Book of Common Prayer

55 To victory in organs, the learning of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my beseeching; (To victory, on instruments, the teaching of David. God, hear thou my prayer, and despise thou not my plea;)

² give thou attention to me, and hear thou me. I am sorrowful in mine exercising (I am grieved by my distress);

³ and I am disturbed of the face of the enemy, and of the tribulation of the sinner. For they bowed wickednesses into me; and in ire they were dis-easeful to me. (and I am made afraid by my enemies, and by the trouble which the sinners have brought upon me. For they bowed down wickednesses upon me; and with great anger they were very hateful to me.)

⁴ Mine heart was troubled in me; and the dread of death felled on me. (My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me.)

⁵ Dread and trembling came on me (Fear and trembling came upon me); and darknesses covered me.

⁶ And I said, Who shall give to me feathers, as of a culver; and I shall fly, and shall take rest? (And I said, Who shall give me wings like a dove? and then I can fly away, and get some rest.)

⁷ Lo! I went far away, and fled; and I dwelled in wilderness. (Lo! I would flee far away; and I would live in the wilderness.)

⁸ I abode him, that made me safe from the littleness, either dread, of spirit; and from tempest. (I would hasten, and make myself safe from the wind, and from the tempest.)

⁹ Lord, cast thou down, [and] part thou the tongues of them; for I saw wickedness and against-saying in the city.

¹⁰ By day and night wickedness shall (en)compass it on the walls thereof; and travail and unrightfulness be in the midst of them. (Day and night they surround the city, all along its walls; and trouble and unrighteousness be in its midst.)

¹¹ And usury and guile failed not; from the streets thereof. (And greed, and deceit, always be found in its streets.)

¹² For if mine enemy had cursed me; soothly I had suffered. And if he, that hated me, had spoken great things on me; in hap I had hid me from him. (For if my enemy had cursed me; truly I would have suffered it. And if he, who hated me, had spoken great things against me; I would have hid myself from him.)

¹³ But thou art a man of one will (with me); my leader, and my known. (But thou art a man of one mind with me; my leader, and my dear friend.)

¹⁴ Which tookest together sweet meats with me; we went with consent in(to) the house of God. (Who shared his good counsel with me; and we went together to the House of God.)

¹⁵ Death come on them; and go they down quick into hell (May death come upon them; and may they go down alive into Sheol, or the land of the dead). For waywardnesses be in the dwelling places of them; (and) in the midst of them.

¹⁶ But I cried to thee, Lord; and the Lord saved me. (But I shall cry to thee, Lord; and the Lord will save me.)

¹⁷ In the eventide, and [the] morrowtide, and in midday (and at midday), I shall tell, and show (him); and he shall hear my voice.

¹⁸ He shall again-buy my soul in peace from them, that nigh to me; for among many they were with me. (And he shall deliver my soul unto peace again, from those who come against me; for there were many against me.)

¹⁹ God shall hear; and he that is before the worlds shall make them low. For changing is not to them, and they dreaded not God; (God shall hear; and he who was before the worlds, shall humble them. For changing is not to them, and they do not fear God;)

²⁰ he holdeth forth his hand in yielding. They defouled his testament, (indeed, they put forth their hands, against those who be at peace with them. They have broken their promise, or their covenant,)

²¹ the cheers thereof were parted from ire; and his heart nighed. The words thereof were softer than oil; and they be darts. (their words were smoother than butter; but battle was in their hearts. Their words were softer than oil; but they were as sharp as darts.)

²² Cast thy care, or thought, [(or) busyness,] on the Lord, and he shall fully nourish thee; and he shall not give [into] without end fluttering to a just man. (Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and he shall nourish and protect thee; yea, he shall not allow the righteous to be moved, or shaken.)

²³ But thou, God, shalt lead them forth; into the pit of death. Men-quellers and beguilers shall not have half their days; but, Lord, I shall hope in thee. (But murderers and deceivers shall not have half their days; for thou, God, shalt lead them forth, into the pit of death. But, O Lord, I shall put my trust in thee.)

138 [The psalm of David.] Lord, I shall acknowledge to thee in all mine heart; for thou heardest the words of my mouth. My God, I shall sing to thee in the sight of angels; (The song of David. Lord, I shall praise thee with all my heart. My God, I shall sing praises to thee before the angels, or before the gods.)

² I shall worship to(ward) thine holy temple, and I shall acknowledge to thy name. On thy mercy and thy truth; for thou hast magnified thine holy name above all thing. (I shall worship towards thy holy Temple, and I shall praise thy name; because of thy love, and thy faithfulness; for thou hast magnified thy holy name above all things.)

³ In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee, hear thou me; thou shalt multiply virtue in my soul. (On whatever day I called to thee, thou answeredest me; and thou hast multiplied the strength in my soul/and thou hast made me strong.)

⁴ Lord, all the kings of earth acknowledge to thee; for they heard all the words of thy mouth. (Lord, all the kings of the earth shall praise thee; for they have heard all the words of thy mouth.)

⁵ And sing they in the ways of the Lord (And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord); for the glory of the Lord is great.

⁶ For the Lord is high, and beholdeth meek things; and knoweth afar high things. (For though the Lord is high above, he looketh upon the meek/he careth for the humble; and he knoweth the proud from afar.)

⁷ If I shall go in the midst of tribulation, thou shalt quicken me; and thou stretchedest forth thine hand on the ire of mine enemies, and thy right hand made me safe. (Yea, though I go in the midst of trouble, or of tribulation, thou keepest me safe/thou keepest me alive; and thou stretchest forth thy hand against the rage of my enemies, and thy right hand savest me.)

⁸ The Lord shall yield for me, Lord, thy mercy is [into] without end; despise thou not the works of thine hands. (The Lord shall bring to pass his promises to me. O Lord, thy love is forever; so complete thy work.)

139 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, thou hast proved me, and hast known me; (To victory, the song of David. Lord, thou hast assayed, or tested, me, and thou knowest me;)

² thou hast known my sitting, and my rising again. Thou hast understood my thoughts from [a]far; (thou hast known my sitting down, and my rising up. Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar;)

³ thou hast inquired (of) my path and my cord. And thou hast before-seen all my ways; (thou hast examined my path, and my resting places. And thou hast foreseen all my ways.)

⁴ for no word is in my tongue. Lo! Lord, thou hast known all things, (Yea, there is no word on my tongue, lo! Lord; but that thou not knowest it first.)

⁵ the new things and eld; thou hast formed me, and hast set thine hand on me. (Thou art behind me, and before me; and thou hast set thy hand upon me.)

⁶ Thy knowing is made wonderful of me; it is comforted, and I shall not be able to it. (Thy abundant knowledge is so wonderful to me; yea, it is so very great, and I shall never be able to comprehend it all.)

⁷ Whither shall I go from thy spirit; and whither shall I flee from thy face? (Where shall I go from thy spirit; and where shall I flee from thy presence?)

⁸ If I shall ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I shall go down into hell, thou art present. (If I shall go up into heaven, thou art there; if I shall go down into Sheol, or into the land of the dead, thou art there also.)

⁹ If I shall take my feathers full early; and shall dwell in the last parts of the sea. (If I shall take flight early in the morning; or if I shall live on the farthest edge, or the coast, of the sea.)

¹⁰ And soothly thither thine hand shall lead me forth; and thy right hand shall hold me. (Even there thy hand shall lead me forth; and thy right hand shall keep me safe.)

¹¹ And I said, In hap darknesses shall defoul me; and the night is my lightening in my delights. (And I said, Perhaps the darkness shall cover me; or the light all around me shall become my night.)

¹² For why darknesses shall not be made dark from thee, and the night shall be lightened as the day; as the darknesses thereof, so and the light thereof. (But the darkness shall not be dark for thee, and the night shall be like the daylight; yea, to you, the darkness is no different than the light.)

¹³ For thou haddest in possession my reins; thou tookest me up from the womb of my mother. (For thou haddest my reins in thy possession/For thou formedest my inner parts; yea, thou madest me in my mother’s womb.)

¹⁴ I shall acknowledge to thee, for thou art magnified dreadfully; thy works be wonderful, and my soul shall know (that) full much. (I shall praise thee, for thou art greatly to be feared/for thou hath filled me with awe; thy works be wonderful, and I truly know that.)

¹⁵ My bone, which thou madest in private, is not hid from thee; and my substance (formed) in the lower parts of earth. (My bones, which thou madest in secret, be not a mystery to thee; yea, when my substance was formed in the lower parts of the earth.)

¹⁶ Thine eyes saw mine unperfect thing, and all men shall be written in thy book; days shall be formed, and no man is in those. (Thine eyes saw my imperfect substance, and all was written in thy Book; but when those days were formed, no man was there.)

¹⁷ Forsooth, God, thy friends be made honourable full much to me; the princehood of them is comforted full much. (But, God, how deep be thy thoughts to me; and how many of them there be!)

¹⁸ I shall number them, and they shall be multiplied above the gravel; I rose up, and yet I am with thee. (If I tried to count them all up, their number would be more than all the grains of sand. And then I awake; and still I am with thee.)

¹⁹ For thou, God, shalt slay sinners; ye men-quellers, bow away from me. (O God, I wish that thou wouldest kill the sinners; ye murderers, go far away from me!)

²⁰ For they say in thought; Take they their cities in vanity. (For out loud they say against thee, We shall take thy name in vain.)

²¹ Lord, whether I hated not them that hated thee; and I failed, that is, mourned greatly, on (those who be) thine enemies? (Lord, how I hate those who hate thee; and I am greatly grieved by those who be thy enemies!)

²² By perfect hatred I hated them; they were made enemies to me. (Yea, with perfect hatred I hate them; they be made my enemies too.)

²³ God, prove thou me, and know thou mine heart; ask thou me, and know thou my paths. (God, assay, or test, thou me, and know thou my heart; ask thou me, and know thou my thoughts.)

51 Hear ye me, that follow that that is just, and seek the Lord (Listen ye to me, ye who follow what is right, and seek the Lord). Take ye heed to the stone, from whence ye be hewn down, and to the cave of the pit, from which ye be cut down.

² Take ye heed to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, that childed you (who gave birth to you); for I called him, (when he was but) one, (or without an heir,) and I blessed him, and I multiplied him.

³ Therefore the Lord shall comfort Zion, and he shall comfort all the fallings thereof; and he shall set the desert thereof in delights, and the wilderness thereof as a garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, the doing of thankings and the voice of praising. (And so the Lord shall comfort Zion, and he shall comfort all who live in its fallings, or in its ruins; and he shall turn its desert into an Eden, and its wilderness into a garden of the Lord; joy and happiness shall be found there, and thanksgiving and praising.)

⁴ My people, take ye heed to me, and, my lineage, hear ye me; for why a law shall go out from me, and my doom shall rest into the light of peoples. (My people, take ye heed to me, and, my tribe, listen ye to me; for the Law shall go out from me, and my judgement shall be a light for the peoples, or for the nations.)

⁵ My just man is nigh, my saviour is gone out, and mine arms shall deem peoples; isles shall abide me, and shall suffer mine arm. (My justice is near, my salvation hath gone out, and my arm shall rule the peoples; the islands shall wait for me, and shall have trust in my arm.)

⁶ Raise your eyes to heaven, and see ye under earth beneath; for why heavens shall melt away as smoke, and the earth shall be all-broken as a cloth, and the dwellers thereof shall perish as these things; but mine health shall be without end, and my rightfulness shall not fail. (Raise up your eyes to the heavens, and see ye under the earth beneath; for the heavens shall melt away like smoke, and the earth shall be torn like a cloak, and its inhabitants shall perish like these things; but my deliverance, or my salvation, shall be forever, and my justice, or my judgement, shall not fail.)

⁷ Ye people, that know the just man, hear me, my law is in the heart of them; do not ye dread the shame of men, and dread ye not the blasphemies of them. (Ye people, who know what is just, hear me, for my Law is in your hearts; do not ye fear the shame of men, and fear ye not their blasphemies.)

⁸ For why a worm shall eat them so as a cloth, and a moth shall devour them so as wool; but mine health shall be without end, and my rightfulness into generations of generations. (For a worm shall eat them up like a cloak, and a moth shall devour them like wool; but my deliverance, or my salvation, shall be forever, and my justice, or my victory, for all generations.)

²³ And before that belief came, they were kept under the law, enclosed into that belief that was to be showed. [Forsooth before that the faith came, we were kept under the law, shut together into that faith that was to be showed.]

²⁴ And so the law was our under-master in Christ, that we be justified of belief.^[a]

²⁵ But after that belief came [But after that the faith came], we be not now under the under-master.

²⁶ For all ye be the children of God through the belief of Jesus Christ. [For all ye be the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus.]

²⁷ For all ye that be baptized, be clothed with Christ. [Forsooth whoever ye be baptized in Christ, ye have clothed in Christ.]

²⁸ There is no Jew, nor Greek, no bondman, nor free man, no male, nor female [There is not Jew, neither Greek; there is not servant, neither free man; there is not male, neither female]; for all ye be one in Christ Jesus.

²⁹ And if ye be one in Jesus Christ, then ye be the seed of Abraham, and heirs by promise. [Forsooth if ye be of Christ, therefore ye be seed of Abraham, after the promise ye be heirs.]

7 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes came from Jerusalem together to him. [And the Pharisees and some of the scribes coming from Jerusalem, came together to him.]

² And when they had seen some of his disciples eat bread with unwashen hands, they blamed [them].

³ For the Pharisees and all the Jews eat not, but they wash oft their hands, holding the traditions of elder men.

⁴ And when they turn again from [the] market, they eat not, but they be washed; and many other things there be, that be taken to them to keep, as washing of cups, and of water vessels [washings of cups and cruets], and of vessels of brass, and of beds.

⁵ And Pharisees and scribes asked him, and said [saying], Why go not thy disciples after the tradition of elder men, but with unwashen hands they eat bread?

⁶ And he answered, and said to them, Esaias prophesied well of you, hypocrites, as it is written, This people worshippeth me with lips [This people honoureth me with lips], but their heart is far from me;

⁷ and in vain they worship me, teaching the doctrines and the behests of men. [in vain truly they worship me, teaching the doctrines and commandments of men.]

⁸ For ye leave the commandment of God, and hold the traditions of men, as [the] washing of water vessels, and of cups; and many other things like these ye do. [Forsooth ye forsaking the commandment of God, hold the traditions of men, washings of cruets, and cups; and many other things like to these ye do.]

⁹ And he said to them, Well ye have made the commandment of God void, to keep your tradition. [And he said to them, Well ye have made the commandment of God void, that ye keep your tradition.]

¹⁰ For Moses said, Worship thy father and thy mother [Honour thou thy father and thy mother]; and he that curseth father or mother, die he by death.

¹¹ But ye say, If a man [shall] say to father or mother, Corban, that is, Whatever gift is of me, it shall profit to thee;

¹² and over [and further] ye suffer not him [to] do any thing to father or mother,

¹³ and ye break the word of God by your tradition, that ye have given^[a]; and ye do many [other] such things.

¹⁴ And he again called the people, and said to them, Ye all hear me, and understand.

¹⁵ Nothing that is without a man, that entereth into him, may defoul him [Nothing without man is entering into him, that may defoul him]; but those things that come forth of a man, those it be that defoul a man.

¹⁶ If any man have ears of hearing [Forsooth if any man have ears to hear], hear he.

¹⁷ And when he was entered into an house, from the people, his disciples asked him the parable.

¹⁸ And he said to them [And he saith to them], [So] Ye be unwise also. Understand ye not, that all thing withoutforth that entereth into a man, may not defoul him?

¹⁹ for it hath not entered into his heart, but into the womb, and beneath it goeth out, purging all meats.

²⁰ But he said, The things that go out of a man, those defoul a man.

²¹ For from within, of the heart of men come forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, manslayings,

²² thefts, avarices [covetousness, or over-hard keeping of goods], wickednesses, guile, unchastity, [an] evil eye, blasphemies [blasphemy], pride, folly.

²³ All these evils come forth from within, and defoul a man,