Book of Common Prayer

26 [The psalm of David.] Lord, deem thou me, for I entered in mine innocence; and I hoping in the Lord, shall not be made unsteadfast. (The song of David. Lord, judge me, for I have gone my way in innocence; and trusting in the Lord, I have not been made unsteady, that is, I have not slipped, or stumbled.)

² Lord, prove thou me, and assay me; burn thou my reins, and mine heart (burn thou my will, and my heart).

³ For why thy mercy is before mine eyes; and I pleased in thy truth. (For thy love is always before me; and I have gone in thy faithfulness.)

⁴ I sat not with the counsel of vanity; and I shall not enter with men doing wicked things. (I sat not down with vain, that is, empty, or worthless, people; and I shall not go along with those who do wicked things.)

⁵ I hated the church of evil men; and I shall not sit with wicked men. (I hate the company of evil people; and I shall not sit with the wicked.)

⁶ I shall wash mine hands among innocents; and, Lord, I shall compass thine altar. (I shall wash my hands in innocence; and then, Lord, I shall march around thy altar.)

⁷ That I hear the voice of praising; and that I tell out all thy marvels. (And I shall sing thy praises with thanksgiving; and I shall tell of all thy marvellous deeds.)

⁸ Lord, I have loved the fairness of thine house; and the place of the dwelling of thy glory. (Lord, I love the beauty of thy House; yea, the place where thy glory dwelleth.)

⁹ God, lose thou not my soul with unfaithful men; and my life with men of bloods. (God, do not thou destroy me along with the unfaithful; and do not take away my life along with those who thirst for blood, that is, murderers.)

¹⁰ In whose hands wickednesses be; the right hand of them is full-filled with gifts. (In whose hands be wickednesses; their right hands be filled full with bribes.)

¹¹ But I entered in mine innocence; again-buy thou me, and have mercy on me. (But I went forth in innocence; so redeem thou me, and have mercy on me.)

¹² My foot stood in rightfulness; Lord, I shall bless thee in churches. (Yea, my feet standeth on firm ground; Lord, I shall bless thee in the congregations.)

28 To David. [The psalm to this David.] Lord, I shall cry to thee; my God, be thou not still from me, be thou not still any time from me; and I shall be made like to them, that go down into the pit. (The song of David. Lord, I shall cry to thee. My God, be thou not deaf to me, and never be thou silent with me; or I shall be made like those who go down into the pit.)

² Lord, hear thou the voice of my beseeching, while I pray to thee; while I raise mine hands to(ward) thine holy temple. (Lord, hear thou the words of my plea, when I pray to thee; when I raise up my hands toward thy holy Temple.)

³ Betake thou not me together with sinners; and lose thou not me with them that work wickedness. Which speak peace to their neighbour(s); but evils be in their hearts. (Take thou me not away with the sinners; and destroy thou me not with those who do evil. Yea, those who speak peacefully to their neighbours; but evil is in their hearts.)

⁴ Give thou to them after the works of them; and after the wickedness of their findings. Give thou to them after the works of their hands; yield thou their yielding to them. (Punish thou them according to their works; yea, according to the wickedness of their deeds. Punish thou them according to the works of their hands; give thou them their just reward.)

⁵ For they understood not the works of the Lord, and by the works of his hands thou shalt destroy them; and thou shalt not build them. (Because they do not respect the works of the Lord, or the works of his hands, he shall destroy them; and he shall not build them up again.)

⁶ Blessed be the Lord; for he heard the voice of my beseeching (for he heard the words of my plea).

⁷ The Lord is mine helper and my defender; and mine heart hoped in him, and I am helped. And my flesh flowered again; and (out) of my will I shall acknowledge to him. (The Lord is my helper and my defender; and my heart trusted him, and I was helped. And my heart full out joyed, or rejoiced; and I shall praise him with my song.)

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people; and he is the defender of the savings of his christ (The Lord is the strength of his people; and he is the defender and the saviour of his anointed king/and he is the defender and the safe place, or the refuge, for his anointed king.)

⁹ Lord, make thou safe thy people, and bless thou thine heritage; and rule thou them, and enhance thou them till into without end. (Lord, save thou thy people, and bless thou thy inheritance; and rule thou over them, and lift thou them up, yea, take good care of them, forever.)

36 To victory, to David, the servant of the Lord. The unjust man said, that he trespass in himself; the dread of God is not before his eyes. (To the victory of David, the servant of the Lord. The wicked man said, My sin, or my trespass, is my concern alone; and so the fear of God is not in his heart/and so reverence for God is not in his heart.)

² For he did guilefully in the sight of God; that his wickedness be found to (be) hatred. (But he did deceitfully before God; until his wickedness was found to be hateful.)

³ The words of his mouth be wickedness and guile; he would not understand to do well. (The words of his mouth be wicked and deceitful; he desireth not to understand, or to do good.)

⁴ He thought wickedness in his bed; he stood nigh (to) all way(s) (that be) not good; forsooth he hated not malice.

⁵ Lord, thy mercy is in heaven; and thy truth is unto [the] clouds. (Lord, thy love reacheth up to the heavens; and thy faithfulness up to the clouds.)

⁶ Thy rightfulness is as the hills of God; thy dooms be (as) much depth of waters. Lord, thou shalt save men and beasts; (Thy righteousness is as high as the mountains; thy judgements, or thy just acts, be as deep as the water. Lord, thou shalt save people and beasts;)

⁷ as thou, God, hast multiplied thy mercy. But the sons of men shall hope in the covering of thy wings. (for thou, God, hast multiplied thy love. And so the sons and daughters of men shall hope for/shall trust in the covering of thy wings.)

⁸ They shall be (ful)filled greatly of the plenty of thine house; and thou shalt give drink to them of the stiff stream of thy liking. (They shall be filled from the rich plenty of thy House; and thou shalt give drink to them out of the flowing stream of thy delights, or of thy goodness.)

⁹ For the well of life is with thee; and in thy light we shall see light.

¹⁰ Lord, set forth thy mercy to them that know thee; and thy rightfulness to them that be of rightful heart. (Lord, continue to show thy love to those who know thee; and thy righteousness to those who have an upright heart.)

¹¹ The foot of pride come not to me; and the hand of the sinner move me not. (Let not the foot of pride come against me; nor let the hand of the sinner upset me.)

¹² There they have fallen down, that work wickedness; they be cast out, and might not stand. (See where those who do evil have fallen; yea, they be thrown down, and be not able to stand up again.)

39 For victory, to Jeduthun, the psalm of David. I said, I shall keep my ways; that I trespass not in my tongue. I setted keeping to my mouth; when a sinner stood against me. (To victory, to Jeduthun, the song of David. I said, I shall keep watch over my ways; so that I do not trespass with my tongue. And I guarded my mouth; when a sinner stood against me.)

² I was dumb, and I was meeked full greatly, and was still, (even) from goods; and my sorrow was renewed. (I was dumb, and was very greatly humbled, and I was silent, even about good things; and so my sorrow was renewed.)

³ Mine heart was hot within me; and fire shall burn out in my thinking. I spake in my tongue; (My heart was hot within me; and the fire burned forever as I thought about all this. And then I said with my tongue,)

⁴ Lord, make thou mine end known to me. And the number of my days, what it is; that I know, what faileth to me (so that I know what falleth to me/so that I know when I shall fail, or die).

⁵ Lo! thou hast set my days measurable; and my substance is as nought before thee. Nevertheless all vanity; each man living. (Lo! thou hast made my days able to be measured, or counted; and my substance is like but nothing before thee, yea, but a puff of air. And all is emptiness, or uselessness; for each person alive.)

⁶ Nevertheless a man passeth in an image; but also he is troubled vainly. He treasureth; and he know not, to whom he shall gather those things. (And a person passeth by like a shadow; and he travaileth, or laboureth, in vain, that is, he worketh for nothing. For he buildeth up treasure; yet he truly knoweth not, for whom he gathered those things.)

⁷ And now which is mine abiding? whether not the Lord? and my substance is at thee. (And now, who do I wait for? is it not for the Lord? yea, for my hope is in thee.)

⁸ Deliver thou me from all my wickednesses; thou hast given me (as a) shame to the unknowing. (Rescue thou me/Save thou me from all of my wickednesses; thou hast made me a shame, or a reproach, to the ignorant.)

⁹ I was dumb, and opened not my mouth; for thou hast made (this happen), (But I was dumb, and did not open my mouth; for thou hast done this.)

¹⁰ remove thou thy wounds from me. From the strength of thine hand I failed in blamings; (Cease thou from wounding me; for I am failing from the strokes of thy hand.)

¹¹ for wickedness thou hast chastised [a] man. And thou madest his life to fail as a spider; nevertheless each man is troubled in vain. (For when thou hast chastised someone for wickedness, thou hast destroyed his life; yea, like a moth that eateth up a piece of cloth. Nevertheless, each person is troubled over nothing anyway, for his life is nothing but emptiness.)

¹² Lord, hear thou my prayer, and my beseeching; perceive thou with ears my tears. Be thou not still, for I am a comeling with thee; and a pilgrim, as all my fathers. (Lord, hear thou my prayer; and listen to my plea. Be thou not silent before my tears, for I am but a newcomer, or a visitor, here with thee; yea, a pilgrim, like all my forefathers were before me.)

¹³ Forgive thou to me, that I be refreshed, before that I go; and I shall no more be. (Forgive thou me, so that I can be refreshed, before that I go away; and then I shall be no more.)

¹⁶ Thou shalt not tempt thy Lord God, as thou temptedest him in the place of tempting. (Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, as thou temptedest him at Massah.)

¹⁷ Keep thou the commandments of thy Lord God, and the witnessings, and ceremonies, which he hath commanded to thee; (Obey thou the commandments of the Lord thy God, and his testimonies, and statutes, which he hath commanded to thee;)

¹⁸ and do thou that that is pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord, that it be well to thee (so that it shall be well with thee), and that thou enter, and wield the best land, of which the Lord swore to thy fathers,

¹⁹ that he should do away all thine enemies before thee, as he hath spoken. (and that he would do away all thy enemies before thee/and that thou would do away all thy enemies before thee, as he hath promised.)

²⁰ And when thy son shall ask thee tomorrow, that is, in time to coming, and shall say, What will these witnessings, and ceremonies, and dooms to themselves, which our Lord God commanded to us? (And when thy son, or thy daughter, shall ask thee tomorrow, that is, in the time to come, and shall say, What is the meaning of these testimonies, and statutes, and laws, or judgements, which the Lord our God hath commanded us to obey?)

²¹ thou shalt say to him, We were Pharaoh’s servants in Egypt, and the Lord led us out of Egypt, in a strong hand; (thou shalt say to them, We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, and the Lord led us out of Egypt, with a strong hand;)

²² and he did miracles, and great wonders, and worst, that is, most painful vengeances, in Egypt, against Pharaoh, and all his house, in our sight. (and he did miracles, and wonders, yea, the greatest and the worst, in Egypt, against Pharaoh, and all his household, right before our eyes.)

²³ And he led us out thereof, that he should give to us led in, the land of which he swore to our fathers. (And he led us out of there, to lead us into the land which he had promised to our fathers, that he would give us.)

²⁴ And the Lord commanded to us, that we do all these lawful things, and dread our Lord God, that it be well to us, in all the days of our life, as it is today. (And the Lord commanded us, to obey all these laws, and to fear the Lord our God/and to revere the Lord our God, so that it would be well with us, all the days of our life, as it is today.)

²⁵ And he shall be merciful to us, if we shall do and keep all his behests, before our Lord God, as he commanded to us. (And he shall be merciful to us, if we shall obey all these commandments, before the Lord our God, as he commanded us.)

2 Therefore more plenteously it behooveth us to keep those things [Therefore it behooveth us to keep more plenteously those things], that we have heard, lest peradventure we float away.

² For if that word that was said by angels, was made firm, and each breaking of the law and unobedience [and each trespassing, or breaking of the law, and unobedience] took just retribution of meed,

³ how shall we escape, if we despise so great an health? Which, when it had taken beginning to be told out by the Lord, of them that heard is confirmed into us.

⁴ For God witnessed together by miracles, and wonders, and great marvels, and diverse works of power, and partings of the Holy Ghost, by his will. [God together witnessing by signs, and wonders, and great marvels, and diverse virtues, and distributions of the Holy Ghost, after his will.]

⁵ But not to angels God subjected the world that is to coming [Forsooth not to angels God subjected the roundness of the earth to come], of which we speak.

⁶ But some man witnessed in a place, and said [Soothly some man witnessed in some place, saying], What thing is man, that thou art mindful of him, or man's son, for thou visitest him?

⁷ Thou hast made him a little less than angels [Thou madest him a little less from angels]; thou hast crowned him with glory and honour; and thou hast ordained him on [upon] the works of thine hands.

⁸ Thou hast made all things subject under his feet. And in that that he subjected all things to him, he left nothing unsubject to him [he left nothing unsubjected to him]. But now we see not yet all things subject to him;

⁹ but we see him that was made a little less than angels, Jesus, for the passion of death crowned with glory and honour, that he through [the] grace of God should taste death for all men.

¹⁰ For it beseemed him, for whom all things, and by whom all things were made, which had brought many sons into glory, and was author of the health of them, that he had an end by passion.^[a]

¹⁹ And this is the witnessing of John, when Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and deacons to him, that they should ask him, Who art thou?

²⁰ [And] He acknowledged, and denied not, and he acknowledged, For I am not Christ.

²¹ And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he said, I am not. Art thou a prophet [Art thou the prophet]? And he answered, Nay.

²² Therefore they said to him, Who art thou? That we give an answer to these that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

²³ He said, I am a voice of a crier in desert [I am a voice of a man crying in desert], Dress ye the way of the Lord, as Esaias, the prophet, said.

²⁴ And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees.

²⁵ And they asked him, and said to him, What then baptizest thou, if thou art not Christ, neither Elias, neither a prophet?

²⁶ John answered to them, and said [saying], I baptize in water, but in the middle of you hath stand one, that ye know not [whom ye know not];

²⁷ he it is, that shall come after me [he it is, that is to coming after me], that was made before me, of whom I am not worthy to loose the thong of his shoe.

²⁸ These things were done in Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.