Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

35 To David. [The psalm of David.] Lord, deem thou them, that annoy me; overcome thou them, that fight against me. (The song of David. Lord, judge thou them, who harm me; overcome thou them, who fight against me.)

² Take thou armours and shield; and rise up into help to me. (Take thou up arms, or weapons, and shield; and rise up to help me.)

³ Shed out the sword/Hold out the sword, and close (al)together (the way) against them that pursue me; say thou to my soul, I am thine health. (Draw out the sword, and close up the way against those who persecute me; say thou to me, I am thy salvation, or thy deliverance.)

⁴ They that seek my life; be shamed, and ashamed. They that think evils to me; be turned away backward, and be they shamed. (Let those who seek my life; be shamed, and ashamed. Let those who plot evil against me; be turned back, and be shamed.)

⁵ Be they made as dust before the face of the wind; and the angel of the Lord make them strait. (Let them be made like the dust in the wind; and let the angel of the Lord pursue them.)

⁶ Their way be made darkness, and sliderness; and the angel of the Lord pursue them. (Let their way be made dark, and slippery; and may the angel of the Lord strike them down.)

⁷ For without cause they hid to me the death of their snare; in vain they despised my soul. (For no reason, they hid their deadly snare for me/they hid their snare for me in a pit; for no reason, they despised me.)

⁸ The snare which he knoweth not come to him, and the taking which he hid take him; and fall he into the snare in that thing. (But let the snare catch him unawares, or by surprise, yea, let the trap which he himself hid, catch him; and let him fall to his own destruction in that thing.)

⁹ But my soul shall fully have joy in the Lord; and shall delight on his health. (But my soul shall have full out joy, or shall rejoice, in the Lord; and it shall delight in his salvation, or in his deliverance.)

¹⁰ All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like thee? Thou deliverest a poor man from the hand of his stronger; a needy man and poor from them that diversely ravish him. (All my bones said, Lord, who is like thee? Thou rescuest the poor from the hands of those who be stronger; yea, the poor and the needy from those who oppress them.)

22 And the sons of Israel went forth, and setted tents in the field places of Moab, where Jericho is set, over Jordan. (And the Israelites went forth, and pitched their tents on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River, opposite Jericho.)

² Soothly Balak, the son of Zippor, saw all things that Israel had done to (the) Amorites,

³ and that men of Moab dreaded Israel, and they might not bear the assailing of Israel. (and that the Moabites feared the Israelites, for they could not survive an assault from Israel.)

⁴ And he said to the greater men in birth of Midian, So this people shall do away all men that dwell in our coasts, as an ox is wont to do away an herb till to the roots. Forsooth he, that is, Balak, was king in that time in Moab. (And the Moabites said to the men of great age, that is, the elders, of Midian, These people shall do away all the men who live in our land, as easily as an ox is wont to do away grass unto its roots. And he, that is, Balak, was king at that time in Moab.)

⁵ Therefore he sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, a false diviner, that dwelled (in Pethor) on, or nigh, the flood of the land of the sons of Amaw, that they should call him, and should say, Lo! a people went out of Egypt, which people covered the face of the earth, and sitteth against me. (And so he sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, a false diviner, who lived at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in the land of the sons of Amaw, and instructed the messengers to say to him, Lo! a people went out of Egypt, which people covered the face of the earth, and now they be ready to come against me.)

⁶ Therefore come thou, and curse this people, that is stronger than I, if in any manner I may smite and drive him out of my land; for I know, that he is blessed whom thou blessest, and he is cursed whom thou hast cursed. (And so come thou, and curse these people who be stronger than I, and then I may be able to fight against them, and drive them out of my land; for I know that he is blessed whom thou blessest, and he is cursed whom thou cursest.)

⁷ The elder men of Moab and the elder men of Midian went forth, having in their hands the price of false divining; and when they had come to Balaam, and had told to him all the words of Balak, (The elders of Moab and of Midian went forth, having in their hands the payment for the curse; and when they had come to Balaam, and had told him all of Balak’s words,)

⁸ he answered, Dwell ye here tonight, and I shall answer to Balak whatever thing the Lord shall say to me. And the princes of Moab dwelled at Balaam (And so the leaders of Moab stayed that night with Balaam).

⁹ God came, and said to him, What will these men with thee? (And God came, and said to him, Who be these men with thee?)

¹⁰ Balaam answered, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moabites, sent (them) to me, and (he) said,

¹¹ Lo! a people that is gone out of Egypt hath covered the face of the earth; come thou, and curse them, if in any manner I may fight with them (for then I may be able to fight against them), and drive them away.

¹² And God said to Balaam, Do not thou go with them, neither curse thou the people, for it is blessed (for they be blessed/for on the contrary, they should be blessed).

¹³ And Balaam rose early, and said to the princes, Go ye into your land (Go ye back to your land), for God hath forbade me to come with you.

¹⁴ The princes turned again (So the leaders returned), and said to Balak, Balaam would not come with us.

¹⁵ Again Balak sent many more, and nobler, men, than he had sent before;

¹⁶ which said (who said), when they had come to Balaam, Balak, the son of Zippor, saith thus, Tarry thou not to come to me,

¹⁷ (for I am) ready to honour thee; and whatever thing thou wilt, I shall give to thee; come thou, and curse this people (so then come thou, and curse these people).

¹⁸ Balaam answered, Though Balak shall give to me his house full of silver and of gold, I shall not be able to change the word of my God, that I speak either more or less. (But Balaam answered, Even if Balak should give me all the gold and silver in his house, I could not change the word of my God, so that I speak something else, either more or less.)

¹⁹ I beseech you, that ye dwell here also in this night (But I beseech you, stay ye here this night), (so) that I may know what the Lord shall answer again to me.

²⁰ Therefore the Lord came to Balaam in that night, and said to him, If these men (have) come to call thee, rise thou, and go with them, so only that thou do that that I shall command to thee (but do only what I shall command thee to do).

²¹ (So) Balaam rose early, and when his she ass was saddled, he went forth with them.

¹⁷ And when we came to Jerusalem, brethren received us willfully.

¹⁸ And in the day following Paul entered with us to James, and all the elder men were gathered.

¹⁹ Which when he had greeted [Whom when he had greeted], he told by all things, what [things] God had done in heathen men, by the ministry of him.

²⁰ And when they heard, they magnified God, and said to him, Brother, thou seest how many thousands be in Jews, that have believed to God, and all be lovers of the law. [And when they heard, magnified God, and said to him, Thou brother, seest how many thousands be in Jews, that have believed to God, and all be followers, or lovers, of the law.]

²¹ And they heard of thee, that thou teachest departing from Moses of those Jews that be by heathen men, that say [saying], that they owe not to circumcise their sons, neither owe to enter by custom [neither owe to enter after custom].

²² Therefore what is [this]? It behooveth that the multitude come together; for they shall hear, that thou art come.

²³ Therefore do thou this thing, that we say to thee. There be to us four men, that have a vow on them.

²⁴ Take thou these men [These take to], and hallow thee with them; hang on them, that they shave their heads; and that all men know, that those things that they heard of thee be false, but that thou walkest, and thyself keepest the law.

²⁵ But of these that believed of heathen men, we have written, deeming that they abstain them from thing offered to idols, and from blood, and also from strangled thing [deeming that they abstain them from things offered to idols, and blood, and strangled things], and from fornication.

²⁶ Then Paul took the men, and in the day following he was purified with them, and entered into the temple, and showed the filling of days of purifying [showing the fulfilling of days of purifying], till the offering was offered for each of them.