To the Preeminent Musician
The Superintendent of Temple Services
To be performed to “Hind of the Dawning Light”
A Mizmor of David
(Psalm 22)
Eli,
Eli!
lamah a-zab-tani!
My EL,
My EL!
Why did You let me go?
Why did You desert me?
I am cast away,
Forsaken;
Why are You so distant, so remote?
You are my Yeshuah,
Why are You so far
From my cries of grief?
O, my ALOHIM,
From the rising of the sun
Until the going down thereof,
I cry aloud,
Weeping;
But You do not respond.
You do not answer tunefully.
Lailah—
The night terror—
Approaches!
I exist,
But not eased from pain,
I wait in silent anticipation.
Qodesh,
Eternal One,
YAHUWAH,
You Exist,
You inhabit
The tehilliym—
The praises
And the hymns of adoration,
Of Yashar’EL.
Our fathers threw their cares
Upon Your back:
They were carried to safety;
They were made secure;
You rescued them.
They gathered themselves,
They made a proclamation.
They called out
Unto the Power and the Authority.
They had confidence.
Their hope and their expectation
Did not fail.
‘Anoki tola—
I am a crimson maggot,
A grub worm,
Not a man,
I am scorned and despised
By ‘A-dam;
I am held in contempt
And considered worthless
By the people.
All who observe me
Stammer mockingly
In a foreign language.
They open their mouths wide,
And from their lips
Words burst forth
Like a spray of water.
They totter back and forth;
They stagger as drunkards.
Their leader and prince mocks:
“He commited all His concerns
Unto the Power and Authority
Of EL YAHUWAH!
Surely, He will snatch Him away
Like plunder,
Surely, He will bend Himself
Toward Him
And will rescue Him,
Since EL YAHUWAH favors Him.”
But You did cause Me to issue forth
From the inmost part,
From the womb of my mother;
As when I rested upon my mother’s breast,
You made Me secure,
I feared nothing.
I experienced Your authority.
When I was cast forth
From the place
Where I was conceived
And nurtured,
Even from thence,
You are my EL.
Do not be distant from me,
Apart from the whole;
Do not withdraw
As a stranger before my face.
My enemy draws near,
And I am in distress.
I have no one to come along beside me;
I have no Helper.
Ferocious bulls surround me,
Pacing,
Stamping,
Circling.
The great ones,
The chief nobles of Bashan,
Are crowned with impudence,
Encompass me about.
Their mouths gape at me.
They roar as a lion
Before fresh meat,
Ready to feed,
To tear into pieces.
My life is expended,
Poured out like water.
My bones are stretched,
Out of joint.
My midsection,
My internal organs,
My heart exists like wax,
Melted before the fire.
My strength,
My power and might,
Have withered like an earthen vessel,
Standing alone,
Discarded,
Having no value;
And my tongue
Sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have put me here,
You have placed me
In the dust
Of the grave,
The abode of the dead.
They march around me,
This pack of dogs,
Barking,
Half-famished,
Without a master.
The gathering noise
Rushes at me.
This company of wrong-doers
Cleave together.
Circling,
Ready to wound,
To dig hands and feet.
They bargain for my mantle.
I recount my bones,
I scribe their number.
They, My enemies,
Look upon Me with pleasure;
Indeed, they enjoy the sight.
My covering cloth
They divide;
And, as for My splendid garment,
They cast down pebbles
To disperse.
But You, O YAHUWAH,
Do not be distant from me.
You are My Fortitude
And My Strength.
Be swift to help me.
Snatch Me away like plunder.
Rescue My nephesh–
The living, breathing essence
Of Self–
From the hands
Of these barkers:
Your yahid–
Your Only Begotten Son–
From the strength
Of dogs.
Yasha!
Save me from the mouth of the lion,
Answer tunefully–
Deliver me
From the horns
Of the wild bulls.
I will inscribe Your name
To my kindred;
I will recount
Your character
In the midst
Of the congregation
Of Yashar’EL.
HalleluYAH!
I will praise You!
Reverence YAHUWAH,
You who shine forth,
Fear Him,
With clear, brilliant sound:
Ellell!
HalleluYAH!
All you offspring of Ya’aqob!
Make heavy with honor
And fear before Him,
You who sojourn
In the ways of Yashar’EL!
For YAHUWAH has not despised,
Nor has HE made light of,
He has not counted as contaminated
The outcries and lamentation
Of the poor and afflicted,
The humble and wretched.
He has not hidden His face
From those who implore His Help.
When the poor ones cried
Unto EL YAHUWAH,
He paid attention.
He made proclamation.
My tephilliym–
My praises draw near to You–
In the great congregation
Of Yashar’EL
My voluntary gifts
I will make good,
I will perform what I have spoken
Before those who reverence You.
As water upon the parched land,
The poor and needy shall eat
And be satisfied.
HalleluYAH!
Praise YAHUWAH!
You shall enquire
Of Him,
You shall tread
His courts.
He Will Exist
In your heart
Perpetually.
Bring to remembrance
And turn back
Unto EL YAHUWAH.
From the extreme limits
Of ha’eretz–
The earth–
Stoop and bow down
Before His Faces,
You tribes of goyim,
You nations
Who walk outside His paths.
For the kingdom
And the dominion
Belong unto YAHUWAH;
All power and authority?
His.
The leadership and right-ruling?
His also—
Both of the people
Who walk in covenant
And the goyim,
Who do not.
All have eaten
And have grown fat.
They bow themselves down,
They cast themselves
Even unto the dust
Before His Faces,
And their nephesh
None can continue to exist.
A scattered seed will work,
They will become fatigued in service.
ADONAI will inscribe their numbers
And He will reckon
This time period
As a generation.
A generation shall come
And they will bring into sight
His correct path,
The Way of YAHUWAH.
Unto those who are brought forth.
He, the Self-Existent, Eternal One,
Shall accomplish it!
Pamela Glasgow
The Psalm Project represents my desire for a deeper understanding of the Word of YAHUAH. It is not a mechanical translation, a one-word-for-word exchange from Hebrew to English. We have those. This is a lyrical adaptation of the many possibilities hidden in the Hebrew, arranged with consideration for the poetic and musical intent of the original writer. I pray you are as enriched in the reading as I was in the transcribing.
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