Book of Common Prayer
50 The psalm of Asaph. God, the Lord of gods, spake/God, the God of gods, spake; and called the earth, from the rising of the sun till to the going down. (The song of Asaph. God, the Lord of gods, spoke/God, the God of gods, spoke; and called to the people of the earth, from the rising of the sun unto the going down of it.)
2 The shape of his fairness from Zion, God shall come openly; (God shineth from Zion, perfect in beauty;)
3 our God, and he shall not be still. Fire shall burn on high in his sight; and a strong tempest in his compass. (our God shall come, and he shall not be silent. Fire shall burn on high before him; and it shall be a strong tempest surrounding him/and a strong tempest shall surround him.)
4 He called heaven above; and the earth, to (witness him) deem his people. (He calleth heaven above, and the earth beneath, to the judgement of his people.)
5 Gather ye to him his saints; that ordain his testament above sacrifices. (And he saith, Gather my saints to me; those who have made a covenant with me, by offering a sacrifice.)
6 And heavens shall show his rightwiseness/And heavens shall tell his rightfulness; for God is the judge. (And the heavens shall tell out his righteousness; for God himself is the judge.)
7 My people, hear thou, and I shall speak to Israel; and I shall witness to thee, I am God, thy God. (My people, hear thou, and I shall speak; Israel, I shall testify against thee; I am God, thy God.)
8 I shall not reprove thee in thy sacrifices; and thy burnt sacrifices be ever[more] before me. (I shall not rebuke thee for thy sacrifices, and for thy burnt sacrifices, that be before me forevermore./Shall I not rebuke thee for thy sacrifices, and for thy burnt sacrifices, that be before me forevermore?)
9 I shall not take calves of thine house; neither goat bucks of thy flocks. (But I do not need calves from thy house, or thy farm; or goat bucks from thy flocks.)
10 For all the wild beasts of (the) woods be mine; work beasts, and oxes in hills (and the work beasts as well, and the oxen on the hills).
11 I have known all the volatiles of the firmament; and the fairness of the field is with me. (I know all the birds on those hills; and the wild beasts of the fields be mine.)
12 If I shall be hungry, I shall not say to thee; for the world and the fullness thereof is mine. (If I am hungry, I have no need to tell thee; for the world and its fullness be mine.)
13 Whether I shall eat the flesh of bulls? either shall I drink the blood of goat bucks? (Shall I eat the flesh of bulls? or drink the blood of goat bucks? Nay!)
14 Offer thou to God the sacrifice of praising; and yield thine avows to the highest God. (Offer, or give, thou to God the sacrifice of praise; and pay thy vows to the Most High God.)
15 And inwardly call thou me in the day of tribulation; and I shall deliver thee, and thou shalt honour me. (And call thou on me in the day of trouble; and I shall save thee, and then thou shalt honour me.)
16 But God said to the sinner, Why tellest thou out my rightfulnesses; and takest my testament by thy mouth? (But God said to the sinner, Why should thou tell out my statutes? and why hast thou my covenant in thy mouth?)
17 Soothly thou hatedest lore, or discipline; and hast cast away my words behind (thee). (Truly thou hatedest chastisement; and hast thrown away my words behind thee.)
18 If thou sawest a thief, thou rannest with him; and thou settedest thy part with adulterers.
19 Thy mouth was plenteous of malice; and thy tongue meddled together guiles. (Thy mouth is full of malice; and thy tongue mixeth up batches of lies.)
20 Thou sitting spakest against thy brother, and thou settedest slander against the son of thy mother; (And thou sitteth down, and speakest against thy brother, yea, thou settest forth slander against thy mother’s son;)
21 thou didest these things, and I was still. Thou guessedest wickedly, that I shall be like thee; I shall reprove thee, and I shall set (them) against thy face. (thou didest these things, and I was silent. And thou wickedly guessedest that I was just like thee; but I shall rebuke thee, and I shall do it to thy face.)
22 Ye that forget God, understand these things; lest sometime he ravish, and none be that shall deliver. (Ye who forget God, understand these things; lest sometime I tear thee in pieces, and there be no one who shall save thee.)
23 The sacrifice of praising shall honour me; and there is the way, wherein I shall show to him the health of God. (The sacrifice of praise shall honour me; and to those who follow my way/and to those who obey me, I shall give them the salvation of God.)
59 To the overcomer, lose thou not the seemly song of David (destroy thou not David’s comely song), when Saul sent and kept the house, to slay him. My God, deliver thou me from mine enemies; and deliver thou me from them that rise against me.
2 Deliver thou me from them that work wickedness; and save thou me from men-quellers. (Rescue thou me from those who do evil; and save thou me from these murderers.)
3 For lo! they have taken my soul; strong men fell in on me. Neither (for) my wickedness, neither (for) my sin; (For lo! they lie in wait for me; strong men have fallen in on me. But not because of my wickedness, nor for my sin.)
4 Lord, I ran without wickedness, and (ad)dressed my works. Rise up into my meeting, and see; (Lord, though I am innocent, they run into position against me. Rise up to help me, and see;)
5 and thou, Lord God of virtues, art God of Israel. Give thou attention to visit all folks; do thou not mercy to all that work wickedness. (for thou, Lord God of hosts, art the God of Israel. Give thou attention to punishing all the nations; do not thou give mercy to any who do evil.)
6 They shall be turned (again) at eventide, and they as dogs shall suffer hunger; and they shall compass, that is, go abegging, (in) the city. (They shall return in the evening, and they shall suffer hunger like dogs; and they shall go about begging in the city.)
7 Lo! they shall speak in their mouth, and a sword in their lips; for who heard? (Lo! they shall speak out insults with their mouths, and their lips, or their tongues, shall be like swords; for they say, Who shall hear us?)
8 And thou, Lord, shalt scorn them; thou shalt bring all folks to nought. (But thou, Lord, shalt scorn them; thou shalt bring down all these nations to nothing.)
9 I shall keep my strength to thee; for God is mine up-taker, (O my strength, I shall turn to thee; for God is my defender,)
10 my God, his mercy shall come before me. God showed to me (my desire) on mine enemies, (my God, his love shall come to me. God shall show me my heart’s desire for all my enemies.)
11 slay thou not them; lest any time my peoples forget. Scatter thou them in thy virtue; and, Lord, my defender, put thou them down. (But kill thou them not; lest any time my people forget. Rather, scatter thou them by thy strength; and, O Lord, my defender, put thou them down.)
12 Put down the trespass of their mouth, and the word of their lips; and be they taken in their pride. And of cursing and of leasing; they shall be showed (up) in the ending. (And for the trespasses of their mouths, and the words of their lips; let them be taken in their pride. And for their cursing and their lies; let them be shown up in the end.)
13 (Destroy thou them) In the ire of ending, and they shall not be; and they shall know, that the Lord shall be Lord of Jacob, and of the ends of earth. (Destroy thou them in thy anger, yea, destroy them altogether, and they shall be no more; and then they shall know, that the Lord is the lord, or the ruler, in Jacob, and unto the ends of the earth.)
14 They shall be turned (again) at eventide, and they as dogs shall suffer hunger; and they shall compass, that is, go abegging, (in) the city. (They shall return in the evening, and they shall suffer hunger like dogs; and they shall go about begging in the city.)
15 They shall be scattered abroad, for to eat; soothly if they be not [ful]filled, and they shall grutch. (They shall be scattered abroad, searching for food; and truly they shall grumble, if they be not satisfied, or fulfilled.)
16 But I shall sing (of) thy strength; and early I shall enhance thy mercy. For thou art made mine up-taker; and my refuge, in the day of my tribulation. (But I shall sing of thy strength; and in the morning I shall sing of thy love. For thou art my defender; and my refuge, in the days of my trouble.)
17 Mine helper, I shall sing to thee; for thou art God, mine up-taker, my God, my mercy. (My helper, I shall sing to thee; for thou art God, my defender, the God who loveth me.)
60 To victory, on the witnessing of (the) rose, the sweet song of David, to teach men, when he fought against Aram of floods, and Syria of Zobah; and Joab turned again, and smote Edom in the valley of salt pits, twelve thousand. God, thou hast put away us, and thou hast destroyed us; thou were wroth, and thou hast done mercy to us. (To victory, on the teaching of the lily, the sweet song of David, to teach men, when he fought against Aramnaharaim, and Aramzobah; and Joab returned, and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of the Salt Pits. God, thou hast cast us away, and thou hast destroyed us; thou were angry, but now, show thou thy mercy to us/show thou us thy mercy.)
2 Thou movedest the earth, and thou troubledest it; make thou whole (again) the sorrows thereof, for it is moved. (Thou hast shaken the earth, and thou hast troubled it; but now heal thou its wounds, for it is broken in pieces.)
3 Thou showedest hard things to thy people; thou gavest drink to us with the wine of compunction. (Thou hast shown thy people hard times; and thou hast made us stagger, as though we were drunk with wine.)
4 Thou hast given a signifying to them that dread thee; that they flee from the face of the bow. (Thou hast given a sign, or a warning, to those who fear thee/to those who revere thee; so that they can flee, or escape, from the face of the bow.)
5 That thy darlings be delivered; make thou safe with thy right hand, and hear thou me. (Save thy dear ones; yea, save thou us with thy right hand, and answer thou me.)[a]
6 God spake by his holy (place); I shall be glad, and I shall part Shechem, and I shall mete the great valley of tabernacles. (God spoke in his holiness/God spoke from his sanctuary, and he said, I shall be glad, and I shall divide Shechem; and I shall measure out the Succoth Valley.)
7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; and Ephraim is the strength of mine head. Judah is my king; (Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, and Judah is my sceptre.)
8 Moab is the pot of mine hope. Into Idumea I shall stretch forth my shoe; aliens be made subject to me. (But Moab is my washbowl. And I shall throw my shoes at Edom; and Philistia shall be made subject to me.)
9 Who shall lead me into a city made strong; who shall lead me into Idumea? (Who shall lead me into the strengthened, or the fortified, city? who shall lead me unto Edom?)
10 Whether not thou, God, that hast put away us; and shalt thou not, God, go out in our virtues? (Shalt not thou, O God, even though thou hast cast us off, or rejected us? or shalt not thou, O God, go out with our hosts, or our armies, any more?)
11 Lord, give thou to us help (out) of tribulation; for the help of man is vain. (Lord, give thou us help in the time of trouble; for the help of man is worthless, yea, but an empty hope.)
12 In God we shall make virtue; and he shall bring to nought them that trouble us/that disturb us. (With God’s help, we shall do valiantly/we shall have the victory; and he shall bring down those who trouble us into nothing.)
8 To the overcomer, for pressers, the psalm of David. Lord, thou art our Lord; thy name is full wonderful in all [the] earth. For thy great doing is raised up, above (the) heavens. (To the overcomer, at the winepresses, the song of David. Lord, thou art our Lord; thy name is most wonderful in all the earth. And thy great doing is raised up, above the heavens.)
2 Of the mouth of young children, not speaking and sucking milk, thou hast made perfect praising, for thine enemies; that thou destroy the enemy and the avenger. (Out of the mouths of young children, who do not speak, but who suck milk, thou hast rebuked thy mighty enemies; yea, thou hast destroyed the enemy and the avenger.)
3 For I shall see thine heavens, the works of thy fingers; the moon and the stars, which thou hast founded.
4 What is a man, that is mankind, that thou art mindful of him; either the son of a virgin [or the son of man], for thou visitest him? (What is a man, that is humankind, that thou art mindful of him; or who is the son of a man, that thou should care about him?)
5 Thou hast made him a little less than (the) angels; (but) thou hast crowned him with glory and honour,
6 and thou hast ordained him above the works of thine hands. Thou hast made subject all things under his feet; (and thou hast ordained him over all thy creatures. Yea, thou hast put all things under his feet;)
7 all sheep and oxen, furthermore and the beasts of the field; (all the sheep and the oxen, and furthermore, the beasts of the fields, that is, the wild beasts;)
8 the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, (and all the other creatures) that pass by the paths of the sea. (and the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and all the other creatures that go along the paths of the sea.)
9 Lord, our Lord; how wonderful is thy name in all [the] earth.
84 To victory, on the pressers. The psalm of the sons of Korah. Lord of virtues, thy tabernacles be greatly loved; (To victory, for those at the winepresses. The song for the sons of Korah. Lord of hosts, how greatly loved be thy tabernacles/how beautiful is thy dwelling place;)
2 my soul coveteth, and faileth into the porches of the Lord. Mine heart, and my flesh; full out joyed into quick God. (my soul desireth, and longeth for, the courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. My heart, and my flesh, rejoiced in the living God.)
3 For why a sparrow findeth an house to itself; and a turtle(dove) findeth a nest to itself, where it shall keep his birds. Lord of virtues, thine altars; my king, and my God. (For there a sparrow findeth a house for itself; and a turtledove findeth a nest for itself, where it shall keep its young. Yea, beside thy altars, Lord of hosts; my King, and my God.)
4 Lord, blessed be they that dwell in thine house; they shall praise thee into the worlds of worlds. (Lord, happy be those who live in thy House; they shall praise thee forever.)
5 Blessed is the man, whose help is of thee; he hath ordained (thy) goings in his heart, (Happy be those whose help is in thee/whose strength is in thee; they have ordained thy ways in their hearts.)
6 in the valley of tears, in the place which he hath set. For the giver of the law shall give blessing, (And as they pass through the dry Baca Valley, they shall find water from a spring. For the Giver of the Law shall give them a blessing.)
7 they shall go from virtue into virtue; God of gods shall be seen in Zion. (They shall go from strength to strength; and the God of gods shall be seen in Zion.)
8 Lord God of virtues, hear thou my prayer; God of Jacob, perceive thou with ears. (Lord God of hosts, hear thou my prayer; God of Jacob, please listen thou to me.)
9 God, our defender, behold thou; and behold into the face of thy christ (and look upon the face of thy anointed king).
10 For why one day in thine halls is better; than a thousand (elsewhere). I choose to be abject, either an outcast, in the house of my God; more than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners. (For one day in thy courtyards, is better than a thousand days elsewhere. I would rather choose to be a doorkeeper in the House of my God; than to live in the tents, or in the homes, of the sinners.)
11 For God loveth mercy and truth; the Lord shall give grace and glory. He shall not deprive them from goods, that go in innocence; (For God loveth mercy and faithfulness; and the Lord giveth favour and glory. He will not hold back any good thing, from those who go in innocence/from those who do what is right.)
12 Lord of virtues, blessed is the man, that hopeth in thee. (Lord of hosts, happy is the person, who trusteth in thee.)
16 I saw under [the] sun unfaithfulness in the place of doom; and wickedness in the place of rightfulness. (I saw under the sun unfaithfulness in place of judgement, or of justice; and wickedness in place of righteousness, or of uprightness.)
17 And I said in mine heart, The Lord shall deem a just man, and an unfaithful man; and the time of each thing shall be then. (And I said in my heart, The Lord shall judge the righteous, and the unfaithful; and then shall be the proper time for each thing.)
18 I said in mine heart of the sons (and daughters) of men, that God should prove them, and show (them) that they be like beasts.
19 Therefore one is the perishing of man and of beasts, and even condition is of ever either; as a man dieth, so and those beasts die; all those breathe in like manner, and a man hath nothing more than a beast. All things be subject to vanity, (And so the perishing of people and of beasts is one and the same, and the condition of both of them is equal, or even; for as a person dieth, so do those beasts die; they all breathe in like manner, and a person hath nothing more than a beast. Everything is empty and futile,)
20 and all things go to one place; those be made of earth, and those turn again (al)together into earth. (and all things go to one place; they all be made of dust, or of dirt, and they shall all return to the dust, or to the dirt.)
21 Who knoweth, if the spirit of the sons of Adam goeth upward, and if the spirit of beasts goeth downward? (Yet who knoweth, if the spirits of the sons and daughters of Adam go upward to heaven, and if the spirits of the beasts go downward into the ground? I do not know.)
22 And I perceived that nothing is better, than that a man be glad in his work, and that this be his part; for who shall bring (to) him, that he know things that shall come after him? (And I perceived that nothing is better, than that a person be happy in his work, and that this be his portion; for who shall bring him the knowledge, so that he know what shall come after him?)
4 I turned me to other things, and I saw false challenges, that be done under the sun (and I saw much oppression, that is done under the sun), and the tears of the guiltless, and (that) no man (was a) comforter; and that they destitute, either forsaken, of the help of all men, may not against-stand the violence of them.
2 And I praised more dead men than living men; (And I praised the dead more than the living;)
3 and I deemed him, that was not born yet, and saw not the evils that be done under the sun, to be more blessed than ever either. (and I judged him, who was not yet born, and saw not the evils that be done under the sun, to be more blessed than either the living or the dead.)
3 O! unwitty Galatians, before whose eyes Jesus Christ is exiled, and is crucified in you, who hath deceived you, that ye obey not to truth?[a]
2 This only I desire to learn of you, whether ye have received the Spirit of the works of the law, or of hearing of belief?[b]
3 So ye be fools, that when ye have begun in Spirit, ye be ended in flesh [now ye be ended by flesh].
4 So great things ye have suffered without cause [Ye have suffered so many things without cause], if it be without cause.
5 [Therefore] He that giveth to you [the] Spirit, and worketh works of power in you, whether of [the] works of the law, or of hearing of belief [or of hearing of faith]?
6 As it is written, Abraham believed to God, and it was reckoned to him to rightwiseness.
7 And therefore know ye, that these that be of belief, be the sons of Abraham.[c]
8 And the scripture seeing afar, that God justifieth the heathen of belief, told before to Abraham, That in thee all the heathen shall be blessed [for God justifieth of faith heathen men, told before to Abraham, For in thee all folks, or heathen men, shall be blessed].
9 And therefore these that be of belief [Therefore they that be of faith], shall be blessed with faithful Abraham.
10 For all that be of the works of the law, be under curse; for it is written, Each man is cursed, that abideth not in all things that be written in the book of the law, to do those things.[d]
11 And that no man is justified in the law before God, it is open, for a rightful man liveth of belief. [Forsooth for no man is justified in the law with God, it is known, for a rightful man liveth by faith.]
12 But the law is not of belief, but he that doeth those things of the law [but he that doeth those things], shall live in them.
13 But Christ again-bought us from the curse of the law, and was made accursed for us; for it is written, Each man is cursed that hangeth in the tree;[e]
14 that among the heathen the blessing of Abraham were made in Jesus Christ, that we receive the promise of Spirit through belief. [that the blessing of Abraham in heathen men should be made in Christ Jesus, that we take the promise of Spirit by faith.]
13 And when Jesus had heard this thing, he went from thence in a boat, into a desert place beside. And when the people had heard, they followed him on their feet from cities.
14 And Jesus went out, and saw a great people [And Jesus, going out, saw a great multitude], and had ruth on them, and he healed the sick men of them.
15 But when eventide was come, his disciples came to him, and said, The place is desert, and the time is now passed; let the people go into towns, to buy them(selves) meat. [Soothly the evening made, his disciples came nigh to him, saying, The place is desert, and the hour hath now passed; leave thou the companies, that they, going into castles, buy meats to them.]
16 Jesus said to them, They have not need to go; give ye them somewhat to eat.[a]
17 They answered, We have not here, but five loaves and two fishes.
18 And he said to them, Bring ye them hither to me.
19 And when he had commanded the people to sit to meat on the hay, he took five loaves and two fishes, and he beheld into heaven, and blessed, and brake, and gave to his disciples; and the disciples gave to the people. [And when he had commanded the company to sit to the meat on the hay, five loaves and two fishes taken, he beholding into heaven, blessed, and brake, and gave loaves to his disciples; soothly the disciples gave to the companies.]
20 And all ate, and were fulfilled. And they took the remnants of broken gobbets, twelve baskets full. [And all ate, and were filled. And they took the reliefs of broken gobbets, twelve coffins full.]
21 And the number of men that ate was five thousand of men, without women and little children.
2001 by Terence P. Noble