圣经-旧约（天主教思高圣经）

不认识圣经，就是不认识基督，不认识基督，就是不认识基督所建立的天主教会。

 

旧约·圣咏集

共150章:（卷五44章）

卷一(1-41）   卷二(42-72）   卷三(73-89）   卷四(90-106）   卷五(107-150）

 

卷五(107-150)

一零七：[感谢施救的天主]阿肋路亚！(43)
107:1 请你们向上主赞颂，因为上主美善宽仁，他的仁慈永远常存。
107:2 歌咏此曲的人们是：上主亲身所救赎的，由敌人手中救出的，
107:3 从各地召集来的，东西南北聚来的。
107:4 他们在旷野和沙漠中漂流，找不到往安居之城的道路。
107:5 他们口渴而又腹饥，生命已经奄奄一息；
107:6 他们于急难中一哀救上主，上主即拯救他们脱离困苦，
107:7 引领他们走入正道，走入可安居的城廓。
107:8 愿他们感谢上主的仁慈，称颂他给人子显的奇迹。
107:9 因为他使饥渴的人得到饱饫，他使饥饿的人享尽美物。
107:10 他们坐在黑暗与死影里，尽为痛苦与铁练所缚系，
107:11 因为背弃了天主的命令，又轻视了至高者的叮咛。
107:12 因此，他以苦难折磨了他们的心神，他们跌倒了，却没有人来扶持他们。
107:13 他们于急难中一哀求上主，上主即拯救他们脱离困苦，
107:14 领他们摆脱死影与黑暗，把他们的铐镣完全弄断。
107:15 愿他们感谢上主的仁慈，称颂他给人子显的奇迹。
107:16 因为他把铜门摧毁，又把铁闩击碎。
107:17 他们因行为邪恶而病重，因犯罪而遭受苦痛；
107:18 他们厌弃各样的食物，快已接近死亡的门户。
107:19 他们于急难中一哀求主，上主即拯救他们脱离困苦。
107:20 主发一言就将他们病除，且拯救他们脱离了阴府。
107:21 愿他们感谢上主的仁慈，称颂他给人子显的奇迹。
107:22 愿他们献上感恩的祭献，将他的工程欢乐地宣传。
107:23 他们乘船，下海行航，在大洋中往来经商，
107:24 他们看见过上主的奇异作为，遇到过他行于汪洋中的奇迹：
107:25 他一发命，风浪狂掀，海中波涛顿时高翻，
107:26 时而忽跃冲天，时而忽坠深渊；处此危急之中，他们胆战心寒，
107:27 恍惚且晕眩，有如醉汉；一切的经验，全部紊乱。
107:28 他们于急难中一哀求上主，上主即拯救他们脱离困苦。
107:29 他化风暴为平静，海涛顿时便安定；
107:30 他使风平浪静，大家个个欢忭，他领他们登上了渴望的海岸。
107:31 愿他们感谢上主的仁慈，称颂他给人子的奇迹，
107:32 在人民的集会中颂扬他，在长老的议席上赞美他。
107:33 上主使河域变为荒滩，使清水泉源变成干川，
107:34 使肥沃土地变为咸田，都因当地居民的罪愆。
107:35 他又能使沙漠变成水源，使旱地变成水泉。
107:36 把饥饿的人徒置在那地，使他们兴建安居的城邑；
107:37 耕田种地，开辟了葡萄园，因此收获果实，丰富出产。
107:38 上主降福了他们人口繁衍，赏赐他们的牲畜有增无减。
107:39 其后因惨遭灾患苦难，人口减少而被弃如前。
107:40 但上主却使权贵遭受耻辱，任他们徘徊歧途无路可走；
107:41 反拯救贫穷人脱离灾难，使家属多如羊群一般。
107:42 正直的人见到必然欢忭，但邪恶的人却哑口无言。
107:43 谁贤哲？详察此事，善自体会上主的仁慈！

 

 

一零八：[晨祷](14)
108:1 达味的诗歌。
108:2 天主，我的心已准备妥当，我的心己准备妥当，我愿意去歌弹咏唱。
108:3 我的灵魂，你要醒起来！七弦和竖琴，要奏起来！我还要把曙光唤起来。
108:4 上主，我要在万民中赞美你，上主，我要在列邦中歌颂你。
108:5 因为你的大爱高越诸天，你的忠信直达霄汉。
108:6 天主，愿你在天上备受举扬，愿你在地上彰显荣光，
108:7 为叫你所爱的人获得救恩，求你以右手协助，垂允我们。
108:8 天主在自己的圣所说：「我要凯旋，将舍根分疆，将稣苛特的平原测量。
108:9 基勒阿得地属于我，默纳协地也属于我，我的头盔就是厄法辣因，犹大成为我手中的权棍。
108:10 摩阿布是我的沐浴池，我向厄东投我的鞋只，我还要战胜培勒舍特。」
108:11 谁引领我进入坚城，谁领导我走进厄东？
108:12 天主，莫非你已将我们抛弃，天主，从今不再领我军出击？
108:13 求你援助我们抵抗仇敌，因为人的援助尽属虚无。
108:14 我们倚靠天主，奋勇行事。他必要踏践我们的仇敌。

 

 

一零九：[诅咒残忍的仇人](31)
109:1 达味的圣咏，交于乐官。我口赞美的天主，求你别缄口不语！
109:2 因为邪恶欺诈的口，已经张开攻击我，骗人说谎的舌头，也已经出言陷害我，
109:3 以毒恨的言语四面抨击我，又无原无故地兴讼毁谤我。
109:4 他们诬告我，以报我的友爱；然而我却为他们祈祷不懈；
109:5 他们以恶心回报我的善心，他们用恨情还报我的爱情。
109:6 求你派一恶人向他们攻讦，叫控告者站在他的右边。
109:7 使他受审时，被判为罪犯，使他的辩护，仍构成罪案。
109:8 愿你缩短他的年岁，让人取去他的职位，
109:9 使他的子女尽成孤独，使他的妻子流为寡妇，
109:10 使他的子孙流离失所，沿门乞食，使他由残破的家室里，被人逐离。
109:11 使债主搜刮他所有的家产，使外人劫掠他劳力的所赚。
109:12 谁也不要向他施行仁慈，谁也不要怜悯他的孤儿；
109:13 愿他的后裔全被斩尽灭绝，他们的姓名被涂抹于后代。
109:14 愿上主记念他父亲的罪愆，总不要赦免他母亲的过犯；
109:15 叫那些罪永留在上主前，从地上除去他们的记念。
109:16 因为他们总不想施恩行善，只知道迫害弱小和贫贱，连心灵破碎的人也摧残。
109:17 他既喜爱诅咒，愿诅咒临于他！他既不爱祝福，愿祝福远离他！
109:18 他以诅咒为自己的衣带，诅咒如水浸入他的五内，更象脂油渗透他的骨骸，
109:19 好象衣服遮蔽了他，好似皮带缠住了他。
109:20 凡控告我并恶言诽谤我的人，愿他们由上主获得这些报应。
109:21 然而上主，为了你的名，求你善待我，天主，按照你的仁爱和善良，拯救我！
109:22 我原来贫穷可怜，我的心哀伤悲叹；
109:23 我象夕阳的残影渐渐消逝，我被人驱除又与蝗虫相似。
109:24 我的双膝因斋戒而酸软，我的肉体已经消瘦不堪。
109:25 我竟成了他们的笑柄，看见我的人头摇齿冷。
109:26 上主，我的天主，求你扶助我，求你按着你的慈爱拯救我，
109:27 让人们知道这是你手的工程，上主，的确这是你的所作所行。
109:28 任凭他们诅咒，惟愿你予以降福，叫你仆人欢喜，使我的仇敌蒙羞。
109:29 叫诬告我的人满被凌辱，他们蒙受耻辱，如披氅裘。
109:30 我要亲口向上主歌颂，要赞美他在亿万人中。
109:31 因他站在穷苦人的右边，拯救他脱离定罪的裁判。

 

 

一一零：[默西亚是君王也是司祭](7)
110:1 达味的圣咏。上主对我主起誓说：你坐在我右边，等我使你的仇敌，变作你脚的踏板！
110:2 上主由熙雍伸出你的权杖：我要在你仇敌中统治为王！
110:3 神圣光辉的王位，你生之日，已偕同你，在晓明之前，好似甘露，我即已生了你。
110:4 上主一发了誓，他决不再反悔，你照默基瑟德品位，永做司祭！
110:5 上主站在你的右边助战，义怒的时日，把列王踏践；
110:6 他要惩罚万民，堆垒他们的尸首，他在大地各处击碎他们的头颅。
110:7 他于道旁畅饮溪流，正为此而挺胸抬头。

 

 

一一一：[天主化工的伟大](10)
111:1 阿肋路亚。在义人的集会和团聚中，我必要全心向上主赞颂。
111:2 上主的化工确实伟大，凡喜爱他的必须究察。
111:3 他的作为辉煌光明，他的正义永远常存。
111:4 他使他的奇迹不可遗忘，上主实在是慈爱而温良。
111:5 他赐给敬畏他的人食物，且永远怀念自己的盟约，
111:6 将他伟业的异能启示给选民，把外邦人的产业赏赐给他们。
111:7 他手所行的是忠诚正义，他的一切规诫坚定不移，
111:8 为万世万代永远立定，全是基于真理和公正。
111:9 他速来救赎他的百姓，永远立定了他的约盟；他的名是神圣而可敬。
111:10 敬畏上主，是智慧的开始：实行敬畏的人，算有智慧；他的荣誉，必定存留永世。

 

 

一一二：[义人的福乐](10)
112:1 阿肋路亚！凡敬畏上主的人，真是有福，喜欢他诫命的人，真是有福！
112:2 他的子孙在世上必要强盛，义人的后代必要受到赞颂。
112:3 他家中必有权势财产，他的仁义必存留永远。
112:4 他富有仁爱，慈悲而又公道，象光明在暗处向义人照耀。
112:5 乐善好施的人必蒙受祝福，他以正义处理自己的事务。
112:6 因为他永远不会失足抖颤，义人必要受到永远的纪念。
112:7 噩耗的凶信，不会使他惊慌，因为他仰赖上主心志坚强。
112:8 直到看见他的仇敌蒙羞，他的心志坚强无惧无忧。
112:9 他散财而周济贫苦的人。他的仁义必会万世留存，他的头角高举必受光荣。
112:10 罪人见到必要愤恨满腔，咬自己的牙齿，焦灼难当，恶人们的希望终必丧亡。

 

 

一一三：[提拔弱小的天主]阿肋路亚！(9)
113:1 上主的仆人，请一齐赞颂，请一齐赞颂上主的圣名！
113:2 愿上主的名受赞颂，从现今直到永远无穷！
113:3 从太阳东升直到西倾，愿上主的圣名受赞颂！
113:4 上主高越列国万邦，他的光荣凌驾穹苍；
113:5 谁能相似上主我们的天主？他坐在苍天之上的最高处。
113:6 他必会垂目下视，观看上天和下地；
113:7 从尘埃里提拔弱小的人，由粪土中举扬穷苦的人，
113:8 叫他与贵族的人共席，与本国的王侯同位；
113:9 使那不孕的妇女坐镇家中，成为多子的母亲，快乐无穷。

 

 

一一四：[出埃及的奇迹](8)
114:1 阿肋路亚。曾当以色列出离埃及，雅各伯家离开蛮夷时，
114:2 犹大成了上主的圣所，以色列成了他的王国；
114:3 海洋见了，顿时逃溜，约旦立即回转倒流。
114:4 山岳跳跃象公羊，丘陵舞蹈似羔羊。
114:5 海洋，什么使你逃溜。约旦，什么叫你倒流？
114:6 山岳，你们为什么跳跃象公羊？丘陵，你们为什么舞蹈似羔羊？
114:7 大地，你应该在上主的面前，在雅各伯的天主面前摇撼，
114:8 他使磐石变为水潭，他使礁石变成水泉。

 

 

一一五：[雅威是真神](18)
115:1 上主，光荣不要归于我们，不要归于我们，只愿那个光荣完全归于你的圣名，那是为了你的慈爱，为了你的忠诚。
115:2 为什么让外邦人常说：他们的天主在何处居住？
115:3 我们的天主在天上居住，他创造了他喜爱的万物。
115:4 外邦人的偶象无非金银，不过是人手制造的物品：
115:5 偶象有口，不能言；偶象有眼，不能看，
115:6 有耳，不能听；有鼻，不能闻；
115:7 有手，不能动；有脚，不能行；有喉，不发声。
115:8 铸造偶象的人，将与偶象同亡；凡信赖偶象的人，也将是一样。
115:9 以色列家族却信赖上主，他是他们的助佑和盾护；
115:10 亚郎的家族也信赖上主，他是他们的助佑和盾护；
115:11 敬畏上主的人信赖上主，他是他们的助佑和盾护。
115:12 上主眷念我们，也必给我们赐福，降福以色列家族，降福亚郎家族；
115:13 他向敬畏上主的人赐福，不拘贵贱都要获得降福，
115:14 愿上主使你们的人口繁昌，使你们和你们的子孙兴旺！
115:15 愿你们蒙受上主的降福，他是上天下地的造化主！
115:16 苍天确实是上主的苍天，上主给世人赏赐了尘寰。
115:17 死人们不能够赞美上主，降入阴府的人也不能够，
115:18 而是我们赞颂上主，从现今一直到永久。

 

 

一一六：[还愿的感歌]阿肋路亚！(19)
116:1 我对上主爱慕倾心，因他俯听我的祷声；
116:2 在我呼吁他的那日，他向我侧他的圣耳。
116:3 死亡的圈套缠住了我，阴府的罗网缚住了我，艰苦和烦恼困住了我，
116:4 我呼求了上主的圣名，上主，求你救我的性命。
116:5 上主富有怜悯和正义，我们的天主仁爱无比；
116:6 上主保护诚朴的人，我若软弱，他必救助。
116:7 我的灵魂，你回到你的安息，因为上主实在是厚待了你。
116:8 他救拔了我的灵魂脱免死亡，不使我的眼流泪，我的脚跌伤。
116:9 我要在活人的地域，在上主的面前行走。
116:10 虽然说我已痛苦万分，但是我仍然抱有信心。
116:11 我在彷徨中曾说：众人都虚诈不诚。
116:12 我应该要怎样报谢上主，谢他赐给我的一切恩佑？
116:13 我要举起救恩的杯爵，我要呼吁上主的名号，
116:14 我要在众百姓面前，向上主还我的誓愿！
116:15 上主的圣者们的去世，在上主的眼中十分珍贵。
116:16 我的上主！我是你的仆役，你仆役是你婢女的儿子；你将我的锁链给我开释，
116:17 我要献给你赞美之祭，我要呼号上主的名字。
116:18 我要在众百姓面前，向上主还我的誓愿，
116:19 要在上主圣殿的庭院，耶路撒冷！即在你中间。

 

 

一一七：[请万民赞美上主]阿肋路亚！(2)
117:1 列国万民，请赞美上主，一切民族，请歌颂上主！
117:2 因为他的仁爱厚加于我们，上主的忠诚必要永远常存。

 

 

一一八：[庆节游行曲]阿肋路亚！(29)
118:1 请你们向上主赞颂，因为上主美善宽仁，他的仁慈永远常存。
118:2 愿以色列家赞美说：他的仁慈永远常存。
118:3 愿亚郎的家赞美说：他的仁慈永远常存。
118:4 愿敬畏主者赞美说：他的仁慈永远常存。
118:5 我在急难中呼求上主，他即垂允，将我救出。
118:6 上主偕同我，我不怕什么；世人对待我，究竟能如何？
118:7 上主偕同我，作我的助佑，我必看见我的仇人受辱。
118:8 投奔到上主的怀抱，远远胜过信赖同伙。
118:9 投奔到上主的怀抱，远远胜过信赖官僚。
118:10 万民虽然齐来将我围困，奉上主名我将他们灭尽。
118:11 他们从各处来将我围困，奉上主名我将他们灭尽。
118:12 虽然如同黄蜂将我围困，又好象烈火把荆棘烧焚，奉上主名我将他们灭尽。
118:13 人虽推撞我，叫我跌倒，然而上主却扶持了我。
118:14 上主是我的力量与勇敢，他也始终作了我的救援。
118:15 在义人居住的帐幕中，响起了胜利的欢呼声：上主的右手大显威能，
118:16 将我举擎，上主的右手大显威能。
118:17 我不至于死，必要生存，我要宣扬上主的工程。
118:18 上主惩罚我虽严厉非常，但却没有把我交于死亡。
118:19 请给我敞开正义的门，我要进去向上主谢恩；
118:20 正义的门就是上主的门，惟独义人才得进入此门。
118:21 我感谢你，因为你应允了我，你也将你的救恩赐给了我。
118:22 匠人弃而不用的废石，反而成了屋角的基石；
118:23 那是上主的所行所为，在我们眼中神妙莫测。
118:24 这是上主所安排的一天，我们应该为此鼓舞喜欢。
118:25 上主！我们求你救助，上主！我们求你赐福。
118:26 奉上主之名而来的应该受赞颂，我们要由上主的殿内祝福你们。
118:27 天主是上主，他给我们光明；隆重列队向祭坛角前进行。
118:28 你是我的天主，我感谢你，我的天主，我高声颂扬你。
118:29 请你们向上主赞颂，因为上主美善宽仁，他的仁慈永远常存。

 

 

一一九：[天主的法律赞](176)

[第一首守法律的幸福]
119:1 品行完备而遵行上主法律的，象这样的人才算是真有福的，
119:2 遵守上主诫命全心寻求他的，象这样的人才算是真有福的。
119:3 他们总不为非作恶，只按他的道路生活。
119:4 你颁发了你的命令，叫他们严格去遵行。
119:5 愿我的行径坚定，为遵守你的章程！
119:6 我若重视你的每条诫律，我就绝对不会蒙羞受辱。
119:7 我一学习你正义的判词，就以至诚的心灵颂谢你。
119:8 我要遵守你的规矩，不要将我完全弃去！

[第二首守法律的喜乐]
119:9 青年怎样才能守身如玉？那就只有遵从你的言语。
119:10 我要用我整个心寻觅你，不要让我错行了你谕旨！
119:11 我将你的话藏在我的心里，免得我去犯罪而获罪于你。
119:12 上主，你理应受赞颂，教训我守你的诫命。
119:13 你口所授的一切法度，我要以我的唇舌叙述。
119:14 我喜爱你约法的道路，就如喜爱一切的财富。
119:15 我要默想你的法度，也要沉思你的道路。
119:16 我以你的章程作喜欢，我永不忘却你的圣言。

[第三首求赐守法律之恩]
119:17 请恩待你的仆人我得以生存，这样使我能够服从你的纶音。
119:18 求你开明我的眼睛，透视你法律的奇能。
119:19 我原是寄居尘世的旅客，不要向我隐瞒你的规则。
119:20 我因常常渴慕你的谕令，我的灵魂便为此而成病。
119:21 你已经怒责了骄傲横蛮的人，背弃你诫命的，是可咒诅的人。
119:22 请除去我所受的凌辱与轻谩，因为我已经遵守了你的规范。
119:23 判官虽然反对我而开庭，你仆人仍然默思你的章程。
119:24 因为你的诫命是我的欢喜，你的典章是我的谋士。

[第四首求赐守法律的安慰]
119:25 我的灵魂虽已辗转于灰尘，求你照你的诺言使我生存。
119:26 我陈明我的行径，你便垂听了我，今再恳求你用你的章程教训我；
119:27 请指给我你约法的路径，我要沉思你的奇妙工程。
119:28 我的灵魂因忧伤而滴滴流泪，请照你的诺言使我奋昂兴起。
119:29 求你不要使我走错误的道路，求你恩赐我常遵守你的法度。
119:30 我选定了真理的途径，我矢志服从你的谕令。
119:31 我时常依恋着你的法度，上主，不要叫我蒙受羞辱。
:32 我必奔赴你诫命的路程，因为你舒展了我的心灵。

[第五首求赐守法的宠光]
119:33 上主，给我指出你章程的道路，我要一直到死仔仔细细遵守。
119:34 求你教训我遵守你的法律，我要以整个心灵持守不逾。
119:35 求你引导我走你诫命的捷径，因为这条捷径使我非常高兴。
119:36 使我的心倾慕你的律例，不要让我的心贪财好利。
119:37 求你转回我的眼目免看虚荣，求你按照你的道路赐我生命。
119:38 求你向你的仆人实践你的预许，即你向敬畏你的人所许的赐与。
119:39 求你除去我所怕的羞耻，因为你的约法甚是甘饴。
119:40 看，我如何渴慕你的规约，按照你的正义，赐我生活。

[第六首求赐传扬圣道之恩]
119:41 上主，愿你的仁慈和救恩，照你的诺言，降临于我身！
119:42 对凌辱我的人，我有所答辩，因为我全寄望于你的圣言。
119:43 不要由我口撤去真理的训言，因我一心一意渴望你的判断。
119:44 我要遵守你的法典，时时不断，一直到永远。
119:45 我要行走平坦宽阔的途径，因为我常常追求你的诫命。
119:46 我要传述你的规律，在列王前也不畏惧。
119:47 我非常喜悦你的规诫，因为我对此有所锺爱。
119:48 我向你的诫命举起我的双手，对你的一切章程沉思不休。

[第七首法律是忧苦之慰]
119:49 求你莫把你给你仆人的诺言遗忘，因为你在这诺言里赐给了我希望。
119:50 在我的忧苦中，这是我的安慰，因为你的圣言，赐给了我生气。
119:51 骄傲人虽加给我极度的侮辱，但我却没有偏离过你的法度。
119:52 我一想到你永恒的断定，上主，我是多么安慰而高兴。
119:53 为了背弃你法律的罪人，我不知不觉地恕火焚心。
119:54 在我这客居不定的寓所，你的法令成了我的诗歌。
119:55 上主，夜间我想起你的圣名，我就决意要遵守你的法令。
119:56 我之所以如此这般，因我守了你的法范。

[第八首立志遵守法律]
119:57 上主，我说：我的福分，就是遵守你的教训。
119:58 我全心仰望着你的容貌，求你按你的诺言怜悯我。
119:59 我一默想到我所走的道路，就把我的脚转向你的法度。
119:60 爽爽快快，毫不踌躇，我常遵守你的规矩。
119:61 恶人的绳索虽将我缠起，我却未将你的法律忘记。
119:62 为了你正义的判语，我半夜起身赞美你。
119:63 我常同敬畏你的人为友，与遵守你诫命的人为侣。
119:64 上主，你的慈爱充满大地，求你教我遵守你的律例。

[第九首苦患警醒人守法律]
119:65 上主，你依照你的言词，善待了你的仆役。
119:66 求你以知识和聪慧教训我，因为我一心信赖你的诫条。
119:67 我在受苦以前，徘徊岐途，但我现今顺从你的训语。
119:68 你是慈善的，好施仁惠，求你给我教授你的规矩。
119:69 骄傲人捏造谎言陷害我，我全心遵守你的规约。
119:70 他们的心迟钝如蒙脂肪，然而我却喜欢你的典章。
119:71 为叫我能学习你的法度，受苦遭难于我确有好处。
119:72 你口中的法律对我的利益，连千万的金银也不能相比。

[第十首求赐忧苦得安慰]
119:73 你的双手创造了我，形成了我，求你赐我智力，为学你的诫条。
119:74 敬畏你的人，见我就喜欢，因为我常仰望你的圣言。
119:75 上主，我知道你的审判是公正无私的，你叫我遭受磨难是理所当然的。
119:76 照你给你仆人的许诺，按你的仁慈来安慰我。
119:77 愿你的仁爱临于我，使我生活，因为你的法律就是我的喜乐。
119:78 愿无端难为我的骄傲人蒙羞！但是我要默想沉思你的法律。
119:79 愿那些敬畏你的人归向我，愿关心你法律的人依附我！
119:80 愿我全心遵守你的法典，这样我便不致自觉羞赧。

[第十一首苦患中求赐助佑]
119:81 我灵渴慕你的救援而衰弱，我热切地盼望着你的许诺。
119:82 我对你的诺言望眼欲穿，究竟你何时才赐我慰安？
119:83 我虽然相似烟熏的皮囊，我仍然不忘却你的典章。
119:84 你仆人的岁月还能有多久？你何时处罚迫害我的恶徒？
119:85 不按你法律生活的骄傲人，暗中给我挖掘了陷阱深坑。
119:86 你所有的一切诫命全是真道；他们无理迫害我，求你协助我。
119:87 他们几乎将我由地上灭绝，但我却没有背弃你的规诫。
119:88 求你按照你的仁慈使我生活，这样我必遵守你口中的条约。

[第十二首天主的法律永恒不变]
119:89 上主，你的圣言，存留永远，它坚固而不移，好似苍天。
119:90 你所有的忠诚，代代流传，你所造的大地，屹立不变。
119:91 天地时常遵守你的旨意，因为万物都是你的仆役。
119:92 我如果不喜爱你的法令，我早已在我苦患中丧命。
119:93 我永不忘却你的法令，因为你借此赐我生命。
119:94 我全属于你，求你救拔我，因为我寻求了你的法约。
119:95 恶人窥视我，想把我杀害，然而我仍细想你的规诫。
119:96 我看任何齐全都有界限，唯你的诫命却广阔无边。

[第十三首法律增益人智]
119:97 上主，我是多么爱慕你的法律，它是我终日对你默想的题目。
119:98 你的诫命永远永存于我心，它使我比我的仇敌聪明。
119:99 我比我所有的教师更聪明，因为我常在默想你的法令。
119:100 我比年老的人更智慧，因为我恪守你的律例。
119:101 我使我的脚回避一切恶路，为叫我能够遵守你的言语。
119:102 我不偏离你的约法，因为是你教训了我。
119:103 你的教言对我上颚多么甘美！在我的口中比蜂蜜更要甘美！
119:104 由你的诫命，我获得了聪明，因我憎恶一切欺诈的途径。

[第十四首法律是苦患中的光明]
119:105 你的言语是我步履前的灵灯，是我路途上的光明。
119:106 我今起誓，我并决定，坚守你正义的谕令。
119:107 上主，我已经受苦很重，照你的诺言，保我生命。
119:108 上主，请悦纳我口中的祭献，请你教训我明白你的审断。
119:109 我的性命虽常处于危险，但我仍不忘记你的法典。
119:110 恶人虽然给我设下陷阱，我仍然不偏离你的章程。
119:111 你的诫命永做我的家产，因为这是我心中的喜欢。
119:112 我要倾心遵守你的法典，千秋万世，一直到永远。

[第十五首痛恨天主所痛恨的]
119:113 我很恼恨心怀二意的人，对你的法律，我喜爱万分。
119:114 你是我的庇护我的盾牌，因此我唯你的圣言是赖。
119:115 作恶的人，你们应离我远去！因我要遵守天主的法度。
119:116 照你的诺言，扶持我的生命，不要让我的希望成为泡影。
119:117 求你扶持我得蒙拯救，能时常留意你的制度。
119:118 凡背离你法令的，你都鄙弃，因为他们的思念全是诈欺。
119:119 地上的恶人你都看作渣滓，因此我非常喜爱你的法制。
119:120 我的肉身因敬畏你而战慄，对你的谕令我也知所敬畏。

[第十六首守法律的必获救助]
119:121 我行了正义及合法的事情，别把我交于压迫我的坏人。
119:122 求你保证你仆人的安全，不要让骄傲人心将我磨难。
119:123 对你的救助和你正义的诺言，我热切渴盼得已经望眼欲穿。
119:124 求你照你的仁慈恩待你的仆人，也求你教训我能明白你的章程。
119:125 我是你的仆人，求赐我明达，为使我能够通晓你的约法。
119:126 现今是上主行动的时候，因他们违反了你的法度。
119:127 所以我爱慕你的诫律，远胜各种黄金和宝玉。
119:128 我尊重你的一切诫命，憎恶所有的欺诈途径。

[第十七首爱法律的求天主训导]
119:129 你的约法诚然是美妙神奇，因此我的灵魂要遵守不违。
119:130 你的言语经过解释必会发亮光照，连知识浅薄的人也可以通达知晓。
119:131 我张开我的口嗟叹唏嘘，因为我极渴慕你的诫律。
119:132 求你回身向我，给我垂怜，如素常对待爱你名者然。
119:133 引导我的脚步履行你的训诰，不要允许任何邪恶来主宰我。
119:134 求你救我摆脱人的欺压，为使我能遵守你的律法。
119:135 求你给你的仆人显示你的慈颜，同时也求你给我教导你的规范。
119:136 我的眼泪滴滴下流有如溪水，因为他们全不遵守你的法规。

[第十八首天主的法律正直无邪]
119:137 上主你原是公义的，你的判决是正直的。
119:138 你以正义和至诚，立定了你的诫命。
119:139 我的热火快要将我消耗殆尽，因为我的敌人忘了你的圣训。
119:140 你的教言经过千捶百练，你的仆人对它爱不知倦。
119:141 我虽然年纪幼小，被人轻看，可是我总不忘却你的法范。
119:142 你的正义永远公正，你的法律永远坚定。
119:143 困苦和压迫虽然来临我身，但你的诫命仍是我的欢欣。
119:144 你的约法永远公允，赐我智慧，使我生存。

[第十九首求赐忠守法律之恩]
119:145 我全心呼号，并求你俯听，上主，我要遵守你的法令。
119:146 我呼号你，求你救护，我必遵守你的法度。
119:147 天还未亮，我就起来求助，极热切地期待你的训语，
119:148 夜里每更我都睁着眼睛，全是为了默想你的圣训。
119:149 上主，请照你的仁慈俯听我的呼声，上主请按你的正义使我得以重生。
119:150 非法迫害我的人已临近，他们都远离了你的法令。
119:151 上主，愿你时常与我亲近，你一切的诫命全属忠信。
119:152 我早已由你的约法得知：那都是你从永远所定立。

[第二十首求赐脱离迫害]
119:153 求你垂视我的苦难而救拔我、因为我总没有忘记你的法约。
119:154 求你辩护我的案件而拯救我，并请依照你的诺言，使我生活。
119:155 恨不得救恩远远离开恶徒，因为他们不理睬你的法度。
119:156 上主，你的仁爱何其广阔，按照你的谕旨，赐我生活。
119:157 迫害与磨难我的人确实众多，然而我却不会偏离你的法约。
119:158 奸党恶辈我一看见就会生厌，因为他们都不遵守你的规范。
119:159 上主，请你看我如何爱你的训令，上主，照你的仁慈保全我的生命。
119:160 你圣言的总纲确是真实无欺，你正义的一切判断永远不移。

[第二十一首守法律的喜乐与平安]
119:161 王侯虽然无缘无故加我苦难，我的心灵仍旧敬畏你的教言。
119:162 我对你的诺言实在欢喜若狂，象得到许多胜利品的人一样。
119:163 奸诈邪恶是我所恨所憎的，你的法令是我所喜所爱的。
119:164 为了你那正义的判词，我一日要赞美你七次。
119:165 爱慕你法律的必饱享平安，没有一点失足跌倒的危险。
119:166 上主，我期待你的助佑，上主，我遵守你的法度。
119:167 我的灵魂恪守你的规诫，因为我对规诫十分喜爱。
119:168 我必要遵守你的规诫和劝言，因我的一切道路在你的面前。

[第二十二首求赐一生爱慕天主的法律]
119:169 上主，愿我的呼声上达于你，求你照你的约言使我明理。
119:170 愿我的祈求到达你的面前，求你照你的诺言救我脱险。
119:171 愿我的双唇涌溢赞美的歌曲！因为你给我教授了你的法律。
119:172 愿我的舌头歌咏你的训令！因你的一切诫命尽属公正。
119:173 愿你伸出你的手救助我！因为我拣选了你的法约。
119:174 上主，我渴望你的救援，你的法律是我的喜欢。
119:175 愿我的灵魂活着赞美你，愿你的断语将我来支持！
119:176 我象迷路的亡羊，请寻回你的仆人，因为我总没有忘记你的任何诫命。

 

 

一二零：[谗舌之害](7)
120:1 登圣殿歌。我蒙难时一呼求上主，他就俯听了我的呼求。
120:2 上主，求你救我脱离说谎的口唇，上主，求你救我摆脱诡诈的舌根。
120:3 你这诡诈的口舌，究竟怎样对付你？究竟怎样惩治你？
120:4 只有勇士的矢箭，还有杜松的火炭！
120:5 我真不幸！因为要在默舍客居住，要在刻达尔的帐幕寄宿。
120:6 因与憎恶和平的人相处，我的灵魂已经感到太久。
120:7 我言谈无非和平，他们却鼓动战争。

 

 

一二一：[求一路平安](8)
121:1 登圣殿歌。我举我目向圣山瞻望，我的救助要来自何方。
121:2 我的救助来自上主，他创造了天地宇宙。
121:3 他决不让你的脚滑倒；保护你的也决不睡觉。
121:4 看，那保护以色列者，不打盹也不会睡着。
121:5 上主站在你的右边，作你的护卫和保安。
121:6 白天太阳必不伤你，黑夜月亮也不害你。
121:7 上主保护你于任何灾患，上主保护你的心灵平安。
121:8 上主保护你出外，保护你回来，从现在起一直到永远的时代。

 

 

一二二：[向耶京欢呼致敬](9)
122:1 登圣殿歌，达味作。我喜欢，因为有人向我说：我们要进入上主的圣殿！
122:2 耶路撒冷！我们的双足，已经站立在你的门口。
122:3 耶路撒冷建筑的好似京城，确是内部划一整齐的京城。
122:4 各支派，上主的各支派都齐集在那里，按照以色列的法律称颂上主的名字。
122:5 那里设立了执政的座席，那里有达味王室的宝位。
122:6 请为耶路撒冷祈祷和平：愿爱慕你的人获享安宁，
122:7 愿在你的城垣内有平安，愿在你的堡垒中有安全！
122:8 为了我的兄弟和同伴，我要向你说：祝你平安！
122:9 为了上主我们天主的殿宇，我为你恳切祈祷，祝你幸福。

 

 

一二三：[求天主怜悯](4)
123:1 登圣殿歌。居住在诸天上的大主，我向你仰起我眼目。
123:2 看，仆人的眼目怎样仰望主人的手，看，婢女的眼目怎样注视主妇的手，我们的眼目也就怎样注视着上主，我们的天主，直到他怜悯我们才止。
123:3 上主，求你矜怜，矜怜我们，因为我们已尝尽了欺凌；
123:4 我们的心灵已经饱受的太多了：即骄傲人的欺凌，富贵人的耻笑。

 

 

一二四：[天主是强有力的救星](8)
124:1 登圣殿歌，达味作。若不是上主保佑我们，唯愿以色列子民再说：
124:2 若不是上主保佑我们，当世人起来攻击我们，
124:3 并向我们发泄怒火时，必会活活将我们吞食。
124:4 就象淹没我们的水祸，流过我们颈项的洪波。
124:5 又象汹涌澎湃的狂浪，早已将我们淹没灭亡。
124:6 赞美上主，他没有将我们抛出，使我们做成他爪牙的猎物；
124:7 我们象挣脱猎人罗网的小鸟，罗网被扯破了，我们自然逃掉。
124:8 我们的救助是仰赖上主的名，上天和下地都是由他所造成。

 

 

一二五：[依恃天主](5)
125:1 登圣殿歌。依赖上主的人有如熙雍山，屹立不动，必永远常存不变。
125:2 群山怎样环绕着耶路撒冷，上主也怎样保卫他的百姓，从现今开始，一直到永恒。
125:3 他不让恶人的权杖，来统治义人的家当，免得义人伸出手掌，为非作歹效尤学样。
125:4 上主，求你赐福与善良的人，又求你赐福与心地正直的人！
125:5 那自甘堕落于自己邪恶的人们，上主必使他们与恶徒一起沉沦。唯愿以色列家族永享平静安宁。

 

 

一二六：[为选民之复兴祈祷](6)
126:1 登圣殿歌。上主带领俘虏回到熙雍，我们觉得仿佛是在梦中；
126:2 那时，我们满口喜气盈盈，我们双唇其乐融融。那时外邦异民赞叹不已：上主向他们行了何等奇事！
126:3 上主向我们行了伟大奇迹，我们的确也觉得满心欢喜。
126:4 上主，求你转变我们的命运！就象乃革布有流水的浇淋。
126:5 那含泪播种的人，必含笑获享收成；
126:6 他们边行边哭，出去播种耕耘，他们载欣载奔，回来背着禾捆。

 

 

一二七：[信赖天主照顾](5)
127:1 登圣殿歌，撒落满作。若不是上主兴工建屋，建筑的人是徒然劳碌；若不是上主在护守城堡，守城的人人白白惊醒护守。
127:2 你们极早起床尽属徒然，每夜坐至深更图谋打算，为了求食经过多少辛酸；天主所爱者，却好生安眠。
127:3 的确子女全是上主的赐予，胎儿也全是他的报酬。
127:4 年青少壮所生的子嗣，有如勇士手中的箭矢。
127:5 装满自己箭囊的人，真有福气，城门前争辩，不会羞愧。

 

 

一二八：[家庭之乐](6)
128:1 登圣殿歌。不拘你是谁，只要你敬畏上主，在他的道路上行走，就算有福！
128:2 你能吃你双手赚来食物，你便实在幸运，也万事有福！
128:3 你的妻子住在你的内室，象一株葡萄树结实累累；你的子女绕着你的桌椅，相似橄榄树的枝叶茂密。
128:4 的确，谁敬畏上主，必受这样的祝福！
128:5 惟愿上主由熙雍圣山向你赐福，使你一生得见耶路撒冷的福禄，
128:6 使你目睹你的子女的子女，见到以民的平安富足。

 

 

一二九：[选民于患难中的祈祷](8)
129:1 登圣殿歌。从我少年，世人就与我为难，惟愿以色列子民再说一遍：
129:2 从我少年，世人就与我为难，然而他们却未能将我推翻。
129:3 他们象农夫在我背上耕田，使所犁的沟畦又长又远；
129:4 但上主却公道不偏，将恶人的绳索割断。
129:5 愿一切仇恨熙雍的人民，个个蒙受羞辱，转身逃遁！
129:6 愿他们象屋顶上的禾草，尚未吐出秀穗，就已枯槁！
129:7 收割的人，手拿一把不满，捆禾的人，怀抱一束不显。
129:8 过路的人们不会再说：愿上主的降福临于你们，我们奉上主名祝福你们！

 

 

一三零：[由深渊呼主吟](8)
130:1 登圣殿歌。上主，我由深渊向你呼号，
130:2 我主，求你俯听我的呼号，求你侧耳俯听我的哀祷！
130:3 上主，你若细察我的罪辜，我主！有谁还能站立得住？
130:4 可是，你以宽恕为怀，令人对你起敬起爱。
130:5 我仰赖上主，我灵期待他的圣言；
130:6 我灵等候我主，切于更夫的待旦，
130:7 请以色列仰赖上主，应切于更夫待旦，因为上主富于仁慈，他必定慷慨救援。
130:8 他必要拯救以色列，脱离一切所有的罪孽。

 

 

一三一：[天真信赖](3)
131:1 登圣殿歌，达味作。上主，我的心灵不知骄傲蛮横，我的眼目不知高视逞能；伟大惊人的事，我不想干，超过能力的事，我不想办。
131:2 我只愿我的心灵，得享平静与安宁；就象断乳的幼儿，在他母亲的怀抱中，我愿我的心灵在我内，与那幼儿相同。
131:3 以色列！请仰赖上主，从现今一直到永恒！

 

 

一三二：[迁移约柜纪念咏](18)
132:1 登圣殿歌。上主，求你以慈爱怀念达味，和他所有的一切焦思劳瘁：
132:2 因为他曾向主立过誓言，向雅各伯的全能者许过愿：
132:3 我决不进入我家中的帐幔，也决不登上我躺卧的床沿，
132:4 不容许我的眼睛睡眠，也不让我的眼睑安闲，
132:5 直到我给上主寻找到一个处所，给雅各伯的全能者将居地觅妥。
132:6 看，我们听说约柜在厄弗辣大，我们在雅阿尔平原找到了它。
132:7 请大家一同进他的居所，并在他的脚凳下崇拜说：
132:8 上主，请你和你威严的约柜，起来驾临到你安息的地宅。
132:9 愿你的司祭身披正义，愿你的信徒踊跃欢喜。
132:10 为了你仆人达味的情面，不要将你的受傅者轻看！
132:11 上主既然向达味起了誓，真理的约言决不再收回：「我要使你的亲生儿子，荣登上你自己的王位；
132:12 若你的子孙遵守我的誓言，也遵守我教训他们的法典，连他们的子孙代代世世，也必定要坐上你的王位。」
132:13 的确上主特别拣选了熙雍，希望熙雍作为自己的王宫：
132:14 「这就是我的永远安息之处，我希望的是常在这里居住。
132:15 我要祝降福这里食粮充裕，穷人们都吃得饱饫无忧，
132:16 使这里的司祭得蒙救助，使这里的信徒踊跃欢愉。
132:17 在这里我要使达味的头角高耸，我要给我的受傅者备妥明灯，
132:18 我要使他的敌人个个耻辱备尝，我要使他的王冠在他的头上发光。」

 

 

一三三：[兄弟团聚之乐](3)
133:1 登圣殿歌，达味作。看，兄弟们同居共处，多么快乐，多么幸福！
133:2 象亚郎头上珍贵的油，流到他胡须上，又由他胡须上，流到他衣领上。
133:3 又象赫尔孟的甘露，时常落在熙雍山；因上主在那里赐福，赐生命直到永远。

 

 

一三四：[辞行祝福曲](3)
134:1 登圣殿歌。上主所有的一切仆人，请赞美上主！夜间侍立在主殿的人，请赞美上主！
134:2 请向圣所举起你们的双手，请赞美上主！
134:3 愿创造天地的上主，由熙雍向你祝福！

 

 

一三五：[唯一真主赞](21)
135:1 阿肋路亚！上主的众仆请赞颂，请赞颂上主的圣名！
135:2 你们服役于上主圣殿的，你们侍立在我主前庭的，
135:3 请赞颂上主，因为上主是美善的，歌咏他的名，因他的名是甘甜的。
135:4 雅各伯原是上主为自己所选，以色列永远作他自己的家产。
135:5 我确切知道，上主伟大无比！我们的主宰，超越所有神祉！
135:6 上天下地，海洋深渊的任何化工，上主只要愿意，无一不由他造成。
135:7 他使云彩由地极现露，他使电光闪烁而成雨，他使清风由宝炕铫出。
135:8 他将埃及的人和牲畜，凡首生者都一起杀戮。
135:9 埃及！他在你内行了奇迹异能，惩罚了法郎和他的万众臣民。
135:10 他击败了列国的万民，他杀死了强盛的国君：
135:11 阿摩黎王息红、巴商王敖格，以及客纳罕地的王侯官吏。
135:12 他将他们的土地变作产业，赐给了自己的人民以色列。
135:13 上主，你的圣名千秋留存，上主，你的记念万世常新。
135:14 因为上主护卫自己的百姓，对自己的仆人们表示怜悯。
135:15 异民的偶象，无非金银，只是人手制造的物品：
135:16 偶象有口，不能言，偶象有眼，不能看，
135:17 有耳，听不见，有鼻，无气喘。
135:18 铸造偶象的人，将与偶象同亡，凡信赖偶象的人，也将是一样。
135:19 以色列家族，请赞颂上主！亚郎家族，也请赞颂上主！
135:20 肋末家族，也请赞颂上主！敬畏上主的人，赞颂上主！
135:21 住在耶路撒冷的大君，愿他由熙雍承受赞颂！

 

 

一三六：[感谢颂]阿肋路亚！(26)
136:1 请众感谢上主，因他宽仁，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:2 请众感谢众神中的真神，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:3 请众感谢万君中的大君，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:4 惟独他行了伟大的奇能，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:5 他以他的智慧创造天穹，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:6 他在诸水上将大地铺陈，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:7 他创造了极巨大的光明，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:8 他造了太阳在白昼照临，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:9 他造月与星使黑夜光明，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:10 他击杀了埃及国的首生，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:11 他领以色列走出埃及境，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:12 他伸出手臂施展了大能，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:13 他把红海的水从中剖分，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:14 他领以色列人海中步行，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:15 他淹没法郎军队于海心，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:16 他率领百姓在旷野绕行，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:17 他严惩了最强悍的国君，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:18 他击杀了极强盛的国君，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:19 他杀死了阿摩黎王息红，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:20 他杀死了敖格，巴商之君，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:21 他将异民地使选民占领，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:22 他使己仆以色列人继承，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:23 他怀念了我们遭难的人，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:24 他救拔我们脱离了仇人，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:25 他给一切的生灵供食品，因为他的仁慈永远常存。
136:26 请众感谢天主上居天庭，因为他的仁慈永远常存。

 

 

一三七：[忆充军歌](9)
137:1 当我们坐在巴比伦河畔，一起想熙雍即泪流满面。
137:2 在那地的杨柳间，挂起我们的琴弦。
137:3 因那些俘虏我们的，要我们唱歌，那些迫害我们的，还要我们奏乐：快些来给我们唱一支熙雍的歌！
137:4 但我们身处外乡异域，怎能讴唱上主的歌曲？
137:5 耶路撒冷！我如果将你忘掉，愿我的右手枯焦！
137:6 我若不怀念你，不以耶路撒冷为喜乐，就宁愿我的舌头紧紧贴在我的上颚！
137:7 上主，求你要记住厄东的子民，在耶路撒冷蒙难的时辰，他们曾喊叫说：拆毁，拆毁！夷为平地，一直见到基础，
137:8 你这只知破坏的巴比伦女子！谁若依照你加给我们的灾痍，也照样报复于你，他就得福祺。
137:9 谁若抓起你的婴儿幼子，摔在盘石上，他就得福祺！

 

 

一三八：[君王的感恩歌]8)
138:1 达味作。上主，我要全心称谢你，因你俯听了我的恳祈。我要在众神前歌颂你，
138:2 朝你的圣所伏地致敬；为了你的仁慈和至诚，我必要称谢你的圣名；因为你把你的名号和你的诺言，在万物与万民的面前发扬彰显，
138:3 我几时呼号你，你就俯允我，并将我灵魂上的力量增多。
138:4 地上万君听你口的谕旨；上主，他们都必来赞颂你，
138:5 同声歌颂上主作为说：上主的光耀伟大无比！
138:6 上主尊高无比，仍垂顾弱小，对骄傲的人，却远远旁眺。
138:7 我若处于因难中，你必保全我的性命，你用右手救我，伸手拒抗仇人的愤恨。
138:8 上主必替我完成这工程；上主，你的仁慈永远常存，求你不要放弃你的作品。

 

 

一三九：[赞美全知的天主](24)
139:1 达味的诗歌，交与乐官。上主，你鉴察了我，也认清了我：
139:2 我或坐或立，你全然认清了我，你由远处已明彻我的思考。
139:3 我或行走或躺卧，你已先知，我的一切行动，你完全熟悉。
139:4 的确，我的舌头尚未发言，上主，看，你已经知悉周全。
139:5 你将我的前后包围，用你的手将我荫庇。
139:6 这是超越我理智的奇事，也是我不能明白的妙理。
139:7 我往何处，才能脱离你的神能？我去那里，才能逃避你的面容？
139:8 我若上升于高天，你已在那里，我若下降于阴府，你也在那里。
139:9 我若飞往日出的东方，我若住在海洋的西方，
139:10 你的双手仍在那里引导着我，你的右手还在那里扶持着我。
139:11 我若说：愿黑暗把我笼罩，光明变成黑暗将我围绕；
139:12 但黑暗对你并不蒙胧，黑夜与白昼一样光明，黑夜对你无异光明。
139:13 你造成了我的五脏六腑，你在我母胎中缔结了我。
139:14 我赞美你，因我被造，惊奇神奥，你的工作，千奇万妙！我的生命，你全知晓。
139:15 我何时在暗中构形，我何时在地心织成，我的骨骸你全知情，
139:16 我尚在母胎，你已亲眼看见，世人的岁月尚未来到以前，都已全部记录于册表，都已全由你预先定好。
139:17 天主，你的策略，对我何其深奥！你策略的总数又是何其繁浩！
139:18 我若去计数，而它们多于沙粒；设若数到底，我仍同你在一起。
139:19 天主，恨不得你能杀掉恶人，叫流人血的凶手远离我身！
139:20 他们无法无天亵渎你，他们不忠不义地攻击你。
139:21 上主，憎恨你的人，我怎能不痛恶？上主，背叛你的人，我怎能不厌恶？
139:22 我对他们深恶痛弃，视他们为我的仇敌。
139:23 天主，求你检察我，洞知我的心曲；天主，求你考验我，明悉我的思虑。
139:24 求你察看我，我是否走入岐途，求你引导我迈上永生的道路。

 

 

一四零：[求天主惩罚恶人](14)
140:1 达味圣咏，交于乐官。
140:2 上主，求你救拔我脱离凶恶的人，上主，求你保护我摆脱强暴的人！
140:3 他们心中策划恶谋，他们终日挑拨争斗；
140:4 他们磨快自己的舌尖，有如蛇蝮，在他们的双唇的下面，含有蛇毒。
140:5 上主，求你拯救我脱离凶恶的人，上主，求你保护我摆脱强暴的人，
140:6 因他们企图要我脚步滑倒。骄傲人给我暗暗设下网罗，张起绳索作为圈套，设下陷井等我路过。
140:7 我求上主说：你是我的天主；上主，求你听我哀祷的苦诉！
140:8 上主天主，你是我有力的救助，在作战时，请你掩护我的头颅！
140:9 上主，求你不要顺随恶人的奢欲，上主，请不要完成他们的计谋。
140:10 愿那些显露头角而围困我的人，出于他们口舌的诅咒，反归己身。
140:11 愿火碳降落在他们的身上，将他们抛入深坑免再高昂。
140:12 搬弄是非的人，不得在世久存，灾祸会突然使强暴的人被擒。
140:13 我确知上主必为受压迫的人伸冤，也必为贫穷的人主持正义的判断。
140:14 义人必定将你的圣名颂赞，善人必定居住在你的面前。

 

 

一四一：[求免陷诱惑和迫害](10)
141:1 达味的圣咏。上主，我呼求你，请求速来救助我，上主，我呼求你，请你听我的呼号。
141:2 愿我向你行的祈祷，象馨香上升，愿我的手高举，如同晚祭的高腾。
141:3 上主，求你在我的口边派一守卫，求你在我的唇前派一警备。
141:4 莫让我的心倾向邪道，免得我再去犯罪作恶；莫让我与恶人同做坏事，免得我尝食他们的美味。
141:5 义人责打我，算是我的恩遇，他责斥我，是给我的头傅油。我的头也决不会加以抗拒，我仍然为迫害我的人祈求。
141:6 当他们的首领被抛于岩石时，才感觉到我的话是如何甘饴。
141:7 他们的骨头被弃置在阴府门旁，象人耕地掘田，将土块任意抛放。
141:8 上主天主，我的双目一直仰望你，我信赖你，不要将我的灵魂抛弃。
141:9 求你保护我免陷于他们为我设的网罗，求你使我能够脱离为非作歹者的圈套。
141:10 愿恶人一起堕入自设的网罗，而我却得以安然无恙地逃脱。

 

 

一四二：[危机时的祈祷](8)
142:1 达味的训导诗，避居山洞时的祷词。
142:2 我高声向上主呼求，我高声向天主求助。
142:3 我向他倾吐我的愁苦，我向他陈诉我的忧虑。
142:4 当我精神愁苦的时候，惟有你知悉我的路途。在我行走的道路中；他们给我设下陷阱。
142:5 我向右观察细看，没有一个熟悉我的人！没有一人我可投奔，没有一人为我操心。
142:6 上主，我今呼号说：你是我的避难所，在这活人的地方，你就是我的福爵。
142:7 求你倾听我的哀号，因我十分可怜无靠，求你救我脱离迫害我的人，因为他们是比我力强的人。
142:8 求你引领我出离监牢，好让我赞美你的名号。义人前呼后拥欢迎我，因为你大量恩待了我。

 

 

一四三：[危难时的忏悔](12)
143:1 达味圣咏。上主，求你俯听我的祈祷，因你忠诚，俯允我的哀号，俯允我的祈祷因你的公道；
143:2 千万不要传唤你的仆人前去受审，因为活人在你面前不能称为义人；
143:3 仇人迫害我，将我的生命压倒在地，置我于黑暗之中，视我与死人无异；
143:4 我的精神在我内萎靡不振，我的心灵在我内渐形僵硬。
143:5 我回忆以往地时日，默想你的各种奇事，思量你手中的作为。
143:6 向着你，我常伸开我的双手，渴慕你，我的灵魂有如干土。
143:7 上主，求你快来俯听我，因我的精神萎靡坎坷；莫要对我遮掩你的慈颜，莫让我象陷入幽谷者然。
143:8 赐我清晨得闻你的仁慈，因我完全信赖你；常让我认识我应走的道路，因我举心向往你。
143:9 求你救我摆脱我的仇敌！上主，因为我时常投奔你！
143:10 求你教我承行你的旨意，因你是我的天主。愿你的善神时常引我导我，走上平坦的乐土。
143:11 上主，为了你的圣名，让我得以生存，为了你的慈爱，领我走出苦津，
143:12 为你恩佑，灭我仇人，铲除磨难我的敌人，因为我是你的仆人。

 

 

一四四：[求赐胜利及和平](15)
144:1 达味作。上主，我的磐石，他应该常受颂赞！他教我的手能斗，教我的指能战。
144:2 他是我的宠爱，我的堡垒，他是我的干城，我的救主，我的盾牌及我的避难所，他使万民都来屈服于我。
144:3 上主，世人算什么，你竟眷顾他，人子算什么，你竟怀念他？
144:4 世人不过象一口气，他的岁月如影消逝。
144:5 上主，求你将天低垂，亲自降凡，你一触摸群山，群山立即冒烟。
144:6 求你发出闪电，将敌人驱散，求你把箭射出，使他们混乱。
144:7 求你自高处伸出你的手，救拔我，求你由洪水和外人手中，拯救我！
144:8 他们的口舌只说虚谎语，只是为发假誓而举起右手。
144:9 天主，我要向你高唱新曲，我要弹十弦琴向你咏奏。
144:10 是你赐给君王获得了胜利，是你拯救了你的仆人达味。
144:11 求你由凶险的刀剑中救拔我，求你由外人的手掌里拯救我！他们的口舌只说虚言谎语，只是为发假誓而举起右手。
144:12 愿我们的儿子们，从幼就象茂盛的果树，愿我们的女儿们，象宫殿中雕刻的砥柱！
144:13 愿我们仓廪里的各种食粮常满，愿我们牧场上的羊群，繁殖亿万！
144:14 愿我们的牲畜常满载重量，城墙没有缺口，也没有逃亡，我们的街市中也没有悲伤！
144:15 身逢这些福乐的百姓，真是有福，认上主为天主的人民，真是有福！

 

 

一四五：[赞美天主的各种美德](21)
145:1 达味的赞美歌。我的天主，君王，我要颂扬你，歌颂你的名，世世代代不止。
145:2 我要每日不断赞美你，颂扬你的名，永远不止。
145:3 伟大的上主，实在应受赞美，上主的伟大，高深不可推测；
145:4 世世代代应宣扬你的工程，世世代代应传述你的大能：
145:5 讲述你的威严尊荣，彰明你的奇异化工，
145:6 述说你惊天动地的威能，不断宣扬你的伟大无朋；
145:7 广传你无穷慈爱的记念，欢呼歌唱你的公义无限。
145:8 上主慈悲为怀，宽宏大方，他常缓于发怒，仁爱无量。
145:9 上主对待万有，温和善良，对他的受造物，仁爱慈祥。
145:10 上主，愿你的一切受造物称谢你，上主，愿你的一切圣徒们赞美你，
145:11 宣传你王国的光荣，讲述你威力的大能，
145:12 让世人尽知你的威能，你的王国的伟大光荣。
145:13 你的王国，是万代的王国，你的王权，存留于无穷之世；上主对自己的一切诺言，忠信不欺，上主对自己的一切受造，圣善无比。
145:14 凡跌倒的，上主必要扶持，凡被弯曲的，使他必起立。
145:15 众生的眼睛都仰望你，你准时赏给他们粮食。
145:16 你伸出了你的双手，满足了众生的需求。
145:17 上主在他的一切路径上，至公至义，上主在他的一切化工上，圣善无比。
145:18 上主接近一切呼号他的人，接近一切诚心呼号他的人。
145:19 他必成全敬畏自己者的心愿，听到他们的呼号，必即施以救援。
145:20 凡爱慕上主的，上主必保护，凡作恶犯罪的，上主必消除。
145:21 愿我的口舌称述上主的光荣，愿众生赞美他的圣名无穷！

 

 

一四六：[惟独依赖全能天主](10)
146:1 阿肋路亚！我的灵魂，你要赞美上主，
146:2 一生一世，我要赞美上主，一息尚存，我要歌颂天主。
146:3 你们不要一心依赖王侯大臣，也不要依赖不能施救的世人；
146:4 他的气息一断，就要归于灰土，他的一切计划，立刻化为乌有。
146:5 凡是以雅各伯的天主为自己扶助的人，以上主天主为自己希望的，是有福的人！
146:6 上主创造了上天与下土，海洋和其中的一切所属。他持守信实，必直到永久。
146:7 上主为被欺的人作辩护，上主给饥饿的人赐食物，上主使被囚的人得自由。
146:8 上主开启瞎子的眼睛，上主使伛偻的人直身，上主爱慕那正义的人。
146:9 上主对旅客加以保护，上主支持孤儿和寡妇，上主迷惑恶人的道路。
146:10 惟愿上主永远为君为王！熙雍！你的天主万寿无疆。

 

 

一四七：[称谢复兴以色列的天主](20)
147:1 阿肋路亚！赞美上主，因他美善，歌颂我主，因他甘怡，我主上主应受赞美！
147:2 上主重建了耶路撒冷城，聚集了四散的以色列民。
147:3 他医治心灵破碎的人，亲自包扎他们的伤痕。
147:4 星辰的数目，由上主制定，星辰的称号，也由他命名。
147:5 我们的伟大上主，威能无比，他所具备的智慧，不可估计。
147:6 上主将谦逊的人扶起，将蛮横的人贬抑于地。
147:7 请歌唱感恩诗称颂上主，请弹琴咏赞我们的天主！
147:8 他以云雾遮蔽高天，他将雨露赐给农田；他使青草生于群山，他造植物供人吃穿。
147:9 他将食物赐给家畜，他养育啼叫的鸦雏。
147:10 马的壮力，他不欢喜，人的快腿，他不中意，
147:11 那敬畏上主的人，他才欢喜，信赖他慈爱的人，他才中意。
147:12 耶路撒冷，请你赞颂上主！熙雍，请你赞颂你的天主！
147:13 他巩固了你城门的横闩，祝福你的子女在你中间。
147:14 他使你的地界安静不乱，用最好的麦面使你饱餐。
147:15 他向大地发出自己的语言，他的圣旨便立即迅速奔传。
147:16 他降雪象羊毛，他撒霜象尘宵。
147:17 他抛下冰雹，有如饼屑，因他的严寒，水便冻结；
147:18 他一发出他的语言，冻结即刻消溶，他一吹起他的和风，冰水即刻流动。
147:19 他向雅各伯晓示了自己的言语，它向以色列启示了自己的诫律。
147:20 他从未如此恩待过其他任何民族，也没有向他们宣示过自己的诫律。

 

 

一四八：[宇宙赞主辞](14)
148:1 阿肋路亚！请你们在天上赞美上主，请你们在高处赞美上主！
148:2 上主的诸位天使，请赞美上主，他的一切军旅，请赞美上主！
148:3 太阳和月亮，请赞美上主，灿烂的诸星，请赞美上主！
148:4 天上的诸天，请赞美上主，天上的大水，请赞美上主！
148:5 愿它们齐来赞美上主的名号！因为上主一命，它们立即受造。
148:6 他确定的位置，直至永恒，他颁布的规律，永不变更。
148:7 请你们在地上赞美上主：海怪和海深处的众水族，
148:8 还有电火与冰雹，白雪和云雾，以及遵行他命令的狂风暴雨。
148:9 山岳和一切丘陵，果树与各种柏松，
148:10 野兽和一切畜牲，各种爬虫和鸟类，
148:11 世上的列王和万民，地上的元首与公卿，
148:12 少年人和童贞女，老年人与儿童侣，
148:13 请你们赞美上主的名字，因为只有他的名字高贵，他的尊严远远超越天地，
148:14 上主使自己百姓的头角高耸，他是他自己一切圣徒的赞颂，是接近他的以色列民的光荣。

 

 

一四九：[胜利凯歌](9)
149:1 亚肋路亚！请你们向上主讴唱新歌，在圣贤集会中向他祝贺！
149:2 愿以色列因自己的创造者而踊跃，愿熙雍子民因自己的君王而欢乐！
149:3 愿他们以舞蹈赞美上主的名，愿他们敲鼓弹琴向上主歌咏！
149:4 因为上主喜爱自己的百姓，赏赐谦虚的人凯旋而得胜。
149:5 愿圣徒因所受的光荣而喜庆，在自己的床榻上欢呼而歌颂。
149:6 愿赞美天主的歌辞在他们的口中，愿双刃的宝剑掌握在他们的手中，
149:7 为向异邦报仇雪耻，为向列国进攻袭击，
149:8 要用锁链捆住他们的国君，要用镣铐锁住他们的缙绅，
149:9 为向他们施行经上的审讯。这也就是一切圣徒的光荣。

 

 

一五零：[大赞美歌](6)
150:1 亚肋路亚！请众在上主的圣所赞美上主，请众在庄丽的苍天赞美上主！
150:2 请众为了上主的丰功伟业而赞美上主，请众为了上主的无限伟大而赞美上主！
150:3 请众吹起号角赞美上主，请众弹琴奏瑟赞美上主！
150:4 请众敲鼓舞蹈赞美上主，请众拉弦吹笛赞美上主！
150:5 请众以声洪的铙钹赞美上主，请众以响亮的铙钹赞美上主！
150:6 一切有气息的，请赞美上主！亚肋路亚。

 

Psalms Volume 5 (Ps.107-150) ENDS.

BOOK ENDS. Seraphim, April 2009.

 

 

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 107

 

PSALM 107  (v106)

 

God, a refuge in all dangers

107:1 Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, his love is everlasting:

107:2 let these be the words of Yahweh’s redeemed, those he has redeemed from the oppressor’s clutches,

107:3 by bringing them home from foreign countries, from east and west, from north and south.

107:4 Some had lost their way in the wilds and the desert, not knowing how to reach an inhabited town;

107:5 they were hungry and desperately thirsty, their courage was running low.

107:6 Then they called to Yahweh in their trouble and he rescued them from their sufferings,

107:7 guiding them by a route leading direct to an inhabited town.

107:8 Let these thank Yahweh for his love, for his marvels on behalf of men;

107:9 satisfying the hungry, he fills the starving with good things.

107:10 Some were living in gloom and darkness, fettered in misery and irons

107:11 for defying the orders of God, for scorning the advice of the Most High;

107:12 who bent them double with hardship, to breaking point, with no one to help them.

107:13 Then they called to Yahweh in their trouble

107:14 releasing them from gloom and darkness, shattering their chains.

107:15 Let these thank Yahweh for his love, for his marvels on behalf of men;

107:16 breaking bronze gates open, he smashes iron bars.

107:17 Some, driven frantic by their sins, made miserable by their own guilt

107:18 and finding all food repugnant, were nearly at death’s door.

107:19 Then they called to Yahweh in their trouble and he rescued them from their sufferings;

107:20 sending his word and curing them, he snatched them from the Pit.

107:21 Let these thank Yahweh for his love, for his marvels on behalf of men.

107:22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and proclaim with shouts of joy what he has done.

107:23 Others, taking ship and going to sea, were plying their business across the ocean;

107:24 they too saw what Yahweh could do, what marvels on the deep!

107:25 He spoke and raised a gale, lashing up towering waves.

107:26 Flung to the sky, then plunged to the depths, they lost their nerve in the ordeal,

107:27 staggering and reeling like drunkards with all their seamanship adrift.

107:28 Then they called to Yahweh in their trouble and he rescued them from their sufferings,

107:29 reducing the storm to a whisper until the waves grew quiet,

107:30 bringing them, glad at the calm, safe to the port they were bound for.

107:31 Let these thank Yahweh for his love, for his marvels on behalf of men.

107:32 Let them extol him at the Great Assembly and praise him in the Council of Elders.

107:33 Sometimes he turned rivers into desert, springs of water into arid ground,

107:34 or a fertile country into salt-flats, because the people living there were wicked.

107:35 Or again, he turned a desert into sheets of water, and an arid country into flowing springs,

107:36 where he gave the hungry a home in which to found a habitable town.

107:37 There, they sow the fields and plant their vines, there, they show a profitable harvest.

107:38 He blesses them, they grow in number, he sees that their livestock does not decrease.

107:39 Their numbers had fallen, they had grown weak under pressure of disaster and hardship.

107:40 Pouring his contempt upon the nobly born, he left them to wander in a trackless waste.

107:41 But now, he lifts the needy out of their misery, and gives them a flock of new families;

107:42 at the sight of which, upright hearts rejoice and wickedness must hold its tongue.

107:43 If you are wise, study these things and realise how Yahweh shows his love.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 108

 

PSALM 108  (v107)

 

Morning hymn and national prayer[*a]

 

Song

 

Psalm

 

Of David

108:1 My heart is ready, God-I mean to sing and play. Awake, my muse,

108:2 awake, lyre and harp, I mean to wake the Dawn!

108:3 Yahweh, I mean to thank you among the peoples, to play music to you among the nations;

108:4 your love is high as heaven, your faithfulness as the clouds.

108:5 Rise high above the heavens, God, let your glory be over the earth!

108:6 To bring rescue to those you love save with your right hand and answer us!

108:7 God promised us once from his sanctuary, ‘I the Victor will parcel out Shechem, and share out the Valley of Succoth.

108:8 ‘Gilead is mine, Manasseh mine, Ephraim is my helmet, Judah, my marshal’s baton.

108:9 ‘Moab a bowl for me to wash in! I throw my sandal over Edom and shout: Victory! over Philistia.’

108:10 Who is there now to take me into the fortified city, to lead me into Edom?

108:11 God, can you really have rejected us? You no longer march with our armies.

108:12 Help us in this hour of crisis, the help that man can give is worthless.

108:13 With God among us, we shall fight like heroes, he will trample on our enemies.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 109

 

PSALM 109   (v108)

 

An appeal against enemies

 

For the choirmaster

 

Of David

 

Psalm

109:1 God whom I praise, break your silence,

109:2 now that the wicked and the false are both accusing me. They are defaming me,

109:3 saying malicious things about me, attacking me for no reason.

109:4 In return for my friendship, they denounce me, though all I had done was pray for them;

109:5 they pay me back evil for kindness and hatred for friendship.

109:6 ‘Give him a venal judge, find someone to frame the charge;

109:7 let him be tried and found guilty, let his prayer be construed as a crime!

109:8 ‘Let his life be cut short, let someone else take his office;

109:9 may his children be orphaned and his wife widowed!

109:10 ‘May his children be homeless vagabonds, beggared and hounded from their hovels

109:11 may the creditor seize his possessions and foreigners swallow his profits!

109:12 ‘May no one be left to show him kindness, may no one look after his orphans,

109:13 may his family die out, its name disappear in one generation!

109:14 ‘May the crimes of his fathers be held against him and his mother’s sin never be effaced;

109:15 may Yahweh bear these constantly in mind, to wipe their memory off the earth!’

109:16 That wretch never thought of being kind, but hounded the poor, the needy and the broken-hearted to death.

109:17 He loved cursing, may it recoil on him, had no taste for blessing, may it shun him!

109:18 He used to wrap curses round him like a cloak, let them soak right into him like water, deep into his bones like oil.

109:19 May they now envelop him like a gown, be tied round his waist for ever!

109:20 May Yahweh pay all my accusers, all my detractors like this!

109:21 Yahweh, defend me for the sake of your name, rescue me, since your love is generous!

109:22 Reduced to weakness and poverty, my heart is sorely tormented;

109:23 I am dwindling away like a shadow, they have brushed me off like a locust.

109:24 My knees are weak for lack of food, my body is thin for lack of oil;

109:25 I have become an object of derision, people shake their heads at me in scorn.

109:26 Help me, Yahweh my God, save me since you love me,

109:27 and let them know that you have done it, that it was you, Yahweh, who did it.

109:28 Counter their curses with your blessing, shame my aggressors, make your servant glad!

109:29 Clothe my accusers in disgrace, cover them with a cloak of shame.

109:30 I will give thanks aloud to Yahweh and praise him in the Assembly,

109:31 for conducting the poor man’s defence against those who would have sentenced him to death.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 110

 

PSALM 110   (v109)

 

The Messiah: king and priest

 

Of David

 

Psalm

110:1 Yahweh’s oracle to you, my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand and I will make your enemies a footstool for you’.

110:2 Yahweh will force all your enemies under the sway of your sceptre in Zion.

110:3 Royal dignity was yours from the day you were born, on the holy mountains, royal from the womb, from the dawn of your earliest days.

110:4 Yahweh has sworn an oath which he never will retract, ‘You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever’.

110:5 The Lord is at your right hand. When he grows angry he shatters kings,

110:6 he gives the nations their deserts, smashing their skulls, he heaps the wide world with corpses.

110:7 Drinking from the stream as he goes, he can hold his head high in victory.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 111

 

PSALM 111  (v110)

 

In praise of the divine attributes

111:1 Alleluia!

 

Aleph

I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart

 

Beth

where the virtuous meet and the people assemble.

 

Ghimel

111:2 The works of Yahweh are sublime,

 

Daleth

those who delight in them are right to fix their eyes on them.

 

He

111:3 Every work that he does is full of glory and majesty,

 

Waw

and his righteousness can never change.

 

Zain

111:4 He allows us to commemorate his marvels.

 

Heth

Yahweh is merciful and tenderhearted,

 

Teth

111:5 he provides food for those who fear him;

 

Yod

he never forgets his covenant.

 

Kaph

111:6 He reminds his people of the power that he wields

 

Lamed

by giving them the inheritance of the nations.

 

Mem

111:7 All that he does is done in faithfulness and justice,

 

Nun

in all ways his precepts are dependable,

 

Samek

111:8 ordained to last for ever and ever,

 

Ain

framed in faithfulness and integrity.

 

Pe

111:9 Quickly he comes to his people’s rescue,

 

Sade

imposing his covenant once and for all;

 

Qoph

so holy his name, commanding our dread.

 

Resh

111:10 This fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,

 

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 112

 

Shin

they have sound sense who practise it.

 

Tau

His praises will be sung for ever.

 

 

PSALM 112   (v111)

 

In praise of the virtuous

112:1 Alleluia!

 

Aleph

Happy the man who fears Yahweh

 

Beth

by joyfully keeping his commandments!

 

Ghimel

112:2 Children of such a man will be powers on earth,

 

Daleth

descendants of the upright will always be blessed

 

He

112:3 There will be riches and wealth for his family,

 

Waw

and his righteousness can never change.

 

Zain

112:4 For the upright he shines like a lamp in the dark,

 

Heth

he is merciful, tenderhearted, virtuous.

 

Teth

112:5 Interest is not charged by this good man,

 

Yod

he is honest in all his dealings.

 

Kaph

112:6 Kept safe by virtue, he is ever steadfast,

 

Lamed

and leaves an imperishable memory behind him;

 

Mem

112:7 with constant heart, and confidence in Yahweh,

 

Nun

he need never fear bad news.

 

Samek

112:8 Steadfast in heart he overcomes his fears:

 

Ain

in the end he will triumph over his enemies.

 

Pe

112:9 Quick to be generous, he gives to the poor,

 

Sade

his righteousness can never change,

 

Qoph

men such as this will always be honoured,

 

Resh

112:10 though this fills the wicked with fury

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 113

 

Shin

until, grinding their teeth, they waste away,

 

Tau

vanishing like their vain hopes.

 

 

PSALM 113  (v112)

 

To God the glorious, the merciful

113:1 Alleluia! You servants of Yahweh, praise, praise the name of Yahweh!

113:2 Blessed be the name of Yahweh, henceforth and for ever!

113:3 From east to west, praised be the name of Yahweh!

113:4 High over all nations, Yahweh! His glory transcends the heavens!

113:5 Who is like Yahweh our God? – enthroned so high, he needs to stoop

113:6 to see the sky and earth!

113:7 He raises the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the dunghill

113:8 to give them a place with princes, with the princes of his people.

113:9 He enthrones the barren woman in her house by making her the happy mother of sons.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 114

 

PSALM 114  (v113A)

 

Hymn for the Passover

Alleluia!

114:1 When Israel came out of Egypt, the House of Jacob from a foreign nation,

114:2 Judah became his sanctuary and Israel his domain.

114:3 The sea fled at the sight, the Jordan stopped flowing,

114:4 the mountains skipped like rams, and like lambs, the hills.

114:5 Sea, what makes you run away? Jordan, why stop flowing?

114:6 Why skip like rams, you mountains, why like lambs, you hills?

114:7 Quake, earth, at the coming of your Master, at the coming of the God of Jacob,

114:8 who turns rock into pool flint into fountain.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 115

 

PSALM 115  (v113B)

 

The one true God

115:1 Not by us, Yahweh, not by us, by you alone is glory deserved, by your love and your faithfulness!

115:2 Do the pagans ask, ‘Where is their God?’

115:3 Ours is the God whose will is sovereign in the heavens and on earth,

115:4 whereas their idols, in silver and gold, products of human skill,

115:5 have mouths, but never speak, eyes, but never see,

115:6 ears, but never hear, noses, but never smell,

115:7 hands, but never touch, feet, but never walk, and not a sound from their throats.

115:8 their makers will end up like them, and so will anyone who relies on them.

115:9 House of Israel, rely on Yahweh, on him, our help and shield!

115:10 House of Aaron, rely on Yahweh, on him, our help and shield!

115:11 You who fear Yahweh, rely on Yahweh, on him, our help and shield!

115:12 Yahweh remembers us, he will bless, he will bless the House of Israel, he will bless the House of Aaron,

115:13 he will bless those who fear Yahweh, without distinction of rank.[*a]

115:14 May Yahweh add to your numbers, yours and your children’s too!

115:15 May you be blessed by Yahweh, maker of heaven and earth!

115:16 Heaven belongs to Yahweh, earth he bestows on man.

115:17 The dead cannot praise Yahweh, they have gone down to silence;

115:18 but we, the living, bless Yahweh henceforth and evermore.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 116

 

PSALM 116  (v114-115)

 

Thanksgiving

Alleluia!

116:1 I love! For Yahweh listens to my entreaty;

116:2 he bends down to listen to me when I call.

116:3 Death’s cords were tightening round me, the nooses of Sheol; distress and anguish gripped me,

116:4 I invoked the name of Yahweh: ‘Yahweh, rescue me!’

116:5 Yahweh is righteous and merciful, our God is tenderhearted;

116:6 Yahweh defends the simple, he saved me when I was brought to my knees.

116:7 Return to your resting place, my soul, Yahweh has treated you kindly.

116:8 He has rescued (me from death) my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling.

116:9 (I will walk in Yahweh’s presence in the land of the living.)[*a]

116:10 I have faith, even when I say, ‘I am completely crushed’.

116:11 In my alarm, I declared, ‘No man can be relied on’.

116:12 What return can I make to Yahweh for all his goodness to me?

116:13 I will offer libations to my saviour, invoking the name of Yahweh.

116:14 (I will pay what I vowed to Yahweh; may his whole nation be present!)

116:15 The death of the devout costs Yahweh dear.

116:16 Yahweh, I am your servant, your servant, son of a pious mother, you undo my fetters.

116:17 I will offer you the thanksgiving sacrifice, invoking the name of Yahweh.

116:9 I will walk in Yahweh’s presence in the land of the living.

116:18 I will pay what I vowed to Yahweh; may his whole nation be present,

116:19 in the courts of the house of Yahweh, in your heart, Jerusalem.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 117

 

PSALM 117  (v116)

 

Summons to praise

Alleluia!

117:1 Praise Yahweh, all nations, extol him, all you peoples!

117:2 For his love is strong, his faithfulness eternal.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 118

 

PSALM 118  (v117)

 

Processional hymn for the feast of Tabernacles[*a]

Alleluia!

118:1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, his love is everlasting!

118:2 Let the House of Israel say it, ‘His love is everlasting!’

118:3 Let the House of Aaron say it, ‘His love is everlasting!’

118:4 Let those who fear Yahweh say it, ‘His love is everlasting!’

118:5 Hard-pressed, I invoked Yahweh, he heard me and came to my relief.

118:6 With Yahweh on my side, I fear nothing: what can man do to me?

118:7 With Yahweh on my side, best help of all, I can triumph over my enemies.

118:8 I would rather take refuge in Yahweh than rely on men;

118:9 I would rather take refuge in Yahweh than rely on princes.

118:10 The pagans were swarming round me, in the name of Yahweh I cut them down;

118:11 they swarmed round me closer and closer, in the name of Yahweh I cut them down;

118:12 they swarmed round me like bees, they blazed like a thorn-fire, in the name of Yahweh I cut them down.

118:13 I was pressed, pressed, about to fall, but Yahweh came to my help;

118:14 Yahweh is my strength and my song, he has been my saviour.

118:15 Shouts of joy and safety in the tents of the virtuous: Yahweh’s right hand is wreaking havoc,

118:16 Yahweh’s right hand is winning, Yahweh’s right hand is wreaking havoc!

118:17 No, I shall not die, I shall live to recite the deeds of Yahweh;

118:18 though Yahweh has punished me often, he has not abandoned me to Death.

118:19 Open the gates of virtue to me, I will come in and give thanks to Yahweh.

118:20 This is Yahweh’s gateway, through which the virtuous may enter.

118:21 I thank you for having heard me, you have been my saviour.

118:22 It was the stone rejected by the builders that proved to be the keystone;

118:23 this is Yahweh’s doing and it is wonderful to see.

118:24 This is the day made memorable by Yahweh, what immense joy for us!

118:25 Please, Yahweh, please save us. Please, Yahweh, please give us prosperity.

118:26 Blessings on him who comes in the name of Yahweh! We bless you from the house of Yahweh.

118:27 Yahweh is God, he smiles on us. With branches in your hands draw up in procession as far as the horns of the altar,

118:28 You are my God, I give you thanks, I extol you, my God; I give you thanks for having heard me, you have been my saviour.

118:29 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, his love is everlasting!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 119

 

PSALM 119  (v118)

 

In praise of the divine Law

 

Aleph

119:1 Ah, how happy those of blameless life who walk in the Law of Yahweh!

119:2 How happy those who respect his decrees, and seek him with their whole heart,

119:3 and, doing no evil, walk in his ways!

119:4 You yourself have made your precepts known, to be faithfully kept.

119:5 Oh, may my behaviour be constant in keeping your statutes.

119:6 If I concentrate on your every commandment, I can never be put to shame.

119:7 I thank you from an upright heart, schooled in your rules of righteousness.

119:8 I mean to observe your statutes; never abandon me.

 

Beth

119:9 How can a youth remain pure? By behaving as your word prescribes.

119:10 I have sought you with all my heart, do not let me stray from your commandments.

119:11 I have treasured your promises in my heart, since I have no wish to sin against you.

119:12 How blessed are you, Yahweh! Teach me your statutes!

119:13 With my lips I have repeated them, all these rulings from your own mouth.

119:14 In the way of your decrees lies my joy, a joy beyond all wealth.

119:15 I mean to meditate on your precepts and to concentrate on your paths.

119:16 I find my delight in your statutes, I do not forget your word.

 

Ghimel

119:17 Be good to your servant and I shall live, I shall observe your word.

119:18 Open my eyes: I shall concentrate on the marvels of your Law.

119:19 Exile though I am on earth, do not hide your commandments from me.

119:20 My soul is overcome with an incessant longing for your rulings.

119:21 You reprove the arrogant, the accursed who stray from your commandments.

119:22 Avert their insults and contempt from me, since I respect your decrees.

119:23 Though princes put me on trial, your servant will meditate on your statutes,

119:24 since your decrees are my delight, your statutes are my counsellors.

 

Daleth

119:25 Down in the dust I lie prostrate: revive me as your word has guaranteed.

119:26 I admitted my behaviour, you answered me, now teach me your statutes.

119:27 Explain to me how to keep your precepts, that I may meditate on your marvels.

119:28 I am sleepless with grief: raise me as your word has guaranteed.

119:29 Turn me from the path of delusion, grant me the grace of your Law.

119:30 I have chosen the way of fidelity, I have set my heart on your rulings.

119:31 I cling to your decrees: Yahweh, do not disappoint me.

119:32 I run the way of your commandments, since you have set me free.

 

He

119:33 Expound to me the way of your statutes, Yahweh, and I will always respect them.

119:34 Explain to me how to respect your Law and how to observe it wholeheartedly.

119:35 Guide me in the path of your commandments, since my delight is there.

119:36 Turn my heart to your decrees and away from getting money.

119:37 Avert my eyes from lingering on inanities, give me life by your word.

119:38 Keep your promise to your servant, so that others in turn may fear you.

119:39 Avert the insults that I fear, in the kindness of your rulings.

119:40 Look how I yearn for your precepts: give me life by your righteousness.

 

Waw

119:41 For, Yahweh, visited by your love and saving help, as you have promised,

119:42 I can find an answer to the insults, since I rely on your word.

119:43 Do not deprive me of that faithful word, since my hope has always lain in your rulings.

119:44 Let me observe your Law unfailingly for ever and ever.

119:45 So, having sought your precepts, I shall walk in all freedom.

119:46 I shall proclaim your decrees to kings without fear of disgrace.

119:47 Your commandments fill me with delight, I love them deeply.

119:48 I stretch out my hands to your beloved commandments, I meditate on your statutes.

 

Zain

119:49 Remember the word you pledged your servant, on which you have built my hope.

119:50 This has been my comfort in my suffering: that your promise gives me life.

119:51 Endlessly the arrogant have jeered at me, but I have not swerved from your Law.

119:52 Remembering your rulings in the past, Yahweh, I take comfort.

119:53 Fury grips me when I see the wicked abandoning your Law.

119:54 Where I live in exile, your statutes are psalms for me.

119:55 All night, Yahweh, I remember your name and observe your Law.

119:56 Surely it will count to my credit: that I respect your precepts.

 

Heth

119:57 Have I not said, Yahweh, that my task is to observe your words?

119:58 Wholeheartedly I now entreat you, take pity on me as you have promised!

119:59 After reflecting on my behaviour, I turn my feet to your decrees.

119:60 Wasting no time, I hurry to observe your commandments.

119:61 Though the nooses of the wicked tighten round me, I do not forget your Law.

119:62 I get up at midnight to thank you for the righteousness of your rulings.

119:63 I am a friend to all who fear you and observe your precepts.

119:64 Yahweh, your love fills the earth: teach me your statutes.

 

Teth

119:65 In accordance with your word, Yahweh, you have been good to your servant.

119:66 Teach me good sense and knowledge, for I rely on your commandments.

119:67 In earlier days I had to suffer, I used to stray, but now I remember your promise.

119:68 You, so good and kind, teach me your statutes!

119:69 Though the arrogant tell foul lies about me, I wholeheartedly respect your precepts.

119:70 Their hearts are gross as fat, but my delight is in your Law.

119:71 It was good for me to have to suffer, the better to learn your statutes.

119:72 I put the Law you have given before all the gold and silver in the world.

 

Yod

119:73 Yahweh, my maker, my preserver, explain your commandments for me to learn.

119:74 Seeing me, those who fear you will be glad, since I put my hope in your word.

119:75 I know that your rulings are righteous, Yahweh, that you make me suffer out of faithfulness.

119:76 Now, please let your love comfort me, as you have promised your servant.

119:77 Treat me tenderly, and I shall live, since your Law is my delight.

119:78 Shame seize the arrogant who defame me, when I meditate on your precepts!

119:79 May those who fear you rally to me, all those familiar with your decrees!

119:80 Blameless in your statutes be my heart: no such shame therefore for me!

 

Kaph

119:81 Keeping my hope in your word, I have worn myself out waiting for you to save me,

119:82 and have strained my eyes waiting for your promise: when, I want to know, will you console me?

119:83 Though smoked as dry as a wineskin, I do not forget your statutes.

119:84 How much longer has your servant to live, when will you condemn my persecutors?

119:85 The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me in defiance of your Law.

119:86 Your commandments epitomise faithfulness; when liars hound me, you must help me.

119:87 Though these wretches have almost done for me, I have never abandoned your precepts.

119:88 Lovingly intervene, give me life, and I will observe your decrees.

 

Lamed

119:89 Lasting to eternity, your word, Yahweh, unchanging in the heavens:

119:90 your faithfulness lasts age after age; you founded the earth to endure.

119:91 Creation is maintained by your rulings, since all things are your servants.

119:92 Had your Law not been my delight I should have perished in my suffering.

119:93 I shall never forget your precepts; by these you have kept me alive.

119:94 I am yours, save me, since I study your precepts.

119:95 The wicked may hope to destroy me, but I am scrupulous about your decrees.

119:96 I have noticed limitations to all perfection, but your commandment has no limits at all.

 

Mem

119:97 Meditating all day on your Law, how I have come to love it!

119:98 By your commandment, ever mine, how much wiser you have made me than my enemies!

119:99 How much subtler than my teachers, through my meditating on your decrees!

119:100 How much more perceptive than the elders, as a result of my respecting your precepts!

119:101 I refrain my feet from every evil path, the better to observe your word.

119:102 I do not turn aside from your rulings, since you yourself teach me these:.

119:103 Your promise, how sweet to my palate! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!

119:104 Your precepts endow me with perception; I hate all deceptive paths.

 

Nun

119:105 Now your word is a lamp to my feet, a light on my path.

119:106 I have sworn to observe, I shall maintain, your righteous rulings.

119:107 Yahweh, though my suffering is acute, revive me as your word has guaranteed.

119:108 Yahweh, accept the homage that I offer, teach me your rulings.

119:109 I would lay down my life at any moment, I have never yet forgotten your Law.

119:110 The wicked have tried to trap me, but I have never yet veered from your precepts.

119:111 Your decrees are my eternal heritage, they are the joy of my heart.

119:112 I devote myself to obeying your statutes – compensation enough for ever!

 

Samek

119:113 Odious, those whose allegiance is divided; I love your Law!

119:114 You, my refuge and shield, I put my hope in your word.

119:115 Away from me, you wicked people! I will respect the commandments of my God.

119:116 Support me as you have promised, and I shall live, do not disappoint me of my hope.

119:117 Uphold me, and I shall be safe with your statutes constantly before my eyes.

119:118 You spurn all who stray from your statutes, their notions being delusion.

119:119 You scour the wicked off the earth like rust; that is why I love your decrees.

119:120 My whole being trembles before you, your rulings fill me with fear.

 

Ain

119:121 Persevering in justice and virtue, must I now be abandoned to my oppressors?

119:122 Guarantor of your servant’s well-being, forbid the arrogant to oppress me!

119:123 My eyes are worn out looking for your saving help for your promise of righteousness to come.

119:124 Treat your servant lovingly, teach me your statutes.

119:125 I am your servant; if you will explain, I shall embrace your decrees.

119:126 Yahweh, now is the time to act, your Law is being broken.

119:127 Yes, I love your commandments more than gold, than purest gold.

119:128 Yes, I rule myself by all your precepts; I hate all deceptive paths.

 

Pe

119:129 Your decrees are so wonderful my soul cannot but respect them.

119:130 As your word unfolds, it gives light, and the simple understand.

119:131 I open my mouth, panting eagerly for your commandments.

119:132 Turn to me please, pity me, as you should those who love your name.

119:133 Direct my steps as you have promised, let evil win no power over me.

119:134 Rescue me from human oppression; I will observe your precepts.

119:135 Treat your servant kindly, teach me your statutes.

119:136 My eyes stream with tears, because others disregard your Law.

 

Sade

119:137 Righteous, indeed, Yahweh! And all your rulings correct!

119:138 The decrees you impose, how righteous, how absolutely faithful!

119:139 Zeal for your house devours me, since my oppressors forget your word.

119:140 But your promise is well tested, and your servant holds it dear.

119:141 Puny and despised as I am, I do n forget your precepts.

119:142 Your righteousness is eternal righteousness, your Law holds true for ever.

119:143 Though distress and anguish grip me, your commandments are my delight.

119:144 Eternally righteous, your decrees – explain them to me, and I shall live.

 

Qoph

119:145 Sincere, my call – Yahweh, answer me! I will respect your statutes.

119:146 I invoke you, save me, I will observe your decrees.

119:147 I am up before dawn to call for help, I put my hope in your word.

119:148 I lie awake throughout the night, to meditate on your promise.

119:149 In your love, Yahweh, listen to my voice, let your rulings give me life.

119:150 My cruel persecutors are closing in, how remote they are from your Law!

119:151 But, Yahweh, you are closer still and all your commandments are true.

119:152 Long have I known that your decrees were founded to last for ever.

 

Resh

119:153 Take note of my suffering and rescue me, for I do not forget your Law.

119:154 Take up my cause, defend me, give me life as you have promised.

119:155 You will never save the wicked, if they do not study your statutes,

119:156 but many are your mercies to me, Yahweh, by your rulings give me life.

119:157 Many hound me and oppress me, but I do not swerve from your decrees.

119:158 The sight of these renegades disgusts me, they do not observe your promise;

119:159 but, Yahweh, see how I love your precepts, and lovingly give me life.

119:160 faithfulness is the essence of your word, your righteous rulings hold good for ever.

 

Shin

119:161 Unjustifiably though princes hound me, your word is what fills me with dread.

119:162 I rejoice in your promise, like someone on finding a vast treasure.

119:163 I hate, I detest, delusion; your Law is what I love.

119:164 Seven times daily I praise you for your righteous rulings.

119:165 Universal peace for those who love your Law, no stumbling-blocks for them!

119:166 Waiting for you, Yahweh, my saviour, I fulfil your commandments.

119:167 My soul observes your decrees; these I wholly love.

119:168 I observe your precepts, your decrees; you know how I keep to your paths.

 

Tau

119:169 Yahweh, may my cry approach your presence; let your word endow me with perception!

119:170 May my entreaty reach your presence; rescue me as you have promised.

119:171 May my lips proclaim your praise, since you teach me your statutes.

119:172 May my tongue recite your promise, since all your commandments are righteous.

119:173 May your hand be there to help me, since I have chosen your precepts.

119:174 I long for you, Yahweh, my saviour, your Law is my delight.

119:175 Long may my soul live to praise you, long be your rulings my help!

119:176 I am wandering like a lost sheep: come and look for your servant. No, I have never forgotten your commandments.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 120

 

PSALM 120  (v119)

 

The enemies of peace

 

Song of Ascents

120:1 When I am in trouble, I call to Yahweh, and he answers me.

120:2 Yahweh, save me from these lying lips and these faithless tongues!

120:3 How will he pay back the false oath? of a faithless tongue

120:4 With war arrows hardened over red-hot charcoal!

120:5 This is worse than a life in Meshech,[*a] or camping in Kedar!

120:6 Too long have I lived among people who hate peace,

120:7 who, when I propose peace, are all for war.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 121

 

PSALM 121  (v120)

 

The guardian of Israel

 

Song of Ascents

121:1 I lift my eyes to the mountains: where is help to come from?

121:2 Help comes to me from Yahweh, who made heaven and earth.

121:3 No letting our footsteps slip! This guard of yours, he does not doze!

121:4 The guardian of Israel does not doze or sleep.

121:5 Yahweh guards you, shades you. With Yahweh at your right hand

121:6 sun cannot strike you down by day, nor moon at night.

121:7 Yahweh guards you from harm, he guards your lives,

121:8 he guards you leaving, coming back, now and for always.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 122

 

PSALM 122  (v121)

 

Hail, Jerusalem!

 

Song of Ascents

 

Of David

122:1 How I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of Yahweh!’

122:2 And now our feet are standing in your gateways, Jerusalem.

122:3 Jerusalem restored! The city, one united whole!

122:4 Here the tribes come up, the tribes of Yahweh, they come to praise Yahweh’s name, as he ordered Israel,

122:5 here where the tribunals of justice are, the royal tribunals of David.

122:6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem, ‘Prosperity to your houses!

122:7 Peace inside your city walls! Prosperity to your palaces!’

122:8 Since all are my brothers and friends, I say ‘Peace be with you!’

122:9 Since Yahweh our God lives here, I pray for your happiness.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 123

 

PSALM 123  (v122)

 

Prayer of the distressed

 

Song of Ascents

123:1 I lift my eyes to you, to you who have your home in heaven,

123:2 eyes like the eyes of slaves fixed on their master’s hand; like the eyes of a slave-girl fixed on the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are fixed on Yahweh our God, for him to take pity on us;

123:3 pity us, Yahweh, take pity on us, we have had more than our share of scorn,

123:4 more than our share of jeers from the complacent, of scorn from the proud.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 124

 

PSALM 124  (v123)

 

The saviour of Israel

 

Song of Ascents

 

David

124:1 If Yahweh had not been on our side – let Israel repeat it –

124:2 if Yahweh had not been on our side when they attacked us,

124:3 they would have swallowed us alive and burnt us to death in their rage.

124:4 The waters would have closed over us, the torrent have swept us away,

124:5 either would have drowned us in their turbulent waves.

124:6 Blessed be Yahweh who did not let us fall a victim to those teeth,

124:7 who let us escape like birds from the fowler’s net. He tore the net and we escaped;

124:8 our help is in the name of Yahweh, who made heaven and earth.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 125

 

PSALM 125  (v124)

 

God protects his faithful

 

Song of Ascents

125:1 Those who trust in Yahweh are like Mount Zion, unshakeable, standing for ever.

125:2 Jerusalem! Encircled by mountains, as Yahweh encircles his people now and for always.

125:3 No wicked sceptre shall rule this heritage of the virtuous, or the virtuous in their turn might take to evil.

125:4 Yahweh, be good to the good, to those of upright heart.

125:5 But the perverts, those who follow twisting paths – may Yahweh send them to join the evil-doers! Peace to Israel!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 126

 

PSALM 126  (v125)

 

Song of the returning exiles

 

Song of Ascents

126:1 When Yahweh brought Zion’s captives home, at first it seemed like a dream;

126:2 then our mouths filled with laughter and our lips with song. Even the pagans started talking about the marvels Yahweh had done for us!

126:3 What marvels indeed he did for us, and how overjoyed we were!

126:4 Yahweh, bring all our captives back again like torrents in the Negeb!

126:5 Those who went sowing in tears now sing as they reap.

126:6 They went away, went away weeping, carrying the seed; they come back, come back singing, carrying their sheaves.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 127

 

PSALM 127  (v126)

 

Trust in Providence

 

Song of Ascents

 

Solomon

127:1 If Yahweh does not build the house, in vain the masons toil; if Yahweh does not guard the city, in vain the sentries watch.

127:2 In vain you get up earlier, and put off going to bed, sweating to make a living, since he provides for his beloved as they sleep.

127:3 Sons are a bounty from Yahweh, he rewards with descendants:

127:4 like the arrows in a hero’s hand are the sons you father when young.

127:5 Happy the man who has filled his quiver with arrows of this sort; in dispute with his enemies at the gate,[*a] he will not be worsted.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 128

 

PSALM 128  (v127)

 

Blessing for the devout

 

Song of Ascents

128:1 Happy, all those who fear Yahweh and follow in his paths.

128:2 You will eat what your hands have worked for, happiness and prosperity will be yours.

128:3 Your wife: a fruitful vine on the inner walls of your house. Your sons: round your table like shoots round an olive tree.

128:4 Such are the blessings that fall on the man who fears Yahweh.

128:5a May Yahweh bless you from Zion

128:5c all the days of your life!

128:5b May you see Jerusalem prosperous

128:6 and live to see your children’s children! Peace to Israel!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 129

 

PSALM 129  (v128)

 

Against the enemies of Zion

 

Song of Ascents

129:1 Hard as they have harried me since I was young – let Israel repeat it –

129:2 Hard as they have harried me since I was young, they have not overcome me.

129:3 Ploughmen have ploughed on my back longer and longer furrows,

129:4 but now Yahweh the Righteous has shattered the yoke of the wicked.

129:5 May they all be thrown into confusion, be routed, who have hated Zion,

129:6 be blasted by winds from the east like grass sprouting on the roof!

129:7 Roof-grass never yet filled reaper’s arm or binder’s lap –

129:8 and no one passing them will ever say, ‘Yahweh’s blessing on you!’ We bless you in the name of Yahweh.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 130

 

PSALM 130  (v129)

 

From the depths

 

Song of Ascents

130:1 From the depths I call to you, Yahweh,

130:2 Lord, listen to my cry for help! Listen compassionately to my pleading!

130:3 If you never overlooked our sins, Yahweh, Lord, could anyone survive?

130:4 But you do forgive us: and for that we revere you.

130:5 I wait for Yahweh, my soul waits for him, I rely on his promise,

130:6 my soul relies on the Lord more than a watchman on the coming of dawn.

130:7 Let Israel rely on Yahweh as much as the watchman on the dawn! For it is with Yahweh that mercy is to be found, and a generous redemption;

130:8 it is he who redeems Israel from all their sins.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 131

 

PSALM 131  (v130)

 

Childlike trust in God

 

Song of Ascents

 

Of David

131:1 Yahweh, my heart has no lofty ambitions, my eyes do not look too high. I am not concerned with great affairs or marvels beyond my scope.

131:2 Enough for me to keep my soul tranquil and quiet like a child in its mother’s arms, as content as a child that has been weaned.

131:3 Israel, rely on Yahweh, now and for always!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 132

 

PSALM 132  (v131)

 

The ark is taken to Zion: anniversary hymn

 

Song of Ascents

132:1 Yahweh, remember David and all the hardships he suffered,

132:2 and the oath he swore to Yahweh, his vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:

132:3 not to enter tent or house, not to climb into bed,

132:4 not to allow himself to sleep, not even to close his eyes,

132:5 until he had found a place for Yahweh, a home for the Mighty One of Jacob!

132:6 Listen: we heard it was in Ephrathah, we found it at Fields-of-the-Forest!

132:7 Let us go where he is waiting and worship at his footstool.

132:8 Yahweh, go up to your resting place, you and your ark of power.

132:9 Your priests are vesting in virtue and your devout are shouting for joy.

132:10 For the sake of your servant David, do not banish your anointed.

132:11 Yahweh swore to David and will remain true to his word, ‘I promise that your own son shall succeed you on the throne.

132:12 ‘If your sons observe my covenant, the decrees that I have taught them, their sons too shall succeed you on the throne for evermore.’

132:13 For Yahweh has chosen Zion, desiring this to be his home,

132:14 ‘Here I will stay for ever, this is the home I have chosen.

132:15 ‘I will bless her virtuous with riches, provide her poor with food,

132:16 vest her priests in salvation and her devout shall shout for joy.

132:17 ‘Here, I will make a horn sprout for David, here, I will trim a lamp for my anointed,

132:18 whose enemies I shall clothe in shame, while his crown bursts into flower.’

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 133

 

PSALM 133  (v132)

 

Brotherly love

 

Song of Ascents

 

Of David

133:1 How good, how delightful it is for all to live together like brothers:

133:2 fine as oil on the head, running down the beard, running down Aaron’s beard to the collar of his robes;

133:3 copious as a Hermon dew falling on the heights of Zion, where Yahweh confers his blessing, everlasting life.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 134

 

PSALM 134  (v133)

 

Night hymn

 

Song of Ascents

134:1 Come, bless Yahweh, all you who serve Yahweh, serving in the house of Yahweh, in the courts of the house of our God!

134:2 Stretch out your hands towards the sanctuary, bless Yahweh night after night!

134:3 May Yahweh bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth![*a]

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 135

 

PSALM 135  (v134)

 

Hymn of praise

135:1 Alleluia! Praise the name of Yahweh, praise Yahweh, you who serve him,

135:2 serving in the house of Yahweh, in the courts of the house of our God!

135:3 Praise Yahweh, for Yahweh is good. Play for his name, for he inspires love;

135:4 since Yahweh has chosen Jacob, Israel as his own.

135:5 I have learnt for myself that Yahweh is great, that our Lord surpasses all other gods.

135:6 In the heavens, on the earth, in the ocean, in the depths, Yahweh’s will is sovereign.

135:7 He raises up clouds from the boundaries of earth, makes the lightning flash for the downpour and brings the wind out of his storehouse.

135:8 He struck down the first-born of Egypt, of man and beast alike,

135:9 he sent signs and wonders among you, Egypt, against Pharaoh and his officials.

135:10 He struck the pagans down in droves, he slaughtered mighty kings,

135:11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan;

135:12 he gave their lands as a legacy, a legacy to his people Israel.

135:13 Yahweh, your name endures for ever! Yahweh, your memory is always fresh!

135:14 Since Yahweh vindicates his people, and cares for those who serve him;

135:15 whereas pagans’ idols, in silver and gold, products of human skill,

135:16 have mouths, but never speak, eyes, but never see,

135:17 ears, but never hear, and not a breath in their mouths.

135:18 Their makers will end up like them and so will anyone who relies on them.

135:19 House of Israel, bless Yahweh, House of Aaron, bless Yahweh,

135:20 House of Levi, bless Yahweh, you who fear Yahweh, bless Yahweh!

135:21 Blessed be Yahweh in Zion, in Jerusalem his home!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 136

 

PSALM 136  (v135)

 

Litany of thanksgiving

Alleluia!

136:1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, his love is everlasting!

136:2 Give thanks to the God of gods, his love is everlasting!

136:3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, his love is everlasting!

136:4 He alone performs great marvels, his love is everlasting!

136:5 His wisdom made the heavens, his love is everlasting!

136:6 He set the earth on the waters, his love is everlasting!

136:7 He made the great lights, his love is everlasting!

136:8 The sun to govern the day, his love is everlasting!

136:9 Moon and stars to govern the night, his love is everlasting!

136:10 He struck down the first-born of Egypt, his love is everlasting!

136:11 And brought Israel out, his love is everlasting!

136:12 With mighty hand and outstretched arm, his love is everlasting!

136:13 He split the Sea of Reeds, his love is everlasting!

136:14 Led Israel through the middle, his love is everlasting!

136:15 Drowned Pharaoh and his army, his love is everlasting!

136:16 He led his people through the wilderness, his love is everlasting!

136:17 He struck down mighty kings, his love is everlasting!

136:18 He slaughtered famous kings, his love is everlasting!

136:19 Sihon, king of the Amorites, his love is everlasting!

136:20 And Og, the king of Bashan, his love is everlasting!

136:21 He gave their lands as a legacy, his love is everlasting!

136:22 A legacy to his servant Israel, his love is everlasting!

136:23 He remembered us when we were down, his love is everlasting!

136:24 And snatched us from our oppressors, his love is everlasting!

136:25 He provides for all living creatures, his love is everlasting!

136:26 Give thanks to the God of Heaven, his love is everlasting!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 137

 

PSALM 137  (v136)

 

Ballad of the exiles

137:1 Beside the streams of Babylon we sat and wept at the memory of Zion,

137:2 leaving our harps hanging on the poplars there.

137:3 For we had been asked to sing to our captors, to entertain those who had carried us off: ‘Sing’ they said ‘some hymns of Zion’.

137:4 How could we sing one of Yahweh’s hymns in a pagan country?

137:5 Jerusalem, if I forget you, may my right hand wither!

137:6 May I never speak again, if I forget you! If I do not count Jerusalem the greatest of my joys!

137:7 Yahweh, remember what the Sons of Edom did on the day of Jerusalem,[*a] how they said, ‘Down with her! Raze her to the ground!’

137:8 Destructive Daughter of Babel, a blessing on the man who treats you as you have treated us,

137:9 a blessing on him who takes and dashes your babies against the rock!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 138

 

PSALM 138  (v137)

 

Hymn of thanksgiving

 

Of David

138:1 I thank you, Yahweh, with all my heart, because you have heard what I said. In the presence of the angels I play for you,

138:2 and bow down towards your holy Temple. I give thanks to your name for your love and faithfulness; your promise is even greater than your fame.

138:3 The day I called for help, you heard me and you increased my strength.

138:4 Yahweh, all kings on earth give thanks to you, for they have heard your promises;

138:5 they celebrate Yahweh’s actions, ‘Great is the glory of Yahweh!’

138:6 From far above, Yahweh sees the humble, from far away he marks down the arrogant.

138:7 Though I live surrounded by trouble, you keep me alive-to my enemies’ fury! You stretch your hand out and save me, your right hand

138:8 will do everything for me. Yahweh, your love is everlasting, do not abandon us whom you have made.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 139

 

PSALM 139  (v138)

 

In praise of God’s omniscience

 

For the choirmaster

 

Of David

 

Psalm

139:1 Yahweh, you examine me and know me,

139:2 you know if I am standing or sitting, you read my thoughts from far away,

139:3 whether I walk or lie down, you are watching, you know every detail of my conduct.

139:4 The word is not even on my tongue, Yahweh, before you know all about it;

139:5 close behind and close in front you fence me round, shielding me with your hand.

139:6 Such knowledge is beyond my understanding, a height to which my mind cannot attain.

139:7 Where could I go to escape your spirit? Where could I flee from your presence?

139:8 If I climb the heavens, you are there, there too, if I lie in Sheol

139:9 If I flew to the point of sunrise, or westward across the sea,

139:10 your hand would still be guiding me, your right hand holding me.

139:11 If I asked darkness to cover me, and light to become night around me,

139:12 that darkness would not be dark to you, night would be as light as day.

139:13 It was you who created my inmost self, and put me together in my mother’s womb;

139:14 for all these mysteries I thank you: for the wonder of myself, for the wonder of your works. You know me through and through,

139:15 from having watched my bones take shape when I was being formed in secret, knitted together in the limbo of the womb.

139:16 You had scrutinised my every action, all were recorded in your book, my days listed and determined, even before the first of them

139:17 occurred. God, how hard it is to grasp your thoughts! How impossible to count them!

139:18 I could no more count them than I could the sand, and suppose I could, you would still be with me.

139:19 God, If only you would kill the wicked! Men of blood, away from me!

139:20 They talk blasphemously about you, regard your thoughts as nothing.

139:21 Yahweh, do I not hate those who hate you, and loathe those who defy you?

139:22 I hate them with a total hatred, I regard them as my own enemies.

139:23 God, examine me and know my heart, probe me and know my thoughts;

139:24 make sure I do not follow pernicious ways, and guide me in the way that is everlasting.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 140

 

PSALM 140  (v139)

 

Against the wicked

 

For the choirmaster

 

Psalm

 

Of David

140:1 Yahweh, rescue me from evil people, defend me from men of violence,

140:2 from people plotting evil, forever intent on stirring up strife,

140:3 who make their tongues as sharp as serpents’ with viper’s venom on their lips.   (Pause)

140:4 Yahweh, guard me from attacks by the wicked, defend me from those who love force, from people plotting to make me stumble,

140:5b forever laying snares where I walk,

140:5a insolent wretches, concealing pitfall and noose

140:5c to trap me as I pass.   (Pause)

140:6 I have told Yahweh, ‘You are my God’. Yahweh, listen to my cry for help.

140:7 Yahweh, my Lord, my saving strength, shielding my head when I have to fight,

140:8 Yahweh, do not grant their wicked wishes, do not let their plots succeed. May those besieging me not   (Pause)

140:9 win, may their own cruel words overtake them,

140:10 may red-hot embers rain down on them, may they be flung into the abyss for good,

140:11 may evil hound the man of violence to death and the slanderer not hold his own on earth.

140:12 I know Yahweh will avenge the wretched, and see justice done for the poor.

140:13 The virtuous shall have good cause to thank your name, and the upright to find a home with you.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 141

 

PSALM 141  (v140)

 

Against the attractions of evil

 

Psalm

 

Of David

141:1 Yahweh, I am calling, hurry to me, listen to me, I am invoking you.

141:2 My prayers rise like incense, my hands like the evening offering.

141:3 Yahweh, set a guard at my mouth, a watcher at the gate of my lips.

141:4 Let me feel no impulse to do wrong, to share the godlessness of evil-doers. No, I will not sample their delights.

141:5 A virtuous man may strike me in reproof, for my own good, but a wicked one shall never anoint my head with oil! Daily I counter their malice with prayer.

141:6 When their judges are flung on jagged rock, they will learn how mild my words have been,

141:7 ‘Like a millstone smashed on the ground, our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol’.

141:8 To you, Yahweh my Lord, I turn my eyes. I take shelter in you, do not leave me exposed!

141:9 Keep me out of traps that are set for me, from the bait laid for me by evil men.

141:10 Let the wicked fall into their own net, while I go on my way.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 142

 

PSALM 142  (v141)

 

Prayer of a hunted man

 

Poem

 

Of David

 

When he was in the cave

 

Psalm

142:1 To Yahweh, my cry! I plead. To Yahweh, my cry! I entreat.

142:2 I pour out my supplications, I unfold all my troubles;

142:3 my spirit fails me, but you, you know my path. On the path I follow they have concealed a trap.

142:4 Look on my right[*a] and see, there is no one to befriend me. All help is denied me, no one cares about me.

142:5 I invoke you, Yahweh, I affirm that you are my refuge, my heritage in the land of the living.

142:6 Listen to my cries for help, I can hardly be crushed lower. Rescue me from persecutors stronger than I am!

142:7 Free me from this imprisonment, and I will thank your name once more in the Assembly of the virtuous, for the goodness you show me.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 143

 

PSALM 143  (v142)

 

A humble entreaty

 

Psalm

 

Of David

143:1 Yahweh, hear my prayer, listen to my pleading, answer me faithfully, righteously;

143:2 do not put your servant on trial, no one is virtuous by your standards.

143:3 An enemy who hounds me to crush me into the dust, forces me to dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago;

143:4 my spirit fails me and my heart is full of fear.

143:5 I recall the days of old, I reflect on all that you did, I ponder your deeds;

143:6 I stretch out my hands, like thirsty ground I yearn for you.   (Pause)

143:7 Quick, Yahweh, answer me before my spirit fails; if you hide your face much longer, I shall go down to the Pit like the rest.

143:8 Let dawn bring proof of your love, for one who relies on you; let it show the right road, to one who lifts up his soul to you.

143:9 Yahweh, rescue me from my enemies, I have fled to you for shelter;

143:10 teach me to obey you, since you are my God; may your good spirit guide me on to level ground.

143:11 Yahweh, for the sake of your name, keep your promise to save me; protect me from oppression,

143:12 love me, kill my enemies, destroy my oppressors, for I am your servant.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 144

 

PSALM 144  (v143)

 

War hymn and the fruits of victory

 

David

144:1 Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,

144:2 my love, my bastion, my citadel, my saviour, I shelter behind him, my shield, he makes the nations submit to me.

144:3 Yahweh, what is man, that you should notice him? A human being, that you should think about him?

144:4 Man’s life, a mere puff of wind, his days, as fugitive as shadows.

144:5 Yahweh, lower your heavens, come down to us! Touch the mountains, make them smoke,

144:6 flash your lightning – scatter them, shoot your arrows – rout them.

144:7 Reach down your hand from above, save me, rescue me from deep waters, from the power of aliens

144:8 who tell nothing but lies, who are prepared to swear to falsehood!

144:9 God, I have made a new song for you to be played on the ten-string lyre,

144:10 you who give victory to kings and safety to your servant David. From peril of sword

144:11 save me, rescue me from the power of aliens who tell nothing but lies, who are prepared to swear to falsehood!

144:12 May our sons be like plants growing strong from their earliest days, our daughters like corner-statues,[*a] carvings fit for a palace;

144:13 may our barns overflow with every possible crop, may the sheep in our fields be counted in their thousands and tens of thousands,

144:14 may our cattle be stout and strong; and may there be an end of raids and exile, and of panic in our streets.

144:15 Happy the nation of whom this is true, happy the nation whose God is Yahweh!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 145

 

PSALM 145  (v144)

 

Hymn of praise to Yahweh the king

 

Hymn

 

Of David

 

Aleph

145:1 I sing your praises, God my King, I bless your name for ever and ever,

 

Beth

145:2 blessing you day after day, and praising your name for ever and ever.

 

Ghimel

145:3 Can anyone measure the magnificence of Yahweh the great, and his inexpressible grandeur?

 

Daleth

145:4 Celebrating your acts of power, one age shall praise your doings to another.

 

He

145:5 Oh, the splendour of your glory, your renown! I tell myself the story of your marvellous deeds.

 

Waw

145:6 Men will proclaim your fearful power and I shall assert your greatness;

 

Zain

145:7 they will celebrate your generous kindness and joyfully acclaim your righteousness.

 

Heth

145:8 He, Yahweh, is merciful, tenderhearted, slow to anger, very loving,

 

Teth

145:9 and universally kind; Yahweh’s tenderness embraces all his creatures.

 

Yod

145:10 Yahweh, all your creatures thank you, and your faithful bless you.

 

Kaph

145:11 Kingly and glorious they proclaim you, they affirm your might.

 

Lamed

145:12 Let mankind learn your acts of power, and the majestic glory of your sovereignty!

 

Mem

145:13 Your sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty, your empire lasts from age to age.

 

(Nun)

Always true to his promises, Yahweh shows love in all he does.[*a]

 

Samek

145:14 Only stumble, and Yahweh at once supports you, if others bow you down, he will raise you up.

 

Ain

145:15 Patiently all creatures look to you to feed them throughout the year;

 

Pe

145:16 quick to satisfy every need, you feed them all with a generous hand.

 

Sade

145:17 Righteous in all that he does, Yahweh acts only out of love,

 

Qoph

145:18 standing close to all who invoke him, close to all who invoke Yahweh faithfully.

 

Resh

145:19 Those who fear him need only to ask to be answered; he hears their cries for help and saves them.

 

Shin

145:20 Under his protection the pious are safe, but Yahweh is destruction to the wicked.

 

Tau

145:21 Yahweh’s praise be ever in my mouth, and let every creature bless his holy name for ever and ever!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 146

 

PSALM 146  (v145)

 

Hymn to the God of help

146:1 Alleluia! Praise Yahweh, my soul!

146:2 I mean to praise Yahweh all my life, I mean to sing to my God as long as I live.

146:3 Do not put your trust in men in power, or in any mortal man – he cannot save,

146:4 he yields his breath and goes back to the earth he came from, and on that day all his schemes perish.

146:5 Happy the man who has the God of Jacob to help him, whose hope is fixed on Yahweh his God,

146:6 maker of heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that these hold! Yahweh, forever faithful,

146:7 gives justice to those denied it, gives food to the hungry, gives liberty to prisoners.

146:8a Yahweh restores sight to the blind,

146:8b Yahweh straightens the bent,

146:9a Yahweh protects the stranger,

146:9b he keeps the orphan and widow.

146:8c Yahweh loves the virtuous,

146:9c and frustrates the wicked.

146:10 Yahweh reigns for ever, your God, Zion, from age to age.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 147

 

PSALM 147  (v146-147)

 

Hymn to the Almighty

Alleluia!

147:1 Praise Yahweh – it is good to sing in honour of our God – sweet is his praise.

147:2 Yahweh, Restorer of Jerusalem! He brought back Israel’s exiles,

147:3 healing their broken hearts, and binding up their wounds.

147:4 He decides the number of the stars and gives each of them a name;

147:5 our Lord is great, all-powerful, of infinite understanding.

147:6 Yahweh, who lifts up the humble, humbles the wicked to the ground.

147:7 Sing to Yahweh in gratitude, play the lyre for our God:

147:8 who covers the heavens with clouds, to provide the earth with rain, to produce fresh grass on the hillsides and the plants that are needed by man,

147:9 who gives their food to the cattle and to the young ravens when they cry.

147:10 The strength of the war horse means nothing to him, it is not infantry that interests him.

147:11 Yahweh is interested only in those who fear him, in those who rely on his love.

147:12 Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem, Zion, praise your God:

147:13 for strengthening the bars of your gates, for blessing your citizens,

147:14 for granting you peace on your frontiers, for feeding you on the finest wheat.

147:15 He gives an order; his word flashes to earth:

147:16 to spread snow like a blanket, to strew hoarfrost like ashes,

147:17 to drop ice like breadcrumbs, and when the cold is unbearable,

147:18 he sends his word to bring the thaw and warm wind to melt the snow.

147:19 He reveals his word to Jacob, his statutes and rulings to Israel:

147:20 he never does this for other nations, he never reveals his rulings to them.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 148

 

PSALM 148

 

Cosmic hymn of praise

148:1 Alleluia! Let heaven praise Yahweh: praise him, heavenly heights,

148:2 praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his armies!.

148:3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, shining stars,

148:4 praise him, highest heavens, and waters above the heavens!

148:5 Let them all praise the name of Yahweh, at whose command they were created;

148:6 he has fixed them in their place for ever, by an unalterable statute.

148:7 Let earth praise Yahweh: sea-monsters and all the deeps,

148:8 fire and hail, snow and mist, gales that obey his decree,

148:9 mountains and hills, orchards and forests,

148:10 wild animals and farm animals, snakes and birds,

148:11 all kings on earth and nations, princes, all rulers in the world,

148:12 young men and girls, old people, and children too!

148:13 Let them all praise the name of Yahweh, for his name and no other is sublime, transcending earth and heaven in majesty,

148:14 raising the fortunes of his people, to the praises of the devout, of Israel, the people dear to him.

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 149

 

PSALM 149

 

Song of triumph

149:1 Alleluia! Sing Yahweh a new song, let the congregation of the faithful sing his praise!

149:2 Let Israel rejoice in his maker, and Zion’s children exult in their King;

149:3 let them dance in praise of his name, playing to him on strings and drums!

149:4 For Yahweh has been kind to his people, conferring victory on us who are weak;

149:5 the faithful exult in triumph, prostrate before God they acclaim him

149:6 with panegyrics on their lips, and a two-edged sword in their hands

149:7 to exact vengeance on the pagans, to inflict punishment on the heathen,

149:8 to shackle their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters,

149:9 to execute the preordained sentence.[*a] Thus gloriously are the faithful rewarded!

 

JB PSALMS Chapter 150

 

PSALM 150

 

Final chorus of praise[*a]

150:1 Alleluia! Praise God in his Temple on earth, praise him in his temple in heaven,

150:2 praise him for his mighty achievements, praise him for his transcendent greatness!

150:3 Praise him with blasts of the trumpet, praise him with lyre and harp,

150:4 praise him with drums and dancing, praise him with strings and reeds,

150:5 praise him with clashing cymbals, praise him with clanging cymbals!

150:6 Let everything that breathes praise Yahweh! Alleluia!

 

END OF JB PSALMS Volume 5 (107-150) [Total 150 Chapters].