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.)

19 Soothly Saul spake to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David;

² certainly Jonathan, the son of Saul, loved David greatly. And Jonathan showed to David, and said, Saul, my father, seeketh to slay thee; wherefore, I beseech, keep thyself tomorrow early; and thou shalt dwell privily, and thou shalt be hid. (but Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly loved David. And Jonathan told David, My father Saul seeketh to kill thee; and so, I beseech thee, be careful tomorrow morning; remain thou in secret, and be thou hid.)

³ And I shall go out, and stand beside my father in the field, wherever he shall be; and I shall speak of thee to my father, and whatever thing I shall see/and whatever thing I shall understand of him, I shall tell thee (and whatever I shall learn from him, I shall tell thee).

⁴ Then Jonathan spake good things of David to Saul, his father, and said to him, King, do thou not sin against thy servant David, for he hath not sinned to thee, and his works be full good to thee; (Then Jonathan spoke good things about David to his father Saul, and said to him, O king, do not thou sin against thy servant David, for he hath not sinned against thee, and his works be very good towards thee;)

⁵ and he putted his life in his hand, and he killed the Philistine. And the Lord made great help to all Israel; thou sawest, and were glad; why therefore sinnest thou in guiltless blood, and wilt slay David, that is without guilt? (and he put his life in his hands, and he killed the Philistine. And the Lord won a great victory for all Israel; thou sawest this, and wast glad; and so why sinnest thou against innocent blood, and wilt kill David, who is without guilt?)

⁶ And when Saul had heard this, he was pleased with the speaking of Jonathan, and he swore, (As) The Lord liveth, for David shall not be slain.

⁷ And so Jonathan called David, and showed to him all these words (and told him all these things). And Jonathan brought in David to Saul, and he was before him as [he was] yesterday and the third day ago.

⁸ Forsooth (the) battle was moved again; and David went out, and fought against the Philistines, and he smote them with a great wound/with great fierceness, and they fled from his face.

⁹ And the evil spirit of the Lord was made upon Saul (And then again an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul); and he sat in his house, and held a spear; certainly David harped with his hand.

¹⁰ And Saul enforced to preen, that is pierce, with the spear (right through) David in(to) the wall; and David bowed [aside] from the face of Saul; and the spear without hurt of David was fixed into the wall; and David fled, and so he was saved in that night. (And Saul endeavoured to preen David with the spear, that is, to pierce right through him, into the wall; but David veered away from the spear thrown by Saul; and it was fixed into the wall without hurting him; and David fled, and so he was saved that night.)

¹¹ Therefore Saul sent his knights in the night into the house of David, that they should keep him, and that he should be slain in the morrowtide. And when Michal, the wife of David, had told this to David, and said, If thou savest not thee in this night, thou shalt die tomorrow; (And so Saul sent his sergeants in the night to David’s house, to keep watch over him, and then to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told this to David, and said, If thou savest not thyself this night, thou shalt die tomorrow;)

¹² and she let him down by a window. And David went, and fled thence, and (so) he was saved.

¹³ And Michal took an image (And Michal took an idol), and laid it on the bed of David, and she put a rough goatskin at the head thereof, and covered it with clothes.

¹⁴ Forsooth Saul sent sergeants, that should ravish David, and it was answered, that he was sick. (Then when Saul’s sergeants entered to take hold of David, she said that he was sick.)

¹⁵ And again Saul sent messengers, that they should see David, and he said, Bring ye him to me in the bed, that he be slain. (And Saul sent the men back to see David for themselves, and he said, Bring ye him to me in his bed, and then I shall kill him myself!)

¹⁶ And when the messengers had come, a simulacrum was found on the bed, and skins of goat at the head thereof. (And when the men had come in, they found the idol on the bed, with a goatskin at its head.)

¹⁷ And Saul said to Michal, Why scornedest thou me so (Why hast thou so scorned me), and deliveredest mine enemy, (so) that he fled? And Michal answered to Saul, For he spake to me, and said, Deliver thou me, (or) else I shall slay thee.

¹⁸ Forsooth David fled, and was saved; and he came to Samuel into Ramah, and told to him all things which Saul had done to him; and he and Samuel went, and dwelled in Naioth.

12 And in the same time Herod the king sent power, to torment some men of the church.^[a]

² And he slew by sword James, the brother of John.

³ And he saw that it pleased to the Jews, and cast to take also Peter; and the days of therf loaves were.

⁴ And when he had caught Peter, he sent him into prison; and betook him to four quaternions of knights, to keep him, and would after pask bring him forth to the people [willing after pask to bring him forth to the people].

⁵ And Peter was kept in prison; but prayer was made of the church without ceasing to God for him.

⁶ But when Herod should bring him forth, in that night Peter was sleeping betwixt two knights, and was bound with two chains [in that night, Peter was sleeping between two knights, bound with two chains]; and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

⁷ And lo! an angel of the Lord stood nigh, and light shone in the prison house. And when he had smitten the side of Peter, he raised him, and said, Rise thou swiftly [And the side of Peter smitten, he raised, or waked, him, saying, Rise swiftly]. And at once [And anon] the chains felled down from his hands.

⁸ And the angel said to him, Gird thee, and do on thine hoses [and do on thy hoses]. And he did so. And he said to him, Do about thee thy clothes [Do about to thee thy cloth], and follow me.

⁹ And he went out, and followed him; and he wist not that it was sooth, that was done by the angel; for he guessed himself to have seen a vision.

¹⁰ And they passed the first and the second ward, and came to the iron gate that leadeth to the city, which at once was opened to them^[b]. And they went out, and came [forth] into one street, and at once [and anon] the angel passed away from him.

¹¹ And Peter turned again to himself, and said [And Peter turning again to himself, said], Now I know verily, that the Lord sent his angel, and delivered me from the hand of Herod, and from all the abiding of the people of Jews.

¹² And he beheld, and came to the house of Mary [And he beholding, came to the house of Mary], the mother of John, that is named Mark, where many were gathered together, and praying.

¹³ And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel, Rhoda by name, came forth to see.

¹⁴ And when she knew the voice of Peter, for joy she opened not the gate, but ran in, and told, that Peter stood at the gate [that Peter stood before the gate].

¹⁵ And they said to her, Thou maddest [Thou maddest, or art mad]. But she affirmed, that it was so. And they said, It is his angel.

¹⁶ But Peter abode still, and knocked [Forsooth Peter lasted knocking]. And when they had opened the door, they saw him, and wondered.

¹⁷ And he beckoned to them with his hand to be still, and told how the Lord had led him out of the prison^[c]. And he said, Tell ye to James and to the brethren these things. And he went out, and went into another place.

2 And again he entered into Capernaum, after eight days. And it was heard, that he was in an house,

² and many came together, so that they might not be in the house, nor at the gate [so that it took them not, neither at the gate]. And he spake to them the word.

³ And there came to him men that brought a man sick in the palsy [And there came to him men bringing a sick man in palsy], which was borne of four.

⁴ And when they might not bring him to Jesus for the people [And when they might not offer him to him for the company of people], they uncovered the roof where he was, and [they] opened it, and they let down the bed in which the sick man in palsy lay.

⁵ And when Jesus had seen the faith of them, he said to the sick man in palsy [Soothly when Jesus saw the faith of them, he saith to the sick man in palsy], Son, thy sins be forgiven to thee.

⁶ But there were some of the scribes sitting, and thinking in their hearts,

⁷ What speaketh he thus? He blasphemeth; who may forgive sins, but God alone?

⁸ And [anon] when Jesus had known this by the Holy Ghost, that they thought so within themselves, he saith to them [Jesus said to them], What think ye these things in your hearts?

⁹ What is lighter to say to the sick man in palsy, Sins be forgiven to thee, or to say, Rise, take thy bed, and walk?

¹⁰ But that ye know that man's Son hath power in earth to forgive sins, he said to the sick man in palsy [he saith to the sick man in palsy],

¹¹ I say to thee, rise up, [and] take thy bed, and go into thine house.

¹² And at once he rose up, and when he had taken the bed [And anon, he rose up, and, the bed taken up], he went before all men, so that all men wondered, and honoured God, and said [saying], For we saw never so.