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.)

23 And when much time was passed after that the Lord had given peace to Israel, and when all nations about were subjected (and when all the nations about were made subject to them); and when Joshua was now of long life, and of full eld age,

² Joshua called all Israel, and the greater men in birth, and the princes, and dukes, and masters, and he said to them, I have elded, and I am of full great age; (he called all Israel, and the men of great age, that is, the elders, and the leaders, and the judges, and the officers, and he said to them, I have now grown old, and I am of a very great age;)

³ and ye behold all things which your Lord God hath done to all nations about, how he hath fought for you. (and ye see all the things which the Lord your God hath done to all the nations about, yea, how he hath fought for you.)

⁴ And now for he hath parted to you by lot all the land, from the east part of (the) Jordan unto the great sea, and many nations be left yet, (And now, for I have divided up for you by lot, all the land of the nations that I have destroyed, as well as those that still be left, from the Jordan River in the east, unto the Mediterranean Sea in the west,)

⁵ your Lord God shall destroy them (and the Lord your God shall destroy all those who remain), and he shall take them away from your face; and ye shall wield their land, as he promised to you.

⁶ Only be ye comforted, and be ye busy, that ye keep all things that be written in the book of Moses’ law, and bow ye not away from those things, neither to the right side, neither to the left side, (So be ye strengthened/So be ye encouraged, and be ye busy, that ye obey all the things that be written in the Book of the Law by Moses, and turn ye not away from those things, neither to the right, nor to the left,)

⁷ lest after that ye have entered to the heathen men, that shall be among you, ye swear in the name of their gods, and serve those gods, and worship them. (lest that ye be mixed, or mingled, with the heathen, who be among you, and ye swear in the name of their gods, and serve those gods, and worship them.)

⁸ But cleave ye to your Lord God (So cleave ye only to the Lord your God), the which thing ye have done unto this day;

⁹ and then the Lord God shall do away in your sight great folks, and strongest; and none shall be able to against-stand you. (for the Lord God hath done away from before you great and strong nations, and none hath been able to stand against you.)

¹⁰ One of you shall pursue a thousand men of enemies, for your Lord God shall fight for you, as he hath promised. (Yea, one of you can pursue a thousand of the enemies, for the Lord your God fighteth for you, as he promised you that he would.)

¹¹ Be ye ware before most diligently of this thing only, that ye love your Lord God. (But be ye ware, that ye do this thing most diligently, that ye love the Lord your God.)

¹² That if ye will cleave to the errors of these folks that dwell among you, and will meddle marriages with them, and couple friendships, (But if ye cleave to the errors of these people who live among you, and will mix marriages with them, and couple friendships,)

¹³ know ye right now, that the Lord your God shall not do away them before your face, but they shall be to you into a ditch, and into a snare, and into hurting of your side, and into stakes in your eyes, till your Lord God take away you, and destroy you from this best land, which he gave to you. (then know ye right now, that the Lord your God shall not do them away from before your face, but they shall be for you a ditch, and a snare, and a hurting to your side, and stakes in your eyes, until the Lord your God shall take you away, and destroy you from off this best land, which he gave to you.)

¹⁴ Lo! I enter today into the way of all (the) earth, for soon I shall die, as each man shall; and ye shall know with all (your) soul, that of all [the] words which the Lord promised himself to give to you, not one passed (away) in vain. (Lo! I go today the way of all people upon the earth, for soon I shall die, as each person shall; and ye know with all your soul, that of all the things which the Lord promised to give you, not one thing hath been left void, or undone.)

¹⁵ Therefore as he [ful]filled in work that, that he promised, and all things befelled by prosperity, so he shall bring on you whatever thing of evils he menaced, till he take away you, and destroy (you) from this best land, which he gave to you. (And so as he hath fulfilled with deeds what he promised, and all things have befallen with prosperity, so he shall also bring upon you whatever evil things that he threatened, until he shall take you away, and destroy you from off this best land, which he gave to you.)

¹⁶ For ye brake the covenant of your Lord God, which he made with you, and served alien gods, and worshipped them, soon and swiftly the strong vengeance of the Lord shall rise onto you; and ye shall be taken away from this best land, which he gave to you. (For if ye break the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and serve foreign, or other, gods, and worship them, then the strong vengeance of the Lord shall soon rise up against you; and ye shall swiftly be taken away from off this best land, which he gave to you.)

²⁵ Therefore now I shall pass forth to Jerusalem, to minister to saints.

²⁶ For Macedonia and Achaia have assayed to make some gift to poor men of saints, that be in Jerusalem. [Forsooth Macedonia and Achaia proved to make some collection, or gathering of money, into poor men of saints, that be in Jerusalem.]

²⁷ For it pleased to them [Soothly it pleased to them], and they be debtors of them; for if heathen men be made partners of their ghostly things, they owe also in fleshly things to minister to them.

²⁸ Therefore when I have ended this thing, and have assigned to them this fruit, I shall pass by you into Spain.

²⁹ And I know, that I coming to you, shall come in the abundance of the blessing of Christ [shall come into the abundance, or plenty, of the blessing of Christ].

³⁰ Therefore, brethren, I beseech you by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the charity of the Holy Ghost, that ye help me in your prayers [for me] to the Lord,

³¹ that I be delivered from the unfaithful men, that be in Judaea, and that the offering of my service be accepted in Jerusalem to saints;

³² that I come to you in joy, by the will of God, and that I be refreshed with you.

³³ And God of peace be with you all. Amen.

¹¹ And Jesus stood before the doomsman; and the justice asked him, and said [and the president asked him, saying], Art thou king of Jews? Jesus saith to him, Thou sayest.

¹² And when he was accused of the princes of priests, and of the elder men of the people [and elder men of the people], he answered nothing.

¹³ Then Pilate saith to him, Hearest thou not, how many things [how many witnessings] they say against thee?

¹⁴ And he answered not to him any word, so that the justice wondered greatly [so that the president wondered greatly].

¹⁵ But for a solemn day the justice was wont to deliver to the people one bound [Forsooth by a solemn day the president was wont to deliver to the people one bound], whom they would.

¹⁶ And he had then a famous man bound [Soothly they had then one famous man bound], that was said Barabbas.

¹⁷ Therefore Pilate said to them, when they were [gathered] together, Whom will ye, that I deliver to you [Whom will ye, I let go, or deliver, to you]? whether Barabbas, or Jesus, that is said Christ?

¹⁸ For he knew, that by envy they betrayed him. [Soothly he knew, that by envy they betook him.]

¹⁹ And while he sat for doomsman [Forsooth him sitting for judge], his wife sent to him, and said [saying], Nothing to thee and to that just man; for I have suffered this day many things for him, by a vision [by a vision, or sweven].

²⁰ Forsooth the princes of priests, and the elder men counseled the people, that they should ask Barabbas, but they should destroy Jesus. [Forsooth the princes of priests and elder men counseled the peoples, that they should ask Barabbas, but Jesus they should lose.]

²¹ But the justice answered, and said to them, Whom of the twain will ye, that be delivered to you [Forsooth the president answering saith to them, Whom of the two will ye to be let go, or delivered, to you]? And they said, Barabbas.

²² Pilate saith to them, What then shall I do of Jesus, that is said Christ [which is said Christ]? All they say, Be he crucified.

²³ The justice saith to them, What evil hath he done? And they cried more, and said, Be he crucified.^[a]