< Psalms 55 >
1 `In Ebreu thus, To victorie in orguns, the lernyng of Dauid. `In Jeroms translacioun thus, To the ouercomer in salmes of Dauid lernid. God, here thou my preier, and dispise thou not my biseching;
God, listen to my prayer, and do not turn away from me while I am pleading with you.
2 yyue thou tent to me, and here thou me. I am sorewful in myn exercising; and Y am disturblid of the face of the enemye,
Listen to me, and answer me, because I am overwhelmed by [all] my troubles.
3 and of the tribulacioun of the synner. For thei bowiden wickidnessis in to me; and in ire thei weren diseseful to me.
My enemies cause me to be terrified; wicked people oppress me. They cause me to have great troubles; they are angry with me, and they hate me.
4 Myn herte was disturblid in me; and the drede of deth felde on me.
I am terrified, and I am very much afraid that I will die.
5 Drede and trembling camen on me; and derknessis hiliden me.
I am very fearful and I tremble/shake, and I am completely terrified.
6 And Y seide, Who schal yyue to me fetheris, as of a culuer; and Y schal fle, and schal take rest?
I said, “I wish that I had wings like a dove! If I had wings, I would fly away and find a place to rest.
7 Lo! Y yede fer awei, and fledde; and Y dwellide in wildirnesse.
I would fly far away and live in the desert.
8 I abood hym, that made me saaf fro the litilnesse, `ether drede, of spirit; and fro tempest.
I would quickly find a shelter from [my enemies] [who are like] [MET] a strong wind and rainstorm.”
9 Lord, caste thou doun, departe thou the tungis of hem; for Y siy wickidnesse and ayenseiyng in the citee.
Lord, confuse my enemies, and cause their plans to fail, because I see them acting violently and causing strife in the city [of Jerusalem].
10 Bi dai and nyyt wickidnesse schal cumpasse it on the wallis therof;
During [each] day and night they march around on top of its walls, committing crimes and causing trouble.
11 and trauel and vnriytfulnesse ben in the myddis therof. And vsure and gile failide not; fro the stretis therof.
They destroy [things] everywhere. They oppress and defraud [people] in the (marketplaces/public squares).
12 For if myn enemye hadde cursid me; sotheli Y hadde suffride. And if he, that hatide me, hadde spoke greet thingis on me; in hap Y hadde hid me fro hym.
If it were an enemy who was making fun of me, I could endure it. If it were someone who hates me, who despises me, I could hide from him.
13 But thou art a man of o wille; my leeder, and my knowun.
But it is someone who is just like me, my companion, someone who was my friend [who is doing this to me].
14 Which tokist togidere swete meetis with me; we yeden with consent in the hous of God.
We previously had many good talks together; we walked around together in God’s temple.
15 Deth come on hem; and go thei doun quyk in to helle. For weiwardnessis ben in the dwelling places of hem; in the myddis of hem. (Sheol )
I desire/hope that my enemies will die suddenly; while they are still young, cause them to go down to the place where the dead people are. They they think evil things. (Sheol )
16 But Y criede to thee, Lord; and the Lord sauede me.
But I [will] ask Yahweh, [my] God, to help me, and he will save me.
17 In the euentid and morewtid and in myddai Y schal telle, and schewe; and he schal here my vois.
[Each] morning and [each] noontime and [each] evening I tell him what I am concerned about, and I moan, and he hears my voice.
18 He schal ayenbie my soule in pees fro hem, that neiyen to me; for among manye thei weren with me.
I have [very] many enemies, but he will rescue me and bring me back safely from the battles that I fight.
19 God schal here; and he that is bifore the worldis schal make hem low. For chaungyng is not to hem, and thei dredden not God;
God is the one who has ruled everything forever, and he will listen to me. He will cause my enemies to be [defeated and] disgraced, because they do not change their evil behavior and they do not revere God.
20 he holdith forth his hoond in yelding. Thei defouliden his testament,
My companion, [whom I mentioned previously], betrayed his friends and broke the agreement that he made with them.
21 the cheris therof weren departid fro ire; and his herte neiyede. The wordis therof weren softer than oyle; and tho ben dartis.
What he said was [easy to listen to, like] butter [is easy to swallow] [MET], but in his inner being he hated people; his words were [soothing] like [olive] oil, [but they hurt people like] sharp swords do [MET].
22 Caste thi cure on the Lord, and he schal fulli nurische thee; and he schal not yyue with outen ende flotering to a iust man.
Put your troubles in Yahweh’s hands, and he will take care of you; he will never allow righteous [people] to experience disasters.
23 But thou, God, schalt lede hem forth; in to the pit of deth. Menquelleris and gilours schulen not haue half her daies; but, Lord, Y schal hope in thee.
God, you will cause murderers [MTY] and liars to die before they have lived half as long as they expect to live; but [as for me], I will trust in you.