Book of Common Prayer
56 To the overcoming on the dumb culver of far drawing away, the comely song of David, when the Philistines held him in Gath. God, have mercy on me, for a man hath defouled me; all day he impugned, and troubled me. (To the overcomer, for the silent dove, for it went far away, the comely song of David, when the Philistines held him in Gath. God, have mercy on me, for men have persecuted me; all day long they impugned, and troubled, me.)
2 Mine enemies defouled me all day; for many fighters were against me. (My enemies persecuted me all day long; yea, many fight against me.)
3 Of the highness of day I shall dread; but God, I shall hope in thee. (From the height of the day, I have fear; but God, I put my trust in thee.)
4 In God I shall praise my words; I hoped in God, I shall not dread what thing flesh, or man, shall do to me. (Yea, I shall praise God with my words; for I trust in God, and I shall not fear what any person shall do to me.)
5 All day they cursed my words; against me all their thoughts were into evil. (All day long they cursed my words; all their thoughts were against me for evil.)
6 They shall dwell, and they shall hide; they shall ambush mine heel. As they abide my life (But though they lie in wait for my life),
7 for nought shalt thou make them safe; in ire thou shalt break (al)together peoples. (it is they who shall not escape; for in thy anger, God, thou shalt break them all in pieces.)
8 God, I showed my life to thee; thou hast set my tears in thy sight. As and in thy promise, Lord; (God, thou knowest my troubles; thou hast set my tears before thee. Be they not in thy Book, O Lord?)
9 then mine enemies shall be turned aback. In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee; lo! I have known, that thou art my God. (On whatever day I shall call to thee, then my enemies shall be turned back; for lo! I know this, that thou art with me, my God.)
10 In God I shall praise a word; in the Lord I shall praise a word. (I shall praise God with my words; yea, I shall praise the Lord with my words.)
11 I shall hope in God; I shall not dread what thing man shall do to me. (I put my trust in God; and I shall not fear what anyone shall do to me.)
12 God, thine avows be in me; which I shall yield praisings to thee. (God, thy vows be upon me/God, I shall pay my vows to thee; I shall give praises to thee.)
13 For thou hast delivered my life from death, and my feet from sliding; that I please before God in the light of them that live. (For thou hast rescued my life from death, and my feet from slipping, or stumbling; so that I can walk before God in the light that shineth on the living.)
57 To the victory, lose thou not the seemly song, either the sweet song, of David, when he fled from the face of Saul into the den. God, have mercy on me, have thou mercy on me; for my soul trusteth in thee. And I shall hope in the shadow of thy wings; till wickedness pass. (To victory, destroy thou not the comely song, or the sweet song, of David, when he fled from the face of Saul into the cave. God, have mercy on me, have thou mercy on me; for my soul trusteth in thee. And I shall trust in the shadow of thy wings, until all wickedness pass by.)
2 I shall cry to God alder-highest; to God that did well to me. (I shall cry to the Most High God; to God who did so much good for me.)
3 He sent from heaven, and delivered me; he gave into shame them that defoul me. God sent his mercy and his truth, (He sent from heaven, and saved me; he shamed those who persecute me. God showed his love and his faithfulness,)
4 and delivered my soul from the midst of whelps of lions; I slept troubled, or disturbed. The sons of men, the teeth of them be armours and arrows; and their tongue is a sharp sword. (and saved me from the midst of those ravenous lions. Yea, those sons of men, whose teeth be like arms, or spears, and arrows; and whose tongues be like sharp swords.)
5 God, be thou enhanced above heavens; and thy glory above all earth. (God, be thou exalted above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth.)
6 They made ready a snare to my feet; and they greatly bowed my life. They delved a ditch before my face; and they felled down into it. (They prepared a snare for my feet; and they greatly bowed down my life. They dug a ditch before me; but they themselves fell down into it.)
7 God, mine heart is ready, mine heart is ready; I shall sing, and I shall say psalm. (God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready; I shall sing, yea, I shall sing a song.)[a]
8 My glory, rise thou up; psaltery and harp, rise thou up; I shall rise up early. (My spirit, rise thou up; lute and harp, rise thou up; yea, I shall rise up in the morning.)
9 Lord, I shall acknowledge to thee among peoples; and I shall say psalm [to thee] among heathen men. (Lord, I shall praise thee/Lord, I shall confess thee/Lord, I shall give thanks to thee among the peoples; and I shall sing a song to thee among the heathen.)
10 For thy mercy is magnified till to heavens; and thy truth till to the clouds. (For thy love reacheth above the heavens; and thy faithfulness up to the clouds.)
11 God, be thou enhanced above heavens; and thy glory above all earth. (God, be thou exalted above the heavens; and let thy glory be over all the earth.)
58 To victory, lose thou not the sweet song, either the seemly psalm, of David. Forsooth if ye speak rightfulness verily; ye sons of men, deem rightfully. (To victory, destroy thou not the sweet song, that is, the comely song, of David. Speak ye truly with righteousness, ye sons and daughters of men? judge ye justly? Nay!)
2 For in heart ye work wickedness in earth; your hands make ready unrightfulnesses. (For in your hearts ye do evil; and your hands bring forth unrightfulnesses, or wickedness, in all the earth.)
3 Sinners were made aliens from the womb (Sinners, or evil-doers, go wrong from the womb); they erred from the womb, they spake false things.
4 Strong vengeance is to them, by the likeness of a serpent; as of a deaf snake, and stopping his ears. (Strong venom cometh forth from them, like that of serpents; and they be like a deaf snake that stoppeth its ears.)
5 Which shall not hear the voice of charmers; and of a venom-maker charming (ever so) wisely.
6 God shall all-break the teeth of them in their mouth; the Lord shall break (al)together the great teeth of lions. (O God, break all the teeth in their mouths; O Lord, break all in pieces the great teeth of these lions.)
7 They shall come to nought, as water running away; he bent his bow, till they be made sick. (They shall come to nothing, like water running forth; and when they go to bend their bows, they shall be made feeble, or weak.)
8 As wax that floateth away, they shall be taken away; fire fell above, and they saw not the sun. (Like a snail that melteth away into slime, they shall be taken away; like a dead-born child, they shall not see the sun.)
9 Before that your thorns understood the rhamn, either thieve-thorn; he swalloweth them so in ire, as (with) living men. (Before that the rhamn, or the thieve-thorn, that is, a weed, can grow, he shall swallow them up in his anger; yea, while they still be living.)
10 The just man shall be glad, when he shall see vengeance; he shall wash his hands in the blood of a sinner. (The righteous shall be glad when they see the vengeance taken; they shall wash their hands in the blood of the sinners.)
11 And a man shall say truly, For fruit is to a just man; truly God is deeming them in earth. (And someone shall say, Truly there is a reward for the righteous; truly God is judging people here on earth.)
64 To victory, the psalm of David. God, hear thou my prayer, when I beseech; deliver thou my soul from dread of the enemy. (To victory, the song of David. God, hear thou my prayer, when I beseech thee; save thou me from the threats of my enemies.)
2 Thou hast defended me from the covent of evil-doers; from the multitude of them that work wickedness. (Thou hast protected me from the plots of the evil-doers; yea, from the many who do evil.)
3 For they sharpened their tongues as a sword, they bend their bow, a bitter thing; (For they sharpened their tongues like swords, yea, they bent their bows, and shot out bitter words;)
4 for to shoot in huddles, or privates, him that is unwemmed. Suddenly they shall shoot him, and they shall not dread; (to secretly attack he who is without blemish, or without fault. Suddenly they shall shoot at him, and they shall not fear;)
5 they made steadfast to themselves a wicked word. They told, that they should hide snares; they said, Who shall see them? (for they encouraged each other in their evil plots. And they told one another to hide their snares; even though they also said, But who shall see them?)
6 They sought wickednesses; they sought, and failed (not) in seeking. A man nighed to [a] deep heart; (They sought out wickednesses; yea, they sought them out, and failed not in finding them, for their hearts be dark and deep.)
7 and God shall be enhanced. The arrows of little men, that is, (of) envious men, be made the wounds of them; (But God shall shoot his arrows at them; and then suddenly they shall be the ones who be wounded.)
8 and the tongues of them be made sick against them. All men be troubled, that saw them; (And their tongues, that is, their own evil words, shall be their own undoing. And all who see them shall shake their heads;)
9 and each man dreaded. And they told the works of God; and they understood the deeds of him. (and every person shall be afraid. And they shall tell about the works of God; for they shall understand his deeds, that is, why he hath done all this.)
10 The just man shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in him; and all men of rightful heart shall be praised. (The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust him; and all who have upright hearts shall praise him.)
65 To victory, the psalm of the song of David. God, praising becometh thee in Zion; and a vow shall be yielded to thee in Jerusalem. (God, praises be due to thee in Zion; and our vows shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem.)
2 Hear thou my prayer; each man shall come to thee. (Hear thou my prayer; let everyone come to thee.)
3 The words of wicked men had the mastery over us; and thou shalt do mercy to our wickednesses. (The words of the wicked had the mastery over us; but thou hath shown mercy toward our wickednesses.)
4 Blessed is he, whom thou hast chosen, and hast taken; he shall dwell in thy foreyards. We shall be [ful]filled with the goods of thine house; thy temple is holy, (Happy is he, whom thou hast chosen, and thou hast brought to live in thy courtyards; and we shall be satisfied with the good things of thy House, yea, of thy holy Temple.)
5 wonderful in equity. God, our health, hear thou us; thou art hope of all coasts of earth, and in the sea afar. (With wonderful things, and with victory, thou answereth us, O God, our salvation/O God, our deliverance; thou art the hope of all who be at the ends of the earth, and who be far across the sea.)
6 And thou makest ready hills in thy virtue, and art girded with power; (And thou preparest the mountains with thy strength, and thou art girded with power;)
7 which troublest the depth of the sea, the sound of the waves thereof. Folks shall be troubled, (ye who maketh the sea to be still, when it is troubled, yea, who quieteth the roar of its waves. And the people as well; when they be troubled.)
8 and they that dwell in the ends shall dread of thy signs; thou shalt delight the outgoings of the morrowtide and eventide. (And they who live at the ends of the earth shall be filled with awe at thy signs; thou even makest the morning and the evening to have delight at what thou hast done.)
9 Thou hast visited the land, and hast greatly filled it; thou hast multiplied to make it rich. The flood of God was [full-]filled with waters; thou madest ready the meat of them, for the making ready thereof is so (The rivers of God were filled full with water; and thou preparedest rain for the land/and thou preparedest corn for the land, for such is its preparation).
10 Thou filling greatly the streams thereof, multiply the fruits thereof; the land bringing forth fruits shall be glad in the gutters of it. (And by greatly filling up its streams, thou hast multiplied its fruits; and the land bringing forth these fruits shall be glad for all this water.)
11 Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy good will; and thy fields shall be [full-]filled with plenty of fruits. (Thou shalt crown the year with thy goodness/with thy good things; and thy fields shall be filled full with plenty of fruits.)
12 The fair things of desert shall wax fat; and little hills shall be compassed with full out joying. (The fields of the wilderness shall grow fat; and the hills shall resound with rejoicing.)
13 The wethers of sheep be clothed, and valleys shall be plenteous of wheat; they shall cry (out), and soothly they shall say praising/and soothly they shall say psalm. (The pastures shall be clothed with sheep, and the valleys shall be plentiful with corn; they shall cry aloud, and truly they shall say praises/and truly they shall sing songs.)
7 A good name is better than precious ointments (A good name, or a good reputation, is better than expensive perfume); and the day of death is better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of a feast; for in that house the end of all men is warned (of), and a man living thinketh, what is to coming (for in that house the end of all people is warned of, and the living should think of what is to come).
3 Ire is better than laughing; for the soul of a trespasser is amended by the heaviness of (his) cheer.
4 The heart of wise men is where sorrow is; and the heart of fools is where folly gladness is.
5 It is better to be reproved of a wise man, than to be deceived by the flattering of fools; (It is better to be rebuked by a wise person, than to be deceived by the flattery of fools;)
6 for as the sound of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughing of a fool. But also this is vanity. (for the sound of thorns burning under a pot, is like the laughter of a fool. But this is also empty and futile.)
7 False challenge troubleth a wise man, and it shall lose the strength of his heart. (Untrue words, that is, lies and slander, trouble a wise person, and they shall destroy the strength of his heart, that is, his resolve, or his determination.)
8 Forsooth the end of prayer is better than the beginning. A patient man is better than a proud man.
9 Be thou not swift to be wroth; for ire resteth in the bosom of a fool. (Do not thou be quick to get angry; for anger lieth in the heart of a fool.)
10 Say thou not, What guessest thou is the cause, that the former times were better than be now? for why such asking is fond (for such questioning is foolish).
11 Forsooth wisdom with riches is more profitable, and profiteth more to men seeing the sun. (For wisdom is more profitable than riches, and profiteth all who see the sun.)
12 For as wisdom defendeth, so money defendeth; but learning and wisdom have this moreover, that those give life to them that have them. (For like wisdom defendeth, so money defendeth; but learning and wisdom have this as well, that they give life to those who have them.)
13 Behold thou the works of God, and see that no man may amend him, whom God hath despised.
14 In a good day use thou (thy) goods, and before eschew thou an evil day (On a good day, enjoy thy good things, but shun thou them on an evil day); for God made so this day as that day, (so) that a man find not just complainings against him.
12 Be ye as I, for I am as ye. Brethren, I beseech you, ye have hurt me nothing [ye have nothing hurt me].
13 But ye know, that by infirmity of flesh I have preached to you [I have evangelized to you] now before;
14 and ye despised not, neither forsook your temptation in my flesh [and your temptation in my flesh ye despised not, neither forsook], but ye received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
15 Where then is your blessing [Where is therefore your blessedness, that ye had before time]? For I bear you witness, that if it might have been done, ye would have put out your eyes, and have given them to me.
16 Am I then made an enemy to you, saying to you the sooth? [Therefore am I made enemy to you, saying true thing to you?]
17 They love not you well [They love you not well], but they will exclude you, that ye follow them.
18 But follow ye the good evermore in good, and not only when I am present with you.
19 My small children, which I bear again, till that Christ be formed in you, [My little sons, whom I child, or bring forth by travail, again, till Christ be formed in you,]
20 and I would now be at you, and change my voice, for I am confounded among you [for I am confounded, or shamed, in you].
21 And Jesus went out from thence, and went into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And lo! a woman of Canaan went out of those coasts, and cried, and said to him [saying to him], Lord, the son of David, have mercy on me; my daughter is evil travailed of a fiend [my daughter is evil travailed of a devil].
23 And he answered not to her a word. And his disciples came, and prayed him, and said, Let go thou her, for she crieth after us [And his disciples coming to, prayed him, saying, Leave thou her, for she crieth after us].
24 [Forsooth] He answered, and said, I am not sent, but to the sheep of the house of Israel that have perished. [Forsooth he answering saith, I am not sent, no but to the sheep of the house of Israel that perished.]
25 And she came, and worshipped him, and said, Lord, help me. [But she came, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.]
26 Which answered, and said, It is not good to take the bread of children, and cast [it] to hounds.
27 And she said, Yes, Lord; for [the] whelps eat of the crumbs, that fall down from the board of their lords'.
28 Then Jesus answered, and said to her, A! woman [O! thou woman], thy faith is great; be it done to thee, as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that hour.
2001 by Terence P. Noble