Book of Common Prayer
49 Remember the davar to Thy eved, on which Thou hast made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my oni (affliction); for Thy word hath revived me.
51 The zedim (arrogant ones) have had me greatly in derision; yet have I not turned aside from Thy torah.
52 I remembered Thy mishpatim from of old, Hashem; and have comforted myself.
53 Zalafah (indignation) hath taken hold upon me because of the resha’im that forsake Thy torah.
54 Thy chukkot have been my zemirot (songs) in the bais of my pilgrimage.
55 I have remembered Thy Shem, Hashem, in the lailah, and have been shomer over Thy torah.
56 Zot hayetah li, because I kept Thy pikkudim. CHET
57 Thou art my chelek, Hashem; I have said I would be shomer over Thy words.
58 I sought Thy Face with my kol lev; be gracious unto me according to Thy word.
59 I thought on my drakhim, and turned my feet unto Thy edot (testimonies).
60 I made haste, and delayed not to be shomer over Thy mitzvot.
61 The ropes of the resha’im have bound me; but I have not forgotten Thy torah.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of Thy righteous mishpatim.
63 I am a chaver of all them that fear Thee, and of them that are shomer over Thy pikkudim.
64 Ha’aretz, Hashem, is full of Thy chesed; teach me Thy chukkot. TET
65 Thou hast dealt well with Thy eved, Hashem, according unto Thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and da’as; for I have believed in Thy mitzvot.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I been shomer over Thy word.
68 Thou art tov, and doest tov; teach me Thy chukkot.
69 The zedim (arrogant ones) have forged a sheker against me; but I will keep Thy pikkudim with my kol lev.
70 Their lev is callous like chelev; I delight in Thy torah.
71 It is tov for me that I have been afflicted l’ma’an (in order that) I might learn Thy chukkot.
72 The torah of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of zahav and kesef. ' YOD
49 (For the one directing. A Mizmor for the Bnei Korach). Hear this, kol HaAmim; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the cheled (world, duration):
2 (3) Bnei Adam and bnei ish, ashir (rich) and evyon (poor) alike,
3 (4) My mouth shall speak chochmot; and the meditation of my lev tevunot (understanding).
4 (5) I will incline mine ear to a mashal; I will disclose my dark saying upon the kinnor (harp).
5 (6) Why should I fear in the days of rah, when the avon (iniquity) of my akev (supplanters, deceivers) surrounds me?
6 (7) They that trust in their chayil (wealth), and boast themselves in the rov of their oshir (riches);
7 (8) A brother cannot by any means redeem ish (man), nor give to Elohim a kofer (ransom) for him—
8 (9) For the pidyon [ransom] of their nefesh is costly, and is forever beyond their power to pay—
9 (10) That he should live on lanetzach, and not see shachat (corruption, decay, the pit [cf Psa16:10]).
10 (11) For he seeth that chachamim die, likewise the kesil (foolish) and the ba’ar (brutish, senseless person, dolt) perish, and leave their chayil (wealth) to others.
11 (12) Their inward thought is, that their batim (houses) shall continue l’olam and their mishkenot (dwelling places) l’odor vador; though they call their lands by their shmot (names).
12 (13) Nevertheless adam in his pomp endureth not; he is like the behemot (beasts) that perish.
13 (14) This is their derech, kesel (folly, imprudent confidence) is theirs; and the fate after them of those who approve their words.
14 (15) Like tzon they are destined for She’ol; mavet shall pasture them; and the yesharim (upright ones) shall have dominion over them in the boker; and their tzir (form) shall waste away to Sheol, so there is no dwelling place for it.
15 (16) But Elohim will redeem my nefesh from the yad (hand, power) of Sheol; for He shall receive me. Selah.
16 (17) Be not thou afraid when one is made an ish oishir, when the kavod of his bais is increased;
17 (18) For in his mot (death), he shall carry nothing away; his kavod (glory, wealth) shall not descend after him.
18 (19) Though his nefesh during his life yevarech (he blessed)—for they praise thee when thou doest well for thyself—
19 (20) He shall go to the dor (generation) of his avot; they shall never see ohr (light).
20 (21) Adam that is in his pomp, and understandeth not, is like the behemot (beasts) that perish.
53 (For the one directing. According to ma’alot. Maskil of Dovid). The naval (fool) hath said in his lev, Ein Elohim (There is no G-d). Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none that doeth tov.
2 (3) Elohim looked down from Shomayim upon Bnei Adam, to see if there were any of seichel, that did seek Elohim.
3 (4) Every one of them has fallen away; they are altogether perverse; there is none that doeth tov, no, not echad (one).
4 (5) Have the workers of iniquity no da’as? Who eat up My people as they eat lechem; they have not called upon Elohim.
5 (6) There were they in great pachad (fear), pachad such as never was; for Elohim hath scattered the atzmot of him that encampeth against thee; thou [Yisroel] hast put them to shame, because Elohim hath rejected them.
6 (7) Oh that the Yeshuat Yisroel would come out of Tziyon! When Elohim bringeth back the captivity of Amo (His people), Ya’akov shall rejoice, and Yisroel shall be glad.
13 Furthermore Hashem spoke unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is an Am Kesheh Oref (stiffnecked people):
14 Let Me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their shem from under Shomayim; and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.
15 So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with eish; and the shnei Luchot HaBrit were in my two hands.
16 And I looked, and, hinei, ye had sinned against Hashem Eloheicha, and had made you an egel massekhah (a molten calf); ye had turned aside quickly out of HaDerech (The Way) which Hashem had commanded you.
17 And I took the shnei haluchot, and cast them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.
18 And I fell down before Hashem, as at the first, arba’im yom and arba’im lailah; I did neither eat lechem, nor drink mayim, because of kol chattatchem ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of Hashem, to provoke Him to anger.
19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith Hashem was angry against you to destroy you. But Hashem listened unto me at that time also.
20 And Hashem was very angry with Aharon to have made him shmad; and I davened on behalf of Aharon also at that time.
21 And I took your sin, the egel which ye had made, and burned it with eish, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust; and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
12 Beware, Achim b’Moshiach, lest there will be in any one of you a lev rah (evil heart) without Emunah, that turns away shmad from Elohim Chayyim.
13 Instead, give one another chozek (strength) each and every day, as long as it is still called "HAYOM," ("today, " TEHILLIM 95:7) lest some of you may fall into KESHI (stubbornness, hardness DEVARM 9:27) and be stubbornly hardened by the nechalim (deceitfulness) of Chet.
14 We have become chavrusa partners of Moshiach if only our bitachon (confidence) we had initially we hold firm until HaKetz;
15 As it is said, "HAYOM IM BEKOLO TISHMAU AL TAKSHU LEVAVCHEM ("Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart" TEHILLIM 95:7) as in the Meribah Mered (Rebellion) [the Ma’al shmad Defection, the Azivah Desertion, see 2Th 2:3].
16 Now who were they who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all the ones having had litzi’at Mitzrayim (going out from Egypt) under Moshe Rabbeinu?
17 And with whom was Hashem angry ARBA’IM SHANAH? Was it not with the ones having sinned, whose "PEGARIM" ("corpses" BAMIDBAR 14:29) lay where they had "fallen BAMIDBAR ("in the desert" BAMIDBAR 14:29)?
18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter into the menuchah (resting place) of Him? Was it not to the ones without mishma’at (obedience)?
19 And so we see that they were not able to enter because of lack of Emunah.
23 And when Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was in Yerushalayim during Pesach at the Chag (Feast), many from Yehudah had emunah (faith) in ha-Shem of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, seeing his otot (miraculous signs) which he was doing.
24 But Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was not entrusting himself to them, because he had da’as of kol Bnei Adam.
25 And he had no need that anyone should give solemn edut (testimony) about them [YESHAYAH 11:3], for he knew what was in Bnei Adam [Dt 31:21; 1Kg 8:39].
3 Now there was a man of the Perushim. His name was Rav Nakdimon, a [Sanhedrist] katzin (leader) of the Yehudim.
2 This one came to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach under cover of lailah and said to him, Rabbi, we have da’as that you are a moreh from Hashem having come, for no one is able these otot (miraculous signs) to do, which you do, unless Hashem is with him.
3 In reply, he said to him, Omein, omein, I say to you, unless someone is born anew [born again, Yn 1:13; Dt 10:16; 30:6; Jer 4:4; Isa 52:1; Ezek 44:7,9], he is not able to see the Malchut Hashem.
4 Rav Nakdimon says to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, How is a man, being old, able to be born? Surely he is not able into the womb of immo a second time to enter and to be born?
5 In reply, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, Omein, omein, I say to you: unless someone is born of mayim (TEHILLIM 36:10 [9]) and Ruach Hakodesh [YECHEZEL 36:25-27; 37:14], he is not able to enter into the Malchut Hashem [Lk 17:21].
6 That which is born of basar is basar, and that which is born of the Ruach is ruach.
7 Do not marvel that I said to you, It is necessary for you to be born again, born anew.
8 The ruach (wind, Spirit) blows where it wishes, and the sound of it you hear, but you do not have da’as of where it comes from and where it goes [KOHELET 11:5]; so it is with everyone having been born of the Ruach Hakodesh. [YECHEZKEL 37:9]
9 In reply, Rav Nakdimon said to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, How is it possible for these things to happen?
10 In reply, he said to him, You hold the teaching office of rabbi, of moreh b’Yisroel and of these things you do not have da’as?
11 Omein, omein, I say to you, that of which we have da’as we speak, and of that which we have seen, we give solemn edut (testimony), and the solemn edut of us you [pl.] do not receive.
12 If I told you [pl.] about things of the Olam Hazeh and you have no emunah, how will you have emunah if I tell you about the things of the Olam Haba?
13 And no one has ascended into Shomayim except the one having descended out of Shomayim, the Ben HaAdam [Dan 7:13-14; Prov 30:4; Dt 30:12].
14 And as Moshe lifted up the nachash in the wilderness [Num 21:8-9], so it is necessary for there to be a hagbah (lifting up) of the Ben HaAdam [Ps 22; Isa 53].
15 That everyone having emunah {Gn 15:l-6; Num 14:11; Ex 14:31] in him may have Chayyei Olam [Dan 12:2; Isa 52:13].
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International