Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

17 The prayer of David. Lord, hear thou my rightfulness; behold thou my prayer. Perceive thou with ears my prayer; not made in guileful lips. (The prayer of David. Lord, hear thou my plea for justice; consider thou my prayer. Listen thou to my prayer; for it is not made with deceitful, or lying, lips.)

² My doom come forth of thy cheer; thine eyes see they equity. (Let my judgement come forth from thy lips; let thine eyes be fixed on justice.)

³ Thou hast proved mine heart, and hast visited (me) in [the] night; thou hast examined, or assayed, me by fire, and wickedness is not found in me.

⁴ That my mouth speak not (of) the works of men; for the words of thy lips I have kept hard ways. (My mouth shall not speak of the works of men; by the words of thy lips I have kept myself from bad ways.)

⁵ Make thou perfect my goings in thy paths; that my steps be not moved. (Make thou perfect my goings on thy paths; so that my steps will not slip, or stumble/so that I do not fall.)

⁶ I cried, for thou, God, heardest me; bow down thy ear to me, and hear thou my words. (I cried, for I know that thou, God, shalt answer me; bow down thy ear to me, and listen to my words.)

⁷ Make wonderful thy mercies; that makest safe them that hope in thee. (Show thou me thy constant love, thou who savest me; with thy right hand save thou those who trust in thee, from those who stand against them.)

⁸ Keep thou me as the apple of thine eye; and from them that against-stand thy right hand. Cover thou me under the shadow of thy wings; (Keep thou me as the apple of thine eye. Cover thou me, or hide me, under the shadow of thy wings;)

⁹ from the face of unpious men, that have tormented me. Mine enemies have (en)compassed my soul; (from the face of the unpious, or of the wicked, who torment me. My enemies have surrounded me;)

¹⁰ they have closed (al)together their fatness; the mouth of them spake pride. (they be enclosed in their own fatness; their mouths have spoken proudly, or boastfully.)

¹¹ They casted me forth, and have (en)compassed me now; they ordained to bow down their eyes into [the] earth. (They surround me now, wherever I turn; they lie in wait, to bring me down to the ground.)

¹² They, as a lion made ready to his prey, have taken me; and as the whelp of a lion dwelling in hid places. (They be ready to catch me, like a lion catcheth its prey; and like the cub of a lion living in hidden places.)

¹³ Lord, rise thou up, before come thou him, and deceive thou him/and overturn thou him; deliver thou my life from the unpious, deliver thou thy sword; (Lord, rise thou up, come thou before him, and overturn thou him; save thou my life from the unpious, with thy sword,)

¹⁴ from the enemies of thine hand. Lord, part thou them from a few men of the land in the life of them; their womb is [full-]filled of thine hid things. They be [full-]filled with sons; and they left their remnants, either residue, to their little children. (yea, from the enemies of thy hand. Lord, save thou me from those of the land who have their portion in this life; their womb is filled full of thy good things. They be filled full with sons and daughters; and they have left all that they have to their little children.)

¹⁵ But I in rightfulness shall appear to thy sight; I shall be [ful]filled, when thy glory shall appear. (But I shall appear upright, or righteous, before thee; and I shall be fulfilled, when thy glory shall appear.)

3 And the Lord showed to me the great priest Joshua, standing before the angel of the Lord; and Satan stood on his right half, that he should be adversary to him. (And the Lord showed me Joshua, the High Priest, standing before the angel of the Lord; and Satan stood at his right hand/and the Adversary stood at his right hand, so that he could accuse him, or so that he could be adverse, or hostile, to him.)

² And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord blame in thee, Satan, and the Lord that chose Jerusalem, blame in thee. Whether this is not a dead brand ravished from the fire? (And the Lord said to Satan/And the Lord said to the Adversary, The Lord rebuketh thee, Satan, yea, the Lord who chose Jerusalem, rebuketh thee. Is not this man like a firebrand snatched from the fire?)

³ And Joshua was clothed with foul clothes, and stood before the face of the angel. (And Joshua was clothed with filthy clothes, and stood before the angel.)

⁴ Which answered, and said to them that stood before him, and he said, Do ye away foul clothes from him. And he said to him, Lo! I have done away from thee thy wickedness, and I have clothed thee with changing (of) clothes. (Who answered, and said to those who stood before him, and he said, Do ye away his filthy clothes. And then he said to him, Lo! I have done away thy wickedness from thee, and I have clothed thee with a change of clothing/and I have clothed thee with clean clothes.)

⁵ And he said, Put ye a clean mitre on his head. And they putted a clean mitre on his head, and clothed him with clothes. And the angel of the Lord stood, (And he said, Put ye a clean turban upon his head. And they put a clean turban upon his head, and clothed him with clean clothes. And the angel of the Lord stood by,)

⁶ and the angel of the Lord witnessed to Joshua, and said,

⁷ The Lord of hosts saith these things, If thou shalt go in my ways, and shalt keep my keeping, also and thou shalt deem mine house, and shalt keep my porches; and I shall give to thee goers, of these that now here stand nigh. (The Lord of hosts saith these things, If thou shalt go in my ways, and shalt perform your duties, then thou shalt judge, or thou shalt rule, my House, and shalt keep charge of my courtyards, and I shall give thee the right to come and go amongst those who now stand here nearby.)

⁸ Hear thou, Joshua, great priest, thou and thy friends that dwell before thee, for they be men signifying thing[s] to coming. Lo! soothly I shall bring my servant springing up, either Christ born. (Hear thou, Joshua, the High Priest, thou and thy friends who be seated before thee, for they signify the things to come. Lo! truly I shall bring forth my servant, The Branch.)

⁹ For lo! the stone which I gave before Joshua, on one stone be seven eyes; and lo! I shall grave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I shall do away the wickedness of that land in one day. (For lo! the stone which I put before Joshua, and on that one stone be seven eyes, or seven facets; and lo! I shall engrave its engraving, or its inscription, saith the Lord of hosts, and I shall do away the wickedness of that land in one day.)

¹⁰ In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, a man shall call his friend under a vine, and under a fig tree. (On that day, saith the Lord of hosts, a man shall call his friends to come, and sit down, and rest under a vine, and under a fig tree.)

⁴ For if God spared not angels sinning, but betook them to be tormented, and to be drawn down with bonds of hell into hell [but betook them to be tormented, drawn down with bonds of hell into hell], to be kept into doom;

⁵ and spared not the first world, but kept Noah, the eighth man, the before-goer of rightwiseness, and brought in the great flood to the world of unfaithful men [bringing in the deluge, or great flood, to the world of unpious men];

⁶ and he drove into powder [and driving into powder] the cities of men of Sodom and of men of Gomorrha, and condemned by turning upside-down, and put them the ensample of them that were to doing evil [putting example of them that were to doing evil, or unpiously];

⁷ and delivered the just Lot, oppressed of the wrong, and of the lecherous conversation of cursed men;

⁸ for in sight and hearing he was just, and dwelled amongst them [dwelling with them] that from day into day tormented with wicked works a just soul.

⁹ For the Lord knoweth how to deliver pious men from temptation, and keep wicked men into the day of doom to be tormented; [The Lord knew to deliver pious men of temptation, soothly to keep wicked men into the day of doom to be tormented;]

¹⁰ but more them that walk after the flesh, in coveting of uncleanness, and despise lordshipping, and be bold, pleasing themselves, and dread not to bring in sects, blaspheming;

¹¹ where angels, when they be more in strength and virtue, bear not the execrable doom against them [bear not against them the execrable, or cursed, doom].

¹² But these be as unreasonable beasts, naturally into taking [by kind into taking], and into death, blaspheming in these things that they know not, and shall perish in their corruption,

¹³ and receive the hire of unrightwiseness. And they guess delights of defouling and of wem, to be likings of the day, flowing in their feasts with delights, doing lechery with you, [receiving the hire of unrightwiseness, guessing the volupties of the day delights of defouling and of wem, with delights flowing, in their feasts doing lechery with you,]

¹⁴ and have eyes full of adultery, and unceasing trespass, deceiving unsteadfast souls, and have the heart exercised to covetousness; the sons of cursing, [having eyes full of adultery, and unceasing trespass, deceiving unsteadfast souls, having the heart exercised in covetousness, the sons of cursing,]

¹⁵ that forsake the right way, and erred, following the way of Balaam of Bosor, which loved the hire of wickedness.

¹⁶ But he had reproving of his madness; a dumb beast under yoke, that spake with voice of man, that forbade the unwisdom of the prophet. [Soothly he had correction, or reproving, of his madness; a dumb beast under yoke, speaking with voice of a man, forbade the unwisdom of the prophet.]

¹⁷ These be wells without water, and mists driven with whirlwinds [and clouds driven with whirling winds], to whom the thick mist of darknesses is reserved.

¹⁸ And they speak in pride of vanity, and deceive in desires of flesh of lechery them, that escape a little. Which live in error,

¹⁹ and promise freedom to them [promising liberty, or freedom, to them], when they be servants of corruption. For of whom any man is overcome, of him also he is servant.

²⁰ For if men forsake the uncleannesses of the world, by the knowing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and again be wrapped in these [again enwrapped in these], and be overcome, the latter things be made to them worse than the former.

²¹ For it was better to them to not know the way of rightwiseness, than to turn again after the knowing, from that holy commandment that was betaken to them.