Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

130 The song of degrees. Lord, I cried to thee from the depths;

² Lord, hear thou my voice. Thine ears be made attentive into the voice of my beseeching (Let thy ears be made attentive to the words of my plea).

³ Lord, if thou keepest wickednesses; Lord, who shall sustain, or abide? (Lord, if thou keepest a record of our wickednesses; then Lord, who shall survive?/then Lord, who will not be condemned?)

⁴ For mercy is at thee; (But there is mercy with thee, and I stand in awe of thee;)

⁵ and, Lord, for thy law I abode thee. My soul sustained in his word; (yea, Lord, I wait for thee. My soul is sustained, and I hope, and I trust, in his word.)

⁶ my soul hoped in the Lord. From the morrowtide keeping till to the night; (My soul waiteth for the Lord, more eagerly than those who wait for the morning light; yea, more eagerly than those who stand guard, or be on watch, until the morning light.)

⁷ Israel hope in the Lord. For why mercy is at the Lord; and plenteous redemption is at him. (Israel, trust in the Lord. For there is always love with the Lord; and there is plentiful redemption with him.)

⁸ And he shall again-buy Israel; from all the wickednesses thereof. (And he shall redeem the people of Israel; from all their wickednesses.)

44 Forsooth Joseph commanded the dispenser of his house, and said, Fill thou their sacks with wheat, as much as they may take, and put thou the money of each in the height of the sack; (And Joseph commanded to the steward of his house, and said, Fill up their sacks with as much corn, or as much grain, as they can take, and put the money of each in the top of his sack;)

² forsooth put thou in the sack’s mouth of the youngest my silver cup, and the price of the wheat which he gave; and it was done so. (and put my silver cup in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and also the money which he gave for his corn, or his grain; and it was done so.)

³ And when the morrowtide (a)rose, they were delivered with their asses. (And when the morning came, they were let go with their donkeys.)

⁴ And now they had gone out of the city, and had gone forth a little; then Joseph said, when the dispenser of his house was called, Rise thou, pursue the men, and say thou when they be taken, Why have ye yielded evil for good? (And when they had gone out of the city, and had gone forth a little; then Joseph said, when the steward of his house was called, Rise thou up, and pursue the men, and say thou when they be taken, Why have ye given back evil for good?)

⁵ The cup, which ye have stolen, is that in which my lord drinketh, and in which he is wont to divine; ye have done a full wicked thing.

⁶ He did as Joseph commanded, and when they were (over)taken (and when he had overtaken them), he spake by order these things;

⁷ the which answered, Why speaketh our lord so, (saying) that thy servants have done so great a trespass?

⁸ We brought again to thee from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the height of our sacks, and how is it following that we have stolen from thy lord’s house gold or silver? (We brought back to thee from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the top of our sacks, so how followeth it, that we would steal gold or silver from thy lord’s house?)

⁹ At whomever of thy servants this that thou seekest is found, die he, and we shall be servants of my lord. (With whomever of thy servants that the cup which thou seekest is found, let him die, and the rest of us shall be my lord’s slaves.)

¹⁰ Which said to them, Be it done by your sentence; at whom it is found, be he my servant; forsooth ye shall be guiltless. (And the steward said to them, So be it done by your own sentence; with whomever it is found, he shall be my slave; but the rest of you shall go free.)

¹¹ And so they did down hastily their sacks on the earth, and all they opened them, (And so they hastily did down their sacks onto the ground, and they all opened them,)

¹² the which he sought (through); and he began at the most till to the least, and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. (and then the steward searched through all the sacks; and he began at the eldest, and worked down to the youngest, and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack.)

¹³ And when they had rent their clothes, and had charged again their asses, they turned again into the city. (And when they had torn their clothes, and had loaded up their donkeys again, they returned to the city.)

¹⁴ And Judah entered with his brethren to Joseph; for Joseph had not gone yet from the place; and all they fell together on the earth before him. (And Judah came in with his brothers to Joseph; for Joseph was still in his house; and they all fell down together on the ground before him.)

¹⁵ To whom he said, Why would ye do so? whether ye wot not, that none is like me in the knowing of divining? (To whom Joseph said, Why have ye done this? do ye not know that there is no one like me with such a knowledge of divination? Of course I would find you out!)

¹⁶ To whom Judah said, What shall we answer to my lord, or what shall we speak, either what may we justly against-say? God hath found the wickedness of thy servants; lo! all we be the servants of my lord, both we and he at whom the cup is found. (To whom Judah said, What shall we answer to my lord, or what shall we speak, or what can we justly say against thy words? God hath found out the wickedness of thy servants; lo! we shall all be my lord’s slaves, both we and he with whom the cup was found.)

¹⁷ Joseph answered, Far be it from me, that I do so; he be my servant that stole the cup; forsooth go ye free to your father. (Joseph answered, Far be it from me, that I would do such a thing; nay, only he who stole the cup shall be my slave; the rest of you be free to go back to your father.)

¹⁸ Soothly Judah nighed near, and said trustily (and plaintively said), My lord, I pray thee, (let) thy servant speak a word in thine ears, and be thou not wroth to thy servant; for after Pharaoh thou art my lord.

¹⁹ Thou askedest first thy servants (Thou first askedest thy servants), Have ye a father, or a brother?

²⁰ And we answered to my lord, An eld father is to us, and a little child that was born in his eld (age), whose brother of the same womb is dead, and his mother hath him alone; forsooth his father loveth him tenderly. (And we answered to my lord, We have an old father, and he hath a young son who was born in his old age, whose brother from the same womb is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children; and his father tenderly loveth him.)

²¹ And thou saidest to thy servants, Bring ye him (down) to me, and I shall set mine eyes on him.

²² We made (the) suggestion to thee, my lord, the child may not forsake his father (that the youngest son cannot leave his father); for if he shall leave his father, his father shall die.

²³ And thou saidest to thy servants, If your youngest brother shall not come (down) with you, ye shall no more see my face (ye shall not see my face again).

²⁴ Therefore when we had gone up to thy servant, our father, we told to him all things which my lord spake to us;

²⁵ and our father said, Turn ye again, and buy ye to you a little of wheat; (and later our father said to us, Return ye there, and buy ye some corn, or some grain, for us;)

²⁶ to whom we said, We may not go; (only) if our least brother shall go down with us, we shall go forth together; else, if he is absent, we dare not see the lord’s face (to whom we said, We cannot go down there; only if our youngest brother shall go down with us, then shall we go forth together; for if he is absent, we shall not be able to see our lord’s face.)

²⁷ To which things our father answered, Ye know that my wife childed two sons to me;

²⁸ one went out (from me), and ye said, A beast [hath] devoured him (and it was said, A beast hath devoured him), and hitherto he appeareth not;

²⁹ if ye take also this son, and anything befall to him in the way, ye shall lead forth mine hoar hairs with mourning to hells. (and now if ye take also this son from me, and if anything should befall him on the way, ye shall lead forth my hoar hairs in sorrow to the grave/unto Sheol.)

³⁰ Therefore if I enter again to thy servant, our father, and the child fail (to come back with us), since his life hangeth of the life of the child, (And so if I return again to thy servant, our father, and his youngest son faileth to come back with us, since his life hangeth on the life of his youngest son,)

³¹ and he see that the child is not with us, he shall die, and thy servants shall lead forth his hoar hairs with sorrow to hells. (and he see that his youngest son is not with us, he shall die, and thy servants shall have led forth his hoar hairs in sorrow to the grave/unto Sheol.)

³² Be I properly thy servant, which received this child on my faith, and I promised, and said, If I shall not bring again him (to thee), I shall be guilty of sin against my father in all time; (So let me be thy slave, for I received his youngest son on my pledge, and I promised, and said, If I shall not bring him back to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against my father for all time;)

³³ and so I shall dwell thy servant for the child into the service of my lord, and the child go up with his brethren; (and so let me stay here in my lord’s service as thy slave in place of the youngest son, and let him go back with his brothers;)

³⁴ for I may not go again to my father, if the child be absent (if his youngest son be absent), lest I stand a witness of the wretchedness that shall oppress my father.

¹³ But I say to you [Soothly I say to you], heathen men, for as long as I am apostle of heathen men, I shall honour my ministry [I shall honour my ministry, or service],

¹⁴ if in any manner I stir my flesh for to follow, and that I make some of them safe. [if on any manner I stir my flesh to follow, and I make some of them safe.]

¹⁵ For if the loss of them is the reconciling of the world, what is the taking up [of them], but life of dead men [but life of dead]?

¹⁶ For if a little part of that that is tasted be holy, the whole gobbet is holy; and if the root is holy, also the branches.

¹⁷ What if any of the branches be broken, when thou were a wild olive tree, art grafted among them, and art made fellow of the root, and of the fatness of the olive tree, [That if any of the branches be broken, thou soothly, when thou were a wild olive tree, wert set in among them, and wert made fellow of the root, and of fatness of the olive tree,]

¹⁸ do not thou have glory against the branches [do not thou glory against the branches]. For if thou gloriest, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

¹⁹ Therefore thou sayest, The branches be broken, that I be grafted in [that I be inset].

²⁰ Well, for unbelief the branches be broken; but thou standest by faith. Do not thou understand high things [Do not thou savour high thing], but dread thou,

²¹ for if God spared not the natural branches, [see thou] lest peradventure he spare not thee.

²² Therefore see the goodness, and the fierceness of God; yea, the fierceness into them that fell down, but the goodness of God into thee, if thou dwellest in goodness [if thou shalt dwell in goodness], else also thou shalt be cut down.

²³ Yea, and they shall be set in, if they dwell not in unbelief. For God is mighty, to set them in again. [But, and they shall be inset, if they shall not dwell in unbelief. Forsooth God is mighty, again to inset them.]

²⁴ For if thou art cut down of the natural wild olive tree, and against kind art set into a good olive tree, how much more they that be by kind, shall be set in their olive tree?^[a]

²⁵ But, brethren, I will not that ye not know this mystery, that ye be not wise to yourselves; for blindness hath fallen a part in Israel, till that the plenty of heathen men entered, [Forsooth, brethren, I will not that ye unknow this mystery, that ye be not wise to yourselves; for blindness hath felled of part in Israel, till the plenty of heathen men entered,]

²⁶ and so all Israel should be made safe. As it is written, He shall come of Sion, that shall deliver, and turn away the wickedness of Jacob [and turn away the unpiety of Jacob].

²⁷ And this testament to them of me, when I shall do away their sins.

²⁸ After the gospel they be enemies for you, but they be most dear-worthy by the election [after the election] for the fathers.

²⁹ And the gifts and the calling of God be without repenting. [Soothly the gifts and calling of God be without repenting.]