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.)
1 The burden of Nineveh; the book of (the) vision of Nahum (the) Elkoshite.
2 The Lord is a punisher, and the Lord is venging; the Lord is venging, and having strong vengeance; the Lord is venging against his adversaries, and he is wrathing to his enemies (and he is raging at his enemies).
3 The Lord is patient, and great in strength, and he cleansing shall not make (the wicked) innocent. The Lord cometh in tempest, and the ways of him be in whirlwind, and clouds be the dust of his feet; (The Lord is patient, and great in strength, and in cleansing, he shall not make the wicked innocent, or let them go unpunished. The Lord cometh in the tempest, and his ways be in the whirlwind, and the clouds be the dust of his feet;)
4 he blameth the sea, and drieth it, and bringeth all floods into desert (he rebuketh the sea, and it drieth up, and maketh all the rivers into deserts, or into dry riverbeds). Bashan is made sick, and (also) Carmel, and the flower(s) of Lebanon languished.
5 Mountains be moved together of him, and little hills be desolate. And [the] earth trembled together from the face of him, and the roundness of earth, and all dwelling therein. (The mountains be altogether moved, or shaken, before him, and the little hills be made desolate. And the earth altogether trembled, or shook, before his face, yea, the whole earth, and all those who live upon it.)
6 Who shall stand before the face of his indignation? and who shall against-stand in the wrath of his strong vengeance? His indignation is shed out as fire, and stones be dissolved, either broken, of him. (Who can stand before his anger? yea, who can stand against the anger of his strong vengeance? His indignation is poured out like fire, and the stones be dissolved, or broken, by him.)
7 The Lord is good, and strengthening in the day of tribulation, and knowing them that hope in him. (The Lord is good, and a stronghold, or a fortress, in the day of tribulation, and he knoweth those who trust in him.)
8 And in great flood passing forth, he shall make end of his place; and darknesses shall pursue his enemies. (And like a great river flowing forth, he shall make an end of the place of his enemies; and darkness shall pursue his enemies.)
9 What think ye against the Lord? He shall make end; double tribulation shall not rise together. (What do ye plan, or plot, against the Lord? He shall make an end; and tribulation shall not rise up a second time.)
10 For as thorns embrace themselves together, so the feast of them drinking together shall be wasted, as stubble full of dryness. (For as tangled thorns, like very dry stubble, be quickly destroyed, or burned up, so shall be the feasts of those of you drinking together.)
11 Of thee shall go out a man thinking malice against the Lord, and treat trespassing in soul. (Out of thee came a man plotting malice against the Lord, and treating, or pondering, trespassing in his soul.)
12 The Lord saith these things, If they shall be perfect, and so many, and thus they shall be clipped, and it shall pass by. I tormented thee, and I shall no more torment thee. (The Lord saith these things, Though they be perfect, and so many, still they shall be cut down, or destroyed, and they shall pass away from thee. I have tormented thee, but I shall torment thee no more.)
13 And now I shall all-break the rod of him from (off) thy back, and I shall break thy bonds.
13 For which thing be ye gird the loins of your soul, sober, perfect, and hope ye into that grace that is proffered to you by the showing of Jesus Christ [and hope ye into that grace that is offered to you by the revelation, or showing, of Jesus Christ],
14 as sons of obedience, not made like to the former desires of your unknowingness, [as sons of obedience, not together likened to the former desires of your ignorance,]
15 but like him that hath called you holy; that also ye self be holy in all living [that and yourselves be holy in all living];
16 for it is written, Ye shall be holy, for I am holy.
17 And if ye inwardly call him Father, which deemeth without acception of persons by the work of each man [the which without acception of persons deemeth after the work of each man], live ye in dread in the time of your pilgrimage [in earth];
18 witting that not by corruptible gold, either silver [or silver], ye be bought again of your vain living of fathers' tradition,
19 but by the precious blood as of the lamb undefouled and unspotted, Christ Jesus,
20 that was known before the making of the world, but he is showed in the last times, for you
21 that by him be faithful in God; that raised him from death [that raised him from dead men], and gave to him everlasting glory, that your faith and hope were in God.
22 And make ye chaste your souls in obedience of charity [Ye making chaste your souls in obedience of charity], in love of brotherhood; of simple heart love ye together more busily.
23 And be ye born again, not of corruptible seed, but [of] uncorruptible, by the word of living God, and dwelling into without end.
24 For each flesh is hay, and all the glory of it is as the flower of hay; the hay dried up, and his flower felled down[a];
25 but the word of the Lord dwelleth without end [into without end]. And this is the word, that is preached to you [Soothly this is the word, that is evangelized to you].
13 Then little children were brought to him, that he should put [his] hands to them, and pray. And the disciples blamed them.
14 But Jesus said to them, Suffer ye that little children come to me, and do not ye forbid them [But Jesus said to them, Suffer ye little children come to me, and do not ye forbid them to come to me]; for of such is the kingdom of heavens.
15 And when he had put to them hands, he went from thence. [And when he had put to them hands, he went thence.]
16 And lo! one came, and said to him, Good master, what good [thing] shall I do, that I have everlasting life?
17 Which saith to him, What askest thou me of good thing? There is one good God [Which said to him, What askest thou me of good thing? One is good God]. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith to him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shalt not do manslaying, thou shalt not do adultery, thou shalt not do theft, thou shalt not say false witnessing;
19 worship thy father and thy mother [honour thou thy father and thy mother], and, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith to him, I have kept all these things from my youth, what yet faileth to me?
21 Jesus saith to him, If thou wilt be perfect, go, and sell all things that thou hast, and give to poor men, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, and follow me.
22 And when the young man had heard these words, he went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions.
2001 by Terence P. Noble