Book of Common Prayer

120 The song of degrees. When I was set in tribulation, I cried to the Lord; and he heard me. (When I was beset with troubles, I cried to the Lord; and he answered me.)

² Lord, deliver thou my soul from wicked lips; and from a guileful tongue. (Lord, save thou me from wicked lips; and from a deceitful tongue.)

³ What shall be given to thee, either what shall be laid to thee; to a guileful tongue? (What shall be given to thee; that is, how shall he punish thee, O deceitful tongue?)

⁴ Sharp arrows of the mighty; with coals that make desolate. (With sharp arrows from the mighty; and with coals that shall make thee desolate.)

⁵ Alas to me! for my dwelling in an alien land is made long, I dwelled with men dwelling in Kedar; (Alas for me! for my stay here in Mesech is prolonged, and I must live among the people, or in the tents, of Kedar!)

⁶ my soul was much (time) a comeling. I was peaceable with them that hated peace; (I am here too long as a newcomer, or a stranger; yea, too long living with those who hate peace.)

⁷ when I spake to them, they impugned, either against-said, me without cause. (I am for peace; but whenever I speak of it to them, they be for war.)

121 The song of degrees. I raised mine eyes to the hills; from whence help shall come to me. (I raised up my eyes to the hills, or the mountains; O where shall I find help?/from where help shall come to me.)

² Mine help is of the Lord; that made heaven and earth. (My help is from the Lord; who made heaven and earth.)

³ The Lord give not thy foot into moving; neither he nap, that keepeth thee. (The Lord shall not let thy foot slip, or stumble; nor shall he nap, who keepeth thee safe.)

⁴ Lo! he shall not nap, neither sleep; that keepeth Israel. (Lo! he, who keepeth Israel safe; shall not nap, or sleep.)

⁵ The Lord keepeth thee; the Lord is thy protection above thy right hand. (The Lord keepeth thee safe; the Lord is thy protection at thy right hand.)

⁶ The sun shall not burn thee by day; neither the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord keep thee from all evil; the Lord keep thy soul. (The Lord shall keep thee safe from all evil; yea, the Lord shall keep thee safe.)

⁸ The Lord keep thy going in and thy going out; from this time now and into the world. (The Lord shall guard thy coming in, and thy going out; from this time now, and forever.)

122 The song of degrees of David. I am glad in these things, that be said to me; We shall go into the house of the Lord. (The song of degrees for David. I was glad, when they said to me, We shall go to the House of the Lord.)

² Our feet were standing; in thy halls/in thy foreyards, thou Jerusalem. (And now our feet stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.)

³ Jerusalem, which is builded as a city; whose partaking thereof is into the same thing. (Jerusalem is built to be a city, where people be together, yea, with one heart and mind.)

⁴ For the lineages, the lineages of the Lord, ascended thither, the witnessing of Israel; to acknowledge to the name of the Lord. (For the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, come there to give thanks to the Lord; that is Israel’s duty.)

⁵ For they sat there on seats in doom; seats on the house of David. (For the thrones of judgement, or of justice, be put there; yea, the thrones of the house of David.)

⁶ Pray ye those things, that be to the peace of Jerusalem; and abundance be to them that love thee. (Pray ye for the peace of Jerusalem; and say, May those who love thee prosper, or have great abundance.)

⁷ Peace be made in thy strength; and abundance in thy towers. (May there be peace within thy strongholds, or thy fortresses; and prosperity within thy palaces.)

⁸ For my brethren and my neighbours; I spake peace of thee. (For the sake of my brothers, or my kinsmen, and my neighbours; I say, Peace be with thee.)

⁹ For the house of our Lord God; I sought goods to thee. (For the sake of the House of the Lord our God; I shall seek thy good, or thy prosperity/I shall pray for good things for thee.)

123 The song of degrees. To thee I have raised mine eyes; that dwellest in heavens. (I raise up my eyes to thee; who livest in heaven.)

² Lo! as the eyes of servants be in the hands of their lords. As the eyes of the handmaid be in the hands of her lady; so our eyes be to our Lord God, till he have mercy on us. (Lo! like the eyes of the servant look to the hand of his lord; and like the eyes of the servantess look to the hand of her lady; so let our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us.)

³ Lord, have thou mercy on us, have thou mercy on us; for we be much filled with despising (for we be greatly despised).

⁴ For our soul is much filled; we be shame to them that be abundant with riches, and despising to proud men. (For our soul is filled full, with the scorn of those who have abundant riches; and with disdain from the proud.)

124 The song of degrees of David. Israel say now, No but for the Lord was in us; (The song of degrees for David. Let Israel say now, If the Lord was not with us/If the Lord had not been for us,)

² no but for the Lord was in us. When men rose up against us; (yea, if the Lord was not with us/if the Lord had not been for us; then when men rose up against us,)

³ in hap they had swallowed us quick. When the strong vengeance of them was wroth against us; (they would have swallowed us up alive. Yea, when their fury raged against us;)

⁴ in hap water had swallowed us up. Our soul passed through a strand; (the water would have swallowed us up. When the stream had gone up over our heads;)

⁵ in hap our soul had passed through a water unsufferable. (when the insufferable waters had gone up over our heads.)

⁶ Blessed be the Lord; that gave not us into taking, [(or) the catching,] of the teeth of them. (Blessed be the Lord; who did not allow us to be caught by their teeth.)

⁷ Our soul, as a sparrow, is delivered; from the snare of hunters. The snare is all-broken; and we be delivered. (We have escaped, like a sparrow, from the hunter’s snare. The snare is all-broken; and we be set free.)

⁸ Our help is in the name of the Lord; that made heaven and earth (who made heaven and earth).

125 The song of degrees. They that trust in the Lord be as the hill of Zion; he shall not be moved [into] without end, that dwelleth in Jerusalem. (They who trust in the Lord be like Mount Zion; it cannot be shaken, but it remaineth firm, or steadfast, forever.)

² Hills be in the compass of it, and the Lord is in the compass of his people; from this time now, and into the world. (Like the mountains, or the hills, be all around Jerusalem, so the Lord is all around his people; from this time now, and forever.)

³ For the Lord shall not leave the rod of sinners on the part of just men; that just men hold not forth their hands to wickedness. (For the rod of the sinners shall not remain over the land of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands to wickedness.)

⁴ Lord, do thou well to good men; and to rightful in heart. (Lord, do thou good to good people; yea, to those with an upright heart.)

⁵ But the Lord shall lead them that bow into obligations, with them that work wickedness; peace be upon Israel. (But may the Lord lead forth those, who turn aside into depraved ways, with those who do evil. May peace be upon Israel.)

126 The song of degrees. When the Lord turned the captivity of Zion; we were made as comforted. (When the Lord returned the captives to Zion/When the Lord returned prosperity to Zion; we were made like in a dream.)

² Then our mouth was filled with joy; and our tongue with full out joying. Then they shall say among heathen men; The Lord magnified to do with them. (Then our mouths were filled with joy; and ours tongues with rejoicing. And the heathen said to each other, The Lord hath done great things for them.)

³ The Lord magnified to do with us; we be made glad. (Yea, the Lord did great things for us; and we were glad.)

⁴ Lord, turn thou (again) our captivity; as a strand in the south. (Lord, return thou the captives/return thou our prosperity; like the streams return to the south.)

⁵ They that sow in tears; shall reap in full out joying. (Then they who sowed in tears; shall reap with rejoicing.)

⁶ They going, went, and wept; sending their seeds. But they coming, shall come with full out joying; bearing their handfuls (They going, went, and wept; sending out their seeds. But when they shall return, they shall come back rejoicing; carrying their harvest.)

127 The song of degrees of Solomon. No but the Lord build the house; they that built it have travailed in vain. No but the Lord keepeth the city; he waketh in vain that keepeth it./But if the Lord build the house; they that built it have travailed in vain. But (if) the Lord keepeth the city; he waketh in vain that keepeth it. (The song of degrees for Solomon. Unless the Lord build the house; those who have built it, have laboured in vain. Unless the Lord guardeth the city; he who standeth watch, guardeth in vain.)

² It is vain to you to rise before the light; rise ye after ye have set, that eat the bread of sorrow. When he shall give sleep to his loved; (It is useless for you to rise before the light; and then to stay up late, only so that ye can eat the bread of sorrows. For he giveth to his beloved; even while they sleep.)

³ lo! the heritage of the Lord is sons, the meed is the fruit of womb. (Lo! sons and daughters be thy inheritance/be thy gift from the Lord; yea, the fruit of thy womb is his reward to you.)

⁴ As arrows be in the hand of the mighty; so the sons of them that be shaken out. (Like arrows be in the hand of the mighty; so be the sons and daughters that a man hath when he is young.)

⁵ Blessed is the man, that hath [full-]filled his desire of those; he shall not be shamed, when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate. (Happy is the man who hath filled his quiver full of them; he shall not be put to shame, or defeated, when he shall speak to his enemies in court.)

18 In those days was no king in Israel; and the lineage of Dan sought (a) possession to itself, to dwell therein; for till to that day it had not taken heritage among other lineages. (In those days there was no king in Israel; and the tribe of Dan sought a possession for themselves to live in; for unto that day they had not taken their inheritance among the other tribes.)

² Therefore the sons of Dan sent five (of) the strongest men of their generation, and family, from Zorah and Eshtaol, that they should espy the land, and behold diligently (so that they could spy out the land, and carefully look it over). And they said to them, Go ye, and behold the land. And when they going forth had come into the hill (country) of Ephraim, and had entered into the house of Micah, they rested there.

³ And they knew the voice of the young waxing deacon; and they rested in his place, and said to him, Who brought thee hither? What doest thou here? For what cause wouldest thou come hither? (And they knew the voice of the young Levite; and they rested there before him, and said to him, Who hath brought thee here? What doest thou here? For what reason wouldest thou come here?)

⁴ The which answered, Micah hath given to me these things and these, and he hath hired me for meed, that I be priest to him. (And he answered, Micah hath given these things, and other things to me, and he hath hired me for money, to be his priest.)

⁵ And they prayed him, that he should counsel with the Lord, and that they might know (so that they could know), whether they went in the way of prosperity, and that the thing of their purpose should have effect.

⁶ Which answered to them, Go ye with peace, the Lord beholdeth your way, and the journey whither ye go. (And he answered to them, Go ye in peace, the Lord watcheth over your way, and the journey on which ye go/and where ye go on the journey.)

⁷ Then those five men went forth, and came to Laish; and they saw the people dwelling therein without any dread, by the custom of Sidonians, secure and restful, for no man utterly against-stood them, and they were full rich, and dwelled far from Sidon, and were parted from all men. (Then those five men went forth, and came to Laish; and they saw the people living there without any fear, by the custom of the Sidonians, secure and at rest, for there was utterly no one who stood against them, and they were very rich, and lived far away from Sidon, and were separated from all people.)

⁸ And they turned again to their brethren in Zorah and Eshtaol; and they answered to (their) brethren, asking what they had done, (And they returned to their kinsmen in Zorah and Eshtaol; and they answered to their kinsmen, who were asking what they had done,)

⁹ and said, Rise ye, and go we up to them of Laish, for we have seen the land full rich and plenteous; do not ye be negligent, do not ye cease, (but) go we forth, and have we it into possession (and let us take the land);

¹⁰ no travail shall be to us; we shall enter to secure men, into a full large country; and the Lord shall betake to us a place, wherein is not poverty of anything of those things that be brought forth in (all) [the] earth. (it shall not be any great effort for us; for we shall go to a people who be very complacent and naive, and into a very large country; and the Lord shall deliver a place to us, where nothing is lacking of anything, of that which be brought forth in all the earth.)

¹¹ Therefore six hundred men girded with armours of battle went forth of the kindred of Dan, that is, from Zorah and Eshtaol. (And so six hundred men of the Danites, girded with arms, or with weapons, for battle, went forth from Zorah and Eshtaol.)

¹² And they went up, and dwelled in Kiriathjearim of Judah, the which place took from that time the name of [the] Tents of Dan (the which place from that time took the name of Mahanehdan), and it is behind the back of Kiriathjearim.

¹³ From thence they passed into the hill (country) of Ephraim; and when they had come to the house of Micah,

¹⁴ the five men, that were sent before to behold the land of Laish, said to their other brethren, Know ye, that ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image is in (one of) these houses; see ye what pleaseth you. (the five men, who were sent before to spy out the land of Laish, said to their other kinsmen, Know ye, that an ephod, and teraphim, and a carved idol, and a cast image be in one of these houses? see ye what pleaseth you.)

¹⁵ And when they had bowed a little aside, they entered into the house of the young deacon, that was in the house of Micah (they entered into the young Levite’s home, that is, into Micah’s house), and they greeted him with peaceable words.

8 But Saul was consenting to his death. And great persecution was made that day in the church, that was in Jerusalem. And all men were scattered by the countries of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

² But good men buried Stephen [Forsooth men dread-full buried Stephen], and made great mourning on him.

³ But Saul greatly destroyed the church, and entered by houses, and drew out men and women, and betook them into prison. [Forsooth Saul greatly destroyed the church, entering by houses, drawing men and women, betook into keeping, or prison.]

⁴ And they that were scattered [Therefore they were scattered], passed forth, preaching the word of God.

⁵ And Philip came down into a city of Samaria, and preached to them Christ.

⁶ And the people gave attention to these things [to those things] that were said of Philip, with one will hearing and seeing the signs that he did.

⁷ For many of them that had unclean spirits, cried with great voice, and went out [crying with great voice, went out]. And many sick in the palsy [Forsooth many sick in palsy], and crooked, were healed.

⁸ Therefore great joy was made in that city.

⁹ But there was a man in that city, whose name was Simon, a witch [Forsooth there was some man, Simon by name, which before was in the city a witch], that had deceived the folk of Samaria, saying, that himself was some great man.

¹⁰ Whom all harkened [To whom all harkened], from the least to the most, and said [saying], This is the virtue of God, which is called great.

¹¹ And they believed him, for long time he had madded them with his witchcrafts. [Forsooth all believed him, for this thing, that much time he had made them mad with his witchings.]

¹² But when they had believed to Philip, preaching of the kingdom of God, men and women were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. [Soothly when they had believed to Philip, evangelizing of the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ, men and women were baptized.]

¹³ And then also Simon himself believed [Then also Simon himself believed]; and when he was baptized, he drew to Philip; and he saw also that signs and great works of power were done [he seeing also signs and most virtues to be made], he was astonished, and wondered.

³⁰ I may nothing do of myself, but as I hear, I deem [I may not of myself do any thing, but as I hear, I judge], and my doom is just, for I seek not my will, but the will of the Father that sent me.

³¹ If I bear witnessing of myself, my witnessing is not true;

³² another is that beareth witnessing of me, and I know that his witnessing is true, that he beareth of me.

³³ Ye sent to John, and he bare witnessing to [the] truth.

³⁴ But I take not witnessing of man; but I say these things, that ye be safe.

³⁵ He was a lantern burning and shining [He was a lantern burning and shining, or giving light]; but ye would glad, or joy, at an hour in his light.

³⁶ But I have more witnessing than John, for the works that my Father gave to me to perform them [forsooth the works that my Father gave me that I perform them], those works that I do bear witnessing of me, that the Father sent me.

³⁷ And the Father that sent me, he bare witnessing of me. Neither ye heard ever his voice, neither ye saw his likeness [neither saw his likeness, or form].

³⁸ And ye have not his word dwelling in you; for ye believe not to him, whom he sent.

³⁹ Seek ye the scriptures, in which ye guess [in which ye ween] to have everlasting life; and those it be, that bear witnessing of me.

⁴⁰ And ye will not come to me, that ye have life.

⁴¹ I take not clearness of men;

⁴² but I have known you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

⁴³ I came in the name of my Father, and ye took not me. If another [shall] come in his own name, ye shall receive him.

⁴⁴ How be ye able to believe [How may ye believe], that receive glory each of (the) other, and ye seek not the glory that is of God alone?

⁴⁵ Do not ye guess, that I am to accuse you with the Father; it is Moses that accuseth you, in whom ye hope.

⁴⁶ For if ye believed to Moses, peradventure ye should believe also to me; for he wrote of me.

⁴⁷ But if ye believe not to his letters, how shall ye believe to my words?