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THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON.
1 I cried unto the Lord when I was in distress [ ], Unto God when sinners assailed. Suddenly
the alarm of war was heard before me; (I said), He will hearken to me, for I am full of righteousness.
I thought in my heart that I was full of righteousness, Because I was well off and had become rich
in children. Their wealth spread to the whole earth, And their glory unto the end of the
earth. They were exalted unto the stars; They said they would never fall. But they became
insolent in their prosperity, And they were without understanding, Their sins were in
secret, And even I had no knowledge (of them). Their transgressions (went) beyond those of
the heathen before them; They utterly polluted the holy things of the Lord.
2. A Psalm Of Solomon. Concerning Jerusalem.
When the sinner waxed proud, with a battering-ram he cast down fortified walls, And Thou didst
not restrain (him). Alien nations ascended Thine altar, They trampled (it) proudly with
their sandals; Because the sons of Jerusalem had defiled the holy things of the Lord, Had
profaned with iniquities the offerings of God. Therefore He said: Cast them far from
Me; It was set at naught before God, It was utterly dishonoured; The sons and the daughters
were in grievous captivity, Sealed (?) (was) their neck, branded (?) (was it) among the
nations. According to their sins hath He done unto them, For He hath left them in the hands
of them that prevailed. He hath turned away His face from pitying them, Young and old
and their children together; For they had done evil one and all, in not hearkening.
And the heavens were angry, And the earth abhorred them; For no man upon it had done
what they did, And the earth recognized all Thy righteous judgements, O God. They set
the sons of Jerusalem to be mocked at in return for (the) harlots in her; Every wayfarer entered
in in the full light of day. They made mock with their transgressions, as they themselves
were wont to do; In the full light of day they revealed their iniquities. And the daughters
of Jerusalem were defiled in accordance with Thy judgement, Because they had defiled themselves
with unnatural intercourse. I am pained in my bowels and my inward parts for these things.
(And yet) I will justify Thee, O God, in uprightness of heart, For in Thy judgements is Thy righteousness
(displayed), O God. For Thou hast rendered to the sinners according to their deeds, Yea
according to their sins, which were very wicked. Thou hast uncovered their sins, that Thy judgement
might be manifest; Thou hast wiped out their memorial from the earth. God is a righteous
judge, And He is no respecter of persons. For the nations reproached Jerusalem, trampling
it down; Her beauty was dragged down from the throne of glory. She girded on sackcloth
instead of comely raiment, A rope (was) about her head instead of a crown. She put off the
glorious diadem which God had set upon her, In dishonour was her beauty cast upon the
ground. And I saw and entreated the Lord and said, Long enough, O Lord, has Thine hand
been heavy on Israel, in bringing the nations upon (them). For they have made sport unsparingly
in wrath and fierce anger; And they will make an utter end, unless Thou, O Lord, rebuke
them in Thy wrath. For they have done it not in zeal, but in *** of soul, Pouring out
their wrath upon us with a view to rapine. Delay not, O God, to recompense them on (their)
heads, To turn the pride of the dragon into dishonour. And I had not long to wait before
God showed me the insolent one Slain on the mountains of Egypt, Esteemed of less account
than the least on land and sea; His body, ( too,) borne hither and thither on the billows
with much insolence, With none to bury (him), because He had rejected him with dishonour.
He reflected not that he was man. And reflected not on the latter end; He said: I will be
lord of land and sea; And he recognized not that it is God who is great, Mighty in His
great strength. He is king over the heavens, And judgeth kings and kingdoms. (It is He)
who setteth me up in glory, And bringeth down the proud to eternal destruction in dishonour,
Because they knew Him not. And now behold, ye princes of the earth, the judgement of
the Lord, For a great king and righteous (is He), judging (all) that is under heaven. Bless
God, ye that fear the Lord with wisdom, For the mercy of the Lord will be upon them that
fear Him, in the Judgement; So that He will distinguish between the righteous and the
sinner, (And) recompense the sinners for ever according to their deeds; And have mercy on
the righteous, (delivering him) from the affliction of the sinner, And recompensing the sinner
for what he hath done to the righteous. For the Lord is good to them that call upon Him
in patience, Doing according to His mercy to His pious ones, Establishing (them) at
all times before Him in strength. Blessed be the Lord for ever before His servants.
3. A Psalm Of Solomon. Concerning the righteous.
Why sleepest thou, O my soul, And blessest not the Lord? Sing a new song, Unto God who
is worthy to be praised. Sing and be wakeful against His awaking, For good is a psalm (sung)
to God from a glad heart. The righteous remember the Lord at all times, With thanksgiving and
declaration of the righteousness of the Lord's judgements The righteous despiseth not the
chastening of the Lord; His will is always before the Lord. The righteous stumbleth and
holdeth the Lord righteous: He falleth and looketh out for what God will do to him; He
seeketh out whence his deliverance will come. The steadfastness of the righteous is from
God their deliverer; There lodgeth not in the house of the righteous sin upon sin. The
righteous continually searcheth his house, To remove utterly (all) iniquity (done) by
him in error. He maketh atonement for (sins of) ignorance by fasting and afflicting his
soul, And the Lord counteth guiltless every pious man and his house. The sinner stumbleth
and curseth his life, The day when he was begotten, and his mother's travail. He addeth
sins to sins, while he liveth (?); He falleth -verily grievous is his fall- and riseth no
more. The destruction of the sinner is for ever, And he shall not be remembered, when
the righteous is visited. This is the portion of sinners for ever. But they that fear the
Lord shall rise to life eternal, And their life (shall be) in the light of the Lord,
and shall come to an end no more.
4. A Conversation of Solomon with the Men-pleasers.
Wherefore sittest thou, O profane (man), in the council of the pious, Seeing that thy
heart is far removed from the Lord, Provoking with transgressions the God of Israel? Extravagant
in speech, extravagant in outward seeming beyond all (men), Is he that is severe of
speech in condemning sinners in judgement. And his hand is first upon him as (though
he acted) in zeal, And (yet) he is himself guilty in respect of manifold sins and of
wantonness. His eyes are upon every woman without distinction; His tongue lieth when
he maketh contract with an oath. By night and in secret he sinneth as though unseen,
With his eyes he talketh to every woman of evil compacts. He is swift to enter every
house with cheerfulness as though guileless. Let God remove those that live in hypocrisy
in the company of the pious, (Even) the life of such an one with corruption of his flesh
and penury. Let God reveal the deeds of the men-pleasers, The deeds of such an one with
laughter and derision; That the pious may count righteous the judgement of their God,
When sinners are removed from before the righteous, (Even the) man- pleaser who uttereth law guilefully.
And their eyes (are fixed) upon any man's house that is (still) secure, That they may,
like (the) Serpent, destroy the wisdom of... with words of transgressors, His words are
deceitful that (he) may accomplish (his) wicked desire. He never ceaseth from scattering (families)
as though (they were) orphans, Yea, he layeth waste a house on account of (his) lawless
desire. He deceiveth with words, (saying,) There is none that seeth, or judgeth. He fills
one (house) with lawlessness, And (then) his eyes (are fixed) upon the next house, To destroy
it with words that give wing to (desire). (Yet) with all these his soul, like Sheol,
is not sated. Let his portion, O Lord, be dishonoured before thee; Let him go forth
groaning and come home cursed. Let his life be (spent) in anguish, and penury, and want,
O Lord; Let his sleep be (beset) with pains and his awaking with perplexities. Let sleep
be withdrawn from his eyelids at night; Let him fail dishonorably in every work of his
hands. Let him come home empty-handed to his house, And his house be void of everything
wherewith he could sate his appetite. (Let) his old age (be spent) in childless loneliness
until his removal (by death). Let the flesh of the men-pleasers be rent by wild beasts,
And (let) the bones of the lawless (lie) dishonoured in the sight of the sun. Let ravens peck out
the eyes of the hypocrites. For they have laid waste many houses of men, in dishonour,
And scattered (them) in (their) ***; And they have not remembered God, Nor feared God
in all these things; But they have provoked God's anger and vexed Him. May He remove them
from off the earth, Because with deceit they beguiled the souls of the flawess. Blessed
are they that fear the Lord in their flawlessness; The Lord shall deliver them from guileful
men and sinners, And deliver us from every stumbling-block of the lawless (men). Let
God destroy them that insolently work all unrighteousness, For a great and mighty judge
is the Lord our God in righteousness. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon all them that love
Thee.
5. A Psalm Of Solomon
O Lord God, I will praise Thy name with joy, In the midst of them that know Thy righteous
judgements. For Thou art good and merciful, the refuge of the poor; When I cry to Thee,
do not silently disregard me. For no man taketh spoil from a mighty man; Who, then, can take
aught of all that Thou hast made, except Thou Thyself givest? For man and his portion (lie)
before Thee in the balance; He cannot add to, so as to enlarge, what has been prescribed
by Thee. O God, when we are in distress we call upon Thee for help, And Thou dost not
turn back our petition, for Thou art our God. Cause not Thy hand to be heavy upon us, Lest
through necessity we sin. Even though Thou restore us not, we will not keep away; But
unto Thee will we come. For if I hunger, unto Thee will I cry, O God; And Thou wilt give
to me. Birds and fish dost Thou nourish, In that Thou givest rain to the steppes that
green grass may spring up, (So) to prepare fodder in the steppe for every living thing;
And if they hunger, unto Thee do they lift up their face. Kings and rulers and peoples
Thou dost nourish, O God; And who is the help of the poor and needy, if not Thou, O Lord?
And Thou wilt hearken -for who is good and gentle but Thou?- Making glad the soul of
the humble by opening Thine hand in mercy. Man's goodness is (bestowed) grudgingly and
..., And if he repeat (it) without murmuring, even that is marvellous. But Thy gift is great
in goodness and wealth, And he whose hope is (set) on Thee shall have no lack of gifts.
Upon the whole earth is Thy mercy, O Lord, in goodness. Happy is he whom God remembereth
in (granting to him) a due sufficiency; If a man abound over much, he sinneth. Sufficient
are moderate means with righteousness, And hereby the blessing of the Lord (becomes)
abundance with righteousness. They that fear the Lord rejoice in good (gifts), And Thy
goodness is upon Israel in Thy kingdom. Blessed is the glory of the Lord for He is our king.
6. In Hope. Of Solomon.
Happy is the man whose heart is fixed to call upon the name of the Lord; When he remembereth
the name of the Lord, he will be saved. His ways are made even by the Lord, And the works
of his hands are preserved by the Lord his God. At what he sees in his bad dreams, his
soul shall not be troubled; When he passes through rivers and the tossing of the seas,
he shall not be dismayed. He ariseth from his sleep, and blesseth the name of the Lord:
When his heart is at peace, he singeth to the name of his God, And he entreateth the
Lord for all his house. And the Lord heareth the prayer of every one that feareth God,
And every request of the soul that hopes for Him doth the Lord accomplish. Blessed is the
Lord, who showeth mercy to those who love Him in sincerity.
7. Of Solomon. Of turning.
Make not Thy dwelling afar from us, O God; Lest they assail us that hate us without cause.
For Thou hast rejected them, O God; Let not their foot trample upon Thy holy inheritance.
Chasten us Thyself in Thy good pleasure; But give (us) not up to the nations; For, if Thou
sendest pestilence, Thou Thyself givest it charge concerning us; For Thou art merciful,
And wilt not be angry to the point of consuming us. While Thy name dwelleth in our midst,
we shall find mercy; And the nations shall not prevail against us. For Thou art our shield,
And when we call upon Thee, Thou hearkenest to us; For Thou wilt pity the seed of Israel
for ever And Thou wilt not reject (them): But we (shall be) under Thy yoke for ever,
And (under) the rod of Thy chastening. Thou wilt establish us in the time that Thou helpest
us, Showing mercy to the house of Jacob on the day wherein Thou didst promise (to help
them).
8. Of Solomon. Of the chief Musician.
Distress and the sound of war hath my ear heard; The sound of a trumpet announcing slaughter
and calamity, The sound of much people as of an exceeding high wind, As a tempest with
mighty fire sweeping through the Negeb. And I said in my heart; Surely (?) God judgeth
us; A sound I hear (moving) towards Jerusalem, the holy city. My loins were broken at what
I heard, my knees tottered: My heart was afraid, my bones were dismayed like flax. I said:
They establish their ways in righteousness. I thought upon the judgements of God since
the creation of heaven and earth; I held God righteous in His judgements which have been
from of old. God laid bare their sins in the full light of day; All the earth came to know
the righteous judgements of God. In secret places underground their iniquities (were
committed) to provoke (Him) to anger; They wrought confusion, son with mother and father
with daughter; They committed adultery, every man with his neighbour's wife. They concluded
covenants with one another with an oath touching these things; They plundered the sanctuary
of God, as though there was no avenger. They trode the altar of the Lord, (coming straight)
from all manner of uncleanness; And with menstrual blood they defiled the sacrifices, as (though
these were) common flesh. They left no sin undone, wherein they surpassed not the heathen.
Therefore God mingled for them a spirit of wandering; And gave them to drink a cup of
undiluted wine, that they might become drunken. He brought him that is from the end of the
earth, that smiteth mightily; He decreed (?) war against Jerusalem, and against her land. The
princes of the land went to meet him with joy: they said unto him: Blessed be thy way!
Come ye, enter ye in with peace. They made the rough ways even, before his entering in;
They opened the gates to Jerusalem, they crowned its walls. As a father (entereth) the house
of his sons, (so) he entered (JerusaIem) in peace; He established his feet (there) in
great safety. He captured her fortresses and the wall of Jerusalem; For God Himself led
him in safety, while they wandered. He destroyed their princes and every one wise in counsel;
He poured out the blood of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, like the water of uncleanness.
He led away their sons and daughters, whom they had begotten in defilement. They did
according to their uncleanness, even as their fathers (had done): They defiled Jerusalem
and the things that had been hallowed to the name of God. (But) God hath shown Himself
righteous in His judgements upon the nations of the earth; And the pious (servants) of
God are like innocent lambs in their midst. Worthy to be praised is the Lord that judgeth
the whole earth in His righteousness. Behold, now, O God, Thou hast shown us Thy judgement
in Thy righteousness; Our eyes have seen Thy judgements, O God. We have justified Thy name
that is honoured for ever; For Thou art the God of righteousness, judging Israel with
chastening. Turn, O God, Thy mercy upon us, and have pity upon us; Gather together the
dispersed of Israel, with mercy and goodness; For Thy faithfulness is with us. And (though)
we have stiffened our neck, yet Thou art our chastener; Overlook us not, O our God, lest
the nations swallow us up, as though there were none to deliver. But Thou art our God
from the beginning, And upon Thee is our hope (set), O Lord; And we will not depart from
Thee, For good are Thy judgements upon us. Ours and our children's be Thy good pleasure
for ever O Lord our Saviour, we shall never more be moved. The Lord is worthy to be praised
for His judgements with the mouth of His pious ones; And blessed be Israel of the Lord for
ever
9. Of Solomon. For rebuke.
When Israel was led away captive into a strange land, When they fell away from the Lord who
redeemed them, They were cast away from the inheritance, which Lord had given them. A
mong every nation (were) the dispersed of Israel according to the word of God, That
Thou mightest be justified, O God, in Thy righteousness by reason of our transgressions:
For Thou art a just judge over all the peoples of the earth. For from Thy knowledge none
that doeth unjustly is hidden, And the righteous deeds of Thy pious ones (are) before Thee,
O Lord, Where, then, can a man hide himself from Thy knowledge, O God? Our works are subject
to our own choice and power To do right or wrong in the works of our hands And in Thy
righteousness Thou visitest the sons of men. He that doeth righteousness layeth up life
for himself with the Lord; And he that doeth wrongly forfeits his life to destruction;
For the judgements of the Lord are (given) in righteousness to (every) man and (his)
house. Unto whom art Thou good, O God, except to them that call upon the Lord? He cleanseth
from sins a soul when it maketh confession, when it maketh acknowledgement; For shame
is upon us and upon our faces on account of all these things. And to whom doth He forgive
sins, except to them that have sinned? Thou blessest the righteous, and dost not reprove
them for the sins that they have committed; And Thy goodness is upon them that sin, when
they repent. And, now, Thou art our God, and we the people whom Thou hast loved: Behold
and show pity, O God of Israel, for we are Thine; And remove not Thy mercy from us, lest
they assail us. For Thou didst choose the seed of Abraham before all the nations, And
didst set Thy name upon us, O Lord, And Thou wilt not reject (us) for ever. Thou madest
a covenant with our fathers concerning us; And we hope in Thee, when our soul turneth
(unto Thee). The mercy of the Lord be upon the house of Israel for ever and ever.
10. A Hymn Of Solomon.
Happy is the man whom the Lord remembereth with reproving, And whom He restraineth from
the way of evil with strokes, That he may be cleansed from sin, that it may not be multiplied.
He that maketh ready his back for strokes shall be cleansed, For the Lord is good to
them that endure chastening. For He maketh straight the ways of the righteous, And doth
not pervert (them) by His chastening. And the mercy of the Lord (is) upon them that
love Him in truth, And the Lord remembereth His servants in mercy. For the testimony (is)
in the law of the eternal covenant, The testimony of the Lord (is) on the ways of men in (His)
visitation. Just and kind is our Lord in His judgements for ever, And Israel shall praise
the name of the Lord in gladness. And the pious shall give thanks in the assembly of
the people; And on the poor shall God have mercy in the gladness (?) of Israel; For good
and merciful is God for ever, And the assemblies of Israel shall glorify the name of the Lord.
The salvation of the Lord be upon the house of Israel unto everlasting gladness!
11. Of Solomon. Unto expectation.
Blow ye in Zion on the trumpet to summon (the) saints, Cause ye to be heard in Jerusalem
the voice of him that bringeth good tidings; For God hath had pity on Israel in visiting
them. Stand on the height, O Jerusalem, and behold thy children, From the East and the
West, gathered together by the Lord; From the North they come in the gladness of their
God, From the isles afar off God hath gathered them. High mountains hath He abased into a
plain for them; The hills fled at their entrance. The woods gave them shelter as they passed
by; Every sweet-smelling tree God caused to spring up for them, That Israel might pass
by in the visitation of the glory of their God. Put on, O Jerusalem, thy glorious garments;
Make ready thy holy robe; For God hath spoken good concerning Israel, for ever and ever.
Let the Lord do what He hath spoken concerning Israel and Jerusalem; Let the Lord raise up
Israel by His glorious name. The mercy of the Lord be upon Israel for ever and ever.
12. Of Solomon. Against the tongue of transgressors.
O Lord, deliver my soul from (the) lawless and wicked man, From the tongue that is lawless
and slanderous, and speaketh lies and deceit. Manifoldly twisted (?) are the words of the
tongue of the wicked man, Even as among a people a fire that burneth up their beauty.
So he delights to fill houses with a lying tongue, To cut down the trees of gladness
which setteth on fire transgressors, To involve households in warfare by means of slanderous
lips. May God remove far from the innocent the lips of transgressors by (bringing them
to) want And may the bones of slanderers be scattered (far) away from them that fear the
Lord! In flaming fire perish the slanderous tongue (far) away from the pious! May the
Lord preserve the quiet soul that hateth the unrighteous; And may the Lord establish the
man that followeth peace at home. The salvation of the Lord be upon Israel His servant for
ever; And let the sinners perish together at the presence of the Lord; But let the Lord's
pious ones inherit the promises of the Lord.
13. Of Solomon. A Psalm. Comfort for the righteous.
The right hand of the Lord hath covered me; The right hand of the Lord hath spared us.
The arm of the Lord hath saved us from the sword that passed through, From famine and
the death of sinners. Noisome beasts ran upon them: With their teeth they tore their flesh,
And with their molars crushed their bones. But from all these things the Lord delivered
us, The righteous was troubled on account of his errors, Lest he should be taken away
along with the sinners; For terrible is the overthrow of the sinner; But not one of all
these things toucheth the righteous. For not alike are the chastening of the righteous
(for sins done) in ignorance, And the overthrow of the sinners Secretly (?) is the righteous
chastened, Lest the sinner rejoice over the righteous. For He correcteth the righteous
as a beloved son, And his chastisement is as that of a firstborn. ) For the Lord spareth
His pious ones, And blotteth out their errors by His chastening. For the life of the righteous
shall be for ever; But sinners shall be taken away into destruction, And their memorial
shall be found no more. But upon the pious is the mercy of the Lord, And upon them that
fear Him His mercy.
14. A Hymn. Of Solomon.
Faithful is the Lord to them that love Him in truth, To them that endure His chastening,
To them that walk in the righteousness of His commandments, In the law which He commanded
us that we might live. The pious of the Lord shall live by it for ever; The Paradise of
the Lord, the trees of life, are His pious ones. Their planting is rooted for ever; They
shall not be plucked up all the days of heaven: For the portion and the inheritance of God
is Israel. But not so are the sinners and transgressors, Who love (the brief) day (spent)
in companionship with their sin; Their delight is in fleeting corruption, And they remember
not God. For the ways of men are known before Him at all times, And He knoweth the secrets
of the heart before they come to pass. Therefore their inheritance is Sheol and darkness and
destruction, And they shall not be found in the day when the righteous obtain mercy; But
the pious of the Lord shall inherit life in gladness.
15. A Psalm. Of Solomon. With a Song.
When I was in distress I called upon the name of the Lord, I hoped for the help of the God
of Jacob and was saved; For the hope and refuge of the poor art Thou, O God. (a) For who,
O God, is strong except to give thanks unto Thee in truth? And wherein is a man powerful
except in giving thanks to Thy name? A new psalm with song in gladness of heart, The
fruit of the lips with the well-tuned instrument of the tongue, The firstfruits of the lips
from a pious and righteous heart-- He that offereth these things shall never be shaken
by evil; The flame of fire and the wrath against the unrighteous shall not touch him, When
it goeth forth from the face of the Lord against sinners, To destroy all the substance of sinners,
For the mark of God is upon the righteous that they .may be saved. Famine and sword
and pestilence (shall be) far from the righteous, For they shall flee away from the pious as
men pursued in war; But they shall pursue sinners and overtake (them), And they that
do lawlessness shall not escape the judgement of God; As by enemies experienced (in war)
shall they be overtaken, For the mark of destruction is upon their forehead. And the inheritance
of sinners is destruction and darkness, And their iniquities shall pursue them unto Sheol
beneath. Their inheritance shall not be found of their children, For sins shall lay waste
the houses of sinners. And sinners shall perish for ever in the day of the Lord's judgement,
When God visiteth the earth with His judgement. But they that fear the Lord shall find mercy
therein, And shall live by the compassion of their God; But sinners shall perish for
ever.
16. A Hymn. Of Solomon. For Help to the Pious.
When my soul slumbered (being afar) from the Lord, I had all but slipped down to the pit,
When (I was) far from God, my soul had been well nigh poured out unto death, (I had been)
nigh unto the gates of Sheol with thesinner, when my soul departed from the Lord God of
Israel-- Had not the Lord helped me with His ever lasting mercy. He pricked me, as a horse
is pricked, that I might serve Him, My saviour and helper at all times saved me. I will give
thanks unto Thee, O God, for Thou hast helped me to (my) salvation; And hast not counted
me with sinners to (my) destruction. Remove not Thy mercy from me, O God, Nor Thy memorial
from my heart until I die. Rule me, O God, (keeping me back) from wicked sin, And from
every wicked woman that causeth the simple to stumble. And let not the beauty of a lawless
woman beguile me, Nor any one that is subject to (?) unprofitable sin. Establish the works
of my hands before Thee, And preserve my goings in the remembrance of Thee. Protect my tongue
and my lips with words of truth; Anger and unreasoning wrath put far from me. Murmuring,
and impatience in affliction, remove far from me, When, if I sin, Thou chastenest me that
I may return (unto Thee). But with goodwill and cheerfulness support my soul; When Thou
strengthenest my soul, what is given (to me) will be sufficient for me. For if Thou givest
not strength, Who can endure chastisement with poverty? When a man is rebuked by means
of his corruption, Thy testing (of him) is in his flesh and in the affliction of poverty.
If the righteous endureth in all these (trials), he shall receive mercy from the Lord.
17. A Psalm. Of Solomon. With Song. Of the King.
O Lord, Thou art our King for ever and ever, For in Thee, O God, doth our soul glory. How
long are the days of man's life upon the earth? As are his days, so is the hope (set) upon
him. But we hope in God, our deliverer; For the might of our God is for ever with mercy,
And the kingdom of our God is for ever over the nations in judgement. Thou, O Lord, didst
choose David (to be) king over Israel, And swaredst to him touching his seed that never
should his kingdom fail before Thee. But, for our sins, sinners rose up against us;
They assailed us and thrust us out; What Thou hadst not promised to them, they took away
(from us) with violence. They in no wise glorified Thy honourable name; They set a (worldly)
monarchy in place of (that which was) their excellency; They laid waste the throne of
David in tumultuous arrogance. But Thou, O God, didst cast them down and remove their
seed from the earth, In that there rose up against them a man that was alien to our race.
According to their sins didst Thou recompense them, O God; So that it befell them according
to their deeds. God showed them no pity; He sought out their seed and let not one of them
go free. Faithful is the Lord in all His judgements Which He doeth upon the earth. The lawless
one laid waste our land so that none inhabited it, They destroyed young and old and their
children together. In the heat of His anger He sent them away even unto the west, And
(He exposed) the rulers of the land unsparingly to derision. Being an alien the enemy acted
proudly, And his heart was alien from our God. And all things whatsoever he did in Jerusalem,
As also the nations in the cities to their gods. And the children of the covenant in
the midst of the mingled peoples surpassed them in evil. There was not among them one
that wrought in the midst of Jerusalem mercy and truth. They that loved the synagogues
of the pious fled from them, As sparrows that fly from their nest. They wandered in deserts
that their lives might be saved from harm, And precious in the eyes of them that lived
abroad was any that escaped alive from them. Over the whole earth were they scattered by
lawless (men). For the heavens withheld the rain from dropping upon the earth, Springs
were stopped (that sprang) perennial(ly) out of the deeps, (that ran down) from lofty mountains.
For there was none among them that wrought righteousness and justice; From the chief
of them to the least (of them) all were sinful; The king was a transgressor, and the judge
disobedient, and the people sinful. Behold, O Lord, and raise up unto them their king,
the son of David, At the time in the which Thou seest, O God, that he may reign over
Israel Thy servant And gird him with strength, that he may shatter unrighteous rulers, And
that he may purge Jerusalem from nations that trample (her) down to destruction. Wisely,
righteously he shall thrust out sinners from (the) inheritance, He shall destroy the pride
of the sinner as a potter's vessel. With a rod of iron he shall break in pieces all their
substance, He shall destroy the godless nations with the word of his mouth; At his rebuke
nations shall flee before him, And he shall reprove sinners for the thoughts of their
heart. And he shall gather together a holy people, whom he shall lead in righteousness,
And he shall judge the tribes of the people that has been sanctified by the Lord his God.
And he shall not suffer unrighteousness to lodge any more in their midst, Nor shall there
dwell with them any man that knoweth wickedness, For he shall know them, that they are all
sons of their God. And he shaIl divide them according to their tribes upon the land, And
neither sojourner nor alien shall sojourn with them any more. He shall judge peoples
and nations in the wisdom of his righteousness. Selah. And he shall have the heathen nations
to serve him under his yoke; And he shall glorify the Lord in a place to be seen of
(?) all the earth; And he shall purge Jerusalem, making it holy as of old: So that nations
shall come from the ends of the earth to see his glory, Bringing as gifts her sons who
had fainted, And to see the glory of the Lord, wherewith God hath glorified her. And he (shall
be) a righteous king, taught of God, over them, And there shall be no unrighteousness
in his days in their midst, For all shall be holy and their king the anointed of the
Lord. For he shall not put his trust in horse and rider and bow, Nor shall he multiply for
himself gold and silver for war, Nor shall he gather confidence from (?) a multitude
(?) for the day of battle. The Lord Himself is his king, the hope of him that is mighty
through (his) hope in God. All nations (shall be) in fear before him, For he will smite
the earth with the word of his mouth for ever. He will bless the people of the Lord with
wisdom and gladness, And he himself (will be) pure from sin, so that he may rule a great
people. He will rebuke rulers, and remove sinners by the might of his word; And (relying)
upon his God, throughout his days he will not stumble; For God will make him mighty
by means of (His) holy spirit, And wise by means of the spirit of understanding, with
strength and righteousness. And the blessing of the Lord (will be) with him: he will be
strong and stumble not; His hope (will be) in the Lord: who then can prevail against
him? (He will be) mighty in his works, and strong in the fear of God, (He will be) shepherding
the flock of the Lord faithfully and righteously, And will suffer none among them to stumble
in their pasture. He will lead them all aright, And there will be no pride among them that
any among them should be oppressed. This (will be) the majesty of the king of Israel whom
God knoweth; He will raise him up over the house of Israel to correct him. His words
(shall be) more refined than costly gold, the choicest; In the assemblies he will judge
the peoples, the tribes of the sanctified. His words (shall be) like the words of the
holy ones in the midst of sanctified peoples. Blessed be they that shall be in those days,
In that they shall see the good fortune of Israel which God shall bring to pass in the
gathering together of the tribes. May the Lord hasten His mercy upon Israel! May He
deliver us from the uncleanness of unholy enemies! The Lord Himself is our king for
ever and ever.
18. A Psalm. Of Solomon. Again of the Anointed of the Lord.
Lord, Thy mercy is over the works of Thy hands for ever; Thy goodness is over Israel with
a rich gift. Thine eyes look upon them, so that none of them suffers want; Thine ears
listen to the hopeful prayer of the poor. Thy judgements (are executed) upon the whole
earth in mercy; And Thy love (is) toward the seed of Abraham, the children of Israel. Thy
chastisement is upon us as (upon) a first-born, only-begotten son, To turn back the obedient
soul from folly (that is wrought) in ignorance. May God cleanse Israel against the day of
mercy and blessing, Against the day of choice when He bringeth back His anointed. Blessed
shall they be that shall be in those days, In that they shall see the goodness of the
Lord which He shall perform for the generation that is to come, Under the rod of chastening
of the Lord's anointed in the fear of his God, In the spirit of wisdom and righteousness
and strength; That he may direct (every} man in the works of righteousness by the fear
of God, That he may establish them all before the Lord, A good generation (living) in the
fear of God in the days of mercy. Selah. Great is our God and glorious, dwelling in the highest.
(It is He) who hath established in (their) courses the lights (of heaven) for determining
seasons from year to year, And they have not turned aside from the way which He appointed
them In the fear of God (they pursue) their path every day, From the day God created them
and for evermore. And they have erred not since the day He created them. Since the generations
of old they have not withdrawn from their path, Unless God commanded them (so to do)
by the command of His servants.