Roman Breviary

1:1 Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, * nor sat in the chair of pestilence.

1:2 But his will is in the law of the Lord, * and on his law he shall meditate day and night.

1:3 And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, * which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season.

1:3 And his leaf shall not fall off: * and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.

1:4 Not so the wicked, not so: * but like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth.

1:5 Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: * nor sinners in the council of the just.

1:6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the just: * and the way of the wicked shall perish.

2:1 Why have the Gentiles raged, * and the people devised vain things?

2:2 The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, * against the Lord and against his Christ.

2:3 Let us break their bonds asunder: * and let us cast away their yoke from us.

2:4 He that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them: * and the Lord shall deride them.

2:5 Then shall he speak to them in his anger, * and trouble them in his rage.

2:6 But I am appointed king by him over Sion his holy mountain, * preaching his commandment.

2:7 The Lord hath said to me: * Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.

2:8 Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, * and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.

2:9 Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, * and shalt break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

2:10 And now, O ye kings, understand: * receive instruction, you that judge the earth.

2:11 Serve ye the Lord with fear: * and rejoice unto him with trembling.

2:12 Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, * and you perish from the just way.

2:13 When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, * blessed are all they that trust in him.

3:2 Why, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me? * many are they who rise up against me.

3:3 Many say to my soul: * There is no salvation for him in his God.

3:4 But thou, O Lord art my protector, * my glory, and the lifter up of my head.

3:5 I have cried to the Lord with my voice: * and he hath heard me from his holy hill.

3:6 I have slept and taken my rest: * and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me.

3:7 I will not fear thousands of the people, surrounding me: * arise, O Lord; save me, O my God.

3:8 For thou hast struck all them who are my adversaries without cause: * thou hast broken the teeth of sinners.

3:9 Salvation is of the Lord: * and thy blessing is upon thy people.

8:2 O Lord our Lord, * how admirable is thy name in the whole earth!

8:2 For thy magnificence is elevated * above the heavens.

8:3 Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, * that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger.

8:4 For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: * the moon and the stars which thou hast founded.

8:5 What is man that thou art mindful of him? * or the son of man that thou visitest him?

8:6 Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour: * and hast set him over the works of thy hands.

8:8 Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, * all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields.

8:9 The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, * that pass through the paths of the sea.

8:10 O Lord our Lord, * how admirable is thy name in all the earth!

9:2 I will give praise to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: * I will relate all thy wonders.

9:3 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: * I will sing to thy name, O thou most high.

9:4 When my enemy shall be turned back: * they shall be weakened and perish before thy face.

9:5 For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause: * thou hast sat on the throne, who judgest justice.

9:6 Thou hast rebuked the Gentiles, and the wicked one hath perished: * thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever.

9:7 The swords of the enemy have failed unto the end: * and their cities thou hast destroyed.

9:7 Their memory hath perished with a noise. * But the Lord remaineth for ever.

9:8 He hath prepared his throne in judgment: * And he shall judge the world in equity, he shall judge the people in justice.

9:10 And the Lord is become a refuge for the poor: * a helper in due time in tribulation.

9:11 And let them trust in thee who know thy name: * for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord.

9:12 Sing ye to the Lord, who dwelleth in Sion: * declare his ways among the Gentiles.

9:13 For requiring their blood he hath remembered them: * he hath not forgotten the cry of the poor.

9:14 Have mercy on me, O Lord: * see my humiliation which I suffer from my enemies.

9:15 Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death, * that I may declare all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.

9:16 I will rejoice in thy salvation: * the Gentiles have stuck fast in the destruction which they have prepared.

9:16 Their foot hath been taken * in the very snare which they hid.

9:17 The Lord shall be known when he executeth judgments: * the sinner hath been caught in the works of his own hands.

9:18 The wicked shall be turned into hell, * all the nations that forget God.

9:19 For the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end: * the patience of the poor shall not perish for ever.

9:20 Arise, O Lord, let not man be strengthened: * let the Gentiles be judged in thy sight.

9:21 Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them: * that the Gentiles may know themselves to be but men.

9:22 Why, O Lord, hast thou retired afar off? * ‡ why dost thou slight us in our wants, in the time of trouble?

9:23 Whilst the wicked man is proud, the poor is set on fire: * they are caught in the counsels which they devise.

9:24 For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul: * and the unjust man is blessed.

9:25 The sinner hath provoked the Lord, * according to the multitude of his wrath he will not seek him.

9:26 God is not before his eyes: * his ways are filthy at all times.

9:26 Thy judgments are removed from his sight: * he shall rule over all his enemies.

9:27 For he hath said in his heart: * I shall not be moved from generation to generation, and shall be without evil.

9:28 His mouth is full of cursing, and of bitterness, and of deceit: * under his tongue are labour and sorrow.

9:29 He sitteth in ambush with the rich, in private places, * that he may kill the innocent.

9:30 His eyes are upon the poor man: * he lieth in wait, in secret, like a lion in his den.

9:30 He lieth in ambush, that he may catch the poor man: * so catch the poor, whilst he draweth him to him.

9:31 In his net he will bring him down, * he will crouch and fall, when he shall have power over the poor.

9:32 For he hath said in his heart: God hath forgotten, * he hath turned away his face, not to see to the end.

9:33 Arise, O Lord God, let thy hand be exalted: * ‡ forget not the poor.

9:34 Wherefore hath the wicked provoked God? * for he hath said in his heart: He will not require it.

9:35 Thou seest it, for thou considerest labour and sorrow: * that thou mayst deliver them into thy hands.

9:35 To thee is the poor man left: * thou wilt be a helper to the orphan.

9:36 Break thou the arm of the sinner and of the malignant: * his sin shall be sought, and shall not be found.

9:37 The Lord shall reign to eternity, yea, for ever and ever: * ye Gentiles shall perish from his land.

9:38 The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor: * thy ear hath heard the preparation of their heart.

9:39 To judge for the fatherless and for the humble, * that man may no more presume to magnify himself upon earth.

10:2 In the Lord I put my trust: how then do you say to my soul: * Get thee away from hence to the mountain, like a sparrow?

10:3 For, lo, the wicked have bent their bow: they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, * to shoot in the dark the upright of heart.

10:4 For they have destroyed the things which thou hast made: * but what has the just man done?

10:5 The Lord is in his holy temple, * the Lord’s throne is in heaven.

10:5 His eyes look on the poor man: * his eyelids examine the sons of men.

10:6 The Lord trieth the just and the wicked: * but he that loveth iniquity, hateth his own soul.

10:7 He shall rain snares upon sinners: * fire and brimstone, and storms of winds, shall be the portion of their cup.

10:8 For the Lord is just, and hath loved justice: * his countenance hath beheld righteousness.