Twenty nine verses, the last psalm of Hallel and the loudest. It is a thanksgiving after a rescue, laid out as a procession: four calls to give thanks, a first person account of being surrounded and getting out, a request at the gates, and a crowd answering from inside. Said on the festivals, on Rosh Chodesh and on Hanukkah. In the common practice the opening four verses are call and response, with the congregation answering the refrain each time, and from verse 21 to the end each verse is said twice. The lulav is waved during verse 1 and again at verse 25. Watch two things. The short form of the divine name, Yah, stands here in six places where the long form would fit. And the pronouns move: one person is rescued, and a whole assembly walks in.
1
הוֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה כִּי טוֹב
כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ
לַיהֹוָה
lai-ho-VA
to the LORD
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
לְעוֹלָם
le-o-LAM
is forever
חַסְדּוֹ
chas-DO
His kindness
His kindness is forever.
The opening line is a fixed liturgical formula, and the second half is the congregation's part rather than the leader's. Verse 29 will repeat both halves word for word.
2
יֹאמַר נָא יִשְׂרָאֵל
כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ
יִשְׂרָאֵל
yis-ra-EL
Israel
Let Israel say now:
לְעוֹלָם
le-o-LAM
is forever
חַסְדּוֹ
chas-DO
His kindness
His kindness is forever.
The first of three groups called in. The order runs from the whole people, to the priests, to anyone at all who fears Him.
3
יֹאמְרוּ נָא בֵית אַהֲרֹן
כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ
יֹאמְרוּ
yom-RU
let them say
Let the house of Aaron say now:
לְעוֹלָם
le-o-LAM
is forever
חַסְדּוֹ
chas-DO
His kindness
His kindness is forever.
The priests answer second, and the refrain does not change for them. That is the point of repeating it: the same sentence is available to every group.
4
יֹאמְרוּ נָא יִרְאֵי יְהֹוָה
כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ
יֹאמְרוּ
yom-RU
let them say
יִרְאֵי
yir-EI
those who fear
Let those who fear the LORD say now:
לְעוֹלָם
le-o-LAM
is forever
חַסְדּוֹ
chas-DO
His kindness
His kindness is forever.
The third group is defined by no lineage at all, only by fear of the LORD, which opens the refrain to anyone willing to say it.
5
מִן הַמֵּצַר קָרָאתִי יָּהּ
עָנָנִי בַמֶּרְחָב יָהּ
הַמֵּצַר
ha-me-TZAR
the narrow place
Out of the narrow place I called to Yah;
עָנָנִי
a-na-NI
He answered me
בַמֶּרְחָב
va-mer-CHAV
with wide open space
Yah answered me with wide open space.
The psalm turns personal, and both key nouns are spatial. He calls from a narrow place and the answer is width. Nothing is removed; the room around him changes size.
6
יְהֹוָה לִי לֹא אִירָא
מַה יַּעֲשֶׂה לִי אָדָם
The LORD is for me, I will not fear;
what can a human being do to me?
The conclusion drawn from the answer. Not that nothing can happen, but that a human being is the wrong thing to be afraid of.
7
יְהֹוָה לִי בְּעֹזְרָי
וַאֲנִי אֶרְאֶה בְשֹׂנְאָי
בְּעֹזְרָי
be-oz-RAI
among my helpers
The LORD is for me, among my helpers;
בְשֹׂנְאָי
ve-son-AI
on those who hate me
and I will look on those who hate me.
The same clause as verse 6 with one word added. God is counted among the helpers, which is a stranger claim than being the helper, and the prefix on that word is what makes it strange.
8
טוֹב לַחֲסוֹת בַּיהֹוָה
מִבְּטֹחַ בָּאָדָם
לַחֲסוֹת
la-cha-SOT
to take refuge
בַּיהֹוָה
bai-ho-VA
in the LORD
Better to take refuge in the LORD
מִבְּטֹחַ
mib-TO-ach
than to trust
בָּאָדָם
ba-a-DAM
in a human being
than to trust in a human being.
A proverb dropped into the middle of a thanksgiving. It has the same five word shape as verse 9, with only the last word changed.
9
טוֹב לַחֲסוֹת בַּיהֹוָה
מִבְּטֹחַ בִּנְדִיבִים
לַחֲסוֹת
la-cha-SOT
to take refuge
בַּיהֹוָה
bai-ho-VA
in the LORD
Better to take refuge in the LORD
מִבְּטֹחַ
mib-TO-ach
than to trust
בִּנְדִיבִים
bin-di-VIM
in princes
than to trust in princes.
The swap that makes the pair work. Princes are the strongest case of a human being worth trusting, and the verdict does not change.
10
כׇּל גּוֹיִם סְבָבוּנִי
בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה כִּי אֲמִילַם
סְבָבוּנִי
sva-vu-NI
surrounded me
All the nations surrounded me;
בְּשֵׁם
be-SHEM
in the name of
אֲמִילַם
a-mi-LAM
I will cut them off
in the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
The account of the danger begins. It gets told three times with the same closing line, and the telling tightens each time.
11
סַבּוּנִי גַם סְבָבוּנִי
בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה כִּי אֲמִילַם
סַבּוּנִי
sa-bu-NI
they surrounded me
סְבָבוּנִי
sva-vu-NI
they surrounded me
They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
בְּשֵׁם
be-SHEM
in the name of
אֲמִילַם
a-mi-LAM
I will cut them off
in the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
The second telling doubles the verb, using two different forms of the same root in one line. The doubling is the whole content of the verse.
12
סַבּוּנִי כִדְבוֹרִים
דֹּעֲכוּ כְּאֵשׁ קוֹצִים
בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה כִּי אֲמִילַם
סַבּוּנִי
sa-bu-NI
they surrounded me
כִדְבוֹרִים
chid-vo-RIM
like bees
They surrounded me like bees,
דֹּעֲכוּ
do-a-CHU
they were snuffed out
כְּאֵשׁ
ke-ESH
like a fire of
they were snuffed out like a fire of thorns;
בְּשֵׁם
be-SHEM
in the name of
אֲמִילַם
a-mi-LAM
I will cut them off
in the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
The third telling adds the images, and both are about speed rather than size. Bees are many and die fast, and a thorn fire is loud, hot and over in seconds.
13
דַּחֹה דְחִיתַנִי לִנְפֹּל
וַיהֹוָה עֲזָרָנִי
דְחִיתַנִי
de-chi-ta-NI
you pushed me
לִנְפֹּל
lin-POL
to make me fall
You pushed me hard, to make me fall,
וַיהֹוָה
vai-ho-VA
but the LORD
עֲזָרָנִי
a-za-ra-NI
helped me
but the LORD helped me.
The attacker is addressed directly here and nowhere else in the psalm, in the second person singular, and the answer takes only two words.
14
עׇזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ
וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה
וְזִמְרָת
ve-zim-RAT
and the song of
My strength and my song is Yah,
וַיְהִי
vai-HI
and He has become
לִישׁוּעָה
li-shu-A
salvation
and He has become my salvation.
This line is quoted, not composed. It is the Song at the Sea word for word, which drops a national rescue into the middle of a personal one.
15
קוֹל רִנָּה וִישׁוּעָה בְּאׇהֳלֵי צַדִּיקִים
יְמִין יְהֹוָה עֹשָׂה חָיִל
וִישׁוּעָה
vi-shu-A
and victory
בְּאׇהֳלֵי
be-o-ho-LEI
in the tents of
צַדִּיקִים
tza-di-KIM
the righteous
The sound of glad shouting and victory is in the tents of the righteous:
יְמִין
ye-MIN
the right hand of
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
The scene widens from one voice to a camp. Tents here are ordinary dwellings in the plural, not a sanctuary, so the noise is domestic.
16
יְמִין יְהֹוָה רוֹמֵמָה
יְמִין יְהֹוָה עֹשָׂה חָיִל
יְמִין
ye-MIN
the right hand of
רוֹמֵמָה
ro-me-MA
is lifted high
The right hand of the LORD is lifted high;
יְמִין
ye-MIN
the right hand of
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
The phrase about the right hand lands three times across two verses. That is how a chant is built, not how an argument is built.
17
לֹא אָמוּת כִּי אֶחְיֶה
וַאֲסַפֵּר מַעֲשֵׂי יָהּ
אֶחְיֶה
ech-YE
I shall live
I shall not die but live,
וַאֲסַפֵּר
va-a-sa-PER
and I shall recount
מַעֲשֵׂי
ma-a-SEI
the deeds of
and recount the deeds of Yah.
Survival is stated as a task rather than a relief. Living is what makes the telling possible, and the telling is the reason given for wanting to live.
18
יַסֹּר יִסְּרַנִּי יָּהּ
וְלַמָּוֶת לֹא נְתָנָנִי
יַסֹּר
ya-SOR
chastening hard
יִסְּרַנִּי
yis-ra-NI
He has chastened me
Yah has chastened me hard,
וְלַמָּוֶת
ve-la-MA-vet
but to death
נְתָנָנִי
ne-ta-na-NI
He has given me over
but He has not given me over to death.
The suffering is neither denied nor explained. It is put in one sentence with the limit that was placed on it, and the limit is the only comfort offered.
19
פִּתְחוּ לִי שַׁעֲרֵי צֶדֶק
אָבֹא בָם אוֹדֶה יָהּ
שַׁעֲרֵי
sha-a-REI
the gates of
צֶדֶק
TZE-dek
righteousness
Open for me the gates of righteousness;
let me enter through them and thank Yah.
The procession reaches a gate and has to ask. What it wants inside is not shelter but the chance to say thank you in the right place.
20
זֶה הַשַּׁעַר לַיהֹוָה
צַדִּיקִים יָבֹאוּ בוֹ
הַשַּׁעַר
ha-sha-AR
the gate
לַיהֹוָה
lai-ho-VA
of the LORD
This is the gate of the LORD;
צַדִּיקִים
tza-di-KIM
the righteous
יָבֹאוּ
ya-vo-U
shall enter
the righteous will enter through it.
The answer comes back from inside, and it is not a favour granted. The gate is simply described as the kind of gate it always was.
21
אוֹדְךָ כִּי עֲנִיתָנִי
וַתְּהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה
עֲנִיתָנִי
a-ni-ta-NI
You have answered me
I thank You, for You have answered me,
וַתְּהִי
vat-HI
and You have become
לִישׁוּעָה
li-shu-A
salvation
and You have become my salvation.
The thanks promised at the gate is paid here. The second half repeats verse 14 with the verb moved into direct address, from He became to You became.
22
אֶבֶן מָאֲסוּ הַבּוֹנִים
הָיְתָה לְרֹאשׁ פִּנָּה
הַבּוֹנִים
ha-bo-NIM
the builders
A stone the builders rejected
לְרֹאשׁ
le-ROSH
the head of
has become the head of the corner.
The most quoted verse in the psalm. Something the professionals discarded turns out to be load bearing, and no explanation of how is offered.
23
מֵאֵת יְהֹוָה הָיְתָה זֹּאת
הִיא נִפְלָאת בְּעֵינֵינוּ
נִפְלָאת
nif-LAT
is a wonder
בְּעֵינֵינוּ
be-ei-nei-NU
in our eyes
it is a wonder in our eyes.
The comment on the stone, and the first plural possessive in the psalm. The speakers do not claim to have understood the reversal, only to be looking at it.
24
זֶה הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה יְהֹוָה
נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בוֹ
This is the day the LORD has made;
נָגִילָה
na-gi-LA
let us be glad
וְנִשְׂמְחָה
ve-nis-me-CHA
and rejoice
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
The day itself becomes the object of the sentence. The line left the procession long ago and now lives on its own, said about any good day.
25
אָנָּא יְהֹוָה הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא
אָנָּא יְהֹוָה הַצְלִיחָה נָּא
הַצְלִיחָה
hatz-li-CHA
make prosper
Please, LORD, make us prosper now!
Two short cries built on the same four words, and the first of them, hoshia na, is where the word hoshana comes from.
26
בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה
בֵּרַכְנוּכֶם מִבֵּית יְהֹוָה
בָּרוּךְ
ba-RUCH
blessed is
הַבָּא
ha-BA
the one who comes
בְּשֵׁם
be-SHEM
in the name of
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD;
בֵּרַכְנוּכֶם
be-rach-NU-chem
we bless you
מִבֵּית
mi-BEIT
from the house of
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
The greeting given to the arriving pilgrim, spoken by the people already inside. The verb in the second half is plural on both ends: we, to you all.
27
אֵל יְהֹוָה וַיָּאֶר לָנוּ
אִסְרוּ חַג בַּעֲבֹתִים עַד קַרְנוֹת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
וַיָּאֶר
va-YA-er
and He has given light
The LORD is God, and He has given us light;
חַג
chag
the festival offering
בַּעֲבֹתִים
ba-a-vo-TIM
with cords
קַרְנוֹת
kar-NOT
the horns of
הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
ha-miz-BE-ach
the altar
bind the festival offering with cords, up to the horns of the altar.
The only verse with a practical instruction in it, and it is about rope. The offering is tied and brought right up to the altar, which is as far into the procession as the psalm goes.
28
אֵלִי אַתָּה וְאוֹדֶךָּ
אֱלֹהַי אֲרוֹמְמֶךָּ
וְאוֹדֶךָּ
ve-o-de-KA
and I will thank You
You are my God, and I will thank You;
אֲרוֹמְמֶךָּ
a-rom-me-KA
I will exalt You
my God, I will exalt You.
The single voice returns for the last time. No refrain and no crowd, five words, and three of them carry a suffix meaning You.
29
הוֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה כִּי טוֹב
כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ
לַיהֹוָה
lai-ho-VA
to the LORD
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
לְעוֹלָם
le-o-LAM
is forever
חַסְדּוֹ
chas-DO
His kindness
His kindness is forever.
The psalm closes on the line it opened with, unchanged. The twenty seven verses in between are what the line now means.
♦ PARDES analysis: פרדס
The four levels of Jewish reading of the sacred text: פשט Peshat (literal meaning), רמז Remez (symbolic allusion), דרש Drash (midrashic interpretation), סוד Sod (mystical meaning). The word פרדס means "orchard", each level is a fruit.
פשט · Peshat: literal meaning
A procession, told in order. Verses 1 to 4 are the summons, a leader calling and three groups answering the same refrain. Verses 5 to 18 are the testimony: a narrow place, an answer, three tellings of being surrounded, and a chastening that stopped short of death. Verses 19 and 20 are the arrival at the gate and the reply from inside it. Verses 21 to 28 are the thanksgiving in the courtyard, with the crowd taking over at בְּעֵינֵינוּ (be-ei-nei-nu, v.23), in our eyes, and the single voice returning at אֵלִי (e-li, v.28). Verse 29 repeats verse 1 exactly, which closes the circle and hands the psalm back to the congregation. The change of number is the plot: one person is rescued in the first half, and by the second half an assembly is doing the talking.
רמז · Remez: allusion
The short name, Yah, is this psalm's signature. It stands where the long name would fit at יָּהּ (yah, v.5) and יָהּ (yah, v.5), and again at יָהּ (yah, v.14), יָהּ (yah, v.17), יָּהּ (yah, v.18) and יָהּ (yah, v.19), and it is the same form that closes the word halleluyah. Two other seams are worth seeing. עׇזִּי (o-zi, v.14) to לִישׁוּעָה (li-shu-a, v.14) is the Song at the Sea quoted word for word from Exodus 15, and the same line turns up again in Isaiah 12, so the psalm is reusing a phrase that was already old liturgy when it borrowed it. And two verses work by sound before they work by sense: הַמֵּצַר (ha-me-tzar, v.5), the narrow place, is answered by בַמֶּרְחָב (va-mer-chav, v.5), the wide place, built on opposite roots, while אֶבֶן (e-ven, v.22), a stone, and הַבּוֹנִים (ha-bo-nim, v.22), the builders, share the consonants bet and nun in that order, so the line rings as wordplay before it means anything.
דרש · Drash: midrashic reading
Verse 22 carries two long-standing readings and the psalm does not choose between them. One takes the rejected stone as David, passed over at home before he was anointed, which makes the psalm autobiography. The other takes it as Israel, discounted among larger nations and still standing, which makes it national. Both are old. Verse 25 has had the widest afterlife of any line here: hoshia na, save now, is the source of the word hoshana, which names both the willow of the seventh day of Sukkot and the day itself. Verse 24 travelled in the other direction, out of the procession and into ordinary speech, where it is now said about any good day at all. Verse 26 is the crowd's greeting to a pilgrim reaching the house, and it is more often met quoted elsewhere than read here in place.
סוד · Sod: mystical reading
The two nouns at the centre of verse 5 give the mystical reading its whole vocabulary: a call out of constriction, and an answer that arrives as width. Nothing is taken away in that exchange. The space around the caller changes size. Read that way, the rest of the psalm is the same movement at larger and larger scale: from a single voice at קָרָאתִי (ka-ra-ti, v.5) to a crowd at נָגִילָה (na-gi-la, v.24), from a shut gate to an open one, from being surrounded on every side to standing at the horns of the altar with the offering roped in place. The gate of הַשַּׁעַר (ha-sha-ar, v.20) is the hinge, and the reply from inside is careful: it is not opened because the traveller earned it, it is what the gate is for. The last move of the psalm is to put the opening sentence back in the mouth of everyone now standing there.