Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

23 The psalm of David. The Lord governeth me, and nothing shall fail to me; (The song of David. The Lord governeth me, and there is nothing that I shall lack;)

² in the place of pasture there he hath set me. He nourished me on the water of refreshing; (he hath set me in a place of pasture. He nourished me by the waters of refreshing;)

³ he converted my soul. He led me forth on the paths of rightfulness; for his name. (he transformed my soul. He led me forth on the paths of righteousness/on the right paths; for the sake of his name.)

⁴ For why though I shall go in the midst of shadow of death; I shall not dread evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff; those have comforted me. (For though I go in the midst of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.)

⁵ Thou hast made ready a board in my sight; against them that trouble me. Thou hast made fat mine head with oil; and my cup, that filleth greatly, is full clear. (Thou hast prepared a table before me; before those who trouble me. Thou hast covered my head with oil; and my cup, which thou greatly filleth, is full, indeed it runneth over.)

⁶ And thy mercy shall follow me; in all the days of my life. And that I dwell in the house of the Lord; into the length of days. (And thy love shall follow me; all the days of my life. And I shall live in the House of the Lord forever and ever.)

¹⁵ And Pharaoh heard this word, and sought to slay Moses, which fled from his face, and dwelled in the land of Midian; and he sat beside a well. (And when Pharaoh heard of this, he sought to kill Moses, and so Moses fled from him, and lived in the land of Midian.)

¹⁶ Forsooth seven daughters were to the priest of Midian, that came to draw water; and when the troughs were filled, they coveted to water their father’s flocks. (Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. One day, as Moses sat beside a well, they came to draw some water; and when the troughs were filled, they desired to water their father’s flocks.)

¹⁷ (But some) Shepherds came upon them, and drove them away; and Moses rose (up), and defended the damsels; and (then) he watered their sheep.

¹⁸ And when they had turned again to Jethro, their father, (the son of Reuel,) he said to them, Why came ye swifter than ye were wont (to do)?

¹⁹ They answered, A man of Egypt delivered us from the hand of the shepherds; furthermore and he drew water with us, and gave drink to the sheep. (And they answered, An Egyptian man saved us from the hands of the shepherds; and then he drew water for us, and gave it to the sheep to drink.)

²⁰ And he said, Where is that man? why left ye the man? call ye him, that he eat bread (call ye him, so that he can come and eat with us).

²¹ Therefore Moses swore, that he would dwell with Jethro (And so later, Moses agreed, that he would live with Jethro); and he took (for) a wife, Zipporah, Jethro’s daughter.

²² And she childed a son to him, whom he called Gershom^[a], and said, I was a comeling in an alien land (And she bare a son for him, whom he called Gershom, and said, For I am a newcomer in a foreign land). Forsooth she childed another son, whom he called Eliezer^[b], and said, For [the] God of my father is mine helper, and he delivered me from the hand of Pharaoh.

²³ Forsooth after much time the king of Egypt died, and the sons of Israel inwardly wailed for [the] works, and they cried [out], and the cry of them for their works went up to God. (And after much time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites wailed over all the hard work they were forced to do, yea, they cried loudly, and their cries over all their hard work went up to God.)

²⁴ And he heard the wailing of them, and he had mind of the bond of peace (and he remembered the covenant), which he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;

²⁵ and he beheld the sons of Israel, and knew them, that is, showed love to them. (and he looked upon the Israelites, and he had concern for them, that is, he loved them.)

⁹ But ye be a chosen kin, a kingly priesthood, holy folk, a people of purchasing, that ye tell the virtues of him, that called you from darknesses into his wonderful light.

¹⁰ Which sometime were not a people of God, but now ye be the people of God; which had not mercy, but now ye have mercy.

¹¹ Most dear, I beseech you, as comelings and pilgrims, to abstain you from fleshly desires, that fight against the soul;

¹² and have ye your conversation good among heathen men [having your conversation, or life, good among heathen men], that in that thing that they backbite of you, as of misdoers, they behold you of good works, and glorify God in the day of visitation.