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.)

5 After these things Moses and Aaron entered, and said to Pharaoh, The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Deliver thou my people, that it make sacrifice to me in desert (The Lord God of Israel saith these things, Let my people go, so that they can hold a Feast unto me in the wilderness).

² And Pharaoh answered, Who is the Lord, that I hear his voice, and deliver Israel? I know not the Lord, and I shall not deliver Israel. (And Pharaoh answered, Who is the Lord, that I should listen to him, and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.)

³ They said, [The] God of Hebrews called us, that we go the way of three days into wilderness, and that we make sacrifice to our Lord God, lest peradventure pestilence, or sword, befall to us. (And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath told us that we should make journey for three days into the wilderness, and that we should offer our sacrifices to the Lord our God, lest pestilence, or the sword, befall us.)

⁴ (And) The king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why stir ye (up) the people from their works? Go ye to your charges (Get back to your work!).

⁵ And Pharaoh said, The people of the land is much; ye see that the company hath increased; how much more shall it increase, if ye shall give to them rest from works. (And Pharaoh said, There be many of thy people in this land; ye see how they have increased; how much more shall they increase, if ye shall get them rest from their work.)

⁶ Therefore Pharaoh commanded in that day to the masters of works (And so that day Pharaoh commanded to the taskmasters), and to the rent gatherers of the people, and said,

⁷ Ye shall no more give straw to the people, to make tilestones, as ye have done before; but go they, and gather stubble; (No more shall ye give straw to the people, to make the bricks, as ye have done before; but let them go, and gather the stubble themselves;)

⁸ and ye shall set on them the measure of tilestones, which they made before (but ye shall still require from them the same number of bricks, which they made before), neither ye shall abate anything; for they be idle, and therefore they cry (out), and say, Go we, and make we sacrifice(s) to our God;

⁹ be they oppressed by works, and fulfill they those (let them be oppressed by their work, and make them complete it), (so) that they assent not to false words.

¹⁰ Therefore the masters of the works and the rent gatherers went out to the people, and said, Thus saith Pharaoh, I give not to you straw (I shall not give you any more straw);

¹¹ go ye, and gather ye (it yourselves), if ye may find (it) any where; neither anything shall be decreased of your work (but your daily quota shall not be decreased).

¹² And the people was scattered by all the land of Egypt to gather straw. (And so the people scattered out into all the land of Egypt to gather straw.)

¹³ And the masters of the works were busy, and said, Fulfill ye your work each day, as ye were wont to do (before), when the straw was given to you.

¹⁴ And they, that were (the) masters of the works of the sons of Israel, were beaten of the rent gatherers of Pharaoh, that said, Why fulfilled ye not the measure of tilestones, as ye did before, neither yesterday, neither today? (And they, who were the taskmasters of the Israelites, were beaten by Pharaoh’s rent gatherers, who said to them, Why have ye not made the same number of bricks as ye did before, not yesterday, nor today?)

¹⁵ And the sovereigns of the children of Israel came (And the taskmasters of the Israelites came), and cried to Pharaoh, and said, Why doest thou so against thy servants?

¹⁶ Straw is not given to us, and tilestones be commanded in like manner (Straw is not given to us, but yet the same number of bricks be required from us as before). Lo! we thy servants be beaten with scourges, and it is done unjustly against thy people.

¹⁷ (But) Pharaoh said, Ye give attention to idleness, and therefore ye say, Go we, and make we sacrifice(s) to the Lord;

¹⁸ therefore go ye (now), and (get to) work; (for) straw shall not be given to you, and ye shall yield the customable number of tilestones (but ye shall yield the same, or the customary, number of bricks, as before).

¹⁹ And the sovereigns of the children of Israel saw themselves in evil, for it was said to them, Nothing shall be decreased of tilestones by all days. (And the taskmasters of the Israelites saw themselves in an evil situation, for it was said to them, The number of bricks that ye must produce each day will not be decreased.)

²⁰ And they coming out from Pharaoh, met Moses and Aaron, that stood even there against (who were standing there, waiting for them),

²¹ and they said to them, The Lord see, and deem (thee), for ye have made our odour, or fame, (to) stink before Pharaoh, and his servants, that is, ye have made us abominable and hateful (to them); and ye have given to him a sword, that he should slay us (with).

²² And Moses turned again to the Lord, and said, Lord, why hast thou tormented this people? why sentest thou me?

²³ For since I entered to Pharaoh, that I should speak in thy name, thou hast tormented thy people, and hast not delivered them. (For since I went in to speak in thy name to Pharaoh, he hath tormented thy people, and thou hast not rescued them.)

6 And the Lord said to Moses, Now thou shalt see, what things I shall do to Pharaoh; for by [a] strong hand he shall deliver them, that is, the sons of Israel, and in [a] mighty hand he shall cast them out of his land (for with my strong hand, I shall compel him to let them go, that is, the Israelites, and under my mighty hand, he shall throw them out of his land).

²⁰ Brethren, do not ye be made children in wits, but in malice be ye children; but in wits be ye perfect.

²¹ For in the law it is written, That in other tongues and other lips I shall speak to this people, and neither so they shall hear me, saith the Lord.

²² Therefore languages be into token, not to faithful men, but to men out of the faith; but prophecies be not to men out of the faith, but to faithful men.

²³ Therefore if all the church come together into one, and all men speak in tongues, if unlearned men, either men out of the faith enter, whether they shall not say [soothly if idiots enter, or men out of the faith, whether they say not], What be ye mad?

²⁴ But if all men prophesy, if any unfaithful man or unlearned man enter [Forsooth if all men prophecy, forsooth if any unfaithful man or idiot enter], he is convicted of all, he is wisely deemed of all.

²⁵ For the hid things of his heart be known, and so he shall fall down on the face, and shall worship God^[a], and show verily that God is in you.

²⁶ What then, brethren? When ye come together, each of you hath a psalm, he hath teaching, he hath apocalypse, he hath tongue, he hath expounding; all things be they done to edification. [Therefore, brethren, what is? When ye come together, each of you hath a psalm, he hath teaching, he hath apocalypse, or revelation, he hath tongue, he hath interpreting, or expounding; be all things done to edification.]

²⁷ Whether a man speaketh in tongue, by two men, either three at the most^[b], and by parts, that one interpret.

²⁸ But if there be not an interpreter, be he still in the church, and speak he to himself and to God.

²⁹ Prophets twain or three say [Soothly prophets two or three say], and others wisely deem.

³⁰ But if any thing be showed to a sitter, the former be still. [That if any thing shall be showed to one sitting, be the former still.]

³¹ For ye may all prophesy [For ye be able to prophesy all], each by himself, that all men learn, and all admonish.

³² And the spirits of prophets be subject to prophets;

³³ for why God is not of dissension, but of peace; as I teach in all churches of holy men.

³⁹ Therefore, brethren, love ye to prophesy, and do not ye forbid to speak in tongues.

⁴⁰ But be all things done seemly [Forsooth be all things done honestly], and by due order in you.

⁴² And whoever shall cause to stumble one of these little that believe in me, it were better to him that a millstone were done about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. [And whoever shall offend one of these little believing in me, it is good to him that a millstone of asses were done about his neck, and were sent into the sea.]

⁴³ And if thine hand cause thee to stumble, cut it away; it is better to thee to enter feeble into life, than have two hands, and go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched,^[a]

⁴⁴ where the worm of them dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

⁴⁵ And if thy foot cause thee to stumble [And if thy foot offend thee], cut it off; it is better to thee to enter crooked into everlasting life, than have two feet, and be sent into hell of fire, that never shall be quenched, [than having two feet to be sent into hell fire, unquenchable],

⁴⁶ where the worm of them dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

⁴⁷ That if thine eye cause thee to stumble [That if thine eye offend thee], cast it out; it is better to thee to enter goggle-eyed into the realm of God, than have two eyes, and be sent into hell of fire^[b],

⁴⁸ where the worm of them dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

⁴⁹ And every man shall be salted with fire, and every slain sacrifice shall be made savoury with salt.^[c]

⁵⁰ Salt is good; [that] if salt be unsavoury, in what thing shall ye make it savoury? Have ye salt among you, and have ye peace among you [Have ye salt in you, and have peace among you].