Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

55 To victory in organs, the learning of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my beseeching; (To victory, on instruments, the teaching of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my plea;)

² give thou attention to me, and hear thou me. I am sorrowful in mine exercising (I am grieved by my distress);

³ and I am disturbed of the face of the enemy, and of the tribulation of the sinner. For they bowed wickednesses into me; and in ire they were dis-easeful to me. (and I am made afraid by my enemies, and by the trouble which the sinners have brought upon me. For they bowed down wickednesses upon me; and with great anger they were very hateful to me.)

⁴ Mine heart was troubled in me; and the dread of death felled on me. (My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me.)

⁵ Dread and trembling came on me (Fear and trembling came upon me); and darknesses covered me.

⁶ And I said, Who shall give to me feathers, as of a culver; and I shall fly, and shall take rest? (And I said, Who shall give me wings like a dove? and then I can fly away, and get some rest.)

⁷ Lo! I went far away, and fled; and I dwelled in wilderness. (Lo! I would flee far away; and I would live in the wilderness.)

⁸ I abode him, that made me safe from the littleness, either dread, of spirit; and from tempest. (I would hasten, and make myself safe from the wind, and from the tempest.)

⁹ Lord, cast thou down, [and] part thou the tongues of them; for I saw wickedness and against-saying in the city.

¹⁰ By day and night wickedness shall (en)compass it on the walls thereof; and travail and unrightfulness be in the midst of them. (Day and night they surround the city, all along its walls; and trouble and unrighteousness be in its midst.)

¹¹ And usury and guile failed not; from the streets thereof. (And greed, and deceit, always be found in its streets.)

¹² For if mine enemy had cursed me; soothly I had suffered. And if he, that hated me, had spoken great things on me; in hap I had hid me from him. (For if my enemy had cursed me; truly I would have suffered it. And if he, who hated me, had spoken great things against me; I would have hid myself from him.)

¹³ But thou art a man of one will (with me); my leader, and my known. (But thou art a man of one mind with me; my leader, and my dear friend.)

¹⁴ Which tookest together sweet meats with me; we went with consent in(to) the house of God. (Who shared his good counsel with me; and we went together to the House of God.)

¹⁵ Death come on them; and go they down quick into hell (May death come upon them; and may they go down alive into Sheol, or the land of the dead). For waywardnesses be in the dwelling places of them; (and) in the midst of them.

11 Then Zophar (the) Naamathite answered, and said,

² Whether he, that speaketh many things, shall not also hear? either a man full of words shall be made just? (Shall he, who saith many things, not also listen? or is a man so full of words always right, or correct?)

³ Shall men be still to thee alone? and when thou hast scorned other men, shalt thou not be overcome of any man? (Shall people hold their peace for thee alone? and when thou hast scorned other people, shalt thou not be rebuked by anyone?)

⁴ For thou saidest, My word is clean, and I am clean in thy sight.

⁵ And I would (And I wish), that God spake with thee, and opened his lips to thee;

⁶ to show to thee the privates of wisdom, and that his law is manyfold, and thou shouldest then understand, that thou art required of God to pay much less things, than thy wickedness deserveth. (to show thee the secrets of wisdom, and that his Law is manifold, and then thou wouldest understand, that thou art required by God to pay much less, than thy wickedness deserveth.)

⁷ In hap thou shalt comprehend the steps of God, and thou shalt find Almighty God unto perfection. (Perhaps thou shalt be able to comprehend the steps of God, and thou shalt discover the perfection of Almighty God!)

⁸ He is higher than heaven, and what shalt thou do? he is deeper than hell, and whereof shalt thou know? (It is higher than heaven, so what shalt thou do? it is deeper than Sheol, or hell, so what shalt thou know?)

⁹ His measure is longer than the earth (Its measurement is wider than the earth), and broader than the sea.

¹⁰ If he destroyeth all things, either driveth them straitly into one, who shall against-say him? (who shall say against him?) Either who may say to him, Why doest thou so?

¹¹ For he knoweth the vanity of men; and whether he seeing, beholdeth not wickedness? (For he knoweth the emptiness, and futility, of some people’s lives; and when he seeth wickedness, shall he not assay it?/and when he looketh, shall he not see their wickedness?)

¹² A vain man is raised (up) into pride; and he guesseth himself born free, as the colt of a wild ass (like the colt of a wild donkey).

¹³ But thou hast made steadfast thine heart, and hast spread abroad thine hands to him.

¹⁴ If thou doest away from thee the wickedness, that is in thine hand, and if unrightwiseness dwelleth not in thy tabernacle (and if unrighteousness dwelleth not in thy home),

¹⁵ then thou shalt raise up thy face without wem, and thou shalt be steadfast, and thou shalt not dread. (then thou shalt raise up thy face without blemish, or without fault, and thou shalt be strong, and thou shalt not have fear.)

¹⁶ And thou shalt forget (thy) wretchedness, and thou shalt not think of it, as of waters that have passed. (And thou shalt forget thy wretchedness, and thou shalt not think of it any more, like water that hath passed by, and is forgotten.)

¹⁷ And as midday shining, it shall raise (up) to thee at eventide; and when thou guessest thee (to be) wasted, thou shalt rise up as the day star. (And thy life shall shine forth, like the noonday sun; and when thou thinkest thyself to be destroyed, thou shalt rise up like the day star.)

¹⁸ And thou shalt have trust, while hope shall be set forth to thee; and thou buried shalt sleep securely (and thou shalt lie down in safety and security).

¹⁹ Thou shalt rest, and none shall be that shall make thee afeared; and full many men shall beseech thy face.

²⁰ But the eyes of wicked men shall fail; and succor shall perish from them, and the hope of them shall be abomination of soul. (But the eyes of the wicked shall fail; and succor shall perish from them, and their only hope shall be their despair.)

¹⁰ But to them that be joined in matrimony, I command, not I, but the Lord, that the wife depart not from the husband;

¹¹ and that if she departeth, that she dwell unwedded, or be reconciled to her husband; and the husband forsake not the wife.

¹² But to others I say, not the Lord. If any brother hath an unfaithful wife, and she consenteth to dwell with him, leave he her not [If any brother have an unfaithful, or heathen, wife, and she consent for to dwell with him, leave he, or forsake, her not].

¹³ And if any woman hath an unfaithful husband [And if the woman hath an husband unfaithful], and this consenteth to dwell with her, leave she not the husband.

¹⁴ For the unfaithful husband is hallowed by the faithful woman, and the unfaithful woman is hallowed by the faithful husband. Else your children were unclean, but now they be holy.

¹⁵ That if the unfaithful departeth, depart he. For why the brother or sister is not subject to servage in such; for God hath called us in peace.

¹⁶ And whereof knowest thou, woman, if thou shalt make the man safe; or whereof knowest thou, man, if thou shalt make the woman safe?