Book of Common Prayer
55 To victory in organs, the learning of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my beseeching; (To victory, on instruments, the teaching of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my plea;)
2 give thou attention to me, and hear thou me. I am sorrowful in mine exercising (I am grieved by my distress);
3 and I am disturbed of the face of the enemy, and of the tribulation of the sinner. For they bowed wickednesses into me; and in ire they were dis-easeful to me. (and I am made afraid by my enemies, and by the trouble which the sinners have brought upon me. For they bowed down wickednesses upon me; and with great anger they were very hateful to me.)
4 Mine heart was troubled in me; and the dread of death felled on me. (My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me.)
5 Dread and trembling came on me (Fear and trembling came upon me); and darknesses covered me.
6 And I said, Who shall give to me feathers, as of a culver; and I shall fly, and shall take rest? (And I said, Who shall give me wings like a dove? and then I can fly away, and get some rest.)
7 Lo! I went far away, and fled; and I dwelled in wilderness. (Lo! I would flee far away; and I would live in the wilderness.)
8 I abode him, that made me safe from the littleness, either dread, of spirit; and from tempest. (I would hasten, and make myself safe from the wind, and from the tempest.)
9 Lord, cast thou down, [and] part thou the tongues of them; for I saw wickedness and against-saying in the city.
10 By day and night wickedness shall (en)compass it on the walls thereof; and travail and unrightfulness be in the midst of them. (Day and night they surround the city, all along its walls; and trouble and unrighteousness be in its midst.)
11 And usury and guile failed not; from the streets thereof. (And greed, and deceit, always be found in its streets.)
12 For if mine enemy had cursed me; soothly I had suffered. And if he, that hated me, had spoken great things on me; in hap I had hid me from him. (For if my enemy had cursed me; truly I would have suffered it. And if he, who hated me, had spoken great things against me; I would have hid myself from him.)
13 But thou art a man of one will (with me); my leader, and my known. (But thou art a man of one mind with me; my leader, and my dear friend.)
14 Which tookest together sweet meats with me; we went with consent in(to) the house of God. (Who shared his good counsel with me; and we went together to the House of God.)
15 Death come on them; and go they down quick into hell (May death come upon them; and may they go down alive into Sheol, or the land of the dead). For waywardnesses be in the dwelling places of them; (and) in the midst of them.
16 But I cried to thee, Lord; and the Lord saved me. (But I shall cry to thee, Lord; and the Lord will save me.)
17 In the eventide, and [the] morrowtide, and in midday (and at midday), I shall tell, and show (him); and he shall hear my voice.
18 He shall again-buy my soul in peace from them, that nigh to me; for among many they were with me. (And he shall deliver my soul unto peace again, from those who come against me; for there were many against me.)
19 God shall hear; and he that is before the worlds shall make them low. For changing is not to them, and they dreaded not God; (God shall hear; and he who was before the worlds, shall humble them. For changing is not to them, and they do not fear God;)
20 he holdeth forth his hand in yielding. They defouled his testament, (indeed, they put forth their hands, against those who be at peace with them. They have broken their promise, or their covenant,)
21 the cheers thereof were parted from ire; and his heart nighed. The words thereof were softer than oil; and they be darts. (their words were smoother than butter; but battle was in their hearts. Their words were softer than oil; but they were as sharp as darts.)
22 Cast thy care, or thought, [(or) busyness,] on the Lord, and he shall fully nourish thee; and he shall not give [into] without end fluttering to a just man. (Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and he shall nourish and protect thee; yea, he shall not allow the righteous to be moved, or shaken.)
23 But thou, God, shalt lead them forth; into the pit of death. Men-quellers and beguilers shall not have half their days; but, Lord, I shall hope in thee. (But murderers and deceivers shall not have half their days; for thou, God, shalt lead them forth, into the pit of death. But, O Lord, I shall put my trust in thee.)
138 [The psalm of David.] Lord, I shall acknowledge to thee in all mine heart; for thou heardest the words of my mouth. My God, I shall sing to thee in the sight of angels; (The song of David. Lord, I shall praise thee with all my heart. My God, I shall sing praises to thee before the angels, or before the gods.)
2 I shall worship to(ward) thine holy temple, and I shall acknowledge to thy name. On thy mercy and thy truth; for thou hast magnified thine holy name above all thing. (I shall worship towards thy holy Temple, and I shall praise thy name; because of thy love, and thy faithfulness; for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all things.)
3 In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee, hear thou me; thou shalt multiply virtue in my soul. (On whatever day I called to thee, thou answeredest me; and thou hast multiplied the strength in my soul/and thou hast made me strong.)
4 Lord, all the kings of earth acknowledge to thee; for they heard all the words of thy mouth. (Lord, all the kings of the earth shall praise thee; for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.)
5 And sing they in the ways of the Lord (And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord); for the glory of the Lord is great.
6 For the Lord is high, and beholdeth meek things; and knoweth afar high things. (For though the Lord is high above, he looketh upon the meek/he careth for the humble; and he knoweth the proud from afar.)
7 If I shall go in the midst of tribulation, thou shalt quicken me; and thou stretchedest forth thine hand on the ire of mine enemies, and thy right hand made me safe. (Yea, though I go in the midst of trouble, or of tribulation, thou keepest me safe/thou keepest me alive; and thou stretchest forth thy hand against the rage of my enemies, and thy right hand savest me.)
8 The Lord shall yield for me, Lord, thy mercy is [into] without end; despise thou not the works of thine hands. (The Lord shall bring to pass his promises to me. O Lord, thy love is forever; so complete thy work.)
139 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, thou hast proved me, and hast known me; (To victory, the song of David. Lord, thou hast assayed, or tested, me, and thou knowest me;)
2 thou hast known my sitting, and my rising again. Thou hast understood my thoughts from [a]far; (thou hast known my sitting down, and my rising up. Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar;)
3 thou hast inquired (of) my path and my cord. And thou hast before-seen all my ways; (thou hast examined my path, and my resting places. And thou hast foreseen all my ways.)
4 for no word is in my tongue. Lo! Lord, thou hast known all things, (Yea, there is no word on my tongue, lo! Lord; but that thou not knowest it first.)
5 the new things and eld; thou hast formed me, and hast set thine hand on me. (Thou art behind me, and before me; and thou hast set thy hand upon me.)
6 Thy knowing is made wonderful of me; it is comforted, and I shall not be able to it. (Thy abundant knowledge is so wonderful to me; yea, it is so very great, and I shall never be able to comprehend it all.)
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit; and whither shall I flee from thy face? (Where shall I go from thy spirit; and where shall I flee from thy presence?)
8 If I shall ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I shall go down into hell, thou art present. (If I shall go up into heaven, thou art there; if I shall go down into Sheol, or into the land of the dead, thou art there also.)
9 If I shall take my feathers full early; and shall dwell in the last parts of the sea. (If I shall take flight early in the morning; or if I shall live on the farthest edge, or the coast, of the sea.)
10 And soothly thither thine hand shall lead me forth; and thy right hand shall hold me. (Even there thy hand shall lead me forth; and thy right hand shall keep me safe.)
11 And I said, In hap darknesses shall defoul me; and the night is my lightening in my delights. (And I said, Perhaps the darkness shall cover me; or the light all around me shall become my night.)
12 For why darknesses shall not be made dark from thee, and the night shall be lightened as the day; as the darknesses thereof, so and the light thereof. (But the darkness shall not be dark for thee, and the night shall be like the daylight; yea, to you, the darkness is no different than the light.)
13 For thou haddest in possession my reins; thou tookest me up from the womb of my mother. (For thou haddest my reins in thy possession/For thou formedest my inner parts; yea, thou madest me in my mother’s womb.)
14 I shall acknowledge to thee, for thou art magnified dreadfully; thy works be wonderful, and my soul shall know (that) full much. (I shall praise thee, for thou art greatly to be feared/for thou hath filled me with awe; thy works be wonderful, and I truly know that.)
15 My bone, which thou madest in private, is not hid from thee; and my substance (formed) in the lower parts of earth. (My bones, which thou madest in secret, be not a mystery to thee; yea, when my substance was formed in the lower parts of the earth.)
16 Thine eyes saw mine unperfect thing, and all men shall be written in thy book; days shall be formed, and no man is in those. (Thine eyes saw my imperfect substance, and all was written in thy Book; but when those days were formed, no man was there.)
17 Forsooth, God, thy friends be made honourable full much to me; the princehood of them is comforted full much. (But, God, how deep be thy thoughts to me; and how many of them there be!)
18 I shall number them, and they shall be multiplied above the gravel; I rose up, and yet I am with thee. (If I tried to count them all up, their number would be more than all the grains of sand. And then I awake; and still I am with thee.)
19 For thou, God, shalt slay sinners; ye men-quellers, bow away from me. (O God, I wish that thou wouldest kill the sinners; ye murderers, go far away from me!)
20 For they say in thought; Take they their cities in vanity. (For out loud they say against thee, We shall take thy name in vain.)
21 Lord, whether I hated not them that hated thee; and I failed, that is, mourned greatly, on (those who be) thine enemies? (Lord, how I hate those who hate thee; and I am greatly grieved by those who be thy enemies!)
22 By perfect hatred I hated them; they were made enemies to me. (Yea, with perfect hatred I hate them; they be made my enemies too.)
23 God, prove thou me, and know thou mine heart; ask thou me, and know thou my paths. (God, assay, or test, thou me, and know thou my heart; ask thou me, and know thou my thoughts.)
41 After two years Pharaoh saw a dream; he guessed that he stood on a river, (Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream; he saw that he stood by a river,)
2 from which seven fair kine and full fat went up (from which seven cows, sleek and very fat, came out), and [they] were fed in the places of (the) marshes;
3 and (an)other seven, foul and lean, came out of the river, and were fed in that brink of the water, in green places; (and then seven others, foul and lean, came out of the river, and were fed on the bank of the river, in the green places;)
4 and those (foul and lean) kine devoured those kine of which the fairness and comeliness of (their) bodies were wonderful. (And) Pharaoh waked,
5 and slept again, and he saw another dream; seven ears of corn, full and fair, came forth in one stalk, (and then he slept again, and he had another dream; seven ears of corn, full and ripe, came forth on one stalk,)
6 and (then) others, as many ears of corn, (but) thin and smitten with (the) corruption of (the) burning wind, came forth,
7 devouring all the fairness of the first. (And) Pharaoh waked after this rest,
8 and when the morrowtide was made, he was afeared by inward dread, and he sent to all the expounders of Egypt, and to all the wise men; and when they were called, he told the dream, and none was that expounded it. (and when the morning came, he was greatly afraid, and he sent for all the dream readers of Egypt, and for all the wise men; and when they came to him, he told his dreams to them, but no one could interpret them.)
9 Then at the last, the master butler bethought (to) him(self), and said (to Pharaoh), I acknowledge my sin (at last);
10 the king was wroth to his servants, and commanded me and the master baker to be cast down into the prison of the prince of knights, (for the king was angry with his servants, and commanded me and the master baker to be throw into the prison of the captain of the guard,)
11 where we both saw a dream in one night, before-showing of things to come. (and one night we both had a dream, a fore-telling of things to come.)
12 An Hebrew child, servant of the same duke of knights, was there, to whom we told the dreams, and heard whatever thing the befalling of [the] thing proved afterward(s); (And a young Hebrew man, a slave of the same captain of the guard, was there, to whom we told our dreams, and then we heard from him what the befalling of the dreams later proved to be;)
13 for I am restored to mine office, and he was hanged in a cross. (for I was restored to my office, and he was hanged on a tree.)
4 So a man guess us [So a man guess, or deem, us], as ministers of Christ, and dispensers of the mysteries of God.
2 Now it is sought here among the dispensers, that a man be found true.
3 And to me it is for the least thing, that I be deemed of you, or of man's day; but neither I deem myself.
4 For I am nothing over-trusting to myself, but not in this thing I am justified [Soothly I am nothing guilty to myself, but not in this thing am I justified]; for he that deemeth me, is the Lord.
5 Therefore do not ye deem before the time, till that the Lord come, which shall lighten [alighten] the hid things of darknesses, and shall show the counsels of hearts; and then praising shall be to each man of God.
6 And, brethren, I have transfigured these things into me and into Apollos, for you; that in us ye learn, lest over that it is written, one against another be blown with pride for another.[a]
7 Who deemeth thee? And what hast thou, that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received, what gloriest thou, as thou haddest not received?
23 And it was done again, when the Lord walked in the sabbaths by the corns, and his disciples began to pass forth [and his disciples began to go forth], and [to] pluck ears of the corn.
24 And the Pharisees said to him, Lo! what thy disciples do in the sabbaths, that is not leaveful [Lo! what do thy disciples in sabbaths, the thing that is not leaveful(?)].
25 And he said to them, Read ye never what David did, when he had need, and he hungered, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God, under Abiathar, prince of priests, and ate loaves of proposition [and ate loaves of proposition, either of setting forth], which it was not leaveful to eat, but to priests alone, and he gave to them that were with him.
27 And he said to them, The sabbath is made for man, and not man for the sabbath;
28 and so man's Son is Lord also of the sabbath.
3 And he entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man having a dry hand.
2 And they espied him, if he healed in the sabbaths, to accuse him. [And they espied him, if he healed in the sabbaths, that they should accuse him.]
3 And he said to the man that had a dry hand, Rise into the middle. [And he saith to the man having a dry hand, Rise thou into the midst.]
4 And he saith to them, Is it leaveful to do well in the sabbaths, either evil [or evil]? to make a soul safe, either to destroy [or to lose]? And they were still.
5 And he beheld them about with wrath, and had sorrow on the blindness of their heart [having sorrow upon the blindness of their heart], and saith to the man, Hold forth thine hand. And he held forth, and his hand was restored to him.
6 Soothly [the] Pharisees went out at once [anon], and made a counsel with Herodians against him, how they should destroy him [how they should lose him].
2001 by Terence P. Noble