Book of Common Prayer

26 [The psalm of David.] Lord, deem thou me, for I entered in mine innocence; and I hoping in the Lord, shall not be made unsteadfast. (The song of David. Lord, judge me, for I have gone my way in innocence; and trusting in the Lord, I have not been made unsteady, that is, I have not slipped, or stumbled.)

² Lord, prove thou me, and assay me; burn thou my reins, and mine heart (burn thou my will, and my heart).

³ For why thy mercy is before mine eyes; and I pleased in thy truth. (For thy love is always before me; and I have gone in thy faithfulness.)

⁴ I sat not with the counsel of vanity; and I shall not enter with men doing wicked things. (I sat not down with vain, that is, empty, or worthless, people; and I shall not go along with those who do wicked things.)

⁵ I hated the church of evil men; and I shall not sit with wicked men. (I hate the company of evil people; and I shall not sit with the wicked.)

⁶ I shall wash mine hands among innocents; and, Lord, I shall compass thine altar. (I shall wash my hands in innocence; and then, Lord, I shall march around thy altar.)

⁷ That I hear the voice of praising; and that I tell out all thy marvels. (And I shall sing thy praises with thanksgiving; and I shall tell of all thy marvellous deeds.)

⁸ Lord, I have loved the fairness of thine house; and the place of the dwelling of thy glory. (Lord, I love the beauty of thy House; yea, the place where thy glory dwelleth.)

⁹ God, lose thou not my soul with unfaithful men; and my life with men of bloods. (God, do not thou destroy me along with the unfaithful; and do not take away my life along with those who thirst for blood, that is, murderers.)

¹⁰ In whose hands wickednesses be; the right hand of them is full-filled with gifts. (In whose hands be wickednesses; their right hands be filled full with bribes.)

¹¹ But I entered in mine innocence; again-buy thou me, and have mercy on me. (But I went forth in innocence; so redeem thou me, and have mercy on me.)

¹² My foot stood in rightfulness; Lord, I shall bless thee in churches. (Yea, my feet standeth on firm ground; Lord, I shall bless thee in the congregations.)

28 To David. [The psalm to this David.] Lord, I shall cry to thee; my God, be thou not still from me, be thou not still any time from me; and I shall be made like to them, that go down into the pit. (The song of David. Lord, I shall cry to thee. My God, be thou not deaf to me, and never be thou silent with me; or I shall be made like those who go down into the pit.)

² Lord, hear thou the voice of my beseeching, while I pray to thee; while I raise mine hands to(ward) thine holy temple. (Lord, hear thou the words of my plea, when I pray to thee; when I raise up my hands toward thy holy Temple.)

³ Betake thou not me together with sinners; and lose thou not me with them that work wickedness. Which speak peace to their neighbour(s); but evils be in their hearts. (Take thou me not away with the sinners; and destroy thou me not with those who do evil. Yea, those who speak peacefully to their neighbours; but evil is in their hearts.)

⁴ Give thou to them after the works of them; and after the wickedness of their findings. Give thou to them after the works of their hands; yield thou their yielding to them. (Punish thou them according to their works; yea, according to the wickedness of their deeds. Punish thou them according to the works of their hands; give thou them their just reward.)

⁵ For they understood not the works of the Lord, and by the works of his hands thou shalt destroy them; and thou shalt not build them. (Because they do not respect the works of the Lord, or the works of his hands, he shall destroy them; and he shall not build them up again.)

⁶ Blessed be the Lord; for he heard the voice of my beseeching (for he heard the words of my plea).

⁷ The Lord is mine helper and my defender; and mine heart hoped in him, and I am helped. And my flesh flowered again; and (out) of my will I shall acknowledge to him. (The Lord is my helper and my defender; and my heart trusted him, and I was helped. And my heart full out joyed, or rejoiced; and I shall praise him with my song.)

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people; and he is the defender of the savings of his christ (The Lord is the strength of his people; and he is the defender and the saviour of his anointed king/and he is the defender and the safe place, or the refuge, for his anointed king.)

⁹ Lord, make thou safe thy people, and bless thou thine heritage; and rule thou them, and enhance thou them till into without end. (Lord, save thou thy people, and bless thou thy inheritance; and rule thou over them, and lift thou them up, yea, take good care of them, forever.)

36 To victory, to David, the servant of the Lord. The unjust man said, that he trespass in himself; the dread of God is not before his eyes. (To the victory of David, the servant of the Lord. The wicked man said, My sin, or my trespass, is my concern alone; and so the fear of God is not in his heart/and so reverence for God is not in his heart.)

² For he did guilefully in the sight of God; that his wickedness be found to (be) hatred. (But he did deceitfully before God; until his wickedness was found to be hateful.)

³ The words of his mouth be wickedness and guile; he would not understand to do well. (The words of his mouth be wicked and deceitful; he desireth not to understand, or to do good.)

⁴ He thought wickedness in his bed; he stood nigh (to) all way(s) (that be) not good; forsooth he hated not malice.

⁵ Lord, thy mercy is in heaven; and thy truth is unto [the] clouds. (Lord, thy love reacheth up to the heavens; and thy faithfulness up to the clouds.)

⁶ Thy rightfulness is as the hills of God; thy dooms be (as) much depth of waters. Lord, thou shalt save men and beasts; (Thy righteousness is as high as the mountains; thy judgements, or thy just acts, be as deep as the water. Lord, thou shalt save people and beasts;)

⁷ as thou, God, hast multiplied thy mercy. But the sons of men shall hope in the covering of thy wings. (for thou, God, hast multiplied thy love. And so the sons and daughters of men shall hope for/shall trust in the covering of thy wings.)

⁸ They shall be (ful)filled greatly of the plenty of thine house; and thou shalt give drink to them of the stiff stream of thy liking. (They shall be filled from the rich plenty of thy House; and thou shalt give drink to them out of the flowing stream of thy delights, or of thy goodness.)

⁹ For the well of life is with thee; and in thy light we shall see light.

¹⁰ Lord, set forth thy mercy to them that know thee; and thy rightfulness to them that be of rightful heart. (Lord, continue to show thy love to those who know thee; and thy righteousness to those who have an upright heart.)

¹¹ The foot of pride come not to me; and the hand of the sinner move me not. (Let not the foot of pride come against me; nor let the hand of the sinner upset me.)

¹² There they have fallen down, that work wickedness; they be cast out, and might not stand. (See where those who do evil have fallen; yea, they be thrown down, and be not able to stand up again.)

39 For victory, to Jeduthun, the psalm of David. I said, I shall keep my ways; that I trespass not in my tongue. I setted keeping to my mouth; when a sinner stood against me. (To victory, to Jeduthun, the song of David. I said, I shall keep watch over my ways; so that I do not trespass with my tongue. And I guarded my mouth; when a sinner stood against me.)

² I was dumb, and I was meeked full greatly, and was still, (even) from goods; and my sorrow was renewed. (I was dumb, and was very greatly humbled, and I was silent, even about good things; and so my sorrow was renewed.)

³ Mine heart was hot within me; and fire shall burn out in my thinking. I spake in my tongue; (My heart was hot within me; and the fire burned forever as I thought about all this. And then I said with my tongue,)

⁴ Lord, make thou mine end known to me. And the number of my days, what it is; that I know, what faileth to me (so that I know what falleth to me/so that I know when I shall fail, or die).

⁵ Lo! thou hast set my days measurable; and my substance is as nought before thee. Nevertheless all vanity; each man living. (Lo! thou hast made my days able to be measured, or counted; and my substance is like but nothing before thee, yea, but a puff of air. And all is emptiness, or uselessness; for each person alive.)

⁶ Nevertheless a man passeth in an image; but also he is troubled vainly. He treasureth; and he know not, to whom he shall gather those things. (And a person passeth by like a shadow; and he travaileth, or laboureth, in vain, that is, he worketh for nothing. For he buildeth up treasure; yet he truly knoweth not, for whom he gathered those things.)

⁷ And now which is mine abiding? whether not the Lord? and my substance is at thee. (And now, who do I wait for? is it not for the Lord? yea, for my hope is in thee.)

⁸ Deliver thou me from all my wickednesses; thou hast given me (as a) shame to the unknowing. (Rescue thou me/Save thou me from all of my wickednesses; thou hast made me a shame, or a reproach, to the ignorant.)

⁹ I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; for thou hast made (this happen), (But I was dumb, and did not open my mouth; for thou hast done this.)

¹⁰ remove thou thy wounds from me. From the strength of thine hand I failed in blamings; (Cease thou from wounding me; for I am failing from the strokes of thy hand.)

¹¹ for wickedness thou hast chastised [a] man. And thou madest his life to fail as a spider; nevertheless each man is troubled in vain. (For when thou hast chastised someone for wickedness, thou hast destroyed his life; yea, like a moth that eateth up a piece of cloth. Nevertheless, each person is troubled over nothing anyway, for his life is nothing but emptiness.)

¹² Lord, hear thou my prayer, and my beseeching; perceive thou with ears my tears. Be thou not still, for I am a comeling with thee; and a pilgrim, as all my fathers. (Lord, hear thou my prayer; and listen to my plea. Be thou not silent before my tears, for I am but a newcomer, or a visitor, here with thee; yea, a pilgrim, like all my forefathers were before me.)

¹³ Forgive thou to me, that I be refreshed, before that I go; and I shall no more be. (Forgive thou me, so that I can be refreshed, before that I go away; and then I shall be no more.)

¹⁶ Better is a little with the dread of the Lord, than many treasures and unfillable. (Better is a little with the fear of the Lord/with reverence for the Lord, than many treasures and troubles.)

¹⁷ It is better to be called to worts with charity, than with hatred to a calf made fat. (It is better to be warmly, or cordially, called to herbs, or vegetables, than to be hatefully invited to share a fattened calf.)

¹⁸ A wrathful man raiseth chidings; he that is patient, assuageth chidings that were raised.

¹⁹ The way of slow men is as an hedge of thorns; the way of just men is without [thing of] hurting. (A lazy person’s way is a hedge of thorns; but the way of the righteous is without a cause of stumbling.)

²⁰ A wise son maketh glad his father; but a fond man despiseth his mother. (A wise son maketh his father happy; but a fool despiseth his mother.)

²¹ Folly is joy to a fool; but a prudent man shall (ad)dress his steps. (Foolishness bringeth joy to a fool; but a prudent person shall direct his steps.)

²² Thoughts be destroyed, where no counsel is; but where many counsellors be, they be confirmed. (Plans come to naught, where there is no wise advice; but where there be many counsellors, the plans succeed.)

²³ A man is glad in the sentence of his mouth; and a covenable word is best (but a suitable word is always best).

²⁴ The path of life is on a learned man; that he bow away from the last hell. (The path of life leadeth upward for the learned; yea, so that they turn away from Sheol, or the land of the dead/so that they turn away from hell, which is below.)

²⁵ The Lord shall destroy the house of proud men; and he shall make steadfast the coasts of a widow. (The Lord shall destroy the house of the proud; but he shall make firm the property lines, or the boundary stones, of a widow.)

²⁶ Evil thoughts is abomination of the Lord; and a clean word most fair shall be made steadfast of him. (Evil thoughts be an abomination to the Lord; but a most fair, and clean, word is his delight.)

²⁷ He that followeth avarice, troubleth his house; but he that hateth gifts shall live (long). Sins be purged by mercy and faith; each man boweth away from evil by the dread of the Lord (Sins be cleansed by love and faith; all can turn away from evil by the fear of the Lord/with reverence for the Lord).

²⁸ The soul of a just man bethinketh obedience; the mouth of wicked men is full of evils. (The righteous think before that they answer; but the ready reply of the wicked is usually full of evil.)

²⁹ The Lord is far from wicked men; and he shall hear the prayers of just men. (The Lord is far from the wicked; but he shall hear the prayers of the righteous.)

³⁰ The light of (the) eyes maketh glad the soul; good fame maketh fat the bones. (Sparkling eyes make a person happy; good news fatteneth up the bones.)

³¹ The ear that heareth the blamings of life, shall dwell in the midst of wise men. (The person who listeneth to rebukes, shall live in the midst of the wise.)

³² He that casteth away chastising, despiseth his soul; but he that assenteth to blamings, is a peaceable holder of the heart (He who casteth away discipline, despiseth his own soul; but he who accepteth rebukes, shall become wiser.)

³³ The dread of the Lord is teaching of wisdom; and meekness goeth before glory. (The fear of the Lord/Reverence for the Lord is the teaching of wisdom; and humility goeth before honour.)

¹⁸ I betake this commandment to thee, thou son Timothy, after the prophecies that have been heretofore in thee, that thou travail in them a good travail, [I commend this precept to thee, son Timothy, after prophecies before-going in thee, that thou fight in them a good knighthood,]

¹⁹ having faith and good conscience, which some men cast away, and perished about the faith [the which some casting away, perished about the faith].

²⁰ Of which is Hymenaeus and Alexander [Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander], whom I betook to Satan, that they learn not to blaspheme.

2 Therefore I beseech first of all things, that beseechings, prayers, askings, doing of thankings, be made for all men,

² for kings and all that be set in highness, that we lead a quiet and a peaceable life, in all piety and chastity.

³ For this thing is good and accepted before God, our Saviour,

⁴ that will that all men be made safe, and that they come to the knowing of truth. [that will all men to be made safe, and to come to the knowing of truth.]

⁵ For one God and one mediator is of God and of men, a man Christ Jesus,

⁶ that gave himself redemption for all men. Whose witnessing is confirmed in his times;

⁷ in which I am set a preacher and an apostle. For I say truth, and I lie not, that am a teacher of heathen men in faith and in truth [Soothly I say truth in Christ Jesus, and I lie not, a teacher of heathen men in faith and truth].

⁸ Therefore I will, that men pray in all place, lifting up clean hands without wrath and strife [lifting up clean hands without wrath and disputing, or strife].

³³ Either make ye the tree good, and his fruit good; either make ye the tree evil and his fruit evil [or make ye the tree evil, and his fruit evil]; for a tree is known of his fruit.

³⁴ Ye generation of adders, how be ye able to speak good things, when ye be evil? For the mouth speaketh of the plenty of the heart. [Ye generation of adders, how may ye speak good things, when ye be evil? Soothly the mouth speaketh of the great abundance of the heart.]

³⁵ A good man bringeth forth good things of good treasure, and an evil man bringeth forth evil things of evil treasure.

³⁶ And I say to you, that of every idle word, that men speak, they shall yield reason thereof in the day of doom;

³⁷ for of thy words thou shalt be justified, and of thy words thou shalt be condemned.

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and the Pharisees answered to him, and said, Master, we will see a token of thee. [Then some of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered to him, saying, Master, we would see a token of thee.]

³⁹ Which answered, and said to them, An evil kindred and a spouse-breaker seeketh a token [An evil generation and adulterous seeketh a token], and a token shall not be given to it, but the token of Jonas, the prophet.

⁴⁰ For as Jonas was in the womb of a whale three days and three nights, so man's Son shall be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.

⁴¹ Men of Nineveh shall rise in doom with this generation, and shall condemn it; for they did penance in the preaching of Jonas, and lo! here [is] a greater than Jonas.

⁴² The queen of the south shall rise in doom with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and lo! here [is] a greater than Solomon.