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.)

²⁵ Soothly no man in all Israel was so fair as Absalom, and full comely; from the step of the foot unto the top, there was no wem in him (there was no flaw, or blemish, on him);

²⁶ and inasmuch as he clipped more his hairs, by so much the more they waxed; but he was clipped once in the year, for his hair grieved him. And when he clipped the hairs, he weighed the hairs of his head by two hundred shekels by common weight (And when he cut his hair, the hairs of his head weighed two hundred shekels by common weight).

²⁷ And three sons, and a daughter, Tamar by name, (and she was) of seemly shape, or excellent form, were born to Absalom.

²⁸ And Absalom dwelled in Jerusalem two years, and he saw not the face of the king. (And Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never came before the king.)

²⁹ Therefore he sent to Joab, that he should send him to the king; and Joab would not come to him. And when he had sent the second time, and Joab would not come, (And so he sent for Joab, so that he could take a message to the king; but Joab would not come to him. And when he had sent for him a second time, and Joab would still not come,)

³⁰ Absalom said to his servants, Ye know the field of Joab beside my field, (the field of his) having ripe barley; therefore go ye, and burn ye it [up] with fire. Therefore the servants of Absalom burnt the (barley) corn with fire. (Absalom said to his servants, Ye know Joab’s field beside my field, the one with the ripe barley; go ye, and burn it down. And so Absalom’s servants burned down the crop.)

³¹ And Joab rose up, and came to Absalom into his house, and said, Why have thy servants burnt [up] my (barley) corn with fire? (And Joab rose up, and came to Absalom at his house, and said, Why have thy servants burned down my crop?)

³² And Absalom answered to Joab, I sent to thee, and besought that thou shouldest come to me, and that I should send thee to the king, that thou shouldest say to him, Why came I from Geshur? It was better to me to have been there; therefore I beseech, that I see the face of the king, that if he is mindful of my wickedness, slay he me. (And Absalom answered to Joab, I sent for thee, and desired that thou wouldest come to me, so that I could send thee to the king, and thou couldest say to him for me, Why did I come back from Geshur? It was better for me to have stayed there; and so I beseech thee, let me go before the king, and if he thinketh on my wickedness, then let him kill me.)

³³ (So) Joab entered to the king, and told to him. And Absalom was called, and he entered to the king, and he worshipped on the face of [the] earth before him (and honouring him, he bowed low to the ground before him), and the king kissed Absalom.

6 Brethren, if a man be occupied in any guilt, ye that be spiritual, inform ye such one in spirit of softness, beholding thyself, lest that thou be tempted.^[a]

² Each bear other's charges [Bear ye the charges the tother of the tother, or each of other], and so ye shall fulfill the law of Christ.

³ For who that troweth that he be aught, when he is nought, he beguileth himself. [For why if any man guesseth himself to be aught, when he is nought, he deceiveth himself.]

⁴ But each man prove his own work, and so he shall have glory [only] in himself, and not in another.

⁵ For each man shall bear his own charge.

⁶ He that is taught in word, commune he with him that teacheth him, in all goods. [Forsooth he that is taught by word, commune to him that teacheth him, in all good things.]

⁷ Do not ye err, God is not scorned; for those things that a man soweth, those things he shall reap [for why what things a man soweth, also these things he shall reap].

⁸ For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh he shall reap corruption; but he that soweth in the Spirit, of the Spirit he shall reap everlasting life.

⁹ And doing good fail we not [Forsooth we doing good, fail not]; for in his time we shall reap, not failing.

¹⁰ Therefore while we have time, work we good to all men; but most to them that be the home of the faith [but most to the household members of the faith].