Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

126 Ascents]) When Hashem brought the return of the captivity of Tziyon, we were like the cholemim (them that dream).

² Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and leshoneinu (our tongue) with rinnah (Shir HaMa’alot, [Song of (joyful song); then said they among the Goyim, Hashem hath done great things for them.

³ Hashem hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

⁴ Return our captivity and restore our fortunes, Hashem, like torrents in the Negev.

⁵ They that sow in dimah (tears) shall reap in rinnah (joyful song).

⁶ He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing meshek hazara (seed to be sown) shall doubtless come again with rinnah, bearing his alummot (sheaves [of harvest]).

⁸ Bring forth the Am Ivver that have eyes, and the chereshim that have oznayim.

⁹ Let kol HaGoyim be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled; who among them can declare this, and show us rishonot (former things)? Let them bring forth their edim (witnesses), that they may be vindicated: or let them hear, and say, It is emes.

¹⁰ Ye are My edim (witnesses), saith Hashem. And Avdi whom I have chosen; so that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that Ani Hu (I am He); before Me there was no El formed, neither shall there be after Me.

¹¹ I, even I, am Hashem; and apart from Me there is no Moshi’a.

¹² I have declared, and have saved, and I have proclaimed, when there was no zar (foreign) [g-d] among you; therefore you [plural] are My edim (witnesses), saith Hashem, that I am El.

¹³ Yes, before the yom was, Ani Hu (I am He); and there is none that can deliver out of My Yad; I work, and who shall reverse it?

¹⁴ Thus saith Hashem, your Go’el, the Kadosh Yisroel; For your sake [see Isaiah 45:4] I have sent to Babylon, and I shall bring down the fugitives, all of them, even the Kasdim (Chaldeans), whose shout of joy is in the ships.

¹⁵ I am Hashem, your Kadosh, the Boreh Yisroel, your Melech.

²⁵ But I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, the Ach b’Moshiach and fellow po’el (worker) and fellow chaiyal (soldier) of mine, but your shliach and keli kodesh (minister) of my need [4:18].

²⁶ I am sending him to you, because he was yearning after you all and was under zeiyar (extremely great) stress, because you heard that he was ill.

²⁷ For indeed he was ill, coming near to death, but Hashem had mercy on him not on him only but also on me, lest I should have agmat nefesh upon agmat nefesh.

²⁸ Therefore, I am all the more eager to dispatch him to you, in order that when you have seen him again, you may have simcha and I may have less agmat nefesh.

²⁹ Therefore, receive him in Adoneinu with all simcha and hold esteem for such klei kodesh (ministers) [1C 16:16,8; 1Ti 5:17],

³⁰ Because he came near to death on account of the avodas kodesh of Moshiach, performing an act of Messianic mesirat nefesh (whole-hearted devotion to the cause of Moshiach, even at risk of life) having risked his life, that he might make up for the ministry to me that you could not give.

3 As to the rest, Achim b’Moshiach of mine, have simcha in Adoneinu [1:25; 2:18,28,29; 4:4]. To keep writing the zelba thing [l:4,18; 1:25; 2:2,17,18, 28,29] to you is not an irksome bother to me, but for you it is a te’udat bitachon (safeguard).