Book of Common Prayer

1 Blessed is the man, that goeth not in the counsel of wicked men; and stood not in the way of sinners, and sat not in the chair of pestilence. (Happy is the person who goeth not in the counsel of the wicked; and walketh not in the way of sinners, and sitteth not in the chair of pestilence.)

² But his will is in the law of the Lord; and he shall bethink in the law of him day and night. (But his delight is in the Law of the Lord; and he shall think about his Law day and night.)

³ And he shall be as a tree, which is planted beside the runnings of waters; that shall give his fruit in his time. And his leaf shall not fall down; and all things, whichever he shall do, shall have prosperity. (And he shall be like a tree, which is planted beside the running water; it shall give its fruit at its proper time, and its leaves shall not fall down. Yea, everything, whatever he shall do, shall prosper.)

⁴ Not so wicked men, not so; but they be as dust, which the wind casteth away from the face of the earth. (Not so the wicked, not so; but they be like the dust, which the wind bloweth away from off the face of the earth.)

⁵ Therefore wicked men rise not again in doom; neither sinners in the council of just men. (And so the wicked shall not stand long at the judgement; nor shall the sinners stand with the congregation of the righteous.)

⁶ For the Lord knoweth the way of just men; and the way of wicked men shall perish. (For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the wicked shall perish on their own way.)

2 Why gnashed with teeth heathen men; and peoples thought vain things? (Why do the heathen gnash with their teeth? and the peoples think up useless plans?)

² The kings of earth stood together; and princes came together against the Lord, and against his Christ. (The kings of the earth stood together; yea, the rulers came together against the Lord, and against his anointed king.)

³ Break we the bonds of them; and cast we away the yoke of them from us. (And they said, Let us break their bonds, that is, their rule over us; yea, let us throw off their yoke from us.)

⁴ He that dwelleth in heavens shall scorn them; and the Lord shall bemock them. (But he who liveth in heaven shall scorn them; yea, the Lord shall mock them.)

⁵ Then he shall speak to them in his wrath; and he shall trouble them in his strong vengeance. (And then he shall speak to them in his anger; and he shall trouble them with his fury.)

⁶ Soothly I am ordained of him a king upon Zion, his holy hill; (And the Lord saith of me, I have set my king upon Zion; upon my holy hill.)

⁷ preaching his commandment. The Lord said to me, Thou art my son; I have begotten thee today. (And I said, I shall tell out his decree. Then the Lord said to me, Thou art my son; and today I have become thy father.)

⁸ Ask thou of me, and I shall give to thee heathen men (for) thine heritage; and (for) thy possession the terms of earth. (Ask thou of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thy inheritance; and the ends of the earth for thy possession.)

⁹ Thou shalt govern them in an iron rod; and thou shalt break them together as the vessel of a potter. (Thou shalt govern them with an iron rod; and thou shalt break them in pieces, like a clay pot.)

¹⁰ And now, ye kings, understand; ye that deem the earth, be ye learned. (And so now, ye kings, understand; ye who judge, or who rule, the earth, learn your lesson!)

¹¹ Serve ye the Lord with dread; and make ye full out joy to him with trembling. (Serve ye the Lord in fear/Serve ye the Lord with reverence; and bow down before him with trembling.)

¹² Take ye lore of chastising; lest the Lord be wroth sometime, and ye perish from the just way. When his wrath shall burn out in short time; blessed be all they, that trust in him. (Kiss ye the King, that is, worship and serve him; lest sometime, the Lord be angry. And then, ye perish on the way; when, in a moment of time, his anger flareth up. Happy be all they, who trust in him.)

3 The psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom, his son. Lord, why be they multiplied that trouble me? many men rise against me. (The song of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. Lord, why be there so many who trouble me? why be there so many who rise up against me?)

² Many men say of my soul, None health there is to him in his God. (Many say of me, There is no help for him from his God.)

³ But thou, Lord, art mine up-taker; my glory, and enhancing mine head. (But thou, Lord, art my defender; my glory, and the one who lifteth up my head.)

⁴ With my voice I cried to the Lord; and he heard me from his holy hill. (I cried to the Lord with my voice; and he answered me from his holy hill.)

⁵ I slept, and rested, and I rose up; for the Lord received me (for the Lord had protected me).

⁶ I shall not dread thousands of people (en)compassing me; (I shall not fear even thousands of people surrounding me;)

⁷ Lord, arise thou; my God, make me safe. For thou hast smitten all men being adversaries to me without cause; thou hast all-broken the teeth of sinners. (Lord, rise thou up; my God, save me. Thou hast struck down all who be my adversaries; thou hast broken all the teeth of the sinners.)

⁸ Health is of the Lord; and thy blessing is on thy people. (Victory is from the Lord/Salvation, or deliverance, is from the Lord; and thy blessing is upon thy people.)

4 To the victory in organs, the psalm of David. When I inwardly called, God of my rightwiseness heard me; in tribulation thou hast alarged to me. Have thou mercy on me; and hear thou my prayer. (To victory, on instruments, the song of David. Please answer me when I call thee, O God of my righteousness. For when I was in trouble, thou set me free, or at large. So have thou mercy on me; and hear thou my prayer.)

² Sons of men, how long be ye of heavy heart? why love ye vanity, and seek leasing? (Sons and daughters of men, how long shall ye insult me? why love ye empty and futile, or worthless, things, and go after lies?)

³ And know ye, that the Lord hath made marvellous his holy man; the Lord shall hear me, when I shall cry to him. (And know ye, that the Lord hath chosen the holy man for his own/that the Lord hath shown me his wondrous love; and that the Lord shall hear me, when I shall cry to him.)

⁴ Be ye wroth, and do not ye sin; and for those evils to which ye say in your hearts and in your beds, be ye compunct. (Be ye angry, but sin ye not; and have ye remorse for the evils which ye say in your hearts, and in your beds.)

⁵ Sacrifice ye the sacrifice of rightfulness/Offer ye an offering of rightfulness, and hope ye in the Lord; (Offer ye a righteous sacrifice, and trust ye in the Lord;)

⁶ many say, Who showed good things to us? Lord, the light of thy cheer is marked upon us; (many say, Who hath shown us any good thing? Lord, shine the light of thy face upon us!)

⁷ thou hast given gladness in mine heart. They be multiplied of the fruit of wheat, and of wine; and of their oil. (But thou hast put more gladness in my heart, than they have ever had; yea, even when their corn, and their wine, were plentiful.)

⁸ In peace in the same thing; I shall sleep, and take rest. For thou, Lord; hast set me singularly in hope/hast set me only in hope. (And so I shall lie down in peace; and sleep. For thou alone, Lord, hast given me hope/hast made me safe.)

7 For the ignorance of David, which he sang to the Lord, on the words of (the) Ethiopian, the son of Benjamin. My Lord God, I have hoped in thee; make thou me safe from all that pursue me, and deliver thou me. (For the sin of ignorance by David, which he sang to the Lord, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite. My Lord God, I put my trust in thee; save thou me from all who persecute me, and rescue thou me.)

² Lest any time he as a lion ravish my soul; while none there is that again-buyeth, neither that maketh safe. (Lest any time they tear me apart like a lion; when there is no one who can save me.)

³ My Lord God, if I did this thing, if wickedness is in mine hands, or works (if there is wickedness, or a stain, upon my hands, or deeds);

⁴ if I yielded to men yielding to me evils, fall I by deserving void from mine enemies; (if I gave back evil to those who first did good to me, let me deservedly fall before my enemies;)

⁵ mine enemy pursue he my soul, and take he, and defoul my life in earth; and bring my glory into dust. (let my enemy persecute me, and take hold of me, and tread me down into the ground; and bring my honour down into the dust, or down into the dirt.)

⁶ Lord, rise thou up in thine ire; and be thou raised (up) in the coasts of mine enemies. And, my Lord God, rise thou up in the commandment, which thou hast commanded (And, my Lord God, rise thou up in the justice, or in the judgement, which thou hast commanded);

⁷ and the synagogue of peoples shall (en)compass thee. And for this go thou again on high; (and the congregation of the people shall surround thee. And for them, go thou again on high;)

⁸ the Lord deemeth peoples. Lord, deem thou me by my rightfulness; and by mine innocence on me. (and then let the Lord judge the people. Lord, judge thou me according to my righteousness; and the innocence which is in me.)

⁹ The wickedness of sinners be ended; and thou, God, seeking the hearts, that is, thoughts, and reins, that is, delightings, shall (ad)dress a just man. (Let the wickedness of the sinners be ended; and thou, O God, who judgeth our thoughts, and our desires, shall direct the righteous.)

¹⁰ My just help is of the Lord; that maketh safe rightful men in heart. (My righteous help is from the Lord; who saveth the upright in heart.)

¹¹ The Lord is a just judge, strong and patient; whether he is wroth by all days? (The Lord is a righteous judge; every day he is angry with the wicked.)

¹² If ye be not converted (If they be not turned from their evil ways), he shall flourish his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

¹³ And therein he hath made ready the vessels of death; he hath fully made his arrows with burning things.

¹⁴ Lo! the wicked hath conceived sorrow; he painfully hath brought forth unrightfulness, and he hath childed wickedness. (Lo! he who is wicked hath conceived many ways to bring sorrow; yea, he hath painfully brought forth unrighteousness, and he hath birthed wickedness.)

¹⁵ He opened a pit, and digged it out; and he fell into the ditch which he made. (He opened a pit, and dug it out; but he himself shall fall into the ditch, which he hath made.)

¹⁶ His sorrow shall be turned into his head; and his wickedness shall come down into his neck. (His sorrow shall return onto his own head; and his wickedness shall come down onto his own neck.)

¹⁷ I shall acknowledge to the Lord by his rightfulness; and I shall sing to the name of the highest Lord. (I shall praise the Lord for his righteousness; and I shall sing to the name of the Most High Lord.)

15 And Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me, that I should anoint thee into king on his people Israel (The Lord hath sent me to anoint thee king upon his people Israel); now therefore hear thou the voice of the Lord.

² The Lord of hosts saith these things, I have brought to mind whatever things Amalek hath done to Israel; how Amalek against-stood Israel in the way, when Israel went up from Egypt. (The Lord of hosts saith these things, I have remembered all the things that the Amalekites did to Israel; how they opposed Israel on the way, when Israel came up from Egypt.)

³ Now therefore go thou, and slay Amalek, and destroy thou all his things; spare thou not him, nor covet thou anything of his things; but slay thou from man unto woman, and little child, and sucking, ox, and sheep, and camel, and ass. (And so now go thou, and kill the Amalekites, and destroy thou all of their things; spare thou not any of them, nor covet thou any of their things; but kill thou every man and woman, and little child, and suckling, yea, every ox, and sheep, and camel, and donkey.)

⁷ And Saul smote Amalek, from Havilah, till thou come to Shur, which is even against Egypt. (And Saul struck down the Amalekites, from Havilah until thou come to Shur, which is on the border with Egypt.)

⁸ And Saul took Agag alive, the king of Amalek; and he killed by sharpness of sword all the common people. (And Saul took Agag, the king of Amalek, alive; but they killed all the common people with the sharpness of their swords.)

⁹ And Saul and the people spared Agag (But Saul and his people spared Agag), and the best (of the) flocks of (the) sheep, and of (the) great beasts, and (they kept the) clothes, and (the) rams, and all things that were fair; and they would not destroy those; but whatever thing was vile, and reprovable, they destroyed that thing.

¹⁰ Forsooth the word of the Lord was made to Samuel, and said,

¹¹ It repenteth me, that I made Saul king; for he hath forsaken me, and hath not fulfilled my words in work. And Samuel was sorry, and he cried to the Lord in all that night. (I repent, that is, I regret, that I made Saul king; for he hath deserted me, and hath not fulfilled my words in deeds. And Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.)

¹² And (then) when Samuel had risen up by night to go early to Saul, it was told to Samuel, that Saul had come into Carmel, and had raised up to him a sign of victory (and had raised up a victory monument for himself there); and that he had turned again from Amalek, and had passed forth, and had gone down into Gilgal.

¹³ Then Samuel came to Saul, and Saul offered burnt sacrifice to the Lord of the chief things of the preys, which he had brought from Amalek. And the while Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, Blessed be thou of the Lord, I have [ful]filled the word of the Lord. (And when Samuel came to Saul, Saul was offering a burnt sacrifice to the Lord of the chief things of the prey which he had taken from the Amalekites. And when Samuel came over to Saul, Saul said to him, Blessed be thou of the Lord! I have fulfilled the word of the Lord.)

¹⁴ And Samuel said, And what is this voice of flocks (But what is this sound of the flocks), that soundeth in mine ears, and of (the) great beasts, which I hear?

¹⁵ And Saul said, They brought those from Amalek (They were taken from the Amalekites); for the people spared the best sheep and (the best) great beasts, that those should be offered to thy Lord God; and we killed the tother beasts.

¹⁶ And Samuel said to Saul, Suffer thou me (Allow me), and I shall show to thee what things the Lord hath spoken to me in this night. And Saul said to Samuel, Speak thou.

¹⁷ And Samuel said, Whether not, when thou were little in thine own eyes, thou were made head in the lineages of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee into king on Israel; (And Samuel said, Was it not, when thou were small, or insignificant, in thy own eyes, thou were made the head of all the tribes of Israel, and did not the Lord anoint thee king upon Israel?)

¹⁸ and the Lord sent thee into the way, and said, Go thou, and slay the sinners of Amalek, and thou shalt fight against them till to the slaying of them. (and the Lord sent thee on the way, and said, Go thou, and kill those sinners, the Amalekites, and thou shalt fight against them until they all be slaughtered.)

¹⁹ Why therefore heardest thou not the voice of the Lord, but thou were turned to the prey (but instead, thou took that prey), and (so) didest evil in the eyes of the Lord?

²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I heard the voice of the Lord, and I have gone in the way, by which the Lord sent me, and I have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and I have killed Amalek. (And Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I did listen to the Lord’s voice, and I have gone on the way where he sent me, and I have brought Agag, the king of the Amalekites here, and I have killed all the other Amalekites.)

²¹ Forsooth the people took of the prey, sheep and oxen, the first fruits/the chief fruits of those things that be slain, that they make sacrifice to their Lord God in Gilgal. (But the people kept of the prey, sheep and oxen, the first fruits/the chief fruits of those things that should be killed, to offer as a sacrifice to the Lord their God here in Gilgal.)

²² And Samuel said, Whether the Lord will burnt sacrifices, either slain sacrifices, and not more, rather, that men obey to the voice of the Lord? (And Samuel said, Desireth the Lord burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, or rather, that people obey his voice?) Forsooth obedience to him is better than sacrifices, and to take heed to his word is more than to offer the inner fatness of rams;

²³ for it is as the sin of maumetry to fight against God’s behest, and it is as the wickedness of idolatry to not assent to God’s behest. Therefore for that, that thou castedest away the word of the Lord, the Lord casted thee away, that thou be not king. (for it is like the sin of idolatry to fight against God’s command, and it is like the wickedness of idolatry to not assent to God’s command. And so because thou hast thrown away the word of the Lord, the Lord hath thrown thee away, so that thou not be king.)

¹⁹ And when he had taken meat, he was comforted. And he was by some days with the disciples, that were at Damascus.

²⁰ And at once [And anon] he entered into the synagogues, and preached the Lord Jesus, for this is the Son of God.

²¹ And all men that heard him, wondered, and said, Whether this is not he that impugned in Jerusalem them that called to help this name? and hither he came for this thing [and hither for this thing he came], that he should lead them bound to the princes of priests?

²² But Saul much the more waxed strong, and confounded the Jews that dwelled at Damascus, and affirmed that this is Christ [affirming for this is Christ].

²³ And when many days were filled [were fulfilled], Jews made a counsel, that they should slay him.

²⁴ And the ambushes of them were made known to Saul. And they kept the gates day and night, that they should slay him.

²⁵ But his disciples took him by night, and delivered him, and let him down in a basket by the wall.

²⁶ And when he came into Jerusalem, he assayed to join him(self) to the disciples^[a]; and all dreaded him, and believed not that he was a disciple.

²⁷ But Barnabas took, and led him to the apostles, and told to them, how in the way he had seen the Lord, and that he spake to him, and how in Damascus he did trustily in the name of Jesus.

²⁸ And he was with them, and entered, and went out in Jerusalem, and did trustily in the name of Jesus. [And he was with them, entering and going out in Jerusalem, doing trustily in the name of the Lord.]

²⁹ And he spake with heathen men [And he spake to heathen men], and disputed with Greeks. And they sought to slay him.

³⁰ Which thing when the brethren had known, they led him by night to Caesarea, and let him go to Tarsus.

³¹ And the church by all Judaea, and Galilee, and Samaria, had peace, and was edified, and walked in the dread of the Lord, and was filled with comfort of the Holy Ghost [walking in the dread of the Lord, and was full-filled in the comfort of the Holy Ghost].

⁴⁴ And it was almost the sixth hour, and darknesses were made on all the earth into the ninth hour [till the ninth hour].

⁴⁵ And the sun was made dark, and the veil of the temple was rent atwo [and the veil of the temple was cut the middle].

⁴⁶ And Jesus crying with a great voice, said, Father, into thine hands I betake my spirit. And he saying these things, gave up the ghost. [And Jesus crying with great voice, saith, Father, into thy hands I betake my spirit. And he saying these things, sent out the spirit, or died.]

⁴⁷ And the centurion seeing that thing that was done, glorified God, and said [saying], Verily, this man was just.

⁴⁸ And all the people of them that were there together at this spectacle, and saw those things that were done, smote their breasts, and turned again.

⁴⁹ But all his known stood afar, and women that followed him from Galilee, seeing these things.

⁵⁰ And lo! a man, Joseph by name, of Arimathaea, a city of Judaea, that was a decurion, a good man and a just, [And lo! a man, Joseph by name, that was a decurion, or having ten under him, a good man and just,]

⁵¹ this man consented not to the counsel and to the deeds of them; and he abode the kingdom of God. [this man consented not to the counsel and deeds of them, of Arimathaea, city of Judaea; the which and he abode the kingdom of God.]

⁵² This Joseph came to Pilate, and asked the body of Jesus,

⁵³ and took it down, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid him in a grave hewn, in which not yet any man had been laid [in which not yet any man was put].

⁵⁴ And the day was the even of the holiday, and the sabbath began to shine.^[a]

⁵⁵ And the women following, that came with him from Galilee, saw the grave, and how his body was laid.

⁵⁶ And they turned again, and made ready sweet smelling spices, and ointments; but in the sabbath they rested, after the commandment.