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.)
40 And the Lord added to (this), and spake to Job (and spoke more to Job), and said,
2 Whether he, that striveth with God, shall have rest so lightly? Soothly he, that reproveth God, oweth for to answer to him. (Shall he, who argueth with God, now so easily have rest? Yea he, who rebuketh God, ought to answer him.)
3 And Job answered to the Lord, and said,
4 What may I answer, which have spoken lightly, that is, undiscreetly and follily? (What can I answer to thee, I who have spoken so freely, that is, so indiscreetly, and so foolishly?) I shall put mine hand upon my mouth.
5 I spake one thing, which thing I would, that I had not said (I spoke one thing, which I wish, that I had not said); and I spake another thing, to which I shall no more add.
6 Forsooth the Lord answered to Job from the whirlwind, and said, (Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,)
7 Gird thou as a man thy loins, and I shall ask thee, and show thou to me. (Gird thou up thy loins like a man, and I shall ask thee, and thou shalt answer me.)
8 Whether thou shalt make void my doom, and shalt thou condemn me, that thou be made just? (Shalt thou make void my justice? that is, shalt thou say that I am unjust? and shalt thou condemn me, so that thou can be right?)
9 And if thou hast an arm, or power, as God hath, and if thou thunderest with like voice,
10 take thou fairness about thee, and be thou raised on high, and be thou glorious, and be thou clothed in fair clothes. (take thou beauty about thee, and be thou raised up on high, and be thou glorious, and be thou clothed in beautiful clothes.)
11 And destroy thou proud men in thy fierce vengeance (And destroy thou the proud with thy fierce vengeance), and behold thou, and make low each boaster.
12 Behold thou all proud men, and shame thou them; and all-break thou (the) wicked men in their place.
13 Hide thou them in dust together, and drench down their faces into a ditch. (Hide thou them in the dust together, and drown them down in a ditch.)
14 And then I shall acknowledge, that thy right hand may save thee. (And then I shall acknowledge, that thy right hand can save thee.)
15 Lo! behemoth, whom I made with thee, shall as an ox eat hay. (Lo! the behemoth, which I made with thee, eateth hay like an ox.)
16 His strength is in his loins, and his might is in the navel of his womb.
17 He constraineth his tail as a cedar (His tail standeth up like a cedar); the sinews of his stones of engendering be folded together.
18 His bones be as pipes of brass; the gristle of him is as plates of iron. (His bones be like brass pipes; his gristle is like iron plates.)
19 He is the beginning of the ways of God; he, that made him, shall set his sword to him. (He is the chief of God’s works; but he, who made him, shall set his sword against him.)
20 Hills bear herbs to this behemoth (The hills grow grass for this behemoth); all the beasts of the field play there.
21 He sleepeth under shadow, in the private of a reed, in moist places. (He sleepeth under a shadow, hidden among the reeds of the marshes.)
22 Shadows cover his shadow; the sallows of the river compass him (about). (Shady trees cover him with their shadows; the willows of the river surround him.)
23 He shall swallow up the flood, and he shall not wonder (He shall swallow up the river, and he shall not be afraid); he hath trust, that (the) Jordan shall flow into his mouth.
24 He shall take them by his eyes, as by an hook; and by sharp shafts he shall pierce his nostrils. (Who shall put out his eyes, and shall catch him? who shall pierce his nostrils with sharp shafts?)
36 But after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Turn we again, and visit we brethren by all cities [Paul said to Barnabas, We turning again, visit our brethren by all cities], in which we have preached the word of the Lord, how they have them.
37 And Barnabas would take with him John, that was named Mark.
38 But Paul prayed him, that he that departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them into the work, should not be received.
39 And dissension was made, so that they departed atwain. And Barnabas took Mark, and came by boat to Cyprus.
40 And Paul chose Silas, and went forth from the brethren, and was betaken to the grace of God. [Forsooth Paul chose Silas, and went forth, taken to the grace of God from brethren.]
41 And he went by Syria and Cilicia, and confirmed the church, commanding to keep the behests of the apostles and elder men.[a]
16 And he came into Derbe and Lystra. And lo! a disciple was there, by name Timothy, the son of a Jewess christian[b], and of the father heathen.
2 And brethren that were in Lystra and Iconium [The brethren that were in Lystra and Iconium], yielded good witnessing to him.
3 And Paul would that this man should go forth with him [Paul would him to go forth with himself], and he took, and circumcised him, for Jews that were in those places. For all knew, that his father was heathen.
4 [Forsooth] When they passed by cities, they betook to them to keep the teachings, that were deemed of apostles and elder men, that were at Jerusalem.
5 And the churches were confirmed in faith, and increased in number each day.
55 And the pask of the Jews was nigh, and many of the country went up to Jerusalem before the pask, to hallow themselves.
56 Therefore they sought Jesus, and spake together, standing in the temple, What guess ye, for he cometh not to the feast day?
57 For the bishops and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that if any man know where he is, that he show [that if any man knew where he is, he show], that they take him.
12 Therefore Jesus before six days of pask came to Bethany, where Lazarus had been dead [where Lazarus was dead], whom Jesus raised.
2 And they made to him a supper there, and Martha ministered to him; and Lazarus was one of the men that sat at the meat with him.
3 Therefore Mary took a pound of ointment of true nard precious [Therefore Mary took a pound of ointment spikenard, or true nard, precious], and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hairs; and the house was full-filled with the savour of the ointment.
4 Therefore Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, that was to betray him, said,
5 Why is not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to poor men [and given to needy men]?
6 But he said this thing, not for it pertained to him of needy men, but for he was a thief, and had the purses, and bare those things that were sent.
7 Therefore Jesus said, Suffer ye her, that into the day of my burying she keep that;
8 for ye shall evermore have poor men with you, but ye shall not evermore have me.[a]
2001 by Terence P. Noble