Book of Common Prayer

89 The learning of Ethan, (the) Ezrahite. I shall sing [into] without end; the mercies of the Lord. In generation and into generation; I shall tell thy truth with my mouth. (The teaching of Ethan, the Ezrahite. I shall sing of the Lord’s constant love forever. To all generations, I shall tell out thy faithfulness with my mouth.)

² For thou saidest, [Into] Without end mercy shall be builded in heavens; thy truth shall be made ready in those. (For thy love shall last forever; thy faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.)

³ I disposed a testament to my chosen men; I swore to David, my servant, (Thou saidest, I made a covenant with my chosen man; I swore to my servant David,)

⁴ Till into without end I shall make ready thy seed. And I shall build thy seat; in generation, and into generation. (that I shall establish thy children, or thy descendants, forever. And I shall preserve thy throne; for all generations.)

⁵ Lord, heavens shall acknowledge thy marvels; and thy truth in the church of saints. (Lord, the heavens shall praise thy marvellous deeds; and the council of the saints shall praise thy faithfulness.)

⁶ For who in the clouds shall be made even to the Lord; shall be like God among the sons of God? (For who in heaven shall be made equal to the Lord? who shall be like God among the heavenly beings?/who shall be like God in the council of heaven?)

⁷ God, that is glorified in the council of saints; is great, and dreadful over all that be in his compass. (God, thou art feared/thou art revered, in the council of the saints; thou art great, and glorified above all who surround thee.)

⁸ Lord God of virtues, who is like thee? Lord, thou art mighty, and thy truth is in thy compass. (Lord God of hosts, who is like thee? Lord, thou art mighty, and thy faithfulness surroundeth thee.)

⁹ Thou art Lord of the power of the sea; forsooth thou assuagest the stirring of the waves thereof.

¹⁰ Thou madest low the proud, as (those who be) wounded (and slain); in the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thine enemies. (Thou hast crushed Rahab to death; thou hast scattered thy enemies with thy strong arm, or with thy power.)

¹¹ (The) Heavens be thine, and the earth is thine; thou hast founded the world, and the fullness thereof;

¹² thou madest of nought the north and the sea. Tabor and Hermon shall make full out joy in thy name; (thou madest the north and the south out of nothing. Tabor and Hermon shall make full out joy, or shall rejoice, in thy name.)

¹³ thine arm with power. Thine hand be made steadfast, and thy right hand be enhanced; (Thy arm hath power; let thy hand be made firm, and thy right hand be lifted high.)

¹⁴ rightfulness and doom is the making ready of thy seat. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face; (Righteousness and judgement be the foundations of thy throne; love and faithfulness go forth before thee.)

¹⁵ blessed is the people that know (a) hearty song. Lord, they shall go in the light of thy cheer; (Happy be the people who know a hearty song; Lord, they shall go forth by the light of thy face.)

¹⁶ and in thy name they shall make full out joy all day; and they shall be enhanced in thy rightfulness. (And in thy name, they shall make full out joy, or shall rejoice, all day long; and they shall be exalted, or shall be lifted up, by thy righteousness.)

¹⁷ For thou art the glory of the virtue of them; and in thy good pleasance our horn shall be enhanced. (For thou art the glory of their strength/For thou art the strength in which they have glory; and in thy good favour our horn shall be exalted.)

¹⁸ For our taking up is of the Lord; and of the holy of Israel our king. (For the Lord is our defender; yea, the Holy One of Israel is our King.)

¹⁹ Then thou spakest in revelation to thy saints, and saidest, I have set help in the mighty (man); and I have enhanced the chosen man of my people. (Then thou spokest in revelation to thy saints, and saidest, I have given help to the mighty man; yea, I have exalted, or lifted up, the chosen man of my people.)

²⁰ I found David, my servant; I anointed him with mine holy oil. (I found my servant David; and I anointed him with my holy oil.)

²¹ For mine hand shall help him; and mine arm shall confirm him. (For my hand shall help him; and my arm, or my power, shall strengthen him.)

²² The enemy shall nothing profit in him (The enemy shall not gain any advantage over him); and the son of wickedness shall not lay to/shall not put to, for to harm him.

²³ And I shall slay his enemies from his face; and I shall turn into flight them that hate him. (And I shall kill all his enemies before his face; and I shall turn to flight, or make to flee, those who hate him.)

²⁴ And my truth and mercy shall be with him; and his horn shall be enhanced in my name. (And my faithfulness and love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted/his head shall be lifted up on high.)

²⁵ And I shall set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in floods. (And I shall extend his power unto the Mediterranean Sea; and his right hand unto the Euphrates River.)

²⁶ He shall inwardly call me, (saying,) Thou art my father; my God, and the up-taker of mine health. (And he shall say to me, Thou art my father; yea, my God, and my defender, my saviour.)

²⁷ And I shall set him the first begotten son; higher than the kings of earth. (And I shall make him my first-born son; higher than all the kings of the earth.)

²⁸ [Into] Without end I shall keep my mercy to him; and my testament faithful to him. (I shall hold onto my love for him forever; and faithfully keep my covenant with him.)

²⁹ And I shall set his seed into the world of world; and his throne as the days of heaven. (And I shall establish his descendants forever and ever; and his throne for as long as the days of the heavens, that is, for as long as the heavenly bodies endure.)

³⁰ Forsooth if his sons forsake my law; and go not in my dooms. (But if his sons abandon my Law; and do not go in my judgements.)

³¹ If they make unholy my rightfulnesses; and keep not my commandments. (If they break my statutes; and do not obey my commandments.)

³² I shall visit in a rod the wickednesses of them; and in beatings the sins of them. (Then I shall punish their wickednesses with a rod; and their sins with beatings.)

³³ But I shall not scatter my mercy from him; and in my truth I shall not harm him. (But I shall not take away my love from him; and I shall be faithful to him.)

³⁴ Neither I shall make unholy my testament; and I shall not make void those things that come forth of my lips. (Nor shall I break my covenant; and I shall not make void those things which come forth from my lips, that is, I shall not break my promises.)

³⁵ Once I swore in mine holiness, I shall not lie to David; (Once I swore by my holiness, that I would never lie to David;)

³⁶ his seed shall dwell [into] without end. And his throne as [the] sun in my sight, (his children, that is, his descendants, shall live forever. And his throne shall be before me like the sun,)

³⁷ and as a perfect moon without end; and a faithful witness in heaven. (and like the moon, which shall endure forever; yea, like a faithful witness in the heavens.)

³⁸ But thou hast put away, and despised; and hast delayed thy christ. (But thou hast rejected, and despised, and hast raged against thy anointed king.)

³⁹ Thou hast turned away the testament of thy servant; thou madest unholy his saintuary in earth. (Thou hast made void the covenant with thy servant; thou hast defiled his crown, and hast thrown it to the ground.)

⁴⁰ Thou destroyedest all the hedges thereof; thou hast set the steadfastness thereof (into) dread (thou hast brought his strongholds, or his fortresses, into ruin).

⁴¹ All men passing by the way ravished him; he is made (a) shame to his neighbours. (All who pass by him, on the way, rob him; he is shamed by his neighbours.)

⁴² Thou hast enhanced the right hand of men oppressing him; thou hast gladdened all his enemies.

⁴³ Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and thou helpedest not him in battle (and thou hast not helped him in the battle).

⁴⁴ Thou destroyedest him from cleansing; and thou hast hurled down his seat in earth. (Thou hast destroyed his purity; and thou hast thrown down his throne to the ground.)

⁴⁵ Thou hast made less the days of his time; thou hast beshed him with shame.

⁴⁶ Lord, how long turnest thou away, into the end; shall thine ire burn out as fire? (Lord, how long turnest thou away, forever? shall thy anger always burn like fire?)

⁴⁷ Bethink thou what is my substance; for whether thou hast ordained vainly all the sons of men? (Remember thou what my substance is/how short my time is; hast thou ordained all the sons of men in vain?)

⁴⁸ Who is a man, that shall live, and shall not see death; shall (he) deliver his soul from the hand of hell? (What man shall live, and shall not see death? can he save his soul from the power of Sheol, or the land of the dead?/from the power of the grave?)

⁴⁹ Lord, where be thine eld mercies; as thou hast sworn to David in thy truth? (Lord, where be the former acts, or the earlier proofs, of thy constant love? yea, those promises that thou hast sworn to David in thy faithfulness?)

⁵⁰ Lord, be thou mindful of the shame of thy servants; (of the curses) of many heathen men, which I held together in my bosom. (Lord, remember thy servant’s shame; remember the curses of many of the heathen, which I carried in my heart.)

⁵¹ Which thine enemies, Lord, did shamefully; for they despised the changing of thy christ. (Which thy enemies, Lord, spoke shamefully to me; for they despised the footsteps of thy anointed king/for they despised the successors of thy anointed king.)

⁵² Blessed be the Lord [into] without end (Blessed be the Lord forever); be it done, be it done.

2 On my keeping I shall stand, and shall pitch a degree on [the] warding; and I shall behold, that I see what thing shall be said to me, and what I shall answer to him that reproveth me. (I shall stand watch at my station, and shall climb the stairs of the watch tower; and I shall see, what shall be said to me, and what I shall answer to him who rebuketh me.)

² And the Lord answered to me, and said, Write thou the sight, either revelation, and make it plain on tables, that he (may) run, that shall read it. (And the Lord said to me, Write thou what thou seest, and make it clear on a tablet, ready for a courier to carry it with haste/so that it can easily be read.)

³ For yet the vision is far, and it shall appear into the end, and shall not lie; if it shall make dwelling, abide thou it, for it coming shall come, and shall not tarry. (For yet the vision is far off, but it shall appear in the end, and it shall not lie; and even if it appeareth to be delayed, wait thou for it, for it is coming, and indeed shall come, and shall not be late.)

⁴ Lo! the soul of him, that is unbelieveful, shall not be rightful in himself; forsooth the just man shall live in his faith. (Lo! the soul of him, who is unbelieving, shall not be right within himself; but the just, or the righteous, shall live by faith.)

⁹ Woe to him that gathereth evil covetousness to his house, that his nest be on high, and guesseth him for to be delivered (out) of the hand of evil. (Woe to you who gathereth evil gain, or filthy lucre, unto your house, so that your nest would be on high, and thinketh yourself to be delivered, or saved, from the hand of evil.)

¹⁰ Thou thoughtest confusion to thine house; thou hast slain many peoples, and thy soul sinned. (Thou hast brought shame to thy house; thou hast killed many people, yea, thy soul hath sinned.)

¹¹ For the stone of the wall shall cry, and a tree that is betwixt jointures of buildings shall answer. (And so the stones in the walls shall cry out, and a beam of the timbers that is between the joinings of the building shall answer them.)

¹² Woe to him that buildeth a city in bloods, and maketh ready a city in wickedness. (Woe to you who buildeth a city with bloodshed, or with murder, and who maketh ready a city with wickedness.)

¹³ Whether not these things be of the Lord of hosts? For peoples shall travail in much fire, and folks in vain, and they shall fail. (Be not all these things from the Lord of hosts? For peoples and nations shall labour, or shall struggle, amid much fire, or much adversity, and all for nothing, for they all shall fail.)

¹⁴ For the earth shall be filled, that it know the glory of the Lord, as waters covering the sea. (For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, like the waters covering, or filling, the sea.)

¹⁵ Woe to him that giveth drink to his friend, and sendeth his gall, and maketh drunken, that he behold his nakedness. (Woe to you who sendeth your gall, or your anger, onto your friend, as if giving him drink, and maketh him drunk, so that you can behold his shame, or his nakedness.)

¹⁶ He is filled with evil fame for glory; and thou drink, and be aslept; the cup of the right half of the Lord shall compass thee, and casting up, either spewing, of evil fame (shall be) [up]on thy glory. (Thou shalt be filled with shame and not with glory; yea, thou shalt drink, and then be asleep; the cup of the right hand of the Lord shall be given to thee, and then thy shame shall exceed thy glory.)

¹⁷ For the wickedness of Lebanon shall cover thee, and [the] destruction of beasts shall make them afeared, of bloods of man, and of wickedness of [the] land, and of the city, and of all men dwelling therein. (For the wickedness done to Lebanon shall now be done to thee, and the destruction of its beasts shall now make thee afraid, because of the bloodshed, or the murder, of the people, and the wickedness done in the land, to the city, and to all the people who live there.)

¹⁸ What profiteth the graven image, for his maker graved it, a welled thing together, and [a] false image? for the maker thereof hoped in [the] making, that he made dumb simulacra. (What is the profit, or the benefit, of an engraved figure? for its maker engraved it, a thing welded together, yet it is but a false, or a empty, and useless, image; even though its maker hoped in the making of it, he hath made only dumb idols.)

¹⁹ Woe to him that saith to a tree, Wake thou; (and,) Rise thou, to a stone being still; whether he shall be able to teach? Lo! this (thing) is covered with gold and silver, and no spirit is in his entrails. (Woe to you who saith to a piece of wood, Wake up thou! and, Rise thou! to a stone being still; shall it be able to teach you anything? Lo! this thing is covered with gold and silver, but there is no breath in its innards.)

²⁰ Forsooth the Lord is in his holy temple, all earth be still from his face. (But the Lord is in his holy Temple, let all the earth be silent before him.)

¹⁴ My brethren, what shall it profit, if any man say that he hath faith, but he hath not works? whether faith shall be able to save him?

¹⁵ And if a brother or sister be naked, and have need of each day's livelode [of each day's lifelode],

¹⁶ and if any of you say to them, Go ye in peace [Go in peace], be ye made hot, and be ye filled; but if ye give not to them those things that be necessary to the body, what shall it profit?

¹⁷ So also faith, if it hath not works, is dead in itself.

¹⁸ But some man shall say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show thou to me thy faith without works [show thou me thy faith without works], and I shall show to thee my faith of works.

¹⁹ Thou believest, that one God is; thou doest well; and devils believe, and [together] tremble.

²⁰ But wilt thou know, thou vain man, that faith without works is idle?

²¹ Whether Abraham, our father, was not justified of works [Abraham, our father, whether he was not justified of works], offering Isaac, his son, on the altar?

²² Therefore thou seest, that faith wrought with his works, and his faith was filled of works [and his faith was fulfilled of works].

²³ And the scripture was filled, saying, Abraham believed to God, and it was areckoned to him to rightwiseness^[a], and he was called the friend of God.

²⁴ Ye see that a man is justified of works, and not of faith only.

²⁵ In like manner, whether also Rahab, the whore, was not justified of works, and received the messengers, and sent them out by another way?

²⁶ For as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

¹⁹ There was a rich man [Some man was rich], and was clothed in purple, and white silk, and ate every day shiningly.

²⁰ And there was a beggar [And there was some beggar], Lazarus by name, that lay at his gate full of boils,

²¹ and coveted to be fulfilled of the crumbs^[a], that fell down from the rich man's board, and no man gave to him; but [and] hounds came, and licked his boils.

²² And it was done, that the beggar died, and was borne of angels into Abraham's bosom. And the rich man was dead also, and was buried in hell.

²³ And he raised up his eyes, when he was in torments, and saw Abraham afar, and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he dip the end of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

²⁵ And Abraham said to him, Son, have mind, for thou hast received good things in thy life, and Lazarus also evil things; but he is now comforted, and thou art tormented.

²⁶ And in all these things a great dark place is stablished betwixt us and you; that they that will from hence pass to you, be not able^[b], neither from thence pass over hither.

²⁷ And he said, Then I pray thee, father, that thou send him into the house of my father.

²⁸ For I have five brethren, that he witness to them, lest also they come into this place of torments.

²⁹ And Abraham said to him [And Abraham saith to him], They have Moses and the prophets; hear they them.

³⁰ And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if any of dead men [shall] go to them, they shall do penance.

³¹ And he said to him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither if any of dead men [shall] rise again, they shall believe to him.