Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

84 To victory, on the pressers. The psalm of the sons of Korah. Lord of virtues, thy tabernacles be greatly loved; (To victory, for those at the winepresses. The song for the sons of Korah. Lord of hosts, how greatly loved be thy tabernacles/how beautiful is thy dwelling place;)

² my soul coveteth, and faileth into the porches of the Lord. Mine heart, and my flesh; full out joyed into quick God. (my soul desireth, and longeth for, the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. My heart, and my flesh, rejoiced in the living God.)

³ For why a sparrow findeth an house to itself; and a turtle(dove) findeth a nest to itself, where it shall keep his birds. Lord of virtues, thine altars; my king, and my God. (For there a sparrow findeth a house for itself; and a turtledove findeth a nest for itself, where it shall keep its young. Yea, beside thy altars, Lord of hosts; my King, and my God.)

⁴ Lord, blessed be they that dwell in thine house; they shall praise thee into the worlds of worlds. (Lord, happy be those who live in thy House; they shall praise thee forever.)

⁵ Blessed is the man, whose help is of thee; he hath ordained (thy) goings in his heart, (Happy be those whose help is in thee/whose strength is in thee; they have ordained thy ways in their hearts.)

⁶ in the valley of tears, in the place which he hath set. For the giver of the law shall give blessing, (And as they pass through the dry Baca Valley, they shall find water from a spring. For the Giver of the Law shall give them a blessing.)

⁷ they shall go from virtue into virtue; God of gods shall be seen in Zion. (They shall go from strength to strength; and the God of gods shall be seen in Zion.)

⁸ Lord God of virtues, hear thou my prayer; God of Jacob, perceive thou with ears. (Lord God of hosts, hear thou my prayer; God of Jacob, please listen thou to me.)

⁹ God, our defender, behold thou; and behold into the face of thy christ (and look upon the face of thy anointed king).

¹⁰ For why one day in thine halls is better; than a thousand (elsewhere). I choose to be abject, either an outcast, in the house of my God; more than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners. (For one day in thy courtyards, is better than a thousand days elsewhere. I would rather choose to be a doorkeeper in the House of my God; than to live in the tents, or in the homes, of the sinners.)

¹¹ For God loveth mercy and truth; the Lord shall give grace and glory. He shall not deprive them from goods, that go in innocence; (For God loveth mercy and faithfulness; and the Lord giveth favour and glory. He will not hold back any good thing, from those who go in innocence/from those who do what is right.)

¹² Lord of virtues, blessed is the man, that hopeth in thee. (Lord of hosts, happy is the person, who trusteth in thee.)

5 Also Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon; for he heard that they had anointed him king for his father (for he had heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father); for Hiram was (a) friend of David in all time.

² And also Solomon sent to Hiram, and said,

³ Thou knowest the will of David, my father, and for he might not build an house to the name of his God (Thou knowest the desire of my father David, and that he could not build a house in honour of the name of the Lord his God), for [the] battles nighing by compass, till the Lord gave them under the step of his feet.

⁴ But now my Lord God hath given rest to me by compass, and none adversary is, neither evil assailing; (But now the Lord my God hath given peace to me all around, and there is no adversary, nor evil, assailing me;)

⁵ wherefore I think to build a temple to the name of my Lord God, as God spake to David, my father, and said, Thy son, whom I shall give to thee for thee upon thy throne, he shall build an house to my name. (and so I shall build a Temple in honour of the name of the Lord my God, as God spoke to my father David, and said, Thy son, whom I shall put on thy throne in thy place, he shall build a House in honour of my name.)

⁶ Therefore command thou, that thy servants hew down to me cedars of the Lebanon (And so command thou, that thy servants cut down cedars in Lebanon for me); and my servants (shall) be with thy servants; and I shall give to thee the meed of thy servants, whatever thou shalt ask; for thou knowest, that in my people (there) is not a man that can hew trees, as (well as the) Sidonians can (do it)/as (well as) the men of Sidon.

⁷ Therefore when Hiram had heard the words of Solomon, he was full glad, and said, Blessed be the Lord God today, that hath given to David the son most wise upon this people full much. (And so when Hiram had heard Solomon’s words, he was very glad, and said, Blessed be the Lord God today, who hath given David a most wise son to rule over this great people.)

⁸ And Hiram sent to Solomon, and said, I have heard whatever things thou sentest to me (for); I shall do all thy will, in trees of cedars, and in trees of box (and I shall provide all the cedar, and fir, or pine, trees, that thou needeth, or wanteth).

⁹ My servants shall put down those trees from the Lebanon to the sea, and I shall array those trees in ships in the sea, unto the place that thou shalt signify to me; and I shall direct those there, that thou take those; and thou shalt give necessaries to me, that meat be given to mine house. (My servants shall bring down that wood from Lebanon to the sea, and I shall convey it in sea-worthy ships, to the place that thou shalt signify to me; and I shall send them there, so that thou can have them; and thou shalt give necessities to me, so that food shall be given to all my household.)

¹⁰ And so Hiram gave to Solomon cedar trees, and box trees, by all his will; (And so Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar, and fir, or pine, trees, that he needed, or wanted;)

¹¹ and Solomon gave to Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat, into meat to his house, and twenty cors of purest oil; Solomon gave these things to Hiram by all years. (and Solomon gave to Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat, for food for his household, and twenty cors of purest oil; Solomon gave these things to Hiram annually.)

¹² Also the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, as he spake to him; and peace was betwixt Hiram and Solomon, and both they smote together (a) bond of peace. (And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, as he said he would; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they struck a covenant together.)

⁵ And he said to them, Who of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and shall say to him, Friend, lend to me three loaves;

⁶ for my friend cometh to me from the way [for my friend cometh to me of the way], and I have not what I shall set before him.

⁷ And he withinforth answer and say, Do not thou be heavy to me; the door is now shut, and my children be with me in bed; I may not rise, and give to thee.

⁸ And if he shall dwell still knocking, I say to you, though he shall not rise, and give to him, for that that he is his friend, nevertheless for his continual asking he shall rise, and give to him [And if he shall continue knocking, I say to you, though he shall not give to him, for he is his friend, nevertheless for his improbity, or continual asking, he shall rise, and give to him], as many as he hath need to.

⁹ And I say to you, ask ye, and it shall be given to you; seek ye, and ye shall find; knock ye, and it shall be opened to you.

¹⁰ For each that asketh, taketh, and he that seeketh, findeth; and to a man that knocketh, it shall be opened.

¹¹ Therefore who of you asketh his father bread, whether he shall give him a stone? or if he asketh fish, whether he shall give him a serpent for the fish?

¹² or if he asketh an egg [or if he shall ask an egg], whether he shall areach him a scorpion?

¹³ Therefore if ye, when ye be evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father of heaven shall give a good Spirit to men that ask him.