Book of Common Prayer
56 (For the director. Set to The Silent, Distant Yonah. Of Dovid. A mikhtam—when the Pelishtim seized him in Gat.) Chaneini (be merciful) unto me, O Elohim: for enosh (man) tramples upon me; kol hayom they press their attack against me.
2 (3) Mine adversaries kol hayom trample me; for they be rabbim that fight against me, Marom (Most High).
3 (4) What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.
4 (5) In Elohim I will praise His Word [See Yn 1:1,14]. In Elohim I have put my trust; I will not fear what basar can do unto me.
5 (6) Kol hayom they twist my words; all their machsh’vot (thoughts) are against me for rah (evil).
6 (7) They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they are shomer over my steps, when they wait for my nefesh.
7 (8) Shall they escape by iniquity? In Thine anger cast down the amim (peoples), O Elohim.
8 (9) Thou hast acted as a sofer, recording my wanderings; put Thou my tears into Thy wineskin; are they not in Thy Sefer (Book)?
9 (10) On the day when I cry unto Thee, then shall mine oyevim turn back; of this I have da’as; for Elohim is for me [Ro 8:31].
10 (11) In Elohim will I praise His Word; in Hashem will I praise His Word [Yn 1:1; Mishlei 30:4; Ps 33:6; Mishlei 8:30].
11 (12) In Elohim have I put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can adam do unto me?
12 (13) Thy nederim are upon me, O Elohim; I will render todot (thank offerings) unto Thee.
13 (14) For Thou hast delivered my nefesh from mavet (death). Wilt not Thou deliver my feet from stumblimg, that I may walk before Elohim in the Ohr HaChayyim (the light of the living)?
57 (For the one directing. Set to Do Not Destroy. Mikhtam of Dovid, when he had fled from Sha’ul into the me’arah [cave]). Channeni, O Elohim, channeni; for my nefesh taketh refuge in Thee; yes, in the tzel (shadow) of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these devastations pass by.
2 (3) I will cry out unto Elohim Elyon; unto El that fulfilleth all things for me.
3 (4) He shall send from Shomayim, and save me from the disgrace of him that would swallow me up. Selah. Elohim shall send forth His chesed (lovingkindness) and His emes (truth).
4 (5) My nefesh is among lions, and I lie even among them that devour Bnei Adam, whose shinayim (teeth) are spears and khitzim (arrows), and their leshon a sharp cherev.
5 (6) Be Thou exalted, O Elohim, above Shomayim; let Thy kavod be above kol ha’aretz.
6 (7) They have prepared a reshet (net) for my steps; my nefesh is bowed down; they have dug a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
7 (8) My lev is nachon (steadfast), O Elohim, my lev is nachon; I will sing and make music.
8 (9) Awake, my kavod (glory, soul, life); awake, nevel and kinnor; I myself will awake the shachar (dawn).
9 (10) I will give thanks unto Thee, Adonoi, among the peoples; I will sing of Thee among the peoples.
10 (11) For Thy chesed is gadol unto Shomayim, and Thy emes unto the heights.
11 (12) Be Thou exalted, O Elohim, above Shomayim; let Thy kavod be above kol ha’aretz (all the earth).
58 (For the one directing. Set to Do Not Destroy. Mikhtam Dovid). Do ye indeed decree tzedek, O elim (g-ds, Ex 22:28[27])? Do ye judge uprightly the Bnei Adam?
2 (3) No, in lev (heart) ye work wickedness; ye weigh out the chamas (violence) of your hands in Ha’Aretz.
3 (4) The resha’im are perverted from the rekhem (womb); gone astray from birth are they, speaking kazav (lie, falsehood).
4 (5) Their venom is like the venom of a nachash; they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth its ear;
5 (6) That it may not pay heed to the voice of charmers, casting spells ever so cunningly.
6 (7) Break their teeth, O Elohim, in their mouth; tear out the fangs of the young lions, Hashem.
7 (8) Let them melt away like draining mayim; when he bendeth his bow to shoot his khitzim (arrows), let them be crumbled to pieces.
8 (9) As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away; like the stillborn child of an isha, that they may not see the shemesh.
9 (10) Before your sirot (pots) can feel the burning thorns, may He with a whirlwind blow them away, both green and dry alike.
10 (11) The tzaddik shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash feet in the dahm harasha.
11 (12) So that adam shall say, Verily there is a reward for the tzaddik; verily yesh Elohim Shofetim ba’aretz (there is a G-d that judgeth in the earth).
64 (For the one directing. Mizmor of Dovid). Hear my voice, O Elohim, in my si’akh (complaint); preserve my life from the pachad (terror) of the oyev (enemy).
2 (3) Hide me from the sod (secret counsel, conspiracy) of the re’im; from the rigshah (insurrection, noisy crowd, assembly) of the workers of iniquity;
3 (4) Who whet their tongue like a cherev, and aim their khitzim (arrows), even davar mar (bitter words);
4 (5) That they may shoot in secret at the tam (innoent); pitom (suddenly) do they shoot at him, and fear not.
5 (6) They encourage themselves in a davar rah (an evil plan); they speak in order to set mokshim (snares, hidden traps); they say, Who shall see them?
6 (7) Or search out their iniquities? They have accomplished a cunningly devised plot; for the mind of ish (man) and the lev (heart) are deep,
7 (8) But Elohim shall shoot at them with a khetz (arrow); pitom (suddenly) shall their wounds be.
8 (9) So the leshon of them will bring ruin upon them; all that see them shall shake their head.
9 (10) And kol adam shall fear, and shall declare the po’al Elohim (work of G-d); for they shall ponder His ma’aseh.
10 (11) The tzaddik shall be glad in Hashem, and shall take refuge in Him; and all the yishrei lev (upright of heart) shall glory.
65 (For the one directing. Mizmor Dovid. Shir). Tehillah (praise) is due Thee, O Elohim, in Tziyon; And unto Thee shall the neder (vow) be performed.
2 (3) O Thou that hearest tefillah (prayer), unto Thee shall kol basar come.
3 (4) Divrei avonot (instances of iniquity) overwhelm me; as for peysha’einu (our transgressions), Thou hast made kapporah for them.
4 (5) Ashrei is the one whom Thou choosest, and causest to come near unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy khatzerot; we shall be satisfied with the tov of Thy Beis, even of Thy Heikhal Kodesh.
5 (6) By nora’ot (awesome deeds, awe-inspiring things) of tzedek (justice) wilt Thou answer us, O Elohei Yish’einu (G-d of our salvation); Who art the hope of all the ends of eretz, and of them that are on the farthest seas;
6 (7) Which by His ko’ach established the harim (mountains), being girded with gevurah;
7 (8) Which stilleth the roar of the seas, the roar of their waves, and the tumult of the Amim (peoples, nations).
8 (9) They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at Thy otot (signs); Thou makest the outgoing exits of boker and erev to resound with joy.
9 (10) Thou visitest ha’aretz, and waterest it; Thou greatly enrichest it with the peleg Elohim (fountain of G-d), which is full of mayim; Thou preparest them dagan (grain), for so Thou didst prepare it.
10 (11) Thou waterest the furrows thereof abundantly; Thou settlest the ridges thereof; Thou makest it soft with showers; Thou blessest the tzemach (sprout, branch, see Zech 6:12) thereof.
11 (12) Thou crownest shnat tovatecha (the year with Thy goodness, bounty); and Thy paths drip with plenty.
12 (13) They drip upon the pastures of the midbar; and the hills are enrobed with gladness.
13 (14) The meadows are clothed with tzon; the amakim (valleys) also are covered over with grain; they shout for joy, they also sing.
6 Now it came to pass when Sanvalat, and Toviyah, and Geshem the Arab, and the rest of oyveinu (our enemies), heard that I had rebuilt HaChomah, and that there was no peretz (gap) left therein (though at that time I had not set up the dalatot in the she’arim),
2 That Sanvalat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they were choshevim (the ones scheming) to do me ra’ah (harm).
3 And I sent malachim unto them, saying, I am doing a melachah gedolah, so that I cannot come down. Why should the melachah cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
4 Yet they sent unto me this message arbah pe’amim; and I answered them after the same manner.
5 Then sent Sanvalat his aid unto me in like manner the fifth time with an unsealed iggeret in his hand;
6 Wherein was written, It is reported among the Goyim, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Yehudim are choshevim (the ones scheming) revolt, for which cause thou buildest the Chomah, that thou mayest be their Melech, according to these reports.
7 And thou hast also appointed nevi’im to make this proclamation about thee at Yerushalayim, saying, There is a Melech in Yehudah! Now this report will get back to HaMelech. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.
8 Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such devarim (things) done as thou sayest, but thou inventest them out of thine own lev.
9 For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, Their hands shall get too weakened for the melachah, that it be not completed. Now therefore, strengthen my hands!
10 Afterward I came unto the bais Shemayah ben Delayah ben Mehetave’el, who was confined; and he said, Let us meet together in the Bais HaElohim, within the Heikhal, and let us close the dalatot of the Heikhal, for they will come to slay thee; yea, tonight they come to slay thee.
11 And I said, Should such a man as I flee? And who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the Heikhal to save his life? I will not go in.
12 And, hinei, I perceived that Elohim had not sent him; but that he pronounced this nevu’ah (prophecy) against me, for Toviyah and Sanvalat had hired him.
13 Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have given me a shem rah (bad name), that they might discredit me.
14 Remember, Elohai, Toviyah and Sanvalat according to these their ma’asim, and also the neviah (prophetess) Noadyah, and the rest of the nevi’im, that would have intimidated me.
15 So the Chomah was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.
16 And it came to pass, that when all oyveinu (our enemies) heard thereof, and all the Goyim around us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes, for they perceived that this melachah was accomplished by Eloheinu.
17 Moreover in those days the nobles of Yehudah sent many iggerot unto Toviyah, and the iggrot of Toviyah were making reply unto them.
18 For there were many ba’alei shevuah in Yehudah unto him, because he was the choson (son-in-law) of Shechanyah ben Arach, and his son Yehochanan had taken the bat Meshullam ben Berechyah.
19 Also they reported his [Toviyah’s supposed] merits before me, and uttered my words to him. And Toviyah sent letters with the intent of intimidating me. [T.N. We see that the work of G-d had to be accomplished, not in a vacuum of peace and tranquility, but against the backdrop of manipulation and intimidation. Nehemiah gives G-d the credit and the glory for his escaping every snare.]
10 And I saw another strong malach descending and coming down out of Shomayim, having been wrapped in an anan (cloud), and the keshet be’anan (rainbow, BERESHIS 9:16) was over his rosh (head) and the face of him was as the shemesh (sun) and the feet of him as pillars of eish (fire), [YECHEZKEL 1:28]
2 And he had in his hand a sefer katan (small book) which had been opened and he placed his ragel hayemanit (right foot) on the yam (sea), and the smolit (left) on ha’aretz (the earth),
3 And he cried with a kol gadol (loud voice) as an aryeh (lion) roars. And when he shouted, the shivat hare’amim (seven thunders) reverberated. [HOSHEA 11:10]
4 And when the shivat hare’amim (seven thunders) spoke, I was about to write, and I heard a kol (voice) from Shomayim, saying, Put a chotam (seal) on [the sod, the secret of] what the shivat hare’amim (seven thunders) have spoken, and seal it up, and do not write, [DANIEL 8:26; 12:4,9]
5 And the malach, whom I saw having taken his stand on the yam (sea) and on ha’aretz (the earth), lifted his yad yamin (right hand) to Shomayim [DEVARIM 32:40; DANIEL 12:7]
6 And made shevu’ah (oath) by the One who lives l’Olmei Olamim (forever and ever) whose “barah” (created) the Shomayim and the things in it and ha’aretz and the things in it and the yam and the things in it—that there would be no od zman (more time). [BERESHIS 14:22; SHEMOT 6:8; BAMIDBAR 14:30; TEHILLIM 115:15; 146:6]
7 But in the days of the sounding of the shofar by the malach hashev’i’i (the seventh angel), when he is about to blow the shofar, also then the raz (mystery) of Hashem would be brought to an end, as he proclaimed to his avadim (servants), the Nevi’im (prophets). [AMOS 3:7]
8 And the kol (voice) which I heard from Shomayim was again speaking with me and saying, Go, take the sefer which is opened in the hand of the malach who has taken his stand on the yam (sea) and on the ha’aretz (the earth).
9 And I went to the malach, telling him to give me the sefer katan (small book) and he says to me, Take and eat it, and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as devash (honey). [YIRMEYAH 15:16; YECHEZKEL 2:8-3:3]
10 And I took the sefer katan out of the hand of the malach and ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as devash (honey), but, when I ate, my stomach was made bitter.
11 And they say to me, You must speak dvarim hanevu’ah (words of prophecy) again, about haumim (peoples) and Goyim (Nations) and leshonot (tongues) and many melachim (kings). [Ezek 37:4,9; Dan 3:4]
36 Then having sent away the multitudes, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach came into the bais (house). And Moshiach’s talmidim approached him, saying, Explain to us the mashal of the weeds of the field.
37 And answering, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, The Sower of the zera tov is the Ben HaAdam (Moshiach).
38 The field is HaOlam Hazeh. And the zera tov, the good seed, these are the Bnei HaMalchut, and the weeds, these are the bnei HaRah (sons of the Evil one, BERESHIS 3:15).
39 And the Oyev (the Enemy) sowing them is Hasatan. And the Katzir (Harvest), this is HaKetz HaOlam (the end of the age). And the kotzerim (reapers, harvesters) are malachim (angels).
40 As the weeds are pulled up and gathered and are consumed with Eish (Fire), so also it will be at the Ketz HaOlam.
41 The Ben HaAdam [Moshiach] will send forth his malachim, and they will pull up and gather out of the Moshiach’s Malchut all the things making meshummad (apostate) and the ones who are without Torah and antinomian.
42 And Moshiach’s malachim will throw them into the furnace of Eish; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
43 Then the tzaddikim will shine as the shemesh (sun) in the Malchut of their Father. The one having oznayim (spiritual ears), let him hear.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International