In finem, pro octava. Psalmus David.

(To the choir-master. Over the octave. A psalm. Of David.)

Unto the end; for the octave, a psalm for David.

Salvum me fac, Domine, quoniam defecit sanctus, quoniam diminutæ sunt veritates a filiis hominum.

Lord, come to my rescue; piety is dead; in a base world, true hearts have grown rare.

Save me, O Lord, for there is now no saint: truths are decayed from among the children of men.

Vana locuti sunt unusquisque ad proximum suum; labia dolosa, in corde et corde locuti sunt.

None but exchanges empty forms of speech with his neighbour; everywhere false hearts and treacherous lips.

They have spoken vain things every one to his neighbour: with deceitful lips, and with a double heart have they spoken.

Disperdat Dominus universa labia dolosa, et linguam magniloquam.

Those treacherous lips, that tongue with high-sounding phrases; Lord, rid the earth of them!

May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things.

Qui dixerunt: Linguam nostram magnificabimus; labia nostra a nobis sunt. Quis noster dominus est?

With our tongues, they say, we can do great things; our lips are good friends to us; we own no master.

Who have said: We will magnify our tongue; our lips are our own; who is Lord over us?

Propter miseriam inopum, et gemitum pauperum, nunc exsurgam, dicit Dominus. Ponam in salutari; fiducialiter agam in eo.

Now, says the Lord, I will bestir myself, on behalf of the helpless who are so ill used, of the poor who cry out so bitterly; I will win them the redress they long for.

By reason of the misery of the needy, and the groans of the poor, now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him in safety; I will deal confidently in his regard.

Eloquia Domini, eloquia casta; argentum igne examinatum, probatum terræ, purgatum septuplum.

The promises of the Lord are true metal, like silver that is tested in the crucible, the stains of earth gone, seven times refined.

The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried by the fire, purged from the earth, refined seven times.

Tu, Domine, servabis nos, et custodies nos a generatione hac in æternum.

Yes, Lord, thou wilt watch over us, and keep us ever safe from these evil days.

Thou, O Lord, wilt preserve us: and keep us from this generation for ever.

In circuitu impii ambulant: secundum altitudinem tuam multiplicasti filios hominum.

See how the wicked come and go all around us, how they rise to greatness, this base breed of men!

The wicked walk round about: according to thy highness, thou hast multiplied the children of men.