Verses Of Praise

Pesukei D'zimrah

פְּסוּקֵי דְּזִמְרָה

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Hebrew

יִשְׂמְחוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְתָגֵל
הָאָרֶץ, וְיֹאמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם יְיָ
מָלָךְ: יְיָ מָלָךְ, יְיָ מָלָךְ, יְיָ
יִמְלֹךְ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד: יְיָ מֶלֶךְ
עוֹלָם וָעֶד, אָבְדוּ גוֹיִם
מֵאַרְצוֹ: יְיָ הֵפִיר עֲצַת גּוֹיִם,
הֵנִיא מַחְשְׁבוֹת עַמִּים:1 רַבּוֹת
מַחֲשָׁבוֹת בְּלֶב אִישׁ, וַעֲצַת יְיָ
הִיא תָקוּם: עֲצַת יְיָ לְעוֹלָם
תַּעֲמֹד, מַחְשְׁבוֹת לִבּוֹ לְדֹר
וָדֹר: כִּי הוּא אָמַר וַיֶּהִי, הוּא
צִוָּה וַיַּעֲמֹד:

Sephardi

Yismechu hashamayim vetagel
ha'aretz, v'yom'ru vagoyim Adonai
malach: Adonai malach, Adonai malach, Adonai
yimloch le'olam va'ed: Adonai melech
olam va'ed, avdu goyim
me'artzo: Adonai hefir atzat goyim,
heini machshevot amim: rabot
machashavot belev ish, va'atzat Adonai
hi takum: atzat Adonai le'olam
ta'amod, machshevot libo ledor
vador: ki hu amar vayehi, hu
tzivah vaya'amod:

English

When the Redemption arrives, the heavens will be happy and the earth will rejoice. The nations will say, "The Lord has always been King!" The Lord is King, the Lord was always King, and the Lord will always be King, forever and ever. The Lord is King forever and ever. Nations have disappeared from earth, God's land. The Lord has canceled the evil ideas of the nations who wanted to harm the Jewish Nation; He has ruined the evil plans of the nations.1 There are many thoughts in the heart of a person—a person might think that he knows best, but only the advice of the Lord lasts forever. The Lord's advice lasts forever; the thoughts and plans that are in His heart are carried out throughout all generations. For He spoke, and the universe came into being; He commanded that the universe should exist, and it has continued to exist forever.

Hebrew

כִּי בָחַר יְיָ בְּצִיּוֹן,2 אִוָּהּ
לְמוֹשָׁב לוֹ: כִּי יַעֲקֹב בָּחַר
לוֹ יָהּ, יִשְׂרָאֵל לִסְגֻלָּתוֹ: כִּי,
לֹא יִטֹּשׁ יְיָ עַמּוֹ, וְנַחֲלָתוֹ לֹא
יַעֲזֹב: וְהוּא רַחוּם יְכַפֵּר עָוֹן
וְלֹא יַשְׁחִית, וְהִרְבָּה לְהָשִׁיב
אַפּוֹ, וְלֹא יָעִיר כָּל חֲמָתוֹ:
יְיָ3 הוֹשִׁיעָה, הַמֶּלֶךְ יַעֲנֵנוּ
בְּיוֹם קָרְאֵנוּ:3

Sephardi

Ki vachar Adonai betziyon, ivah
lemoshav lo: ki Ya'akov bachar
lo Yah, Yisrael lisgulato: ki,
lo yitosh Adonai amo, venachalato lo
ya'azov: vehu rachum yechaper avon
v'lo yashchit, ve-hirbah lehashiv
apo, v'lo ya'ir kol chamato:
Adonai hoshi'ah, hamelech ya'anenu
beyom koreinu:

English

The Lord chose His city Zion (Jerusalem).2 He wanted the Temple in Jerusalem as His home. God chose the Children of Jacob to be His nation—He chose the Children of Israel as His beloved treasure. The Lord will not abandon His people; He will not leave His inheritance, the Jewish Nation. God is merciful and forgives our sins; He does not destroy us because of them. Many times He turns anger away from us, and He does not stir up all of His anger. Save us, Lord;3 may the King of the universe answer us on the day we call out to Him.

Concentrate intently the meaning. of the verse פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ in the following paragraph. If said without concentration repeat the verse with concentration. For transliteration, see page 942.

We praise God's greatness

Hebrew

אַשְׁרֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ, עוֹד
יְהַלְלוּךָ סֶּלָה: אַשְׁרֵי
הָעָם שֶׁכָּכָה לּוֹ,4 אַשְׁרֵי הָעָם
שֶׁיְיָ אֱלֹהָיו:

Sephardi

Ashrei yoshvei veitecha, od
yehalelucha selah: ashrei
ha'am shekachah lo, ashrei ha'am
sheAdonai Elohav:

English

Fortunate are those who dwell in Your house; fortunate are those who visit the Holy Temple. They will praise You forever. Fortunate is the nation that such is their lot:4 fortunate is the nation whose God is the Lord.

Hebrew

תְּהִלָּה לְדָוִד, אֲרוֹמִמְךָ
אֱלֹהַי הַמֶּלֶךְ, וַאֲבָרֲכָה
שִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד: בְּכָל
יוֹם אֲבָרֲכֶךָּ, וַאֲהַלְלָה
שִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד: גָּדוֹל
יְיָ וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד,5 וְלִגְדֻלָּתוֹ
אֵין חֵקֶר:6 דּוֹר לְדוֹר יְשַׁבַּח
מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, וּגְבוּרֹתֶיךָ יַגִּידוּ:
הֲדַר כְּבוֹד הוֹדֶךָ, וְדִבְרֵי
נִפְלְאֹתֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה: וֶעֱזוּז
נוֹרְאֹתֶיךָ יֹאמֵרוּ, וּגְדֻלָּתְךָ
אֲסַפְּרֶנָּה: זֵכֶר רַב טוּבְךָ
יַבִּיעוּ, וְצִדְקָתְךָ יְרַנֵּנוּ:
חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם יְיָ, אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם

Sephardi

Tehilah leDavid, aromimcha
Elohai hamelech, va'avarechah
shimcha le'olam va'ed: bechol
yom avarecheka, va'ahalelah
shimcha le'olam va'ed: gadol
Adonai umehulal me'od, veligdulato
ein cheker: dor l'dor yeshabach
ma'asecha, ugvurotecha yagidu:
hadar kevod hodecha, vedivrei
nifle'otecha asichah: ve'ezuz
nor'otecha yomeru, ugdulatecha
asaperenah: zecher rav tuvcha
yabi'u, vetzidkatecha yeranenu:
chanun ve-rachum Adonai, erech apayim

English

The following is a song of praise composed by King David: I will exalt You, my God, the King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. I will bless You every day, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. However much I praise the Lord, it will never be enough, because He is so great and praised;5 there is no limit to His greatness.6 The older generation will praise Your works of creation to the younger generation and tell them about Your acts of strength. I, too, will speak about the beauty of the universe You created and the honor it brings You, as well as the wonders and miracles You have done. The older generation will tell the younger generation about the might of Your awesome acts, and I will speak about Your greatness. They will tell their children about the memories of Your great goodness to them, and they will sing to everyone about Your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, even to those who don't deserve it. He is slow to get angry and punish those who don't

Commentary

1 An alternative translation: "prevented." There are times when God does not wait for people to make evil plans before canceling them; instead, He "prevents" them from having these evil thoughts in the first place. For this, too, we are obliged to thank Him.

2 The word צִיּוֹן can also refer to the Jewish Nation. These verses can be read as one thought: the reason God created the universe and brought it into being is because He wanted His Divine Presence to rest among the Jewish Nation.

3 The name of God mentioned here (הוי"ה) represents God's supernatural power. We are asking God that even if it is impossible to save us according to the laws of nature, He should do so supernaturally.

4 Literally, "that this is so." The verse is telling us: Fortunate are the people who understand Torah concepts to the point that they can say, "This is so." This means that they understand the concept well enough to be able to explain it to others without altering its true meaning or watering it down. They are able to say, "This is it—this is the concept, without modification."

5 Although we cannot understand the full greatness of God, He is still "very praised" because His greatness is expressed in many ways and can be appreciated by all types of people, just as a wise teacher's greatness is expressed in his ability to teach many types of students.

6 God created all the worlds, both physical and spiritual, using just a small fraction of His powers—akin to a small drop of water from a huge ocean. When we consider this, we realize that His power is far beyond what we can imagine with our earthly minds, and that there is "no limit to His greatness."