Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

38 The psalm of David, to bethink on the sabbath. Lord, reprove thou not me in thy strong vengeance; neither chastise thou me in thine ire. (The song of David, to remember the sabbath. Lord, rebuke thou me not in thy fury; nor chastise thou me in thy anger.)

² For thine arrows be fixed in me; and thou hast made steadfast thine hand on me.

³ None health is in my flesh from the face of thine ire; no peace is to my bones from the face of my sins. (There is no health in my flesh, because of thy anger; there is no peace for my bones, because of my sins.)

⁴ For my wickednesses be gone over mine head; as an heavy burden, those be made heavy on me (like a heavy weight, they be made heavy upon me).

⁵ Mine healed wounds were rotten, and be broken; from the face of mine unwisdom. (My wounds became rotten, and broken; because of my folly, or my foolishness.)

⁶ I am made a wretch, and I am bowed down till into the end; all day I entered sorrowful. (I am made a wretch, and I am bent down to the ground; I go about in sorrow all day long.)

⁷ For my loins be filled with scornings; and health is not in my flesh. (For my loins be filled with sickness; and there is no health in my flesh.)

⁸ I am tormented, and made low full greatly (I am tormented, and brought down so very low); I roared for the wailing of mine heart.

⁹ Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my wailing is not hid from thee.

¹⁰ Mine heart is troubled in me, my virtue forsook me; and the light of mine eyes, and it is not with me. (My heart is troubled within me, my strength deserted me; and the light in my eyes, it hath also left me.)

¹¹ My friends and my neighbours nighed; and stood (over) against me. And they that were beside me stood afar; (My friends and my neighbours stand far away from me; because of my sickness, or my sores. And even my family members stand far away from me;)

¹² and they did violence, that sought my life. And they that sought evils to me, spake vanities; and thought guiles all day. (and they who sought my life, did violence to me. Yea, they who sought evil for me, spoke empty gossip; and they thought up lies and slander about me, all day long.)

¹³ But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and as a dumb man not opening his mouth. (But I, like a deaf man, did not listen to them; and like a dumb man, I did not open my mouth.)

¹⁴ And I am made as a man not hearing; and not having reprovings in his mouth. (And I am made like a deaf man; yea, one not speaking any rebuke, or reply.)

¹⁵ For, Lord, I hoped in thee (For, Lord, I trusted in thee); my Lord God, thou shalt hear me.

¹⁶ For I said, (Hear me,) Lest any time mine enemies have joy on me; and the while my feet be moved/and while my feet were moved, they spake great things on me. (For I said, Hear me, lest any time my enemies have joy over me; for when my feet slipped, or stumbled, they spoke many things against me.)

¹⁷ For I am ready to beatings; and my sorrow is ever[more] in my sight. (For I am about to fall; and my sorrow is before me forevermore.)

¹⁸ For I shall tell my wickedness; and I shall think for my sin. (For I shall tell out my wickedness; and I am afraid, when I think of my sin.)

¹⁹ But mine enemies live, and they be confirmed on me; and they be multiplied, that hate me wickedly. (But my enemies live, and they be strong against me; yea, there be many who wickedly hate me.)

²⁰ They that yield evils for goods, backbited me; for I followed goodness. (Those who give back evil in return for good, backbite me; because I do what is right, or good.)

²¹ My Lord God, forsake thou not me (do not thou desert me); go thou not away from me.

²² Lord God of mine health; behold thou into mine help. (Lord God of my salvation, or of my deliverance, hasten thou to help me.)

24 And when Saul turned again, after that he pursued [the] Philistines, they told to him, and said, Lo! David is in the desert of Engedi (Lo! David is in the wilderness of Engedi).

² Therefore Saul took three thousand chosen men of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men, yea upon the most broken rocks, the which be thorough-ways to wild goats alone (which be thoroughfares only for wild goats).

³ And he came to the folds of sheep, that offered themselves to the way-goer. And there was a cave, into which Saul entered, that he would purge his womb; forsooth David and his men were hid in the inner part of the den. (And he came to the sheepfolds, or the pens, that offered themselves to the way-goer. And there was a cave, into which Saul entered, where he could empty his bowels; and David and his men were hid in the inner part of that cave.)

⁴ And the servants of David said to him, Lo! the day of which the Lord spake to thee, (and said,) I shall betake to thee thine enemy, that thou do to him as it pleaseth in thine eyes. Therefore David rose up, and cutted the hem off the mantle of Saul privily. (And David’s servants said to him, Lo! this is the day of which the Lord spoke to thee, and said, I shall deliver thy enemy to thee, so that thou can do to him as it pleaseth thee. And David rose up, and secretly cut off the hem of Saul’s mantle.)

⁵ After these things, David smote his heart, that is, his conscience reproved him, for he had cut away the hem of the mantle of Saul. (But after doing this, David’s heart struck him, that is, his conscience reproved him, for he had cut away the hem of Saul’s mantle.)

⁶ And David said to his men, The Lord be merciful to me, lest I do this thing to my lord, the anointed of the Lord, or that I send mine hand on him, for he is the christ of the Lord. (And David said to his men, The Lord forbid that I do this to my lord, who is the Lord’s anointed, or that I put my hand against him, for he is the Lord’s anointed.)

⁷ The Lord liveth, for but the Lord smite him, either his day come, that he die, either he go down into battle, and perish, the Lord be merciful to me, that I send not mine hand into the christ of the Lord; and David brake his men by such words, and suffered not them, that they rised against Saul. And Saul rose out of the den, and went in the way begun. (As the Lord liveth, but the Lord strike him down, or his day come that he die, or that he go down to the battle, and perish, the Lord forbid that I put my hand against the Lord’s anointed; and David convicted his men with such words, and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And so Saul left the cave without any harm, and went on the way begun.)

⁸ And David rose up after him, and he went out of the den, and cried after the back of Saul, and said, My lord, the king! And Saul beheld behind himself; and David bowed himself low to the earth, and worshipped him (and David bowed low to the ground, and honoured him).

⁹ And David said to Saul, Why hearest thou the words of men speaking, David seeketh evil against thee? (And David said to Saul, Why hearest thou the words of men who say that David seeketh to harm thee.)

¹⁰ Lo! today thine eyes saw, that the Lord betook thee in mine hand in the den, and I thought that I would slay thee, but mine eye spared thee; for I said, I shall not hold forth mine hand into my lord, for he is the anointed of the Lord. (Lo! today thine eyes can see that the Lord delivered thee into my hands in the cave, and I thought that I would kill thee, but instead, I spared thee; for I said, I shall not put my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.)

¹¹ But rather, my father, see thou, and know the hem of thy mantle in mine hand; for when I cutted away the hem off thy mantle, I would not hold forth mine hand against thee (for when I cut off the hem of thy mantle, I would not put forth my hand against thee); perceive thou, and see, for neither evil neither wickedness is in mine hand, neither I have sinned against thee; but thou ambushest my life, that thou do it away.

¹² The Lord deem betwixt me and thee, and the Lord venge me of thee (and the Lord avenge me upon thee); but mine (own) hand be not against thee,

¹³ as it is said in [the] eld proverb, Wickedness shall go out of wicked men; therefore mine hand be not against thee (and so my hand shall not be against thee).

¹⁴ Whom pursuest thou, king of Israel, whom pursuest thou? Thou pursuest a dead hound, and a quick flea.

¹⁵ The Lord be judge, and the Lord deem betwixt me and thee, and see, and deem my cause, and deliver me from thine hand.

¹⁶ And when David had filled, or ended, speaking such manner words to Saul, Saul said, Whether this is thy voice, my son David? And Saul raised up his voice, and wept.

¹⁷ And he said to David, Thou art more just than I; for thou gavest good things to me; but I have yielded evils to thee. (And he said to David, Thou art more in the right than I; for thou gavest good to me; but I yielded only evil to thee.)

¹⁸ And thou hast showed to me today, what goods thou hast done to me, how the Lord betook me in thine hand, and thou killedest not me. (And thou hast shown me today the good that thou hast done for me, yea, how the Lord delivered me into thy hands, but thou didest not kill me.)

¹⁹ For who, when he findeth his enemy, shall deliver him into (a) good way? But the Lord yield to thee this while, for that, (that) thou hast wrought today in me (for what thou hast done for me today).

²⁰ And now, for I know, that thou shalt reign most certainly, and shalt have in thine hand the realm of Israel, (And now, for I know, that most certainly thou shalt reign, and shalt have in thy hands the kingdom of Israel,)

²¹ swear thou to me in the Lord, that thou do not away my seed after me, neither take away my name from the house of my father. (swear thou to me by the Lord, that thou shalt not do away my descendants after me, nor take away my name from my father’s house.)

²² And David swore to Saul. Therefore Saul went into his house (And then Saul went back to his house), and David and his men went up to (the) secure places.

¹⁷ But this thing I command, not praising, that ye come together not into the better, but into the worse.

¹⁸ First for when ye come together into the church, I hear that dissensions be, and in part I believe [I hear that partings, or dissensions, be, and of part I believe].

¹⁹ For it behooveth heresies to be, that they that be approved, be openly known in you.^[a]

²⁰ Therefore when ye come together into one, now it is not to eat the Lord's supper;

²¹ for why each man before taketh his supper to eat, and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

²² Whether ye have not houses [for] to eat and drink, or ye despise the church of God, and confound them that have none? What shall I say to you? I praise you, but herein I praise you not.^[b]

²⁷ Therefore whoever eateth the bread, or drinketh the cup of the Lord unworthily, he shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. [And so whoever shall eat the bread, or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, he shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.]

²⁸ But prove a man himself, and so eat he of that bread, and drink he of the cup [and drink of the cup].

²⁹ For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh doom to him[self] [eateth and drinketh doom, or damnation, to himself], not wisely deeming the body of the Lord.

³⁰ Therefore among you many be sick and feeble, and many sleep.^[a]

³¹ And if we deemed wisely us selves [For if we deemed wisely ourselves], we should not be deemed;

³² but while we be deemed of the Lord, we be chastised, that we be not condemned with this world.

³³ Therefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, abide ye together.