Book of Common Prayer

50 The psalm of Asaph. God, the Lord of gods, spake/God, the God of gods, spake; and called the earth, from the rising of the sun till to the going down. (The song of Asaph. God, the Lord of gods, spoke/God, the God of gods, spoke; and called to the people of the earth, from the rising of the sun unto the going down of it.)

² The shape of his fairness from Zion, God shall come openly; (God shineth from Zion, perfect in beauty;)

³ our God, and he shall not be still. Fire shall burn on high in his sight; and a strong tempest in his compass. (our God shall come, and he shall not be silent. Fire shall burn on high before him; and it shall be a strong tempest surrounding him/and a strong tempest shall surround him.)

⁴ He called heaven above; and the earth, to (witness him) deem his people. (He calleth heaven above, and the earth beneath, to the judgement of his people.)

⁵ Gather ye to him his saints; that ordain his testament above sacrifices. (And he saith, Gather my saints to me; those who have made a covenant with me, by offering a sacrifice.)

⁶ And heavens shall show his rightwiseness/And heavens shall tell his rightfulness; for God is the judge. (And the heavens shall tell out his righteousness; for God himself is the judge.)

⁷ My people, hear thou, and I shall speak to Israel; and I shall witness to thee, I am God, thy God. (My people, hear thou, and I shall speak; Israel, I shall testify against thee; I am God, thy God.)

⁸ I shall not reprove thee in thy sacrifices; and thy burnt sacrifices be ever[more] before me. (I shall not rebuke thee for thy sacrifices, and for thy burnt sacrifices, that be before me forevermore./Shall I not rebuke thee for thy sacrifices, and for thy burnt sacrifices, that be before me forevermore?)

⁹ I shall not take calves of thine house; neither goat bucks of thy flocks. (But I do not need calves from thy house, or thy farm; or goat bucks from thy flocks.)

¹⁰ For all the wild beasts of (the) woods be mine; work beasts, and oxes in hills (and the work beasts as well, and the oxen on the hills).

¹¹ I have known all the volatiles of the firmament; and the fairness of the field is with me. (I know all the birds on those hills; and the wild beasts of the fields be mine.)

¹² If I shall be hungry, I shall not say to thee; for the world and the fullness thereof is mine. (If I am hungry, I have no need to tell thee; for the world and its fullness be mine.)

¹³ Whether I shall eat the flesh of bulls? either shall I drink the blood of goat bucks? (Shall I eat the flesh of bulls? or drink the blood of goat bucks? Nay!)

¹⁴ Offer thou to God the sacrifice of praising; and yield thine avows to the highest God. (Offer, or give, thou to God the sacrifice of praise; and pay thy vows to the Most High God.)

¹⁵ And inwardly call thou me in the day of tribulation; and I shall deliver thee, and thou shalt honour me. (And call thou on me in the day of trouble; and I shall save thee, and then thou shalt honour me.)

¹⁶ But God said to the sinner, Why tellest thou out my rightfulnesses; and takest my testament by thy mouth? (But God said to the sinner, Why should thou tell out my statutes? and why hast thou my covenant in thy mouth?)

¹⁷ Soothly thou hatedest lore, or discipline; and hast cast away my words behind (thee). (Truly thou hatedest chastisement; and hast thrown away my words behind thee.)

¹⁸ If thou sawest a thief, thou rannest with him; and thou settedest thy part with adulterers.

¹⁹ Thy mouth was plenteous of malice; and thy tongue meddled together guiles. (Thy mouth is full of malice; and thy tongue mixeth up batches of lies.)

²⁰ Thou sitting spakest against thy brother, and thou settedest slander against the son of thy mother; (And thou sitteth down, and speakest against thy brother, yea, thou settest forth slander against thy mother’s son;)

²¹ thou didest these things, and I was still. Thou guessedest wickedly, that I shall be like thee; I shall reprove thee, and I shall set (them) against thy face. (thou didest these things, and I was silent. And thou wickedly guessedest that I was just like thee; but I shall rebuke thee, and I shall do it to thy face.)

²² Ye that forget God, understand these things; lest sometime he ravish, and none be that shall deliver. (Ye who forget God, understand these things; lest sometime I tear thee in pieces, and there be no one who shall save thee.)

²³ The sacrifice of praising shall honour me; and there is the way, wherein I shall show to him the health of God. (The sacrifice of praise shall honour me; and to those who follow my way/and to those who obey me, I shall give them the salvation of God.)

59 To the overcomer, lose thou not the seemly song of David (destroy thou not David’s comely song), when Saul sent and kept the house, to slay him. My God, deliver thou me from mine enemies; and deliver thou me from them that rise against me.

² Deliver thou me from them that work wickedness; and save thou me from men-quellers. (Rescue thou me from those who do evil; and save thou me from these murderers.)

³ For lo! they have taken my soul; strong men fell in on me. Neither (for) my wickedness, neither (for) my sin; (For lo! they lie in wait for me; strong men have fallen in on me. But not because of my wickedness, nor for my sin.)

⁴ Lord, I ran without wickedness, and (ad)dressed my works. Rise up into my meeting, and see; (Lord, though I am innocent, they run into position against me. Rise up to help me, and see;)

⁵ and thou, Lord God of virtues, art God of Israel. Give thou attention to visit all folks; do thou not mercy to all that work wickedness. (for thou, Lord God of hosts, art the God of Israel. Give thou attention to punishing all the nations; do not thou give mercy to any who do evil.)

⁶ They shall be turned (again) at eventide, and they as dogs shall suffer hunger; and they shall compass, that is, go abegging, (in) the city. (They shall return in the evening, and they shall suffer hunger like dogs; and they shall go about begging in the city.)

⁷ Lo! they shall speak in their mouth, and a sword in their lips; for who heard? (Lo! they shall speak out insults with their mouths, and their lips, or their tongues, shall be like swords; for they say, Who shall hear us?)

⁸ And thou, Lord, shalt scorn them; thou shalt bring all folks to nought. (But thou, Lord, shalt scorn them; thou shalt bring down all these nations to nothing.)

⁹ I shall keep my strength to thee; for God is mine up-taker, (O my strength, I shall turn to thee; for God is my defender,)

¹⁰ my God, his mercy shall come before me. God showed to me (my desire) on mine enemies, (my God, his love shall come to me. God shall show me my heart’s desire for all my enemies.)

¹¹ slay thou not them; lest any time my peoples forget. Scatter thou them in thy virtue; and, Lord, my defender, put thou them down. (But kill thou them not; lest any time my people forget. Rather, scatter thou them by thy strength; and, O Lord, my defender, put thou them down.)

¹² Put down the trespass of their mouth, and the word of their lips; and be they taken in their pride. And of cursing and of leasing; they shall be showed (up) in the ending. (And for the trespasses of their mouths, and the words of their lips; let them be taken in their pride. And for their cursing and their lies; let them be shown up in the end.)

¹³ (Destroy thou them) In the ire of ending, and they shall not be; and they shall know, that the Lord shall be Lord of Jacob, and of the ends of earth. (Destroy thou them in thy anger, yea, destroy them altogether, and they shall be no more; and then they shall know, that the Lord is the lord, or the ruler, in Jacob, and unto the ends of the earth.)

¹⁴ They shall be turned (again) at eventide, and they as dogs shall suffer hunger; and they shall compass, that is, go abegging, (in) the city. (They shall return in the evening, and they shall suffer hunger like dogs; and they shall go about begging in the city.)

¹⁵ They shall be scattered abroad, for to eat; soothly if they be not [ful]filled, and they shall grutch. (They shall be scattered abroad, searching for food; and truly they shall grumble, if they be not satisfied, or fulfilled.)

¹⁶ But I shall sing (of) thy strength; and early I shall enhance thy mercy. For thou art made mine up-taker; and my refuge, in the day of my tribulation. (But I shall sing of thy strength; and in the morning I shall sing of thy love. For thou art my defender; and my refuge, in the days of my trouble.)

¹⁷ Mine helper, I shall sing to thee; for thou art God, mine up-taker, my God, my mercy. (My helper, I shall sing to thee; for thou art God, my defender, the God who loveth me.)

60 To victory, on the witnessing of (the) rose, the sweet song of David, to teach men, when he fought against Aram of floods, and Syria of Zobah; and Joab turned again, and smote Edom in the valley of salt pits, twelve thousand. God, thou hast put away us, and thou hast destroyed us; thou were wroth, and thou hast done mercy to us. (To victory, on the teaching of the lily, the sweet song of David, to teach men, when he fought against Aramnaharaim, and Aramzobah; and Joab returned, and struck down twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of the Salt Pits. God, thou hast cast us away, and thou hast destroyed us; thou were angry, but now, show thou thy mercy to us/show thou us thy mercy.)

² Thou movedest the earth, and thou troubledest it; make thou whole (again) the sorrows thereof, for it is moved. (Thou hast shaken the earth, and thou hast troubled it; but now heal thou its wounds, for it is broken in pieces.)

³ Thou showedest hard things to thy people; thou gavest drink to us with the wine of compunction. (Thou hast shown thy people hard times; and thou hast made us stagger, as though we were drunk with wine.)

⁴ Thou hast given a signifying to them that dread thee; that they flee from the face of the bow. (Thou hast given a sign, or a warning, to those who fear thee/to those who revere thee; so that they can flee, or escape, from the face of the bow.)

⁵ That thy darlings be delivered; make thou safe with thy right hand, and hear thou me. (Save thy dear ones; yea, save thou us with thy right hand, and answer thou me.)^[a]

⁶ God spake by his holy (place); I shall be glad, and I shall part Shechem, and I shall mete the great valley of tabernacles. (God spoke in his holiness/God spoke from his sanctuary, and he said, I shall be glad, and I shall divide Shechem; and I shall measure out the Succoth Valley.)

⁷ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; and Ephraim is the strength of mine head. Judah is my king; (Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, and Judah is my sceptre.)

⁸ Moab is the pot of mine hope. Into Idumea I shall stretch forth my shoe; aliens be made subject to me. (But Moab is my washbowl. And I shall throw my shoes at Edom; and Philistia shall be made subject to me.)

⁹ Who shall lead me into a city made strong; who shall lead me into Idumea? (Who shall lead me into the strengthened, or the fortified, city? who shall lead me unto Edom?)

¹⁰ Whether not thou, God, that hast put away us; and shalt thou not, God, go out in our virtues? (Shalt not thou, O God, even though thou hast cast us off, or rejected us? or shalt not thou, O God, go out with our hosts, or our armies, any more?)

¹¹ Lord, give thou to us help (out) of tribulation; for the help of man is vain. (Lord, give thou us help in the time of trouble; for the help of man is worthless, yea, but an empty hope.)

¹² In God we shall make virtue; and he shall bring to nought them that trouble us/that disturb us. (With God’s help, we shall do valiantly/we shall have the victory; and he shall bring down those who trouble us into nothing.)

33 Ye just men, have fully joy in the Lord; praising (al)together becometh rightful men. (Ye who be righteous, have full out joy, or rejoice, in the Lord; praising him becometh those who be upright, or obedient.)

² Acknowledge ye to the Lord in an harp; sing ye to him in a psaltery of ten strings. (Praise ye the Lord on a harp; sing ye to him on a ten-stringed lute.)

³ Sing ye to him a new song; say ye well psalm to him in crying [out]. (Sing ye to him a new song; boldly say ye a psalm to him, and shout out loud.)

⁴ For the word of the Lord is rightful (For the word of the Lord is true); and all his works be (done) in faithfulness.

⁵ He loveth mercy and doom; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. (He loveth righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the love of the Lord.)

⁶ Heavens be made steadfast by the word of the Lord; and all the virtue of those by the spirit of his mouth. (The heavens were made by the word of the Lord; yea, all the host of them, by the breath from his mouth.)

⁷ And he gathered together the waters of the sea as in a bouget/as in a bottle; and he setteth deep waters in treasures. (And he gathered the waters of the sea together, like in a bottle; and he put the deep waters in his treasuries, or in his storehouses.)

⁸ All earth dread the Lord; soothly all men inhabiting the world be moved of him. (Let all the earth fear the Lord/Let all the earth revere the Lord; let all those who inhabit the world be in awe of him.)

⁹ For he said, and things were made; he commanded, and things were made of nought (he commanded, and everything was made out of nothing!).

¹⁰ The Lord destroyeth the counsels of folks, forsooth he reproveth the thoughts of peoples; and he reproveth the counsels of princes. (The Lord destroyeth the plans of the nations; he thwarteth the plans of the rulers of the peoples.)

¹¹ But the counsel of the Lord dwelleth (into) without end; the thoughts of his heart dwell in generation and into generation. (But the plans of the Lord shall stand forever; the thoughts of his heart shall remain for all generations.)

¹² Blessed is the folk, whose Lord is his God; the people which he chose into heritage to himself. (Happy is the nation, whose God is the Lord; the people whom he chose for his own inheritance.)

¹³ The Lord beheld from heaven; he saw all the sons of men. (The Lord looked down from heaven; he saw all the sons and daughters of men.)

¹⁴ From his dwelling place made ready before; he beheld on all men, that inhabit the earth (he looketh on all those who inhabit the earth).

¹⁵ Which made singularly, either each by himself, the souls of them; which understandeth all the works of them. (Who made each one of them individually; and who understandeth all their works, or their deeds.)

¹⁶ A king is not saved by much virtue, that is, strength; and a giant shall not be saved in the muchliness of his virtue. (A king is not saved by his large host, or his army; and a mighty man shall not be saved by his great strength.)

¹⁷ An horse is false to health; forsooth he shall not be saved in the abundance, either plenty, of his virtue. (A horse is an empty thing for salvation, or deliverance; for it shall not be able to save anyone by the abundance, or the plentifulness, of its strength.)

¹⁸ Lo! the eyes of the Lord be on men dreading him; and in them that hope in his mercy. (Lo! the eyes of the Lord be upon those who fear, or who obey, him; and upon those who hope for his mercy./Lo! the eyes of the Lord be upon those who revere him; and upon those who trust in his love.)

¹⁹ That he deliver their souls from death; and feed them in hunger. (So that he can save their souls from death; and feed them in times of famine.)

²⁰ Our soul suffereth the Lord, that is, abideth patiently his will (Our souls wait for the Lord, yea, we wait patiently for his will to be done); for he is our helper and defender.

²¹ For our heart shall be glad in him; and we shall have hope in his holy name. (And our hearts shall be glad in him; for we have trust in his holy name.)

²² Lord, thy mercy be made on us; as we hoped in thee. (Lord, let thy love rest upon us; for we have trusted in thee.)

¹² Thou hast set at a great board (or at a bountiful table); open thou not first thy cheek on it, that is, begin thou not to eat first. [And] Say thou not, whether those be many things, that be on it.

¹³ Have thou mind, that an evil eye is wayward [or evil is the shrewd (or the depraved) eye]. What thing worse, than an eye is made? therefore of all his face he shall weep, when he seeth. (Remember that an evil eye is a wicked thing. Yea, what worse thing is made, than an eye? for out of all the parts of a face, it shall weep, when one seeth.)

¹⁴ Stretch thou not forth first thine hand; and thou defouled by envy, be ashamed. Be thou not oppressed of (or by) wine in a feast. [Not stretch thou out thine hand rather (or first); and by envy defouled, thou shame. Not be thou thrust together in the feast with wine.]

¹⁵ Understand of thyself the things, that be of thy neighbour. [Understand what be of thy neighbour, of thyself.]

¹⁶ Use thou as a discreet and temperate man these things that be set forth to thee; and (so) be thou not hated, when thou eatest (too) much. [Use as a temperate man these things that be laid to thee; and not when thou eatest, much to hate thou be had.]

¹⁷ Cease thou first because of learning, either nurture; and do not thou be outrageous, lest peradventure thou offend. [Cease rather (or first) because of discipline; and do thou not be too much, lest peradventure thou offend.]

¹⁸ And if thou hast set in the midst [or in the middle] of many men, stretch not forth [or not stretch thou out] thine hand sooner than they; and ask thou not first for to drink.

²⁵ Do not thou excite them that be diligent in wine [or Busy men in wine do not thou stir (or Do not thou stir up men busy with wine)]; for why wine hath destroyed many men.

²⁶ Fire proveth hard iron; so wine drunken in drunkenness shall reprove the hearts of proud men.

²⁷ Even life to men is wine drunken in soberness; if thou drinkest it measurably, thou shalt be sober. What is the life which is made less by wine? What defraudeth life? death. Wine was made in gladness, not in drunkenness, at the beginning. [Even life to men wine in soberness; if thou drinkest it measurably, thou shalt be sober. What is the life that is less(en)ed with wine? What beguileth the life? death. Wine in mirth is formed, not in drunkenhood, from the beginning.]

²⁸ Wine drunken measurably is full out joying of soul and of body. Sober drink is (the) health of (the) soul and of (the) body.

²⁹ Wine drunken much maketh voiding, and ire, and many fallings, or mischiefs. [Wine much drunk stirring, and wrath, and many fallings maketh.]

³⁰ Wine drunken much is bitterness of (the) soul. Strength of drunkenness and hurting of an unprudent man maketh virtue less, and making wounds. [Bitterness of soul wine much drunken. The willfulness of drunkenhood the offensions of the unprudent, less(en)ing virtue, and making wounds.]

³¹ In the feast of wine, reprove thou not a neighbour; and despise thou not him in his mirth. Say thou not words of shame [or of reproof] to him; and oppress thou not him in [again]-asking.

32 They have set thee a governor, do not thou be enhanced (or exalted); be thou among them as one of them. Have thou (the) care of them, and so behold thou; and when all thy care is filled, sit thou to meat [or (to) rest].

² That thou be glad for them, and take the ornament of grace; and get (a) crown, and (the) dignity of (the) congregation.

⁷ And a great battle [And great battle] was made in heaven, and Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. And the dragon fought, and his angels;

⁸ and they had not might [more], neither the place of them was found more in heaven.

⁹ And that dragon was cast down, the great old serpent, that is called the Devil, and Satan, that deceiveth all the world; he was cast down [cast out] into the earth, and his angels were sent with him.

¹⁰ And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is made health, and virtue, and kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before the sight of our God day and night.

¹¹ And they overcame him for the blood of the lamb, and for the word of his witnessing; and they loved not their lives till to the death [and they loved not their souls, or lives, unto the death].

¹² Therefore, ye heavens, be ye glad, [Therefore, glad ye, heavens] and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the earth, and to the sea; for the fiend is come down to you, and hath great wrath [having great wrath], witting that he hath little time.

¹³ And after that the dragon saw, that he was cast down into the earth, he pursued the woman, that bare the man child.

¹⁴ And two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, that she should fly into desert [that she should flee into desert], into her place, where she is fed by time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

¹⁵ And the serpent sent out of his mouth after the woman water as a flood, that he should make her to be drawn of the flood.

¹⁶ And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened his mouth, and swallowed up the flood [and sopped up the flood], that the dragon sent [out] of his mouth.

¹⁷ And the dragon was wroth against the woman [is wroth to the woman], and he went to make battle with others of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and have the witnessing of Jesus Christ.

⁵³ And when he said these things to them, the Pharisees and wise men of the law [wise men of law] began grievously to against-stand [him], and [to] stop his mouth of many things,

⁵⁴ ambushing him, and seeking to take something of his mouth, to accuse him [that they should accuse him].

12 And when much people stood about [Soothly many companies of people standing about], so that they trod each on other, he began to say to his disciples, Be ye ware of the sourdough of the Pharisees, that is hypocrisy [which is hypocrisy].

² For nothing is covered, that shall not be showed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

³ For why those things that ye have said in darknesses, shall be said in light; and that that ye have spoken in [the] ear in bedchambers [and that that ye have spoken in the ear in couches], shall be preached in roofs.

⁴ And I say to you, my friends, be ye not afeared of them [be not afeared of them] that slay the body, and after these things have no more what they shall do.

⁵ But I shall show to you, whom ye shall dread; dread ye him, that after he hath slain [which after he hath slain], hath power to send into hell. And so I say to you, dread ye him.

⁶ Whether five sparrows be not sold for two halfpence [for two farthings]; and one of them is not in forgetting before God?

⁷ But also all the hairs of your head be numbered. Therefore do not ye dread; ye be of more price than many sparrows.

⁸ Truly I say to you, each man that acknowledgeth me before men [Truly I say to you, whoever shall acknowledge me before men], man's Son shall acknowledge him before the angels of God.

⁹ But he that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God.

¹⁰ And each that saith a word against man's Son, it shall be forgiven to him; but it shall not be forgiven to him, that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost. [And each that saith a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven to him; he that shall blaspheme into the Holy Ghost, soothly it shall not be forgiven to him.]

¹¹ And when they lead you into synagogues, and to magistrates, and potentates, do not ye be busy, how or what ye shall answer, or what ye shall say.

¹² For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in that hour, what it behooveth you to say.