Book of Common Prayer
85 To the overcomer, the song of the sons of Korah. Lord, thou hast blessed thy land; thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. (To the overcomer, the song for the sons of Korah. Lord, thou hast blessed thy land; thou hast brought back the captives of Jacob/thou hast returned prosperity to Jacob.)
2 Thou hast forgiven the wickedness of thy people; thou hast covered all the sins of them.
3 Thou hast assuaged all thine ire; thou hast turned (thyself) away from the ire of thine indignation.
4 God, our health, convert thou us; and turn away thine ire from us. (God, our salvation, bring thou us back/God, our deliverance, turn back to us; and turn away thy anger from us.)
5 Whether thou shalt be wroth to us [into] without end; either shalt thou hold forth thine ire from generation into generation? (Shalt thou be angry with us forever? shalt thou bring forth thy anger to all generations?)
6 God, thou converted, shalt quicken us; and thy people shall be glad in thee. (God, give thou us new life; and thy people shall be glad, or shall rejoice, in thee.)
7 Lord, show thy mercy to us; and give thine health to us. (Lord, show thy love to us; and give thy help to us/and grant us thy salvation, or thy deliverance.)
8 I shall hear what the Lord God shall speak in me; for he shall speak peace to his people. And on his holy men; and on them that be turned to heart. (I shall listen to what the Lord God shall say; for he shall speak words of peace to his people. Yea, to us, and to his holy men; and to all who turn towards him with their hearts.)
9 Nevertheless his health is nigh (to) men dreading him; that glory dwell in our land. (For his salvation, or his deliverance, is near to those who fear him/is near to those who revere him; so that glory can be in our land.)
10 Mercy and truth met themselves; rightfulness and peace were kissed. (Love and faithfulness came together; righteousness and peace kissed each other.)
11 Truth came forth (out) of the earth; and rightfulness beheld from heaven. (Faithfulness sprang forth from the earth; and righteousness looked down from heaven.)
12 For the Lord shall give benignity; and our earth shall give his fruit. (For the Lord shall give prosperity; and our earth shall give its fruit.)
13 Rightfulness shall go before him; and shall set his steps in the way. (Righteousness shall go before him; and shall prepare the way for his steps.)
86 The prayer of David. Lord, bow (down) thine ear, and hear me; for I am needy and poor.
2 Keep thou my life, for I am holy; my God, make thou safe thy servant hoping in thee. (Keep thou my life safe, for I am holy; my God, save thou thy servant, who trusteth in thee.)
3 Lord, have thou mercy on me, for I cried all day (long) to thee;
4 make thou glad the soul of thy servant; for why, Lord, I have raised my soul to thee (for Lord, I have raised up my soul to thee).
5 For thou, Lord, art sweet and mild; and of much mercy to all men inwardly calling thee. (For thou, Lord, art good and forgiving; and hath great love for all who call to thee/and hath great mercy for all who cry to thee.)
6 Lord, perceive thou my prayer with ears; and give thou attention to the voice of my beseeching. (Lord, listen thou to my prayer; and give attention to the words of my plea.)
7 In the day of my tribulation I cried to thee; for thou heardest me. (In my time of trouble, I cried to thee; for thou shalt answer me.)
8 Lord, none among gods is like thee; and none is even to thy works. (Lord, there is no god like thee; and there be no works like thy works/and there be no works equal to thy works.)
9 Lord, all folks, whichever thou madest (Lord, all the nations, which thou hast made), shall come, and worship before thee; and they shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art full great, and making marvels (For thou art very great, and doing marvellous deeds); thou art God alone.
11 Lord, lead thou me forth in thy way, and I shall enter in thy truth; mine heart be glad, that it dread thy name. (Lord, lead thou me forth in thy way, and I shall walk in thy truth; let my heart be glad, that I fear thy name/that I revere thy name.)
12 My Lord God, I shall acknowledge to thee in all mine heart; and I shall glorify thy name [into] without end. (My Lord God, I shall praise thee with all my heart; and I shall glorify thy name forever.)
13 For thy mercy is great on me; and thou deliveredest my soul from the lower hell. (For thy love is great towards me; and thou hast rescued my soul from the depths of Sheol, or the land of the dead/and thou hast rescued my soul from the grave itself.)
14 God, wicked men have risen upon me; and the synagogue of mighty men have sought my life; and they have not set forth thee in their sight. (God, the wicked have risen against me; and a company of mighty men have sought my life; and they have no thought of thee.)
15 And thou, Lord God, doing mercy, and merciful; patient, and of much mercy, and soothfast. (But thou, Lord, art a God who giveth love, and art merciful; yea, thou art patient, and hath great love, and art faithful.)
16 Behold on me, and have mercy on me, give thou the empire to thy servant; and make thou safe the son of thine handmaid. (Turn to me, and have mercy on me; give thou thy strength to thy servant, and save thou the son of thy servantess.)
17 Make thou with me a sign in(to) good, that they see, that hate me, and be ashamed (Show thou me a sign of thy goodness, so that those who hate me can see it, and be ashamed); (yea,) for thou, Lord, hast helped me/hast holpen me, and hast comforted me.
91 He that dwelleth in the help of the highest God; shall dwell in the protection of God of heaven. (He who dwelleth in the shelter of the Most High God, shall live under the protection of the God of heaven.)
2 He shall say to the Lord, Thou art mine up-taker, and my refuge; my God, I shall hope in him. (He shall say to the Lord, Thou art my defender, and my refuge; my God, I trust in thee.)
3 For he delivered me from the snare of hunters; and from a sharp word. (For he shall save me from the hunter’s snare; and from a sharp word.)
4 With his shoulders he shall make shadow to thee; and thou shalt have hope under his feathers. His truth shall (en)compass thee with a shield; (With his feathers he shall make a shadow for thee; and thou shalt have hope under his wings. His faithfulness shall surround thee like a shield.)
5 thou shalt not dread of the night’s dread. Of an arrow flying in the day, (Thou shalt not fear the terror in the night; nor an arrow flying in the day.)
6 of a goblin going in darknesses; of assailing, and of a midday fiend. (Nor the pestilence going in darkness; nor the assailing of the plague at midday.)
7 A thousand shall fall down from thy side, and ten thousand from thy right side; forsooth it shall not nigh to thee. (A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right side; but it shall not come even close to thee.)
8 Nevertheless thou shalt behold with thine eyes; and thou shalt see the yielding of sinners. (Nevertheless thou shalt see with thine eyes; yea, thou shalt see the punishment of the sinners.)
9 For thou, Lord, art mine hope; thou hast set thine help (to be the) alder-Highest. (For thou hast made the Lord to be thy hope; yea, the Most High to be thy help.)
10 Evil shall not come to thee; and a scourge shall not (come) nigh to thy tabernacle.
11 For God hath commanded to his angels of thee; that they keep thee in all thy ways. (For God hath commanded his angels to be all around thee; so that they keep thee safe on all thy ways.)
12 They shall bear thee in the hands; lest peradventure thou hurt thy foot at a stone. (They shall lift thee up with their hands; lest thou hurt thy foot on a stone.)
13 Thou shalt go upon a snake, and a cockatrice; and thou shalt defoul a lion, and a dragon (and thou shalt trample upon a lion, and a dragon).
14 (For God saith,) For he hoped in me, I shall deliver him (For God saith, Because he loved me, I shall save him); I shall defend him, for he knew my name.
15 He cried to me, and I shall hear him; I am with him in tribulation; I shall deliver him, and I shall glorify him. (When he crieth to me, I shall answer him; I shall be with him in all his troubles; I shall rescue him, and I shall honour him.)
16 I shall [ful]fill him with the length of days; and I shall show mine health to him. (I shall fulfill him with length of days, that is, with a long life; and I shall give my salvation, or my deliverance, to him/and I shall save him.)
92 The psalm of song, in the day of sabbath. It is good to acknowledge to the Lord; and to sing to thy name, thou Highest. (The psalm of the song, on the sabbath day. It is good to give thanks to the Lord; and to sing unto thy name, O Most High.)
2 To show early thy mercy; and thy truth by night. (To declare thy love in the morning; and thy faithfulness every night.)
3 In a psaltery of ten cords; with song in harp. (On a lute with ten strings; and with a song on the harp.)
4 For thou, Lord, hast delighted me in (the works of) thy making; and I shall make full out joy in the works of thine hands. (For thou, Lord, hast delighted me with thy deeds, or thy acts; and I shall rejoice over the works of thy hands.)
5 Lord, thy works be magnified greatly; thy thoughts be made full deep. (Lord, thy works be truly great; thy thoughts be so very deep!)
6 An unwise man shall not know; and a fool shall not understand these things. (But this is what the ignorant do not know; and what the foolish do not understand.)
7 When sinners come forth, as hay; and all they appear, that work wickedness. That they perish into the world of world; (That even though the sinners come forth like hay, or like grass, and that those who do evil prosper; they shall all utterly perish forever.)
8 forsooth thou, Lord, art the Highest, [into] without end. (But thou, Lord, art the Most High, forever.)
9 For lo! Lord, thine enemies, for lo! thine enemies shall perish; and all they shall be scattered that work wickedness (and all who do evil shall be destroyed).
10 And mine horn shall be raised as an unicorn; and mine eld (age shall be) in plenteous mercy. (But my head shall be raised up, like the horn of a wild ox; and I shall be richly anointed with oil.)
11 And mine eye despised mine enemies; and when wicked men rise against me, mine ear shall hear (their downfall). (And my eyes shall see my heart’s desire for my enemies/And my eyes shall see the defeat of my enemies; and my ears shall hear the downfall of the wicked people who rise up against me.)
12 A just man shall flower as a palm tree; he shall be multiplied as a cedar of Lebanon. (The righteous shall flourish like the palm trees; they shall be multiplied like the cedars of Lebanon.)
13 Men planted in the house of the Lord; shall flower in the porches of the house of our God. (Those who be planted in the House of the Lord; shall flourish in the courtyards of the House of our God.)
14 Yet they shall be multiplied in plenteous eld (age); and they shall be suffering well. (They shall be granted a plentiful old age; and they shall be strong, and vigorous/and they shall be prosperous, and flourishing.)
15 That they tell, that our Lord God is rightful; and no wickedness is in him. (And they shall declare that the Lord our God is righteous; and there is no wickedness in him.)
2 And Hannah worshipped, and said, Mine heart fully joyed in the Lord, and mine horn is raised in my God; my mouth is alarged on mine enemies, for I was glad in thine health. (And Hannah worshipped, and said, My heart full out joyeth in the Lord, and my head is raised up to my God; my mouth is enlarged upon my enemies, or harshly speaketh about them, and I am happy for thy help.)
2 None is holy as the Lord is; for none other is, except thee, and none is strong as our God. (No one is as holy as the Lord is; for there is no other, except thee, and no one is as strong as our God.)
3 Do not ye multiply to speak high things, and have glory therein; eld things go away from your mouth; for God is Lord of knowings, and thoughts be made ready to him. (Do not ye continue to speak proud things, and have glory in it; let not proud words come out of your mouth; for God is the Lord of all knowledge, and he judgeth all that people do.)
4 The bow of strong men is overcome, and feeble men be girded with strength.
5 Men full-filled before, setted themselves to hire for loaves, and hungry men be filled; while the barren woman childed full many, and she that had many sons, was made sick. (Men filled full before, now hire themselves out to work for loaves, and hungry men be filled; while the barren woman bare a great many, and she who had many sons, was made feeble, or weak.)
6 The Lord slayeth, and quickeneth; he leadeth forth to hells, and bringeth again. (The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he leadeth down to Sheol, or into the grave, and bringeth up again.)
7 The Lord maketh poor, and he maketh rich; he maketh low, and he raiseth up.
8 He raiseth a needy man from powder, and he raiseth a poor man from drit, that he sit with princes, and hold the seat of glory; for the ends of [the] earth be of the Lord, and he hath set the world on those. (He raiseth up the needy from the dust, and he raiseth up the poor from the dirt, so that they sit with princes, and have seats, or places, of honour; for the ends of the earth be the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.)
9 He shall keep the feet of his saints, and wicked men shall be still (al)together in darknesses; for a man shall not be made strong in his own strength. (He shall guard the footsteps of his saints, and the wicked shall be still, or shall be silent, in the darkness; for no one shall be made strong by their own strength.)
10 [The] Adversaries of the Lord shall dread him, and from (the) heavens he shall thunder upon them; the Lord shall deem the ends of [the] earth, and he shall give lordship to his king, and he shall enhance the horn, that is, (the) power, of his Christ. (The Lord’s adversaries shall fear him, and he shall thunder upon them from heaven; the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give lordship to his king, yea, he shall enhance the horn, that is, the power, of his anointed king.)
2 And when ye were dead in your guilts and sins,
2 in which ye wandered sometime after the course of this world, after the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that worketh now into the sons of unbelief;
3 in which also we all lived sometime [in whom we all lived sometime] in the desires of our flesh, doing the wills of the flesh and of the thoughts, and we were by kind the sons of wrath, as other men [as and others];
4 but God, that is rich in mercy, for his full much charity in which he loved us,
5 yea, when we were dead in sins, quickened us together in Christ, by whose grace ye be saved,
6 and again-raised together, and made together to sit in heavenly things in Christ Jesus;
7 that he should show in the worlds above coming the plenteous riches of his grace in goodness on [upon] us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace ye be saved by faith, and this not of you [and that not of you]; for it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, that no man have glory.
10 For we be the making of him, made of nought in Christ Jesus, in good works, which God hath ordained, that we go in those works [that God made ready before, that in them we go].
22 Many shall say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, whether we have not prophesied in thy name, and have cast out fiends in thy name, and have done many works of power in thy name [whether we have not prophesied in thy name, and have cast out devils in thy name, and have done many virtues in thy name]?
23 And then I shall acknowledge to them, That I knew you never; depart away from me, ye that work wickedness.
24 Therefore every man that heareth these my words, and doeth them, shall be made like to a wise man, that hath builded his house on a stone[a].
25 And rain came down, and floods came, and winds blew, and rushed into that house; and it felled not down [and it fell not down], for it was founded on a stone.
26 And every man that heareth these my words, and doeth them not, is like to a fool, that hath builded his house on gravel[b].
27 And rain came down, and floods came, and winds blew, and hurled against that house; and it felled down [and it fell down], and the falling down thereof was great.
2001 by Terence P. Noble