Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

18 The word that was made of the Lord to Jeremy, and said, (The word of the Lord that was made to Jeremiah, and said,)

² Rise thou, and go down into the house of a potter, and there thou shalt hear my words.

³ And I went down into the house of a potter, and lo! he made a work on a wheel.

⁴ And the vessel was destroyed, which he made of clay with his hands; and he turned it, and made it another vessel, as it pleased in his eyes to make. (And when the vessel, which he made out of clay with his hands, was not acceptable, he turned it again, and made it into another vessel, which did please his eyes.)

⁵ And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

⁶ Whether as this potter doeth, I may not do to you, the house of Israel? saith the Lord. Lo! as clay is in the hand of a potter, so ye, the house of Israel, be in mine hand (Lo! like clay is in a potter’s hands, so ye, the house of Israel, be in my hands).

⁷ Suddenly I shall speak against a folk, and against a realm, that I draw (it) out, and destroy (it), and lose it.

⁸ If that folk doeth penance of his evil, which I spake against it, also I shall do penance on the evil, which I thought to do to it. (But if that nation doeth penance for their evil, for which I spoke against them, then I shall do penance for the evil, which I thought to do to them.)

⁹ And I shall speak suddenly of a folk, and of a realm, that I build, and plant it. (And at any moment I shall speak of a nation, or of a kingdom, that I build it, or that I plant it.)

¹⁰ (But) If it doeth evil before mine eyes, (and) that it hear not my voice, (then) I shall do penance on the good which I spake, that I should do to it.

¹¹ Now therefore say thou to a man of Judah, and to the dweller of Jerusalem, and say, The Lord saith these things, Lo! I make evil against you, and I think a thought against you; each man turn again from his evil way, and (ad)dress ye your ways and your studies. (And so now say thou to the people of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The Lord saith these things, Lo! I make evil plans against you, and I think thoughts against you; each person turn away from their evil ways, and direct, or amend, ye your ways and your deeds.)

139 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, thou hast proved me, and hast known me; (To victory, the song of David. Lord, thou hast assayed, or tested, me, and thou knowest me;)

² thou hast known my sitting, and my rising again. Thou hast understood my thoughts from [a]far; (thou hast known my sitting down, and my rising up. Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar;)

³ thou hast inquired (of) my path and my cord. And thou hast before-seen all my ways; (thou hast examined my path, and my resting places. And thou hast foreseen all my ways.)

⁴ for no word is in my tongue. Lo! Lord, thou hast known all things, (Yea, there is no word on my tongue, lo! Lord; but that thou not knowest it first.)

⁵ the new things and eld; thou hast formed me, and hast set thine hand on me. (Thou art behind me, and before me; and thou hast set thy hand upon me.)

⁶ Thy knowing is made wonderful of me; it is comforted, and I shall not be able to it. (Thy abundant knowledge is so wonderful to me; yea, it is so very great, and I shall never be able to comprehend it all.)

¹³ For thou haddest in possession my reins; thou tookest me up from the womb of my mother. (For thou haddest my reins in thy possession/For thou formedest my inner parts; yea, thou madest me in my mother’s womb.)

¹⁴ I shall acknowledge to thee, for thou art magnified dreadfully; thy works be wonderful, and my soul shall know (that) full much. (I shall praise thee, for thou art greatly to be feared/for thou hath filled me with awe; thy works be wonderful, and I truly know that.)

¹⁵ My bone, which thou madest in private, is not hid from thee; and my substance (formed) in the lower parts of earth. (My bones, which thou madest in secret, be not a mystery to thee; yea, when my substance was formed in the lower parts of the earth.)

¹⁶ Thine eyes saw mine unperfect thing, and all men shall be written in thy book; days shall be formed, and no man is in those. (Thine eyes saw my imperfect substance, and all was written in thy Book; but when those days were formed, no man was there.)

¹⁷ Forsooth, God, thy friends be made honourable full much to me; the princehood of them is comforted full much. (But, God, how deep be thy thoughts to me; and how many of them there be!)

¹⁸ I shall number them, and they shall be multiplied above the gravel; I rose up, and yet I am with thee. (If I tried to count them all up, their number would be more than all the grains of sand. And then I awake; and still I am with thee.)

¹ Paul, the bound of Christ Jesus [the bound of Jesus Christ], and Timothy, brother, to Philemon, beloved, and our helper [and our even-worker],

² and to Apphia, most dear sister, and to Archippus, our even-knight, and to the church that is in thine house,

³ grace be to you [grace to you], and peace of God our Father, and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I do thankings to my God, evermore making mind of thee in my prayers,

⁵ hearing thy charity and faith, that thou hast in the Lord Jesus, and to all holy men,

⁶ that the communing of thy faith be made open, in knowing of all good thing in Christ Jesus.

⁷ And I had great joy and comfort in thy charity, for the entrails of holy men rested by thee, brother. [Forsooth I had great joy and comfort in thy charity, for the entrails of holy men rested, or were refreshed, by thee, brother.]

⁸ For which thing I having much trust in Christ Jesus, to command to thee that that pertaineth to profit;

⁹ but I beseech more for charity, since thou art such as the old Paul, and now the bound of Jesus Christ.^[a]

¹⁰ I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I in bonds begat,

¹¹ which sometime was unprofitable to thee [which sometime was to thee unprofitable], but now profitable, both to thee and to me;

¹² whom I sent again to thee. And receive thou him as mine entrails;

¹³ whom I would withhold with me, that he should serve for thee to me in bonds of the gospel;

¹⁴ but without thy counsel I would not do any thing, that thy good should not be as of need, but willful.

¹⁵ For peradventure therefore he departed from thee for a time, that thou shouldest receive him without end [that thou shouldest receive him into without end];

¹⁶ now not as a servant, but for a servant [but more than a servant] a most dear brother, most to me; and how much more to thee, both in [the] flesh and in the Lord?

¹⁷ Therefore if thou hast me a fellow, receive him as me;

¹⁸ for if he hath any thing harmed thee, either oweth, areckon thou this thing to me. [forsooth if he hath any thing harmed thee, or oweth, reckon thou this thing to me.]

¹⁹ I Paul wrote with mine hand, I shall yield; that I say not to thee, that also thou owest to me thyself.

²⁰ So, brother, I shall use thee in the Lord; fill thou mine entrails in Christ [full-fill mine entrails in Christ].

²¹ I trusting of thine obedience wrote to thee, witting that thou shalt do over that that I say.

²⁵ And much people went with him [Soothly many companies went with him]; and he turned, and said to them,

²⁶ If any man cometh to me [If any man come to me], and hateth not his father, and mother, and wife, and sons, and brethren, and sisters, and yet [forsooth] his own life, he may not be my disciple.

²⁷ And he that beareth not his cross, and cometh after me, may not be my disciple.

²⁸ For who of you willing to build a tower, whether he sit not first/whether he first sitteth not, and counteth the expenses that be needful, if he have to perform?

²⁹ Lest after that he hath set the foundament [Lest after he hath put the foundament], and be not able to perform, all that see, begin to scorn him,

³⁰ and say [saying], For this man began to build, and might not make an end.

³¹ Or what king that will go to do a battle against another king, whether he sitteth not first, and bethinketh, if he may with ten thousand go to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?^[a]

³² [Or] Else yet while he is afar, he sendeth a messenger, and prayeth those things that be of peace.

³³ So therefore each of you, that forsaketh not all things that he hath [that renounceth not, or forsaketh not, all things that he wieldeth], may not be my disciple.