacher, did keep, a flood on the world of the impious having brought,

⁶ and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah having turned to ashes, with an overthrow did condemn, an example to those about to be impious having set [them];

⁷ and righteous Lot, worn down by the conduct in lasciviousness of the impious, He did rescue,

⁸ for in seeing and hearing, the righteous man, dwelling among them, day by day the righteous soul with unlawful works was harassing.

⁹ The Lord hath known to rescue pious ones out of temptation, and unrighteous ones to a day of judgment, being punished, to keep,

¹⁰ and chiefly those going behind the flesh in desire of uncleanness, and lordship despising; presumptuous, self-complacent, dignities they are not afraid to speak evil of,