Psalm 134 Text
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Psalm 134/Text
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Reciprocal blessing
Psalm 134
Please note: Resources for Psalm 134 are in the process of being reformatted for visual consistency and improved functionality.
Listen & Read: Psalm 134
Read along and listen to our audio recordings for Psalm 134. Choose between simple, unaffected audio recordings (in Hebrew or English), or a dramatized reading that takes into account our emotional, discourse, and poetic analyses. You can also choose between a text-only view, or a view overlaid with our summary At-a-Glance, Expanded Paraphrase, or Participant Analysis tracking.
| Simple Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Simple Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
| Dramatic Reading (Hebrew) Forthcoming. |
Dramatic Reading (English) Forthcoming. |
Text Only (Hebrew and English) The text below is divided according to the psalm's poetic lines. For additional information, see our Poetic Structure layer.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת | 1a | The song of the ascents |
| הִנֵּ֤ה בָּרֲכ֣וּ אֶת־יְ֭הוָה כָּל־עַבְדֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה | 1b | Come on! Bless YHWH, all servants of YHWH |
| הָעֹמְדִ֥ים בְּבֵית־יְ֝הוָ֗ה בַּלֵּילֽוֹת׃ | 1c | --the ones who stand in the house of YHWH by night! |
| שְׂאֽוּ־יְדֵכֶ֥ם קֹ֑דֶשׁ | 2a | Lift up your hands toward the holy place, |
| וּ֝בָרֲכוּ אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃ | 2b | and bless YHWH! |
| יְבָרֶכְךָ֣ יְ֭הוָה מִצִּיּ֑וֹן | 3a | May YHWH bless you from Zion |
| עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 3b | --the maker of heaven and earth! |
Structure Overlay Below, the text has been overlaid with our summary structural analysis. For details on the structure, see the Structure At-a-Glance here.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Text (CBC) |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת | 1a | The song of the ascents |
| הִנֵּ֤ה בָּרֲכ֣וּ אֶת־יְ֭הוָה כָּל־עַבְדֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה | 1b | Come on! Bless YHWH, all servants of YHWH |
| הָעֹמְדִ֥ים בְּבֵית־יְ֝הוָ֗ה בַּלֵּילֽוֹת׃ | 1c | --the ones who stand in the house of YHWH by night! |
| שְׂאֽוּ־יְדֵכֶ֥ם קֹ֑דֶשׁ | 2a | Lift up your hands toward the holy place, |
| וּ֝בָרֲכוּ אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃ | 2b | and bless YHWH! |
| יְבָרֶכְךָ֣ יְ֭הוָה מִצִּיּ֑וֹן | 3a | May YHWH bless you from Zion |
| עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 3b | --the maker of heaven and earth! |
Expanded paraphrase The expanded paraphrase seeks to capture the implicit information within the text and make it explicit for readers today. It is based on the CBC translation and uses italic text to provide the most salient background information, presuppositions, entailments, and inferences.
| Text (Hebrew) | Verse | Expanded Paraphrase |
|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת הָעֹמְדִ֥ים בְּבֵית־יְ֝הוָ֗ה בַּלֵּילֽוֹת׃ | 1 | The song of the ascents, written for pilgrims coming to Zion for a holy festival. The pilgrims, having just arrived at the Temple, say to the priests: Come on! Bless YHWH because he is worthy of blessing and because blessing YHWH is part of serving him, all servants of YHWH, you priests and Temple workers, whose job is to bless YHWH on behalf of all Israel –the ones who stand or serve in the house of YHWH by night especially when night vigils were held during holy festivals! In this way blessings will never cease, for somebody will always be blessing YHWH. |
| שְׂאֽוּ־יְדֵכֶ֥ם קֹ֑דֶשׁ וּ֝בָרֲכוּ אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃ | 2 | Lift up your hands as the gesture of prayer to YHWH which he decreed at the dedication of the Temple toward the holy place also known as the Temple, you who are in the courtyard, just outside the Temple, and bless YHWH because he is our covenant God and worthy of blessing! |
| יְבָרֶכְךָ֣ יְ֭הוָה מִצִּיּ֑וֹן עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃ | 3 | The covenant has obligations on both sides, which means blessing flows between them and the priests serve as intermediaries between the two so, in response to the blessing of the people to YHWH, the priests say to the pilgrims: May YHWH, the one with authority to bless, reciprocally bless you from Zion where his presence is located –the maker and ruler of heaven and earth, that is, the one responsible for both heaven and earth and therefore responsible for blessing flowing back and forth! In this way we of Israel, on earth, worship our God in heaven whose presence still dwells on Zion. |
Participant Tracking Text Participant Analysis focuses on the characters in the psalm and asks, “Who are the main participants (or characters) in this psalm, and what are they saying or doing? Our full analysis can be found in the Participant Analysis layer.
This resource is forthcoming.