Book of Common Prayer
55 (For the one directing. With Neginos. Maskil of Dovid) Give ear to my tefillah, O Elohim; and veil not Thyself from my techinnah (supplication).
2 (3) Attend unto me, and hear me; I wander restlessly in my si’ach (anxiety), and aloud I groan;
3 (4) Because of the voice of the oyev (enemy), because of the oppression of the rasha (evildoer); for they cast aven (iniquity) upon me, and in af (wrath, anger) cherish their malice against me.
4 (5) My lev writhes within me; and the terrors of mavet are fallen upon me.
5 (6) Yirah va’ra’ad (fear and trembling) are come upon me, and pallatzut (horror, shuddering) overwhelmed me.
6 (7) And I said, Oh that I had wings like a yonah! For then would I fly away and be at rest.
7 (8) Hinei, then would I flee far off and lodge in the midbar. Selah.
8 (9) I would hasten to my place of shelter from the ruach so’ah (wind of the tempest) and storm.
9 (10) Destroy, Adonoi, and confuse their leshon; for I see chamas (violence) and riv (strife) in the Ir (city, i.e., Jerusalem).
10 (11) Yomam and lailah they go about her [Yerushalayim] upon the chomot thereof; aven also and amal are in the midst of her [Yerushalayim].
11 (12) Ruin is in the midst thereof; oppression and mirmah (guile, fraud, deceit) depart not from her rechov.
12 (13) For it was not an oyev (enemy) that reproached me; then I could bear it; neither was it he that had sinah (hatred) for me that did exalt himself against me; then I could have hid myself from him;
13 (14) But it was thou, an enosh (a man) equally [valued with myself], my aluf (intimate, friend), and me’yuda’i (deep acquaintance, familiar friend, see Psalm 41:9)
14 (15) Together we took sweet sod (intimate conversation, fellowship, counsel), and walked unto the Beis Elohim with the throng.
15 (16) Let mavet seize upon them, and let them go down chayyim into Sheol; for ra’ot (evils) are in their dwellings, and among them.
16 (17) As for me, I will call upon Elohim; and Hashem shall save me.
17 (18) Erev, and boker, and at tzohorayim (noon), will I pray, and cry aloud; and He shall hear my kol (voice).
18 (19) He hath redeemed my nefesh in shalom from the battle that was against me; for there were rabbim against me.
19 (20) El (G-d) shall hear, and afflict them, even He that abideth kedem (of old, forever). Selah. Because they do not change, therefore they fear not Elohim.
20 (21) He [the faithless friend of verse 13-14] hath laid his hands on such as are at shalom with him; he hath broken his Brit.
21 (22) The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his lev; his devarim were softer than shemen, yet they were drawn swords.
22 (23) Cast thy burden upon Hashem, and He shall sustain thee; He shall never suffer the tzaddik to be moved.
23 (24) But Thou, O Elohim, shalt bring them down into the pit of shachat; anshei damim umirmah (bloody and deceitful men) shall not live out half their yamim; but I will trust in Thee.
138 (Of Dovid) I will thank Thee with my whole lev; before the elohim will I sing praise unto Thee.
2 I will worship toward Thy Heikhal Kodesh, and praise Shmecha (Thy Name) for Thy chesed and for Thy emes; for Thou hast magnified Thy Word above Kol Shimcha (all Thy Name; Yn 1:1, 14 OJBC).
3 In the day when I called out, Thou answeredst me, and madest me bold with oz (strength) in my nefesh.
4 Kol Malchei Aretz shall praise Thee, Hashem, when they hear the words of Thy mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the Darkhei Hashem; for gadol is the Kavod Hashem.
6 Though Hashem be on high, yet He looks upon the lowly; but the proud He knoweth from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of tzoros, Thou wilt preserve me alive; Thou shalt stretch forth Thine yad against the wrath of mine enemies, and Thy Yamin (Right Hand) shall save me.
8 Hashem will fulfill that which concerneth me; Thy chesed, O Hashem, endureth l’olam; forsake not the works of Thine own yadayim.
139 (For the one directing, Mizmor of Dovid). Hashem, Thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou hast binah of my thought from afar off.
3 Thou comprehendeth my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my drakhim.
4 For there is not a milah (word) in my leshon, but, lo, Hashem, Thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast enclosed me achor (behind) and kedem (before), and laid Thine hand upon me.
6 Such da’as is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7 To where can I go from Thy Ruach [Hakodesh]? Or to where shall I flee from Thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into Shomayim, Thou art there; if I make my bed in Sheol, hinei, Thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the shachar (dawn), and dwell in the uttermost acharit yam (the extreme end of the sea);
10 Even there shall Thy yad lead me, and Thy yamin shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the choshech shall cover me, even the lailah shall be ohr about me.
12 Even the choshech is not dark to Thee; but the lailah shineth as the yom; the choshech and the ohr are both alike to Thee.
13 For Thou hast created my inmost being; Thou didst interweave me in the beten immi.
14 I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Thy ma’asim; and that my nefesh knoweth very well.
15 My atzamim (bones, frame) were not hid from Thee, when I was made beseter (in secret), and skillfully wrought in the depths of the Eretz.
16 Thine eyes did see my golem (embryo), yet being unformed; and in Thy Sefer (Book) all the yamim (days) ordained for me were written down, when as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O El! How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the chol (sand); when I awake, I am still with Thee.
19 Surely Thou wilt slay the rasha, O Eloah; depart from me therefore, ye anshei damim (bloodthirsty men).
20 For they speak of Thee craftily, and it is taken lashav [Ex 20:7] by Thy enemies.
21 Should not I hate them, Hashem, that hate Thee? And am not I to be at odds with those that rise up against Thee?
22 I abhor them with complete sinah; I count them mine enemies.
23 Search me, O El, and know my levav; test me, and know my thoughts;
51 Pay heed to Me, ye that pursue tzedek, ye that seek Hashem; look unto the Tzur from where ye are cut, and to the quarry from where ye were hewn.
2 Look unto Avraham Avichem, and unto Sarah that gave birth to you; for I called him as one alone, and put a brocha on him, and made him many.
3 For Hashem shall comfort Tziyon; He will comfort all her ruins; and He will make her midbar like Eden, and her ruins like the Gan (Garden) of Hashem; sasson and simchah shall be found therein, todah, and the kol zimrah (the sound of singing).
4 Pay heed unto Me, O My people; and give ear unto Me, O My Nation; for torah [42:4] shall go forth from Me, and I will set at rest [establish] My mishpat as Ohr Amim (Light for the Nations).
5 My tzedek is near; My Salvation is gone forth, and Mine zero’a shall judge the Ammim; the iyim shall wait upon Me, and on Mine zero’a [Moshiach; See 53:1] shall they trust.
6 Lift up your eyes to Shomayim, and look upon ha’aretz beneath; for Shomayim shall vanish like ashan (smoke), and ha’aretz shall wear out like a beged, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but My Yeshuah (Salvation) shall be l’olam, and My tzedakah shall not be dismayed.
7 Pay heed unto Me, ye that know tzedek, Am torati velibam (the People with My torah in their heart); fear ye not the cherpat enosh (the reproach, reviling of man) neither be ye afraid of their giddufot (insults, scorn).
8 For the ahsh (moth) shall eat them up like a beged, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but My tzedakah shall be l’olahm, and My Yeshuah (Salvation) l’odor dorim (from generation to generation).
23 But before Emunah came, we were being held in custody, being confined and guarded for the about-to-be- revealed Emunah.
24 This is the result: the Torah functioned as our omenet (governess) to lead us to Moshiach, that by emunah we might be YITZDAK IM HASHEM.
25 But Emunah having come, we are no longer under an omenet (governess).
26 For through emunah in Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua, you are all yeladim of Elohim.
27 For as many as have had a tevilah into Moshiach have clothed yourselves with Moshiach.
28 There is not Yehudi nor Yevani (Greek), there is not eved (servant) nor Ben Chorin (freedman), there is not zachar (male) nor nekevah (female), for you are all echad in Moshiach Yehoshua.
29 And, if you belong to Moshiach (YESHAYAH 53:10), then you are of the ZERA of Avraham Avinu, you are yoreshim (heirs) according to the havtachah (promise).
7 And, when they had come down from Yerushalayim, the Perushim and some of the Sofrim come together around Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach,
2 And they had observed that some of his talmidim were eating their lechem with yadayim temeiot, that is, hands ritually unclean.
3 [For the Perushim, and indeed this was the Jewish minhag, do not eat without doing netilat yadayim (ritual of the washing of the hands) and also observing the Masoret HaZekenim (the Torah Shebal peh, Oral Torah, see Ga 1:14).
4 And when they come from [the] marketplace, unless they do so, they do not eat. And there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the tevilah of cups and pitchers and copper pots.
5 And the Perushim and the Sofrim question Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, Why do your talmidim not follow the halakhah according to the Masoret HaZekenim, but eat their lechem with yadayim temeiot?
6 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Yeshayah rightly gave a dvar nevuah of you tzevuim, as it has been written, HAAM HAZEH BISFATAV KIBDUNI VLIBO RIKHAK MIMENI VATEHI YIRATAM OTI MITZVAT ANASHIM MELUMMADAH (This people with [their] lips honor me, but their heart is removed far away from me.
7 And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the mitzvot of men.) [YESHAYAH 29:13]
8 Abandoning the mitzvat Hashem, you are holding to the Masoret HaBnei Adam.
9 And he was saying to them, You have a fine knack for setting aside the mitzvat Hashem in order that your own Masorot might stand undisturbed.
10 For Moshe [Rabbeinu] said, KABED ES AVICHA VES IMMECHA (Honor your father and your mother), and, The one reviling AVIV VIMMO MOT YUMAT (father or mother let him be put to death. [SHEMOT 20:12, DEVARIM 5:16, SHEMOT 21:17, VAYIKRA 20:9]
11 But you say, If a man says to his Abba or to his Em, whatever by me you might have benefited is Korban [that is, the taitsh (translation) of korban is an offering to Hashem],
12 Then no longer do you permit him to do anything for his Abba or his Em.
13 You nullify and make void the dvar Hashem by means of your Masoret you received. And you do many similar things.
14 And having summoned again the multitude, he was saying to them, Give ear to me and have binah (understanding).
15 There is nothing outside of a ben Adam (human being) entering into him which is able to make him tameh, but it is the things coming out from the ben Adam that make him tameh.
16 He who has oznayim to hear, let him hear.
17 And when he left the multitude and entered a bais, his talmidim were asking him [about] the mashal.
18 And he says to them, Are you so lacking in binah also? Do you not have binah that it is not what is outside and entering into the ben Adam that is able to make him tameh (unclean)?
19 Because it does not enter into his lev, but into his stomach and goes out into the latrine, making all the okhel tohar [T.N. See Ro 14:14-23].
20 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying, It is the thing proceeding out of the ben Adam that makes him tameh.
21 For from within the lev of the ben Adam comes evil cravings and machshavot: then zenunim (fornications), gneyvot (thefts), retzichot (murders),
22 Niufim (adulteries), chamdanut (greediness), rishah (wickedness), nechalim (scheming deceitfulness), zimmah (lewdness, sensuality), an ayin horo or roah ayin (an envious evil eye), lashon hora, gaavah (pride), and ivvelet (foolishness).
23 All these evil things proceed from within and make the ben Adam tameh.
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