Book of Common Prayer

55 To victory in organs, the learning of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my beseeching; (To victory, on instruments, the teaching of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my plea;)

² give thou attention to me, and hear thou me. I am sorrowful in mine exercising (I am grieved by my distress);

³ and I am disturbed of the face of the enemy, and of the tribulation of the sinner. For they bowed wickednesses into me; and in ire they were dis-easeful to me. (and I am made afraid by my enemies, and by the trouble which the sinners have brought upon me. For they bowed down wickednesses upon me; and with great anger they were very hateful to me.)

⁴ Mine heart was troubled in me; and the dread of death felled on me. (My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me.)

⁵ Dread and trembling came on me (Fear and trembling came upon me); and darknesses covered me.

⁶ And I said, Who shall give to me feathers, as of a culver; and I shall fly, and shall take rest? (And I said, Who shall give me wings like a dove? and then I can fly away, and get some rest.)

⁷ Lo! I went far away, and fled; and I dwelled in wilderness. (Lo! I would flee far away; and I would live in the wilderness.)

⁸ I abode him, that made me safe from the littleness, either dread, of spirit; and from tempest. (I would hasten, and make myself safe from the wind, and from the tempest.)

⁹ Lord, cast thou down, [and] part thou the tongues of them; for I saw wickedness and against-saying in the city.

¹⁰ By day and night wickedness shall (en)compass it on the walls thereof; and travail and unrightfulness be in the midst of them. (Day and night they surround the city, all along its walls; and trouble and unrighteousness be in its midst.)

¹¹ And usury and guile failed not; from the streets thereof. (And greed, and deceit, always be found in its streets.)

¹² For if mine enemy had cursed me; soothly I had suffered. And if he, that hated me, had spoken great things on me; in hap I had hid me from him. (For if my enemy had cursed me; truly I would have suffered it. And if he, who hated me, had spoken great things against me; I would have hid myself from him.)

¹³ But thou art a man of one will (with me); my leader, and my known. (But thou art a man of one mind with me; my leader, and my dear friend.)

¹⁴ Which tookest together sweet meats with me; we went with consent in(to) the house of God. (Who shared his good counsel with me; and we went together to the House of God.)

¹⁵ Death come on them; and go they down quick into hell (May death come upon them; and may they go down alive into Sheol, or the land of the dead). For waywardnesses be in the dwelling places of them; (and) in the midst of them.

¹⁶ But I cried to thee, Lord; and the Lord saved me. (But I shall cry to thee, Lord; and the Lord will save me.)

¹⁷ In the eventide, and [the] morrowtide, and in midday (and at midday), I shall tell, and show (him); and he shall hear my voice.

¹⁸ He shall again-buy my soul in peace from them, that nigh to me; for among many they were with me. (And he shall deliver my soul unto peace again, from those who come against me; for there were many against me.)

¹⁹ God shall hear; and he that is before the worlds shall make them low. For changing is not to them, and they dreaded not God; (God shall hear; and he who was before the worlds, shall humble them. For changing is not to them, and they do not fear God;)

²⁰ he holdeth forth his hand in yielding. They defouled his testament, (indeed, they put forth their hands, against those who be at peace with them. They have broken their promise, or their covenant,)

²¹ the cheers thereof were parted from ire; and his heart nighed. The words thereof were softer than oil; and they be darts. (their words were smoother than butter; but battle was in their hearts. Their words were softer than oil; but they were as sharp as darts.)

²² Cast thy care, or thought, [(or) busyness,] on the Lord, and he shall fully nourish thee; and he shall not give [into] without end fluttering to a just man. (Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and he shall nourish and protect thee; yea, he shall not allow the righteous to be moved, or shaken.)

²³ But thou, God, shalt lead them forth; into the pit of death. Men-quellers and beguilers shall not have half their days; but, Lord, I shall hope in thee. (But murderers and deceivers shall not have half their days; for thou, God, shalt lead them forth, into the pit of death. But, O Lord, I shall put my trust in thee.)

138 [The psalm of David.] Lord, I shall acknowledge to thee in all mine heart; for thou heardest the words of my mouth. My God, I shall sing to thee in the sight of angels; (The song of David. Lord, I shall praise thee with all my heart. My God, I shall sing praises to thee before the angels, or before the gods.)

² I shall worship to(ward) thine holy temple, and I shall acknowledge to thy name. On thy mercy and thy truth; for thou hast magnified thine holy name above all thing. (I shall worship towards thy holy Temple, and I shall praise thy name; because of thy love, and thy faithfulness; for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all things.)

³ In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee, hear thou me; thou shalt multiply virtue in my soul. (On whatever day I called to thee, thou answeredest me; and thou hast multiplied the strength in my soul/and thou hast made me strong.)

⁴ Lord, all the kings of earth acknowledge to thee; for they heard all the words of thy mouth. (Lord, all the kings of the earth shall praise thee; for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.)

⁵ And sing they in the ways of the Lord (And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord); for the glory of the Lord is great.

⁶ For the Lord is high, and beholdeth meek things; and knoweth afar high things. (For though the Lord is high above, he looketh upon the meek/he careth for the humble; and he knoweth the proud from afar.)

⁷ If I shall go in the midst of tribulation, thou shalt quicken me; and thou stretchedest forth thine hand on the ire of mine enemies, and thy right hand made me safe. (Yea, though I go in the midst of trouble, or of tribulation, thou keepest me safe/thou keepest me alive; and thou stretchest forth thy hand against the rage of my enemies, and thy right hand savest me.)

⁸ The Lord shall yield for me, Lord, thy mercy is [into] without end; despise thou not the works of thine hands. (The Lord shall bring to pass his promises to me. O Lord, thy love is forever; so complete thy work.)

139 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, thou hast proved me, and hast known me; (To victory, the song of David. Lord, thou hast assayed, or tested, me, and thou knowest me;)

² thou hast known my sitting, and my rising again. Thou hast understood my thoughts from [a]far; (thou hast known my sitting down, and my rising up. Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar;)

³ thou hast inquired (of) my path and my cord. And thou hast before-seen all my ways; (thou hast examined my path, and my resting places. And thou hast foreseen all my ways.)

⁴ for no word is in my tongue. Lo! Lord, thou hast known all things, (Yea, there is no word on my tongue, lo! Lord; but that thou not knowest it first.)

⁵ the new things and eld; thou hast formed me, and hast set thine hand on me. (Thou art behind me, and before me; and thou hast set thy hand upon me.)

⁶ Thy knowing is made wonderful of me; it is comforted, and I shall not be able to it. (Thy abundant knowledge is so wonderful to me; yea, it is so very great, and I shall never be able to comprehend it all.)

⁷ Whither shall I go from thy spirit; and whither shall I flee from thy face? (Where shall I go from thy spirit; and where shall I flee from thy presence?)

⁸ If I shall ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I shall go down into hell, thou art present. (If I shall go up into heaven, thou art there; if I shall go down into Sheol, or into the land of the dead, thou art there also.)

⁹ If I shall take my feathers full early; and shall dwell in the last parts of the sea. (If I shall take flight early in the morning; or if I shall live on the farthest edge, or the coast, of the sea.)

¹⁰ And soothly thither thine hand shall lead me forth; and thy right hand shall hold me. (Even there thy hand shall lead me forth; and thy right hand shall keep me safe.)

¹¹ And I said, In hap darknesses shall defoul me; and the night is my lightening in my delights. (And I said, Perhaps the darkness shall cover me; or the light all around me shall become my night.)

¹² For why darknesses shall not be made dark from thee, and the night shall be lightened as the day; as the darknesses thereof, so and the light thereof. (But the darkness shall not be dark for thee, and the night shall be like the daylight; yea, to you, the darkness is no different than the light.)

¹³ For thou haddest in possession my reins; thou tookest me up from the womb of my mother. (For thou haddest my reins in thy possession/For thou formedest my inner parts; yea, thou madest me in my mother’s womb.)

¹⁴ I shall acknowledge to thee, for thou art magnified dreadfully; thy works be wonderful, and my soul shall know (that) full much. (I shall praise thee, for thou art greatly to be feared/for thou hath filled me with awe; thy works be wonderful, and I truly know that.)

¹⁵ My bone, which thou madest in private, is not hid from thee; and my substance (formed) in the lower parts of earth. (My bones, which thou madest in secret, be not a mystery to thee; yea, when my substance was formed in the lower parts of the earth.)

¹⁶ Thine eyes saw mine unperfect thing, and all men shall be written in thy book; days shall be formed, and no man is in those. (Thine eyes saw my imperfect substance, and all was written in thy Book; but when those days were formed, no man was there.)

¹⁷ Forsooth, God, thy friends be made honourable full much to me; the princehood of them is comforted full much. (But, God, how deep be thy thoughts to me; and how many of them there be!)

¹⁸ I shall number them, and they shall be multiplied above the gravel; I rose up, and yet I am with thee. (If I tried to count them all up, their number would be more than all the grains of sand. And then I awake; and still I am with thee.)

¹⁹ For thou, God, shalt slay sinners; ye men-quellers, bow away from me. (O God, I wish that thou wouldest kill the sinners; ye murderers, go far away from me!)

²⁰ For they say in thought; Take they their cities in vanity. (For out loud they say against thee, We shall take thy name in vain.)

²¹ Lord, whether I hated not them that hated thee; and I failed, that is, mourned greatly, on (those who be) thine enemies? (Lord, how I hate those who hate thee; and I am greatly grieved by those who be thy enemies!)

²² By perfect hatred I hated them; they were made enemies to me. (Yea, with perfect hatred I hate them; they be made my enemies too.)

²³ God, prove thou me, and know thou mine heart; ask thou me, and know thou my paths. (God, assay, or test, thou me, and know thou my heart; ask thou me, and know thou my thoughts.)

18 Forsooth in the valley of Mamre the Lord appeared to Abraham, (as he was) sitting in the door of his tabernacle, in that heat of the day. (And sometime later, by the terebinths of Mamre, the Lord appeared to Abraham, when he was sitting by the door of his tent, in the heat of the day.)

² And when Abraham had raised up his eyes, three men appeared to him, and stood nigh [to] him. And when he had seen them, he ran from the door of his tabernacle into the meeting of them, and he worshipped on [the] earth (And when he had seen them, he ran from the door of his tent to meet them, and he bowed low to the ground),

³ and said, Lord (My lords), if I have found grace in thine eyes, pass thou not (by) thy servant,

⁴ but I shall bring (thee) a little water, and your feet (can) be washed, and (so) rest ye (yourselves) under the tree;

⁵ and I shall set (before you) a morsel of bread, and your heart (shall) be comforted; (and) afterward ye shall pass [forth]; for therefore (be) ye bowed (aside) to your servant. Which said (And they said to him), Do thou as thou hast spoken.

⁶ (And) Abraham hasted into the tabernacle, to Sarah, and said to her, Haste thou, mix (up) three half bushels of clean flour; and make thou loaves baken under ashes.

⁷ Forsooth (then) he ran to the drove of beasts, and took thereof a calf most tender and best, and gave (it) to a servant, which hasted, and seethed the calf (and boiled the calf);

⁸ and (then) he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had sodden, and set (it) before them; forsooth Abraham stood beside them under the tree. And when they had eaten,

⁹ they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? He answered, Lo! she is in the tabernacle (she is in the tent).

¹⁰ To whom the Lord said, I shall turn again, and I shall come to thee in this time, if I live; and Sarah, thy wife, shall have a son. When this was heard, Sarah laughed behind the door of the tabernacle. (And the Lord said to him, I shall return, and I shall come back to thee at this same time next year, as I live; and Sarah, thy wife, shall have a son. And when she heard this, Sarah laughed behind the door of the tent.)

¹¹ Forsooth both were old, and of great age, and woman’s terms ceased to be made to Sarah (and a woman’s terms had ceased to be made with Sarah).

¹² And (so) she laughed, saying privily, After that I (have) waxed eld, and my lord is eld, shall I give diligence to lust?

¹³ Forsooth the Lord said to Abraham, Why laughed Sarah, thy wife, saying, Whether I an eld woman shall bear a child verily? (And the Lord said to Abraham, Why did thy wife Sarah laugh, and say, Shall I, an old woman, truly bear a child?)

¹⁴ whether anything is hard to God? By the promise I shall turn again to thee in this same time, if I live; and Sarah shall have a son. (is there anything too hard for God to do? By my word, I shall return to thee at this same time, as I live; and Sarah shall have a son.)

¹⁵ (And) Sarah was afeared for dread, and denied (it), saying, I laughed not. Forsooth the Lord said, It is not so, but thou laughedest.

¹⁶ Therefore when the men had risen (up) from thence, they (ad)dressed the eyes against Sodom (they directed their eyes toward Sodom); and Abraham went together (with them), leading them forth.

²⁶ For why now a sacrifice for sins is not left to us, that sin willfully, after that we have taken the knowing of truth. [Forsooth to us sinning willfully, after the knowing of truth taken, now an host for sins is not left.]

²⁷ For why some abiding of doom is dreadful, and the following of fire, which shall waste adversaries.

²⁸ Who that breaketh Moses' law, dieth without any mercy, by two or three witnesses;

²⁹ how much more guess ye, that he deserveth worse torments [him to deserve worse torments], which defouleth the Son of God, and holdeth the blood of the testament polluted, in which he is hallowed, and doeth despite [and shall do wrong, or despite,] to the Spirit of grace?

³⁰ For we know him that said, To me vengeance, and I shall yield. And again, For the Lord shall deem his people.

³¹ It is fearedful to fall into the hands of God living.^[a]

³² And have ye mind on the former days, in which ye were lightened, and suffered great strife of passions [in which ye lightened sustained great strife, or fight, of passions].

³³ And in the tother ye were made a spectacle by shames and tribulations; in another ye were made fellows of men living so. [And soothly in the tother ye were made a spectacle by reproofs and tribulations; in the tother forsooth ye be made fellows of men living so.]

³⁴ For also to bound men ye had compassion, and ye received with joy the robbing of your goods, knowing that ye have a better and a dwelling substance [and ye received with joy the raven of your goods, knowing you to have a better and dwelling substance].

³⁵ Therefore do not ye lose your trust, which hath great rewarding.

³⁶ For patience is needful to you, that ye do the will of God, and bring again the promise [that ye doing the will of God, bring again the promise].

³⁷ For yet a little, and he that is to come shall come, and he shall not tarry.

³⁸ For my just man liveth of faith; that if he withdraweth himself, he shall not please to my soul.

³⁹ But we be not the sons of withdrawing away into perdition, but of faith into [the] getting of soul.

¹⁶ And when eventide was come [Soothly as even was made], his disciples went down to the sea.

¹⁷ And they went up into a boat, and they came over the sea into Capernaum. And darknesses were made then, and Jesus was not come to them [And darknesses were now made, and Jesus had not come to them].

¹⁸ And for a great wind blew, the sea rose up.

¹⁹ Therefore when they had rowed as five and twenty furlongs or thirty, they see Jesus walking on the sea/they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and to be nigh the boat; and they dreaded.

²⁰ And he said to them, I am; do not ye dread.

²¹ Therefore they would take him into the boat, and at once [and anon] the boat was at the land, to which they went.

²² On the tother day the people, that stood over the sea, saw, that there was none other boat there but that one, and that Jesus entered not with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples alone went [but his disciples went alone].

²³ But other boats came from Tiberias beside the place, where they had eaten bread [where they ate bread], and did thankings to God.

²⁴ Therefore when the people had seen, that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they went up into boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

²⁵ And when they had found him over the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, how camest thou hither?

²⁶ Jesus answered to them, and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, ye seek me, not for ye saw the miracles, but for ye ate of the loaves, and were filled.

²⁷ Work ye not (for) meat that perisheth, but that that dwelleth into everlasting life, which meat man's Son shall give to you; for God the Father hath marked him.