תהלים י״ז | Psalms 17, a tefilah by David translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi

Shared on: 1 May 2022 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories: Tehilim Book 1 (Psalms 1–41)

Tags: devotional interpretation, interpretive translation, judgement, protection, תפילה tefilah

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
תְּפִלָּ֗ה לְדָ֫וִ֥ד	David at prayer
שִׁמְעָ֤ה יְהֹוָ֨ה ׀ צֶ֗דֶק הַקְשִׁ֥יבָה רִנָּתִ֗י הַאֲזִ֥ינָה תְפִלָּתִ֑י בְּ֝לֹ֗א שִׂפְתֵ֥י מִרְמָֽה׃ מִ֭לְּפָנֶיךָ מִשְׁפָּטִ֣י יֵצֵ֑א עֵ֝ינֶ֗יךָ תֶּחֱזֶ֥ינָה מֵישָׁרִֽים׃ בָּ֘חַ֤נְתָּ לִבִּ֨י ׀ פָּ֘קַ֤דְתָּ לַּ֗יְלָה צְרַפְתַּ֥נִי בַל־תִּמְצָ֑א זַ֝מֹּתִ֗י בַּל־יַעֲבׇר־פִּֽי׃ לִפְעֻלּ֣וֹת אָ֭דָם בִּדְבַ֣ר שְׂפָתֶ֑יךָ אֲנִ֥י שָׁ֝מַ֗רְתִּי אׇרְח֥וֹת פָּרִֽיץ׃	Listen, YaH, I speak with sincerity. Attend to my singing; pay heed to my prayer, because I’m not trying to fool You. If I am to be judged, let the judgment come from You; Your eyes see and recognize honesty. You have tested my heart; You have taken hold of my conscience at night. You took me apart and found no wrong; You looked at the record of my speech and found that it was true. You’ve seen my actions, paid attention to what my lips said; I saw that I kept myself from the path of outrageous ones.
תָּמֹ֣ךְ אֲ֭שֻׁרַי בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתֶ֑יךָ בַּל־נָמ֥וֹטּוּ פְעָמָֽי׃ אֲנִֽי־קְרָאתִ֣יךָ כִֽי־תַעֲנֵ֣נִי אֵ֑ל הַֽט־אׇזְנְךָ֥ לִ֝֗י שְׁמַ֣ע אִמְרָתִֽי׃ הַפְלֵ֣ה חֲ֭סָדֶיךָ מוֹשִׁ֣יעַ חוֹסִ֑ים מִ֝מִּתְקוֹמְמִ֗ים בִּֽימִינֶֽךָ׃ שׇׁ֭מְרֵנִי כְּאִישׁ֣וֹן בַּת־עָ֑יִן בְּצֵ֥ל כְּ֝נָפֶ֗יךָ תַּסְתִּירֵֽנִי׃	You have supported my steps in Your path; You kept me from stumbling, so I call on You, that you might answer me, O God. Incline Your ear to me and hear what I say; with right arm put a barrier between me and those who reared themselves up against me. Guard me like the pupil of Your eye; hide me under the wings of Your protection.
מִפְּנֵ֣י רְ֭שָׁעִים ז֣וּ שַׁדּ֑וּנִי אֹיְבַ֥י בְּ֝נֶ֗פֶשׁ יַקִּ֥יפוּ עָלָֽי׃ חֶלְבָּ֥מוֹ סָּגְר֑וּ פִּ֝֗ימוֹ דִּבְּר֥וּ בְגֵאֽוּת׃ אַ֭שֻּׁרֵינוּ עַתָּ֣ה (סבבוני) [סְבָב֑וּנוּ] עֵינֵיהֶ֥ם יָ֝שִׁ֗יתוּ לִנְט֥וֹת בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ דִּמְיֹנ֗וֹ כְּ֭אַרְיֵה יִכְס֣וֹף לִטְרֹ֑ף וְ֝כִכְפִ֗יר יֹשֵׁ֥ב בְּמִסְתָּרִֽים׃	There are some militants looking to rob me blind; those who hate my soul want to encircle me. Grossly obese, they spout arrogance; they closed in on me, intending to give me no space. I feel them like lions poised to rip, like a mountain lion ready to pounce.
קוּמָ֤ה יְהֹוָ֗ה קַדְּמָ֣ה פָ֭נָיו הַכְרִיעֵ֑הוּ פַּלְּטָ֥ה נַ֝פְשִׁ֗י מֵרָשָׁ֥ע חַרְבֶּֽךָ׃ מִ֥מְתִֽים יָדְךָ֨ ׀ יְהֹוָ֡ה מִֽמְתִ֬ים מֵחֶ֗לֶד חֶלְקָ֥ם בַּֽחַיִּים֮ (וצפינך) [וּֽצְפוּנְךָ֮] תְּמַלֵּ֢א בִ֫טְנָ֥ם יִשְׂבְּע֥וּ בָנִ֑ים וְהִנִּ֥יחוּ יִ֝תְרָ֗ם לְעוֹלְלֵיהֶֽם׃ אֲנִ֗י בְּ֭צֶדֶק אֶחֱזֶ֣ה פָנֶ֑יךָ אֶשְׂבְּעָ֥ה בְ֝הָקִ֗יץ תְּמוּנָתֶֽךָ׃	Arise, YaH, and oppose them let Your sword protect me. If I have to die let it be at Your hand—at old age, not suffering hunger, to be satisfied with the number of children and leaving them a good legacy. Staying honest, I will see Your Face; being wide awake, I will drink in Your features.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s translation and reworking of Psalms 17 was first published in Psalms in a Translation for Praying (Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Philadelphia: 2014), pp. 20-21.

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

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“תהלים י״ז | Psalms 17, a tefilah 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 (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.

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