Book of Common Prayer

¹⁴⁵ [Koph]. I cried in all mine heart, Lord, hear thou me; I shall seek thy justifyings. (I cried with all my heart, O Lord, please answer me; for I shall follow thy statutes.)

¹⁴⁶ I cried to thee, make thou me safe; that I keep thy commandments. (I cried to thee, save thou me; so that I can keep thy commandments/and I shall obey thy commandments.)

¹⁴⁷ I before came in ripeness, and I cried; I hoped above on thy words. (I came before thee in the morning; I have great hope in thy words.)

¹⁴⁸ Mine eyes before came to thee full early; that I should bethink (on) thy speeches. (My eyes be open through the night/I lie awake all night; so that I can think about thy words.)

¹⁴⁹ Lord, hear thou my voice by thy mercy; and quicken thou me by thy doom. (Lord, hear thou me in thy mercy; and grant thou me life according to thy judgement./Lord, hear thou me in thy love; and grant thou me life by thy decree.)

¹⁵⁰ They that pursue me nighed to wickedness; forsooth they be made far from thy law. (They who pursue me approach near to wickedness; and they be made far from thy Law./They who wickedly pursue me come near to me; but they be made far from thy Law.)

¹⁵¹ Lord, thou art nigh; and all thy ways be truth. (Lord, thou art near; and all thy commandments be true.)

¹⁵² In the beginning I knew of thy witnessings; for thou hast founded those [into] without end. (Long ago I knew of thy teachings; for thou hast founded them to last forever.)

¹⁵³ [Resh]. See thou my meekness, and deliver thou me; for I forgat not thy law. (See thou my troubles, and save thou me; for I have not forgotten thy Law.)

¹⁵⁴ Deem thou my doom, and again-buy thou me; quicken me for thy speech. (Judge thou my case, and buy thou me back, that is, rescue me; yea, grant thou me life according to thy word, or thy promise.)

¹⁵⁵ Health is far from sinners; for they sought not thy justifyings. (Salvation is far from sinners; for they did not search out thy statutes/for they do not obey thy laws.)

¹⁵⁶ Lord, thy mercies be many; quicken thou me by thy doom. (Lord, thy constant love is great; grant thou me life according to thy judgement./Lord, thy mercy is great; grant thou me life by thy decree.)

¹⁵⁷ They be many that pursue me, and do tribulation to me; I bowed not away from thy witnessings. (There be many who persecute me, and give me trouble; but I have not turned away from thy teachings.)

¹⁵⁸ I saw breakers of the law, and I was melted, either languished; for they kept not thy speeches. (I saw the law-breakers, and I was greatly distressed; for they did not obey thy words, or thy commands.)

¹⁵⁹ Lord, see thou, for I loved thy commandments; quicken thou me in thy mercy. (Lord, see thou, how I love thy precepts; grant thou me life according to thy love.)

¹⁶⁰ The beginning of thy word is truth; all the dooms of thy rightwiseness be [into] without end. (The beginning of thy word is truth; and all thy righteous judgements be forever.)

¹⁶¹ [Schin]. Princes pursued me without cause; and my heart dreaded of thy words. (The rulers persecuted me for no reason; but my heart is in awe of thy words.)

¹⁶² I shall be glad on thy speeches; as he that findeth many spoils. (I shall be glad, or rejoice, in thy words; yea, like he who findeth much prey.)

¹⁶³ I hated and loathed wickedness; forsooth I loved thy law. (I hate and loathe all lies; but I love thy Law.)

¹⁶⁴ I said praisings to thee seven times in the day; on the dooms of thy rightfulness. (Seven times a day I praise thee; for thy righteous judgements/for thy rightful decrees.)

¹⁶⁵ Much peace is to them that love thy law; and no cause of stumbling is to them. (There is much peace for those who love thy Law; and they have no reason to slip, or to stumble.)

¹⁶⁶ Lord, I abode thine health; and I loved thy behests. (Lord, I wait for thy salvation, or thy deliverance; and I follow thy commandments.)

¹⁶⁷ My soul kept thy witnessings; and loved those greatly. (I obey thy teachings; and I love them so very much.)

¹⁶⁸ I kept thy commandments, and thy witnessings; for all my ways be in thy sight. (I obey thy precepts, and thy teachings; and all my ways be before thee.)

¹⁶⁹ [Tau]. Lord, my beseeching come nigh in thy sight; by thy speech give thou understanding to me. (Lord, let my plea come before thee; give thou me understanding of thy word/give thou me understanding according to thy word.)

¹⁷⁰ Mine asking enter into thy sight; by thy speech deliver thou me. (Let my asking come before thee; save thou me according to thy word.)

¹⁷¹ My lips shall tell out an hymn; when thou hast taught me thy justifyings. (My lips shall tell out thy praises/My lips shall praise thee; because thou hast taught me thy statutes.)

¹⁷² My tongue shall pronounce thy speech; for why all thy commandments be equity. (My tongue shall tell out thy word; for all thy commandments be just, or fair.)

¹⁷³ Thine hand be made, that it save me; for I have chosen thy behests. (Let thy hand swiftly save me; for I have chosen thy precepts.)

¹⁷⁴ Lord, I coveted thine health; and thy law is my thinking. (Lord, I desire thy salvation, or thy deliverance; and thy Law is my delight.)

¹⁷⁵ My soul shall live, and it shall praise thee; and thy dooms shall help me. (Let me live, and I shall praise thee; and let thy judgements help me/and let thy decrees guide me.)

¹⁷⁶ I erred as a sheep that perished; Lord, seek thy servant, for I forgat not thy commandments. (I have wandered about like a lost sheep; Lord, search for thy servant, for I have not forgotten thy commandments.)

128 The song of degrees. Blessed be all men, that dread the Lord; that go in his ways. (Happy be all those, who fear the Lord/who revere the Lord; and who go in his ways.)

² For thou shalt eat the travails of thine hands; thou art blessed, and it shall be well to thee. (For thou shalt eat the fruit of thy labour; thou shalt be happy, and it shall be well with thee.)

³ Thy wife shall be as a plenteous vine; in the sides of thine house. Thy sons as the new springs of olive trees; in the compass of thy board. (Thy wife shall be like a fruitful vine; by the side of thy house. And thy sons and thy daughters shall be like the new branches of olive trees; all around thy table.)

⁴ Lo! so a man shall be blessed; that dreadeth the Lord. (Lo! so shall the man be blessed; who feareth the Lord/who hath reverence for the Lord.)

⁵ The Lord bless thee from Zion; and see thou the goods of Jerusalem in all the days of thy life. (May the Lord bless thee from Zion; and may thou see the prosperity of Jerusalem/and may thou share in the prosperity of Jerusalem, all the days of thy life.)

⁶ And see thou the sons of thy sons; see thou peace on Israel. (And may thou see the sons of thy sons/the children of thy children. May peace be upon Israel.)

129 The song of degrees. Israel say now; Oft they have fought against me from my youth. (Let Israel say now; they have often fought against me from my youth.)

² Oft they [have] fought against me from my youth; and soothly they might not to me (Yea, they have often fought against me from my youth; but truly they could never overcome me.)

³ Sinners forged on my back; they made long their wickedness. (The sinners scourged my back; they made their furrows deep and long in me.)

⁴ The Lord is just, (he) shall beat (together) the nolls of sinners; (But the Lord is just, and he shall free me from the bonds of the wicked;)

⁵ all that hate Zion be they shamed, and turned aback. (let all who hate Zion be put to shame, and be turned, or driven, back.)

⁶ Be they made as the hay of housetops; that dried up, before that it be drawn up. (Be they made like the grass on the rooftops; it dried up, before that it could be pulled up.)

⁷ Of which hay he that shall reap, shall not fill his hand; and he that shall gather handfuls, shall not fill his bosom. (Of which grass he who shall reap, shall not get a handful; and he who shall gather handfuls, shall not get an armful.)

⁸ And they that passed forth said not, The blessing of the Lord be on you; we blessed you in the name of the Lord. (And so they who pass by, shall never say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord.)

130 The song of degrees. Lord, I cried to thee from the depths;

² Lord, hear thou my voice. Thine ears be made attentive into the voice of my beseeching (Let thy ears be made attentive to the words of my plea).

³ Lord, if thou keepest wickednesses; Lord, who shall sustain, or abide? (Lord, if thou keepest a record of our wickednesses; then Lord, who shall survive?/then Lord, who will not be condemned?)

⁴ For mercy is at thee; (But there is mercy with thee, and I stand in awe of thee;)

⁵ and, Lord, for thy law I abode thee. My soul sustained in his word; (yea, Lord, I wait for thee. My soul is sustained, and I hope, and I trust, in his word.)

⁶ my soul hoped in the Lord. From the morrowtide keeping till to the night; (My soul waiteth for the Lord, more eagerly than those who wait for the morning light; yea, more eagerly than those who stand guard, or be on watch, until the morning light.)

⁷ Israel hope in the Lord. For why mercy is at the Lord; and plenteous redemption is at him. (Israel, trust in the Lord. For there is always love with the Lord; and there is plentiful redemption with him.)

⁸ And he shall again-buy Israel; from all the wickednesses thereof. (And he shall redeem the people of Israel; from all their wickednesses.)

2 Woe to you, that think unprofitable thing, and work evil in your beds; in the morrowtide light they do it, for the hand of them is against God. (Woe to you, who think up unprofitable things, and work out evil plots in your beds; then in the morning light they do it, for they have the power in their hands.)

² They coveted fields, and took violently; and ravished houses, and falsely challenged a man and his house, a man and his heritage. (They coveted fields, and violently took them; and they robbed houses, and oppressed a man and his house, yea, every man and his inheritance.)

³ Therefore the Lord saith these things, Lo! I think on this family evil, from which ye shall not take away your necks; and ye shall not walk proud, for the worst time is. (And so the Lord saith these things, Lo! I think evil against this family, from which ye shall not be able to take away your necks, or be able to escape; and ye shall not walk proudly, for this shall be the worst time for you.)

⁴ In that day a parable shall be taken on you, and a song shall be sung with sweetness of men, saying, By robbing we be destroyed; a part of my people is changed; how shall he go away from me, when he turneth again that shall part your countries? (On that day a parable shall be made about you, and a song shall be sung with sadness by people, saying, We be destroyed by robbing; a part, or a portion, of my people hath been taken away; he hath divided up our countryside unto those who took us captive.)

⁵ For this thing, none shall be to thee sending a little cord of lot, in company of the Lord. (And because of this, no one shall be casting for thee a little cord by lot, in the congregation of the Lord.)

⁶ A! thou Israel, speak ye not speaking; it shall not drop (a word) on these men, confusion shall not catch, (O! thou Israel, thou saith to me, Speak ye not! ye shall not drop a word upon us, for shame shall not catch us!)

⁷ saith the house of Jacob. Whether the Spirit of the Lord is abridged, either such be the thoughts of him? Whether my words be not good, with him that goeth rightly? (O house of Jacob, is the Spirit of the Lord abridged, that is, is his patience at an end, or do such things be his thoughts? Be my words not good, to him who goeth uprightly?)

⁸ And on the contrary, my people rose together into an adversary; ye took away the mantle above the coat, and ye turned into battle them that went simply. (But on the contrary, my people altogether rose up like an adversary; ye took away the cloak over the coat, from those who returned from battle, and thought themselves safe.)

⁹ Ye casted the women of my people out of the house of their delights; from the little children of them ye took away my praising without end. (Ye threw the women of my people out of their happy homes; and took away my blessings, or my glory, from their little children forever.)

¹⁰ Rise ye, and go, for here ye have no rest; for the uncleanness thereof it shall be corrupted with the worst rot.

¹¹ I would that I were not a man having spirit, and rather that I spake a leasing. I shall drop (a word) to thee into wine, and into drunkenness; and this people shall be, on whom it is dropped. (I wish that I did not have God’s spirit, but rather that I spoke lies. And then I would drop a word to thee about wine, and about drunkenness; and this people shall be, on whom it is dropped.)

¹² With gathering I shall gather Jacob; I shall lead together thee all into one, the remnants of Israel. I shall put him together, as a flock in the fold; as sheep in the middle of folds they shall make noise, (by reason) of multitude of men. (With gathering I shall gather Jacob; I shall lead thee, the remnants of Israel, all together into one. I shall put them like a flock in the fold; and like sheep in the middle of the fold they shall make noise, because of the multitude of the people.)

¹³ For he shall go up showing (the) way before them; they shall depart, and pass the gate, and shall go out thereby; and the king of them shall pass before them, and the Lord in the head of them (and their king shall go before them, and the Lord shall be at their head).

²³ And he called together two centurions, and he said to them, Make ye ready two hundred knights, that they go to Caesarea, and horsemen seventy, and spearmen two hundred, from the third hour of the night.

²⁴ And make ye ready an horse, for Paul to ride on, to lead him safe to Felix, the president^[a]. For the tribune dreaded, lest the Jews would take him by the way, and slay him, and afterward he might be challenged, as he had taken money.

²⁵ [And] He wrote to him an epistle, containing these things.

²⁶ Claudius Lysias to the best Felix, president, health.

²⁷ This man that was taken of the Jews, and began to be slain, I came upon them with mine host, and delivered him from them, when I knew that he was a Roman.^[b]

²⁸ And I would know the cause, which they putted against him; and I led him to the council of them. [And I willing to know the cause, which they put against him, led him into the council of them.]

²⁹ And I found, that he was accused of questions of their law, but he had no crime worthy the death, either bonds. [Whom I found to be accused of questions of the law of them, forsooth having no crime worthy the death, or bonds.]

³⁰ And when it was told me of the ambush, that they arrayed for him, I sent him to thee, and I warned also the accusers, that they say at thee. Farewell.^[c]

³¹ And so the knights, as they were commanded [Soothly knights, after thing commanded to them], took Paul, and led him by night into Antipatris.

³² And in the day following, when the horsemen were left, that [they] should go with him, they turned again to the castles.

³³ And when they came to Caesarea, they took the epistle to the president, and they set also Paul before him. [Which when they came to Caesarea, and took the epistle to the president, they set before him also Paul.]

³⁴ And when he had read, and asked, of what province he was, and knew that he was of Cilicia,

³⁵ I shall hear thee, he said, when thine accusers [shall] come. And he commanded him to be kept in the moot hall of Herod.

¹⁸ And John's disciples told him of all these things. [And the disciples of John told to him of all these things.]

¹⁹ And John called twain of his disciples, and sent them to Jesus, and said [And John called together two of his disciples, and sent to Jesus, saying], Art thou he that is to come, or abide we another?

²⁰ And when the men came to him [Soothly when the men had come to him], they said, John Baptist sent us to thee, and said [saying], Art thou he that is to come, or we abide another?

²¹ And in that hour he healed many men of their sicknesses, and wounds, and [of] evil spirits; and he gave sight to many blind men.

²² And Jesus answered, and said to them [And Jesus answering said to them], Go ye again, and tell ye to John those things that ye have heard and seen; blind men see, crooked men go, mesels be made clean, deaf men hear, dead men rise again, poor men be taken to preaching of the gospel.

²³ And he that shall not be caused to stumble in me [And whoever shall not be offended in me], is blessed.

²⁴ And when the messengers of John were gone forth [And when the messengers of John had gone away], he began to say of John to the people, What went ye out into desert to see? a reed wagged with the wind [a reed waved with the wind]?

²⁵ But what went ye out to see? a man clothed with soft clothes? Lo! they that be in [a] precious cloak [Lo! they that be in precious cloth] and in delights, be in kings' houses.

²⁶ But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

²⁷ This is he, of whom it is written, Lo! I send mine angel before thy face, which shall make ready thy way before thee.

²⁸ Certainly I say to you, there is no man a more prophet among the children of women, than is John Baptist [Soothly I say to you, among the children of women, no man is more prophet than John Baptist]; but he that is less in the kingdom of heavens, is more than he.

²⁹ And all the people hearing, and publicans, that had been baptized with the baptism of John, justified God; [And all the people hearing, and publicans, baptized with the baptism of John, justified God;]

³⁰ but the Pharisees and the wise men of the law, that were not baptized of him [forsooth Pharisees and wise men of law, not baptized of him], despised the counsel of God against themselves.

³¹ And the Lord said, Therefore to whom shall I say men of this generation like, and to whom be they like?

³² They be like to children [They be like children] sitting in the market, and speaking together, and saying, We have sung to you with pipes, and ye have not danced; we have made mourning [we have made lamentation, or mourning], and ye have not wept.

³³ For John Baptist came, neither eating bread, nor drinking wine, and ye say, He hath a fiend.

³⁴ Man's Son came eating and drinking, and ye say, Lo! a man a devourer [Lo! a man (a) devourer, or glutton], and drinking wine, a friend of publicans and of sinful men.

³⁵ And wisdom is justified of [all] her sons.