Verses of Song

p'sukei d'zimra

פסוקי דזמרא

Israeli: ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together.

How to read the transliterations

Psalm 150

Hebrew

הַלְלוּיָהּ.
הַלְלוּ אֵל בְּקָדְשׁוֹ, הַלְלוּהוּ בִּרְקִיעַ עֻזּוֹ.
הַלְלוּהוּ בִגְבוּרֹתָיו, הַלְלוּהוּ כְּרֹב גֻּדְלוֹ.
הַלְלוּהוּ בְּתֵקַע שׁוֹפָר, הַלְלוּהוּ בְּנֵבֶל וְכִנּוֹר.
הַלְלוּהוּ בְּתֹף וּמָחוֹל, הַלְלוּהוּ בְּמִנִּים וְעֻגָב.
הַלְלוּהוּ בְצִלְצְלֵי שָׁמַע, הַלְלוּהוּ בְּצִלְצְלֵי תְרוּעָה.
כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ, הַלְלוּיָהּ.
כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ, הַלְלוּיָהּ.

Israeli

haleluyah.
halelu El b'kodsho, haleluhu birkia uzo.
haleluhu vigvurotav, haleluhu k'rov gudlo.
haleluhu b'teka shofar, haleluhu b'nevel vechinor.
haleluhu b'tof umachol, haleluhu b'minim ve-ugav.
haleluhu v'tziltzelei shama, haleluhu b'tziltzelei t'ru-ah.
kol haneshamah tehalel Yah, haleluyah.
kol haneshamah tehalel Yah, haleluyah.

English

HALLELUYAH! Praise God. Praise God in the sanctuary. Praise God in the heavens, the seat of God’s power. Praise God at the triumph of the Divine. Praise God in accord with the greatness of God. Praise God with the call of the shofar. Praise God with the harp and the lyre. Praise God with timbrel and dance. Praise God with flute and strings. Praise God with crashing cymbals. Praise God with rousing cymbals. Let every breath be praise of God; hallelujah, praise God. Let every breath be praise of God; praise God, hallelujah!

CONCLUSION OF THE SELECTION OF PSALMS

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם, אָמֵן וְאָמֵן.
בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה מִצִּיּוֹן, שֹׁכֵן יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם, הַלְלוּיָהּ.
בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת לְבַדּוֹ.
בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹדוֹ לְעוֹלָם,
וְיִמָּלֵא כְבוֹדוֹ אֶת־כֹּל הָאָרֶץ,
אָמֵן וְאָמֵן.

Israeli

baruch Adonai le-olam, Amen ve-Amen.
baruch Adonai mitziyon, shochen Yerushalam, haleluyah.
baruch Adonai Elohim Elohei Yisra-el oseh nifla-ot levado.
baruch shem k'vodo le-olam,
veyimalei ch'vodo et-kol ha-aretz,
Amen ve-Amen.

English

Bless Adonai, always, amen and amen. From Zion, bless Adonai who dwells in Jerusalem; praise God, hallelujah. Bless Adonai, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be God’s glorious name, always; and may God’s glory encompass the entire world. Amen and amen.

Some congregations continue with Nishmat, page 145.

Commentary

PSALM 150. This psalm brings the Book of Psalms to an exultant close. The Book of Psalms begins with the praise of the single righteous individual, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in the way of the wicked” (Psalm 1:1), and concludes with every living being praising God.

BLESS ADONAI, ALWAYS בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה לְעוֹלָם. The Book of Psalms is composed of five smaller “books”; each of the first four conclude with a blessing. Two of those blessings, Psalms 89:53 and 72:18–19, are quoted here, to conclude the morning recitation of the Davidic psalms. Between these two, another verse (Psalm 135:21) is added, specifying that Adonai is the God of Israel—much like a letter’s address on an envelope. The selected verses all begin with the word barukh, “blessed.” Thus, just as we began P’sukei D’zimra with a multiple repetition of “blessed” in Barukh She-amar (page 122), so too, here, we repeat that word with multiple verses. The oldest versions of P’sukei D’zimra ended here, and so the opening and closing verses of this paragraph form a conclusion by repeating the affirmative response, “Amen.”

Psalm 150: An Interpretive Translation Praise God in the depths of the universe; praise God in the human heart. Praise God’s power and beauty, for God’s all-feeling, fathomless love. Praise God with drums and trumpets, with string quartets and guitars. Praise God in market and workplace, with computer, with hammer and nails. Praise God in bedroom and kitchen; praise God with pots and pans. Praise God in the temple of the present; let every breath be God’s praise. —STEPHEN MITCHELL …