Chronological
5 To the overcomer, on the heritages, the psalm of David. Lord, perceive thou my words with ears; understand thou my cry. (To the overcomer, for the inheritance, the song of David. Lord, hear thou my words; understand my cry.)
2 My king (My King), and my God; give thou attention to the voice of my prayer. For, Lord, I shall pray to thee;
3 hear thou early my voice. Early I shall stand nigh to thee, and I shall see; (hear thou my voice in the morning. Early in the morning I shall stand near to thee, and I shall see thee;)
4 for thou art God not desiring wickedness. Neither an evil-willed man shall dwell beside thee; (for thou art not a God who desireth wickedness. No one with an evil will shall stand beside thee;)
5 neither unjust men shall dwell before thine eyes. Thou hatest all them that work wickedness; (nor shall the unrighteous stand before thine eyes. Thou hatest all those who do evil;)
6 thou shalt lose them that speak leasing. The Lord shall hold abominable a man-queller, and a guileful man. (thou shalt destroy those who tell lies. And the Lord shall hold as abominable man-killers, that is, murderers, and liars.)
7 But Lord, in the multitude of thy mercy, I shall enter into thine house; I shall worship to(ward) thine holy temple in thy dread. (But Lord, because of thy great love, I shall enter into thy House; I shall bow toward thy holy Temple in reverence for thee.)
8 Lord, lead thou forth me in thy rightwiseness for mine enemies; (ad)dress thou my way in thy sight. (Lord, lead thou me forth in thy righteousness, because my enemies be all around me; direct thou my way before thee/direct thou me along thy way.)
9 For truth is not in their mouth; their heart is vain. Their throat is an open sepulchre, they did guilefully with their tongues; (For truth is not in their mouths; their hearts be empty. Their throats be an open tomb, or an open grave, and everything they say is deceitful, or corrupt;)
10 God, deem thou them. Fall they down from their thoughts; after the multitude of their wickednesses, or unpiousnesses, cast thou them down; for, Lord, they have stirred thee to wrath. (God, judge thou them. Let them fall by their own thoughts; throw thou them down after all their wickednesses; for, Lord, they have rebelled against thee.)
11 And all that hope in thee, be they glad; they shall make full out joy [into] without end, and thou shalt dwell in them. And all that love thy name shall have glory in thee; (But all who hope in thee, be they glad; they shall rejoice forever, and thou shalt live with them. And all who love thy name shall have glory in thee;)
12 for thou shalt bless the just man. Lord, thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of thy good will. (for thou shalt bless the righteous. Lord, thou hast surrounded us with thy favour, yea, like with a shield.)
38 The psalm of David, to bethink on the sabbath. Lord, reprove thou not me in thy strong vengeance; neither chastise thou me in thine ire. (The song of David, to remember the sabbath. Lord, rebuke thou me not in thy fury; nor chastise thou me in thy anger.)
2 For thine arrows be fixed in me; and thou hast made steadfast thine hand on me.
3 None health is in my flesh from the face of thine ire; no peace is to my bones from the face of my sins. (There is no health in my flesh, because of thy anger; there is no peace for my bones, because of my sins.)
4 For my wickednesses be gone over mine head; as an heavy burden, those be made heavy on me (like a heavy weight, they be made heavy upon me).
5 Mine healed wounds were rotten, and be broken; from the face of mine unwisdom. (My wounds became rotten, and broken; because of my folly, or my foolishness.)
6 I am made a wretch, and I am bowed down till into the end; all day I entered sorrowful. (I am made a wretch, and I am bent down to the ground; I go about in sorrow all day long.)
7 For my loins be filled with scornings; and health is not in my flesh. (For my loins be filled with sickness; and there is no health in my flesh.)
8 I am tormented, and made low full greatly (I am tormented, and brought down so very low); I roared for the wailing of mine heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my wailing is not hid from thee.
10 Mine heart is troubled in me, my virtue forsook me; and the light of mine eyes, and it is not with me. (My heart is troubled within me, my strength deserted me; and the light in my eyes, it hath also left me.)
11 My friends and my neighbours nighed; and stood (over) against me. And they that were beside me stood afar; (My friends and my neighbours stand far away from me; because of my sickness, or my sores. And even my family members stand far away from me;)
12 and they did violence, that sought my life. And they that sought evils to me, spake vanities; and thought guiles all day. (and they who sought my life, did violence to me. Yea, they who sought evil for me, spoke empty gossip; and they thought up lies and slander about me, all day long.)
13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and as a dumb man not opening his mouth. (But I, like a deaf man, did not listen to them; and like a dumb man, I did not open my mouth.)
14 And I am made as a man not hearing; and not having reprovings in his mouth. (And I am made like a deaf man; yea, one not speaking any rebuke, or reply.)
15 For, Lord, I hoped in thee (For, Lord, I trusted in thee); my Lord God, thou shalt hear me.
16 For I said, (Hear me,) Lest any time mine enemies have joy on me; and the while my feet be moved/and while my feet were moved, they spake great things on me. (For I said, Hear me, lest any time my enemies have joy over me; for when my feet slipped, or stumbled, they spoke many things against me.)
17 For I am ready to beatings; and my sorrow is ever[more] in my sight. (For I am about to fall; and my sorrow is before me forevermore.)
18 For I shall tell my wickedness; and I shall think for my sin. (For I shall tell out my wickedness; and I am afraid, when I think of my sin.)
19 But mine enemies live, and they be confirmed on me; and they be multiplied, that hate me wickedly. (But my enemies live, and they be strong against me; yea, there be many who wickedly hate me.)
20 They that yield evils for goods, backbited me; for I followed goodness. (Those who give back evil in return for good, backbite me; because I do what is right, or good.)
21 My Lord God, forsake thou not me (do not thou desert me); go thou not away from me.
22 Lord God of mine health; behold thou into mine help. (Lord God of my salvation, or of my deliverance, hasten thou to help me.)
41 For victory, the song of David. Blessed is he that understandeth of the needy man and poor; the Lord shall deliver him in the evil day. (To victory, the psalm of David. Happy is he who hath concern for the poor and the needy; the Lord shall save him on the evil day/the Lord shall rescue him in his time of trouble.)
2 The Lord keep him, and quicken him, and make him blessful in the land; and betake not him into the will of his enemies. (The Lord shall keep him safe, and alive, and make him happy in the land; and he shall not deliver him unto the power, or the will, of his enemies.)
3 The Lord (shall) bear help to him on the bed of his sorrow; thou hast oft turned all his bedstraw in his sickness.
4 I said, Lord, have thou mercy on me; heal thou my soul, for I have sinned against thee.
5 Mine enemies said evils to me; When shall he die, and his name shall perish?
6 And if he entered for to see (me), he spake vain things (to me); his heart gathered wickedness to himself. He went withoutforth; and spake to the same thing/and spake to the same end. (And when he entered to see me, he spoke to me of empty, or useless, things; and his heart gathered wickedness unto itself. And then he went withoutforth; and spoke the same thing everywhere he went.)
7 All mine enemies backbited privily against me; against me they thought evils to me. (All my enemies secretly backbite me; they think up evil things to do to me.)
8 They ordained an evil word against me; Whether he that sleepeth, shall not lie to, that he rise again? (They ordained an evil word against me; and they said, He who sleepeth, now that he lieth down, shall not rise up again.)
9 For why the man of my peace, in whom I hoped, he that ate my loaves; made great deceit on me. (For my friend, in whom I trusted, he who ate my bread; brought forth great deceptions, or lies, against me.)
10 But thou, Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me (up) again; and I shall yield to them (and I shall repay them).
11 In this thing I knew, that thou wouldest me; for mine enemy shall not have joy on me. (And by this I shall know that thou delightest in me; and that my enemy shall not have any joy over me.)
12 Forsooth thou hast taken me up for (mine) innocence; and hast confirmed me in thy sight [into] without end. (For thou hast upheld me because of my innocence; and will keep me before thee forever.)
13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from the world, and into the world (Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, forever and ever); be it done, be it done.
42 To victory, to the sons of Korah. As an hart desireth to the wells of waters; so thou, God, my soul desireth to thee. (To victory, for the sons of Korah, for their teaching. Like a hart desireth a well of water; so, O God, my soul desireth thee.)
2 My soul thirsted to God, the quick well/(the) well of life (My soul thirsted for God, the living well/the well of life); when shall I come, and appear before the face of God?
3 My tears were loaves to me day and night; while it is said to me each day, Where is thy God? (My tears were my only food day and night; while my enemies said to me every day/over and over, Where is thy God?)
4 I bethought of these things, and I poured out in me my soul; for I shall pass into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, till to the house of God. In the voice of full out joying, and acknowledging; is the sound of the eater. (I remembered these things, as I poured out my soul; for I had gone with the people, yea, I had gone with them to the House of God. With words of rejoicing, and praising; yea, the sound of the people going in pilgrimage.)
5 My soul, why art thou sorry; and why troublest thou me? Hope thou in God, for yet I shall acknowledge to him; he is the health of my cheer, and my God. (My soul, why art thou feeling so sad? and why troublest thou me? Hope thou in God, for yet I shall praise him; he is my true help, and my God.)
6 My soul is troubled with(in) myself; therefore, God, I shall be mindful of thee from the land of Jordan, and from the little hill of Hermonites. (My soul is troubled within me; and so, O God, I shall remember thee from the land of the Jordan River, and from Mount Hermon, and Mount Mizar.)
7 Depth calleth depth; in the voice of thy windows. All thine high things, and thy waves; passed over me. (One depth calleth unto another depth; in the rush of thy channels. All thy billows, yea, all thy waves, passed over me.)
8 The Lord sent his mercy in the day; and his song in the night (The Lord sent forth his love in the day; and his song in the night). With me is the prayer to (the) God of my life;
9 I shall say to God, Thou art mine up-taker. Why forgettest thou me; and why go I sorrowful, while the enemy tormenteth me? (I shall say to God, Thou art my defender. So why hast thou forgotten me? and why must I go about in sorrow, while the enemy tormenteth me?)
10 While my bones be broken altogether; mine enemies, that trouble me, despised me. While they say to me, by all days; Where is thy God? (I feel as if my bones be altogether broken, or crushed; when my enemies, who trouble me, despise and scorn me. And they say to me, every day/over and over, Where is thy God?)
11 My soul, why art thou sorry; and why troublest thou me? Hope thou in God, for yet I shall acknowledge to him; he is the health of my cheer, and my God. (My soul, why art thou feeling so sad? and why troublest thou me? Hope thou in God, for yet I shall praise him; he is my true help, and my God.)
2001 by Terence P. Noble