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THE PSALMS
The PSALMS:A New Translation
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There are 150 Psalms in the Old Testament. Many of these Psalms are attributed to King David.
Psalms are by definition "the words which accompany music" (Greek psalmos) In David's case, he would sing these words to the Lord while playing his harp.
One could think of the Psalms as musical prayers. The problem, however, is that these sacred songs lose much of their musical quality upon translation into English, and subsequently they seemingly read like any other prosaic passage of scripture. I believe that this does a tremendous disservice to the Psalms and the divine harmony that they are meant to invoke.
This is where I come in. I have made it my mission to give the Psalms their melodious quality back. That is to say, I am currently translating all 150 Psalms from the typical, clunky English verse we find in our Bibles, to a more musical rendition that is truer to their original purpose.
This new version of the Psalms is not a word-for-word translation by any means. Nevertheless, it is this poet's main objective to stay as true to the Psalms' original intent as possible.
I have put the first 25 Psalms on display. For More Subscribe to site.
#1
Blessed is the man,
Who avoids wicked counsel,
Who stands not to sin,
Who sits not to scowl.
Instead he follows
The law of what is right,
And he meditates on the Bible
Every single day and night
Like a tree that is growing
Along the banks of the river,
You give forth a great bounty
And you'll prosper forever.
The wicked are not so,
They're like dust in the wind.
They never will prosper
God is far from their friend.
They can't hold a candle to
The ways that we're blessed.
God gives love to the righteous,
But to the wicked just death.
#2
Why do nations conspire
With plots so futile and vain?
Kings put themselves higher
Than God's people and name.
He who sits in heaven, laughs
At attempts that are made
To undermine the Father's wrath.
"My king of Zion has been proclaimed!"
This is what the Lord has done:
He said to me, "For what it's worth,
You are my begotten son
And I will give you the earth.
You shall break it in pieces
And make them rue the day
They challenged God, with an iron rod,
And break them like potter's clay."
So therefore you rulers
You kings of this planet
God's so much higher than you!
Oh please understand it.
Your powers are worthless,
So it's futile to try.
Either take refuge in him
Or you are choosing to die.
Oh God, all my enemies
Are growing obnoxious.
Meanwhile they say of me:
"His God cannot stop us!"
But God you are my fortress,
An unbreakable sword.
I call to you in the wilderness
And you're there for me Lord,
I go to sleep and I awake
And you give me my fill.
No matter who's against me,
You make me king of this hill.
So Lord, please arise,
And help me defeat my foes.
Smite them and blind their eyes
And bless the people that you chose.
#3
#4
Adonai, answer me!
I know you are there
All I hear are crickets lately
Please answer my prayer!
Oh men I ask you,
How long will you shame me?
You lie about me and doubt me.
You're making God angry.
Be angry, but don't sin
Think about it overnight
You know trusting in Him
Is the only thing that is right.
Offer good gifts to him
And pray to him for light
He has put love in my heart
And he helps me sleep at night.
#5
Give my words an ear to hear.
God, please heed my groaning.
I am crying out, "Are you there?"
Only you can make me holy.
Oh Lord, in the morning
I know you hear my words.
I sacrifice to your glory
And then I just observe.
You are a God who despises
Wickedness in all its guises.
Wicked men will realize this.
They're in for terrible surprises.
I know my sacrifices
And relentless devotion,
Will show me what is righteous
When my foes get ferocious.
All they do is lie, Lord
And slander your Name.
Their letters die on their tongue
Like their throat is their grave.
Let those who sing your praise
Be saved when they need.
You are our shield, Lord
And you are righteous indeed!
#6
Don't rebuke me in anger,
Lord, or smite me with wrath
I'm aching with a pain.
Lord, how long will it last?
Save me from this pain, Lord,
For the sake of your love.
Because if I'm away Lord,
Who will praise what's above?
I am weary of all this crying,
I flood my bed with tears.
My grief is multiplying.
I am weakened by my fears.
And to my foes who rose to evil,
Please leave me alone!
The Lord has heard my weeping
And he is here in this poem.
All my foes will be sorry
For the mistakes that they made.
When they tried to destroy me,
They'll all be put to shame.
#7
I need somewhere to hide
Lord, you are my haven.
Men chase me like a lion
Beyond the point of saving.
Lord, if I have done wrong,
If I have sinned against a friend,
I beg you then let these men
Tear me limb from limb
And crush me till I'm dead.
Stamp my soul into the ground,
I've done wrong, Lord,
I don't deserve to make a sound.
But arise O Lord in anger
Against those who go against us.
Awake O Lord and make those
Foes pay for their transgressions!
Our Lord judges all,
So I ask you: Lord please judge me
According to the justice involved
In how much you trust me.
Let the evil of wicked cease,
And with righteous replace them,
And we will finally realize peace,
And see God for his patience.
My strength is the Lord,
He is the judge of what's fair.
Everyday there are many, though,
Who cause him despair.
If a man is unrepentant,
God will draw his weapon:
A legendary bow and arrow,
Raining fires of Armageddon.
Evil men will learn their lessons
Their lies dig deeper trenches.
The consequences of their actions
Are as bad as their intentions.
Lord I want to thank you.
Your justice is divine..
Lord I sing your praises,
"Praise the Lord Most High!"
#8
Adonai! Adonai!
Earth honors your name.
You are the glory of heaven,
All the innocent proclaim.
You are the fortress,
Our defense against foes.
When those who would advance
They stopped and they froze.
When I look up to heaven
And see the stars and the moon,
Their beauty and wonder,
How could you care for us too?
You made us as you are,
But lesser of course.
You gave us this world
Like: here, it's all yours.
From the beasts of the field
To the birds of the air,
To the fish of the sea,
It is all ours to share.
Adonai! Adonai!
Earth honors your name.
You are the glory of heaven,
All the innocent proclaim.
#9
With my whole heart Lord,
I give you thanks and praise.
If all I did was praise the Lord,
I would enjoy my days.
My enemies turned away
'Cause you were by my side.
You've helped me stay the course.
Lord, your judgment's wise.
You have rebuked the nations
And destroyed the evil doers;
You've blotted out their names
And you left them all in ruins.
On his everlasting throne
The Lord sits in judgment,
And he judges the whole world
With righteousness & justice.
Lord, you are my fortress
To all of the oppressed.
All those who seek you out,
You will always protect.
He defends the afflicted
And those who seek his strength.
At the gates of the daughter
of Zion, I seek your face.
The nations have fallen
Into the pit which they made.
The Lord has made his judgment,
It's the path that they paved.
The wicked shall depart
These nations that forgot
Who God is; they'll remember
Like the poor do -- who are not.
Arise Adonai!
And knock man off his throne.
Teach him you're divine
And he's nothing but flesh & bone.
#10
Lord, why do you hide
During troubling times?
The wicked scorn your poor
And they do it with pride.
Their hearts are filled with greed,
And their desire for gain,
In you, they don't believe,
And they even curse your name.
Their ways always prosper.
Your judgment's out of sight.
They put fear in their opponents.
"I shall not be moved to fight!"
Their mouth is full of curses,
Deceit and oppression.
They lie in wait to ambush.
They are vile and wretched.
They wait with a net,
In order to snare the poor.
You seem to be gone
They think: what's it to the Lord?
Arise Adonai!
The wicked ones deny you.
Their evil is rationalized like:
"He doesn't care what I do."
I know that you see it,
All this trouble that's around.
Our hand outstretched & reaching,
You always help us off the ground.
Break the arm of the wicked.
Lord, crush the evildoer!
Wipe those nations from the earth,
And give birth to something newer.
Do you hear the meek, Lord?
Will you strengthen their heart?
Crush those who hurt the poor?
Will you give them a new start?
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