Book of Common Prayer

140 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, deliver thou me from an evil man; deliver thou me from a wicked man. (To victory, the song of David. Lord, save thou me from evil people; yea, save thou me from violent, or wicked, people.)

² Which thought wickednesses in the heart; all day they ordained battles. (Who always think in their hearts about doing wicked things; who plan out battles all day long/day after day.)

³ They sharpened their tongues as serpents; the venom of snakes is under the lips of them. (Their tongues be sharp like the fangs of serpents; the venom of snakes is on their lips.)

⁴ Lord, keep thou me from the hand of the sinner; and deliver thou me from wicked men. Which thought to deceive my goings; (Lord, keep thou me safe from the power of the sinner; and save thou me from the wicked, from those who think out ways to thwart my progress.)

⁵ proud men hid a snare to me. And they laid forth cords into a snare; they setted (a) trap to me beside the way. (Proud people hid a snare for me, yea, they laid out cords for a snare; they set a trap for me along the way.)

⁶ I said to the Lord, Thou art my God; Lord, hear thou the voice of my beseeching (Lord, hear thou the words of my plea).

⁷ Lord, Lord, the virtue of mine health; thou madest shadow on mine head in the day of battle. (Lord, Lord, my strong salvation/my strong deliverance; thou madest a shadow upon my head on the day of battle.)

⁸ Lord, betake thou not me from my desire to the sinner; they thought against me, forsake thou not me, lest peradventure they be enhanced. (Lord, do not thou deliver me unto the desires of the sinners; they have planned to harm me, so abandon thou me not, lest they gain an advantage over me.)

⁹ The head of the compass of them; the travail of their lips shall cover them. (As for the leaders of those who surround me; let the treachery of their own lips ensnare them.)

¹⁰ Coals shall fall on them, thou shalt cast them down into fire; in(to) wretchednesses (where) they shall not (be able to) stand. (Let burning coals fall upon them, and be they thrown down into the fire; yea, into a wretchedness from which they shall never be able to escape.)

¹¹ A man that is a great jangler shall not be (well-) directed in earth (A man who is a great gossip, or a slanderer, shall not be successful in the world); evils shall take an unjust man in(to) perishing.

¹² I have known, that the Lord shall make doom of a needy man; and the vengeance of poor men. (I know, that the Lord shall make judgement in favour of the needy; and he shall take vengeance for the poor.)

¹³ Nevertheless just men shall acknowledge to thy name; and rightful men shall dwell with thy cheer. (Truly the righteous shall give thanks to thy name; and the upright shall live in thy presence./Truly the righteous shall praise thy name; and the upright shall worship before thee.)

142 The learning of David; his prayer, when he was in the den. With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I prayed heartily to the Lord. (The teaching of David; his prayer, when he was in the cave. With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I heartily prayed to the Lord.)

² I shedded out my prayer in his sight; and I pronounce(d) my tribulation before him. (I poured out my complaints before him; and I told him about all my troubles.)

³ While my spirit faileth of me; and thou hast known my paths. In this way in which I went; proud men hid a snare to me. (Yea, when my spirit failed within me; thou knewest which path I should take. For on the way in which I went; proud people hid a snare for me.)

⁴ I beheld to the right side, and I saw; and none there was that knew me. Flight perished from me; and none there is that seeketh (to help) my soul. (I looked to the right; and I saw, that there was no one there who knew me. I had no way to escape; there was no one to rescue me.)

⁵ Lord, I cried to thee; I said, Thou art mine hope; my part in the land of livers. (Lord, I cried to thee; I said, Thou art my only hope, my portion in the land of the living.)

⁶ Give thou attention to my beseeching; for I am made low full greatly. Deliver thou me from them that pursue me; for they be comforted on me. (Give thou attention to my plea; for I am brought down so very low. Save thou me from those who pursue me; for they be stronger than me.)

⁷ Lead my soul out of keeping to acknowledge to thy name; just men abide me, till thou yield to me. (Lead me out of this prison, so that I can praise thy name; the righteous shall gather around me, when thou shalt reward me.)

141 The psalm of David. (The song of David.) Lord, I cried to thee, hear thou me; give thou attention to my voice, when I shall cry to thee.

² My prayer be (ad)dressed as incense in thy sight; the raising up of mine hands be as the eventide sacrifice. (Let my prayer be directed before thee like incense; and let the raising up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.)

³ Lord, set thou a keeping to my mouth; and a door of standing about to my lips. (Lord, set thou a guard at my mouth; yea, a sentry at the door of my lips.)

⁴ Bow thou not [down] mine heart into words of malice; to excuse excusings in sin. With men working wickedness; and I shall not commune with the chosen men of them. (Help thou me not to turn my heart to words of malice; to make excuses for sins, and for those who do evil. I shall not commune with their chosen ones/I shall not feast with their chosen ones.)

⁵ A just man shall reprove me in mercy, and he shall blame me; but the oil of a sinner make not fat mine head. For why and yet my prayer is in the well pleasant things of them; (The righteous shall rebuke me in love, and they shall reproach me; but my head shall not be anointed with the oil of sinners. For my prayer is still against what is pleasing to them.)

⁶ for the doomsmen of them joined to the stone were sopped up. Hear they my words, for they were mighty. (And when their judges shall be thrown down from stony places, then the people shall listen to my words; for they be true.)

⁷ As fatness is broken out on the earth; our bones be scattered nigh hell. (As wood chopped into pieces lieth on the ground; so their bones shall be scattered nigh to Sheol/close to the grave.)

⁸ Lord, Lord, for mine eyes be to thee, I hoped in thee; take thou not away my soul. (Lord, Lord, I fix my eyes upon thee, and I put my trust in thee; do not let me die!)

⁹ Keep thou me from the snare which they ordained to me; and from the traps of them that work wickedness. (Keep thou me safe from the snare which they have set for me; yea, from the traps of those who do evil.)

¹⁰ Sinners shall fall in the net thereof; I am alone till I pass. (Let the sinners fall into their own nets; while I alone shall safely pass by.)

143 The psalm of David. Lord, hear thou my prayer, with ears perceive thou my beseeching; in thy truth hear thou me, in thy rightwiseness. (The song of David. Lord, hear thou my prayer, and listen thou to my plea; and answer thou me in thy faithfulness, and in thy righteousness.)

² And enter thou not into doom with thy servant; for each man living shall not be made just in thy sight. (And enter thou not into the judgement of thy servant; for no one living can be made right, or justified, before thee.)

³ For the enemy pursued my soul; he made low my life in [the] earth. He hath set me in dark places, as the dead men of the world, (For the enemy hath pursued me; and he hath brought me down low to the ground. He hath put me in dark places, like the dead of the world,)

⁴ and my spirit was anguished on me; mine heart was troubled in me. (and my spirit was anguished within me; and my heart was troubled within me.)

⁵ I was mindful of eld days, I bethought in all thy works; I bethought in the deeds of thine hands. (I remembered the old days, and I thought about all thy works; yea, I thought about the deeds of thy hands.)

⁶ I held forth mine hands to thee; my soul (was) as earth without water to thee. (I held out my hands to thee; my soul was like dry ground without water, thirsting for thee.)

⁷ Lord, hear thou me swiftly; my spirit failed. Turn thou not away thy face from me; and I shall be like them that go down into the pit. (Lord, swiftly answer thou me; for my spirit faileth/for my spirit fainteth. Turn thou not away thy face from me; or I shall be like those who go down into the pit.)

⁸ Make thou early thy mercy heard to me; for I hoped in thee. Make thou known to me the way in which I shall go; for I raised my soul to thee. (Let me know thy love in the morning; for I put my trust in thee. Let me know which way I should go; for I raise up my soul to thee.)

⁹ Deliver thou me from mine enemies; Lord, I fled to thee; (Save thou me from my enemies; Lord, I fled to thee/Lord, I flee to thee;)

¹⁰ teach thou me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me forth into a rightful land; (teach thou me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me forth on the right path;)

¹¹ Lord, for thy name thou shalt quicken me in thine equity. Thou shalt lead my soul out of tribulation; (Lord, for the sake of thy name, save me/let me live. And because of thy fairness, lead thou my soul out of trouble, or tribulation;)

¹² and in thy mercy thou shalt scatter mine enemies. And thou shalt lose all them, that trouble my soul; for I am thy servant. (and in thy love for me, waste thou my enemies. Yea, destroy thou all those who trouble me; for I am thy servant.)

2 And it was done, in a day the sons of God were come to praise him, and they stood before the Lord, and Satan was come among them, and he stood in the sight of the Lord, (And it was done, on a day when the sons of God had come to praise him, and they stood before the Lord, and Satan was come among them, and he also stood before the Lord,)

² and the Lord said to Satan, From whence comest thou? Which answered, and said, I have compassed the earth, and I have gone through it. (and the Lord said to Satan, Where did you come from? Who answered, and said, I have gone all around the earth, and I have gone throughout it.)

³ And the Lord said to Satan, Whether thou hast not considered my servant Job, that none in [the] earth is like him; he is a simple man, and rightful, and dreading God, and going away from evil, and yet holding innocence? But thou hast moved me against him, that I should torment him in vain/that thou vex him in vain. (And the Lord said to Satan, Hast thou seen my servant Job? there is one on earth like him; he is without guile, and upright, and feareth God/and revereth God, and goeth away from evil, and remaineth innocent. But thou hast moved me against him, that I should torment him without cause/that thou should vex him for no reason.)

⁴ To whom Satan answered, and said, A man shall give skin for skin, and all things that he hath for his life;

⁵ therefore put to thine hand, and touch his bone and his flesh, and then thou shalt see, that he shall curse thee in thy face. (and so put thy hand against him, and touch his bones and his flesh, and then thou shalt see that he shall curse thee to thy face.)

⁶ Therefore the Lord said to Satan, Lo! he is in thine hand; nevertheless keep thou his life. (And so the Lord said to Satan, Lo! he is in thy hands, or under thy power; but do not thou kill him.)

⁷ Therefore Satan went out from the face of the Lord, and he smote Job with the worst stinking botch, from the sole of his foot till to his top; (And so Satan went out from before the Lord, and he struck Job with running sores, from the soles of his feet unto the top of his head;)

⁸ and Job sat in a dunghill, and he shaved away the quitter of him with a shell. (and then Job sat on a hill of dung, and scratched his sores with a shell.)

⁹ Forsooth his wife said to him, Dwellest thou yet in thy simpleness, that is, fondness? (And his wife said to him, Remaineth thou yet in thy integrity, that is, in thy foolishness?) Curse thou God, and die.

¹⁰ And Job said to her, Thou hast spoken as one of the fond women; if we have taken goods of the hand of the Lord, why forsooth suffer we not evils? In all these things Job sinned not in his lips. (And Job said to her, Thou hast spoken like the foolish woman that thou art; if we have received good from the Lord’s hand, then why should we not also suffer evil? And so in all these things Job did not sin with his lips.)

¹¹ And then three friends of Job heard (of) all the evil that had befallen to him, and they came to him, each of them from his place, Eliphaz (the) Temanite, and Bildad (the) Shuhite, and Zophar (the) Naamathite; for they had said together to themselves, that they would come together, and visit Job, and comfort him.

¹² And when they had raised afar their eyes, they knew not him; and they cried [out], and wept, and rent their clothes, and sprinkled dust on their head(s) into heaven. (And when they had raised up their eyes from afar, they did not know him, or they could not recognize him; and they cried out, and wept, and tore their clothes, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the heavens.)

¹³ And they sat with him in the earth seven days and seven nights, and no man spake a word to him; for they saw, that his sorrow was great. (And then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him; for they saw, that his sorrow was great.)

9 But Saul, yet a blower of menaces and of beatings [yet a breather, or blower, of menaces, and beating, or slaying,] against the disciples of the Lord, came to the prince of priests,

² and asked of him letters into Damascus, to the synagogues; that if he found any men or women of this life, he should lead them bound to Jerusalem.

³ And when he made his journey, it befelled [And when he made journey, it befell], that he came nigh to Damascus. And suddenly a light from heaven shone about him;

⁴ and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, what pursuest thou me?

⁵ And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou pursuest. It is hard to thee, to kick against the prick [It is hard to thee, for to kick against the prick].

⁶ And he trembled, and wondered, and said, Lord, what wilt thou that I do [And he trembling and wondering, said, Lord, what wilt thou me to do]? And the Lord said to him, Rise up, and enter into the city, and it shall be said to thee, what it behooveth thee to do.

⁷ And those men that went with him, stood astonished; for they heard a voice, but they saw no man. [Forsooth those men that went with him, stood made afeared, or out of mind; soothly hearing a voice, forsooth seeing no man.]

⁸ And Saul rose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. And they drew him by the hands, and led him into Damascus.

⁹ And he was three days not seeing; and he ate not, neither drank.

²⁷ Work ye not (for) meat that perisheth, but that that dwelleth into everlasting life, which meat man's Son shall give to you; for God the Father hath marked him.

²⁸ Therefore they said to him, What shall we do, that we work the works of God?

²⁹ Jesus answered, and said to them, This is the work of God, that ye believe to him, whom he sent.

³⁰ Therefore they said to him, What token then doest thou, that we see, and believe to thee? what workest thou?

³¹ Our fathers ate manna in desert, as it is written, He gave to them bread from heaven to eat.

³² Therefore Jesus saith to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses gave you not bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you very bread from heaven;

³³ for it is very bread that cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world.

³⁴ Therefore they said to him, Lord, ever give us this bread. [Therefore they said to him, Lord, evermore give to us this bread.]

³⁵ And Jesus said to them, I am bread of life; he that cometh to me, shall not hunger; and he that believeth in me, shall never thirst.

³⁶ But I said to you, that ye have seen me, and ye believe not. [But I said to you, for and ye have seen me, and believed not.]

³⁷ All thing, that the Father giveth to me, shall come to me; and I shall not cast him out [and I shall not cast out him], that cometh to me.

³⁸ For I came down from heaven, not that I do my will, but the will of him that sent me.

³⁹ And this is the will of the Father that sent me, that all thing that the Father gave to me, I lose not of it [I lose nought of it], but again-raise it in the last day.

⁴⁰ And this is the will of my Father that sent me, that each man that seeth the Son, and believeth in him, have everlasting life; and I shall again-raise him in the last day.