Psalms — Chapter 118
Praise GOD, who is good—whose steadfast love is eternal.
Let Israel declare,“God’s steadfast love is eternal.”
Let the house of Aaron declare,“God’s steadfast love is eternal.”
Let those who fear GOD declare,“God’s steadfast love is eternal.”
In distress I called on Yah;aYah See note at 68.5. Yah answered me and brought me relief.
GOD is on my side,I have no fear;what can mortals do to me?
With GOD on my side as my helper,I will see the downfall of my foes.
It is better to take refuge in GOD than to trust in mortals;
it is better to take refuge in GOD than to trust in the great.
All nations have beset me;by GOD’s name I will surely cut them down.bcut them down Meaning of ʼamilam in this and the following two verses uncertain.
They beset me, they surround me;by GOD’s name I will surely cut them down.
They have beset me like bees;they shall be extinguished like burning thorns;by GOD’s name I will surely cut them down.
YoucYou I.e., the enemy. pressed me hard,I nearly fell;but GOD helped me.
Yah is my strength and might,and has become my deliverance.
The tents of the victoriousdvictorious Or “righteous.” resound with joyous shouts of deliverance,“GOD’s right hand is triumphant!
GOD’s right hand is exalted! GOD’s right hand is triumphant!”
I shall not die but liveand proclaim the works of Yah.
Yah punished me severely,but did not hand me over to death.
Open the gates of victoryevictory Or “righteousness.” for methat I may enter them and praise Yah.
This is the gateway to GOD—the victoriousfvictorious Or “righteous.” shall enter through it.
I praise You, for You have answered me,and have become my deliverance.
The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the chief cornerstone.
This is GOD’s doing;it is marvelous in our sight.
This is the day that GOD has made—let us exult and rejoice on it.
O ETERNAL One, deliver us!O ETERNAL One, let us prosper!
May everyone who enters be blessed in the name of GOD;we bless you from the House of GOD.
The ETERNAL is God,who has given us light;bind the festal offering to the horns of the altar with cords.gbind … with cords Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
You are my God and I will praise You;You are my God and I will extol You.
Praise GOD, who is good—whose steadfast love is eternal.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Dhammapada 10:1
“All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
Tao Te Ching 76
“A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”