Old/New Testament
123 The song of degrees. To thee I have raised mine eyes; that dwellest in heavens. (I raise up my eyes to thee; who livest in heaven.)
2 Lo! as the eyes of servants be in the hands of their lords. As the eyes of the handmaid be in the hands of her lady; so our eyes be to our Lord God, till he have mercy on us. (Lo! like the eyes of the servant look to the hand of his lord; and like the eyes of the servantess look to the hand of her lady; so let our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us.)
3 Lord, have thou mercy on us, have thou mercy on us; for we be much filled with despising (for we be greatly despised).
4 For our soul is much filled; we be shame to them that be abundant with riches, and despising to proud men. (For our soul is filled full, with the scorn of those who have abundant riches; and with disdain from the proud.)
124 The song of degrees of David. Israel say now, No but for the Lord was in us; (The song of degrees for David. Let Israel say now, If the Lord was not with us/If the Lord had not been for us,)
2 no but for the Lord was in us. When men rose up against us; (yea, if the Lord was not with us/if the Lord had not been for us; then when men rose up against us,)
3 in hap they had swallowed us quick. When the strong vengeance of them was wroth against us; (they would have swallowed us up alive. Yea, when their fury raged against us;)
4 in hap water had swallowed us up. Our soul passed through a strand; (the water would have swallowed us up. When the stream had gone up over our heads;)
5 in hap our soul had passed through a water unsufferable. (when the insufferable waters had gone up over our heads.)
6 Blessed be the Lord; that gave not us into taking, [(or) the catching,] of the teeth of them. (Blessed be the Lord; who did not allow us to be caught by their teeth.)
7 Our soul, as a sparrow, is delivered; from the snare of hunters. The snare is all-broken; and we be delivered. (We have escaped, like a sparrow, from the hunter’s snare. The snare is all-broken; and we be set free.)
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord; that made heaven and earth (who made heaven and earth).
125 The song of degrees. They that trust in the Lord be as the hill of Zion; he shall not be moved [into] without end, that dwelleth in Jerusalem. (They who trust in the Lord be like Mount Zion; it cannot be shaken, but it remaineth firm, or steadfast, forever.)
2 Hills be in the compass of it, and the Lord is in the compass of his people; from this time now, and into the world. (Like the mountains, or the hills, be all around Jerusalem, so the Lord is all around his people; from this time now, and forever.)
3 For the Lord shall not leave the rod of sinners on the part of just men; that just men hold not forth their hands to wickedness. (For the rod of the sinners shall not remain over the land of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands to wickedness.)
4 Lord, do thou well to good men; and to rightful in heart. (Lord, do thou good to good people; yea, to those with an upright heart.)
5 But the Lord shall lead them that bow into obligations, with them that work wickedness; peace be upon Israel. (But may the Lord lead forth those, who turn aside into depraved ways, with those who do evil. May peace be upon Israel.)
10 Brethren, I will not, that ye not know [Soothly, brethren, I will not you to unknow], that all our fathers were under [a] cloud, and all passed the sea;
2 and all were baptized in Moses, in the cloud and in the sea;
3 and all ate the same spiritual meat,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink; and they drank of the spiritual stone following them [forsooth they drank of the spiritual stone following them]; and the stone was Christ.
5 But not in full many of them it was well pleasant to God; for why they were cast down in [the] desert.
6 But these things were done in figure of us, that we be not coveters of evil things, as [and] they coveted.
7 Neither be ye made idolaters, as some of them; as it is written, The people sat to eat and drink, and they rose up to play [and they have risen up to play].
8 Neither do we fornication, as some of them did fornication, and three and twenty thousand were dead in one day [and three and twenty thousand fell, or died, in one day].
9 Neither tempt we Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished of serpents.
10 Neither grumble ye, as some of them grumbled, and they perished of a destroyer. [Neither grutch ye, as some of them grutched, and they perished of the waster, or destroyer.]
11 And all these things fell to them in figure; but they be written to our amending, into whom the ends of the worlds be come [soothly they be written to our correction, or amending, into whom the ends of the world have come].
12 Therefore he that guesseth him(self), that he standeth, see he, that he fall not. [And so he that guesseth him to stand, see, that he fall not.]
13 Temptation take not you, but man's temptation; for God is true, which shall not suffer you to be tempted above that that ye be able; but he shall make with temptation also purveyance, that ye be able to suffer [that ye may sustain].
14 Wherefore, ye most dear-worthy to me, flee ye from the worshipping of maumets [flee from worshipping of idols].
15 As to prudent men I speak, deem ye yourselves that thing that I say.
16 Whether the cup of blessing which we bless, is not the communing of Christ's blood? and whether the bread which we break, is not the part taking of the body of the Lord? [The cup of blessing which we bless, whether it is not the communing of Christ's blood? and the bread which we break, whether it is not the dealing, or part taking, of the body of the Lord?]
17 For we many be one bread and one body, all we that take part of one bread and of one cup.
18 See ye Israel after the flesh, whether they that eat sacrifices, be not partners of the altar?
2001 by Terence P. Noble