Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

102 The prayer of a poor man, when he was anguished, and shedded out his speech before the Lord. Lord, hear thou my prayer; and my cry come to thee. (The prayer of a poor man, when he was anguished, and poured out his words before the Lord. Lord, hear thou my prayer; and let my cry come unto thee.)

² Turn not away thy face from me; in whatever day I am troubled, bow down thine ear to me. In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee; hear thou me swiftly. (Turn not away thy face from me; on whatever day I am troubled, bow down thy ear to me. On whatever day that I shall call to thee, please swiftly answer thou me.)

³ For my days have failed as smoke; and my bones have dried up as croutons/as cracklings, either (the) leaving(s) of frying. (For my days have vanished like smoke; and my bones have dried up like croutons.)

⁴ I am smitten as hay, and mine heart (hath) dried up; for I have forgotten to eat my bread. (I am beaten down like dry grass; and I have forgotten to eat my food.)

⁵ Of the voice of my wailing; my bone cleaved to my flesh. (My voice waileth; for my bones cleave to my flesh.)

⁶ I am made like a pelican of (the) wilderness; I am made as a night crow in an house.

⁷ I waked; and I am made as a solitary sparrow in the roof. (I lie awake; and I am like a solitary sparrow on the rooftop.)

⁸ All day mine enemies despised me; and they that praised me swore against me. (All day long my enemies despise me; and those who be angry with me/and those who mock me, conspire against me.)

⁹ For I ate ashes as bread; and I meddled my drink with weeping. (For I have eaten ashes for food; and I have mixed my tears with my drink.)

¹⁰ From the face of the ire of thine indignation; for thou raising me [up] hast hurtled me down. (All because of thy anger, and thy indignation; for first thou hast raised me up, and then thou hast hurtled me down.)

¹¹ My days bowed away as a shadow; and I waxed dry as hay. (My days disappeared like a shadow; and I am dried up like the hay, or the grass.)

¹² But, Lord, thou dwellest [into] without end; and thy memorial in generation and into generation. (But, Lord, thou livest forever; and shalt be remembered by all generations.)

¹³ Lord, thou rising up, shalt have mercy on Zion (Lord, thou shalt rise up, and have mercy on Zion); for the time to have mercy thereof cometh, for the time cometh.

¹⁴ For the stones thereof pleased thy servants; and they shall have mercy on the land thereof. (For its stones pleased thy servants; and they even love its dust.)

¹⁵ And, Lord, heathen men shall dread thy name; and all kings of earth shall dread thy glory. (And, Lord, the heathen shall fear thy name; and all the kings of the earth shall fear thy glory.)

¹⁶ For the Lord hath built [up] Zion; and he shall be seen in his glory. (And when the Lord buildeth up Zion again; he shall be seen in all his glory.)

¹⁷ He beheld on the prayer of meek men; and he despised not the prayer of them. (He heareth the prayers of the humble; and he did not despise their prayers.)

⁸ The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, Your prophets, that be in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you not (Let not your prophets, and your diviners, who be in the midst of you, deceive you); and take ye none heed to your dreams, which ye dream;

⁹ for they prophesy falsely to you in my name, and I sent not them, saith the Lord. (for they prophesy falsely to you in my name, and I did not send them, saith the Lord.)

¹⁰ For the Lord saith these things, When seventy years begin to be [ful]filled in Babylon, I shall visit you, and I shall raise on you my good word, and I shall bring you again to this place.

¹¹ For I know the thoughts which I think on you, saith the Lord, the thoughts of peace, and not of torment, that I give to you an end and patience. (For I know the thoughts which I think about you, saith the Lord, the thoughts of peace, and not of torment, so that I shall give you a good ending.)

¹² And ye shall call me to help (And ye shall call on me for help), and ye shall go, and shall worship me, and I shall hear you;

¹³ ye shall seek me, and ye shall find, when ye seek me in all your heart. (ye shall seek me, and ye shall find me, when ye seek me with all your heart.)

¹⁴ And I shall be found of you, saith the Lord, and I shall bring (you back) again (from) your captivity, and I shall gather you from all folks, and from all places, to which I casted out you, saith the Lord; and I shall make you to turn again from the place, to which I made you to pass over. (And I shall be found by you, saith the Lord, and I shall restore your fortunes, and I shall gather you from all the nations, and from all the places, to which I cast you out, saith the Lord; and I shall bring you back from the place, to which I made you to be carried away captive.)

¹⁵ For ye said, The Lord shall raise (up) prophets to us in Babylon. (For ye said, The Lord hath raised up prophets for us in Babylon.)

¹⁶ For the Lord saith these things to the king, that sitteth on the seat of David, and to all the people, dweller(s) of this city, (and) to your brethren, that went not out with you into the passing over, (For the Lord saith these things to the king, who sitteth on David’s throne, and to all the people, the inhabitants of this city, and to your kinsmen, who did not go out with you into captivity,)

¹⁷ The Lord of hosts saith these things, Lo! I shall send among them sword, and hunger, and pestilence; and I shall set them as evil figs, that may not be eaten, for those be full evil (for they be too rotten to eat).

¹⁸ And I shall pursue them in sword, and in hunger, and in pestilence; and I shall give them into travailing in all realms of earth, into cursing, and into wondering, and into scorning, and into shame to all folks, to which I casted them out. (And I shall pursue them with the sword, and with hunger, and with pestilence; and I shall give them into despising in all the kingdoms of the earth, and into cursing, and into wondering, and into mocking, and into shame to all the nations, to which I cast them out.)

¹⁹ For they heard not my words, saith the Lord, which I sent to them by my servants, (the) prophets, and rose (up) by night, and sent, and ye heard not, saith the Lord (but ye did not listen, or obey, saith the Lord).

²⁰ Therefore all the passing over, which I sent out from Jerusalem into Babylon, hear ye the word of the Lord. (And so all the captives, whom I sent out from Jerusalem to Babylon, hear ye the word of the Lord.)

²¹ The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things to Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and to Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, that prophesy to you leasing in my name, Lo! I shall betake them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall smite them before your eyes. (The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith these things about Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and about Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy lies to you in my name, Lo! I shall deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes.)

²² And cursing shall be taken of them to all the passing over of Judah, which is in Babylon, of men saying, The Lord set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, which the king of Babylon fried in fire, (And their names shall be used as curses by all the captives from Judah who be in Babylon, yea, by people saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire,)

²³ for they did folly in Israel, and did adultery on the wives of their friends (for they did foolishness in Israel, and did adultery with the wives of their friends); and they spake a word falsely in my name, which I commanded not to them; I am judge and witness, saith the Lord.

²⁴ When he spake these things, and yielded reason, Festus said with great voice, Paul, thou maddest [Paul, thou maddest, or waxest mad]; many letters turn thee to madness.

²⁵ And Paul said, I mad not, thou best Festus, but I speak out the words of truth and of soberness [but I speak out the words of truth and soberness].

²⁶ For also the king, to whom I speak steadfastly, knoweth of these things; for I deem, that nothing of these is hid from him; for neither in a corner was aught of these things done.

²⁷ Believest thou, king Agrippa, to prophets? I know that thou believest.

²⁸ And Agrippa said to Paul, In little thing thou counselest me to be made a christian man. [Soothly Agrippa said to Paul, A little thou counselest me for to be made a christian man.]

²⁹ And Paul said, I desire with God, both in little and in great, not only thee, but [and] all these that hear to day, to be made such as I am, except these bonds.