Book of Common Prayer

38 The psalm of David, to bethink on the sabbath. Lord, reprove thou not me in thy strong vengeance; neither chastise thou me in thine ire. (The song of David, to remember the sabbath. Lord, rebuke thou me not in thy fury; nor chastise thou me in thy anger.)

² For thine arrows be fixed in me; and thou hast made steadfast thine hand on me.

³ None health is in my flesh from the face of thine ire; no peace is to my bones from the face of my sins. (There is no health in my flesh, because of thy anger; there is no peace for my bones, because of my sins.)

⁴ For my wickednesses be gone over mine head; as an heavy burden, those be made heavy on me (like a heavy weight, they be made heavy upon me).

⁵ Mine healed wounds were rotten, and be broken; from the face of mine unwisdom. (My wounds became rotten, and broken; because of my folly, or my foolishness.)

⁶ I am made a wretch, and I am bowed down till into the end; all day I entered sorrowful. (I am made a wretch, and I am bent down to the ground; I go about in sorrow all day long.)

⁷ For my loins be filled with scornings; and health is not in my flesh. (For my loins be filled with sickness; and there is no health in my flesh.)

⁸ I am tormented, and made low full greatly (I am tormented, and brought down so very low); I roared for the wailing of mine heart.

⁹ Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my wailing is not hid from thee.

¹⁰ Mine heart is troubled in me, my virtue forsook me; and the light of mine eyes, and it is not with me. (My heart is troubled within me, my strength deserted me; and the light in my eyes, it hath also left me.)

¹¹ My friends and my neighbours nighed; and stood (over) against me. And they that were beside me stood afar; (My friends and my neighbours stand far away from me; because of my sickness, or my sores. And even my family members stand far away from me;)

¹² and they did violence, that sought my life. And they that sought evils to me, spake vanities; and thought guiles all day. (and they who sought my life, did violence to me. Yea, they who sought evil for me, spoke empty gossip; and they thought up lies and slander about me, all day long.)

¹³ But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and as a dumb man not opening his mouth. (But I, like a deaf man, did not listen to them; and like a dumb man, I did not open my mouth.)

¹⁴ And I am made as a man not hearing; and not having reprovings in his mouth. (And I am made like a deaf man; yea, one not speaking any rebuke, or reply.)

¹⁵ For, Lord, I hoped in thee (For, Lord, I trusted in thee); my Lord God, thou shalt hear me.

¹⁶ For I said, (Hear me,) Lest any time mine enemies have joy on me; and the while my feet be moved/and while my feet were moved, they spake great things on me. (For I said, Hear me, lest any time my enemies have joy over me; for when my feet slipped, or stumbled, they spoke many things against me.)

¹⁷ For I am ready to beatings; and my sorrow is ever[more] in my sight. (For I am about to fall; and my sorrow is before me forevermore.)

¹⁸ For I shall tell my wickedness; and I shall think for my sin. (For I shall tell out my wickedness; and I am afraid, when I think of my sin.)

¹⁹ But mine enemies live, and they be confirmed on me; and they be multiplied, that hate me wickedly. (But my enemies live, and they be strong against me; yea, there be many who wickedly hate me.)

²⁰ They that yield evils for goods, backbited me; for I followed goodness. (Those who give back evil in return for good, backbite me; because I do what is right, or good.)

²¹ My Lord God, forsake thou not me (do not thou desert me); go thou not away from me.

²² Lord God of mine health; behold thou into mine help. (Lord God of my salvation, or of my deliverance, hasten thou to help me.)

²⁵ [Daleth]. My soul cleaved to the pavement; quicken thou me by thy word. (My body lieth on the ground/lieth in the dust; grant thou me life according to thy word.)

²⁶ I told out my ways, and thou heardest me; teach thou me thy justifyings. (I told thee all that I had done, and thou heardest me/and thou answeredest me; teach thou me thy statutes.)

²⁷ Learn thou me the way of thy justifyings; and I shall be exercised in thy marvels. (Teach thou me the way of thy precepts; and I shall think about thy marvels, or thy wonders.)

²⁸ My soul napped for, or because of, harm; confirm thou me in thy words. (I was harmed/My body was harmed, and could not sleep; strengthen thou me with thy words.)

²⁹ Remove thou from me the way of wickedness; and in thy law have thou mercy on me. (Remove thou me, or keep me away, from the ways of wickedness; and in thy Law have mercy upon me.)

³⁰ I chose the way of truth; I forgat not thy dooms (I did not forget thy judgements).

³¹ Lord, I cleaved to thy witnessings; do not thou shame me. (Lord, I have held fast to thy teachings, or thy commands; do not let me be shamed.)

³² I ran the way of thy commandments; when thou alargedest mine heart. (I shall go the way of thy commandments; for thou hast enlarged my heart.)

³³ [He]. Lord, set thou to me a law, the way of thy justifyings; and I shall seek it ever[more]. (Lord, set thou thy Law before me, yea, the way of thy statutes; and I shall follow it forevermore.)

³⁴ Give thou understanding to me, and I shall seek thy law; and I shall keep it in all mine heart. (Give thou understanding to me, and I shall follow thy Law; yea, I shall obey it with all my heart.)

³⁵ Lead me forth in the path of thy behests; for I would it. (Lead me forth on the path of thy commandments; for I delight in them/for that is what I desire.)

³⁶ Bow down mine heart into thy witnessings; and not into avarice. (Turn my heart to thy teachings, or thy commands; and not to greed.)

³⁷ Turn thou away mine eyes, that they see not vanity; quicken thou me in thy way. (Turn thou away my eyes from the empty, and the worthless; grant thou me life in thy way.)

³⁸ Ordain thy speech to thy servant; (who is) in thy dread. (Ordain thy word to thy servant; who feareth thee/who hath reverence for thee.)

³⁹ Cut away my shame, which I supposed; for thy dooms be merry. (Turn away the shame, or the rebuke, which I fear; for thy judgements be good.)

⁴⁰ Lo! I coveted thy commandments; quicken thou me in thine equity. (Lo! I desired to obey thy precepts; grant thou me life in thy righteousness.)

⁴¹ [Vau]. And, Lord, thy mercy come [up]on me; thine health come by thy speech. (And, Lord, let thy love come to me; let thy salvation, or thy deliverance, come according to thy word.)

⁴² And I shall answer a word to men saying shame to me; for I hoped in thy words. (And then I shall answer a word to those shaming me; for I put my trust in thy words.)

⁴³ And take thou not away from my mouth the word of truth utterly; for I hoped above in thy dooms. (And never take away the word of truth from my mouth; for I put my hope in thy judgements, or in thy decrees.)

⁴⁴ And I shall keep thy law ever[more]; into the world, and into the world of world. (And I shall obey thy Law forevermore; yea, forever and ever.)

⁴⁵ And I went in largeness; for I sought thy commandments. (And I shall walk in freedom; for I have sought out thy commandments.)

⁴⁶ And I spake of thy witnessings in the sight of kings; and I was not shamed. (And I shall speak of thy teachings, or thy commands, before kings; and I shall not be ashamed.)

⁴⁷ And I bethought in thy behests; which I loved. (And I delight myself in thy commandments; which I love.)

⁴⁸ And I raised mine hands to thy commandments, which I loved; and I shall be exercised in thy justifyings. (And I shall raise up my hands to thy commandments, which I love; and I shall think about thy statutes.)

¹⁶ And now the third day was come, and the morrowtide was clear; and, lo! thunders began to be heard, and lightnings to shine, and a most thick cloud to cover the mountain; and the sounding of a clarion made noise full greatly, and the people dreaded, that was in the tents (and the sounding of a trumpet made a very great noise, and the people in their tents had great fear).

¹⁷ And when Moses had led them out into the coming of God, from the place of the tents, they stood at the roots of the hill. (And when Moses had led them out from the place of the tents to meet with God, they stood at the foot of the mountain.)

¹⁸ Forsooth all the hill of Sinai smoked, for the Lord had come down thereon in fire; and the smoke thereof went up as of a furnace, and all the hill was fearful; (And all of Mount Sinai smoked, for the Lord had come down on it in fire; and its smoke went up like that of a furnace, and all the mountain fearfully shook;)

¹⁹ and the sound of a clarion increased little and little, and it was holden forth longer (and longer). (And) Moses spake, and the Lord answered him (with a clap of thunder/by a voice),

²⁰ and the Lord came down on the hill of Sinai, in that top of the hill (and the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, onto the top of the mountain), and he called Moses (up) to the top thereof. And when he had gone up thither,

²¹ the Lord said to him, Go thou down, and witness thou to the people, lest peradventure it will pass [over] the terms to see the Lord (lest they pass over the boundary to see the Lord), and [a] full great multitude thereof perish;

²² and [the] priests, that nigh to the Lord, be they hallowed, lest I smite them (or I shall strike them down).

²³ And Moses said to the Lord, The common people may not go up into the hill of Sinai; for thou hast witnessed, and hast commanded, saying, Set thou terms about the hill, and hallow it. (And Moses said to the Lord, The common people cannot come up onto Mount Sinai; for thou hast witnessed, and hast commanded, saying, Set thou a sacred boundary all around the mountain, and hallow it, and they have heard thee.)

²⁴ To whom the Lord said, Go thou down, and (then) thou shalt go up, and (bring) Aaron with thee; forsooth the priests and the people pass not (over) the terms, neither go they up to the Lord, lest peradventure he slay them. (To whom the Lord said, Go thou down, and then come back up, and bring Aaron with thee; but the priests and the people must not pass over the boundary, nor let them come up to the Lord, lest I kill them.)

²⁵ (And so) Moses went down to the people, and told all (these) things to them.

¹⁵ Which is the image of God invisible, the first begotten of each creature.

¹⁶ For in him all things be made, in heavens and in earth, visible and invisible, either thrones, either dominations, either princehoods, either powers, all things be made of nought by him, and in him,

¹⁷ and he is before all, and all things be in him.

¹⁸ And he is head of the body of the church; which is the beginning and the first begotten of dead men, that he hold the first dignity in all things^[a].

¹⁹ For in him it pleased all plenty to inhabit,

²⁰ and by him all things to be reconciled into him, and made peace by the blood of his cross, those things that be in earth's, either that be in heavens [either those things that be in earth's, or that be in heavens].

²¹ And when ye were sometime aliened, and enemies by wit in evil works, now he hath reconciled you

²² in the body of his flesh by death, to have you holy, and unwemmed, and without reproof before him.

²³ If nevertheless ye dwell in the faith, founded, and stable [founded, and stabled], and unmoveable from the hope of the gospel that ye have heard, which is preached in all creature that is under heaven. Of which I Paul am made a minister,

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee into Jordan to John, to be baptized of him [to be christened of him].

¹⁴ And John forbade him, and said, I owe to be baptized of thee, and thou comest to me? [Soothly John forbade him, saying, I owe to be christened of thee, and comest thou to me?]

¹⁵ But Jesus answered, and said to him, Suffer now, for thus it falleth to us to fulfill all rightwiseness [Forsooth Jesus answering said to him, Suffer now, for so it becometh us to fulfill all rightwiseness]. Then John suffered him.

¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, at once he went up from the water [Forsooth Jesus christened ascended up anon from the water]; and lo! heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove, and coming on him [and coming upon him];

¹⁷ and lo! a voice from heaven, saying, This is my loved Son [and lo! a voice from heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son], in which I have well pleased to me.