Book of Common Prayer
120 The song of degrees. When I was set in tribulation, I cried to the Lord; and he heard me. (When I was beset with troubles, I cried to the Lord; and he answered me.)
2 Lord, deliver thou my soul from wicked lips; and from a guileful tongue. (Lord, save thou me from wicked lips; and from a deceitful tongue.)
3 What shall be given to thee, either what shall be laid to thee; to a guileful tongue? (What shall be given to thee; that is, how shall he punish thee, O deceitful tongue?)
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty; with coals that make desolate. (With sharp arrows from the mighty; and with coals that shall make thee desolate.)
5 Alas to me! for my dwelling in an alien land is made long, I dwelled with men dwelling in Kedar; (Alas for me! for my stay here in Mesech is prolonged, and I must live among the people, or in the tents, of Kedar!)
6 my soul was much (time) a comeling. I was peaceable with them that hated peace; (I am here too long as a newcomer, or a stranger; yea, too long living with those who hate peace.)
7 when I spake to them, they impugned, either against-said, me without cause. (I am for peace; but whenever I speak of it to them, they be for war.)
121 The song of degrees. I raised mine eyes to the hills; from whence help shall come to me. (I raised up my eyes to the hills, or the mountains; O where shall I find help?/from where help shall come to me.)
2 Mine help is of the Lord; that made heaven and earth. (My help is from the Lord; who made heaven and earth.)
3 The Lord give not thy foot into moving; neither he nap, that keepeth thee. (The Lord shall not let thy foot slip, or stumble; nor shall he nap, who keepeth thee safe.)
4 Lo! he shall not nap, neither sleep; that keepeth Israel. (Lo! he, who keepeth Israel safe; shall not nap, or sleep.)
5 The Lord keepeth thee; the Lord is thy protection above thy right hand. (The Lord keepeth thee safe; the Lord is thy protection at thy right hand.)
6 The sun shall not burn thee by day; neither the moon by night.
7 The Lord keep thee from all evil; the Lord keep thy soul. (The Lord shall keep thee safe from all evil; yea, the Lord shall keep thee safe.)
8 The Lord keep thy going in and thy going out; from this time now and into the world. (The Lord shall guard thy coming in, and thy going out; from this time now, and forever.)
122 The song of degrees of David. I am glad in these things, that be said to me; We shall go into the house of the Lord. (The song of degrees for David. I was glad, when they said to me, We shall go to the House of the Lord.)
2 Our feet were standing; in thy halls/in thy foreyards, thou Jerusalem. (And now our feet stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.)
3 Jerusalem, which is builded as a city; whose partaking thereof is into the same thing. (Jerusalem is built to be a city, where people be together, yea, with one heart and mind.)
4 For the lineages, the lineages of the Lord, ascended thither, the witnessing of Israel; to acknowledge to the name of the Lord. (For the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, come there to give thanks to the Lord; that is Israel’s duty.)
5 For they sat there on seats in doom; seats on the house of David. (For the thrones of judgement, or of justice, be put there; yea, the thrones of the house of David.)
6 Pray ye those things, that be to the peace of Jerusalem; and abundance be to them that love thee. (Pray ye for the peace of Jerusalem; and say, May those who love thee prosper, or have great abundance.)
7 Peace be made in thy strength; and abundance in thy towers. (May there be peace within thy strongholds, or thy fortresses; and prosperity within thy palaces.)
8 For my brethren and my neighbours; I spake peace of thee. (For the sake of my brothers, or my kinsmen, and my neighbours; I say, Peace be with thee.)
9 For the house of our Lord God; I sought goods to thee. (For the sake of the House of the Lord our God; I shall seek thy good, or thy prosperity/I shall pray for good things for thee.)
123 The song of degrees. To thee I have raised mine eyes; that dwellest in heavens. (I raise up my eyes to thee; who livest in heaven.)
2 Lo! as the eyes of servants be in the hands of their lords. As the eyes of the handmaid be in the hands of her lady; so our eyes be to our Lord God, till he have mercy on us. (Lo! like the eyes of the servant look to the hand of his lord; and like the eyes of the servantess look to the hand of her lady; so let our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us.)
3 Lord, have thou mercy on us, have thou mercy on us; for we be much filled with despising (for we be greatly despised).
4 For our soul is much filled; we be shame to them that be abundant with riches, and despising to proud men. (For our soul is filled full, with the scorn of those who have abundant riches; and with disdain from the proud.)
124 The song of degrees of David. Israel say now, No but for the Lord was in us; (The song of degrees for David. Let Israel say now, If the Lord was not with us/If the Lord had not been for us,)
2 no but for the Lord was in us. When men rose up against us; (yea, if the Lord was not with us/if the Lord had not been for us; then when men rose up against us,)
3 in hap they had swallowed us quick. When the strong vengeance of them was wroth against us; (they would have swallowed us up alive. Yea, when their fury raged against us;)
4 in hap water had swallowed us up. Our soul passed through a strand; (the water would have swallowed us up. When the stream had gone up over our heads;)
5 in hap our soul had passed through a water unsufferable. (when the insufferable waters had gone up over our heads.)
6 Blessed be the Lord; that gave not us into taking, [(or) the catching,] of the teeth of them. (Blessed be the Lord; who did not allow us to be caught by their teeth.)
7 Our soul, as a sparrow, is delivered; from the snare of hunters. The snare is all-broken; and we be delivered. (We have escaped, like a sparrow, from the hunter’s snare. The snare is all-broken; and we be set free.)
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord; that made heaven and earth (who made heaven and earth).
125 The song of degrees. They that trust in the Lord be as the hill of Zion; he shall not be moved [into] without end, that dwelleth in Jerusalem. (They who trust in the Lord be like Mount Zion; it cannot be shaken, but it remaineth firm, or steadfast, forever.)
2 Hills be in the compass of it, and the Lord is in the compass of his people; from this time now, and into the world. (Like the mountains, or the hills, be all around Jerusalem, so the Lord is all around his people; from this time now, and forever.)
3 For the Lord shall not leave the rod of sinners on the part of just men; that just men hold not forth their hands to wickedness. (For the rod of the sinners shall not remain over the land of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands to wickedness.)
4 Lord, do thou well to good men; and to rightful in heart. (Lord, do thou good to good people; yea, to those with an upright heart.)
5 But the Lord shall lead them that bow into obligations, with them that work wickedness; peace be upon Israel. (But may the Lord lead forth those, who turn aside into depraved ways, with those who do evil. May peace be upon Israel.)
126 The song of degrees. When the Lord turned the captivity of Zion; we were made as comforted. (When the Lord returned the captives to Zion/When the Lord returned prosperity to Zion; we were made like in a dream.)
2 Then our mouth was filled with joy; and our tongue with full out joying. Then they shall say among heathen men; The Lord magnified to do with them. (Then our mouths were filled with joy; and ours tongues with rejoicing. And the heathen said to each other, The Lord hath done great things for them.)
3 The Lord magnified to do with us; we be made glad. (Yea, the Lord did great things for us; and we were glad.)
4 Lord, turn thou (again) our captivity; as a strand in the south. (Lord, return thou the captives/return thou our prosperity; like the streams return to the south.)
5 They that sow in tears; shall reap in full out joying. (Then they who sowed in tears; shall reap with rejoicing.)
6 They going, went, and wept; sending their seeds. But they coming, shall come with full out joying; bearing their handfuls (They going, went, and wept; sending out their seeds. But when they shall return, they shall come back rejoicing; carrying their harvest.)
127 The song of degrees of Solomon. No but the Lord build the house; they that built it have travailed in vain. No but the Lord keepeth the city; he waketh in vain that keepeth it./But if the Lord build the house; they that built it have travailed in vain. But (if) the Lord keepeth the city; he waketh in vain that keepeth it. (The song of degrees for Solomon. Unless the Lord build the house; those who have built it, have laboured in vain. Unless the Lord guardeth the city; he who standeth watch, guardeth in vain.)
2 It is vain to you to rise before the light; rise ye after ye have set, that eat the bread of sorrow. When he shall give sleep to his loved; (It is useless for you to rise before the light; and then to stay up late, only so that ye can eat the bread of sorrows. For he giveth to his beloved; even while they sleep.)
3 lo! the heritage of the Lord is sons, the meed is the fruit of womb. (Lo! sons and daughters be thy inheritance/be thy gift from the Lord; yea, the fruit of thy womb is his reward to you.)
4 As arrows be in the hand of the mighty; so the sons of them that be shaken out. (Like arrows be in the hand of the mighty; so be the sons and daughters that a man hath when he is young.)
5 Blessed is the man, that hath [full-]filled his desire of those; he shall not be shamed, when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate. (Happy is the man who hath filled his quiver full of them; he shall not be put to shame, or defeated, when he shall speak to his enemies in court.)
11 And it was done as after a month, Nahash of Ammon went up, and began to fight against Jabesh of Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Have thou us bound in peace (Make thou a covenant, or a bond of peace, with us), and we shall serve thee.
2 And Nahash of Ammon answered to them, In this I shall smite (a) bond of peace with you, that I put out the right eyes of all you, and that I put you to be reproof in all Israel. (And Nahash of Ammon answered to them, Only in this shall I strike a covenant with you, that I put out all of your right eyes, and that I bring reproach, or disgrace, upon all Israel.)
3 And the elder men of Jabesh said to him, Grant thou to us seven days, that we send messengers to all the coasts of Israel; and if none be that defend us, we shall go out to thee. (And the elders of Jabesh said to him, First grant thou us seven days, so that we can send messengers into all the coasts of Israel; and if there be none who will defend us, then we shall come out to thee.)
4 Then messengers came into Gibeah of Saul, and spake these words, while the people heard; and all the people raised (up) their voice, and wept.
5 And lo! Saul came from the field, and he followed [the] oxen; and he said, What hath the people, for it weepeth? (and he said, What maketh the people weep?) And they told to him the words of the men of Jabesh.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord fell at once into Saul, when he had heard these words, and his fierce wrath was greatly stirred.
7 And he took ever either ox, and he cut them into gobbets, and he sent those into all the coasts of Israel, by the hands of messengers; and he said, Whoever goeth not out, and followeth not Saul and Samuel, so it shall be done to his oxen. Therefore the dread of the Lord went into the people (And so the fear of the Lord went into the people), and they went out as one man.
8 And Saul numbered them in Bezek; and three hundred thousand were there of the sons of Israel; and of the men of Judah were thirty thousand. (And Saul counted, or registered, them in Bezek; and there were three hundred thousand of the sons of Israel; and thirty thousand of the men of Judah.)
9 And they said to the messengers that came, Thus ye shall say to the men that be in Jabesh of Gilead, Tomorrow shall be health to you, when the sun is hot (Tomorrow, help shall come to you, when the sun is hot). Then the messengers came, and told to the men of Jabesh; the which were glad,
10 and said to Ammon, Early we shall go out to you, and ye shall do to us all that pleaseth to you.[a] (and they said to the Ammonites, Early in the morning, we shall come out to you, and then ye can do to us all that pleaseth you.)
11 And it was done, when the morrowtide came, Saul ordained the people into three parts; and he entered into the middle (of the) tents (of Ammon) in the waking of the morrowtide, and he smote Ammon till the day was hot; forsooth the residues were scattered, so that twain together were not left in them. (And it was done, when the morning came, Saul divided the people into three parts, or groups; and they entered into the midst of the tents of the Ammonites during the morning watch, and they struck down the Ammonites until the day was hot; and the rest of them scattered, so that two of them were not left together.)
12 And the people said to Samuel, Who is this, that said, Saul shall not reign upon us? Give ye (up) the men, and we shall slay them.
13 And Saul said, No man shall be slain in this day, for today the Lord hath made health in Israel. (And Saul said, No one shall be killed on this day, for today the Lord hath given victory to Israel.)
14 And Samuel said to the people, Come ye, and go we into Gilgal, and renew we there the realm (and let us renew our loyalty to the kingdom there).
15 And all the people went into Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal; and they offered there peaceable sacrifices before the Lord. And Saul was glad there, and all the men of Israel greatly. (And all the people went to Gilgal, and there in Gilgal they made Saul king before the Lord; and they offered peace offerings there before the Lord. And Saul and all the men of Israel were exceedingly glad there.)
8 But Saul was consenting to his death. And great persecution was made that day in the church, that was in Jerusalem. And all men were scattered by the countries of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
2 But good men buried Stephen [Forsooth men dread-full buried Stephen], and made great mourning on him.
3 But Saul greatly destroyed the church, and entered by houses, and drew out men and women, and betook them into prison. [Forsooth Saul greatly destroyed the church, entering by houses, drawing men and women, betook into keeping, or prison.]
4 And they that were scattered [Therefore they were scattered], passed forth, preaching the word of God.
5 And Philip came down into a city of Samaria, and preached to them Christ.
6 And the people gave attention to these things [to those things] that were said of Philip, with one will hearing and seeing the signs that he did.
7 For many of them that had unclean spirits, cried with great voice, and went out [crying with great voice, went out]. And many sick in the palsy [Forsooth many sick in palsy], and crooked, were healed.
8 Therefore great joy was made in that city.
9 But there was a man in that city, whose name was Simon, a witch [Forsooth there was some man, Simon by name, which before was in the city a witch], that had deceived the folk of Samaria, saying, that himself was some great man.
10 Whom all harkened [To whom all harkened], from the least to the most, and said [saying], This is the virtue of God, which is called great.
11 And they believed him, for long time he had madded them with his witchcrafts. [Forsooth all believed him, for this thing, that much time he had made them mad with his witchings.]
12 But when they had believed to Philip, preaching of the kingdom of God, men and women were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. [Soothly when they had believed to Philip, evangelizing of the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, men and women were baptized.]
13 And then also Simon himself believed [Then also Simon himself believed]; and when he was baptized, he drew to Philip; and he saw also that signs and great works of power were done [he seeing also signs and most virtues to be made], he was astonished, and wondered.
63 And the men that held him scorned him, and smote him.
64 And they blindfolded him, and smote his face, and asked him, and said, Declare, thou Christ, to us, who is he that smote thee? [And they veiled him, and smote his face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy thou, who is it that smote thee?]
65 Also they blaspheming said against him many other things. [Also they blaspheming said many other things against him.]
66 And as the day was come, the elder men of the people, and the princes of priests, and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, and said [saying],
67 If thou art Christ, say to us. And he said to them, If I say to you, ye will not believe to me;
68 and if I ask, ye will not answer to me, neither ye will deliver me. [soothly and if I shall ask, ye shall not answer to me, neither ye shall let go.]
69 But after this time man's Son shall be sitting on the right half of the virtue of God.
70 Therefore all said, Then art thou the Son of God? And he said, Ye say that I am.
71 And they said, What yet desire we witnessing? for we ourselves have heard of his mouth.
2001 by Terence P. Noble