This paraliturgical translation of Psalms 91 (“A Song Against Evil Spirits”) by Reb Zalman can be found in print as published in his All Breathing Life: At the Interface Between Poetry and Prayer: translations and compositions of Jewish sacred literature (ed. Michael Kagan, 2011: Gaon Books), pp.197-198. The version there appears to be missing a full translation of the verse, Psalms 91:15. Perhaps Reb Zalman left this verse untranslated so that it may be completed by one through one’s own devotional translation. (If you have seen a translation of this final verse by Reb Zalman, please leave a comment or contact us.)

“תהלים צ״א | Psalms 91, a song against evil spirits 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 (translation)

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.

Mosheh ben Amram (traditional attribution)

Mosheh ben Amram (affectionately, Mosheh Rabbeinu -- our teacher, Mosheh; fl. 13th century BCE) is the pre-eminent prophet in all forms of Judaism and one of the most important prophets in Christianity, Islam, the Druze faith, the Baháʼí Faith and other so-called Abrahamic religions. According to both the Torah and the Quran, Mosheh was the leader of the Israelites and the recipient of the Divine Instruction/Teaching (Torah), and the first five books of the Torah are traditionally attributed to him. A handful of psalms are also traditionally attributed to him (Psalms 90-95). In the Rabbinic Jewish tradition, besides the name "Mosheh" given to him by Pharaoh's daughter Bityah, he was also known by other names: Yared, Avi Gedor, Ḥever, Avi Sokho, Yequtiel, Avi Zano'aḥ, Shemayah, and "Heiman" (span class="hebrew">הֵימָן).

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.

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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