Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

55 To victory in organs, the learning of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my beseeching; (To victory, on instruments, the teaching of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my plea;)

² give thou attention to me, and hear thou me. I am sorrowful in mine exercising (I am grieved by my distress);

³ and I am disturbed of the face of the enemy, and of the tribulation of the sinner. For they bowed wickednesses into me; and in ire they were dis-easeful to me. (and I am made afraid by my enemies, and by the trouble which the sinners have brought upon me. For they bowed down wickednesses upon me; and with great anger they were very hateful to me.)

⁴ Mine heart was troubled in me; and the dread of death felled on me. (My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me.)

⁵ Dread and trembling came on me (Fear and trembling came upon me); and darknesses covered me.

⁶ And I said, Who shall give to me feathers, as of a culver; and I shall fly, and shall take rest? (And I said, Who shall give me wings like a dove? and then I can fly away, and get some rest.)

⁷ Lo! I went far away, and fled; and I dwelled in wilderness. (Lo! I would flee far away; and I would live in the wilderness.)

⁸ I abode him, that made me safe from the littleness, either dread, of spirit; and from tempest. (I would hasten, and make myself safe from the wind, and from the tempest.)

⁹ Lord, cast thou down, [and] part thou the tongues of them; for I saw wickedness and against-saying in the city.

¹⁰ By day and night wickedness shall (en)compass it on the walls thereof; and travail and unrightfulness be in the midst of them. (Day and night they surround the city, all along its walls; and trouble and unrighteousness be in its midst.)

¹¹ And usury and guile failed not; from the streets thereof. (And greed, and deceit, always be found in its streets.)

¹² For if mine enemy had cursed me; soothly I had suffered. And if he, that hated me, had spoken great things on me; in hap I had hid me from him. (For if my enemy had cursed me; truly I would have suffered it. And if he, who hated me, had spoken great things against me; I would have hid myself from him.)

¹³ But thou art a man of one will (with me); my leader, and my known. (But thou art a man of one mind with me; my leader, and my dear friend.)

¹⁴ Which tookest together sweet meats with me; we went with consent in(to) the house of God. (Who shared his good counsel with me; and we went together to the House of God.)

¹⁵ Death come on them; and go they down quick into hell (May death come upon them; and may they go down alive into Sheol, or the land of the dead). For waywardnesses be in the dwelling places of them; (and) in the midst of them.

15 Then Eliphaz (the) Temanite answered, and said,

² Whether a wise man shall answer, as speaking against the wind, and shall fill his stomach with burning, that is ire? (Would a wise man answer someone, whose speaking is merely wind, and who filleth his stomach with hot air?)

³ For thou reprovest him by words, which is not like thee, and thou speakest that, that speedeth not to thee. (For thou rebukest him with worthless words, and thou speakest, what profiteth thee not.)

⁴ As much as is in thee, thou hast avoided dread; and thou hast taken away thy prayers before God. (As much as is possible, thou hast avoided fearing God/revering God; and thou hast not presented thy prayers to God.)

⁵ For [thy] wickedness hath taught thy mouth, and thou followest the tongue of blasphemers.

⁶ Thy tongue [Thy mouth], and not I, shall condemn thee, and thy lips shall answer (against) thee.

⁷ Whether thou art born the first man, and whether thou art formed before (the) little hills? (Art thou the first man born, and wast thou formed before the little hills?)

⁸ Whether thou hast heard the counsel of God, and whether his wisdom is lower than thou? (and is his wisdom less than thine?)

⁹ What thing knowest thou, which we know not? What thing understandest thou, which we know not?

¹⁰ Both wise men and eld (men), much elder than thy fathers (much older than thy father), be among us.

¹¹ Whether it is great, that God comfort thee? But thy shrewd words forbid this. (Is it not wonderful, that God comforteth thee? But thy depraved words forbid this.)

¹² What raiseth thine heart thee, and thou as thinking great things hast eyes astonished? (What raiseth up thy heart, to think such great things? and why be thine eyes astonished?)

¹³ What swelleth thy spirit against God, that thou bring forth of thy mouth such words? (What swelleth thy spirit against God, so that thou bring forth such words out of thy mouth?)

¹⁴ What is a man, that he be without wem, and that he, born of a woman, appear just? (What is a man, is he ever pure, or without fault? yea, he, who is born of a woman, is he ever truly right before God?)

¹⁵ Lo! none among his saints is unchangeable (Lo! no one among his saints is trustworthy), and (even the) heavens be not clean in his sight.

¹⁶ How much more is a man abominable and unprofitable, that drinketh wickedness as water? (Then how much more abominable and unprofitable is man, who drinketh wickedness like water?)

¹⁷ I shall show to thee, hear thou me; I shall tell to thee that, that I saw (I shall tell thee, what I saw).

¹⁸ Wise men acknowledge, and hide (it) not their fathers. (The wise acknowledge it, and their forefathers hide it not.)

¹⁹ To which wise men alone the earth is given, and an alien shall not pass by them. (To whom alone the land was given; and no foreigner lived among them.)

²⁰ A wicked man is proud in all his days; and the number of his years and of his tyranny is uncertain.

²¹ The sound of dread is ever[more] in his ears, and when peace is, he supposeth ever[more] treasons. (A fearful sound is forever in his ears, and even when there is peace, he always expecteth an attack.)

²² He believeth not that he may turn again from darknesses to light; and he beholdeth about on each side (for) a sword.

²³ When he stirreth him[self] to seek bread, he knoweth, that the day of darknesses is made ready in his hand (he knoweth that the day of darkness is at hand).

²⁴ Tribulation shall make him afeared, and anguish shall (en)compass him, as a king which is made ready to battle. (Tribulation shall make him afraid, and anguish shall surround him, like a king who is made ready for battle.)

²⁵ For he held forth his hand against God, and he was made strong against Almighty God. (For he put forth his hand against God, and he made himself strong against Almighty God.)

²⁶ He ran with his neck raised up against God, and he was armed with a fat noll. (He ran with his head raised up against God, and he was armed with a stiff neck, or he was stubborn.)

²⁷ Fatness, that is, pride of temporal abundance, covered his face, or understanding, and outward fatness, that is, unshamefastness, hangeth down of his sides (hangeth down on his sides). [Fatness covered his face, and of his sides grease hangeth. (Fatness covered his face, and grease hangeth down on his sides.)]

²⁸ He shall dwell in desolate cities (He shall live in empty cities), and in deserted houses, that be turned into burials.

²⁹ He shall not be made rich, neither his chattel shall dwell steadfastly (nor shall his substance, or his possessions, endure); neither he shall send his root into the earth,

³⁰ neither he shall go away from darknesses. Flame shall make dry his branches, and he shall be taken away by the spirit of his mouth (The flame shall dry up his branches, and then he shall be taken away by the wind).

³¹ Believe he not vainly which is deceived by error, that he shall be again-bought by any price. (He, who is deceived by error, vainly believeth that he shall be bought back, or redeemed, at any price.)

³² Before that his days be [ful]filled, he shall perish, and his hands shall wax dry;

³³ he shall be hurt as a vine in the first flower of his grape, and as an olive tree casting away his flower. (he shall be like a vine that droppeth off its unripe grapes, or like an olive tree that casteth away its flowering buds.)

³⁴ For the gathering together of an hypocrite is barren, and fire shall devour the tabernacles of them, that take gifts willfully. (For hypocrites, one and all, be barren, and fire shall devour the tents of those, who willingly take gifts.)

³⁵ He conceived sorrow, and childed wickedness, and his womb maketh ready treacheries.

²⁷ Ye have heard that it was said to old men, Thou shalt not do lechery.

²⁸ But I say to you, that every man that seeth a woman [for] to covet her, hath now done lechery by her in his heart [now he hath done lechery with her in his heart].

²⁹ That if thy right eye cause thee to stumble [That if thy right eye offend thee], pull it out, and cast it from thee; for it speedeth to thee, that one of thy members perish, than that all thy body go into hell.

³⁰ And if thy right hand cause thee to stumble [And if thy right hand offend thee], cut it away, and cast [it] from thee; for it speedeth to thee that one of thy members perish, than that all thy body go into hell.

³¹ And it hath been said, Whoever leaveth his wife, give he to her a bill of forsaking. [Forsooth it is said, Whoever shall leave his wife, give he to her a libel, that is, a little book of forsaking.]

³² But I say to you, that every man that leaveth his wife [that every man that shall leave his wife], except (for) [the] cause of fornication, maketh her to do lechery, and he that weddeth the forsaken wife, doeth adultery.

³³ Again ye have heard, that it was said to old men, Thou shalt not forswear, but thou shalt yield thine oaths to the Lord. [Again ye have heard, that it was said to old men, Thou shalt not forswear, but to the Lord thou shalt yield thine oaths.]

³⁴ But I say to you, that ye swear not for any thing [Forsooth I say to you, to not swear on all manner]; neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

³⁵ neither by the earth, for it is the stool of his feet; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of a great king [for it is the city of the great king];

³⁶ neither thou shalt swear by thine head, for thou mayest not make one hair white, or black;