Exercises Upon the First Psalm in Prose and Verse, Exercises · Translation and notes – Part of psalm 1
The metricall Translation of the first Psalme.
Here the Prophet hath exprest,
Who alone are truely blest;
All things prosper with the iust,
But the wicked perish must.
THe Man is a blest, who walketh not b astray
In their c lewd Counsels, that vngodly are,
Who neither standeth in the sinners way,
Nor with the scornfull sitteth in their chaire.
But, in the Law of the d eternall LORD,
e Sincerely placeth he, his whole delight,
And in his Law, f his euer-blessed Word,
Doth g exercise himselfe both day and night.
He shall be like a tree, which close beside
The h Riuers set, his fruit doth timely giuegive;
His leafe shall neuer fade, i but fresh abide,
k And whatsoe're he takes in hand shall thriue.
But with vngodly men it is not so:
For they are like the chaffe, which ( l being fann'd)
By puffs of winde, is driuen to and fro.
In Iudgement, therfore shall not sinners stand.
Nor the vngodly n (be admitted) where,
The righteous shall o in one assemble p then:
For, q GOD well knowes their way yt Righteous are
But perish shall, ye path of wicked men.
a Blessings, or all happy things, belong to that man, &c. For some take the Hebrew word to be a Substantiue plurall, and some an Adiectiue plurall; but which soeuer it be, it is fully enough expressed in this our English phrase, Blest, or, Blessed is the man.
b The word, astray, seemes heere to be added onelyonly for the verse sake, but the sence indeede includeth it, seeing it is an erroneous walking from God, which is meant in this place.
c This Epithite is not added in the Originall, nor other, which I somtime vse in my metricall translation of the Psalmes: neuerthelesse, I think I may, with a good conscience, insert them; where they are either such, as are warrantable in some other places of holy Scripture, to bee well vsed in that sence: or such as may bee naturally proper to the subiect, which they are applyed vntounto. As I thinke this is.
d This word, Eternall, is an attribute most proper to God, and indeede not to be applyed to any other. For, nothing can be rightly called eternall, but that which euer u, was, and shall bee, without beginning or ending: and therfore I hauehave added it to the word, LORD, that it might the better expresse here, the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, foreign
e This, and many other such like words, may seeme to bee added in diuers places of my translation; whereas, the power of the Hebrew being considered, they will bee found included in the Text.
f These words are added, explicandi causâ, and therefore put in a different character: which liberty, all Translators hauehave taken, euen in their prose-translations; and to authorize me heerein, I hauehave not onelyonly the example of moderne Interpreters, but of the Septuagint also, who both explicandi, & ornandi causâ, hauehave added many words in their translation. As in the fourth verse of this Psalme, foreign, and in the second verse also, foreign, neither of which, are in the Hebrew.
g The word, exercise, which is vsed in some English Translations, doth (in my opinion) better and more fully expresse the meaning of the Holy Ghost, then the word, meditate; seeing it may as properly bee applyed to the heart and tongue, as to the hand; whereas the word, meditate, is neuer with vsus vsed so largely, although it be sometime so taken, with the Latines.
h Riuers, of it self, aswell expresseth the meaning of the Prophet in our tongue, as Riuers of water; for, as by Flames, without other addition, we vnderstand Flames of fire: so, without other addition also, by Riuers, we fully enough vnderstand, the water, diuiding it selfe into many streames.
i These words are explicandi causa also, as that, spoken of before in the second verse.
k And he shall make what e're he doth, to thriue; so it may be read also; for some translate the words thus, Et quicquid faciet, prosperare faciet.
l Explicandi causa, as before.
m mThe direction letter is heere left out in the verse; and therfore refer this note to the word, Sinners, in the last verse of the fourth Stanza.In the first verse, because there are degrees of Sinners mentioned, and (in the Hebrew) distinguished, by three seuerall words, which the Latines interpret Impij, Peccatores, and Derisores, that is, the Vngodly, Sinners, and Scorners, therefore in that, and in all such places, where is meant more then one sort of offenders, I hauehave called them, which the Latines terme Impij, the Wicked, or Vngodly; and those which they call Peccatores, I hauehave termed Sinners: but in this, and such like places (where one kinde of euill doers is onelyonly spoken of) I hauehave indifferently named them, sometime the Wicked, sometime the Vngodly, sometime Sinners, and sometime by such other names, as I knew were vsuall in our tongue, to denote such Sinners, as the Holy Ghost there poynted at; for, howsoeuer the circumstances doe in many places appropriate these words, the Sinners, or the Vngodly, to particular degrees of Offenders: yet in our tongue, we indifferently vse either of them, to signifie the congegation of reprobate-members of the Deuill.
n These words are included in the sense, though not literally expressed, vide annotationes Francisc. Vatabl.
o This is added, explicandi causa; for here seemes to be meant, that great Assembly of the Faithfull, which at the generall Iudgement, shall bee perfectly made one in Christ, who is the head of that mysticall body.
p I may seeme perhaps, to hauehave inserted this word, then, more for the rimes sake, then for any force it here hath; but, being well considered, it will appeare to be necessarily added, for it hath respect to the time of that iudgment (spoken of before) in which will be congregated that principall Assembly of the righteous, out of which all vnrepentant sinners shall be vndoubtedly excluded.
q I told you in my Preparation to the Psalter, that where soeuer in translating these Psalmes, I met with the Hebrew tetragrammaton foreign I would either expresse it by the word LORD, as the Apostles, the Septuagint, the Fathers, and some English translators hauehave done; or else by such a word as should somewhat estentially expresse the Godhead: and distinguish it also by writing the same in Capitall letters; as in this place, the word GOD is Charactered: Which (how euer some may thinke) is a significant, essentiall name of the Deitie; yea, (except the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, whose mysteries I am not able to search into) I thinke there is no one word of any language, more significant to expresse the essence of the Deitie, then is the word GOD, which though it be for difference sake a little otherwise pronounced, is the same in signification with the word GOOD, an English tetragrammaton (out of whose number and forme of letters, if it were to any purpose, I durst vndertake to gather mysteries equall to many of those which some Iewish Rabbines and Cabalisticall Doctors hauehave framed out of the letters and forme of the Hebrew vnspeakeable Name.) It comprehends in it selfe all attributes whatsoeuer, which are expressed in the knowne Names of God, vsed throughout eueryevery language of the world, for eternity, omnipotency, beautie, knowledge, louelove, prouidence, blessednes, with the perfection of these, and all other excellencies; serue but to make vp one Summum Bonum, one Chiefe good, and that is GOD: who, is the perfection of all Goodnesse, and he, to whom onelyonly this essentiall Name ought to be giuen. As appeareth in St Mathews Gospell, Chap. 19. vers. 17. where Christ himselfe telleth vsus, that there is none to whom this name of GOOD, appertaines, but to the Deitie: There is none good, but one, sayth he, euen God. And this is made somwhat the plainer, by considering the english word, by which we signifie him that is Gods opposite; for, we call him not as other Nations doe, by a name comprehending some one attribute of his, as the deceiuer, or so; but we impose a name on him, which at once, expresseth all that can be said of him in a thousand words, to wit, the Deuill; for, all the particular vnhappinesses, mischiefes, and wickednesses of the world, put together, doe make but one perfect euill, and he in whom they meet is properly termed the Deuill, or th'euill, for so it seemes to hauehave beene aunciently pronounced, vntill the Saxon Character being somewhat like our D. made vsus loose that pronunciation; and as we call him that is the fulnesse of all Good, GOD; so; him that is the perfection of all euill, wee name the Deuill. These notes I hauehave added, to shew the Reader, that in my translation I tooke no vaine libertie, but made conscience of the least variation, and passed ouer nothing, vntill I had some reasonable warrant for what I did.
Variae Lectiones.
VEr. 1. Musculus, & translationes Anglicanae reddiderunt in praesenti, sed Graecus, & Latina vulgata, & reliqui, tā veteres, quàm recentiores, legunt in praeterito; & alijhabent accedit ad consiliū, alij ambulauit in consilio, preterea Grec: vertit foreign. i. in sede Pestilentiarū, vt est, in vulg: lat: sed leronim: habet, Cathedra derisorum, sic est etiam in recentioribus.
Ver. 2. Deliciae ipsius, recentior: voluntas eius in lege domini, vulgat: lat. In lege Iehovae: recentīor: in statuto, Chaldeus. Pluraliter in statutis, Arabs: intelligens quaeuis instituta Dei. & vbi est, in lege eius meditabitur in vulg: lat: translatio Anglicana nouissima, & alij habent, Meditatur, & Chaldeus, in luminatione eius cantat, sive Iubilat.
Ver. 3. Etest velut, &c. alij legunt, & fuit, Graecus foreign, i. & erit. Quae fructum suum dat: recentior: dabit Genev: fructum suum concoquens, ad maturitatem producens, Chaldeus. Folium eius non marcescit, recentior: non defluet, Vulg. Lat. & omnia, quaecunque faciet, prosperabuntur, Vulg. Lat. Chaldaeus sic reddidit, Omne germen quod germinat, grauescit, & prosperatur.
Ver. 4. Non sic Impij recentiores. Sic est etiam in Vulgat: Lat. & in Septuagint. sed idem repetunt, vidt: foreign. Non sic impij, non sic, & in fine versus addunt, foreign à facie terrae. Sic etiam & Arabs. Tanquam gluma recenti: Puluis, Vulgat. Lat. sed idem significat, nos enim in occidentali parte Angliae vocamus tegumentum tritici, Dust.
Ver. 5. Non stabunt impij recenti: alij legunt, Consistent, Graecus, foreign, Non resurgunt. Sic Vulgat. Lat. In iudicio, recent: in Die Iudicij magni, Chaldaeus. In fine, Arabs: denotans extremum Iudicium, in fine Mundi. In Congregatione Iustorum recenti. Alij in Caetu. Alij in Concilio. Graec: foreign. Vulg: Lat: In Consilio Iustorum.
Nota, quod in libris Graecis & Latinis, versus tertius in duos diuiditur.
The reason why I hauehave heere inserted these various Readings, and in Latine, rather then in English, appeares in the third chapter of my Preparation to the Psalter.
The first part of the PSALME.
1. BLessed is the man, that doth not walke in the counsell of the vngodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornfull.
2. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and in his Law doth he meditate, day and night.
3. And he shall bee like a tree planted by the riuers of waters, that will bring forth her fruit in season, his leafe shall not fade, and whatsoeuer he doth, shall prosper.