Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

128 The song of degrees. Blessed be all men, that dread the Lord; that go in his ways. (Happy be all those, who fear the Lord/who revere the Lord; and who go in his ways.)

² For thou shalt eat the travails of thine hands; thou art blessed, and it shall be well to thee. (For thou shalt eat the fruit of thy labour; thou shalt be happy, and it shall be well with thee.)

³ Thy wife shall be as a plenteous vine; in the sides of thine house. Thy sons as the new springs of olive trees; in the compass of thy board. (Thy wife shall be like a fruitful vine; by the side of thy house. And thy sons and thy daughters shall be like the new branches of olive trees; all around thy table.)

⁴ Lo! so a man shall be blessed; that dreadeth the Lord. (Lo! so shall the man be blessed; who feareth the Lord/who hath reverence for the Lord.)

⁵ The Lord bless thee from Zion; and see thou the goods of Jerusalem in all the days of thy life. (May the Lord bless thee from Zion; and may thou see the prosperity of Jerusalem/and may thou share in the prosperity of Jerusalem, all the days of thy life.)

⁶ And see thou the sons of thy sons; see thou peace on Israel. (And may thou see the sons of thy sons/the children of thy children. May peace be upon Israel.)

5 Thou that enterest into the house of God, keep thy foot, and nigh thou for to hear; for why much better is obedience, than the sacrifice of fools, that know not what evil they do. (Thou who enterest into the House of God, keep thy foot, and draw close to hear; for obedience is much better than the sacrifice of fools, who know not what evil they do.)

² Speak thou not anything follily (Do not thou say anything foolish), neither (let) thine heart be swift to bring forth a word before God; for God is in heaven, and thou art on earth, therefore (let) thy words be few.

³ Dreams follow many busynesses, and folly shall be found in many words.

⁴ If thou hast avowed anything to God, tarry thou not to yield it; for an unfaithful and fond promise displeaseth him; but yield thou whatever thing thou hast avowed;

⁵ and it is much better to make not a vow, than after a vow to yield not the promises. (and it is much better to not make a vow, than to make a vow and then not yield the promises.)

⁶ Give thou not thy mouth, that thou make thy flesh to do sin; neither say thou before an angel, No purveyance there is; lest peradventure the Lord be wroth on thy words, and destroy all the works of thine hands. (Give thou not thy mouth, that thou make thy flesh to do sin; nor then say thou before an angel, This is but a mistake; lest perhaps the Lord be angry with thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands.)

⁷ Where be many dreams, be full many vanities, and words without number; but dread thou God. (Where there be many dreams, there is much that is empty and futile, and words without number; rather, fear thou God/rather, have thou reverence for God.)

⁸ If thou seest false challenges of needy men, and violent dooms (If thou seest the poor oppressed, and grave injustice), and that rightfulness is destroyed in the province, wonder thou not on this doing; for another is higher than an high man, and also other men be more high above these men;

⁹ and furthermore the king of all (the) earth commandeth to the servant. (and ultimately the King of all the earth commandeth to all his servants.)

¹⁰ An avaricious man shall not be [ful]filled of money; and he that loveth riches shall not take (the) fruits of them; and therefore this is vanity. (A greedy person shall never be fulfilled, or filled full, with money; and he who loveth riches shall never truly enjoy their fruits, or their earnings; and so this is empty and futile.)

¹¹ Where there be many riches, also many men there be, that eat those (Where there be many riches, there also be many people, who shall eat them); and what profiteth it to the holder, but that he seeth [the] riches with his eyes?

¹² Sleep is sweet to him that worketh, whether he eat little either much; but the fullness of a rich man suffereth not him to sleep. (Sleep is sweet to him who worketh, whether he eat a little or a great deal; but a rich person’s fullness will not allow him to sleep.)

¹³ Also another sickness is full evil, which I saw under the sun; riches (that) be kept into the harm of their lord.

¹⁴ For they perish in the worst torment; (and) he begat a son, that shall be in sovereign neediness. (And then those riches be lost in a terrible calamity; and so he hath begotten a son, who shall be left in great neediness.)

¹⁵ As he went naked out of his mother’s womb, so he shall turn again; and he shall take away with him nothing of his travail. (As he went naked out of his mother’s womb, so he shall return; and he shall not take away with him anything gained from all his labour.)

¹⁶ Utterly it is a wretched sickness; as he came, so he shall turn again. What profiteth it to him, that he travailed into the wind? (Yea, it is utterly a wretched sickness; as he came, so he shall return. What hath it profited him? he hath only laboured for the wind!)

¹⁷ In all the days of his life he ate in darknesses, and in many busynesses, and in neediness, and sorrow.

¹⁸ Therefore this seemed good to me, that a man eat, and drink, and use gladness of his travail, in which he travailed under the sun, in the number of days of his life, which God gave to him; and this is his part. (And so it seemed good to me, that a person should eat, and drink, and enjoy, or get happiness from, the fruits of his labour, for which he laboured under the sun, in the days of his life, which God gave to him; yea, this is his portion.)

¹⁹ And to each man, to whom God gave riches, and chattel, and gave power to him to eat of those, and to use his part, and to be glad of his travail; this is the gift of God. (And to each person, to whom God gave riches, and substance, and gave the power to him to enjoy them, and to use his portion, and to be happy in his labour, or in his work; this is the gift of God.)

²⁰ For he shall not think much on the days of his life, for God occupieth his heart with delights.

²¹ Therefore again Jesus said to them, Lo! I go, and ye shall seek me, and ye shall die in your sin; whither I go, ye be not able to come [whither I go, ye may not come].

²² Therefore the Jews said, Whether he shall slay himself, for he saith, Whither I go, ye be not able to come [Whither I go, ye may come]?

²³ And he said to them, Ye be of beneath, I am of above; ye be of this world, I am not of this world.

²⁴ Therefore I said to you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins.

²⁵ Therefore they said to him, Who art thou? Jesus said to them, The beginning, which also speak to you [Jesus said to them, The beginning, or the first of all thing, the which and I speak to you].

²⁶ I have many things to speak, and to deem of you, but he that sent me is soothfast; and I speak in the world these things, that I heard of him.

²⁷ And they knew not, that he called his Father God. [And they knew not, for he said his Father God.]

²⁸ Therefore Jesus said to them, When ye have araised man's Son, then ye shall know, that I am, and of myself I do nothing; but as my Father taught me, I speak these things.

²⁹ And he that sent me is with me, and left me not alone; for I do evermore those things, that be pleasing to him. [And he that sent me is with me, and left not me alone; for I do ever those things, that be pleasant to him.]

³⁰ When he spake these things, many believed in him.

³¹ Therefore Jesus said to the Jews, that believed in him, If ye dwell in my word, verily ye shall be my disciples;

³² and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

³³ Therefore the Jews answered to him, We be the seed of Abraham, and we served never to [no] man; how sayest thou, That ye shall be free [how sayest thou, Ye shall be free]?

³⁴ Jesus answered to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, each man that doeth sin, is [the] servant of sin.

³⁵ And the servant dwelleth not in the house without end [into without end], but the Son dwelleth without end [into without end].

³⁶ Therefore if the Son [shall] make you free, verily ye shall be free.

³⁷ I know that ye be Abraham's sons, but ye seek to slay me, for my word taketh not in you.

³⁸ I speak those things, that I saw at my Father; and ye do those things, that ye saw at your father.