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.)

²⁴ And thou shalt say to Shemaiah (the) Nehelamite,

²⁵ The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, For that that thou sentest books in my name to all the people, which is in Jerusalem (who be in Jerusalem), and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, and saidest,

²⁶ The Lord gave thee priest for Jehoiada, the priest, that thou be duke in the house of the Lord on each man that is travailed of the fiend, and prophesying, that thou send him into stocks, and into prison. (The Lord made thee to be priest in place of the priest Jehoiada, so that thou be the leader, or the chief official, in the House of the Lord, over each person who is troubled by a fiend, and prophesying falsely, and that thou send such people into the stocks, and into prison.)

²⁷ And now why blamest thou not Jeremy of Anathoth, that prophesieth to you? (And so now why hast thou not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who prophesieth to you?)

²⁸ For on this thing he sent to us into Babylon, and said, It is long; build ye houses, and inhabit, and plant ye orchards, and eat ye the fruit of them. (For about this thing he sent to us in Babylon, and said, Ye shall be there a long time; so build ye houses, and inhabit them, and plant ye orchards, and eat ye their fruit.)

²⁹ Therefore Zephaniah, the priest, read this book in the ears of Jeremy, the prophet. (And so Zephaniah, the priest, read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah.)

³⁰ And the word of the Lord was made to Jeremy, and said,

³¹ Send thou to all the passing over, and say, The Lord saith these things to Shemaiah (the) Nehelamite, For that that Shemaiah prophesied to you, and I sent not him, and he made you to trust in a leasing; (Send thou to all the captives, and say, The Lord saith these things to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Because of what Shemaiah prophesied to you, and I did not send him, and he made you to trust in a lie;)

³² therefore the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall visit on Shemaiah (the) Nehelamite, and on his seed; and no man sitting in the midst of this people shall be to him; and he shall not see the good, which I shall do to my people, saith the Lord, for he spake trespassing against the Lord. (and so the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his children; and none of his descendants shall sit in the midst of this people; and he shall not see the good which I shall do for my people, saith the Lord, for he spoke trespassing against the Lord.)

¹⁰ Here afterward, brethren, be ye comforted in the Lord, and in the might of his virtue.

¹¹ Clothe you with the armour of God, that ye be able to stand against the ambushings [the ambushings, or assailings,] of the devil.

¹² For why striving is not to us against flesh and blood [For striving, or battle, is not to us against flesh and blood], but against [the] princes and potentates, against governors of the world of these darknesses, against spiritual things of wickedness, in heavenly things.

¹³ Therefore take ye the armour of God, that ye be able to against-stand in the evil day; and in all things stand perfect.

¹⁴ Therefore stand ye, and be girded about your loins in soothfastness [Therefore stand ye, girded about your loins in soothfastness], and clothed with the habergeon of rightwiseness,

¹⁵ and your feet shod in making ready of the gospel of peace.

¹⁶ In all things take ye the shield of faith, in which ye be able to quench all the fiery darts of him that is most wicked.^[a]

¹⁷ And take ye the helmet of health, and the sword of the Ghost, that is, the word of God.

¹⁸ By all prayer and beseeching pray ye all time in Spirit, and in him waking in all busyness, and beseeching for all holy men, [By all prayer and beseeching praying all time in Spirit, and in him waking in all busyness, and beseeching for all saints,]

¹⁹ and for me; that word be given to me in opening of my mouth, with trust to make known the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰ for which I am set in message in a chain [for which I am set in legacy, or message, in this chain]; so that in it I be hardy to speak, as it behooveth me [to speak out].