Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

79 The psalm of Asaph. God, heathen men came into thine heritage; they defouled thine holy temple, they setted Jerusalem into the keeping of apples. (The song of Asaph. God, the heathen came to thy inheritance; they defiled thy holy Temple, and they laid Jerusalem in ruins.)

² They setted the slain bodies of thy servants to be meats to the volatiles of heavens; the fleshes of thy saints to the beasts of the earth. (They left the dead bodies of thy servants to be food for the birds of the air; yea, the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the earth.)

³ They shedded out the blood of them, as water in the compass of Jerusalem; and none there was that buried (them). (They poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem; and there was no one left to bury them.)

⁴ We be made (a) shame to our neighbours; mocking and scorning to them, that be in our compass. (We were made a reproach to our neighbours; mocked and scorned by those who be all around us.)

⁵ Lord, how long shalt thou be wroth into the end? shall thy vengeance be kindled as fire? (Lord, how long shalt thou be angry, forever? shall thy anger burn like fire?)

⁶ Pour out thine ire into heathen men, that know not thee; and into realms, that called not thy name. (Pour out thy anger upon the heathen, who know thee not; and upon the kingdoms, that have not called upon thy name.)

⁷ For they ate Jacob; and made desolate his place. (For they have devoured, or destroyed, the people of Jacob; and made their place desolate.)

⁸ Have thou not mind on our eld wickednesses; thy mercies before take us soon, for we be made poor greatly. (Remember not our past wickednesses; let thy constant love come soon to us, for we be made so very low.)

⁹ God, our health, help thou us, and, Lord, for the glory of thy name, deliver thou us; and be thou merciful to our sins, for thy name. (God, our salvation/God, our deliverance, help thou us, and, Lord, for the glory of thy name, save thou us; and have thou mercy on our sins, for the sake of thy name.)

8 In that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of princes thereof, and the bones of priests, and the bones of prophets, and the bones of them that dwelled in Jerusalem, from their sepulchres; (At that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, or of its leaders, and the bones of its priests, and the bones of its prophets, and the bones of those who lived in Jerusalem, from their tombs, or out of their graves;)

² and they shall lay abroad those bones to the sun, and [the] moon, and to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s), which they loved, and which they served, and after which they went, and which they sought, and worshipped; they shall not be gathered, and shall not be buried; they shall be into a dunghill on the face of [the] earth. (and they shall lay abroad those bones before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they loved, and which they sought after, and which they worshipped, and served; they shall not be gathered, and shall not be buried; they shall be like a mound of dung upon the face of the earth.)

³ And all men shall choose death more than life, which be residue, either left, of this worst kindred, in all (the) places that be left, to which places I casted them out, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁴ And thou shalt say to them, The Lord saith these things, Whether he that shall fall, shall not rise again? and whether he that is turned away, shall not turn again?

⁵ Why therefore is this people in Jerusalem turned away by turning away full of strife? They have taken leasing, and would not turn again (They have taken hold of lies, and would not return to me).

⁶ I perceived, and harkened; no man speaketh that that is good, none there is that doeth penance for his sin, and saith, What have I done? All be turned together to their course, as an horse going by fierceness to battle. (I perceived, and harkened; there is no one who speaketh what is good, there is no one who doeth penance for his sin, and saith, What have I done? They all be altogether turned to their course, like a horse going by fierceness to battle.)

⁷ A kite in the air knew his time; a turtle, and a swallow, and a ciconia, kept the time of their coming; but my people knew not the doom of the Lord, (A kite in the air knew its time; a turtledove, and a swallow, and a stork, kept the time of their coming back, or of their return; but my people did not know the judgement of the Lord/did not know the justice, or the laws, of the Lord,)

⁸ How say ye, We be wise men, and the law of the Lord is with us? Verily the false stylus, either writing, of scribes wrought leasing. (How can ye say, We be wise men, and the Law of the Lord is with us? Truly the false stylus, or the deceitful writing, of the writers hath wrought lies.)

⁹ [The] Wise men be shamed, they be made afeared and taken. For they cast away the word of the Lord, and no wisdom is in them.

¹⁰ Therefore I shall give the women of them to strangers, and the fields of them to alien heirs; for from the least unto the most all follow avarice, from a prophet unto the priest all make leasing; (And so I shall give their women to strangers, and their fields to foreign heirs; for from the least unto the most all follow avarice, or greed, from the prophet to the priest all make lies, or deception;)

¹¹ and they healed the sorrow of the daughter of my people to (their) shame, saying, Peace, peace, when no peace was. (and they tried to heal the sorrow of the daughter of my people with shallow words, by simply saying, Peace, peace, when there was no peace.)

¹² They be shamed, for they did abomination; yea, rather they were not shamed by shame, and could not be ashamed. Therefore they shall fall among fallers, in the time of their visitation they shall fall, saith the Lord. (Be they ashamed, they who did these abominations? nay, they were not ashamed, and they could not be ashamed. And so they shall fall among the fallen; they shall fall down at the time of their punishment, saith the Lord.)

¹³ I gathering shall gather them, saith the Lord; no grape is in the vines, and figs be not in the fig tree; a leaf fell down, and I gave to them those things that be gone out over (them). (I gathering shall gather them, saith the Lord; no grapes be on the vines, and no figs be on the fig trees; a leaf fell down, and those things that I gave to them shall pass away from them.)

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who is against us?

³² Which also spared not his own Son, but betook him for us all, how also gave he not to us all things with him?

³³ Who shall accuse against the chosen men of God? It is God that justifieth,

³⁴ who is it that condemneth? It is Jesus Christ that was dead, yea, the which rose again, the which is on the right half of God, and the which prayeth for us [the which and rose again, the which is on the right half of God, the which prayeth for us].

³⁵ Who then shall separate us [Who therefore shall part us] from the charity of Christ? tribulation, or anguish, or hunger, or nakedness, or persecution, or peril, or sword?

³⁶ As it is written, For we be slain all day for thee; we be guessed as sheep of slaughter [we be guessed as sheep to slaughter].

³⁷ But in all these things we overcome, for him that loved us.

³⁸ But I am certain [Soothly I am certain], that neither death, neither life, neither angels, neither principats, neither virtues, neither present things, neither things to coming [neither things to come],

³⁹ neither strength, neither height, neither deepness, neither any other creature may separate us [shall be able to part us] from the charity of God, that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.