Old/New Testament
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.)
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.)
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.)
14 Follow ye charity, love ye spiritual things, but more that ye prophesy.
2 And he that speaketh in tongue, speaketh not to men, but to God; for no man heareth. But the Spirit speaketh mysteries.
3 For he that prophesieth, speaketh to men to edification, and admonishing, and comforting.
4 He that speaketh in tongue, edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth, edifieth the church of God.
5 And I will, that all ye speak in tongues, but more that ye prophesy. For he that prophesieth, is more than he that speaketh in languages; but peradventure he expound, that the church take edification.[a]
6 But now, brethren, if I come to you, and speak in tongues, what shall I profit to you, but if I speak to you either in revelation, either in science, either in prophecy, either in teaching?[b]
7 For those things that be without soul, and giveth voices, either pipe, either harp, but those give distinction of soundings, how shall it be known that that is sung, either that that is trumpeted.[c]
8 For if a trumpet give an uncertain sound [For why if the trump give uncertain voice], who shall make himself ready to battle?
9 So [and] but ye give an open word by tongue, how shall that that is said be known? For ye shall be speaking in vain[d].
10 There be many kinds of languages in this world, and nothing is without voice. [as so many kinds of tongues, or languages, be in this world, and nothing is without voice.]
11 But if I know not the virtue of a voice [Therefore if I know not the virtue of voice], I shall be to him, to whom I shall speak, a barbaric; and he that speaketh to me, shall be a barbaric.
12 So ye, for ye be lovers of spirits, seek ye that ye be plenteous to edification of the church.[e]
13 And therefore he that speaketh in language, pray, that he expound. [And therefore he that speaketh in tongue, pray, that he interpret, or expound.]
14 For if I pray in tongue, my spirit prayeth; mine understanding is without fruit. [For why if I pray in tongue, my spirit prayeth; forsooth my mind, or reason, is without fruit.]
15 What then? I shall pray in spirit, I shall pray [and] in mind; I shall say psalm in spirit, I shall say psalm also in mind.
16 For if thou blessest in spirit, who filleth the place of an unlearned man, how shall he say Amen on thy blessing, for he knoweth not, what thou sayest?[f]
17 For thou [soothly] doest well thankings, but another man is not edified. [For why thou soothly doest well graces, or thankings, but another is not edified.]
18 I thank my God, for I speak in the language of all you; [I do graces to my God, for I speak in the tongue of all you;]
19 but in the church I will speak five words in my wit, that also I teach other men, than ten thousand words in tongue [than ten thousands of words in tongue not understood].
20 Brethren, do not ye be made children in wits, but in malice be ye children; but in wits be ye perfect.
2001 by Terence P. Noble