HISTORY
ANCIENT, INCORRECT VERSION OF THE ‘PRAYER OF DAVID’ DISCOVERED
WORDS OWEN JARUS
A 1,500-year-old text recording a section of Psalm 86, also known as ‘a prayer of David’, has been discovered in what was a monastery 11 miles southeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank. The text is written in Koine Greek, a language often used in early copies of the New Testament. It was inscribed on a building block located on the floor of the monastery and has a cross drawn on it. The text reads: “Jesus Christ, guard me, for I am poor and needy,” which is incorrect.