Chronological

102 The prayer of a poor man, when he was anguished, and shedded out his speech before the Lord. Lord, hear thou my prayer; and my cry come to thee. (The prayer of a poor man, when he was anguished, and poured out his words before the Lord. Lord, hear thou my prayer; and let my cry come unto thee.)

² Turn not away thy face from me; in whatever day I am troubled, bow down thine ear to me. In whatever day I shall inwardly call thee; hear thou me swiftly. (Turn not away thy face from me; on whatever day I am troubled, bow down thy ear to me. On whatever day that I shall call to thee, please swiftly answer thou me.)

³ For my days have failed as smoke; and my bones have dried up as croutons/as cracklings, either (the) leaving(s) of frying. (For my days have vanished like smoke; and my bones have dried up like croutons.)

⁴ I am smitten as hay, and mine heart (hath) dried up; for I have forgotten to eat my bread. (I am beaten down like dry grass; and I have forgotten to eat my food.)

⁵ Of the voice of my wailing; my bone cleaved to my flesh. (My voice waileth; for my bones cleave to my flesh.)

⁶ I am made like a pelican of (the) wilderness; I am made as a night crow in an house.

⁷ I waked; and I am made as a solitary sparrow in the roof. (I lie awake; and I am like a solitary sparrow on the rooftop.)

⁸ All day mine enemies despised me; and they that praised me swore against me. (All day long my enemies despise me; and those who be angry with me/and those who mock me, conspire against me.)

⁹ For I ate ashes as bread; and I meddled my drink with weeping. (For I have eaten ashes for food; and I have mixed my tears with my drink.)

¹⁰ From the face of the ire of thine indignation; for thou raising me [up] hast hurtled me down. (All because of thy anger, and thy indignation; for first thou hast raised me up, and then thou hast hurtled me down.)

¹¹ My days bowed away as a shadow; and I waxed dry as hay. (My days disappeared like a shadow; and I am dried up like the hay, or the grass.)

¹² But, Lord, thou dwellest [into] without end; and thy memorial in generation and into generation. (But, Lord, thou livest forever; and shalt be remembered by all generations.)

¹³ Lord, thou rising up, shalt have mercy on Zion (Lord, thou shalt rise up, and have mercy on Zion); for the time to have mercy thereof cometh, for the time cometh.

¹⁴ For the stones thereof pleased thy servants; and they shall have mercy on the land thereof. (For its stones pleased thy servants; and they even love its dust.)

¹⁵ And, Lord, heathen men shall dread thy name; and all kings of earth shall dread thy glory. (And, Lord, the heathen shall fear thy name; and all the kings of the earth shall fear thy glory.)

¹⁶ For the Lord hath built [up] Zion; and he shall be seen in his glory. (And when the Lord buildeth up Zion again; he shall be seen in all his glory.)

¹⁷ He beheld on the prayer of meek men; and he despised not the prayer of them. (He heareth the prayers of the humble; and he did not despise their prayers.)

¹⁸ Be these things written in another generation; and the people that shall be made shall praise the Lord. (These things be written for another generation; and then those people, yet to be, shall praise the Lord.)

¹⁹ For he beheld from his high holy place; the Lord looked from heaven into earth (the Lord looked down from heaven onto the earth).

²⁰ For to hear the wailings of fettered men; and for to unbind the sons of slain men.

²¹ That they tell in Zion the name of the Lord; and his praising in Jerusalem. (So that they tell out the Lord’s name in Zion; and his praises in Jerusalem.)

²² In gathering together peoples into one; and kings, that they serve the Lord. (Yea, when all peoples, and kingdoms, shall be gathered together into one, to serve the Lord.)

²³ It answered to him in the way of his virtue; Tell thou to me the fewness of my days. (But he hath weakened my strength along the way; he hath shortened my days.)

²⁴ Again-call thou not me in the middle of my days; thy years be in generation and into generation. (Please do not call me back in the middle of my days; thy years last for all generations.)

²⁵ Lord, thou foundedest the earth in the beginning; and (the) heavens be the works of thine hands.

²⁶ Those shall perish, but thou dwellest perfectly; and all shall wax eld as a cloth. And thou shalt change them as a covering, and those shall be changed; (They shall perish, but thou shalt live forever; all of them shall grow old like a cloak. And thou shalt change them like a covering, and they shall be changed;)

²⁷ but thou art the same thyself, and thy years shall not fail. (but thou thyself art the same, and thy years shall have no end.)

²⁸ The sons of thy servants shall dwell; and the seed of them shall be (ad)dressed, (or directed,) into the world. (The sons and daughters of thy servants shall live; and their children shall be secure before thee/and their descendants shall be established before thee.)

103 A psalm of David. (A song of David.) My soul, bless thou the Lord, and all things that be within me, bless his holy name.

² My soul, bless thou the Lord; and do not thou forget all the yieldings of him. (My soul, bless thou the Lord; and do not thou forget about all his gifts to thee.)

³ Which doeth mercy to all thy wickednesses; which healeth all thy sicknesses. (Who showeth mercy to all thy sins, or all thy wickednesses; who healeth all thy sicknesses.)

⁴ Which again-buyeth thy life from death; which crowneth thee in mercy and merciful doings. (Who redeemeth thy life from death; who crowneth thee with love and merciful doings.)

⁵ Which [ful]filleth thy desire in goods; thy youth shall be renewed as the youth of an eagle. (Who fulfilleth thy desires with good things; thy youth shall be renewed like the youth of an eagle.)

⁶ The Lord doing mercies; and doom, to all men suffering wrong. (The Lord giveth mercy, and justice, to all who suffer wrong.)

⁷ He made his ways known to Moses; his wills to the sons of Israel (his deeds to the Israelites).

⁸ The Lord is a merciful doer, and merciful in will (The Lord is a giver of love, and a giver of mercy); long abiding, and much merciful.

⁹ He shall not be wroth [into] without end; and he shall not threaten [into] without end. (He shall not be angry forever; and he shall not threaten forever.)

¹⁰ He did not to us after our sins; neither he yielded to us after our wickednesses. (He did not do to us what we deserved for our sins; nor did he punish us for all our wickednesses.)

¹¹ For by the highness of heaven from earth; he made strong his mercy on men dreading him. (For as high as the heavens be above the earth, is how strong his love is, for those who fear him/for those who revere him.)

¹² As much as the east is from the west; he made [a]far our wickednesses from us.

¹³ As a father hath mercy on his sons, the Lord had mercy on men dreading him; (Like a father hath love for his sons and daughters, so the Lord hath love for those who fear him/for those who revere him;)

¹⁴ for he knew our making. He bethought that we be dust (He remembered that we be but dust),

¹⁵ a man is as hay; his day[s] shall flower out so as a flower of the field. (for a person’s days be like the hay, or the grass; and he shall flower out like the flowers in the field.)

¹⁶ For the spirit shall pass in him, and it shall not abide; and it shall no more know his place. (For the wind passeth over it, and it shall not remain there long; and then its place shall know it no more.)

¹⁷ But the mercy of the Lord is from without beginning, and till into without end; on men dreading him. And his rightfulness is into the sons of sons; (But the Lord’s love is without beginning, and without end; for those who fear him/for those who revere him. And his righteousness shall never fail the children of their children,)

¹⁸ to them that keep his testament. And be mindful of his commandments; to do those. (yea, they who keep his covenant; and who remember his commandments, and who do them.)

¹⁹ The Lord hath made ready his seat in heaven; and his realm shall be lord of all. (The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven; and he shall rule over all as their King.)

²⁰ Angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; ye mighty in virtue, doing his word, to hear the voice of his words. (Angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; ye mighty and strong, who do his word, yea, ye who obey him.)

²¹ All virtues of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; ye ministers of him, that do his will. (All the hosts of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; ye who be his servants, who do his will.)

²² All works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, in each place of his lordship (All his creatures, bless ye the Lord, everywhere that he ruleth); my soul, bless thou the Lord.

104 My soul, bless thou the Lord; my Lord God, thou art magnified greatly. Thou hast clothed acknowledging and fairness; (My soul, bless thou the Lord; my Lord God, thou art greatly magnified. Thou art clothed with majesty and glory;)

² and thou art clothed with light, as with a cloth. And thou stretchest forth heaven as a skin; (and thou art clothed with light, like with a cloak. And thou stretchest forth, or spreadest out, the heavens like a tent;)

³ and thou coverest with waters the higher parts thereof. Which settest a cloud thy ascending; which goest on the feathers of winds. (and thou layest the beams of thy chambers upon the waters. Thou who makest a cloud thy chariot; and who goest upon the wings of the wind.)

⁴ Which makest spirits thine angels; and thy ministers (a) burning fire. (Who makest the winds to be thy messengers; and flames of fire, or flashes of lightning, to be thy servants.)

⁵ Which hast founded the earth on his stableness; it shall not be bowed into the world of world. (Who hast set the earth on its foundations; yea, it shall never be moved, or shaken.)

⁶ The depth of waters as a cloth is the clothing thereof; waters shall stand on hills. (The depth of waters, like a cloak, is its clothing; and the waters rose above, or covered, the mountains.)

⁷ Those shall flee from thy blaming; men shall be afeared of the voice of thy thunder. (The waters fled from thy rebuke; they were afraid of the sound of thy thunder.)

⁸ Hills go up, and fields go down; into the place which thou hast founded to those. (They went up over the mountains, and down into the valleys; to the place which thou hast prepared for them.)

⁹ Thou hast set a term, which they shall not pass (over); neither those shall be turned (again), for to cover the earth (nor shall they ever return to cover the earth).

¹⁰ And thou sendest out wells into great valleys (And thou sendest forth springs in the great valleys); (and the) waters shall pass betwixt the midst of (the) hills.

¹¹ All the beasts of the field shall drink; wild asses shall abide in their thirst, that is, to be filled in their thirst. (All the beasts of the field shall drink from these waters; the wild donkeys shall quench their thirst there.)

¹² [The] Birds of the air shall dwell on those; from the midst of the stones they shall give voices. (The birds of the air shall live on trees nearby; from the midst of the leaves they shall give out their voices.)

¹³ And thou moistest [the] hills of their higher things; the earth shall be [ful]filled of the fruit of thy works. (And thou waterest the hills from thy high places; and the earth shall be filled full with the fruit of thy works.)

¹⁴ And thou bringest forth hay to beasts; and herb to the service of men. That thou bring forth bread (out) of the earth; (And thou bringest forth hay, or grass, for the beasts; and plants for service to people. So that thou bring forth food from the earth;)

¹⁵ and that wine make glad the heart of men. That he make glad the face with oil; and that bread make steadfast the heart of man. (and wine to make the hearts of people glad. And oil to make their faces shine; and bread to make their hearts strong.)

¹⁶ The trees of the field shall be [full-]filled (The trees of the field be filled full with sap), and the cedars of the Lebanon, which he planted;

¹⁷ sparrows shall make nest there. The house of the gyrfalcon is the leader of those; (the sparrows make their nests there; and the homes of the gyrfalcons be on the tops of them.)

¹⁸ high hills be refuge to harts; the stone is refuge to urchins. (The high hills, or the mountains, be a refuge for the harts; and the stones be a refuge for the conies, or the rock badgers.)

¹⁹ He made the moon into times; the sun knew his going down. (Thou hast made the moon for telling times, or months; and the sun, it knoweth its time to go down, and when to set.)

²⁰ Thou hast set darknesses, and night is made; all beasts of the wood shall go therein.

²¹ Lions’ whelps roaring for to ravish (prey); and to seek of God meat to themselves. (The lions’ whelps roar while they hunt the prey; seeking food for themselves from God.)

²² The sun is risen, and those be gathered together; and those shall be set (down) in their couches. (Then the sun riseth, and they be gathered together; and they return to their dens.)

²³ A man shall go out to his work; and to his working, till to the eventide. (A man goeth out to his work; and doeth his labour, until the evening.)

²⁴ Lord, thy works be magnified full much, thou hast made all things in wisdom; the earth is filled with thy possession(s). (Lord, thou hast made a great many things, thou hast made all things by thy wisdom; the earth is filled with thy creatures.)

²⁵ This sea is great and large to hands; there be creeping beasts, of which is no number. Little beasts with [the] great; (The sea is great, and too large to hold in our hands; and in it be creeping things of which there is no number. Yea, little beasts with the great.)

²⁶ ships shall pass there. This dragon which thou hast formed, for to scorn him. (Ships pass there; and that dragon, or Leviathan, which thou hast formed, playeth there.)

²⁷ All things abide of thee; that thou give to them meat in time. (All things wait for thee; to give them their food at the proper time.)

²⁸ When thou shalt give to them, they shall gather; when thou shalt open thine hand, all things shall be filled with goodness. (What thou givest to them, they gather up; when thou openest up thy hand, they be filled with good things.)

²⁹ But when thou shalt turn away thy face, they shall be troubled; thou shalt take away the spirit of them, and they shall fail; and they shall turn again into their dust. (But when thou turnest away thy face, they be troubled; and when thou takest away their breath, they fail; and then they return to the dust from whence they came.)

³⁰ Send out thy spirit, and they shall be formed of the new/and they shall be reformed of new; and thou shalt renew the face of the earth. (Give thou them breath, and they shall be formed anew; yea, thou shalt renew the face of all the earth.)

³¹ The glory of the Lord be into the world; the Lord shall be glad in his works. (May the glory of the Lord be forever; may the Lord be satisfied with, or happy over, his works.)

³² Which beholdeth the earth, and maketh it to tremble; which toucheth hills, and those smoke. (Who looketh upon the earth, and maketh it to tremble; who toucheth the hills, and they smoke.)

³³ I shall sing to the Lord in my life; I shall say psalm to my God, as long as I am. (I shall sing to the Lord all my life; yea, I shall sing psalms, or songs of praise, to my God, as long as I am.)

³⁴ My speech be merry to him/My speech be mirth to him; forsooth I shall delight in the Lord. (May my words please him; for my delight is in the Lord.)

³⁵ Sinners fail from the earth, and wicked men fail, so that they be not; my soul, bless thou the Lord. (May the sinners perish from the earth, and the wicked fail, so that they be not; but my soul, bless thou the Lord.)