Book of Common Prayer
26 (Of Dovid) Vindicate me, Hashem; for I have walked in mine tohm (guilelessness); I have trusted also in Hashem without wavering.
2 Examine me, Hashem, and prove me; try my heart and my mind.
3 For Thy chesed is before mine eyes; and I have walked in Thy emes.
4 I do not sit with meteishav (men of vanity), neither will I go in with dissemblers.
5 I have hated the kehal mere’im (congregation of evil doers); and will not sit with the resha’im.
6 I will wash mine hands in nikkayon (innocency, cleanness, freedom from punishment); so will I encompass Thine Mizbe’ach, Hashem;
7 That I may publish with the voice of todah, and tell of all Thy wondrous works.
8 Hashem, I have loved the ma’on of Thy Bais [HaMikdash], and the Mishkan where Thine kavod dwelleth.
9 Take not away my nefesh with chatta’im (sinners), nor my Chai (life) with anshei damim;
10 In whose hands is zimmah (wicked plans), and their right hand is full of shochad (bribery).
11 But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity; redeem me, v’chaneini (and be merciful and gracious unto me).
12 My regel standeth on level ground; in the great assemblies unto Hashem will I render brocha.
28 (Of Dovid) Unto Thee will I cry, Hashem my Tzur; do not turn a deaf ear to me: lest, if Thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
2 Shema (hear) kol (voice) of my supplications, when I cry unto Thee, when I lift up my hands toward Thy Devir Kodesh (Innermost Sanctuary, Kodesh HaKodashim).
3 Draw me not away with the resha’im, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak shalom to their neighbors, but malice is in their hearts.
4 Give to them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give them after the work of their hands; render to them their gemul (deserts).
5 Because they regard not the Pe’ulot Hashem, nor the Ma’aseh of His hands, He shall tear them down, and not build them up.
6 Baruch Hashem, because He hath heard the kol (voice) of my supplications.
7 Hashem is my strength and my mogen; my lev trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my lev greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I thank Him.
8 Hashem is their oz (strength), and He is the Ma’oz Yeshu’ot (saving refuge) of His Moshiach.
9 Save Thy people, and bless Thine nachalah; shepherd them also, and carry them ad olam.
36 (For the one directing. Of Dovid, the eved Hashem) Peysha speaketh to the rashah within my lev, that there is no pachad Elohim (fear of G-d) before his eyes.
2 (3) For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his avon (iniquity) be found to be hateful.
3 (4) The words of his mouth are iniquity and mirmah (deceit); he hath ceased to be wise, and to do tov (good).
4 (5) He deviseth evil upon his mishkav (bed); he setteth himself in a derech that is not tov; he abhorreth not rah.
5 (6) Thy chesed, Hashem, is in HaShomayim; and Thy emunah (faithfulness) reacheth unto the clouds.
6 (7) Thy tzedakah is like the great mountains; Thy mishpatim are tehom rabbah (a great deep); Hashem, Thou preservest adam (man) and behemah (beast).
7 (8) How precious is Thy chesed, O Elohim! Therefore the Bnei Adam find refuge under the shadow of Thy wings.
8 (9) They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of Thy Beis [Hamikdash]; and Thou shalt give them to drink of Thy river of delight.
9 (10) For with Thee is the Makor Chayyim (fountain of life); in Thy Ohr shall we see ohr.
10 (11) O continue Thy chesed unto them that know Thee; and Thy tzedakah to the yishrei lev (the ones upright of heart).
11 (12) Let not the regel ga’avah (foot of pride) come against me, and let not the yad of the resha’im drive me away.
12 (13) There are the po’alei aven (workers of iniquity) fallen; they are thrown down, and shall not be able to rise.
39 (For the one directing, even to Yedutun. Mizmor Dovid). I said, I will be shomer over my ways, that I sin not with my leshon; I will be shomer over my mouth with a muzzle, while the rashah is before me.
2 (3) I was dumb with silence, I held my peace for the sake of tov; and my distress grew severe.
3 (4) My lev became hot within me; while I was musing the eish burned; then I spoke with my leshon,
4 (5) Hashem, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my yamim, what it is; that I may have da’as of how chadel (fleeting, frail) I am.
5 (6) Hinei, Thou hast made my yamim as a handbreadth, and mine lifespan is as nothing before Thee; verily kol adam stand as kol hevel (altogether vanity). Selah.
6 (7) Surely every ish walketh in a tzel (shadow); surely they are in turmoil in vain; he heapeth up riches, and hath no da’as of who shall gather them.
7 (8) And now, Adonoi, what do I wait for? My hope is in Thee.
8 (9) Save me from all my peysha’im; make me not the reproach of the foolish.
9 (10) I was silent, I opened not my mouth; because Atah (Thou) did it.
10 (11) Remove Thy nega (stroke, scourge) away from me; I am consumed by the blow of Thine yad.
11 (12) When Thou with rebukes dost correct man for avon (iniquity), Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely kol adam are hevel (vanity). Selah.
12 (13) Hear my tefillah, Hashem, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my weeping; for I am a ger with Thee, and a sojourner, as were all my Avot.
13 (14) O spare me from Thy frown, that I may recover strength, before I depart, v’eineni (and I be no more). [T.N. Animal sacrifices cannot take away sin; they are only a shadow of the korban nefesh of Moshiach. See Ps 40 and MJ chp 10; Isa 53:10.]
15 Be shomer over yourselves, therefore; for ye saw no manner of temunah on the yom that Hashem spoke unto you in Chorev out of the midst of the eish;
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a pesel, the temunah of any semel, the likeness of zachar or nekevah,
17 The likeness of any behemah that is on ha’aretz, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of anything that creepeth on the adamah, the likeness of any dag (fish) that is in the waters below;
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto Shomayim, and when thou seest the shemesh, and the yarei’ach, and the kokhavim, even all the tz’va HaShomayim, shouldest be driven to hishtachaveh (bow down, worship) them, and serve them which Hashem Eloheicha hath divided unto kol HaGoyim under kol HaShomayim.
20 But Hashem hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Mitzrayim, to be unto Him an Am Nachalah (a people of inheritance), as ye are yom hazeh.
21 Furthermore Hashem was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over Yarden, and that I should not go in unto that ha’aretz hatovah, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee for a nachalah (inheritance);
22 But I must die in this land, I must not go over Yarden; but ye shall go over, and possess that ha’aretz hatovah.
23 Be shomer over yourselves, lest ye forget the Brit Hashem Eloheichem, which He cut with you, and make you a pesel (idol, image), or the likeness of anything, which Hashem Eloheicha hath forbidden thee.
24 For Hashem Eloheicha is a consuming eish, even an El Kannah.
12 For our glorying is in this: the edut (testimony) of our matzpun (conscience) [MJ 13:18] is that without remiyah (guile, fraud, deceit) and with lev tahor ("pure heart" TEHILLIM 51:12) with the sincerity of Hashem [2C 2:17] and not in the "chochmah" of the basar [1C 1:17] but in the Chen v’Chesed of Hashem, we conducted ourselves in the Olam Hazeh, and more especially toward you.
13 For we write nothing so shver (complex) to you that you cannot read and have binah (understanding), and I have tikvah that you will have da’as shlemah until HaKetz,
14 As you have already had da’as of us in part, as also we are your kavod [2C 5:12], even as also you are ours in the Yom Hashem of Adoneinu Yehoshua. [Pp 2:16]
15 And with this bitachon (confidence) I planned previously to come to you, that a second benefit you might have.
16 It was my cheshbon (plan) to visit you by way of Macedonia and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be sent on to Yehudah (Judea Ac 19:21; 1C 16:5,6).
17 This was my matarah (aim, goal); surely then I did not act with vacillation? Or when I make plans [2C 5:16], do I have a cheshbon according to the basar, ready with "Ken, Ken!" and then, "Lo! Lo!"
18 Al emunat Hashem (in the faithfulness of G-d), our dvar to you has not been "Ken" and "Lo."
19 For the Ben HaElohim, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua, the One having been proclaimed among you by us, by Sila and Timotiyos and me [Ac 18:5], was not a "Ken and Lo"; but in Him it has always been "Ken."
20 For in Moshiach every one of Hashem’s havtachot (promises) is a "Ken." For this reason it is b’Shem Moshiach that we say the "Omein" to the kavod of Hashem [1C 14:16; Rv 3:14].
21 But it is Hashem who establishes us with you in Moshiach and has given us the mishchah (anointing 1Y 2:27),
22 Having put his chotam [seal of ownership BERESHIS 38:18; YECHEZKEL 9:4; Ep 1:13; 4:30; Rv 7:4] on us and having given the eravon (pledge) of the Ruach Hakodesh in our levavot. (hearts Ro 8:16; 2C 5:5; Ep 1:14). [BERESHIS 38:18; YECHEZKEL 9:4; CHAGGAI 2:23]
15 Now all the mochesim (taxcollectors) and the chote’im (sinners) were coming near Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach to listen to him.
2 And both the Perushim and the Sofrim were grumbling, saying, This one gives a kabbalat panim reception to chote’im (sinners) and eats at tish with them.
3 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach told them this mashal, saying,
4 What man of you, if he has meah kevasim (a hundred sheep) and has lost from them one, does not leave the tishim vteshah (ninety-nine) in the open pasture, and go for the one which has been lost until he finds it?
5 And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders with lev same’ach. [TEHILLIM 23;119; YIRMEYAH 31:10; YECHEZKEL 34:11-16]
6 And when he returns to his bais, he calls together his chaverim and his shchenim (neighbors), saying to them, Make a simcha with me, because I have found my keves (sheep), the one that was lost!
7 I say to you that in the same way there will be more simcha in Shomayim over one choteh (sinner) who becomes a baal teshuva than over tishim vteshah tzaddikim who have no need of teshuva.
8 Or what isha having asaret (ten) drachmas, if she loses one drachma, will not light a licht (light) and sweep the bais and search carefully until she finds it?
9 And having found it, she calls together chaverim and shchenim saying, Have simcha with me, for I have found the drachma which I lost.
10 In the same way, I say to you, there is simcha in the presence of the malachim Hashem over one choteh (sinner) who becomes a baal teshuva.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International