Book of Common Prayer
119 Alleluia. [Aleph]. Blessed be men without wem in the way; that go in the law of the Lord. (Alleluia. Happy be they whose lives be without blemish, or without fault; who walk in the Law of the Lord.)
2 Blessed be they, that seek his witnessings; and seek him in all the heart. (Happy be they who obey his teachings, or his commands; and who seek him, or obey him, with all their heart.)
3 For they that work wickedness; went not in his ways. (For they who work wickedness, went not in his ways.)
4 Thou hast commanded; that thy behests be kept greatly. (Thou hast commanded, that thy precepts, or thy laws, be diligently kept.)
5 I would that my ways were (ad)dressed; to keep thy justifyings. (I desire that my ways be directed; so that I can obey thy statutes.)
6 Then I shall not be shamed; when I shall behold perfectly in(to) all thy behests. (Then I shall not be shamed, if I fix my eyes on thy commandments.)
7 I shall acknowledge to thee in the (ad)dressing of mine heart; in that that I learned the dooms of thy rightfulnesses. (I shall praise thee with my heart properly directed, when I have learned thy righteous judgements./I shall praise thee with a pure heart, when I have learned thy just decrees.)
8 I shall keep thy justifyings; forsake thou not me on each side. (I shall obey thy statutes; do not thou abandon me on any side/never desert thou me.)
9 [Beth]. In what thing amendeth a young waxing man his way? in keeping thy words. (How may a young man correct his way? by obeying thy words, or thy commands.)
10 In all mine heart I sought thee; put thou me not away from thy behests. (With all my heart I have sought thee; let me not stray from thy commandments.)
11 In mine heart I hid thy speeches; that I do not sin against thee. (I hid thy words in my heart; so that I will not sin against thee.)
12 Lord, thou art blessed; teach thou me thy justifyings. (Lord, blessed art thou; teach thou me thy statutes.)
13 In my lips I have pronounced; all the dooms of thy mouth. (With my lips I have declared, all the judgements, or the laws, from thy mouth.)
14 I delighted in the way of thy witnessings; (as much) as in all riches. (I delighted in the way of thy teachings, or thy commands; as much as in great riches.)
15 I shall be exercised, either busily occupied, in thy behests; and I shall behold thy ways. (I shall think about thy precepts; and I shall study thy ways.)
16 I shall bethink in thy justifyings; I shall not forget thy words. (I shall delight myself in thy statutes; I shall not forget thy words, or thy commands.)
17 [Gimel]. Yield to thy servant; quicken thou me, and I shall keep thy words. (Grant this to thy servant; that thou let me live, and that I obey thy commands.)
18 Lighten thou mine eyes; and I shall behold the marvels of thy law. (Open thou my eyes; and I shall see the marvels, or the wonders, that come forth from thy Law.)
19 I am a comeling in earth; hide thou not thy behests from me. (I am a newcomer, or a stranger, here on earth; hide thou not thy commandments from me.)
20 My soul coveted to desire thy justifyings; in all time. (My soul desireth to know thy judgements; at all times.)
21 Thou blamedest the proud; they be cursed, that bow away from thy behests. (Thou hast rebuked the proud; cursed be they who turn away from thy commandments.)
22 Do thou away from me shame and despising; for I sought thy witnessings. (Do thou away from me all shame and despising; for I have kept thy commands/for I have obeyed thy laws/for I have followed thy teachings.)
23 For why princes sat, and spake against me; but thy servant was exercised in thy justifyings. (For the rulers sit, and speak against me; but thy servant studied, and thought about, thy statutes/but thy servant shall study, and shall think about, thy statutes.)
24 For why and thy witnessings is my thinking; and my counsel is thy justifyings. (For thy teachings, or thy commands, be my delight; and they be my counsellors.)
12 To the victory, on the eighth, the song of David. Lord, make thou me safe, for the holy (man) failed; for truths be made little from the sons of men. (To victory, on the eighth, the psalm of David. Lord, save thou me, for there be no more holy people; the faithful be made few, if any, among the sons and daughters of men.)
2 They spake vain things, each man to his neighbour; and they having guileful lips, spake in their heart, and with their heart. (They spoke lies, each man to his neighbour; yea, they having deceitful lips, spoke with a double heart.)
3 The Lord destroy all guileful lips; and the great speaking tongue. (May the Lord destroy all deceitful, or lying, lips; and the tongues that speak so proudly, or so boastfully.)
4 Which said, We shall magnify (with) our tongue, our lips be of us-selves; who (else) is our lord? (They who say, We shall gain victory with our tongues, for our lips be our own; who else is lord over us?)
5 For the wretchedness of needy men, and for the wailing of poor men; now I shall rise up, saith the Lord. I shall set (him) in health; I shall do trustily in him. (Because of the wretchedness of the needy, and the wailing of the poor, I shall now rise up, saith the Lord. I shall place them in safety; I shall do trustily for them.)
6 The speeches of the Lord be chaste speeches; (as) silver assayed by fire, proved from the earth, purged sevenfold. (The speeches of the Lord be chaste speeches; like silver assayed in an earthen furnace, purged seven times.)
7 Thou, Lord, shalt keep us; and thou shalt keep us from this generation [into] without end. (Thou, Lord, shalt keep us safe; yea, thou shalt keep us safe from this generation forever.)
8 Wicked men go in compass; by thine highness thou hast multiplied the sons of men. (Even though the wicked be all around; and the vilest people be exalted.)
13 To the victory, [the psalm] of David. Lord, how long forgettest thou me, into the end? how long turnest thou away thy face from me? (To victory, the song of David. Lord, how long forgettest thou me, forever? how long turnest thou away thy face from me?)
2 How long shall I set counsel in my soul; sorrow in my heart by day? How long shall mine enemy be raised up on me? (How long shall I suffer anguish in my soul; and each day have sorrow in my heart? How long shall my enemy be raised up over me?)
3 My Lord God, behold thou, and hear thou me. Lighten thou mine eyes, lest any time I sleep in death; (My Lord God, behold thou, and answer thou me. Give thou light to my eyes, lest any time I sleep in death;)
4 lest any time mine enemy say, I had the mastery against him. They, that trouble me, shall have joy, if I shall be stirred; (lest any time my enemy say, I had the mastery over him. For they, who trouble me, shall have joy, if I shall slip, or shall stumble/if I shall fall;)
5 but I hoped in thy mercy. Mine heart shall fully have joy in thine health; (but I trusted in thy love. My heart shall make full out joy in thy salvation/My heart shall rejoice in thy deliverance;)
6 I shall sing to the Lord, that giveth goods to me, and I shall say psalm to the name of the highest Lord. (I shall sing to the Lord, who giveth good things to me, yea, I shall sing a song to the name of the Most High Lord.)
14 To the victory, [the psalm] of David. The unwise man said in his heart, God is not. They be corrupt, and they be made abominable in their studies; none there is that doeth good, none is till to one. (To victory, the song of David. The fool said in his heart, There is no God. Such men be corrupt, and they be made abominable in their deeds; there is no one who doeth good, no not one.)[a]
2 The Lord beheld from heaven on the sons of men; that he see, if any is understanding, either seeking God. (The Lord looked down from heaven on the sons and daughters of men; to see if there is anyone who hath understanding, or is seeking God.)
3 All bowed away, (al)together they be made unprofitable; none is that doeth good, none is till to one (But they all have turned away, they all be made utterly unredeemable; there is no one who doeth good, no not one). The throat of them is an open sepulchre, they did guilefully with their tongues; the venom of snakes is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet be swift to shed out blood. Sorrow and cursedness is in the ways of them, and they knew not the way of peace; the dread of God is not before their eyes.
4 Whether all men that work wickedness shall not know; that devour my people, as (the) meat of bread? They called not the Lord; (Surely all those, who do evil, already know this; yea, they who devour my people, like men eat bread. They do not call on the Lord;)
5 they trembled there for dread, where was no dread; for the Lord is in a rightful generation. (but they trembled there in fear, like never before. For the Lord is with the upright generation.)
6 Thou hast shamed the counsel of a poor man; for the Lord is his hope. (Ye evil-doers, ye have frustrated the plans of the poor; but the Lord is their hope.)
7 Who shall give from Zion health to Israel? When the Lord hath turned away the captivity of his people; Jacob shall fully be joyful/Jacob shall (make) full out joy, and Israel shall be glad. (Who shall give victory/Who shall give salvation, or deliverance, to Israel out of Zion? When the Lord hath returned the prosperity of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice; yea, Israel shall be glad.)
1 These be the words which Moses spake to all Israel over (the) Jordan, in the wilderness of the field, (over) against the Red Sea, betwixt Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, where is full much gold, (These be the words which Moses spoke to all Israel, east of the Jordan River, in the wilderness, in the field opposite the Red Sea, or the Sea of Reeds, between Paran on one side, and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab on the other,)
2 by eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of the hill of Seir, till to Kadeshbarnea. (eleven days journey from Mount Sinai, by way of the hill country of Seir, or of Edom, unto Kadeshbarnea.)
3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, in the first day of the month, Moses spake to the sons of Israel all things which the Lord commanded to him that he should say to them, (In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the Israelites all the things which the Lord commanded to him that he should say to them,)
4 after that he had smitten, or killed, Sihon, the king of Amorites, that dwelled in Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, that dwelled in Ashtaroth, and in Edrei,
5 over (the) Jordan (east of the Jordan River), in the land of Moab. And Moses began to declare the law, and to say,
6 Our Lord God spake to us in Horeb, and said, It sufficeth to you that ye have dwelled in this hill; (The Lord our God spoke to us on Mount Sinai, and said, It now sufficeth for you that ye have stayed on this mountain long enough;)
7 turn ye again, and come ye to the hill (country) of (the) Amorites, and to (the) other places that be next to it; and to the places of fields, and of hills, and to [the] lower places against the south, and beside the brink of the sea, to the land of Canaanites, and of Lebanon, till to the great flood Euphrates (unto the great Euphrates River).
8 Lo, he saith, I have given to you that land; enter ye, and have it in possession, on which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he should give that land to them, and to their seed after them.
9 And I said to you in that time, I may not alone sustain you, (And I said to you at that time, I cannot carry all of you by myself,)
10 for your Lord God hath multiplied you, and ye be full many today, as the stars of heaven; (for the Lord your God hath multiplied you, and today, ye be as many as the stars in the heavens;)
11 (may) the Lord God of your fathers add to this number many thousands, and bless you, as he spake (as he said he would do).
12 I may not alone sustain, or bear, your causes, and your burdens, and (your) strives;
13 give ye of you men wise, and witting, whose conversation is proved in your lineages, that I set them princes to you. (choose ye wise men from among you, with knowledge, or understanding, whose lives, or reputation, is proven among your tribes, so that I can make them your leaders.)
14 Then ye answered to me, (and said,) The thing is good which thou wilt do.
15 And I took of your lineages men wise, and noble; and I ordained them to be your princes, your tribunes, and centurions, and quinquagenaries, and deans, which shall teach you all things. (And so I took from your tribes wise and noble men; and I ordained them to be your leaders, yea, your tribunes, and centurions, and quinquagenaries, and deans, and they shall be your authorities.)
16 And I commanded to them, and said, Hear ye the people, and deem ye that that is just, whether he be a citizen, or a pilgrim. (And I commanded to them, and said, Listen ye to the people, and judge ye them justly, or rightly, whether they be citizens, or foreigners.)
17 No difference shall be in doom of persons; ye shall hear so a little man, that is, poor, as a great man, neither ye shall take heed to the person of any man, for it is the doom of God. That if anything seemeth hard to you, tell ye that to me, and I shall hear it. (No difference shall be in the judging of persons; ye shall hear the poor, just like the rich, nor shall ye take heed of anyone’s rank, or status, for judgement cometh from God. And if anything seemeth hard to you, tell ye that to me, and I shall hear it.)
18 And I commanded (to you) all things which ye ought to do.
9 I say truth in Christ Jesus, I lie not, for my conscience beareth witnessing to me in the Holy Ghost, [I say truth in Christ Jesus, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness to me in the Holy Ghost,]
2 for great heaviness is to me, and continual sorrow to my heart.
3 For I myself desired to be separated from Christ for my brethren [Forsooth I myself desired to be cursed, or parted, from Christ for my brethren], that be my cousins after the flesh,
4 that be men of Israel [that be Israelites]; whose is adoption of sons, and glory, and testament, and giving of the law, and service, and promises;
5 whose be the fathers, and of which is Christ after the flesh[a], that is God above all things, blessed into worlds. Amen.
6 But not that the word of God hath fallen down [Soothly not that the word of God hath fallen down, or failed unfulfilled]. For not all that be of Israel, these be Israelites.
7 Neither they that be [the] seed of Abraham, all be sons; but in Isaac the seed shall be called to thee;
8 that is to say, not they that be sons of the flesh, be sons of God, but they that be sons of [the] promise be deemed in the seed.
9 For why this is the word of promise, After this time I shall come, and a son shall be to Sarah.
10 And not only she, but also Rebecca had two sons of one lying-by of Isaac, our father. [Forsooth not only she, but and Rebecca, of one lying-by, or of one knowing of man, having two sons of Isaac, our father.]
11 And when they were not yet born, neither had done any thing of good either evil [or evil], that the purpose of God should dwell by election [that the purpose of God should dwell after election], not of works, but of God calling,
12 it was said to him, That the more should serve the less, [it is said to her, For the more shall serve to the less,]
13 as it is written, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. [as it is written, I loved Jacob, forsooth Esau I had in hate.]
14 What therefore shall we say? Whether wickedness be with God? God forbid [Far be it].
15 For he saith to Moses, I shall have mercy on whom I shall have mercy; and I shall give mercy on whom I shall have mercy.
16 Therefore it is not neither of man willing [Therefore it is not neither of a man willing], neither running, but of God having mercy.
17 And the scripture saith to Pharaoh [Forsooth the scripture saith to Pharaoh], For to this thing I have stirred thee, that I show in thee my virtue, and that my name be told in all [the] earth.
18 Therefore of whom God will, he hath mercy; and whom he will, he endureth [and whom he will, he endureth, or hardeneth].
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that be like to sepulchres whited [that be like to sepulchres made white], which withoutforth seem fair to men; but within they be full of bones of dead men, and of all filth.
28 So [and] ye withoutforth seem just to men [So and ye forsooth withoutforth appear rightful to men]; but within ye be full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, that build [the] sepulchres of prophets, and make fair the burials of just men,
30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been their fellows in the blood of prophets.
31 And so ye be in witnessing to yourselves [And so ye be into witnessing to yourselves], that ye be the sons of them that slew the prophets.
32 And full-fill ye the measure of your fathers. [And fill ye the measure of your fathers.]
33 Ye adders, and adders' brood [Ye serpents, fruits of adders], how shall ye flee from the doom of hell?
34 Therefore lo! I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes [Therefore lo! I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, or writers]; and of them ye shall slay and crucify, and of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues, and shall pursue from city into city;
35 that all the just blood come on [upon] you, that was shed on the earth, from the blood of just Abel [till] to the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, whom ye slew betwixt the temple and the altar [whom ye slew between the temple and the altar].
36 Truly I say to you, all these things shall come on [upon] this generation.
37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that slayest prophets, and stonest them that be sent to thee, how oft would I gather together thy children, as an hen gathereth together her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not.
38 Lo! your house shall be left to you desert.
39 And I say to you, ye shall not see me from henceforth, till ye say, Blessed is he, that cometh in the name of the Lord.
2001 by Terence P. Noble