Book of Common Prayer

69 To victory, on the roses of David. God, make thou me safe; for waters have entered unto my soul. (To victory, for the lilies, by David/the psalm, or the song, of David. God, save thou me; for the waters have entered unto my soul!)

² I am set in the slime of the depth; and there is no substance. I came into the depth of the sea; and the tempest drenched me [down]. (I am sinking in the slime of the depth; and there is no firm ground beneath me. I came into the depth of the sea; for the tempest hath drowned me.)

³ I travailed crying, my cheeks were made hoarse; mine eyes failed, the while I hope/d into my God. (I am made weary from crying, my voice is made hoarse; my eyes have failed, yet all the while I have hope/d in my God.)

⁴ They that hated me without cause; were multiplied above the hairs of mine head. Mine enemies that pursued me unjustly were comforted; I paid then (for) those things, which I ravished not. (They who hated me for no reason, were greater in number than the hairs of my head. My enemies who unjustly persecuted me were strong; and I was forced to pay for what I did not steal.)

⁵ God, thou knowest mine unknowing (God, thou knowest my foolishness, or my ignorance); and my trespasses be not hid from thee.

⁶ Lord, Lord of virtues; they, that abide thee, be not ashamed in me. God of Israel; they, that seek thee, be not shamed on me. (Lord, Lord of hosts; let they, who wait for thee, be not shamed by me. God of Israel; let they, who seek thee, be not shamed by me.)

⁷ For I suffered shame for thee; shame covered my face.

⁸ I am made a stranger to my brethren; and a pilgrim to the sons of my mother.

⁹ For the fervent love of thine house ate me (For my fervent love for thy House ate me up, or devoured me); and the shames of men saying shames to thee fell on me.

¹⁰ And I covered my soul with fasting; and it was made into shame to me. (I humbled myself by fasting; and I was reproached for even that.)

¹¹ And I putted (for) my cloth an hair-shirt; and I am made to them into a parable. (I had a hair-shirt for my cloak; and for that, I am made into their parable.)

¹² They, that sat in the gate, spake against me; and they, that drank wine, sang of me. (They, who sat by the gate, spoke against me; and they, who drank wine, sang about me.)

¹³ But Lord, I (ad)dress my prayer to thee; God, I abide the time of good pleasance. Hear thou me in the multitude of thy mercy; in the truth of thine health. (But Lord, I direct my prayer to thee; O God, I wait for the time of thy good pleasure. Hear thou me because of thy great love; because of the truth of thy salvation/because of the surety of thy deliverance.)

¹⁴ Deliver thou me from the clay, that I be not fast set-in; deliver thou me from them that hate me, and from [the] depths of waters/and from [the] deepness of waters. (Rescue thou me from the clay, so that I do not get stuck in it; save thou me from those who hate me, and from the depths of the waters/and from the deep waters.)

¹⁵ The tempest of water drench not me [down], neither the depth swallow me; neither the pit make strait his mouth on me. (Let not the tempest of the water drown me, nor let the depths swallow me; let not the pit close its mouth upon me.)

¹⁶ Lord, hear thou me, for thy mercy is benign; after the multitude of thy merciful doings behold thou into me. (Lord, hear thou me, out of the goodness of thy love; and according to the multitude of thy merciful doings, look thou upon me.)

¹⁷ And turn not away thy face from thy servant; for I am in tribulation, hear thou me swiftly (for I am in trouble, so answer thou me swiftly).

¹⁸ Give thou attention to my soul, and deliver thou it; for mine enemies, deliver thou me. (Give thou attention to me, and save me; save thou me from my enemies/save thou me, for I have many enemies.)

¹⁹ Thou knowest my reproof, and my despising; and my shame. All that trouble me be in thy sight; (Thou knowest the reproaches, and the despisings, and the shames that I bear. All who trouble me be before thee;)

²⁰ mine heart abode (in) shame, and wretchedness. And I abode him, that was sorry together (with me), and none was; and that should comfort me, and I found not. (shame and wretchedness live in my heart. And I waited for someone, who would be sad together with me, but there was no one; and someone who would comfort me, but I found no one.)

²¹ And they gave gall into my meat; and in my thirst they gave to me drink with vinegar. (And they gave me gall for my food; and for my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.)

²² The board of them be made before them into a snare; and into yieldings, and into cause of stumbling. (May their own table be made into a snare before them; and may their sacred feasts be made into a trap, yea, the reason for their downfall, or ruin.)

²³ Their eyes be made dark, that they see not; and ever[more] bow down the back of them. (May their eyes be made dark, or dim, so that they cannot see; and bow down their backs forevermore/and make their backs crooked forevermore.)

²⁴ Shed out thine ire on them; and the strong vengeance of thine ire take them. (Pour out thy anger upon them; and let the fury of thy anger take hold of them.)

²⁵ The habitation of them be made forsaken; and be there none that dwell in the tabernacles of them. (May their homes be made empty; and may there be none of them left to live in their tents.)

²⁶ For they pursued him, whom thou hast smitten; and they added on(to) the sorrow of my wounds. (For they pursued after those whom thou hast struck down; yea, they added to the sorrow of those whom thou hast wounded.)

²⁷ Add thou wickedness on(to) the wickedness of them; and enter they not into thy rightwiseness.

²⁸ Be they done away from the book of living men; and be they not written with just men. (Let them be done away from The Book of the Living; and let their names be not written in The List of the Righteous.)

²⁹ I am poor and sorrowful; God, thine health took me up. (I am in pain and full of sorrow; God, lift me up, and save me.)

³⁰ I shall praise the name of God with song; and I shall magnify him with praising.

³¹ And it shall please God more than a new calf bringing forth horns and claws. (And this shall please God more than the offering of a new calf that hath horns and claws.)

³² Poor men see, and be glad; seek ye God, and your soul shall live. (Let the poor see this, and be glad; seek ye God, and ye shall live.)

³³ For the Lord heard poor men; and despised not his bound men. (For the Lord heareth the poor; and despiseth not his people who be imprisoned/and despiseth not those who be bound to his service.)

³⁴ Heavens and earth, praise him; the sea, and all creeping beasts in those, praise him. (Let the heavens and the earth praise him; and the seas, and all the things that move in them.)

³⁵ For God shall make safe Zion; and the cities of Judah shall be builded. And they shall dwell there; and they shall get it by heritage. (For God shall save Zion; and he shall rebuild the cities of Judah. And his people shall live there; and they shall have it as their possession.)

³⁶ And the seed of his servants shall have it in possession; and they that love his name, shall dwell therein. (And the children, or the descendants, of his servants shall get it by inheritance; and they who love his name shall live there.)

73 The psalm of Asaph. God of Israel is full good; to them that be of rightful heart. (The song of Asaph. The God of Israel is very good; to those who have an upright heart.)

² But my feet were moved almost; my steps were shed out almost. (But my feet almost stumbled; my steps almost slipped.)

³ For I loved fervently on wicked men; seeing the peace of sinners. (For I envied the wicked; when I saw the prosperity of the sinners.)

⁴ For beholding is not to the death of them; and steadfastness in the sickness of them. (For it seemed that they never die; yea, they always be strong, and never get sick.)

⁵ They be not in travail of (other) men; and they shall not be beaten with men. (They do not have trouble, or tribulation, like other people do; and they be not beaten down like others be.)

⁶ Therefore pride hath held them; they were covered with their wickedness and unfaithfulness.

⁷ The wickedness of them came forth as of fatness; they went into desire of heart. (Their wickedness came forth like fatness; and they went forth in the desire of their hearts.)

⁸ They thought and spake waywardness; they spake wickedness on high (they spoke wickedness out loud).

⁹ They putted their mouth into heaven; and their tongue passed in earth. (They put their mouths against heaven; and their tongues went about over all the earth.)

¹⁰ Therefore my people shall be turned again here; and full days shall be found in them. (And so my people followed them; and found nothing to condemn them for.)

¹¹ And they said, How knoweth God; and whether knowing is on high? (And they said, How could God know? how can the Most High have any knowledge of this?)

¹² Lo! those sinners and having abundance in the world; (they) held riches.

¹³ And I said, Therefore without cause I justified mine heart; and washed mine hands among innocents. (And I said, And so I have keep my heart pure, and I have kept my hands clean, all for nothing/all in vain.)

¹⁴ And I was beaten all day; and my chastising was in morrowtides. (Yea, all day long I am beaten down; and I am punished every morning.)

¹⁵ If I said, I shall tell thus; lo! I [have] reproved the nation of thy sons. (If I had said, I shall talk as they do; lo! I would have brought reproach upon the nation of thy children.)

¹⁶ I guessed, that I should know this; (but too much) travail is before me. (I tried to work through all of this; but it was too much for me.)

¹⁷ Till I enter into the saintuary of God; and understand in the last things of them. (Until I entered into the sanctuary of God; and there I understood their last things, that is, their end.)

¹⁸ Nevertheless for guiles thou hast put to them; thou castedest them down, while they were raised. (For thou shalt put them in slippery places; thou shalt throw them down, after they be raised up.)

¹⁹ How be they made into desolation; they failed suddenly, they perished for their wickedness/for their waywardness. (How they shall go into desolation! they shall suddenly fail, and they shall perish for all their wickedness/for all their wayward ways.)

²⁰ As the dream of men that (a)rise; Lord, thou shalt drive their image to nought, in thy city. (Like a dream when one awaketh, and it vanisheth; so, Lord, thou shalt drive them down into nothing/until they completely disappear.)

²¹ For mine heart is enflamed, and my reins be changed; (When my heart was enflamed, and my feelings were hurt;)

²² and I am driven to nought, and I knew not. As a work beast I am made with thee; (and I was driven down into nothing, and I knew nothing; yea, I was made like a work beast before thee;)

²³ and I am ever with thee. Thou heldest my right hand, (but still I am ever with thee. Thou holdest my right hand,)

²⁴ and in thy will thou leddest me forth; and with glory thou tookest me up. (and by thy counsel, or thy instruction, thou leadest me forth; and afterward thou shalt receive me with honour.)

²⁵ For why what is to me in heaven; and what would I of thee on earth? (For what is there for me in heaven, but thee? and what else do I desire here on earth, but thee?)

²⁶ My flesh and mine heart failed; God of mine heart, and my part is God [into] without end. (Though my flesh and my heart fail; but God is my strength, and my portion forever.)

²⁷ For lo! they that draw away far themselves from thee shall perish; thou hast lost all men that do fornication from thee. (For lo! they who take themselves far away from thee, shall perish; thou shalt destroy all those who wantonly abandon thee.)

²⁸ But it is good to me to cleave to God; and to set mine hope in the Lord God. That I tell all thy preachings, in the gates of the daughter of Zion. (But it is good for me to cleave to God; and to trust in the Lord God. And that I tell out all thy works, or all of thy deeds.)

1 In the days of king Ahasuerus, that reigned from India unto Ethiopia (who reigned from India to Ethiopia), upon an hundred and seven and twenty provinces,

² when he sat in the seat of his realm, the city of Susa was the beginning of his realm. (when he sat on the throne of his kingdom, in the city of Susa, the capital of his kingdom.)

³ And in the third year of his empire, he made a great feast to all his princes, and to all his children, or servants, to the strongest men of Persia, and to the noble men of Media, and to the prefects, or chief men, of (the) provinces, before himself, (And in the third year of his empire, or of his reign, he gave a great feast for all his princes, or his leaders, and for all his servants, and the strongest men of Persia and Media, and the nobles, and the prefects, or the chief men, of the provinces, who all came before him;)

⁴ to show the riches of the glory of his realm, and the greatness, and boast of his power in much time, that is, an hundred and eighty days, this feast lasted. (and he showed the riches and the glory of his kingdom, and the greatness and the boast of his power, over much time, that is, this feast lasted for a hundred and eighty days!)

¹⁰ Therefore in the seventh day, when the king was gladder than before, and when he was hot of wine after full much drinking, he commanded to Mehuman, and to Biztha, and to Harbona, and to Bigtha, and to Zethar, and to Abagtha, and to Carcas, seven honest and chaste servants, the which served in his sight, (And so on the seventh day, when the king was happier than before, and he was hot with the wine after a great deal of drinking, he commanded to Mehuman, and Biztha, Harbona, and Bigtha, Zethar, and Abagtha, and Carcas, seven geldings, or eunuchs, who served him,)

¹¹ that they should bring in before the king the queen Vashti, with a diadem set upon her head, to show her fairness to all the peoples and princes; for she was full fair. (that they should bring in Queen Vashti before him, with a crown put on her head, to show off her beauty to all the peoples and the princes, or the leaders; for she was very beautiful indeed.)

¹² And she forsook, and despised to come at the commandment of the king, which he had sent (to her) by the honest and chaste servants (But she refused to come at the king’s command, which he had sent to her by the eunuchs). Wherefore the king was angry, and kindled with full great vengeance;

¹³ and he asked the wise men, which by the king’s custom were ever with him, and he did all things by the counsel of them, that knew the law and the rights of greatest men; (and he asked his wise men about this, who by the king’s custom were always with him, and he did everything after their counsel, for they knew the law and the rights of the people;)

¹⁴ forsooth the first and the next were Carshena, and Shethar, Admatha, and Tarshish, and Meres, and Marsena, and Memucan, seven dukes of Persia and of Media, that saw the face of the king, and were wont to sit the first after him; (and the first and the second were Carshena, and Shethar, and then Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, seven princes, or leaders, from Persia and Media, who were always with the king, and were the first to sit after him;)

¹⁵ the king asked them, to what sentence the queen Vashti should be subject, that would not do the commandment of king Ahasuerus, which he had sent (to her) by the honest and chaste servants. (and the king asked them, What sentence should Queen Vashti be subject to, for she would not obey the command of King Ahasuerus, which he sent to her by the eunuchs.)

¹⁶ And Memucan answered, in audience of the king and of the princes, The queen Vashti hath not only despised the king, but all the princes and peoples, that be in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus. (And Memucan answered, before the king and the princes, or the leaders, and said, Queen Vashti hath not only despised the king, but all the princes, or the leaders, and all the peoples, who be in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.)

¹⁷ For the word of the queen shall go out to all women, that they also despise their husbands, and say, King Ahasuerus commanded, that the queen Vashti should have come to him, and she would not. (For this deed of the queen shall become known to all the women, and then they shall also despise their husbands, for they shall say, King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to come to him, but she would not come.)

¹⁸ And by this ensample all the wives of the princes of Persia and of Media shall despise the behests of their husbands; wherefore the indignation of the king is just. (And so by this example all the wives of the leaders of Persia and Media shall despise the orders of their husbands; and so the king is justified to have indignation about this.)

¹⁹ If it pleaseth to thee, a commandment go out from thy face, and be written by the law(s) of Persia and of Media, which it is unleaveful to be passed (over), that Vashti enter [in] no more to the king, but another woman, which is better than she, take her realm. (So if it please thee, let a command go out from thee, and be it written in the laws of Persia and Media, which law it shall forever be unlawful to break, that Vashti can no more come before the king, and then let another woman, who is more worthy than she, take her reign, or her crown.)

17 And when they had passed by Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of Jews.

² And by custom Paul entered to them [Soothly after custom, Paul entered into them], and by three sabbaths he declared to them of the scriptures,

³ and opened, and showed that it behooved Christ to suffer, and rise again from death^[a], and that this is Jesus Christ, whom I tell to you.

⁴ And some of them believed, and were joined to Paul and to Silas; and a great multitude of heathen men worshipped God, and noble women not a few. [And some of them believed, and were joined to Paul and Silas; and of heathen men worshipping a great multitude, and noble women not few.]

⁵ But the Jews had envy, and took of the common people some evil men, and when they had made a company [and a company made], they moved the city. And they came to Jason's house, and sought to bring them forth among the people [to the people].

⁶ And when they found them not, they drew Jason and some brethren to the princes of the city, and cried [crying], That these it be, that moved the world, and hither they came,

⁷ whom Jason received. And these all do against the commandments of the emperor, and say [And these all do against the commandments of Caesar, saying], that Jesus is another king.

⁸ And they moved the people, and the princes of the city, hearing these things.

⁹ And when satisfaction was taken of Jason, and of others, they let Paul and Silas go [they left them].

¹⁰ And at once by night brethren let [Paul and] Silas go into Berea. And when they came thither, they entered into the synagogue of the Jews. [Forsooth anon by night brethren sent Paul and Silas into Berea. The which when they came, entered into the synagogue of Jews.]

¹¹ But these were the worthier of them [Soothly these were the nobler of them] that be at Thessalonica, which received the word with all desire, each day seeking [the] scriptures, if these things had them so.

¹² And many of them believed and of heathen women honest [and of honest heathen women] and men not a few.

¹³ But when the Jews in Thessalonica had known, that also at Berea the word of God was preached of Paul, they came thither, moving and disturbing the multitude [they came also thither, moving and distroubling the multitude].

¹⁴ And then at once brethren delivered Paul [And anon brethren dismissed Paul then], that he should go to the sea; but Silas and Timothy dwelt there.

¹⁵ And they that led forth Paul, led him to Athens [led him unto Athens]. And when they had taken a commandment of him to Silas and Timothy, that full hieingly they should come to him, they went forth.

³⁶ While ye have light, believe ye in the light, that ye be the children of light. Jesus spake these things, and went, and hid him(self) from them.

³⁷ And when he had done so many miracles before them [Soothly when he had done so many signs, or miracles, before them], they believed not in him;

³⁸ that the word of Esaias, the prophet, should be fulfilled, which he said, Lord, who hath believed to our hearing, and to whom is the arm of the Lord showed?

³⁹ Therefore they might not believe, for again Esaias said,

⁴⁰ He hath blinded their eyes, and hath made hard the heart of them [and he hath endured, or made hard, the heart of them], that they see not with eyes, and understand [not] with heart; and that they be converted, and I heal them.

⁴¹ Esaias said these things, when he saw the glory of him, and spake of him.

⁴² Nevertheless of the princes many believed in him, but for the Pharisees they acknowledged not, that they should not be put out of the synagogue;

⁴³ for they loved the glory of men, more than the glory of God.