Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

124 (Shir HaMa’alot, [Song of Ascents] of Dovid). If it had not been Hashem Who was lanu (for us, on our side), now may Yisroel say;

² If it had not been Hashem Who was lanu, when adam (man) rose up against us;

³ Then they had swallowed us up chayyim (alive); when their wrath was kindled against us;

⁴ Then the mayim would have overwhelmed us, the torrent would have swept over nafsheinu (our nefesh); (Shir HaMa’alot, [Song of

⁵ Then the mayim hazedonim (treacherous waters) would have swept over nafsheinu (our nefesh).

⁶ Baruch Hashem, Who hath not given us up as a prey to their shinayim (teeth).

⁷ Nafsheinu (our nefesh) is escaped as a tzippor (bird) out of the pach (snare of the fowlers); the pach is broken, and we are escaped.

⁸ Ezreinu (our help) B’Shem Hashem Oseh Shomayim vaAretz.

9 Vayevarech Elohim et Noach and his banim, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish ha’aretz.

² And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of ha’aretz, and upon every bird of the air, upon all that moveth upon ha’adamah, and upon all the dagim of the yam; into your yad are they delivered.

³ Every remes that liveth shall be food for you; even as the yarok esev (green plant) have I given you all.

⁴ But basar with the nefesh thereof, which is the dahm thereof, shall ye not eat.

⁵ And surely your dahm of your nefeshot will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the yad haAdam; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the nefesh haAdam.

⁶ Shofech dahm (one who sheddeth man’s blood), by man shall his dahm be shed; for in the tzelem Elohim made He man.

⁷ And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly on ha’aretz, and multiply therein.

⁸ And Elohim spoke unto Noach, and to his banim with him, saying,

⁹ And I, hineni, I establish My brit (covenant) with you, and with your zera after you;

¹⁰ And with kol nefesh that is with you, of the bird, of the behemah, and of every animal of ha’aretz with you; from kol yotzei hatevah (all that go out of the ark), to every creature of ha’aretz.

¹¹ And I will establish My brit (covenant) with you, neither shall kol basar yikaret (be cut off, violently killed) any more by the waters of the mabbul; neither shall there be any more mabbul l’shachat (to destroy) ha’aretz.

¹² And Elohim said, This is the ot (sign) of the brit (covenant) which I make between Me and you and every nefesh chayyah (living creature) that is with you, for dorot olam (perpetual generations);

¹³ I do set My keshet (bow) in the anan (cloud), and it shall be for an ot brit between Me and ha’aretz.

¹⁴ And it shall come to pass, when I bring an anan over ha’aretz, that the keshet be’anan (rainbow) shall be seen;

¹⁵ And I will remember My brit, which is between Me and you and kol nefesh chayyah of kol basar; and the waters shall no more become a mabbul (flood) l’shachat (to destroy) kol basar.

¹⁶ And the keshet shall be in the anan; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the brit olam between Elohim and kol nefesh chayyah of kol basar that is upon ha’aretz.

¹⁷ And Elohim said unto Noach, This is the ot habrit, which I have established between Me and kol basar that is upon ha’aretz.

³² And what more shall I say? For the time will fail me if I tell of Gid’on, Barak, Shimshon, Yiftach, Dovid, Shmuel and the Nevi’im,

³³ Who by Emunah conquered mamlechot (kingdoms), worked tzedek (righteousness), obtained havtachot (promises), shut the mouths of arayot (lions),

³⁴ Quenched the power of eish (fire), escaped from the edge of the cherev (sword), out of weakness found strength, became mighty in milchamah (war), put to flight tzive’ot zarim (armies of the aliens).

³⁵ Nashim received back their mesim restored to Chayyim; and others were tortured to death al kiddush ha-Shem, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better Techiyas HaMesim;

³⁶ And others underwent the nisayon of cruel mockings and scourgings, also the sharsherot (chains) and the beis hasohar.

³⁷ They were killed by seqilah (stoning), they were sawn in two, they were murdered by the cherev, they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being nitzrach (needy) and destitute, oppressed, under redifot (persecutions),

³⁸ those of whom the Olam Hazeh was not worthy, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves of the earth.

³⁹ And all these, having Hashem’s commendation through their Emunah, did not receive the havtachah (promise),

⁴⁰ Hashem having foreseen something better for us, so that, apart from us, they should not be made shleimut.