Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

37 To David. [The psalm of David.] Do not thou follow wicked men; neither love thou men doing wickedness. (The song of David. Do not thou follow the wicked; nor love thou those who do wickedly.)

² For they shall wax dry swiftly as hay; and they shall fall down soon as the worts of herbs. (For they shall quickly grow dry like the hay, or the grass; and soon they shall fall down like the best herbs, or the plants.)

³ Hope thou in the Lord, and do thou goodness (Trust thou in the Lord, and do good); and inhabit thou the land, and thou shalt be fed with his riches.

⁴ Delight thou in the Lord; and he shall give to thee the askings of thine heart.

⁵ Show thy way to the Lord; and hope in him, and he shall do. (Give all thy ways to the Lord, and trust in him; and he shall make it happen.)

⁶ And he shall lead out thy rightfulness as light, and thy doom as midday; (And he shall lead forth thy righteousness like the light, and thy judgement like the midday sun;)

⁷ be thou subject to the Lord, and pray thou him. Do not thou follow him, that hath prosperity in his way; (nor) a man doing unrightfulness. (be thou subject to the Lord, and wait thou for him. Do not thou follow a man, simply because he hath prospered along his way; nor a man doing unrighteousness, or wickedness.)

⁸ Cease thou of ire, and forsake strong vengeance; do not thou follow, that thou do wickedly. (Cease thou from anger, and abandon taking vengeance; do not thou follow after these things, so that thou do wickedly.)

⁹ For they, that do wickedly, shall be destroyed; but they that suffer the Lord, shall inherit the land. (For they, who do wickedly, shall be destroyed; but they who hope in the Lord, shall inherit the earth.)

¹⁰ And yet a little, and a sinner shall not be (For after but just a little time, that sinner shall not be); and thou shalt seek his place, and thou shalt not find it.

¹¹ But mild men shall inherit the land (And the humble, or the meek, shall inherit the earth); and shall delight in the multitude of peace.

¹² A sinner shall ambush the rightful man; and he shall gnash with his teeth on him. (A sinner shall attack a righteous man; and he shall gnash on him with his teeth.)

¹³ But the Lord shall scorn the sinner; for he beholdeth that his day cometh.

¹⁴ Sinners have drawn out sword; they bent their bow. To deceive a poor man and needy; to strangle rightful men of heart. (The sinners have drawn out their swords; they have bent their bows. Yea, to destroy the poor and the needy; and to kill those with an upright heart.)

¹⁵ Their sword enter into the heart of themselves; and their bow be broken. (But their swords shall enter into their own hearts; and their bows shall be broken.)

¹⁶ Better is a little thing to a just man; than many riches of sinners. (Better is the little that the righteous have; than the many riches of the sinners.)

¹⁷ For the arms of sinners shall be all-broken; but the Lord confirmeth just men. (For the strength of the sinners shall be all-broken; but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.)

1 In the days of one judge, when judges were sovereigns in Israel, hunger was made in the land; and a man of Bethlehem of Judah went to be a pilgrim in the country of Moab, with his wife and [his] two free sons. (In the days of the judges, when they were the rulers in Israel, there was hunger in the land; and a man of Bethlehem of Judah went to live in the country of Moab, with his wife and their two sons.)

² He was called Elimelech, and his wife (was) Naomi, and his two sons, the one was called Mahlon, and the tother Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem of Judah; and they entered into the country of Moab, and they dwelled there (and they went to the country of Moab, and they lived there).

³ And Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she (was) left with her sons;

⁴ and they took wives of Moab, of which wives one was called Orpah, the tother Ruth. And the sons dwelled there ten years (And the sons lived there for ten years),

⁵ and both died, that is, Mahlon and Chilion; and the woman (was) left, and was made bare of her two free sons, and her husband. (and then both of them died, that is, Mahlon and Chilion; and so the woman was bereaved of her two sons, and her husband.)

⁶ And she rose to go with ever either wife of her sons into her country from the country of Moab; for she had heard, that the Lord had beheld his people, and had given meats to them. (And she rose up to go with the wives of both of her sons back to her country from the country of Moab; for she had heard, that the Lord had looked kindly again upon his people, and had given them food.)

⁷ And so she went out from the place of her pilgrimage with ever either wife of her sons; and now when she was set in the way of turning again into the land of Judah, (And so she went out from the place where she lived with the wives of both of her sons; and now when she was set on the way, returning to the land of Judah,)

⁸ she said to them, Go ye (again) into the house of your mother; the Lord do mercy with you, as ye did with the dead men, and with me;

⁹ the Lord give to you to find rest in the houses of [the] husbands which ye shall take. And she kissed them. And they began to weep with (a) high voice,

¹⁰ and to say, We shall go with thee to thy people.

¹¹ To whom she answered, My daughters, turn ye again, why come ye with me? I have no more sons in my womb, that ye may hope husbands of me (To whom she answered, My daughters, return ye home, why come ye with me? I have no more sons in my womb, that ye may have any hope of husbands from me;)

¹² my daughters of Moab, turn ye again, and go (my daughters of Moab, return ye, and go home); for now I am made eld, and I am not able to the bond of marriage; yea, though I might conceive in this night, and bear sons,

¹³ though ye will abide till they waxed, and [ful]fill the years of marriage, ye shall sooner be eld women than ye shall be wedded; I beseech (thee), my daughters, mourn ye not, for your anguish oppresseth me the more, and the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.

¹⁴ Therefore, when the voice was raised (up), again they began to weep. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, and turned again, and Ruth abode with her mother-in-law (And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, and returned home, but Ruth stayed with her mother-in-law).

¹⁵ To whom Naomi said, Lo! thy kinswoman turned again to her people, and to her gods; go thou with her.

¹⁶ And Ruth answered, Be thou not against me, that I forsake thee, and go away; whither ever thou shalt go, I shall go, and where thou shalt dwell, I shall dwell together (with thee); thy people is my people, and thy God is my God; (And Ruth answered, Be thou not against me, that I should desert thee, and go away from thee; wherever thou shalt go, I shall go, and where thou shalt live, I shall live with thee; thy people is my people, and thy God is my God;)

¹⁷ what land shall receive thee dying, I shall die therein also, and there I shall take place of burying; God do to me these things, and add these things, if death alone shall not part me and thee. (whatever land shall receive thee when thou diest, I shall die there also, and that shall be the place where I am buried; yea, God do to me terrible things, and add other things as well, if anything but death separate me and thee.)

¹⁸ Therefore Naomi saw, that Ruth had deemed with steadfast soul to go with her, and she would not be against her, neither counsel further turning again to her countrymen (and so she would not be against her, nor further counsel her to return to her own people).

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.

²² Also make thou ready to me an house to dwell in; for I hope that by your prayers I shall be given to you.

²³ Epaphras, prisoner with me in Christ Jesus [mine even-captive in Christ Jesus], greeteth thee well,

²⁴ and Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, mine helpers.

²⁵ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.