Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹² Blessed is the folk, whose Lord is his God; the people which he chose into heritage to himself. (Happy is the nation, whose God is the Lord; the people whom he chose for his own inheritance.)

¹³ The Lord beheld from heaven; he saw all the sons of men. (The Lord looked down from heaven; he saw all the sons and daughters of men.)

¹⁴ From his dwelling place made ready before; he beheld on all men, that inhabit the earth (he looketh on all those who inhabit the earth).

¹⁵ Which made singularly, either each by himself, the souls of them; which understandeth all the works of them. (Who made each one of them individually; and who understandeth all their works, or their deeds.)

¹⁶ A king is not saved by much virtue, that is, strength; and a giant shall not be saved in the muchliness of his virtue. (A king is not saved by his large host, or his army; and a mighty man shall not be saved by his great strength.)

¹⁷ An horse is false to health; forsooth he shall not be saved in the abundance, either plenty, of his virtue. (A horse is an empty thing for salvation, or deliverance; for it shall not be able to save anyone by the abundance, or the plentifulness, of its strength.)

¹⁸ Lo! the eyes of the Lord be on men dreading him; and in them that hope in his mercy. (Lo! the eyes of the Lord be upon those who fear, or who obey, him; and upon those who hope for his mercy./Lo! the eyes of the Lord be upon those who revere him; and upon those who trust in his love.)

¹⁹ That he deliver their souls from death; and feed them in hunger. (So that he can save their souls from death; and feed them in times of famine.)

²⁰ Our soul suffereth the Lord, that is, abideth patiently his will (Our souls wait for the Lord, yea, we wait patiently for his will to be done); for he is our helper and defender.

²¹ For our heart shall be glad in him; and we shall have hope in his holy name. (And our hearts shall be glad in him; for we have trust in his holy name.)

²² Lord, thy mercy be made on us; as we hoped in thee. (Lord, let thy love rest upon us; for we have trusted in thee.)

20 And the Lord spake all these words,

² I am thy Lord God, that led thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servage. (I am the Lord thy God, who led thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude, or of slavery.)

³ Thou shalt not have alien gods before me. (Thou shalt not have foreign, or other, gods in place of me/instead of me.)

⁴ Thou shalt not make to thee a graven image, neither any likeness of (any)thing that is in heaven above, and that is in (the) earth beneath, neither of those things that be in waters under the earth; (Thou shalt not make a carved image for thyself, nor any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, or of those things that be in the waters under the earth;)

⁵ thou shalt not bow down to them, neither worship them; for I am thy Lord God, a strong(ly) jealous lover; I visit the wickedness of (the) fathers in (the) children into the third and fourth generation of them that hated me, (thou shalt not bow down to them, nor worship them; for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God; I punish the children for the wickedness of their fathers, unto the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,)

⁶ and I do mercy into thousands, to them that love me, and keep my behests. (but I do mercy unto thousands, to those who love me, and who keep my commandments.)

⁷ Thou shalt not take in vain the name of thy Lord God, for the Lord shall not have him guiltless, that taketh in vain the name of his Lord God. (Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord shall not hold guiltless he who taketh the name of the Lord his God in vain.)

⁸ Have thou mind, that thou hallow the sabbath day; (Remember to keep the sabbath day holy, or sacred;)

⁹ in six days thou shalt work, and do all thy works; (for six days thou shalt work, and do all thy works;)

¹⁰ forsooth in the seventh day is the sabbath of thy Lord God; thou shalt not do any work (on that day), thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thine handmaid, thy work beast, and the comeling that is within thy gates; (but on the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord thy God; thou shalt not do any work on that day, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy male slave, and thy slave-girl, and thy work beast, and the newcomer who is within thy gates;)

¹¹ for in six days God made (the) heaven(s) and (the) earth, the sea, and all things that be in those, and rested in the seventh day (and then he rested on the seventh day); therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

¹² Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou be long living on the land (so that thou can live a long life in the land), which thy Lord God shall give to thee.

¹³ Thou shalt not slay. (Thou shalt not kill.)

¹⁴ Thou shalt not do lechery.

¹⁵ Thou shalt not do theft.

¹⁶ Thou shalt not speak false witnessing against thy neighbour.

¹⁷ Thou shalt not covet the house of thy neighbour, neither thou shalt desire his wife, nor his (man)servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, neither (anything of) all (the) things that be his. (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, nor shalt thou desire his wife, or his slave, or his slave-girl, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything of all the things that be his.)

¹⁸ Forsooth all the people heard voices, (that is, the thunder,) and saw lamps, that is, shining lights, and the sound of a clarion, and the hill smoking; and they were afeared, and shaken with inward dread, and stood afar, (And all the people heard the thunder, and saw the lightening, and heard the sound of the trumpet, and saw the mountain smoking; and they were afraid, and shaken with inward fear, and stood afar off,)

¹⁹ and (they) said to Moses, Speak thou to us, and we shall hear; (but) the Lord speak not to us, lest peradventure we die.

²⁰ And Moses said to the people, Do not ye dread, for God came to prove you, and that his dread should be in you, and that ye should not do sin. (And Moses said to the people, Do not ye fear/Fear not, for God came to prove you, so that his fear would be in you, and then ye shall not sin.)

²¹ And the people stood afar (off); and Moses nighed to the darkness, wherein God was.

5 And Jesus, seeing the people, went up into the hill; and when he was set, his disciples came to him.^[a]

² And he opened his mouth, and taught them, and said [saying],

³ Blessed be poor men in spirit, for the kingdom of heavens is theirs. [Blessed be the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.]

⁴ Blessed be mild men [Blessed mild], for they shall wield the earth.

⁵ Blessed be they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁶ Blessed be they that hunger and thirst rightwiseness, for they shall be fulfilled [for they shall be filled].

⁷ Blessed be merciful men [Blessed the merciful], for they shall get mercy.

⁸ Blessed be they that be of clean heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ Blessed be peaceable men, for they shall be called God's children. [Blessed the peaceable, for they shall be called the sons of God.]

¹⁰ Blessed be they that suffer persecution for rightwiseness, for the kingdom of heavens is theirs [for the kingdom of heaven is theirs].

¹¹ Blessed be ye, when men shall curse you, and shall pursue you [and pursue you], and shall say all evil against you lying, for me.

¹² Joy ye, and be ye glad [full out], for your meed is plenteous in heavens; for so they have pursued the prophets also that were before you.