Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

53 To the Overseer. -- `On a disease.' -- An instruction, by David. A fool said in his heart, `There is no God.' They have done corruptly, Yea, they have done abominable iniquity, There is none doing good.

² God from the heavens looked on the sons of men, To see if there be an understanding one, [One] seeking God.

³ Every one went back, together they became filthy, There is none doing good -- not even one.

⁴ Have not workers of iniquity known, Those eating my people have eaten bread, God they have not called.

⁵ There they feared a fear -- there was no fear, For God hath scattered the bones of him Who is encamping against thee, Thou hast put to shame, For God hath despised them.

⁶ Who doth give from Zion the salvation of Israel? When God turneth back [to] a captivity of His people, Jacob doth rejoice -- Israel is glad!

²³ And the station of the Philistines goeth out unto the passage of Michmash.

14 And the day cometh that Jonathan son of Saul saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, `Come, and we pass over unto the station of the Philistines, which [is] on the other side of this;' and to his father he hath not declared [it].

² And Saul is abiding at the extremity of Gibeah, under the pomegranate which [is] in Migron, and the people who [are] with him, about six hundred men,

³ and Ahiah, son of Ahitub, brother of I-Chabod, son of Phinehas son of Eli priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, bearing an ephod; and the people knew not that Jonathan hath gone.

⁴ And between the passages where Jonathan sought to pass over unto the station of the Philistines [is] the edge of a rock on the one side, and the edge of a rock on the other side, and the name of the one is Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

⁵ The one edge [is] fixed on the north over-against Michmash, and the one on the south over-against Gibeah.

⁶ And Jonathan saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, `Come, and we pass over unto the station of these uncircumcised; it may be Jehovah doth work for us, for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.'

⁷ And the bearer of his weapons saith to him, `Do all that [is] in thy heart; turn for thee; lo, I [am] with thee, as thine own heart.'

⁸ And Jonathan saith, `Lo, we are passing over unto the men, and are revealed unto them;

⁹ if thus they say unto us, `Stand still till we have come unto you,' then we have stood in our place, and do not go up unto them;

¹⁰ and if thus they say, `Come up against us,' then we have gone up, for Jehovah hath given them into our hand, and this to us [is] the sign.

¹¹ And revealed are both of them unto the station of the Philistines, and the Philistines say, `Lo, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hid themselves.'

¹² And the men of the station answer Jonathan, and the bearer of his weapons, and say, `Come up unto us, and we cause you to know something.' And Jonathan saith unto the bearer of his weapons, `Come up after me, for Jehovah hath given them into the hand of Israel.'

¹³ And Jonathan goeth up on his hands, and on his feet, and the bearer of his weapons after him; and they fall before Jonathan, and the bearer of his weapons is putting to death after him.

¹⁴ And the first smiting which Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons have smitten is of about twenty men, in about half a furrow of a yoke of a field,

¹⁵ and there is a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people, the station and the destroyers have trembled -- even they, and the earth shaketh, and it becometh a trembling of God.

¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin see, and lo, the multitude hath melted away, and it goeth on, and is beaten down.

¹⁷ And Saul saith to the people who [are] with him, `Inspect, I pray you, and see; who hath gone from us?' and they inspect, and lo, Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons are not.

¹⁸ And Saul saith to Ahiah, `Bring nigh the ark of God;' for the ark of God hath been on that day with the sons of Israel.

¹⁹ And it cometh to pass, while Saul spake unto the priest, that the noise which [is] in the camp of the Philistines goeth on, going on and becoming great, and Saul saith unto the priest, `Remove thy hand.'

²⁰ And Saul is called, and all the people who [are] with him, and they come in unto the battle, and, lo, the sword of each hath been against his neighbour -- a very great destruction.

²¹ And the Hebrews [who] have been for the Philistines as heretofore, who had gone up with them into the camp, have turned round, even they, to be with Israel who [are] with Saul and Jonathan,

²² and all the men of Israel, who are hiding themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, have heard that the Philistines have fled, and they pursue -- even they -- after them in battle.

²³ And Jehovah saveth Israel on that day, and the battle hath passed over to Beth-Aven.

¹¹ Ye see in how large letters I have written to you with my own hand;

¹² as many as are willing to make a good appearance in the flesh, these constrain you to be circumcised -- only that for the cross of the Christ they may not be persecuted,

¹³ for neither do those circumcised themselves keep the law, but they wish you to be circumcised, that in your flesh they may glory.

¹⁴ And for me, let it not be -- to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which to me the world hath been crucified, and I to the world;

¹⁵ for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation;

¹⁶ and as many as by this rule do walk -- peace upon them, and kindness, and on the Israel of God!

¹⁷ Henceforth, let no one give me trouble, for I the scars of the Lord Jesus in my body do bear.

¹⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [is] with your spirit, brethren! Amen.