תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27, abridged translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman & Shaul Vardi

Contributor(s):

Shaul Vardi (translation), Levi Weiman-Kelman (translation), the Masoretic Text and David ben Yishai (traditional attribution)

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6 February 2020 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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זמן תשובה Zman teshuvah, חשבון הנפש Ḥeshbon HaNefesh, Psalms 27

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
	Throughout Elul and the Holidays of Tishrei
לְדָוִד
יהוה אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי, מִמִּי אִירָא, יהוה מָעוֹז חַיָי מִמִּי אֶפְחָד׃	YHVH is my light and my help; whom shall I fear. YHVH is the stronghold of my life; whom should I dread?
בִּקְרֹב עָלַי מְרֵעִים לֶאֱכֹל אֶת בְּשָׂרִי, צָרַי וְאֹיְבַי לִי, הֵמָּה כָשְׁלוּ וְנָפָלוּ׃ אִם תַּחֲנֶה עָלַי מַחֲנֶה לֹא יִירָא לִבִּי, אִם תָּקוּם עָלַי מִלְחָמָה בְּזֹאת אֲנִי בוֹטֵחַ׃	When evildoers draw near to devour me, foes threaten Yet they stumble and fall. Though armies are arrayed against me, I do not fear, I may face war but in this I am sure.
אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת יהוה אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ, שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית יהוה כָּל יְמֵי חַיָי, לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם יהוה וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ׃	One thing I ask of YHVH, I seek this: To live in the house of YHVH my whole life, To gaze on the beauty of YHVH, to visit God’s sanctuary.
כִּי יִצְפְּנֵנִי בְּסֻכֹּה בְּיוֹם רָעָה, יַסְתִּרֵנִי בְּסֵתֶר אָהֳלוֹ בְּצוּר יְרוֹמְמֵנִי׃ וְעַתָּה יָרוּם רֹאשִׁי עַל אֹיְבַי סְבִיבוֹתַי,	God will shelter me on the bad day, protected in God’s tents Or raised on God’s rock. Now God will raise my head over my enemies;
וְאֶזְבְּחָה בְאָהֳלוֹ זִבְחֵי תְרוּעָה, אָשִׁירָה וַאֲזַמְּרָה לַיהוה׃ שְׁמַע יהוה קוֹלִי אֶקְרָא, וְחָנֵּנִי וַעֲנֵנִי׃ לְךָ אָמַר לִבִּי בַּקְּשׁוּ פָנָי, אֶת פָּנֶיךָ יהוה אֲבַקֵּשׁ׃ אַל תַּסְתֵּר פָּנֶיךָ מִמֶּנִּי, אַל תַּט בְּאַף עַבְדֶּךָ, עֶזְרָתִי הָיִיתָ, אַל תִּטְּשֵׁנִי וְאַל תַּעַזְבֵנִי אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי׃	I will bring offerings, shouting, singing to YHVH. Hear, O YHVH, when I cry out; nurture me, answer me My heart says – “seek God.” I seek You! Don’t hide from me, don’t dismiss Your servant angrily; You have always been my help. Don’t desert me! Don’t abandon me! God, my deliverer!
כִּי אָבִי וְאִמִּי עֲזָבוּנִי וַיהוה יַאַסְפֵנִי׃ הוֹרֵנִי יהוה דַּרְכֶּךָ וּנְחֵנִי בְּאֹרַח מִישׁוֹר לְמַעַן שׁוֹרְרָי׃ אַל תִּתְּנֵנִי בְּנֶפֶשׁ צָרָי, כִּי קָמוּ בִי עֵדֵי שֶׁקֶר וִיפֵחַ חָמָס׃ לוּלֵא הֶאֱמַנְתִּי לִרְאוֹת בְּטוּב יהוה בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִים׃ קַוֵּה אֶל יהוה חֲזַק וְיַאֲמֵץ לִבֶּךָ וְקַוֵּה אֶל יהוה׃	Though my father and mother have abandoned me, YHVH gathers me in: Teach me Your way. Guide me on the right path, to confound my oppressors. Don’t abandon me to my foes; false witnesses oppose me, they breathe lies! Look to YHVH – be strong! Have courage! Look to YHVH.

This translation of Psalms 27 can be found in HaAvodah SheBaLev – the Service of the Heart (Kehilat Kol HaNeshama, Jerusalem, 2007). “Adonai” is used as a circumlocution for the Tetragrammaton in the English translation. I have replaced ‘Adonai’ with ‘YHVH.’ –Aharon Varady.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike . 4.0 . International .

“תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27, abridged translation by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman & Shaul Vardi” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Shaul Vardi (translation)

Shaul Vardi is a freelance translator and editor living in Jerusalem and active in the Reform community Kol HaNeshama (KKH). Among other liturgical projects, Shaul devised the transliteration methods used in KKH’s bilingual Siddur and in the bilingual accompaniment to the new Israeli Reform Siddur Tefilat Ha-Adam. He also composed the first Hebrew-language “mi she-berakh” for LGBTQI+ Pride Shabbat.

Levi Weiman-Kelman (translation)

Levi Weiman-Kelman is the founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Haneshama, a Reform community in Jerusalem devoted to prayer, study and social action. He is a founding member of Rabbis for Human Rights and teaches at the Hebrew Union College.

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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Works of related interest:

Lulei ("if only") - Aharon Varady, Shofar CLM font

תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27 (interpretive translation by Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l)

"Urban, lost, hiding, afraid" (credit: n/a, license: CC0)

תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27, an interpretive translation by Zackary Sholem Berger

"landscape, tree, nature, forest, rock, wilderness, mountain, hiking, trail, adventure, valley, mountain range, cliff, jungle, hike, park, canyon, terrain, ridge, outdoors, geology, footpath, dangerous, landform, mountain path, geographical feature, mountainous landforms" (credit: n/a, license: CC0)

תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27 (translation by Yosef Razin)

תהלים כ״ז | Psalms 27, translated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Image: Zombies 017 by Abod of Chaos (License: CC-BY 2.0)

תהלים כ״ז | A D’var Tefillah on Zombies, Elul, and Psalms 27 by Rabbi Jessica Minnen

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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