"Princes, Take Warning!"

A new translation of the Psalms is being published in the U.S. next week. Modern readers will miss the drums and tramplings of the King James version--but the simple, matter-of-fact English of Britain's witty, whodunit-writing Monsignor Ronald A. Knox (The Psalms, Sheed & Ward, $2) gives some of David's songs a sharp new applicability. Excerpt (Psalm 2):

"'What means this turmoil among the nations? Why do the peoples cherish vain dreams? See how the kings of the earth stand in array, how its rulers make common cause, against the Lord. . . . Princes, take warning; learn your lesson, you that rule the world. Tremble, and serve the Lord, rejoicing in His presence, but with awe in your hearts; kiss the rod, do not brave the Lord's anger, and go astray from the sure path. When the fire of His vengeance blazes out suddenly, happy are they who find their refuge in Him."

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