תהלים י״ט | Psalms 19, a mizmor by David translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi

Contributor(s):

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the Masoretic Text and David ben Yishai (traditional attribution)

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9 May 2022 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

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Tehilim Book 1 (Psalms 1–41)

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psalms 19, hymns of creation, מזמור Mizmor, למנציח Lamnatse'aḥ, devotional interpretation, interpretive translation

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
לַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃
הַשָּׁמַ֗יִם מְֽסַפְּרִ֥ים כְּבֽוֹד־אֵ֑ל וּֽמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָ֝דָ֗יו מַגִּ֥יד הָרָקִֽיעַ׃	God! The Heavens manifest Your splendor, the sky, Your fingerprint— how eloquent its message!
י֣וֹם לְ֭יוֹם יַבִּ֣יעַֽ אֹ֑מֶר וְלַ֥יְלָה לְּ֝לַ֗יְלָה יְחַוֶּה־דָּֽעַת׃	Each day speaks to the one that follows and each night imparts what it knows to the next.
אֵֽין־אֹ֭מֶר וְאֵ֣ין דְּבָרִ֑ים בְּ֝לִ֗י נִשְׁמָ֥ע קוֹלָֽם׃	Not words, no speech; though nothing is heard, it has voice.
בְּכׇל־הָאָ֨רֶץ ׀ יָ֘צָ֤א קַוָּ֗ם וּבִקְצֵ֣ה תֵ֭בֵל מִלֵּיהֶ֑ם לַ֝שֶּׁ֗מֶשׁ שָֽׂם־אֹ֥הֶל בָּהֶֽם׃	Their messages encircle the globe; to the end of the universe they give word. The sun, he is at home in them.
וְה֗וּא כְּ֭חָתָן יֹצֵ֣א מֵחֻפָּת֑וֹ יָשִׂ֥ישׂ כְּ֝גִבּ֗וֹר לָר֥וּץ אֹֽרַח׃ מִקְצֵ֤ה הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם ׀ מֽוֹצָא֗וֹ וּתְקוּפָת֥וֹ עַל־קְצוֹתָ֑ם וְאֵ֥ין נִ֝סְתָּ֗ר מֵחַמָּתֽוֹ׃	And he—the Sun—like a proud lover who comes forth from his tryst, rejoices like a sprinter speeding on his track; from one end of the sky he dashes forth. and His circuit touches the entire rim. There is no hiding from his heat.
תּ֘וֹרַ֤ת יְהֹוָ֣ה תְּ֭מִימָה מְשִׁ֣יבַת נָ֑פֶשׁ	So is God’s teaching total; so does it invigorate the spirit.
עֵד֥וּת יְהֹוָ֥ה נֶ֝אֱמָנָ֗ה מַחְכִּ֥ימַת פֶּֽתִי׃	So trustworthy is God’s witness, making the confused wise.
פִּקּ֘וּדֵ֤י יְהֹוָ֣ה יְ֭שָׁרִים מְשַׂמְּחֵי־לֵ֑ב מִצְוַ֥ת יְהֹוָ֥ה בָּ֝רָ֗ה מְאִירַ֥ת עֵינָֽיִם׃ יִרְאַ֤ת יְהֹוָ֨ה ׀ טְהוֹרָה֮ עוֹמֶ֢דֶת לָ֫עַ֥ד מִֽשְׁפְּטֵי־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱמֶ֑ת צָֽדְק֥וּ יַחְדָּֽו׃	So are God’s ventures direct; so hearts are at bliss. Awe of God brings purity, lasting through all changes. God’s determination makes for Truth, in which all are made right.
הַֽנֶּחֱמָדִ֗ים מִ֭זָּהָב וּמִפַּ֣ז רָ֑ב וּמְתוּקִ֥ים מִ֝דְּבַ֗שׁ וְנֹ֣פֶת צוּפִֽים׃	God’s ways are more attractive than gold, more than heaps of jewels, more pleasurable than honey and delicate sweets.
גַּֽם־עַ֭בְדְּךָ נִזְהָ֣ר בָּהֶ֑ם בְּ֝שׇׁמְרָ֗ם עֵ֣קֶב רָֽב׃	I am devoted to You, I want to grow in Your service; in its practice I find refuge.
שְׁגִיא֥וֹת מִֽי־יָבִ֑ין מִֽנִּסְתָּר֥וֹת נַקֵּֽנִי׃	Who can apprehend one’s own errors? Please clear me from what I am unaware.
גַּ֤ם מִזֵּדִ֨ים ׀ חֲשֹׂ֬ךְ עַבְדֶּ֗ךָ אַֽל־יִמְשְׁלוּ־בִ֣י	Also from wanton harming, protect me, who serves You; let evil not control me.
אָ֣ז אֵיתָ֑ם וְ֝נִקֵּ֗יתִי מִפֶּ֥שַֽׁע רָֽב׃	Then will I be made whole and I will be cleared from all guilt.
יִ֥הְיֽוּ לְרָצ֨וֹן ׀ אִמְרֵי־פִ֡י וְהֶגְי֣וֹן לִבִּ֣י לְפָנֶ֑יךָ יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה צוּרִ֥י וְגֹאֲלִֽי׃	God! May the prayers I speak and the awareness in my heart be transparent to You, God! Please support and free me.
	Amen!

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s translation of Psalms 19 was first published in Psalms in a Translation for Praying> (Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Philadelphia: 2014), pp. 28-29.

Reb Zalman was, in 2009, an early advocate of the Open Siddur Project and generously shared his liturgical and prayer work with the project following his vision of a common “Database Davvenen.” I have set his translation opposite the Masoretic Hebrew text of the psalm according to the phrasing he provided. –Aharon Varady

. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike . 4.0 . International .

“תהלים י״ט | Psalms 19, a mizmor by David translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Rabbi Dr. Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, affectionately known as "Reb Zalman" (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014) was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement. Born in Żółkiew, Poland (now Ukraine) and raised in Vienna, he was interned in detention camps under the Vichy Regime but managed to flee the Nazi advance, emigrating to the United States in 1941. He was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi in 1947 within the ḤaBaD Hasidic movement while under the leadership of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, and served ḤaBaD communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He subsequently earned an M.A. in psychology of religion at Boston University, and a doctorate from the Hebrew Union College. He was initially sent out to speak on college campuses by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, but in the early 1960s, after experimenting with "the sacramental value of lysergic acid", the main ingredient in LSD, leadership within ḤaBaD circles cut ties with him. He continued teaching the Torah of Ḥassidut until the end of his life to creative, free and open-minded Jewish thinkers with humility and kindness and established warm ecumenical ties as well. In September 2009, he became the first contributor of a siddur to the Open Siddur Project database of Jewish liturgy and related work. Reb Zalman supported the Open Siddur Project telling its founder, "this is what I've been looking forward to!" and sharing among many additional works of liturgy, an interview he had with Havurah magazine in the early to mid-1980s detailing his vision of "Database Davenen." The Open Siddur Project is proud to be realizing one of Reb Zalman's long held dreams.

the Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Tanakh for Karaite and Rabbinic Judaism. It was primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocalization and accentuation known as the Masorah.

David ben Yishai (traditional attribution)

David ben Yishai was the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, reigning ca. 1010–970 BCE. While almost half of the Psalms are headed "l'David" and tradition identifies several with specific events in David’s life (e.g., Psalms № 3, 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63 and 142), most scholars consider these headings to be late additions and that no psalm can be attributed to David with certainty. 1 Samuel 16:15-18 describes David as a skillful harp (lyre) player and "the sweet psalmist of Israel."

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17