Psalm 144
Wycliffe's Bible
1A psalm of David. Blessed be my Lord God, that teacheth mine hands to war; and my fingers to battle. (A song of David. Blessed be the Lord my God, who traineth my hands for war; and my fingers for battle.)

2My mercy, and my refuge; my taker up, and my deliverer. My defender, and I hoped in him; and thou makest subject my people under me. (My mercy, and my refuge; my defender, and my deliverer. Yea, my defender, and in whom I trust; and thou makest the peoples to be subject under me.)

3Lord, what is a man, for thou hast made (thyself) known to him; either the son of man, for thou areckonest him of some value? (Lord, what is man, that thou hast taken notice of him?/that thou carest for him? or the son of a man, that thou reckonest, or esteemest, him of some value?)

4A man is made like vanity; his days pass as shadow. (A person is but like vanity, yea, but a puff of air; his days pass like a shadow.)

5Lord, bow down thine heavens, and come thou down; touch thou [the] hills, and they shall make smoke.

6Light thou shining, and thou shalt scatter them (Send thou forth thy lightning, and thou shalt scatter thy enemies); send thou out thine arrows, and thou shalt trouble them.

7Send out thine hand from on high, ravish me out, and deliver thou me from many waters; and from the hand of alien sons. (Send out thy hand from on high, and take me out of here, that is, rescue me; save thou me from the deep waters, and from the power of foreigners, or of strangers.)

8The mouth of whom spake vanity (Their mouths spoke lies); and the right hand of them is the right hand of wickedness.

9God, I shall sing to thee a new song; I shall say psalm to thee in psaltery of ten strings (yea, I shall sing a song to thee to the strains of a ten-stringed lute).

10Which givest health to kings, which again-boughtest David, thy servant; from the wicked sword ravish thou out me. (Who givest salvation, or deliverance, to kings, and redeemest thy servant David; rescue thou me from the wicked sword.)

11And deliver thou me from the hand of alien sons; the mouth of which spake vanity, and the right hand of them is the right hand of wickedness. (And save thou me from the power of foreigners, or of strangers; whose mouths spoke lies, and whose right hands be the right hands of wickedness, that is, they always break their oaths, or their pledges.)

12Whose sons be as new plantings in their youth. The daughters of them be arrayed; adorned about as the likeness of a temple. (May our sons be like plants fully grown in their youth; may our daughters be arrayed, or adorned, like a palace.)

13The cellars of them be full; bringing out from this vessel into that/from one vessel into another. The sheep of them be with lambs, plenteous in their goings out; (May our cellars be full; and we be able to bring forth from this vessel into that one/and we be able to bring forth from one vessel into another. May our sheep be with lambs; yea, plentiful and innumerable.)

14their kine be fat. There is no falling of their wall, neither passing over (of it); neither cry is in the streets of them. (May all our kine be fat; and be there no parting in the walls of their wombs, nor any passing over of them. And may there be no cries of distress in all our streets.)

15They said, The people is blessed, that hath these things; blessed is the people, whose Lord is the God of it. (And so we say, Happy be the people, who have things like we do; happy be the people, whose God is the Lord.)

WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE

Comprising of
Wycliffe’s Old Testament

and

Wycliffe’s New Testament
(Revised Edition)


Translated by

JOHN WYCLIFFE
and JOHN PURVEY


A modern-spelling edition of their
14TH century Middle English translation,
the first complete English vernacular version,
with an Introduction by

TERENCE P. NOBLE

Used by Permission

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