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.)
74 The learning of Asaph. God, why hast thou put (us) away into the end; thy strong vengeance is wroth on the sheep of thy pasture? (The teaching of Asaph. God, why hast thou deserted us? is it forever? and why is thy anger, yea, thy fury, so strong against the sheep of thy pasture?)
2 Be thou mindful of thy gathering together; which thou haddest in possession from the beginning. Thou again-boughtest the rod of thine heritage; the hill of Zion, in which thou dwelledest therein. (Remember thy congregation; whom thou haddest in possession since the old days. Thou redeemedest this tribe for thy inheritance. And remember Mount Zion; where thou dwelledest.)
3 Raise thine hands into the prides of them; how great things the enemy did wickedly in the holy (place). (How greatly wicked were the things that the enemy did in the holy place; raise up thy hands against their pride.)
4 And they that hated thee; had glory in the midst of thy solemnity. They setted their signs, either banners, to be signs on the highest (place), as in the out-going; and they knew not. (For they who hated thee, had glory in the midst of thy holy place. They set up their signs, or their banners, there, as signs of victory.)
5 As in a wood of trees, they hewed down with axes the gates thereof into itself; (Like in a forest, they hewed down its gates with their axes, as if they were woodsmen;)
6 they casted down it with an ax, and a broad falling ax. (they threw them down with their axes, yea, with their broad falling axes.)
7 They burnt with fire thy saintuary; they defouled the tabernacle of thy name in earth. (They burned thy sanctuary with fire; they defiled the Temple of thy name, and razed it to the ground.)
8 The kindred of them said together in their heart; Make we all the feast days of God to cease in the earth. (They said in their hearts, Let us altogether destroy them; and they burned down all the synagogues of God in the land/and they burned down all the holy places of God in the land.)
9 We have not seen our signs, now there is no prophet; and he shall no more know us. (We cannot see our signs, that is, the future, for now there is no prophet here; and none of us know how long this shall last.)
10 God, how long shall the enemy say despite? the adversary stirreth to ire thy name into the end. (God, how long shall the enemy show their despising of us? shall the adversary scorn thy name forever?)
11 Why turnest thou away thine hand, and to (not) draw out thy right hand from the midst of thy bosom, till into the end? (Why turnest thou away thy hand, and why draw thou not out thy right hand from the midst of thy bosom?)
12 Forsooth God our king before worlds, wrought health in the midst of earth. (But God, our King forever, hath given salvation, or deliverance, all the world over.)
13 Thou madest firm the sea by thy virtue; thou hast troubled the heads of the dragons in waters. (Thou dividedest the sea by thy strength, or thy power; thou hast broken the heads of the dragons in the water/thou hast broken the heads of the Dragon in the water.)
14 Thou hast broken the heads of the dragon; thou hast given him to be meat to the peoples of Ethiopians. (Thou hast broken the heads of the Dragon, or of Leviathan; thou hast given him to be food for the peoples of the desert.)
15 Thou hast broken wells, and strands; thou madest dry the floods of Eitan. (Thou hast broken open the wells, or the springs, and the streams; thou hast dried up the mighty rivers.)
16 The day is thine, and the night is thine; thou madest the morrowtide and the sun.
17 Thou madest all the ends of the earth; summer, and ver time, either springing time (or spring time), thou formedest those.
18 Be thou mindful of this thing, the enemy hath said shame to the Lord; and the unwise people hath excited to ire thy name. (Remember this, that the enemy hath said shame to the Lord; and that the foolish and the ignorant have scorned thy name.)
19 Betake thou not (over) to beasts men acknowledging to thee; and forget thou not into the end the souls of thy poor men. (Give thou not over to beasts those who confess thee; and forget thou not forever the suffering of thy poor.)
20 Behold into thy testament; for they that be made dark of (the) earth, be [full-]filled with the houses of wickednesses. (Remember thy covenant; for the dark places of the earth, be filled full with the houses of wickedness.)
21 A meek man be not turned away made ashamed; a poor man and needy shall praise thy name. (Let not the humble be turned away, and be made ashamed; yea, let the poor and the needy praise thy name.)
22 God, rise up, deem thou thy cause; be thou mindful of thy shames, either upbraidings, of those that be all day of the unwise man. (God, rise up, defend thou thy own case; remember the reproaches, or the upbraidings, that come to thee all day long, from the foolish and the ignorant.)
23 Forget thou not the voices of thine enemies; the pride of them that hate thee ascendeth ever[more]. (Do not thou forget the words, or the shouts, of thy enemies; the noise of those who hate thee goeth up forevermore.)
5 The Lord saith these things, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and setteth flesh his arm, and his heart goeth away from the Lord. (The Lord saith these things, Cursed is the person who trusteth in people, and maketh any flesh his source of power and security, and his heart goeth away from the Lord.)
6 For he shall be as brooms in desert, and he shall not see, when good shall come; but he shall dwell in dryness in desert, in the land of saltness, and unhabitable. (For he shall be like the heather in the wilderness, and he shall not see, when good shall come; but he shall live in the dryness of the desert, yea, in an uninhabitable and salty land.)
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord (Happy is the person who trusteth in the Lord), and the Lord shall be his trust.
8 And he shall be as a tree, which is planted over waters, which sendeth his roots to moisture; and it shall not dread, when heat shall come; and the leaf thereof shall be green, and it shall not be moved in the time of dryness, neither any time it shall fail to make fruit. (And he shall be like a tree, which is planted by the waters, which sendeth out its roots to moisture; and it shall not have any fear, when the heat shall come; and its leaves shall be green, and it shall not be moved in the time of drought, nor at any time shall it fail to make fruit.)
9 The heart of man is shrewd, and unsearchable; who shall know it? (Each person’s heart is depraved, and unknowable; who can understand it?)
10 I am the Lord seeking the heart, and proving the reins, either kidneys, and I give to each man after his way, and after the fruit of his findings. (I am the Lord searching the minds, and proving the hearts, and I give to each person after his own ways, and after the fruit of his own deeds.)
14 Lord, heal me, and I shall be healed; make thou me safe, and I shall be safe (save thou me/rescue thou me, and I shall be saved); for thou art my praising.
15 Lo! they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord? come it.
16 And I am not troubled, following thee shepherd, and I desired not the day of man, thou knowest. That that went out of my lips was rightful in thy sight.
17 Be thou not to dread to me; thou art mine hope in the day of torment. (Be thou not a terror to me, that is, something to fear; thou art my hope on the day of torment.)
4 Therefore, my brethren most dear-worthy and most desired, my joy and my crown, so stand ye in the Lord, most dear brethren.
2 I pray Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, to understand the same thing in the Lord.
3 Also I pray and thee, german fellow [Also and I pray thee, german even-fellow], help thou those women that travailed with me in the gospel, with Clement and other mine helpers, whose names be in the book of life.
4 Joy ye in the Lord evermore; again I say, joy ye.
5 Be your patience known to all men [Be your temperance, or patience, known to all men]; the Lord is nigh.
6 Be ye nothing busy [Be nothing busy], but in all prayer and beseeching, with doing of thankings, be your askings known at God.
7 And the peace of God, that passeth all wit, keep your hearts and understandings in Christ Jesus.
8 From henceforth, brethren, whatever things be sooth, whatever things chaste, whatever things just, whatever things holy, whatever things able to be loved[a], whatever things of good fame, if any virtue, if any praising of discipline, think ye (on) these things,
9 that also ye have learned, and taken, and heard, and seen in me. Do ye these things, and God of peace shall be with you.
10 But I joyed greatly in the Lord, that sometime afterward ye flowered again to feel for me [for sometime afterward ye again flourished for to feel for me], as also ye feeled. But ye were occupied,
11 I say not as for need, for I have learned to be sufficient in which things I am. [I say not as for need, for I have learned, in which things I am, sufficient to be.]
12 And I know also how to be lowed, I know also how to have plenty. Every where and in all things I am taught to be filled, and to hunger, and to abound, and to suffer need.[b]
13 I may all things in him that comforteth me.
27 Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour; but therefore [but for that thing] I came into this hour;
28 Father, clarify thy name. And a voice came from heaven, and said [saying], And I have clarified, and again I shall clarify.
29 Therefore the people that stood, and heard, said, that thunder was made; other men said, an angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered, and said, This voice came not for me, but for you.
31 Now is the doom of the world, now the prince of this world shall be cast out.
32 And if I shall be enhanced from the earth, I shall draw all things to myself.
33 And he said this thing [Soothly this thing he said], signifying by what death he was to die.
34 And the people answered to him, We have heard of the law, that Christ dwelleth without end [for Christ dwelleth into without end]; and how sayest thou, It behooveth man's Son to be areared? Who is this man's Son?
35 And then Jesus saith to them, Yet a little light is in you; walk ye, the while ye have light, that darkness catch you not [that darknesses catch not you]; he that wandereth in darknesses, knoweth not whither he goeth.
36 While ye have light, believe ye in the light, that ye be the children of light. Jesus spake these things, and went, and hid him(self) from them.
2001 by Terence P. Noble