1Happy the man who has not walked in the council of the wicked, or stood in the paths of sinners, or taken a seat in the band of mockers. 2 Instead his pleasure is in the law of the Lord, and in his Torah he meditates day and night. 3 And he will be like a living tree planted by streams of water, whose fruit ripens in due course, and its leaves do not fall, and all its branches that grow ripen and flourish. 4 Not so the wicked; instead, they are like the chaff that the storm-wind will drive. 5 Therefore the wicked will not be acquitted in the great day, nor sinners in the band of the righteous, 6 Because the path of the righteous is manifest in the Lord’s presence, but the paths of the wicked will perish.
2Why are the Gentiles disturbed, and the nations murmuring vanity? 2 The kings of the earth arise and the rulers will join together to rebel in the Lord’s presence, and to strive against his Anointed. 3 They say, “Let us break their bonds, and let us throw off their chains from us.” 4 The one who sits in heaven will laugh; the word of the Lord will mock at them. 5 Then he will speak to them in his strength, and in his wrath he will frighten them. 6 I have anointed my king, and appointed him over my sanctuary. 7 I will tell of the covenant of the Lord. He said: “You are as dear to me as a son to a father (abba), pure as if this day I had created you.”[1] 8 Ask me and I will give the riches of the Gentiles as your inheritance, the rulers of the ends of the earth as your holding. 9 You will shatter them as with a rod of iron, like a potter’s vessel you will break them. 10 And now, O kings, grow wise; accept discipline, O princes of the earth. 11 Worship in the presence of the Lord with fear, and pray with trembling. 12 Accept instruction lest he be angry, and you lose your way; for his wrath will tarry a little. Happy all who trust in his word!
3A psalm of David, when he fled from the presence of Absalom his son. 2 O Lord, how many are my oppressors, many who arise against me. 3 Many say to my soul, “There is no redemption for him in God forever.” 4 But you, O Lord, are a shield over me, my glory and the one who raises my head. 5 I pray [with] my voice in the presence of the Lord; he will accept my prayer from the mount of his sanctuary forever. 6 I lay down, and I slept; I awoke, because the Lord sustains me. 7 I will not be afraid of the strife of people who have gathered against me all around. 8 Arise, O Lord, redeem me, O my God; for you have struck all my enemies on their cheek, you have broken the teeth of the wicked. 9 Redemption is from the presence of the Lord; your blessings are to your people forever.
4For praise, with melodies. A hymn of David. 2 At the time of my prayer, accept [it] from me, O God of my righteousness; at the time of distress, you relieved me; pity me and accept my prayer. 3 O sons of men, why is my glory for humiliation? You will love vanity; you will seek falsehood forever. 4 And they will know, for the Lord has separated the righteous man for himself; the Lord will accept the prayer of David when he calls to him. 5 Tremble for him, and do not sin; utter your petition with your mouth and your request in your heart; and pray upon your beds and remember the days of death forever. 6 Subdue your impulses and it will be reckoned to you as a righteous sacrifice; and hope in the Lord. 7 Many say, “Who will show us good?” Lift on us the light of your countenance, O Lord. 8 You have placed joy in my heart when their grain and their wine has increased. 9 In peace I both lay down and sleep, because you alone are the Lord; in security you will make me dwell.
5For praise, with dancing. A hymn of David. 2 Hear my utterance, O Lord, consider my murmuring. 3 Hear the sound of my petition, my king and God, for I will pray in your presence. 4 O Lord, in the morning hear my voice; in the morning I set myself before you and keep watch. 5 Because you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; evil did not abide with you. 6 Scoffers shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all deeds of falsehood. 7 You will destroy tellers of lies; the Lord will loath the man who sheds innocent blood and the deceiver. 8 And I, through your great goodness, will enter your house; I will bow down to your holy temple in awe of you. 9 O Lord, guide me by your righteousness; because of my hymn, make firm your paths before me. 10 Because there is no reliability in the mouths of the wicked; their bodies are full of tumult; like Sheol, their throat is open; their tongues flatter. 11 God has accused them; they will be done away with by their counsel; for their great sin he overturned them, for they rebelled against your command. 12 And all who trust in your word will rejoice forever; they will give praise and you will protect them; and those who love your name will rejoice in you. 13 Because you will bless the righteous, O Lord; as with a shield, you will crown him with good will.
6For praise; with melodies on the harp of eight strings. A hymn of David. 2 O Lord, do not humble me in your anger; and do not punish me in your wrath. 3 Pity me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are terrified. 4 And my soul is greatly terrified; and you, O Lord, when will you give me relief? 5 Turn, O Lord, save my soul, redeem me for the sake of your goodness. 6 For there is no memory of you in death; in Sheol who will give you thanks? 7 I am wearied with my groaning; I will speak in my sorrow every night on my bed; I will drown my couch with my tears. 8 My eye is dark from my trouble; it is worn out by all my oppressors. 9 Leave me, all doers of falsehood; for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. 10 My petition has been heard in the Lord’s presence; the Lord will accept my prayer.[2] 11 All of my enemies will be ashamed and very afraid; they will turn and be ashamed in an instant.
7A rendition of the thanksgiving of David, who gave praise to the Lord; for he spoke a song about the ruin of Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 O Lord my God, I have trusted in your word; deliver me from all my persecutors and save me. 3 Lest he crush my soul like a lion; he will tear and there is no one who will deliver me. 4 O Lord my God, if I have made this song with evil intent, if there is oppression in my hand, 5 If I have repaid my ally with evil, or thrust away my oppressor for nothing, 6 May the enemy pursue my soul, and may he overtake and trample my life to the ground, and may my honor rest in the dust forever. 7 Arise, O Lord, in your might; be lifted up in anger against my oppressors; and bring hastily to me the justice that you commanded. 8 The gathering of the nations will surround you; because of it return to the place of your presence. 9 The word of the Lord will judge the Gentiles; judge me, O Lord, by my merit, and for my innocence recompense me. 10 Now may the evil of the wicked perish; and let the righteous be firmly established; and the righteous God examines hearts and minds. 11 My shield is on God, redeemer of the upright of heart. 12 God is the righteous judge, and in might is angry at the wicked every day. 13 If one does not repent and reverence him, his sword is whetted, his bow drawn and ready. 14 On his account, he has prepared the weapons of death; he will make his arrows for those who pursue the righteous. 15 Behold, he will be in pains with falsehood, and will conceive trouble, and give birth to falsehood. 16 He has dug a pit and deepened it; and he fell in the pit he made. 17 His misery will return on his head; and on his pate his rapacity will descend. 18 I will thank the Lord according to his righteousness; and I will praise the name of God Most High.
8For praise, on the lyre that he brought from Gath. A hymn of David. 2 O God our master, how lofty is your name and praiseworthy in all the earth, you who have placed your splendor above the heavens. 3 From the mouth of children and infants you have established strength because of your oppressors, to bring to naught the enemy and the violent man. 4 Because I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have fixed in place, 5 What is a son of man, because you will remember his deeds, and a son of man, because you will punish him? 6 And you have made him a little less than the angels, and you will crown him with glory and brightness. 7 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; all things you have placed under his feet. 8 Sheep and oxen, all of them, and also the beasts of the field. 9 The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and Leviathan, who passes along the paths of the sea. 10 O God our master, how lofty and praiseworthy is your name in all the earth!
9For praise, concerning the death of the man who went out between the armies. A hymn of David. another targum: For praise, concerning the sweetness of the sound by a son. A hymn of David. 2 I will sing praise in the Lord’s presence with all my heart; I will tell all of your miracles. 3 I will be glad and rejoice in your word; I will praise your name, O Most High. 4 When my enemies turn back, they will stumble and perish before you. 5 Because you have accomplished my vindication and my judgment; you sat down on the throne of the righteous judge. 6 You rebuked the peoples of the Philistines; you destroyed Goliath the wicked; their name you erased forever and ever. 7 And when the enemy fell, his forces were obliterated, and their fortresses were laid waste forever, and as for their cities, you destroyed the memory of them forever. 8 But as for the word of the Lord, his seat is in the highest heaven forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 9 And he shall judge the people of the earth in righteousness; he will judge the Gentiles in uprightness. 10 And the word of the Lord will be strength to the poor, strength in times of distress. 11 And those who know your name will look at your hope, because you have not abandoned those who seek you, O Lord. 12 Sing praise before the Lord who made his presence rest in Zion; tell his deeds among the Gentiles. 13 For he avenges the innocent blood; he remembers the, he does not neglect the complaint of the humble. 14 Pity me, O Lord; see my pain caused by my enemies, you who lift me up from the entrances of death. 15 So that I may tell all your praises in the entrances of the gates of the assembly of Zion; I will exult in your redemption. 16 The peoples have sunk in the pit that they made; in the very net they concealed, their feet are caught. 17 Manifest before the Lord is the judgement he executed: through the works of his hands, the wicked man stumbled, the righteous will rejoice forever. 18 The wicked will return to Sheol, all the Gentiles who neglected the fear of the Lord. 19 For the needy man is not forever neglected; the hope of the humble will not perish forever. 20 Arise, O Lord, may the wicked son of man not grow strong, may the Gentiles be judged in your presence. 21 Put, O Lord, fear on them; let the peoples know that they are a son of man forever.
10Why, O Lord, will you stand afar off, hide yourself in the dwelling of the holy ones in the times of distress? 2 In brutality the wicked man will pursue the poor man; they will be caught in the scheme that they plotted to carry out. 3 For the wicked man is praised for the craving of his soul; he who blesses the violent man abhors the word of the Lord. 4 The wicked man in the grossness of his spirit will not seek God, and he will say in his heart that his thoughts are not manifest in the presence of the Lord. 5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are far from his sight; he will rebuke all his oppressors. 6 He will say in his heart, “I will not be shaken from doing evil for all generations.” 7 His mouth is curses, full of guile and deceit; under his tongue is misery and falsehood. 8 He will sit in the hiding places of the courtyards; in secret places he will kill the innocent; he will hide his eyes against the poor. 9 He will lie in wait in secret places like a lion in his covert; he will lie in wait to seize the poor man; he will seize the poor man when he is drawn into his trap. 10 The poor man will be crushed, and sink down, and he will fall into the power of his hiding places. 11 He will say in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he does not see forever.” 12 Arise, O Lord, fulfill the oath of your hand, do not forget the humble. 13 Why has the wicked man abhorred God? He will say in his heart, “It will not be sought after.” 14 It is manifest in your presence, because you will inflict misery and wrath upon the wicked man; look carefully to pay a good reward to the righteous by your hand; the poor will place their hope on you; you have been a helper to the orphan. 15 Break the arm of the wicked; and let the evil seek their wickedness, [and] not find it. 16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the Gentiles have perished from his land. 17 The desire of the humble is heard in your presence, O Lord; strengthen their heart, incline your ear. 18 To judge the orphan and poor man; may the sons of men not again be shattered before the wicked of the earth.
11A hymn of David. In the word of the Lord I have hoped; how do you say to my soul, wander to the mountain like a bird? 2 For behold, the wicked bend the bow, fixing their arrows on the string to shoot in darkness at the firm of heart. 3 For if the foundations are shattered, why did the virtuous do good? 4 The Lord is in his holy temple; God’s throne is in the highest heavens; his eyes see, his eyelids examine, the sons of men. 5 God examines the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and those who love rapacity. 6 He will bring down rains of retribution on the wicked, coals of fire and brimstone; a violent storm-wind is the portion of their cup. 7 For the Lord is righteous, he loves righteousness, the honest man will look upon his countenance.
12For praise, on the lyre of eight strings. A hymn of David. 2 Redeem, O Lord, for the good are annihilated; for the faithful have ceased from the sons of men. 3 They speak lies, each to his fellow, lips are flattering; in their heart they deceive, and with a lying heart they speak. 4 The Lord will destroy from the world all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks arrogance. 5 Those who deny the essence, who say, “By our tongue we shall prevail, our lips are with us, who is our master?” 6 Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the cry of the needy, now I will arise, says the Lord; I will give redemption to my people, but against the wicked I will give testimony of evil. 7 The words of the Lord are pure words, silver purified in the furnace on the ground, refined seven times. 8 You, O Lord, will keep the righteous; you will protect them from this evil generation forever. 9 All around the wicked walk, like a leech that sucks the blood of the sons of men.
13For praise, a hymn of David. 2 How long, O Lord, will you neglect me forever? How long will you hide the splendor of your face from me? 3 How long will I put warnings in my soul, suffering in my heart daily? How long will my enemy vaunt himself over me? 4 Pay heed and receive my prayer, O Lord my God; illumine my eyes by your Torah, lest I sin and sleep with those who deserve death. 5 Lest the evil impulse should say, “I have taken control of him,” [lest] my oppressors rejoice because I stray from your paths. 6 But I have placed my trust in your goodness, my heart will rejoice in your redemption; I will give praise in the Lord’s presence because he rewards me with good things.
14For praise; in the spirit of prophecy through David. The fool said in his heart, “There is no rule of God on the earth.” They corrupted their deeds, they despised goodness and found iniquity. There is none who does good. 2 The Lord looked down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there was any wise man seeking instruction from the presence of the Lord. 3 All alike have turned backward, they have become lax; there is none who does good, there is not even one. 4 Do they not know, all doers of falsehood? Those among my people who dine have dined on bread [and] not blessed the name of the Lord. 5 There they became afraid because the word of the Lord is in the generation of the righteous. 6 You will despise the counsel of the poor man, because he has placed his hope in the Lord. 7 Who will produce from Zion the redemption of Israel? When the Lord brings back the exile of his people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.
15A hymn of David. O Lord, who is worthy to dwell in your tabernacle, who is worthy to abide on the mountain of your sanctuary? 2 One who walks in integrity, and does righteous deeds, and speaks truth in his heart. 3 He does not slander with his tongue, he causes no harm to his fellow, and he bears no shame against his neighbor. 4 Who despises the contemptible to his face, but honors those who fear the Lord; who will swear to do harm to himself and does not change. 5 He has not given his money at interest; he has not accepted a bribe against the innocent; one who does these things will never be moved.
16An honest inscription of David. Protect me, O God, because I have hoped in your word. 2 You have spoken – you, my soul – in the presence of the Lord. You are my God, truly my goodness is not present without you. 3 To the holy ones that are in the in the land they have declared the might of my power from the beginning; and as for those proud of their good deeds, my good will is for them. 4 But the wicked multiply their idols; afterwards they hurry to make their sacrifices. I will not receive favorably their libations or the blood of their sacrifices, nor will I mention their name with my lips. 5 The Lord is the portion of my cup and my share; you will support my lot. 6 The lots have fallen pleasantly for me; indeed, a beautiful inheritance is mine. 7 I will bless the Lord, who has counseled me; even at night my mind disciplines me. 8 I have placed the Lord before me always, for his presence rests on me; I shall not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; besides, my flesh shall dwell in security. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, you will not hand over your innocent one to see corruption. 11 You will tell me the way of life; abundance of joy is in the presence of your face; pleasant things are at your right hand forever.
17A prayer of David. Accept, O Lord, my entreaty; in righteousness hear my praise; you will incline your ear to my prayer, since my lips are without guile. 2 From your presence my judgment shall come forth; your eyes will behold honesty. 3 You have tested my heart; you have visited me at night; you have purified me [and] not found corruption. [If] I thought of evil, it has not passed my mouth. 4 Truly you have rebuked the deeds of the sons of men by the word of your lips; I have kept [myself from] the ways of audacity. 5 Support my steps in your path, lest my feet be shaken. 6 I have called you because you will receive my prayer, O God; incline your ear, receive my prayer. 7 Display your goodness, O redeemer of those who hope; from those who rise up against them by your right hand. 8 Guard me like the circle that is in the middle of the eye; in the shadow of your presence you will hide me. 9 From the presence of the wicked, those who harm me; my enemies, in the desire of their soul, surround me. 10 Their wealth has increased, their fat covers [them], their mouth has spoken arrogantly. 11 Our steps now have surrounded us; their eyes are fixed to extend throughout the land. 12 He resembles a lion who yearns to tear, or a jungle-cat that dwells in secret places. 13 Arise, O Lord, forestall him, strike him down; deliver my soul from the wicked man who deserves death by your sword. 14 And the righteous who hand over their souls on your account, O Lord, to death in the land, their portion is in eternal life, and their bellies will be filled with your good store; children will be satisfied, and they will leave their surplus to their children. 15 I in truth will see your countenance, I will be satisfied at the time that I awake, from the glory of your face.
18For praise. About the miracles that occurred to the servant of the Lord, David, who sang in prophecy in the presence of the Lord the words of this song about all the days that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the sword of Saul. 2 And he said: I will love you, O Lord, my strength. 3 O Lord, my strength and my security and the one who delivers me; the God who has chosen me has brought me near to fear him; my shield, from whose presence is given me strength and redemption over my enemies; my security. 4 David said in praise: “I pray in the Lord’s presence, and from my enemies he redeems me.” 5 Distress has surrounded me, like a woman who sits on the birthstool and has no strength to give birth and so is in danger of death; a band of abusive men has terrified me. 6 Armies of sinners have surrounded me; those armed with deadly weapons have confronted me. 7 When I am in distress, I pray in the presence of the Lord; and in the presence of my God I make supplication; and he accepts my prayer from his temple, and my petition in his presence is received by his ears, and is granted. 8 The earth trembled and shook and the foundations of the mountains tottered, and split, for he was angry with it. 9 The arrogance of Pharaoh went up like smoke; then he sent his anger like a burning fire that consumes before him; his rebuke burns at his utterance like coals of fire. 10 And he bent down the heavens, and his glory was manifested, a dark cloud a path before him. 11 So he was manifested in his strength over swift cherubs; and he proceeded in might on the wings of the storm-wind. 12 And he made his presence dwell in the mist, and surrounded himself with the clouds of his glory as a covering; and he made favorable rains to fall on his people, and mighty waters from the massed clouds of darkness on the wicked from the eternal heights. 13 From the splendor of his glory the clouds of heaven passed by in rebuke like the coals of fire and burning hail from his word. 14 And the Lord gave a shout from heaven, and the Most High raised up his utterance; he cast hail and coals of fire. 15 And he sent his word like arrows, and scattered them; [he sent] many lightning bolts, and confounded them. 16 And the depths of the sea became visible, and the pillars of the world were uncovered at the rebuke of the Lord,78 from the utterance of your mighty wrath. 17 He sent his prophets, [he who is] a mighty king who reigns in strength; he took me [and] delivered me from many Gentiles. 18 He delivered me from my enemies, for they are strong; from my foes, for they prevailed against me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my wandering; but the word of the Lord was my support. 20 And he brought me out to a broad place, he delivered me because he was pleased with me. 21 The Lord will requite me according to my merit; according to the cleanness of my hands he will answer me. 22 For I have kept the proper ways in the Lord’s presence; and I have not walked in evil before the Lord. 23 For all his judgments are revealed in my sight, to do them; and his covenants I will not remove from me. 24 And I was blameless in fear of him; and I kept my soul from sins. 25 And the Lord rewarded me according to my merit; according to the cleanness of my hands in the presence of his word. 26 With Abraham, who was found pious in your presence, you showed much mercy; with his seed, Isaac, who was complete in fear of you, you completed your favorable word. 27 With Jacob, who was pure in your presence, you chose his sons from all the Gentiles, and separated his seed from all that is unfit; but with Pharaoh and his seed, and the Egyptians who thought evil thoughts against your people, you confounded them in their thoughts. 28 Because you are going to redeem the people, the house of Israel, who are esteemed among the peoples in exile; and by your word you will abase the mighty nations who prevail over them. 29 For you will light the lamp of Israel that was extinguished in the exile, for you are the lord of the light of Israel. The Lord my God will bring me out of darkness into light; he will show me his eternal consolation which is to come to the righteous. 30 For by your word I will pass through armies; and by the word of my God I will subdue mighty citadels. 31 God [is he] whose ways are true; the Torah of the Lord is pure; he is a shield to all who trust in him. 32 For because of the miracle and deliverance that you will perform for your Messiah, and for the remnants of your people who will remain, all the Gentiles, nations, and tongues will confess and say, There is no God but the Lord, for there is none besides you; and your people will say, There is none mighty except our God. 33 God, who girds on me a belt in strength, and makes blameless my way. 34 Who makes my feet like hinds’; and he will sustain me in my stronghold. 35 Who teaches my hands to do battle, and who makes my arms as strong as a bronze bow. 36 And you have given me strength and redemption; and your right hand will help me; and by your word you have multiplied me. 37 You have broadened my steps in my place, and my knee has not buckled. 38 I will pursue my enemies; [now] have I destroyed them, and I did not return until I finished them off. 39 I will destroy them, and they are unable to rise; and the slain have fallen under the soles of my feet. 40 And you have girded me with strength as a belt to do battle; you have defeated beneath me the Gentiles who rise up to do me harm. 41 And my foes you have broken in my presence; you have made them turn tail; [thus] my enemies I will destroy. 42 They seek help, but they have no redeemer; they pray in the presence of the Lord, but he does not accept their prayer. 43 I have crushed them like clods of earth before the storm-wind; and like the mud of the streets I have trodden them. 44 You will deliver me from the discords of the Gentiles; you will keep me by my destiny a benefactor at the head of the Gentiles; a people that I did not know shall worship me. 45 At the hearing of the ear, they will obey me; the sons of the peoples will desert in my presence. 46 The sons of the peoples103 above will perish, and will go into exile from their palaces. 47 The Lord lives, and blessed is the mighty one; for from his presence strength and redemption are given to me; and exalted is God, the strength of my redemption. 48 It is God who works retribution for me, and defeats beneath me the Gentiles who arise to do me harm. 49 He delivers me from my foes; indeed against those who arise to do me harm you will make me prevail; you will deliver me from Gog and the armies of rapacious Gentiles with him. 50 Because of this, I will give praise in your presence among the Gentiles, O Lord; and I will sing praises to your name. 51 He works abundant redemption with his king, and shows favor to his Anointed, to David and his seed forever.
19For praise; a psalm of David. 2 Those who behold the heavens tell of the glory of the Lord; those who gaze at the sky recount the works of his hands. 3 Day to day tells more of the word; but night to night tells less knowledge. 4 There is no utterance of complaint, and there are no words of confusion, for their voice is not heard. 5 The line of their conversation reaches through the whole earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them [the heavens] he placed a splendid dwelling for the sun. 6 And he, in the morning, when he comes forth, will come forth like a groom who comes out of his canopy, and in splendor will rejoice like a warrior to run the course. 7 His rising is at the ends of the earth, and his might reaches to all their edges; and there is none who can hide from his heat. 8 The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is reliable, making wise the fool. 9 The commands of the Lord are upright, gladdening the heart; the command of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes. 10 The fear of the Lord is pure, lasting forever; the judgments of the Lord are faithfulness; they are altogether just. 11 More desirable than gold or than much fine gold; and more pleasant than honey or the sweet honeycombs. 12 Truly your servant has been careful for them, to observe them; because of this, he was made ruler of Israel. 13 Who knows unwitting sins? And from secret faults make me innocent. 14 Truly from the arrogant deliver your servant, that they may not rule over me; then I will be without blemish, and I will be innocent of great sin. 15 Let the utterances of my mouth and the thought of my mind be acceptable in your presence, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
20For praise; a psalm of David. 2 May the Lord receive your prayer in the day of trouble, may the name of the God of Jacob lift you up. 3 May he send your help from his sanctuary, and from Zion give you aid. 4 May he remember all your offerings, and may your whole-offerings drip with fat forever. 5 May he give you according to your desires, and may he fulfill all your counsel. 6 Your people will say, “Let us give praise for your redemption, and in the name of our God we will be mustered; may the Lord fulfill all your requests.” 7 Now I know that the Lord has redeemed his anointed; he has accepted his prayer from his holy dwelling in the heavens; in might is the redemption of his right hand. 8 Some by chariots, and some by horses, but we will swear by the name of the Lord our God. 9 They have stooped and fallen, but we have remained upright and become strong. 10 O Lord, redeem us, mighty king, accept our prayer in the day we call out.
21For praise; a psalm of David. 2 O Lord, in your strength the King Messiah will rejoice, and how greatly will he exult in your redemption! 3 You have given him the desire of his soul; and you have not withheld the expression of his lips forever. 4 For you will make good blessings go before him; you will place on his head a crown of refined gold. 5 Eternal life he asked of you; you gave him length of days forever and ever. 6 Great is his glory in your redemption; praise and splendor you will place on him. 7 Because you will give him blessings forever; you will gladden him with the gladness that is from your presence. 8 Because the King Messiah hopes in the Lord; and through the favor of the Most High he is not shaken. 9 The blow of your hand will reach all your foes; the vengeance of your right hand will find all your enemies. 10 You will make them like a fiery furnace at the time of your anger, O Lord; in his anger he will swallow them up and the inferno of Gehenna will consume them. 11 You will make their children perish from the earth, and their progeny from the sons of men. 12 Because they plotted evil against you, they thought evil thoughts, but they could not prevail against you. 13 Because for your people you made them one porter in the ropes of your tabernacle; you will prepare their way before them. 14 Stand up, O Lord, in your might; let us sing praise and dance in your strength.
22For praise; concerning the strength of the regular morning sacrifice; a psalm of David. 2 My God, my God, why have you left me far from my redemption? – are the words of my outcry. 3 O God, I call by day and you will not accept my prayer; and by night I have no quiet 4 But you are holy, who make the world rest on the psalms of Israel. 5 Our fathers hoped in you; they hoped in your word, and you saved them. 6 In your presence they prayed and were saved; and on you they relied, and were not disappointed. 7 But I am a feeble worm, not a rational man; the reproach of the sons of men, and the butt of the Gentiles. 8 All who see me will gloat over me, attacking with their lips; they will shake their heads. 9 Let him give praise in the presence of the Lord; and he has delivered him, he saved him because he favored him. 10 Because you took me out of the womb; you gave me hope on my mother’s breasts. 11 By your aid I was pulled forth from [her] bowels; from my mother’s womb you are my God. 12 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is no redeemer. 13 The Gentiles have surrounded me, who are like many bulls; the princes of Mathnan have hemmed me in. 14 They open their mouths at me like a roaring and ravaging lion. 15 Like water I am poured out; all my bones are crushed; my heart is melting like wax within my bowels. 16 My strength has dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue is stuck to my palate; and you have brought me to the grave. 17 Because the wicked have surrounded me, who are like many dogs; a gathering of evildoers has hemmed me in, biting my hands and feet like a lion. 18 I will tell of all the wounds of my bones; those who see me despise me. 19 They divide my clothing for themselves; and for my cloak they will cast lots. 20 You, O Lord, do not be far off; O my strength, hurry to my aid. 21 Save my soul from those who slay with the sword; from the power of the dog [save] the breath of my body. 22 Redeem me from the mouth of the lion; and from kings who are strong and tall as a bull you have received my prayer. 23 I will tell of the might of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. 24 O you who fear the Lord, sing praise in his presence; all the seed of Jacob, give him glory; and be afraid of him, all you seed of Israel. 25 For he does not despise or scorn the prayer of the poor; and he has not removed his presence from their midst; and when they pray in his presence, he accepts [their prayer]. 26 My psalm in the assembly of many people is from you; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. 27 The humble will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will sing praise in his presence; the spirit of prophecy will dwell in the thoughts of your hearts forever. 28 All the ends of the earth will remember his offerings and will repent in the presence of the Lord; and all the families of the Gentiles will bow down before you. 29 For kingship is from the presence of the Lord, and he rules over the Gentiles. 30 All who are fat on earth have eaten and bowed down; all who descend to the grave prostrate themselves before him; but the soul of the wicked shall not live. 31 The seed of Abraham will worship in his presence; and they will tell the mighty greatness of the Lord to a later generation. 32 Their children will return and recount his generosity; to his people yet to be born [they will recount] the wonders he performed.
23A psalm of David. It is the Lord who fed his people in the wilderness; they did not lack anything. 2 In a place of thirst he will settle me in pleasant grass; he led me to the waters of rest. 3 He will restore my soul with manna; he led me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of his name. 4 Indeed, when I go into exile by the plain of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for your word is my help, your straight staff and your Torah, they will comfort me. 5 You have set before me a high table of manna in front of my oppressors; you have fattened my body with stuffed fowl, and with anointing oil [you have fattened] the heads of my priests; my goblet is wide. 6 Indeed grace and favor will follow me all the days of my life, while I sit in the sanctuary of the Lord for length of days.
24Of David. A Psalm. Behold, the earth and its creatures are the Lord’s, the world and those who dwell in it. 2 For he set a foundation on the seas and fixed it firmly on the rivers. 3 Who will ascend the mount of the Lord’s sanctuary? And who will stand in his holy place? 4 One with clean hands and a pure mind, who has not sworn to a lie to make himself guilty, and who has not made an oath in guile. 5 He will receive blessings from the presence of the Lord, and generosity from God his redemption. 6 This is the generation that seeks him, that looks for his countenance, O Jacob, forever! 7 Lift up, O sanctuary gates, your heads; and stand erect, O eternal entrances, that the glorious king may enter. 8 Who is this glorious king? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, a mighty ruler and one who wages battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O gates of the Garden of Eden; and stand erect, O eternal entrances, and the glorious king will enter. 10 Who is this glorious king? The Lord Sabaoth, he is the glorious king forever.
25Of David. Before you, O Lord, I lift up my soul in prayer. 2 O my God, in you I have put my trust; I will not be disappointed; my foes will not rejoice over me. 3 Truly, all who look to you will not be disappointed; robbers and rogues will be disappointed. 4 Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me by your merit and teach me, for you are God, my redemption; in you I have placed my hope every day. 6 Remember your mercies, O Lord, and your favors, for they are eternal. 7 The sins of my youth and my transgressions do not remember; according to your goodness remember me, because of your grace, O Lord. 8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he teaches sinners on the path. 9 He guides the humble in judgment; and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are kindness and truth to those who keep his covenant and his testimony. 11 Because of your name, O Lord, you will forgive my sin, for it is great. 12 Who is the man who is reverent in the presence of the Lord? He will teach him the way he has chosen. 13 His soul will lodge in kindness, and his children will inherit the earth. 14 The mystery of the Lord is revealed to those who fear him; and his covenant is to instruct them. 15 My eyes look always before the Lord, for he will bring my feet out of the trap. 16 Look towards me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have spread; bring me out of my anguish. 18 See my pain and vexation, and forgive all my sins. 19 See my foes, for they have become many; and the enmity that the rapacious have towards me. 20 Keep my soul and save me; I would not be disappointed because I hoped in you. 21 Innocence and honesty will guard me, for I hoped in your word. 22 Redeem Israel, O Lord, from all his troubles.
26Of David. Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence; and in the Lord I have hoped [and] trusted; I shall not be shaken. 2 Try me, O Lord, and prove me; purify my inmost thoughts. 3 Because your goodness is before my eyes, and I have walked in your truth. 4 I have not reclined [to dine] with lying men; and I will not enter with those who hide themselves to do evil. 5 I hate the gathering of evildoers, and with the wicked I will not recline [to dine]. 6 I will sanctify my hands by my merit, and I have gone around your altar, O Lord. 7 To make heard the sound of praise, and to tell of all your wonders. 8 O Lord, I love the dwelling of your sanctuary, and the place of your glorious tabernacle. 9 My soul will not gather with the sinners, nor my life with the men who shed blood. 10 In whose hands is the purpose of sinning; their right hands are full of bribes. 11 But I will go about in my innocence; redeem me and have mercy on me. 12 My foot stands upright; in the gathering of the righteous I will bless the Lord.
27Of David. The Lord is my light and my redemption; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; whom shall I fear? 2 Whenever evildoers come near to me to destroy my flesh, my oppressors and my foes – they have stumbled and fallen. 3 If an army of the wicked encamps against me, my heart will not fear; if battle rises against me, in this I place my hope. 4 One thing I have sought from the presence of the Lord; that thing I will continue to seek: that I should dwell in the sanctuary of the Lord all the days of my life, to see the pleasantness of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. 5 For he will hide me in his shadow in the day of evil, he will conceal me in the hiding place of his tabernacle, in a mighty fortress he will raise me up. 6 And now my head will be lifted up over my enemies round about; and I will slaughter acceptable sacrifices in his tabernacle; I will sing praise and be glad in the presence of the Lord. 7 Receive, O Lord, my prayer when I call, and have mercy on me and pity me. 8 To you my heart said, “Seek my face”; your countenance, O Lord, I will seek. 9 Do not remove your presence from me; do not turn in anger to your servant; you have been my help; do not exile me and do not abandon me, O God my redemption. 10 Because my father (abba) and my mother have abandoned me, but the Lord will gather me in. 11 Teach me, O Lord, your ways, and lead me by a straight path because of my psalm. 12 Do not hand me over to the will of my oppressors, for the false witnesses have risen against me, and those who speak rapacity. 13 Had I not believed I would look on the goodness of the Lord in the land of eternal life! 14 Hope in the Lord; strengthen and fortify your heart; and hope in the Lord.
28Of David. To you, O Lord, I cry; O my strength, do not be silent to me, lest, when you are silent, I become like those who descend to the pit. 2 Accept the voice of my petition when I pray to you, whenever I spread my hands in prayer before your holy temple. 3 Do not drag me away with the wicked or with those who do wrong; who speak peace with their fellows, while evil is in their hearts. 4 Give to them according to their deeds, and according to their evil deeds; according to the works of their hands, repay them; turn upon them their retribution. 5 Because they do not understand the Torah of the Lord or the works of his hands; he will tear them down and not rebuild them. 6 Blessed is the Lord because he has accepted the voice of my prayer. 7 The Lord is my strength and shield; on him my heart has set its hope; and you have aided me, and my heart exults; I will give thanks in his presence by my psalm. 8 The Lord is their strength and might; he is the redemption of his anointed. 9 Redeem your people and bless your inheritance; feed them and support them forever.
29A psalm of David. Give praise in the presence of the Lord, O bands of angels; give glory and might in the Lord’s presence. 2 Give the glory of his name in the presence of the Lord; bow down before the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is heard above the waters; in his glorious might the Lord called out over many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is heard in strength; the voice of the Lord is heard in splendor. 5 The voice of the Lord shatters cedars; the word of the Lord has shattered the cedars of Lebanon. 6 And he made them jump like a calf – Lebanon, and the Mount of Noisome Fruit, like the young of oxen. 7 The voice of the Lord splits flames of fire. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the word of the Lord shakes the wilderness of Rekem. 9 The voice of the Lord impregnates the hinds, and makes the beasts of the forest give birth; and in his sanctuary above, all his servants say, “Glory,” in his presence. 10 In the generation of the Flood, the Lord sat on his throne of judgment to take vengeance on them; and the Lord sat on the throne of mercy and saved Noah; and he reigns over his children forever and ever. 11 The Lord gave the Torah to his people; the Lord will bless his people in peace.
30A praise song for the dedication of the sanctuary. Of David.
2 I will praise you, O Lord, for you made me stand erect, and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3 O Lord my God, I prayed in your presence and you healed me.
4 O Lord, you raised my soul out of Sheol; you preserved me from going down to the pit.
5 Sing praise in the Lord’s presence, you his devotees; and give thanks at the invocation of his holy one.
6 For his anger is but a moment; eternal life is his good pleasure. In the evening one goes to bed in tears, but in the morning one rises in praise.
7 And I said when I dwelt in trust, I will never be shaken.
8 O Lord, by your will you prepared the mighty mountains; you removed your presence, I became afraid.
9 In your presence, O Lord, I will cry out; and to you, O my God, I will pray.
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31For praise; a psalm of David. 2 In your word, O Lord, I have placed my hope; I will never be disappointed; by your generosity save me. 3 Incline your ear to me, in haste save me. Be for me a strong fortress, a fortified stronghold to redeem me. 4 For you are my strength and trust; and for the sake of your name, guide me and sustain me. 5 Take me out of this net that they spread for me, for you are my strength. 6 Into your hand I will place my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, true God. 7 I hate those who observe practices that are like vanity and lies; but I have relied on the Lord. 8 I will rejoice and be glad in your kindness, for you have seen my affliction, you know the troubles of my soul. 9 And you have not handed me over to the hand of my enemy; you have made my feet stand in a broad place. 10 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in distress. My eye is wasted from agitation; my soul and my belly are destroyed. 11 For my life is ended in misery, and my years in sighing; my strength has failed because of my sin, and my limbs are used up. 12 I have become a more shameful thing than all my oppressors, and more so to my neighbors – a fearful thing to those who know me, those who see me in the street flee from my presence. 13 I am forgotten like a dead man from the mind; I have become like a broken vessel of the potter. 14 Because I have heard an evil report which many peoples say about me; terror is all around when they gather together against me; they have planned to take my soul. 15 But I have put my trust in you, O Lord; I said, “You are my God.” 16 In your hand are the times of my redemption; save me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. 17 Shine your countenance on your servant; redeem me by your goodness. 18 O Lord, I will not be disappointed, for I have called upon you; let the wicked be disappointed, let them be silent and descend to Sheol. 19 Let the lips of falsehood be stopped up, [the lips] that speak slander against the righteous in pride and contempt. 20 How great is your goodness that you have hidden for those that fear you; you have acted for those who hope in you, to pay them a good reward in front of the sons of men. 21 You will hide them in a hiding place in the time of your anger from troops of warriors; you will conceal them as in a shelter from the strife of tongues. 22 Blessed be the Lord, for he has exhibited his kindness to me in the walled city. 23 And I thought when I sought to flee, I have been eliminated from the presence of your glory; [but] in truth you heard the sound of my prayer when I made supplication to you. 24 Love the Lord, all his devotees; the Lord keeps the faithful from harm, and pays back the haughty who act proudly. 25 Be strong, and let your mind be sturdy, all you who have confidence in the word of the Lord.
32Of David. Good counsel. David said, “How blessed is the one whose impieties they forgive, whose sins they cover over.” 2 How happy was Moses, son of Amram, to whom the Lord did not reckon his sins, because there was no guile in his spirit. 3 Because I have been silent from the words of Torah, my bones waste away while I groan all day. 4 Because day and night your punishment is severe upon me, my moisture is turned to, as it were, the hot wind of summer forever. 5 My sin I will tell you and my iniquity I have not covered. I said, “I will confess my rebellions in the presence of the Lord”; and you forgave the iniquity of my sin forever. 6 Because of this let every pious man pray in your presence at the time of his favor; indeed, at the time when many Gentiles come like waters, to him they will not come near to do harm. 7 You are the Lord; hide me, from the oppressor guard me; the joy of salvation will surround me forever. 8 I will enlighten you and teach you; in this way you shall go; I will advise you and put my eye upon you for good. 9 Do not be like a horse or mule who have no intelligence; both muzzle and halter are its trappings to be kept silent; let it not come near you. 10 Many are the pains of the wicked; but favor will surround the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Rejoice in the word of the Lord, and be glad, O righteous; and give praise, all you with upright hearts.
33Give praise, O righteous, in the presence of the Lord; praise is seemly for the upright. 2 Give thanks in the presence of the Lord with the lyre; with the harp of ten strings give him praise. 3 Give praise in the presence of the Lord with a new song; praise well with a shout. 4 For the word of the Lord is right, and all his deeds are reliable. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the goodness of the Lord fills the earth. 6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and by the breath of his mouth, all their armies. 7 Who gathers as in a bottle the waters of the sea; he puts them in the treasuries of the deeps. 8 In the presence of the Lord all who dwell on the earth will be afraid; all the inhabitants of the world will tremble because of him. 9 Because he says it, and it is; he commanded, and it took place. 10 The Lord shattered the counsel of the Gentiles, frustrated the plans of the nations. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of his heart for all generations. 12 Happy is the man whose god is the Lord, the people that he chose for his inheritance. 13 From heaven the Lord looked, he saw all the sons of men. 14 From the residence of his dwelling he looked out at all the inhabitants of the earth. 15 Who created them, forming their heart together, and discerning all their deeds. 16 The king is not redeemed by the abundance of his forces; the warrior is not saved by the abundance of his strength. 17 The horse is deceitful for redemption; and by the abundance of its strength one is not saved. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord sees those who fear him, those who hope for his kindness. 19 To save their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul looks for the redemption of the Lord; he is our help and shield. 21 For our heart will rejoice in his word, because in his holy name we have placed our trust. 22 May your goodness be upon us, O Lord, as we have put our hopes in you.
34Of David, when he disguised his intelligence before Abimelech, who dismissed him, and he left. 2 I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise is always in my mouth. 3 My soul makes her boast in the word of the Lord; the humble will hear and rejoice. 4 Ascribe greatness in the presence of the Lord with me, and we will exalt his name together. 5 I sought instruction from the presence of the Lord and he answered me; and from all my fears he delivered me. 6 They looked toward him and received light; and their faces were not dismayed. 7 This poor one prayed; in the presence of the Lord it was heard, and he redeemed him from all his troubles. 8 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he saved them. 9 Recognize and see that the Lord is good; happy the man who has placed his trust in his word. 10 Have fear in the presence of the Lord, O you his holy ones; for there is nothing lacking to those who fear him. 11 The sons of the lion became poor and were hungry; but those who seek the instruction of the Lord lack no good thing. 12 Come, children, receive [teaching] from me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 13 Who is the man who seeks life, loves days in order to see good? 14 Guard your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. 15 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue after it. 16 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous; and his ears, to receive their prayer. 17 The face of the Lord is wrathful against evildoers, to expunge their memory from the earth. 18 The righteous pray, and it is heard in the presence of the Lord; and from all their trouble he has delivered them. 19 The Lord is near to the broken-hearted; and the lowly in spirit he will redeem. 20 Many evils encounter the righteous man; and from all of them the Lord delivers him. 21 He protects all his limbs; not one of them is broken. 22 The death of the wicked is bad, and those who hate the righteous man will be condemned. 23 The Lord redeems the soul of his servants; and none who hope in his word are condemned.
35Of David. Contend, O Lord, with those who contend against me; make war against those who war against me. 2 Take up a shield and buckler, and arise as my help. 3 And draw the spear and fasten the scabbard; and be prepared to meet those who pursue me; say to my soul, “I am your redeemer.” 4 Let those who seek my life be ashamed and embarrassed; let those who plot my ruin shrink back and be subdued. 5 Let them be like chaff before the storm-wind, with the angel of the Lord repelling [them]. 6 May their paths be dark and murky, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them. 7 For without cause they have spread before me a pit; their net they have hidden for my soul without cause. 8 May a sudden calamity, unsuspected, overtake him; and may his net that he spread catch him; let him suddenly fall in it. 9 But my soul will rejoice in the word of the Lord; it will be glad in his redemption. 10 All my limbs will keep saying, “O Lord, who is like you?” – who saves the poor from the one stronger than he, and the poor and wretched from his oppressor. 11 Rapacious witnesses stand up; those whom I have not known question me. 12 They repay me evil for good, seeking to bereave my soul. 13 But I, in the time of their illness, wore sackcloth; I afflicted my soul with fasting; but my prayer will return to my bosom. 14 As if for my friend or brother, I went about like a mourner; like one who mourns for his mother, I was bowed down in gloom. 15 But when I was stricken, they rejoiced and even gathered together against me; the wicked, who belittle me with their words, and I knew it not, as if they cut my skin without drawing blood. 16 With smooth words and haughtiness and mockery, they grind their teeth against me. 17 O Lord, how long will you watch? Deliver my soul from their calamities, my body from the lion’s whelps. 18 I will give thanks in your presence in the great assembly; among a mighty people I will praise you. 19 Let not my enemies rejoice over me [with] a lie – those who hate me without cause, winking with their eyes. 20 For they do not speak peace; and against the righteous of the earth who have rest in this world they plot devious things. 21 And they have opened their mouth wide against me [and] said, “Joy! Joy! Our eye has seen it!” 22 You have seen, O Lord, do not be silent; O Lord, be not far from me. 23 Wake and be alert to my cause, O my God; the Lord is the victor in my dispute. 24 Judge me by your generosity, O Lord my God, and they will not rejoice over me. 25 Let them not say in their heart, “Our soul is glad”; lest they say, “We have finished him.” 26 Let those who rejoice at my harm be ashamed and subdued together; let those who vaunt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. 27 May those who seek my vindication be glad and rejoice and say always, “May the glory of the Lord be great, he who desires the peace of his servant.” 28 And my tongue will sing of your generosity, all the day of your praise.
36For praise. Of the servant of the Lord, David. 2 Rebellion said to the sinner within my heart, “There is no fear of the Lord before his eyes.” 3 Because he flatters him with his eyes to find sins, to hate instruction. 4 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise in doing good. 5 Wickedness plots on his bed; he will take his stand in a way not good; he will not reject evil. 6 O Lord, your goodness is in the heaven of heavens, your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 7 Your righteousness is as high as the great mountains; your judgments are as deep as the great abyss; you will redeem both the sons of men and beasts, O Lord. 8 How precious is your goodness, O Lord; and the sons of men will dwell securely in the shadow of your presence. 9 They will drink deeply of the plenteous blessings of your house; and you will let them drink of your pleasant fountain. 10 For with you are streams of living water; in the splendor of your glory we will see light. 11 Extend your goodness over those who know you; and your generosity over the upright of heart. 12 May the foot of the proud not reach me; and may the hands of the wicked not make me wander. 13 There fell those who commit falsehood; they will be struck down, and will not rise again.
37Of David. Have no desire for malefactors, to be like them; and do not be jealous of those who commit oppression, to join with them. 2 Because their end will be like plants, quickly will they wither; and like the green grass they will fall away. 3 Trust in the word of the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and be strong in faith. 4 And you will delight in the Lord, and he will give you the requests of your heart. 5 Reveal to the Lord your ways, and trust in his word, and he will act. 6 And your righteousness will come out like light, and your judgment like noonday. 7 Be quiet in the presence of the Lord and wait for him; do not desire the wicked man who prospers his way, the man who follows the counsel of sinners. 8 Wait without anger and forsake wrath; do not long indeed to do evil. 9 For those who do evil will be destroyed; but those who hope in the word of the Lord – they will inherit the land. 10 And yet a little while, and there is no wicked man; you will look carefully at his place, and he is not. 11 But the humble will inherit the land; and they will delight in the plenitude of peace. 12 The wicked man plots harm against the righteous man, and grinds his teeth against him. 13 The Lord will laugh at him, for he has seen, for the day of his ruin has come. 14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bows to kill the humble and lowly, to slaughter the upright of way. 15 Their blade will enter their [own] heart, and their bows will break. 16 Better in the presence of the Lord is the smallness of the righteous man than the multitude of many wicked men. 17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the word of the Lord supports the righteous. 18 The days of the blameless are known in the Lord’s presence, and their inheritance will last forever. 19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, and in the days of famine they are satisfied. 20 For the wicked will perish, and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of young sheep that at first are fattened but finally slaughtered – likewise the wicked will perish and be destroyed in the smoke of Gehenna. 21 The wicked borrows and does not repay; but the righteous is compassionate, and gives. 22 For those who are blessed by his word will inherit the land; but those who are cursed by death will be destroyed. 23 In the presence of the Lord the steps of a man are made firm, and he will favor his ways. 24 For when he falls into sickness, he will not die, because the Lord is the helper at his hand. 25 I was a boy, but have grown old; and I have not seen the righteous man abandoned or his sons seeking bread because of want. 26 For all the day he is compassionate and lends; and his seed is for a blessing. 27 Turn from evil, and practice kindness, and abide for eternal life. Another targum: Turn from doing evil, O righteous man, and do good; because of this you will abide forever. 28 For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon his pious ones; they are protected forever; but the sons of the wicked will be destroyed. 29 The righteous will inherit the land, and will dwell on it forever. 30 The mouth of the righteous murmurs wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law (nimus) of his God is in his heart; his feet do not stumble. 32 The wicked man observes the righteous man and seeks to kill him. 33 The Lord will not abandon him into his hand, and will not find him guilty when he is judged. another targum: When he stands in judgment. 34 Hope in the word of the Lord, and keep his way, and he will raise you up to inherit the land; you will see the destruction of the wicked. 35 I have seen the wicked man, strong and mighty, like a native and leafy tree. 36 And he ceased from the world, and, behold, he is no more; and I sought him but he was not found. 37 Preserve blamelessness, and behold honesty; for the end of [such] a son of man is peace. 38 But rebels will be destroyed together; the end of the wicked is destruction. 39 But the redemption of the righteous is from the presence of the Lord, their strength in the time of trouble. 40 And the Lord helped them and saved them, he saved them from sinners; and he will redeem them, for they trusted in his word.
38A psalm of David. A handful of incense, a good memorial for Israel. 2 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, and do not punish me in your wrath. 3 For your arrows have descended on me, and the blow of your hand rests upon me. 4 There is no healing in my body because of your anger, no health in my limbs because of my sin. 5 For my sins have mounted past my head; like a heavy burden, they were too heavy for me. 6 My wounds stank, they decayed, because of my foolishness. 7 I am bent over, I am greatly bowed down; all the day I have gone about in gloom. 8 For my loins are filled with burning, and there is no healing in my body. 9 I have become faint and I have been humbled greatly; I moaned because of the groaning of my heart. 10 O Lord, before you is all my desire; and my sighing is not hid from you. 11 My heart has become hot; my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes – even they are not with me. 12 My friends and companions stood away from the sight of my plague; and my relatives stand far off. 13 And those who seek my life have made traps; and those who seek my ruin have uttered lies, and they murmur deceit all the day. 14 But I am like a deaf man, I will not hear, like a mute who does not open his mouth. 15 And I have become like a man who has never heard, and there is no rebuke in his mouth. 16 For in your presence, O Lord, have I prayed; you will accept [my prayer], O Lord my God. 17 For I said, “Lest they rejoice over me.” When my foot stumbled, they vaunted themselves over me. 18 For I am prepared for disaster, and my pain is before me always. 19 For my sin I will relate, I will be troubled by my sin. 20 But my enemies, alive, have grown strong; those who hate me through deceit are numerous. 21 And those who repay evil for good oppose me, because I have pursued good. 22 Do not forsake me, O Lord; my God, do not be far from me. 23 Hasten to my aid, O Lord, my redemption.
39For praise; concerning the guard of the sanctuary, according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. 2 I said, I will keep my way from sinning by my tongue, I will keep a bridle for my mouth, while there is a wicked man before me. 3 I was dumb, I was quiet, I kept away from the words of Torah; because of this my pain contorts [me]. 4 My heart grew heated in my body; when I murmur, fire will burn; I spoke with my tongue. 5 Make known to me the way of my end; and the measure of my days, what they are; I would know when I will cease from the world. 6 Behold, you have ordained my days to be swift, and my body is as nothing before you. Truly all are considered to be nothing, but all the righteous endure for eternal life. 7 Truly in the image of the Lord man goes about; truly for nothing they are perplexed; he gathers and does not know why anyone gathers them. 8 And now, why have I hoped, O Lord? My waiting is for you. 9 From all my rebellions deliver me; do not put on me the shame of the fool. 10 I have become mute, and I will not open my mouth, for you have done it. 11 Remove your plague from me; I am destroyed by the blow of your mighty hand. 12 You punish a son of man with rebuke for sin; and you have dissolved his body like wool that has been nibbled away; truly every son of man is as nothing forever. 13 Receive my prayer, O Lord, and hear my supplication, and to my tears do not be silent; for I am like a foreigner with you, an alien like all my fathers. 14 Leave me alone, and I will depart, ere I go and exist no more.
40For praise. Of David, a psalm. 2 I truly hoped in the Lord, and he turned to me and received my supplication. 3 And he brought me up from the pit of turmoil, from the mire of filth; and he set my feet on the rock, he made my steps firm. 4 And he put in my mouth a new psalm: Let there be praise before the Lord our God, let many see and fear and hope in the word of the Lord. 5 Happy the man who made the Lord his confidence, and did not look toward the disobedient and those who speak falsehood. 6 Many are the miracles that you have done, O Lord my God; your wonders and favor towards us are impossible to set out; I will recount and speak to you your praise; they are too great to tell. 7 You do not want sacrifice and offering; you have scooped out ears for me to hear your redemption; you have not asked for holocaust and sin offering. 8 Then I said, “Behold, I have entered into eternal life,” whenever I occupy myself with the scroll of the book of Torah that was written for my sake. 9 I desire to do your will, O God; and your Torah is contained in my deepest self. 10 I have proclaimed righteousness in the great assembly; behold, I will not withhold my lips; O Lord my God, you know [this]. 11 I have not concealed your righteousness in my heart, I have uttered your truth and your redemption; I have not kept back your goodness and faithfulness in the great assembly. 12 Therefore you, O Lord, do not withhold your mercy from me; may your goodness and truth always keep me. 13 For evils are strong against me, until they are without number; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see; they are more numerous than the hairs of my head; and my thoughts have left me. 14 Be pleased, O Lord, to save me; O Lord, hasten to my aid. 15 Those who seek to destroy my soul will be ashamed and confused together; those who desire my ruin will turn back and be disgraced. 16 They will become senseless because of their shame – those who say to me, “We have rejoiced at his ruin, we rejoiced at his misery.” 17 All who seek you will rejoice and be glad in your word; and those who love your redemption will say continually, “Let the might of the Lord be magnified.” 18 But I am humble and poor, O Lord; let good be devised for me, you are my help and salvation; O my God, do not delay.
41For praise; a psalm of David. 2 Happy the man who is wise to show mercy to the humble and poor on the day of evil; the Lord will deliver him. 3 The Lord will keep him and preserve him and do well to him in the land; and he will not hand him over to the will of his enemies. 4 The word of the Lord will aid him in his life, and be revealed to him on the bed of his sickness to preserve him; you have reversed wholly his bed in the time of his sickness and rebuke. 5 I said: O Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned in your presence. 6 My enemies will speak evil about me: “When will he die and his name perish?” 7 And if he comes to welcome me, he will speak falsehood; in his mind he will gather iniquity to himself, he will go outside [and] speak. 8 All my enemies speak together about me in secret, plotting ruin for me. 9 He will pour out on him the speech of an oppressor, and will say, “This one who is sick will not get up again.” 10 Even a man who seeks my welfare, in whom I trusted, feeding him my meal – he has cunningly prevailed over me. 11 But you, O Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up from illness; and I will pay them back. 12 By this I know that you have favored me, that my enemy has not prevailed over me to cause harm. 13 But I, for my blamelessness – you have sustained me; and you made me stand in your presence forever. 14 Blessed be the name of the Lord God of Israel, from this world to the world to come; the righteous will say, “Amen and amen.”
42For praise, with good discernment, by the sons of Korah. 2 As the deer that longs for streams of water, thus my soul longs for you, O Lord. 3 My soul is thirsty for you, for the mighty, living, and enduring God. When will I enter and see the splendor of the presence of the Lord? 4 My tears have become my sustenance day and night, because the enemy says to me all day, “Where is your God?” 5 These miracles I remember; and I will pour out the thoughts of my soul whenever I pass beneath the shelter alone; I will be strong in the camps of the righteous, [who are going] to the sanctuary of the Lord with a voice of petition and praise, a tumult of peoples coming to keep festival in Jerusalem. 6 Why will you be lowly, O my soul, and [why] will you rage against me? Wait for God, for again I will praise him for the redemption that is from his presence. 7 O God, my soul will be for me lowly, therefore I will remember you [among] those who dwell yonder in the land of Jordan, and those who dwell on the mountains of Hermoni, and the people who accepted the Torah on mount Sinai, which is lowly and small. 8 The upper deep calls to the lower deep, at the sound of the pouring of spouts – thus all your breakers and waves passed over me at the time we came forth from Egypt. 9 By day the Lord will command his goodness, and by night his praise is with me, a prayer to the God who preserves my life. 10 I will say to God my trust, “Why have you neglected me, why do I go about in darkness in the oppression of the enemy?” 11 Because they kill my bones whenever my oppressors mock me, when they say to me every day, “Where is your God?” 12 Why will you be lowly, O my soul, and [why] will you rage against me? Wait for God, for again I will praise him for the redemption that comes from his presence, for he is my God.
43Judge me, O Lord with true judgment; it is for you to argue my case with a people that is not righteous; from the deceitful and oppressive man you will save me. 2 For you are God, my strength; why have you abandoned me? why do I go about in gloom at the oppression of the enemy? 3 Send your light and your faithfulness; they will guide me, they will bring me to the mount of the sanctuary and the academies, the place of your presence. 4 And I will come to make his sacrifice at the altar of my God the Lord; to my God from whom is the joy of my gladness; and I will give thanks in your presence with the lyre, O Lord my God. 5 Why will you be lowly, O my soul, and [why] will you rage against me? Wait for God, for again I will praise him for the redemption that comes from his presence, for he is my God.
44For praise; for David, composed by the sons of Korah, good discernment. 2 O Lord, with our ears we have heard, our fathers have told us of the deed you did in their days, in the days of old. 3 You drove out the Canaanite Gentiles with your mighty hand; and you planted them, the house of Israel, in their land; you broke the peoples and sent them away. 4 For they did not inherit the land by the strength of their swords, and the might of their arms did not redeem them, for [it was] your right hand, and your strong arm and the light of your glorious splendor; for whenever they occupied themselves with the Torah, you were pleased with them. 5 You are my king, O God; at this time command the redemption of the house of Jacob. 6 At your command we will gore our oppressors; in your name we will subdue all who rise against us. 7 For I do not trust in my bow, and my sword will not redeem me. 8 For you have redeemed us from our oppressors and from those who hate us, you have brought shame upon them. 9 By the word of the Lord we sing praise all day; and your name we will confess forever and ever. 10 Only you have neglected [us] and put us to shame; and your presence will not abide with our forces. 11 You have made us turn our back in the presence of our enemies, and those who hate us have subdued us. 12 You have handed us over like sheep for food, and you have scattered us among the Gentiles. 13 You sold your people for nothing, for no money; and you did not increase property by their exchange. 14 You have made us a disgrace to our neighbors, a mockery and scandal to our surroundings. 15 You have made us a proverb among the Gentiles, a shaking of the head among the nations. 16 All the day my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face. 17 From the sound of the reviler and vilifier, from the presence of the enemy and revenge-taker; 18 All this has come upon us, yet we have not neglected you, and we have not been false to your covenant. 19 We will not turn back hesitating, our hearts being proud, but you have diverted our steps from the straightness of the path. 20 For you have humbled us in a place of jackals, and you have covered us with the shadow of death. 21 If we have neglected the name of our God and spread our hands in prayer to an idol of foreign nations – 22 Truly God will search this out, for he knows the hidden things of the heart. 23 For on your account we are killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep handed over for slaughter. 24 Act mightily; why will you be like a sleeping man, O Lord? Arouse yourself, do not forever be forgetful. 25 Why will you remove your glorious presence, why neglect our shame and oppression? 26 For our soul is bent to the dust; our bowels cleave to the bottom of the pit. 27 Arise, help us, and redeem us, for the sake of your goodness.
45For praise; concerning those who sit in the Sanhedrin of Moses, which was spoken in prophecy by the sons of Korah; a good lesson, and a psalm, and a thanksgiving. 2 My heart desires fine speech; I will speak my work to the king; the utterance of my tongue is quick, like the pen of a fluent scribe. 3 Your beauty, O King Messiah, is greater than the sons of men; the spirit of prophecy has been placed on your lips; because of this the Lord has blessed you forever. 4 Gird your sword on your thigh, O champion; your glory and your brilliance is to kill kings as well as rulers. 5 And your brilliance is great; therefore you will succeed in mounting the horse of the kingdom, by reason of faithfulness and truth and humility and righteousness; and the Lord will teach you to do fearful things with your right hand. 6 Your arrows are drawn to kill Gentile hordes; beneath you they will fall; and the sons of your bow will be released into the heart of the enemies of the king. 7 The throne of your glory, O Lord, lasts forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is an upright scepter. 8 Because you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness – because of this the Lord your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your fellows. 9 Pure myrrh and aloe-wood and cassia – your garments are perfected, from the palaces paved with ivory below; from me they will make you glad. 10 The provinces of the kingdom come to welcome you and to honor you, while the book of Torah is stationed at your right side, and written in gold from Ophir. 11 Hear, O congregation of Israel, the Torah of his mouth, and see the wonders of his deeds, and incline your ear to the words of Torah, and you will forget the evil deeds of the wicked of your people, and the place of idols that you worshipped in the house of your father. 12 And then the king will desire your beauty; for he is your master and you will bow down to him. 13 And those who dwell in the fortress of Tyre will come with an offering, and the rich Gentiles will seek your face at your sanctuary. 14 All the best and choicest sacrifices from the provinces, the treasuries of the kings that are hidden within, will they bring for the priests whose clothing is chased with pure gold. 15 In their decorated garments they will offer their sacrifices before the king of the world, and the rest of their fellows who are scattered among the Gentiles will be brought in joy to you to Jerusalem. 16 They will be brought in joy and praise and they will enter the temple of the king of ages. 17 In the place of your fathers will be the righteous, your sons; you will appoint them as leaders in all the land. 18 At that time you will say, “We will invoke your name in every generation”; because of this the Gentiles who are converted will praise your name forever and ever and ever.
46For praise, by the sons of Korah, through the spirit of prophecy when their father was hidden from them, but they were saved, and they recited this song. 2 God is for us security and strength; a help in distress we shall find indeed. 3 Because of this we will not be afraid in the time our fathers passed from the land, when the mountains totter in the depth of the great sea. 4 His waters shake, they become muddy from their dust; the mountains tremble in your pride forever. 5 Peoples like rivers and their fountains come and make glad the city of the Lord, and they pray in the Lord’s sanctuary, his exalted dwelling. 6 The presence of the Lord is within it, it will not be shaken; the Lord will help her for the merit of Abraham who prayed on it at the morning hours. 7 When the Torah was given to his people, the Gentiles trembled; kingdoms shook when he raised his voice; and when he gave the Torah to his people, the inhabitants of the earth melted. 8 The word of the Lord Sabaoth is our help; the God of Jacob is a stronghold for us forever. 9 Come, see the deeds of the Lord who has put devastation on the wicked of the land. 10 He annuls war to the ends of the earth; he will break the bow and shatter the lance; the round shields he will burn with fire. 11 Cease from war, and know that I am the Lord, exalted among the peoples, exalted over the inhabitants of the earth. 12 The word of the Lord Sabaoth is our help; the God of Jacob is a stronghold for us forever.
47For praise, by the sons of Korah, a psalm. 2 All you peoples, clap hands in joy, shout in the presence of the Lord with the sound of praise. 3 For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. 4 He will slay the peoples by plague instead of us, and he will subdue the nations under our feet. 5 He will favor us to inherit our heritage, the sanctuary of Jacob whom he loves forever. 6 Let the Lord be exalted with a shout, the Lord with the sound of the trumpet. 7 Sing praise in the presence of the Lord, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise! 8 For the Lord is king over all inhabitants of the earth; sing praise before him with good understanding. 9 The Lord is king over the peoples; the Lord sits on his holy throne. 10 The leaders of the Gentiles have gathered, the Gentiles who believe in the God of Abraham, for in the presence of the Lord they are the shields of the earth; he has been greatly exalted.
48A song and psalm by the sons of Korah. 2 Great is the Lord and very praiseworthy, in Jerusalem, the city of our God, and on the mount of his sanctuary. 3 Beautiful as a bridegroom, the joy of all the inhabitants of the earth, Mount Zion, on the north side, the city of the great king. 4 The Lord is in its palaces; it is known for strength. 5 For behold, the kings have joined forces, they have passed by together. 6 They have seen, so they were amazed at the miracles and wonders; they were astonished, yea, they fled. 7 Trembling seized them there, agitation like a woman giving birth. 8 With an east wind strong as fire from the presence of the Lord, you will shatter the ships of Tarsis. 9 The children of Israel will say, “Just as we have heard, so we have seen; in the city of the Lord Sabaoth, in the city of our God – the Lord will establish it forever and ever.” 10 Make us worthy, O Lord, of your goodness in the midst of your temple. 11 As your name, O Lord, so is your praise to the ends of the earth; your right hand is full of generosity. 12 Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the assemblies of the house of Judah rejoice with psalms, because of your judgments. 13 Surround Zion, let them rejoice, and encircle her, number her towers. 14 Set your mind on her throngs above, [even on] her citadels, that you may tell it to another generation. 15 For this, the Lord, he is our God; his presence is in her midst and his dwelling is in heaven forever and ever; he will guide us in the days of our youth.
49For praise; by the sons of Korah; a hymn.[3] 2 Hear this declaration, all peoples; give ear, all dwellers on earth. 3 Even the sons of the first Adam, even the sons of Jacob together, righteous and sinner.[4] 4 My mouth will speak wisdom, and the murmur of my heart is understanding. 5 I will incline my ear to a parable, I will begin to open my riddle with the lyre. 6 Why should I fear on the day of the visitation of evil, except that the guilt of my sin at my end will encompass me? 7 Woe to the sinners, who trust in their possessions, and who boast in the size of their riches. 8 A man will by no means redeem his brother, who was taken captive, by his riches; and he will not give to God his price of redemption. 9 And he gives his glorious redemption, and his evil will cease, and vengeance forever. 10 And he will live again for eternal life; he will not see the judgment of Gehenna. 11 For the wise will see the wicked, in Gehenna they will be judged; together fools and the stupid will perish, and they will leave their money to the righteous.[5] 12 In their tomb they will abide forever, and they will not rise from their tents for all generations, because they have exalted themselves; and they have acquired an evil name upon the earth. 13 And a wicked man will not lodge in glory with the righteous; he is likened to a beast, he is worth nothing. 14 This their way has caused folly for them; and in their end with their mouth they will recount their offenses in the world to come. 15 Like sheep, they have assigned the righteous to death, and killed them; they have destroyed the righteous and those who serve the Torah, and the upright they have punished; because of this, their bodies will decay in Gehenna, because they extended their hand and wrecked the dwelling place of his Presence. 16 David said in the spirit of prophecy, “Truly God will redeem my soul from the judgment of Gehenna, for he will teach me his Torah forever.” 17 About Korah and his party he prophesied and said, “Do not fear, Moses, because Korah, the man of dispute, has become rich, because the glory of his house will increase.” 18 For in his death he will keep nothing, his glory will not descend after him. 19 For the soul of Moses during his life will bless you; and the righteous will thank you, for you are good to those who worship in your presence. 20 The memory of the righteous will come to the generation of their fathers; but the wicked will not see light forever and ever. 21 The sinful man, when he is in honor, will have no insight; and when his honor is taken from him, he becomes like a beast and worth nothing.
50A hymn composed by Asaph. Mighty is God; the Lord spoke at the Creation a song; and he carved out the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 The perfection and the beginning of the eternal creation is from Zion; and from there its beauty is complete, God will be revealed. 3 The righteous will say on the great day of judgment, “Our God will come, and he will not neglect to vindicate his people”; fire will blaze before him, and around him a storm will rage mightily. 4 He will call to the angels of the height above, and to the righteous of the earth below, to extend judgment to his people. 5 Gather to me, my pious ones, who have made my covenant, and fulfilled my Torah, and have engaged in prayer, which is likened to a sacrifice. 6 And the angels of the height will recount his righteousness, for God is the judge forever. 7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel; and I will testify to you; I am God, your God. 8 I am not rebuking you on account of your sacrifices that you did not offer before me in exile, for your holocausts that your fathers offered are in front of me always. 9 From the day that my sanctuary was laid waste, I have not accepted a bull from your hands, or rams from your flock. 10 For mine are all the animals of the forest, and I have prepared for the righteous in the Garden of Eden clean beasts and a wild bull who grazes every day on a thousand mountains.[6] 11 Manifest before me are all the kinds of birds who fly in the air of heaven; and the rooster whose legs rest on the earth, while his head reaches to heaven, rejoicing before me. 12 If the time of the continual morning sacrifice should arrive, I would not tell you; for mine is the earth and its fullness. 13 From the day my sanctuary was laid waste, I have not accepted the flesh of the sacrifice of fatlings, and the priests have not sprinkled the blood of rams before me. 14 Subdue the evil impulse and it will be reckoned before the Lord as a sacrifice of thanksgiving; and pay to the Most High your vows. 15 And pray in my presence in the day of trouble; I will save you, for you will glorify me. 16 But to the wicked who has not repented, and prays in impiety, the Lord says, “Why do you recite my covenant, and swear by my name, and invoke my covenant with your mouth?” 17 But you hate the rebuke of the wise, and you have cast my words behind you. 18 If you saw a thief, you ran after him; and you have placed your portion with adulterers. 19 You have loosened your mouth to utter evil speech; and your tongue adheres to speaking deceit. 20 You will sit with your brother, you will speak lies against your mother’s son, you will cast aspersions. 21 These bad deeds you did and I waited for you to repent; you thought you would be at peace forever; you said in your heart, “I will be strong like you”; I will rebuke you in this world, and I will prepare the judgment of Gehenna before you in the world to come. 22 Now understand this, you wicked who have forgotten God, lest I break your might, with no one to save. 23 He who sacrifices the evil impulse, it will be reckoned to him like a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and he honors me; and whoever will remove the evil way, I will show him the redemption of the Lord.
51For praise; a hymn of David. 2 When Nathan the prophet came to him when he had lain with Bathsheba. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, according to your kindness; according to the abundance of your mercies, forgive my rebellion. 4 Cleanse me thoroughly from my iniquity, and make me clean from my sin. 5 For my rebellions are manifest before me, and my sin is in front of me always. 6 Before you, you alone, I have sinned, and that which is evil in your presence I have done; so that you may make me righteous when you speak, you will clear me when you give judgment. 7 Behold, in iniquity was I born, and in sin my mother was pregnant with me. Another Targum: Behold, in iniquities my father thought to create me; and in the sin of the evil impulse my mother conceived me. 8 Behold, you desire truth in the inner being; and in the hidden place of the heart you will make wisdom known. 9 You will sprinkle me like a priest who sprinkles with hyssop waters of purification made from the ashes of the heifer on the unclean, and I will be clean; you will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 10 You will proclaim to me joy and jubilation; the limbs that you have purified will rejoice with a hymn. 11 Remove your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 12 A pure heart create for me, O God; and renew within me a spirit inclined to revere you. 13 Do not cast me from your presence; and do not remove from me your holy spirit of prophecy. 14 Return your Torah to me, to exult in your redemption; and may the spirit of prophecy support me. 15 I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to your presence. 16 Deliver me from the sentence of death, O Lord, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in your generosity. 17 O Lord, open my lips with Torah, and my mouth will recount your praise. 18 For you will not desire the holy sacrifice; when I give a burnt offering, you are not pleased. 19 The holy sacrifice of God is a broken spirit; a heart broken and purged, O God, you will not spurn. 20 Show favor in your good will to Zion; you will complete the walls of Jerusalem. 21 Then you will desire the sacrifices of righteousness, burnt offering and holocaust; then the priests will sacrifice bulls on your altar.
52For praise; for good teaching; composed by David. 2 When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.” 3 How the mighty man will praise himself with a wicked tongue, to shed innocent blood; [but] the grace of God is all the day. 4 Your tongue will devise tumult in your heart, forming words of slander like a sharp knife. 5 You love evil more than good, lying more than speaking righteousness always. 6 You love all the words of destruction, the tongue of guile. 7 Also God will demolish you forever; he will shatter you and make you wander so that you cannot dwell in a tent; and he will uproot you from the land of the living forever. 8 And the righteous will see the punishment of the wicked, and they will be afraid in the presence of the Lord, and on his account they will laugh. 9 And they will say, “Behold, the man who did not make the word of the Lord his strength; he trusted in his riches; he was strong in his money.” 10 But I, like a luxuriant olive tree in the sanctuary of God, have trusted in the grace of God forever and ever. 11 I will give thanks in your presence forever, for you have accomplished the vindication of my case; and I will await your name, for it is good, before your pious ones.
53For praise; on the punishment of the wicked who profane the name of the Lord; good teaching composed by David. 2 The fool said in his heart, “There is no God taking retribution”; because of this the wicked have corrupted their ways; they have become estranged from goodness, for iniquity is found in them; there is none that does good. 3 Yet God looked down from heaven on the sons of men to see whether there is one who will grow wise in the Torah, seeking instruction from the presence of the Lord. 4 All of them alike have turned aside; they have fouled themselves, there is none that does good, not even one. 5 Do not all the doers of lies know that food is given from his presence? And why then have the eaters of my people dined on bread, [but] not blessed the name of the Lord? 6 There they were greatly afraid of their idols, in whom is nothing to fear, for God scatters the might of the army of sinners; you put them to shame, because the word of the Lord abhors them. 7 Who is it who gives the redemption of Israel from Zion but the Lord? When the word of the Lord brings back the exiles of his people, those of the house of Jacob will be glad, those of the house of Israel will rejoice.
54For praise, with a hymn. Good teaching composed by David. 2 When the men of Ziph came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding with us?” 3 O God, by your name redeem me, and by the strength of your might judge me. 4 O Lord, accept my prayer; listen to the utterance of my mouth. 5 For arrogant men have risen against me, and powerful men have sought my life; they have not put God before them forever. 6 Behold, the Lord is my helper, the Lord is among the supports of my soul. 7 May evil return to those who oppress me; in your faithfulness bring them low. 8 With an offering I will sacrifice in your presence; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. 9 For he has delivered me from every trouble; and my eye has seen vengeance against my enemies.
55For praise, with the words of a hymn; good teaching composed by David. 2 Hear, O God, my prayer, and do not hide yourself from my prayer. 3 Hear my utterance, and accept it from me; I will roar out in my words and be agitated. 4 From the voice of the enemy, from the trouble of the wicked, for they extend lies against me, and in anger they will hold a grudge towards me. 5 My heart will tremble within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 6 Fear and trembling come to me, and disaster has covered me. 7 And I said, “Who will give to me wings like a dove, [that] I may fly and come to rest?” 8 Behold, I would go to a far place to wander, I would lodge in the wilderness forever. 9 I would make hasten to me rescue from the tempest, shelter from the storm. 10 Destroy, O Lord, their counsel, divide their tongue, for I have seen violence and strife in the city. 11 Day and night they encircle it, around her walls, and misery and lies are in her midst. 12 Tumult is in her midst, and lies and deceit do not depart from her squares. 13 For an enemy will not belittle me, else I would bear it; my foe has not vaunted himself against me, else I would hide from his presence. 14 But you, O Achitophel, a man who is like me; a leader who taught me, and who tells me wisdom. 15 For together we will explain mysteries in the sanctuary of God, we will walk in haste. 16 He will condemn them to the judgement of death, and he will decree for them evil things, for Doeg and Achitophel; they will descend to Sheol while alive, for evil things are in their dwellings, in their bodies. 17 I will pray in the presence of God, and the word of the Lord will redeem me. 18 In the evening, and in the morning, and at noon I will pray, and I will tremble; and he heard my voice. 19 He redeemed my soul in peace, so that no evil came near to me, for his word was my help in many troubles. 20 God will hear and receive from them [their prayer], and the one who dwells in heaven from of old forever; but the wicked who are not from of old, who do not change their ways, are evil, and are not afraid in the presence of God. 21 He stretched out his hands against the men of his peace; he desecrated his covenant. 22 Smoother than oil of curds are the words of his mouth; and like weapons of war his heart. Softer are his words than tallow, but they are deadly lances. 23 Cast your confidence on the Lord, and he will feed you; he will never allow privation to the righteous. 24 But you, O God, by your word will bring them down to deep Gehenna; murderous and deceitful men will not see half of their days; but I will trust in your word.
56For praise, concerning the congregation of Israel which is likened to a quiet dove when they are far from their cities, yet they repeatedly praise the Lord of the World, like David, humble and innocent, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. 2 Have mercy on me, O Lord God, for a sinful man has crushed me beneath him; all the day the foeman will overpower me. 3 My oppressors crush my bones all the day, for many are the oppressors fighting against me, O God Most High, whose throne is on high. 4 In the day that I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. 5 I will praise the attribute of the justice of God; in the word of God I will put my trust, I will not be afraid. What will flesh do to me? 6 All day on my account they toil; against me all their thoughts are for evil. 7 They will gather together and they will conceal a trap, they will watch my tracks; as they have waited, they have done to my soul. 8 For the lies in their possession, drain them; for the rage of the peoples, make them poor, O God. 9 The days of my wandering you have numbered; place my tears in your bottle, O Lord; is not the sum total of my humiliation in your record? 10 Then my enemies will turn, turning around, on the day that I pray. This I know, for God is my help. 11 In the attribute of justice of God I will give praise in his word; in the attribute of mercy of the Lord I will give praise in his word. 12 In the word of God I have placed my trust, I will not fear what a son of man will do to me. 13 I have taken your vows upon myself, O God; I will repay sacrifices of thanksgiving in your presence. 14 For you have delivered my soul from being killed, indeed, my feet from bruising, to walk before the Lord in the light of life. Another Targum: For you have delivered my soul from the death that the sinful die, indeed, my feet from stumbling through sin, so that I will walk before the Lord in the Garden of Eden to behold the light of the righteous.
57For praise, concerning the distress at the time when David said, “Do not harm.” It was spoken by David, humble and innocent, when he fled from Saul’s presence in the cave. 2 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in your word my soul has trusted, and in the shade of your Presence I will be confident until the turmoil passes. 3 I will pray before God Most High, the mighty one, who commanded the spider who completed a web for me. 4 He will send his angel from heaven above, and he will redeem me; he has put to shame the one who bruises me, forever; God will send his goodness and his truth. 5 My soul glows while in the midst of flames; I will sleep among coals that burn, the sons of men whose teeth are like lances and arrows, and whose tongue is like a sharp sword. 6 Be exalted over the angels of heaven, O God; your glory is over all those who dwell on earth. 7 They have set a net for my footsteps; my soul is bowed down; they dug before me a pit, they have fallen into the middle of it forever. 8 My heart is turned to your Torah, O Lord; my heart is turned to fear you; I will praise and sing! 9 Wake up, my glory! Wake up to praise by means of the harp and lyre; wake up for the prayer of morning. 10 I will give thanks before you among the peoples, O Lord; I will praise you among the nations. 11 For your goodness is high to reach the heavens, and your truth, to the clouds. 12 Be exalted, O Lord, above the angels of heaven; O God, above all the inhabitants of the earth is your glory.
58For praise; concerning the distress in the time when David said, “Do no harm”; composed by David, humble and innocent. 2 In very truth are you silent, O righteous ones, in the time of strife? It is fitting that you speak righteousness, that you judge uprightly the sons of men. 3 But, O wicked, wherefore do you commit iniquity in the heart, wherefore do your hands establish crime on the earth? 4 The wicked have become strangers from birth; those who utter falsehood have gone astray from the womb. 5 Poison is theirs like the poison of the serpent; like the deaf adder that stops up his ears. 6 Lest it should accept the words of the wizards, the charmers of snakes; he is wiser than those who cast spells. 7 O God, smash their teeth in their mouth; and shatter the fangs of the lions’ offspring, O Lord. 8 Let them dissolve in their sins; like water, let them flow away; and he draws arrows at them, and they will be cut in pieces. 9 Like the crawling snail whose path is disgusting, like the abortion and the mole who are blind and have not seen the sun; 10 Before the soft wicked become as hard as thorns, while they are moist, while they are like unripe fruit, may he destroy them by the storm wind. 11 The righteous will rejoice, for he has seen retribution on them; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked man. 12 And the sons of men will say, “Truly there is a good reward for the righteous, truly there is a God whose judgments extend to the earth.”
59For praise; concerning the distress when David said, “Do no harm”; composed by David, humble and innocent; when Saul sent and they guarded the house in order to kill him. 2 Deliver me from my enemies, O God; from those who rise against me, save me. 3 Deliver me from those who practice deceit, and from murderous men redeem me. 4 For behold, they have lain in wait for my soul, the strong gathering against me; not on account of my iniquity, and not on account of my sin, O Lord. 5 Before [there are] iniquities, they run and prepare battle; be strong towards me, and see! 6 But you, O Lord God Sabaoth, God of Israel, awake to punish all the Gentiles; do not pity any of the deceitful rulers forever. 7 They will return at evening, they will raise a tumult like a dog, and they will encircle the city. 8 Behold, they will spew forth with their mouth words sharp as swords; with their lips they say, “Let us boast, for who is the one who will hear and punish?” 9 But you, O Lord, will laugh at them; you will mock all the Gentiles. 10 O my strength, for you I will keep watch, for God is my deliverance. 11 God will precede me with my favor, God will show me vengeance on my oppressors. 12 Do not kill them immediately, lest my people forget; exile them from their houses by your might, and impoverish them from their wealth, our shield, O Lord. 13 Because of the sin of their mouth, and the speech of their lips, let them be caught in their arrogance, for they will speak with oaths and lies. 14 Destroy them in anger, destroy them until they are no more, that they may know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth forever. 15 And they will return at evening, they will raise a tumult like a dog, and they will encircle the city. 16 They will wander about to take spoil to eat, and they will not rest until they are full and take lodging. 17 But I will praise your strength, and I rejoice in your goodness in the morning, for you have been a deliverer to me, and my trust in the day I am distressed. 18 O my strength, I will give you praise, for God is my deliverance, God is my goodness.
60For praise. Concerning the ancient testimony between Jacob and Laban. A copy made by David, for instruction. 2 When David had gathered troops and passed by the Heap of Witness and fought with Aram-on-the-Euphrates and Aram Zobah, and afterwards Joab returned and smote the Edomites in the Plain of Salt, and twelve thousand from the army of David and Joab fell. 3 David said, “O God, you have abandoned us, you have attacked us in fierce anger; return to us in your glory.” 4 You shook the land of Israel, you made it quake and you flayed it; heal its wounds, for it has become unsteady. 5 You made your people see hardship, you made us drink the wine of execration. 6 You have given those who fear you a sign to be lifted up by, because of the honesty of Abraham forever. 7 Because of the merit of Isaac, those who love you will be delivered; redeem with your right hand because of the piety of Jacob, and accept my prayer. 8 God speaks in his sanctuary: I will be glad, for those of the house of Israel will prevail; I will divide the spoil with the sons of Joseph who dwell in Shechem, and in the plain of Succoth I will measure the measure and divide the booty. 9 My people were of the house of Gilead, and my people were of the house of Manasseh; and the warriors of the house of Ephraim are the strength of my head, and those of the house of Judah are the scribes of my school. 10 I trampled on the Moabites, my feet were dipped in the blood of their warriors as in my washing-basin; on the nape of the neck of the warriors of Edom I set my shoe; shout over the Philistines, O congregation of Israel. 11 Who is he that led me to the ruined city of Tyre? Who is he that guided me to Edom? 12 Is it not you, O Lord? You have abandoned us; and you will not go out, O God, with our forces. 13 Give us help against the oppressor, for in vain is the redemption of a son of man. 14 By the word of the Lord we will exercise might, and he will subdue our oppressors.
61For praise, with the psalms of David. 2 Accept, O Lord, my petition, hear my prayer. 3 From the ends of the earth I will pray in your presence when my heart is weary; lead me to a strong fortress built on a rock that is higher than I. 4 For you have been security for me, in truth, a stronghold before the enemy. 5 I will dwell in your tent forever, I will be secure in the shade of your presence forever. 6 For you, O Lord, have heard my vows; you have given the inheritance to those who fear your name. 7 You will add days to the age to come, the days of the King Messiah; his years are like the generations of this age and the generations of the age to come. 8 He will dwell forever in the presence of the Lord; goodness and truth from the Lord of the World will guard him. 9 Therefore will I praise your name forever, when I pay my vows in the day of the redemption of Israel, and in the day the King Messiah is anointed to be king.
62For praise, by Jeduthun. A psalm of David. 2 Truly for God my soul is quiet; from him is my redemption. 3 Truly he is my strength and my redemption, my savior, I shall not be shaken on the day of great distress. 4 How long do you rage against a pious man? All of you will be slain, like a crooked wall, like a broken fence. 5 Truly when they swear to do good, they take counsel to attack; they will tell lies; with their mouth they will bless and with their heart they will curse forever. 6 Truly be silent for God, O my soul, for my hope comes from him. 7 Truly he is my strength and my redemption, my savior, I shall not be shaken. 8 My redemption and my honor is on God; the strength of my might, my hope, is in God. 9 Hope in his word at all times, O people of the house of Israel; pour out the pride of your hearts in his presence; say, “God is our hope forever.” 10 For the sons of men are nothing, the sons of a man are deceit; when they take wives, their fates are weighed in the balances; they themselves came to be altogether out of nothing. 11 Do not trust in oppression, and do not receive money gained by coercion; for [though] it will increase in value, do not set your mind [on it]. 12 God speaks one Torah, and now two times I have heard it, from the mouth of Moses, the great scribe, for there is might in the presence of God. 13 And it is yours, O God, to show favor to the righteous, for you repay each man according to his works.
63A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness in the territory of the tribe of Judah. 2 O God, you are my strength; I will arise in the morning in your presence; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a barren and weary land, without water. 3 Thus I have seen you in the holy place; purify me to see your strength and your glory. 4 For better is the favor that you show to the righteous in the age to come than the life you have given to the wicked in this age; therefore my lips will praise you. 5 Thus will I bless you in my life in this age; in the name of your word I will spread my hands in prayer in the age to come. 6 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and oil, and my mouth shall sing [with] lips of praise. 7 If I have remembered you on my bed, in the night-watch I will meditate on your word. 8 For you were a helper to me, and in the shade of your presence I will be glad. 9 My soul has followed close behind your Torah; your right hand has supported me. 10 But they will seek my soul for the grave; they will enter the lowest part of the earth. 11 They will fear him on account of the blow of the sword; they will be the portion of jackals. 12 And the king will rejoice in the word of God; all who swear by his word will sing praise, for the mouth of those who speak deceit will be stifled.
64For praise, a psalm of David. 2 Hear my voice, O God, in the time of my prayer; guard my life from the fear of the enemy. 3 You will hide me from the secret [council] of those who do evil, from the turmoil of those who practice deceit. 4 Who have sharpened their tongue as a sword, bent their bows, smeared their arrows with deadly and bitter poison. 5 To shoot in secret, without blame; suddenly they will shoot him and they will not fear. 6 They will strengthen themselves with an evil word; they will talk of hiding traps, saying, “Who sees them?” 7 They will search to find pretexts to destroy the pure, a search carried out in the body of a son of man, and the thoughts of a secret heart. 8 But God will shoot arrows at them suddenly; and they will tell of their wounds. 9 And their tongue will make them stumble; all who see them shall move aside. 10 And all the sons of men will be afraid, and tell of the work of the Lord God; and his works will be understood. 11 The righteous man will rejoice in the Lord, and trust in his word, and all the upright of heart will boast.
65For praise, a psalm of David, a song. 2 Before you praise is considered as silence, O God, whose presence is in Zion, and vows will be paid to you. 3 O receiver of prayer, unto you all the sons of flesh will come. 4 Words of iniquity have overcome me; you will atone for our sins. 5 How happy the one you will choose and bring near; he will abide in your courts. The righteous will say, “We will be satisfied in the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple.” 6 Accept our prayer [with] fearful deeds in righteousness, O God our redemption, the hope of all the ends of the earth, and the islands of the sea far from dry land. 7 Who established food for the ibexes of the mountains in the strength of his might, who is girded with a belt in might. 8 Who quiets the commotion of the seas and the commotion of their waves, and the hubbub of the nations. 9 And those who dwell at the borders were afraid at your signs; [at the] extremities of morning and evening you will set praise in their mouth. 10 You have remembered the land and watered it; you will enrich it with much produce from the vault of God which is in heaven, full of rain; you will form their grain, for thus you will consummate it. 11 He has drenched those raised on its plants; he has given rest to its troops; you will bless its blossoms. 12 You have crowned the year with the goodness of your blessings; and the paths of your way will give an odor of richness. 13 They will make sweet the psalms of the wilderness, and the hills will gird themselves with joy. 14 The rams will copulate with the flock, and the plains will be covered with grain; they will shout, indeed, they will rejoice.
66For praise. A praise song. Shout for joy in the presence of the Lord, all inhabitants of the earth. 2 Praise the glory of his name; set forth the glory of his praise. 3 Say in the presence of God, “How fearful are your works! For all the abundance of your works, your enemies will deny you.” 4 All the inhabitants of the earth will bow down before you, and they will praise you, they will praise your name forever. 5 Come and see the works of God; fearful is the lord of destiny to the sons of men. 6 He turned the Red Sea to dry land; the sons of Israel crossed the river Jordan on their feet; he conveyed them to his holy mountain; there will we rejoice in his word. 7 He who rules over the world in the power of his strength, his eyes behold the Gentiles; let the disobedient not exalt themselves forever. 8 Bless God, O Gentiles, and make the sound of his praise heard. 9 Who has designated our souls for the life of the age to come, and has not allowed our feet to be shaken. 10 For you have tried us, O God, you have refined us like a smith who refines silver. Another Targum: For you have tried [us], for you have tested our fathers, O God; you exiled them among the kingdoms; you found them refined as one who purifies silver. 11 You brought us into the net, you placed chains on our loins. Another Targum: You brought us into Egypt as into a net; you placed the rule of the Babylonians upon us, and we became like one on whose loins chains of trouble are placed. 12 You humbled us, you made our creditors ride over our heads; you judged us as if by fire and water, and you brought us out to a broad place. Another Targum: The Medes and Greeks rode over us, they passed over our heads; you brought us among the Romans, who judge us like the cruel Chaldeans, who cast our father Abraham into the fiery furnace, and the Egyptians, who cast our infants into the water; yet you brought us up to freedom. 13 I will enter your house with burnt-offerings, I will pay you my vows. Another Targum: Just as you have mercy on us and redeem us, then we will enter your sanctuary with burnt-offerings and we will pay you our vows. 14 Which opened my lips, and my mouth spoke, when I was in distress. 15 Fat burnt-offerings I will offer in your presence, with the sweet smell of the sacrifice of rams; I will make [sacrifice of] bulls with he-goats forever[PC1]. 16 Come hear, and I will tell all who fear God what he has done for my soul. 17 I cried out to him with my mouth, and his praise was on my tongue. 18 If I saw falsehood in my heart, would the Lord not hear? 19 Truly God has heard, he listened to the sound of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, who has not removed my prayer and his favor from me.
67For praise, with melodies; a psalm and a song. 2 God will pity us and bless us; he will make the splendor of his face shine on us forever. 3 To make known your way in the land, your redemption among all the Gentiles. 4 The Gentiles will give thanks in your presence, O God, all the Gentiles will give thanks. 5 The nations will rejoice and exult, for you will judge the peoples with honesty, and you will guide the nations in the land forever. 6 The peoples will give thanks in your presence, O God, all the peoples will give thanks. 7 The land has given its fruit; God, our God, will bless us. 8 God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
68For praise, of David. A hymn and song.
2 God will arise, his enemies will be scattered, and his foes will flee from his presence.
3 Just as the smoke is driven out, they will be driven; just as wax will melt in the presence of fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.
4 And the righteous will rejoice and exult in the presence of the Lord, and they will rejoice joyfully.
5 Give praise in the presence of God, praise his glorious name; magnify the one who sits on his glorious throne in Araboth; Yah is his name; and be glad in his presence.
6 Father of the orphans, and judge of widows – such is God in the dwelling place of his holy presence.
7 God, who makes matches, joining the solitary to mates; who brought out the house of Israel, who were bound in Egypt; for the correct deeds of their fathers
69For praise; concerning the exiles of the Sanhedrin; composed by David. 2 Redeem me, O God, for an army of sinners has come to trouble me, like water that has reached to the soul. 3 I am sunk in exile like water of the deep, and there is no place to stand; I have come to the mighty depths; a band of wicked men and a wicked king have sent me into exile. 4 I am weary of calling out, my throat has become rough, my eyes have ceased to wait for my God. 5 Those who hate me without a cause are more numerous that the hairs of my head; those who dismay me – my enemies, false witnesses – have grown strong; what I never stole I will [have to] repay, because of their false witness. 6 O God, you know my folly; my sins have not been hidden from your presence. 7 Those who trust in you will not be disappointed in me; those who seek instruction from you will not be ashamed of me, O God of Israel. 8 For on your account I have borne disgrace; shame has covered my face. 9 I have been accounted a stranger to my brothers, and [I am] like a Gentile to the sons of my mother. 10 For zeal for the sanctuary has consumed me; and the condemnation of the wicked who condemn you when they prefer their idols to your glory has fallen on me. 11 And I wept in the fasting of my soul; and my kindness became my shame. 12 And I put sackcloth in place of my clothing; and I became a proverb to them. 13 Those who sit in the gate will speak about me in the marketplace, and [in] the songs of those who come to drink liquor in the circuses. 14 But as for me, my prayer is in your presence, O Lord, in the time of favor; O God, in the abundance of your goodness answer me in the truth of your redemption. 15 Deliver me from exile, which is likened to mud, and I will not sink; let me be delivered from my enemies, who are like the depths of waters. 16 A mighty king will not send me into exile, and the powerful deep will not swallow me to cover me up, and the mouth of Gehenna will not be opened up for me. 17 Answer me, O Lord, for your kindness is good; look towards me with the abundance of your compassion. 18 And do not remove your presence from your servant, for I am in distress; hasten, answer me. 19 Draw near to my soul, redeem it, so that my enemies may not claim superiority over me, redeem me. 20 You know my disgrace and my shame and my dishonor; before you stand all my oppressors. 21 Disgrace has broken my heart, and behold, it is ill; and I waited for those skilled in mourning, but they were not; and for those skilled in comfort, and I found them not. 22 And as my meal they gave me bitter gall and poison; and for my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink. 23 Let their table that they set before me with my food become a snare before them; and their sacrifices an offense. 24 Let their eyes darken so they cannot see, and let their loins continually tremble. 25 Pour out your anger upon them, and may your harsh anger overtake them. 26 Let their tent became deserted, may no one settle in their tent. 27 For they have pursued the one you have smitten, and they shall tell of the one wounded for your slain. 28 Give iniquity for their iniquity, and let them not be purified to enter the assembly of your righteous ones. 29 Let them be erased from the memorial book of life, and let them not be written with the righteous. 30 But I am poor and wounded; your redemption, O God, will save me. 31 I will praise the name of my God with song, and I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 32 And my prayer will be more pleasing in the presence of the Lord than a choice fatted ox that the first Adam sacrificed, whose horns preceded its hooves. 33 The humble have seen; so let those who seek instruction from the presence of God be glad and let their heart live. 34 For the Lord accepts the prayer of the lowly, and has not despised his prisoners. 35 Let the angels of heaven and those who dwell on earth praise him; the seas, and all that swarms in them. 36 For God will redeem Zion and repair the cities of Judah, and they will return thither and inherit it. 37 And the sons of his servants will succeed to it, and those who love his name will abide in its midst.
70For praise; composed by David, for remembrance; concerning the handful of incense. 2 O God, [hasten] to deliver us, O Lord, hasten to our aid. 3 Let those who seek my soul be ashamed and disgraced; let those who desire my ruin draw back and be dishonored. 4 Let them turn back, because they lay in wait for me; let those who say about me “We have rejoiced, rejoiced!” be punished as befits their shame. 5 Let those who seek instruction from you be glad and exult in your word, and let those who love your redemption always say, “May the glory of the Lord be magnified.” 6 But I am poor and lowly, O God; hasten to me, you are my help and salvation; O Lord, do not delay.
71In your word, O Lord, I have put my trust; I will never be disappointed. 2 In your generosity deliver me and save me; incline your ear to me and redeem me. 3 Be a strong mighty rock for me always to come to; you have given commandment to redeem me, for you are my strength and my stout fortress. 4 O God, save me from the hand of the wicked man, from the hand of the wrongdoer and the predator. 5 For you are my hope, O Lord; my God, my confidence from my youth. 6 I have relied on you from the womb; you bring me out of the bowels of my mother; my psalm is always of your word. 7 I have became like a portent for many; and you are my confidence and my strength. 8 My mouth will be filled with your praise, with your splendor every day. 9 Do not cast me away at the time of old age; when my vigor ceases, do not forsake me. 10 For my enemies have spoken evil about me, and those who watch my soul have conspired together. 11 Saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue and catch him, for there is no one to deliver [him].” 12 O God, do not be far from me; O my God, hasten to my aid. 13 Let those who oppose my soul be disappointed [and] destroyed; let those who seek my ruin be covered with disgrace and dishonor. 14 And I will always wait, and I will add to all your praise. 15 My mouth will tell of your generosity, of your redemption every day, for I do not know their number. 16 I will enter in the strength of the Lord God; I will remember your righteousness alone. 17 O my God, you have taught me by miracles from my youth; and to this very time I will tell of your marvels. 18 And moreover, O God, do not forsake me at the time of old age and gray hair, until I may tell of the strength of your arm to every generation, of your mighty strength to all who will come. 19 Your righteousness, O God, [reaches] to the highest heaven, for you have done great things; O God, who is like you? 20 You who have shown me great and evil troubles, make us live again; and bring us up again from the deepest depths. 21 You will increase my greatness, and you will turn and comfort me. 22 Also I will give thanks in your presence with instruments of song, and the lyre; I will tell of your truth, O my God, I will sing praise in your presence with the harp, Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will rejoice, for I will give praise in your presence, and [also] my soul that you have redeemed. 24 Also my tongue every day will repeat your generosity, for those who seek my ruin have been disappointed, they have been put to shame.
72Composed by Solomon, uttered in prophecy. O God, give your just rulings to the King Messiah, and your righteousness to the son of King David. 2 Let him judge your people in righteousness, and your poor with just rulings. 3 The inhabitants of the mountains will lift up peace for the house of Israel, and the hills in purity. 4 He will judge the poor of the people, he will redeem the sons of the lowly, and he will purge away the oppressor. 5 They will fear you at the rising of the sun, and they will pray in your presence before the light of the moon for all generations. 6 He will descend like the favorable rain on the grass that is cut because of locusts, like the drops of late rain that drip on the grass of the earth. 7 The righteous will increase in his days, and peace abound, until those who worship the moon are destroyed. 8 And he will rule from the bank of the Great Sea to the bank of the Great Sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth. 9 The governors will bow down before him, and his enemies will lick the dust. 10 The kings of Tarsus and the islands of the ocean sea will bring back tribute; the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. 11 And all kings will do homage to him; all the Gentiles will submit to him. 12 For he will deliver the lowly who seeks favor, and the poor who have no helper. 13 He will pity the indigent and lowly, and he will redeem the souls of the lowly. 14 From duress and from extortion he will redeem their souls, and their blood will be precious in his presence. 15 And he will live and give to him some of the gold that they brought to him from Sheba, and he will pray for him always; every day he will bless him. 16 Let there be the support of bread in the land on the top of the mountains; its fruit will quiver like Lebanon, and they will blossom from the city of Jerusalem like the grass of the earth. 17 May his name be invoked for ever; and before the sun came to be his name was determined; so all the peoples will be blessed by his merit, and they shall speak well of him. 18 Blessed is the Lord God, God of Israel, who works great wonders by himself. 19 And blessed is his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glorious splendor. Amen and amen. 20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are complete.
73A psalm composed by Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to the pure of heart. 2 But I – my feet had almost slipped; my steps had all but faltered. 3 For I became jealous of the mockers whenever I would see the welfare of the wicked. 4 For they are not dismayed and daunted by the day of their death; their opinions are sought out, and their heart is fat and strong. 5 They do not toil with the toil of men who are occupied with Torah; and they are not smitten with the righteous sons of men who endure sufferings. 6 Because of this, pride has adorned them, a crown that they place on their heads because of their rapacity. 7 Their faces are distorted by fat; their carvings have transgressed, the heart is ashamed. 8 They will decay because of fatness; and they will speak to cause harm and to oppress; they will speak from the arrogance of their heart. 9 They have set their mouth against the holy ones of heaven; and their tongue flares against the holy ones of the earth. 10 Then he turns against the people of the Lord, to rule them; and they will smite them with hammers, and cause many tears to flow from them. 11 And they will say, “How then does God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?” 12 Behold, these are the wicked who dwell securely in this age; they have acquired property, they have procured wealth. 13 Truly in vain have I purified my heart, and washed my hands in purity. 14 And I have been smitten all the day; and my admonition [has come] with every dawn. 15 If I said, “I will talk like them” – behold, I would have done evil to the generation of your children. 16 And I thought to know this, [but] it is a weariness in my sight – 17 Until the time of redemption, when I come to the sanctuaries of God, I will understand their fate. 18 Truly you have placed them in dark places, you have thrown them into the wasteland. 19 How they have become a desolation in a moment! They are finished, destroyed because of chaos. 20 Like a dream of a man who awakes: the Lord in the great day of judgment, when they awake from their graves; in anger you will despise their likeness. 21 For my heart will feel pain, and my kidneys burn like fire. 22 And I am a fool, and I do not know; I was reckoned as a beast with you. 23 But I am continually with you; you have grasped my right hand. 24 You will guide me by your counsel; and after the glory that you commanded to come upon me is complete, you will take me. 25 Who, like you, is mine in heaven, but you? And besides you I desire no friend on earth. 26 My body and my heart are destroyed; God is the Mighty One who tries my heart and my portion forever. 27 For behold, the wicked who are far from you will perish; you have destroyed all who stray from the fear of you. 28 But I – to be near to the Lord is good to me; I have placed my confidence in the Lord God, to tell to all the righteous the commandments of your charge.
74A good lesson, composed by Asaph. Why, O God, have you moved far off forever? [Why] will your anger be fierce against the flock of your pasture? 2 Remember your congregation that you acquired of old; you redeemed from Egypt the tribes of your inheritance, this same Mount Zion on which you made your presence to abide. 3 Lift up your footsteps to dissolve the nations forever, for the enemy with all his strength has done harm in the holy place. 4 Your oppressors cry out in the midst of your assemblies; they have set up their standards as signs. 5 He will strike with a hammer like a man who lifts up his hand against a wood thicket to cut it with axes. 6 But now they pull down its carvings together; they pound with the hatchet and the two-edged chisel as if with mallets. 7 They have burned the sanctuary to the ground with fire; they have defiled the tabernacle in which your name is uttered. 8 Their children spoke in their hearts together; their fathers burned all the assemblies of God in the land. 9 We have not seen our signs that the prophets gave us; there are no longer any prophets and we have none with us who knows how long. 10 How long, O God, will the oppressor show disdain? Will the enemy reject your name forever? 11 Why will you withdraw your hand, even your right hand, from redeeming? Take it out of your bosom and do away with oppression. 12 But God is the king, whose holy presence is from of old, one who carries out redemption in the midst of the land. 13 You cut off the waters of the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the sea serpents, and drowned the Egyptians at the sea.[9] 14 You shattered the heads of Pharaoh’s warriors; you handed them over for destruction to the people of the house of Israel, and their corpses to jackals. 15 You split the spring from the rock and it became a stream; you dried up the ford of the streams of the Arnon and the ford of the Jabbok and the Jordan, which were so powerful. 16 Yours is the day-time, yours, too, is the night; you have made firm the moon and sun. 17 You set up all the boundaries of the earth; summer and winter, you created them. 18 Remember this, the enemy, slanderer of the Lord, and the foolish people who have rejected your name. 19 Do not deliver the souls of those who teach your Torah to the Gentiles, who are likened to beasts of the field; do not forget the lives of your poor forever. 20 Look at the covenant that you made with our fathers, for their children are finished off; darkness is spread over the land, and fraud, and violence. 21 The pauper will not return ashamed; the poor and lowly will praise your name. 22 Arise, O God; argue your case; call to mind the disgrace of your people because of foolish counsel all the day. 23 Do not forget the voice of your oppressors, the turmoil, always mounting, of those who stand against you.
75For praise; in the time that David said, “Do not harm your people.” A psalm composed by Asaph, and a song. 2 We have praised you, O Lord, we have praised you, and your name is near, your wonders have declared it. 3 Because of the meeting of the festival, I will judge uprightly. 4 The inhabitants of the earth melt away, and all who dwell in it; I have made its pillars firm forever. 5 I said to the mockers, “Do not mock,” and to the wicked, “Do not exalt [your] honor.” 6 Do not exalt your honor to the height, you who speak in harshness and blasphemy. 7 For there is none beside me from east to west, nor from the north, the area of deserts, to the south, the site of mountains. 8 For God is a righteous judge; this one he will humble, and this one he will exalt. 9 For the cup of cursing is in the hand of the Lord, and a harsh wine, full of a bitter mixture, to confuse the wits of the wicked by what is poured out from it, and more severe than the judgment of the ancients; yet its dregs and its foam all the wicked of the earth will press out and drink. 10 But I will tell forever the miracles; I will praise the God of Jacob. 11 But all the mighty loftiness of the wicked I will humble; I will uproot them from their strongholds; the mighty loftiness of the righteous will be magnified.
76For praise, as a psalm; a psalm composed by Asaph, a song. 2 God has become known among those of the house of Judah; his name is great among those of the house of Israel. 3 And his sanctuary has come to be in Jerusalem, and the dwelling of the house of his holy presence is in Zion. 4 When the house of Israel did his will, he made his presence abide among them; there he broke the arrows and bows of the Gentiles who were making war; he made forever the shields and battle-lines of no account. 5 Bright [and] awful are you, O God, acclaimed from your sanctuary; the kings who dwell in the mountain fortresses, the place where their spoil is gathered, will tremble in your presence. 6 The mighty in heart have stripped from them the weapons of war; they have slumbered in their sleep; and all the men of might have not been able to grasp their weapons in their hands. 7 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, the chariots have fallen asleep, and the cavalry have been disabled. 8 You are awesome, you are God; and who will stand before you from the time your anger becomes strong? 9 From heaven you proclaimed judgment on the land of the Gentiles; the land of Israel was afraid [and] became silent. 10 The righteous say, “Let God arise for judgment with the wicked, to redeem from their hands all the meek of the earth forever.” 11 When you are angry at your people, you show mercy to them, and they will give thanks to your name; but the remainder of fury that is left to you, out of the wrath that you showed, you will gird on to destroy the Gentiles. Another Targum: For when your anger grows strong against your people, they will repent and give thanks to your name, and you turn from anger; but against the remnant of the Gentiles you will gird on the instruments of anger. 12 Make vows and fulfill [them] in the presence of the Lord your God, all you who dwell around his sanctuary; let them bring offerings to his awesome temple. 13 He will diminish the arrogant spirits of the leaders; [he is] dreadful to all the kings of the earth.
77For praise; composed by Jeduthun for Asaph; a psalm. 2 My voice is [raised] in the presence of the Lord, and I will complain; my voice is [raised] in the presence of God; hear my utterance! 3 In the day of my distress, I sought instruction from the presence of the Lord; the spirit of prophecy rested on me in the night; my eye ran with tears and will not stop; my soul refused to be comforted. 4 I will remember God and I will tremble in the presence of the Lord; I will speak, and my spirit will be weary forever. 5 You have shut the lids of my eyes; I am smitten, and I will not speak. 6 I have counted up the good days which were at the beginning, the good years of long ago. 7 I will remember my psalm in the night; I will speak with the thoughts of my heart, and the mind of my spirit will examine miracles. 8 Can the Lord be far off forever, and no longer show favor again? 9 Can he have cut off his favor forever? Is the decree of evil complete for all generations? 10 Can God have forgotten to have pity? Or has he gotten too angry to sustain his compassion forever? 11 And I said, “It is my sickness; they have forgotten the might of the right hand of the Most High.” Another Targum: And I said, “It is my petition, years that he shortened by days.” 12 I will remember the acts of God, for I will remember your wonders from of old. 13 And I meditated on all your good works, and I will speak of the intricacy of your miracles. 14 O God, because your ways are holy, what god is great like the God of Israel? 15 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 16 You have redeemed your people with the strength of your arm, the sons that Jacob sired and whom Joseph fed, forever. 17 They saw your presence in the midst of the sea, O God; they saw your might by the sea; the Gentiles trembled, even the deeps will be shaken. 18 The clouds of heaven made water descend, the heights gave voice; also comes the hail, your arrows, and are ablaze. 19 The sound of your outcry was heard in the sphere; lightning lit up the world, the earth rattled and shook. 20 In the sea of Suph [was] your path, and your highway in the many waters; and the track of your steps were not discerned. 21 You guided your people as a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
78A teaching of the Holy Spirit, composed by Asaph. Hear, O my people, my Torah; incline your ears to the utterances of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a proverb; I will declare riddles from ancient times. 3 Which we have heard and known, and [which] our fathers told to us. 4 We will not hide it from their sons, recounting the psalms of the Lord to a later generation, and his might, and the wonders that he performed. 5 And he established a witness among those of the house of Jacob, and he decreed a Torah among those of the house of Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their sons. 6 So that another generation, sons still to be born, should know; they will arise and tell it to their children. 7 And they will place their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, and they will keep his commandments. 8 And they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and vexing generation, a generation whose heart was not firm with its lord, and its spirit was not faithful to God. 9 While they were living in Egypt, the sons of Ephraim became arrogant; they calculated the appointed time, and erred; they went out thirty years before the appointed time, with weapons of war, and warriors bearing bows. They turned around and were killed on the day of battle. 10 Because they did not keep the covenant of God and refused to walk in his Torah. 11 And the people, the house of Israel, forgot his deeds and his wonders that he showed them. 12 In front of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes of their ancestors, he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, the field of Tanis. 13 He split the sea with the staff of Moses their leader, and made them to pass through, and he made the water stand up, fastened like a skin bottle. 14 And he guided them with the cloud by day, and all of the night with the light of fire. 15 He split mountains with the staff of Moses their leader in the wilderness; and he gave drink as if from the great deeps. 16 And he brought forth streams of water from the rock, and he made water come down like flowing rivers. 17 But they continued still to sin before him, to provoke anger in the presence of the Most High in the dry wilderness. 18 And they tempted God in their heart, to ask for food for their souls. 19 And they complained in the presence of the Lord; they said, “Is there the ability in the presence of God to set a table in the wilderness?” 20 Behold, he already has smitten a rock, and water gushed out, and streams flowed; is he also able to give bread, or to arrange food for his people? 21 Then it was heard in the presence of God, and he was angry, and fire was made to come up on those of the house of Jacob, and also harsh anger came up on Israel. 22 For they did not believe in God, and did not put their trust in his redemption. 23 And he commanded the skies above and he opened the windows of heaven. 24 And he made descend on them manna to eat, and he gave them the grain of heaven. 25 The sons of men ate food that came down from the abode of angels; he sent them provisions unto satiety. 26 He made the east wind move in the heavens, and guided the south wind by his strength. 27 And he made flesh descend on them like dust, and flying fowl like the sand of the sea. 28 And he made them fall in the midst of his camp, round about its tents. 29 And they ate and were very satisfied; so he brought to them their craving. 30 They did not turn from their craving, still their food was in their mouth – 31 And the anger of God went up on them, and he slew some of their champions, and he subdued the young men of Israel. 32 For all this they sinned again, and did not believe in his wonders. 33 And he ended their days with nothingness, and their years with disaster. 34 Whenever he killed them, they sought him, repenting; and they will repent and pray in the presence of God. 35 And they remembered, for God is their strength, and the Most High God is their redeemer. 36 And they enticed him with their mouth, and they lie to him with their tongue. 37 Because their heart was not faithful to him, and they did not believe in his covenant. 38 But he is merciful, atoning for their sins, and does not destroy them; and he frequently turns from his anger, and he will not hasten all his wrath against them. 39 And he remembers that they are sons of flesh, a breath that goes away and does not return. 40 How they would rebel [PC1]against him in the wilderness! They would cause anger in his presence in a desolate place. 41 And they turned and tempted God, and brought regret to the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember his miracle, and the day that he redeemed them from the oppressor. 43 Who set out his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Tanis. 44 And he turned their canals to blood, and they could not drink from their streams. 45 He will incite against them a mass of wild animals, and exterminate them; likewise frogs, and he will slaughter them. 46 And he gave and handed over their grain to the grasshopper, and their toil to the locust. 47 And he stripped their vines with hail, and their sycamores with locusts. 48 And he handed over their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to sparks of fire. 49 He will incite against them two hundred and fifty plagues in the harshness of his anger, in wrath, and in hostility, and in woe; which are sent in due time by evil messengers. 50 He will travel on the path of his harshness, not keeping their soul from death, and handing over their cattle to the plague. 51 And he slew all the firstborn in Egypt, the beginning of their sorrow in the tents of Ham. 52 And he led his people like a flock, and guided them like a sheep flock in the wilderness. 53 And he settled them securely, and they did not fear; and the sea covered their enemies. 54 And he brought them into the territory of the site of the Temple, the same mountain that his right hand created. 55 And he drove out the Gentiles before them, and settled them in the lot of his inheritance, and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. 56 But they tempted and provoked in the presence of God Most High, and they did not keep his testimony. 57 And they relapsed and did evil like their fathers; they became bent like a bow that shoots arrows. 58 And they caused anger in his presence with their libations; and they made him jealous with their idols and images. 59 It was heard in the presence of God, and he became angry, and his soul was very disgusted with Israel. 60 And he abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent where his presence did abide among the sons of men. 61 And he handed over his Torah to captivity, and his splendor to the hand of the oppressor. 62 And he handed over his people to those who slay with the sword, and became angry with his inheritance. 63 The fire consumed his young men, and his young women were not respected. 64 His priests will fall[PC2] with the killing of the sword, and his widows had no time to weep. Another Targum: At the time when the Philistines captured the ark of the Lord, the priests of Shiloh, Hophni and Phinehas fell by the sword; and at the time when they informed his wives, they did not weep, for they too died on that same day. 65 And the Lord woke up like a sleeper, like a man who opens his eyes from wine. 66 And he smote his oppressors on their behinds with hemorrhoids; he gave them eternal disgrace. 67 And he was disgusted with the tabernacle spread over the territory of Joseph; and he took no pleasure in the tribe of Ephraim. 68 But he was pleased with the tribe of Judah, with Mount Zion that he loves. 69 And he built his sanctuary like the horn of the wild ox, fixed like the earth that he founded forever and ever. 70 And he was pleased with David his servant, and took him from the flocks of sheep. 71 And he brought him [away] from [following] after sucklings to rule over Jacob his people, and over Israel his inheritance. 72 And he reigned over them in the perfection of his heart, and he will guide them by the understanding of his hands.
79A psalm composed by Asaph about the destruction of the Temple. He said in the spirit of prophecy: O God, the Gentiles are entering your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have made Jerusalem a desolation. 2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of heaven for food, the flesh of your pious ones to the wild beasts. 3 They have poured out their blood like water around Jerusalem, and there is none to bury. 4 We have become a disgrace to our neighbors, a subject of scorn and mockery to our surroundings. 5 How long, O Lord, will you be fierce – forever? [How long] will your zeal burn like fire? 6 Pour out your wrath on the Gentiles who have not known you, and on the kingdoms who have not prayed in your name. 7 For they have destroyed the house of Jacob, and made desolate his sanctuary. 8 Do not remember against us trespasses which were from the beginning; in haste, may your favors go before us, for we have become very destitute. 9 Help us, O God our redemption, because of your glorious name; and redeem us, and atone for our sins, for the sake of your name. 10 Why should the Gentiles say, “Where is their God?” Let the punishment for the blood of your servants that has been spilled be revealed in our sight among the Gentiles. 11 Let the groan of the prisoners come before you like the great strength of your arm; release the children who have been handed over to death. 12 And give back to our neighbors a seven-fold requital for the punishment of their oaths, and the aspersions they cast on you, O Lord. 13 But we are your people, and the sheep of your pasture; we will give thanks in your presence forever; for all generations we will recite your praise.
80For praise; concerning those who sit in the Sanhedrin who occupy themselves with the testimony of the Torah; composed by Asaph; a psalm. 2 Caretaker of Israel, hear; you who guide the coffin of Joseph like a flock; you whose presence abides between the cherubim, shine forth. 3 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your mighty power for us; and it is right for you to redeem us. 4 O God, bring us back from our exile, and shine the splendor of your countenance upon us, and we will be redeemed. 5 O Lord God Sabaoth, how long have you not accepted the prayer of your people! 6 You fed them bread soaked in tears, and you made them drink the wine of tears in triple measure. 7 You made us a source of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies will jeer at them. 8 God Sabaoth, bring us back from our exile, and shine the splendor of your countenance upon us, and we will be redeemed. 9 The house of Israel, which is likened to a vine, you brought out of Egypt; you chased away the Gentiles from the land of Israel and planted them. 10 You cleared out the Canaanites before them, and you uprooted their roots and filled the land. 11 The mountains of Jerusalem cover the shadow of the temple, and the academies, say the scholars, are strong, which are likened to mighty cedars. 12 You made branches grow, you sent out her pupils to the Great Sea, and her children to the river Euphrates. 13 Why have you attacked her walls? and [now] all those who pass on the way are pruning her. 14 The boar from the forest will root her up, and the wild cock will be sustained by her. 15 God Sabaoth, turn now, look from heaven, and see, and remember this vine in mercy. 16 And the branch that your right hand planted, and the King Messiah whom you made mighty for yourself.[10] 17 [It is] being burned by fire and crushed; they will perish because of the rebuke that [comes] from your presence. 18 Let your hand be on the man to whom you have sworn with your right hand, on the son of man whom you made mighty for yourself. 19 We will not turn away from the fear of you; you will sustain us and we will call on your name. 20 O Lord God Sabaoth, bring us back from exile; shine the splendor of your countenance upon us and we will be redeemed.
81For praise; on the lyre that comes from Gath, composed by Asaph. 2 Give praise in the presence of God, our strength; shout in the presence of the God of Jacob. 3 Lift up the voice in praise, and set out timbrels, the lyre whose sound is sweet with harps. 4 Blow the horn in the month of Tishri, in the month in which the day of our festivals is concealed. 5 For he made a covenant for Israel; it is a legal ruling of the God of Jacob. 6 He made it a testimony for Joseph, who did not go near the wife of his master; on that day he went out of the prison and ruled over all the land of Egypt. The tongue I did not know I have taught [and] heard. 7 I have removed his shoulder from servitude; his hands were taken away from casting clay into a pot. 8 In the time of the distress of Egypt, you called and I delivered you; I made you fast in the secret place where my presence is, where wheels of fire call out before him; I tested you by the waters of Dispute forever. 9 Hear, O my people, and I will bear witness for you, O Israel, if you will accept my word. 10 There shall not be among you worshippers of a foreign idol, and you shall not bow down to a profane idol. 11 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open wide your mouth with the words of Torah, and I will fill it with all good things. 12 But my people did not receive my voice; and Israel did not want my word. 13 And I expelled them for the thoughts of their heart, they went away in their wicked counsel. 14 Would that my people had listened to me – that Israel would walk in my ways! 15 In a little while I will humble their enemies, and I will turn my strong blow against their enemies. 16 The enemies of the Lord will be false to him; and their harshness will last forever. 17 But he will feed him with the best of wheat bread; and I will satisfy you with honey from the rock.
82A hymn composed by Asaph. God, his presence abides in the assembly of the righteous who are strong in Torah; he will give judgment in the midst of the righteous judges.[11] 2 How long, O wicked, will you judge falsely, and lift up the faces of the wicked forever? 3 Judge the poor and the orphan; acquit the needy and the poor. 4 Save the poor and needy, from the hands of the wicked deliver them. 5 They do not know how to do good, and they do not understand the Torah, they walk in darkness; because of this, the pillars of the earth’s foundations shake. 6 I said, “You are reckoned as angels, and all of you are like angels of the height.”[12] 7 But truly you will die like the sons of men; and like one of the leaders you will fall. 8 Arise, O Lord, judge all the inhabitants of the earth; for you will possess all the Gentiles.
83A song and psalm composed by Asaph. 2 God, do not become silent; do not be uncaring, and do not be quiet, O God. 3 For, behold, your enemies are stirred up, and your foes have lifted their head. 4 Against your people they have contrived a secret plan, and they take counsel together against things hidden in your treasuries. 5 They say, “Come, let us conceal them from being a people, and the name of Israel will not be mentioned again.” 6 For they take counsel together against you with all their heart, and make a covenant on your account. 7 The tents of the Edomites and Arabs, the Moabites and Hungarites. 8 The Gublites and Ammonites and Amalekites, the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre. 9 Also Sennacherib, king of Assyria, allied himself with them; they became a support for the sons of Lot forever. 10 Do to them as you did to Midian, to Sisera, and as you did to Jabin at the stream of Kishon. 11 They were destroyed at the spring of Dor; they were as dung that is trampled on the earth. 12 Make them and their chiefs like Oreb and like Zeeb; and all their kings like Zeba and Zalmunna. 13 Who had said, “We will inherit for ourselves all the fields of the god Elohim.” 14 O my God, make them like a wheel that keeps on rolling and does not stop, down a slope; and like straw before a storm. 15 Like fire that burns in the forest, and like the flame that ignites the plants of the mountains. 16 Thus will you pursue them with your storm wind, and you will frighten them with your gale. 17 Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek your name, O Lord. 18 They will be ashamed and terrified for ages upon ages; and they will be disgraced and will perish. 19 And they will know that you, your name the Lord, are alone supreme over all the inhabitants of the earth.
84For praise, on the lyre that comes from Gath; composed by the sons of Korah; a psalm. 2 How beloved are your tents, O Lord Sabaoth! 3 My soul craved and even yearned for the court of the Lord; my heart and flesh meditate on the enduring God. 4 Even the dove has found a house, and the turtledove a nest that is suitable for her hatchlings – to be sacrificed on your altars, O Lord Sabaoth, my king and my God. 5 Happy are the righteous who dwell in your sanctuary; again they will praise you forever. 6 Happy the man who has his strength in your word; trust is in their hearts. 7 The wicked who cross over the valleys of Gehenna, weeping – he will make their weeping like a fountain; also those who return to the teaching of his Torah he will cover with blessings. 8 The righteous go from the sanctuary to the academies; their toil in the Torah will be manifest before the Lord, whose presence abides in Zion. 9 David said, “O Lord, God Sabaoth, receive my prayer; hear, O God of Jacob, forever.” 10 See, O God, the merits of our fathers, and behold the face of your anointed. 11 For it is better to dwell one day in the courtyard of your sanctuary than a thousand in exile; I have chosen to adhere to the sanctuary of God rather than to live in the tents of wickedness. 12 For the Lord God is like a high wall and a strong shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; he will not hide goodness from those who walk in perfection. 13 O Lord Sabaoth, it is well for the son of man who trusts in your word.
85For praise; composed by the sons of Korah; a psalm. 2 You delighted, O Lord, in your land; you brought back the captivity of the house of Jacob. 3 You forgave the sins of your people; you covered all their faults forever. 4 You withdrew all your anger; you turned from the harshness of your anger. 5 Turn to us, O God our redemption; and revoke your anger against us. 6 Can it be that you will act harshly against us forever? Will you prolong out your harshness for all generations? 7 Will you not again revive us? And your people will rejoice in your word. 8 Show us, O Lord, your goodness; and may your redemption be given to us. 9 I will hear what God, the Lord, will say; for he will speak peace to his people and to his pious ones, and they will not return to heathenism. 10 Truly his redemption is near to those who fear him, to make glory abide in our land. 11 Favor and truth meet, righteousness and peace have joined together. 12 Truth grew up from the land; and righteousness looked out from heaven. 13 Also the Lord will give what is good; and our land will give its produce. 14 Righteousness will walk before him; and he set his steps on a good path.
86A prayer that David prayed. Incline, O Lord, your ear; answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Protect my soul, for I am pious; redeem your servant – you, O my God – for I do put my trust in you. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I will pray in your presence all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, will I lift up my soul in prayer. 5 For you are the Lord, good to the righteous and forgiving to those who turn to his Torah, and multiplying favor to all who pray in your presence. 6 Hear, O Lord, my prayer; and accept the voice of my supplications. 7 On the day of my distress, I will call to you, for you answer me. 8 There is none besides you among the angels on high, O Lord, and there is nothing like your deeds. 9 All the Gentiles you have made shall come and bow down before you, O Lord; and they shall give glory to your name. 10 For you are great, O God, and you do wonders – you alone are God. 11 Teach me, O Lord, your ways; I will walk in your truth; unify my heart to fear your name. 12 I will give thanks in your presence, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For your goodness towards me is great; and you have delivered my soul from lowest Sheol. 14 O God, arrogant men have risen against me, and mighty men have sought my soul; and they have not kept you in front of them. 15 And you, O Lord, are a God compassionate and merciful, putting away anger, and showing much favor and truth. 16 Turn unto me and pity me; give your strength to your servant, and redeem the son of your handmaiden. 17 Perform for me a miracle for good; when my son Solomon shall bring the ark into the sanctuary, let the gates be opened on my account and my enemies will see that you have forgiven me, and they will be ashamed and confess; for you are the Lord, you have helped me and comforted me.
87Uttered by the sons of Korah. A song that was established at the instruction of the fathers of old. 2 The Lord loves the entrances to the academies established in Zion more than all the synagogues of the house of Jacob. 3 Glorious words have been spoken of you, O city of God, forever. 4 The Egyptians and Babylonians have reminded those who know you of your praises; behold, the Philistines and Tyrians, with the Ethiopians; this king was brought up there. 5 And of Zion it will be said, “King David and Solomon his son were brought up within it; and God shall build it above.” 6 O Lord, in the book in which they write the account of all the ages [it is written], “This king was brought up there forever.” 7 And they utter songs with celebration – all kinds of psalms with sacrifice are uttered in your midst.
88A song and a psalm composed by the sons of Korah, with a prayer; for praise; a good lesson composed by Heman the native. 2 O Lord God my redemption, daily I have made complaint; in the night my prayer is before you. 3 May my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my plea. Another Targum: Let my prayer for your people, the house of Israel, come before you; and incline your ear to my psalm that I have sung for your glory. 4 For my soul has had its fill of evils; and my life has arrived at Sheol. 5 I am reckoned with those who go down to the prison-house; I have become like a son of man who has no strength. 6 Like the wicked who died and did not return, having been made free from strife; like those slain by the sword, lying in the grave, whom you no longer remember, since they have been separated from the face of your presence. 7 You have placed me in exile, which is likened to the lower pit, among the oppressed in the depths. 8 Your fury rests on me, and all evil decrees have broken me; you have afflicted me forever. 9 You have removed those who know me far from me; you have made me loathsome to them; enclosed in prison, and I may not go out. 10 My eye has flowed with tears because of affliction; every day I have called to you, O lord; I have spread my hands to you in prayer. 11 Could it be that you would work miracles for the dead? Or will bodies that have decayed in dust arise [and] give thanks in your presence forever? 12 Could it be that your goodness will be talked of in the grave? Your truth in the place of perdition? 13 Could it be that your wonders will be known in the darkness of Gehenna? And your generosity in the land of thirst and desolation? 14 But I have prayed in your presence, O lord; and in the morning my prayer will come before you. 15 Why, O lord, have you forsaken my soul, why will you hide your face from me, that I may not see illumination by your light? 16 I am afflicted and frail from childhood; I have borne the fear of you, loaded upon me. 17 Your anger has passed over me; your terrors have destroyed me. 18 They have surrounded me like water all day; they have encompassed me together. 19 You have removed friend and fellow far from me; as for those who know me, I am lowly in their mouth.
89A good lesson uttered by Abraham, who came from the east. 2 I will praise the kindness of the Lord forever; from generation to generation I will make known your truth with my mouth. 3 For I said, “The world will be built by kindness; you will establish your truth in the heavens.” 4 I made a covenant with Abraham my chosen; I confirmed it with my servant David. 5 I will establish your sons forever; and for every generation I will build your royal throne forever. 6 And the heavens will confess your wonders, O Lord; also your truth in the assembly of the holy ones. 7 For who in the clouds can be set beside the Lord? Who resembles the Lord in the multitudes of angels? 8 God is mighty in the mysteries of the holy ones; sitting on the throne of glory, great and fearsome over all the angels who stand around him. 9 O Lord God above the hosts of the height, who is like you in strength, O Lord? And your truth is around you. 10 You rule over the pride of the sea; when its waves increase and become high, you will subdue them. 11 You have crushed Rahab, that is, wicked Pharaoh, like one slain by the sword; with the might of your strong arm you have scattered your enemies. 12 Yours is the heaven, yea, yours is the earth; you have founded the world and all its contents. 13 The deserts in the north and those who dwell in the south, you created them; Tabor in the west and Hermon in the east sing praise in your name. 14 Yours is the arm with strength; your hand will be strong to redeem your people; your right hand will be raised to perfect your sanctuary. 15 Righteousness and justice are the dwelling place of your glorious throne; favor and truth go before your face. 16 Happy the people who know to please their creator with a shout; O Lord, in the splendid light of your countenance they will walk and be acquitted in judgment. 17 In your name they will rejoice all day, and by your righteousness they will be exalted. 18 For you are the splendor of their strength, and by your will their horn is exalted. 19 For our shields belong to the Lord, and our king belongs to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 20 Then you spoke in a vision to your pious ones, and you said, “I have set up a helper for my people by the hand of one mighty in Torah; I have set apart a youth from among the people.” 21 I have found David my servant, with the holy oil I anointed him. 22 Whom my hands are ready to help; truly my arm will strengthen him. 23 The enemy will not make him go astray; the son of wickedness will not afflict him. 24 And I will crush his oppressors before him, and I will smite his foes. 25 And my truth and goodness are with him; in the name of my word his glory will be exalted. 26 And I will place his dominion at the harbors of the sea, and the might of his right hand on those who dwell by the rivers. 27 He will call to me, “You are my father (abba), my God, and the strength of my redemption.” 28 Also I will make him first-born of the kings of the house of Judah, the highest of the kings of the earth. 29 I will preserve my goodness to him forever; and my covenant is constant for him. 30 And I will set up his sons forever, and his throne for as many days as the heavens will last. 31 If his sons abandon my Torah, and do not walk in my judgments, 32 If they violate my covenant, and do not keep my commandments, 33 Then I will punish their rebellions by means of the rod of the wicked, and their iniquities by the demons that plague them. 34 But my goodness I will not revoke from him, and I will not be false to my faithfulness. 35 I will not violate my covenant, and the utterance of my lips I will not change. 36 Once I have sworn by my holy name: “I will not lie to David.” 37 His sons will exist forever, and his throne is bright as the sun before me. 38 Like the moon that is set for an eternal sign, and a faithful witness in the sky forever. 39 But you have forsaken and rejected, grown angry with your anointed. 40 You have changed the covenant with your servant; you have profaned his crown to the earth. 41 You have forced all his strongholds, you have made his open villages a ruin. 42 All who pass on the road have trampled him; he has become a disgrace to his neighbors. 43 You have raised the right hand of his oppressors; you have gladdened all his enemies. 44 Also you will turn aside his sword and you have not supported him in battle. 45 You have abolished the priests who sprinkle [blood] on the altar and cleanse his people, and you have cast to the ground his royal throne. 46 You have cut short the days of his young men; you have covered him with shame and disgrace forever. 47 How long, O Lord, will you remove your presence forever? [How long] will your rage burn like fire? 48 Remember that I was created from dust; why have you created all the sons of men for vanity? 49 Who is the man who will live and not see the angel of death, who will deliver his soul from his hand, and not go down to his grave forever? 50 Where are your favors which were from the beginning, O Lord, which you swore to David in your faithfulness? 51 Remember, O Lord, the disgrace of your servant; I have borne in my bosom all the insults of many peoples. 52 For your enemies have scorned, O Lord, for they have scorned the delay of the footsteps of your Messiah, O Lord. 53 Blessed be the name of the Lord in this age, amen and amen. Blessed be the name of the Lord in the age to come, amen and amen.
90The prayer that Moses the prophet of the Lord prayed when the people, the house of Israel, sinned in the wilderness. He raised his voice and thus he said: O Lord, the dwelling of whose presence is in heaven, you have been for us a helper in every generation. 2 When it was manifest in your presence that your people were going to sin, you established repentance; before ever the mountains were lifted up and the earth and the world’s inhabitants created, and from this age to the age to come, you are God. 3 You will return a son of man to death because of his sin; and [yet] you have said, “Repent, O sons of men.” 4 For a thousand years in your eyes are considered in your presence like a yesterday, for it will pass; and like a watch in the night. 5 And if they do not repent, death will come upon them, they will be as those who are sleeping; and in the age to come, they will disappear like crumbling grass. Another Targum: You made them drink the cup of cursing; they became like a drunken man in his sleep. 6 Their deeds are like grass that in the morning will spring up and multiply; in the evening it fades and dries up from the heat. 7 For we have been destroyed by your harshness, and by your anger we have been terrified. 8 You have set our sins in front of you, the iniquities of our youth before the light of your face. 9 For all our days have been removed from your presence in your anger; we have completed the days of our lives like a vapor of the mouth in winter. 10 The days of our years in this age are seventy years, quickly passing; and if [one is] in strength, eighty years; but most of them are toil and deceit for the guilty, for they pass in haste and fly away to the morning. 11 Who is he who knows how to turn back the force of your harshness? – except the righteous, who fear you, appease your anger. 12 Who is right to teach us to number our days, except the prophet, whose heart pours forth wisdom? 13 Turn, O Lord – how long will you afflict us? – and turn from the harm that you commanded to do to your servants. 14 Satisfy us with your goodness in the age that is likened to a morning, and we will rejoice and be glad in all our days. 15 Gladden us like the days that you afflicted us, like the years that we saw harm. 16 Let the works of your miracles appear to your servants, and let your splendor be upon their sons. 17 And may the pleasantness of the Garden of Eden be upon us from the presence of the Lord our God, and the works of our hands will be established by him.
91He who makes his presence abide in secret is the Most High; he will lodge in the shadow of the clouds of the glory of Shaddai. 2 David said: “I will say to the Lord, ‘My confidence and my strong fortress’; my God, I will trust in his word.” 3 For he will deliver you, Solomon my son, from the snare and the obstacle, from death and confusion. 4 With the shelter of his presence he will shelter you, and you will be confident under the shelter of his glory; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5 Be not afraid of the terror of demons who walk at night, of the arrow of the angel of death that he looses during the day; 6 Of the death that walks in darkness, of the band of demons that attacks at noon. 7 You will invoke the holy name; a thousand will fall at your left side, and ten thousand at your right; they will not come near you to do harm. 8 Only with your eyes you will watch, and you will see the wicked as they are destroyed. 9 Solomon answered and said: “For you are my confidence, O Lord; in the highest dwelling place you have placed the house of your presence.” 10 The lord of the world responded and thus he said: “No harm shall happen to you; and no plague or demon shall come near to your tents.”[13] 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 12 They will lift you up by their strength, lest you stumble on the evil impulse, which is likened to the stones at your feet. 13 You will trample on the lions’ whelp and the adder; you will tread down the lion and the viper.[14] 14 Because he has taken pleasure in my word, and I will deliver him; I will exalt him because he knows my name. 15 He will pray in my presence and I will answer him; I am with him in distress, I will save him and glorify him. 16 I will satisfy him with length of days; I will show him my redemption.
92A psalm and song that the first Adam uttered concerning the Sabbath day. 2 It is good to give thanks in the presence of the Lord, and to praise your name, O Most High. 3 To recount your goodness in the morning, and your truth in the nights, 4 According to the harp of ten strings, and according to the lyre, upon the murmuring of harps. 5 For you have made me glad, O Lord, by your works; I will rejoice in the works of your hands. 6 How great are your works, O Lord; your thoughts are very deep. 7 A foolish son of man will not know it, and a fool will not comprehend this. 8 While the wicked flourish like grass and all workers of deceit blossom, God is going to destroy them forever. 9 But you are high and supreme in this age, O Lord, and you are high and supreme in the age to come. Another Targum: And you, your hand is supreme to punish the wicked in the age to come, in the great day of judgment, O Lord; and you, your hand is supreme to give a good reward to the righteous in the age to come, O Lord. 10 For, behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies will perish in the age to come; and all the workers of deceit will be separated from the band of the righteous. 11 You have raised up my might like a wild-ox; you have anointed me with moist anointing oil of the leafy olive. 12 And my eye has looked on the perdition of my oppressors; my ear has heard the sound of the destruction of those who stand against me to do harm. 13 The righteous man will grow fruit like the palm-tree, like the cedar in Lebanon he will grow and produce roots. 14 His sons will be planted in the sanctuary of the Lord; in the court of the house of our God they will flourish. 15 Again like their fathers they will produce sons in old age; they will be plump and juicy. 16 So that the inhabitants of the earth might tell it, for the Lord is upright; my strength, and there is no wrong in him.
93The Lord is king, he has put on greatness; the Lord has put on strength and girded himself; also he made strong the world, so that it will not be shaken. 2 Your throne is established from the beginning; from eternity you are God. 3 The rivers lift up, O Lord, the rivers lift up their voice in song; the rivers will receive a reward for their praise. 4 The Lord is more to be praised in the highest heavens than the sound of many waters, the praiseworthy [waters], the breakers of the great sea! 5 Your testimonies are very true, beautiful and holy for your sanctuary, O Lord, for length of days.
94The God who takes vengeance is the Lord; the God who takes vengeance has appeared. 2 Lift yourself up, O judge of the earth; requite evil to the proud. 3 How long will the wicked, O Lord, how long will the wicked dwell in tranquillity? 4 They will gush and speak blasphemy; all the workers of deceit utter disgraceful words. 5 They will crush your people, O Lord, and impoverish your inheritance. 6 They will kill the widow and proselyte, and they will murder orphans. 7 And they said, “Yah will not see, and the God of Jacob will not comprehend it.” 8 Consider, you who are fools among the people; and you unwise – when will you gain insight? 9 Could it be that the ear was planted, and hears no instruction? Or could it be that he created the eye, and it has not looked at the Torah? 10 Could it be that he gave the Torah to his people, and when they sin, they are not rebuked? Did not the Lord teach knowledge to the first Adam? 11 The thoughts of the sons of men are known in the presence of the Lord, for they are nothingness. 12 It is well for the man whom you rebuke, O Yah; and you will instruct him out of your Torah. 13 To give him quietness from the days of evil until the pit is created for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not abandon his people, nor will he forsake his inheritance. 15 For justice will return to righteousness, and after it all the upright of heart will be redeemed. 16 Who will arise for me to do battle with evildoers? Who will stand up for me to dispute with workers of deceit? 17 If the Lord were not my helper, my soul would almost have dwelt in silence. 18 If I said, “My foot is slipping,” your goodness, O Lord, will aid me. 19 In the many thoughts within me, your comforts will delight my soul. 20 Could it be that the throne of deceit will be allied with you? Or could the creature of toil stand against the covenant? 21 Evil things will gather against the soul of the righteous man; and they will condemn innocent blood to the judgment of death. 22 But the Lord will be a helper for me; and my God is the strength of my confidence. 23 And he has turned their lies against them, and he will destroy them in their evil; the Lord our God will destroy them.
95Come, let us sing praise before the Lord, let us shout aloud before the Mighty One of our redemption. 2 Let us come before his face with thanksgiving, with hymns let us shout aloud before him. 3 For the Lord is the great God, and the great king over every god. 4 From whose hand the depths of the earth are suspended, and the strongholds of the mountain height are his. 5 His is the sea, and he made it; and his hands created the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down and prostrate ourselves; let us kneel in the presence of the Lord who makes us. 7 For he is our God and we are his people and the flock of his hand’s pasturing; today, if you accept his word – 8 Do not harden your heart as in the dispute, as on the day you tested God in the wilderness. 9 For your fathers tempted me, they tried me; yet they saw my works. 10 Forty years I rejected the generation of the wilderness, and I said, “They are a people with error in their heart, and they do not know my ways.” 11 For I swore in the harshness of my wrath, “They will not enter the repose of my sanctuary.”
96Sing in the presence of the Lord a new psalm; sing praise, angels of the height, sing praise in the presence of the Lord, all righteous of the earth. 2 Sing praise in the presence of the Lord, bless his name; proclaim his redemption from day to day. 3 Tell of his glory among the Gentiles, of his wonders among all the peoples. 4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; and he is more to be feared than any god. 5 For all the things feared by the Gentiles are idols; but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Praise and splendor are in his presence; strength and praise are in his sanctuary. 7 Make music in the presence of the Lord, O races of peoples; ascribe glory and strength in the presence of the Lord. 8 Ascribe glory in the presence of the Lord, and exalt his name; carry and bring an offering and enter his presence in his courts. 9 Bow down before him in the splendor of holiness; tremble in his presence, all inhabitants of the earth. 10 Say among the Gentiles, “The Lord reigns”; also the world is made firm that it will not totter; he will judge the peoples uprightly. 11 The forces of heaven will rejoice and the righteous of the earth will exult; the sea will shout and all its fullness. 12 The field and everything in it will pour forth praise; then all the trees of the forest will sing – 13 In the presence of the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth; he will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his faithfulness.
97The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice, let the many isles be glad. 2 Clouds of glory and darkness are around him; righteousness and justice are the place where his throne is set. 3 Fire will go before him, and it burns around his oppressors. 4 His lightnings illuminate the world; the earth saw and trembled. 5 The mountains will melt like wax in the presence of the Lord, in the presence of the master of all the earth. 6 The angels of the height will tell of his righteousness, and all the peoples will see his glory. 7 All who worship idols will be ashamed, who pride themselves on a false god; and all the peoples who worship a false god will bow down in his presence. 8 The assembly of Zion has heard and rejoiced, and the daughters of the house of Judah exult, because of your judgments, O Lord. 9 For you are the Lord, the supreme one over all the inhabitants of the earth; you are greatly exalted over all that is revered. 10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil, because the Almighty protects the souls of his pious ones; from the hands of the wicked he will deliver them. 11 Light has shone and is hidden for the righteous, and joy for the upright of heart. 12 Be glad, O righteous, in the word of the Lord, and give thanks at the mention of his holy name.
98A psalm and prophecy. Sing before the Lord a new hymn, for he has done wonders; his right hand has brought redemption, and the arm of his holy presence. 2 The Lord has made known his redemption; in the sight of the Gentiles he has revealed his righteousness. 3 He has called to mind his goodness and his truth to the house of Israel, and all the ends of the earth have seen the redemption of our God. 4 Give voice in the presence of the Lord, all inhabitants of the earth; rejoice and give praise and make music. 5 Sing in the presence of the Lord with harps, with harps and the sound of musical instruments. 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn, give voice in the presence of the king, the Lord. 7 Let the sea call out, and its fullness; the world and all who dwell upon it. 8 Let the rivers smite their palms; as one, let the mountains sing aloud – 9 In the presence of the Lord, for he has come to judge the earth; he will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples with integrity.
99The Lord reigns, the peoples will tremble; he whose presence abides among the cherubim will shake the earth. 2 The Lord is great in Zion; and he is high over all the Gentiles. 3 They will confess his name, great and fearful; he is holy. 4 And you love the strength of the king of justice; you have established integrity; you have made justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Sing praise in the presence of the Lord our God, and bow down towards his sanctuary; he is holy. 6 Moses and Aaron are among his priests who gave their life for the people of the Lord, and Samuel prayed for them before the Lord, like the fathers of old, who prayed in his name; they would pray in his presence and he would answer them. 7 In the pillar of glorious clouds he would speak with them; they kept the commandments [of] his testimony, and the covenant that he gave to them. 8 O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God for your people for their sake, and take vengeance for their deeds. 9 Sing praise in the presence of the Lord our God, and bow down towards the mount of his sanctuary, for the Lord our God is holy.
100A psalm on the offering of thanksgiving. Give a shout in the presence of the Lord, all inhabitants of the earth. 2 Worship in the presence of the Lord with joy; come before him with praise. 3 Make it known, for the Lord is God; he has made us and we are his, his people and the flock of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise; give thanks in his presence, bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good, his goodness is forever, and his faithfulness lasts for all generations.
101Composed by David, a psalm. Whether you show mercy to me or treat me with justice, for both of them I will sing praise; in your presence, O Lord, I will make music. 2 God said, “I will make you wise in the perfect way; when will you come unto me?” David said, “I will walk in the perfection of my heart within my house of instruction.” 3 I will not set upon my heart the word of the wicked man, the ones who do evil; and those who wander from the commandments I hate, they will not follow me. 4 Let the twisted heart pass from me; I shall not know the evil impulse. 5 He who relates slander against his fellow – him will I overturn; and he who walks with haughty eyes will be stricken with leprosy; with him I will never dwell. 6 My eyes are on the honest of the land, to dwell in the precincts of the righteous; he who walks perfect on the way – he shall stand among my ministers. 7 He who acts guilefully will not dwell in the midst of my sanctuary; he who speaks lies has no right to stand before my eyes. 8 In the age to come, which is likened to the light of morning, I will overturn169 all the wicked of the earth, to destroy from Jerusalem, the city of the Lord, all those who work deceit.
102The prayer for the poor man, for he is weary, and will speak his prayer in the presence of the Lord. 2 O Lord, accept my prayer, and let my entreaty come before you. 3 Do not remove your presence from me in the day of my distress; incline your ear unto me; in the day that I call, hasten, answer me. 4 For my days are consumed like smoke; and my limbs burn like an oven. 5 My heart is smitten like grass and will dry up; for I have forgotten the Torah of my instruction. 6 Because of the sound of my groaning, my bones have clung to my flesh. 7 I have become like a marsh-bird in the wilderness; I have become like an owl in the parched land. 8 I stay awake all night, and I have become like a bird that flutters and wanders by itself on the roof. 9 All the day my enemies will jeer at me; those who mock me have sworn by my word in vain. 10 For I have supped on ashes like food, and prepared my drink in weeping. 11 Because of your anger and rage, for you have lifted me up and cast me down. 12 My days are like a shadow that lengthens; and I will wither like grass. 13 But you, O Lord, your dwelling place is eternal, in heaven you will dwell, and your memorial is to every generation. 14 You will arise, you will pity Zion, for it is time to have compassion on her, for the season has come. 15 For your servants have desired her stones, and they will have mercy on her dust. 16 And the peoples will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory. 17 For the city of Zion was built by the command of the Lord, he was revealed in glory. 18 He turned to the prayer of those who were made desolate, and did not despise their prayer. 19 Let this prayer be written for a later generation, and the people yet to be created will praise Yah. 20 For he watched from the high heavens of his holiness; the Lord looked from heaven to earth. 21 To hear the cry of the prisoners; to set loose the children of those handed over to death. 22 To tell in Zion the name of the Lord, and his praise in Jerusalem. 23 When peoples are gathered together, and kingdoms to worship in the presence of the Lord. 24 My strength is harmed by the weariness of the path of exile; my days are shortened. 25 I will say in the presence of my God, “Do not remove me from the world at the halfway point of my days; bring me to the world to come, because your years are throughout generations of generations.” 26 In the beginning when all creatures were created, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hand. 27 They will perish but you will endure; and all of them like a garment will wear out; like a mantle you will change them and they will pass away. 28 And you are he who created them; and your years do not come to an end. 29 The sons of your servants will abide in the land; and their offspring will be established in your presence.
103Composed by David, spoken in prophecy. Bless, O my soul, the name of the Lord, and let all my viscera bless his holy name. 2 Bless, O my soul, the name of the Lord, and do not forget all his nourishment, for he made breasts for your mother instead of insight. 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. 4 Who redeems your life from Gehinnom, who crowned you with kindness and mercy. 5 Who satisfies the days of your old age with goodness, and in the age to come, your youth will be renewed like the eagle of the canopy. 6 The Lord does acts of righteousness, and judgments for all the oppressed. 7 He revealed his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate; he loathes anger and does many deeds of goodness and truth. 9 He will not quarrel always, nor will he retain hostility forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor has he repaid us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his goodness to those who fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, thus far has he removed from us our transgressions. 13 As a father (abba) who loves the children, so the Lord loves those who fear him. 14 For he knows our evil impulse that makes us sin; in his presence it is remembered, for we are from dust. 15 The days of a son of man are like grass; like a blossom of the field, so will he bloom. 16 For a storm-wind has blown on him and he is no more; and he no longer is aware of his place. 17 But the favor of the Lord is upon those that fear him, from this age to the age to come; and his generosity is for the children of [their] children. 18 For those who keep his covenant, and for those who remember his commandments to do them. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the highest heavens; and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the name of the Lord, O his angels, who are mighty in power, who do his word, to obey the sound of his word. 21 Bless the name of the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers who do his will. 22 Bless the name of the Lord, all his works, his dominion is in every place. Bless, O my soul, the name of the Lord.
104Bless, O my soul, the name of the Lord. O Lord my God, you are greatly exalted; you have put on praise and splendor. 2 Who wraps himself in light like a sheet, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain. 3 Who covers his chambers with water like a building with beams; who placed his chariot, as it were, upon swift clouds; who goes on the wings of an eagle. 4 Who made his messengers as swift as wind; his servants, as strong as burning fire. 5 Who lays the foundation of the earth upon its base, so that it will not shake for ages upon ages. 6 You have covered over the abyss as with a garment; and the waters split on the mountains, and endure. 7 At your rebuke, they will flee, flowing down; at the sound of your shout, they will be frightened, pouring themselves out. 8 They will go up from the abyss to the mountains, and descend to the valleys, to this place that you founded for them. 9 You have placed a boundary for the waves of the sea that they will not cross, lest they return to cover the earth. 10 Who releases springs into rivers; they flow between the mountains. 11 They water all the wild animals; the asses will break their thirst. 12 The birds of heaven will settle on them; they will give out a sound of singing from among the branches. 13 Who waters the mountains from his upper treasury; the earth will be satisfied with the fruit of your deeds. 14 Who makes grass grow for beasts, and herbs for the cultivation of the son of man, that bread may come forth from the earth; 15 And wine that gladdens the heart of the son of man, to make the face shine by oil; and bread will support the heart of the son of man. 16 The trees that the Lord created are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted: 17 Where the birds make nests; the stork’s dwelling is in the cypresses. 18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are security for the conies. 19 He made the moon to calculate times by; the sun knows the time of his setting. 20 You will make darkness and it will be night; in it all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21 The offspring of lions roar to find food, and to seek their sustenance from God. 22 The sun will shine, they gather together; and they lay down in their dwelling place. 23 A son of man will go forth to his work and to his cultivation, until the sunset of evening. 24 How many are your works, O Lord! You have made all of them in wisdom; the earth is full of your possessions. 25 This sea is great and broad in extent; creeping things are there without number, both tiny creatures and large. 26 There the ships go about, [and] this Leviathan you created for the sport of the righteous at the supper of his dwelling place.[15] 27 All of them rely on you to give their food in its time. 28 You will give it to them, and they gather it; you will open your hand, and they are satisfied with goodness. 29 You will remove your presence, they are dazed; you will gather their spirit and they expire, and return to their dust. 30 You will send out your holy spirit and they are created; and you will make new the surface of the earth. 31 May the glory of the Lord be eternal; the Lord will rejoice in his works. 32 Who looks at the earth, and it shakes; he draws near to the mountains, and they emit smoke. 33 I will sing praise in the presence of the Lord during my life; I will make music to my God while I exist. 34 May my talk be pleasing in his presence; I will rejoice in the word of the Lord. 35 The sinners will be destroyed from the earth, and wicked exist no longer. Bless, O my soul, the name of the Lord. Hallelujah!
105Sing praise in the presence of the Lord, call on his name; tell of his deeds among the Gentiles. 2 Sing praise in his presence, make music in his presence; speak of all his wonders. 3 Sing praise in his holy name; may the heart of those who seek instruction from the presence of the Lord be glad. 4 Seek the teaching of the Lord, and his Torah; welcome his face continually. 5 Call to mind the wonders that he has done; his miracles, and the judgments of his mouth. 6 O seed of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones – 7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are extended over all the earth. 8 He remembered his covenant forever; he commanded a word for a thousand generations. 9 That which he made with Abraham, and his covenant with Isaac. 10 And he established it for Jacob as a decree, for Israel as a perpetual covenant. 11 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the lot of your inheritance.” 12 When you were a people few in number, like little ones, and dwelling in it. 13 And they went from people to people, from one kingdom to another people. 14 He did not allow anyone to oppress them, and he rebuked kings on their account. 15 Do not come near my anointed ones, and do no harm to my prophets. 16 And he proclaimed a famine against the land; he broke every support of food. 17 He sent a wise man before them; Joseph was sold as a slave. 18 They afflicted his feet with chains; a collar of iron went on his soul. 19 Until the time when his word came true; the word of the Lord purified him. 20 He sent a king and freed him; a ruler of peoples, and he set him free. 21 He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his property. 22 To bind his princes to, as it were, his soul; and he grew wiser than his elders. 23 And Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham. 24 And he made his people very numerous, and made it stronger than its oppressors. 25 Their heart was changed to hate his people, to plot evil things against his servants. 26 He sent Moses his servant, Aaron, with whom he was pleased. 27 They set among them the decrees of his signs, and wonders in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness and darkened them, and they did not rebel against his word. 29 He turned their water into blood, and killed all their fish. 30 Their land crawled with frogs in the chambers of their kings. 31 He spoke, and brought swarms, vermin in all their territory. 32 He gave their rain as hail, blazing fire in their land. 33 And he smote their vines and their figs, and smashed the trees of their territory. 34 He spoke, and brought locusts, and grasshoppers without number. 35 And they obliterated all the grass in their land, and consumed the fruits of their land. 36 And he smote every firstborn in Egypt, the beginning of all their strength. 37 And he brought them out with silver and with gold, and they did not quarrel with the Egyptians about the weight. 38 The Egyptians rejoiced when they left, for fear of them had fallen upon them. 39 He spread out the clouds like a curtain, and fire to give light at night. 40 They asked for flesh and he brought quail; and he will satisfy them with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock and water flowed; it went into the dry places like a river. 42 For he remembered his holy utterance with Abraham his servant. 43 And he brought out his people in joy, his chosen ones with praise. 44 And he gave to them the lands of the Gentiles; and they will inherit the labor of the peoples. 45 In order that they might keep his ordinances, and observe his Torah. Hallelujah!
106Hallelujah! Give thanks in the presence of the Lord, for he is good, for his goodness is forever. 2 Who is able to utter the might of the Lord? [Who] is allowed to proclaim all his praises? 3 Happy are they who observe judgment, those who do righteousness at every time. 4 Remember me, O Lord, with good will toward your people; call me to mind with your redemption. 5 To look on the plenty of your chosen ones; to rejoice in the joy of your people; to join in praise with your inheritance. 6 We have sinned, along with our fathers; we have committed iniquity, acted wickedly. 7 Our fathers in Egypt paid no heed to your wonders; they did not call to mind your great goodness; and they rebelled against your word by the sea, at the sea of Reeds. 8 And he redeemed them for his name’s sake, to make known his might. 9 And he rebuked the sea of Reeds, and it dried up; and he conducted them through the deeps, as in the wilderness. 10 And he redeemed them from the power of the foe; and he redeemed them from the power of the enemies. 11 And the waters covered their oppressors; not one of them was left. 12 And they believed in the name of his word; they sang his praise. 13 They quickly forgot his deeds; they did not wait for his counsel. 14 And they made a request and tested God in the place of desolation. 15 And he gave them their request, and sent leanness into their souls. 16 And they were jealous of Moses in the camp, of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord. 17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. 18 And fire burned in their company; flame will kindle the wicked. 19 They made a calf in Horeb, and bowed down to something of metal. 20 And they exchanged the glory of their master for the likeness of a bull that eats grass and befouls itself. 21 They forgot God their redeemer who had done mighty works in Egypt. 22 Wonders in the land of Ham, awesome things by the sea of Reeds. 23 And he commanded by his word to destroy them, had it not been for Moses his chosen one, who stood and grew mighty in prayer in his presence to turn aside his wrath from obliteration. 24 And their soul was repelled by the desirable land; they did not believe his word. 25 And they complained in their tents; they did not accept the word of the Lord. 26 And he lifted his hand in an oath because of them, to throw them down slain in the wilderness. 27 And to exile their seed among the peoples, and to scatter them among the lands. 28 And they attached themselves to the idol of Peor, and they ate the sacrifices of the dead. 29 And they caused anger in his presence by their deeds, and plague attacked them. 30 And Phinehas rose and prayed, and the plague was restrained. 31 And it was accounted to him for merit for all generations forever. 32 And they caused anger by the waters of Dispute, and it grieved Moses because of them. 33 For they rebelled against his holy spirit, and he had explained [it] clearly with his lips. 34 They did not destroy the peoples, which the Lord had commanded them [to do]. 35 And they mingled with the Gentiles and they learned their deeds. 36 And they worshipped their idol, and they became a stumbling-block for them. 37 And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. 38 And they shed innocent blood – the blood of their sons and daughters that they sacrificed to the idols of the Canaanites – and the land was defiled by capital crimes. 39 And brought uncleanness by their deeds and went astray by their acts. 40 And the anger of the Lord was harsh against his people and he despised his inheritance. 41 And he handed them over into the power of the Gentiles, and their foes ruled over them. 42 And their enemies oppressed them, and they were subdued under their hand. 43 Many times he would deliver them, but they would rebel against him in their counsel, and they were brought low in their sins. 44 And he saw when it went ill with them, when he heard their prayer. 45 And he remembered his covenant in their favor, and he turned aside from his anger according to his abundant mercies. 46 And he made them find mercy in the sight of all who had taken them captive. 47 Redeem us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, to give thanks in your holy name, to boast in your praise. 48 Blessed be the name of the Lord God of Israel, from this age to the age to come, and let all the people say, Amen, Hallelujah.
107Sing praise in the presence of the Lord, for he is good, for his goodness is forever. 2 The redeemed of the Lord will say [it], whom he redeemed from the hand of the oppressor. 3 And whom he gathered from the lands, from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the sea in the south. 4 Concerning the people of the house of Israel he prophesied and said, “The people of the house of Israel have wandered in the wilderness in a desolate path; they did not find an inhabited city.” 5 Thirsty, yes, and hungry, their souls will grow weary. 6 And they prayed in the presence of the Lord went it went ill with them; he delivered them from their distress. 7 And he guided them on a straight way, to come to Jerusalem, the inhabited city. 8 Let them give thanks in the presence of the Lord because of his kindness, and tell his wonders to the sons of men. 9 For he has satisfied the soul of the empty, and filled with good things the soul of the hungry. 10 Concerning Zedekiah and the leaders of Israel he prophesied and said, “O Zedekiah and the leaders of Israel, who were exiled to Babylon and dwelt in darkness and the shadow of death, and became prisoners in the pain of iron fetters.” 11 For they rebelled against the word of God, and rejected the counsel of the Most High. 12 And he broke their heart with toil; they stumbled, and there was none to help. 13 And they prayed in the presence of the Lord when it went ill with them; he redeemed them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death; and he will break their chains. 15 They will give thanks in the presence of the Lord because of his kindness, and tell his wonders to the sons of men. 16 For he shattered the doors of bronze, and cut down the bars of iron. 17 Concerning Hezekiah, king of the tribe of the house of Judah, he prophesied and said, “Hezekiah, king of the house of Judah, who refused to take a wife, was punished as the fools are punished because of their rebellious way and because of their iniquities.” 18 Their soul will reject all food, and they arrive at the portals of death. 19 And they prayed in the presence of the Lord when it went ill with them, and he will redeem them from their distresses. 20 He will send the words of his healing and will heal them, and deliver [them] from being harmed. 21 They will give thanks in the presence of the Lord because of his kindness, and tell his wonders to the sons of men. 22 And they will sacrifice thanksgiving sacrifices, and will tell of his deeds in gladness. 23 Concerning the sailors of Jonah son of Amittai, he prophesied and said, “The sailors, those who go down to the sea in ships, those who do work on many waters – 24 They saw the deeds of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.” 25 And he gave command by his word, and raised up the storm and the gale, and its waves were lifted up high. 26 They go up towards heaven, they go down to the depths of the abysses; their souls will melt in misery. 27 They will tremble, they will totter like a man drunk with wine; and all their wisdom is destroyed. 28 And they prayed in the presence of the Lord when it went ill with them, and he will bring them out of their troubles. 29 He will make the wind cease to quietness, and their waves will be silent. 30 And they rejoiced, for they are silent; and he led them to the harbor they desired. 31 They will give thanks in the presence of the Lord because of his kindness, and tell his wonders to the sons of men. 32 And they exalt him in the assembly of the people, the house of Israel; and in the Sanhedrin of the wise they will praise him. 33 Concerning the generation of Joel son of Pethuel he prophesied and said: “When the house of Israel rebelled in the days of Joel the prophet, he brought a drought into the world; he made the rivers like the desert, and the sources of water like thirst.” 34 The land of Israel that produces fruit became a waste like Sodom, which was overthrown because of the evil of its inhabitants. 35 When they returned to the Torah, he made the desert like a channel of water, and the parched land [became] sources of water. 36 And he made the hungry dwell there, and they set up an inhabited city. 37 And they sowed fields and planted vineyards, and they yielded fruit of produce. 38 And he blessed them and they multiplied greatly, and their livestock will not diminish. 39 And when they sinned, they diminished and became poor because of the affliction of misery and pain. 40 He pours contempt on the leaders, and made them wander in a void without a path. 41 But when they returned to the Torah, he exalted the needy from poverty, and made [them] like the flocks of the well-born families. 42 The upright will see and rejoice, but every liar’s mouth is closed and sealed. 43 Would that the wise man keep these things, and discern the kindnesses of the Lord!
108A song and psalm composed by David. 2 My heart is firm, O God; I will praise and sing indeed, my glory. 3 Sing praise, O harp and lyre; I will sing praise at dawn. 4 I will give thanks in your presence among the peoples, O Lord, and I will sing praise to you among the nations. 5 For your goodness is great above the heavens, and your truth reaches to the sky. 6 Be exalted above the heavens, O God, and may your glory be on all the inhabitants of the earth. 7 So that your beloved ones will be delivered; redeem with your right hand and answer me. 8 God speaks from the place of his presence; I will be glad, I will divide spoil with the inhabitants of Shechem; and with the inhabitants of the plain of Succoth I will measure the border. 9 Mine is Gilead, mine is Manasseh; those of the house of Ephraim are the strength of my head, and my scribe is from those of the house of Judah. 10 I have trampled the Moabites like my washing-pot; I will cast my sandal over the kingdom of Edom; I will shout over the kingdom of the Philistines. 11 And now because I sinned, who will lead me to the fortress of wicked Rome? Who led me to Constantinople of Edom? 12 Behold, because we have sinned in the presence of the Lord he has forsaken us, and his presence does not go out with our armies. 13 Give us help from the oppressor, for vain is the redemption of the son of man. 14 In God we shall show might, and he will trample our oppressors.
109For praise, composed by David; a psalm. O God, my praise, do not be silent. 2 For the mouth of wickedness and the mouth of deceit are open against me, they have spoken with me [with] a lying tongue. 3 And those who speak hatred have surrounded me, and fought against me for no cause. 4 Because I have loved, they opposed me; but I will pray. 5 And they gave me evil for good, and hatred where I had given love. 6 Appoint over him a wicked man, and may an adversary stand at his right hand. 7 When he is judged, let him come out a sinner, and may his prayer become an act of sin. 8 May his days be few, may another inherit the number of his years. 9 May his sons be orphans, and his wife a widow. 10 And may his sons yet wander, and beg, and seek what has become their wasteland. 11 May the creditor gather up all that is his, and may strangers plunder his toil. 12 May he have none to extend kindness, and may he have none to pity his orphans. 13 May his end be destruction; may their name be effaced in the next generation. 14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered in the presence of the Lord; and may his mother’s guilt not be effaced. 15 May they be facing the decree of the Lord always; and may their memory perish from the earth. 16 Because he did not remember to do good, and persecutes the poor and needy man, and the lowly of heart, to be slain. 17 And he loves cursing, and it came to him; and he took no pleasure in blessing, and it was far from him. 18 And he wore cursing like a garment, and it entered his body like water, and was like oil to his limbs. 19 May it be to him like a garment, let him be wrapped in it; may he gird himself with it as a perpetual belt. 20 This is the deed of those who oppose me from [following] the Lord, and of those who speak evil to my soul. 21 And you, O God, the Lord, deal with me for your name’s sake; deliver me according to your goodness and kindness. 22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is quiet within me. 23 I am finished, like a shadow when it lengthens; I have wandered like a locust. 24 My knees stumble from fasting; my flesh is lean, and no longer fat. 25 And I have become a disgrace to them; they will see me, they will shake their heads. 26 Help me, O Lord, my God; redeem me according to your kindness. 27 And they will know that this plague, you, O Lord, have done it. 28 They will curse, but you will bless; they will arise and be disappointed, but your servant will rejoice. 29 Those who oppose me will be clothed in shame, and their infamy will cover them like a cloak. 30 I will thank the Lord greatly with my mouth, and I will praise him in the midst of the sages. 31 For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to redeem from the discords of his soul.
110Composed by David, a psalm. The Lord said in his decree to make me lord of all Israel, but he said to me, “Wait still for Saul of the tribe of Benjamin to die, for one reign must not encroach on another; and afterwards I will make your enemies a prop for your feet.” Another Targum: The Lord spoke by his decree to give me the dominion in exchange for sitting in study of Torah. “Wait at my right hand until I make your enemies a prop for your feet.” Another Targum: The Lord said in his decree to appoint me ruler over Israel, but the Lord said to me, “Wait for Saul of the tribe of Benjamin to pass away from the world; and afterwards you will inherit the kingship, and I will make your enemies a prop for your feet.” 2 The Lord will send from Zion the rod of your strength, and you will rule in the midst of your enemies. 3 Your people are those of the house of Israel who devote themselves to the Torah; you will be helped in the day of your making battle with them; in the glories of holiness the mercies of God will hasten to you like the descent of dew; your offspring dwell securely. 4 The Lord has sworn and will not turn aside, that you are appointed leader in the age to come, because of the merit that you were a righteous king. 5 The presence of the Lord is at your right hand; he struck down kings on the day of his anger. 6 He was appointed judge over the Gentiles; the earth is full of the bodies of the slain wicked; he smote the heads of kings on the earth, very many. 7 He will receive instruction from the mouth of the prophet on the way; because of this, he will lift up his head.
111Hallelujah! I will sing praise in the presence of the Lord with all my heart in the secret of the upright and the assembly. 2 The deeds of the Lord are great; they are sought for by all who desire them. 3 His work is praise and glory, and his merit endures for ever. 4 He made a good memorial for his wonders; the Lord is gracious and merciful. 5 He gave food to those who fear him; he will remember his covenant forever. 6 The might of his deeds he told to his people, to give them the inheritance of the Gentiles. 7 The works of his hands are truth and justice; all his commands are faithful. 8 They are reliable for ever and ever; they are done in truth and uprightness. 9 He sent redemption to his people; he commanded his covenant for ever; his name is holy and awesome. 10 The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord, good understanding to all who do them; his praise endures forever.
112Hallelujah! Happy is the man who fears the Lord; he takes great pleasure in his commandments. 2 His children will be mighty in the Torah, he will be blessed in the generation of the upright. 3 Luck and riches are in his house, and his merit endures forever. 4 Light dawns in darkness for the upright, gracious, and merciful, and righteous. 5 A good man pities the poor and lends money; he will support his words according to rule. 6 For he will never be moved; the righteous man is [destined] for eternal memory. 7 He will not fear news of disaster; his heart is firm, trusting in the word of the Lord. 8 His heart is steady, he will not be afraid, until he sees redemption in distress. 9 He scattered his wealth, gave it to the needy; his merit endures forever, his might will rise up in glory. 10 The wicked man will see and be angry, he will grind his teeth at him and rot; the desire of the wicked will perish.
113Hallelujah! Give praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. 2 May the name of the Lord be blessed, from now and forever. 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is praised. 4 The Lord is high above all Gentiles, his glory is over the heavens. 5 Who is like the Lord, our God, whose dwelling is lofty in situation? 6 Who lowers his eyes to look on the heavens and the earth. 7 Who raises up the poor man from the dust; he will lift up the needy from the ash-heap. 8 To make him dwell with the leaders, with the leaders of his people. 9 Who makes dwell the congregation of Israel, who is likened to a barren woman who sits beholding the men of her house, full of people, like a mother who rejoices over her sons.
114When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from barbarian peoples – 2 The company of the house of Judah became property of his Holy One, Israel of his rulers. 3 When the word of the Lord was revealed at the sea, the sea looked and retreated; the Jordan turned around. 4 When the Torah was given to his people, the mountains leapt like rams, the hills like offspring of the flock. 5 God said, “What is the matter, O sea, for you are retreating? O Jordan, that you are turning around?” 6 O mountains, leaping about like rams? O hills, like offspring of the flock? 7 In the presence of the lord, dance, O earth, in the presence of the God of Jacob. 8 Who turns the flint into a channel of water, the adamant to springs of water.
115Not on our account, O Lord, not on account of our merits, but rather to your name give glory, because of your goodness and because of your truth. 2 Why will the Gentiles say, “Where now is their God?” 3 And our God’s residence is in heaven, all that he desires he has done. 4 Their idols are of silver and gold, the handiwork of a son of man. 5 They have a mouth, but do not speak; they have eyes, and do not see. 6 They have ears, and do not hear; they have nostrils, but do not smell. 7 Hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; they do not murmur with their throat. 8 May their makers become like them, everyone who relies upon them. 9 O Israel, trust in the word of the Lord; he is their helper and their shield. 10 Those of the house of Aaron, trust in the word of the Lord; he is their helper and their shield. 11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the word of the Lord; he is their helper and their shield. 12 The word of the Lord has remembered us for good, he will bless; he will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless those who fear the Lord, the small with the great. 14 The word of the Lord will add to you; to you, and to your sons. 15 Blessed are you in the presence of the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. 16 The heavens of the heavens are for the glorious presence of the Lord, and the earth he has given to the sons of men. 17 The dead do not praise the name of the Lord, nor any of those who go down to the grave of earth. 18 But we will bless Yah, from now and forevermore. Hallelujah!
116I love, for the Lord will hear my voice, my prayer. 2 For he has inclined his ear to me, and I call [to him] throughout my days. 3 The sicknesses of death surrounded me, and the pains of Sheol found me; pain and sorrow I will find. 4 And in the name of the Lord I will call out: Please, O Lord, save my soul. 5 The Lord is gracious and righteous, and our God is merciful. 6 The Lord observes enticements; I became poor, and it was meet to redeem me. 7 Return, O my soul, to your place of rest, for the word of the Lord has repaid you with good. 8 For you have delivered my soul from being killed, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. 9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 10 I have believed, therefore I will speak; in the assembly of the righteous I have sung much praise. 11 I said when I fled, “All the sons of men are liars.” 12 How will I repay in the presence of the Lord all his kind favors that are shown to me? 13 The cup of redemption I will carry in the age to come, and I will call on the name of the Lord. 14 I will repay my vows in the presence of the Lord, I will tell now his miracles to all his people. 15 Honorable in the presence of the Lord is the death that is sent to his pious ones. 16 Please, O Lord; for I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your handmaiden, you have loosened my bonds. 17 To you I will sacrifice the sacrifice of slaughter, and call out in the name of the Lord. 18 I will repay my vows in the presence of the Lord, I will tell now his miracles to all his people. 19 In the courts of the sanctuary of our God, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
117Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; praise him, all you nations. 2 For he has increased his goodness towards us; and the truth of the Lord is forever. Hallelujah!
118Sing praise in the presence of the Lord, for he is good, for his goodness is forever. 2 Let Israel now say, “For his goodness is forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, “For his goodness is forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord now say, “For his goodness is forever.” 5 Out of distress I called to Yah, Yah accepted my prayer in a broad place. 6 The word of the Lord is my help, I will not fear, what will a son of man do to me? 7 The word of the Lord is helping me, and I will behold vengeance on my foes. 8 It is better to trust in the word of the Lord than to rely on a son of man. 9 It is better to trust in the word of the Lord than to rely on rulers. 10 All the Gentiles have surrounded me; in the name of the word of the Lord I have put my trust, for I will tear them apart. 11 They have encompassed me, indeed, surrounded me; in the name of the word of the Lord I have put my trust, for I will tear them apart. 12 They have encompassed me like hornets; they burned like fire in thorns; in the name of the word of the Lord I have put my trust, for I will tear them apart. 13 But you have knocked me down to make me fall; and the word of the Lord has given me help. 14 My strength and my praise are fearful against all the world; the Lord gave command by his word, and has become my redeemer. 15 The sound of praise and redemption is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord has done mightily. 16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord has done mightily. 17 I will not die, for I will live, and I will tell of the deeds of God. 18 Truly has Yah punished me, but he did not hand me over to death. 19 Open to me the entrances of the city of righteousness; I will enter them, I will praise Yah. 20 This is the entrance of the sanctuary of the Lord; the righteous will enter by it. 21 I will give thanks in your presence, for you have received my prayer, and become for me a redeemer. 22 The child the builders abandoned was among the sons of Jesse; and he was worthy to be appointed king and ruler.[16] 23 “This has come from the presence of the Lord,” said the builders; “it is wonderful before us,” said the sons of Jesse. 24 “This day the Lord has made,” said the builders; “let us rejoice and be glad in it,” said the sons of Jesse. 25 “If it please you, O Lord, redeem us now,” said the builders; “if it please you, O Lord, prosper us now,” said Jesse and his wife. 26 “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the word of the Lord,” said the builders; “they will bless you from the sanctuary of the Lord,” said David. 27 “God, the Lord, has given us light,” said the tribes of the house of Judah; “bind the child for a festal sacrifice with chains until you sacrifice him, and sprinkle his blood on the horns of the altar,” said Samuel the prophet. 28 “You are my God, and I will give thanks in your presence; my God, I will praise you,” said David. 29 Samuel answered and said, “Sing praise, assembly of Israel, give thanks in the presence of the Lord, for he is good, for his goodness is everlasting.”
119How happy are the perfect of way, who walk in the Torah of the Lord. 2 How happy those who keep his testimony; with a whole heart they will seek his instruction. 3 Truly they have not acted deceitfully; in his proper ways they have walked. 4 You have given your commandments, to keep very much. 5 It is good for me that my ways are straight, to keep your decrees. 6 Then I will not be disappointed when I look to all your commandments. 7 I will give thanks in your presence with uprightness of heart, when I learn the judgments of your righteousness. 8 I will keep your decrees; do not abandon me utterly. 9 In what way shall a youth purify his way? To keep [it] as your words. 10 With all my heart I have sought your teaching; do not let me go astray from your commandments. 11 In my heart I have hidden your word, that I might not sin in your presence. 12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I have recounted all the judgments of your mouth. 14 In the way of your testimonies I have rejoiced, as at a stroke of luck. 15 I will speak by your commandments, and I will behold your ways. 16 I will find delight in your decrees, I will not forget your utterance. 17 Requite your servant with good; I will live, and keep your words. 18 Uncover my eyes, and I will behold wonders from your Torah. 19 I am a dweller in the land; do not take away your commandments from me. 20 My soul has longed with longing for your commandments at all times. 21 You have rebuked the malicious; cursed are all who stray from your commandments. 22 Remove from me humiliation and shame; for I have kept your testimonies. 23 For leaders sit speaking against me; your servant is engaged in instruction of your decrees. 24 Also your testimonies are my delight, the source of my counsel. 25 My soul is joined to the dust; heal me according to your word. 26 I numbered my ways and you received my prayer; teach me your decrees. 27 Give me insight into the way of your commandments, and I will speak of your wonders. 28 My soul is grieved by weariness; sustain me according to your word. 29 Remove from me the path of lies; and [by] your Torah have compassion on me. 30 I have chosen the faithful path; I have placed your judgements [with me]. 31 I have joined myself to your testimonies, O Lord; do not make me ashamed. 32 I will run in the path of your commandments, for you will expand my heart. 33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your decrees, and I will keep it totally. 34 Give me insight, and I will keep your Torah, O Lord; and I will keep it with a whole heart. 35 Make me walk in the course of your commandments, for I desire it. 36 Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to money. 37 Turn my eyes away from the sight of deceit; by your words heal me. 38 Confirm your word to your servant, which [leads] to your worship. 39 Take away my reproach, which I fear, for your judgments are good. 40 Behold, I have yearned for your commandments; in your generosity heal me. 41 And let your kindness come upon me, O Lord, your redemption in accordance with your word. 42 And I will give answer to those who mock me, for I have trusted in your word. 43 And do not remove the word of truth from my mouth utterly, for I have waited long for your judgments. 44 And I will keep your Torah always, for ages upon ages. 45 And I will walk in the wideness of the Torah, for I have sought your commandments. 46 And I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and I will not be ashamed. 47 And I will delight myself in your commandments, which I love. 48 And I will lift my hands to your commandments, which I love, and I will speak of your decrees. 49 Remind your servant of the word, for you waited long for me. 50 This is my comfort in my pain, for your word has sustained me. 51 The malicious mock me greatly; I have not turned away from your Torah. 52 I remembered your judgments of old, O Lord, and I was comforted. 53 Trembling seized me because of the wicked who forsake your Torah. 54 Your decrees became psalms for me in my dwelling place. 55 I remembered your name in the night, O Lord, and I kept your Torah. 56 This became merit for me, for I kept your commandments. 57 My portion is the Lord, I have promised to keep your words. 58 I have prayed in your presence with a whole heart; have pity on me according to your word. 59 I have thought to improve my way, and I will turn my feet to your testimonies. 60 I was eager, and did not delay to keep your commandments. 61 The band of wicked men has gathered against me; I have not forgotten your Torah. 62 In the middle of the night I will rise to sing praise in your presence, for the sake of your righteous judgments. 63 I am a companion to all who revere you, and to those who keep your commandments. 64 Your goodness, O Lord, fills the earth; teach me your decrees. 65 You have shown goodness to your servant, O Lord, according to your words. 66 Teach me good sense and knowledge, for I have believed in your commandments. 67 Before I was afflicted, I was in error, but now I have kept your word. 68 You are good, and do good; teach me your decrees. 69 The malicious have shouted me down with lies; I will keep your commandments with a whole heart. 70 The impulse of their heart is dulled as with fat; as for me, my delight is your Torah. 71 It is good for me, for[PC1] I was humbled, so that I might learn your decrees. 72 Better for me is the Torah of your mouth, than a thousand talents of gold and silver. 73 Your hands made me and established me; give me insight and I will learn your commandments. 74 Those who fear you will see me and be glad; for I have waited long for your word. 75 I know, O Lord, for your judgments are righteous and you have afflicted me in truth. 76 Now let your kindness be for my comfort, according to your word to your servant. 77 Let your mercies come to me and I will live; for your Torah is my delight. 78 The arrogant will be ashamed, for they twisted a lie against me; I will speak of your commandments. 79 Those who fear you will turn to my teaching, and those who know your testimonies. 80 Let my heart be without blemish in your decrees, so that I may not be ashamed. 81 My soul has yearned for your redemption; I have waited long for your word. 82 My eyes are spent for your word, saying, “When will you comfort me?” 83 For I have become like a water-skin that hangs in the smoke; your decrees I have not forgotten. 84 How many are the days of your servant? When will you pass judgment on my persecutors? 85 The malicious have dug pits for me, that you have not commanded them in your Torah. 86 All your commandments are truth; for a lie they persecuted me, help me! 87 They almost destroyed me in the land; but I have not forsaken your commandments. 88 Sustain me according to your kindness, and I will keep the testimony of your mouth. 89 Forever, O Lord, your word endures in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness is to every generation; you established the earth and it endures. 91 This day have they risen for your judgments, for all of them are your servants. 92 Had your Torah not been my delight, then I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your commandments, for you have sustained me by them. 94 For I am yours, redeem me; for I have sought after your commandments. 95 The wicked waited for me to annihilate me; I will contemplate your commandments. 96 To everything that began and ended I have seen an end; your commands are very spacious. 97 How I have loved your Torah! It is my conversation all day. 98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies; because it is always mine. 99 I have understood more than all my teachers; for your testimonies are my conversation. 100 I will have greater insight than the wise, for I have kept your commandments. 101 I have kept my feet from every evil way, so that I may keep your words. 102 I have not gone away from your judgments, for you have taught me. 103 How sweet to my palate are your words; sweeter by far than honey to my mouth. 104 I will gain insight from your commandments; because of this, I hate every son of man who lies. 105 Your words are like a lamp that illuminates my feet, and a light for my path. 106 I have sworn and covenanted to keep the commandments of your righteousness. 107 I was greatly afflicted, O Lord; heal me according to your words. 108 Be pleased now, O Lord, with the offerings of my mouth; and teach me your judgments. 109 My soul is always in danger by my own hands; but I have not forgotten your Torah. 110 The wicked have arranged a trap for me; but I have not strayed from your commandments. 111 I have inherited your testimonies forever; for they are the joy of my heart. 112 I have inclined my heart to do your decrees forever, to the very end. 113 I hate those who think vain thoughts, but I have loved your Torah. 114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I have waited long for your word. 115 Turn from me, evildoers; and I will keep the commandments of my God. 116 Support me by your word, and I will live; and do not disappoint me because of my trust. 117 Help me and I will be redeemed; and I will be happy in your Torah always. 118 You have subdued all who went astray from your decrees; for their deceit is a lie. 119 You have terminated all the unfit, you have frustrated all the wicked of the earth; because of this, I have loved your testimonies. 120 My flesh is blushing for fear of you; and I am afraid of your judgments. 121 I have practiced justice and righteousness; do not abandon me to my oppressors. 122 Delight your servant with goodness; do not let the malicious oppress me. 123 My eyes have hoped for your redemption, and for the word of your righteousness. 124 Act with your servant according to your kindness, and teach me your decrees. 125 I am your servant, give me insight, and I will know your testimonies. 126 It is time to do the will of the Lord; the scholars have desecrated your Torah. 127 Because of this, I have loved your commandments more than gold and more than pure gold. 128 Because of this, I have harmonized all the commandments whatsoever; I hate every way of deceit. 129 Your testimonies are wonderful; because of this, my soul has kept them. 130 Your engraved words will enlighten the needy, the simple will gain insight. 131 I opened my mouth and learned, for I desired your commandments. 132 Turn to me and have compassion on me, as is the custom towards those who love your name. 133 Establish my steps by your word, and let no deceit rule over me. 134 Redeem me from the oppression of the son of man, and I will keep your commandments. 135 Shine the splendor of your face on your servant, and teach me your decrees. 136 Streams of water will go down my eyes, because they have not kept the Torah. 137 Your are righteous, O Lord, and your judgments are upright. 138 You have commanded righteousness, testimony, and much faithfulness. 139 My zeal has overcome me, for my oppressors have forgotten your words. 140 Your word is very pure, and your servant loves it. 141 I am small and despised; I have not forgotten your commandments. 142 Your generosity is righteousness forever, and your Torah is truth. 143 Trouble and the oppressor have befallen me; your commandments are my delight. 144 Your testimonies are righteousness forever; give me insight and I will endure. 145 I have called with a whole heart; answer me, O Lord! I will keep your decrees. 146 I have called you, redeem me; and I will keep your testimonies. 147 I have risen early at dawn, and prayed; I have waited long for your word. 148 My eyes have preceded the watches of morning and evening to speak of your word. 149 Hear my voice in accordance with your kindness, O Lord; sustain me according to your judgments. 150 Those who pursue fornication have drawn near; they have gone far from your Torah. 151 You are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are truth. 152 Long ago I grew wise from your testimonies, for you founded them forever. 153 See my affliction and deliver me; for I have not forgotten your Torah. 154 Argue my case and redeem me; heal me for your word. 155 Redemption is far from the wicked; for they have not sought your decrees. 156 Your mercies are many, O Lord; heal me according to your judgments. 157 Those who pursue me and oppress me are many; I have not turned away from your testimonies. 158 I saw despoilers and I contended with them, who have not kept your word. 159 See [this], for I have loved your commandments; O Lord, according to your kindness heal me. 160 The beginning of your word is truth; and all the judgments of your righteousness are forever. 161 Rulers have pursued me without cause; and my heart is in fear of your word. 162 I am glad concerning your word, like a man who finds much spoil. 163 I have hated deceit and loathed it; I have loved your Torah. 164 Seven times a day I have praised you, because of the judgements of your righteousness. 165 There is great peace for those who love your Torah in this age, and they have no stumbling-block in the age to come. 166 I have hoped for your redemption, O Lord, and I have done your commandments. 167 My soul has kept your testimonies, and I have loved them greatly. 168 I have kept your commandments and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you. 169 My prayer will come near in your presence, O Lord; give me insight according to your word. 170 Let my prayer come before you; deliver me according to your word. 171 My lips will seek praise, for you will teach me your decrees. 172 My tongue will reply [to] your word, for all your judgments are righteousness. 173 May your hand be [ready] to help me, for I have taken pleasure in your commandments. 174 I have yearned for your redemption, O Lord, and your Torah is my delight. 175 May my soul live and praise you, and may your judgments give me aid. 176 I have gone astray like a lost flock; seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commandments.
120A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. In the presence of the Lord, when I was in distress, I prayed, and he received my prayer. 2 O Lord, deliver my soul from lips of deceit, from a deceptive tongue. 3 What does he give to you, O slanderer? And what does he add to you, O defamer, deceptive tongue? 4 The arrows of a warrior, sharp as lightning from above, with coals of broom that burn in Gehenna below. 5 Woe is me, for I have settled down with the oasis-dwellers; I have dwelt with the tents of the Arabs. 6 More than these, my soul abides with Edom, the hater of peace. 7 I am peaceful, for I will pray; [but] they are for war.
121A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. Whence shall come my help? 2 My help is from the presence of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to falter, your guardian does not slumber. 4 Behold, he does not slumber and he will not sleep, the guardian of Israel. 5 The Lord will guard you, the Lord will overshadow you, on account of the mezuzah affixed on your right side as you enter. 6 By day, when the sun rules, the morning-demons will not smite you, nor will the liliths, at night, when the moon rules. 7 The word of the Lord will guard you from all harm, he will guard your soul. 8 The Lord will guard your going out for business and your coming in to study Torah, from now and forevermore.
122A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. I rejoiced with those who say to me, “Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord.” 2 Our feet were standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem that is built in the firmament is like a city that has been joined together on earth. 4 Unto which the tribes have gone up, the tribes of the Lord, he who testifies to Israel that his presence abides among them when they go to give thanks to the name of the Lord. 5 For there thrones have been placed; in Jerusalem thrones are in the sanctuary for the kings of the house of David. 6 Seek the welfare of Jerusalem; those who love you will dwell in tranquillity. 7 Let there be peace in your armies, tranquillity in your citadels. 8 On account of my brothers and companions, I will now speak in you of peace. 9 Because of the sanctuary of the Lord our God, I will seek to do good to you.
123A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. Before you I have lifted up my eyes, you who sit on a throne of glory in heaven. 2 Behold, as the eyes of menservants, on one side, watch at the hands of their masters; and as the eyes of maidservants, on the other side, watch at the hands of their mistresses; thus our eyes watch in the presence of the Lord our God for the time when he will show compassion to us. 3 Have compassion on us, O Lord, have compassion on us; for we have had too much of contempt. 4 Our soul has had too much of scorn, for the arrogant and proud are at ease.
124A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss, composed by David. Had it not been for the Lord who was our help – let Israel say now – 2 Had it not been for the word of the Lord who was our help, when a son of man rose against us – 3 Then they would have swallowed us while alive, when their anger grew strong against us. 4 Then the waters would have washed us away, sickness would have passed over our soul. 5 Then the king would have passed over our soul, he who is likened to the malicious waters of the sea. 6 Blessed is the name of the Lord, who has not handed us over as dead meat to their teeth. 7 Our soul is like a bird saved from the traps of the fowlers; the trap broke, and we have been saved. 8 Our help is in the name of the word of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
125A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. The righteous who trust in the word of the Lord are like Mount Zion; it will not totter, it is inhabited forever. 2 Mountains are round about Jerusalem, and the word of the Lord is round about his people from this time and forever. 3 For the scepter of wickedness will not rest on the lot of the righteous, so that the righteous will not stretch out their hand to deceit. 4 Be good, O Lord, to the good, and to those upright in their heart. 5 But those who go astray following their perversity – the Lord will make them go to Gehenna; their portion is with the workers of deceit. Peace be upon Israel!
126A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. When the Lord makes the exiles of Zion return, we were like the sick who were healed. 2 Then will our mouths be full of laughter, and our tongue with praise; then will they say among the Gentiles, “The Lord has done great good to these.” 3 The Lord has done great good to us; we are joyful. 4 O Lord, make our exiles return, like a land that is made habitable when fountains of water flow during drought. 5 Those who sow with tears will harvest with praise. 6 He will surely go with weeping; the ox that bears a load of seed will surely come with praise, when he bears his sheaves and grazes on the young growth from the furrow.
127A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss, composed by Solomon. If the word of the Lord will not build the city, its builders labor in vain; if the word of the Lord is not guarding the city of Jerusalem, its guard has stayed awake in vain. 2 In vain will you trouble yourselves to rise early in the morning to do robbery, who stay up late to do fornication, who eat the bread of the poor for which they labored honestly and truly; the Lord will give sleep to those who love him. Another Targum: The wicked say to the righteous, “It is wrong for you that you rise early and pray in the morning and stay up late in the evening to study the Torah, eating the bread of sorrow.” The righteous reply, “Truly the Lord gives to those who love him a complete reward for hunger.” 3 Behold, the legacy of the Lord is proper sons, children of the womb are a reward for good deeds. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are sons of the youth. 5 It is good for a man that he fill his academy with them; they will not be ashamed, for they will dispute with their enemies in the gate of the place of judgment.
128A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. How happy all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. 2 [Happy] the work of your hands, for you will eat [it]; happy are you in this age and you shall have good in the age to come. 3 Your wife is like a vine that bore fruit on the side of your house; your sons are like olive plants around your table. 4 Behold, because of this, blessed is the man who is reverent in the presence of the Lord. 5 The Lord will bless you from Zion, and you will see the welfare of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6 And you will see the sons of your sons. Peace be upon Israel.
129A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. Many are they who have oppressed me from my youth – let Israel now say – 2 Many are they who have oppressed me from my youth, yet they have not been able to do me harm. 3 Upon my body the plowers have plowed, they have made their furrow long. 4 The Lord is righteous; he has severed the bonds of the wicked. 5 They will be ashamed and withdraw: all those who hate Zion. 6 They will be like the grass of the rooftops, which, before it blossoms, the east wind comes blowing on it and it has withered. 7 Which the reaper does not fill his hand with, nor the sheaver his shoulder. 8 And those who pass by do not say there, “The blessing of the Lord be upon you,” nor will they answer, “We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
130A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. From the depths I have called you, O Lord. 2 O Lord, receive my prayer; may your ears be attentive to the sound of my prayer. 3 If you will take note of iniquities, O Yah, Lord, who will remain? 4 For there is forgiveness with you, so that you might be seen. 5 I have waited, O Lord; my soul has waited, and for his glory I have waited long. 6 My soul has waited long for the Lord, more than the watchmen on the morning watch who watch to offer the morning sacrifice. 7 Israel waits long for the Lord, for with the Lord is kindness, and with him is much redemption. 8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
131A song uttered on the ascents of the abyss. O Lord, my heart is not proud, and my eyes are not lifted up, and I have not walked in things too great and wonderful for me. 2 Verily I have placed a hand on my mouth and silenced my soul while listening to words of Torah, like a weaned child at its mother’s breasts; I have become mighty in the Torah; like a weaned child is my soul upon him. 3 Let Israel wait long for the Lord from now and forevermore.
132A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. Remember, O Lord, for David, all his affliction. 2 Who affirmed before the Lord a vow to the mighty one of Jacob. 3 I will not approach my wife, I will not ascend to the couch of my repose, 4 I will not give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids, 5 Until I find a place to build the sanctuary of the Lord, tents for the mighty one of Jacob. 6 Behold, we have heard it in Ephrat, we have found it in the field of the forests of Lebanon, the place where the fathers of old prayed. 7 Let us enter his tents, let us bow down to his footstool. 8 Arise, O Lord, abide in the dwelling-place of your rest, you and the ark in which is your Torah. 9 Your priests will wear clothing of righteousness, and your pious Levites will sing praise over your sacrifices. 10 Because of the merit of David your servant; when the ark comes through the middle of the gates, do not turn back the face of Solomon your anointed. 11 The Lord has affirmed to David in truth, he will not turn from it: “One of the children of your belly I will set as a king on your throne.” 12 If your sons keep my covenant and this testimony of mine that I shall teach them, then your sons will forever sit on your throne. 13 For the Lord is pleased with Zion; he has desired it for his habitation. 14 This is the resting place of my presence forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15 Her provisions I will surely bless; and her needy shall have their fill of bread. 16 And her priests I will clothe in garments of redemption, and her pious will surely sing praise. 17 There I will cause to come forth a glorious king of the house of David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. 18 His enemies I will clothe with garments of shame; and his crown will glitter upon him.
133A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. Behold, how good and how pleasant is the dwelling of Zion and Jerusalem, together indeed like two brothers. 2 Like the fine oil that is poured on the head, coming down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, that comes down to the hem of his garments. 3 Like the dew of Hermon that comes down on the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
134A song that was uttered on the ascents of the abyss. Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord who stand on watch in the sanctuary of the Lord and sing praise at night. 2 Lift up your hands, O priests, on the holy dais, and bless the Lord. 3 The Lord will bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth.
135Hallelujah! Praise the name of the Lord, praise, O servants of the Lord! 2 Who stand in the sanctuary of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. 3 Hallelujah! For the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant. 4 For the house of Jacob the Lord chose for himself, Israel, for his beloved. 5 For I know, for great is the Lord, and our master over all gods. 6 All that the Lord desires, he has done in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the deeps. 7 Who brings up clouds from the ends of the earth; he made lightning for the fall of rain, he who brings forth the storm from his storehouses. 8 Who slew the firstborn of Egypt, from man to beast. 9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 Who smote many Gentiles and slew mighty kings. 11 Namely, Sihon the Amorite king, and Og, the king of Mathnan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan. 12 And gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance for Israel his people. 13 O Lord, your name is forever; O Lord, your memorial is for all generations. 14 For the Lord by his word will judge the case of his people, and will turn in his compassion to all his righteous servants. 15 The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the work of the hands of a son of man. 16 They have a mouth, but do not speak; eyes they have, but do not see. 17 They have ears, but do not hear; nostrils, but there is no breath of life in their mouth. 18 Their makers will be like them, all who put their trust in them. 19 House of Israel, bless the Lord! House of Aaron, bless the Lord! 20 House of Levites, bless the Lord! You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord! 21 Blessed is the Lord from Zion, who has made his presence abide in Jerusalem. Hallelujah!
136Sing praise in the presence of the Lord, for he is good, for his goodness is forever. 2 Sing praise to the God of gods, for his goodness is forever. 3 Sing praise to the Lord of lords, for his goodness is forever. 4 To him who did great wonders by himself, for his goodness is forever. 5 To him who made the heavens by insight, for his goodness is forever. 6 To him who made firm the earth on the waters, for his goodness is forever. 7 To him who made great lights, for his goodness is forever. 8 The sun to rule by day, for his goodness is forever. 9 The moon and stars to rule by night, for his goodness is forever. 10 To him who smites the Egyptians with plagues, killing the firstborn, for his goodness is forever. 11 And brought out Israel redeemed from among them, for his goodness is forever. 12 With a mighty hand and upraised arm, for his goodness is forever. 13 To him who split the Sea of Reeds into pieces, for his goodness is forever. 14 And made Israel cross over in the middle of it, for his goodness is forever. 15 And choked Pharaoh and his forces in the Sea of Reeds, for his goodness is forever. 16 To him who led his people in the wilderness, for his goodness is forever. 17 To him who smites great kings, for his goodness is forever. 18 And slew proud kings, for his goodness is forever. 19 Namely, Sihon the Amorite king, for his goodness is forever. 20 And Og, king of Mathnan, for his goodness is forever. 21 And gave their land as an inheritance, for his goodness is forever. 22 An inheritance to Israel his servant, for his goodness is forever. 23 In our humiliation he remembered his covenant with us, for his goodness is forever. 24 And redeemed us from our oppressors, for his goodness is forever. 25 Who gives his food to all flesh, for his goodness is forever. 26 Sing praise to the God of heaven, for his goodness is forever.
137By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, also we wept, as we were remembering Zion. 2 On the willows in her midst we hung our harps. 3 For there the Babylonians who captured us asked us to utter the words of songs; and our despoilers, because of [their] joy, were saying, “Sing for us some of the songs you used to utter in Zion.” 4 At once the Levites cut off their thumbs with their teeth, and say, “How can we sing the praise of the Lord on profane land?” 5 The voice of the Holy Spirit replies and says, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, I will forget my right hand.” 6 My tongue will cleave to my palate, if I will not remember you; if I will not elevate the memory of Jerusalem above the principal joy of my temple. 7 Said Michael, prince of Jerusalem, “Remember, O Lord, the people of Edom, who laid waste Jerusalem, who say, ‘Destroy, destroy, to the foundations of it.’ ” 8 Said Gabriel, prince of Zion to the despoiling Babylonian mother, “Happy he who gives back to you evil for what you did to us.” 9 Happy he who takes and smashes your children on a rock.
138Composed by David. I will give thanks in your presence, O Lord, with all my heart; before the judges I will sing to you. 2 I will bow down before your holy temple, and I will confess your name, because of your goodness and because of your truth; for you have magnified over every name of yours the utterance of your praise. 3 In the day that I call, answer me; you have magnified strength in my soul. 4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks in your presence, O Lord, for they have heard the utterance of your praise. 5 And they will sing praise on the pathways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. 6 For exalted is the Lord, but he will look on the humble for good; but he will humble the proud from heaven afar. 7 If I walk in the midst of trouble, you will keep me alive; you will stretch forth your hand against the nostrils of my enemies to destroy them, and your right hand will redeem me. 8 The Lord will pay them back evil on my account; O Lord, your goodness is forever, you will not forsake the works of your hands.
139For praise, composed by David, a psalm. O Lord, you have searched me out and known me. 2 It is manifest before you when I sit down to study the Torah, and when I rise up to go to war; you understand my fellowship in your congregation from a people afar off. 3 Now when I walk in the road or when I recline to study the Torah, you have become a stranger; and you have made all my ways dangerous. 4 And when there is no speech on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know the thought of my heart completely. 5 From behind me and in front of me you have confined me, and you have inflicted on me the blow of your hand. 6 It is hidden from my knowing; it is too mighty, I am not capable of it. 7 Where will I go from the presence of your storm-wind? And where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; and if I lower myself to Sheol, behold, there is your word. 9 I will lift up the fringes of sunrise, I will abide at the ends of the sea. 10 Also there your hand will guide me, and your right hand will seize me. 11 And I said, “Truly darkness will blind me, and the night will become dark for my sake.” 12 Also the darkness will not be too dark for your word, and the night, like day, will give light; like darkness, like light – they are equal. 13 For you have created my kidneys; you established me in the belly of my mother. 14 I will give you thanks, for you have miraculously done awesome things; your works are wonderful, and my soul knows it well. 15 My self is not hidden from you, for I was made in secret, I was formed in the belly of my mother. 16 Your eyes see my body; and in the book of your remembrance all my days were written on the day the world was created; in the beginning all creatures were created but not on a single day among them. 17 And how precious to me are those who love you, the righteous, O God; and how mighty have their scholars become! 18 I will number them in this age: they will be more numerous than sand; I awake in the age to come and still I am with you. 19 If you slay, O God, the wicked man, [then] men who are worthy of the judgment of death will depart from me. 20 Who will swear in your name for deception, taking an oath in vain, your enemies. 21 Do I not hate all those who hate you, O Lord? And when they rise against you, I am incensed. 22 I hate them to the destruction of hatred; they have become enemies to me. 23 Search me out, O God, and know my thoughts; examine me and know my thinking. 24 And see if any way of error is in me; and guide me in the path of those eternally upright.
140For praise; a psalm composed by David. 2 Deliver me, O Lord, from an evil son of man; protect me from the man of rapacity. 3 Who have plotted evil things in the heart; all the day they incite wars. 4 They teach with their tongue like a snake; the venom of the spider is under their lips forever. 5 Protect me, O Lord, from the hand of wicked men; protect me from the man of rapacity; who have plotted to attack my steps. 6 The proud have hidden a trap for me, and they spread out ropes as a net beside the path; they have placed snares for me always. 7 I said to the Lord, “You are my God.” Hear, O Lord, the sound of my petition. 8 God, the Lord, is the strength of my redemption; you have covered my head in the day of battle. 9 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of Doeg the wicked; do not support his thoughts; let them be removed forever. 10 Ahithophel, head of the Sanhedrin of disciples -- may the toil of the slander of their lips cover them. 11 May coals from heaven come upon them; may he make them fall into the fire of Gehenna, in sparks that glow, lest they rise to eternal life. 12 The man who speaks with deceitful tongue – they cannot dwell in the land of life; the angel of death will hunt down the men of evil rapacity, he will smite them in Gehenna. 13 Then it is manifest before me; for the Lord will work justice for the poor, justice for the needy. 14 Truly the righteous will give thanks to your name; the upright will sit to pray before you.
141A psalm of David. O Lord, I have called you; be concerned for me, hear my voice when I call to you. 2 Let my prayer be directed before you like incense of spices, the upraising of my hands in prayer like a fragrant gift offered at evening. 3 Place, O Lord, a guard on my mouth, a keeper on the portal of my lips. 4 Do not incline my heart to anything evil, to think thoughts in wickedness to join with men who practice deceit, and I will not dine at the revels of their banquets. 5 The righteous man will strike me because of kindness, and rebuke me; the oil of holy anointing will not cease from my head, for still my prayer is marshaled against their evil. 6 They have withdrawn from the academy because of their harsh judgments; they turn and hear my words, for they are pleasant. 7 For like a man who labors and cleaves when plowing the earth, so are our limbs scattered on the mouth of the grave. 8 Therefore unto you, God, the Lord, do my eyes look; I have hoped in your word, do not empty out my soul. 9 Protect me from the power of the trap they have hidden for me, and the snares of those who practice deceit. 10 May the wicked men fall into his nets together, until the time that I pass by.
142A good lesson, composed by David when he was in the cave; a prayer. 2 With my voice I will cry out in the presence of the Lord; with my voice I will pray in the presence of the Lord. 3 I will pour out my speech in his presence; I will tell of my trouble in his presence. 4 When my spirit grows weary against me, you know my path; on this road that I will walk, they have hidden a trap for me. 5 I looked to the right and saw, and there was no-one acknowledging me; deliverance has vanished from me, and there is none who avenges my soul. 6 I cried out to you, O Lord; I said, “You are my deliverer, my portion in the land of the living.” 7 Hear my prayer, for I have become very poor; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. 8 Deliver my soul from prison, to confess your name; for my sake the righteous will make for you a glorious crown, for you will repay me with goodness.
143A praise for David. O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my supplication; in your truth answer me, in your generosity. 2 And do not enter the house of judgment with your servant, for nothing that lives will be pure in your presence. 3 For the enemy is persecuting my soul; he has crushed my life to the earth; he made me dwell in darkness like those who are dead in this age. 4 When my soul grows weary against me, in my body my heart will be confounded. 5 I called to mind the days of old; I meditated on all your deeds; I will speak of the works of your hands. 6 I spread out my hands in prayer before you; my soul looks towards you forever like a land that is thirsty for water. 7 Hurry, answer me, O Lord; my spirit yearned for you; do not remove your presence from me; and I have become like those who descend to the pit of the grave. 8 Proclaim your goodness to me in the morning, for I have hoped in your word; make me know this way that I walk, for to you have I lifted up my soul in prayer. 9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord; I have reckoned your word to be redeeming. 10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; your good holy spirit will guide me in the land correctly. 11 For the sake of your name, O Lord, sustain me; by your righteousness bring my soul out of distress. 12 And by your kindness overthrow my enemies, and destroy all those who oppress my soul, for I am your servant.
144Composed by David. Blessed is the Lord, my strength, who instructs my hands for battle, my fingers to wage war. 2 He who acts favorably, and my mighty fortress; my strength, and the one who delivers me; my shield, and I have hoped in his word; he who tramples the Gentiles under me. 3 O Lord, what is a son of man, that you know him? The sons of men, that you think of him? 4 A son of man is likened to nothing; his days are like a shadow that passes. 5 O Lord, bend the heavens and be revealed; touch the mountains, and they send up smoke. 6 Make lightning flash, and scatter them; send arrows and confound them. 7 Extend your hand from highest heaven; deliver me and save me from the hordes that are likened to many waters, from the hand of the sons of foreigners. 8 Whose mouth speaks vain oaths, and their Torah is a Torah of deceit. 9 God, I will sing a new psalm in your presence; with the lyre of ten strings I will make music in your presence. 10 Who gives redemption to kings, who delivers David his servant from the wicked sword of Goliath. 11 Deliver me and save me from the hands of the sons of foreigners, whose mouth speaks vain oaths, and their Torah is a Torah of deceit. 12 For our sons are like plantings of date-palms, growing in the learning of Torah from their youth; our daughters are beautiful and fit for priests who serve within the temple. 13 Our treasuries are full, supplying needs from year to year; our flocks are bearing thousands, they increase by tens of thousands in our streets. 14 Our oxen bear great loads; there is no harshness and no expression of evil; there is no clamor of weeping in our squares. 15 Happy the people for whom it is thus; happy the people whose God is the Lord.
145A psalm of David. I will exalt you, O my God the king, and I will bless your name for ages upon ages. 2 Every day I will bless you and I will praise your name for ages upon ages. 3 Great is the Lord and very praiseworthy; and there is no end to his greatness. 4 Each generation will praise your work to the next, and they will tell of your wonders. 5 The splendor of the glory of your majesty, and the words of your wonders, I will speak. 6 And they will utter the strength of your fear, and they will tell of your greatness. 7 They will spread abroad the memory of your abundant goodness, and they will praise your generosity. 8 Compassionate and merciful is the Lord, putting away anger and doing many good things. 9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercies are over all his works. 10 All your works shall give you thanks, O Lord, and your pious ones shall bless you. 11 They will utter the glory of your kingdom, and will speak of your might. 12 To make known his powerful deeds to the sons of men, and the glorious splendor of his kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is a kingdom of all ages, and your dominion is in every generation. 14 The Lord supports all who have fallen, and lifts up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in its season. 16 You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The Lord is just in all his ways, and gracious in all his works. 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He will do the will of those who fear him, and he will hear their petition and redeem them. 20 The Lord protects all who love him, but he will destroy all the wicked. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all the sons of flesh will bless his holy name for ages upon ages.
146Hallelujah! Praise the name of the Lord, O my soul. 2 I will sing praise, O Lord, in my lifetime, I will make music to my God while I exist. 3 You shall not place your trust in rulers, in a son of man who has no redemption. 4 His spirit will go away, he will return to his dust; on that day his plans perish. 5 Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God. 6 Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, who keeps truth forever. 7 Who brings judgment for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry; the Lord, who sets the prisoners free. 8 The Lord gives sight to foreigners, who are likened to the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord protects the proselyte; he will support the widow and orphan, but will confound the way of the wicked. 10 The Lord will reign forever; your God, O Zion, for all generations. Hallelujah!
147Hallelujah! For it is good to make music in the presence of our God, for it is pleasant, praise is comely. 2 The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem, he will gather the exiles of Jerusalem. 3 Who heals the broken hearted, and applies bandages to their hurts. 4 He numbers the sum of the stars, calling them all by name. 5 Great is our lord and abundant in power; there is no sum of his intelligence. 6 The Lord supports the meek, he humbles the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing praise in the presence of the Lord with thanksgiving; make music in the presence of our God with the harp. 8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains. 9 He gives to the beast its food, to the young of the raven that cry out. 10 He will not desire the strength of those who ride on horses; he will take no pleasure in the thighs of swift men. 11 The Lord takes pleasure in those that fear him, who wait long for his goodness. 12 Praise, O Jerusalem, the Lord, praise your God, O Zion. 13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed your sons in your midst. 14 Who has set peace at your border, he will satisfy you with the fat of wheat. 15 Who sends his word to the earth, with speed his speech will run. 16 Who gives snow as white as wool, he will scatter frost like ash. 17 Who casts his hail parceled out as crumbs; who is able to stand before his cold? 18 He will send the east wind of his wrath and melt them; he will make his wind blow [and] waters flow. 19 Who tells the words of Torah to Jacob, his statutes and judgments to Israel. 20 He has not acted so with every people; he did not tell them his judgments. Hallelujah!
148Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, holy creatures in heaven; praise him, all hosts of angels on high. 2 Praise him, all angels that minister in his presence; praise him, all his hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all stars of light. 4 Praise him, heaven of heavens, and the waters that are suspended by his word above the heavens. 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. 6 And he established them for ages upon ages; he gave a decree and none will violate it. 7 Praise the Lord in the earth, sea serpents and all abysses. 8 Fire and hail, snow and vapor, storm wind fulfilling his command; 9 Mountains and all hills, [every] tree that produces fruit, and all cedars; 10 Animals and every beast, creeping things and the winged bird that flies; 11 Kings of the earth and all peoples; rulers and all judges of the earth. 12 Lads and even girls, old men and youths; 13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name is mighty, he alone; his praise is over earth and heaven. 14 And he has lifted up glory for his people, praise for all his pious ones, for the children of Israel, the people who are close to him: Praise the Lord!
149Sing in the presence of the Lord a new psalm; his praise is in the assembly of the pious. 2 They of the house of Israel will rejoice in their maker; the children of Zion will exult in their kings. 3 They will praise his name with dances, with drums and harps they will make music to him. 4 For the pleasure of the Lord is in his people; he will glorify the humble with redemption. 5 The pious will revel in glory; they will meditate upon their beds. 6 The psalms of God are in their throats, and in their hands like a two-edged sword. 7 To wreak vengeance on the Gentiles, rebuke among the nations. 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron. 9 To execute on them the judgment written in the Torah; this is glory for all his pious ones. Hallelujah!
150Hallelujah! Praise God in his sanctuary, praise him in the firmament of his strength. 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds, praise him according to his abundant greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with harps and lyres. 4 Praise him with drums and with dances, praise him with flutes and pipes. 5 Praise him with cymbals that sound alone; praise him with cymbals that sound with shouting. 6 Every breath will sing praise to God. Hallelujah!