Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

125 The song of degrees. They that trust in the Lord be as the hill of Zion; he shall not be moved [into] without end, that dwelleth in Jerusalem. (They who trust in the Lord be like Mount Zion; it cannot be shaken, but it remaineth firm, or steadfast, forever.)

² Hills be in the compass of it, and the Lord is in the compass of his people; from this time now, and into the world. (Like the mountains, or the hills, be all around Jerusalem, so the Lord is all around his people; from this time now, and forever.)

³ For the Lord shall not leave the rod of sinners on the part of just men; that just men hold not forth their hands to wickedness. (For the rod of the sinners shall not remain over the land of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands to wickedness.)

⁴ Lord, do thou well to good men; and to rightful in heart. (Lord, do thou good to good people; yea, to those with an upright heart.)

⁵ But the Lord shall lead them that bow into obligations, with them that work wickedness; peace be upon Israel. (But may the Lord lead forth those, who turn aside into depraved ways, with those who do evil. May peace be upon Israel.)

1 The parables of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel; (The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel;)

² to know wisdom and knowing (to know wisdom and knowledge); to understand the words of prudence;

³ and to take the learning of teaching; to take rightfulness, and doom, and equity; (and to receive learning from teaching, or from instruction; to gain righteousness, and judgement, or justice, and fairness;)

⁴ that fellness, or wariness, be given to little children, and knowing and understanding to a young waxing man. (so that cleverness, and caution, be given to people of little wit, or of low intelligence, and knowledge and understanding to a young growing man.)

⁵ A wise man hearing shall be the wiser; and a man (of) understanding shall hold governance. (A wise person listening shall become wiser; and a person understanding shall gain skills, or abilities.)

⁶ He shall perceive a parable, and the expounding; the words of wise men, and the dark figurative speeches of them. (He shall understand a proverb, and its expounding, or its explanation; yea, the words of the wise, and their riddles.)

⁷ The dread of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; fools despise wisdom and teaching. (The fear of the Lord/Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; but fools despise wisdom and teaching.)

⁸ My son, hear thou the teaching of thy father, and forsake thou not the law of thy mother; (My son, listen thou to thy father’s teaching; and do not thou abandon thy mother’s principles;)

⁹ (so) that grace be added, either increased, to thine head, and a band to thy neck. (so that favour be added unto thee, and a band of honour be put about thy neck.)

¹⁰ My son, if sinners flatter thee, assent thou not to them.

¹¹ If they say, Come thou with us, set we ambush to shed (out) blood, hide we snares of deceits against an innocent (person) without cause;

¹² swallow we him, as hell swalloweth a man living; and all-whole, as (those) going down into a pit; (we shall swallow him up, like Sheol swalloweth up the living; yea, all-whole, like those going down into the pit;)

¹³ we shall find all precious chattel, (or possessions,) we shall fill our houses with spoils;

¹⁴ put thou lot with us, one purse be there of us all; (put thou thy lot with us, and let there be one purse for us all;)

¹⁵ my son, go thou not with them; forbid thy foot from the paths of them (do not let thy foot go onto their paths).

¹⁶ For the feet of them run to evil; and they hasten to shed out blood.

¹⁷ But a net is laid in vain before the eyes of birds, that have wings.

¹⁸ Also they set ambush against their own blood; and make ready frauds, or guiles, against their (own) souls.

¹⁹ So the paths of each avaricious man ravish, or take away, the souls of them that wield (them).

2 Therefore thou art unexcusable, each man that deemest, for in what thing thou deemest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou doest the same things which thou deemest.

² And we know, that the doom of God is after truth against them, that do such things.

³ But guessest thou, man, that deemest them that do such things, and thou doest those things [and thou doest them], that thou shalt escape the doom of God?

⁴ Whether thou despisest the riches of his goodness, and the patience, and the long abiding? Knowest thou not, that the benignity of God leadeth thee to repenting? [Whether despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and patience, and long abiding? Unknowest thou, that the benignity, or good will, of God leadeth thee to penance?]

⁵ But after thine hardness and unrepentant heart, thou treasurest to thee wrath in the day of wrath [Forsooth after thy hardness and unrepentant heart, thou treasurest to thee wrath into the day of wrath] and of showing of the rightful doom of God,

⁶ that shall yield to each man after his works;

⁷ soothly to them that be by patience of good work, glory, and honour, and uncorruption, to them that seek everlasting life;

⁸ but to them that be of strife, and that assent not to truth, but believe to wickedness, wrath and indignation,

⁹ tribulation and anguish, into each soul of man that worketh evil, to the Jew first, and to the Greek [of Jew first and of the Greek];

¹⁰ but glory, and honour, and peace, to each man that worketh good thing, to the Jew first, and to the Greek.

¹¹ For acception of persons [that is, to put one before another without desert,] is not with God.