And now I bend the knee of my heart: This is the most striking line in the prayer, an inspired metaphor (compare Joel 2.13; Rom 2.28-29). If the figure here is thought to be too difficult or too strange, the translator should try to find an expression expressing great contrition and absolute submission. Good News Translation “But now I bow in deep humility” is not bad. New English Bible “Now I humble my heart” is too weak, and Revised English Bible now reads “Now my heart submits to you,” which is better. However, Good News Translation expresses a more heartfelt submission. (Oddly, the literal metaphor becomes easier in English by making “knee” plural. Charlesworth’s translation [from Syriac] is quite effective: “And now behold I am bending the knees of my heart before you.”)

Beseeching thee for thy kindness is literally “begging for the kindness that comes from you.”

A model such as this might capture some of the force in the verse:

But now I bow in deep humility,
begging for your kindness.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see