Journal of Sacred Work

   The language of the Bible is often meant to comfort and praise as well as to instruct. When King David wrote
the first group of Psalms, his wish, in many cases, was to sing praises to God. Some of the psalms may well have been sung to instrumental accompaniment. The point was to raise a joyful noise so that the highest power might hear and be pleased.
   In reading the Bible, some believe it is important to hold as close as possible to the most precise translation that can be found. Anyone who studies the Bible, as I did in Divinity School, learns quickly that there are many different versions interpreting the original language. Among them are translations of elegance…  .

   Some interpreters have abandoned the idea of precise translation in favor of seeking to translate the sense
of a particular passage. While attending a Friday night music service
at a local Episcopal Church, I came across this marvelous, poetic and
entertainingly loose translation of Psalm 65. The Psalm was presented
as a responsive reading. The source was not credited. I pass it on to
you for your enjoyment.

Reader:
Oh, come to earth, Ocean-pouring God;
ask her to dance!

Deck her out in Spring showers,
fill her gullies with breathing water.

Spray the wheat fields blond.

All:
Creation was made for this!

Reader:
Quench the furrow’s thirst,
break up the dirt clods with rain
as plow and grace fetch blossom an dfruit.

Crown the peaks with a headdress of snow;
drip rose petals down your path;
let the wild meadows ooze color.

Make the somber, silly hills laugh out loud.

Dress the canyon walls with fat sheep,
drape flaxen boas across the valleys’ shoulders

All:
Let them south, and shout and shout!
For heaven’s sake, let them sing!

[*The image, above, is by Kathleen Borkowski]