Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

35 To David. [The psalm of David.] Lord, deem thou them, that annoy me; overcome thou them, that fight against me. (The song of David. Lord, judge thou them, who harm me; overcome thou them, who fight against me.)

² Take thou armours and shield; and rise up into help to me. (Take thou up arms, or weapons, and shield; and rise up to help me.)

³ Shed out the sword/Hold out the sword, and close (al)together (the way) against them that pursue me; say thou to my soul, I am thine health. (Draw out the sword, and close up the way against those who persecute me; say thou to me, I am thy salvation, or thy deliverance.)

⁴ They that seek my life; be shamed, and ashamed. They that think evils to me; be turned away backward, and be they shamed. (Let those who seek my life; be shamed, and ashamed. Let those who plot evil against me; be turned back, and be shamed.)

⁵ Be they made as dust before the face of the wind; and the angel of the Lord make them strait. (Let them be made like the dust in the wind; and let the angel of the Lord pursue them.)

⁶ Their way be made darkness, and sliderness; and the angel of the Lord pursue them. (Let their way be made dark, and slippery; and may the angel of the Lord strike them down.)

⁷ For without cause they hid to me the death of their snare; in vain they despised my soul. (For no reason, they hid their deadly snare for me/they hid their snare for me in a pit; for no reason, they despised me.)

⁸ The snare which he knoweth not come to him, and the taking which he hid take him; and fall he into the snare in that thing. (But let the snare catch him unawares, or by surprise, yea, let the trap which he himself hid, catch him; and let him fall to his own destruction in that thing.)

⁹ But my soul shall fully have joy in the Lord; and shall delight on his health. (But my soul shall have full out joy, or shall rejoice, in the Lord; and it shall delight in his salvation, or in his deliverance.)

¹⁰ All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like thee? Thou deliverest a poor man from the hand of his stronger; a needy man and poor from them that diversely ravish him. (All my bones said, Lord, who is like thee? Thou rescuest the poor from the hands of those who be stronger; yea, the poor and the needy from those who oppress them.)

²² And God was wroth with Balaam. And the angel of the Lord stood in the way against Balaam, that sat upon the she ass, and had two servants with him. (But God was angry with Balaam for going. And so the angel of the Lord stood in the way against Balaam, who rode on his donkey, and had his two servants with him.)

²³ The (she) ass saw the angel standing in the way, with sword drawn, and the (she) ass turned herself from the way, and went by the field (And the donkey saw the angel standing in the way, with his sword drawn, and she turned herself from the way, and went into a field). And when Balaam beat her, and would lead her again to the path,

²⁴ the angel stood in the straitness of two walls with which the vineries were (en)compassed. (the angel stood in the narrowness between two walls which went all around, or enclosed, the vineyards on either side.)

²⁵ And the female ass saw the angel, and she went herself nigh to the wall, and she hurtled the foot of the sitter upon her; and he beat again her. (And the female donkey saw the angel again, and she brought herself near to the wall, and hurtled the foot of her rider against it; and so he beat her again.)

²⁶ And nevertheless the angel went to a strait place, where was no going out of the way, neither to the right side, nor to the left, and stood against Balaam (Nevertheless the angel went to a narrow place, where there was no going out of the way, neither to the right side, nor to the left, and stood before Balaam.)

²⁷ And when the (she) ass saw the angel standing (there), she felled down under the feet of the sitter upon her, the which was wroth full greatly (who then was greatly angered), and (once more) he beat her sides with a staff.

²⁸ And the Lord opened the mouth of the (she) ass, and she spake, (And the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said), What have I done to thee? why smitest thou me, lo! now the third time?

³² But I will, that ye be without busyness [Forsooth I will you to be without busyness], for he that is without wife, is busy what things be of the Lord, how he shall please God.

³³ But he that is with a wife, is busy what things be of the world, how he shall please the wife [how he shall please his wife], and he is parted.

³⁴ And a woman unwedded and [a] maiden thinketh what things be of the Lord, that she be holy in body and spirit. But she that is wedded, thinketh what things be of the world, how she shall please the husband [how she shall please her husband].

³⁵ And I say these things to your profit, not that I cast to you a snare, but to that that is seemly, and that giveth easiness, without hindering to make prayers to the Lord. [Soothly I say these things to your profit, not that I cast to you a snare, but to that that is honest, and that giveth facility, or easiness, without letting to beseech to the Lord.]

³⁶ And if any man guesseth himself to be seen foul on his virgin, that she is full waxen [that she is well old], and so it behooveth to be done, do she that that she will^[a]; she sinneth not, if she be wedded^[b].

³⁷ For he that ordained stably in his heart [For why he that ordained stably, or steadfast, in his heart], not having need, but having power of his will, and hath deemed in his heart this thing, to keep his virgin [for to keep his virginity], doeth well.

³⁸ Therefore he that joineth his virgin in matrimony, doeth well; and he that joineth not, doeth better.

³⁹ The woman is bound to the law, as long time as her husband liveth; and if her husband is dead, she is delivered from the law of the husband [she is delivered from the law], be she wedded to whom she will, only in the Lord.

⁴⁰ But she shall be more blessed, if she dwelleth thus [if she shall thus dwell], after my counsel; and I ween, that I have the Spirit of God.