Book of Common Prayer
56 To the overcoming on the dumb culver of far drawing away, the comely song of David, when the Philistines held him in Gath. God, have mercy on me, for a man hath defouled me; all day he impugned, and troubled me. (To the overcomer, for the silent dove, for it went far away, the comely song of David, when the Philistines held him in Gath. God, have mercy on me, for men have persecuted me; all day long they impugned, and troubled, me.)
2 Mine enemies defouled me all day; for many fighters were against me. (My enemies persecuted me all day long; yea, many fight against me.)
3 Of the highness of day I shall dread; but God, I shall hope in thee. (From the height of the day, I have fear; but God, I put my trust in thee.)
4 In God I shall praise my words; I hoped in God, I shall not dread what thing flesh, or man, shall do to me. (Yea, I shall praise God with my words; for I trust in God, and I shall not fear what any person shall do to me.)
5 All day they cursed my words; against me all their thoughts were into evil. (All day long they cursed my words; all their thoughts were against me for evil.)
6 They shall dwell, and they shall hide; they shall ambush mine heel. As they abide my life (But though they lie in wait for my life),
7 for nought shalt thou make them safe; in ire thou shalt break (al)together peoples. (it is they who shall not escape; for in thy anger, God, thou shalt break them all in pieces.)
8 God, I showed my life to thee; thou hast set my tears in thy sight. As and in thy promise, Lord; (God, thou knowest my troubles; thou hast set my tears before thee. Be they not in thy Book, O Lord?)
9 then mine enemies shall be turned aback. In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee; lo! I have known, that thou art my God. (On whatever day I shall call to thee, then my enemies shall be turned back; for lo! I know this, that thou art with me, my God.)
10 In God I shall praise a word; in the Lord I shall praise a word. (I shall praise God with my words; yea, I shall praise the Lord with my words.)
11 I shall hope in God; I shall not dread what thing man shall do to me. (I put my trust in God; and I shall not fear what anyone shall do to me.)
12 God, thine avows be in me; which I shall yield praisings to thee. (God, thy vows be upon me/God, I shall pay my vows to thee; I shall give praises to thee.)
13 For thou hast delivered my life from death, and my feet from sliding; that I please before God in the light of them that live. (For thou hast rescued my life from death, and my feet from slipping, or stumbling; so that I can walk before God in the light that shineth on the living.)
57 To the victory, lose thou not the seemly song, either the sweet song, of David, when he fled from the face of Saul into the den. God, have mercy on me, have thou mercy on me; for my soul trusteth in thee. And I shall hope in the shadow of thy wings; till wickedness pass. (To victory, destroy thou not the comely song, or the sweet song, of David, when he fled from the face of Saul into the cave. God, have mercy on me, have thou mercy on me; for my soul trusteth in thee. And I shall trust in the shadow of thy wings, until all wickedness pass by.)
2 I shall cry to God alder-highest; to God that did well to me. (I shall cry to the Most High God; to God who did so much good for me.)
3 He sent from heaven, and delivered me; he gave into shame them that defoul me. God sent his mercy and his truth, (He sent from heaven, and saved me; he shamed those who persecute me. God showed his love and his faithfulness,)
4 and delivered my soul from the midst of whelps of lions; I slept troubled, or disturbed. The sons of men, the teeth of them be armours and arrows; and their tongue is a sharp sword. (and saved me from the midst of those ravenous lions. Yea, those sons of men, whose teeth be like arms, or spears, and arrows; and whose tongues be like sharp swords.)
5 God, be thou enhanced above heavens; and thy glory above all earth. (God, be thou exalted above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth.)
6 They made ready a snare to my feet; and they greatly bowed my life. They delved a ditch before my face; and they felled down into it. (They prepared a snare for my feet; and they greatly bowed down my life. They dug a ditch before me; but they themselves fell down into it.)
7 God, mine heart is ready, mine heart is ready; I shall sing, and I shall say psalm. (God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready; I shall sing, yea, I shall sing a song.)[a]
8 My glory, rise thou up; psaltery and harp, rise thou up; I shall rise up early. (My spirit, rise thou up; lute and harp, rise thou up; yea, I shall rise up in the morning.)
9 Lord, I shall acknowledge to thee among peoples; and I shall say psalm [to thee] among heathen men. (Lord, I shall praise thee/Lord, I shall confess thee/Lord, I shall give thanks to thee among the peoples; and I shall sing a song to thee among the heathen.)
10 For thy mercy is magnified till to heavens; and thy truth till to the clouds. (For thy love reacheth above the heavens; and thy faithfulness up to the clouds.)
11 God, be thou enhanced above heavens; and thy glory above all earth. (God, be thou exalted above the heavens; and let thy glory be over all the earth.)
58 To victory, lose thou not the sweet song, either the seemly psalm, of David. Forsooth if ye speak rightfulness verily; ye sons of men, deem rightfully. (To victory, destroy thou not the sweet song, that is, the comely song, of David. Speak ye truly with righteousness, ye sons and daughters of men? judge ye justly? Nay!)
2 For in heart ye work wickedness in earth; your hands make ready unrightfulnesses. (For in your hearts ye do evil; and your hands bring forth unrightfulnesses, or wickedness, in all the earth.)
3 Sinners were made aliens from the womb (Sinners, or evil-doers, go wrong from the womb); they erred from the womb, they spake false things.
4 Strong vengeance is to them, by the likeness of a serpent; as of a deaf snake, and stopping his ears. (Strong venom cometh forth from them, like that of serpents; and they be like a deaf snake that stoppeth its ears.)
5 Which shall not hear the voice of charmers; and of a venom-maker charming (ever so) wisely.
6 God shall all-break the teeth of them in their mouth; the Lord shall break (al)together the great teeth of lions. (O God, break all the teeth in their mouths; O Lord, break all in pieces the great teeth of these lions.)
7 They shall come to nought, as water running away; he bent his bow, till they be made sick. (They shall come to nothing, like water running forth; and when they go to bend their bows, they shall be made feeble, or weak.)
8 As wax that floateth away, they shall be taken away; fire fell above, and they saw not the sun. (Like a snail that melteth away into slime, they shall be taken away; like a dead-born child, they shall not see the sun.)
9 Before that your thorns understood the rhamn, either thieve-thorn; he swalloweth them so in ire, as (with) living men. (Before that the rhamn, or the thieve-thorn, that is, a weed, can grow, he shall swallow them up in his anger; yea, while they still be living.)
10 The just man shall be glad, when he shall see vengeance; he shall wash his hands in the blood of a sinner. (The righteous shall be glad when they see the vengeance taken; they shall wash their hands in the blood of the sinners.)
11 And a man shall say truly, For fruit is to a just man; truly God is deeming them in earth. (And someone shall say, Truly there is a reward for the righteous; truly God is judging people here on earth.)
64 To victory, the psalm of David. God, hear thou my prayer, when I beseech; deliver thou my soul from dread of the enemy. (To victory, the song of David. God, hear thou my prayer, when I beseech thee; save thou me from the threats of my enemies.)
2 Thou hast defended me from the covent of evil-doers; from the multitude of them that work wickedness. (Thou hast protected me from the plots of the evil-doers; yea, from the many who do evil.)
3 For they sharpened their tongues as a sword, they bend their bow, a bitter thing; (For they sharpened their tongues like swords, yea, they bent their bows, and shot out bitter words;)
4 for to shoot in huddles, or privates, him that is unwemmed. Suddenly they shall shoot him, and they shall not dread; (to secretly attack he who is without blemish, or without fault. Suddenly they shall shoot at him, and they shall not fear;)
5 they made steadfast to themselves a wicked word. They told, that they should hide snares; they said, Who shall see them? (for they encouraged each other in their evil plots. And they told one another to hide their snares; even though they also said, But who shall see them?)
6 They sought wickednesses; they sought, and failed (not) in seeking. A man nighed to [a] deep heart; (They sought out wickednesses; yea, they sought them out, and failed not in finding them, for their hearts be dark and deep.)
7 and God shall be enhanced. The arrows of little men, that is, (of) envious men, be made the wounds of them; (But God shall shoot his arrows at them; and then suddenly they shall be the ones who be wounded.)
8 and the tongues of them be made sick against them. All men be troubled, that saw them; (And their tongues, that is, their own evil words, shall be their own undoing. And all who see them shall shake their heads;)
9 and each man dreaded. And they told the works of God; and they understood the deeds of him. (and every person shall be afraid. And they shall tell about the works of God; for they shall understand his deeds, that is, why he hath done all this.)
10 The just man shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in him; and all men of rightful heart shall be praised. (The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust him; and all who have upright hearts shall praise him.)
65 To victory, the psalm of the song of David. God, praising becometh thee in Zion; and a vow shall be yielded to thee in Jerusalem. (God, praises be due to thee in Zion; and our vows shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem.)
2 Hear thou my prayer; each man shall come to thee. (Hear thou my prayer; let everyone come to thee.)
3 The words of wicked men had the mastery over us; and thou shalt do mercy to our wickednesses. (The words of the wicked had the mastery over us; but thou hath shown mercy toward our wickednesses.)
4 Blessed is he, whom thou hast chosen, and hast taken; he shall dwell in thy foreyards. We shall be [ful]filled with the goods of thine house; thy temple is holy, (Happy is he, whom thou hast chosen, and thou hast brought to live in thy courtyards; and we shall be satisfied with the good things of thy House, yea, of thy holy Temple.)
5 wonderful in equity. God, our health, hear thou us; thou art hope of all coasts of earth, and in the sea afar. (With wonderful things, and with victory, thou answereth us, O God, our salvation/O God, our deliverance; thou art the hope of all who be at the ends of the earth, and who be far across the sea.)
6 And thou makest ready hills in thy virtue, and art girded with power; (And thou preparest the mountains with thy strength, and thou art girded with power;)
7 which troublest the depth of the sea, the sound of the waves thereof. Folks shall be troubled, (ye who maketh the sea to be still, when it is troubled, yea, who quieteth the roar of its waves. And the people as well; when they be troubled.)
8 and they that dwell in the ends shall dread of thy signs; thou shalt delight the outgoings of the morrowtide and eventide. (And they who live at the ends of the earth shall be filled with awe at thy signs; thou even makest the morning and the evening to have delight at what thou hast done.)
9 Thou hast visited the land, and hast greatly filled it; thou hast multiplied to make it rich. The flood of God was [full-]filled with waters; thou madest ready the meat of them, for the making ready thereof is so (The rivers of God were filled full with water; and thou preparedest rain for the land/and thou preparedest corn for the land, for such is its preparation).
10 Thou filling greatly the streams thereof, multiply the fruits thereof; the land bringing forth fruits shall be glad in the gutters of it. (And by greatly filling up its streams, thou hast multiplied its fruits; and the land bringing forth these fruits shall be glad for all this water.)
11 Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy good will; and thy fields shall be [full-]filled with plenty of fruits. (Thou shalt crown the year with thy goodness/with thy good things; and thy fields shall be filled full with plenty of fruits.)
12 The fair things of desert shall wax fat; and little hills shall be compassed with full out joying. (The fields of the wilderness shall grow fat; and the hills shall resound with rejoicing.)
13 The wethers of sheep be clothed, and valleys shall be plenteous of wheat; they shall cry (out), and soothly they shall say praising/and soothly they shall say psalm. (The pastures shall be clothed with sheep, and the valleys shall be plentiful with corn; they shall cry aloud, and truly they shall say praises/and truly they shall sing songs.)
2 Therefore after these things David counselled with the Lord, and said, Whether I shall go up into one of the cities of Judah? (And after these things David counselled with the Lord, and said, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?) And the Lord said to him, Go thou up. And David said to the Lord, Whither shall I go up? And the Lord answered to him, Into Hebron.
2 Therefore David went up, and his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail, the wife of Nabal of Carmel.
3 But also David led the men that were with him, each man with his house(hold) (each man with his family); and they dwelled in the towns of Hebron.
4 And the men of Judah came, and anointed there David, that he should reign upon the house of Judah (And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David to reign upon the house of Judah). And it was told to David, that [the] men of Jabesh of Gilead had buried Saul.
5 Therefore David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh of Gilead, and said to them, Blessed be ye of the Lord, that did this mercy with your lord Saul, and buried him. (And so David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh of Gilead, and said to them, May the Lord bless you, who have shown this kindness to your lord Saul, and have buried him.)
6 And now soothly the Lord shall yield to you mercy and truth, but also I shall yield thanking, for ye did this word. (And now surely the Lord shall show truth and kindness to you, and I shall also give you thanks, for ye did this thing.)
7 Your hands be comforted, and be ye the sons of strength; for though your lord Saul is dead, nevertheless the house of Judah hath anointed me king to him. (May your hands be strengthened, and may ye be the sons of strength; for though your lord Saul is dead, nevertheless the house of Judah hath anointed me king upon them.)
8 Forsooth Abner, the son of Ner, prince of the host of Saul, took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and led him about by the castles, (Then Abner, the son of Ner, the leader of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim,)
9 and made him king on Gilead, and on Ashurites, and on Jezreel, and on Ephraim, and on Benjamin, and on all Israel.
10 Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was of forty years, when he began to reign upon Israel; and he reigned two years. Soothly the house alone of Judah followed David. (Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was forty years old when he began to reign upon Israel; and he reigned for two years. Only the house of Judah followed David.)
11 And the number of days, by which David dwelled reigning in Hebron on the house of Judah, was of seven years and six months.
36 But after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Turn we again, and visit we brethren by all cities [Paul said to Barnabas, We turning again, visit our brethren by all cities], in which we have preached the word of the Lord, how they have them.
37 And Barnabas would take with him John, that was named Mark.
38 But Paul prayed him, that he that departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them into the work, should not be received.
39 And dissension was made, so that they departed atwain. And Barnabas took Mark, and came by boat to Cyprus.
40 And Paul chose Silas, and went forth from the brethren, and was betaken to the grace of God. [Forsooth Paul chose Silas, and went forth, taken to the grace of God from brethren.]
41 And he went by Syria and Cilicia, and confirmed the church, commanding to keep the behests of the apostles and elder men.[a]
16 And he came into Derbe and Lystra. And lo! a disciple was there, by name Timothy, the son of a Jewess christian[b], and of the father heathen.
2 And brethren that were in Lystra and Iconium [The brethren that were in Lystra and Iconium], yielded good witnessing to him.
3 And Paul would that this man should go forth with him [Paul would him to go forth with himself], and he took, and circumcised him, for Jews that were in those places. For all knew, that his father was heathen.
4 [Forsooth] When they passed by cities, they betook to them to keep the teachings, that were deemed of apostles and elder men, that were at Jerusalem.
5 And the churches were confirmed in faith, and increased in number each day.
14 And king Herod heard, for his name was made open, and he said, That John Baptist hath risen again from death, and therefore works of power work in him [and he said, For John Baptist hath risen again from dead men, and therefore virtues work in him].
15 Others said, That it is Elias; but others said, That it is a prophet, as one of the prophets.
16 And when this thing was heard, Herod said, This is John, whom I have beheaded, he is risen again from death [this hath risen from dead men].
17 For that Herod sent (for), and held John, and bound him into prison, for Herodias, the wife of Philip, his brother; for he had wedded her.
18 For John said to Herod, It is not leaveful to thee, to have the wife of thy brother.
19 And Herodias laid ambush to him [Herodias forsooth setted treason to him], and would slay him, and might not.
20 And Herod dreaded John, and knew him a just man and holy, and kept him. And Herod heard him, and he did many things, and gladly heard him. [Soothly Herod dreaded John, witting him a just man and holy, and kept him. And him heard, he did many things, and heard him gladly.]
21 And when an opportune day was fallen [And when a covenable day had fallen], Herod in his birthday made a supper to the princes, and tribunes, and to the greatest of Galilee [and to the first, or greatest, of Galilee].
22 And when the daughter of that Herodias was come in, and danced, and pleased to Herod, and also to men that sat at the meat [and pleased Herod, and also men sitting at the meat], the king said to the damsel, Ask thou of me what thou wilt, and I shall give to thee.
23 And he swore to her, That whatever thou [shalt] ask, I shall give to thee, though it be the half of my kingdom.
24 And when she had gone out, she said to her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John Baptist [And she said, The head of John the Baptist].
25 And when she was come in at once with haste to the king, she asked, and said, I will that at once thou give to me in a dish the head of John Baptist. [And when she had entered anon with haste to the king, she asked, saying, I will that anon thou give to me in a dish the head of John Baptist.]
26 And the king was sorry for the oath, and for men that sat together at the meat he would not make her sorry [and for men sitting together at the meat he would not make her heavy, or sorry];
27 but he sent a man-queller and commanded, that John's head were brought in a dish [but a man-queller sent, he commanded the head of John Baptist to be brought]. And he beheaded him in the prison,
28 and brought his head in a dish, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother.
29 And when this thing was heard, his disciples came, and took his body, and laid it in a burial.
2001 by Terence P. Noble