Beginning
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.)
27 The holy prayer of David. The Lord is my lightening, and mine health; whom shall I dread? The Lord is defender of my life; for whom shall I tremble [for whom shall I quake]? (The holy prayer of David. The Lord is my light, and my salvation, or my deliverance; who shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; for who else shall I tremble, or shake over?)
2 The while noisome men nigh on me; for to eat my fleshes. Mine enemies, that troubled me; they were made sick and felled down. (All the while harmful, or dangerous, men come near to me; to eat my flesh. But my enemies, those who trouble me, were made feeble, or weak; they all fell down.)
3 Though castles stand together against me; mine heart shall not dread (Though hosts, or armies, stand together against me; my heart shall not fear). Though battle riseth against me; in this thing I shall have hope.
4 I asked of the Lord one thing; I shall seek this thing; that I dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I see the will of the Lord; and that I visit his temple. (I asked of the Lord only one thing; and I shall seek this thing; that I live in the House of the Lord all the days of my life. So that I can see the beauty of the Lord; and I can seek his guidance in his Temple.)
5 For he hid me in his tabernacle in the day of evils; he defended me in the hid place of his tabernacle. He enhanced me in a stone; (For he shall hide me in his Temple on the day of evil; he shall defend me in the hidden place of his Temple. He shall put me upon a stone;)
6 and now he enhanced mine head over mine enemies. I compassed, and offered in his tabernacle a sacrifice of crying [out]; I shall sing, and I shall say psalm to the Lord. (and then my head shall be lifted up over my enemies, who be all around me. And I shall offer an offering of acclamation in his Temple; yea, I shall sing a song of praise to the Lord.)
7 Lord, hear thou my voice, by which I cried to thee; have thou mercy on me, and hear me. (Lord, hear thou my voice, when I cry to thee; have thou mercy on me, and answer me.)
8 Mine heart said to thee, My face sought thee; Lord, I shall seek again thy face. (And thou saidest, Seek ye my face; and my heart said to thee, Lord, I shall seek thy face.)
9 Turn thou not away thy face from me; bow thou not away in wrath from thy servant. Lord, be thou mine helper, forsake thou not me; and, God, mine health, despise thou not me (Lord, be thou my helper, abandon thou me not; and, O God, my salvation, or my deliverance, despise thou me not).
10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me; but the Lord hath taken me (up). (For even if my father and my mother desert me; the Lord shall still take care of me.)
11 Lord, set thou a law to me in thy way; and (ad)dress thou me in a rightful path, for mine enemies. (Lord, show thou me thy way; and direct thou me on the right path, for I have many enemies./Lord, teach thou me thy way; and direct thou me on the right path, safe from my enemies.)
12 Betake thou not me into the souls of them, that trouble me; for wicked witnesses have risen against me, and wickedness lied to itself. (Deliver thou me not unto those who trouble me; for wicked witnesses have risen up against me, and the wicked lie even to themselves!)
13 I believe to see the goods of the Lord; in the land of living men. (I know that I shall see the goodness of the Lord; in the land of the living.)
14 Abide thou the Lord, do thou manly; and thine heart be comforted, and suffer thou the Lord. (Wait thou for the Lord, be thou encouraged; let thy heart be strengthened, and wait thou for the Lord.)
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.)
29 The psalm of David. Ye sons of God, bring to the Lord; bring ye to the Lord, the sons of rams. Bring ye to the Lord glory and honour; (The song of David. Ye sons of God, acknowledge to the Lord; acknowledge to the Lord, ye mighty sons. Acknowledge ye the glory and the strength of the Lord;)
2 bring ye to the Lord glory to his name; praise ye the Lord in his holy large place. (acknowledge to the Lord the glory due his name; bow ye down before the Lord in his holy Temple/bow ye down before the Lord in the beauty of his holiness.)
3 The voice of the Lord on waters, God of majesty thundered; the Lord on many waters. (The voice of the Lord is heard upon the waters, the God of glory thundered/the majestic God thundered; the Lord is heard upon the many waters.)
4 The voice of the Lord in virtue; the voice of the Lord in great doing. (The voice of the Lord is strong; the majestic voice of the Lord.)
5 The voice of the Lord breaking cedars; and the Lord shall break the cedars of Lebanon. (The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.)
6 And he shall all-break them to dust, as a calf of the Lebanon; and the darling was as the son of an unicorn. (And he maketh Lebanon to jump like a calf; and Sirion to leap like a young wild ox.)
7 The voice of the Lord parting the flame(s) of fire; (The voice of the Lord sendeth out flashes of lightning;)
8 the voice of the Lord shaking desert; and the Lord shall stir (al)together the desert of Kadesh. (the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; yea, the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.)
9 The voice of the Lord making ready harts (to calve), and he shall show thick things; and in his temple all men shall say glory. (The voice of the Lord maketh the harts to calve, and bringeth the goat kids early to their birth; and in his Temple everyone shall shout, Glory!)
10 The Lord maketh to inhabit the great flood; and the Lord shall sit king (into) without end. (The Lord ruleth over the great flood/The Lord ruleth over the deep waters; and the Lord shall sit as King forever.)
11 The Lord shall give virtue to his people; the Lord shall bless his people in peace. (The Lord shall give strength to his people; the Lord shall bless his people with peace.)
30 The psalm of [the] song, for the hallowing of the house of David. Lord, I shall enhance thee, for thou hast up-taken me; and thou delightedest not mine enemies on me. (The psalm of the song, for the dedication of the house of David. Lord, I shall exalt thee, for thou hast taken me up/for thou hast lifted me up; and thou hast not let my enemies have delight, or to gloat, over me.)
2 My Lord God, I cried to thee; and thou madest me whole.
3 Lord, thou leddest out my soul from hell; thou savedest me from them that go down into the pit. (Lord, thou hast led me up from Sheol, or the land of the dead; thou hast pulled me out from among those who go down into the pit.)
4 Ye saints of the Lord, sing to the Lord; and acknowledge ye to the mind of his holiness (and give ye thanks at the remembrance of his holiness).
5 For ire is in his indignation; and life is in his will (For there is anger in his indignation; but there is life in his favour). Weeping shall dwell at eventide; and gladness at the morrowtide.
6 Forsooth I said in my plenty; I shall not be moved [into] without end. (But I said in the midst of my plenty, or of my abundance, I shall never be shaken, or defeated.)
7 Lord, in thy will; thou hast given virtue to my fairness. Thou turnedest away thy face from me; and I am made troubled. (Lord, by thy favour, thou hast protected me; yea, like a mountain stronghold. But then thou hast turned thy face away from me; and I was greatly troubled.)
8 Lord, I shall cry to thee; and I shall pray to my God. (Lord, I cried to thee; yea, I prayed to my God.)
9 What profit is in my blood; while I go down into corruption? Whether dust shall acknowledge to thee; either it shall tell thy truth? (And I said, What profit is there in my death; if I go down into the pit? Shall the dust then praise thee? or can it tell about thy truth?)
10 The Lord heard, and had mercy on me; the Lord is made mine helper. (Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be thou my helper.)
11 Thou hast turned my wailing into joy to me; thou hast rent my sackcloth, and hast (en)compassed me with gladness. (And now, thou hast turned my wailing into joy for me; thou hast torn off my sackcloth, and surrounded me with gladness.)
12 That my glory sing to thee, and I be not compunct; my Lord God, I shall acknowledge to thee [into] without end. (So that my spirit may sing to thee, and I shall never be silent; my Lord God, I shall thank thee forever.)
31 To victory, the psalm of David. Lord, I have hoped in thee, be I not shamed [into] without end; deliver thou me in thy rightfulness. (To victory, the song of David. Lord, I have put my trust in thee, let me never be shamed; save thou me in thy righteousness.)
2 Bow down thine ear to me; haste thou to deliver me. Be thou to me into God a defender, and into an house of refuge; that thou make me safe. (Bow down thy ear to me; hasten thou to rescue me. God, be my defender, and a house of refuge; so that thou keep me safe/so that thou save me.)
3 For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for (the sake of) thy name, thou shalt lead me forth, and shalt nourish me.
4 Thou shalt lead me out of the snare, which they hid to me (which they have hid for me); for thou art my defender.
5 I betake my spirit into thine hands; Lord God of truth, thou hast again-bought me. (I commit, or I entrust, my spirit into thy hands; Lord God of truth, thou hast redeemed me.)
6 Thou hatest them that keep vanities superfluously. Forsooth I hoped in the Lord; (Thou hatest them who worship false gods, or useless idols. But I put my trust in the Lord;)
7 I shall have fully joy, and shall be glad in thy mercy. For thou beheldest my meekness; thou savedest my life from needs. (I shall have full out joy, or rejoice, and shall be glad for thy love. For thou hast beheld my troubles; thou hast saved my life from dis-eases, or distress.)
8 And thou closedest not me (al)together within the hands of the enemy; thou hast set my feet in a large place. (And thou enclosedest me not in the hands of the enemy; thou hast set me free in a large place.)
9 Lord, have thou mercy on me, for I am troubled; mine eye is troubled in ire, my soul and my womb also. (Lord, have thou mercy on me, for I am in trouble; my eyes be tired from so much grief, and my soul, and my womb, also be tired.)
10 For why my life failed in sorrow; and my years in wailings. My virtue is made feeble in poverty; and my bones be troubled. (For my life is failing, because of sorrows; and my years, because of wailings. My strength is made feeble, or weak, by poverty; and my bones be diseased.)
11 Over all mine enemies I am made (a) shame, [and] greatly to my neighbours; and dread to my known. They that saw me withoutforth, fled from me; (I am shamed before all my enemies, and especially my neighbours; and I am thought of as someone to be feared by my acquaintances. Those who saw me withoutforth, fled from me;)
12 I am given to forgetting, as a dead man from the heart. I am made as a (for)lorn vessel; (I am forgotten, like a dead man out of mind. I am made like a forlorn vessel;)
13 for I heard despising of many men dwelling in compass. In that thing while they came together against me; they counselled to take my life. (for I have heard the despising of many men who live all around me. And when they came together against me; they plotted to take away my life.)
14 But, Lord, I hoped in thee (But, Lord, I put my trust in thee); I said, Thou art my God;
15 my times be in thine hands. Deliver thou me from the hands of mine enemies; and from them that pursue me. (my life is in thy hands. Rescue thou me from the power of my enemies; and from those who persecute me.)
16 Make thou clear thy face on thy servant; Lord, make thou me safe in thy mercy; (Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; Lord, save thou me in thy love;)
17 be I not shamed, for I inwardly called thee. Unpious men be ashamed, and be they led forth into hell; (let me not be shamed, for I have called upon thee. Let the unpious, or the unrighteous, be ashamed, and let them go down to Sheol, or the land of the dead;)
18 guileful lips be made dumb. That speak wickedness against a just man; in pride, and in mis-using/in pride, and in abusing. (and let deceitful lips be made dumb. Yea, those who speak wickedness against the righteous; in pride, and in mis-using/in pride, and in abusing.)
19 Lord, the multitude of thy sweetness is full great; which thou hast hid to men dreading thee. Thou hast made a perfect thing to them that hope in thee; in the sight of the sons of men. (Lord, the multitude of thy goodness is very great; which thou hast kept safe for those who fear thee/for those who revere thee. Thou hast made a perfect thing for those who put their trust in thee; before the sons of men.)
20 Thou shalt hide them in the private of thy face; from [the] troubling of men (Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence; from all the troubles caused by people). Thou shalt defend them in thy tabernacle; from [the] against-saying of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord; for he hath made wonderful his mercy to me in a strengthened city. (Blessed be the Lord; for he hath shown his wonderful love to me, like a city that is strengthened, or fortified.)
22 Forsooth I said in the out-passing of my soul; I am cast out from the face of thine eyes. Therefore thou heardest the voice of my prayer; while I cried to thee. (For I said in the going forth of my soul, I am cast out from before thine eyes. But thou heardest the words of my prayer; when I cried to thee for help.)
23 All ye holy men of the Lord, love him; for the Lord shall seek truth, and he shall yield plenteously to them that do pride. (All ye holy people of the Lord, love him; for the Lord preserveth the faithful, but he shall strongly punish the proud.)
24 All ye that hope in the Lord, do ye manly; and your heart be comforted. (All ye who hope in the Lord, be ye encouraged; and let your hearts be strengthened.)
2001 by Terence P. Noble