Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
138 [The psalm of David.] Lord, I shall acknowledge to thee in all mine heart; for thou heardest the words of my mouth. My God, I shall sing to thee in the sight of angels; (The song of David. Lord, I shall praise thee with all my heart. My God, I shall sing praises to thee before the angels, or before the gods.)
2 I shall worship to(ward) thine holy temple, and I shall acknowledge to thy name. On thy mercy and thy truth; for thou hast magnified thine holy name above all thing. (I shall worship towards thy holy Temple, and I shall praise thy name; because of thy love, and thy faithfulness; for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all things.)
3 In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee, hear thou me; thou shalt multiply virtue in my soul. (On whatever day I called to thee, thou answeredest me; and thou hast multiplied the strength in my soul/and thou hast made me strong.)
4 Lord, all the kings of earth acknowledge to thee; for they heard all the words of thy mouth. (Lord, all the kings of the earth shall praise thee; for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.)
5 And sing they in the ways of the Lord (And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord); for the glory of the Lord is great.
6 For the Lord is high, and beholdeth meek things; and knoweth afar high things. (For though the Lord is high above, he looketh upon the meek/he careth for the humble; and he knoweth the proud from afar.)
7 If I shall go in the midst of tribulation, thou shalt quicken me; and thou stretchedest forth thine hand on the ire of mine enemies, and thy right hand made me safe. (Yea, though I go in the midst of trouble, or of tribulation, thou keepest me safe/thou keepest me alive; and thou stretchest forth thy hand against the rage of my enemies, and thy right hand savest me.)
8 The Lord shall yield for me, Lord, thy mercy is [into] without end; despise thou not the works of thine hands. (The Lord shall bring to pass his promises to me. O Lord, thy love is forever; so complete thy work.)
6 Therefore the ark of the Lord was in the country of [the] Philistines (for) seven months;
2 and after these things the Philistines called together [the] priests and false diviners, and said, What shall we do of the ark of God? Show ye to us, how we shall send it into his place. (and after these things the Philistines called together the priests and the false diviners, and asked, What shall we do with the Ark of God? Tell us how we should send it back to its own place?)
3 Which said, If ye send again the ark of God of Israel, do not ye deliver it void, but yield ye to him that thing, that ye owe for [the] sin; and then ye shall be healed, and ye shall know, why his hand goeth not away from you. (Who said, If ye return the Ark of the God of Israel, do not ye send it back without a gift, but send ye it back with what ye owe for your sin; and then ye shall be healed, and ye shall know why his hand goeth not away from you now.)
4 And they said, What is it, that we ought to yield to him for (the) trespass? And they answered to them, By the number of the provinces of (the) Philistines, ye shall make five golden arses, and five golden mice; for one vengeance was to all (of) you, and to your wise men, either princes.
5 And ye shall make the likeness of your arses, and the likeness of [the] mice that destroyed your land; and ye shall give glory to [the] God of Israel, if in hap he withdraw his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land.
6 Why make ye heavy your hearts, as Egypt and Pharaoh grieved their heart(s)? Whether not after that he was smitten, then he delivered God’s people, and they went forth? (Why be ye stubborn, or stiff-necked, like Egypt and Pharaoh were stubborn, or stiff-necked? For after God had struck them, did they not let God’s people go, and they went away?)
7 Now therefore take ye, and make a new wain, and join ye therein two kine having calves, on which kine no yoke was put; and close ye their calves at home. (And so now take ye, and make ready a new wagon, and join ye it up to two cows who have calves, on which cows no yoke was ever put; and enclose ye their calves at home.)
8 And ye shall take the ark of the Lord, and ye shall set (it) in the wain; and ye shall put in a little coffer at the side of the ark the golden vessels, which ye have paid to the Lord for your trespass; and deliver ye the ark, that it go forth. (And ye shall take the Ark of the Lord, and ye shall put it on the wagon; and ye shall put the gold vessels, that ye send to the Lord for your trespass, in a small box at the side of the Ark; and then let the Ark go forth as it will.)
9 And ye shall behold it, and soothly if it goeth up against Bethshemesh by the way of his coasts, the Lord hath then done to you this great evil; but if it go not thither, we shall know that the hand of the Lord touched not us, but this thing hath fallen to us by hap. (And ye shall watch it, and truly if it goeth up toward Bethshemesh by the way of its coasts, then the Lord hath done this great evil to you; but if it go not there, then we shall know that the hand of the Lord did not touch us, and that this thing hath befallen to us all by happenstance, or chance.)
10 Then they did in this manner; and they took two kine that gave milk to their calves, and they joined them to the wain; and they (en)closed their calves at home.
11 And they put the ark of God upon the wain, and the little coffer, (or the small box,) that had the gold mice, and the likeness of (their) arses.
12 And the kine went straightly by the way that leadeth to Bethshemesh; and those kine went in one way going and lowing, and they bowed not neither to the right side nor to the left side; but also the wise men of Philistines followed unto the coasts of Bethshemesh (and the princes of the Philistines followed them to the border of Bethshemesh).
13 Forsooth (the) men of Bethshemesh reaped wheat in the valley, and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and they were joyful, when they had seen it.
14 And the wain came into the field of Joshua of Bethshemesh, and stood there. And a great stone was there; and they cutted the wood of the wain, and putted the kine on that wood, (as) a burnt sacrifice to the Lord.
15 And the deacons took down the ark of God, and the little coffer that was beside it, wherein the golden vessels were; and they putted those upon the great stone. And the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt sacrifices, and offered slain sacrifices in that day to the Lord. (And the Levites took down the Ark of God, and the small box that was beside it, which held the gold vessels; and they put them on the great stone. And the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, to the Lord that day.)
16 And [the] five princes of Philistines saw, and turned again into Ekron in that day. (And the five princes of the Philistines saw it, and then returned to Ekron that day.)
17 Soothly these be the golden arses, which the Philistines yielded to the Lord for their trespass; Ashdod yielded one; Gaza one; Askelon one; Gath one; Ekron one;
18 and the Philistines yielded golden mice by the number of cities of Philistines of [the] five provinces, from a walled city unto an unwalled town, and unto the great stone that was called Abel, on which they putted the ark of the Lord, the which stone was there unto that day in the field of Joshua of Bethshemesh. (and they also gave gold mice by the number of the Philistines’ cities governed by the five princes, from a walled city unto an unwalled town. And the great stone that was called Eben, on which they put the Ark of the Lord, is there unto this day, in the field of Joshua of Bethshemesh.)
4 And when much people was come together, and men hied to him from the cities, he said by a similitude, [Forsooth when full much company came together, and from cities hasted to him, he said by a likeness, or example,]
5 He that soweth, went out to sow his seed. And while he soweth, some fell beside the way, and was defouled, and birds of the air ate it.
6 And other fell on a stone, and it sprang up, and dried, for it had not moisture [for it had no moisture].
7 And other fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up together, and strangled it.
8 And other fell into good earth [And another fell down into good land], and it sprang up, and made an hundredfold fruit. He said these things, and cried, He that hath ears of hearing, hear he.
9 But his disciples asked him, what this parable was.
10 And he said to them, To you it is granted to know the private of the kingdom of God [To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God]; but to other men in parables, that they seeing see not, and they hearing understand not.
11 And this is the parable. The seed is God's word;
12 and they that be beside the way, be these that hear; and afterward the fiend cometh, and taketh away the word from their heart, lest they believing be made safe.[a]
13 But they that fell on a stone, be these that when they have heard [be these men which when they have heard], receive the word with joy. And these have no roots [And these have not root]; for at a time they believe, and in time of temptation they go away.
14 But that that fell among thorns, be these that heard, and of busynesses, and riches, and lusts of life [and volupties of life] they go forth, and be strangled, and bring forth no fruit.
15 But that that fell into good earth, be these that, in a good heart, and best, hear the word, and hold, and bring forth fruit in patience. [Forsooth that that fell into good earth, be these which, in good heart and best, hearing the word hold, and bring forth fruit in patience.]
2001 by Terence P. Noble