Psalm 27

David's

Yah, you are my light, my savior,
Whom need I dread?
Yah, with You as my strong protector
Who can make me panic?
When hateful bullies gang up on me,
Wanting to harass me,
To oppress and terrorize me,
They are the ones who stumble and fall.

Even if a gang surrounds me
My heart is not weakened.
If a battle is joined around me
My trust in You is firm.
Only one thing do I ask of You, Yah,
Just this alone do I seek:
I want to be at home with You, Yah,
All the days of my life.
I want to delight in seeing You,
When I come to visit You
in Your Temple.

You hide me in Your Succah
On a foul day.
You conceal me unseen in Your tent
And also raise me beyond
anyone's reach.
And now, as You have held my head high,
Despite the presence
of my powerful foes,
I prepare to celebrate and thrill,
Singing and making music
to You, Yah!

Listen, Yah, to the sound of my cry
And, being kind, answer me.
My heart has said:
I turn to You,
Your Presence is what I beg for.
Don't hide Yor Face from me.
Don't just put me down,
You, who have been my helper
Don't abandon me, don't forsake me,
God, my support.
Though father and mother have left me
You, Yah, will hold me securely.

Please teach me Your way
And guide me on the straight path.
Discourage those who defame me,
Don't let me become
the victim of my foes.
False witnesses stood up against me,
Belching out violence.

[I would not have survived]
If I had not hoped that I would yet see
Yah's goodness fully alive on Earth.

So, friend, you too, hope to Yah.
Be sturdy!
And make strong your heart!
And most of all — keep hoping to Yah.

Interpretive translation by R. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi