Book of Common Prayer

140 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, deliver thou me from an evil man; deliver thou me from a wicked man. (To victory, the song of David. Lord, save thou me from evil people; yea, save thou me from violent, or wicked, people.)

² Which thought wickednesses in the heart; all day they ordained battles. (Who always think in their hearts about doing wicked things; who plan out battles all day long/day after day.)

³ They sharpened their tongues as serpents; the venom of snakes is under the lips of them. (Their tongues be sharp like the fangs of serpents; the venom of snakes is on their lips.)

⁴ Lord, keep thou me from the hand of the sinner; and deliver thou me from wicked men. Which thought to deceive my goings; (Lord, keep thou me safe from the power of the sinner; and save thou me from the wicked, from those who think out ways to thwart my progress.)

⁵ proud men hid a snare to me. And they laid forth cords into a snare; they setted (a) trap to me beside the way. (Proud people hid a snare for me, yea, they laid out cords for a snare; they set a trap for me along the way.)

⁶ I said to the Lord, Thou art my God; Lord, hear thou the voice of my beseeching (Lord, hear thou the words of my plea).

⁷ Lord, Lord, the virtue of mine health; thou madest shadow on mine head in the day of battle. (Lord, Lord, my strong salvation/my strong deliverance; thou madest a shadow upon my head on the day of battle.)

⁸ Lord, betake thou not me from my desire to the sinner; they thought against me, forsake thou not me, lest peradventure they be enhanced. (Lord, do not thou deliver me unto the desires of the sinners; they have planned to harm me, so abandon thou me not, lest they gain an advantage over me.)

⁹ The head of the compass of them; the travail of their lips shall cover them. (As for the leaders of those who surround me; let the treachery of their own lips ensnare them.)

¹⁰ Coals shall fall on them, thou shalt cast them down into fire; in(to) wretchednesses (where) they shall not (be able to) stand. (Let burning coals fall upon them, and be they thrown down into the fire; yea, into a wretchedness from which they shall never be able to escape.)

¹¹ A man that is a great jangler shall not be (well-) directed in earth (A man who is a great gossip, or a slanderer, shall not be successful in the world); evils shall take an unjust man in(to) perishing.

¹² I have known, that the Lord shall make doom of a needy man; and the vengeance of poor men. (I know, that the Lord shall make judgement in favour of the needy; and he shall take vengeance for the poor.)

¹³ Nevertheless just men shall acknowledge to thy name; and rightful men shall dwell with thy cheer. (Truly the righteous shall give thanks to thy name; and the upright shall live in thy presence./Truly the righteous shall praise thy name; and the upright shall worship before thee.)

142 The learning of David; his prayer, when he was in the den. With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I prayed heartily to the Lord. (The teaching of David; his prayer, when he was in the cave. With my voice I cried to the Lord; with my voice I heartily prayed to the Lord.)

² I shedded out my prayer in his sight; and I pronounce(d) my tribulation before him. (I poured out my complaints before him; and I told him about all my troubles.)

³ While my spirit faileth of me; and thou hast known my paths. In this way in which I went; proud men hid a snare to me. (Yea, when my spirit failed within me; thou knewest which path I should take. For on the way in which I went; proud people hid a snare for me.)

⁴ I beheld to the right side, and I saw; and none there was that knew me. Flight perished from me; and none there is that seeketh (to help) my soul. (I looked to the right; and I saw, that there was no one there who knew me. I had no way to escape; there was no one to rescue me.)

⁵ Lord, I cried to thee; I said, Thou art mine hope; my part in the land of livers. (Lord, I cried to thee; I said, Thou art my only hope, my portion in the land of the living.)

⁶ Give thou attention to my beseeching; for I am made low full greatly. Deliver thou me from them that pursue me; for they be comforted on me. (Give thou attention to my plea; for I am brought down so very low. Save thou me from those who pursue me; for they be stronger than me.)

⁷ Lead my soul out of keeping to acknowledge to thy name; just men abide me, till thou yield to me. (Lead me out of this prison, so that I can praise thy name; the righteous shall gather around me, when thou shalt reward me.)

141 The psalm of David. (The song of David.) Lord, I cried to thee, hear thou me; give thou attention to my voice, when I shall cry to thee.

² My prayer be (ad)dressed as incense in thy sight; the raising up of mine hands be as the eventide sacrifice. (Let my prayer be directed before thee like incense; and let the raising up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.)

³ Lord, set thou a keeping to my mouth; and a door of standing about to my lips. (Lord, set thou a guard at my mouth; yea, a sentry at the door of my lips.)

⁴ Bow thou not [down] mine heart into words of malice; to excuse excusings in sin. With men working wickedness; and I shall not commune with the chosen men of them. (Help thou me not to turn my heart to words of malice; to make excuses for sins, and for those who do evil. I shall not commune with their chosen ones/I shall not feast with their chosen ones.)

⁵ A just man shall reprove me in mercy, and he shall blame me; but the oil of a sinner make not fat mine head. For why and yet my prayer is in the well pleasant things of them; (The righteous shall rebuke me in love, and they shall reproach me; but my head shall not be anointed with the oil of sinners. For my prayer is still against what is pleasing to them.)

⁶ for the doomsmen of them joined to the stone were sopped up. Hear they my words, for they were mighty. (And when their judges shall be thrown down from stony places, then the people shall listen to my words; for they be true.)

⁷ As fatness is broken out on the earth; our bones be scattered nigh hell. (As wood chopped into pieces lieth on the ground; so their bones shall be scattered nigh to Sheol/close to the grave.)

⁸ Lord, Lord, for mine eyes be to thee, I hoped in thee; take thou not away my soul. (Lord, Lord, I fix my eyes upon thee, and I put my trust in thee; do not let me die!)

⁹ Keep thou me from the snare which they ordained to me; and from the traps of them that work wickedness. (Keep thou me safe from the snare which they have set for me; yea, from the traps of those who do evil.)

¹⁰ Sinners shall fall in the net thereof; I am alone till I pass. (Let the sinners fall into their own nets; while I alone shall safely pass by.)

143 The psalm of David. Lord, hear thou my prayer, with ears perceive thou my beseeching; in thy truth hear thou me, in thy rightwiseness. (The song of David. Lord, hear thou my prayer, and listen thou to my plea; and answer thou me in thy faithfulness, and in thy righteousness.)

² And enter thou not into doom with thy servant; for each man living shall not be made just in thy sight. (And enter thou not into the judgement of thy servant; for no one living can be made right, or justified, before thee.)

³ For the enemy pursued my soul; he made low my life in [the] earth. He hath set me in dark places, as the dead men of the world, (For the enemy hath pursued me; and he hath brought me down low to the ground. He hath put me in dark places, like the dead of the world,)

⁴ and my spirit was anguished on me; mine heart was troubled in me. (and my spirit was anguished within me; and my heart was troubled within me.)

⁵ I was mindful of eld days, I bethought in all thy works; I bethought in the deeds of thine hands. (I remembered the old days, and I thought about all thy works; yea, I thought about the deeds of thy hands.)

⁶ I held forth mine hands to thee; my soul (was) as earth without water to thee. (I held out my hands to thee; my soul was like dry ground without water, thirsting for thee.)

⁷ Lord, hear thou me swiftly; my spirit failed. Turn thou not away thy face from me; and I shall be like them that go down into the pit. (Lord, swiftly answer thou me; for my spirit faileth/for my spirit fainteth. Turn thou not away thy face from me; or I shall be like those who go down into the pit.)

⁸ Make thou early thy mercy heard to me; for I hoped in thee. Make thou known to me the way in which I shall go; for I raised my soul to thee. (Let me know thy love in the morning; for I put my trust in thee. Let me know which way I should go; for I raise up my soul to thee.)

⁹ Deliver thou me from mine enemies; Lord, I fled to thee; (Save thou me from my enemies; Lord, I fled to thee/Lord, I flee to thee;)

¹⁰ teach thou me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me forth into a rightful land; (teach thou me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me forth on the right path;)

¹¹ Lord, for thy name thou shalt quicken me in thine equity. Thou shalt lead my soul out of tribulation; (Lord, for the sake of thy name, save me/let me live. And because of thy fairness, lead thou my soul out of trouble, or tribulation;)

¹² and in thy mercy thou shalt scatter mine enemies. And thou shalt lose all them, that trouble my soul; for I am thy servant. (and in thy love for me, waste thou my enemies. Yea, destroy thou all those who trouble me; for I am thy servant.)

3 And after that Ruth had turned (again) to her mother-in-law, she heard of her, My daughter, I shall seek rest to thee, and I shall purvey that it be well to thee. (And sometime later, when Ruth had returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi said to her, My daughter, I shall seek rest for thee, and I shall purvey that it be well with thee.)

² This Boaz, to whose damsels thou were joined (to) in the field, is our kinsman, and in this night he winnoweth the cornfloor of barley (and tonight he thresheth barley at his threshing floor).

³ Therefore be thou washed, and anointed, and be thou clothed with more honest clothes, and go thou down into the cornfloor; the man see not thee, till he have ended to eat and to drink. (And so be thou washed, and anointed, and be thou clothed with more honourable, or more decent, clothes, and then go thou down to the threshing floor; but do not let the man see thee until he hath finished eating and drinking.)

⁴ Forsooth when he goeth to sleep, mark thou the place in which he sleepeth; and thou shalt come, and uncover the cloak, with which he is covered, from the part of the feet, and thou shalt cast thee down, and thou shalt lie there. Forsooth he shall say to thee, what thou oughtest to do.

⁵ And Ruth answered, Whatever thing thou commandest to me, I shall do.

⁶ And she went down into the cornfloor (And she went down to the threshing floor), and did all things which her mother-in-law commanded to her.

⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and (had) drunk, and was made more glad, and had gone to sleep beside the mound of sheaves, Ruth came, and hid herself; and when the cloth was uncovered from his feet, she casted down herself (and she turned back the cloak over his feet, and lay herself down).

⁸ And lo! now at midnight, the man dreaded, and was troubled (And lo! at midnight, the man was startled, or was afraid, and he woke up from his sleep); and he saw a woman lying at his feet;

⁹ and he said to her, Who art thou? She answered, I am Ruth, thine handmaid; stretch forth thy cloth on thy servantess, for thou art nigh of kin. (and he said to her, Who art thou? She answered, I am Ruth, thy servantess; stretch forth thy cloak over thy servantess, for thou art my next of kin.)

¹⁰ And he said, Daughter, thou art blessed of the Lord, and thou hast overcome the former mercy with the latter (and now thou hast surpassed thy earlier proof of family devotion, or loyalty, with this one); for thou followedest not young men, poor either rich.

¹¹ Therefore, do not thou dread, but whatever thing thou shalt say to me, I shall do to thee; for all the people that dwelleth within the gates of my city know, that thou art a woman of virtue. (And so, do not thou fear, but whatever that thou shalt ask of me, I shall do for thee; for all the people who liveth within the gates of my city know, that thou art a woman of virtue.)

¹² And I forsake not, that I am of nigh kin, but another man is nearer kin than I; (And I do not deny, that I am your close kin, but another man is a closer kin than I;)

¹³ (so) rest thou here this night, and when the morrowtide is made, if the man will hold thee to wife by right of nigh kin (if the man will make thee his wife by right of next of kin), (then) the thing is well done; and if he will not, (then) I shall take thee without any doubt, (as) the Lord liveth; (so) sleep thou till the morrowtide.

¹⁴ Therefore she slept at his feet till to the going away of [the] night, and then she rose (up), before that men should know each other. And Boaz said to her, Be thou ware lest any man know, that thou camest hither.

¹⁵ And again he said, Stretch forth thy mantle with which thou art covered, and hold thou with ever either hand. And while she stretched forth and held, he meted six measures of barley, and putted on her; and she bare, and entered into the city, (And then he said, Stretch forth thy mantle with which thou art covered, and hold thou it with both hands. And while she stretched it forth and held it, he measured, or counted, out six measures of barley, and put it on her mantle; and she carried it, and went into the city,)

¹⁶ and came to her mother-in-law. Which said to Ruth, What hast thou done, daughter? And Ruth told to her all things, which the man had done to her. (and came home to her mother-in-law. And Naomi said to Ruth, What happened, my daughter? And Ruth told her all the things, that the man had done for her.)

¹⁷ And Ruth said, Lo! he gave to me six measures of barley; and he said, I will not that thou turn again void to thy mother-in-law. (And Ruth added, Lo! he gave me six measures of barley; for he said, I will not have it that thou return empty-handed to thy mother-in-law.)

¹⁸ And Naomi said, Abide, daughter, till we see what issue the thing shall have (And Naomi said, Just wait, or have patience, daughter, until we see what shall happen); for the man shall not cease, no but he [ful]fill those things which he spake.

4 Therefore we that have this administration [Therefore we having this administration, or office], after this that we have gotten mercy, fail we not,

² but do we away the privy things of shame, not walking in subtle guile, neither doing adultery by the word of God, but in showing of the truth commending us selves to each conscience of men before God. [but do away the privy things of shame, not walking in subtle guile, neither adulterating the word of God, but in showing of the truth commending ourselves to each conscience of men before God.]

³ For if also our gospel is covered, or hid, in these that perish it is covered;

⁴ in which [the] god of this world, that is, the devil, hath blinded the souls of unfaithful men, that the lightening of the gospel of the glory of Christ, which is the image of God, shine not.^[a]

⁵ But we preach not us selves, but our Lord Jesus Christ [Soothly we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ our Lord]; and us your servants by Jesus.

⁶ For God, that said [the] light to shine of darknesses, he hath given light in our hearts, to the lightening of the science of the clearness of God [he hath enlightened in our hearts, to the illumining of the science of the clearness of God], in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷ And we have this treasure in brittle vessels, that the worthiness be of God's virtue [that the highness be of God's virtue], and not of us.

⁸ In all things we suffer tribulation, but we be not anguished, or distressed; we be made poor, but we lack nothing;^[b]

⁹ we suffer persecution, but we be not forsaken; we be made low, but we be not confounded; we be cast down, but we perish not.

¹⁰ And evermore we bear about the slaying of Jesus in our body [Evermore bearing about the mortifying of Jesus Christ in our body], that also the life of Jesus be showed in our bodies.

¹¹ For evermore we that live, be taken into death for Jesus, that [and] the life of Jesus be showed in our deadly flesh.

¹² Therefore death worketh in us, but life in you.

³⁸ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.

³⁹ But I say to you, that ye against-stand not an evil man; but if any smite thee in the right cheek, show to him also the other;^[a]

⁴⁰ and to him that will strive with thee in doom, and take away thy coat, leave to him also thy mantle [leave thou to him and thine over-cloth];

⁴¹ and whoever constraineth thee a thousand paces, go thou with him other twain. [and whoever constrain thee a thousand paces, go thou with him other two.]

⁴² Give thou to him that asketh of thee [Forsooth give to him that asketh of thee], and turn thou not away from him that will borrow of thee.

⁴³ Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

⁴⁴ But I say to you, love ye your enemies, do ye well to them that hate you, and pray ye for them that pursue, and slander you [and pray ye for men pursuing, and falsely challenging you];

⁴⁵ that ye be the sons of your Father that is in heavens, that maketh his sun to rise upon good men and evil [that maketh his sun to rise on good and on evil men], and raineth on just men and unjust.

⁴⁶ For if ye love them that love you, what meed shall ye have? whether [the] publicans do not this thing?

⁴⁷ And if ye greet your brethren only, what shall ye do more? do not heathen men this? [And if ye greet, or salute, your brethren only, what moreover shall ye do? whether and pagans do not this thing?]

⁴⁸ Therefore be ye perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.