Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

27 The holy prayer of David. The Lord is my lightening, and mine health; whom shall I dread? The Lord is defender of my life; for whom shall I tremble [for whom shall I quake]? (The holy prayer of David. The Lord is my light, and my salvation, or my deliverance; who shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; for who else shall I tremble, or shake over?)

² The while noisome men nigh on me; for to eat my fleshes. Mine enemies, that troubled me; they were made sick and felled down. (All the while harmful, or dangerous, men come near to me; to eat my flesh. But my enemies, those who trouble me, were made feeble, or weak; they all fell down.)

³ Though castles stand together against me; mine heart shall not dread (Though hosts, or armies, stand together against me; my heart shall not fear). Though battle riseth against me; in this thing I shall have hope.

⁴ I asked of the Lord one thing; I shall seek this thing; that I dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I see the will of the Lord; and that I visit his temple. (I asked of the Lord only one thing; and I shall seek this thing; that I live in the House of the Lord all the days of my life. So that I can see the beauty of the Lord; and I can seek his guidance in his Temple.)

⁵ For he hid me in his tabernacle in the day of evils; he defended me in the hid place of his tabernacle. He enhanced me in a stone; (For he shall hide me in his Temple on the day of evil; he shall defend me in the hidden place of his Temple. He shall put me upon a stone;)

⁶ and now he enhanced mine head over mine enemies. I compassed, and offered in his tabernacle a sacrifice of crying [out]; I shall sing, and I shall say psalm to the Lord. (and then my head shall be lifted up over my enemies, who be all around me. And I shall offer an offering of acclamation in his Temple; yea, I shall sing a song of praise to the Lord.)

⁷ Lord, hear thou my voice, by which I cried to thee; have thou mercy on me, and hear me. (Lord, hear thou my voice, when I cry to thee; have thou mercy on me, and answer me.)

⁸ Mine heart said to thee, My face sought thee; Lord, I shall seek again thy face. (And thou saidest, Seek ye my face; and my heart said to thee, Lord, I shall seek thy face.)

⁹ Turn thou not away thy face from me; bow thou not away in wrath from thy servant. Lord, be thou mine helper, forsake thou not me; and, God, mine health, despise thou not me (Lord, be thou my helper, abandon thou me not; and, O God, my salvation, or my deliverance, despise thou me not).

¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me; but the Lord hath taken me (up). (For even if my father and my mother desert me; the Lord shall still take care of me.)

¹¹ Lord, set thou a law to me in thy way; and (ad)dress thou me in a rightful path, for mine enemies. (Lord, show thou me thy way; and direct thou me on the right path, for I have many enemies./Lord, teach thou me thy way; and direct thou me on the right path, safe from my enemies.)

¹² Betake thou not me into the souls of them, that trouble me; for wicked witnesses have risen against me, and wickedness lied to itself. (Deliver thou me not unto those who trouble me; for wicked witnesses have risen up against me, and the wicked lie even to themselves!)

¹³ I believe to see the goods of the Lord; in the land of living men. (I know that I shall see the goodness of the Lord; in the land of the living.)

¹⁴ Abide thou the Lord, do thou manly; and thine heart be comforted, and suffer thou the Lord. (Wait thou for the Lord, be thou encouraged; let thy heart be strengthened, and wait thou for the Lord.)

¹⁷ Soothly the king of Sodom went out into the meeting of him, after that he turned again from [the] slaying of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, in the valley of Shaveh, which is the valley of the king. (And Sodom’s king went out to meet him, after that he had returned from killing Chedorlaomer, and the other kings who were with him, in the Shaveh Valley, which is now called the King’s Valley.)

¹⁸ And soothly Melchizedek, (the) king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the highest God (for he was the priest of the Most High God);

¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, and said, Blessed be Abram of [the] (most) high God, that made heaven and earth of nought, (and he blessed Abram, and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, who made heaven and earth out of nothing,)

²⁰ and blessed be [the] (most) high God, by whom defending (thee), (thine) enemies be betaken into thine hands. And Abram gave tithes of all things to him. (and blessed be the Most High God, who hath delivered thy enemies into thy hands. And Abram gave him a tithe of all the things that he had recovered.)

²¹ Forsooth the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give thou the men to me; take thou (the) other things to thee. (And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give thou to me the people; and thou take the other things for thyself.)

²² And Abram answered to him, I raise [up] mine hand to the high Lord God, Lord of heaven and of earth, (But Abram answered to him, I raise up my hand, and swear to the Lord, the Most High God, the Maker of heaven and earth,)

²³ that from the thread of [the] woof till to the lanyard of the hose, I shall not take (anything) of all things that be thine, lest thou say, I [have] made Abram rich;

²⁴ except these things which the young men ate, and the parts of (the) men that came with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; these men shall take their parts. (except for those things which the young men have eaten, and a portion for the men who came with me, that is, for Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let these men take their portion, or their share.)

¹⁷ Brethren, be ye my followers, and watch ye them that walk so [and wait ye (on) them that walk so], as ye have our form.

¹⁸ For many walk, which I have said oft to you, but now I weeping say, the enemies of Christ's cross, [Forsooth many walk, whom I have said oft to you, forsooth now and I weeping say, them, the enemies of Christ's cross,]

¹⁹ whose end is death, whose god is the womb, and the glory in [the] confusion of them, that savour earthly things [that savour, or understand, earthly things].

²⁰ But our living is in heavens [Forsooth our living is in heaven]; from whence also we abide the Saviour our Lord Jesus Christ,