Changes in the Psalter
Table showing principal changes in the Psalter
made in the Revision of 1928
Each verse-pair below sets the older text of the Psalter side-by-side with the revised text adopted in the 1928 American Book of Common Prayer. Verse-numbers follow the numbering used in the 1928 Psalter (which differs slightly from the earlier numbering at Psalms 18, 45, 58 and 73, as explained in the Explanatory Introduction).
| Earlier Version | Revised Version |
|---|---|
| Psalm 2 · v. 7 | |
| I will preach the law | I will rehearse the decree |
| Psalm 2 · v. 10 | |
| Be learned ye that are judges | Be instructed ye that are judges |
| Psalm 4 · v. 8 | |
| Thou hast put gladness in my heart: since the time that their corn and wine and oil increased | Thou hast put gladness in my heart: yea, more than when their corn and wine and oil increase |
| Psalm 7 · v. 15 | |
| Behold, he travaileth with mischief: he hath conceived sorrow and brought forth ungodliness | Behold, the ungodly travaileth with iniquity: he hath conceived mischief and brought forth falsehood |
| Psalm 11 · v. 3 | |
| For the foundations will be cast down: and what hath the righteous done? | If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? |
| Psalm 16 · v. 2 | |
| Thou art my God, my goods are nothing unto thee | Thou art my God, I have no good like unto thee |
| Psalm 17 · v. 11 | |
| They lie waiting in our way on every side: turning their eyes down to the ground | They lie waiting in our way on every side, watching to cast us down to the ground |
| Psalm 18 · v. 19 | |
| They prevented me in the day of my trouble | They came upon me in the day of my trouble |
| Psalm 18 · v. 25 | |
| Therefore shall the Lord reward me after my righteous dealing | Therefore the Lord rewarded me after my righteous dealing |
| Psalm 18 · v. 44 | |
| Thou shalt make me the head of the heathen | Thou shalt make me head of the nations |
| Psalm 18 · v. 45 | |
| The strange children shall dissemble with me | The strangers shall feign obedience unto me |
| Psalm 18 · v. 46 | |
| The strange children shall fail; and be afraid out of their prisons | The strangers shall fail, and come trembling out of their strongholds |
| Psalm 23 · v. 5 | |
| Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me | Thou shalt prepare a table before me in the presence of them that trouble me |
| Psalm 23 · v. 6 | |
| But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life | Surely thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life |
| Psalm 29 · v. 8 | |
| The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to bring forth young, and discovereth the thick bushes: in his temple doth every man speak of his honour | The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to bring forth young, and strippeth bare the forests: in his temple doth every thing speak of his honour |
| Psalm 31 · v. 22 | |
| Thou shalt hide them privily by thine own presence from the provoking of all men | Thou shalt hide them in the covert of thine own presence from the plottings of men |
| Psalm 32 · v. 7 | |
| In the great water-floods they shall not come nigh him | Surely the great water-floods shall not come nigh him |
| Psalm 35 · v. 3 | |
| Stop the way against them that persecute me | Stop the way against them that pursue me |
| Psalm 35 · v. 6 | |
| Let the angel of the Lord persecute them | Let the angel of the Lord pursue them |
| Psalm 41 · v. 12 | |
| When I am in my health, thou upholdest me | In my innocency thou upholdest me |
| Psalm 42 · v. 7 | |
| Put thy trust in God: for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance | O put thy trust in God; for I will yet thank him, which is the help of my countenance, and my God |
| Psalm 44 · v. 2 | |
| How thou hast driven out the heathen with thy hand and planted them in: how thou hast destroyed the nations and cast them out | How thou hast driven out the heathen with thy hand, and planted our fathers in; how thou hast destroyed the nations, and made thy people to flourish |
| Psalm 44 · v. 15 | |
| Thou makest us to be a by-word among the heathen: and that the people shake their heads at us | Thou makest us to be a by-word among the nations, and that the peoples shake their heads at us |
| Psalm 45 · v. 1 | |
| My heart is inditing of a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made unto the King | My heart overfloweth with a good matter; I speak the things which I have made concerning the King |
| Psalm 45 · v. 5 | |
| Thy arrows are very sharp, and the people shall be subdued unto thee: even in the midst among the King’s enemies | Thy arrows are very sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies, and the people shall be subdued unto thee |
| Psalm 45 · v. 17 | |
| I will remember thy Name from one generation to another | I will make thy Name to be remembered from one generation to another |
| Psalm 46 · v. 6 | |
| The heathen make much ado | The nations make much ado |
| Psalm 46 · v. 10 | |
| I will be exalted among the heathen | I will be exalted among the nations |
| Psalm 47 · v. 3 | |
| He shall subdue the people under us | He shall subdue the peoples under us |
| Psalm 47 · v. 8 | |
| God reigneth over the heathen | God reigneth over the nations |
| Psalm 48 · v. 10 | |
| The daughter of Judah be glad | The daughters of Judah be glad |
| Psalm 49 · v. 5 | |
| Wherefore should I fear in the days of wickedness: and when the wickedness of my heels compasseth me round about? | Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when wickedness at my heels compasseth me round about? |
| Psalm 49 · v. 7 | |
| But no man may deliver his brother: nor make agreement unto God for him | But no man may deliver his brother, nor give a ransom unto God for him |
| Psalm 49 · v. 9 | |
| Yea, though he live long | That he shall live alway |
| Psalm 49 · v. 12 | |
| Nevertheless, man will not abide in honour: seeing he may be compared unto the beasts that perish: this is the way of them | Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not, seeing he may be compared unto the beasts that perish |
| Psalm 49 · v. 13 | |
| This is their foolishness; and their posterity praise their saying | This their way is very foolishness; yet their posterity praise their saying |
| Psalm 49 · v. 14 | |
| They lie in the hell like sheep, death gnaweth upon them, and the righteous shall have dominion over them in the morning: their beauty shall consume in the sepulchre out of their dwelling | They lie in the grave like sheep; death is their shepherd; and the righteous shall have dominion over them in the morning; their beauty shall consume in the sepulchre, and have no abiding |
| Psalm 49 · v. 15 | |
| But God hath delivered my soul from the place of hell | But God hath delivered my soul from the power of the grave |
| Psalm 50 · v. 9 | |
| Nor he-goat out of thy folds | Nor he-goats out of thy folds |
| Psalm 50 · v. 23 | |
| To him that ordereth his conversation right | To him that ordereth his way aright |
| Psalm 52 · v. 4 | |
| Thou hast loved unrighteousness more than goodness: and to talk of lies more than righteousness | Thou hast loved unrighteousness more than goodness, and falsehood more than righteousness |
| Psalm 55 · v. 14 | |
| Mine own familiar friend | Mine old familiar friend |
| Psalm 55 · v. 16 | |
| Let them go down quick into hell | Let them go down alive into the pit |
| Psalm 58 · v. 9 | |
| Or ever your pots be made hot with thorns: so let indignation vex him, even as a thing that is raw | Or ever your pots be made hot with thorns, he shall take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike |
| Psalm 59 · v. 12 | |
| Their preaching is of cursing and lies | Their talk is of cursing and lies |
| Psalm 63 · v. 3 | |
| Thus have I looked for thee in holiness | Thus have I looked for thee in the sanctuary |
| Psalm 66 · v. 2 | |
| Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies be found liars unto thee | Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies bow down unto thee |
| Psalm 66 · v. 6 | |
| His eyes behold the people | His eyes behold the nations |
| Psalm 68 · v. 4 | |
| Magnify him that rideth upon the heavens, as it were upon an horse | Magnify him that rideth upon the heavens |
| Psalm 68 · v. 11 | |
| The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers | The Lord gave the word: great was the company of women that bare the tidings |
| Psalm 68 · v. 13 | |
| Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove: that is covered with silver wings, and her feathers like gold | Though ye have lain among the sheepfolds, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove that is covered with silver wings, and her feathers like gold |
| Psalm 68 · v. 16 | |
| Why hop ye so, ye high hills? | Why mock ye so, ye high hills? |
| Psalm 68 · v. 26 | |
| Give thanks, O Israel, unto God, the Lord in the congregations: from the ground of the heart | Give thanks unto God the Lord in the congregation, ye that are of the fountain of Israel |
| Psalm 68 · v. 30 | |
| When the company of the spear-men, and multitude of the mighty are scattered abroad among the beasts of the people, so that they humbly bring pieces of silver: and when he hath scattered the people that delight in war | Rebuke thou the dragon and the bull, with the leaders of the heathen, so that they humbly bring pieces of silver; scatter thou the peoples that delight in war |
| Psalm 69 · v. 20 | |
| Thou hast known my reproof | Thou hast known my reproach |
| Psalm 72 · v. 6 | |
| He shall come down like the rain into a fleece of wool | He shall come down like the rain upon the mown grass |
| Psalm 72 · v. 8 | |
| From the flood unto the world’s end | From the River unto the world’s end |
| Psalm 72 · v. 16 | |
| His fruit shall shake like Libanus, and shall be green in the city like grass | The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass |
| Psalm 72 · v. 17 | |
| All the heathen shall praise him | All the nations shall praise him |
| Psalm 73 · v. 6 | |
| And overwhelmed with cruelty | And cruelty covereth them as a garment |
| Psalm 73 · v. 27 | |
| Thou hast destroyed all them that commit fornication against thee | Thou hast destroyed all them that are unfaithful unto thee |
| Psalm 75 · v. 3 | |
| When I receive the congregation: I shall judge according unto right | In the appointed time, saith God, I shall judge according unto right |
| Psalm 76 · v. 4 | |
| Thou art of more honour and might: than the hills of the robbers | Thou art glorious in might, when thou comest from the hills of the robbers |
| Psalm 78 · v. 46 | |
| Lice | Flies |
| Psalm 78 · v. 67 | |
| He smote his enemies in the hinder parts | He drave his enemies backward |
| Psalm 78 · v. 72 | |
| Great with young ones | With their young |
| Psalm 81 · v. 16 | |
| The haters of the Lord should have been found liars | The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him |
| Psalm 86 · v. 14 | |
| Naughty | Violent |
| Psalm 87 · v. 4 | |
| Behold ye the Philistines also: and they of Tyre, with the Morians; lo, there was he born | Behold, Philistia also; and Tyre, with Ethiopia; lo, in Sion were they born |
| Psalm 87 · v. 5 | |
| And of Sion it shall be reported that he was born in her | Yea, of Sion it shall be reported, this one and that one were born in her |
| Psalm 87 · v. 6 | |
| The Lord shall rehearse it when he writeth up the people: that he was born there | The Lord shall record it, when he writeth up the peoples; lo, in Sion were they born |
| Psalm 87 · v. 7 | |
| The singers also and trumpeters shall he rehearse: All my fresh springs shall be in thee | The singers also and trumpeters shall make answer: All my fresh springs are in thee |
| Psalm 88 · v. 2 | |
| My life draweth nigh unto hell | My life draweth nigh unto the grave |
| Psalm 88 · v. 4 | |
| Free among the dead, like unto them that are wounded, and lie in the grave | Cast off among the dead, like unto them that are slain, and lie in the grave |
| Psalm 90 · v. 4 | |
| For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday: seeing that is past as a watch in the night | For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night |
| Psalm 90 · v. 11 | |
| But who regardeth the power of thy wrath: for even thereafter as a man feareth, so is thy displeasure | But who regardeth the power of thy wrath? or feareth aright thy indignation? |
| Psalm 94 · v. 10 | |
| Or he that nurtureth the heathen | Or he that instructeth the heathen |
| Psalm 101 · v. 7 | |
| Whoso hath also a proud look and high stomach | Whoso hath also a haughty look and a proud heart |
| Psalm 102 · v. 20 | |
| And deliver the children appointed unto death | And deliver them that are appointed unto death |
| Psalm 104 · v. 4 | |
| He maketh his angels spirits: and his ministers a flaming fire | He maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flaming fire |
| Psalm 104 · v. 7 | |
| Afraid | Haste away |
| Psalm 106 · v. 30 | |
| Prayed | Interposed |
| Psalm 110 · v. 3 | |
| In the day of thy power shall the people offer thee free-will offerings with an holy worship: the dew of thy birth is the womb of the morning | In the day of thy power shall thy people offer themselves willingly with an holy worship: thy young men come to thee as dew from the womb of the morning |
| Psalm 117 · v. 1 | |
| O praise the Lord, all ye heathen | O praise the Lord, all ye nations |
| Psalm 119 · v. 3 | |
| For they who do no wickedness: walk in his ways | Even they who do no wickedness, and walk in his ways |
| Psalm 119 · v. 8 | |
| Ceremonies | I will keep thy statutes |
| Psalm 119 · v. 61 | |
| The congregations of the ungodly have robbed me | The snares of the ungodly have compassed me about |
| Psalm 119 · v. 165 | |
| They are not offended at it | They have none occasion of stumbling |
| Psalm 121 · v. 1 | |
| I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills: from whence cometh my help | I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills; from whence cometh my help? |
| Psalm 124 · v. 2 | |
| They had swallowed us up quick | They had swallowed us up alive |
| Psalm 125 · v. 3 | |
| For the rod of the ungodly cometh not into the lot of the righteous | For the sceptre of the ungodly shall not abide upon the lot of the righteous |
| Psalm 132 · v. 10 | |
| Turn not away the presence of thine anointed | Turn not away the face of thine anointed |
| Psalm 133 · v. 1 | |
| Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is, brethren, to dwell together in unity! | Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is, for brethren to dwell together in unity! |
| Psalm 133 · v. 2 | |
| Ointment | Oil |
| Psalm 137 · v. 6 | |
| In my mirth | Above my chief joy |
| Psalm 139 · v. 2 | |
| Spiest out | Art acquainted |
| Psalm 139 · v. 4 | |
| Fashioned | Beset |
| Psalm 141 · v. 5 | |
| Let the righteous rather smite me friendly and reprove me. | Let the righteous rather smite me friendly and reprove me; Yea, let not my head refuse their precious balms. |
| Psalm 141 · v. 6 | |
| But let not their precious balms break my head: Yea, I will pray yet against their wickedness. | As for the ungodly, I will pray yet against their wickedness. |
| Psalm 144 · v. 7 | |
| Strange children | Strangers |
| Psalm 144 · v. 11 | |
| Strange children | Strangers |
| Psalm 144 · v. 13 | |
| Streets | Fields |
| Psalm 148 · v. 1 | |
| Of heaven: | From the heavens |
| Psalm 149 · v. 7 | |
| Heathen. People | Nations. Peoples |
| Psalm 149 · v. 9 | |
| That they may be avenged of them | To execute judgment upon them |
| Psalm 150 · v. 1 | |
| Holiness | Sanctuary |
In the revision the following substitutions of proper names are made wherever they occur:
Lebanon for Libanus, Kadesh for Cades, Zebah for Zeba, Zalmunna for Salmanna, Shechem for Sichem, Manasseh for Manasses, Meshech for Mesech.