Book of Common Prayer
16 Of the meek and simple, the psalm of David. Lord, keep thou me, for I have hoped in thee; (To the humble and the innocent, the song of David. Lord, keep thou me safe, for I put my trust in thee;)
2 I said to the Lord, Thou art my God; for thou hast no need of my goods. (I said to the Lord, Thou art my God; and every good thing that I have, cometh from thee.)
3 To the saints that be in the land of him; he made wonderful all my wills in them. (To the wonderful saints of him who be in the land; in whom be all my delight.)
4 The sicknesses of them be multiplied; afterward they hasted. I shall not gather together the conventicles, either little covents/or small covents, of them of bloods; and I shall not be mindful of their names by my lips. (May the sicknesses of those who hasten after other gods, be multiplied. I shall not offer their blood offerings; and I shall not remember, or speak, their names with my lips.)
5 The Lord is [the] part of mine heritage, and of my passion; thou art, that shall restore mine heritage to me. (The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup; thou art he, who shall restore my inheritance to me.)
6 Cords felled to me in full clear things; for mine heritage is full clear to me. (The cords, or the boundary-lines, fell to me in pleasant places; I am well content with my inheritance.)
7 I shall bless the Lord, that hath given understanding to me; furthermore and my reins have blamed me unto the night. (I shall bless the Lord, who hath given me understanding; and furthermore my innards have taught me, that is, my conscience hath taught me, in the night.)
8 I saw before (me) ever[more] the Lord in my sight; for he is at the right half to me, that I be not moved. (I see the Lord before me forevermore; for he is at my right hand, and I shall not be moved/and I cannot be shaken.)
9 For this thing mine heart was glad, and my tongue joyed fully; furthermore and my flesh shall rest in hope. (For this thing my heart was glad, and my tongue full out joyed, or rejoiced; and furthermore, my flesh shall rest with trust, or with confidence.)
10 For thou shalt not leave my soul in hell; neither thou shalt give thine holy (man) to see corruption. (For thou shalt not leave my soul in Sheol, or the land of the dead; nor shalt thou allow thy holy man to see corruption, or decay.)
11 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt [full-]fill me with gladness with thy cheer; delightings be in thy right half unto the end. (Thou hast made known to me the way of life; thou shalt fill me full of gladness when I go before thee; delights be at thy right hand forever.)
17 The prayer of David. Lord, hear thou my rightfulness; behold thou my prayer. Perceive thou with ears my prayer; not made in guileful lips. (The prayer of David. Lord, hear thou my plea for justice; consider thou my prayer. Listen thou to my prayer; for it is not made with deceitful, or lying, lips.)
2 My doom come forth of thy cheer; thine eyes see they equity. (Let my judgement come forth from thy lips; let thine eyes be fixed on justice.)
3 Thou hast proved mine heart, and hast visited (me) in [the] night; thou hast examined, or assayed, me by fire, and wickedness is not found in me.
4 That my mouth speak not (of) the works of men; for the words of thy lips I have kept hard ways. (My mouth shall not speak of the works of men; by the words of thy lips I have kept myself from bad ways.)
5 Make thou perfect my goings in thy paths; that my steps be not moved. (Make thou perfect my goings on thy paths; so that my steps will not slip, or stumble/so that I do not fall.)
6 I cried, for thou, God, heardest me; bow down thy ear to me, and hear thou my words. (I cried, for I know that thou, God, shalt answer me; bow down thy ear to me, and listen to my words.)
7 Make wonderful thy mercies; that makest safe them that hope in thee. (Show thou me thy constant love, thou who savest me; with thy right hand save thou those who trust in thee, from those who stand against them.)
8 Keep thou me as the apple of thine eye; and from them that against-stand thy right hand. Cover thou me under the shadow of thy wings; (Keep thou me as the apple of thine eye. Cover thou me, or hide me, under the shadow of thy wings;)
9 from the face of unpious men, that have tormented me. Mine enemies have (en)compassed my soul; (from the face of the unpious, or of the wicked, who torment me. My enemies have surrounded me;)
10 they have closed (al)together their fatness; the mouth of them spake pride. (they be enclosed in their own fatness; their mouths have spoken proudly, or boastfully.)
11 They casted me forth, and have (en)compassed me now; they ordained to bow down their eyes into [the] earth. (They surround me now, wherever I turn; they lie in wait, to bring me down to the ground.)
12 They, as a lion made ready to his prey, have taken me; and as the whelp of a lion dwelling in hid places. (They be ready to catch me, like a lion catcheth its prey; and like the cub of a lion living in hidden places.)
13 Lord, rise thou up, before come thou him, and deceive thou him/and overturn thou him; deliver thou my life from the unpious, deliver thou thy sword; (Lord, rise thou up, come thou before him, and overturn thou him; save thou my life from the unpious, with thy sword,)
14 from the enemies of thine hand. Lord, part thou them from a few men of the land in the life of them; their womb is [full-]filled of thine hid things. They be [full-]filled with sons; and they left their remnants, either residue, to their little children. (yea, from the enemies of thy hand. Lord, save thou me from those of the land who have their portion in this life; their womb is filled full of thy good things. They be filled full with sons and daughters; and they have left all that they have to their little children.)
15 But I in rightfulness shall appear to thy sight; I shall be [ful]filled, when thy glory shall appear. (But I shall appear upright, or righteous, before thee; and I shall be fulfilled, when thy glory shall appear.)
22 To (the) overcomer, for the morrowtide hind, the psalm of David. God, my God, behold thou on me, why hast thou forsaken me? the words of my trespasses be far from mine health. (To the overcomer, for the labourer in the morning, the song of David. God, my God, look thou upon me, why hast thou abandoned me? why is thy help so far from me, yea, from answering my plea?)
2 My God, I shall cry by day, and thou shalt not hear; and by night, and not to unwisdom to me. (My God, I cry to thee all day long, but thou answerest me not; and I cry to thee all night, without any ceasing.)
3 Forsooth thou, the praising of Israel, dwellest in holiness;
4 our fathers hoped in thee; they hoped, and thou deliveredest them. (our forefathers put their trust in thee; yea, they trusted thee, and thou deliveredest them.)
5 They cried to thee, and they were made safe; they hoped in thee, and they were not shamed. (They cried to thee, and they were saved; they trusted thee, and they were not put to shame, or were not disappointed.)
6 But I am a worm, and not a man; the shame of men, and the outcasting of the people. (But I am a worm, and not a man; despised, and an outcast among the people.)
7 All men seeing me scorned me; they spake with lips, and wagged the head, and said,
8 He hoped in the Lord, deliver he him; make he him safe, for he will him. (He hoped in the Lord, that he would rescue him; so let him save him, if he delighteth in him.)
9 For thou it art that drewest me out of the womb, that art mine hope from the teats of my mother; (For thou art he who drew me out of the womb, thou who art my hope from my mother’s breast;)
10 into thee I am cast forth from the womb. From the womb of my mother thou art my God; (and I was cast upon thee from the womb. Thou art my God from my mother’s womb;)
11 depart thou not from me. For tribulation is next; for none there is that helpeth. (go thou not away from me. For trouble is near; and there is no one to help me.)
12 Many calves (en)compassed me; fat bulls besieged me. (Many calves surrounded me; the strong bulls of Bashan besieged me.)
13 They opened their mouth on me; as a lion ravishing and roaring. (They opened their mouths upon me; like a roaring and ravaging lion.)
14 I am poured out as water; and all my bones be scattered. Mine heart is made, as wax floating abroad; in the midst of my womb. (I am poured out like water; and all my bones be out of joint. My heart hath turned to wax; and it melteth within me.)
15 My virtue dried as a tilestone, and my tongue cleaved to my cheeks; and thou hast brought forth me into the dust of death. (My strength dried up like a tilestone, and my tongue cleaved to my cheeks; and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death.)
16 For many dogs (en)compassed me; the council of wicked men besieged me. They delved mine hands and my feet; (For many dogs surrounded me; yea, a band of wicked men besieged me. They pierced my hands and my feet;)
17 they numbered all my bones. Soothly they looked (at), and beheld me; (and they counted up all my bones. Yea, they beheld me;)
18 they parted my clothes to themselves, and they sent lot on my cloth. (then they parted my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my cloak.)
19 But thou, Lord, delay not thine help from me; behold thou to my defence (hasten thou to my defence).
20 God, deliver thou my life from sword; and deliver thou mine one alone from the hand, or power, of the dog. (God, deliver thou my life from the sword; yea, rescue thou my very life from the power of these dogs.)
21 Make thou me safe from the mouth of a lion; and my meekness from the horns of unicorns. (Save thou me from the lion’s mouth; yea, my poor body from the horns of these bulls.)
22 I shall tell thy name to my brethren; I shall praise thee in the midst of the church. (I shall tell out thy name to my brothers, or my kinsmen; and I shall praise thee in the midst of the congregation.)
23 Ye that dread the Lord, praise him; all the seed of Jacob, glorify him. All the seed of Israel, dread him; (Ye who fear the Lord, praise him; all of Jacob’s children, glorify him. All of Israel’s descendants, fear him;/Ye who revere the Lord, praise him; all of Jacob’s children, glorify him. All of Israel’s descendants, revere him;)
24 for he forsook not, neither despised the prayer of a poor man. Neither he turned away his face from me; and when I cried to him, he heard me. (for he forsook not, nor despised the prayer of the poor man. Nor hath he turned his face away from him; but when he cried to him, he answered him.)
25 My praising is with thee in a great church; I shall yield my vows in the sight of men dreading him. (My praises shall be for thee before the great congregation; I shall pay my vows before those who fear thee/before those who revere thee.)
26 Poor men shall eat, and shall be [ful]filled, and they shall praise the Lord, that seek him; the hearts of them shall live into the world of world. (The poor shall eat, and shall be satisfied; and they who seek the Lord shall praise him, and their hearts shall live forever and ever.)
27 All the ends of earth shall bethink; and shall be converted to the Lord. And all the families of heathen men, shall worship in his sight. (All the ends of the earth shall remember the Lord; and shall turn to him. And all the families of the heathen, shall worship before him.)
28 For the realm is the Lord’s; and he shall be Lord of heathen men. (For the Lord is the King; and he is the Lord of the heathen, yea, of all the nations.)
29 All the fat men of earth ate and worshipped; all men, that go down into earth, shall fall down in his sight. And my soul shall live to him; (All the proud people of the earth shall eat at his feasts, and they shall worship him; all those, who go down into the earth, yea, who go down into the grave, shall bow down before him. And my soul shall live for him;)
30 and my seed shall serve him. A generation to coming shall be told to the Lord; (and my children, or my descendants, shall serve him. The generations to come shall be told about the Lord;)
31 and heavens shall tell his rightfulness to the people that shall be born, whom the Lord made. (they shall tell of his righteousness to the people yet to be born, yea, what the Lord hath done/that the Lord hath done this.)
5 And Moses called all Israel, and said to him, Hear, thou Israel, the ceremonies and dooms, which I speak today in your ears; learn ye them, and fulfilleth in deed. (And Moses called all the Israelites, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and laws, or judgements, which I speak today in your ears; learn ye them, and do ye them.)
2 Our Lord God made a bond of peace with us in Horeb; (The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai;)
3 he made not covenant with our fathers, but with us that be present, and live. (he did not make the covenant with our fathers, but with us who be alive, and present here today.)
4 Face to face he spake to us in the hill, from the midst of the fire. (Face to face he spoke to you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire.)
5 I was (a) reconciler and a mediator betwixt God and you in that time, that I should tell to you his words, for ye dreaded the fire, and ye went not up into the hill. And he said, (I was a reconciler and a mediator between God and you at that time, to tell you his words, for ye feared the fire, and ye would not go up the mountain. And he said,)
6 I am thy Lord God, that led thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servage. (I am the Lord thy God, who led thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude, or of slavery.)
7 Thou shalt not have alien Gods in my sight. (Thou shalt not have any foreign, or other, gods before me.)
8 Thou shalt not make to thee a graven image, neither a likeness of all things that be in heaven above, and that be in earth beneath, and that be in waters under (the) earth; (Thou shalt not make a carved image, or an idol, for thyself, nor a likeness of anything that be in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth;)
9 thou shalt not praise them, nor worship them; for I am thy Lord God, a jealous God; and I yield the wickedness of (the) fathers into the sons, into the third and the fourth generation to them that hate me (and I put the punishment of the fathers upon the children, into the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me),
10 and I do mercy into many thousands to them that love me, and keep my behests. (but I do mercy to the many thousands who love me, and keep my commandments.)
11 Thou shalt not mis-take the name of thy Lord God in vain, for he shall not be unpunished, that taketh the name of God in a vain thing. (Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for no one shall go unpunished, who taketh the name of God in vain.)
12 Keep thou the sabbath day that thou hallow it, as thy Lord God commanded to thee. (Keep thou the sabbath day holy, as the Lord thy God commanded thee.)
13 In six days thou shalt work, and do all thy works;
14 the seventh day is the day of sabbath, that is, the rest of thy Lord God. Thou shalt not do therein anything of work; thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy servant, and thine handmaid, and thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy work beasts, and the pilgrim that is within thy gates; that thy servant rest and thine handmaid, as also thou. (the seventh day is the day of sabbath, that is, the rest of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not do any work on it; thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy slave, and thy slave-girl, and thy ox, and thy donkey, and all thy work beasts, and the foreigner, or the stranger, who is within thy gates; so that thy slave and thy slave-girl can rest, as thou doeth.)
15 Have mind, that also thyself servedest in Egypt, and thy Lord God led thee out from thence, in a strong hand, and in an arm stretched forth (Remember, that thou were slaves in Egypt, and that the Lord thy God led thee out from there, with a strong hand, and an outstretched arm); therefore he commanded to thee, that thou shouldest keep the sabbath day.
16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as thy Lord God commanded to thee, that thou live in long time, and that it be well to thee, in the land which thy Lord God shall give to thee. (Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God commanded thee, so that thou live a long time, and that it be well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee.)
17 Thou shalt not slay. (Thou shalt not kill.)
18 Thou shalt not do lechery.
19 Thou shalt not do theft.
20 Thou shalt not speak false witnessing against thy neighbour.
21 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his house, nor his field, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor ass, and all things, that is, nothing of all the things, that be his. (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his house, nor his field, nor his slave, nor his slave-girl, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that be his.)
22 The Lord spake these words to all your multitude, in the hill, from the midst of the fire, and of the cloud, and of the mist, with great voice, and he added to (it) nothing more; and he wrote those words in two tables of stone, which he gave to me. (The Lord spoke these words to all the multitude of you, on the mountain, from the midst of the fire, and of the cloud, and of the mist, with a great voice, and he added nothing more to it; and he wrote those words on two stone tablets, which he gave to me.)
11 I am made witless [I am made unwitty], ye constrained me. For I ought to be commended of you; for I did nothing less than they that be apostles over measure. Though I am nought [Though I be nought],
12 nevertheless the signs of mine apostlehood be made on you, in all patience, and signs, and great wonders, and works of power. [nevertheless the signs of my apostlehood be made on you, in all patience, and signs, or miracles, and great wonders, and virtues.]
13 And what is it, that ye had less than other churches [that ye had less before other churches], [no] but that I myself grieved you not? Forgive ye to me this wrong.
14 Lo! this third time I am ready to come to you, and I shall not be grievous to you; for I seek not those things that be yours, but you. For neither sons owe to [make] treasure to father and mother, but the father and mother to the sons.
15 For I shall give most willfully [For I most willfully shall give], and I myself shall be given over for your souls; though I more love you, and be less loved.
16 But be it; I grieved not you, but when I was subtle[a], I took you with guile.
17 Whether I deceived you by any of them, which I sent to you [whom I sent to you]?
18 I prayed Titus, and I sent with him a brother. Whether Titus beguiled you? whether we went not in the same spirit? whether not in the same steps?
19 Sometime ye ween, that we shall excuse us with you. Before God in Christ we speak; and, most dear brethren [forsooth, most dear brethren], all things for your edifying.
20 But I dread, lest when I come, I shall not find you such as I will, and I shall be found of you such as ye will not; lest peradventure strivings, envies, indignations [sturdinesses], dissensions and detractions, privy speeches of discord, swellings by pride, debates be among you;
21 and lest again when I come, God make me low with you, and I bewail many of them, that before sinned, and did not penance on the uncleanness, and fornication, and unchastity, that they have done.[b]
13 Enter ye by the strait gate; for the gate that leadeth to perdition is large, and the way is broad, and there be many that enter by it. [Enter ye by the strait gate; for the gate is broad, and the way that leadeth to perdition, either damnation, is large, and many be that enter by it.]
14 How strait is the gate, and narrow the way, that leadeth to life, and there be few that find it [and few be that find it].
15 Be ye ware of false prophets, that come to you in clothings of sheep, but withinforth they be wolves of raven;[a]
16 of their fruits ye shall know them. Whether men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of briers?
17 So every good tree maketh good fruits; but an evil tree maketh evil fruits.
18 A good tree may not make evil fruits, neither an evil tree [may] make good fruits.
19 Every tree that maketh not good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire.
20 Therefore of their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every man that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heavens; but he that doeth the will of my Father that is in heavens, he shall enter into the kingdom of heavens.[b]
2001 by Terence P. Noble