Table of Principal Changes
in the Psalter
Made in the Revision of 1928
Transcribed from George Wharton Pepper
An Analytical Index to the Book of Common Prayer
John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, 1948 · Pages 124–141
For use with the Coverdale Psalter of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer
Anglican Province of Christ the King
A Note on the Table
The Psalter of the Book of Common Prayer is Miles Coverdale's translation, made in 1535 from the Latin Vulgate and German versions rather than the Hebrew original. When the King James Bible was authorised in 1611, the Psalter of the Prayer Book was retained unchanged — the familiar rhythms and cadences of Coverdale's version had already become too deeply embedded in the devotional life of the Church to displace. It remained in use unchanged for nearly four centuries.
The revision of 1928 — the third major revision of the American Book of Common Prayer — included a careful revision of the Psalter. The revisers worked conservatively: they retained Coverdale's language wherever it was defensible, and corrected it only where it had become seriously misleading, where the Latin had clearly distorted the Hebrew, or where specific words had changed their meaning sufficiently to obscure rather than convey the sense.
George Wharton Pepper compiled the following table from careful comparison of the two texts, and included it in his Analytical Index to the Book of Common Prayer (1948), together with a note on the substitution of proper names. The table records the principal changes — not every minor revision of punctuation or capitalisation, but those alterations in which the sense, the imagery, or the theological implication of a verse was materially affected.
Several patterns are immediately visible in the table. First, the revisers consistently replaced the word hell (where it renders the Hebrew Sheol or the Latin infernus meaning simply the place of the dead) with the word grave — reflecting the theological distinction between the place of the dead in general and the place of eternal punishment. Second, they systematically replaced heathen with nations and people with peoples where the Hebrew goyim or 'ammim indicated not Israel's enemies but simply the nations of the earth in their totality. Third, they corrected a number of passages where the Coverdale translation had departed significantly from the Hebrew, notably Psalm 68 and the great nature Psalm 29.
The table is presented here as a reference tool for the priest and the scholar, and as an illustration of the care with which the 1928 revisers approached their task. The proper name substitutions noted by Pepper at the close of his table are gathered in a separate note at the end of this document.
The Table
Earlier Version (Coverdale 1535) → Revised Version (1928 BCP)
Psalm 2
v. 7 I will preach the law → I will rehearse the decree
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. 10 They prevented me in the day of my trouble → They came upon me in the day of my trouble
v. 25 Therefore shall the Lord reward me after my righteous dealing → Therefore the Lord rewarded me after my righteous dealing
v. 44 Thou shalt make me the head of the heathen → Thou shalt make me the head of the nations
v. 45 The strange children shall dissemble with me → The strangers shall feign obedience unto me
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
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
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
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
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
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 47
v. 3 He shall subdue the people under us → He shall subdue the peoples under us
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 the wickedness at my heels compasseth me round about?
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
v. 9 Yea, though he live long → That he shall live alway
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
v. 13 This is their foolishness; and their posterity praise their saying → This their way is very foolishness; yet their posterity praise their saying
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
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
v. 23 To him that ordereth his conversation right → To him that ordereth his way aright
Psalm 50
v. 9 Nor he-goat out of thy folds → Nor he-goats out of thy folds
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
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
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
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
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
v. 16 Why hop ye so, ye high hills? → Why mock ye so, ye high hills?
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 congregations, ye that are of the fountain of Israel
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
v. 8 From the flood unto the world's end → From the River unto the world's end
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
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
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
v. 67 He smote his enemies in the hinder parts → He drave his enemies backward
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 of 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
v. 8 Ceremonies → I will keep thy statutes
v. 61 The congregations of the ungodly have robbed me → The snares of the ungodly have compassed me about
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. 110 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!
v. 2 Ointment → Oil
Psalm 137
v. 6 In my mirth → Above my chief joy
Psalm 139
v. 2 Spiest out → Art acquainted
v. 4 Fashioned → Beset
Psalm 141
v. 5 Let the righteous rather smite me friendly and reprove me; Yea, let not my head refuse their precious balms. → Let the righteous rather smite me friendly and reprove me; Yea, let not my head refuse their precious balms.
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
v. 11 Strange children → Strangers
Psalm 148
v. 1 Of heaven: → From the heavens
Psalm 149
v. 7 Heathen. People → Nations. Peoples
v. 9 That they may be avenged of them → To execute judgment upon them
Psalm 150
v. 1 Holiness → Sanctuary
Note on the Substitution of Proper Names
In the revision the following substitutions of proper names are made wherever they occur throughout the Psalter: Lebanon for Libanus, Kadesh for Cades, Zebah for Zeba, Zalmunna for Salmanna, Shechem for Sichem, Manasseh for Manasses, Meshech for Mesech.
The substitutions in tabular form:
Libanus → Lebanon
Cades → Kadesh
Zeba → Zebah
Salmanna → Zalmunna
Sichem → Shechem
Manasses → Manasseh
Mesech → Meshech
The general character of these proper name revisions is the same as that of the textual revisions recorded in the main table: a movement away from the forms familiar from the Latin Vulgate toward the forms used in the Hebrew Bible and in modern scholarship. The geographical and personal names of the Psalter are now aligned with the rest of the Old Testament as translated in the King James Version, so that the worshipper moving between the Psalter and the Old Testament lessons will encounter the same names in both. The Psalter retains its Coverdale cadence; it no longer retains its Coverdale geography.