Alleluja.

Alleluia.

Praise the Lord, the Lord is gracious; his mercy endures for ever;

Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus, quoniam in sæculum misericordia ejus.

Give glory to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

be this the cry of men the Lord has rescued, rescued them from the enemy’s hand, and gathered them in

Dicant qui redempti sunt a Domino, quos redemit de manu inimici, et de regionibus congregavit eos,

Let them say so that have been redeemed by the Lord, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy: and gathered out of the countries.

from sunrising and sunset, from the north country and the south.

a solis ortu, et occasu, ab aquilone, et mari.

From the rising and from the setting of the sun, from the north and from the sea.

Some have wandered in parched deserts, missing the way to the city that was their home,

Erraverunt in solitudine, in inaquoso; viam civitatis habitaculi non invenerunt.

They wandered in a wilderness, in a place without water: they found not the way of a city for their habitation.

hungry and thirsty, so that their spirits died within them.

Esurientes et sitientes, anima eorum in ipsis defecit.

They were hungry and thirsty: their soul fainted in them.

So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,

Et clamaverunt ad Dominum cum tribularentur, et de necessitatibus eorum eripuit eos;

And they cried to the Lord in their tribulation: and he delivered them out of their distresses.

guiding them surely to the place where they should find a home.

et deduxit eos in viam rectam, ut irent in civitatem habitationis.

And he led them into the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.

Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;

Confiteantur Domino misericordiæ ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.

Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him: and his wonderful works to the children of men.

poor souls that were thirsty, contented now, poor souls that were hungry, satisfied now with all good.

Quia satiavit animam inanem, et animam esurientem satiavit bonis.

For he hath satisfied the empty soul, and hath filled the hungry soul with good things.

Some lay where darkness overshadowed them, helpless in bonds of iron;

Sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis; vinctos in mendicitate et ferro.

Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death: bound in want and in iron.

their punishment for rebelling against God’s decrees, for thwarting the will of the most High.

Quia exacerbaverunt eloquia Dei, et consilium Altissimi irritaverunt.

Because they had exasperated the words of God: and provoked the counsel of the most High:

Their hearts bowed down with sorrow, none else to aid their faltering steps,

Et humiliatum est in laboribus cor eorum; infirmati sunt, nec fuit qui adjuvaret.

And their heart was humbled with labours: they were weakened, and there was none to help them.

they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,

Et clamaverunt ad Dominum cum tribularentur; et de necessitatibus eorum liberavit eos.

Then they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and he delivered them out of their distresses.

rescuing them from darkness, from the shadows, tearing their chains asunder.

Et eduxit eos de tenebris et umbra mortis, et vincula eorum dirupit.

And he brought them out of darkness, and the shadow of death; and broke their bonds in sunder.

Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;

Confiteantur Domino misericordiæ ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.

Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his wonderful works to the children of men.

the Lord who has shattered the gates of brass, riven the bonds of iron.

Quia contrivit portas æreas, et vectes ferreos confregit.

Because he hath broken gates of brass, and burst iron bars.

Some for their own fault must needs be humbled; for their guilt

Suscepit eos de via iniquitatis eorum; propter injustitias enim suas humiliati sunt.

He took them out of the way of their iniquity: for they were brought low for their injustices.

they lay sick, with no stomach for food, close to death’s door.

Omnem escam abominata est anima eorum, et appropinquaverunt usque ad portas mortis.

Their soul abhorred all manner of meat: and they drew nigh even to the gates of death.

So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,

Et clamaverunt ad Dominum cum tribularentur, et de necessitatibus eorum liberavit eos.

And they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and he delivered them out of their distresses.

uttered the word of healing, and saved them from their peril.

Misit verbum suum, et sanavit eos, et eripuit eos de interitionibus eorum.

He sent his word, and healed them: and delivered them from their destructions.

Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;

Confiteantur Domino misericordiæ ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.

Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him: and his wonderful works to the children of men.

theirs to offer him sacrifice in thanksgiving, and proclaim joyfully what he has done for them.

Et sacrificent sacrificium laudis, et annuntient opera ejus in exsultatione.

And let them sacrifice the sacrifice of praise: and declare his works with joy.

Some there were that ventured abroad in ships, trafficking over the high seas;

Qui descendunt mare in navibus, facientes operationem in aquis multis:

They that go down to the sea in ships, doing business in the great waters:

these are men that have witnessed the Lord’s doings, his wonderful doings amid the deep.

ipsi viderunt opera Domini, et mirabilia ejus in profundo.

These have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

At his word the stormy wind rose, churning up its waves;

Dixit, et stetit spiritus procellæ, et exaltati sunt fluctus ejus.

He said the word, and there arose a storm of wind: and the waves thereof were lifted up.

high up towards heaven they were carried, then sank into the trough, with spirits fainting at their peril;

Ascendunt usque ad cælos, et descendunt usque ad abyssos; anima eorum in malis tabescebat.

They mount up to the heavens, and they go down to the depths: their soul pined away with evils.

see them reeling and staggering to and fro as a drunkard does, all their seamanship forgotten!

Turbati sunt, et moti sunt sicut ebrius, et omnis sapientia eorum devorata est.

They were troubled, and reeled like a drunken man; and all their wisdom was swallowed up.

So they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he relieved their distress,

Et clamaverunt ad Dominum cum tribularentur; et de necessitatibus eorum eduxit eos.

And they cried to the Lord in their affliction: and he brought them out of their distresses.

stilling the storm into a whisper, till all its waves were quiet.

Et statuit procellam ejus in auram, et siluerunt fluctus ejus.

And he turned the storm into a breeze: and its waves were still.

Glad hearts were theirs, when calm fell about them, and he brought them to the haven where they longed to be.

Et lætati sunt quia siluerunt; et deduxit eos in portum voluntatis eorum.

And they rejoiced because they were still: and he brought them to the haven which they wished for.

Praise they the Lord in his mercies, in his wondrous dealings with mortal men;

Confiteantur Domino misericordiæ ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum.

Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him, and his wonderful works to the children of men.

let them extol his name, where the people gather, glorify him where the elders sit in council.

Et exaltent eum in ecclesia plebis, et in cathedra seniorum laudent eum.

And let them exalt him in the church of the people: and praise him in the chair of the ancients.

Here, he changes rivers into desert sand, wells into dry ground;

Posuit flumina in desertum, et exitus aquarum in sitim;

He hath turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of waters into dry ground:

land that once was fruitful into a salty marsh, to punish its people’s guilt.

terram fructiferam in salsuginem, a malitia inhabitantium in ea.

A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

There, he turns the wilderness into pools of water, desert ground into springs;

Posuit desertum in stagna aquarum, et terram sine aqua in exitus aquarum.

He hath turned a wilderness into pools of waters, and a dry land into water springs.

and establishes hungry folk there, so that they build themselves a city to dwell in,

Et collocavit illic esurientes, et constituerunt civitatem habitationis:

And hath placed there the hungry; and they made a city for their habitation.

sow fields, and plant vineyards, and reap the harvest;

et seminaverunt agros et plantaverunt vineas, et fecerunt fructum nativitatis.

And they sowed fields, and planted vineyards: and they yielded fruit of birth.

he blesses them, so that their numbers increase beyond measure, and to their cattle grants increase.

Et benedixit eis, et multiplicati sunt nimis; et jumenta eorum non minoravit.

And he blessed them, and they were multiplied exceedingly: and their cattle he suffered not to decrease.

Once, they were but few, worn down by stress of need and ill fortune;

Et pauci facti sunt et vexati sunt, a tribulatione malorum et dolore.

Then they were brought to be few: and they were afflicted through the trouble of evils and sorrow.

but now the same power that shames proud chieftains, and keeps them wandering in a pathless desert,

Effusa est contemptio super principes: et errare fecit eos in invio, et non in via.

Contempt was poured forth upon their princes: and he caused them to wander where there was no passing, and out of the way.

has rescued the poor from need, their households thrive like their own flocks.

Et adjuvit pauperem de inopia, et posuit sicut oves familias.

And he helped the poor out of poverty: and made him families like a flock of sheep.

Honest men will rejoice to witness it, and malice will stand dumb with confusion.

Videbunt recti, et lætabuntur; et omnis iniquitas oppilabit os suum.

The just shall see, and shall rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.

Heed it well, if thou wouldst be wise; be these thy study, the mercies of the Lord.

Quis sapiens, et custodiet hæc, et intelliget misericordias Domini?

Who is wise, and will keep these things; and will understand the mercies of the Lord?