Book of Common Prayer
103 (Of Dovid). Barachi (Bless) Hashem, O my nefesh; and all that is within me, bless His Shem kodesh.
2 Barachi Hashem, O my nefesh, and forget not all His gmulim (benefits);
3 Who forgiveth all thine avonim (iniquities); Who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who is the Go’el (Redeemer) of thy life from shachat (corruption, pit, grave); Who crowneth thee with chesed and rachamim;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with tov; so that thy ne’urim is made chadash like the nesher.
6 Hashem executeth tzedakot and mishpatim for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known His drakhim unto Moshe, His deeds unto the Bnei Yisroel.
8 Hashem is rachum and channun, slow to anger, and plenteous in chesed.
9 He will not strive l’netzach; neither will He keep His anger l’olam.
10 He hath not dealt with us according to chata’einu (our sins); nor repaid us according to avonoteinu (our iniquities).
11 For as Shomayim is high above ha’aretz, so great is His chesed toward them that fear Him.
12 As far as the mizrach (east) is from the ma’arav (west), so far hath He removed peysha’einu (our transgressions) from us.
13 As an av has compassion on banim so Hashem has compassion on them that fear Him.
14 For He has da’as of yitzreinu (our nature); He remembereth that aphar anachnu (dust we are).
15 As for enosh (mankind), his yamim are like khatzir (green grass, herbage); like tzitz hasadeh (a flower of the field), so he flourisheth.
16 For the ruach (wind) passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall remember it no more.
17 But the chesed Hashem is me’olam v’ad olam (from everlasting to everlasting) upon them that fear Him, and His tzedakah unto bnei banim;
18 To such as are shomer over His Brit, and to those that remember His precepts to do them.
19 Hashem hath established His kisse (throne) in Shomayim; and His malchut ruleth over all.
20 Barachu Hashem, ye His malachim, gibborei ko’ach (mighty ones of power), that do His bidding, paying heed unto the voice of His Davar.
21 Barachu Hashem, all ye His Tzivos; ye mesharetim (ministers) of His, that do His ratzon (will).
22 Barachu Hashem, all His ma’asim in all places of His memshalet (dominion); Barachi Hashem, O my nefesh.
5 At the time of Herod king of Yehudah, there was a certain kohen by the name Zecharyah, who belonged to the Aviyah division. His isha was of the banot Aharon, name of Elisheva. [DIVREY HAYAMIM ALEF 24:10]
6 And they were both tzaddikim before Hashem, walking a derech tamim in all the mitzvot and chukkim of the Torah of Adoneinu. [BERESHIS 6:9; DEVARIM 5:33; MELACHIM ALEF 9:4]
7 But they had no ben, because Elisheva was barren, and they were both advanced in their yamim.
8 And it came to pass in the performance of his avodas kodesh sherut as a kohen before Hashem in the appointed order of his division, [DIVREY HAYAMIM ALEF 24:19; DIVREY HAYAMIM BAIS 8:14]
9 According to the minhag (custom) of the kehunah, Zecharyah was chosen by lot to enter the Beis Hamikdash and to offer ketoret (incense). [SHEMOT 30:7,8; DIVREY HAYAMIM ALEF 23:13; DIVREY HAYAMIM BAIS 29:11; TEHILLIM 141:2]
10 And when the hour of the offering of the ketoret came, all the multitude were davening outside. [VAYIKRA 16:17]
11 And there appeared to Zecharyah a malach Hashem, standing on the right side of the Mizbeach of ketoret. [SHEMOT 30:1-10]
12 And, seeing the malach, Zecharyah was terrified, and pachad (fear) fell on him. [SHOFETIM 6:22,23; 13:22]
13 But the malach said to him, Do not have pachad (fear), Zecharyah. Your tefillah (prayer) was heard and your isha, Elisheva, will bear a ben to you and you will call his shem Yochanan.
14 And he will be a simcha to you and sasson (joy), and there will be sasson rav (great joy) at his huledet (birth).
15 And he will be gadol before Hashem, and he will not drink yayin or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Ruach Hakodesh from the womb of his Em (mother), [BAMIDBAR 6:3; VAYIKRA 10:9; SHOFETIM 13:4; YIRMEYAH 1:5]
16 And many of the Bnei Yisroel he will turn back in teshuva to Hashem Eloheihem.
17 And he will go forth before Adonoi in the ruach (spirit) and koach (power) of Eliyahu HaNavi, VEHESHIV LEV AVOT AL BANIM (And he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children MALACHI 3:24 [4:6]) and those without mishmaat (obedience) he will turn to the chochmah of the tzaddikim to prepare for Adonoi an Am (People) having been made ready. [MALACHI 4:5,6]
18 And Zecharyah said to the malach, Just how will I have daas that this is so? For I am old and my isha is advanced in her yamim (days). [BERESHIS 15:8; 17:17]
19 And in reply, the malach said to Zecharyah, I am Gavriel, I stand before Hashem. And I was sent to speak to you and to announce these things to you. [DANIEL 8:16; 9:21]
20 And hinei! You will be illem (mute) and not be able to speak, until the yom (day) when these things come to pass, because you did not have emunah in my dvarim (words), which will be fulfilled in their time. [SHEMOT 4:11; YECHEZKEL 3:26]
21 And the people were expecting Zecharyah and they were bewildered at his delay in the Beis HaMikdash.
22 And when he came out, he was illem (mute) and not able to speak to them, and they had daas that he had seen a chazon in the Heikhal. He kept motioning to them and he remained illem.
23 And it came about as the yamim of his sherut (service in the Beis HaMikdash) as a kohen were fulfilled, he went to his bais (house).
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International