Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

26 [The psalm of David.] Lord, deem thou me, for I entered in mine innocence; and I hoping in the Lord, shall not be made unsteadfast. (The song of David. Lord, judge me, for I have gone my way in innocence; and trusting in the Lord, I have not been made unsteady, that is, I have not slipped, or stumbled.)

² Lord, prove thou me, and assay me; burn thou my reins, and mine heart (burn thou my will, and my heart).

³ For why thy mercy is before mine eyes; and I pleased in thy truth. (For thy love is always before me; and I have gone in thy faithfulness.)

⁴ I sat not with the counsel of vanity; and I shall not enter with men doing wicked things. (I sat not down with vain, that is, empty, or worthless, people; and I shall not go along with those who do wicked things.)

⁵ I hated the church of evil men; and I shall not sit with wicked men. (I hate the company of evil people; and I shall not sit with the wicked.)

⁶ I shall wash mine hands among innocents; and, Lord, I shall compass thine altar. (I shall wash my hands in innocence; and then, Lord, I shall march around thy altar.)

⁷ That I hear the voice of praising; and that I tell out all thy marvels. (And I shall sing thy praises with thanksgiving; and I shall tell of all thy marvellous deeds.)

⁸ Lord, I have loved the fairness of thine house; and the place of the dwelling of thy glory. (Lord, I love the beauty of thy House; yea, the place where thy glory dwelleth.)

⁹ God, lose thou not my soul with unfaithful men; and my life with men of bloods. (God, do not thou destroy me along with the unfaithful; and do not take away my life along with those who thirst for blood, that is, murderers.)

¹⁰ In whose hands wickednesses be; the right hand of them is full-filled with gifts. (In whose hands be wickednesses; their right hands be filled full with bribes.)

¹¹ But I entered in mine innocence; again-buy thou me, and have mercy on me. (But I went forth in innocence; so redeem thou me, and have mercy on me.)

¹² My foot stood in rightfulness; Lord, I shall bless thee in churches. (Yea, my feet standeth on firm ground; Lord, I shall bless thee in the congregations.)

7 Knighthood, that is, continual travail, and fighting against vices, is the life of a man upon (the) earth, and his days be as the days of an hired man.

² As an hart desireth shadow, and as an hired man abideth the end of his work; (Like a servant desireth the shade, and like a hired man waiteth for the end of his work day;)

³ so I have had void months (so I have had empty months), and I have numbered travailous nights to me.

⁴ If I shall sleep, I shall say, When shall I rise? and again I shall abide the eventide, and I shall be full-filled with sorrows unto darknesses come (and I shall be filled full with sorrow until the darknesses come).

⁵ My flesh is clothed with rot, and filths of dust; my skin dried up, and is drawn together (my skin is dried up, and is altogether drawn/and my skin is covered with running sores).

⁶ My days have passed swifter than a web is cut down from the looms; and those days be wasted without any hope of coming again.

⁷ God, have thou mind, for my life is wind, and mine eye shall not turn again, that it see goods. (God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I shall no longer see any good days.)

⁸ Neither the sight of man shall behold me; but thine eyes be in me (but thy eyes be upon me), and I shall not be in deadly life, that is, I shall not abide (alive).

⁹ As a cloud is wasted, and passeth soon away, so he that goeth down to hell, shall not go up (from) thence; (Like a cloud that fadeth, and soon passeth away, is he who goeth down to the Sheol, or the grave, and shall never come up from there;)

¹⁰ neither he shall turn again more into his house, and his place shall no more know him. (nor shall he return to his house, and his place shall know him no more.)

¹¹ Wherefore and I shall not spare my mouth; I shall speak in the tribulation of my spirit, I shall talk (al)together with the bitterness of my soul (I shall speak out of the bitterness of my soul).

¹² Whether I am a sea, either a whale, for thou hast (en)compassed me with a prison? (Am I a sea, or a whale, for thou hast surrounded me with a prison?)

¹³ If I shall say, My bed shall comfort me, and I shall be relieved, or quieted, speaking with me in my bed; (If I shall say, My bed shall comfort me, and I shall be relieved, or quieted, talking to myself in my bed;)

¹⁴ thou shalt make me afeared by dreams, and thou shalt shake me with horror, either hideousness, by sights. (then thou shalt make me afraid with dreams, and thou shalt make me shake with visions of horror, or of hideousness.)

¹⁵ Wherefore my soul chose hanging, and my bones have chosen death.

¹⁶ I despaired, (and) now I shall no more live; Lord, spare thou me, for my days be nought.

¹⁷ What is a man, for thou magnifiest him? either what settest thou thine heart toward him? (or why settest thou thy heart toward him?)

¹⁸ Thou visitest him early, and suddenly thou provest him. (And then thou punishest him early in the morning, and suddenly thou triest him.)

¹⁹ How long sparest thou not me, neither sufferest me, that I swallow my spittle? (How long sparest thou me not, nor allowest me to swallow my own spittle?)

²⁰ I have sinned; O! thou keeper of men, what shall I do to thee? Why hast thou set me contrary to thee, and I am made grievous to myself? (I have sinned; O! thou keeper of men, but what have I done to thee? Why hast thou put me contrary to thee, so that I am even made a burden to thee?)

²¹ Why doest thou not away my sin, and why takest thou not away my wickedness? Lo! now I shall sleep in dust, and if thou seekest me early, I shall not abide (Lo! now I shall sleep in the dust, and when thou seekest me in the morning, I shall already be dead).

¹⁴ But the Pharisees, that were covetous, heard all these things, and they scorned him.

¹⁵ And he said to them, Ye it be, that justify you before men; but God hath known your hearts [soothly God knoweth your hearts], for that that is high to men, is abomination before God.

¹⁶ The law and the prophets till to John; from that time the realm of God is evangelized [from that time the realm of God is preached], and each man doeth violence into it.

¹⁷ Forsooth it is lighter heaven and earth [for] to pass, than that one tittle fall from the law [than one tittle fall of the law].

¹⁸ Every man that forsaketh his wife, and weddeth another, doeth lechery [doeth adultery]; and he that weddeth the wife forsaken of the husband, doeth adultery.