Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
138 [The psalm of David.] Lord, I shall acknowledge to thee in all mine heart; for thou heardest the words of my mouth. My God, I shall sing to thee in the sight of angels; (The song of David. Lord, I shall praise thee with all my heart. My God, I shall sing praises to thee before the angels, or before the gods.)
2 I shall worship to(ward) thine holy temple, and I shall acknowledge to thy name. On thy mercy and thy truth; for thou hast magnified thine holy name above all thing. (I shall worship towards thy holy Temple, and I shall praise thy name; because of thy love, and thy faithfulness; for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all things.)
3 In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee, hear thou me; thou shalt multiply virtue in my soul. (On whatever day I called to thee, thou answeredest me; and thou hast multiplied the strength in my soul/and thou hast made me strong.)
4 Lord, all the kings of earth acknowledge to thee; for they heard all the words of thy mouth. (Lord, all the kings of the earth shall praise thee; for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.)
5 And sing they in the ways of the Lord (And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord); for the glory of the Lord is great.
6 For the Lord is high, and beholdeth meek things; and knoweth afar high things. (For though the Lord is high above, he looketh upon the meek/he careth for the humble; and he knoweth the proud from afar.)
7 If I shall go in the midst of tribulation, thou shalt quicken me; and thou stretchedest forth thine hand on the ire of mine enemies, and thy right hand made me safe. (Yea, though I go in the midst of trouble, or of tribulation, thou keepest me safe/thou keepest me alive; and thou stretchest forth thy hand against the rage of my enemies, and thy right hand savest me.)
8 The Lord shall yield for me, Lord, thy mercy is [into] without end; despise thou not the works of thine hands. (The Lord shall bring to pass his promises to me. O Lord, thy love is forever; so complete thy work.)
4 and the word of Samuel came to all Israel. And it was done in those days (the) Philistines came together into battle; for Israel went out against the Philistines into battle, and setted tents beside the stone of help (and pitched their tents at Ebenezer). And the Philistines came into Aphek,
2 and made ready (the) battle array against Israel. And when the battle was begun, Israel turned the(ir) backs to [the] Philistines; and as four thousand of men were slain in that battle everywhere by fields; and the people of Israel turned again to their tents. (and prepared the battle array against Israel. And when the battle was begun, Israel turned their backs to the Philistines; and about four thousand men were killed that day in that battle, in every part of the field; and then the people of Israel returned to their tents.)
3 And the greater men in birth of Israel said, Why hath the Lord smitten us today before the Philistines? Bring we to us from Shiloh the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord, and come it into the midst of us, that it save us from the hand of our enemies. (And the men of great age, that is, the elders, of Israel, said, Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, and have it come here into our midst, so that it can save us from the hand of our enemies.)
4 Therefore the people sent into Shiloh, and they took from thence the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord of hosts, that sat on cherubim. And Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were with the ark of the bond of peace of the Lord. (And so the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of hosts, who sitteth above, or upon, the cherubim. And Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, came with the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.)
5 And when the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord had come into the tents (And when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came to the camp), all Israel cried [out] with [a] great cry, and the earth sounded.
6 And the Philistines heard the voice of their cry, and they said, And what is this voice of great cry in the tents of Hebrews? And they knew, that the ark of [the] bond of peace of the Lord had come into the tents of Israel. (And the Philistines heard the sound of their cry, and they said, And what is this sound of a great cry from the Hebrews’ tents? And then they knew, that the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had come to Israel’s camp.)
7 And the Philistines dreaded, and said, God is come into their tents; and they wailed, and said, Woe to us! for so great out-joying was not there yesterday, and the third day passed; (And the Philistines were afraid, and said, God hath come to their tents; and they wailed, and said, Woe to us! for there was not so great rejoicing there yesterday, or the third day ago;)
8 woe to us! who shall keep us from the hand of these high gods? these be the gods, that smited Egypt with all vengeance in desert. (woe to us! who shall save us from the power of these high gods? these be the gods, who struck down the Egyptians with all that slaughter in the wilderness.)
9 Philistines, be ye comforted, and be ye men, serve ye not to the Hebrews, as they have served to you; be ye comforted, and fight ye against Israel. (Philistines, take ye courage, and be ye men, otherwise ye shall serve as slaves to the Hebrews, like they have served you; yea, be ye of good courage, and fight ye against Israel.)
10 Then the Philistines fought, and Israel was overcome, and each man fled into his tabernacle; and a full great vengeance was made, and thirty thousand of (the) footmen of Israel felled down. (Then the Philistines fought, and Israel was overcome, and each man fled into his tent; and there was a great slaughter, and thirty thousand of the footmen of Israel fell down.)
11 And the ark of God was taken; and, the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were dead. (And the Ark of God was taken; and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed.)
12 And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle array, and came into Shiloh in that day, with his cloth rent, and with his head besprinkled with dust; (And a man of Benjamin ran from the battle array, and came into Shiloh that day, with his cloak torn, and with his head covered with dirt;)
13 and when he was come, Eli sat upon a seat, and beheld against the way; for his heart was dreading for the ark of the Lord (and when he arrived, Eli sat on a seat, looking toward the road; for his heart was fearing for the Ark of the Lord). And after that that man had entered, he told (what had happened) to the men of the city, and (then) all the city yelled.
14 And Eli heard the sound of the cry, and he said, What is the sound of this noise? (And Eli heard all the yelling, and he said, What is the meaning of this noise?) And the man hasted, and came, and told to Eli.
15 And Eli was of fourscore years and eighteen, and his eyes (had) dimmed/his eyes (had) darkened, and he might not see.
16 And the man said to Eli, I am he that came from the battle, and I am he that fled today from the battle array. To whom Eli said, My son, what is there done? (My son, what is done there?)
17 And he that told answered, and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and a great falling is made in the people of Israel; furthermore and thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, be dead, and the ark of God is taken. (And he who had given the report answered him, and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and a great number of the people of Israel have fallen; and furthermore thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed, and the Ark of God was taken.)
18 And when he named the ark of God, Eli felled (off) from the seat backward beside the door, and was dead (and he died); for his neck was broken. For he was an eld man, and of great age; and he deemed Israel forty years.
19 And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, and nigh the child bearing; and when the message was heard/and when she (had) heard by the messenger, that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law was dead, and (also) her husband, she bowed herself down, and childed; for sudden sorrows felled into her (for suddenly her pains came upon her).
20 And in that moment of her death, (the) women that stood about her said to her, Dread thou not, for thou hast childed a son. And she answered not to them, neither she took heed. (And at the moment of her death, the women who stood about her said to her, Fear thou not, for thou hast borne a son. But she did not answer them, nor take any heed.)
21 And she called the child Ichabod, that is, without glory, and said, The glory of the Lord is translated from Israel, for the ark of God is taken; and for her father-in-law and for her husband (And she called the child Ichabod, that is, Without glory, and said, Now the glory of the Lord hath been taken away from Israel; for the Ark of God was taken, and her father-in-law, and her husband, were dead;)
22 she said, The glory of God is translated from Israel/is taken from Israel, for the ark of God is taken. (and she said again, The glory of God hath been taken away from Israel, for the Ark of God hath been taken from us.)
7 For the end of all things shall approach [Forsooth the end of all things shall nigh]. Therefore be ye prudent, and wake ye in prayers;
8 before all things have ye charity each to other in yourselves always [all-gates] lasting; for charity covereth the multitude of sins.
9 Hold ye hospitality together without grudging [without grutching];
10 each man as he hath received grace, ministering it into each other [ministering each to other], as good dispensers of the manifold grace of God.
11 If any man speaketh, speak he as the words of God; if any man ministereth, as of the virtue which God ministereth; that God be honoured in all things by Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom is glory and lordship into worlds of worlds. Amen.
12 Most dear brethren, do not ye go in pilgrimage in fervor, that is made to you to temptation [Most dear, do not ye go in pilgrimage in fervor, that is made to you into temptation], as if any new thing befall to you;
13 but commune ye with the passions of Christ, and have ye joy, that also ye be glad, and have joy in the revelation of his glory. [but ye communing to the passions of Christ, have joy, that and ye gladding withoutforth, have joy in the revelation of his glory.]
14 If ye be despised for the name of Christ, ye shall be blessed; for that that is of the honour, and of the glory, and of the virtue of God, and the Spirit that is his, shall rest on you [for that that is of the glory and virtue of God, and the Spirit that is his, resteth on you].
15 But no man of you suffer as a manslayer, either a thief, either curser, either a desirer of other men's goods; [Forsooth no man of you suffer as a manslayer, or a thief, or curser, or desirer of other men's things;]
16 but if he suffer as a christian man, shame he not, but glorify he God in this name.
17 For time is, that doom begin at God's house [For time is, that doom begin of God's house]; and if it begin first at us, what end shall be of them, that believe not to the gospel?
18 And if a just man scarcely shall be saved, where shall the unfaithful man and the sinner appear [where shall the unpious man and sinner appear]?
19 Therefore and they that suffer by the will of God [And so, and they that suffer after the will of God], betake their souls in good deeds to the faithful maker of nought.
2001 by Terence P. Noble