Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

147 Alleluia. Praise ye the Lord, for the psalm is good; (let our) praising be merry, and fair to our God. (Alleluia. Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing to him; let our praises be joyful, and pleasing to our God.)

² The Lord shall build [up] Jerusalem; and he shall gather together the scatterings of Israel. (The Lord shall rebuild Jerusalem; and he shall gather together the scattered people of Israel.)

³ The which Lord maketh whole men contrite in heart; and bindeth together the sorrows of them. (The Lord who maketh whole those who be contrite in heart, or who be broken-hearted; and who bindeth up their wounds.)

⁴ Which numbereth the multitude of stars; and calleth names to all those. (Who numbereth the multitude of the stars; and calleth all of them by their names.)

⁵ Our Lord is great, and his virtue is great; and of his wisdom there is no number. (Our Lord is great, and his power is great; and there is no measure of his wisdom.)

⁶ The Lord taketh up mild men; forsooth he maketh low sinners till to the earth. (The Lord raiseth up the meek, or the humble; but he bringeth the sinners down to the ground.)

⁷ Before sing ye to the Lord in acknowledging; say ye psalm to our God in an harp. (Sing ye to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing ye songs to our God on a harp.)

⁸ Which covereth heaven with clouds; and maketh ready rain to the earth. Which bringeth forth hay in hills; and herb to the service of men. (Who covereth the heavens with clouds; and prepareth rain for the earth. Who bringeth forth hay, or grass, on the hills; and plants for the service of all.)

⁹ Which giveth meat to their work beasts; and to the birds of crows calling him. (Who giveth food to their work beasts; and to the younglings of crows calling to him.)

¹⁰ He shall not have will in the strength of an horse; neither it shall be well pleasant to him in the legs of a man. (He shall not take delight in the strength of a horse; nor shall a man’s fast legs be well pleasing to him.)

¹¹ It is well pleasant to the Lord on men that dread him; and in them that hope in his mercy. (But the Lord is well pleased with those who fear him/with those who revere him; and with those who trust in his love.)

²⁰ He did not so to each nation; and he showed not his dooms to them. (He hath not done this for any other nation; he hath not shown his laws, or his decrees, to them.)

36 Also Elihu added, and spake these things, (And Elihu added more, and also said these things,)

² Suffer thou me a little, and I shall show to thee; for yet I have that, that I shall speak for God (for I still have things to say for God).

³ I shall rehearse my knowing from the beginning; and I shall prove my worker just. (I shall use all my knowledge from far and wide; and I shall prove that my Maker is just, or fair.)

⁴ For verily my words be without leasing, and by them perfect knowing shall be proved to thee. (For truly my words be without any lying, and by them sound reasoning shall be shown to thee.)

⁵ God casteth not away mighty men, since he is mighty; (God, who is mighty, despiseth no one, since he is so mighty;)

⁶ but he saveth not wicked men, and he giveth doom to poor men. (but he saveth not the wicked, and he giveth justice to the poor.)

⁷ He taketh not away his eyes from a just man; and he setteth kings in their seat [into] without end, and they be raised up there. (He taketh his eyes not away from the righteous; and he putteth kings on their thrones forevermore, and they be raised up there.)

⁸ And (then) if they be in chains, and be bound with the ropes of poverty,

⁹ he shall show to them their works, and their great trespasses; for they were violent, either raveners.

¹⁰ Also he shall open their ear, that he chastise them; and he shall speak to them, that they turn again from their wickedness. (And he shall open their ears, so that he can chastise them; and he shall speak to them, so that they turn away from their wickedness.)

¹¹ If they hear him, and keep his behests, they shall full-fill their days in good, and their years in glory. (If they hear him, and obey him, they shall fill their days full with good things, and their years with glory.)

¹² Soothly if they hear not, they shall pass by sword, and they shall be wasted in folly. (But if they will not listen, or obey, then they shall pass away, or die, by the sword, and they shall be destroyed by foolishness.)

¹³ Feigners and false men stir (up) the wrath of God; and they shall not cry to God (but they do not cry out to God), and acknowledge their guilt, when they be bound.

¹⁴ The soul of them shall die in (a) tempest; and the life of them among womanish men. (They shall die young; after a life of disgrace.)

¹⁵ He shall deliver a poor man from his anguish; and he shall open his ear in tribulation. (He shall rescue the poor from their anguish; and he shall use tribulation to open their eyes.)

¹⁶ Therefore he shall save thee from the strait mouth of the broadest tribulation, and not having a foundament under it; and the rest of thy table shall be full of fatness. (And so he hath saved thee out of the strait, or the narrow, and into the broad, where there was no tribulation; and thy table was covered with food.)

¹⁷ Thy cause is deemed as the cause of a wicked man; and thou shalt receive thy cause and thy doom. (But now thy case is judged like the case of the wicked; and for that thou shalt receive thy judgement and thy punishment.)

¹⁸ Therefore wrath overcome thee not, that thou oppress any man; and the multitude of gifts bow thee not. (And so let not anger overcome thee, so that thou oppress anyone; and do not bow thyself down before a multitude of gifts.)

¹⁹ Put down thy greatness without tribulation, and put down all strong men by strength. (Depend not upon thy own greatness, whether thou suffereth tribulation, or not, and depend not upon any strong man for your help in times of trouble.)

²⁰ Delay thou not the night, that peoples go up for them. (Desire thou not the night, when nations shall perish.)

²¹ Be thou ware, that thou bow not (down) to wickedness; for thou hast begun to follow this wickedness after (thy) wretchedness.

²² Lo! God is high in his strength, and none is like him among the givers of law. (Lo! God’s strength towers over all, and there is no one like him among the law givers, or the rulers.)

²³ Who may seek out the ways of God? either who dare say to him, Thou hast wrought wickedness?

9 Whether I am not free? Am I not apostle? Whether I saw not Jesus Christ, our Lord? Whether ye be not my work in the Lord?

² And though to others I am not apostle, but nevertheless to you I am; for ye be the little sign of mine apostlehood [for why ye be the signal, or little sign, of mine apostlehood] in the Lord.

³ My defence to them that ask me, that is. [My defence to them that ask me, is this].

⁴ Whether we have not power to eat and drink?

⁵ Whether we have not power to lead about a woman, a sister, as also other apostles, and brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?

⁶ Or I alone and Barnabas have not power to work these things?

⁷ Who travaileth any time with his own wages? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of his fruit? Who keepeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?^[a]

⁸ Whether after man I say these things? whether also the law saith not these things?

⁹ For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not bind [up] the mouth of the ox that thresheth. Whether of oxen is charge to God?

¹⁰ Whether for us he saith these things? For why those be written for us [For why for us they be written]; for he that ploweth, oweth to plow in hope, and he that thresheth, in hope to take fruits.

¹¹ If we sow spiritual things to you, is it great, if we reap your fleshly things?

¹² If others be partners of your power, why not rather we? But we use not this power, but we suffer all things, that we give no hindering [that we give no letting] to the evangel of Christ.

¹³ Know ye not, that they that work in the temple, eat those things that be of the temple [Know ye not, that they that work in the sanctuary, eat those things that be of the sanctuary], and they that serve to the altar, be partners of the altar?

¹⁴ So [and] the Lord ordained to them that tell the gospel, to live of the gospel.

¹⁵ But I used none of these things; and I wrote not these things, that they be done so in me; for it is good rather for me to die, than that any man should make my rejoicing void [than that any man void my glory].

¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, glory is not to me, for need-like I must do it^[b]; for woe to me, if I preach not the gospel.