Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

77 To the victory on Jeduthun, the psalm of Asaph. (To victory, to Jeduthun, the song of Asaph.) With my voice I cried to the Lord, with my voice to God; and he gave attention to me.

² In the day of my tribulation I sought God with mine hands; in the night before him/in the night toward him, and I am not deceived. My soul forsook to be comforted; (In the day of my trouble I sought out God; all night long, I raised up my hands before him/I raised up my hands toward him. But my soul forsook to be comforted;)

³ I was mindful of God, and I delighted, and I was exercised; and my spirit failed. (I remembered God, and I was troubled, and I was upset; and my spirit failed.)

⁴ Mine eyes before took wakings; I was troubled, and I spake not. (My eyes opened in the morning; I was troubled, and I did not speak.)

⁵ I thought eld days; and I had in mind everlasting years. (I thought about the old days; I remembered the years long ago.)

⁶ And I thought (deeply) in the night with mine heart; and I was exercised (and I was upset), and I cleansed my spirit.

⁷ Whether God shall cast away [into] without end; either shall he not lay to, that he be more pleased yet? (Shall God throw us away, or reject us, forever? shall he never be pleased with us again?)

⁸ Either shall he cut away his mercy into the end; from generation into generation? (Or hath he taken away his love from us forever; yea, for all generations?)

⁹ Either shall God forget to do mercy; either shall he withhold his mercies in his ire? (Or shall God forget to do mercy to us? or in his anger, shall he withhold his constant love from us?)

¹⁰ And I said, Now I began; this is the changing of the right hand of the high God. (And I said, Indeed; hath the right hand of the Most High God now lost its power?)

¹¹ I had mind on the works of the Lord; for I shall have mind from the beginning of thy marvels. (But I remembered the works of the Lord; I shall always remember thy marvellous deeds done in the beginning.)

¹² And I shall think on all thy works; and I shall be exercised, either occupied, in thy findings. (And I shall think about all thy works; and about all thy deeds.)

¹³ God, thy way was in the holy (place); what God is great as our God? (God, thy way is in the holy place, or in the sanctuary/God, thy way is holy; and what god is as great as our God?)

¹⁴ thou art God, that doest marvels. Thou madest thy virtue known among peoples; (thou art God, who doest marvellous deeds. Thou madest thy strength known among the nations;)

¹⁵ thou again-boughtest in thine arm thy people, the sons of Jacob and of Joseph. (with thy arm thou hast redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and of Joseph.)

¹⁶ God, waters saw thee, waters saw thee, and dreaded; and depths of waters were troubled. (God, the waters saw thee, the waters saw thee, and were afraid; and the depths of the waters were troubled.)

¹⁷ The multitude of the sound of waters; clouds gave voice. For why thine arrows pass [through]; (The clouds gave forth water, or the rain; the heavens sent out a multitude of sounds. Thy arrows passed through them;)

¹⁸ the voice of thy thunder was in a wheel. Thy lightnings shined to the world; the earth was moved, and trembled. (the sound of thy thunder was in the whirlwind. Thy lightnings shone upon the world; the earth was shaken, and trembled.)

¹⁹ Thy way in the sea, and thy paths in many waters; and thy steps shall not be known.

²⁰ Thou leddest forth thy people as sheep; in the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Thou leddest forth thy people like sheep; by the guidance of Moses and Aaron.)

⁸ Wherefore I shall beseech the Lord, and I shall set my speech to my God (and I shall put my case before my God).

⁹ That maketh great things, and that may not be sought out, and wonderful things without number. (Who maketh great things, which may not be sought out, and wonderful things without number.)

¹⁰ The which God giveth rain upon the face of the earth, and moisteth all things with waters (and moisteneth everything with water).

¹¹ Which setteth meek men on high, and raiseth with health them that mourn. (Who putteth the humble upon high, and raiseth to victory those who mourn.)

¹² Which destroyeth the thoughts of evil-willed men (Who destroyeth the thoughts of the evil-willed), (so) that their hands may not fulfill those things that they have begun.

¹³ Which taketh sly cautelous men in their own fellness, and he destroyeth the counsel of shrews. (Who catcheth the sly and the shrewd in their own craftiness, and he destroyeth the counsel of the depraved.)

¹⁴ By day they shall run into darknesses, and as in night, so they shall grope in midday. (In the daylight they shall run to the darkness, and at midday they shall grope, like in the night.)

¹⁵ Certainly God shall make safe a needy man from the sword of their mouth, and a poor man from the hand of the violent, either raveners. (But God shall make the needy safe from the mouth of their sword, and the poor from the hand of the violent, or of the raveners.)

¹⁶ And hope shall be to a needy man, but wickedness shall draw together his mouth. (And the needy shall have hope, and the mouths of the wicked shall be drawn together, or closed.)

¹⁷ Blessed is the man, which is chastised of the Lord; therefore reprove thou not the blaming of the Lord. (Blessed is the man, who is chastised by the Lord; and so do not thou reprove the Lord’s rebuke.)

¹⁸ For he woundeth, and (then he) doeth medicine; he smiteth (he striketh), and (then) his hands shall make whole.

¹⁹ In six tribulations he shall deliver thee, and in the seventh tribulation evil shall not touch thee.

²⁰ In hunger he shall deliver thee from death, and in battle from the power of (the) sword.

²¹ Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of an evil tongue, and thou shalt not dread mis-ease, either wretchedness, when it cometh.

²² In destroying made of enemies and in hunger thou shalt laugh, and thou shalt not dread the beasts of [the] earth. (In destruction made by enemies, and in hunger, thou shalt laugh, and thou shalt not fear the beasts of the earth.)

²³ But thy covenant shall be with the stones of (the) earth, and (the) beasts of (the) earth shall be peaceable to thee. (And thou shalt make a covenant with the stones of the earth, and the beasts of the earth shall be at peace with thee.)

²⁴ And thou shalt know, that thy tabernacle hath peace, and thou visiting thy fairness, that is, beholding thy prosperity, shalt not sin. (And thou shalt know, that thy home shall be at peace, and thou shalt see thy prosperity, and then thou shalt not sin.)

²⁵ And thou shalt know also, that thy seed shall be manyfold, and thy generation shall be as an herb of [the] earth. (And thou shalt know also, that thy descendants shall be many, and thy children shall be like the grass on the earth.)

²⁶ In abundance (of years) thou shalt go into the sepulchre, as an heap of wheat is borne [in] in his time (In the abundance of years thou shalt go to the grave, or into the tomb, yea, like a heap of wheat is brought in, or harvested, in its time.)

²⁷ Lo! this thing is so, as we have sought (Lo! we have sought out this thing, and it is so); the which thing when thou hast heard (it), treat it in thy mind.

⁸ And in faith all of one will, in prayer be ye each suffering with other, lovers of brotherhood, merciful, mild, meek; [Forsooth in faith all of one understanding, or will, in prayer be ye compassionate, or each suffering with other, lovers of fraternity, merciful, mild, meek;]

⁹ not yielding evil for evil, neither cursing for cursing, but on the contrary blessing; for in this thing ye be called, that ye wield blessing by heritage.

¹⁰ For he that will love life, and see good days, constrain his tongue from evil, and his lips, that they speak not guile [that they speak no guile].

¹¹ And bow he from evil, and do good; seek he peace, and perfectly follow it [and perfectly sue it].

¹² For the eyes of the Lord be on just men, and his ears on the prayers of them; but the face of the Lord is on men that do evils [forsooth the cheer of the Lord is on men doing evils].

¹³ And who is it that shall harm you, if ye be followers and lovers of goodness [if ye shall be good followers]?

¹⁴ But also if ye suffer any thing for rightwiseness, ye be blessed; but dread ye not the dread of them, that ye be not disturbed.^[a]

¹⁵ But hallow ye the Lord Christ in your hearts, and evermore be ye ready to [do] satisfaction to each man asking you reason of that faith and hope that is in you, but with mildness and dread,

¹⁶ having good conscience; that in that thing that they backbite of you, they be confounded, which challenge falsely your good conversation in Christ.

¹⁷ For it is better that ye do well, and suffer, if the will of God will, than doing evil. [Soothly it is better, if the will of God will, ye well-doing, to suffer, than evil-doing.]

¹⁸ For also Christ once died for our sins, he just for unjust, that he should offer to God us [that he should offer us to God], made dead in flesh, but made quick in Spirit.