תהלים כ״ב | Psalms 22, a mizmor by David translated by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi

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

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3 July 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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interpretive translation, מזמור Mizmor, למנציח Lamnatse'aḥ, devotional interpretation, pleas for help, Psalms 22

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד׃	Seeking to find strength after a long night waiting for the dawn, this is what David sang to God.
אֵלִי אֵלִי לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי רָחוֹק מִישׁוּעָתִי דִּבְרֵי שַׁאֲגָתִי׃	O God, my God! Why have You abandoned me? My prayer is right here and Your Help is so distant.
אֱלֹהַי אֶקְרָא יוֹמָם וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה וְלַיְלָה וְלֹא־דֻמִיָּה לִי׃ וְאַתָּה קָדוֹשׁ יוֹשֵׁב תְּהִלּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל׃	My God! When I call by day I get no answer; at night I can’t be silent either— while You, our Holy One, sit enthroned on Israel’s praises.
בְּךָ בָּטְחוּ אֲבֹתֵינוּ בָּטְחוּ וַתְּפַלְּטֵמוֹ׃ אֵלֶיךָ זָעֲקוּ וְנִמְלָטוּ בְּךָ בָטְחוּ וְלֹא־בוֹשׁוּ׃	Our parents trusted You; they trusted and You saved them. They cried out to You and You helped them escape to safety; they trusted You and You did not disappoint them.
וְאָנֹכִי תוֹלַעַת וְלֹא־אִישׁ חֶרְפַּת אָדָם וּבְזוּי עָם׃ כׇּל־רֹאַי יַלְעִגוּ לִי יַפְטִירוּ בְשָׂפָה יָנִיעוּ רֹאשׁ׃	I seemed to me to be like a worm and not a mensch, despised by people, considered trash by society. People stare at me— make fun of me and make faces at me, shaking their heads.
גֹּל אֶל־יְהֹוָה יְפַלְּטֵהוּ יַצִּילֵהוּ כִּי חָפֵץ בּוֹ׃ כִּי־אַתָּה גֹחִי מִבָּטֶן מַבְטִיחִי עַל־שְׁדֵי אִמִּי׃ עָלֶיךָ הׇשְׁלַכְתִּי מֵרָחֶם מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי אֵלִי אָתָּה׃ אַל־תִּרְחַק מִמֶּנִּי כִּי־צָרָה קְרוֹבָה כִּי־אֵין עוֹזֵר׃	But one who turns to You, God, will be safe, because You care for him; You will rescue him. You were the One who delivered me from the womb; You were the one who gave me safety at my mother’s breast. I was cast from the womb into Your care; ever since I was in my mother’s belly, You have been my God. So don’t be distant from me, because trouble is coming fast and no one but You can help me.
סְבָבוּנִי פָּרִים רַבִּים אַבִּירֵי בָשָׁן כִּתְּרוּנִי׃ פָּצוּ עָלַי פִּיהֶם אַרְיֵה טֹרֵף וְשֹׁאֵג׃	Like bulls, they surround me, encircling me like steers, shouting at me to scare me, like roaring lions about to pounce.
כַּמַּיִם נִשְׁפַּכְתִּי וְהִתְפָּרְדוּ כׇּל־עַצְמוֹתָי הָיָה לִבִּי כַּדּוֹנָג נָמֵס בְּתוֹךְ מֵעָי׃	And I turned to water; my bones came apart. My heart dropped to my belly; I was becoming shapeless like molten wax.
יָבֵשׁ כַּחֶרֶשׂ כֹּחִי וּלְשׁוֹנִי מֻדְבָּק מַלְקוֹחָי וְלַעֲפַר־מָוֶת תִּשְׁפְּתֵנִי׃	All my strength was shattered like a broken shard. My mouth is all dry; I feel as one about to be buried.
כִּי סְבָבוּנִי כְּלָבִים עֲדַת מְרֵעִים הִקִּיפוּנִי כָּאֲרִי יָדַי וְרַגְלָי׃ אֲסַפֵּר כׇּל־עַצְמוֹתָי הֵמָּה יַבִּיטוּ יִרְאוּ־בִי׃ יְחַלְּקוּ בְגָדַי לָהֶם וְעַל־לְבוּשִׁי יַפִּילוּ גוֹרָל׃	Like bloodhounds they surround me; a mob of bullies close in on me, wanting to tear me limb from limb. My bones rattle and they keep staring at me; they wait to take hold of my clothes, to divide them among themselves, casting lots on what I wore.
וְאַתָּה יְהֹוָה אַל־תִּרְחָק אֱיָלוּתִי לְעֶזְרָתִי חוּשָׁה׃ הַצִּילָה מֵחֶרֶב נַפְשִׁי מִיַּד־כֶּלֶב יְחִידָתִי׃	Please, YaH, stay with me; hurry and give me strength. You are my only security; Make haste and help! Save my soul from the sword, my own special being from the dog.
הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי מִפִּי אַרְיֵה וּמִקַּרְנֵי רֵמִים עֲנִיתָנִי׃	Save me from the maw of the lion; from sharp, goring horns, You have saved me in the past.
אֲסַפְּרָה שִׁמְךָ לְאֶחָי בְּתוֹךְ קָהָל אֲהַלְלֶךָּ׃	I will tell my brothers of Your Name; in the midst of the crowd, I will praise You.
יִרְאֵי יְהֹוָה הַלְלוּהוּ כׇּל־זֶרַע יַעֲקֹב כַּבְּדוּהוּ וְגוּרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ כׇּל־זֶרַע יִשְׂרָאֵל׃	You who respect God, praise Him. Jacob’s children, give Her honor; all of Israel, be in awe of Him.
כִּי לֹא־בָזָה וְלֹא שִׁקַּץ עֱנוּת עָנִי	So, though I was down and out, He did not despise me.
וְלֹא־הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו מִמֶּנּוּ וּבְשַׁוְּעוֹ אֵלָיו שָׁמֵעַ׃	He did not hide his face from me and when I cried out. He heard me.
מֵאִתְּךָ תְּהִלָּתִי בְּקָהָל רָב נְדָרַי אֲשַׁלֵּם נֶגֶד יְרֵאָיו׃	In the midst of the throngs I will praise You; my vows I will fulfill in the presence of those who respect You.
יֹאכְלוּ עֲנָוִים וְיִשְׂבָּעוּ יְהַלְלוּ יְהֹוָה דֹּרְשָׁיו יְחִי לְבַבְכֶם לָעַד׃ יִזְכְּרוּ וְיָשֻׁבוּ אֶל־יְהֹוָה כׇּל־אַפְסֵי־אָרֶץ וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְפָנֶיךָ כׇּל־מִשְׁפְּחוֹת גּוֹיִם׃	The humble will eat and be satisfied; those who seek God will offer praise. Awareness of God will spread to the ends of the Earth; families of all nations will pay homage to Him.
כִּי לַיהֹוָה הַמְּלוּכָה וּמֹשֵׁל בַּגּוֹיִם׃	For all sovereignty is God’s, governing all nations.
אָכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ כׇּל־דִּשְׁנֵי־אֶרֶץ	Delight in the feast worshipfully; enjoy the bounty of the land.
לְפָנָיו יִכְרְעוּ כׇּל־ יוֹרְדֵי עָפָר	All of us who must die, kneel before Her.
וְנַפְשׁוֹ לֹא חִיָּה׃ זֶרַע יַעַבְדֶנּוּ	The wicked will not share in this; Our children will worship God.
יְסֻפַּר לַאדֹנָי לַדּוֹר׃ יָבֹאוּ וְיַגִּידוּ צִדְקָתוֹ לְעַם נוֹלָד כִּי עָשָׂה׃	We will tell the next generation of YaH; generations that are yet to follow, they too will tell of His Righteousness.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi’s translation of Psalms 22 was first published in Psalms in a Translation for Praying (Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Philadelphia: 2014), pp. 32-36.

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 כ״ב | Psalms 22, 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