Book of Common Prayer

140 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, deliver thou me from an evil man; deliver thou me from a wicked man. (To victory, the song of David. Lord, save thou me from evil people; yea, save thou me from violent, or wicked, people.)

² Which thought wickednesses in the heart; all day they ordained battles. (Who always think in their hearts about doing wicked things; who plan out battles all day long/day after day.)

³ They sharpened their tongues as serpents; the venom of snakes is under the lips of them. (Their tongues be sharp like the fangs of serpents; the venom of snakes is on their lips.)

⁴ Lord, keep thou me from the hand of the sinner; and deliver thou me from wicked men. Which thought to deceive my goings; (Lord, keep thou me safe from the power of the sinner; and save thou me from the wicked, from those who think out ways to thwart my progress.)

⁵ proud men hid a snare to me. And they laid forth cords into a snare; they setted (a) trap to me beside the way. (Proud people hid a snare for me, yea, they laid out cords for a snare; they set a trap for me along the way.)

⁶ I said to the Lord, Thou art my God; Lord, hear thou the voice of my beseeching (Lord, hear thou the words of my plea).

⁷ Lord, Lord, the virtue of mine health; thou madest shadow on mine head in the day of battle. (Lord, Lord, my strong salvation/my strong deliverance; thou madest a shadow upon my head on the day of battle.)

⁸ Lord, betake thou not me from my desire to the sinner; they thought against me, forsake thou not me, lest peradventure they be enhanced. (Lord, do not thou deliver me unto the desires of the sinners; they have planned to harm me, so abandon thou me not, lest they gain an advantage over me.)

⁹ The head of the compass of them; the travail of their lips shall cover them. (As for the leaders of those who surround me; let the treachery of their own lips ensnare them.)

¹⁰ Coals shall fall on them, thou shalt cast them down into fire; in(to) wretchednesses (where) they shall not (be able to) stand. (Let burning coals fall upon them, and be they thrown down into the fire; yea, into a wretchedness from which they shall never be able to escape.)

¹¹ A man that is a great jangler shall not be (well-) directed in earth (A man who is a great gossip, or a slanderer, shall not be successful in the world); evils shall take an unjust man in(to) perishing.

¹² I have known, that the Lord shall make doom of a needy man; and the vengeance of poor men. (I know, that the Lord shall make judgement in favour of the needy; and he shall take vengeance for the poor.)

¹³ Nevertheless just men shall acknowledge to thy name; and rightful men shall dwell with thy cheer. (Truly the righteous shall give thanks to thy name; and the upright shall live in thy presence./Truly the righteous shall praise thy name; and the upright shall worship before thee.)

142 The learning of David; his prayer, when he was in the den. With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I prayed heartily to the Lord. (The teaching of David; his prayer, when he was in the cave. With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I heartily prayed to the Lord.)

² I shedded out my prayer in his sight; and I pronounce(d) my tribulation before him. (I poured out my complaints before him; and I told him about all my troubles.)

³ While my spirit faileth of me; and thou hast known my paths. In this way in which I went; proud men hid a snare to me. (Yea, when my spirit failed within me; thou knewest which path I should take. For on the way in which I went; proud people hid a snare for me.)

⁴ I beheld to the right side, and I saw; and none there was that knew me. Flight perished from me; and none there is that seeketh (to help) my soul. (I looked to the right; and I saw, that there was no one there who knew me. I had no way to escape; there was no one to rescue me.)

⁵ Lord, I cried to thee; I said, Thou art mine hope; my part in the land of livers. (Lord, I cried to thee; I said, Thou art my only hope, my portion in the land of the living.)

⁶ Give thou attention to my beseeching; for I am made low full greatly. Deliver thou me from them that pursue me; for they be comforted on me. (Give thou attention to my plea; for I am brought down so very low. Save thou me from those who pursue me; for they be stronger than me.)

⁷ Lead my soul out of keeping to acknowledge to thy name; just men abide me, till thou yield to me. (Lead me out of this prison, so that I can praise thy name; the righteous shall gather around me, when thou shalt reward me.)

141 The psalm of David. (The song of David.) Lord, I cried to thee, hear thou me; give thou attention to my voice, when I shall cry to thee.

² My prayer be (ad)dressed as incense in thy sight; the raising up of mine hands be as the eventide sacrifice. (Let my prayer be directed before thee like incense; and let the raising up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.)

³ Lord, set thou a keeping to my mouth; and a door of standing about to my lips. (Lord, set thou a guard at my mouth; yea, a sentry at the door of my lips.)

⁴ Bow thou not [down] mine heart into words of malice; to excuse excusings in sin. With men working wickedness; and I shall not commune with the chosen men of them. (Help thou me not to turn my heart to words of malice; to make excuses for sins, and for those who do evil. I shall not commune with their chosen ones/I shall not feast with their chosen ones.)

⁵ A just man shall reprove me in mercy, and he shall blame me; but the oil of a sinner make not fat mine head. For why and yet my prayer is in the well pleasant things of them; (The righteous shall rebuke me in love, and they shall reproach me; but my head shall not be anointed with the oil of sinners. For my prayer is still against what is pleasing to them.)

⁶ for the doomsmen of them joined to the stone were sopped up. Hear they my words, for they were mighty. (And when their judges shall be thrown down from stony places, then the people shall listen to my words; for they be true.)

⁷ As fatness is broken out on the earth; our bones be scattered nigh hell. (As wood chopped into pieces lieth on the ground; so their bones shall be scattered nigh to Sheol/close to the grave.)

⁸ Lord, Lord, for mine eyes be to thee, I hoped in thee; take thou not away my soul. (Lord, Lord, I fix my eyes upon thee, and I put my trust in thee; do not let me die!)

⁹ Keep thou me from the snare which they ordained to me; and from the traps of them that work wickedness. (Keep thou me safe from the snare which they have set for me; yea, from the traps of those who do evil.)

¹⁰ Sinners shall fall in the net thereof; I am alone till I pass. (Let the sinners fall into their own nets; while I alone shall safely pass by.)

143 The psalm of David. Lord, hear thou my prayer, with ears perceive thou my beseeching; in thy truth hear thou me, in thy rightwiseness. (The song of David. Lord, hear thou my prayer, and listen thou to my plea; and answer thou me in thy faithfulness, and in thy righteousness.)

² And enter thou not into doom with thy servant; for each man living shall not be made just in thy sight. (And enter thou not into the judgement of thy servant; for no one living can be made right, or justified, before thee.)

³ For the enemy pursued my soul; he made low my life in [the] earth. He hath set me in dark places, as the dead men of the world, (For the enemy hath pursued me; and he hath brought me down low to the ground. He hath put me in dark places, like the dead of the world,)

⁴ and my spirit was anguished on me; mine heart was troubled in me. (and my spirit was anguished within me; and my heart was troubled within me.)

⁵ I was mindful of eld days, I bethought in all thy works; I bethought in the deeds of thine hands. (I remembered the old days, and I thought about all thy works; yea, I thought about the deeds of thy hands.)

⁶ I held forth mine hands to thee; my soul (was) as earth without water to thee. (I held out my hands to thee; my soul was like dry ground without water, thirsting for thee.)

⁷ Lord, hear thou me swiftly; my spirit failed. Turn thou not away thy face from me; and I shall be like them that go down into the pit. (Lord, swiftly answer thou me; for my spirit faileth/for my spirit fainteth. Turn thou not away thy face from me; or I shall be like those who go down into the pit.)

⁸ Make thou early thy mercy heard to me; for I hoped in thee. Make thou known to me the way in which I shall go; for I raised my soul to thee. (Let me know thy love in the morning; for I put my trust in thee. Let me know which way I should go; for I raise up my soul to thee.)

⁹ Deliver thou me from mine enemies; Lord, I fled to thee; (Save thou me from my enemies; Lord, I fled to thee/Lord, I flee to thee;)

¹⁰ teach thou me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me forth into a rightful land; (teach thou me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me forth on the right path;)

¹¹ Lord, for thy name thou shalt quicken me in thine equity. Thou shalt lead my soul out of tribulation; (Lord, for the sake of thy name, save me/let me live. And because of thy fairness, lead thou my soul out of trouble, or tribulation;)

¹² and in thy mercy thou shalt scatter mine enemies. And thou shalt lose all them, that trouble my soul; for I am thy servant. (and in thy love for me, waste thou my enemies. Yea, destroy thou all those who trouble me; for I am thy servant.)

¹⁹ And none ironsmith was found in all the land of Israel; for the Philistines were wary, either eschewed, lest peradventure the Hebrews made sword either spear. (And no ironsmith was found in all the land of Israel; for the Philistines forbade them, lest the Hebrews made for themselves swords or spears.)

²⁰ Therefore all Israel went down to the Philistines, that each man should sharpen his share, and his pickax, and his ax, and his cutting hook; (And so all Israel needed to go down to the Philistines, where each man could sharpen his plowshare, and his pickax, and his ax, and his cutting hook;)

²¹ for all the edges of their shares were blunt, and of their pickaxes, and of their three-toothed forks, and of axes, unto a prick to be amended. (for all the edges of their plowshares, their pickaxes, their three-toothed forks, and their axes, were blunt, and needed sharpening.)

²² And when the day of battle came, no sword nor spear was found in the hand of all the people that was with Saul and Jonathan, except Saul, and Jonathan his son. (And so when the day of battle came, no sword or spear was found in the hands of all the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, except Saul, and his son Jonathan.)

²³ Forsooth the station of Philistines went out, that it should pass into Michmash. (And the Philistines’ garrison went out to the Michmash Pass.)

14 And it befelled in a day, that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to his squire, a young man, Come thou, and pass we (over) to the station of the Philistines, which is beyond that place; soothly he showed not this same thing to his father. (And it befell one day, that Saul’s son Jonathan, said to the young man who was his squire, Come thou, and go we over to the Philistines’ station, or post, which is beyond that place over there; but he did not tell this to his father.)

² And Saul dwelled in the last part of Gibeah, under a pomegranate tree, that was in the field of Gibeah; and the people as of six hundred men was with him. (And Saul remained in the last part of Gibeah, under a pomegranate tree, that was in Migron; and the people who were with him were about six hundred men.)

³ And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, [the] brother of Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, that was engendered of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, bare the ephod, that is, the priest’s cloak; but also the people knew not whither Jonathan had gone (and the people did not know that Jonathan had gone).

⁴ And betwixt the goings up, by which Jonathan endeavoured to pass to the station of (the) Philistines, were stones standing forth on ever either side, and scars broken before, by the manner of teeth, on each side (and broken scarps on each side, like teeth); (the) name to the one was Bozez, and (the) name to the tother was Seneh;

⁵ one scar was standing forth to the north (over) against Michmash, and the tother scar to the south (over) against Gibeah. (one scarp was to the north, facing Michmash, and the other scarp was to the south, facing Gibeah.)

⁶ And Jonathan said to his young squire, Come thou, pass we (over) to the station of these uncircumcised men, if in hap the Lord do (battle) for us; for it is not hard to the Lord to save, either in many, either in few (for it is not hard for the Lord to keep a man safe, yea, either a few, or many).

⁷ And his squire said to him, Do thou all things that please thy soul; go whither thou covetest, I shall be with thee, wherever thou wilt.

⁸ And Jonathan said, Lo! we pass (over) to these men; and when we appear to them,

⁹ if they speak thus to us, Dwell ye (Stay ye), till we come to you; stand we in our place, and go we not up to them.

¹⁰ And if they say, Go ye up to us; go we up to them, for the Lord hath betaken them into our hands; this shall be a sign to us. (But if they say, Come ye up to us; then we shall go up to them, for the Lord hath delivered them into our hands; this shall be a sign to us.)

¹¹ Therefore ever either appeared to the station of Philistines (And so they both appeared before the Philistines’ station); and the Philistines said, Lo! the Hebrews go out of [the] caves, in which they were hid.

¹² And men of the station spake to Jonathan and to his squire, and said, Go ye up to us, and we shall show to you a thing. And Jonathan said to his squire, Ascend we, follow thou me; for the Lord hath betaken them into the hands of Israel. (And the men of the station said to Jonathan and his squire, Come ye over to us, and we shall show you a thing or two. And Jonathan said to his squire, Go we up to them, follow thou me; for the Lord hath delivered them into the hands of Israel.)

¹³ And Jonathan went up, creeping on hands and feet, and his squire after him; and when they had seen the face of Jonathan, some felled down before Jonathan, his squire killed others, and followed him (and when they were face to face with Jonathan, he killed some, and his squire killed some others, following his master).

¹⁴ And the first wound was made, which Jonathan and his squire smote, as of twenty men, in the middle part of land, which a pair of oxen was wont to ear in the day. (And so the first attack was made, in which Jonathan and his squire killed about twenty men, in the middle part of a field which a pair of oxen could plow in a day.)

¹⁵ And a miracle was done in the Philistines’ tents, and by their fields, but also all the people of the Philistines’ station that went out to take prey, dreaded, and their tents were troubled; and it befelled as a miracle of God. (And so terror spread across that field, and among the Philistines’ host, or army, and all the people at the Philistines’ station who went out to take prey were afraid, and the army was greatly troubled; and so it befell as a miracle of God.)

9 But Saul, yet a blower of menaces and of beatings [yet a breather, or blower, of menaces, and beating, or slaying,] against the disciples of the Lord, came to the prince of priests,

² and asked of him letters into Damascus, to the synagogues; that if he found any men or women of this life, he should lead them bound to Jerusalem.

³ And when he made his journey, it befelled [And when he made journey, it befell], that he came nigh to Damascus. And suddenly a light from heaven shone about him;

⁴ and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, what pursuest thou me?

⁵ And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou pursuest. It is hard to thee, to kick against the prick [It is hard to thee, for to kick against the prick].

⁶ And he trembled, and wondered, and said, Lord, what wilt thou that I do [And he trembling and wondering, said, Lord, what wilt thou me to do]? And the Lord said to him, Rise up, and enter into the city, and it shall be said to thee, what it behooveth thee to do.

⁷ And those men that went with him, stood astonished; for they heard a voice, but they saw no man. [Forsooth those men that went with him, stood made afeared, or out of mind; soothly hearing a voice, forsooth seeing no man.]

⁸ And Saul rose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. And they drew him by the hands, and led him into Damascus.

⁹ And he was three days not seeing; and he ate not, neither drank.

²⁶ And when they led him, they took a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the town, and they laid on him the cross to bear after Jesus.

²⁷ And there followed him much people [Soothly there followed him much company of people], and [of] women that bewailed, and bemourned him.

²⁸ And Jesus turned to them, and said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not ye weep on me, but weep ye on yourselves and on your sons.

²⁹ For lo! days shall come, in which it shall be said, Blessed be barren women, and [the] wombs that have not born children, and the teats that have not given suck.^[a]

³⁰ Then they shall begin to say to mountains, Fall ye down on us, and to small hills, Cover ye us.

³¹ For if in a green tree they do these things [For if they do these things in a green tree], what shall be done in a dry?