Read the Psalter in Russian online. Translations of the Psalms into Russian

It occupies a special place. Written long before the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is the only book of the Old Testament that has completely entered the liturgical charter of the Christian Church and occupies a prominent place in it.

The special value of the Psalter is that it depicts the movements of the human soul striving for God, it gives a high example of prayerful opposition to sorrows and temptations and glorification of God. “In the words of this book, all human life, all states of the soul, all movements of thought are measured and embraced, so that nothing more can be found in a person than what is depicted in it,” says St. Athanasius the Great. The grace of the Holy Spirit, penetrating every word of the Psalter, sanctifies, purifies, supports those who pray with these sacred words, drives away demons and attracts Angels.

The first Christians deeply revered and loved the Psalter. They memorized all the psalms by heart. Already in apostolic times, the Psalter was widely used in Christian worship. In the modern liturgical charter of the Orthodox Church, the Psalter is divided into 20 sections - kathisma. The Psalms are read in the temple daily at every morning and evening service. During the week, the book of Psalms is read in full, and Great Lent is read twice during the week. Psalms are also included in the prayer rule prescribed for the laity.

For a simple reading of the psalms, if a Christian does not take some kind of vow or a permanent addition to the generally accepted rule, there is no need to take a blessing from the confessor. But it is absolutely necessary to take a blessing from the priest if a layman imposes on himself some special constant prayer rule or some kind of vow.

Priest Vladimir Shlykov explains why this is necessary:

“Before you take on any prayer rules, you need to consult with your confessor or with the priest with whom you regularly confess. Having assessed your life situation and the measure of spiritual progress, the priest will bless (or not bless) to read. It often happens that a person takes on an unbearable burden, and in connection with this, he has spiritual problems. If you pray in obedience and with blessing, then such problems can be avoided.” “The priest is the conductor of the grace of God. Therefore, when they take a blessing, they are applied not to the hand of the priest, but to the Hand of the Lord. Let's say we want to receive God's blessing, but how do we know if He has blessed or not? For this, the Lord left a priest on earth, gave him special authority, and the grace of God descends on the believers through the priest. In addition, during personal communication, you will be able to ask the priest all your questions about what you are taking the blessing for. And the priest will advise what will be useful for you. Through the Internet, you can only give general advice, but you can receive grace, as well as hear something specific from the priest, only in the temple.”

St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) writes: “Say the words a little aloud when you pray in private, and this helps to maintain attention.”

Rev. Seraphim of Sarov advised that it was necessary to read prayers in an undertone or quieter, so that not only the mind, but also the ear would listen to the words of the prayer (“Give joy and joy to my hearing”).

The titles of the psalms are not to be read. You can read the psalms both standing and sitting (the word “kathisma” translated into Russian is “what is read while sitting”, in contrast to the word “akathist” - “not sitting”). It is imperative to get up when reading the opening and closing prayers, as well as at the Glory.

There is no need to lose heart and be embarrassed if at first the meaning of the psalms is sometimes incomprehensible. You can always look at incomprehensible expressions in . As we read and our spiritual maturation, the deep meaning of the psalms will open deeper and brighter.

Priest Anthony Ignatiev advises those who wish to read the Psalter: “To read the Psalter at home, it is advisable to take a blessing from the priest. When reading a strict rule at home, how to read no, it is much more important to tune in to prayer. There are different practices for reading the Psalter. It seems to me that reading is most acceptable when you do not depend on the volume of what you have read, i.e. are not required to read kathisma or two a day. If there is time and a spiritual need for prayer, you start reading from the place where you left off last time, having made a bookmark.

If the laity add one or several selected psalms to the cell prayer rule, they read only their text, as, for example, the fiftieth psalm in the morning rule. If a kathisma, or several kathismas, is read, then special prayers are added before and after them.

Before reading a kathisma or several kathismas

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and fills everything, Treasury of the good and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed, our souls.

Trisagion

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.(Three times)

Prayer to the Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Lord, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Your name's sake.

Lord have mercy. (Thrice).

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Lord's Prayer

Our Father, Who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Lord have mercy (12 times)

Come, let us worship our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us bow down and bow down to Christ, our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us bow down and bow down to Christ Himself, the King and our God.(Bow)

On "Glory"

Where the kathisma is interrupted by the mark "Glory", the following prayers are read:

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, glory to Thee, O God! (3 times)

Lord have mercy. (3 times)

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Prayers for health and repose in Glory:

Save, O Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father name), my parents ( names), relatives ( names), bosses, mentors, benefactors ( names) and all Orthodox Christians.

Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of the departed Thy servants ( names) and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all their sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.]

And now, and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.

After reading the kathisma, they read the prayers and troparia indicated in the kathisma.

Prayer « Lord have mercy» read 40 times.

Sometimes, at will, between the second and third ten (between 20 and 21 prayers “Lord, have mercy!”), A believer’s personal prayer is said for the closest people, for the most urgent.

Finally, the servant of the Lord David, who sang to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of his enemies and from the hand of Saul, and said, 17. Finally, Psalm of David, 18. Finally, Psalm of David, 19. Psalm of David, 20. In the end, about the intercession of the morning, a psalm of David, 21. Psalm of David, 22. Psalm of David, on the first day of the week, 23. Kathisma fourth. Psalm of David, 24. Psalm of David, 25. Psalm of David, before the anointing, 26. Psalm of David, 27. Psalm of David, on the transfer of the tabernacle, 28. Psalm, song for the renewal of the house of David, 29. To the end, a psalm of David, in a frenzy, 30 Psalm of David, for instruction, 31. Kathisma fifth. Psalm of David, not inscribed among the Jews, 32. The psalm of David, sung by him when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech; and he let him go, and he went away, 33. Psalm of David, 34. To the end, servants of the Lord David, 35. Psalm of David, 36. Kathisma sixth. Psalm of David, in remembrance of the Sabbath, 37. Finally, Idifumu. Song of David, 38. Finally, Psalm of David, 39. Finally, Psalm of David, 40. In the end, as a lesson to the sons of Korah, the psalm of David is not inscribed among the Jews, 41. Psalm of David, not inscribed among the Jews, 42. In the end, the sons of Korah, in teaching, psalm, 43. To the end, about those who have to change, the sons of Korah, for a lesson, a song about the Beloved, 44. In the end, the sons of Korah, about secrets, psalm, 45. Kathisma seventh. To the end, sons of Korah, psalm 46. Psalm, song of the sons of Korah, on the second day of the week, 47. Finally, sons of Korah, psalm 48. Psalm of Asaph, 49. In the end, the psalm of David, sung by him after the prophet Nathan came to him; 2 After David went in to Bathsheba the wife of Uriah, 50. In the end, in the teaching, David; To the end, on maleth, to the teaching of David, 52. To the end, the song of David, to teaching; To the end, song, to teaching, Asapha, 54. Kathisma eighth. In the end, about the people removed from the shrines, David, to write on a pillar, when he was held by foreigners in Gath, 55. In the end, lest you destroy David, for writing on the pillar, when he fled from Saul into the cave, 56. In the end, lest you destroy David, for writing on a pillar, 57. In the end, lest you destroy David, for writing on a pillar, when Saul sent soldiers to lie in wait at his house in order to kill him, 58. In the end, about those who have to change, for writing on a pillar, David, as a lesson; In the end, song, David, 60. To the end, through Idifuma, Psalm of David, 61. Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judea, 62. Finally, Psalm of David, 63. Kathisma ninth. In the end, a psalm, the song of David, the song of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the people of the exiles, when they were preparing for the exodus from captivity, 64. In the end, song, psalm of resurrection, 65. In the end, psalm, song of David, 66. In the end, psalm, song of David, 67. In the end, about those who change, a psalm of David, 68. To the end, David, in remembrance that the Lord saved him, 69. Kathisma tenth. The psalm of David, the sons of Jonadab and the first captives, is not inscribed among the Jews, 70. About Solomon, Psalm of David, 71. The songs of David, the son of Jesse, have ended. Psalm of Asaph, 72. In teaching, Asapha, 73. To the end, lest you destroy, psalm, song of Asaph, 74 In the end, the psalm of Asaph, the song of the Assyrian, 75. To the end, through Idifuma, Psalm of Asaph, 76. Kathisma eleventh. For guidance, Asapha, 77. Psalm of Asaph, 78. In the end, about those who have to change, the revelation of Asaph, 79. In the end, about winepresses, Asaph's psalm, 80. Psalm of Asaph, 81. Song, psalm of Asaph, 82. In the end, about the winepresses, the sons of Korah, psalm, 83. To the end, sons of Korah, psalm 84. Kathisma twelfth. Prayer of David, 85. Sons of Korah, psalm, song, 86. Song, psalm, of the sons of Korah, about the end, on maleph, for an answer, for teaching, Haman the Israelite, 87. In teaching, Etham the Israelite, Psalm 88. Prayer of Moses, the man of God, 89. Song of Praise, not inscribed among the Jews, 90. Kathisma thirteenth. Psalm, song, on the Sabbath day, 91. On the day before the Sabbath, when the earth was peopled, David's song of praise, 92. Psalm of David, fourth day of the week, 93. Hymn of David, not inscribed among the Jews, 94. David's song of praise, when the house was built after the captivity, is not inscribed among the Jews, 95. David's psalm, when his land was settled, is not inscribed among the Jews, 96. Psalm of David, 97. Psalm of David, 98. Psalm of David, laudatory, 99. Psalm of David, 100. Kathisma fourteenth. The prayer of the wretched, when he loses heart and pours out his prayer before the Lord, 101. Psalm of David, 102. Psalm of David, about the being of the world, 103. Alleluia, 104. Kathisma fifteenth. Alleluia 105. Alleluia 106. Song, Psalm of David, 107. Finally, Psalm of David, 108. Kathisma sixteenth. Psalm of David, 109. Alleluia 110. Alleluia, Aggeevo and Zakhariino, 111. Alleluia 112 Alleluia 113 Alleluia 114 Alleluia 115 Alleluia 116 Alleluia 117 Kathisma seventeenth. Kathisma eighteenth. Song of Ascension, 119. Song of Ascension, 120. Song of Ascension, 121. Song of Ascension, 122. Song of Ascension, 123. Song of Ascension, 124. Song of Ascension, 125. Song of Ascension, 126. Song of Ascension, 127. Song of Ascension, 128. Song of Ascension, 129. Song of Ascension, 130. Song of Ascension, 131. Song of Ascension, 132. Song of Ascension, 133. Kathisma nineteenth. Alleluia, 135. David, through Jeremiah, 136. Psalm of David, Haggai and Zechariah, 137. To the end, David, a psalm of Zechariah, in scattering, 138. Finally, Psalm of David, 139. Psalm of David, 140. In teaching David when he prayed in the cave, 141. Psalm of David, when he was pursued by Absalom his son, 142. Kathisma Twentieth. Psalm of David, about Goliath, 143. Praise of David, 144. Alleluia, Haggai and Zechariah, 145. Alleluia, 146. Alleluia, Haggai and Zechariah, 147. Alleluia, Haggai and Zechariah, 148. Alleluia 149. Alleluia 150. This psalm is written specially, by David, outside the number of 150 psalms, about single combat with Goliath. Comments List of literature used in the preparation of comments List of accepted abbreviations of the books of the Old and New Testaments

To the reader

The Psalter of the Holy Prophet and King David is one of the sacred books of the Old Testament, in the Greek and Slavic tradition, consisting of one hundred and fifty-one psalms. The Greek word itself (“psalter”) means a musical instrument with 10-12 strings, and the word “psalm” (lit.: “rattling”) is a song that was performed accompanied by playing the psalter.

The basis of the book of Psalms is the psalms created by King David in the 11th-10th centuries BC. Echoes of many events of his life are heard in them. The rest of the psalms were written later, at different times, by the successors of King David, the "chiefs of the choirs", who had a poetic and prophetic gift. The prophet and king David, the great inspired poet, is called in the books of Holy Scripture "a faithful husband" (), who "from the bottom of his heart" sang his Creator (). His psalms, as it were, set the tone for everything that follows, and therefore the entire Psalter is usually called David's.

The psalter was the basis of the Old Testament worship: it was read and sung in the tabernacle, and then in the Jerusalem temple. In the 5th century BC, the priest Ezra, when compiling the Old Testament canon, combined the psalms into one book, preserving their liturgical division. By continuity with the Old Testament, the Psalter from the very first centuries became the most important liturgical book of the Christian Church.

In the Orthodox Church, the Psalter is heard at every morning and evening service; in a week it is read in full, and twice in a week - during Great Lent. The Psalter is the primary source of most of the morning and evening prayers, the verses of the psalms formed the basis of all the practices of public and private worship. Since the first centuries of Christianity, there has been the practice of reading the Psalter in private.

From ancient times, the Psalter attracted a very special, exclusive attention of the teachers of the Church. This book was seen as a concise repetition of everything that is contained in the Bible - historical narrative, edification, prophecy. One of the main advantages of the psalms was considered the complete absence of distance between the reader and the text: each person who prays pronounces the words of the psalms as his own, the psalms reflect the movements of the soul of each person, they can find spiritual advice for all occasions: “Everything that is useful in all books of Holy Scripture, - says the saint, - contains the book of psalms. She prophesies about the future, recalls events, gives laws for life, suggests rules for activity. In a word, the Psalter is a common spiritual treasury of good instructions, and everyone will find in it in abundance what is useful to him. She also heals old spiritual wounds, and gives a quick healing to the recently wounded; it strengthens the weak, guards the healthy, and destroys the passions that dominate souls in human life. The psalm brings peace to the soul, produces peace, tames stormy and rebellious thoughts. He softens the angry soul and chaste the sensual. The psalm concludes friendship, unites the scattered, reconciles the warring. What doesn't the Psalter teach you? From here you will know the greatness of courage, the severity of justice, the honesty of chastity, the perfection of prudence, the image of repentance, the measure of patience, and every good thing you name. Here there is a perfect theology, there is a prophecy about the coming of Christ in the flesh, there is a threat of the Judgment of God. Here the hope of the Resurrection and the fear of torment are inspired. Glory is promised here, secrets are revealed. Everything is in the book of psalms, as in a great and universal treasury" ( St. Basil the Great. Discourse on the first psalm).

“The book of Psalms is worthy of special attention and study in comparison with other books of Scripture,” writes St. Athanasius of Alexandria. – Everyone can find in it, as if in paradise, everything that is necessary and useful for him. This book clearly and in detail depicts all human life, all states of the spirit, all the movements of the mind, and there is nothing in a person that it would not contain in itself. Do you want to repent, confess, are you oppressed by sorrow and temptation, are you being persecuted or are building covens against you; whether despondency has taken possession of you, or restlessness, or something like that, you endure; whether you strive to progress in virtue and see that the enemy hinders you; Do you want to praise, give thanks and glorify the Lord? - In the Divine Psalms you will find instruction regarding all this ”( St. Athanasius of Alexandria. Epistle to Marcellinus on the interpretation of the Psalms).

“... In the Psalter you will find countless blessings,” says St. John Chrysostom. Have you fallen into temptation? You will find the best comfort in her. Fell into sin? You will find countless cures. Fell into poverty or unhappiness? “You will see many marinas there. If you are a righteous person, you will get from there the most reliable reinforcement, if you are a sinner, the most real consolation. If your good deeds puff you up, there you will learn humility. If your sins plunge you into despair, there you will find great encouragement for yourself. If you have a royal crown on your head or are distinguished by high wisdom, the psalms will teach you to be modest. If you are rich and famous, the Psalmist will convince you that there is nothing great on earth. If you are struck by sorrow, you will hear consolation. Do you see that some here are unworthily enjoying happiness - you will learn not to envy them. Do you see that the righteous suffer disasters along with the sinners - you will receive an explanation for this. Every word there contains an infinite sea of ​​thoughts" ( St. John Chrysostom. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. Conversation 28).

But the value of David's songs is not only in the ability to reach the depths of every heart. They carry in themselves something even more, they see the mystery of the Divine plan for man, the mystery of Christ's suffering. Entire psalms were regarded by the holy fathers of the Church as messianic, as prophecies about the coming Messiah. The Psalms reveal to us the full composition of the teaching about our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Church.

* * *

According to the testimony of the Monk Nestor the Chronicler, the Psalter, as a book necessary for worship, was translated into the Slavonic language in the 9th century by Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles from the Greek church text of the Seventy Interpreters - a translation of the Bible, carried out from the Hebrew copy at the end of the 3rd century BC. Thanks to the holy brothers, the Holy Scriptures also became available to the Slavic peoples, and newly converted Christians began to celebrate divine services in their native language.

The Psalter, the prayers of which are included in every liturgical service, immediately became the favorite reading of the Russian people, the main educational book in ancient Russia. A person who studied the Psalter was considered "bookish" - literate, able to read other books and understand the Divine service, which was the spiritual basis of the whole structure of life.

Having learned to read from the Psalter, the Russian man no longer parted with it. Every family had this holy book, which was passed down from father to children. The Psalter accompanied a person throughout his life: they read it not only at home, but took it with them on travels, for prayer and edification; psalms were read over the seriously ill patients; to this day, the custom of reading the Psalter for the dead has been preserved, dating back to the earliest times of Christianity. The statutes of many monasteries still prescribe the reading of the "indestructible Psalter."

In conjunction with the Book of Hours - a collection of hymns in relation to a certain time of worship - and selected troparia and kontakia, the Psalter took the form of the Followed, appointed for worship in the temple. The Psalter with the addition of patristic interpretations is called Explanatory. It is intended for private reading and provides a guide to the correct understanding and understanding of historically obscure and prophetic places in the sacred text.

* * *

The Church Slavonic language is a precious heritage that we have traditionally received from our ancestors along with the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Orthodox Church. Created by Saints Cyril and Methodius precisely in order to become the verbal flesh of divine thinking and prayer, this powerful, figurative, majestic language is sacred for us, never used in everyday life, to express everyday needs. On it, the mysterious communion of every Orthodox Christian with God takes place.

Unfortunately, the current generation turned out to be cut off from the age-old traditions of Russian culture. The Russian literary language, one of the essential factors of Russian self-consciousness, survived a cruel reform, and the life-giving Church Slavonic that had nourished it for many centuries was taken out of the scope of school education and was taught only in a small number of theological educational institutions. As a result, the hierarchy of linguistic values ​​has changed, the integrity of the worldview that distinguished Orthodox consciousness has been broken, the blood connection between the Russian literary language and Church Slavonic has been severed in the minds of many people, and we hardly heed the language of sacred books.

Our ancestors understood learning to read as the first step towards knowledge of God. For centuries, many generations of the Russian people mastered their native language according to the Church Slavonic literacy. The soul of a child, who comprehended the basics of his native language from the church primer or the Psalter, from an early age got used to inspired verbs, tuned in to the perception of Divine teaching. In one of the ancient editions of the Book of Hours, in instruction to the wise reader, it is said: “To what subtle childhood is taught, decrepit old age leaves it inconveniently: for by increasing the frequency of work, the custom is perceived and for many times the character is affirmed, nature has strength. It is the same diligently to observe the Orthodox children, but not foul language, shameful speech and vain eloquence from infancy learn, even the essence is soul-destroying ... but as if in the spring of their life, the fields of their hearts with teaching weigh and the seeds of the word of God, sown from teaching, joyfully accept , if you would gather soul-giving classes in the harvest year, and those fruits in abundance and here live the winter of old age honestly, and into the heavenly granary through endless eternity, those for the sake of being saturated ... Prayer is a verb to God, while reading God's conversation to you : when you read, God talks to you, and when you pray, you talk with God, and there is your sacrifice pleasing to Him, but you have a strong help in labor and in battle with the demon, for to him she is an unbearable rod and a very sharp sword, but from hearts are sent to pure grief, it penetrates the heavens and from there it does not return in vain, but brings down the gifts of grace, making the mind wiser and saving souls.

Created at the instigation of the Holy Spirit, the Church Slavonic language, from the beginning having a doctrinal purpose, called upon to express theological truths, prayerful movements of the soul and the subtlest shades of thought, teaches us to understand the spiritual meaning of things and events; With all its structure and spirit, the language of our Church elevates a person, helping him ascend from the ordinary into the sphere of a higher, religious feeling.

The history of the comprehension by the Russian church-religious consciousness of the depth of the meaning of the Old and New Testament invariably combined two tendencies: the desire to fully and accurately reproduce the original of the sacred books and the desire to make them understandable for the Russian people.

Translation work on the text of the Bible has always been an integral part of the evolving church life. Already at the end of the 15th century, Russian society had at its disposal not only a Slavic translation of Greek manuscripts that reproduced the text of the Seventy Interpreters, but also a translation of some books from the Latin Vulgate with non-canonical books included in it (the so-called Gennadius edition), and printed in 1581 in Ostrog Slavic Bible synthesized in itself the Latin tradition of the Gennadius Bible with corrections made according to the Greek text. In the 18th century, the Slavic Bible was returned to its original course of the Greek tradition: the decree of Peter I on November 14, 1712 ordered that the Slavic Bible be brought into agreement with the translation of the Seventy Interpreters, and this task was practically completed in the Elizabethan era.

Later, when, due to the natural development of the Russian language, the Church Slavonic Bible ceased to be generally intelligible, one of the ways of necessary explanation of the Church Slavonic text was to print it in parallel with the Russian translation. The Gospel, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, and some prayer books have already been published in this form. It is quite obvious that the Psalter also needs this kind of edition.

A complete translation of the Bible into Russian was undertaken as early as the beginning of the 19th century. This work was started by the Russian Bible Society with the books of the New Testament (1818) and the Psalter (1822) and completed in 1876, when the full Russian text of the Bible was published in a synodal edition. With all the enormous and undeniable significance of this translation, which we use to this day, it could not adequately facilitate for the reader the understanding of biblical texts included in the circle of church service: firstly, the compilers of the publication focused mainly on the Hebrew text, in in some places it does not coincide with Greek, from which the translators of the Bible into Slavonic proceeded; secondly, the syllable of the translation does not recreate the solemnly confidential sound of the Slavic recension.

The inadequacy of the Russian translation to the liturgical text is most acutely felt in the Psalter. Attempts to translate the Greek Psalter into Russian were made after the publication of the synodal edition by Reverend Porfiry (Uspensky) and Professor P. Jungerov. In its style, more emotional than the synodal text, but not sublime enough, replete with colloquial expressions, the translation of the Right Reverend Porfiry (1893), made from a Greek source, could not serve as an analogue of the Church Slavonic Psalter. P. Jungerov, who published a new Russian translation of the Psalter in 1915, set himself the goal of bringing the translation of the Greek Psalter closer to the Slavic tradition. Jungerov's translation is interesting and valuable, first of all, as a work of a textual critic: the scientist revealed the Greek church manuscript tradition, on which the Church Slavonic Psalter is based, and at the same time noted some small discrepancies between them. The translation is semantically accurate and well commented, but in style it resembles an interlinear for scientific use: its language is heavy, sluggish, bloodless and does not correspond to the sublimely lyrical intonation of the original.

Meanwhile, for thoughtful private reading, especially for a person who is taking the first steps in the study of the Church Slavonic language, a Russian literary translation is needed, which in its structure and stylistic means of expression is close to the Slavic Psalter, which provides the first guide and help for reading a God-inspired book precisely in Church Slavonic.

The edition offered to the reader's attention presents the "traditional" Slavic Psalter. The Church Slavonic text of the Psalter, including prayers for kathismas and prayers after reading several kathismas or the entire Psalter, is printed in full accordance with synodal editions, preserving the structure and all the traditional features of the publication of liturgical texts in the Church Slavonic press. The psalms are printed with a parallel translation, which is made directly from the Church Slavonic language. The translation was made by E. N. Birukova († 1987) and I. N. Birukov in 1975–1985. The inspirer of this work at its initial stage was Professor B. A. Vasiliev († 1976), who provided the translators with invaluable help with his textual consultations.

The translators sought not only to help our contemporaries to penetrate into the spirit and meaning of the Psalter, but also to create an equirhythmic translation that could be read freely with all the intonations inherent in the Slavic text, its images and epithets. Translators carefully deciphered images and phrases that were incomprehensible without interpretation in the spirit of an ancient monument, highlighting such inserts in italics. During the work, the following were taken into account: the translation of P. Jungerov with his valuable footnotes; Synodal translation; translation of Bishop Porfiry (Uspensky); "Explanation of the 118th Psalm" by St. Theophan, the Hermit Vyshensky; Explanatory Psalter of Euphemia Zigaben; patristic interpretations of Saints Athanasius the Great, Cyril of Jerusalem, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, Theodoret of Cyrrhus and other teachers of the Church, revealing in their works both the direct, historical meaning of the text, and its symbolic and prophetic meaning.

Approaching the sacred text with great reverence, but fearing prosaism and literalism, translators in rare cases were forced to deviate from the syntactic structure of the Church Slavonic Psalter and, while maintaining the accuracy of the meaning, resorted to small paraphrases and rearrangement of words according to the logic of the modern Russian language.

The translation was checked with the Greek text of the Seventy Interpreters by T. A. Miller, and she also compiled notes oriented to the patristic tradition, designed to show the historical context and symbolic meaning of individual verses of the Psalter, as well as to explain images that are obscure to the modern reader.

In 1994, this translation of the Psalter was blessed for publication by His Eminence John, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, who headed the Liturgical Commission at the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Psalter (Psalter) is a book of the Old Testament, which consists of 150 or 151 songs-psalms. In some languages ​​the book has a title "Psalms". The Psalter is located among the teaching books of the Old Testament after the book of Job. The Psalter became a liturgical book under David. Later, the liturgical use of the Psalter passed to the Christians.

The importance of the book of Psalter is evidenced by the fact that it has come down to us in the largest number of manuscripts among all the books of the Old Testament.

Read Psalter / Psalter

The Psalter contains 150 psalms:

Numbering of the Psalms

The numbering of the psalms is different in Hebrew and Greek. The Orthodox Church uses Greek numbering. The Catholic Church uses both numbering options. In our description, we will use the Greek version (150 psalms).

Inscriptions in the psalms.

Many psalms have inscriptions - additional information about the authors, performers of the psalms, indicates the events to which the psalms are dedicated. The translation of the inscriptions turned out to be particularly difficult, so there are many options for their translation. Translators can only guess about the meaning of some words.

Psalm inscriptions often indicate the order in which they should be performed. The musical instrument and the motive to which the psalm should be performed are determined.

Authorship

In the inscriptions of psalms, proper names are often found, but it is not always clear whose names these are - the author, performer, or the person to whom the psalm is dedicated. It is customary to consider the author of the Psalter, although absolutely all researchers are sure that the psalter is the fruit of the labor of more than 10 authors. Moreover, the book was created for a long time - perhaps even more than a dozen generations. The time of the creation of the psalms is from the time of Moses to the return from the Babylonian captivity.

• David,
• Asaph - the main psalmist under David,
• The sons of Korach are the temple gatekeepers,
• Adam,
• Yeman,
• Idifun
• Moses etc.

The Psalter was created gradually as a product of collective creativity and in the course of creation was subjected to a mass of editions.

The Psalms of the Psalms are conventionally divided into 4 groups:

1. Personal complaints.

The scheme of a psalm of this type: appeal to God -> description of the situation -> hope in God -> request -> praise to God.

1. People's lamentations.

They have a structure similar to personal complaints, but they are a collective appeal to God.

1. Psalms of Praise to the Lord.

The scheme of a psalm of this type: a promise to give praise to the Lord -> a description of the blessings sent down -> deliverance -> giving praise -> instructing people to trust in God

1. Hymns.

Singing the majesty of God and His mercy.

In addition to the psalms that belong to these four groups, mention should also be made of psalms of wisdom, songs of ascension and royal psalms.

Ascension songs- Psalms sung by pilgrims while climbing Mount Zion.

Royal psalms- psalms describing important events from the royal life, for example, ascension to the throne.

Interpretation of the Psalms.

Many editions of the Psalms contain interpretations of the psalms. Of the ancient interpretations, interpretations are especially popular:

• John Chrysostom,
• Ambrose,
• Augustine,
• Theodoret of Kirsky,
• Euphemia Zigaben.

From the new interpretations:

• Tolyuka,
• Ewald;
• Bishop Theophan,
• Archpriest Vishnyakov.

In no other book of the Old Testament is personal faith in God shown in such a variety of ways as in the book of Psalms. The Book of Psalter is a collection of religious poetry. Many of the psalms in the Psalter are addressed to God and are a reflection of personal religious feeling. The psalms reflect the joy of being able to commune with God. Through the psalm, a person can express reverence for God. The psalms also reflect folk wisdom.

Literary features of the Psalms.

The first two psalms set the tone for the entire book. They are excellent examples of Hebrew biblical poetry. The poetic power of the Psalter is based on the syntactic parallelism of texts, when a thought is expressed through synonymy, or opposite points of view are expressed in parallel.

Veliko and genre diversity psalms. According to the genre of psalms, Psalms can be divided into:

• Praise God
• Prayers (psalms 6, 50),
• Complaints (psalms 43, 101),
• Curses (psalms 57, 108),
• Historical psalms (105),
• Marriage song (44),
• Philosophical psalms (8),
• Hymns (103), etc.

Despite the division of the book into psalms and their genre diversity, the Psalter is an integral work, the main idea of ​​which is the ability of a person to turn to God and reveal to him the depth of his soul.

Many of the psalms were translated into verse. Almost every canon has its own poetic Psalter. Only Lutherans do not use the Psalter in verse in their services.

In Russian poetry, poetic translations and paraphrases of individual psalms were addressed to:

• Lomonosov,
• Sumarokov,
• Derzhavin,
• Glinka and others.

Features of the language of the Psalms.

1. associativity,
2. Imagery,
3. Symbolism,
4. allegorical,
5. Emotionality.

Psalter in Judaism.

Psalms play an important role in Judaism. They are used as personal prayers and for services in the synagogue. Some psalms are read here daily (for example, 144 - 150 psalms). Psalms 112-117 are read on holidays. There are certain psalms corresponding to the day of the week.

Psalter in Orthodoxy

In the Orthodox Church, many psalms are read daily in the service and are assigned to individual services. During Vespers, Psalms 103, 140, 141, 129, 116 and 33 are read. At the beginning of Matins, Psalms 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, 142 are read. Psalm 50 is read before reading the canon. Psalm 118 is included in the funeral service. It is also read on the eve of parental Saturdays. Various psalms are used in the Liturgy, prayers and ceremonies.

The monks read the Psalter during the week. During Great Lent, the Psalter is read in monasteries that adhere to the Rule twice. The Psalter is used for private prayer.

Catholic psalter.

In the Catholic tradition, the psalms are part of the daily worship in their "pure" form, in contrast to the Orthodox Church, where stichera and troparia are used to a greater extent. Basically, a four-week cycle of reading the Psalter is practiced. The Psalter is also used in home personal prayer. For example, seven psalms of repentance are read in Lent.

The Psalter in the Islamic Tradition.

The Koran states that Allah is to David, the book of Zabur, which is identified with the Psalter. However, in the Islamic tradition it is believed that the psalter has survived to this day in a distorted form. The Psalter is considered a prophetic book in Islam.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Psalter is for many the most important book of the Old Testament. The Psalter is a book of prayers. You can read the Psalter in any case - in sorrow and in joy.

It can be said without exaggeration that for a Christian the Psalter is the most precious book of the Old Testament. The Psalter is a book of prayers for all occasions: in sorrow, in a sense of hopelessness, in fear, in calamities, in tears of repentance and in joy after consolation received, in need of thanksgiving and to offer pure praise to the Creator. St. Ambrose of Milan writes: “In all Scripture the grace of God breathes, but in the sweet song of the psalms it breathes predominantly.”

The Psalter got its name from the Greek word “psalo,” which means to tinkle on the strings, to play. King David was the first to begin to accompany the singing of the divinely inspired prayers composed by him by playing a musical instrument called the “psaltyrion,” similar to a harp. The Jews call the book of Psalms “Tehillim,” which means “praise.”

The Psalter, being composed over 8 centuries - from Moses (1500 years BC). to Ezra-Nehemiah (400 years BC), contains 150 psalms. King David initiated this book by compiling the largest number of psalms (more than 80). In addition to David's, the Psalter includes psalms: Moses - one (89th ps.), Solomon - three (71st, 126th and 131st), Asaph the seer and his descendants-asafites - twelve; Eman - one (87th), Etham - one (88th), the sons of Korah - eleven. The rest of the psalms belong to unknown writers. The psalms are composed according to the rules of Hebrew poetry and often achieve amazing beauty and power.

Often at the beginning of the psalms there are inscriptions that indicate their content: for example, “prayer” (a petitionary psalm), “praise” (a laudatory psalm), “teaching” (a didactic psalm), or the way of writing: “pillars”, i.e. e. epigrammatic. Other inscriptions indicate the way of performance, for example: “psalm” - i.e. with accompaniment on a musical instrument-psalters; “song” - i.e. voice performance, vocal; “on string instruments;” “on the eight-string;” “otochilekh” or in the Russian Bible “on the tool of Gath” - i.e. on zither; “about changeables” - i.e. with a change of instruments. Above some psalms are inscribed the words of the song, on the model of which this psalm should be performed, something like "similar" in the evening and morning services.

The Psalter was for the most part already the final book in ancient Russian education, necessary not only for church ministers, but also for secular persons. The writings of Theodosius of the Caves, Metropolitan Hilarion, Cyril of Turov, Serapion of Vladimir, Vladimir Monomakh are full of references to psalms and sayings from them. Her influence is very palpable in folk proverbs. Psalms were transcribed by almost all of our poets of the 18th century; from the poets of the 19th century - Khomyakov, Yazykov and others.

In almost every verse of the Psalms, the Church reflects the New Testament, one or another event or thought.

King David - chief author of the Psalter

The content of the psalms is closely connected with the life of the righteous King David. David, born a thousand years before the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, was the youngest son of the poor and large shepherd Jesse. Even in his early youth, being a shepherd, David began to compose inspired prayers to the Creator. When the prophet Samuel, sent by God, entered the house of Jesse to anoint the king for Israel, the prophet thought to anoint one of the elder sons. But the Lord revealed to the prophet that the youngest son, still quite a youth, David, was chosen by Him for this high ministry. Then, obeying God, Samuel pours holy oil on the head of his youngest son, thereby anointing the kingdom. From that time on, David became the anointed of God - the messiah (the Hebrew word "messiah," in Greek "Christ," means the anointed one). But not immediately David proceeds to the actual kingship. He still has a long way of trials and unjust persecution from the then ruling king Saul, who hated David. The reason for this hatred was envy, since the lad David defeated the hitherto invincible Philistine giant Goliath with a small stone and thereby gave victory to the Jewish army. After this incident, the people said: "Saul defeated thousands, and David - tens of thousands." Only a strong faith in God as an intercessor helped David endure all the many persecutions and dangers that he was subjected to by Saul and his servants for almost fifteen years. Wandering for months in the wild and impenetrable desert, King David poured out his grief to God in inspired psalms (see psalms 7, 12, 13, 16, 17, 21, 39, 51, 53, 56, 58). The victory over Goliath is depicted by David in the 43rd psalm.

By reigning in Jerusalem after the death of Saul, King David became the most eminent king ever to rule over Israel. He combined many valuable qualities of a good king: love for the people, justice, wisdom, courage and, most importantly, strong faith in God. Before solving any state issue, King David appealed to God with all his heart, asking for enlightenment. The Lord helped David in everything and blessed his 40-year reign with many successes. As a ruler of the kingdom, David saw to it that the worship in the tabernacle would be splendid, and for it he composed psalms, which were often sung by the choir, accompanied by musical instruments. Often David himself led the religious holidays, bringing sacrifices to God for the Jewish people and singing psalms (See his psalms on the transfer of the Ark: 14 and 23).

But David did not escape severe trials. One day he was seduced by the beauty of a married woman, Bathsheba. King David mourned his sin in the well-known 50th, repentant psalm. The heaviest sorrow for David was the military uprising led against him by his own son Absalom, who dreamed of prematurely becoming king. In this case, David experienced all the bitterness of black ingratitude and betrayal of many of his subjects. But, as before under Saul, faith and trust in God helped David. Absalom died ingloriously, although David tried his best to save him. He pardoned other rebels. David captured his emotional experiences in connection with the uprising of Absalom in the psalms: 4, 5, 6, 10, 24, 40-42, 54, 57, 60-63, 83, 140, 142.

With their poetic beauty and depth of religious feeling, David's psalms inspired the imitation of many subsequent compilers of psalms. Therefore, although not all the psalms were written by David, the name that is often given to the book of psalms is still true: “The Psalter of King David.”

The Prophetic Side of the Psalms

Being a king and a prophet, and also to a certain extent a priest, King David represented by himself the greatest King, Prophet and High Priest - Christ the Savior, a descendant of David according to the flesh. The personal experience of King David, as well as the poetic gift that he possessed, gave him the opportunity in a whole series of psalms with unprecedented brightness and liveliness to prophetically outline the personality and feat of the coming Messiah.

Here is a list of the most important prophetic psalms: about the coming of the Messiah: 17, 49, 67, 95-97. About the Kingdom of the Messiah: 2, 17, 19, 20, 44, 65, 71, 109, 131. About the priesthood of the Messiah: 109. About the suffering, death and resurrection of the Messiah: 15, 21, 30, 39, 40, 65, 68, 98:5 (40, 54 and 108 - about Judas the traitor). About the ascension of Christ to heaven: 23, 67. Christ - the foundation of the Church: 117. About the glory of the Messiah: 8. About the terrible judgment: 96. About the inheritance of eternal rest by the righteous: 94.

In order to understand the prophetic psalms, one must remember that David, like other great righteous men of the Old Testament, represented Christ by himself. Therefore, what he says, for example, about his sufferings or about glory, is not an exaggeration, but only partially applies to him. It fully refers to Christ. We see such an understanding of the psalms among the Apostles of Christ and among the holy fathers.

The Significance of the Psalms for Divine Services

In the Psalms there are many reflections, appeals to one's soul, many instructions and words of consolation. It is not surprising, therefore, for the exceptionally wide use of the Psalter in prayer. Not a single divine service, since the Old Testament times, is complete without psalms. Psalms began to be used at the daily sacrifices, on Sabbaths and holidays. David introduced the use of musical instruments in psalmody: stringed, wind and percussion - harps, tympans, psalters, cymbals, trumpets and others. The Lord Jesus Christ prayed with the words of the Psalms, for example: after the Last Supper, He “sang and went to the Mount of Olives” (Mt. 26:30). Following the example of Jesus Christ and the apostles, in the Church of the first centuries of Christianity, the Psalter was often used for prayer (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Cor. 14:26). In the 4th century, for the convenience of reading at divine services, the Psalter was divided into 20 parts - “kathism” (the word “kafizo” in Greek means “to sit”).

Some of the psalms are read several times during one liturgical day. All Orthodox worship is permeated with individual verses of psalms, in the form of prokimens, alliluaries, verses on “God is the Lord,” refrains to stichera, and other short appeals, pleading, repentant, laudatory. Christian prayers composed in the New Testament very often borrow expressions from the psalms. The Psalter, in the full sense of the word, is Christianized. This means that the Church puts a Christian meaning into all expressions, and the Old Testament element that exists in it fades into the background. The words in the psalms: "Arise," "Rise, Lord" raise our thought to the resurrection of Christ; the words about captivity are understood in the sense of the captivity of sin; the name of peoples hostile to Israel - in the sense of spiritual enemies, and the name of Israel - in the sense of the church people; a call to beat enemies - as a call to fight against passions; salvation from Egypt and from Babylon is like salvation in Christ.

In this pamphlet, we have placed mainly those psalms that are most often used in our services (see the index at the end of the booklet).

About translations of the Psalter

The original language of the Psalter, like other books of the Old Testament, is Hebrew. In the 3rd century BC, the Old Testament books were translated from Hebrew into Greek. This translation was called the translation of the 70 interpreters and served as the main source for the dissemination of the Old Testament Scripture in apostolic times. Over the centuries, due to scribal errors, some variation has crept into both the Hebrew and Greek biblical texts. This difference in reading, although small and not significant, is nevertheless in places quite noticeable to the ear. The difference in expressions is especially felt in the psalms because they are known to the praying person more than other Old Testament books. Comparing the differences in the psalms of the Hebrew text with the Greek of the 70 interpreters, many biblical scholars give preference to the latter. The apostles, who preached mainly among pagans who understood the Greek language, widely used the translation of 70 interpreters in their epistles. Thus, thanks to the holy Apostles and Church Fathers of the first centuries of Christianity, the Bible of the Greek translation of 70 interpreters became the book of the Church.

According to Nestor the chronicler, the Psalter was translated from the Greek translation of 70 interpreters into the Slavonic language by St. brothers Cyril and Methodius (in the 9th century). The translation of the psalms into Russian was made in the 19th century by the “Orthodox Bible Society.” The translation was based on the Jewish text, which, with the blessing of the Holy Governing Synod, entered the Russian Bible.

However, it should be said that for a Russian church person who is used to praying in Church Slavonic, the synodal translation of the psalms of the Russian Bible sounds dissonant due to frequent discrepancies in expressions with psalms read in church. Therefore, selected psalms in Russian, translated from Greek by 70 interpreters, are placed here. This beautiful, scientifically sound translation was made by Prof. Kazan Theological Academy P. A. Jungerov in 1915. This Russian translation is closer in spirit to the psalms read at our services than the psalms in the Russian Bible.

Selected Psalms Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who did not go to the assembly of the ungodly, and did not stand in the way of sinners, and did not sit in the company of destroyers, but his will is in the law of the Lord, and he will learn his law day and night. And he will be like a tree planted at the source of the waters, which will bear its fruit in due time, and its leaf will not fall. And whatever he does will be successful.

Not so wicked, not so: but they are like dust that the wind sweeps from the face of the earth! Therefore, the wicked will not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. Because the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 2 (Prophetic about Christ)

Why do peoples worry and nations plot in vain? The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. “Let us break Their bands and cast off Their yoke.” He who lives in heaven will laugh at them, and the Lord will humiliate them. Then he will speak to them in his anger, and with his fury he will cause them to be confused. But I have been appointed by Him king over His holy mountain Zion to proclaim the commandment of the Lord. The Lord said to me: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. You will rule them with a rod of iron, like a potter's vessels, you will crush them." And now, kings, understand, learn, all judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice before Him with trembling. Take advantage of the instruction, lest the Lord be angry, and you will perish from the right path, when His wrath is soon kindled. Blessed are all who trust in Him.

Psalm 3

God! How my persecutors have multiplied! Many rebel against me. Many say to my soul: “There is no salvation for him in his God.” But You, Lord, are my intercessor, my glory, and You lift up my head. With my voice I called to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain. I fell asleep, slept and got up, for the Lord will protect me. I will not be afraid of a multitude of people who attack me all around. Arise, Lord! Save me, my God! For You have smitten all those who fight against me in vain, You have broken the teeth of sinners. God bless you and your people bless you.

Psalm 4

When I called, the God of my righteousness heard me. In sorrow You gave me space. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer! Sons of men! How long will you (be) persistent? Why do you love vanity and seek lies? Know, then, that the Lord made His reverend marvelous. The Lord will hear me when I call to Him. When angry, do not sin. Whatever you speak in your hearts, grieve on your beds. Offer the sacrifice of righteousness and trust in the Lord. Many say: who will show us good? The light of Your face has impressed us, O Lord. You gave joy to my heart, and they were enriched from the fruit of wheat, wine and oil. With peace, I will fall asleep and calm down at the same time, for You, Lord, inspire me alone with hope.

Psalm 5

God! Listen to my words, understand my appeal. Listen to the voice of my prayer, my King and my God, for I will pray to You, Lord. In the morning hear my voice, in the morning I will stand before You, and You will see me. For You are the God Who dislikes iniquity, the evil one will not dwell with You. And the wicked will not stand before Your eyes; You have hated all those who commit iniquity. You will destroy all who speak lies, the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and flattering. And I, according to the multitude of Thy mercy, will enter Thy house, bow to Thy holy temple in fear of Thee. God! Guide me with Thy righteousness; for the sake of my enemies, straighten my path before Thee. For there is no truth in their mouth, their heart is vain, their throat is an open tomb, they flatter with their tongue. Judge them, God! Let them stray from their intentions. For the multitude of their wickedness cast them down, for they have grieved Thee, O Lord. And let all who trust in Thee rejoice, rejoice forever, and Thou shalt dwell in them, and those who love Thy name glory in Thee. For You will bless the righteous, O Lord: with favor, as with a weapon, You have protected us.

Psalm 8

Lord, our Lord! How wonderful is Your name in all the earth! Your greatness stretches above the heavens. Through the mouth of babes and sucklings You proclaimed praise for the sake of Your enemies, in order to destroy the enemy and the avenger. When I look at the heavens, the work of Your fingers, at the moon and the stars that You founded, then (I think) what is a man that You remember him? Or the son of man that you visit him? Little did You make him small before the Angels, You crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands, You placed everything at his feet: all sheep and oxen, as well as the cattle of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, passing through the paths of the sea. Lord, our Lord! How wonderful is Your name in all the earth!

Psalm 12

How long, Lord, will you forget me completely? how long will you turn your face away from me? How long will I keep thoughts in my soul, sorrow in my heart day and night? how long shall my enemy be exalted above me? Look, hear me, Lord, my God, enlighten my eyes, so that I will not fall asleep in death. Let not my enemy say, “I have overcome him!” Those who oppress me will rejoice if I hesitate. I have trusted in your mercy. My heart will rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord who has blessed me, and I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 16

Hear, O Lord, my truth, heed my prayer, hear my prayer not from flattering lips. May judgment come to me from Your presence, may my eyes see righteousness. You tried my heart, you visited me at night, you tried (by fire) me, and no unrighteousness was found in me, so that my mouth would not speak of the deeds of men. According to Your mouth, I have guarded myself from cruel ways. Set my feet in Thy paths, lest my feet stagger. I called because You heard me, God, incline Your ear to me and hear my words. Reveal Thy mercies marvelously, saving those who trust in Thee from those who oppose Thy right hand. Keep me, O Lord, like the apple of your eye; under the shelter of your wings, hide me from the wicked who offend me: my enemies have oppressed my soul. They were enclosed in their fat (fat): their mouth spoke arrogant things. My persecutors have now surrounded me; they have fixed their eyes to cast me to the ground. They lay in wait for me, like a lion that rushes to its prey, and like a lion cub that lives in secret places. Arise, O Lord, warn them and stupefy them, deliver my soul from the wicked, with Thy weapons from the enemies of Thy hand. God! Separate them from the little ones on earth during their lifetime. Their wombs were filled with Thy treasures: their sons are full and left the remnant to their descendants. But in truth I appear before Your face; I shall be satisfied when Your glory appears to me.

Psalm 22

The Lord shepherds (leads) me and does not deprive me of anything. There, in a green place, He settled me and brought me up by still water. He turned my soul, directed me on the path of truth for the sake of His name. Even if I walk in the shadow of death, I will not fear evil, for You are with me: Your rod and Your staff - they consoled me. You have prepared a table for me in the sight of my oppressors, You have anointed my head with oil, and Your cup makes me drink like an excellent one! And Your mercy follows me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for many days!

Psalm 23

The Lord's earth and everything that fills it, the universe and all who live in it. He founded it on the seas, and built it on the rivers. Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who will stand in His holy place? He who has blameless hands and a pure heart, who in his soul was not carried away by vanity and did not swear evilly to his neighbor. This one will receive a blessing from the Lord and mercy from the God of his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob! Princes, lift up your gates and rise up, eternal gates! And the King of Glory will enter. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord is strong and strong, the Lord is strong in battle. Princes, lift up your gates and rise up, eternal gates! And the King of Glory will enter. Who is this King of Glory? Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory.

Psalm 24

To Thee, O Lord, I have ascended with my soul. Oh my God! I have trusted in You, so that I will not be put to shame forever, and my enemies will not laugh at me. For all who trust in You will not be put to shame. Let them all be put to shame, those who do wrong in vain. Thy ways, O Lord, show me, and teach me Thy paths. Lead me to Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art God, my Savior, and in Thee I have hoped all day long. Remember Thy bounties, O Lord, and Thy mercies, for they are of everlasting. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my ignorance; according to Your mercy, remember me, according to Your goodness, Lord. The Lord is good and right, therefore He will show the sinners the way of the law. He will guide the meek in judgment; He will teach the meek in His ways. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth for those who seek His covenant and His revelations. For the sake of Your name, Lord, cleanse my sin, for it is great. What kind of person fears the Lord? He will give him the law for the way that pleases him. His soul will dwell among blessings, and his seed will inherit the earth. The Lord is a support to those who fear Him, and His covenant will be revealed to them. My eyes are always (turned) to the Lord, for He will pull my feet out of the net. Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am lonely and miserable. The sorrows of my heart have multiplied; bring me out of my misfortunes. Look at my humility and my exhaustion and leave all my sins. Look at my enemies: how they have multiplied and (with what) unrighteous hatred they have hated me! Save my soul and deliver me, so that I will not be ashamed that I trusted in You. The gentle and righteous have united with me, for I have trusted in You, Lord. Deliver, O God, Israel from all his sorrows.

Psalm 32

Rejoice, righteous ones, in the Lord. Praise befits the righteous. Praise the Lord on the harp, sing to Him on the ten-stringed psalter. Sing a new song to Him, sing to Him harmoniously, with an exclamation! For the word of the Lord is right, and all His works are faithful. The Lord loves mercy and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens are established, and by the Spirit of His mouth all their strength. He collects, like fur, the waters of the sea, concludes the abyss in treasuries. May the whole earth fear the Lord, may all who live in the universe tremble before Him! For He spoke - and it was, commanded - and it was created. The Lord destroys the councils of nations, cancels the plans of people and rejects the advice of princes.

The counsel of the Lord endures forever; the thoughts of His heart endure for generation and generation. Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen as His inheritance. The Lord looked down from heaven and saw all the sons of men. From His prepared dwelling He looked at all those who live on earth, He Who created their hearts especially and delves into all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great strength, and the giant is not saved by the abundance of his strength. The horse is deceitful for salvation: by its great strength it will not be saved. These are the eyes of the Lord over those who fear Him, who trust in His mercy: to deliver their souls from death and to feed them in times of famine. Our soul trusts in the Lord, for He is our helper and protector. Our hearts will rejoice in Him, and we have hoped in His holy name. May Thy mercy be upon us, O Lord, as we trusted in Thee.

Psalm 33

I will praise the Lord at all times, His praise is always on my lips. In the Lord my soul shall glory, that the meek shall hear and rejoice. Magnify the Lord with me, and let us all exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my sorrows. Come to Him and be enlightened, and your faces will not be put to shame. This poor man called out, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him from all his troubles. The Angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him and deliver them. Taste and see how good the Lord is: blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Fear the Lord, all His saints, for there is no shortage of those who fear Him. The rich have become poor and hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not be deprived of any good.

Come, children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who loves life, wants to see good days? Keep your tongue from evil and your mouth from evil words. Turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and strive for it. The eyes of the Lord are towards the righteous, and His ears towards their prayer. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, in order to destroy the memory of them from the earth. The righteous called, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them from all their sorrows. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the humble in spirit. The righteous have many sorrows, but the Lord will deliver them from all of them. The Lord keeps all their bones, not one of them will be broken. The death of sinners is disastrous, and those who hate the righteous sin. The Lord will redeem the souls of His servants, and all who trust in Him will not sin.

Psalm 37

God! Rebuke me not in your wrath, and punish me not in your anger. For Thy arrows have pierced me, and Thou hast set Thy hand upon me. There is no healing in my flesh from Thy wrath; there is no peace in my bones from my sins. For my iniquities exceeded my head, like a heavy burden they weighed down on me. My wounds stink and fester from my madness. I suffered and bent to the end, walked all day in sorrow. My insides are full of inflammations, and there is no healing of my flesh. I suffered a lot and was excessively humiliated, I cried out from the torment of my heart.

God! Before You, all my desire and my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart is troubled, my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes I have not even that. My friends and my neighbors drew near to me and stood opposite me, and my closest ones stood far from me; those who seek my soul pressed in, and those who seek evil for me spoke vain things and thought of deceit all day long.

But I, like a deaf man, did not hear, and, like a dumb one, I did not open my mouth. And he was like a man who did not hear and did not have an answer in his mouth. For in You, O Lord, I trusted: You will hear, O Lord my God. For I said, “Let not my enemies triumph over me.” For when my feet staggered, they towered over me.

I am close to defeat, and my illness is always before me. For I will declare my iniquity and take care of my sin. But my enemies live and have become stronger than I, and those who hate me unjustly have multiplied. Those who repay me evil for good slandered me because I followed good. Do not leave me, Lord, my God, do not depart from me! Hasten to help me, O Lord of my salvation!

Psalm 40

Blessed is he who thinks of the poor and needy! In the day of adversity the Lord will deliver him. May the Lord preserve him, and save his life, and grant him bliss on earth, and may he not betray him into the hands of his enemies. May the Lord have mercy on him on his sickbed! You changed his bed during his illness.

I said: Lord! Have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against You. My enemies said evil about me: “When he dies, and his name perishes!” And if (who) came to see (me), then he spoke a lie, his heart contained iniquity. And going out, he conspired with the enemies: they whispered against me, they plotted evil against me. A word of transgression was made against me (saying:) “Will the one who is lying rise again?” Even a person friendly to me, in whom I hoped, who ate my bread, raised his heel against me. You, Lord, have mercy on me, and strengthen me, and I will repay them. From this I know of Your good pleasure towards me, that my enemy will not triumph over me. And me, in my gentleness, You accepted and established me before You forever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!

Psalm 45

God is our refuge and strength, a helper in the grave sorrows that have befallen us. Therefore, let us not be afraid when the earth shakes and the mountains move into the midst of the seas. Their waters roared and roared, the mountains shook with His strength. The currents of the river gladden the city of God: the Most High has sanctified His city. God is in his midst, and he will not be moved: God will help him from early morning. The nations were in turmoil, kingdoms bowed, the Most High gave His voice: the earth shook. The Lord of hosts is with us, our intercessor is the God of Jacob. Come and see the works of God, the miracles that He has done on earth: He will stop fighting to the ends of the earth, the bow will crush and break weapons, and burn shields with fire. Take it easy and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on earth. The Lord of hosts is with us, our intercessor is the God of Jacob.

Psalm 50 (repentant)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy and according to the multitude of Thy mercies, cleanse my iniquity. Wash me many times from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, for I recognize my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. You alone have I sinned and done evil before You, so that You will be righteous in Your judgment and overcome when You judge. For behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and in sins my mother bore me. But you loved the truth: the unknown and secret of your wisdom you showed me. Sprinkle me with hyssop (an herb used in worship) and I will be cleansed, wash me and I will become whiter than snow.

Give joy and gladness to my ears, and the humble bones will rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and confirm me with the Sovereign Spirit. I will teach the transgressors Your ways, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from (shedding) blood, O God, God of my salvation! And my tongue will joyfully praise Your righteousness. God! Open my mouth and they will proclaim Your praise. If You had wanted a sacrifice, I would have given it, (but) You are not pleased with a burnt offering. Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise the contrite and humble heart.

Benefit, O Lord, according to Your good pleasure, Zion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then you will be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering, then they will offer calves on your altar.

Psalm 53

God! Save me in Your name and judge me by Your power. God, hear my prayer, heed the words of the mouth

mine! For strangers rose up against me, and the strong sought my soul, and did not present God before them. But here God helps me, and the Lord is the protector of my soul. He will turn evil on my enemies: according to Thy truth, destroy them. I will willingly offer you a sacrifice, I will glorify your name, Lord, for it is good. For you have delivered me from all sorrow, and my eye has looked upon my enemies.

Psalm 54

Hear, O God, my prayer and do not despise my prayer. Heed me and hear me: I grieved in my sorrow and was troubled by the voice of the enemy and from the oppression (from) the sinner, for they raised iniquity against me and in anger were at enmity with me. My heart fluttered within me and the fear of death attacked me. Fear and trembling came upon me, and darkness covered me. And I said: who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at peace? So I, running away, went away and settled in the wilderness. I expected God to save me from cowardice and storm. Drown (them), O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen iniquity and strife in the city. Day and night they walk around on its walls, iniquity and wickedness among it and unrighteousness. And do not become scarce in the squares of his interest and deceit.

If the enemy reproached me, I would suffer (this), and if the one who hates me exalted himself over me, I would hide from him. But you are a unanimous person, my adviser and my friend; you, who enjoyed food with me, (with whom) we went together to the house of God. May death come upon them, and may they descend alive into hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings, in their midst. I called to God, and the Lord heard me. In the evening and in the morning and at noon I will tell, and I will proclaim, and He will hear my voice. He will deliver my soul in peace from those who approach me, for many of them were with me. God will hear and He will humble them before the ages, because there is no change in them and they did not fear God. He stretched out his hand to repay (them): they broke his covenant. Separated from His wrathful face. (Although) they drew near in their hearts, their words are softer than oil, but they are arrows. Lay your sorrow on the Lord, and He will saturate you: he will not give confusion to the righteous forever. But you, O God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloodthirsty and flattering men will not live up to half their days; but I trust in You, Lord.

Psalm 62

God, my God! I turn to You in the morning, my soul longed for You, and how strongly my flesh (sought) for You in the empty, impenetrable and waterless land! So I would appear to You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory! For Your mercy is dearer than life. My mouth will praise You. So I will bless You in my life, in Your name I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be satisfied as with fat and oil, and my lips shall praise You with a voice of joy. I remembered You on my bed, in the morning hours I thought about You. For You have been my helper, and under the shelter of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul clung to Thee, and Thy right hand received me. And they searched in vain (for the destruction) of my soul, they will descend into the underworld of the earth, they will be delivered to the sword, they will be prey to foxes. The king will rejoice in God, everyone who swears by Him will be glorified, for the mouth of those who speak lies is shut up.

Psalm 66

God! Have mercy on us and bless us, show Your bright face to us and have mercy on us to know Your way on earth, in all nations - Your salvation! May the nations praise You, O God! Let the nations rejoice and rejoice, for you will judge the nations with righteousness and guide the nations of the earth. May the nations praise You, O God! May all nations praise You! The earth gave its fruit. Bless us, our God, bless us, God, and may all the ends of the earth fear Him!

Psalm 69

God! Hasten to help me. God! Don't hesitate to help me. May those who seek my soul be ashamed and put to shame; Soon, let those who say to me in shame, “Good, good” return back! May all those who seek You, O God, rejoice and rejoice in You, and let those who love Your salvation say unceasingly, “May the Lord be magnified!” And I am poor and miserable. God, help me: You are my helper and my deliverer. Lord, don't slow down!

Psalm 83

How desirable are Your dwellings, O Lord of hosts! In every way my soul desires (to enter) into the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God. For the bird finds a dwelling place for itself, and the turtledove a nest for itself, in which it will lay its chicks: (such) are Your altars for me, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God! Blessed are those who live in Your house: forever and ever they will praise You. Blessed is the man for whom You have protection, who has set in his heart the ascent to the appointed place, through the valley of weeping. For the Lawgiver will give a blessing. They will ascend from strength to strength, the God of gods will appear (to them) in Zion. Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer, hearken, O God of Jacob! Our protector, behold, O God, and look upon Thy anointed! For one day in Thy courts is better than a thousand; I would rather be cast down at the house of my God than dwell in the houses of sinners. For the Lord loves mercy and truth, God will give grace and glory. The Lord will not deprive those who walk without malice. Lord, God of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Psalm 84

God! You showed favor to Your land, you brought back the captives of Jacob. He has forgiven the iniquities of Your people, He has covered all their sins. I have stopped all Your anger, I have restrained myself from Your angry fury. Restore us, O God of our salvation, and turn your wrath away from us. Will you be angry with us forever? Or will you spread your wrath from generation to generation? God! You will revive us again, and Your people will rejoice in You. Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy and grant us Thy salvation. I will hear what the Lord God will say in me: how He will speak peace on His people, and on His saints, and on those who turn their hearts to Him. Thus, His salvation is close to those who fear Him, so that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth met, truth and the world kissed each other! Truth shone forth from the earth, and truth descended from heaven. For the Lord will give good, and our land will give its fruit. Truth will go before Him and set its steps in the way.

Psalm 85

Incline, O Lord, Thy ear and hear me, for I am poor and wretched. Save my soul, for I am pleasing (to You). Save Thy servant, my God, who trusts in Thee. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I cry to You every day. Rejoice the soul of your servant, for I have ascended to you with my soul. For You, Lord, are good and meek and merciful to all who call on You. Hear, O Lord, my prayer and heed the voice of my supplication. In the day of my sorrow, I called out to You, for You listened to me. There is none like You, O Lord, among the gods, and there is none (like) according to Your works. All the nations that You have created will come and worship You, O Lord, and glorify Your name. For You are great and worker of miracles, You are the One God. Guide me, O Lord, in Your way, and I will walk in Your truth. Let my heart rejoice, fearing thy name. I will confess to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever. For Your mercy towards me is great, and You delivered my soul from hell. God, the transgressors have risen up against me, and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul and have not presented You before them. But You, O Lord my God, are generous and merciful, long-suffering, and many-merciful, and true. Look upon me and have mercy on me, grant Your strength to Your servant and save the son of Your servant. Make with me a sign for good: let those who hate me see and be ashamed (seeing) that You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 87

Lord God of my salvation! Day and night I called out to You. Let my prayer enter before You; incline Your ear to my supplication. For my soul has been filled with calamities, and my life has drawn near to the grave. I have become like a helpless man, numbered among the dead, like the dead, lying in the tomb, whom You no longer remember and who are rejected by Your hand. They put me in the pit of hell, in darkness and the shadow of death. Your wrath has weighed down on me, and all Your waves You have brought upon me. You removed my acquaintances from me: they considered me disgusting for themselves. I'm locked up and can't get out. My eyes were exhausted from suffering. I cried to Thee, O Lord, all day long; I lifted up my hands to Thee. Do you work miracles for the dead? Or will the doctors resurrect them and they will confess You? Who in the tomb will proclaim Your mercy and Your truth in the (place) of perdition? Will Thy wonders be known in darkness, and Thy righteousness in the forgotten land? But I called to You, Lord, and in the morning my prayer will precede You. Why, Lord, do you reject my soul, turn your face away from me? I am poor and in labor from my youth: having risen, I humbled myself and became exhausted. Thy wrath swept over me, Thy fears shook me: they surrounded me like water all day long, embraced me all together. You removed my friend and neighbor and my acquaintances from me because of my sufferings.

Psalm 89

Lord, You are our refuge from generation to generation. Before the mountains came into being and the earth and the universe were created, You are from everlasting to everlasting. Don't put the person down. You said, "Return, sons of men!" A thousand years before Your eyes, O Lord, like yesterday that has passed, and like a watch of the night. Their years will be insignificant: like grass disappears, which in the morning will bloom, turn green, but by evening it will fall off, wither and wither. We have vanished in Your wrath and are shaken by Your fury. Thou hast laid our iniquities before Thee, and our age before the light of Thy countenance. All our days have passed, and we have disappeared in Your wrath. Our summers are like cobwebs. Our term is seventy years, and if we are able - eighty years, and then most of them are labor and illness, for humiliation has befallen us, and we (these) have been taught. Who can know the power of Thy wrath and in fear comprehend Thy wrath? Therefore show thy right hand to me and to those whose hearts are taught wisdom.

Turn, Lord! How long? Have mercy on your servants. May we soon be satisfied with Your mercy, O Lord, let us rejoice and rejoice, all our days, (as a reward) for the days in which You humbled us, for the years in which we saw evil. And look at Your servants, at Your creatures, and instruct their sons. And may the light of the Lord our God be in us, help us in the work of our hands, help us in the work of our hands.

Psalm 90

He who lives with the help of the Most High will dwell under the shelter of the God of heaven. He will say to the Lord: “You are my intercessor and my refuge, my God, I trust in You.” He will deliver you from the net of hunters and from the rebellious word. With His shoulders He will protect you, and under His wings you will be safe. His truth will protect you with a shield. You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the plague that walks in darkness, the pestilence that ravages at noon. A thousand will fall near you, and ten thousand to your right, but they will not come near you. Only you will look with your eyes, and you will see the reward of sinners. For you said: The Lord is my hope. You have chosen the Highest as your refuge. Evil will not come to you, and the plague will not come near your dwelling. For He commanded His angels to keep you in all your ways. They will take you in their hands so that you do not trip your foot on a stone. You will step on the asp and the basilisk (the asp and the basilisk are poisonous snakes) and you will trample on the lion and the serpent (devil).

“Because he trusted in Me, I will deliver him, I will protect him, for he has known My name. I am with him in sorrow: he will call on me, and I will hear him; I will deliver him and glorify him; I will satisfy him with length of days and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 91

It is good to confess the Lord and sing to Your name, O Most High, to proclaim in the morning Your mercy and Your truth every night, on a ten-stringed psalter, with singing, on the harp. For You, O Lord, have made me glad with Your work, and I will admire the works of Your hands. How majestic are Your works, O Lord! Wonderfully deep are Your thoughts! A foolish man will not know, and a foolish man will not understand. While sinners have grown like grass, and all those who do iniquity have appeared to disappear forever, but You are exalted forever, Lord! For behold, thy enemies, O Lord, for behold, thy enemies shall perish, and all that do iniquity shall be scattered. And my horn will be exalted like that of a unicorn, and my old age will be anointed with fat oil. And my eye will look at my enemies, and my ear will hear about the evil people rising up against me. The righteous will flourish like a date, and multiply like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still prosper in an honest old age and be blessed to proclaim how righteous the Lord our God is, and there is no unrighteousness in Him!

Psalm 92

The Lord reigned, clothed in splendor, the Lord was clothed with strength and girded, for he established the universe, which will not be shaken. Your throne has been prepared from time immemorial: you have existed from time immemorial. The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices. The rivers will raise their waves high, from the noisy movement of many waters. Marvelous are the high waves of the sea, marvelous is the Lord in the highest. Your revelations are very true. Your house, O Lord, befits holiness for many days.

Psalm 95

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His name, proclaim daily the gospel of His salvation. Proclaim His glory among the nations, His wonders among all nations. For the Lord is great and very glorious, terrible for all the gods. For all the gods of the Gentiles are demons, but the Lord created the heavens. Praise and beauty before Him, holiness and splendor in His sanctuary. Bring to the Lord, fatherlands of the nations, give glory and honor to the Lord! Give the Lord the glory of His name, take sacrifices and enter into His courts. Worship the Lord in His holy court. Let the whole earth be moved before His presence! Tell the nations that the Lord has reigned, for he has established the world, which will not move; He will judge the nations with righteousness. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth rejoice, let the sea and that which fills it move! The fields will rejoice and all that is in them. Then all the oak trees will rejoice at the presence of the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness and the nations with his truth.

Psalm 96

The Lord reigns, may the earth rejoice, may the numerous islands rejoice! Cloud and darkness are around him, righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his throne. Fire will pass before Him and burn around His enemies. His lightning lit up the universe, the earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of all the earth. The heavens have proclaimed His righteousness, and all the nations have seen His glory. Let all who worship idols, who boast in their idols, be put to shame. Worship Him, all His Angels! Zion heard and rejoiced, and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of Thy judgments, O Lord. For You are the Lord above all the earth, highly exalted above all the gods. Lovers of the Lord, hate evil! The Lord guards the souls of His saints; He will deliver them from the hand of a sinner. Light shone on the righteous, and joy on the right heart. Rejoice, righteous ones, in the Lord, and tell the memory of His holiness.

Psalm 100

I will sing to You for mercy and judgment, O Lord! I will sing meditation on the blameless path: when will you come to me? I walked in the midst of my house with a gentle heart; I did not place before my eyes the deeds of the lawless; I hated those who commit crime. The depraved did not stick to my heart, I did not know the wicked (man) changeable to me. Secretly slandering his neighbor - this I drove out; with a proud look and an insatiable heart - with this I did not eat. “My eyes are (turned) on the faithful of the earth to sit with me; this one who walks in an undefiled way served me. Did not live inside my house acting proudly; whoever spoke the truth was not right before my eyes. In the morning I beat all the sinners of the earth, in order to destroy from the city of the Lord all those committing iniquity.”

Psalm 102

Bless, my soul, the Lord and all my inwardness - His holy name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His blessings: He forgives all your iniquities, heals all your ailments, delivers your life from the grave, surrounds you with mercy and bounty, fulfills your good desires, renews your youth like an eagle's.

The Lord shows mercy and truth to all the offended. He showed His ways to Moses, to the sons of Israel - His desires (laws). The Lord is generous and merciful, long-suffering and many-merciful. Not to the end will be angry and never be indignant. He dealt with us not according to our iniquities, nor did He repay us according to our sins. For as high is the heaven above the earth, so great is the mercy of the Lord to those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, (so) He removed our iniquities from us. As a father has mercy on his sons, so the Lord has mercy on those who fear Him. For He knows our nature, remembers that we are dust. Man's days are like grass; like a wild flower, so it blooms. The wind will pass over him, and he is no more, and he will not find his place. The mercy of the Lord from age to age is on those who fear Him, and His righteousness is on the sons of sons, who keep His covenant and remember His commandments in order to fulfill them.

The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom possesses everything. Bless the Lord, all His angels, mighty in strength, who do His word, who hear His voice. Bless the Lord, all His armies, His servants, who do His will. Bless the Lord, all His works, in every place of His dominion. Bless the Lord, my soul!

Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, my soul! Oh my God! You are wonderfully great, You have clothed yourself in glory and splendor. You clothe yourself with light as with a garment; you stretch out the sky like a leather tent. You cover Your heights with water, You make the clouds Your chariot, You walk on the wings of the wind. You create Your angels as spirits and Your servants as fiery flames. He founded the earth on her firmament; she will not bend forever and ever. The abyss is like a garment, its covering. Waters will rise on the mountains: they will flee from your prohibition, they will be afraid of the sound of your thunder. They rise (like) mountains and descend (like) plains to the place that You appointed them. You have set a limit that they will not cross, nor will they return to cover the earth.

You direct the springs into the valleys: waters flow among the mountains, watering all the animals of the field; wild donkeys (of them) quench their thirst. The birds of the air dwell with them, from the midst of the rocks they utter a voice. You water the mountains from Your heights; the earth is saturated with the fruits of Your works. You grow grass for livestock and herbs for the benefit of people, to bring (them) food from the ground: wine gladdens the heart of man, oil softens his face, and bread strengthens the heart of man.

The trees of the field are saturated, the cedars of Lebanon, which You have planted. Birds make nests there, the stork's dwelling rises above them. High mountains are for deer, rocky rock is a refuge for hares. You created the moon to (indicate) the times, the sun will know its west. You spread darkness, and the night comes, during which all the animals of the forest walk, young lions, roaring for prey to beg food from God for themselves. The sun rose and they gathered and lay down in their lairs. A man (then) goes out to his work and to his work until evening.

How majestic are Your works, O Lord! You have made everything in wisdom. The earth is full of your creatures. This is a great and spacious sea: there are reptiles, of which there are no number, small animals with great ones. Ships are sailing there, and this serpent (whale) that You created to play in it. Everyone is waiting for food from You, so that You will give them in time. When You give them, they receive; when you open your hand, everyone will be satisfied with goodness. When You turn away Your face, they are confused; take their spirit and they will disappear and return to their land. Send forth your Spirit, and they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord be forever! The Lord rejoices in His works. He will look at the earth and it will shake, touch the mountains and they will smoke.

I will sing to the Lord in my life; I will sing to my God as long as I exist. May my conversation be pleasing to Him, and I will rejoice in the Lord. May the sinners disappear from the earth and the lawless so that they do not exist! Bless, my soul, the Lord!

Psalm 109 (Prophetic about Christ)

The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord will send you a scepter of strength from Zion, and rule among your enemies. Dominion is with you in the day of your power in the splendor of your saints. “From the womb before the morning star I begot you.” The Lord has sworn and will not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at Your right hand, He will strike in the day of His wrath the kings, He will execute judgment on the nations, He will fill (the earth) with corpses, He will crush the heads of many on earth. From the stream on the way he will drink, and therefore he will lift up his head.

Psalm 111

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; he will greatly love his commandments. His offspring will be mighty on earth, the generation of the righteous will be blessed. Glory and riches are in his house, and righteousness endures forever. Light shone in the darkness for the righteous: he is merciful and generous and righteous. A good man who gives generously will arrange his affairs in judgment, so that he will not be shaken forever. In eternal memory there will be a righteous man, a bad rumor will not be afraid. His heart is ready to trust in the Lord, his heart is unshakable, he will not be afraid until he sees (the death of) his enemies. He squandered, gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever, his power will be exalted in glory. The sinner sees (this) and becomes angry, gnashes his teeth and melts. The desire of the sinner will perish.

Psalm 114

I rejoice that the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer. Since He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on (Him) all my days. Mortal diseases seized me, hellish disasters befell me. I met sorrow and torment and called on the name of the Lord. Oh Lord, deliver my soul! The Lord is merciful and righteous, and our God is merciful. The Lord keeps babies. I humbled myself and He saved me. Return, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has blessed you. For He delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I will be pleasing to the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 115

I believed and therefore said: I am very contrite. But I said in my frenzy: every man is a liar. What shall I repay the Lord for all that He has given me? I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord before all His people. Honorable before the Lord is the death of His saints. God! I am Your servant. I am Your servant and the son of Your handmaid. You have broken my bonds. I will offer you a sacrifice of praise and I will call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord before all His people, in the courts of the Lord's house, among you, Jerusalem!

Psalm 116

Praise the Lord, all you peoples, praise Him, all the people, for His mercy towards us is unshakable, and the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Psalm 117

Confess to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let all those who fear the Lord say, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. In sorrow I called on the Lord, and He heard me (leading) into the open. The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid: what will a man do to me? The Lord is my helper, and I will look to my enemies. It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes. All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I resisted them. They surrounded me like bees in a honeycomb and kindled like fire in thorns, but in the name of the Lord I resisted them. Downcast, I was ready to fall, but the Lord supported me. My strength and my singing is the Lord, and He was my salvation. The voice of joy and salvation in the villages of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord showed strength. The right hand of the Lord has exalted me, the right hand of the Lord has shown strength. I will not die, but I will live and tell the works of the Lord. Teaching, the Lord punished me, but did not give me death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: having entered them, I will confess to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord: the righteous will enter it. I confess to You, for You heard me and were my salvation.

The stone, which the builders neglected, became the cornerstone: This was from the Lord, and marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad in it. Oh Lord, save me! Oh Lord, hurry up! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! we have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God the Lord has appeared to us. Gather together for the feast in large crowds (reaching) to the horns of the altar. You are my God and I will praise You. You are my God and I will praise You. I will confess to You, for You heard me and were my salvation. Confess to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 120

I have lifted up my eyes to where my help comes from. My help is from the Lord who created heaven and earth. He will not let your foot stumble, your Guardian will not slumber. Behold, the Guardian of Israel does not sleep and does not sleep. The Lord keeps you, the Lord is your protection from your right hand. During the day, the sun will not burn you and the moon at night (does not hurt). The Lord will keep you from all evil, the Lord keeps your soul. The Lord will guard your entrance and your exit from now on and forever.

Psalm 129

From the depths (heart) I called to You, Lord: Lord, hear my voice! May Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If you see iniquity, Lord, Lord, who will stand? For you have cleansing. For the sake of Your name, I waited for You, Lord, my soul trusted in Your word, my soul trusted in the Lord. From the morning watch until night, from the morning watch, let Israel hope in the Lord. For the Lord has mercy and great deliverance with him, and he will deliver Israel from all their iniquities.

Psalm 140

Lord, I called to You, hear me, heed the voice of my prayer when I call to You. Let my prayer go forth like incense before Thee; the lifting up of my hands is the evening sacrifice. Put, O Lord, a guardianship over my mouth, and a door to the enclosure of my mouth. Do not incline my heart to evil words, to devise an excuse for sins along with people who commit iniquity, and let me not be numbered among the elect among them. The righteous will guide me mercifully and rebuke me, but let the oil of the sinner not anoint my head, but my prayer is against their good will. They were swallowed up like a stone by their judges; my words were heard, for they prevailed. As a lump of earth breaks up on earth, so their bones were scattered in hell. But to You, Lord, Lord, my eyes (are turned), I trusted in You: do not take away my soul. Keep me from the snares that have been laid out for me, and from the obstacles (from outside) that commit iniquity. Sinners will fall into their net, but I will remain alone until I cross it.

Psalm 141

With my voice I called to the Lord, I prayed with my voice to the Lord. I will pour out my supplication before Him, I will proclaim my sorrow to Him. When my spirit departed from me, You also (then) knew my paths. On this path, on which I walked, (they) spread a net for me. I looked to the right and saw: and there was no one who knew me, there was no place where I could run, and no one cared about my soul. I called to You, Lord, and said: You are my hope, my part in the land of the living. Attend to my prayer, for I am greatly humiliated; Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may confess Your name. The righteous are waiting for me until you repay me.

Psalm 142

God! Hear my prayer, hearken to my prayer according to Thy truth. Hear me in Thy righteousness, and enter not into judgment with Thy servant, for no one who lives will be justified before Thee. For the enemy has persecuted my soul, humbled my life to the ground, made me sit in darkness, as if I had died from the ages. And my spirit is despondent in me, my heart is troubled in me. I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all Your works, I was edified by the creations of Your hands. I stretched out my hands (prayerfully) to You: my soul (strives) to You, like a waterless earth. Hear me soon, O Lord: my spirit is gone. Do not turn Your face away from me, (otherwise) I will be like those who go down to the grave. Bring me Your mercy in the morning, for I trusted in You. Show me, O Lord, the path by which I should go, for I have ascended to Thee with my soul. Remove me from my enemies, for I have resorted to You. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. Your good Spirit will lead me to the land of righteousness. For the sake of Your name, Lord, you give me life; in your righteousness you will bring my soul out of sorrow. And by Your mercy You will destroy my enemies and destroy all who oppress me, for I am Your servant.

Psalm 145

Praise, my soul, the Lord. I will praise the Lord in my life; I will sing to my God as long as I exist. Trust not in princes, in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit will go out, and he will return to his land, in that day all his plans will perish. Blessed is the one to whom the God of Jacob is a helper, and whose hope is in the Lord their God, who created heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them. Keeps the truth forever, performs (right) judgment for the offended, gives food to the hungry. The Lord looses the chained, the Lord makes the blind wise, the Lord lifts up the cast down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects strangers, He will accept an orphan and a widow, and destroy the path of sinners. The Lord will reign forever. Thy God, Zion, for generations of generations!

Psalm 149

Sing a new song to the Lord: praise be to Him in the congregation of the saints. May Israel rejoice in their Creator, and may the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise His name with their face, to the timbrel and the psalter let them sing to Him. For the Lord is pleased with his people, and will lift up the meek to salvation. The saints will be praised in glory and rejoice in their beds. The glory of God is in their mouths, and two-edged swords are in their hands to take vengeance on the nations, punishment on the nations. Bind their kings with chains and their nobles with hand-made iron shackles. Carry out judgment on them. This glory will belong to all His saints.

Psalm 150

Praise God in His saints, praise Him in the firmament of His might. Praise Him according to His power, praise Him according to His greatness. Praise Him with the voice of the trumpet, praise Him on the psalter and the harp. Praise Him on the timbrel and chorus, praise Him on the strings and organ. Praise Him with melodious cymbals; praise Him with loud cymbals. Let every breath praise the Lord!

Pointer

Psalms used in worship

Matins: Beginning: 19, 20. Six Psalms: 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, 142. Before the canon: 50. Laudatory psalms: 148, 149, 150.

Clock: First: 5, 89, 100. Third: 16, 24, 50.

Sixth: 53, 54, 90. Ninth: 83, 84, 85.

Vespers: Introductory psalm: 103, “Blessed is the man:” 1. On “Lord, I cry:” 140, 141, 129, 116. At the end of Vespers: 33 (only during Great Lent).

Compline: 4, 6, 12, 69, 90, 142.

Before Communion: 22, 23, 115.

Liturgy: 102, 145.

Burial: 118.

About the sick person: 70, thanksgiving: 117, new year: 64, travelers: 120, prayer service: 142.

Psalms by content

Gratitude and praise: 33, 65, 66, 91, 95, 96, 102, 103, 116, 145, 149, 150.

Glorifying God: 8, 17, 92, 102, 103.

Instructive: 1, 40, 32, 45, 84, 89, 100, 111, 126.

Pour out grief: 3, 12, 16, 37, 54, 87, 141, 142.

Expressing hope in God: 53, 85, 90, 111, 120

Asking for protection and help: 3, 4, 24, 40, 54, 69, 142.

Penitential: 38, 50.

Expressing joy: 32, 83, 114.

The Book of Psalms has been translated into many languages ​​of the world. In Russian, you can find the Church Slavonic translation, the Synodal translation, the translation of Pavel Jungerov and others. How they differ tells the poet and publicist Yulia Rudenko. For example, we took Psalm 99.

Story

Compared to the first king of Israel, Saul, a mature husband and father, a strong and strong warrior, King David during the “anointing” was a frail young man who talentedly played the kinnor, a stringed instrument. However, David did not have to take courage and ingenuity - it is enough to recall the legend of his victory over the giant of the enemy Philistines, Goliath. Nevertheless, David paved the way to eternity precisely with his laudatory songs, appeals to God, and not with battles. It was already in Russia that they were called psalms, since one of the stringed musical instruments of the Israelis was the psalterion, and in Greek “psalm” means a song.

Young David plays the kinnor in front of King Saul. N. Zagorsky, 1873

Many generations after the Russian prince Vladimir the Red Sun, who forcibly introduced Christianity in Kievan Rus, learned to read and write from the psalter. Being an obligatory part of the Old and New Testaments, the psalter of 150 (+1) songs has firmly entered the consciousness of Christians, and in particular of an Orthodox person. But does everyone understand the meaning of the psalms? This question tormented the most progressive scientific minds of Russian philologists of recent centuries. It is for us, contemporaries who are not familiar with the Old Slavonic language, and even more so with ancient Greek or Hebrew, that it is especially difficult if we intend to comprehend the essence of what was sung by David and his followers. And although the oldest clergymen explain in such cases: "... everything will be revealed in due time" (Sir 39:22), let's push ourselves a little towards knowledge in order to shed light on some of the existing translations of the liturgical Psalter.

“The dawn has not yet lit up,
And I already stood with the harp;
Soul to prayer torn,
And my spirit burned with faith,

such lines were born while thinking about Tsar David by the Russian Decembrist poet Fyodor Glinka in the 18th century. Long before the moment when our classics of literature decided to subject the texts of the psalms to rhyming processing for real songwriting, the Bible was brought to the Slavs from seventy-two Greek elders-scribes. Septuagint was the title of their translation of the divine book from Hebrew into Greek. That is, in fact, the text was translated into Old Slavonic from Greek with some errors. A little time passed - and in Russia a translation appeared from the original Jewish collection, which was called the Synodal, and according to which services are often conducted in Orthodox churches even now.

But the music is cacophonous, and the lyrics are without rhyme. The fact is that the ancient Jews, of course, did not have the achievements of modern culture for the last three thousand years. They sang whatever came to mind at that moment. Art, as such, had no other value than the conversation of the soul and feelings of man with God. Is it possible to imagine such a conversation of David, for example: “God, we went on a campaign against the Philistines, but they won, we were defeated ... No, no, it’s not like that, it sounds ordinary ... God, wait, I’m just a little I'll correct it and sing more beautifully... We met the Philistines on the battlefield, I was the first to throw my spear at them...”? Funny, isn't it? The peoples lived and fought sincerely, without preparation, without rehearsals, without "playing for the public." Continuous improvisation, impromptu and the philosophy of constant search for the meaning of one's existence on earth. If the rules of song construction did exist, they were very schematic and primitive. Modern literary scholars who have analyzed psalm-praises usually distinguish between three forms of parallelism in their writing. But I don’t think that David and other ancient Jews, glorifying God with their songs, specially worked on the phrases: “So, here I used synonyms, which means that in the next couplet I will turn to God through antonyms opposing each other ...”. No, it is already in the current civilization that it is customary to structure psalms for easier understanding. On synonymous, antithetic and synthetic parallelism, as well as on 20 kathismas (parts).

The emergence of the psalms. Hebrew original

Once in the 18th century, Johann Gottfried Herder, a famous German writer of the Enlightenment, said: “It takes ten years to study Hebrew to read Psalm 104 in the original.” It is unlikely that the second king of Israel, David, imagined that his musical appeals to God would be regularly read throughout all future centuries by a huge part of the world's population. The tsar had the difficult fate of constant wars, the fight against diseases and misfortunes in unsanitary conditions, in which, frankly, it was not easy to survive. Nevertheless, David raised the country from its knees, achieved its well-being, and he himself lived up to 70 years, and died by accident, stumbling on the stairs. How can you not think about divine protection? His faith in God was so strong that he did not start any business without God's blessing. And he talentedly performed his prayers according to the standards of his time and with inspiration performed to the music. His scribes wrote down several psalms for him. Current scientists argue about their exact number, approximately this figure is 78 out of 150. Subsequently, some believers and talented Israelites began to imitate David. For example, the authors of the Book of Praises that have survived to this day are also Solomon (the youngest son of David, heir and third king of Israel), Moses (a prophet who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years), Eman, Ethan, Asaph (David's close associates) and others.

Reading today the Psalter of the New Testament, adapted for the Orthodox person of the last centuries by various translators, one can direct one's pure thoughts to God, as the ancient Jews did. But it is difficult to imagine their language, their expression and emotionality. Experts note that the original words of the Psalter consisted of two or three syllables. This was characteristic in order to denote a special rhythm - after all, God was invisible and somewhere high in the sky, so you need to “get through” to him. The songs, in which both prayers, and praise to the Lord, and confession, and the hope for the coming of the savior Messiah, and repentance for sins, were filled with a passionate cry. By the 10th century A.D. e. this text was copied many times by scribes on parchment, sometimes undergoing some changes. Divine hymns eventually began to be sung by a huge chorus of Levites and worshipers. “Greek-Slavic poetry of the psalms,” says the cultural historian Georgy Fedotov, “is of a different quality than in the Hebrew original. The sharpness is softened, the pain is muffled, the cry is silenced. A veil of splendor is thrown over the rebellious confession of the soul.

Greek translation

The Septuagint, a translation of the 72 elders, canonized by the Orthodox Church as saints, is also called LXX for short. The task was set by the Alexandrian king Ptolemy Philadelphus. Scholars evaluate this Greek text, written in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. e., from the point of view of the originality of an independent book, and on the correspondence of its accuracy to the original. And although the Septuagint appeared somewhat earlier than the final canon of the Masoretic Tanakh (Bible), the numbering in them completely coincides. However, the suggestion that the Greek translation was intended as an interlinear translation of the Masoretic text of the Psalter for the emigrant communities of Jews and Jews was abandoned over time. Too often, Greek translators took liberties in interpretations at their own discretion, introducing something of their own, personal. And the vocabulary of the Greek language itself is widely replete with abstract concepts, in contrast to the sometimes politically incorrect specifics of the Jewish one. In some places in the Book of Praises, such freedom was justified and beneficial, but sometimes completely superfluous, considered heresy.

In an amazing and incredible way, the Septuagint Psalter earned great popularity among people familiar with the letter, because it was constantly copied, which cannot be said about the Hebrew parchment scrolls, which were rather kept secret from the uninitiated.

Slavic translations

In a strange way, there are still disputes about the nationality of two famous brothers - Constantine-Cyril and Methodius. The Bulgarians believe that they were Bulgarians, the Greeks that they were Greeks. Be that as it may, the brothers who were born and lived in Byzantium also spoke Slavic as their own. Once, at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav, the brothers translated several liturgical books, including the Septuagint Psalter, into Slavonic (using the Glagolitic alphabet they had created). They suffered for this, because the Vatican believed that it was allowed to sing songs of praise to God only in three languages: Hebrew, Greek and Latin.

The manuscripts of Cyril and Methodius spread to the east of Kievan Rus, which to some extent also contributed to the adoption of Christianity here. However, unfortunately, these books have not been preserved. But they influenced the Old Church Slavonic translations that appeared in the following centuries. Arrangements are known Metropolitans Alexy and Cyprian who lived in the 14th century. The so-called Gennadievsky translation of the 15th century of the Novgorod Archbishop Gennady. And in the next 16th century, a great event took place: in the Russian Voivodeship of the Commonwealth, Ivan Fedorov opened a printing house. And the first book published by him was the church collection "Apostle", which included the chapters of the Psalter.

Of course, printing was a step forward in the development of human consciousness. But not everything that began to be printed was blessed by the clergy. For example, in 1660 Hieromonk Simeon of Polotsk dared to approach the translation of the Psalter creatively and transpose the sacred text using rhyme. He printed the edition in his own printing house, which, unfortunately, was banned for him. Under great secrecy, one of the copies of this book went to the young Mikhail Lomonosov and served as one of the motives of the young man's passionate craving for education. By the way, having achieved success in the field of science, he himself tried to shift the Psalter into rhyme in his own way. Here is how the 1st psalm of Lomonosov sounds:

Blessed is he who does not go to the evil in council,
Does not want to follow the trail of sinners,
And with those who lead to destruction,
To sit in consonant thoughts.

At about the same time, his colleagues in the pen - Vasily Trediakovsky, Vasily Derzhavin, Alexander Sumarokov and others - were doing this.

Since the 17th century, believers in Russia have mainly used the Elizabethan Bible: at the behest of Peter I, the clergy began to verify Slavic translations with Hebrew and the Septuagint, and completed their version of the text under Elizabeth. Since that time and until now, it is this Psalter that has been used for worship in Orthodox churches.

Let's see how one of the psalms, 99, is read on Church Slavonic:

Shout out to the Gods, all the earth, work for the Lord in gladness, come in before Him in joy. Take away, for that Lord is our God: He created us, and not we, but we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates in confession, into His courts in singing: confess to Him, praise His name. For the Lord is good, His mercy endures forever, and even to generation and generation His truth.

In my opinion, and now everything is clear here. And it sounds extremely melodious.

First Russian synodal translation

But the Russian language did not stand still, but developed and transformed. There was little left of the Slavic in it. New generations ceased to understand the meaning of biblical expositions. And the emperor Alexander I ordered the governing church body - the Holy Synod: “To provide the Russians with a way to read the word of God in their natural Russian language, as if the most intelligible Slavic dialect for them, in which the books of St. The Scriptures are published by us.” The Holiness entrusted the process to the Commission of Theological Schools, headed by the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Archimandrite Philaret Drozdov, in the future - the Moscow Metropolitan. This version of the Psalter became available to the common people, and they began to call it Synodal.

Metropolitan Philaret Drozdov

But the clergy took this seal "with hostility." For in their opinion the psalms were simplified to the point of impossibility. Is it possible to talk to the Lord as to a neighbor? So because of the unexpected opposition of the clergy to the “word of Filaret,” the synodal text of the Bible was recommended only for home reading.

For comparison, the same Psalm 99 in the synodal translation:

Shout to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with joy, go before His face with an exclamation! Know that the Lord is God, that He created us and we are His, His people and the sheep of His flock. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, into His courts with praise. Praise Him, bless His name, for the Lord is good: His mercy is forever and His truth from generation to generation.

In this translation of David's microtext, as in no other, the freedom of royal self-expression is most clearly visible, and at the same time, the text is full of responsibility not only for itself, but also for the peoples to which it appeals to move only along the path of God. This original expression of the call is somewhat extinguished in the translation of the psalter from the Septuagint by Pavel Jungerov.

Translation by Pavel Jungerov

In general, the Jungerov family itself is a hereditary Orthodox clergy in fourteen generations. It is no wonder that Pavel, who was born in the middle of the 19th century, in the family of the locally revered saint of the Samara province Alexander Chagrinsky, grew up in an atmosphere of worship. The humility and depth with which the young man related to spiritual education did not go unnoticed. And after graduating from the Kazan Theological Academy, he defended his dissertation, receiving a doctoral master's degree. But not only solitude in the knowledge of the works of the past attracted Pavel Jungerov. He also led an active missionary activity, repeatedly going on pilgrimages to the East and West. While preaching the word of God, he also studied the peculiarities of speech, cultural and religious traditions of the peoples.

Theologian and translator P.A. Jungerov

The translations of the Old Testament by Pavel Alexandrovich are examples of the highest reliability of the original. Studying the text of the Psalter, Jungerov preferred the Septuagint to the Masoretic (later) language. With great attention to detail, the scholar-philologist conducted a thorough verification of the texts of the Psalter in ancient Greek and Church Slavonic, noting some discrepancies.

Here is how the praise of Psalm 99 sounds in Jungerov's translation:

Shout out to God, all the earth! Work for the Lord with joy; enter before Him with joy. Know that the Lord - He is our God, He created us, and not we, we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with confession, into His courts with songs, confess to Him, praise His name. For the Lord is good, His mercy endures forever, and His truth is unto generation and generation.

As you can see, the text changes are not very pronounced, but they are. Jungerov's translation from the Septuagint is a little more reserved. The synodal translation is a guide-requirement of popular praise, while Junger’s is humbly deepened, it contains the word “confession”, that is, even praise to the Lord from his point of view (and the ancient Greek interpreters) means not an empty rumbling barrel, but a vessel filled with thoughts about one’s inner the world.

Translation by Vasily Kapnist

A little earlier than Pavel Jungerov lived a wonderful Russian poet and playwright Vasily Vasilyevich Kapnist. He was friends with the famous Derzhavin, created the comedy "Sneak" - the prototype of "The Government Inspector" and "Woe from Wit". Like many poets of that time, he tried his hand at poetic translations of the Psalms. Not all of his psalms have survived to this day. For example, the first one:

Blessed is the counsel of the wicked
No way, the path did not become sinners
And on the seat of the arrogant
The destroyers did not sit.
But will submit with all will
the law of their God,
Learn day and night
In his righteous covenants.
As a tree will be planted,
What grows at the source of the waters,
The fruit is timely aggravation,
And his leaf will not fall off.
In everything that he does, he will succeed.
Not so sinful, not so:
But like dust that the wind will blow
From the face of the earth in the empty steppes.
The wicked will not stand in judgment,
Neither sinful to the righteous in counsel:
Lord knows the way is true,
And death awaits the evil on the way.

The translation of Mikhail Lomonosov, given above, sounds approximately the same. The poets of the 18th century were quite successful in the genre of ode. High ideology, rhetorical exclamations, complex metaphors - these features are also found in Kapnist's psalms.

Translation by Archpriest Vasily Probatov

The Orthodox theologian and preacher Vasily Probatov began his literary activity thanks to ... the conflict. The dissimilarity in views on issues of faith with Bishop Theodosius Ganetsky led to Probatov's excommunication from the Kolomna churches, where he served for several years. The priest moved to the Ryazan region, and because of the free time from the mid-20s of the XX century, he began translating the biblical book of praises, calling it "Psalms in verse."

Priest Vasily Probatov

Psalm 99 looks like a pioneer in Probatov’s spirit, which is a little strange, since he could not accept the October Revolution and more than once fell victim to interrogations of the Chekists:

Go with a friendly song,
With triumph in the house of the Lord,
And serve the Creator
Here in holy joy;
Believe firmly, unfailingly,
That He is the God and King of all,
We are His sacred lot,
Sheep pasture him;
So get in awe
God's tribe, to God's temple
And thanks to the Creator
Lift up rejoicing there;
Praise with heartfelt joy
the name of your God,
For His mercy is eternal,
His truth is eternal.

It is somewhat reminiscent of the Soviet enthusiasm of the children's song by Mikhail Matusovsky and Vladimir Shainsky "It's fun to walk across the open spaces together ..." - isn't it? The spirit of change of the new time probably infected someone consciously, and someone unconsciously, but infected. In a good way. Father Vasily revealed to his parishioners and future generations a different Psalter. He uses synonyms and allegories, poetic devices widely enough to present David's sincerity as pure as in the original: he calls God both "Creator", and "Creator", and "King".

It is clear that the communists could not give way to such an interpretation of the divine book. Actually, with their atheism and practicality, they did not recognize God at all. So Vasily Probatov and his works were undeservedly forgotten, and began to be published only at the end of the 20th century.

Psalms of David by Sergei Averintsev

Sergei Sergeevich Averintsev is also a resident of the twentieth century. He was born in Stalin's pre-war time in Moscow in the family of a professor, research biologist. Therefore, I was familiar with the scientific approach to life from a very young age. True, he was attracted by the knowledge of not only the plant and animal world, as a father, but the universe as a whole, the culture of mankind, the integration of communication.

After graduating from the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University, Averintsev worked with the word for many years. And in the "perestroika" Gorbachev years, he was elected to the People's Deputies of the USSR. It is to Sergei Sergeyevich that we should be grateful for the development of the law on freedom of conscience. However, the subsequent break in the country had a depressing effect on Averintsev, he moved to Austria, where, along with his teaching activities at the oldest university in Vienna, he became a regular at St. Nicholas Cathedral.

Historian, biblical scholar S.S. Averintsev

With deep historical and linguistic knowledge, Sergei Averintsev was looking for answers to the questions of the origin of mankind, its existence and mission on Earth. The German Slavist Wolfgang Kazak called Averintsev's spiritual poetry "the inviolability of secrets incomprehensible to the mind." But are the rhythmically arranged texts of a professor of philology poetry? After all, there is no rhyme in them, just as there was no rhyme in the songs of David. A well-known colleague of Sergei Sergeevich Gasan Huseynov, speaking about Averintsev's predilection for the English Christian thinker Gilbert Chesterton, openly speaks of the understanding that "both guessed that they were writing bad poetry." But in the case of the translation of the Psalter, this fact is most welcome. After all, David followed only the dictates of his heart, and not work on verbal filigree.

Unfortunately, some psalms are missing from Sergei Averintsev's translations, and the 99th is just not there. Perhaps he paid attention to the most significant microtexts for the church, or simply did not have time to complete what he started. For example, psalm 96/97 (all songs in his translation are doubled):

The Lord is King, let the earth rejoice,
let the multitude of islands rejoice!
Cloud and darkness are around Him,
righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his throne;
fire goes before His face,
burns around His enemies,
from lightning His brilliance on the whole circle of lands,
the earth sees and shakes,
before the Lord the mountains melt like wax,
before the Lord of all the earth,
the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all nations see his glory.
Let those who honor idols be ashamed,
those whose boasting is darkness and dust;
May all gods bow before Him!
Zion hears and rejoices,
the daughters of Judah rejoice in the host,
Lord, about Your judgments!
For You, O Lord, are Most High over all the earth,
exalted above all gods.
You who love the Lord, abhor evil!
He keeps the souls of His faithful,
rescues them from the hand of sinners;
shines on the righteous - light,
and joy to those whose hearts are upright.
Rejoice, righteous ones, in Him,
and praise the memory of His holiness!

I don’t know about you, but for some reason my imagination immediately transferred to the German organ preludes and fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel, which fill modern Austrian churches with their polyphony. Didn't Averintsev plunge into this music, breaking away from his multinational native penates, which collapsed overnight? The musical intonations of polyphonic heterogeneous lines are the basis of Sergei Sergeevich's translations, published in the year of his death - 2004.

Translation by German Plisetsky

It is believed that the poet and translator German Plisetsky was undeservedly crossed out by the Soviet authorities from the recognized talents of the country. His works were not published, and he himself lived in Khimki near Moscow, living from penny to penny, but not attaching any importance to this. Geshka and Plisa, as his friends called him, kept pace with the times, looking for truth and justice, composing rhymes in the spirit of Vysotsky, Voznesensky, Yevtushenko. He became widely known after his death.

Poet German Plesetsky

His first collection of writings and translations was published only in 2001, nine years after his death. And his poem about Pasternak and the translations of Omar Khayyam deserved the main popularity. It is said that German Borisovich is one of the transcriptions of the Psalter into verse. But, to be honest, apart from the first psalm, I did not find confirmation of the existence of his translation of the entire biblical collection. Perhaps I am mistaken.

Blessed is he who does not go to the council,
depraved, deceitful and stinking.
Blessed, in the assembly is not in a hurry,
saying to the wicked, "No!"
He listens to God. Law
He wants to understand God.
May it be like a trunk, branchy,
let not every leaf wither!
Growing at the source of waters,
may it bear ripe fruit!
And the wicked are dust
scattered on all winds.
The prayers of the perverse will not save,
and God's Judgment will not pass.
Blessed be the right path!
And the path of the depraved - be damned!

The abundance of exclamation points testifies to the influence of the slogans of the communist USSR. But why not?

Translation by Naum Grebnev

Naum Isaevich Rambach (namely, that was his real name) was born in China shortly before the Great Patriotic War, then moved with his family to the USSR. He did not really like to talk about his belonging to the Jewish nationality - the time was not too calm, and because of this he was criticized by colleagues - they say, he is hiding under a pseudonym. Naum's mother spoke several languages, was known as a talented translator, and was friends with Anna Akhmatova. And he himself went through almost the entire war, boldly fighting "for the Motherland, for Stalin", shoulder to shoulder with other soldiers of the multinational Soviet Union.

Naum Grebnev (Rambach)

Glory came to Naum Grebnev with his talented translation of Rasul Gamzatov's poem "Cranes". The song, set to music by composer Jan Frenkel, was performed by Mark Bernes himself. Given his bloodline affiliation with the nation of David and other forefathers of the Christian religion, the poet-translator of the 20th century tried to combine these two components: origins and modernity. Being deeply lyrical and emotional, the author presented the psalter to the judgment of the current Russian-speaking readers, transcribing the synodal translation into verse. Here is what his 99th psalm looks like:

Praise, O people, the Lord's chamber,
Go with joy to him, with praise.
Stand before his face with a hymn,
He created us, called us sons,
Hurry to His gates with praise,
Go to His courts with pure love,
For the Lord is our only God.
Praise the Lord, Lord's people,
Bless in prayer of the heart,
For what will be in the world will pass,
Only the truth of the Lord is eternal
From generation to generation.

Translation by Naum Basovsky

Not much is known about Naum Isaakovich Basovsky. Born in Kiev, he was fond of the exact sciences, and accordingly he chose education in the field of mathematics and physics. taught. He moved to Moscow, and then to the Israeli Rishon Lezion, where he lives to this day. But it is true what they say - talented people are talented in everything. Nahum Basovsky is not only the author of a large number of scientific inventions and publications in the media, he is also the winner of many poetry competitions. His erudition and outlook found a perfect embodiment in literature.

N. Basovsky

Let's see how figuratively and richly he presents the 99th psalm:

God reigns and the nations tremble,
and the face of the earth trembles.
He is as high as the heavens
great over the nations of the world.
Judgment and truth from God over them,
in justice, their triumph.
Holy is the Lord's formidable name,
and His footstool is holy.
And Moses with Aaron, and Shmuel -
those whose voice sounded inviting, -
to the Almighty threads pulled their prayers,
and the Lord answered.
God's voice they heard
from a great pillar of clouds,
received the holy tablets,
preserved forever and ever.
We are forgiven according to the Law,
according to the law and punishment is given.
Worship, people, Zion,
praise God at all times!

From these lines one breathes not only David's song under the kinnora, but also the "Tale of Igor's Campaign". And this style is certainly not accidental. Born in Ukraine, Naum Isaakovich, of course, even in his school years was immersed in the history of the emergence of Christianity in Kievan Rus. Incarnating the Israeli word of God for the Russians, he thus literally combined two ancient cultures into one. The convexity of the syllable and the beautiful singsong melody, the abundance of images and old Russian words - no doubt will please not only any reader, but also a specialist linguist.

Psalms in the life of a modern Orthodox person

Sometimes I think, what was in David's songs that was not in the words of his other peers? Why did his psalms lay the foundation for the Christian faith of a huge number of generations and nationalities? For thirty centuries, in different languages, people have been reading the Book of Praises every day, thanks to which they heal their souls from evil demons. And most of the paraphrases of the Psalter have turned into common aphorisms, the origin of which we sometimes don’t even think about. As, for example, “let everyone be rewarded according to his deeds”, or “those who sow with tears will reap with joy”, or “I am a wanderer on earth”, “the abyss calls to the abyss”, “at the head of the corner”, and many others. etc. And except for the real, genuine greatness of spirit and David's great faith in God, I do not find an answer. An empty word does not live for centuries, a spiritualized word “burns” in the souls of others and after the death of its utterer.

Unfortunately, today, often in an attempt to read the psalm to solve difficult everyday situations, one can hardly discern the greatness of David. Do not be led by such frivolity, read the Psalter thoughtfully and without selfish attachment to your everyday well-being.