Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

148 Alleluia. Ye of heavens, praise the Lord; praise ye him in high things. (Alleluia. Ye in heaven/Ye in the heavens, praise the Lord; praise ye him in high places.)

² All his angels, praise ye him; all his virtues, praise ye him (all his hosts, praise ye him).

³ Sun and moon, praise ye him; all stars and light, praise ye him (all the stars of light/all the shining stars, praise ye him.).

⁴ Heavens of heavens, praise ye him (Heaven of heavens/The highest heaven, praise ye him); and the waters that be above (the) heavens,

⁵ praise they the name of the Lord. For he said, and things were made; he commanded, and things were made of nought (he commanded, and everything was made out of nothing).

⁶ He ordained those things into the world, and into the world of world; he setted a commandment, and it shall not pass. (He ordained those things forever and ever; he gave a command, and it shall not pass away.)

⁷ Ye of the earth, praise the Lord; dragons, and all depths of waters. (Praise the Lord, from the earth; ye dragons, and all the depths of the waters.)

⁸ Fire, hail, snow, ice, spirits of tempests; that do his word. (Fire, hail, snow, ice, and the winds of the tempests; that all follow his command.)

⁹ Mountains, and all little hills; trees bearing fruit, and all cedars.

¹⁰ Wild beasts, and all tame beasts; serpents, and feathered birds.

¹¹ The kings of earth, and all peoples; the princes, and all judges of earth. (The kings of the earth, and all the peoples; the princes, and the judges, that is, the leaders, over all the earth.)

¹² Young men, and virgins, eld men with [the] younger, (Young men, and virgins, old men, and the young,)

¹³ praise the name of the Lord; for the name of him alone is enhanced. His acknowledging be on heaven and earth; (praise the name of the Lord; for only his name should be exalted. For his glory is above the earth, and above heaven;)

¹⁴ and he hath enhanced the horn of his people. An hymn be to all his saints; to the children of Israel, to a people nighing to him. (and he hath exalted the horn of his people. So let there be a hymn to all his saints; to the children of Israel, to the people who be the closest to him/So let there be praises from all his saints; from the children of Israel, from the people who be the closest to him.)

¹⁷ But after that Jehoiada died, the princes of Judah entered, and worshipped the king, which was flattered with their services, and assented to them. (But after that Jehoiada died, the leaders of Judah entered, and worshipped, or honoured, the king, who was flattered by them, and he assented to them.)

¹⁸ And they forsook the temple of the Lord God of their fathers, and served idols in woods, and graven images (and worshipped sacred poles, and carved idols); and the ire of the Lord was made against Judah and Jerusalem for this sin.

¹⁹ And he sent to them prophets, that they should turn again to the Lord (so that they would return to the Lord); the which prophets’ witnessing, they would not hear.

²⁰ Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed, or environed, Zechariah, the priest, the son of Jehoiada; and he stood in the sight of the people, and said to them, The Lord saith these things, Why break ye the commandment of the Lord, which thing shall not profit to you, and ye have forsaken the Lord, that he should forsake you? (Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Zechariah, the son of the High Priest Jehoiada; and he stood before the people, and said to them, The Lord saith these things, Why have ye broken the Lord’s commands? truly that shall not profit you; but because ye have abandoned the Lord, now he hath abandoned you.)

²¹ Which were gathered together against him, and casted stones (at him), by commandment of the king, in the large place of the house of the Lord. (And they gathered together against him, and threw stones at him, by the command of the king, in the courtyard of the House of the Lord.)

²² And king Joash had not mind on the mercy, (or goodness,) which Jehoiada, the father of Zechariah, had done with him; but he killed the son of Jehoiada. And when Zechariah died, he said, The Lord see this thing, and again-seek it. (And King Joash forgot about the loyalty which Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown to him; and so he had Jehoiada’s son killed. And as Zechariah died, he said, May the Lord see what thou hast done, and avenge it.)

²³ And when a year was turned about, either ended, the host of Syria went up against Joash, and it came into Judah and into Jerusalem, and it killed all the princes of the people (and they came into Judah and Jerusalem, and they killed all the leaders of the people); and they sent all the prey to the king of Damascus.

²⁴ And certain(ly), when a full little number of men of Syria was come into Judah, the Lord betook in(to) their hands a multitude of Jews without number, for they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. Also they used shameful dooms against Joash (And so they executed judgement against Joash);

6 But in those days, when the number of disciples increased, the Greeks grumbled against the Hebrews [grutching of Greeks was made against Hebrews], for that their widows were despised in every day's ministering.

² And the twelve called together the multitude of disciples, and said, It is not rightful, that we leave the word of God, and minister to boards.

³ Therefore, brethren, behold ye men of you of good fame [behold ye men of you, of good witnessing, or fame], [seven,] full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, whom we shall ordain on this work;

⁴ for we shall be busy to prayer, and to preach the word of God. [forsooth we shall be busy to prayer and ministry, or preaching, of the word.]

⁵ And the word pleased before all the multitude [And the word pleased to all the multitude]; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a comeling [and Nicolas, a guest, or comeling], a man of Antioch.

⁶ They ordained these before the sight of the apostles, and they prayed, and laid hands on them.

⁷ And the word of the Lord waxed, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem was much multiplied; also a much company of priests obeyed to the faith.

⁵¹ With hard neck [With hard nol], and uncircumcised hearts and ears ye withstand evermore the Holy Ghost; and as your fathers, so ye.

⁵² Whom of the prophets have not your fathers pursued, and have slain them that before-told of the coming of the rightful man [and have slain them that before-told of the coming of the just man], whose traitors and manslayers ye were now?

⁵³ Which took the law in ordinance of angels, and have not kept it.

⁵⁴ And they heard these things, and were diversely tormented in their hearts, and they grinded [and gnashed, or grinded,] with teeth on him.

⁵⁵ But when Stephen was full of the Holy Ghost, he beheld into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right half of the virtue of God.

⁵⁶ And he said, Lo! I see heavens opened, and man's Son standing on the right half of the virtue of God. [And he said, Lo! I see heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right half of the virtue of God.]

⁵⁷ And they cried with a great voice, and stopped their ears, and made with one will an assault into him.

⁵⁸ And they brought him out of the city [And they casted him out of the city], and stoned [him]. And the witnesses did off their clothes, beside the feet of a young man, that was called Saul.

⁵⁹ And they stoned Stephen, that called God to help, saying [And they stoned Stephen in-calling, and saying], Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

⁶⁰ And he kneeled, and cried with a great voice, and said, Lord, set not to them this sin. And when he had said this thing, he died [And when he had said this thing, he slept, or died, in the Lord].