The Books of Psalms in Plain English. A Contemporary Reading of Tehillim

by Aaron Lichtenstein

In the Book of Psalms in Plain English, you will find the Book of Psalms itself, its ideas and emotions. The English rendition is in verse, just as the Hebrew original is in poetry — in the various poetic modes required by the varied moods and messages.

Read and be moved by the inspiring words of Psalms, translated into clear and readable English by a scholar of Judaism and professor of English.

Hardcover, 201 pages

About the Author:

Aaron Lichtenstein teaches at the City University of New York, and has taught at New York University, Yeshiva University, University of Denver, Jews’ College (London), and Yeshiva Hechal HaTorah. He is the author of The Seven Laws of Noah (Rabbi Jacob Joseph School Press), was staff editor at the Encyclopedia Judaica, and authored a dozen of its articles on the Marranos of Portugal. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

O Lord, tell me the sum total of all my years,
The bottom-line value of all my life.
You measure out my days and nights by handbreadths,
Mankind is indeed meaningless alongside Your permanence.
But a person’s imagination proceeds with illusion,
Involved in acquiring what he may never consume.
So Lord, my only hope is faith in You,
Save me from sin and the shame of villainy.
With You in charge, I will have nothing more to say,
Cancel Your punishment, which is what I fear most,
For You do waste mankind with Your retribution,
And this is a reason why humanity is meaningless.
O Lord, hear my prayer and see my tears,
For I and my forebears are Your neighbors down here,
Permit me some respite before I vanish into oblivion.

—from PSALM THIRTY-NINE