Book of Common Prayer
49 [Zain]. Lord, have thou mind on thy word to thy servant (Lord, remember thy word to thy servant); in which word thou hast given hope to me.
50 This comforted me in my lowness; for thy word quickened me. (This comforted me in my time of trouble; for thy word hath given me life.)
51 Proud men did wickedly (to me) by all things; but I bowed not away from thy law. (The proud and the boastful have scorned me in all things; but I have not turned away from thy Law.)
52 Lord, I was mindful of thy dooms from the world; and I was comforted. (Lord, I remember thy judgements of long ago; and I am comforted.)
53 Failing held me; for sinners forsaking thy law. (Anger taketh hold of me; when I think of the sinners who desert thy Law.)
54 Thy justifyings were delightable to me to be sung; in the place of my pilgrimage. (Thy statutes were delightful for me to sing about; here on my pilgrimage.)
55 Lord, I had mind of thy name by night; and I kept thy law. (Lord, I remember thy name in the night; and I obey thy Law.)
56 This thing was made to me; for I sought thy justifyings. (And this is true of me; that I have kept thy precepts/that I have obeyed thy commands.)
57 [Cheth]. Lord, my part; I said to keep thy law. (Lord, thou art my portion; I have said that I would obey thy Law.)
58 I besought thy face in all mine heart; have thou mercy on me by thy speech. (I sought thee out with all my heart; have thou mercy on me according to thy word.)
59 I bethought (on) my ways; and I turned my feet into thy witnessings. (I thought about my ways; and I have turned my feet to follow thy teachings.)
60 I am ready, and I am not troubled; to keep thy commandments. (I am ready, and I have not delayed, to obey thy commandments.)
61 The cords of sinners have embraced me; and I have not forgotten thy law. (The cords of the sinners have entangled me; but I have not forgotten thy Law.)
62 At midnight, I rose to acknowledge to thee; on the dooms of thy justifyings. (At midnight, I rise to give thee thanks/I rise to give thee praise; for all thy righteous judgements.)
63 I am partner of all that dread thee; and keep thy behests. (I am a partner of all who fear thee/I am a friend of all who revere thee; of all who obey thy precepts.)
64 Lord, the earth is full of thy mercy; teach thou me thy justifyings. (Lord, the earth is full of thy love; teach thou me thy statutes.)
65 [Teth]. Lord, thou hast done goodness with thy servant; by thy word. (Lord, thou hast been kind to thy servant; yea, according to thy word.)
66 Teach thou me goodness, and lore, either chastising, and knowing; for I believed to thy behests. (Teach thou me goodness, and knowledge, or discipline; for I trust in thy commandments.)
67 Before that I was made meek, I trespassed; therefore I kept thy speech. (Before that I was punished, I trespassed; but thereafter, I have obeyed thy word.)
68 Thou art good; and in thy goodness teach thou me thy justifyings. (Thou art good, and thou doest good; teach thou me thy statutes.)
69 The wickedness of them that be proud, is multiplied on me; but in all mine heart I shall seek thy behests. (The wicked lies of them, who be proud, be multiplied against me; but I shall follow thy precepts with all my heart.)
70 The heart of them is crudded, either made hard, as milk; but I bethought (on) thy law. (Their hearts be like curdled milk; but I delight in thy Law.)
71 It is good to me, that thou hast made me meek; that I learn thy justifyings. (It was good for me, that thou hast punished me; so that I would learn thy statutes.)
72 The law (out) of thy mouth is better to me; than thousands of gold and silver. (The Law from thy mouth meaneth more to me/is more valuable to me, than a fortune in gold and silver.)
49 To victory, a psalm to the sons of Korah. All ye folks, hear these things; all ye that dwell in the world, perceive with ears. (To victory, a song for the sons of Korah. All ye nations, hear these things; all ye who live in the world, listen!)
2 All the sons of earth, and the sons of men; together the rich man, and the poor into one. (All the sons and daughters of the earth, the sons and daughters of men; yea, the rich and the poor, together as one.)
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the thinking of mine heart shall speak prudence.
4 I shall bow down mine ear into a parable; I shall open my reason set forth in a psaltery. (I shall listen closely to a parable; then I shall set forth my understanding on a lute.)
5 Why shall I dread in the evil day? the wickedness of mine heel shall (en)compass me. (Why should I have fear, or be afraid, on the day of evil, when the wickedness of my enemies shall surround me?)
6 Which trust in their own virtue (They who trust in their wealth); and have glory in the multitude of their riches.
7 A brother again-buyeth not, shall a man again-buy? and he shall not give to God his pleasing. (No one shall ever be able to redeem himself; he shall never be able to pay God the price that he asketh for him.)
8 And he shall not (be able to) give the price of ransom for his soul; and he shall travail into without end, (Yea, he shall never be able to pay the price of ransom for his own soul; even if he could work forever,)
9 and he shall live yet into the end. He shall not see perishing, (so that he would live forever, and not see perishing, or corruption.)
10 when he shall see wise men dying; the unwise man and the fool shall perish together. And they shall leave their riches to aliens; (For he seeth that the wise die; and that the foolish and the ignorant perish together with them. But they all leave their riches to others, even strangers;)
11 and the sepulchres of them be the houses of them without end. The tabernacles of them be in generation and in generation; they called their names in their lands. (and their tombs, or their graves, shall be their houses forever. Yea, their dwelling places for all generations; even though their lands were once called by their own names.)
12 A man/Man, when he was in honour, understood not; he is comparisoned to unwise beasts, and is made like to those. (For anyone, even when he hath been given great honour, liveth not forever; he is comparable to the unthinking beasts, and soon is made like them.)
13 This way of them is cause of stumbling to them; and afterward they shall please (al)together in their mouth. (Their way is a trap for themselves; and for all who seek to please them.)
14 As sheep they be put in hell; death shall gnaw them. And just men shall be lords of them in the morrowtide; and the help of them shall wax eld in hell, for the glory of them/from the glory of them. (Like sheep they go down to Sheol, or the land of the dead; and death shall gnaw on them. The righteous shall be their lords; and their bodies shall grow old, or rotten, in Sheol, so different from their days of glory.)
15 Nevertheless God shall again-buy my soul from the power of hell; when he shall take me. (But God shall redeem my soul; and he shall take me away from the power of Sheol, or the power of death.)
16 Dread thou not (Fear thou not), when a man is made rich; and when the glory of his house is multiplied.
17 For when he shall die, he shall not take all things with him (he shall not take anything with him); and his glory shall not go down with him.
18 For his soul shall be blessed in his life; he shall acknowledge to thee, when thou hast done well to him. (Even though his soul shall be blessed in this life; and people shall praise him, when he hath done well for himself.)
19 He shall enter till into the generations of his fathers; and till into without end he shall not see light. (He shall go to the generations of his forefathers; and none of them shall ever see the light again.)
20 A man/Man, when he was in honour, understood not; he is comparisoned to unwise beasts, and is made like to those. (Anyone, even when he hath been given great honour, liveth not forever; he is comparable to the unthinking beasts, and soon is made like them.)
53 To the overcomer by the quire, the learning of David. The unwise man said in his heart, God is not. They be corrupt, and made abominable in their wickednesses; none is that doeth good. (To the overcomer, or the victor, the teaching of David. The fool said in his heart, There is no God. Such men be corrupt, and they be made abominable in their wickednesses; there is no one who doeth good, no not one.)[a]
2 God beheld from heaven on the sons of men; that he see, if there is any understanding, either seeking God. (God looked down from heaven on the sons and daughters of men; to see if there is anyone who hath understanding, or is seeking God.)
3 All bowed away, they be made unprofitable (al)together; none is that doeth good, there is not till to one. (But they all have turned away, they all be made utterly unredeemable; there is no one who doeth good, no not one.)
4 Whether all men, that work wickedness, shall not know; which devour my people, as the meat of bread? They called not God; (Surely all those, who do evil, already know this; yea, they who devour my people, like people eat bread. They do not call on the Lord;)
5 there they trembled for dread, where no dread was. For God hath scattered the bones of them, that please men; they be shamed, for God hath forsaken them. (but they trembled there in fear, like never before. For God hath scattered the bones of those who please people; they be put to shame, for God hath deserted, or hath despised, them.)
6 Who shall give from Zion health to Israel? when the Lord hath turned the captivity of his people, Jacob shall full out make joy, and Israel shall be glad. (Who shall give victory/Who shall give salvation, or deliverance, to Israel out of Zion? When the Lord hath returned the prosperity of his people, then Jacob shall make full out joy, or rejoice; yea, Israel shall be glad.)
33 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said, Go, and go up from this place (Get up, and go forth from this place), thou, and thy people, that thou hast led out of the land of Egypt, into the land, which I have sworn to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, I shall give it to thy seed.
2 And I shall send thy before-goer, an angel, that I cast out Canaanite, and Amorite, and Hittite, and Perizzite, and Hivite, and Jebusite; (And I shall send an angel before thee, and I shall throw out the Canaanites, and Amorites, and Hittites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites;)
3 and that thou enter into the land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up with thee, for thou art a people of hard noll, lest peradventure I lose thee in the way. (and thou shalt enter into the land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up with thee, for thou art a hard-headed, or a stubborn, people, and I might destroy thee on the way.)
4 The people heard this worst word, and mourned, and none was clothed with his adorning, that is, (his) precious clothes, (as) by custom.
5 And the Lord said to Moses, Speak thou to the sons of Israel, (and say,) Thou art a people of hard noll; (at) once I shall go up in the midst of thee, and I shall do away thee; right now put thou away thine adorning, that is, crowns which they made in(to) receiving of the law, that I know, what I shall do to thee. (For the Lord had said to Moses, Speak thou to the Israelites, and say, Thou art a hard-headed, or a stubborn, people; and at once I shall go up into the midst of thee, and I shall do thee away; so right now, put away thy adornment, that is, the crowns which they had made to wear when they received the Law, and then I shall decide what I shall do to thee.)
6 Therefore the sons of Israel putted away their adorning, from the hill of Horeb (onwards). (And so, the Israelites put away their adornment, from that day at Mount Sinai, and forevermore.)
7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and set it far without the tents, and he called the name thereof the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace. And all the people that had any question, went out to the tabernacle of the bond of peace, without the tents. (And Moses took the Tabernacle, and set it up far away from the tents, and he called it the Tabernacle of the Covenant, that is, the Tabernacle of the Witnessing. And all the people, who had any question, went out to the Tabernacle of the Covenant, which was pitched far away from the camp.)
8 And when Moses went out to the tabernacle, all the people rose, and each man stood in the door of his tent, and they beheld after Moses, till he entered into the tent. (And when Moses went out to the Tabernacle, all the people rose up, and they all stood at the entrance to their tents, and they watched Moses, until he entered into the Tent.)
9 Soothly when he entered into the tabernacle of the bond of peace, a pillar of cloud came down, and stood at the door of the tabernacle; and the Lord spake with Moses, (And when he entered into the Tabernacle of the Covenant, that is, the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, a pillar of cloud came down, and stood at the entrance to the Tabernacle; and the Lord spoke with Moses,)
10 while all men saw that the pillar of cloud stood at the door of the tabernacle; and they stood, and worshipped, at the doors of their tabernacles. (while everyone saw that the pillar of cloud stood at the entrance to the Tabernacle; and they stood, and worshipped, at the entrance to their tents.)
11 Forsooth the Lord spake to Moses face to face, that is openly, as a man is wont to speak with his friend; and when Moses turned again into his tabernacle, Joshua, his servant, the son of Nun, a young man, went not out of the tabernacle (but when Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, a young man, the son of Nun, remained in the Tabernacle).
12 Forsooth Moses said to the Lord, Thou commandest, that I lead out this people, and thou hast not showed to me, whom thou shalt send with me, namely since thou saidest, I knew thee by name, and thou hast found grace before me. (And Moses said to the Lord, Thou commandest, that I lead out this people, but thou hast not shown me, whom thou shalt send with me; yet thou hast said to me, I know thee by name, and thou hast found grace before me.)
13 Therefore if I have found grace in thy sight, show thy face to me, that I know thee, and find grace before thine eyes; behold thy people, and this folk. (And so, if I have found grace before thee, show thy face to me, so that I can know thee, and continue to find grace before thee; and remember, Lord, that this nation is thy people.)
14 And God said, My face shall go before thee, and I shall give rest to thee.
15 And Moses said, If thou thyself shalt not go before us, lead thou not us out of this place; (And Moses said, If thou shalt not go before us, then do not thou lead us out of this place;)
16 for in what thing may we know, I and thy people, that we have found grace in thy sight, if thou shalt not go with us (unless thou shalt go with us), (and) that we be glorified (out) of all (the) peoples that dwell on [the] earth?
17 Forsooth the Lord said to Moses, I shall do also this word, that thou hast spoken; for thou hast found grace before me, and I know thyself by name. (And the Lord said to Moses, I shall do what thou hast asked; for thou hast found grace before me, and I know thee by name.)
18 And Moses said, Lord, show thou thy glory to me.
19 God answered, I shall show all (my) good(ness) to thee, and I shall call in the name of the Lord before thee, and I shall do mercy to whom I will, and I shall be merciful, either goodly, on whom it pleaseth me. (God answered, I shall show all my goodness to thee, and I shall declare the name of the Lord before thee, and I shall do mercy to whom I will, and I shall be merciful, or forgiving, to whom it pleaseth me.)
20 And again God said, Thou mayest not see my face, for a man shall not see me, and live. (And then God said, But thou cannot see my face, for no one can see me, and live.)
21 And again God said, A place is with me, and thou shalt stand upon a stone; (And God said, Here is a place beside me, and thou shalt stand on a rock;)
22 and when my glory shall pass (by), I shall set thee in the hole of the stone, and I shall cover thee with my right hand, till that I pass (by);
23 and (then) I shall take away mine hand, and thou shalt see mine hinder parts, forsooth thou mayest not see my face.
2 For, brethren, ye know our entry to you, for it was not vain;
2 but first we suffered, and were punished with wrongs, as ye know in Philippi, and had trust in our Lord [we had trust in the Lord], to speak to you the gospel of God in much busyness.
3 And our exhortation is not of error [Soothly our exhortation, or teaching, was not of error], neither of uncleanness, neither in guile,
4 but as we be approved of God, that the gospel of God should be taken to us [but as we be proved of God, that the gospel should be taken to us], so we speak; not as pleasing to men, but to God that proveth our hearts.
5 For neither we were any time in word of glossing [Forsooth neither we were any time in word of flattering], as ye know, neither in occasion of avarice; God is witness;
6 neither seeking glory of men, neither of you, neither of others, when we, as Christ's apostles, might have been in charge to you [when we might have been chargeous to you, as Christ's apostles].
7 But we were made little in the middle of you, as if a nurse foster her sons;
8 so we desiring you with great love, would have betaken to you, not only the gospel of God, but also our lives [so we desiring you covetingly, or with great love, would betake to you, not only the gospel of God, but also our souls, or lives], for ye be made most dear-worthy to us.
9 For, brethren, ye be mindful of our travail and weariness; we worked night and day, that we should not grieve any of you, and preached to you the gospel of God[a].
10 God and ye be witnesses, how holily, and justly, and without plaint, we were to you that believed. [Ye be witnesses, and God, how holily, and justly, and without quarrel, or plaint, we were to you that believed.]
11 As ye know, how we prayed you, and comforted each of you, as the father his sons,
12 and we have witnessed, that ye should go worthily to God, that called you into his kingdom and glory.
17 Do not ye deem, that I came to undo the law, or the prophets; I came not to undo the law, but to fulfill.[a]
18 Forsooth I say to you, till heaven and earth pass, one letter [one i, that is the least letter,] or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all things be done.
19 Therefore he that breaketh one of these least commandments, and teacheth thus men, shall be called the least in the realm of heavens; but he that doeth, and teacheth, shall be called great in the kingdom of heavens.
20 And I say to you, that but your rightwiseness [shall] be more plenteous than of scribes and of Pharisees[b], ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heavens.
2001 by Terence P. Noble