THE PSALMS OF DAVID THE PROPHETKING

Published by The Orthodox Christian Educational Society 280 New Braintree Road West Brookfield, MA 01585 Tel. 508-867-8340 Copyright March 25, 2008 Edited and corrected according to the Septuagint Based on the original translation of The Orthodox Christian Educational Society Chicago Illinois (Denver Cummings) by Ralph J. Masterjohn

THE PSALMS OF DAVID THE PROPHET KING

THE FIRST KATHISMA
PSALM 1 A Psalm of David without superscription among the Hebrews 1. Without death is the man, who has not walked in the counsel of the impious, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of plagues; 2. But his will is in the law of God and in his law does he meditate day and night. 3. He shall be like a tree, planted by the outlets of the water, which bears its fruit in its season, whose leaf will not fall off; and whatever he does shall prosper. 4. Not so the impious, not so, on the contrary, they are like the chaff which the wind blows off the face of the earth. 5. Therefore the impious shall not be resurrected for the judgment, nor sinners for the counsel of the just. 6. For the Lord knows the way of the just, but the way of the impious shall perish.

PSALM 2 Bears No Superscription 1. Why have the nations snorted with rage, and the people meditate vain things? 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Christ. 3. Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast their yoke off from us. 4. He who inhabits the heavens shall laugh at them; and the Lord will deride them. 5. Then will he speak to them in his wrath, and in his anger will confound them. 6. But I have been made king by him over Sion, his holy mountain, declaring the decree of the Lord. 7. The Lord has said to me, you are my Son, today I have begotten you. 8. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. 9. You shall shepherd them with a rod of iron; as a potters vessel you will crush them to pieces. 10. And now kings, acquire understanding; become educated, all you who judge the earth. 11. Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice with trembling. Seize education lest at any time the Lord be made wrathful, and you perish by leaving the just way, 12. When his anger is quickly kindled. Immortal are all they that have confidence in him.

PSALM 3 A Psalm of David when we fled from the face of Absolom, his son, in the wilderness. 1.Lord, why have those who afflict me been multiplied? Many are rising up against me; 2. Many are they who say to my soul, there is no salvation for him in his God. 3. But you, Lord, are my protector, my glory and the uplifter of my head. 4. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy mountain. 5. I fell asleep and slept; I arose, seeing that the Lord will sustain me. 6. I will not fear tens of thousands of the populace who have encircled themselves about me. 7. Arise, Lord; save me, my God; for you have stricken all my enemies vainly opposing me; you have crushed the teeth of sinners to pieces. 8. Salvation belongs to the Lord, and your blessing is upon your people.

PSALM 4 In the end, in hymns, a Psalm of David. 1. When I called upon you, God of my justice, you hearkened to me. In my affliction you relieved me. Have pity on me and hear my prayer. 2. You sons of men, how long will you be heavy hearted? Why do you love vanity and seek after falsehood? 3. Know accordingly that the Lord has rendered marvelous his devout one. The Lord will hearken to me when I cry out to him. 4. Be angry and sin not. What you say in your hearts, ruminate on your beds. 5. Offer the sacrifice of justice and hope in the Lord. 6. Many are those who say, who will show us the good things? Lord, the light of your countenance has been marked upon us. 7. You have placed gladness in my heart, with their fruit of wheat, wine and oil, they have abounded. 8. In peace I will fall asleep where I am, and will sleep; for you, Lord, have caused me to dwell apart in hope. PSALM 5 In the end, in hymns, for she that obtained the inheritance. 1. Lord, incline your ear to my words, understand my cry. 2. Listen to the voice of my supplication, my king and my God, for unto you, Lord, shall I pray. 3. In the morning you hear my voice; in the morning will I present myself to you and you shall look upon me; 4. For you are not a God that wills iniquity, no worker of wickedness shall sojourn with you. 5. Neither shall lawbreakers stand before your eyes; you hate all workers of iniquity. 6. You will destroy all them that speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloody and deceitful man. 3

7. But as for me, in the multitude of your mercies, I will enter your house. In fear, I will bow down before your holy temple. 8. Lord, lead me in your justice because of my enemies; make my way straight before you. 9. For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain, their throat is an open sepulcher; they utter deceit with their tongue. 10. God, judge them. Let them fall down by their own counsels; cast them out in accordance with the magnitude of their impiety, for they have embittered you. 11. But let all those who hope in you be gladdened; they shall exult for ever, and you shall dwell among them. Let those also who love your name exult in you. 12. For you, Lord, will bless the just; with the shield of your good will have you crowned us.

PSALM 6 In the end, a hymn of David for the eighth day. 1. Lord rebuke me not in your anger, neither chasten me in your wrath. 2. Lord have mercy upon me, for I am weak; heal me for my bones are greatly troubled. 3. My soul also is greatly confounded; but you, Lord; how long? 4. Turn back to me, Lord, and deliver my soul; save me according to your mercy. 5. For there is no remembrance of you in death; who will give you thanks in Hades? 6. I am weary with my groaning; I will bathe my bed every night, and will wet my bed with my tears. 7. My eye has been confounded with anger; it has grown old because of all my enemies. 8. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard the cry of my voice. 9. My petition has been heard by the Lord; the Lord has received my prayer. 10. Let all my enemies be ashamed and confounded; let them be turned back and speedily be greatly ashamed. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 7 A hymn of David which he sang to the Lord concerning Cushi the son of Benjamin. 1. Lord my God, in you is my hope; save me from all who persecute me; and deliver me. 2. Lest he seize my soul like a lion, while there is none to deliver or save me. 3. Lord my God, if I have done this: if there is injustice in my hands, 4. If I have requited evil to those who rendered me evil, may I fall away from my enemies emptyhanded; 5. Let him persecute my soul, seize and trample my life into the ground, and let him bring my glory down to earth. 6. Arise, Lord, in your wrath; raise yourself to the utmost boundaries of my enemies, and arise, Lord my God, in the commandment you have given. 7. So shall a congregation of the peoples gather round you; and for their sakes, return on high. 4

8. The Lord shall judge the peoples; judge me, Lord, according to my justness , and according to innocence on my part. 9. Let the wickedness of sinners come to an end; you will direct the just, O God, who examines hearts and inwards justly. 10. My help is of God, who saves the upright in heart. 11. God is a just judge, mighty and greatly forbearing; and God does not inflict his wrath every day. 12. If you do not turn back, he will furbish his sword; he has drawn his bow and made it ready. 13. And in it he has made ready instruments of death; he has wrought his arrows for those that burn. 14. Behold, he has travailed with injustice, he has conceived mischief, and given birth to iniquity. 15. He opened a pit and has dug it up, and he will fall into the ditch which he has made. 16. His mischief shall return upon his own head, upon his own crown shall his injustice descend. 17. I will offer thanks unto the Lord in accordance with his justice, and I will chant praise to the name of the Lord most high.

PSALM 8 A Psalm of David In the end, for the winepresses. 1. Lord our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth! for your majesty has been exalted above the heavens. 2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings have you prepared a praiseful song, because of your enemies, that you may abolish the enemy and the revenger. 3. For I shall see the heavens, works of your fingers, moon and stars, which you have ordained. 4. What is man that you are mindful of him? or the son of man that you visit him? 5. You have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. 6. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have subordinated all things under his feet, 7. All sheep and oxen, and the beasts of the field, 8. The fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, whatever goes through the paths of the seas. 9. Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!

Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

THE SECOND KATHISMA

PSALM 9 A Psalm of David in the end, for the hidden doings of the son. 1. I will give thanks to you Lord, with all my heart; I will recount of all your wonders. 2. I will rejoice and be glad in you; I will praise your name, Most High. 3. When my enemies are turned back, they shall weaken and perish from your presence. 4. For you have given me a trial and a judgment, you that sat on the throne judging in justice. 5. You have reprimanded the heathen, and the impious one has perished. You have wiped away his name for ever, unto ages and ages. 6. The enemys swords have come to a perpetual end, and you have taken down their cities; 7. His memory has perished with a noise. But the Lord shall remain for ever; 8. In judgment you have prepared his throne, and he shall judge the world in justice; he shall judge the world in uprightness. 9. And the Lord became a refuge for the poor man, a helper in good times, in afflictions. 10. And let them that know your name hope in you Lord; for you have not forsaken those who seek you. 11. Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Sion; proclaim his ways among the nations. 12. For he who requires their blood has remembered; he has not forgotten the cry of the indigent. 13. Lord, have mercy upon me; see my humiliation from mine enemies, you who lifts me up from the gates of death. 14. That I may proclaim all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion. We will rejoice in your salvation. 15. The heathen have become stuck in corruption which they have done; their own foot has been caught in the trap which they have set. 16. The Lord is known by his judgments; the sinner has been caught in the work of his own hands. 17. Let the sinners be turned away into Hades, all the nations that have forgotten God. 18. For the poor man shall not be forgotten in the end; the patience of the indigent shall not perish in the end. 19. Arise, Lord, let no man prevail; let the heathen be judged before you. 20. Establish a lawgiver over them; let nations know that they are men. 21. Lord, why do you stand far off? Why do you overlook in good times and in afflictions? 22. When the impious man indulges in pride, the poor man is inflamed, they are caught in the devices they have planned. 23. For the sinner praises himself in the desire of his own soul, and therein the unjust blesses himself. 24. The sinner has provoked theLord; but the Lord will not require it according to the vehemence of his wrath. God is not before his face: 25. His ways are profane in every season. Your judgments are removed from before him; He will subjugate all his enemies. 26. For he has said in his heart, I shall not be shaken; from generation to generation I shall be without any evil. 27. Whose mouth is full of cursing, and bitterness, and deceit; under his tongue is trouble and pain. 6

28. He secretly lies in wait with rich men, his view is on killing a guiltless man, on the poor man have his eyes been set; 29. He lies in wait under cover, like a lion in his den; he lies in wait to seize a poor man, to seize a poor man by pulling him in; 30. In his snare will he humble him. He will crouch and fall down in subjugating the poor. 31. For he said in his heart, God has forgotten; he has turned his face away so that he may not see in the end. 32. Arise, Lord my God, let your hand be raised high, forget not your poor in the end. 33. Why has the impious man provoked God? Because he says in his heart, he will not require it. 34. You see that pain and anger, you perceive clearly, when he be delivered into your hands. The poor man has committed himself to you; You have been a helper of the orphan. 35. Crush the arm of the sinful and wicked one. His sin shall be sought after and not found. 36. The Lord shall reign for ever, unto the ages of ages; you nations shall perish out of his earth. 37. Lord, you have hearkened to the desire of the poor; to the preparation of their heart you will lend your ear. 38. Judge for the orphan and the humble, that man shall no longer be haughty on earth. PSALM 10 A Psalm of David in the end. 1. I have placed my confidence in the Lord; how shall you say to my soul, migrate to the mountain-tops like a sparrow? 2. For behold, the sinners have bent their bow; they have ready arrows in a quiver wherewith to shoot the upright in heart under cover of a moonless night. 3. For what you have set up, they have thrown down: as for the just one, what has he done? 4. The Lord is in is holy temple; the Lord is on his throne in heaven; his eyes look upon the poor man; his eyelids examines the sons of men. 5. The Lord examines the just and the impious; but whoever loves injustice hates his own soul. 6. He shall rain snares upon sinners; fire and brimstone and a hurricane blast shall be the portion of their cup. 7. For the Lord is just, and has loved justice, and his countenance has seen uprightness. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 11 A Psalm of David in the end, for the Eighth Day. 1. Save me, Lord, for the devout man is no more, for truths have dwindled from the sons of men. 2. Each has spoken vain things to his neighbor; deceitful lips are in his heart, and in his heart has he spoken them. 3. May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips, and the tongue which speaks proud things, 4. Who have said, we will magnify our tongue, our lips are our own; who is Lord over us? 7

5. Because of the oppression of the poor, and the groaning of the needy, the Lord says: Now will I arise, I will set him in salvation; I will speak plainly. 6. The words of the Lord are pure words, silver tried in fire, proved in the earth, purified seven times over. 7. You shall keep us and protect us from this generation for ever. 8. The impious walk all around; in proportion to your loftiness have you taken great care of the sons of men.

PSALM 12 In the end a Psalm of David 1. Lord, how long will you forget me in the end? how long will you turn your face from me? 2. Until when shall I take counsel in my soul, grieving in my heart, day and night? 3. How long shall my enemy be exalted above me? Look upon me, hearken to me, Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest at any time I sleep unto death; 4. Lest at any time my enemy say, I have prevailed against him; my afflictors will rejoice if I waver. 5. But, I have hoped in your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 6. I will sing to the Lord, my benefactor, and I will sing unto the name of the Lord most high.

PSALM 13 For the end, a Psalm of David 1. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt and abominable in their occupations; there is none who does goodness, not even one. 2. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see whether there is one who has understanding or that seeks God. 3. All have deviated, and have become depraved. There is none who does good, no, not one. 4. Shall not all the workers of iniquity who eat up my people as they eat their bread, acquire knowledge? They have not called upon the Lord. 5. There they quailed with fear, where there was no fear. For the Lord is in the generation of the just. 6. You have shamed the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope. 7. Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? When the Lord turns back the captivity of His people, Jacob will be glad and Israel will rejoice. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

PSALM 14 A Psalm of David 1. Lord, who shall lodge in your tabernacle? And who shall dwell in your holy mountain? 2. He who walks blamelessly and performs justice, speaking the truth in his heart; 3. That has not put deceit in his tongue, and has not done evil to his neighbor, and has not fallen under reproach for those near him; 4. In whose eyes a cunning person is scorned; but he glorifies them that fear the Lord. Who swears to his neighbor, and keeps his oath; 5. Who has not lent out his money at interest, and has not taken gifts to harm the innocent; he that does these things shall never be shaken.

PSALM 15 A pillar inscription to David. 1. Protect me Lord; for I have hoped in you. 2. I have said unto the Lord, you are my Lord, thus you have no need of my goods. 3. To the saints that are on his earth, his whole will being in them, the Lord has given marvelous powers. 4. Their weaknesses have been multiplied, after they quickly pass away. I shall not assemble their assemblies of blood, nor shall I remember their name with my lips. 5. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup; it is you who restores my inheritance to me. 6. Ropes have fallen upon me among my excellent ones, and my inheritance is for me my excellent ones. 7. I will bless the Lord, who has given me intelligence; even till nightfall, my inwards have also instructed me. 8. I have beheld the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be shaken. 9. Therefore my heart was gladdened, and my tongue has rejoiced; furthermore, my flesh shall abide in hope. 10. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, neither will you allow your devout one to see corruption. 11.You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with gladness with your countenance; in the end, in your right hand is delight.

PSALM 16 A prayer of David. 1. Lord, hearken unto my justice, attend unto my supplication. Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. 2. Let my judgment come forth from your countenance; let my eyes behold uprightness. 3. You have tried my heart; you have visited it in the night; you have tested me as by fire, and in me have found no injustice; that my mouth may not speak. 9

4. And for the deeds of men, because of the words of your lips I have kept to hard paths. 5. Guide my steps in your paths, lest my steps be turned aside. 6. I have cried out because you have hearkened unto me, God; Incline your ear unto me, and hearken to my words. 7. Marvelously magnify your mercies, you that saves them who hope in you; 8. Guard me, Lord, as the apple of your eye; from those who have resisted your right hand; in the shelter of your wings shall you protect me, 9. From the presence of the impious who have troubled me; my enemies have encompassed my soul. 10. They are stiff and hardened. Their mouth has spoken arrogance. 11. Having cast me out, they have now surrounded me; they have set their eyes to slant earthward. 12. They have taken after me like a lion on the prowl, and like a cub lurking in secret places. 13. Arise, Lord, catch them and trip them, deliver my soul from your sword in the possession of an impious one, from enemies of your hand. 14. Lord, allow them a small portion of what comes from the earth in the course of their life, and their belly has been filled with your hidden things; they have satisfied themselves with pork, and have left the remnants to their infants. 15. But as for me, I will appear in justice in your presence; I shall satisfy myself with having seen your glory. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

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THE THIRD KATHISMA

PSALM 17 In the end of the Lords servant David, which things he spoke to the Lord as the words of this ode in the day in which the Lord rescued him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul, and he said. 1. I will love you Lord, my strength; 2. The Lord is my firmness and my refuge, and my deliverer; God is my helper in whom is my hope. My defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my guardian. 3. Praising, I will call upon the Lord, and shall be saved from my enemies. 4. The pangs of death encompassed me; torrents of iniquities have confounded me. 5. Pangs of Hades surrounded me; death traps have overtaken me. 6. In my afflictions I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; he heard my voice out of his holy temple, and my cry before him shall enter into his ears. 7. And the earth shook and trembled, and the foundations of the mountains were jarred loose, because God was wrathful with them. 8. Smoke ascended in his wrath, and fire from his countenance burst forth into flames; lumps of coal were kindled by it. 9. He bowed the heavens, and descended, and black darkness was under His feet. 10. And he mounted upon cherubim, and flew; he flew on the wings of the wind. 11. And he made darkness his hiding place; round him his tabernacle was dark water in clouds of the sky. 12. From the far-shining beams before him the clouds passed, from which came hailstones and coals of fire. 13. And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High sent forth his voice. 14. He sent forth arrows, and scattered those present; and multiplying lightning bolts, he thoroughly shocked them. 15. And the fountains of the waters appeared and were seen, and the foundations of the inhabited world were revealed; from your rebuke, Lord, from the breathing of the spirit of your wrath. 16. He sent forth from on high and took me, he drew me out of many waters. 17. He will deliver me from my powerful enemies, and from those who hate me because they are stronger than me. 18. They overtook me in the day of my adversity, and the Lord became my counter-stay. 19. And he brought me out into a spacious area, he will deliver me, because he has wanted me. 20. And the Lord will requite me according to my justice and according to the cleanliness of my hands will he recompense me. 21. For I have kept to paths of the Lord, and have not deprived God of the reverence due Him. 22. For all his adjudgments are before me, his rights have not departed from me. 23. I will be without blame with him, and will guard myself from my iniquity. 24. The Lord will requite me according to my justice, and according to the cleanliness of my hands before his eyes. 25. With a devout one you shall be devout, and with an guiltless man you will be guiltless; 26. With an elect person you shall be elect, and with a perverse man you will be perverse. 27. For you will save a humble people, and will humble the eyes of the arrogant. 11

28. For you will light my lamp, Lord my God; you will enlighten my darkness. 29. For in you I shall be delivered from an ordeal, and in my God I shall climb over a wall. 30. As for God, his way is blameless; the words of the Lord are tried as in fire; he is a protector of all who hope in him. 31. For who is God except the Lord? Or who is a god, except our God? 32. The God that girds me with power, and made my way blameless. 33. Guiding my feet as though a deers, and setting me upon high places. 34. Training my hands for war, and you made my arms like a bow of bronze. 35. And you also gave me a shield of salvation; and your right hand aided me. And your chastening raised me up in the end, and your chastening shall teach me. 36. You have widened my steps under me, and my footprints have not weakened. 37. I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them; and I will not turn aside until they have been exterminated. 38. I will stamp them out, and they shall not be able to stand. They shall fall under my feet. 39. And you have girded me with strength for war; you have fettered all who are under me who have been rebelling against me. 40. And you have forced my enemies to turn their backs to me, and have utterly destroyed them that hate me. 41. They cried out, and there was no one to save them; unto the Lord, and he did not heed them. 42. And I will reduce them to shreds as chaff in the face of a wind; I will waste them like the mud of streets. 43. Deliver me from a gainsaying people; you will establish me at the head of nations; a people whom I knew not have served me; 44. As soon as their ear heard, they obeyed me; sons of others have been false to me; 45. Sons of others have grown old and limped from their paths. 46. The Lord lives, and blessed be my God; and exalt the God of my salvation. 47. God who avenges me, and has subjected peoples to me; 48. My deliverer from my wrathful enemies, from them that rise up against me you shall raise me high; rescue me from an unjust man. 49. Therefore, will I give thanks to you among the nations, Lord, and I will sing unto your name. 50. Magnify the salvation of the king; showing mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed unto the ages. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 18 In the end, a Psalm of David 1. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows the work of his hands. 2. Day unto day speech pours forth, and night unto night knowledge is proclaimed. 3. They are not talks or speeches the words of which are not heard. 4. Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the universe. 5. In the sun has he set his tabernacle, and he himself as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, he shall rejoice as a giant to run his race. 12

6. From the end of heaven he comes out, and even to the end of heaven is the goal of his career; and there is none that can hide himself from his heat. 7. The law of the Lord is blameless, converting souls; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making the infantile wise; 8. The rights of the Lord are just, gladdening the heart; the commandment of the Lord shines afar, illuminating the eyes; 9. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever and ever; the adjudgments of the Lord are true and altogether justified. 10. More desirable are they than gold, and a very precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. 11. Moreover, your servant keeps them; in keeping them there is great requital. 12. Who can discern his own transgressions? Cleanse me from hidden faults; 13. And from those of others spare your servant. If they shall not dominate me, then shall I be blameless and shall be cleansed from great sin. 14. And the words of my mouth, shall be according to your good will, and the meditation of my heart shall be acceptable in your sight for ever, O Lord, my helper and my deliverer.

PSALM 19 In the end, a Psalm of David 1. The Lord hear you in the day of your affliction; the name of the God of Jacob defend you; 2. Send you help from the sanctuary, and send you help out of Sion; 3. Remember all your sacrifices; and accept your burnt-offering. 4. The Lord grant you according to your own heart, and fulfill all your counsel. 5. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we shall be magnified: the Lord fulfill all your requests. 6. Now I know that the Lord has saved his Christ; he will hearken to him from his holy heaven; salvation lies in the mighty forces of his right hand. 7. Some trust in chariots, and others in horses; but we will hope in and call upon the name of the Lord our God. 8. They have been fettered and are fallen; but we are risen and stand upright. 9. Lord, save the King and listen to us in any day we call upon you.

PSALM 20 In the end, a Psalm of David. 1. Lord, the king shall rejoice in your power, and in your salvation he shall be exceedingly glad. 2. You have given him his souls desire, and have not denied him the request of his lips. 3. For you anticipated him in blessings of goodness; You have placed on his head a crown of precious stones. 4. He asked life from you, and you gave him length of days unto ages of ages; 5. His glory is great in your salvation; glory and majesty shall you place upon him. 13

6. For you shall give him a blessing unto ages of ages; you shall make him exceedingly glad in the joy of your countenance. 7. For the king hopes in the Lord, and in the mercy of the Most High he shall not be shaken. 8. May all your enemies feel your hand; may your right hand find all of them that hate you. 9. For you shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of your presence; in his wrath, the Lord shall convulse them, and fire shall devour them. 10. You shall destroy their fruit from the earth, and their seed from the sons of men. 11. For they have intended evil against you; they planned designs which they are not able to accomplish. 12. For you shall put them to flight; in your remnants you shall make their countenance ready. 13. Be exalted, Lord, in your power. We will sing and praise your mighty acts. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 21 A Psalm of David in the end for the morning assistance. 1. God, my God, attend to me; why have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my transgression. 2. My God, I shall cry out in the daytime, and you will not listen to me. Or even in the nighttime, but not for mindlessness. 3. But you, the praise of Israel, dwells in that which is holy. 4. Our fathers hoped in you; they hoped, and you delivered them. 5. They cried to you, and were saved; they hoped in you, and were not ashamed. 6. But I am a worm, and not a man; reproached by men, and despised by a people. 7. All who have beheld me have sneered at me; they have spoken with their lips, they have wagged their heads, saying, 8. He trusted in the Lord, let him deliver him; let him save him, since he desires him. 9. For you are he who took me out of the womb; my hope from my mothers breasts. 10. I was thrown upon you from the womb: do not desert me. You are my God from my mothers womb: 11. Do not desert me; for affliction is close because there is no one that helps me. 12. Many young bulls gathered around me; fat bulls have surrounded me. 13. They have gaped at me with their mouths like a ravening and roaring lion. 14. I have been poured out like water, and all my bones have been scattered; my heart has become like wax melting in the midst of my belly. 15. My strength is dried up like clay, and my tongue has stuck to my throat; and you have lowered me into the clay of death. 16. For many dogs have encircled me; they pierced my hands and my feet; 17. They numbered all my bones; but they comprehended and looked after me. 18. They parted my garments among them, and for my vesture have they cast lots. 19. But you, Lord, remove not your help far from me; attend to my help; 20. Deliver my soul from a sword, and from the hand of a dog my only-begotten. 21. Save me from the lions mouth and my humility from the horns of unicorns. 22. I will declare your name unto my brethren; in the midst of the church I will praise you. 14

23. You that fear the Lord, praise him; all you seed of Jacob, glorify him. Listen to him, all you seed of Israel, 24. For he has neither negated nor abhorred the petition of the poor man; nor has he turned his face away from me; but as soon as I cried to him, he listened to me. 25. From you comes my praise. In a great church I will give thanks to you. I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26. The poor shall eat and be filled; and those who seek the Lord will praise him; their hearts shall live unto ages of ages.. 27. All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall turn back to the Lord; and all the kindred of nations shall bow down before him. 28. For the kingdom is the Lords, and he controls the nations. 29. All they that are fat on earth have eaten, and have worshiped; all those who go down to the earth shall bow down before him, and my soul lives for him, 30. And my seed shall serve him. The coming generation shall be announced to the Lord; 31. They will announce his justice unto a people that shall be born, whom the Lord has created.

PSALM 22 No superscription 1. The Lord shepherds me; he will deny me nothing. 2. Upon a green pasture there he established me; on restful water he fed me. 3. He restored my soul; He guided me into the path of justice for his names sake. 4. For even if I should walk in the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, since you are with me; your rod and your staff, they have comforted me. 5. You have prepared a table before me opposite my oppressors; you have anointed my head with oil, and your cup makes me mighty drunk. 6. And your mercy shall pursue all the days of my life, and my dwelling in the house of the Lord unto a long length of days.

PALM 23 Of the One of the Sabbaths 1. The earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. 2. He has founded it upon the seas, and has prepared it on the rivers. 3. Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? 4. He who has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not received his soul in vain, nor has sworn deceitfully against his neighbor. 5. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his savior. 6. This is the generation of them that seek the Lord, that seek the face of the God of Jacob. 7. Lift the gates you rulers, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory will enter. 8. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord strong in war. 15

9. Lift the gates you rulers, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory will enter. 10. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of the powers, He is the King of glory. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

16

THE FOURTH KATHISMA

PSALM 24 A Psalm of David, no superscription 1. Unto you, O Lord, do I raise up my soul. 2. My God, my confidence is in you; let me never be put to shame, nor let my enemies exult over me. 3. Moreover, let none that patiently wait on you be shamed: let them be shamed who transgress without cause. 4. Lord make known to me your ways, and teach me your paths. 5. Guide me to your truth, and teach me; for you are God my Savior, and I have patiently waited on you all day. 6. Lord, remember your pities, and your mercies; for they have been from the ages. 7. Remember not the sins of my youth and of my ignorance. According to your mercy do you remember me, Lord, for your goodness sake. 8. The Lord is good and upright; therefore will he lay down the law to those who are sinning in the way. 9. He will guide the meek in judgment; he will teach the meek his ways. 10. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth unto them that seek out his covenant and his testimonies. 11. Lord, for your names sake, pardon my sin; for it is great. 12. Who is the man that fears the Lord? He will lay down the law to him in the way which he shall choose. 13. His soul shall abide in good things, and his seed shall inherit the earth. 14. The Lord is the buttress of them that fear him; and his covenant shall show it to them. 15. Mine eyes are ever towards the Lord, because He will pluck my feet out of a trap. 16. Turn your glance on me, and have mercy upon me; for I am poor and an only child. 17. The afflictions of my heart are multiplied; bring me out of my exigencies. 18. Consider my humiliation and my toil, and forgive all my sins. 19. Consider that mine enemies have multiplied, and have hated me with unjust hatred. 20. Protect my soul and deliver me; let me not be shamed; for I have hoped in you. 21. The harmless and upright joined with me, because I patiently waited on the Lord. 22. God, redeem Israel from all its afflictions.

PSALM 25 A Psalm of David, no superscription 1. Judge me, Lord, for I have walked in my innocence: and hoping in the Lord, I shall not become ill. 2. Prove me, Lord, and try me; probe my inwards and my heart with fire. 3. For your mercy is before mine eyes, and I have taken pleasure in your truth. 4. I have not sat with the council of vanity, nor will I enter together with transgressors. 17

5. I have hated the congregation of the wicked and I will not sit with the impious. 6. Lord, I will wash my hands in innocence; and will stand around your altar; 7. That I may listen to a voice praising you and tell of all your wondrous works. 8. Lord, I have loved the proper habitation of your house, and the place where your glory has its tabernacle. 9. Do not destroy my soul together with the impious, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are iniquities; 10. Their right hand has been filled with bribes. But as for me, I have walked in my innocence; 11. Deliver me and have mercy on me. My foot stands in uprightness; Lord, in the congregations, I will bless you.

PSALM 26 A Psalm of David, before being anointed. 1. The Lord is my light and my savior; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2. When the evildoers drew near to me to eat my flesh, my oppressors and my enemies weakened and fell. 3. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though a war should rise against me, in this I will be confident. 4. One request have I asked of the Lord, this will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the delightfulness of the Lord, and to visit his holy temple. 5. For in the time of trouble he hid me in his tabernacle; he sheltered me in the secret recess of his pavilion; upon a rock he elevated me. 6. And now, behold, he has raised my head against my enemies; I stood round and sacrificed in his tabernacle a sacrifice of praising and of shouting; I will sing, and I will play psalms to the Lord. 7. Lord, hear my voice, with which I have cried out. Have mercy upon me, and hear me. 8. My heart has said to you, I will seek your countenance. My countenance has sought you out; Lord, your countenance will I seek. 9. Do not turn your face away from me; and turn not a deaf ear in anger to your servant; become my helper; do not utterly reject me, and do not overlook me, God my Savior. 10. For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me in. 11. Lord, lay down the law to me, in your way, and guide me in a straight path, because of my enemies. 12. Deliver me not to the souls of my oppressors, for their injustice has proven itself false. 13. I believe that I would see the good things of the Lord in the earth of the living. 14. Wait patiently on the Lord; be of good courage, and let your heart be strengthened, and wait patiently on the Lord. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

18

PSALM 27 No superscription 1. Lord I cry unto to you, my God; be not silent to me, lest, if you are silent to me; I become like those who go down to the pit. 2. Hear the voice of my supplication when I cry to you, when I lift up my hands toward your holy temple. 3. Drive me not away with the sinfulness of my soul and do not destroy me with the workers of injustice, who speak peace to their neighbors, but with evil in their hearts. 4. Render unto them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give to them according to the work of their hands; requite them with what they deserve. 5. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, nor the works of his hands. You will destroy them and not build them up. 6. Blessed be the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplications. 7. The Lord is my helper and my defender; my heart has hoped in him, and I have been helped; and my flesh has been revived, and of my own will I will sing thanks to him. 8. The Lord is the strength of his people and he is the defender of his anointed. 9. Save your people, and bless your inheritance; and shepherd them also, and bear them up unto the ages. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 28 Of the tabernacles exit 1. Bring unto the Lord, sons of God, bring unto the Lord, sons of rams; bring unto the Lord glory and honor. 2. Bring to the Lord the glory due unto his name; bow before the Lord in his holy court. 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory has thundered; the Lord is upon many waters. 4. The voice of the Lord in power; the voice of the Lord in majesty. 5. The voice of the Lord crushes the cedars; and the Lord will crush the cedars of Lebanon. 6. He will thrash them like the calf of Lebanon, and his beloved is like a son of the unicorns. 7. The voice of the Lord halts a flame of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes up the wilderness; 8. The Lord will shake up the wilderness of Kadesh. 9. The voice of the Lord instructs the deer, and he reveals the thickets of oak; 10. And in his temple does everyone speak of his glory. The Lord will people the deluge, and the Lord will be seated as King forever. 11. The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

19

PSALM 29 In the end, a Psalm to be sung at the dedication of the House of David. 1. I will exalt you, Lord, for you have raised me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. 2. Lord my God, I cried out to you, and you have healed me. 3. Lord, you have brought my soul back up out of Hades; you have saved me that I should not go down to the pit. 4. Sing to the Lord, you his devout ones; and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness. 5. For there is wrath in his anger, and life in his will. In the evening weeping will take hold, and in the morning rejoicing. 6. In my prosperity I said, I shall never be displaced. 7. Lord, in your willingness you have added strength to my beauty, but you turned away your face, and I was troubled. 8. I will cry out to you, Lord; and to my God I made supplication: 9. What benefit is there in my blood, when I go down to the destruction? Will the clay give you thanks? Or shall it declare your truth? 10. The Lord has heard and has had mercy on me; the Lord has become my helper. 11. You have turned my breast-beating into joy for me. You have torn apart my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness; 12. To the end that my glory may sing praise to you and that I not be consumed with sorrow. Lord my God, I will give thanks to you unto the ages. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . . PSALM 30 In the end, a Psalm of David, of distraction. 1. Lord, in you have I hoped; let me never be ashamed unto the ages; in your justice rescue me, and deliver me. 2. Incline your ear to me, deliver me speedily; become to me a defending God, and a house of refuge to save me. 3. For you are my strength and my fortress; and for your names sake, will you guide me and maintain me. 4. You will extricate me from this trap, which they have hidden for me, for you, Lord, are my defender. 5. Into your hands I will commend my spirit; you have redeemed me, Lord God of truth. 6. You have hated them which watch empty vanities, but I have hoped in the Lord. 7. I will be glad and rejoice in your mercy, for you have considered my trouble; You have taken notice of my humility: You have saved my soul from distress. 8. And have not shut me up in the hands of enemies; You have set my feet in a large place. 9. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am afflicted; for my eyes, my soul, and my belly are embittered in anger. 10. For my life has departed in agony and my years in groaning; my strength has weakened in poverty, and my bones have been embittered. 20

11. I became a reproach among all my enemies, and especially among my neighbors, and a fear of mine acquaintances; 12. They that beheld me fled out from me. I am forgotten from hearts like a dead man; I am like a lost vessel. 13. For I heard words of blame of the many who sojourned roundabout; while they took council together against me, they deliberated to take away my soul. 14. But I hope in you, Lord; I said, you are my God. 15. My lot is in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from my persecutors. 16. Let your countenance shine upon your servant; save me in your mercy. 17. Lord, let me not be ashamed, for I have called upon you; let the impious be shamed; and let them be carried down to Hades. 18. Let the deceitful lips become silent, which proudly speak iniquity contemptuously against the just one. 19. Lord, how great is the multitude of your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, 20. Which you have prepared for those who hope in you in the presence of the sons of men. You shall hide them in the secret place of your countenance from the turmoil of men. 21. Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown marvelous mercy in a fortified city; 22. But I said in my distraction, I have been cut off from before your eyes; on this account you listened to the voice of my supplications when I cried out to you. 23. Love the Lord, all you his devout ones; for the Lord requires truth and fully requites those who behave proudly. 24. Act courageously, and let your hearts be strengthened, all you who hope in the Lord. PSALM 31 Of understanding 1. Without death are those whose iniquities have been forgiven, and whose sins are covered up. 2. Without death is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin, and in whose mouth there is no guile. 3. When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. 4. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; I was turned to hardship when a thorn was stuck into me. 5. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I have not hidden my iniquity. I said, I will speak out against myself my iniquity to the Lord, and you forgave the impiety of my heart. 6. For this shall everyone who is devout pray to you at the proper time. Nevertheless in the deluge of many waters they shall not come near him. 7. You are my refuge from the affliction encompassing me; my object of rejoicing, deliver me from them that surround me. 8. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will fix my eyes upon you. 9. Be not as the horse and the mule, which have no understanding, their jaws would you hold in with bit and bridle, lest they should come near to you. 10. Many scourges are in store for the sinners; but mercy shall surround him who hopes in the Lord. 11. Rejoice in the Lord, you just, and be glad; and exult all you that are upright in heart. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

21

THE FIFTH KATHISMA

PSALM 32 Davids without superscription, among the Hebrews 1. Be gladdened in the Lord, you just, for praise belongs to the upright. 2. Give thanks to the Lord with the kithara; sing to him with an instrument of ten strings. 3. Sing unto him a new song; play him a song loud and well sung. 4. For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his works are done in faith. 5. He loves mercy and judgment; the Lords mercy fills all the earth. 6. By the word of the Lord the heavens were firmly established, by the spirit of his mouth all their powers. 7. Gathering the waters of the sea together like a wineskin; laying up the bottomless deeps in treasures. 8. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants be shaken by him. 9. For He spoke, and it became; he commanded, and it was created. 10. The Lord dissipates the designs of the nations, he rejects the thoughts of peoples. 11. The Lords plan remains forever; the thoughts of his heart from generation to generation. 12. Immortal is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance. 13. The Lord looked down from heaven; he saw all the sons of men. 14. From his ready place of habitation, He looked down on all the inhabitants of the earth; 15. He who alone has formed their hearts; who understands all their deeds. 16. No king is saved by having great power; and a giant is not saved by his great strength. 17. A horse is a false hope for salvation, nor can his great strength save. 18. Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those who hope in his mercy; 19. To rescue their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20. But our souls patiently will wait for the Lord; he is our helper and our protector. 21. For our hearts shall be gladdened in him, because we have hoped in His holy name. 22. Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have placed our hope in you.

PSALM 33 Of David, when we changed his countenance in front of Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall boast in the Lord; let the meek hearken and be gladdened. Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I have sought the Lord out, and he hearkened to me, and delivered me from all my afflictions. Come to him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be shamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his afflictions. The angel of the Lord shall encamp all around them that fear him, and shall deliver them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; Without death is the man who hopes in him; 22

9. Fear the Lord, all you his saints; for there is no want to them that fear him. 10. Rich men have become poor and suffered hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. 11. Come, you children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12. Who is the man who wants life, and loves to see good days? 13. Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile. 14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15. The eyes of the Lord are on the just, and his ears hearken to their prayer. 16. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off their remembrance from the earth. 17. The just cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their afflictions. 18. The Lord is near to those that are contrite of heart, and saves those who are humble in spirit. 19. Many are the afflictions of the just, but the Lord delivers them from all. 20. He keeps all their bones; not one of them shall be broken. 21. The death of the sinners is an evil one, and they that hate the just are in error. 22. The Lord will redeem the soul of his servants; not one of them who hope in him are in error. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 34 No superscription 1. Judge my cause, Lord, with them that are wronging me; fight against them that are fighting me. 2. Take hold of a weapon and a shield, and rise to help me. 3. Draw out your sword, and stop the way against them that persecute me. Say to my soul, I am your salvation. 4. Let those be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul. Let them be turned back and be brought to shame who devise evils for me. 5. Let them be like chaff in the face of the wind, and let an angel of the Lord drive them out. 6. Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the Lord pursue them. 7. For without cause they have hidden from me the dishonesty of their snare, in vain have they reproached my soul. 8. Let a snare come upon him unexpectedly, and let the trap that he has hidden catch him. And let him fall into that snare. 9. And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; it shall be delighted in his salvation. 10. All my bones shall say, Lord, Lord, who is like you? Seeing that you deliver a poor man from one who is stronger than him, and the poor and the indigent from them that are despoiling him? 11. Unjust witnesses, having risen against me; and asked me what I do not know. 12. They requited me evil for good, and deprived my soul of its just reward. 13. But as for me, when they molested me, I dressed myself in sackcloth; and humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall be turned back to my own bosom. 14. I was agreeable with him as though he were our neighbor or a brother; as one mourning and dejected, so did I humble myself. 23

15. And against me they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; they gathered whips against me, and I did not know it; they were scattered, and were not remorseful. 16. They tempted me; they sneered and sniffed at me; they gnashed their teeth at me. 17. Lord, when will you look upon me? Restore my soul from their malice, my only begotten daughter from the lions. 18. I will give thanks to you in the great congregation; I will praise you among many people. 19. Do not let them that are wrongfully my enemies; that hate me without cause, and that wink at one another with their eyes be increasingly jubilant over me. 20. For to me they speak words of peace, and in wrath devised deceitful contrivances. 21. They also opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Well done, well done! Our eyes have seen it. 22. Lord this you have seen; do not keep silence. Lord, do not forsake me. 23. Arise, Lord and attend to my judgment, my God and my Lord, even to my cause. 24. My Lord my God, judge me according to your justice; and let them not become increasingly jubilant over me. 25. Let them not say in their hearts, Well done! well done! as our soul desired it; neither let them say, we have swallowed him up. 26. Let them be shamed and at the same time be brought to confusion that are increasingly jubilant over my ills. Let them that magnify themselves against me clothe themselves with shame and confusion. 27. Let them shout in joy and gladness, who favor my just cause; and let them say continually, let the Lord be magnified, that desire the peace of his servant. 28. And my tongue will mediate on your justice and your praise all the day long.

PSALM 35 In the End, to the Servant of the Lord, to David. 1. The transgressor when sinning says speaking to himself; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2. For he beguiles himself with his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. 3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit; he has ceased to understand how to be good. 4. He has devised iniquity upon his bed; he has stood by in every way that is not good, but vice he has not avoided. 5. Lord, your mercy is in heaven, and your truth reaches to the clouds. 6. Your justice is like the mountains of God; your judgments are as a deep abyss; Lord, you save men and beasts. 7. God, how greatly have you multiplied your mercy. The sons of men shall place their hope beneath the shadow of your wings. 8. They shall become drunk with the fatness of your house, and you will make them drink the torrent of your delights. 9. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we shall see light. 10. Continue your mercy to those who know you, and your justice to the upright in heart. 11. Let not the foot of pride overtake me, and let not the hand of the sinner drive me out. 12. There have all the workers of iniquity fallen; they have been thrust out and are not able to stand up. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . . 24

PSALM 36 David wrote this Psalm in his old age for the admonition of his son Solomon, and from the beginning to the end he advises him to shun vice and to pursue virtue. 1. Do not become jealous among wicked, neither be jealous of the workers of iniquity. 2. For like grass they shall soon wither, and like the green herbs they shall fall off. 3. Hope in the Lord, and do good; and dwell in the land, so shall you be fed upon its wealth. 4. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5. Commit your way unto the Lord, and hope in him, and he will bring it to pass. 6. He will bring forth your justice as light, and your judgment as the noonday. 7. Submit to the Lord, and supplicate him; be not jealous of him who prospers in his way, of him who does unlawful things. 8. Cease from wrath, and forsake anger; be not jealous so as to be a villain 9. For evildoers shall be exterminated; but for those who patiently wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. 10. For yet a little while and the sinner shall not be existent; yea, you shall look for his place, and shall not find it. 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12. The sinner shall observe the just man and shall gnash his teeth upon him. 13. The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming. 14. The sinners have drawn out a sword and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay those who are upright in heart. 15. Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16. A little that a just man has is better than the great wealth of sinners. 17. Because the arms of the sinners shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the just. 18. The Lord knows the ways of the upright; and their inheritance shall be forever. 19. They shall not be ashamed in the bad times, and in days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20. But the sinners shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord, as soon as they have been glorified and exalted, shall be consumed and disappear like smoke. 21. The sinner borrows and does not repay, but the just man shows mercy and gives. 22. For those who bless him shall inherit land: but those who curse him shall be ruined. 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he shall desire his way exceedingly. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with his hand. 25. I have been younger, but now am an old man; yet I have not seen a just man forsaken, nor his descendants begging for bread. 26. He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants shall be blessed. 27. Depart from evil and do good; and abide unto the ages of ages. 28. For the Lord loves judgment, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. 29. The just shall inherit the earth, and dwell in it forever. 30. The mouth of the just meditates wisdom, and his tongue speaks judgment. 31. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slip. 32. The sinner perceives the just man, and seeks to slay him. 33. But the Lord will not leave him in his hands nor condemn him when he is judged. 25

34. Wait patiently on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. 35. I have seen the impious highly exalted and elated as the cedars of Lebanon. 36. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but his place could not be found. 37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for there is a leaving to the peaceful man. 38. But the transgressors shall be exterminated together; the leaving of the impious shall be exterminated. 39. But the salvation of the just is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of affliction. 40. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; he shall deliver them from sinners, and save them because they hope in him. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

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THE SIXTH KATHISMA

In remembrance concerning the Sabbath PSALM 37 1. Lord, rebuke me not in your anger; neither chasten me in your wrath, 2. For your arrows have stuck fast in me, and your hand presses against me. 3. There is no healing in my flesh from the face of your wrath; there is no peace in my bones from the face of my sins. 4. For my iniquities have gone over my head; as a weighty burden they are too heavy for me. 5. My bruises stink and fester from the face of my folly. 6. I was troubled, and was bowed down to the end; all the day long I went mourning. 7. For my loins have been filled with loathsome diseases; and there is no healing in my flesh. 8. I have been exceedingly ill-treated and humbled; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. 9. Lord, all my desire is before you; and my groaning is not hidden from you. 10. My heart has been embittered; my strength has forsaken me; as for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me. 11. My friends and my neighbors have approached and stand opposite me; my nearest kin stand afar off, 12. And those seeking my soul resorted to force; those who seek my harm spoke vanities, and all the day long they studied deceits, 13. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man who opens not his mouth. 14. Thus I was as a man who does not hear, and who has no reproofs in his mouth. 15. For in you, Lord, I have hoped; you will hearken, Lord my God; 16. For I said, lest my enemies ever become jubilant over me, and when my feet slip, they magnify themselves against me. 17. For I am ready for scourges, and my agony is always before me. 18. For I will declare my iniquity myself; and I will take care for my sin. 19. But my enemies live, and are stronger than me; and those who unjustly hate me have been multiplied. 20. Those that requited me evil for good have accused me falsely, because I pursued goodness. 21. Do not forsake me Lord, my God; do not desert me. 22. Attend to my help, Lord, of my salvation. PSALM 38 In the end, to Jeduthun, an ode to David 1. I said I will take heed to my ways, that I do not sin with my tongue; I will place a bridle to my mouth while the sinner is before me, while the wicked are before me. 2. I was deaf and humbled and mute with silence from good things; and my sorrow was renewed. 3. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned: then I spoke with my tongue: 27

4. Lord, cause me to know my end, and the number of my days, that I may know how frail I am. 5. Behold, you have made my days of old, and my very being is as nothing before you; everything is vanity, every man that lives. 6. Surely a man walks in a picture, though he is disquieted in vain. He piles up treasures, and does not know who will gather them. 7. And now, Lord, what do I wait for? Is it not the Lord? My hope is in you. My very existence is in your hands. 8. Deliver me from all my transgressions; you have given me a fool as a reproach. 9. I was mute, I did not open my mouth, because you did it. 10. Remove your scourges from me; for from the might of your hand I am perishing. 11. In rebukes for iniquity have you chastened a man, and have examined his soul like a spider, and every man is disquieted in vain. 12. Lord, hearken to my prayer and give ear to my petition; do not pass over my tears in silence for I am a guest with you, and a sojourner as all my fathers were. 13. Spare me, that I may recover strength, before I depart from here and no longer exist.

PSALM 39 In the end, this Psalm prophesies the work and duty of Christ the high priest, and the petitions and supplications offered up to God. 1. I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and he hearkened to my petition. 2. He brought me up also out of a pit of hardship, and out of the mire of clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps. 3. And he has put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it and shall fear, and they shall hope in the Lord. 4. Without death is that man whose hope is in the name of the Lord, and does not regard vanities and lying madness. 5. Lord my God, many are your wonderful works which you have done; and there is none likened to you in your thoughts; if I should declare and speak of them, they are beyond number. 6. You did not want sacrifice and offerings, but you have prepared a body for me. You have not required a whole-burnt offering and sin offering. 7. Then I said, Behold, I come; in the heading of the Book it is written of me; to do your will my God, 8. And your law is within my heart. 9. I have preached the good news of justice in the great congregation; lo, I do not restrain my lips; Lord, you have known it. 9. I have not hidden your justice within my heart; I have declared your truth and your salvation; 10. I have not concealed your mercifulness nor your truth from the great congregation. 11. But do not remove your pities from me, Lord; let your mercy and your truth perpetually preserve me. 12. For innumerable evils have surrounded me; mine iniquities have taken hold of me, so that I have been unable to look up; they have become more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart fails me. 13. Lord, in your good will deliver me; Lord, take care to help me;

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14. Let them be ashamed and confounded at the same time who seek to destroy my soul; let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor who wish me evil. 15. Let them be appalled because of their shame, who say to me, well done, well done. 16. Lord, let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; Let those who love your salvation continually say, the Lord be magnified; 17. But I am poor and in need; Yet the Lord will take care of me. You are my help and my protector; my God, do not delay. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 40 In the end, a song to David 1. Without death is he who considers the poor and needy; the Lord will deliver him in an evil day. 2. The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, and will immortalize him on the new earth and he will not deliver him to the hands of his enemies. 3. The Lord will help him on his bed of agony; you will make all his bed in his sickness. 4. I said, Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. 5. My enemies speak evil of me: when will he die, and his name perish? 6. And if he came to see me, his heart speaks vain words; he gathers iniquity to himself; when he went out from me, he spoke together with them. 7. All my enemies have been whispering; against me they devise my harm. 8. They deposed unlawful words against me. Shall not the sleeper certainly rise again? 9. Yet even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, who was eating my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. 10. But you, Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. 11. By this I know that you have favored me, because my enemy shall not exult over me. 12. But because of my innocence help me and you have confirmed me before your face for ever. 13. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel unto the ages of ages; May it be so. May it be so.

PSALM 41 In the end, for understanding, to the Sons of Korah 1. As the deer pants after the water springs, so God, my soul longs after you. 2. My soul has thirsted for God, for the strong, the living God. When shall I come and appear before the face of God? 3. My tears have been my bread day and night, while every day I am asked, where is your God? 4. I remembered these things, and poured out my soul upon me. For I shall pass through in a place of a wonderful tabernacle, until I reach the house of God keeping festival, with a voice of rejoicing and a sound of thankful praise.

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5. Why are you sadly downcast my soul? And why are you disturbing me? Hope in God, for I shall give thanks to him for the saving of my person and because He is my God. 6. My God, my soul has been disturbed within me; therefore I will remember you from the lands of the Jordan, and the Hermonites, from a small mountain. 7. Deep calls unto deep at the noise of your waterfalls; all your billows and waves have passed over me. 8. The Lord will command His mercifulness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me; a prayer to the God of my life. 9. I will say unto the God of my life, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the affliction of the enemy? 10. In breaking of my bones to pieces, my enemies have reproached me, while daily they say to me, where is your God? 11. Why are you sadly downcast, my soul? And why are you disturbing me? Hope in God; for I shall thank him for the saving of my person, and because he is my God.

PSALM 42 Without a superscription in the Hebrew. 1. Judge me, God, and try my cause, from a nation not devout from an unjust and deceitful man deliver me. 2. For you, God, are my stronghold, why have you cast me off? and why must I go mourning when afflicted by my enemy? 3. Send out your light and your truth; they have guided me, and have led me unto your holy mountain, and to your tabernacle. 4. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God who gladdened my youth; and, upon the kithara will I thank you, God my God. 5. Why are you sadly downcast, my soul? And why are you disturbing me? Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 43 In the end, for understanding to the Sons of Korah 1. We have heard with our ears, God, our fathers have told us what deeds you did in their days, in days of old: 2. How you drove out the nations with your hand, and planted them; how you afflicted the peoples and cast them out. 3. For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; but it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you showed your good will to them. 4. You are my King and my God; who commands deliverance for Jacob.

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5. Through you we will push down our enemies; through your name we will trample those who rise up against us. 6. For I will not trust in my bow, nor shall my sword save me. 7. But you have saved us from our enemies, and have put to shame those who hated us. 8. In God we will boast all day long, and praise your name for ever. 9. But now you have cast us off and put us to shame, and you do not go out with our armies. 10. You made us retreat from our enemies, and those who hate us take spoil for themselves. 11. You have given us up like sheep intended for food, and have dispersed us among the nations. 12. You have sold your people for nothing, and there is no multitude in our shouting. 13. You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and a derision to those around us. 14. You have made us a byword among the nations, a wagging of the head among the people. 15. My reproach is continually before me, and the shame of my face has covered me, 16. From the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, from the face of the enemy and avenger. 17. All this has come upon us; yet we have not forgotten you, nor have we dealt falsely with your covenant. 18. And our heart has not turned back, notwithstanding you have declined our paths from your way; 19. For you have humbled us in a place of maltreatment, and the shadow of death has covered us. 20. If we had forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god, 21. Will not God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart. 22. For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 23. Awake! Lord, why do you sleep? Arise! Do not cast us off in the end. 24. Why do you turn your face, and forget our poverty and our affliction? 25. For our soul is humbled to the earth our belly cleaves to the ground. 26. Arise Lord, help us, and deliver us for your names sake.

PSALM 44 In the end, for those who are to become unlike themselves, to the Sons of Korah for understanding: An ode for the beloved one. 1. My heart has uttered a good word; I myself will declare my works to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 2. You are fairer in beauty than the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you unto the ages. 3. Gird your sword upon your thigh, Mighty One, with your exceeding beauty and your goodness. 4. And draw and prosper and reign as King, because of truth, meekness and justice. And your right hand shall wonderfully guide you. 5. Your arrows are sharp, most mighty one, peoples shall fall under you in the heart of the Kings enemies. 6. Your throne, God, is to ages of ages; a scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom. 7. You have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above that of your companions.

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8. Your garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces; from where daughters of kings gladdened you in honor. 9. The Queen stood at your right hand, arrayed and bedecked in clothing of interwoven gold. 10. Hearken, daughter, consider, incline your ear; forget your people and your fathers house; 11. So shall the King desire your beauty; for he is your Lord, bow down before him. 12. The daughter of Tyre will bow before him with gifts; even the rich among the people will supplicate your countenance. 13. All the glory of the kings daughter is from within; though she be arrayed and bedecked with interwoven gold. 14. Virgins shall be conducted to the King behind her; her companions shall be conducted to you. With gladness and rejoicing they shall be led to the temple of the king. 15. In the place of your fathers, sons shall be born of you. You shall make them rulers over all the earth. 16. I shall remember your name from generation to generation; therefore the people shall give thanks to you unto the ages of ages.

PSALM 45 In the end, for the sons of Korah, for the secret things; A Psalm to David. 1. God is our refuge and strength, a helper in afflictions that come heavily upon us. 2. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be shaken, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3. The waters roared and were agitated, the mountains were shaken in his mightiness 4. The streams of the river gladden the city of God. The Most High has sanctified his tabernacle. 5. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be shaken; God will help her, at the break of dawn. 6. Nations have been troubled, kingdoms will totter; the Most High uttered his voice, the earth was shaken. 7. The Lord of the powers is with us; the God of Jacob is our protector. 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he has made on the earth. 9. He will cause wars to cease unto the ends of the earth; he will crush the bow to pieces and break the spear in two; He will burn up the shields in the fire. 10. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. 11. The Lord of the powers is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

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THE SEVENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 46 In the end, for the Sons of Korah. 1. Clap your hands all you nations; cry out unto God with the voice of exultation. 2. For the Lord Most High is fearful; he is the great King over all the earth. 3. He has subdued people to us, and nations under our feet. 4. He has taken us as His inheritance, the beauty of Jacob his beloved. 5. God is gone up with a loud cry, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. 7. That God is the King of all the earth, sing with understanding. 8. God has become King over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne. 9. Rulers of peoples have gathered together with the God of Abraham; for Gods mighty ones of the earth have become exceedingly jubilant.

PSALM 47 A Psalm for singing, to the Sons of Korah, on the second of the Sabbath. 1. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God in his holy mountain. 2. A deeply-rooted joy of the whole earth are the mountains of Sion on the side of the north, the city of the great King. 3. God is known in her citadels when he defends her, 4. For lo, the kings of the earth have assembled, they passed through together. 5. They saw it, and so they marveled; they were troubled, and shaken. 6. Fear took hold of them there, and pain as of a woman in travail, 7. With a blast you will crush the ships of Tarshish to pieces. 8. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of powers in the city of our God: God has established it for ever. 9. God, we have thought of your mercy, in the midst of your people. 10. According to your name, God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth; your right hand is full of justice. 11. Let Mount Sion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of your judgments. 12. Go all about Sion, and encompass her; tell about it in her towers; 13. Place your hearts in her power, and consider her citadels, that you may tell it to another generation. 14. For this is our God unto the ages and ages of ages; He will shepherd us unto the ages.

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PSALM 48 In the End, to the Sons of Korah 1. Hear this all you nations; give ear all you inhabitants of the world, 2. Both you that are born of earth and you sons of men, rich and poor together. 3. My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart understanding. 4. I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my problem in the book of psalms. 5. Why should I fear an evil day? The iniquity at my heel will encompass me. 6. They that boast in their strength and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. 7. A brother cannot redeem, shall a man redeem? He shall not give to God a propitiation for himself; 8. Or the price of his souls redemption. And he toiled in his lifetime, 9. And he shall live to the end, he shall not see corruption. 10. When he sees wise men dying; together the fool and the senseless shall perish, and shall leave their wealth to others. 11. And their tombs shall be their houses to the ages. And their dwelling places from generation to generation; they call their lands after their own names. 12. But man being in honor, did not understand, he became similar to the mindless beasts, and has become like them. 13. This their way is their scandal; yet this finds approval in their mouth. 14. Like sheep they are laid in Hades; death shall feed on them; the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their help shall vanish in Hades, banished from their glory. 15. But God will deliver my soul from the power of Hades, when he shall receive me. 16. Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17. For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him. 18. In his life his soul shall be blessed, he will thank you when you do good to him. 19. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; he shall never see light. 20. Man being in honor, did not understand, he became similar to the mindless beasts, and has become like them. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 49 A Psalm to Asaph. 1. The God of gods the Lord has spoken, and has called the earth from the rising to the setting of the sun. 2. Out of Sion the perfection of his beauty has shone. Our God shall come and appear as God, 3. And shall not keep silence; a fire shall burn before him, and round him shall be a mighty storm. 4. He shall call to the heavens above, and to the earth, that he may distinguish his people. 5. And gather to himself his devout ones who have made a covenant with him by sacrifices. 6. And the heavens shall declare his justice, for God is himself the judge. 7. Hear, my people, and I will speak to you Israel, and I will testify against you; 34

8. I am God, your God. I will not reprove you for your sacrifices, and your burnt offerings are continually before me. 9. I will take no bullocks out of your house, nor he-goats out of your folds, 10. For all the beasts of the field are mine, and the herds and cattle on the hills. 11. I know all the fowls of the heavens, and the beauty of the fields is with me. 12. If I get hungry, I will not tell you; for all the world is mine and its fulness . 13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? 14. Sacrifice unto God a sacrifice of praise, and render your prayers to the most high, 15. And call upon me in the day of affliction; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. 16. But unto the sinner God has said: why do you declare my rights, and undertake my covenant with your mouth, 17. Whereas you hate instruction and have cast my words behind you? 18. If you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have been a companion with adulterers. 19. Your mouth has been given to evil, and your tongue has been framing deceit. 20. You sit and speak against your brother; you scandalize your own mothers son. 21. These things you have done, and I kept silence; you thought that in iniquity I would be like you; but I will reprove you, and present your sins to your face. 22. Understand these things, you who forget God, lest at any time he seize you, and there be none to deliver you; 23. A sacrifice of praise glorifies me; and there is the way by which I will show him my salvation.

PSALM 50 In the end, a Psalm to David, when Nathan the Prophet came to him, on the occasion of his first intimacy with Bathsheba. 1. Have mercy upon me, God, according to your great mercy; and according to the multitude of your pities, wipe away my iniquities. 2. Wash me from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I know my iniquity and my sin is before me continually. 4. Against you only have I sinned, and I did the evil in your presence, that you might be justified in your words, and be victorious when you are judged. 5. Behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother bear me. 6. Behold, you have loved truth; the hidden and secret parts of your wisdom have you revealed to me. 7. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8. Cause me to hear joy and gladness; bones that have been humbled shall rejoice. 9. Turn your face from my sins and wipe away all my iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew an upright spirit within me. 11. Cast me not away from your presence; take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation and establish me with an upright spirit. 13. I will teach the iniquitous your ways, and the impious shall return back to you. 14. Deliver me from blood, God, God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing out of your justice. 15. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise. 35

16. For had you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it. But you will not approve of wholeburnt offerings. 17. Sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit, a broken and contrite heart God will not disregard. 18. Do good in your good will to Sion; let the walls of Jerusalem be rebuilt. 19. Then will you approve of a sacrifice of justice, an oblation, and whole-burnt offerings; then shall they offer calves upon your altar. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 51 In the end, of understanding to David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, David is come to the house of Abimelech 1. Why do you boast in wickedness, mighty one? All the day long, did his tongue consider iniquity. 2. Like a sharpened razor, did you practice deceit. You love evil more than good, and lying rather than speaking justice. 3. You love all devouring words, and a deceitful tongue. 4. God, therefore, shall likewise destroy you forever; he shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, and uproot you from the land of the living. 5. The just shall also see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, 6. Lo, here is the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his vanity. 7. But I, like a fruit-laden olive tree in the house of God, have trusted in the mercy of God unto the ages and the ages of ages. 8. I will praise you forever, because you have done it; and in the presence of your saints I will wait on your name, for it is good for your devout ones.

PSALM 52 In the end, for Mahalath, of understanding to David. 1. The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. 2. God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3. All have deviated, and at the same time have become depraved; there is none who does good, no, not one. 4. Shall not all the workers of iniquity, who eat up my people as they eat bread, get knowledge? They have not called upon God. There they trembled with fear where there was no fear, 5. For God has scattered the bones of man-pleasers, and they were ashamed because God disdained them. 6. Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? When the Lord turns back the captivity of his people, Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad. 36

PSALM 53 In the end, in hymns, of understanding to David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Does not David hide himself with us? 1. Save me God, by your name, and you shall judge me by your power. 2. God, hearken to my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth. 3. For strangers have risen up against me, and strong men have sought after my soul; they have not set God before themselves. 4. For behold, God is helping me; and the Lord is the defender of my soul. 5. He will return evils to my enemies; by your truth exterminate them. 6. Willingly will I sacrifice unto you; Lord, I will thankfully praise your name because it is good. 7. For you have rescued me from every affliction; and mine eye has looked down upon mine enemies.

PSALM 54 In the end, in hymns, of understanding to David. 1. Give ear to my prayer, O God, and do not overlook my supplication. 2. Attend to me and listen to me; I was grieved in my talkativeness, and troubled, 3. Because of the voice of the enemy, and the affliction of a sinner; for they brought iniquity against me, and in wrath they have been hating me. 4. My heart is severely troubled within me, and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. 5. Fear and trembling have come upon me, and darkness has overwhelmed me. 6. And I said, who will give me wings like a dove, that I would fly away and be at rest. 7. Behold, I have fled away and have camped in the wilderness. 8. I waited for him who saved me from faintheartedness and from a tempestuous storm. 9. Lord, destroy and divide their tongues, for I have seen iniquity and strife in the city. 10. Day and night they go around it on its walls; iniquity and toil are also in the midst of it. 11. Usury and guile had not departed from its streets. 12. For if an enemy had reproached me; then I could have borne it. And if the one hating me had spoken boastful words against me; I would have hidden myself from him. 13. But you, man, are my souls equal, my guide and mine acquaintance. 14. Who together with me sweetened foods, and in the house of God we walked in concord. 15. Let death come upon them; let them go down alive into Hades, for wickedness is in their dwellings and in their midst. 16. I cried out to God, and the Lord hearkened to me. 17. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice. 18. He will deliver my soul in peace from those who are approaching me. 19. God will hearken, and he who exists before the ages will humble them, 20. For there is no change, because they do not fear God. He has put forth his hands in requital; he has broken his covenant. 21. They were parted from the wrath of your presence, and their hearts drew nigh them, their words have become smoother than oil, and they are darts. 37

22. Cast your care upon the Lord, and he will sustain you; He shall never allow the just to be displaced. 23. But you, God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; bloody and deceitful men shall not live half their days; but I will hope in you. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

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THE EIGHTH KATHISMA

PSALM 55 In the end, for the people far removed from things holy, to David for a pillar inscription, when the Philistines held him in Geth. 1. God have mercy upon me, for a man has trampled on me; by fighting all day he has afflicted me. 2. My enemies have trampled on me all day long, for there are many who fought against me from the dawning of the day. 3. Length of days I shall not fear, but will hope in you. 4. For God will I praise with my words, in God have I hoped; I shall not fear what flesh can do to me. 5. All day long they have abominated my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6. They shall dwell nearby and shall conceal themselves, they shall guard my heel, just as they have patiently waited upon my soul. 7. In behalf of nothing shall you save them; in wrath shall you cast people down. 8. God, I have told you my life; you have placed my tears before your eyes. 9. As in your promise, mine enemies shall turn back. 10. In the day that I call upon you, behold, I have knowledge that you are my God. 12. For in God will I praise a word, in God will I praise a sentence; in God have I hoped; I will not be afraid what any man may do to me. 13. God, in me are vows of praise I will requite unto you, for you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from slipping, that I will be well-pleasing before God and in those living in light. PSALM 56 In the end, destroy not, to David, for a pillar inscription, when he fled from the presence of Saul into the cave. 1. Have mercy upon me, God, have mercy upon me, for my soul hopes in you; and I will trust in the shadow of your wings, until the iniquity has passed away. 2. I will cry unto God the Most High, unto God who has been my benefactor. 3. He has sent forth from heaven and has saved me; he has given to reproach those who have been trampling on me. God sent forth his mercy and his truth. 4. And has rescued my soul from the midst of lions whelps. I slept disturbed. As to sons of men, their spears and arrows are their teeth, and their sharp sword is their tongue. 5. God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 6. They prepared a trap for my feet; and have bowed down my soul; they have dug a pit before my face; into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. 7. My heart is ready, God, my heart is ready; I will sing and chant in my glory. 8. Awake, my glory; awake psaltery and harp; I will wake myself early. 9. Lord, I will give thanks to you among peoples; I will praise you among the nations. 10. For your mercy has been magnified unto the heavens, and your truth to the clouds. 11. Be exalted, O God, over the heavens; and let your glory be above all the earth. 39

PSALM 57 In the end, destroy not, to David, for a pillar Inscription 1. If you truly speak justice, therefore judge uprightly, sons of men. 2. Indeed in your hearts you work iniquity in the earth; your hands weave injustice. 3. Sinners are estranged from the womb; they have gone astray as soon as they are born; they have spoken lies. 4. Anger excites them after the likeness of the serpent, like a deaf adder that stops its ears and will not listen to the voice of charmers, 5. Though she is fascinated when charmed by one who is wise 6. God will crush their teeth to pieces in their mouth; the Lord has broken to pieces the molars of lions. 7. They will pass away like water flowing by; he will bend his bow, until they weaken. 8. Like wax that has melted they will be taken away; fire fell upon them, and they could not see the sun. 9. Before the thornbush understands your thorns, in his wrath he will swallow them up while still alive. 10. A just man shall be gladdened when he sees vengeance; he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner. 11. And a man shall say, surely if there is a reward for the just; there is surely a God judging them in the earth. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . . PSALM 58 In the end, destroy not; to David, for a pillar inscription, when Saul sent and set a watch at his house to kill him. 1. My God, rescue me from my enemies; deliver me from those who rise up against me. 2. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloodthirsty men. 3. For lo, they lie hunting for my soul; mighty men have attacked me; 4. It is not for my transgression nor for my sin, Lord. I have run without iniquity, and kept my way straight. 5. And you, Lord God of powers, the God of Israel, take care to visit all the nations: have no pity on the workers of iniquity. 6. At evening they return, and shall be hungry like a dog, and go all around the city. 7. Behold, they belch from their mouth; and a sword is in their lips; for they say, who has heard? 8. And you Lord, shall laugh at them; you shall hold all the nations in contempt. 9. My strength will I watch by you. For you, God are my helper; 10. My merciful God shall come to meet me; God shall show it to me among my enemies. 11. Do not slay them, lest my people forget; scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our defender. 12. For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, let them even be taken in their pride, and for the cursing and lying which they speak. 40

13. Consume them in wrath, consume them that they may not be; and let them know that God rules in Jacob to the ends of the earth. 14. And at evening they return, they growl like a dog, and go all around the city. 15.They wander up and down for food, and howl if they are not satisfied. 16. But I will sing of your power; and I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning; for you have been my helper and refuge in the day of my afflictions. 17. You are my helper, and I will sing to you my God; for God is my protector and my mercy.

PSALM 59 In the end, for those who are to become unlike themselves, for a pillar inscription, to David, for teaching; when he set fire to Mesopotamia of Syria, and Syria-Zobah, and Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. 1. God, you have rejected and destroyed us; You have become wrathful, and yet you have pitied us. 2. You have made the earth quake; you have made it shake; heal its breaches, for it is shaken. 3. You have shown your people hard things; You have made us drink the wine of grief. 4. You have given a sign to those who fear you, to flee from the presence of an arrow. 5. That your beloved may be rescued, do you save with your right hand, and hearken to me. 6. God has spoken in his sanctuary, I will rejoice and I will divide Sikima and measure out the valley of tents. 7. Gilead is mine, and Manasses is mine, and Ephraim also is the stronghold for my head; Judah is my king. 8. Moab is the kettle of my hope; over Edom I will extend my shoe; to me the Philistines have become subject. 9. Who will bring me into the city of the province? or who will guide me to Edom? 10. Is it not you, God, who have rejected us? And will you not, God, go forth with our armies? 11. Give us help from afflictions, for the help of man is vain. 12. In God we shall create power, for it is he who shall extinguish our oppressors. PSALMS 60 In the end, in hymns to David. 1. God, hearken to my petition; attend unto my prayer. 2. From the ends of the earth to you have I cried, when my heart was overwhelmed; upon a rock you have exalted me, and have guided me. 3. For you have become my hope, and a tower of strength from the presence of an enemy. 4. I will dwell in your tabernacle unto the ages; I will take cover in the shelter of your wings. 5. For you, God, have heard my prayer; you have given an inheritance to those who fear your name. 6. You will add days to the days of the king, his years unto generation and generation. 7. It shall remain before God forever; Who will seek out mercy and truth? 8. Thus I will sing praises to your name forever, that I may render my vows from day to day. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

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PSALM 61 In the end, for Jeduthun a Psalm to David 1. Shall not my soul submit to God? For from him is my salvation. 2. He indeed is my God and my Savior, with him as my guardian, I shall not be displaced from my stand. 3. Until when will you keep attacking a man? you all kill as you might a leaning wall and tottering fence. 4. Yet they deliberated to impugn my honor; they run in thirst; they bless with their mouths, but utter curses in their hearts. 5. Yet submit to God my soul, for from him does my patience endure. 6. For he is my God and my Savior, my protector; I will not leave him. 7. In God is my salvation and my glory; the God of my help and my hope shall be in God. 8. Hope in him every congregation of people; pour out your hearts before him; God is our helper. 9. Yet the sons of men are vain; the sons of men are false in the balance; to be unjust to others; they are altogether of vanity. 10. Do not place your hope in injustice, and do not yearn for plunder; If riches flow in, do not set your hearts on them. 11. God has spoken once; I have heard these two things: that dominion belongs to God; 12. And mercy is yours, O Lord. For you will requite every man according to his deeds.

PSALM 62 To David when he was in the wilderness of Judea 1. God, you are my God; before the dawn I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh also longs for you in a desert, pathless and arid land. 2. Thus have I been seen of you in the sanctuary, that I might see your power and your glory. 3. Because your mercy is better than lives, my lips shall always speak your praise. 4. Thus will I bless you while I live; and I will lift up my hands in your name. 5. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fat, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. 6. When I remembered you on my couch, in the early morning watches I meditated on you, 7. Because you became my helper, and in the shelter of your wings will I rejoice. 8. My soul follows hard after you; your right hand upholds me; 9. But they have sought my soul in vain; they will enter the utterly lowest regions of the earth. 10. They shall be consigned to the hands of a sharp sword; they shall be a portion for foxes. 11. But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall be praised; 12. For the mouths of those who speak injustice have been sealed.

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PSALM 63 In the end 1. God, hearken to my voice, in my supplication; preserve my soul from fear of the enemy. 2. Shield me from a clique of the wicked, from a multitude of workers of iniquity, 3. Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and have bent their bows to shoot their arrows; a bitter thing, that they may shoot in secret at the blameless; 4. They will shoot him suddenly and will not fear. 5. They encouraged themselves in an evil matter; they discuss the laying of traps secretly; they say, who will see them? 6. They devise iniquities: they accomplished a diligent search. A man will come forward and a deep heart, and God shall be exalted. 7. Their blows have become an arrow of infants, and their tongues have weakened upon them. 8. All men who behold them were afraid, and they declared the work of God; and understood what He has done. 10. A just man shall be gladdened in the Lord, and hope in Him. And all the upright in heart shall be praised. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

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THE NINTH KATHISMA

PSALM 64 In the end, a psalm of song to David. 1. God of Sion, to you belongs the praise; and unto you shall a vow be rendered in Jerusalem. 2. Listen to a prayer of mine; unto you shall all flesh come. 3. Words of iniquitous men have overpowered us; and you will pardon our impieties. 4. Without death is the man whom you have chosen and accepted; he shall dwell in your courts; we shall be filled with the good things of your house; holy is your temple, and wonderful in justice. 5. Hearken unto us, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of them that are afar away on the sea; 6. Who by his strength prepares mountains, being himself girded with power; 7. Who jolts the abyss of the sea; who can stand the roar of its waves? The nations shall be in a tumult, 8. And they that dwell in the uttermost parts shall be afraid at your tokens. You make the outgoings of the morning and the evening happy. 9. You have looked down upon the earth, and have made it drunk; you have greatly enriched it; the river of God has been filled with waters; you have prepared their food, for thus is the preparation. 10. Make its furrows drunk; make its produce plentiful. In the drops shall it rejoice when it goes forth. 11. You shall bless the crown of the year of your goodness, and your fields shall be filled with fatness. 12. The beauty spots of the wilderness shall be fattened, and the hills shall clothe themselves with rejoicing. 13. The rams of the sheep have clothed themselves, and the valleys shall be plentiful with grain. They shall cry out, and indeed shall sing hymns.

PSALM 65 In the end, a song of Psalm and Resurrection. 1. Shout aloud to God, all the earth; 2. Sing unto to his name; give glory in praise of him. 3. Say unto God, how awesome are your works. Through the multitude of your powers your enemies shall deny you. 4. Let all the earth worship you and sing praises to you; they shall sing to your name, Most High. 5. Come and behold the works of God; he is more awesome in his deliberations than the sons of men. 6. He turned the sea into dry land; they shall cross the river on foot. There we shall rejoice in him, who rules by his power for the ages; 44

7. His eyes look down on the nations; let not the rebellious exalt themselves. 8. Bless our God, you nations, and make the sound of his praise to be heard; 9. Who establishes my soul in life, and does not allow my feet to stumble. 10. For you, God, have tried us; you have refined us as silver is tried by fire. 11. You led us into the trap; You laid affliction on our backs. 12. You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; but you brought us out into refreshment. 13. I will go into your house with whole-burnt offerings; to you will I pay my vows. 14. Which my lips have uttered and my mouth has spoken when I was in affliction. 15. I will offer you whole-burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. 16. Come and hear, and I will tell you, all you who fear God, what he has done for my soul. 17. I cried unto him with my mouth, and extolled him with my tongue. 18. If I regarded injustice in my heart, let the Lord not listen to me. 19. For this very reason God has heard me; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

PSALM 66 In the end, in hymns, a psalm of song to David 1. May God pity us and bless us; and cause his countenance to shine upon us, and unto us be merciful. 2. That your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. 3. Let peoples give thanks to you, God; let all people give thanks to you. 4. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for you shall judge the people justly, and will guide the nations on the earth. 5. Let the peoples give thanks to you, God; let all the peoples give thanks to you. 6. The earth has yielded her fruit; may God our God, bless us. 7. May God bless us, and let all the ends of the earth fear Him. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 67 In the end a Psalm of song to David 1. Let God arise; let his enemies be scattered; let those that hate him flee from before his face. 2. As smoke vanishes, so let them vanish; as wax melts before the fire, so let the sinners perish at the presence of God. 3. But let the just be glad; let them rejoice in the presence of God, let them be delighted in gladness. 4. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name; prepare the way for him that rides upon the sunsets, his name is Lord, and so rejoice before him. 5. Let them be jolted at the presence of him, the father of the orphans and the judge of widows, 45

6. God is in his sanctuary. God settles the solitary in a house; bringing out the prisoners who were bound; likewise the rebellious dwelling in graves. 7. God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness. 8. The earth quaked; the heavens also dropped at the presence of the God of Sinai, at the presence of the God of Israel. 9. God, you shall send a voluntary rain to your inheritance, and it became weak, but you have refreshed it. 10. Your animals shall dwell therein; God, you prepared it in your goodness for the poor man 11. The Lord shall give the word to those preaching the Gospel with great power. 12. The King of the powers of the beloved one, to divide the spoils with the beauty of the house. 13. If you sleep among the clergy, yet shall your lot be as wings of a dove covered with silver, and her crest with the brilliance of gold. 14. When the Heavenly One designates kings over it, they shall be clad as with snow in Selmon. 15. The mountain of God is a fat mountain, a cheese-covered mountain, a fat mountain. 16. What do you suppose, you cheese-covered mountains, that the mountain of wherein it was Gods good will to dwell in is for? And the Lord will dwell thereupon in the end. 17. The chariots of God are ten thousand-fold, even thousands of thousands; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. 18. You have ascended on high, you have led captivity captive; you have received gifts for men, even for them that have refused to dwell there. 19. Blessed be the Lord God, blessed is the Lord every day; may the God of our salvation, our God who saves, prosper us along the way. 20. Our God is the God of salvation; and to the Lord belongs the issues of death. 21. But God will crush the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of the one who continues in his trespasses. 22. The Lord said, I will return from Bashan, I will return in the depths of the sea, 23. That because of your enemies, your foot may be dipped in blood and the tongues of your dogs. 24. They have seen your procession, God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary. 25. The rulers came before, followed by choristers, chanting among damsels acting as drummers. 26. Bless God in the churches of the fountain of Israel. 27. There is Benjamin the younger in ecstasy, the princes of Judah are their rulers, the princes of Zebulon and the princes of Nephtali. 28. Give the command, God, with your power, strengthen, God, what you have effected in us. 29. From your temple on Jerusalem, kings shall bring gifts to you. 30. Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds, the congregation of bulls among the heifers of the peoples, is minded to have those tried with silver shut up. Do you scatter the peoples who want war. 31. Ambassadors shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hand to God. 32. Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; Sing praises to the Lord; 33. Sing to God who rides on the heaven of heavens eastwards; behold, he shall send out a voice of power with his voice. 34. Ascribe glory to God; his magnificence is over Israel, and his power is in the clouds. 35. Wonderful is God in his saints; the God of Israel will give power and fortitude to his people. Blessed is God. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . . 46

PSALM 68 In the end, for those who are to become unlike themselves, a Psalm to David. 1. God, save me, for waters have come up unto my soul. I am stuck in deep mire, and there is no bottom to stand upon; 2. I am come into the depths of the sea, and a storm has overwhelmed me. 3. I am weary with my crying; my throat is hoarse; mine eyes are failing from my hoping in my God. 4. They who hate me without cause have become more numerous than the hairs of my head; they that would destroy me, wrongfully being my enemies, have become mighty; what I had not taken, I then had to restore. 5. God, you have discerned my folly; and my transgressions have not been hidden from you. 6. Lord God of the powers, let not them that wait upon you be ashamed for my sake; neither let not those who seek you, God of Israel, be confounded for my sake. 7. Because for your sake I have borne reproach, shame has covered my face. 8. I have became a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mothers sons; 9. For the zeal of your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproach you are fallen on me. 10. And I concealed my soul with fasting, and that became the cause of my reproach. 11. And I made sackcloth my garment; and I became a parable to them. 12. Those that sit in the gate babbled against me, and those drinking wine sang about me. 13. But as for me, with my prayer unto you, Lord, I await the time of your good will; God, in the plentitude of your mercy, hear me in the truth of your salvation. 14. Save me from the mire, and let me not be stuck therein; may I be rescued from those who hate me, and from out of the deep waters. 15. Let not the squall of water overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up; and let not a pit shut its mouth on me. 16. Hear me, Lord, for your mercy is good; turn to me according to the multitude of your tender pities. 17. Turn not your face away from your servant, for I am troubled; hear me speedily. 18. Attend to my soul, and redeem it; deliver me because of mine enemies. 19. For you know my reproach, and my shame, and confusion; my oppressors are all before you. 20. My soul has expected reproach and hardship; accordingly I waited patiently for someone to take pity, but there was no one, and for comforters, but I found none. 21. And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 22. Let their table become a snare before them, and become a retribution and a trap. 23. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; and bend their backs together permanently. 24. Pour out your wrath upon them, and may the anger of your wrath overtake them. 25. Let their habitation be made desolate; let none dwell in their tents. 26. For they have persecuted him whom you have smitten, and they have added to the pains of my wounds. 27. Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them not come into your justice. 28. Let them be wiped out of the book of the living, and let them not be written with the just. 29. But I am poor and in pain; let your salvation, God, quickly help me. 47

30. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him in praise. 31. And it shall please the Lord more so than a young bullock, that has horns and hooves. 32. The poor shall see this and be gladdened; seek God and your souls shall live. 33. For the Lord has heard the poor, and does not disregard his prisoners. 34. Let heavens and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moves in them. 35. For God will save Sion, and the cities of Judea will be built, and they shall dwell there and inherit it. 36. And the seed of your servants shall possess it, and those who love his name shall dwell therein.

PSALM 69 In the end, to David, in remembrance, asking to save me, O Lord. 1. God, attend to my help, Lord, help me speedily. 2 Let them be shamed and confounded that seek my soul; let them be turned backward and .. put to shame that desire my harm. 3. Let them be turned back in shame immediately who say, well done, well done. 4. Let all those who seek you rejoice and take cheer in you, God; and let them that love your salvation perpetually say: the Lord be magnified. 5. But I am poor and needy; help me, God. You are my helper and my deliverer; Lord do not delay. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

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THE TENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 70 To David, a Psalm of the sons of Jonadeb and of the first to be taken captives; without a superscription in Hebrew. 1. In you, Lord, have I hoped; may I not be put to shame unto the ages. 2. Deliver me in your justice and cause me to escape; incline your ear to me, and save me. 3. Be unto me a defending God, and a strong place to save me; for you are my firm support and refuge. 4. My God, deliver me out of the hand of a sinner, out of the hand of a transgressor and unjust man. 5. Lord, you are my endurance, my hope Lord, from my youth. 6. By you I have been protected from the womb; You are he who took me out of my mothers belly. My praise shall be continually of you. 7. I am become as a portentous sign unto many, but you are my mighty helper. 8. Let my mouth be filled with praise that I may sing of your glory and majesty all the day long. 9. Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength fails. 10. For my enemies have spoken against me; and they who lay wait for my soul took counsel together, 11. Saying, God has abandoned him; pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him. 12. My God, do not be far from me; my God, attend to my assistance. 13. Let them be ashamed and brought to naught that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with shame and disgrace that seek evils for me. 14. But I will hope in you continually, and will praise you even more. 15. My mouth shall declare your justice and your salvation all the day long, for I have not learned literatures; 16. I will enter therein in the dominion of the Lord; Lord, I will make mention of your justice which is yours alone. 17. My God, you have taught me from my youth until now; I will declare your wondrous works. 18. Now also when I am old and elderly, my God, do not forsake me, until I declare your strong arm to all the coming generations. 19. Your dominion and your justice, God, even to the very highest, what great things you have done for me. God, who is like you? 20. All the many and evil afflictions you have shown me, and you turned and have enlivened me, and from the abyss of the earth have you brought me up again. 21. You have increased your greatness upon me, and returning, you have comforted me, and from the abyss of the earth you have brought me up again. 22. Lord God, I will also praise your truth with singing vessels, among the peoples; I will sing unto you with a kithara, Holy One of Israel. 23. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto you, and my soul which you have redeemed. 24. My tongue shall meditate your justice all the day long; when they have been shamed and confounded who seek my harm.

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PSALM 71 In the end, for Solomon, a Psalm to David 1. God, give the king your judgments, and your justice unto the kings son. 2. To judge your people with justice, and your poor with judgment. 3. Let the mountains restore peace to the people, and the hills justice. 4. He shall judge the poor of the people; and shall save the children of the needy, and shall humble a slanderer. 5. And he shall endure as long as the sun and before the moon, he shall remain from generation to generation. 6. He shall come down like rain upon a fleece, like raindrops dropping on the earth. 7. In his days justice shall flourish, an abundance of peace, as long as the moon endures. 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the inhabited earth. 9. Ethiopians shall fall down before him, and his enemies shall lick the earth. 10. The kings of Tarshish and isles shall offer gifts; the kings of the Arabians and Sava will offer gifts. 11. And all the kings of the earth shall adore him; all nations shall serve him. 12. For he has rescued the poor man from the oppressor, also the needy man who had no helper. 13. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 14. He will redeem their souls from usury and justice; his name shall be honorable in their eyes. 15. And he shall live; and to him will be given the gold of Arabia; and they shall pray concerning him continually, and all the day long shall they bless him. 16. There shall be a support in the earth, upon the tops of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall be lifted above Lebanon; and they shall flourish from a city like grass of the earth. 17. His name shall be blessed for ever; his name shall endure as long as the sun; and in him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all nations shall call him blessed. 18. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. 19. And blessed be his glorious name unto the ages and unto the ages of ages; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. May is be so. May it be so. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

PSALM 72 A Psalm to Asaph, a song to the Assyrian. 1. How good God is to Israel, to such as are upright in heart. 2. But as for me, my feet nearly wavered; my steps almost swerved. 3. For I was envious at the iniquitous, when I saw the peace of sinners. 4. For there is no mournfulness in their death, and are firm in their scourging. 5. They are not in the labors of men, nor will they be scourged together with men. 6. Therefore pride took hold of them in the end; they clad themselves in their own injustice and impiety.

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7. Their injustice will come out like fatness out of marrow; they have passed into a disposition of heart. 8. They thought and spoke wickedly; they spoke injustice on high. 9. They set their mouths against the heavens, and they walked upon the earth. 10. Therefore shall my people return here, and full days shall be found in them. 11. And they say, How did God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High? 12. Behold, these sinners who prosper in this age, have possessed themselves of wealth. 13. And I said, surely have I kept justice in my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. 14. I have been scourged all the day long, and have been reproving myself in the mornings. 15. If I say, I will speak in this way: behold, I should offend against the generation of your children. 16. When I thought how to know this, it was too painful for me; 17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. 18. Nevertheless, on account of their deceitful practices, you did inflict evils upon them; you cast them down when they exalted themselves. 19. How they came to desolation! As in a moment they vanished; they were utterly consumed on account of their iniquity. 20. As a dream when one awakens, so, Lord, in your city you shall destroy their image. 21. For my heart was burned, and my innards became unlike themselves; 22. And I became contemptible and knew it not; I became beastly beside you. 23. Nevertheless I was continually with you; you have held me by my right hand. 24. And you did guide me in your counsel, and with glory have you received me. 25. For what is there for me in heaven? and what do I want on earth? 26. My heart and my flesh have failed, but God is the strength of my heart; and God is my portion for ever. 27. For behold, they that remove themselves far from you shall perish; you have destroyed all those who go whoring from you. 28. But it is good for me to draw near to God, to place my hope in the Lord, that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Sion.

PSALM 73 Of understanding to Asaph. 1. O God, why have you cast us off unto the end? Why has your anger increasingly raged against the sheep of your pasture? 2. Remember your congregation which you have acquired of old, you have redeemed a rod of your inheritance; this is Mount Sion in which you have dwelled. 3. Lift up your hands against their arrogance in the end; all that the enemy has done wickedly in your holy one. 4. And those hating you have boasted of it in the midst of your feast; they set up their ensigns for signs. 5. And they did not discern as in the exodus above; as in a forest of trees, with hatchets they cut out her doors together. 6. With an ax and a chisel they broke her down. 51

7. They have burned down your sanctuary with fire; they have defiled the tabernacle of your name to the ground. 8. Together with their kindred they said in their hearts, Come, let us abolish all the feasts of God from their land. 9. We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet; and no longer will he know us. 10. God, how long shall the enemy reproach; shall the adversary insult your name in the end? 11. Why do you turn your hand away, even your right hand out of the midst of your bosom in the end? 12. But God is our King from before the ages, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13. You capacitated the sea by your power; you crushed the heads of dragons on the water. 14. You did smash the head of the dragon, and gave him as food to the people of Ethiopia. 15. You cleaved the fountain and the torrents; you dried up the rivers etham. 16. The day is yours, the night is also yours; you have prepared the light and the sun. 17. You have made all the beautiful things of the earth, summer and springtime; You have formed them. 18. Remember this, an enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people has insulted your name. 19. Do not deliver to the wild beasts a soul confessing unto you. Do not forget the soul of your poor in the end. 20. Look down upon your covenant; for the darkened places of the earth have been filled with houses of iniquities. 21. Let not him that has been humbled and shamed be turned away; the indigent and poor man shall praise your name. 22. Arise, O God, judge your own cause; remember how the foolish man reproaches you all the day long. 23. Forget not the voice of your own suppliants; the pride of those who hate you ascends continually before you.

PSALM 74 In the end, destroy not, A Psalm of song to Asaph. 1. God, we shall give thanks unto you, we shall give thanks to you, and shall call upon your name. I will declare all your wonders. 2. When I establish the time, I myself will judge what is due. 3. The land and all its inhabitants are dissolved; I myself established its pillars. 4. I told the transgressors, do not transgress, and to the sinners, do not raise your horn. 5. Do not lift up your horn on high; and do not speak injustice against God. 6. For neither from the exit (east) nor from the west nor from the desert mountains: 7. For God is Judge: He humbles one, and exalts another. 8. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup of a mixture of strong wine; and he pours it out from one into the other; but the dregs thereof are not emptied; all the sinners of the earth shall drink of them. 9. But I will rejoice for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10. I will crush all the horns of sinners, and the horn of the just shall be exalted.

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PSALM 75 In the end, in hymns, a Psalm to Asaph, a song at the Assyrian. 1. In Judea God is known; his name is great in Israel. 2. And his abode became in peace, and his habitation in Sion. 3. There he crushed the powers of bows, the shield and sword, and the war. 4.You enlighten wonderfully from mountains from the ages. 5. All the foolish of heart have been embittered; they have slept their sleep; and none of the men of wealth have found anything in their hands. 6. God of Jacob, from your rebuke those riding on the horses have become sleepy. 7. You are to be feared; and who can withstand you? Your wrath is from that time. 8. You did cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was silent, 9. When God arose in judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. 10. For a mans concern shall praise you with thanks; and leavings of the concern shall celebrate you. 11. Make vows, and pay them to the Lord our God; all who are around him shall bring gifts unto him, who ought to be feared, 12. And who shall cut off the spirits of rulers; fearful to the kings of the earth.

PSALM 76 In the end, For Jeduthun, a Psalm to Asaph. 1. I cried unto to the Lord with my voice; even to God with my voice; and he was attentive to me. 2. In the day of mine affliction I sought out God; with my hands uplifted before him by night; and I was not deceived. My soul refused to be comforted. 3. I remembered God, and was gladdened; I spoke idly, and became despondent 4. Mine eyes anticipated watches; I was troubled, and did not speak. 5. I considered the days of old, and years of ages past. 6. And I meditated in the night with my heart; I discoursed, and my spirit searched diligently. 7. Will the Lord reject us forever? And will he never again be favorable? 8. Or in the end will he cut off his mercy? Has he performed his promise from generation to generation? 9. Will God forget to have pity? Or will he restrain his pities in his wrath? 10. And I said, now I have begun; this change is from the right hand of the Most High. 11. I remembered the Lords works; for I will remember your wonders of old. 12. And I will meditate in all your works, and in your doings will I discourse. 13. Your way, God, is in the sanctuary; What God is so great as our God? 14. You are the God who does wonders; you have declared your power among the peoples. 15. With your arm have you redeemed your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. 16. Waters saw you, God; waters saw you, and became afraid; the abysses were also troubled. 17. Great was the sound of the waters and clouds sent forth a voice; your arrows also went through. 53

18. The voice of your thunder in its rolling; your lightnings appeared to the inhabited world; the earth quaked and trembled. 19. Your ways are in the sea, and your path in many waters, and your footsteps shall not become known. 20. You led your people as sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

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THE ELEVENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 77 Of understanding to Asaph. 1. My people, give attention to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2. I will open my mouth in parables; I will speak of problems from the beginning, 3. What we have heard and known which our fathers have told us. 4. It has not been hidden from their children, to another generation, for they recite the praises of the Lord and his mighty actions and his wonderful works which he has done. 5. And he raised up a testimony in Jacob, and has appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make known to their children; 6. That the generation to come might know them, even the children yet to be born, that they may stand up and recite them to their children, 7. That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8. And might not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. 9. Sons of Ephraim, bending and shooting with their bows turned back in flight in the day of battle. 10. They did not keep the covenant of God; and refused to walk in his law. 11. They also forgot his benefactions and his wonders which he had shown them. 12. The marvelous things he did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis. 13. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters stand as if in a wineskin. 14. He guided them with the cloud by day, and with a light of fire throughout the night. 15. He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as in great depths. 16. He drew water out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. 17. And they sinned even more against him by provoking the Most High in the desert. 18. And they tempted God in their hearts by demanding foods for their souls. 19. They spoke against God: they said, can God prepare a table in the wilderness? 20. When he struck a rock and waters gushed out, and the torrents overflowed: But can he give bread also? Or prepare a table for his people? 21. Therefore did the Lord hear this and was provoked; and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath rose up against Israel, 22. Because they did not believe in God, and did not hope in his salvation. 23. Though he had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, 24. And had rained down manna on them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven. 25. Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food to satiety. 26. He removed the south wind from the heavens; and by his might he brought in the southwest wind. 27. He also rained meat on them like clay, feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; 28. And they fell in the midst of their camp, all around their tents. 29. So they ate and were well filled, for he gave them their own desire. 55

30. They were not deprived of their desire; but while their food was still in their mouths, 31. The wrath of God came against them, and slew their choice ones, and laid low the most elect of Israel. 32. For all of this they still sinned, and did not believe in his wonderful works. 33. Accordingly, their days disappeared in vanity, and their years in anxiety. 34. While he was slaying them, then they sought him out; and they turned back and enquired early after God. 35. And they remembered that God was their helper, and the Most High God their redeemer. 36. And yet they loved him with their mouths, and they lied to him with their tongues; 37. For their hearts were not upright with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. 38. But he is full of pity and gracious to their sins, and will not destroy them. And many a time will he turn his anger away, and did not kindle all his wrath; 39. For he remembered that they were but flesh, a spirit that passes from them and does not return. 40. How often did they embitter him in the wilderness, and enrage him in the desert. 41. And yet, they returned and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 42. They did not remember his hand: nor the day when he redeemed them from the hand of those who afflicted them. 43. How he had performed his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the plain of Tanis; 44. And had changed their rivers and streams into blood so that they might not drink. 45. He sent swarms of dog flies which ate them up, and an army of frogs, and it destroyed them. 46. He also gave their crops to the mildew, and their labor to the locust. 47. He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost. 48. He also gave up their cattle to the hail, and their produce to fiery lightning. 49. He sent upon them the wrath of his anger, wrath and affliction, by sending evil angels among them. 50. He made a pathway for his wrath and did not spare their souls from death, and consigned their cattle to death. 51. And he smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, the first of their every labor in the tabernacles of Ham. 52. And he took away his people like sheep, and guided them like a flock in the wilderness; 53. And he guided them in hope, so that they did not fear; and the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54. And he brought them to a mountain of his sanctuary, that mountain which his right hand had acquired. 55. He also drove out the heathen from their presence, and divided them an inheritance by portions, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. 56. Yet they tempted and embittered the Most High God, and did not keep his testimonies, 57. And they turned away and broke the covenant as did their fathers; they turned themselves like a warped bow. 58. For they enraged him in their hills, and moved him to jealousy in their carved images. 59. God heard this, and disregarded them and he held Israel in exceeding contempt. 60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, a tent which he had pitched among men. 61. And he gave their strength into captivity, their beauty into the hands of enemies. 62. And he consigned his people to the sword, and disregarded his inheritance. 63. Fire devoured their young men, and their virgins were not mourned for. 64. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows were not wept over. 56

65. Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man drunk with wine. 66. And he smote his enemies in the rear; he put them in perpetual reproach. 67. Moreover he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, 68. And chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Sion which he loved. 69. And he built his sanctuary like that of a unicorn in the land; he established it for ever. 70. He chose David as his servant, and took him from his flocks of sheep; 71. From following the ewes great with young he took him to shepherd Jacob his servant, and Israel his inheritance. 72. Accordingly he shepherded them with the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillful understanding of his hands.

PSALM 78 A Psalm to Asaph. 1. God, the heathen have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have made Jerusalem a fruit stall. 2. They gave the dead bodies of your servants as food for the fowl of the heavens, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth. 3. They shed their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them who are around us. 5. How long, Lord, will you be wroth in the end? Shall your jealousy burn like fire? 6. Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name. 7. For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place. 8. Do not remember former iniquities against us. Let your pities speedily overtake us, for we are exceedingly impoverished. 9. Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; Lord, deliver us, be gracious to our sins for your names sake. 10. Lest the heathen say, where is their God? And let the revenging of the blood of your servants which has been shed become known among the heathen before our eyes. 11. Let the groaning of the prisoner come before you; according to the greatness of your power take care of the children of them who have been put to death. 12. Render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach with which they have reproached you, Lord. 13. But we are your people and sheep of your pasture, so we will give you bouquets of thanksgiving unto the ages; and we will declare your praise from generation to generation.

PSALM 79 In the end, for those who are to become unlike themselves, a testimony to Asaph, A Psalm for the Assyrian. 1. Attend, Shepherd of Israel, you who leads Joseph like a flock; 2. You who sits upon the Cherubim, be manifest before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses; 57

arouse your strength, and come and save us. 3. God, return us back, and cause your countenance to shine, and we shall be saved. 4. Lord God of the powers, how long will you be wroth against the prayer of your servants? 5. How long will you feed them with bread of tears, and give them tears to drink in measure? 6. You have made us a contradiction unto our neighbors, and our enemies have scorned us. 7. God of the powers, return us back; cause your countenance to shine, and we shall be saved. 8. You have brought a vine out of Egypt; you have cast out the heathen and planted it. 9. You prepared a way before it, and caused it to take deep root, and it filled the land. 10. The hills were covered with its shadow, and the bows covered the cedars of God. 11. It has sent out its boughs to the sea, and its branches to the rivers. 12. Why have you broken down its hedges, so that all who pass by the way pluck it? 13. A boar out of the forest ravaged it, and the wild beast of the field has devoured it. 14. God of the powers, return, we beseech you; look down from heaven and behold and shepherd this vine. 15. And establish that which your right hand has planted, and upon the son of man, whom you have strengthened for yourself. 16. It is consumed by fire, it is dug up; they shall perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 17. Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, upon the son of man whom you made strong for yourself. 18. So we will not go back on you; you shall enliven us, and we will call upon your name. 19. Lord God of the powers, turn us back; shine your countenance upon us, and we shall be saved. PSALM 80 In the end, for the vineyards, a Psalm to Asaph 1. Rejoice in God our helper; shout aloud to the God of Jacob. 2. Take a psalm, and bring here the timbrel, the pleasant psaltery with the kithara. 3. Sound the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 4. For it is a command to Israel, and a statute to the God of Jacob. 5. This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out from the land of Egypt; he heard a language which he did not understand. 6. He removed the burdens from his back; his hands slaved in the basket. 7. In affliction did you call upon me, and I delivered you. I answered you in a secret storm; I tried you on the waters of contradiction. 8. Listen to me, my people, and I will testify unto you; if you listen to me. 9. There shall be no strange god in you, neither shall you bow down to any alien god. 10. For I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 11. But my people did not listen to my voice; and Israel would give no attention to me. 12. So I gave them up to their own hearts inclinations. They shall walk in their own way. 13. If my people had listened unto me, if Israel had walked in my ways. 14. I should soon have humbled their enemies, and laid my hand upon their oppressors. 15. The enemies of the Lord have lied to him, and their time shall be for ever. 16. And he fed them with the finest of wheat, and with honey out of the rock he satisfied them.

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PSALM 81 A Psalm for Asaph. 1. God stood in the congregation of the gods; in the midst he will hold judgment. 2. How long will you judge with injustice, and accept the persons of sinners? 3. Defend the orphan and the poor man, do justice to the humble and indigent man. 4. Acquit an indigent and poor man; rescue him from the hand of a sinner. 5. They have not learned, neither have they understood; they are walking in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken out of place. 6. I have said, you are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. 7. However, you shall die like men, and fall as one of the rulers. 8. Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations.

PSALM 82 A song of psalm to Asaph. 1. God, who shall be compared to you? God, do not keep silent, nor be ready to mitigate. 2. For behold, your enemies have made a noise; and they that hate you have raised their heads. 3. They have taken crafty counsel against your people, and have consulted against your holy ones. 4. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no longer remembered. 5. For they have consulted with single-mindedness, against you have they covenanted. 6. The tabernacles of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagarenes; 7. Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8. Assur is also joined with them; they have come to help the children of Lot. 9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kishon, 10. They perished at Endor, they became as dung for the earth. 11. Make their rulers like Oreb like Zeeb, like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12. All their rulers who said, Let us inherit for ourselves the sanctuary of God. 13. My God, make them like a wheel; as stubble in the face of the wind. 14. As a fire that sets a forest afire, and as a flame which will burn down mountains. 15. So persecute them with your tempest, and make them tremble with your wrath. 16. Lord, fill their faces with dishonor, and they will seek your name,. 17. Let them be ashamed and troubled unto ages of ages; and then let them be put to shame, and perish, 18. And let them know that your name is Lord, that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

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PSALM 83 In the end, for the vineyards, to the sons of Korah. 1. How loving are your tabernacles, Lord of the powers. 2. My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh are gladdened in the living God. 3. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young; even your altars, Lord of the powers, my King and my God. 4. Without death are those who dwell in your house; they will still be praising you unto the ages of ages. 5. Without death is the man whose has assistance from you; he has arranged ways of ascent in his heart. 6. To the valley of the weeping place, to the place he has prepared, for the lawgiver will give blessings. 7. They go from power to power; the God of gods shall be seen in Sion. 8. Lord God of the powers, hearken to my prayer; give ear, God of Jacob. 9. Behold God our defender, and look down upon the countenance of your anointed. 10. For better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tabernacles of sinners. 11. For the Lord loves mercy and truth; he will grant grace and glory; He will not withhold any good thing from those who walk innocently. 12. Lord of the powers, without death is the man who hopes in you.

PSALM 84 In the end, to the sons of Korah. 1. Lord, you have shown your good will to your land; you have turned back the captivity of Jacob. 2. You have forgiven the iniquities of your people; you have covered all their sins. 3. You have ceased all your wrath; you have turned back from the wrath of your anger. 4. Return us back, God of our salvation, and turn away your anger from us. 5. Will you be wrathful with us for ever? or will you prolong your wrath from generation to generation? 6. God, you will turn us back and enliven us, and your people will rejoice in you. 7. Show us your mercy, Lord, and give us your salvation. 8. I will listen to what the Lord God will speak within me, for he will speak peace upon his people and upon his devout; and upon them that turn their hearts back to him. 9. Surely his salvation is close unto them that fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. 10. Mercy and truth are met together; justice and peace have kissed each other. 11. Truth is risen up out of the earth, and justice has shown down from heaven. 12. And the Lord shall give goodness; and the earth shall yield her fruit. 13. Justice shall go before him, and shall keep his footsteps to the way. Glory . . . Now . . .Alleluia 60

THE TWELFTH KATHISMA

PSALM 85 A prayer to David. 1. Lord, incline your ear, hearken to me; for I am poor and indigent. 2. Protect my soul, for I am devout; save your servant, my God, who hopes in you. 3. Be merciful unto me, Lord, for unto you I cry all the day long. 4. Gladden the soul of your servant, for unto you, O Lord, I have raised up my soul. 5. For you, Lord, are good, and lenient, and plenteous in mercy to all them that call upon you. 6. Lord, give ear unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplication. 7. In the day of mine affliction I called upon you, for you have answered me. 8. Among gods there is none like unto you, Lord; neither is there one to do your works. 9. All the nations that you have made shall come and bow down before you, Lord, and shall glorify your name. 10. For you are great, and you do wonderful things; you alone are God. 11. Lord, teach me your way, and I will walk in your truth; let my heart rejoice that I may fear your name. 12. I will give thanks to you, Lord my God, with all of my heart, and I will glorify your name unto the ages. 13. For great is your mercy toward me, and you have delivered my soul from the depths of Hades. 14. God, lawbreakers have risen against me, and a congregation of mighty men have sought after my soul, and have not set you before them. 15. But you, Lord, my God are full of pity and merciful, greatly forbearing , plenteous in mercy and truthful. 16. Look down upon me, and have mercy on me; give your dominion to your servant, and save the son of your handmaiden. 17. Show me a sign for good, and let them that hate me see it and be ashamed, because you have helped me, Lord, and have comforted me.

PSALM 86 To the sons of Korah, a psalm of song. 1. His foundations are in the holy mountains. 2. The Lord loves the gates of Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3. City of God, glorious things have been spoken of you. 4. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me; and behold the Philistines and Tyre, and the people of Ethiopia, they have been born there. 5. A man shall say Mother Sion, and a man has been born in her; and he the Most High himself has founded her. 6. The Lord will declare this in a report of the peoples and their rulers that have been born there. 7. How cheerful are all that dwell therein! 61

PSALM 87 To the Sons of Korah, a Psalm of Song 1. Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you. 2. Let my prayer come before you; Lord, incline your ear to my supplication. 3. For my soul is full of evils, and my life draws near to Hades. 4. I was counted with them that go down to the pit; I became like a helpless man, 5. Free among the dead, like wounded men sleeping in a tomb, whom you have not remembered, and who are thrust away out of your hand. 6. You have laid me in the lowest pit, into darkness, and in the shadow of death. 7. Your anger lies hard upon me, all your billows have been brought upon me. 8. You placed my acquaintances far from me; they have made me an abomination to themselves; I was handed over, and did not walk out; 9. Mine eyes weakened from poverty and I cried out to you, Lord, all day long; I stretched out my hands to you. 10. Will you do wondrous things to the dead? or shall physicians raise them to offer thanks to you? 11. Shall anyone declare your mercy in the tomb? or your truth in perdition? 12. Shall your wonders be known in darkness, and your justice in a forgotten land? 13. But I have cried unto you, Lord, and in the morning shall my prayer reach up to you. 14. Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you turn your face away from me? 15. I am poor, and in toil since my youth; I was exalted, then humbled and left without resource. 16. Your outbursts of wrath have passed over on me: your threats have disquieted me. 17. They have encompassed me about like water; all day long they have squeezed me together. 18. You have put far from me friend and neighbor, and mine acquaintances from hardship. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

PSALM 88 Of understanding to Ethan the Israelite. 1. Lord, I will sing of your mercies unto the ages; with my mouth will I declare your truth unto generation and generation. 2. For you have said, mercy shall be built forever; your truth shall be made ready in the heavens. 3. I have made a covenant with my chosen ones, I have sworn to my servant David: 4. Your seed I will establish at the end of the age, and build up your throne unto generation and generation. 5. Lord, the heavens will confess your wonders, and your truth in the church of the saints. 6. For who in the clouds can be considered equal to the Lord? and who among the sons of God can be likened unto the Lord? 7. The God who is invested in glory in the counsel of saints is great and greatly to be feared by all them that are around him. 8. Lord, God of the powers, who is like unto you? You are strong and your truth is round about you. 62

9. You are dominator over the might of the sea; you calm the unrest of its waves. 10. You have humbled a proud man like a wounded man; with the arm of your might have you scattered your enemies. 11. The heavens are yours, the earth is yours; as for the world and all its fullness, you have founded them. 12. You have created the north wind and the sea; Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name. 13. You have a mighty arm; let your hand be strengthened, let your right hand be raised high. 14. Justice and judgment are preparation for your throne; mercy and truth shall go before your face. 15. Without death are the people that know jubilation. Lord, they shall walk in the light of your countenance. 16. All day long they rejoice in your name, and they shall be exalted in your justice. 17. For you are the exultation of their strength, and in your good will our horn is exalted. 18. For our assistance is from the Lord, from our holy king of Israel. 19. Then you spoke in a vision to your sons, and said, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of my people. 20. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, 21. For my hand shall lend him assistance; and my arm shall afford him strength. 22. An enemy shall not have advantage over him, and a son of iniquity shall not succeed in harming him. 23. And I will lay low his foes before his face, and rout them that hate him. 24. But my truth and my mercy shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25. Also I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. 26. He shall cry to me, you are my Father, my God, and the helper of my salvation. 27. And I will make him my first born, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28. My mercy will I keep for him forever, and my covenant shall stand firm with him. 29. And I will make his seed endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. 30. If his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgments, 31. If they profane my rights and do not keep my commandments, 32. Then I will visit their iniquities with the rod, and their injustices with a scourge. 33. Nevertheless I will not utterly withdraw my mercy from them, nor will I wrong them in truth. 34. Nor will I profane my covenant, and I will not disregard whatever passes through my lips. 35. Once I have sworn by my holiness; that I will not lie unto David. 36. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me; 37. It shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky. 38. But you have cast off and disdained, you have been wroth with your Christ. 39. You have destroyed the covenant with your servant; you have profaned his sanctuary by razing it to the ground. 40. You have broken down all his hedges; you have made his strongholds cowardice. 41. All who pass by the way have despoiled him; He is become a reproach to his neighbors. 42. You have raised the right hand of his enemies; you have gladdened all his enemies. 43. You have also turned away the help of his sword, and have not assisted him in war. 44.You have made an end of his purification; you have cast his throne down to the ground. 45. You have shortened the days of his time; You have covered him with shame. 46. Lord, how long will you turn away in the end? How long shall your wrath burn like fire? 47. Remember my substance; have you created the sons of men in vain?

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48. Who is the man that shall live, and shall not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the hand of Hades? 49. Lord, where are your mercies from days of old, which you swore unto David in your truth? 50. Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants; which I have borne in my bosom of many nations; 51. By which your enemies have reproached, Lord, by which they have reproached the redemption of your Christ. 52. Blessed be the Lord for ever. May it be so. May it be so. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia

PSALM 89 A prayer of Moses to a man of God. 1. Lord, you have been our refuge from generation to generation. 2. Before the mountains came into existence, or the earth and the world were formed, even from ages to ages, you exist . 3. Turn not man back to humbleness; and you said, turn back you sons of men. 4. For a thousand years in your eyes are but as yesterday, which has passed, and as a watch in the night. 5. Minima shall be their years; In the morning like grass he passes away; 6. In the morning he may flourish and pass away; in the evening he falls, is dry and withered. 7. For we are consumed by your wrath, and troubled by your anger. 8. You have set our iniquities before you, our years in the light of your countenance. 9. For all our days are faded away, our years have I meditated, are like a spider. 10. The days of our years are seventy; but if one is strong they may be eighty years, yet more is toil and grief, for meekness has come over us, and we shall be chastened. 11. Who knows the power of your wrath? and from your fear how to count out your anger? 12. So make me acquainted with your right hand, and them that have been chastened in heart in wisdom. 13. Lord, return, how long? And comfort your servants. 14. Lord, we have been filled with your mercy in the morning, and have rejoiced, and we have been gladdened in all our days. 15. May we be gladdened in compensation for the days wherein you have humbled us, and for the years in which we have seen evils. 16. And look after your servants, and after your work, and guide their sons. 17. And let the radiance of the Lord our God be upon us, and do you direct the work of our hands; yea, do you direct the work of our hands.

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PSALM 90 Praise to be sung to David without a superscription In the Hebrew 1. He that dwells in the help of the Most High, shall abide under the shelter of the God of heaven. 2. He will say unto the Lord, my God, you are my helper, and my refuge; and I will hope in him. 3. For he will deliver you from the trap of the hunters and from tumultuous words. 4. He shall overshadow you with his crest, and under his wings shall you hope; his truth shall encompass you with a shield. 5. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night; nor the arrow that flies by day, 6. Nor for anything that walks in darkness, nor for the falling things and the demon of noonday. 7. A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. 8. Nevertheless, with your eyes shall you behold and comprehend and you shall see the retribution of sinners. 9. For you, Lord, are my hope, you have made the Most High your refuge. 10. No evils shall be near you, nor shall any scourge come near your dwelling; 11. For He shall give his angels command over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13. You shall tread upon the asp and the serpent, and shall trample under foot a lion and a dragon. 14. For he has hoped on me, and I will deliver him; I will shelter him, because he has known my name. 15. He shall call unto me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in affliction; I will deliver him and glorify him. 16. With length of days will I satisfy him, and I will show him my salvation. Glory . . .Now . . . Alleluia

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THE THIRTEENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 91 A psalm of song for the day of the Sabbath. 1. It is good to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto your name, Most High; 2. To proclaim your mercy in the morning, and your truth during the night, 3. On a ten-stringed psaltery with an ode upon the kithara.` 4. For you, Lord, have gladdened me through your work; I will rejoice in the works of your hands. 5. Lord, how great are your works,; exceedingly deep have been your thoughts. 6. A foolish man will not learn these things, and a mindless man will not understand them. 7. When sinners spring up like grass, and all the workers of iniquity flourish, it is then that they may be destroyed unto the ages of ages. 8. But you, Lord, are Most High for ever. 9. For behold, your enemies Lord, your enemies shall perish, and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. 10. But my horn shall be exalted like that of a unicorn; and my old age shall be passed in fat oil. 11. My eye also has looked down among my enemies; and among them that rise up against me, who practice wickedness; my ears shall hear it. 12. A just man shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall increase like a cedar in Lebanon. 13. Those that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14. They shall still increase in ripe old age; and they shall be prompt, 15. To proclaim that the Lord is upright; and there is no injustice in him.

PSALM 92 For the day of Prosabbath, when the earth had been peopled praise to be sung to David. 1. The Lord is king, he has robed himself with majesty; the Lord has robed himself with power with which he has girded himself. For he has established the world which cannot be displaced. 2. Your throne has been ready ever since then; you are from everlasting. 3. The rivers have raised up Lord, the rivers have raised their voices; the rivers shall raise their offcouring. 4. From the voices of many waters the billows of the sea grow wonderful; wonderful is the Lord on high. 5. Your testimonies have been exceedingly verified; sanctification becomes your house, Lord, unto length of days.

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PSALM 93 A psalm to David for the fourth day of the Sabbath. 1. The Lord is a God of vengeance; He has plainly shown himself to be a revengeful God. 2. Rise up, Judge of the earth; render retribution to the proud. 3. Lord, how long shall sinners, how long shall sinners boast? 4. How long shall they utter and speak injustice? And all the workers of iniquity continue speaking in this way? 5. They break your people in pieces, Lord, and afflict your heritage. 6. They slay the widow and orphan, and have murdered the fatherless. 7. Yet they say, the Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand. 8. Understand, you mindless among the people; and you fools, when will you understand? 9. He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? 10. He who instructs the nations, does he not correct? He who teaches man knowledge? 11. The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vain. 12. Without death is the man whom you instruct, Lord, and teach out of your law, 13. That you may give him rest from the days of evil, until a pit is dug for the sinner. 14. For the Lord will not cast off his people, nor will he forsake his inheritance. 15. Until justice will return to judgment, and all the upright in heart will follow it. 16. Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand by me against the workers of iniquity? 17. Unless the Lord had helped me, my soul would nearly have gone to dwell in Hades. 18. If I say, my foot slips, your mercy, Lord, came to my assistance. 19. According to the multitude of agonies in my heart, your consolations brought gladness to my soul. 20. Let me not occupy a throne of iniquity, which only forms trouble as an ordinance. 21. They shall hunt after the soul of a just man, and shall condemn innocent blood. 22. But the Lord has become a refuge to me, and my God a helper of my hope. 23. And the Lord will requite them their own iniquity, and the Lord God will get rid of them according to their evil works.

PSALM 94 Praise to be sung to David. 1. Come, let us be gladdened in the Lord; let us shout to God our Savior. 2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; let us jubilantly shout to him with psalms. 3. For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. 4. For in his hand are the ends of the earth; also the heights of the mountains are his. 5. For the sea is his, and he created it; and his hands also formed the dry land. 6. Come, let us bow down in adoration, and fall down before him, and let us weep before the Lord who has created us. 7. For he is our God, and we are people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

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8. Today, if you will hear his voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness, 9. For your fathers tempted me; they proved me, and saw my works. 10. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, They always err in their hearts. And they did not learn my ways. 11. As I swore in my wrath, that they shall not enter my rest.

PSALM 95 Praise sung to David, when the house was built after the captivity. 1. Sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord all the earth. 2. Sing to the Lord, bless his name; preach the gospel of his salvation from day to day. 3. Proclaim his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples. 4. For great is the Lord and exceedingly praiseworthy; He is to be feared above all gods. 5. For all the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord created the heavens. 6. Thanksgiving and beauty are before him; holiness and magnificence are in his sanctuary. 7. Give unto the Lord, O kindreds of the nations, give to the Lord glory and honor. 8. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; take up sacrificial offerings, and walk into his courts. 9. Bow down before the Lord in his holy court; let the whole earth quake before him. 10. Say among the nations that He has become King; and he has set the world right, which shall not be shaken; He shall judge the peoples uprightly. 11. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea be shaken, and all its fullness; 12. Let the plains and all that is therein be joyful; then shall all the trees of the forest rejoice at the presence of the Lord. 13. For he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with justice, and the peoples with his truth.

PSALM 96 A Psalm to David, when the land was restored to him. 1. The Lord is King; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad. 2. Clouds and darkness are around about him; justice and judgment are the accomplishment of his throne. 3. A fire shall go before him, and shall burn up his enemies round about. 4. His lightnings enlighten the world; the earth saw and was shaken. 5. The mountains melted as though of wax from the presence of the Lord, from the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6. The heavens have announced his justice, and all peoples have seen his glory. 7. Let all who bow down before graven images be confounded, that boast in their idols. Bow down before him, all you his angels. 8. Sion heard and was gladdened, and the daughters of Judea rejoiced because of your judgments, Lord. 68

9. For you, Lord, are most high above all the earth; You are exceedingly exalted far above all gods. 10. You who love the Lord, hate evil; the Lord guards the souls of his devout; He rescues them from the hand of a sinner. 11. A light has dawned for the just man, and gladness for the upright in heart. 12. Rejoice in the Lord, you just, and give thanks to the memory of his sanctity.

PSALM 97 To David. 1. Sing unto the Lord a new song; for he has done marvelous things; His right hand and his holy arm has saved him. 2. The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his justice before the nations. 3. He has remembered his mercy and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 4. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. 5. Sing to the Lord with the kithara, with the kithara and the sound of a psalm, 6. With trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord and King. 7. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein; 8. Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, 9. For he is coming to judge the earth. With justice he shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.

PSALM 98 To David 1. The Lord is King; let the peoples rage. He sits upon the cherubim; let the earth quake. 2. The Lord is great in Sion, and he is exalted above all the peoples. 3. Let them confess your great name for it is fearful and holy; 4. And a Kings honor loves justice; you have prepared equities; you have executed judgment and justice in Jacob. 5. Exalt the Lord our God; bow down before the footstool of his feet; for he is holy. 6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those that call upon his name; they called upon the Lord, and he answered them. 7. He spoke unto them in the pillar of cloud; for they kept his testimonies and the ordinances which he gave them. 8. You answered them, Lord our God; You were a God who did become easily propitiable unto them, though you took vengeance for all their deeds. 9. Exalt the Lord our God, and bow down at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.

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PSALM 99 A psalm of David for a thank-offering 1. With jubilance shout to the Lord, all the earth; 2. Serve the Lord with rejoicing; enter into his presence with exultation. 3. Know that the Lord, himself is God; it is he who has created us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, in his courts offer him thanksgiving with hymns. 5. Praise his name for the Lord is good; and his mercy endures for ever and his truth is from generation to generation.

PSALM 100 To David 1. Lord, I will sing to you of mercy and judgment; 2. I will chant and will understand on a blameless path; when will you come to me? I was walking in the innocence of my heart within my house. 3. I had no intention before my eyes of anything contrary to the law; I have hated transgressors of the law. 4. No crafty heart has cleaved to me; the wicked man avoiding me, I have not known him. 5. I have chased away him that privily speaks against his neighbor; I have not eaten in common with him who has an arrogant eye, and an insatiable heart. 6. Mine eyes have been on the faithful of the land, that I might have them sit with me; he who walks in a blameless way, he has ministered unto me. 7. He that is haughty has not dwelt within my house; he that speaks unjust things has not told them before mine eyes. 8. Early in the morning I slew all the sinners of the land, that I might exterminate all workers of injustice from the city of the Lord.

PSALM 101 A prayer to the poor man, when he was despondent, and pours out his petition in front of the Lord. 1. Lord, hear my prayer, and let my crying come before you. 2. Turn not your face from me; in the day of affliction, incline your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily. 3. For my days have vanished like smoke, and my bones have been scorched like firewood. 4. I have been struck like grass; my heart has been withered; I have forgotten to eat my bread. 5. Because of the voice of my groaning my bone has cleaved to my flesh. 6. I am like a pelican in the wilderness; I have become like a night-heron of the area of ruins. 7. I kept awake, and became like a sparrow isolated on the housetop. 8. My enemies reproached me all day long, and those praising me swore against me. 9. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and have mingled my drink with weeping, 70

10. From the presence of your wrath and of your anger; for after raising me up, you have cast me down. 11. My days have declined like a shadow, and I am withered like grass. 12. But you, Lord, shall endure forever, and your remembrance is from generation to generation. 13. You will arise and have mercy on Sion; for the time to have pity on her, yea for the time has come. 14. For your servants have well chosen her stones and pitied her clay. 15. Then the nations shall fear your name, Lord; and all the kings of the earth your glory. 16. For the Lord shall build Sion; He shall appear in his glory. 17. He has looked down with favor upon the prayer of the humble, and has not disregarded their petition. 18. This is to be written for another generation, and the people being built shall praise the Lord. 19. For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; out of heaven the Lord has looked down upon the earth. 20. To hear the groaning of the fettered, to release the children of those put to death. 21. To declare the name of the Lord in Sion, and his praise in Jerusalem, 22. When peoples are gathered together and kings to serve the Lord. 23. He replied to them in the way of his strength; declared unto me the fewness of my days. 24. Do not take me up in half of my days; your years are from generation to generation. 25. In the beginning, you O Lord, did lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. 26. They shall perish, but you will endure; and all of them will grow old like a garment; like a cloak you will fold them, and they shall be changed. 27. But you are the same, and your years will not come to an end. 28. The sons of your servants shall abide, and their seed will be established for ever. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia (3)

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THE FOURTEENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 102 1. Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2. Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his requitals; 3. Who accepts propitiation for all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases; 4. Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with mercies and pities; 5. Who satisfies your desire with good things, your youth shall be renewed like an eagles. 6. The Lord executes mercies and judgment for all who are being wronged. 7. He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the sons of Israel. 8. The Lord is piteous and merciful, greatly forbearing and plenteous in mercy. 9. He will not be wrathful to the end, neither will he be furious for ever. 10. He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor requited us according to our sins. 11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is the Lords mercy toward those who fear him; 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our iniquities from us. 13. As a father pities his sons, so the Lord pities those who fear him. 14. For he knows our formation; he remembers that we are clay. 15. Mans days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he flourish. 16. For a spirit passes through him and he shall not exist, and no more shall he recognize his region. 17. But the mercy of the Lord is from ages to ages upon those who fear him, and his justice unto sons sons. 18. Who keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them. 19. The Lord has prepared his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 20. Bless the Lord, you his angels, who excel in strength, who do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his words. 21. Bless the Lord, all you his powers, you ministers of his, who do his will. 22. Bless the Lord, all you his works, in every region of his dominion; Bless the Lord, my soul. In every region of His dominion; Bless the Lord, my soul.

PSALM 103 A Psalm to David, for the establishment of the world. 1. Bless the Lord, my soul; Lord my God, you are exceedingly great; you are clothed with praise and majesty, 2. Covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. 3. Who lays the roof of his attic in waters, who ascends on the clouds; who walks upon wings of wind. 4. Who makes his angels spirits, his ministers a flame of fire. 5. Who founded the earth on its secureness, so that it should not deviate unto ages of ages, 6. The abyss being its mantle as a garment; upon the mountains waters shall stand. 7. At your rebuke they shall flee; at the voice of your thunder they shall quail. 72

8. The mountains go up and the plains go down unto the place which you have appointed for them. 9. You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, nor shall they return to cover the earth. 10. Who sends forth springs into valleys; between mountains shall waters pass through. 11. They shall give drink to all the beasts of the field; wild asses quench their thirst. 12. Upon them shall the fowl of the heavens have their habitation; among the rocks shall they sing. 13. You water mountains out of your attic; the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of your works. 14. You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and green herbs for the service of men, that he may bring forth bread out of the earth, 15. And wine cheers mans heart; that they may have oil with which to light up the countenance; and bread which strengthens mans heart. 16. The trees of the plain shall be satisfied, and the cedars of Lebanon, which you have planted. 17. There sparrows shall make their nests; the herons habitation precedes them. 18. High mountains are for the deer; a rock is a refuge for hares. 19. He has created the moon for seasons; the sun knows its setting. 20. You made darkness, and it became night, which all the beasts of the forest shall pass through. 21. Whelps of lions roar after their prey, seeking their food from God. 22. The sun has risen, and they have gathered themselves together, and lie down in their dens. 23. Man shall go forth to his work and to his labor until the evening. 24. Lord, how great are your works! In wisdom have you made them all. The earth is full of your creation; 25. This is the great and wide sea; there live things innumerable, and animals small and great. 26. There ships go across; there is that dragon which you have created to be mocked. 27. These all wait upon you, to give them their food in due season. 28. When you have given it to them, they will collect it; when you open your hand, they shall be filled with goodness. 29. When you turn away your face, they shall be troubled; you shall take back their spirit, and they shall vanish, and they shall return to their clay. 30. You shall send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created; and you renew the face of the earth. 31. Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; the Lord shall rejoice in his works. 32. Who looks upon the earth, and makes it tremble; who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34. May my meditation be sweet to him; I will be glad in the Lord. 35. May sinners be consumed out of the earth, and the iniquitous no longer exist. Bless the Lord, my soul.

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PSALM 104 Alleluia 1. Give thanks unto the Lord, and call upon his name; make known his works among the nations. 2. Sing unto him, and chant unto him; declare all his wonders. 3. Praise yourselves in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4. Seek the Lord and be made strong; seek his countenance at all times. 5. Remember the wonders which he has done, his marvels and the judgments from his mouth. 6. You seed of Abraham are his servants, you children of Jacob, are his chosen. 7. He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 8. He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded, to a thousand generations, 9. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac, 10. And confirmed it to Jacob as a command, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, 11. Saying, to you I will give the land of Canaan as the lot of your inheritance, 12. When they were but few in number, indeed very few, and strangers therein. 13. When they passed through one nation to another, from a kingdom to another people, 14. He permitted no one to wrong them; yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, 15. Saying, touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm. 16. Moreover he called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the provision of bread. 17. He sent a man before them; Joseph; who was sold as a slave. 18. They humbled his feet with fetters, his soul passed through irons. 19. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. 20. The king sent and released him, the ruler of the people let him go free. 21. He appointed him Lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions, 22. To chastise his princes like himself, and to teach his elders wisdom. 23. And Israel came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 24. And he increased his people exceedingly, and made them stronger than their enemies. 25. He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal deceitfully with his servants. 26. He sent forth Moses his servant; and Aaron, whom he had chosen for himself. 27. He showed in them the words of his signs, and of his wonders in the land of Ham. 28. He sent forth darkness, and made it dark; for they had provoked his words. 29.He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. 30. Their land brought forth frogs even into the chambers of their palace. 31. He spoke, and there came the dog-fly and gnats in all their borders. 32. He gave them hail for rain, a flaming fire in their land. 33. He struck their vines also, and their fig trees, and splintered all the trees in their borders. 34. He spoke, and the locust came, and caterpillars innumerable. 35. And these ate up all the greens of their land and they ate all the fruit in their territory. 36. And he smote all the firstborn in their land, the first of all their labor. 37. And he brought them forth with silver and gold, and there was not one sickly one among their tribes. 38. Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen upon them. 39. He spread a cloud for a shelter, and fire to give light in the night. 40. They asked, and quail came, and he filled them with the bread of heaven. 41. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it ran in the dry places like a river. 74

42.For he remembered his holy word, given Abraham his servant. 43. He brought forth his people with joy, his chosen with gladness. 44. He gave them the lands of the nations, and they inherited the labor of the nations, 45. That they might observe his rights and seek out his law.

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THE FIFTEENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 105 Alleluia 1. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endures forever. 2. Who can speak of the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can cause all his praises to be heard? 3. Without death are they who preserve judgment, and do justice at all times. 4. Remember us, Lord, with the good will you have toward your people; look down upon us with your salvation, 5. That we may see it with the goodness of your chosen ones; that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation; that we may be praised with your inheritance. 6. We have sinned with our fathers; we have done iniquity; we have acted unjustly. 7. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of your mercies, but embittered you when going up by the Red Sea. 8. And yet he saved them for his names sake, that he might make his mighty power known. 9. He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so he led them through the deep, as through the wilderness. 10. And he saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of their enemies. 11. Water covered their oppressors; not one of them remained. 12. Then they believed his words, and they sang his praise. 13. They soon forgot his works; they did not patiently wait for his counsel, 14. But desired a desire in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. 15. And he gave them their request, sent satisfaction into their souls. 16. When they angered Moses in the camp, and Aaron the holy one of the Lord, 17. The earth opened, and swallowed Dathan, and covered the company of Abiron. 18. And a fire was kindled in their congregation; a flame burned up the sinners. 19. And they made a calf in Horeb, and they worshiped the carved image. 20. Thus they changed his glory into the image of an ox that eats grass. 21. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, 22. Wonderful works in the land of Ham, fearful things by the Red Sea. 23. Then he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. 24. And they did not value a desirable land; they did not believe his word, 25. And they murmured in their tents, and did not heed the voice of the Lord. 26. Then he raised his hand against them, to cast them down in the wilderness, 27. To cast down their seed among the nations, and to disperse them among the countries. 28. They joined themselves also to Baal-phegor, and ate sacrifices of the dead. 29. Thus they provoked him with their devices, and the fallen among them were increased. 30. Then Phineas stood up and made propitiation, and the plague was stopped. 31. And that was accounted to him for justice unto generations and generations unto the ages. 32. They also angered him at the waters of strife, and so Moses suffered ill because of them; 33. Because they rebelled against his spirit, so that he spoke rashly with his lips. 34. They did not destroy the nations as the Lord had told them, 35. But they mingled with the nations and learned their works; 76

36. They worshiped their idols, which became a stumbling block to them. 37. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, 38. And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was defiled with blood. 39. Thus they were defiled by their own works, and went whoring with their own devices. 40. And the Lord was wroth with anger against his people, so that he abhorred his own inheritance. 41. And he gave them into the hand of enemies, and those who hated them became their rulers. 42. Their enemies also afflicted them, and they were brought into subjection under their hands. 43. Many times he delivered them; but they provoked him by their counsel, and they were humbled for their iniquity. 44. Yet the Lord saw their affliction, when he hearkened to their prayer; 45. And he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the multitude of his mercies. 46. He also made them to be pitied by all those who held them captive. 47. Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, and to exult in your praise. 48. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel unto the ages and until the ages. And let all the people say, May it be so, May it be so.

PSALM 106 Alleluia 1. Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endures forever. 2. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, 3. And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea. 4. They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. 5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6. Then they cried out to the Lord in their affliction, and he delivered them out of their distresses. 7. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for habitation. 8. Let them give thanks unto the Lord for his goodness, and proclaim his wonderful works to the sons of men; 9. For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. 10. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons; 11. Because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High, 12. Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help. 13. Then they cried out to the Lord in their affliction, and he saved them out of their distresses. 14. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. 15. O, that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the sons of men; 16. For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut the bars of iron in two. 17. Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. 18. Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 77

19. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. 20. He sent his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. 21. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness, and proclaim his wonderful works to the sons of men. 22. Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. 23. Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, 24. They see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. 25. For he commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. 26. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of affliction. 27. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits end. 28. Then they cry out to the Lord in their affliction and he brings them out of their distresses. 29. He calms the storm making its waves still. 30. Then they are glad because they are quiet, so he guides them to their desired haven. 31. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercies, and proclaim his wonderful works to the sons of men. 32. Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33. He turned a wilderness into lakes of water and arid land into outlets of water. 34. A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of those who dwell therein. 35. He turns a wilderness into pools of water, and dry land into watersprings. 36. There he makes the hungry dwell, that they may establish a city for habitation, 37. And sow fields and plant vineyards, that they may yield a fruitful harvest. 38. He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; and he does not let their cattle decrease. 39. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, affliction and sorrow. 40. He pours contempt on rulers, and causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; 41. Yet he sets the poor on high, far from affliction, and makes their families like a flock. 42. The just see it and rejoice, and all iniquity stops its mouth. 43. Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the mercies of the Lord.

PSALM 107 A song of Psalm to David 1. My heart is ready God, my heart is ready; I will sing and chant in my glory. 2. Awake my glory, wake up psaltery and kithara; I will wake myself early. 3. I will thankfully praise you, Lord, among the people; and sing to you among the nations. 4. For your mercy is far above the heavens, and your truth is unto the clouds. 5. Be exalted God, over the heavens, and let your glory be in all the earth. 6. That my beloved ones may be rescued, save them with your right hand, and hear me. 7. God has spoken in his sanctuary; I will be exalted, and will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. 8. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the shield of my hand; Judah is my king.

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9. Moab is the cauldron of my hope; over Edom will I impose my shoe; to me have the Philistines become subject. 10. Who will bring me into the fortified city, or who will guide me to Edom? 11. God, will you not, who cast us off? And will you not go forth, God, with our forces? 12. Give us help from affliction; for vain is the salvation offered by man. 13. In God we will create power, and he will do away with our enemies.

PSALM 108 For the end: A Psalm of David 1. God, do not pass over my praise in silence; 2. For the mouth of a sinner and the mouth of a deceiver have opened against me; they have spoken against me with a slanderous tongue. 3. And with words of hatred they have surrounded me; and they have fought me without cause. 4. Instead of loving me, they traduced me; but I gave myself unto prayer. 5. And they requited me evil for good, and hated me instead of loving me. 6. Set a sinner over him, and let the Devil stand at his right hand. 7. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned; and let his prayer become a sin. 8. Let his days be few; and let another take his bishopric. 9. Let his children be orphans, and his wife a widow. 10. Let his children be displaced vagabonds, and become beggars; let them be cast out of their premises. 11. Let an extortioner ransack everything that belongs to him, and let strangers plunder his labors. 12. Let there be no one to give him assistance; neither let there be anyone to have compassion upon his orphans. 13. Let his posterity be exterminated; in one generation let his name be wiped out. 14. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered in relation to the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be eliminated. 15. Let them come before the Lord continually and let their memory be cut off from the earth. 16. For which he remembered not to show mercy; but persecuted a man indigent and poor and contrite in heart, that they might slay him. 17. As he liked a curse, so let it come upon him, and as he did not care for a blessing, so let it be kept away from him. 18. As he clothed himself with a curse as with a garment, so did it come into his inwards like water, and like oil into his bones. 19. Let it be to him like a garment which he wraps round him, and like a belt with which he is girded continually. 20. This is the work of my traducers from the Lord, and of them that speak evil things against my soul. 21. Accordingly, Lord, Lord, deal with me for your names sake; for your mercy is good. 22. Deliver me, for I am poor and indigent, and my heart is troubled within me. 23. I have vanished like the shadow when it declines, I have been tossed out like the locust. 24. My knees are weak from fasting; and my flesh has become unlike itself for want of oil. 25. And I have become a reproach unto them; they saw me, they wagged their heads. 79

26. Help me Lord my God, and save me according to your mercy. 27. And let them know that this is your hand, and that you, Lord, have made it. 28. They shall curse, but you shall bless; let those rising up against me be ashamed; but your servant shall be gladdened. 29. Let my traducers clothe themselves with shame, and let them wrap themselves around with their own confusion as with a doublet 30. I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; and I will praise him in the midst of a multitude. 31. For he stood at the right hand of an indigent man, to save him from the persecutors of his soul. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

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THE SIXTEENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 109 To David 1. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet. 2. The Lord shall send a rod of power out of Sion. You will conquer in the midst of your enemies. 3. With you shall be dominion in the day of your power, in the splendor of your saints. 4. The Lord has sworn and will not change his purpose; you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 5. The Lord is at your right hand; he shall crush kings in the day of his wrath. 6. He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill them with dead bodies. He shall crush the heads of many on earth. 7. He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore he shall lift up the head.

PSALM 110 Alleluia 1. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart, in the counsel of the upright, and in the congregation. 2. The words of the Lord are great, sought out in all that he has willed. 3. Thankfulness and majesty attend to his work; and its justice endures for ever. 4. He has made his wonderful works to be remembered; the Lord is merciful and piteous. 5. He has given food unto them who fear him; he will ever be mindful of his covenant. 6. He has shown his people the power of his works, to give them a heritage of nations. 7. Truth and judgment are works of his hands; all his commandments are faithful. 8. Steadfast unto the ages of ages, done with truthfulness and equity. 9. He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant for ever; holy and fearful is his name. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do it; his praise endures unto the ages of ages.

PSALM 111 Alleluia 1. Without death is the man that fears the Lord; in his commandments shall he delight exceedingly. 2. His seed shall be mighty on earth; a generation of the upright shall be blessed. 3. Glory and wealth shall abide in his house; and his justice endures unto ages of ages. 4. Unto the upright there has risen a light in the darkness; he is merciful and piteous and just. 5. A good man shows pity and lends; he will disperse his words with judgment; 81

6. For he shall not be displaced for ever; the just shall be in everlasting remembrance. 7. He shall not fear evil tidings; his heart is ready to hope in the Lord; 8. His heart is ready; he shall not be afraid, until he looks down upon his enemies. 9. He has dispersed, he has given to the indigent; his justice endures unto the ages of ages. His horn shall be exalted with glory. 10. The sinner shall see him and full of wrath; he shall gnash his teeth and melt away; a sinners desire shall perish. Glory . . .Now . . . Alleluia . . .

PSALM 112 Alleluia 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Praise the Lord, you servants, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and unto the ages. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is exalted above all nations, and above the heavens is his glory. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwells on high? And who looks down on the humble, in heaven and on earth? Who raises up from earth a poor man, and who exalts from dung an indigent man. That he may set him with rulers, even with rulers of his people . Who makes a barren women dwell in a house, a joyful mother of children.

PSALM 113 Alleluia 1. At the exodus Israel went out of Egypt, and the house of Jacob from a barbarian people. 2. Judea became his sanctuary, and Israel his authority. 3. The sea saw and fled; Jordan was turned back; 4. The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs. 5. What ails you sea, that you fled? And you, Jordan, that you were driven back? 6. You mountains that you skipped like rams; and you hills, like lambs? 7. From the presence of the Lord the earth was shaken, from the presence of the God of Jacob. 8. Who turned the rock into lakes of water, and the crag into fountains of water. 9. Not unto us, Lord, not unto us, but unto your name be glory for your mercy and your truth. 10. Lest at any time the nations may say: Where is their God? 11. But our God is in heaven and on earth; he has done whatever he has willed. 12. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, works of the hands of men. 13. They have a mouth and do not speak; they have eyes, and yet do not see; 14. They have ears, and do not hear; they have noses, and yet do not smell; 15. They have hands, and yet they do not feel anything; they have feet and yet do not walk; neither will they speak with their throat. 16. May those making them become like them, and may those trusting in them become such also. 82

17. The house of Israel has hoped in the Lord; he is their helper and protector. 18. The house of Aaron has hoped in the Lord; he is their helper and ptotector. 19. Those who fear the Lord have hoped in the Lord; he is their helper and protector. 20. The Lord being mindful of us, has blessed us; he has blessed the house of Israel; he has blessed the house of Aaron. 21. He has blessed them that fear the Lord, both small and great; 22. May the Lord increase you more and more, you and your children. 23. You are blessed of the Lord who made heaven and earth. 24. The heaven of heaven is the Lords; but the earth has he given to the sons of men. 25. Lord, the dead shall not praise you, neither shall any that go down to Hades; 26. But we the living will bless the Lord both now and unto ages.

PSALM 114 Alleluia 1. I have loved the Lord, because the Lord will hearken unto the voice of my petition. 2. Because he has inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him in my days. 3. The pangs of death have gripped me; the dangerof Hades have found me; I have found affliction and grief. 4. Lord, I beseech you to rescue my soul. 5. The Lord is merciful and just, our Lord has bestowed mercy. 6. The Lord protects the infants; I was humbled and he saved me. 7. Return to your rest my soul; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 8. For he has delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from slipping. 9. I will be pleasing to the Lord in the land of the living.

PSALM 115 Alleluia 1. I believed; therefore have I spoken: but I humbled myself exceedingly 2. I said in mine ecstasy, all men are liars. 3. What shall I requite the Lord for all the requitals he has conferred on me? 4. I will take a cup of salvation, and will call upon the name of the Lord. 5. I will pay my vows unto the Lord, in the presence of all his people. 6. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his devout. 7. Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, and the son of your handmaiden; 8. I have burst my bonds asunder. I will offer you a sacrifice of praise, and will call upon the name of the Lord. 9. I will pay my vows unto the Lord in the presence of all his people; 10. In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, Jerusalem.

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PSALM 116 Alleluia 1. Praise the Lord all you nations; praise him all you peoples. 2. For his mercy has been strengthened upon us, and the truth of the Lord remains for ever.

PSALM 117 Alleluia 1. Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. 2. Let the house of Israel say now that he is good, that his mercy endures for ever. 3. Let the house of Aaron say now that he is good, that his mercy endures for ever. 4. Let all them that fear the Lord say now that he is good, that his mercy endures for ever. 5. I called upon the Lord in my affliction, and he answered me to my satisfaction. 6. The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what any man may do unto me. 7. The Lord is my helper, and I shall look down upon my enemies. 8. It is better to have confidence in the Lord than to have confidence in man. 9. It is better to hope in the Lord, than to hope in rulers. 10. All the nations surrounded me, but with the name of the Lord I repulsed them. 11. They compassed me about by surrounding me, but with the name of the Lord I repulsed them 12. They compassed me about as bees do a honeycomb, and were inflamed like a fire amid thorns; but with the name of the Lord I repulsed them. 13. Being pushed, I was overturned and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.. 14. The Lord is my strength and my song, and has become my salvation. 15. A voice of rejoicing and of salvation is heard in tabernacles of the just; the Lords right hand has created power. 16. The Lords right hand has exalted me; the Lords right hand has created power. 17. I shall not die but shall live and declare the works of the Lord. 18. The Lord has sorely chastened me, but he has not delivered me to death. 19. Open to me the gates of justice; having entered them I will thankfully praise the Lord. 20. This is the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter it. 21. I will thankfully praise you, because you have hearkened unto me and are become salvation to me. 22. The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. 23. This is the Lords doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25. Lord, save us now; Lord, prosperous us now. 26. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. 27. God is the Lord and has revealed himself to us; establish yourselves a festival among them that crowd together even unto the horns of the altar. 28. You are my God, and I will thankfully praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. I will thankfully praise you because you have hearkened unto me and are become salvation to me. 29. Give thanks unto the Lord for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . . 84

THE SEVENTEENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 118 Alleluia
Composed of 176 verses, the longest Psalm, depicting the moral and practical side of Davids life his desires and prayers to God; his achievements and his failures; the repentance and restoration. The Hebrew youth were schooled with this Psalm divided into the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

ALEPH 1. Without death are the blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. 2. Without death are those who search out his testimonies, and who seek him with their whole heart. 3. For they that work iniquity have not walked in his ways. 4. You have commanded us to keep your commandments diligently. 5. That my ways were directed to observance of your rights. 6. Then I would not be ashamed, when I observe all your commandments. 7. I will give thanks to you with an upright heart, when I learn your just judgments. 8. I will preserve your rights; do not completely forsake me. BETH 9. In what way can a young man achieve his way? By observing your words. 10. With all my heart I have sought you out; do not drive me away from your commandments. 11. I have hidden your words in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 12. Blessed are you, O Lord, teach me your rights. 13. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth. 14. I have delighted in the way of your testimonies, as much as upon all riches. 15. With your commandments I will discourse, and comprehend your ways. GIMEL 16. I will meditate on your rights; I will not forget your words. 17. Requite your servant; enliven me and I will preserve your words. 18. Unveil mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. 19. I am a sojourner on the earth; do not hide your commandments from me. 20. My soul has longed for the desire of your judgments at all times. 21. You have rebuked the proud; accursed, are they who turn away from your commandments. 22. Remove reproach and contempt from me, for I have sought out your testimonies. 23. For rulers also did sit and speak against me, but your servant discoursed in your rights. 24. Your testimonies also are my meditation, and your rights are my counselors.

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DALETH 25. My soul clings to the ground; enliven me according to your word. 26. I have declared my ways, and you heard me; teach me your rights. 27. Make me understand the way of your rights; so shall I meditate on your wondrous works. 28. My soul has become sleepy from torpor; reassure me with your words. 29. Remove from me the way of injustice, and have mercy upon me with your law. 30. I have chosen the way of truth; and I have not forgotten your judgments. 31. I have cleaved to your testimonies; Lord, do not put me to shame. 32. I ran the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart. HE 33. Lord, teach me the way of your rights, and I will seek it out perpetually. 34. Give me understanding, and I will search out your law; and I will keep it with my whole heart. 35. Guide me in the path of your commandments, for that is what I have desired. 36. Incline my heart unto your testimonies, and not unto covetousness. 37. Turn mine eyes away, so as not to behold vanity; enliven me to live in your way. 38. Establish your word unto your servant to fear of you. 39. Remove my reproach, which I had suspected, because your judgments are good. 40. Behold, I have longed for your commandments; enliven me in your justice. VAU 41. And so let your mercy come upon me, Lord; even your salvation according to your word. 42. So shall I have an answer to them who reproach me, for I have hoped in your word. 43. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for I have hoped in your judgments. 44. So will I keep your law continually, unto the ages and unto the ages of ages. 45. And I was walking about openly, because I sought out your commandments. 46. And I spoke of your testimonies before kings, not being ashamed. 47. And I meditated on your commandments, which I love exceedingly. 48. And I have raised up my hands toward your commandments, which I have loved, and I have discoursed in your rights. ZAYIN 49. Remember your words to your servant, in which you have caused me to hope. 50. This has comforted me in my humiliation, for your word has enlivened me. 51. Proud men have broken your law exceedingly, yet I have not swerved from your law. 52. I remembered your judgments from ages ago, Lord, and was comforted. 53. Dejection has taken hold of me because of the sinners who forsake your law. 54. Your rights were my songs in the place of my sojourning. 55. In the night I remembered your name Lord, and have kept your law. 56. This occurred with me, because I sought out your rights.

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CHETH 57. You are my portion, Lord; I have said that I would keep your law. 58. I entreated your countenance with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to your word. 59. I thought on your ways, and returned my feet to your testimonies. 60. I got ready, and was not troubled, to keep your commandments. 61. The ropes of the sinners have entangled me, but I have not forgotten your law. 62. At midnight, I arose to give thanks to you, because of your just judgments. 63. I am a companion with all them who fear you, and of them that keep your commandments. 64. Lord, the earth is full of your mercy; teach me your rights. TETH 65. You have dealt kindly with your servant, Lord, according to your word. 66. Teach me goodness and knowledge; for I believed your commandments. 67. Before I was humbled I went astray; on that account I preserved your word. 68. Lord, you are good and you do good; teach me your rights. 69. The proud have increased their injustice against me abundantly, but I will search out your commandments with all my heart. 70. Their heart has become as cheesy as milk; but I have meditated in your law. 71. It is good for me that you humbled me, that I may learn your rights. 72. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . . Second Stasis YOD 73. Your hands have created me and formed me; give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments. 74. They that fear you will be glad when they see me, because I have hoped in your words. 75. I know, Lord, that your judgments are just, and that in truth you have humbled me. 76. Let it be now that your mercy comforts me, according to your word to your servant. 77. Let your pities come to me and enliven me; for your law is my meditation. 78. Let the proud be shamed, for having treated me unjustly in iniquity; but I will meditate on your commandments. 79. Let those that fear you bring me back, and also those who know your testimonies. 80. Let my heart be blameless regarding your rights, that I may not be put to shame.

CAPH 81. My soul faints for your salvation, but I hope in your words. 82. Mine eyes fail for your word and say, when will you comfort me? 83. For I have become as a wineskin in frost, yet I do not forget your rights. 87

84. How many are the days of your servant? When will you execute judgment on them that persecute me? 85. Lord, transgressors have discoursed with me, but not after your law. 86. All your commandments are true; they persecute me unjustly; come and help me. 87. They almost made an end to me on earth, but I did not forsake your commandments. 88. According to your mercy enliven me, that I may keep the testimony of your mouth. LAMED 89. Lord, your word remains in heaven for ever. 90. Your truth remains unto generation and generation; you established the earth, and it remains. 91. In accordance with your ordinances, they remain as a day; for all things are your servants. 92. Were it not that your law had been my meditation, I should then have perished in my humiliation. 93. I will never forget your rights, for with them you have enlivened me. 94. I am yours, save me; for I have sought out your rights. 95. Sinners have waited for me so as to destroy me, but I have understood your testimonies. 96. I have seen the end of all perfection; your commandment is exceedingly broad. MEM 97. How I love your law. It is my meditation all the day long. 98. Through your commandment you have made me wiser than mine enemies; for it is mine for ever. 99. I have understood more than all those teaching me, for your testimony has been my meditation. 100. I have understood more than the elders, because I have sought out your commandments. 101. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep your words. 102. I have not departed from your judgments; for you have established a law for me. 103. How sweet are your words to my throat, sweeter than honey to my mouth. 104.Through your commandments I get understanding; therefore I hate every way of injustice. NUN 105. Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths. 106. I have sworn and resolved that I will keep the judgments of your justice. 107. I have been exceedingly humbled; enliven me, Lord, according to your word. 108. Accept and approve, I pray, the voluntary offerings of my mouth, Lord, and teach me your judgments. 109. My soul is continually in your hand, and I have not forgotten your law. 110. Sinners have laid a trap for me, yet I did not err from your commandments. 111. I have inherited your testimonies for ever, for they are a rejoicing of my heart. 112. I have inclined my heart to observe your rights for ever for a reward.

SAMECH

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113. Transgressors have I hated, but I have loved your law. 114. You are my helper and my protector; I hope in your words. 115. Depart from me, you evil-doers, and I will search out the commandments of my God. 116. Defend me according to your word and enliven me; and do not turn me away in shame from my expectation. 117. Help me and I shall be saved, and I shall meditate on your rights for ever. 118. You reduced to nought all those who have ignored your rights, because their intention is unjust. 119. I have accounted as transgressors all the sinners of the earth; therefore do I love your testimonies. 120. Nail down my flesh for fear of you, for I am fearful of your judgments. AIN 121. I have done judgment and justice; do not hand me over to those who wrong me. 122. Be surety for your servant for good; do not let the proud slander me. 123. Mine eyes fail for your salvation and for the word of your justice. 124. Deal with your servant according to your mercy, and teach me your rights. 125. I am your servant; give me understanding, and I shall know your testimonies. 126. It is time to work for the Lord; they have voided your law. 127. Therefore I love your commandments far more than gold and topaz.. 128. Therefore I have obeyed all your commandments, and have hated every unjust way. PE 129. Wondrous are your testimonies; therefore has my soul searched them out. 130. The entrance of your words gives light; and understanding to the infantile. 131. I opened my mouth and drew in spirit, for I longed for your commandments. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

Third Stasis 132. Look down on me and be merciful to me, according to the judgment of them that love your name. 133. Order my steps by your word, and let no iniquity dominate me. 134. Deliver me from the slander of men, that I may keep your commandments. 135. Cause your countenance to shine upon your servant; and teach me your rights. 136. Mine eyes shed streams of water, because I did not keep your law.

TSADHI 89

137. You are just, Lord, and upright are your judgments. 138. Your testimonies, which you have commanded, witness justice and truth exceedingly. 139. My zeal has consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten your words. 140. Your word is very pure and your servant loves it. 141. I am young and accounted as nothing; yet I have not forgotten your rights. 142. Your justice is an everlasting justice, and your law is truth. 143. Afflictions and necessities have found me, yet your commandments are my meditation. 144. Your testimonies are just for ever; give me understanding, and I shall live. KOPH 145. I have cried out with my whole heart; hear me, Lord. I will seek out your rights. 146. I have cried out unto you; save me, and I will keep your testimonies. 147. In anticipation, at an untimely hour I cried out; I have hoped in your word. 148. In anticipation, mine eyes are awake even before morning, that I may meditate on your words. 149. Hear my voice according to your mercy, Lord; and enliven me according to your judgment. 150. They draw near that lawlessly persecute me; they are far from your law. 151. You are near, Lord, and all your ways are truth. 152. From the beginning, I have known your testimonies; that you have founded them forever. RESH 153. Consider my humiliation and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. 154. Judge my cause and redeem me; enliven me for the sake of your word. 155. Salvation is far from the sinners, for they do not seek out your rights. 156. Many are your pities, Lord; enliven me according to your judgment. 157. Many are they that persecute and afflict me, yet I do not turn from your testimonies. 158. I beheld those lacking understanding, and was grieved, because they do not keep your words. 159. Behold how I have loved your commandments; enliven me, Lord, according to your mercy. 160. The beginning of your word is truth, and all of your just judgments endure forever. SHIN 161. Rulers have persecuted me without a cause, and my heart feared because of your words. 162. I rejoice at your word as one who finds great spoil. 163. I have hated and abhorred injustice, but I love your law. 164. Seven times a day have I praised you, because of your just judgments. 165. Much peace have those who love your law, and nothing scandalizes them. 166. Lord, I have waited for your salvation, and have loved your commandments. 167. My soul has kept your testimonies, and has exceedingly loved them. 168. I keep your commandments and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you, Lord. ]

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TAU 169. Let my petition come near before you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word. 170. Let my claim come before you; deliver me according to your word. 171. My lips shall pour out a hymn, when you teach me your rights. 172. My tongue shall speak of your word, for all your commandments are justice. 173. Let your hand come to save me, for I have chosen your commandments. 174. I have longed for your salvation, Lord, and your law is my meditation. 175. My soul shall live and shall praise you; and your judgments shall help me. 176. Like a lost sheep I have strayed; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. Glory . . . Now . . . Alleluia . . .

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THE EIGHTEENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 119 A Song of Ascending Steps 1. In my affliction I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. 2. Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips and from a deceitful tongue. 3. What shall be given to you, and what shall be added to you, against a deceitful tongue? 4. The sharpened arrows of the mighty one, with coals of broom. 5. Woe is me, that my sojourn has been removed afar off; that I have pitched my tent among the tents of Kedar. 6. That my soul has sojourned for many years away from home. 7. With them that hate peace, I was peaceful; when I spoke to them, they waged war upon me without cause. PSALM 120 A Song of ascending steps 1. I raised mine eyes to the mountains; from where my help comes. 2. My help comes from the Lord, who created heaven and earth. 3. Let not your foot to be displaced; nor him that guards you slumber. 4. Behold, he that protects Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5. The Lord will protect you; the Lord will be a shelter to you upon your right hand. 6. The sun shall not burn you by day, nor the moon by night. 7. The Lord will guard you from all evil; he shall guard your soul. 8. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

PSALM 121 A song of ascending steps 1. I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. 2. Jerusalem, our feet have been standing in your courts. 3. Jerusalem is being built as a city that is participated in by all alike. 4. For to it the tribes ascend, the tribes of the Lord, the testimony of Israel, to give thankful praise to the name of the Lord. 5. For there were set thrones for judgment, thrones of the house of David. 6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; and prosperity be to them that love you. 7. Peace be within your power, and prosperity within your forts. 8. For the sake of my brethren and of my neighbors I spoke peace regarding you. 9. Because of the house of the Lord our God I have been seeking out good things for you.

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PSALM 122 A swong of ascending steps 1. I have raised up my eyes to you, who dwells in the heavens. 2. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has pity on us. 3. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us; for we are more than filled with contempt. 4. Our soul is more than filled, as a reproach to the prosperous and as a contempt to the proud.

PSALM 123 A song of ascending steps 1. Had it had not been the Lord that was on our side, let Israel now say; 2. Has it had not been that the Lord was on our side, when men rose up against us, 3. Then they would have swallowed us alive, when his anger was wroth with us; 4. Then the water would have overwhelmed us. Our soul passed through a torrent; 5. Then our soul passed through water irresistible. 6. Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth. 7. Our soul, like a sparrow has been rescued out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare was broken to pieces, and we were rescued. 8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who created heaven and earth. PSALM 124 A Song of Ascending Steps 1. They that have confidence in the Lord are like Mount Sion; he that dwells in Jerusalem shall not be shaken unto the ages. 2. As mountains encompass Jerusalem, so the Lord encompasses his people now and for ever. 3. For the Lord will not allow the rod of sinners to be on the portion of the just, lest the just reach out their hands in iniquities. 4. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. 5. As for those who turn aside into crooked ways, the Lord will carry them away together with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel.

PSALM 125 A song of ascending steps 1. When the Lord turned back the captivity of Sion, we were as if comforted. 2. Then our mouth was filled with joy, and our tongue with gladness. Then will they say among the nations, The Lord has done great things with them. 3. The Lord has done great things for us, and we have become joyful. 93

4. Turn back our captivity, Lord, like torrents in the South. 5. They who sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6. They went forth walking, and wept as they scattered their seed; but in coming back they shall return in joy, taking their sheaves with them.

PSALM 126 A song of ascending steps 1. Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders shall have toiled in vain; unless the Lord guard the city, the watchman shall have stayed awake in vain. 2.It is vain for you to rise up early, to get up after sitting down, who are eating the bread of sorrow; when he gives sleep to his beloved. 3.Lo, the heritage of the Lord is sons, the reward of the fruit of the womb. 4. As arrows are in the hand of the powerful, so are the sons of the valiant stalwarts. 5. Without death is the man who shall fulfill his desire with them; they shall not be put to shame when they speak to their enemies in the gates.

PSALM 127 A song of ascending steps 1. Without death are all they that fear the Lord, that walks in his ways. 2. You shall eat the fruit of your labor; you are immortal, and it shall be well with you. 3. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within the borders of your house; your sons like olive saplings round your table. 4. Behold, surely thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. 5. The Lord will bless you out of Sion, and may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6. And may you see sons of your sons; peace be upon Israel.

PSALM 128 A song of ascending steps 1. Many a time have they warred upon me from my youth, let Israel now say, 2. Many a time they have warred upon me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed against me. 3. The sinners kept plotting behind my back; they prolonged their iniquity. 4. The Lord is just; he has severed the necks of sinners. 5. Let all them that hate Sion be ashamed and turned back. 6. Let them become like the grass on the housetops, which withered before it grew up. 94

7. With which the harvester has not even filled his hand, nor has he that gathered sheaves even collected enough to fill his bosom. 8. Neither have the passers-by said, the blessing of the Lord be upon you; we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

PSALM 129 A song of ascending steps 1. Out of the depths have I cried unto you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. 2. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. 3. Lord, if you should mark iniquities, Lord, who shall stand? 4. Because with you there is graciousness. 5. Patiently have I waited upon you, Lord, for your names sake; patiently has my soul waited upon your word. 6. My soul has hoped in the Lord, from the morning watch until night, from the morning watch. 7. Let Israel hope in the Lord; for mercy is with the Lord, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

PSALM 130 A song of ascending steps 1. Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor my eyes lofty. Nor have I advanced in things too great or too marvelous for me. 2. Had I not been humble-minded but exalted my soul, like as is a weaned babe from his mother, so will you requite my soul. 3. Let Israel hope in the Lord now and unto the ages.

PSALM 131 A song of ascending steps 1. Lord, remember David and all his meekness. 2. How he swore unto the Lord, and vowed unto the God of Jacob; 3. Surely I will not enter the tabernacle of my house, nor will I go up into my bed where I sleep, 4. Nor will I allow my eyes to fall asleep, and my eyelids to doze, nor my temples to rest, 5. Until I have found a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. 6. Lo, we have heard of it at Ephratha; we found it in the plains of the forest. 7. We will enter his tabernacles we will bow down in adoration to the place where his feet stood. 8. Arise, Lord. into your rest, you and the ark of your sanctuary. 95

9. Your priests shall clothe themselves in justice and your devout ones shall rejoice. 10. For your servant Davids sake do not turn away the face of your Christ. 11. The Lord has sworn unto David a truth, and he will not disregard it; of the fruit of your belly will I set upon your throne. 12. If your sons will keep my covenant and my testimony which I will teach them, their sons shall also sit upon your throne for ever unto the ages. 13. For the Lord has chosen Sion; he has selected her as a place of habitation for himself. 14. This is my resting-place unto ages of ages; here I will dwell, for I have selected it for myself. 15. I will surely bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16. I will also clothe her priests with salvation; and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 17. There will I raise up a horn for David; I have ordained a lamp for my Christ. 18. I will clothe his enemies with shame; but on him will my sanctuary flourish.

PSALM 132 A song of ascending steps 1. Behold, how beautiful and how joyful it is for brothers to dwell together in unity. 2. It is like myrrh upon the head, that runs down the beard, even Aarons beard, which reached down to the corners of his robes. 3. As the dew of Hermon, which comes down on the mountains of Sion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forever unto the ages.

PSALM 133 A Song of Ascending Steps 1. Behold, now bless you the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. 2. In the nights lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. 3. May the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you out of Sion

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THE NINETEENTH KATHISMA

PSALM 134 Alleluia 1. Praise you the name of the Lord; praise him you servants of the Lord 2. Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. 3. Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good; sing unto his name for it is good. 4. For the Lord has chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his special treasure. 5. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6. Whatever the Lord willed he did in heaven, and on earth, in the seas and in all abysses. 7. Causing vapors to ascend and form clouds, out of the uttermost parts of the earth; he has created lightning for rain, who brings forth winds out of his treasures. 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt from man to beast. 9. He sent forth tokens and wonders, into the midst of you, Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants. 10. Who smote great nations and slew mighty kings. 11. Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og the king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan. 12. And gave their land as a heritage, a heritage unto Israel his people. 13. Your name, Lord, endures for ever;and your memorial, Lord, is from generation to generation. 14. For the Lord will judge his people, and he will comfort himself concerning his servants. 15. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of mens hands. 16. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; 17. They have ears, but they do not hear; neither is there any spirit in their mouths. 18. May their makers be like unto them, and so to everyone who trusts in them. 19. Bless the Lord, house of Israel; bless the Lord, house of Aaron; 20. Bless the Lord, house of Levi; you that fear the Lord, bless the Lord. 21. Blessed be the Lord out of Sion who inhabits Jerusalem.

PSALM 135 Alleluia 1. Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. 2. Give thanks unto the God of gods, for his mercy endures for ever. 3. Give thanks unto the Lord of lords; for his mercy endures for ever. 4. To him who alone has done great wonders; for his mercy endures for ever. 5. To him who created the heavens with understanding; for his mercy endures for ever. 6. To him who solidified the earth upon the waters; for his mercy endures for ever. 7. To him who alone has created great lights; for his mercy endures for ever. 8. The sun to rule the day; for his mercy endures for ever. 9. The moon and stars to rule the night; for his mercy endures for ever. 97

10. To him who smote Egypt with their firstborn; for his mercy endures for ever. 11. And who brought out Israel among them; for his mercy endures for ever. 12. With a mighty hand, and with a high arm; for his mercy endures for ever. 13. To him who divided the Red Sea into parts; for his mercy endures for ever. 14. And who lead Israel through the midst of it; for his mercy endures for ever. 15. And who overthrew Pharaoh and his powers in the Red Sea; for his mercy endures for ever. 16. To him who led his people through the wilderness; for his mercy endures for ever. 17. To him who smote great kings; for his mercy endures for ever. 18. And who slew mighty kings; for his mercy endures for ever. 19. Sihon king of the Amorites; for his mercy endures for ever. 20. And Og the king of Bashan; for his mercy endures for ever. 21. And who gave their land as a heritage; for his mercy endures for ever. 22. Even a heritage for Israel his servant; for his mercy endures for ever. 23. For the Lord remembered us in our humiliation; for his mercy endures for ever. 24. And redeemed us from our enemies; for his mercy endures for ever. 25. Who gives food to all flesh; for his mercy endures for ever. 26. Give thanks to the God of heaven for his mercy endures for ever.

PSALM 136 A Psalm of David through Jeremias 1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Sion. 2. Upon the willows in the midst thereof, we hung up our lyres. 3. For there they that carried us away captive asked us for words of songs, and our abductors said, sing us a hymn out of the songs of Sion. 4. How can we sing the song of the Lord in a hostile land? 5. If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be forgotten; 6. If I do not remember you, If I do not recall Jerusalem first of all, as in the beginning of my rejoicing, may my tongue stick in my throat. 7. Remember, Lord, the children of Edom, in the days of Jerusalem, who said, tear it down, tear it down even to its foundations. 8. Wretched daughter of Babylon, blissful is he that shall requite you with the retribution with which you have requited us. 9. Blissful is he that shall seize your infants and dash them upon a rock. PSALM 137 A Psalm to David, of Haggai and Zacharias 1. I will give thanks to you with my whole heart; and before the angels I will sing unto you, because you have hearkened to all the words of my mouth. 2. I will bow down toward your holy temple, and will thankfully praise your name for your mercifulness and your truth; for you have magnified your holy name above. 98

3. On any day that I may call upon you, hearken to me quickly. 4. Lord, let all the kings of the earth praise you thankfully, when they have heard all the words of your mouth. 5. And let them sing with the odes of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. 6. For though the Lord is exalted, yet he looks down upon what is humble, and knows from afar what is exalted. 7. Though I walk in the midst of affliction, you will revive me. You did stretch forth your hands against the wrath of mine enemies, and your right hand saved me. 8. The Lord will give retribution for me; your mercy, Lord, endures for ever; do not forsake the works of your own hands.

PSALM 138 A Psalm to David (in some editions it is in the end, a Psalm of David of Zacharias in the dispersion 1. Lord, you have tried me and you have known me. 2. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thoughts from afar off. 3. You have compassed my path and my lying down, and you foresee my ways. 4. For there is no unjust word on my tongue, but behold, Lord, you have known all the last and the ancient things. 5. You have created me and have laid your hand upon me. 6. Your knowledge has filled me with wonder; it is high, I cannot attain it. 7. Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? 8. I ascend into heaven, you are there; If I descend to Hades, you are there. 9. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10. Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11. If I say, surely the darkness shall fall on me, even the night shall be light about me; 12. Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to you. 13. For you have formed my inward parts; you have helped me even in my mothers womb. 14. I give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows exceedingly well. 15. My bones were not hidden from you, which you formed in secret, and my hypostasis in the lowest parts of the earth. 16. Your eyes beheld me while yet unformed, and in your book all are written; daily they are formed, but no one among them. 17. But to me, your friends, God, have been very honorable; their principalities have been exceedingly strong. 18. I shall count them, and find them more numerous than the sand; I arose, and am still with you. 19. If you will slay sinners, God; depart from me, you bloodthirsty men, for you are quarrelsome in your thoughts. 20. They shall take your cities in vanities. 99

21. Have I not hated them, Lord, who hate you? And have I not pined against your enemies? 22. I have hated them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 23. Try me, O God, and know my heart; examine me, and know my paths. 24. And see if there is any iniquitous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

PSALM 139 For the end, a Psalm to David 1. Deliver me, Lord, from an evil man; rescue me from an unjust man, 2. Who have plotted injustice in their hearts; who have been planning wars all day long. 3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips. 4. Lord, protect me from the hands of the sinner; preserve me from an unjust man, who has planned to make me stumble me in my steps. 5. The proud have hidden a trap for me, and with ropes they have set a stumbling block on my path. 6. I said to the Lord: You are my God; Lord, hear the voice of my supplications. 7. Lord, Lord, the power of my salvation, you have watched over my head in the day of war. 8. Lord, do not surrender me from my desire to a sinner; they have schemed against me; do not forsake me lest they exalt themselves. 9. The head of their encirclement, let the mischief of their lips cover them; 10. Fiery coals shall fall upon them; you will throw them down with hardships, and they shall not be able to bear them. 11. A man with a loose tongue shall not prosper on the earth; evils shall hunt the unjust man to destroy him. 12. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the poor, and justice for the indigent. 13. Surely the just shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.

PSALM 140 A Psalm to David. 1. Lord, I cry unto you; hear me. Attend to the voice of my prayer when I cry unto you. 2. Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; let the lifting up of my hands be the evening sacrifice. 3. Set a watch, Lord, over my mouth; and a restraining door about my lips. 4. Do not incline my heart to words of an evil mind, to offer excuses in sins with men that work iniquity; and I shall not collude with their choicest. 5. A just man shall chasten me with mercy; and shall reprove me; but do not let the oil of a sinner anoint my head; for my prayer shall be in their pleasures yet. 6. Their judges have been swallowed up tied to a rock; they shall listen to my words, for they are sweet. 7. Their bones have been broken like clods on the earth, and have been scattered on the brink of Hades. 100

8. For my eyes are unto you, Lord, Lord, in you have I hoped; deprive me not of my soul. 9. Protect me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the scandal of the workers of iniquity. 10. The sinners shall fall into their own nets, while I alone will escape.

PSALM 141 Of understanding to David, when he was praying in the cave 1. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, with my voice I supplicated the Lord. 2. I will pour out before him my supplication; I will declare my affliction before him. 3. When my spirit was fainting within me, then you knew my paths. In the way wherein I was walking they have hidden a trap for me. 4. I comprehended on the right hand and looked down, but there was no one to recognize me. I had no need to flee; and there was no one seeking my soul. 5. I have cried unto you, Lord: I said, you are my hope; you are my portion in the land of the living. 6. Attend to my supplication; for I am exceedingly humbled; rescue me from my persecutors; for they have exceeded me in strength. 7. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name; just men shall await me patiently, until you requite me. PSALM 142 1. Lord, hear my prayer; give ear to my petition in your truth; answer me in your justice. 2. And enter not into judgment with your servant, for in your sight shall no man living be justified; 3. For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness, like those who have been long dead. 4. And has caused my spirit to fail me; my heart within me is troubled. 5. I remembered ancient days; I meditated on all your works; on created work of your hands did I meditate. 6. I stretched forth my hands to fly towards you; my soul thirsts after you like arid desert. 7. Hearken to me speedily, Lord; my spirit has departed. Turn not your face from me, lest I become like those who go down into the pit. 8. Cause me to hear your mercy in the morning, for in you do I hope; cause me to know the way, Lord, in which I should walk, for unto you have I raised up my soul. 9. Deliver me, Lord, from my enemies; unto you have I fled for refuge. 10. Teach me to do your will for you are my God; your good Spirit will guide me in an upright land. 11. For your names sake Lord, enliven me; for your justices sake you will bring my soul out of affliction; 12. And in your mercy you will exterminate my enemies, and you will destroy all those who afflict my soul; for I am your servant. 101

THE TWENTIETH KATHISMA

PSALM 143 A Psalm of David concerning Goliath 1. Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches my hands to prepare for battle, my fingers to prepare for war. 2. My mercy and my protection, my guardian and my deliverer, my shield and in him have I hoped, who subordinates people under me. 3. Lord, what is man, that you have made yourself known to him? Or the son of man, that you take an account of him? 4. Man has become like unto vanity; his days are like a shadow that passes away. 5. Lord, bow your heavens, and come down; touch the mountains, and they will smoke. 6. Send a lightning bolt of lightning, and you will scatter them; shoot out your arrows, and you will convulse them. 7. Reach out your hand from on high; deliver me, and rescue me from many waters, from the land of alien sons. 8. Whose mouth has spoken vanity; and their right hand is a right hand of injustice. 9. God, I will sing unto you a new song; with a ten-stringed psaltery will I sing to you. 10. To he who gives salvation to kings; to the one who redeems David his servant from a wicked sword. 11. Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of alien sons, whose seed has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a hand of injustice. 12. Whose sons are like young scions, planted in their youth; their daughters beautified, adorned like an idol in a temple. 13. Their garners full, filled with overflowing with this and that. 14. Their sheep are prolific, multiplying their exits; their oxen are fat. There is no fallen-down fence, nor any outcry in their streets. 15. They have accounted as immortal the people who have these things, but immortal are the people whose Lord is God.

PSALM 144 Praise to David 1. I will exalt you, my God, my king; and I will bless your name for ever and unto ages of ages. 2. Every day will I bless you; and I will praise your name for ever, and unto ages of ages. 3. Great is the Lord, and to be praised exceedingly; and of his majesty there is no end. 4. Generation after generation shall praise your works, and they shall declare your power. 5. They shall speak of the grandeur of your holiness, and they shall declare your wondrous works. 6. And they shall tell of the power of your fearful works, and shall declare your greatness.

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7. They shall speak of the memory of the abundance of your goodness; and they shall rejoice in your justice. 8. The Lord is full of pity and merciful, forbearing and plenteous in mercy. 9. The Lord is good to all; his pities are over all his works. 10. Let all your works praise you thankfully, Lord, and let your saints bless you. 11. They shall tell of the glory of your kingdom, and shall speak of your might. 12. To make known to the sons of men your majesty, and the glory of the grandeur of your kingdom. 13. Your kingdom is a kingdom of all the ages, and your dominion is in every generation and generation. 14. The Lord is faithful in all his words, and is holy in all his works. The Lord upholds all that fall, and raises up all that are broken down. 15. The eyes of all trust in you; and you give them their food in due season. 16. You open your hand, and fill all that lives with your goodness. 17. The Lord is just in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 18. The Lord is near unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 19. He will fulfill the desires of them that fear him; and he will hearken to their petition, and will save them. 20. The Lord preserves all them that love him; but all the sinners will he destroy. 21. My mouth shall speak praise to the Lord; and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and unto ages of ages.

PSALM 145 Alleluia, of Haggai and Zacharias 1. Praise the Lord my soul. 2. I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing unto the Lord as long as I exist. 3. Put not your confidence in rulers, nor in sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. 4. His spirit will depart, and he will return to his earth; in that very day his thoughts shall perish. 5. Without death is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, and whose hope is in the Lord his God. 6. Who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things therein, who preserves truth for ever. 7. The Lord loosens the fettered; 8. The Lord makes the blind wise; the Lord raises up them that are broken down; the Lord loves the just. 9. The Lord preserves the newcomers; he will relieve orphan and widow; and he will eliminate the way of sinners. 10. The Lord shall reign as king unto the ages; your God, Sion, from generation to generation.

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PSALM 146 Alleluia of Haggai and Zacharias 1. Praise the Lord; for it is good to sing psalms of praise; may praises please our God. 2. While building Jerusalem, the Lord will gather together the dispersed tribes of Israel. 3. He heals the broken-hearted, and bandages their wounds. 4. He tells the number of the stars; and he calls them all by their names. 5. Great is our Lord, and great is his strength; and his understanding is without number. 6. The Lord uplifts the meek; he humbles sinners down to the earth. 7. Commence thankfully praising the Lord; sing to our God with the kithara. 8. Who clothes the heavens with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth; who causes grass to grow upon the mountains, and vegetation to grow for the service of men. 9. He gives to beasts their food, and to the young ravens that call upon him. 10. His dynasty is not in the strength of a horse, nor is His approval in the leg of a man. 11. The Lord approves them that fear him, and with them that hope in his mercy.

PSALM 147 Alleluia of Haggai and Zacharias 1. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Sion. 2. For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children in you. 3. He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest of wheat. 4. He sends forth his oracle to the earth; his word shall run very swiftly. 5. He gives snow like wool; he scatters a fog like ashes. 6. He rains his ice like crumbs; who can stand up in the face of his cold? 7. He will send out his word, and will melt them; he will blow his breath, and waters will flow. 8. He declared his word to Jacob, his rights and judgments to Israel. 9. He did not deal thus with every nation, and as for his judgments, he did not make these known to men.

PSALM 148 Alleluia of Haggai and Zacharias 1. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the highest. 2. Praise him, all you his angels; praise him all you his powers. 3. Praise him, you sun and moon; praise him all stars and light. 4. Praise him heaven of heavens, and waters that are above the heavens. 5. Let them praise the name of the Lord; for he spoke and they were created; he commanded, and they were formed. 6. He has established them for ever, even unto ages of ages. 104

7. Praise the Lord from the earth, you dragons and all you deeps. 8. Fire, hail, snow, ice, tempest, blast, all fulfilling his words. 9. The mountains and all the hills; fruitful trees and all the cedars. 10. Wild beasts, and all cattle, creeping creatures, and flying fowl. 11. Kings of the earth, and all peoples, rulers, and all the judges of the earth. 12. Young men and maidens, you elders together with the youth. 13. Let them all praise the name of the Lord; for the name of him alone has been exalted; thankful praising of him on earth and in heaven. 14. And he will exalt the horn of his people; a hymn to all his saints, to the children of Israel, to a people drawing near to him.

PSALM 149 Alleluia 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the church of the devout. Let Israel rejoice in him that created them; let the sons of Sion be gladdened in their King. Let them praise his name with a dance; with timbrel and psaltery let them sing to him. For the Lord shows approval in his people; he will exalt the meek with salvation. The devout shall exult in glory; and shall be gladdened upon their beds. Let the exultation of God be in their throat, two-edged swords shall be held in their hand, To execute vengeance among the nations, and rebukes among the peoples; To bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with iron shackles; To execute among them written judgment; his glory to all of his devout.

PSALM 150 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Praise God in his saints: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him among his dynasties; praise him according to the abundance of his majesty. Praise him with the sound of trumpet, praise him with the psaltery and kithara. Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with a stringed instrument. Praise him with melodious cymbals; praise him with cymbals of jubilance. Let every breath praise the Lord.

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PSALM 151 This Psalm was written by the hand of David and outside the number, when he fought a duel with Goliath. Besides the one-hundred and fifty Psalms, there is also found in the Septuagint a Psalm in Davids own handwriting, and composed by him in commemoration of his anointment by Samuel the Prophet and in commemoration of his duel with and defeat of Goliath the giant, whereby witness was born to the fact that he had been called to a high post by God. 1. I was the smallest of my brothers, and the youngest in my fathers house; I tended my fathers sheep. 2. My hands made an instrument, and my fingers tuned a psaltery. 3. But who will tell it to my Lord? The Lord himself; He will listen. 4. He sent forth his angel, and took me from my fathers sheep, and anointed me with his anointing oil. 5. My brothers were big and handsome, but the Lord did not approve of them. 6. I went out to meet the alien, and he cursed me by his idols. But I drew his own sword and beheaded him, and took away the reproach from the sons of Israel. The end of the Psalms May all glory be to God.

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