Book of Common Prayer

50 The psalm of Asaph. God, the Lord of gods, spake/God, the God of gods, spake; and called the earth, from the rising of the sun till to the going down. (The song of Asaph. God, the Lord of gods, spoke/God, the God of gods, spoke; and called to the people of the earth, from the rising of the sun unto the going down of it.)

² The shape of his fairness from Zion, God shall come openly; (God shineth from Zion, perfect in beauty;)

³ our God, and he shall not be still. Fire shall burn on high in his sight; and a strong tempest in his compass. (our God shall come, and he shall not be silent. Fire shall burn on high before him; and it shall be a strong tempest surrounding him/and a strong tempest shall surround him.)

⁴ He called heaven above; and the earth, to (witness him) deem his people. (He calleth heaven above, and the earth beneath, to the judgement of his people.)

⁵ Gather ye to him his saints; that ordain his testament above sacrifices. (And he saith, Gather my saints to me; those who have made a covenant with me, by offering a sacrifice.)

⁶ And heavens shall show his rightwiseness/And heavens shall tell his rightfulness; for God is the judge. (And the heavens shall tell out his righteousness; for God himself is the judge.)

⁷ My people, hear thou, and I shall speak to Israel; and I shall witness to thee, I am God, thy God. (My people, hear thou, and I shall speak; Israel, I shall testify against thee; I am God, thy God.)

⁸ I shall not reprove thee in thy sacrifices; and thy burnt sacrifices be ever[more] before me. (I shall not rebuke thee for thy sacrifices, and for thy burnt sacrifices, that be before me forevermore./Shall I not rebuke thee for thy sacrifices, and for thy burnt sacrifices, that be before me forevermore?)

⁹ I shall not take calves of thine house; neither goat bucks of thy flocks. (But I do not need calves from thy house, or thy farm; or goat bucks from thy flocks.)

¹⁰ For all the wild beasts of (the) woods be mine; work beasts, and oxes in hills (and the work beasts as well, and the oxen on the hills).

¹¹ I have known all the volatiles of the firmament; and the fairness of the field is with me. (I know all the birds on those hills; and the wild beasts of the fields be mine.)

¹² If I shall be hungry, I shall not say to thee; for the world and the fullness thereof is mine. (If I am hungry, I have no need to tell thee; for the world and its fullness be mine.)

¹³ Whether I shall eat the flesh of bulls? either shall I drink the blood of goat bucks? (Shall I eat the flesh of bulls? or drink the blood of goat bucks? Nay!)

¹⁴ Offer thou to God the sacrifice of praising; and yield thine avows to the highest God. (Offer, or give, thou to God the sacrifice of praise; and pay thy vows to the Most High God.)

¹⁵ And inwardly call thou me in the day of tribulation; and I shall deliver thee, and thou shalt honour me. (And call thou on me in the day of trouble; and I shall save thee, and then thou shalt honour me.)

¹⁶ But God said to the sinner, Why tellest thou out my rightfulnesses; and takest my testament by thy mouth? (But God said to the sinner, Why should thou tell out my statutes? and why hast thou my covenant in thy mouth?)

¹⁷ Soothly thou hatedest lore, or discipline; and hast cast away my words behind (thee). (Truly thou hatedest chastisement; and hast thrown away my words behind thee.)

¹⁸ If thou sawest a thief, thou rannest with him; and thou settedest thy part with adulterers.

¹⁹ Thy mouth was plenteous of malice; and thy tongue meddled together guiles. (Thy mouth is full of malice; and thy tongue mixeth up batches of lies.)

²⁰ Thou sitting spakest against thy brother, and thou settedest slander against the son of thy mother; (And thou sitteth down, and speakest against thy brother, yea, thou settest forth slander against thy mother’s son;)

²¹ thou didest these things, and I was still. Thou guessedest wickedly, that I shall be like thee; I shall reprove thee, and I shall set (them) against thy face. (thou didest these things, and I was silent. And thou wickedly guessedest that I was just like thee; but I shall rebuke thee, and I shall do it to thy face.)

²² Ye that forget God, understand these things; lest sometime he ravish, and none be that shall deliver. (Ye who forget God, understand these things; lest sometime I tear thee in pieces, and there be no one who shall save thee.)

²³ The sacrifice of praising shall honour me; and there is the way, wherein I shall show to him the health of God. (The sacrifice of praise shall honour me; and to those who follow my way/and to those who obey me, I shall give them the salvation of God.)

59 To the overcomer, lose thou not the seemly song of David (destroy thou not David’s comely song), when Saul sent and kept the house, to slay him. My God, deliver thou me from mine enemies; and deliver thou me from them that rise against me.

² Deliver thou me from them that work wickedness; and save thou me from men-quellers. (Rescue thou me from those who do evil; and save thou me from these murderers.)

³ For lo! they have taken my soul; strong men fell in on me. Neither (for) my wickedness, neither (for) my sin; (For lo! they lie in wait for me; strong men have fallen in on me. But not because of my wickedness, nor for my sin.)

⁴ Lord, I ran without wickedness, and (ad)dressed my works. Rise up into my meeting, and see; (Lord, though I am innocent, they run into position against me. Rise up to help me, and see;)

⁵ and thou, Lord God of virtues, art God of Israel. Give thou attention to visit all folks; do thou not mercy to all that work wickedness. (for thou, Lord God of hosts, art the God of Israel. Give thou attention to punishing all the nations; do not thou give mercy to any who do evil.)

⁶ They shall be turned (again) at eventide, and they as dogs shall suffer hunger; and they shall compass, that is, go abegging, (in) the city. (They shall return in the evening, and they shall suffer hunger like dogs; and they shall go about begging in the city.)

⁷ Lo! they shall speak in their mouth, and a sword in their lips; for who heard? (Lo! they shall speak out insults with their mouths, and their lips, or their tongues, shall be like swords; for they say, Who shall hear us?)

⁸ And thou, Lord, shalt scorn them; thou shalt bring all folks to nought. (But thou, Lord, shalt scorn them; thou shalt bring down all these nations to nothing.)

⁹ I shall keep my strength to thee; for God is mine up-taker, (O my strength, I shall turn to thee; for God is my defender,)

¹⁰ my God, his mercy shall come before me. God showed to me (my desire) on mine enemies, (my God, his love shall come to me. God shall show me my heart’s desire for all my enemies.)

¹¹ slay thou not them; lest any time my peoples forget. Scatter thou them in thy virtue; and, Lord, my defender, put thou them down. (But kill thou them not; lest any time my people forget. Rather, scatter thou them by thy strength; and, O Lord, my defender, put thou them down.)

¹² Put down the trespass of their mouth, and the word of their lips; and be they taken in their pride. And of cursing and of leasing; they shall be showed (up) in the ending. (And for the trespasses of their mouths, and the words of their lips; let them be taken in their pride. And for their cursing and their lies; let them be shown up in the end.)

¹³ (Destroy thou them) In the ire of ending, and they shall not be; and they shall know, that the Lord shall be Lord of Jacob, and of the ends of earth. (Destroy thou them in thy anger, yea, destroy them altogether, and they shall be no more; and then they shall know, that the Lord is the lord, or the ruler, in Jacob, and unto the ends of the earth.)

¹⁴ They shall be turned (again) at eventide, and they as dogs shall suffer hunger; and they shall compass, that is, go abegging, (in) the city. (They shall return in the evening, and they shall suffer hunger like dogs; and they shall go about begging in the city.)

¹⁵ They shall be scattered abroad, for to eat; soothly if they be not [ful]filled, and they shall grutch. (They shall be scattered abroad, searching for food; and truly they shall grumble, if they be not satisfied, or fulfilled.)

¹⁶ But I shall sing (of) thy strength; and early I shall enhance thy mercy. For thou art made mine up-taker; and my refuge, in the day of my tribulation. (But I shall sing of thy strength; and in the morning I shall sing of thy love. For thou art my defender; and my refuge, in the days of my trouble.)

¹⁷ Mine helper, I shall sing to thee; for thou art God, mine up-taker, my God, my mercy. (My helper, I shall sing to thee; for thou art God, my defender, the God who loveth me.)

60 To victory, on the witnessing of (the) rose, the sweet song of David, to teach men, when he fought against Aram of floods, and Syria of Zobah; and Joab turned again, and smote Edom in the valley of salt pits, twelve thousand. God, thou hast put away us, and thou hast destroyed us; thou were wroth, and thou hast done mercy to us. (To victory, on the teaching of the lily, the sweet song of David, to teach men, when he fought against Aramnaharaim, and Aramzobah; and Joab returned, and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of the Salt Pits. God, thou hast cast us away, and thou hast destroyed us; thou were angry, but now, show thou thy mercy to us/show thou us thy mercy.)

² Thou movedest the earth, and thou troubledest it; make thou whole (again) the sorrows thereof, for it is moved. (Thou hast shaken the earth, and thou hast troubled it; but now heal thou its wounds, for it is broken in pieces.)

³ Thou showedest hard things to thy people; thou gavest drink to us with the wine of compunction. (Thou hast shown thy people hard times; and thou hast made us stagger, as though we were drunk with wine.)

⁴ Thou hast given a signifying to them that dread thee; that they flee from the face of the bow. (Thou hast given a sign, or a warning, to those who fear thee/to those who revere thee; so that they can flee, or escape, from the face of the bow.)

⁵ That thy darlings be delivered; make thou safe with thy right hand, and hear thou me. (Save thy dear ones; yea, save thou us with thy right hand, and answer thou me.)^[a]

⁶ God spake by his holy (place); I shall be glad, and I shall part Shechem, and I shall mete the great valley of tabernacles. (God spoke in his holiness/God spoke from his sanctuary, and he said, I shall be glad, and I shall divide Shechem; and I shall measure out the Succoth Valley.)

⁷ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; and Ephraim is the strength of mine head. Judah is my king; (Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, and Judah is my sceptre.)

⁸ Moab is the pot of mine hope. Into Idumea I shall stretch forth my shoe; aliens be made subject to me. (But Moab is my washbowl. And I shall throw my shoes at Edom; and Philistia shall be made subject to me.)

⁹ Who shall lead me into a city made strong; who shall lead me into Idumea? (Who shall lead me into the strengthened, or the fortified, city? who shall lead me unto Edom?)

¹⁰ Whether not thou, God, that hast put away us; and shalt thou not, God, go out in our virtues? (Shalt not thou, O God, even though thou hast cast us off, or rejected us? or shalt not thou, O God, go out with our hosts, or our armies, any more?)

¹¹ Lord, give thou to us help (out) of tribulation; for the help of man is vain. (Lord, give thou us help in the time of trouble; for the help of man is worthless, yea, but an empty hope.)

¹² In God we shall make virtue; and he shall bring to nought them that trouble us/that disturb us. (With God’s help, we shall do valiantly/we shall have the victory; and he shall bring down those who trouble us into nothing.)

33 Ye just men, have fully joy in the Lord; praising (al)together becometh rightful men. (Ye who be righteous, have full out joy, or rejoice, in the Lord; praising him becometh those who be upright, or obedient.)

² Acknowledge ye to the Lord in an harp; sing ye to him in a psaltery of ten strings. (Praise ye the Lord on a harp; sing ye to him on a ten-stringed lute.)

³ Sing ye to him a new song; say ye well psalm to him in crying [out]. (Sing ye to him a new song; boldly say ye a psalm to him, and shout out loud.)

⁴ For the word of the Lord is rightful (For the word of the Lord is true); and all his works be (done) in faithfulness.

⁵ He loveth mercy and doom; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. (He loveth righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the love of the Lord.)

⁶ Heavens be made steadfast by the word of the Lord; and all the virtue of those by the spirit of his mouth. (The heavens were made by the word of the Lord; yea, all the host of them, by the breath from his mouth.)

⁷ And he gathered together the waters of the sea as in a bouget/as in a bottle; and he setteth deep waters in treasures. (And he gathered the waters of the sea together, like in a bottle; and he put the deep waters in his treasuries, or in his storehouses.)

⁸ All earth dread the Lord; soothly all men inhabiting the world be moved of him. (Let all the earth fear the Lord/Let all the earth revere the Lord; let all those who inhabit the world be in awe of him.)

⁹ For he said, and things were made; he commanded, and things were made of nought (he commanded, and everything was made out of nothing!).

¹⁰ The Lord destroyeth the counsels of folks, forsooth he reproveth the thoughts of peoples; and he reproveth the counsels of princes. (The Lord destroyeth the plans of the nations; he thwarteth the plans of the rulers of the peoples.)

¹¹ But the counsel of the Lord dwelleth (into) without end; the thoughts of his heart dwell in generation and into generation. (But the plans of the Lord shall stand forever; the thoughts of his heart shall remain for all generations.)

¹² Blessed is the folk, whose Lord is his God; the people which he chose into heritage to himself. (Happy is the nation, whose God is the Lord; the people whom he chose for his own inheritance.)

¹³ The Lord beheld from heaven; he saw all the sons of men. (The Lord looked down from heaven; he saw all the sons and daughters of men.)

¹⁴ From his dwelling place made ready before; he beheld on all men, that inhabit the earth (he looketh on all those who inhabit the earth).

¹⁵ Which made singularly, either each by himself, the souls of them; which understandeth all the works of them. (Who made each one of them individually; and who understandeth all their works, or their deeds.)

¹⁶ A king is not saved by much virtue, that is, strength; and a giant shall not be saved in the muchliness of his virtue. (A king is not saved by his large host, or his army; and a mighty man shall not be saved by his great strength.)

¹⁷ An horse is false to health; forsooth he shall not be saved in the abundance, either plenty, of his virtue. (A horse is an empty thing for salvation, or deliverance; for it shall not be able to save anyone by the abundance, or the plentifulness, of its strength.)

¹⁸ Lo! the eyes of the Lord be on men dreading him; and in them that hope in his mercy. (Lo! the eyes of the Lord be upon those who fear, or who obey, him; and upon those who hope for his mercy./Lo! the eyes of the Lord be upon those who revere him; and upon those who trust in his love.)

¹⁹ That he deliver their souls from death; and feed them in hunger. (So that he can save their souls from death; and feed them in times of famine.)

²⁰ Our soul suffereth the Lord, that is, abideth patiently his will (Our souls wait for the Lord, yea, we wait patiently for his will to be done); for he is our helper and defender.

²¹ For our heart shall be glad in him; and we shall have hope in his holy name. (And our hearts shall be glad in him; for we have trust in his holy name.)

²² Lord, thy mercy be made on us; as we hoped in thee. (Lord, let thy love rest upon us; for we have trusted in thee.)

4 And the angel turned again, that spake in me, and raised me, as a man that is raised (up out) of his sleep. (And the angel who spoke to me, returned, and raised me up, like a man who is raised up from his sleep.)

² And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I saw, and lo! a candlestick all of gold, and the lamp thereof on the head thereof, and seven lanterns thereof on it, and seven vessels for to hold oil to the lanterns, that were on the head thereof. (And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, Lo! I see a gold candlestick, and a lamp on top of it, and seven lanterns on it, and seven vessels to hold oil for the lanterns, on top of them.)

³ And two olives thereon, one of the right half of the lamp, and another on the left half thereof. (And two olive trees beside it, one on the right side of the lamp, and the other on its left side.)

⁴ And I answered, and said to the angel that spake in me, and I said, What be these things, my lord? (And I answered, and said to the angel who spoke to me, and I said, What be these things, my lord?)

⁵ And the angel that spake in me, answered, and said to me, Whether thou knowest not what be these things? And I said, No, my lord. (And the angel who spoke to me, answered, and said to me, Knowest thou not what these things be? And I said, No, my lord.)

⁶ And he answered, and said to me, and spake, This is the word of the Lord, saying to Zerubbabel, Not in host, neither in strength, but in my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. (And he answered, and spoke to me, and said, This is the word of the Lord, saying to Zerubbabel, Not by army, nor by strength, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.)

⁷ Who art thou, great hill, before Zerubbabel, into plain? and he shall lead out the first stone, and shall make even grace to grace thereof. (Who art thou, great mountain, compared to Zerubbabel? nothing but a flat plain! yea, he shall lay the first stone, and shall make the last stone’s beauty equal to the beauty of the first stone.)

⁸ And the word of the Lord was made to me, and said,

⁹ The hands of Zerubbabel founded this house, and the hands of him shall perform it; and ye shall know, that the Lord of hosts sent me to you. (Zerubbabel’s hands founded this House, and his hands shall finish it; and then ye shall know, that the Lord of hosts sent me to you.)

¹⁰ Who forsooth despised little days? and they shall be glad, and shall see a stone of tin in the hand of Zerubbabel (Who hath despised the day of small things? they shall be happy, and shall see the plumb bob in Zerubbabel’s hand). These be the seven eyes of the Lord, that run about into all (the) earth.

¹¹ And I answered, and said to him, What be these twain olives on the right half of the candlestick, and at the left half thereof? (And I answered, and said to him, What be these two olive trees on the right side of the candlestick, and on its left side?)

¹² And I answered the second time, and said to him (And I spoke a second time, and asked him), What be the twain ears, either ripe fruit, of olives that be beside the two pipes of gold, in which be (the) oil vessels of gold?

¹³ And he said to me, and spake, Whether thou knowest not what be these things? And I said, No, my lord. (And he spoke to me, and said, Knowest thou not what these things be? And I said, No, my lord.)

¹⁴ And he said, These be two sons of oil shining, which stand nigh to the lordly governor of all earth. (And he said, These be the two sons shining with oil, who stand near to the Lord who ruleth over all the earth.)

⁹ And when those four beasts gave glory, and honour, and blessing to him that sat on the throne, that liveth into worlds of worlds,

¹⁰ the four and twenty elder men [the four and twenty elders] fell down before him that sat on the throne, and worshipped him that liveth into worlds of worlds. And they cast their crowns before the throne, and said [saying],

¹¹ Thou, Lord our God, art worthy to take glory, and honour, and virtue; for thou madest of nought all things, and for thy will those were [and for thy will they were], and be made of nought.

5 And I saw in the right hand of the sitter on the throne, a book written within and without, and sealed with seven seals.

² And I saw a strong angel, preaching with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to undo the seals of it?

³ And none [And no man] in heaven, neither in earth, neither under earth, might open the book, neither behold it.

⁴ And I wept much, for none [for no man] was found worthy to open the book, neither to see it.

⁵ And one of the elder men said to me [And one of the elders said to me], Weep thou not; lo! a lion of the lineage of Juda, the root of David, hath overcome to open the book, and to undo the seven seals of it.

25 Then the kingdom of heavens shall be like to ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went out to meet the husband and the wife^[a];

² and five of them were fools, and five prudent.

³ But the five fools took their lamps, and took not oil with them;

⁴ but the prudent took oil in their vessels with the lamps.

⁵ And whiles the husband [the spouse, or husband,] tarried, all they napped and slept.

⁶ But at midnight a cry was made, Lo! the spouse cometh, go ye out to meet with him [go ye out to meet him].

⁷ Then all those virgins rose up, and arrayed their lamps [and adorned their lamps].

⁸ And the fools said to the wise, Give ye to us of your oil, for our lamps be quenched.

⁹ The prudent answered, and said [saying], Lest peradventure it suffice not to us and to you, go ye rather to men that sell, and buy to you.

¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the spouse came; and those that were ready, entered [in] with him to the weddings; and the gate was shut.

¹¹ And at the last the other virgins came, and said, Lord, Lord, open to us.^[b]

¹² And he answered, and said, Truly I say to you, I know you not.

¹³ Therefore wake ye, for ye know not the day nor the hour.