Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁸ The voice of my darling; lo! this darling cometh leaping in mountains, and skipping over little hills. (The voice of my darling; lo! my darling cometh leaping over the mountains, and skipping over the little hills.)

⁹ My darling is like a capret, and a calf of harts; lo! he standeth behind our wall, and beholdeth by the windows, and looketh through the lattice. (My darling is like a gazelle, or like a hart calf; lo! he standeth behind our wall, and seeth in through the windows, and looketh through the lattice.)

¹⁰ Lo! my darling speaketh to me, My love, my culver, my fair spousess, rise thou, haste thou, and come thou; (Lo! my darling speaketh to me, and saith, My love, my dove, my beautiful spousess, rise thou up, hasten thou, and come thou away;)

¹¹ for winter is passed now, rain is gone, and is departed away. (for the winter is now passed, finally the rains have gone away, yea, they have departed at last.)

¹² Flowers have appeared in our land, and the time of cutting is come; the voice of a turtle is heard in our land (the song of a turtledove is heard in our land),

¹³ the fig tree hath brought forth his buds; the vineries flowering have given their odour. My love, my fair spousess, rise thou, haste thou, and come thou. (the fig tree hath brought forth its buds; the flowering vines have given forth their aroma. My love, my beautiful spousess, rise thou up, hasten thou, and come thou away.)

45 To the overcomer for the lilies, the most loved song of learning of the sons of Korah. Mine heart hath told out a good word; I say my works to the king. My tongue is the pen of a writer; writing swiftly. (To the overcomer, for the lilies, the most loved song, for the sons of Korah, for their teaching. My heart hath told out a good word; I tell of my works to the king. My tongue is like the pen of a writer, yea, writing swiftly.)

² Christ, thou art fairer in shape than the sons of men; grace is spread abroad in thy lips; therefore God blessed thee [into] without end. (Thou anointed king, thou art more comely in appearance than any other man; grace is spread abroad by thy lips/thy lips speak most eloquently; yea, God hath blessed thee forever.)

⁶ God, thy seat is into the world of world; the rod of thy realm is a rod of right ruling, or of equity. (Like God, thy throne shall last forever; and the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of justice, yea, of equity and fairness.)

⁷ Thou lovedest rightfulness, and hatedest wickedness; therefore thou, God, thy God (and so God, thy God), anointed thee with the oil of gladness, more than thy fellows.

⁸ Myrrh, and gum, and cassia, of thy clothes, (out) of the ivory houses/(out) of the house of ivory; of which the daughters of kings delighted thee. (Myrrh, and gum, and cassia be the perfumes of thy clothes; and the sound of music coming forth from the ivory palace delighteth thee.)

⁹ A queen stood nigh on thy right side, in clothing overgilded; compassed with diversity. (The daughters of kings be there among thy honourable women; the queen standeth nigh on thy right side, in clothing overgilded with the gold of Ophir.)

¹⁷ Each good gift, and each perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is none other changing, nor overshadowing of reward.^[a]

¹⁸ For willfully he begat us by the word of truth [Forsooth willfully he gendered us with the word of truth], that we be a beginning of his creature.

¹⁹ Know ye, my brethren most loved, be each man swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to wrath;

²⁰ for the wrath of man worketh not the rightwiseness of God.

²¹ For which thing cast ye away all uncleanness, and plenty of malice, and in mildness receive ye the word that is planted^[b], that may save your souls.

²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

²³ For if any man is an hearer of the word, and not a doer, this shall be likened to a man that beholdeth the face of his birth in a mirror [this shall be comparisoned, or likened, to a man beholding the cheer of his birth in a mirror];

²⁴ for he beheld himself, and went away, and at once he forgot which he was. [for he beheld himself, and went away, and anon he forgot what manner man he was.]

²⁵ But he that beholdeth into the law of perfect freedom, and dwelleth in it, and is not made a forgetful hearer, but a doer of work, this shall be blessed in his deed.

²⁶ And if any man guesseth himself to be religious, and refraineth not his tongue, but deceiveth his heart, the religion of him is vain.

²⁷ A clean religion, and unwemmed with God and the Father, is this, to visit fatherless and motherless children, and widows in their tribulation, and to keep himself undefouled from this world [and to keep himself undefouled from the world].

7 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes came from Jerusalem together to him. [And the Pharisees and some of the scribes coming from Jerusalem, came together to him.]

² And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with unwashen hands, they blamed [them].

³ For the Pharisees and all the Jews eat not, but they wash oft their hands, holding the traditions of elder men.

⁴ And when they turn again from [the] market, they eat not, but they be washed; and many other things there be, that be taken to them to keep, as washing of cups, and of water vessels [washings of cups and cruets], and of vessels of brass, and of beds.

⁵ And Pharisees and scribes asked him, and said [saying], Why go not thy disciples after the tradition of elder men, but with unwashen hands they eat bread?

⁶ And he answered, and said to them, Esaias prophesied well of you, hypocrites, as it is written, This people worshippeth me with lips [This people honoureth me with lips], but their heart is far from me;

⁷ and in vain they worship me, teaching the doctrines and the behests of men. [in vain truly they worship me, teaching the doctrines and commandments of men.]

⁸ For ye leave the commandment of God, and hold the traditions of men, as [the] washing of water vessels, and of cups; and many other things like these ye do. [Forsooth ye forsaking the commandment of God, hold the traditions of men, washings of cruets, and cups; and many other things like to these ye do.]

¹⁴ And he again called the people, and said to them, Ye all hear me, and understand.

¹⁵ Nothing that is without a man, that entereth into him, may defoul him [Nothing without man is entering into him, that may defoul him]; but those things that come forth of a man, those it be that defoul a man.

²¹ For from within, of the heart of men come forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, manslayings,

²² thefts, avarices [covetousness, or over-hard keeping of goods], wickednesses, guile, unchastity, [an] evil eye, blasphemies [blasphemy], pride, folly.

²³ All these evils come forth from within, and defoul a man,