Book of Common Prayer

⁹⁷ [Mem]. Lord, how loved I thy law; all day it is my thinking. (Lord, how I love thy Law! I think about it all day long.)

⁹⁸ Above mine enemies thou madest me prudent by thy commandment; for it is to me [into] without end. (By thy commandments, thou hast made me more prudent than all my enemies; for thy commandments shall be with me forever.)

⁹⁹ I understood over all men teaching me; for thy witnessings is my thinking. (I have more understanding than all those who teach me; because I think about thy teachings.)

¹⁰⁰ I understood above eld men; for I sought thy commandments. (I have more understanding than the old men, that is, the elders; because I have kept thy precepts.)

¹⁰¹ I forbade my feet from all evil way; that I keep thy words (so that I obey thy commands).

¹⁰² I bowed not from thy dooms; for thou hast set law to me. (I turned not away from thy judgements; for thou thyself hast taught me.)

¹⁰³ Thy speeches be full sweet to my cheeks; above honey to my mouth. (Thy words be exceedingly sweet to my taste; yea, sweeter in my mouth than honey.)

¹⁰⁴ I understood of thy behests; therefore I hated all the ways of wickedness. (I gained understanding through thy precepts; and now I hate all wicked ways.)

¹⁰⁵ [Nun]. Thy word is a lantern to my feet; and (a) light to my paths.

¹⁰⁶ I swore, and purposed steadfastly; to keep the dooms of thy rightfulness. (I swore, and steadfastly purposed, to obey thy righteous judgements.)

¹⁰⁷ I am made low by all things; Lord, quicken thou me by thy word. (I am brought down so very low, that is, I am greatly afflicted; Lord, grant thou me life according to thy word.)

¹⁰⁸ Lord, make thou well pleasing the willful things of my mouth; and teach thou me thy dooms. (Lord, accept thou the willing offerings, or the tributes, from my mouth; and teach thou me thy judgements.)

¹⁰⁹ My soul is ever[more] in mine hands; and I forgat not thy law. (My life is in my hands forevermore/My life is always in my hands; yet I never forget thy Law.)

¹¹⁰ Sinners setted a snare to me; and I erred not from thy commandments. (Sinners set a snare for me; but I did not stray from thy precepts.)

¹¹¹ I purchased thy witnessings by heritage [into] without end; for those be the full joying of mine heart. (Thy teachings be my inheritance forever; yea, they be the full out joy of my heart.)

¹¹² I bowed mine heart to do thy justifyings [into] without end; for reward. (I committed my heart to follow thy statutes; for they be my reward forever/for they shall be my reward until the day I die.)

¹¹³ [Samech]. I hated wicked men; and I loved thy law. (I hate the wicked; but I love thy Law.)

¹¹⁴ Thou art mine helper, and mine up-taker; and I hoped more in thy word. (Thou art my helper, and my defender; I put my hope in thy word.)

¹¹⁵ Ye wicked men, bow away from me; and I shall seek the commandments of my God. (All ye wicked people, go away from me; so that I can obey my God’s commandments.)

¹¹⁶ Up-take thou me by thy word, and I shall live; and shame thou not me for mine abiding. (Lift up thou me/Strengthen thou me according to thy word, so that I may live; and do not let me be shamed for trusting in thee.)

¹¹⁷ Help thou me, and I shall be safe; and I shall bethink ever[more] in thy justifyings. (Help thou me, and I shall be saved; and I shall think about thy statutes forevermore.)

¹¹⁸ Thou hast forsaken all men going away from thy dooms; for the thought of them is unjust. (Thou hast abandoned all who stray, or who go away, from thy statutes; for their thoughts be not just, or proper.)

¹¹⁹ I areckoned all the sinners of earth (to be) breakers of the law; therefore I loved thy witnessings. (Thou reckonest all the wicked of the earth to be but drit, or dirt; and so I love thy teachings.)

¹²⁰ Nail thou my flesh with thy dread; for I dreaded of thy dooms. (My flesh shaketh in fear of thee; because I fear thy judgements/because I revere thy justice.)

81 To the overcomer, on the pressers, [the psalm] of Asaph. Make ye fully joy to God, our helper; sing ye heartily to God of Jacob. (To the overcomer, at the winepresses, the song of Asaph. Make ye full out joy to God, our helper; sing ye heartily to the God of Jacob.)

² Take ye a psalm, and give ye a tympan; a merry psaltery with an harp. (Give ye a song, and take ye a drum, or a tambourine; and a merry lute, and a harp.)

³ Blow ye with a trump in the new moon; in the noble day of your solemnity. (Blow ye with a trumpet for the new moon; yea, on the noble day of our solemn feast.)

⁴ For why (this) commandment is in Israel; and doom is to God of Jacob. (For this is a law in Israel; and this ordinance is from the God of Jacob.)

⁵ He setted that witnessing in Joseph; when he went out of the land of Egypt, he heard a language, that he knew not. (He put that command on Joseph; when he went out of the land of Egypt. And I heard a language, that I knew not.)

⁶ He turned away his back from burdens; his hands served in a coffin. (And the Lord said, I took away the burdens from off his back; his hands were delivered from having to carry the baskets.)

⁷ In tribulation thou inwardly calledest me, and I delivered thee; I heard thee in the hid place of tempest, I proved thee at the water(s) of against-saying. (In trouble thou calledest to me, and I saved thee; I answered thee from my hidden place in the tempest, and I proved thee at the waters of Meribah.)

⁸ My people, hear thou me, and I shall be witness against thee; Israel, if thou hearest me, (My people, hear thou me, and I shall witness to thee; Israel, if thou wouldest but listen to me,)

⁹ a fresh God shall not be in thee; and thou shalt not worship an alien god. (there shall be no new god for thee; and thou shalt never worship any foreign, or strange, god.)

¹⁰ For I am thy Lord God, that led thee out of the land of Egypt; make large thy mouth, and I shall fill it. (For I am the Lord thy God, who led thee out of the land of Egypt; open thy mouth wide, and I shall fill it.)

¹¹ And my people heard not my voice; and Israel gave not attention to me. (But my people would not listen to my voice; yea, Israel would not give their attention to me.)

¹² And I let go them after the desires of their heart; they shall go in their findings. (So I let them go after the desires of their hearts; and they went forth in their own ways.)

¹³ If my people had heard me; if Israel had gone in my ways. (If my people would but listen to me; if Israel would just follow my ways,)

¹⁴ For not in hap I had made low their enemies; and I had sent mine hand on men doing tribulation to them. (then I would bring down their enemies; and I would send forth my hand against those who give them trouble.)

¹⁵ The enemies of the Lord lied (down) to him; and their time shall be into worlds. (And then the Lord’s enemies would fall down before me; and their punishment would last forever.)

¹⁶ And he fed them with the fatness of wheat; and he [ful]filled them with honey of the stone. (And I would feed you with the fatness of the wheat; and fulfill you with honey from the rocks, that is, with wild honey.)

82 The psalm of Asaph. God stood in the synagogue of gods; forsooth he deemeth gods in the middle. (The song of Asaph. God standeth in the council of heaven; and he judgeth among the gods.)

² How long deem ye (with) wickedness; and take the faces of sinners? (And he saith, How long shall ye judge wickedly; and make exceptions for sinners?)

³ Deem ye to the needy man, and to the motherless child; justify ye the meek man and poor. (Judge ye for the needy, and for the motherless; give ye justice to the weak, and to the poor.)

⁴ Ravish ye out a poor man; and deliver ye a needy man from the hand of the sinner. (Rescue ye the poor and the needy; save ye them from the power of sinners.)

⁵ They know not, neither understand, they go in darknesses; all the foundaments of earth shall be moved. (But ye know not, nor do ye understand, that ye go in darkness; and that all the foundations of the earth have been shaken.)

⁶ I said, Ye be gods; and all ye be the sons of the high God. (And I said, Ye be gods; and ye all be the sons of the Most High God.)

⁷ But ye shall die as men; and ye shall fall down as one of the princes. (But ye shall die like men die; and ye shall fall like any of the princes, or the leaders.)

⁸ Rise, thou God, deem thou the earth; for thou shalt have heritage in all folks. (Rise up, O God, and judge thou the earth; for all the nations shall be thy inheritance.)

⁷³ Soothly [the] priests, and deacons, and porters, and singers, and the residue people, and Nethinims, and all Israel dwelled in their cities. And (when) the seventh month was come under Ezra and Nehemiah, soothly the sons of Israel were in their cities. (And so the priests, and the Levites, and the guards, or the doorkeepers, and the singers, and the rest of the people, and the Temple workers, yea, all Israel, lived in their own cities and towns. And when the seventh month had come under Ezra and Nehemiah, all the Israelites were in their cities.)

8 And all the people was gathered together as one man, (in)to the street which is before the gate of waters. And they said to Ezra, the scribe, or the writer, that he should bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. (And then all the people gathered together as one person, in the square in front of the Water Gate. And they said to Ezra, the writer/the teacher of the Law, that he should bring The Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.)

² Therefore Ezra, the priest, brought the law before the multitude of men and of women, and before all that might understand, in the first day of the seventh month. (And so Ezra, the priest, brought The Book of the Law before the multitude of men and women, yea, to all who might understand it, in the first day of the seventh month.)

³ And he read in it openly in the street that was before the gate of waters, from the morrowtide till to midday, in the sight of men and of women, and of wise men; and the ears of all the people were raised up to the book to hear the law. (And he read from it openly in the square that was in front of the Water Gate, from the morning until noon, before men and women, yea, to all who were wise enough to understand it; and the ears of all the people were attentive to hear the Law from the book.)

⁵ And Ezra opened the book before all the people; for he appeared over all the people; and when he had opened the book, all the people stood to hear. (And Ezra opened the book before all the people; for he was above all the people; and when he had opened the book, all the people stood up to hear him.)

⁶ And Ezra blessed the Lord God with great voice; and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, raising up their hands. And they were bowed, and they worshipped God, lowly upon the earth. (And Ezra blessed the Lord God, the great God; and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, and raised up their hands. And they bowed their heads, and then worshipped God, low upon the ground.)

⁷ And Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, deacons, made silence in the people, for to hear the law. And the people stood in their degree. (And then Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, all Levites, expounded the Law to them. And all the people stood there in their places.)

⁸ And they read in the book of God’s law distinctly, and openly, to understand it; and they understood, when it was read. (And they read from The Book of God’s Law openly, and distinctly, and then expounded, or explained, it; and when it was read to the people in this way, they could understand it.)

⁹ Forsooth Nehemiah said, he is (the) Tirshatha, and Ezra, the priest and writer, and the deacons, expounding to all the people, This is a day hallowed to the Lord our God; do not ye mourn, and do not ye weep. For all the people wept, when it heard the words of the law. (And Nehemiah, he was the governor, and Ezra, the priest and writer/the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites, expounding the Law to all the people, said to them, This day is holy to the Lord our God; do not ye mourn, and do not ye weep. For all the people had wept, when they had heard the words of the Law.)

¹⁰ And he said to them, Go ye, and eat ye fat things, and drink ye wine made sweet with honey, and send ye parts to them, that made not ready to themselves, for it is an holy day of the Lord; do not ye be sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (And he said to them, Now go ye, and eat ye rich food, and drink ye mead, and send ye portions to those who cannot provide for themselves, for this day is holy to the Lord; do not ye be sorrowful, or sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.)

¹¹ And the deacons made silence in all the people, and said, Be ye still, for this is an holy day, and make ye no sorrow. (And the Levites silenced all the people, and said, Be ye quiet, for this day is holy, and so do not ye be sad.)

¹² Therefore all the people went for to eat, and (to) drink, and to send parts (and to send portions to the needy), and to make great gladness; for they understood the words, which he had taught them.

¹³ And in the second day, the princes of families, and all the peoples, priests, and deacons, were gathered to Ezra, the writer, that he should expound to them the words of the law. (And on the second day, the leaders of the families, and all the people, and the priests, and the Levites, were gathered before Ezra, the writer/the teacher of the Law, so that he could expound to them the words of the Law.)

¹⁴ And they found written in the law, that the Lord commanded in the hand of Moses, that the sons of Israel dwell in tabernacles in the solemn day(s), in the seventh month; (And they found written in the Law, that the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites should live in booths, or shelters, during the Feast of Tabernacles, that is, the Harvest Festival, in the seventh month;)

¹⁵ and that they (should) preach, and publish a voice in all their cities, and in Jerusalem; and say, Go ye out into the hill(s), and bring ye (back) boughs of the olive tree, and boughs of the fairest tree, the boughs of a myrtle tree, and the branches of a palm tree, and the boughs of a tree full of wood, that tabernacles be made of the boughs, as it is written (so that booths, or shelters, can be made out of the boughs, as it is written).

¹⁶ And all the people went out, and they brought (back) with them boughs, and they made to themselves tabernacles, each man in his house roof, and in their streets, either foreyards, and in the large places of God’s house, and in the street of the gate of waters, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. (And all the people went out, and they brought back some branches, and made booths, or shelters, for themselves, yea, each person on the flat roof of his house, or in their yard, or in the courtyards of the House of God, or in the public squares by the Water Gate, and the Ephraim Gate.)

¹⁷ Therefore all the church, or congregation, of them, that is, (all) the gathering together (of them), that came again from [the] captivity, made tabernacles, and they dwelled in those tabernacles. Certainly the sons of Israel had not done such things from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, unto that day; and full great gladness was there among them. (And so all the congregation, or the community, of them, who had returned from the captivity, made booths, or shelters, and they lived in those shelters. And truly the Israelites had not done such things from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, until that day; and so there was much gladness among them.)

¹⁸ And Ezra read in the book of God’s law by all days of the solemnity, from the first day unto the last day; and they made the solemnity by seven days; and in the eighth day they made a gathering, (or collection,) of silver, by the custom. (And Ezra read from The Book of God’s Law for all the days of the Feast, or the Festival, from the first day until the last day; and they held the Feast for seven days; and then on the eighth day they held a closing ceremony, as was the custom.)

²¹ And one strong angel took up a stone, as a great millstone, and cast into the sea, and said, In this force [saying, In this force, or fierceness,] that great city Babylon shall be sent, and now it shall no more be found.

²² And the voice of harps, and of men of music, and singing with pipe and trumpet, shall no more be heard in it [And the voice of harpers, and of men of music, and singing with pipe and trump, shall no more be heard in it]. And each craftsman, and each craft, shall no more be found in it. And the voice of a millstone shall no more be heard in thee,

²³ and the light of [the] lantern shall no more shine in thee, and the voice of the husband and of the wife shall no more be heard in thee; for thy merchants were princes of the earth. For in thy witchcrafts all folks erred.

²⁴ And the blood of prophets and of saints is found in it, and of all men that be slain in earth.

²⁹ And when Jesus had passed from thence, he came beside the sea of Galilee. And he went up into an hill, and sat there.

³⁰ And much people came to him, and had with them dumb men and crooked [men], feeble and blind, and many others; and they casted down them at his feet. And he healed them, [And many companies came nigh to him, having with them dumb men and crooked men, feeble and blind, and many others; and they cast them down at his feet. And he healed them,]

³¹ so that the people wondered [so that the companies wondered], seeing dumb men speaking, and crooked [men] going, blind men seeing; and they magnified God of Israel.

³² And Jesus, when his disciples were called together, said to them, I have ruth of the people, for they have abided now three days with me, and have nothing to eat; and I will not let them go fasting, lest they fail in the way.^[a]

³³ And the disciples say to him, Whereof then so many loaves among us in desert, to fulfill so great a people [that we fill so great a company]?

³⁴ And Jesus said to them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes.^[b]

³⁵ And he commanded the people, to sit to meat on the earth. [And he commanded the company, that they should sit to the meat on the earth.]

³⁶ And he took the seven loaves and five fishes, and did thankings, and brake them, and gave to his disciples; and the disciples gave to the people.

³⁷ And all ate, and were fulfilled, and they took that that was left of remnants, seven baskets full. [And all ate, and were filled, and they took that that was over of the reliefs, seven baskets full.]

³⁸ And they that ate were four thousand of men, without little children and women.

³⁹ And when he had let go the people [And, the company left], he went up into a boat, and came into the coasts of Magdala.