Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

20 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. Jehovah doth answer thee, In a day of adversity, The name of the God of Jacob doth set thee on high,

² He doth send thy help from the sanctuary, And from Zion doth support thee,

³ He doth remember all thy presents, And thy burnt-offering doth reduce to ashes. Selah.

⁴ He doth give to thee according to thy heart, And all thy counsel doth fulfil.

⁵ We sing of thy salvation, And in the name of our God set up a banner. Jehovah doth fulfil all thy requests.

⁶ Now I have known That Jehovah hath saved His anointed, He answereth him from His holy heavens, With the saving might of His right hand.

⁷ Some of chariots, and some of horses, And we of the name of Jehovah our God Make mention.

⁸ They -- they have bowed and have fallen, And we have risen and station ourselves upright.

⁹ O Jehovah, save the king, He doth answer us in the day we call!

⁷ and they declare [it] to Jotham, and he goeth and standeth on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifteth up his voice, and calleth, and saith to them, `Hearken unto me, O masters of Shechem, and God doth hearken unto you:

⁸ `The trees have diligently gone to anoint over them a king, and they say to the olive, Reign thou over us.

⁹ And the olive saith to them, Have I ceased from my fatness, by which they honour gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?

¹⁰ And the trees say to the fig, Come thou, reign over us.

¹¹ And the fig saith to them, Have I ceased from my sweetness, and my good increase, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?

¹² `And the trees say to the vine, Come thou, reign over us.

¹³ And the vine saith to them, Have I ceased from my new wine, which is rejoicing gods and men, that I have gone to stagger over the trees?

¹⁴ And all the trees say unto the bramble, Come thou, reign over us.

¹⁵ And the bramble saith unto the trees, If in truth ye are anointing me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow; and if not -- fire cometh out from the bramble, and devoureth the cedars of Lebanon.

¹⁸ Little youths, it is the last hour; and even as ye heard that the antichrist doth come, even now antichrists have become many -- whence we know that it is the last hour;

¹⁹ out of us they went forth, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but -- that they might be manifested that they are not all of us.

²⁰ And ye have an anointing from the Holy One, and have known all things;

²¹ I did not write to you because ye have not known the truth, but because ye have known it, and because no lie is of the truth.

²² Who is the liar, except he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ? this one is the antichrist who is denying the Father and the Son;

²³ every one who is denying the Son, neither hath he the Father, [he who is confessing the Son hath the Father also.]

²⁴ Ye, then, that which ye heard from the beginning, in you let it remain; if in you may remain that which from the beginning ye did hear, ye also in the Son and in the Father shall remain,

²⁵ and this is the promise that He did promise us -- the life the age-during.

²⁶ These things I did write to you concerning those leading you astray;

²⁷ and you, the anointing that ye did receive from him, in you it doth remain, and ye have no need that any one may teach you, but as the same anointing doth teach you concerning all, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as was taught you, ye shall remain in him.

²⁸ And now, little children, remain in him, that when he may be manifested, we may have boldness, and may not be ashamed before him, in his presence;