Of understanding, for Ethan the Ezrahite.

(A maskil. Of Ethan the Ezrahite.)

Intellectus Ethan Ezrahitæ.

The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever. I will shew forth thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation.

Here is a song to put the Lord’s mercies on record for ever; ages will pass, and still these words of mine shall proclaim thy faithfulness.

Misericordias Domini in æternum cantabo; in generationem et generationem annuntiabo veritatem tuam in ore meo.

For thou hast said: Mercy shall be built up for ever in the heavens: thy truth shall be prepared in them.

Charter of everlasting mercy thy own lips have given; there, in the heavens, thy faithful promise rests:

Quoniam dixisti: In æternum misericordia ædificabitur in cælis; præparabitur veritas tua in eis.

I have made a covenant with my elect: I have sworn to David my servant:

I have made a sworn covenant with my chosen servant David:

Disposui testamentum electis meis; juravi David servo meo:

Thy seed will I settle for ever. And I will build up thy throne unto generation and generation.

To all time I will make thy posterity continue, age after age I will bid thy throne endure.

Usque in æternum præparabo semen tuum, et ædificabo in generationem et generationem sedem tuam.

The heavens shall confess thy wonders, O Lord: and thy truth in the church of the saints.

And are not those heavens, Lord, witnesses of thy wonderful power, of thy faithfulness, before the court of the holy ones?

Confitebuntur cæli mirabilia tua, Domine; etenim veritatem tuam in ecclesia sanctorum.

For who in the clouds can be compared to the Lord: or who among the sons of God shall be like to God?

Who is there above the clouds to rival the Lord; where is the Lord’s like among all the sons of God?

Quoniam quis in nubibus æquabitur Domino; similis erit Deo in filiis Dei?

God, who is glorified in the assembly of the saints: great and terrible above all them that are about him.

How is God feared, in that assembly of the holy ones; how great he is, how high in reverence above all that stand about him!

Deus, qui glorificatur in consilio sanctorum, magnus et terribilis super omnes qui in circuitu ejus sunt.

O Lord God of hosts, who is like to thee? thou art mighty, O Lord, and thy truth is round about thee.

Lord God of hosts, who can compare with thee; in the power, Lord, that is thine, in the faithfulness that everywhere attends thee?

Domine Deus virtutum, quis similis tibi? potens es, Domine, et veritas tua in circuitu tuo.

Thou rulest the power of the sea: and appeasest the motion of the waves thereof.

It is thou that dost curb the pride of the sea, and calm the tumult of its waves;

Tu dominaris potestati maris; motum autem fluctuum ejus tu mitigas.

Thou hast humbled the proud one, as one that is slain: with the arm of thy strength thou hast scattered thy enemies.

wounded lies Rahab at thy feet, by the strong arm that has routed thy enemies.

Tu humiliasti, sicut vulneratum, superbum; in brachio virtutis tuæ dispersisti inimicos tuos.

Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded:

Thine are the heavens, thine the earth; author, thou, of the world and all it holds.

Tui sunt cæli, et tua est terra: orbem terræ, et plenitudinem ejus tu fundasti;

the north and the sea thou hast created. Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name:

The north wind and the south are of thy fashioning; thy name wakes the glad echoes of Thabor and Hermon.

aquilonem et mare tu creasti. Thabor et Hermon in nomine tuo exsultabunt:

thy arm is with might. Let thy hand be strengthened, and thy right hand exalted:

God of the strong arm, the sure, the uplifted hand,

tuum brachium cum potentia. Firmetur manus tua, et exaltetur dextera tua:

justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face:

right and justice are the pillars of thy throne; mercy and faithfulness the heralds of thy coming.

justitia et judicium præparatio sedis tuæ: misericordia et veritas præcedent faciem tuam.

blessed is the people that knoweth jubilation. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance:

Happy is the people that knows well the shout of praise, that lives, Lord, in the smile of thy protection!

Beatus populus qui scit jubilationem: Domine, in lumine vultus tui ambulabunt,

and in thy name they shall rejoice all the day, and in thy justice they shall be exalted.

Evermore they take pride in thy name, rejoice over thy just dealings.

et in nomine tuo exsultabunt tota die, et in justitia tua exaltabuntur.

For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy good pleasure shall our horn be exalted.

What else but thy glory inspires their strength? What else but thy favour bids us lift our heads?

Quoniam gloria virtutis eorum tu es, et in beneplacito tuo exaltabitur cornu nostrum.

For our protection is of the Lord, and of our king the holy one of Israel.

From the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, that royal protection comes which is our shield.

Quia Domini est assumptio nostra, et sancti Israël regis nostri.

Then thou spokest in a vision to thy saints, and saidst: I have laid help upon one that is mighty, and have exalted one chosen out of my people.

Long ago, in a vision, thou didst make a promise to thy faithful servants. Thou saidst, I have crowned you a warrior king, chosen out among the common folk a man to honour.

Tunc locutus es in visione sanctis tuis, et dixisti: Posui adjutorium in potente, et exaltavi electum de plebe mea.

I have found David my servant: with my holy oil I have anointed him.

Here was my servant David; on him my consecrating oil has been poured.

Inveni David, servum meum; oleo sancto meo unxi eum.

For my hand shall help him: and my arm shall strengthen him.

My hand shall never leave him unprotected, my arm shall give him courage;

Manus enim mea auxiliabitur ei, et brachium meum confortabit eum.

The enemy shall have no advantage over him: nor the son of iniquity have power to hurt him.

no enemy shall take him unawares, no envious rival have power, henceforth, to crush him;

Nihil proficiet inimicus in eo, et filius iniquitatis non apponet nocere ei.

And I will cut down his enemies before his face; and them that hate him I will put to flight.

beaten down, every foe, at his onset, baffled, all their ill will.

Et concidam a facie ipsius inimicos ejus, et odientes eum in fugam convertam.

And my truth and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

My faithfulness and mercy shall go with him; by my favour he shall rise to pre-eminence.

Et veritas mea et misericordia mea cum ipso, et in nomine meo exaltabitur cornu ejus.

And I will set his hand in the sea; and his right hand in the rivers.

I will make his power rest on the sea; to the streams of the great river his hand shall reach out.

Et ponam in mari manum ejus, et in fluminibus dexteram ejus.

He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father: my God, and the support of my salvation.

Thou art my Father, he will cry out to me, thou art my God, my stronghold and my refuge;

Ipse invocabit me: Pater meus es tu, Deus meus, et susceptor salutis meæ.

And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the earth.

and I will acknowledge him as my first-born, overlord to all the kings of earth.

Et ego primogenitum ponam illum, excelsum præ regibus terræ.

I will keep my mercy for him for ever: and my covenant faithful to him.

I will continue my favour towards him for ever, my covenant with him shall remain unbroken;

In æternum servabo illi misericordiam meam, et testamentum meum fidele ipsi.

And I will make his seed to endure for evermore: and his throne as the days of heaven.

I will give him a posterity that never fails, a throne enduring as heaven itself.

Et ponam in sæculum sæculi semen ejus, et thronum ejus sicut dies cæli.

And if his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments:

Do his children forsake my law, to follow paths not mine;

Si autem dereliquerint filii ejus legem meam, et in judiciis meis non ambulaverint;

If they profane my justices: and keep not my commandments:

do they violate my decrees, leave my will undone?

si justitias meas profanaverint, et mandata mea non custodierint:

I will visit their iniquities with a rod : and their sins with stripes.

Then they shall feel the rod for their transgressions, I will scourge them for their sin,

visitabo in virga iniquitates eorum, et in verberibus peccata eorum;

But my mercy I will not take away from him: nor will I suffer my truth to fail.

but I will not cancel my gracious promise to him;

misericordiam autem meam non dispergam ab eo, neque nocebo in veritate mea,

Neither will I profane my covenant: and the words that proceed from my mouth I will not make void.

never will I be guilty of unfaithfulness, never will I violate my covenant, or alter the decree once spoken.

neque profanabo testamentum meum: et quæ procedunt de labiis meis non faciam irrita.

Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David:

Pledged stands my inviolable word, I will never be false to David;

Semel juravi in sancto meo, si David mentiar:

his seed shall endure for ever.

his posterity shall continue for ever,

semen ejus in æternum manebit. Et thronus ejus sicut sol in conspectu meo,

And his throne as the sun before me: and as the moon perfect for ever, and a faithful witness in heaven.

his royalty, too, shall last on in my presence like the sun; like the moon’s eternal orb, that bears witness in heaven unalterable.

et sicut luna perfecta in æternum, et testis in cælo fidelis.

But thou hast rejected and despised: thou hast been angry with thy anointed.

And now? Now thou hast only loathing and scorn for us; heavy thy hand falls on him thou hast anointed.

Tu vero repulisti et despexisti; distulisti christum tuum.

Thou hast overthrown the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his sanctuary on the earth.

Spurned lies the covenant thou didst make with thy servant, thou hast dishonoured his royalty in the dust,

Evertisti testamentum servi tui; profanasti in terra sanctuarium ejus.

Thou hast broken down all his hedges: thou hast made his strength fear.

broken down all the walls about him, and made a ruin of his stronghold,

Destruxisti omnes sepes ejus; posuisti firmamentum ejus formidinem.

All that pass by the way have robbed him: he is become a reproach to his neighbours.

till he is plundered by every passer-by, a laughing-stock to all his neighbours.

Diripuerunt eum omnes transeuntes viam; factus est opprobrium vicinis suis.

Thou hast set up the right hand of them that oppress him: thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

Thou hast granted aid to the attacking armies, triumph to all his enemies,

Exaltasti dexteram deprimentium eum; lætificasti omnes inimicos ejus.

Thou hast turned away the help of his sword; and hast not assisted him in battle.

foiling the thrust of his sword, and denying him thy succour in battle.

Avertisti adjutorium gladii ejus, et non es auxiliatus ei in bello.

Thou hast made his purification to cease: and thou hast cast his throne down to the ground.

Thou hast robbed him of the bright glory that once was his; thou hast cast down his throne to earth,

Destruxisti eum ab emundatione, et sedem ejus in terram collisisti.

Thou hast shortened the days of his time: thou hast covered him with confusion.

cut his manhood short before its time; confusion overwhelms him.

Minorasti dies temporis ejus; perfudisti eum confusione.

How long, O Lord, turnest thou away unto the end? shall thy anger burn like fire?

Lord, wilt thou always turn thy face away so obdurately, will the flame of thy anger never be quenched?

Usquequo, Domine, avertis in finem? exardescet sicut ignis ira tua?

Remember what my substance is: for hast thou made all the children of men in vain?

Remember how frail a thing I am, how brief a destiny thou hast granted to all Adam’s sons.

Memorare quæ mea substantia: numquid enim vane constituisti omnes filios hominum?

Who is the man that shall live, and not see death: that shall deliver his soul from the hand of hell?

Where is the man that can live on, and leave death untasted; can ransom his life from the power of the world beneath?

Quis est homo qui vivet et non videbit mortem? eruet animam suam de manu inferi?

Lord, where are thy ancient mercies, according to what thou didst swear to David in thy truth?

Lord, where are those mercies of an earlier time, promised so faithfully to David?

Ubi sunt misericordiæ tuæ antiquæ, Domine, sicut jurasti David in veritate tua?

Be mindful, O Lord, of the reproach of thy servants (which I have held in my bosom) of many nations:

Remember how a world’s taunts assail thy people, and this one heart must bear them all;

Memor esto, Domine, opprobrii servorum tuorum, quod continui in sinu meo, multarum gentium:

Wherewith thy enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the change of thy anointed.

shall they hurl taunts, Lord, these, thy enemies, after the man thou thyself hast anointed?

quod exprobraverunt inimici tui, Domine; quod exprobraverunt commutationem christi tui.

Blessed be the Lord for evermore. So be it. So be it.

Blessed be the Lord for ever. Amen, Amen.

Benedictus Dominus in æternum. Fiat, fiat.