Translations of the Psalms into Russian. Let's look at examples

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

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

Story

Compared to the first king of Israel, Saul, a mature husband and father, a strong and strong warrior, King David at the time of the “anointing” was a frail youth who talentedly played the kinnor, a stringed instrument. However, David had no shortage of courage and ingenuity - just remember the legend of his victory over the giant of the enemy Philistines, Goliath. And yet, David paved the way to eternity for himself precisely with his songs of praise and appeals to God, and not with battles. It was already in Rus' that they were called psalms, since one of the stringed musical instruments of the Israelites was the psaltirion, and in Greek “psalm” means song.

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

Many generations after the Russian prince Vladimir the Red Sun learned literacy and faith from the psalter. The Psalter of 150 (+1) songs has firmly entered the consciousness of Christians, and in particular the 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 precisely us, contemporaries who are not familiar with the Old Church Slavonic language, and even more so with Ancient Greek or Hebrew, who have a particularly difficult time if we intend to comprehend the essence of what was sung by David and his followers. And although the elder clergy 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.

“Dawn had not yet broken out, and I was already standing with the harp; My soul yearned for prayer, and my spirit burned with faith,”

Such lines were born when thinking about King David from the Russian Decembrist poet Fyodor Glinka in the 18th century. Long before the moment when our literary classics decided to subject the texts of the psalms to rhymed treatment for real songfulness, the Bible was brought to the Slavs from seventy-two Greek elders-scribes. The Septuagint was the name of their translation of the divine book from Hebrew to Greek. That is, in fact, the text was translated into Old Church Slavonic from Greek with some errors. A little time passed - and a translation from the original Jewish collection appeared in Rus', which was called synodal, and according to which services are often conducted in Orthodox churches even now.

But the music is cacophonous, and the lyrics have no rhyme. The fact is that the ancient Jews, of course, did not have the achievements of modern culture of the last three thousand years. They sang whatever came to mind at the moment. Art, as such, had no other value than the conversation of a person’s soul and feelings with God. Is it possible to imagine such a conversation between David, for example: “God, we went on a campaign against the Philistines, but they won, we were defeated... No, no, not like that, it sounds ordinary... God, wait, now I’ll correct it a little and sing more beautifully ... We met the Philistines on the battlefield, I was the first to throw my spear at them...”? It's funny, isn't it? The peoples lived and fought sincerely, without preparation, without rehearsals, without “playing to the public.” Complete improvisation, impromptu and the philosophy of constantly searching for the meaning of one’s existence on earth. If there were rules for song construction, they were very sketchy and primitive. Modern literary scholars who have analyzed psalms of praise have generally distinguished three forms of parallelism in their writing. But I don’t think that David and other ancient Jews, who glorified God with their songs, specifically worked on the phrases: “So, here I used synonyms, which means in the next verse I will address God through opposing antonyms...”. No, in today’s civilization it is customary to structure the psalms for easier understanding. On synonymous, antithetical and synthetic parallelism, as well as 20 kathismas (parts).

What is the Psalter and when is it read?

The Psalter is a collection of 150 (+1) prayer songs - psalms, the nineteenth book of the Bible, included in the Old Testament.

The name “Psalter” comes from the Greek words “psalo” (“to play on strings”) and “psaltirion” - this was the name of a stringed musical instrument, the playing of which accompanied the performance of psalms (the name “psalm” is of the same root).

From the history of the creation and distribution of the Psalter

The Psalter was composed over 800 years. The main part of the Psalter - over 80 psalms - was written by King David. Other authors of psalms were Moses (Psalm 89), Solomon (Psalm 71, 126, 131), Heman (Psalm 87), Etham (Psalm 88), Asaph and the Asaphites, the sons of Korah and unknown writers, whose work includes Psalm 41.

The Psalter itself consists of 150 psalms, and the 151st is dedicated to the compiler himself, the one who laid the foundation for the psalms - David. It can be found in Greek and Slavic editions (lists) of the Bible.

The original language of the book is Hebrew. In the 3rd century BC, the Old Testament was translated into Greek, the translation is known as 70 interpreters. The Slavic peoples were able to read the Psalter in the translation of Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century, and the first printed edition of the Psalter occurred in 1491, in Krakow.

In Rus', the book received especially wide distribution and use: it was read both in services, and as a family book - edifying and educational, and as a textbook, learning not only literacy, but also morality.

Initially, the Psalter was divided into 5 parts, in accordance with the ancient liturgical order. Now the Church Charter divides the book into 20 parts - kathisma. Each kathisma contains 3 “Glories”.

King David

King David is one of the most famous and revered biblical heroes. David is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

The king belongs to the tribe of Judah. He became famous for his victory over Goliath, a warrior of the Philistines, and for other military exploits. Having become the king of Israel, he moved the capital to Jerusalem, and the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, making the city a symbol of the unity of the Jews.

One of David's sons was Solomon, who built the temple in Jerusalem and became famous for his wisdom. However, the birth of Solomon is connected with the fall of David: the king was seduced by the wife of his warrior Uriah - Bathsheba. In order not to share Bathsheba with her legal husband, David sends Uriah into mortal combat, where the warrior is killed.

David paid for his sin until the end of his life, losing his daughter and two sons, constantly being in wars and military labor. The king deeply repented of his sin, to which he dedicated Psalm 50 of the Psalter. In the Psalm, he asks to be cleansed from sin, appealing to “a broken and humble heart,” which “You will not despise... God.”

Psalter for the Christian

For a Christian, the Psalter is the most precious book of the Old Testament. Its use in services began during the time of the apostles, or the apostolic age - the 1st century AD, after the crucifixion of Christ, during the period of preaching activity of the apostles - his disciples.

Around 100 AD, John the Theologian, the last apostle, dies, and with his death the apostolic times end.

The Psalter became a Christian source for the morning and evening prayers of believers, and its psalms were included in almost all rites of Orthodox worship. It contains reflections on human life, appeals to the soul and words of consolation, strengthening a person in faith and in himself.

When is the Psalter read?

The Psalter is read daily, during morning and evening church services. Every week (week) the entire Psalter is read, and during Lent the book is read in its entirety twice a week.

Home reading of prayers (rule) includes reading psalms in deep connection with the internal state of the believer, his problems - mental and external. You can read them not only during prayer, but for any spiritual need, in despair, contrition, pain and joy, temptation and in all other cases. The psalms teach and console not only with words - there is an amazing power contained in them, calming, encouraging, instructing.

The Psalter is read not only by believers - people who are far from religion love the book for the amazing beauty of the style, the height and courage of thought, and the comprehensiveness of life. The Psalter has inspired many poets, artists, and musicians to create truly great and significant works, serving as a source of creativity.

In monasteries there is a special prayer - the Inexhaustible Psalter. It consists of the nuns continuously reading the Psalter, around the clock, with the mention of the names of the living and the deceased. The reading of the Indestructible Psalter is ordered when a person is dying, he is feeling especially bad, or he simply wants to help the person, support him in his search for himself, in solving problems, in the difficulties of choice.

The emergence of psalms. Hebrew original

Once in the 18th century, Johann Gottfried Herder, a famous German writer of the Enlightenment, said: “It is worth ten years to study Hebrew in order 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 future centuries by a huge part of the world's population. The king had the difficult fate of constant wars, the fight against diseases and misfortunes in unsanitary conditions, which, frankly speaking, was not easy to survive. And yet, David raised the country from its knees, achieved its prosperity, and he himself lived until he was 70 years old, and died by accident, tripping on the stairs. How can one not think about divine protection? His faith in God was so strong that he did not start a single business without God's blessing. And he performed his prayers with talent and inspiration, by the standards of his time, to 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 Israelis began to imitate David. For example, the authors of the Book of Praises that has 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 desert for 40 years), Heman, Ethan, Asaph (David’s associates) and others.

Reading today the psalter of the New Testament, adapted for Orthodox people in recent centuries by various translators, you can direct your pure thoughts to God, as the ancient Jews did. But it’s 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 of denoting a special rhythm - after all, God was invisible and somewhere high in the sky, which means you need to “reach out” to him. The songs, in which there were prayers, praise to the Lord, confession, hope for the coming of the savior Messiah, and repentance for sins, were filled with passionate screams. By the 10th century AD. e. this text was copied many times by scribes on parchment, sometimes undergoing some changes. Over time, divine hymns began to be sung by a huge choir of Levites and worshipers. “Greco-Slavic poetry of psalms,” says cultural historian Georgy Fedotov, “is of a different quality than in the Jewish original. The sharpness is softened, the pain is muffled, the scream is quieted. A veil of splendor is thrown over the rebellious confession of the soul.”

Psalms of the Prophet and King David

The Psalter is a book of the Old Testament, compiled from the psalms of King and Prophet David. Contains 150 psalms, the 151st was subsequently added. The Psalter consists of 20 kathismas, and one kathisma of 3 Glories (3 parts). Kathismas vary in size, ranging from 1 to 15 psalms. In the Bible there is usually no division between kathismas and Glories, but in the liturgical version of the book, as well as in prayer books for home (cell) reading of the Psalter, such a division is used.

Psalms are songs of praise, prayerful petitions. They are read or sung. The Psalter is one of the most used books by many Orthodox Christians. Moreover, in the first centuries after the Nativity of Christ, many Christians knew the Psalter by heart. For example, Saint Gennady of Constantinople did not ordain anyone as a presbyter unless he knew the entire Psalter by heart, believing that the person was not yet ready for ministry.

The basis of Orthodox worship is the Psalter. The Psalter is read by the laity in remembrance of the living and the dead, with requests to the Lord in everyday needs, sorrows, and spiritual trials.

On the pages of the site you can learn more about:

• Liturgical Psalter, also used for home reading
• Translation of the Psalms in the Bible for the general understanding of believers
• Charter for reading the Psalter in churches and privately
• Statements of the Church Fathers about the spiritual benefits and necessity of reading the Psalter
• Listen to audio versions of the Old Testament books

It is also necessary to remember that when reading the Psalms translated in the Bible and the Liturgical texts, the texts are slightly different from each other. This is due to the fact that the Bible was translated into Russian from Hebrew, and worship from Greek into Church Slavonic.

In the Orthodox Church (in Byzantine usage), many psalms are assigned to individual services of the daily circle and, thus, are read daily (at least, they should be read according to the charter). Thus, at each Vespers, Psalms 140, 141, 129, 116 (the so-called “Lord, I cried”) are read or sung; Vespers must end with the indispensable 33rd Psalm. At the beginning of Matins, the Six Psalms are read - psalms 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, 142, at Matins, before reading the canon, Psalm 50 should be read, the polyeleos is the singing of Psalms 134 and 135, at the end of Matins - Psalms 148-150 (praise or laudatory psalms), etc. Funeral services include “Immaculate” - the 118th psalm, although in practice this huge psalm is read in full only at parastas, on the eve of parental Saturdays. In some cases (for example, Psalm 50 or psalms on the clock) only the psalm itself is read, in others (for example, calls or praises) the verses of the psalm alternate with hymns of church authors - stichera.

In addition, according to ancient monastic tradition, the entire Psalter is read in a row within one week. For these purposes, the psalter was divided into 20 sections (kathisma or, in Church Slavonic, kathism), each of which, in turn, is divided into three parts (articles or glory, so named after the doxology that is read in this place). The number of psalms included in a kathisma varies greatly, on average from 6 to 9. Usually one kathisma is read at Vespers, and two at Matins. In some periods of the year, a more strict rule applies: at Vespers the same kathisma (18th) is read, and at Matins three kathismas are read. During Lent, kathismas are also read on the clock, thus the Psalter is read twice during the week.

The same Psalter, divided into kathismas, is also used for private (cell) prayer. For this purpose, special prayers are placed in the Psalter, read before and after each kathisma; It is also a common practice to commemorate the living and the dead at Glories.

Greek translation

The Septuagint, the translation of the 72 elders canonized by the Orthodox Church, is also commonly called LXX for short. The task was set by the Alexandrian king Ptolemy Philadelphus . Scientists 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 its correspondence to the accuracy of 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 assumption that the Greek translation was intended as an interlinear translation to 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 Hebrew language. In some places in the Book of Praises, such freedom was justified and beneficial, but sometimes it was completely unnecessary, considered heresy.

In an amazing and incredible way, the Septuagint Psalter earned great popularity among people familiar with letters, and therefore was rewritten every now and then, which cannot be said about the Hebrew parchment scrolls, which were kept rather secret from the uninitiated.

Read the Psalter / Psalter

The Psalter contains 150 psalms:

Numbering of psalms in the Psalter

The numbering of the psalms differs 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, and the events to which the psalms are dedicated are indicated. Translating the inscriptions has proven to be particularly difficult, so there are many options for translating them. Translators can only guess about the meaning of some words.

The inscriptions of psalms often indicate the order in which they should be sung. The musical instrument and motive to which the psalm must be sung have been determined.

Slavic translations

Strangely, there are still disputes about the nationality of two famous brothers - Constantine-Cyril and Methodius . Bulgarians believe that they were Bulgarians, 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 into Slavic (using the Glagolitic alphabet they themselves created), including the Psalter-Septuagint. For this they suffered, since the Vatican believed that singing songs of praise to God was allowed 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 survived. But they influenced the Old Church Slavonic translations that appeared in the following centuries. Arrangements by Metropolitans Alexy and Cyprian , who lived in the 14th century, are known. Archbishop Gennady has survived to this day . And in the next 16th century, a great event occurred: in the Russian voivodeship of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Ivan Fedorov opened a printing house. And the first book he published was the church collection “The Apostle,” which included chapters of the Psalter.

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

Blessed is the one who does not go to the council of the evil, Does not want to follow in the footsteps of sinners, And sits in concordant thoughts with those who lead to destruction.

Around the same time, his colleagues in writing, Vasily Trediakovsky, Vasily Derzhavin, Alexander Sumarokov and others, were also doing this.

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

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

Shout to God, all the earth, work for the Lord in joy, come before Him in joy. Know that the Lord is our God: It is He who created us, not we, but we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates in confession, into His courts in song: confess to Him, praise His name. For the Lord is good, His mercy endures forever, and His truth endures forever.

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

Literary features of the Psalter.

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 the texts, when a thought is expressed through synonymy, or opposing points of view are expressed in parallel.

The genre variety is also great . According to the genre of psalms, the Psalms can be divided into:

• Glorifying God,
• Prayers (Psalms 6, 50),
• Complaints (Psalms 43, 101),
• Curses (Psalms 57, 108),
• Historical Psalms (105),
• Wedding 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 depths of his soul.

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

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

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

Features of the language of the Psalter.

1. Associativity,
2. Imagery,
3. Symbolism,
4. Allegory,
5. Emotionality.

Psalter in Judaism.

Psalms play an important role in Judaism. They are used as personal prayers and for synagogue services. Some psalms are read here daily (for example, Psalms 144 - 150). 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 at services daily 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. Before the reading of the canon, Psalm 50 is read. The funeral service includes the 118th Psalm. It is read on the eve of parental Saturdays. Various psalms are used in Liturgy, prayer services and rituals.

The monks read the Psalter throughout the week. During Great Lent, the Psalter is read twice in monasteries that adhere to the rules. The Psalter is used for cell prayer.

Psalter for Catholics.

In the Catholic tradition, psalms are part of daily worship in their “pure” form, unlike 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 personal prayer at home. For example, during Lent seven psalms of repentance are read.

The first Russian synodal translation

But the Russian language did not stand still, but developed and transformed. There was little left of the Slavic in him. New generations ceased to understand the meaning of biblical expositions. And Emperor Alexander I commanded 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 the most intelligible for them is the Slavic dialect, in which the books of the Holy Fathers. Our scriptures are published." The holiest persons entrusted the process to the Commission of Theological Schools, headed by the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, Archimandrite Filaret Drozdov , in the future the Moscow Metropolitan. This version of the Psalter became accessible to the common people, and they began to call it Synodal .

Metropolitan Filaret 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, due to the unexpected opposition of the clergy to the “word of Philaret,” 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 shouting! Know that the Lord is God, that He created us and we are His, His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with praise, His courts with praise. Glorify Him, bless His name, for the Lord is good: His mercy endures forever, and His truth endures from generation to generation.

In this translation of David's microtext, more than in any 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 whom 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 Yungerov.

PSALMS

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A few words about reading the Psalter.

• the Psalter in Church Slavonic

• Read the Psalter

• Read the Psalter

• the Psalter translated from Greek by Fr. Ambrose (Timroth)

• to the Psalter in Church Slavonic.

The Psalter (a stringed instrument resembling a harp or harp) is one of the books of the Old Testament. In Hebrew it is called the Book of Praises and is a collection of 150 psalms (Psalm 151 is known only in Greek) - poetic works intended to be performed with musical accompaniment - an indication of this is preserved in the titles of the psalms.

Tradition attributes most of the psalms to the psalmist king David (c. 1000 BC). In the Hebrew text 73 and in the Greek 84 psalms bear his name. But there are psalms inscribed with the name of the sons of Korah - a dynasty of temple singers (10 psalms), as well as David's contemporaries, the Levites Asaph (12 psalms), his brother Heman (psalm 87) and another singer, Ethan (psalm 88). Psalm 89 is attributed to Moses, and Psalm 71 and 126 to Solomon. The authors of the remaining psalms are unknown.

The content of the psalms is very diverse. The psalmists were inspired by historical events and the vicissitudes of personal life, which direct a person to a single source of hope, and the longing for God of a soul imbued with repentance, its gratitude to the inexhaustible goodness of God, its delight before the greatness of the Creator, His omnipotence and wisdom, before the perfection of His creation. And these quiet sighs and triumphant praises sometimes sound as if in solitude, sometimes they are taken up by the choir of the praying people. And over all this yearning for God, over all personal and everyday sorrow and spiritual joy, one cherished thought, one impatient expectation dominates - the Messiah to come, at the thought of Whom the spirit of the psalmist is filled with prophetic power.

For Christians, the hope of the coming of the Messiah was realized with the coming of Jesus Christ. The texts of the Psalter are constantly quoted in the New Testament, most often Psalm 109. The New Testament and Christian tradition refer to Christ Psalms 2, 8,15, 21, 39, 40, 44, 67, 68, 97 and individual verses of many other psalms. The Christian Church included the psalms unchanged in its worship - without changing the words, but with a significant enrichment of meaning: the teachings of Christ, the Last Supper, the Passion of the Cross and the Resurrection deepened the understanding of the psalms, confirmed their prophetic insights, and fulfilled with abundance all the aspirations of Old Testament humanity.

In both the early Christian and patristic eras, the Psalter served as an excellent guide to prayer and glorification of God. In the first centuries, Christians, by singing psalms, inspired themselves to deeds of piety; the psalms supported them during persecution and gave them strength to courageously endure suffering; the psalms served as their edification during rest and among various works and activities.

According to legend, the Psalter was translated into Greek along with other books of Holy Scripture by 72 scribes in Alexandria around 285-246. BC or a little later. This translation is called the Septuagint (from the Latin Septuaginta - 70, abbreviated LXX). It enjoyed great authority among the Greek-speaking Jews and later became the officially accepted version of the Old Testament in the Christian Church. According to LXX the Old Testament is quoted in the New Testament; This translation was used by the Church Fathers of the first centuries.

The Slavic first teachers Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius were among the first books to translate the Psalter, literally transmitting the Greek translation of the LXX in Slavic. With the rooting of Christianity in Rus', the Book of Psalms became the people's favorite book. They learn to read and write from the Psalter; A pious book lover cannot do without the Psalter; The Psalter is read over the deceased. All ancient Russian writing is filled with references to the Psalter.

In church, the Psalter is read at every morning and evening service and is read in its entirety during the week and twice a week during Lent. Many direct and hidden quotations from the psalms are contained in the liturgical texts of the Orthodox Church.

Unfortunately, at present, the Church Slavonic text of the Psalter is poorly understood by most Christians. This gap cannot be filled by the existing synodal translation of the Bible into Russian, for it was made from the Hebrew Masoretic text and therefore in many places diverges from the Church Slavonic text, dating back to the LXX. In addition, as intended for home reading, it is essentially a prose interlinear translation of the poetic text of the psalms. The same qualities distinguish the translation made from the LXX text and recently republished by P. Yungerov (1915).

The present translation attempts to overcome these shortcomings to some extent. The Greek text of the LXX is rendered literally where this does not impair clarity of meaning. Places where the literal translation does not give a satisfactory meaning are paraphrased according to the understanding of the holy fathers and with the greatest possible proximity to the original.

In case of discrepancies in the Greek text, those versions were accepted that corresponded to the Church Slavonic Psalter, with the exception of a few cases when preference was given to readings that were clearer and more appropriate to the context. Words substituted for coherence of speech and clarity of meaning were highlighted in italics.

The main purpose of the translation was to convey the meaning, and not to attempt to make an artistic poetic translation reflecting the stylistic features of the original. However, in accordance with modern editions of the LXX text, the text of the psalms is arranged as a poetic text, and the rhythm is as close as possible to Church Slavonic.

In accordance with the liturgical regulations of the Orthodox Church, the text of the Psalter in this edition is divided into kathismas and “glories”.

The psalms are accompanied by texts of prayers accompanying the home reading of the psalms and placed in the Church Slavonic Psalter. The text of the prayers is also given in Russian.

Hieromonk Ambrose (Timrot). May 1999

Translation by Pavel Yungerov

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

Theologian and translator P.A. Yungerov

Translations of the Old Testament by Pavel Alexandrovich are examples of the highest authenticity to the original. While studying the text of the Psalter, Yungerov preferred the Septuagint to the Masoretic (later) language. With great attention to detail, the philologist carried out a thorough verification of the texts of the Psalms in ancient Greek and Church Slavonic, noting some discrepancies.

Here is how the praise of Psalm 99 sounds in Yungerov’s translation:

Shout to God, all the earth! Work for the Lord with joy, come before Him with joy. Know that the Lord is Our God, He created us, not we, but we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with confession, His courts with hymns, confess to Him, praise His name. For the Lord is good, His mercy endures forever, and His truth endures forever.

As you can see, the text changes are not very pronounced, but they are there. Yungerov's translation from the Septuagint is a little more restrained. The Synodal translation is a guide-demand for people’s praise, but Yunger’s is humbly in-depth, it contains the word “confession”, that is, even praise to the Lord from his point of view (and the ancient Greek interpreters) does not mean a rattling empty barrel, but a filled vessel with reflections on one’s inner world.

Summary and structure of the Psalter

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

1. Personal complaints.

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

1. People's laments.

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

1. Psalms of praise to the Lord.

The outline of a psalm of this type: a promise to give praise to the Lord -> a description of the blessings sent down -> deliverance -> an offering of praise -> an instruction to people to trust in God

1. Hymns.

Celebrating the greatness of God and His mercy.

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

Songs of Ascension are psalms sung by pilgrims as they ascend Mount Zion.

Royal psalms are psalms that describe important events in the royal life, for example, the ascension to the throne.

Translation by Vasily Kapnist

A little earlier than Pavel Yungerov lived the wonderful Russian poet and playwright Vasily Vasilyevich Kapnist. He was friends with the famous Derzhavin, created the comedy “Sneak” - the prototype of “The Inspector General” 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 he who does not join the council of the wicked, does not take the path of sinners, And does not sit on the seat of the arrogant Destroyers. But with all his will he will submit to the Law of his God, And day and night he will learn from His righteous covenants. Like a tree there will be a planting, Which grows by the sources of the waters, Its fruit will be heavy in time, And its leaf will not fall off. In everything he does, he will succeed. Not so sinners, not so: But like the dust that the wind will blow from the face of the earth in the empty steppes. The wicked will not stand in judgment, Nor will the sinners come to the righteous for advice: the Lord foresees the truthful ways, And destruction awaits the wicked on the way.

Mikhail Lomonosov’s translation given above sounds approximately the same. Poets of the 18th century were quite successful in the ode genre. High ideological content, rhetorical exclamations, complex metaphors - these features are also present in Kapnist’s psalms.

Prayers before reading the Psalter

Let it be reasonable, as befits an individual to sing the Psalter

Even the priest says:

Blessed be our God, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Otherwise, say tenderly:

Through the prayers of the saints, our fathers. Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen. Heavenly King. Trisagion. And according to Our Father:

This Troparion, tone 6:

Have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us, bewildered by any answer, we offer this prayer to You as the Master of sin: have mercy on us.

Glory:

The honor of Thy prophet, O Lord, is a triumph, Heaven is showing the Church, with men the Angels are rejoicing. By your prayers, O Christ God, guide our belly in peace, so that we may sing to You: Alleluia.

And now:

My many and many sins, Mother of God, I have come running to You, O Pure One, demanding salvation: visit my weak soul and pray to Your Son and our God to grant me forgiveness for the evil deeds, O Blessed One. Lord, have mercy, 40. And bow down, so powerfully. The same prayer to the Holy Life-Giving Trinity: All-holy Trinity, God and Creator of the whole world, hasten and direct my heart, to begin with reason and finish the good works of these God-inspired books, even the Holy Spirit will regurgitate the mouth of David, which I now want to say, I, unworthy, understanding my own ignorance, falling down, I pray to Thee, and ask You for help: Lord, guide my mind and confirm my heart, not about the words of the lips of this cold, but about the mind of those who say, rejoice, and prepare to do good deeds, even as I learn, and I say: yes Enlightened by good deeds, at the judgment of the right hand of Your land I will be a partaker with all Your chosen ones. And now, Vladyka, bless, and, sighing from my heart, I will sing with my tongue, saying to my face: Come, let us worship our King God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. Just wait a little, until all your feelings calm down. Then make the beginning not quickly, without laziness, with tenderness and a contrite heart. Rtsy cue: “Blessed is the man...” quietly and reasonably, with attention, and not struggling, as the verb is understood with the mind.

Kathisma first

1. Psalm of David

Blessed is the man who did not go to the meeting of the wicked, and did not stand in the way of sinners, and did not sit in the company of destroyers, but in the law of the Lord is his will and he will study His law day and night. And he will be like a tree planted by springs of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not fall away. And whatever he does will be successful. Not so wicked, not so: but like dust that the wind sweeps from the face of the earth! Therefore the wicked will not rise up into judgment, nor sinners into the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

2. Psalm of David

Why do peoples and tribes worry and plot futile things? The kings of the earth appeared, and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ, (saying:) “Let us break Their bonds and cast off Their yoke from us.” He who dwells in heaven will laugh at them, and the Lord will humiliate them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and crush them with His fury. But I have been appointed by Him as king over Zion, His holy mountain, 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, just as you will crush them with a potter’s vessels.” And now, O kings, understand, learn, all you judges of the earth. Work for the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling. Take advantage of the teaching so that the Lord does not become angry and you do not perish from the right path when His wrath is soon kindled. Blessed are all who trust in Him.

3. Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son

God! How my persecutors have multiplied! Many are rebelling 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. I cried out to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy mountain. I fell asleep, slept and arose, for the Lord will protect me. I will not be afraid of the multitude of people attacking me all around. Arise, Lord! Save me, my God! For Thou hast struck down all those who were in vain at enmity against me, and hast broken the teeth of sinners. Salvation is from the Lord, and Your blessing is upon Your people.

Glory:

4. To the end. Song. Psalm of David

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 persist? Why do you love vanity and seek lies? Know that the Lord made His venerable one wondrous. The Lord will hear me when I cry to Him. When you are angry, do not sin; whatever you speak about in your hearts, lament 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 been imprinted on us, O Lord. You have given joy to my heart, and they have become rich from the fruit of wheat, wine and oil. I will quickly fall asleep in peace and calm down, for You, Lord, have instilled only me with hope.

Translation by Archpriest Vasily Probatov

Orthodox theologian and preacher Vasily Probatov began his literary activity thanks to... conflict. Differences 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 free time, from the mid-20s of the 20th century, he began translating the biblical book of praise, calling it “Psalter in verse.”

Priest Vasily Probatov

Probatov looks at Psalm 99 in a pioneer spirit, which is a little strange, since he could not accept the October Revolution and more than once found himself a victim of interrogations by security officers:

Go with a friendly song, With triumph, to the Lord’s house, And serve the Creator Here in holy joy; Believe firmly, unchangeably, that He is God and King of all, We are His sacred inheritance, Sheep of His pasture; So enter into reverent God's tribe, into God's temple, and offer thanks to the Creator, rejoicing there; Glorify with joy from your heart the Name of your God, For His mercy is eternal, His truth is eternal.

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

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

About psalmody

During the period of active asceticism, the hesychast, as one Greek manuscript of the 14th century says, kept on Mount Athos in the Iveron Monastery, has three main tasks: the first task (for beginners) is to weaken passions; second (for those who are successful) is to practice psalmody; third (for those who succeed) is to endure in prayer.

To weaken passions means, first of all, not to feed them with sinful deeds and thoughts, to resist them, following church institutions and partaking of the holy sacraments, displacing passions by acquiring Christian virtues.

In the matter of cleansing from passions and educating the soul for the Kingdom of God, psalmody is of particular importance. I want to dwell on this in more detail.

The Book of Psalms contains a collection of spiritual songs and is included in the canon of Holy Scripture of the Old Testament. This book received its name from the musical instrument that the prophet David played when singing psalms.

No one has ever doubted the inspiration and canonicity of this book. The psalms are nothing more than the words of the Holy Spirit, addressed to all times and peoples, says St. John Chrysostom. Therefore, all psalms are imbued with holiness. The Psalter reveals to people the Divine economy of our salvation and teaches the rules of faith. It, as St. Basil the Great wrote, “is a book, firstly, showing the teaching of Revelation in life, and secondly, helping to implement this... The Book of Psalms embraces everything that all other sacred books represent. She prophesies about the future, and brings to memory the past, and gives a law for life and rules for action.”

The spirit of the Psalter itself, which, like the spirit of all Holy Scripture, has a great cleansing power, has an undoubted influence on the human soul. The Book of Psalms, which contains in abbreviation all the books of Holy Scripture, is a complete set of truths of knowledge of God and worship of God. It is no coincidence that it is sometimes called the “little Bible.”

“The grace of God breathes throughout the Holy Scriptures, but in the sweet book of psalms it breathes predominantly,” says Saint Ambrose of Milan. The action and power of this Divine grace extends to all who read, sing and listen to the psalms and cleanses their souls. “You need to know,” points out the ancient Christian thinker Origen, “that the word of God has all power and such strength that it can cleanse vices and return the polluted to its former color. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12).” The Lord Jesus Christ also pointed to the cleansing power of His word when he told his disciples: “You have already been cleansed through the word that I preached to you” (John 15:3). “Even if you do not understand the power of Divine words, at least train your mouth to pronounce them,” teaches St. John Chrysostom, “the tongue is sanctified by these words if they are pronounced with zeal.”

How and when does this sanctification take place? Following the patristic teaching, this question can be answered as follows.

Words or thoughts perceived by a person or arising within him contain a certain image. This image carries mental power and has a certain effect on a person. Whether a person is influenced positively or negatively depends on where the images come from. God, out of His condescension and good pleasure, gives knowledge about Himself in images accessible to man. And if a person perceives these Divine images, then they ignite passions in him and sanctify him. Then they confront the images created by man himself and inspired by demons. The latter, if accepted by the soul, will distort the spiritual image of man, created in the image and likeness of God.

Consequently, if by reading the Divine Scripture a person’s soul is cleansed of perversions and vices, then it is very important, over a certain period of spiritual life, to feed the mind with words and thoughts drawn from the Holy Scripture. That is why the ancient monastic rules prescribe, especially for beginners, to learn the Psalter by heart and always have the psalms on their lips. “All Scripture is inspired by God and useful (2 Tim. 3:16), for this purpose it was written by the Holy Spirit,” St. Basil the Great explained the meaning of the Psalter, “so that in it, as in the common physician of the spirit, all of us, humans, might find healing, each from his own your illness."

“As some kind of saving medicine and means for cleansing sins, the fathers commanded,” says St. John Chrysostom, “to read psalms every evening (in particular, “Lord, I cried”), so that whatever we may be defiled with during the day... we will cleanse the approach of evening through these spiritual songs. They are medicine that destroys everything that is not similar. Singing psalms curbs the power of voluptuousness, inspires the mind and elevates the soul. The saint also calls upon us during times of prosperity, enjoying the gifts of God, to “offer songs of thanksgiving to God, so that if something unclean enters our soul from intoxication and satiety, through psalmody we can drive away all unclean and vicious desires.”

The Psalter became the main educational book in Ancient Rus'. From the preface to the “Slavic Grammar” by Meletiy Smotritsky, published in Moscow in 1721, we see that “since ancient times, it was the custom of Russian kindergarteners to teach small children the alphabet first, then the Book of Hours and the Psalter.” The Psalter, as a sacred book and constantly used in worship, was perceived not only as a reading textbook. It was considered necessary to know it as the most necessary, most vital book.

Having learned to read from the Psalter and, moreover, having learned it by heart, the Russian people never parted with it. It was a reference book for our ancestors, a companion on all travels, sometimes it was called a “travel book.”

Russian people, based on their deeply religious feelings, turned to the Psalter to resolve all their perplexities, finding in it answers to difficult life questions and even using it to heal the sick and those possessed by an unclean spirit.

The Psalter remains in frequent use today both during divine services and in everyday life. This is due to the fact that the words of the Psalter not only “purify the soul,” as St. John Chrysostom testifies, “but even one verse can inspire great wisdom, motivate decisions and bring great benefits in life.”

Compared to other books of Holy Scripture, “the book of psalms represents for everyone a model of the life of the soul,” says St. Athanasius the Great. “Whoever reads other books pronounces what is written in them not as his own words, but as the words of holy men or those about whom they speak. But, amazingly, whoever reads the psalms pronounces everything written in them, with the exception of the prophecy about the Savior and the pagans, as if in his own name, sings them as if they were written about him or even by himself. According to his spiritual disposition, everyone who wishes finds healing and correction for his every movement in the psalms.” “I think,” the saint further reflects, “that in the words of this book all human life, the entire state of the soul, all the movements of thought are measured and embraced, so that nothing more can be found in a person.”

Reviewing the patristic teaching, we see what great significance the Psalter has in our lives. Therefore, when studying Orthodox culture and in the educational process based on Orthodox culture, it is necessary to use the experience of Orthodox Rus' and, first of all, use the Psalter, as well as all Holy Scripture, as the basis for arranging a correct life, since “it will not be bread alone.” Man must live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Abbot Peter (Pigol)

“What a pleasant companion for people at all points of their lives is the prophet David. How well he adapts to any spiritual age and shares all kinds of activities! He rejoices with the children of God, labors with men, instructs young men, strengthens elders - everything happens to everyone: for warriors with weapons, for ascetics with instruction, for those learning to fight with a palaestro, for victors with a crown, at feasts with joy, at funerals with consolation. There is not a moment in our life that would be devoid of all kinds of his pleasant benefits. Is there any prayer that David does not affirm? Is there any festival that this prophet would not make bright? St. Gregory of Nyssa

“The Book of Psalms explains everything that is beneficial from all the books. She prophesies about the future, brings events to memory, gives laws for life, offers rules for activity. In short, she is the general treasury of good teachings and carefully seeks out what is beneficial to everyone. What can't you learn from the psalms? Don’t you learn from here the greatness of courage, the severity of justice, the honesty of chastity, the perfection of prudence, the form of repentance, the measure of patience and every good thing you name. Here there is perfect Theology, the prediction of the Coming of Christ in the flesh, the hope of the Resurrection, the promises of glory, the revelation of the Sacraments. Everything, as if in a great and common treasury, is collected in the book of psalms.” St. Basil the Great

“In my opinion, in the book of psalms, the whole human life and mental dispositions and movements of thoughts are measured and described in words, and beyond what is depicted in it nothing more can be found in a person. Is repentance and confession necessary, has anyone experienced sorrow and temptation, is someone persecuted or has gotten rid of evil intentions, has he become saddened and confused and is enduring something similar to what was said above, or does he see himself prospering while the enemy is brought into inaction, or does he intend to praise, to give thanks and bless the Lord - for all this there is instruction in the Divine Psalms... Therefore, even now, everyone, pronouncing the psalms, let him be sure that God will hear those who ask with the psalm word.” St. Athanasius the Great

“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 and research biologist. Therefore, I was familiar with the scientific approach to life from a very young age. True, he was attracted by knowledge not only of the flora and fauna, like his father, but of the universe as a whole, the culture of mankind, and the integration of communication.

After graduating from the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University, Averintsev worked with words for many years. And during the “perestroika” Gorbachev years he was elected to the People's Deputies of the USSR. We should be grateful to Sergei Sergeevich for developing 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 sought answers to the questions of the origin of humanity, its existence and mission on Earth. The German Slavist Wolfgang Kazak called Averintsev’s spiritual poetry “the inviolability of secrets incomprehensible to reason.” But are the rhythmically structured texts of a philology professor poetry? After all, there is no rhyme in them, just as there was no rhyme in the songs of David. Sergei Sergeevich’s well-known colleague Gasan Guseinov, discussing Averintsev’s passion for the English Christian thinker Gilbert Chesterton, openly speaks of the understanding that “both knew that they were writing bad poetry.” But in the case of the translation of the Psalter, this fact is very useful. 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 one is missing. 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 its translation are doubled):

The Lord is King, let the earth rejoice, let the many islands rejoice! Cloud and darkness are around Him, righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne; fire comes before His face, scorches the surroundings of His enemies, His lightning shines on the entire circle of earth, the earth sees and shakes, before the face of the Lord the mountains melt like wax, before the face of the Ruler of the whole earth - the heavens proclaim His truth, and all nations see His glory. Let those who honor idols be ashamed, those whose boasting is nothing but dust; may all deities bow before Him! Zion hears and rejoices, the multitude of the daughters of Judah rejoices, O Lord, over Thy judgments! For You, Lord, are High above all the earth, exalted above all gods. You who love the Lord, abhor evil! He preserves the souls of His faithful, He rescues them from the hands of sinners; light shines on the righteous, and joy on those whose hearts are upright. Rejoice, O righteous ones, in Him, and glorify the memory of His shrine!

I don’t know about you, but for some reason my personal imagination immediately took me to the German organ preludes and fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, who fill modern Austrian churches with their polyphony. Was it not this music that Averintsev plunged into, escaping from his multinational homeland, 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.

Psalter. Kathisma 1

DAVID THE PROPHET AND THE KING SONG. KATHISMA THE FIRST.

Psalm 1.

Psalm to David, not inscribed among the Jews.

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit on the seats of the destroyers, 2 but his will is in the law of the Lord, and in His law shall he learn day and night. 3 And it shall be like a tree planted by the coming out of the waters, which shall yield its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall away, and all that is created shall prosper. 4 Not like wickedness, not like this, but like dust that the wind sweeps away from the face of the earth. 5 For this reason wickedness will not rise again for judgment, below the sinner for the council of the righteous. 6 For the Lord preaches the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 2.

Psalm to David.

1 How are the nations reeling, and people having learned in vain? 2 The king of the earth appeared, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ. 3 Let us break their bonds and cast away their yoke from us. 4 He who lives in heaven will laugh at them, and the Lord will mock them. 5 Then he will cry out against them with his wrath, and he will trample me with his wrath. 6 And I am appointed King by Him over Zion, His holy mountain, 7 declaring the commandment of the Lord. The Lord spoke to Me: You are My Son, I have given birth to You today. 8 Ask of Me, and I will give You the tongues of Your inheritance, and Your possession, the ends of the earth. 9 I have protected you with a rod of iron, as I have broken the vessels of the wicked. 10 And now, O king, understand, be punished, all you who judge the earth. 11 Work for the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling. 12 Accept punishment, lest the Lord be angry and perish from the righteous path, when His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who hope Nan.

Psalm 3.

1 Psalm to David, who sometimes fled from the face of Absalom his son.

2 Lord, why have we multiplied the cold? Many people rise up against me, 3 many people say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God. 4 But You, O Lord, are my Protector, my glory, and lift up my head. 5 With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain. 6 I fell asleep, and smelled, and arose, for the Lord would intercede for me. 7 I will not be afraid because of the people around who attack me. 8 Arise, Lord, save me, O my God, for Thou hast struck down all those who were at enmity with me in vain: Thou hast crushed the teeth of sinners. 9 Salvation is the Lord, and your blessing is on your people.

Glory:

Psalm 4.

1 Finally, in songs, a psalm to David.

2 Always call upon me; the God of my righteousness has heard me; you have spread me out in tribulation, be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. 3 Sons of humanity, how long will hardness of heart last? Do you love vanity and seek lies? 4 And see that the Lord has surprised His saint: the Lord will hear me when I call to Him. 5 Be angry, and do not sin what you say in your hearts; be humble on your beds. 6 Devour the sacrifice of righteousness and trust in the Lord. 7 Many people say: who will show us good? The light of Your face appears upon us, O Lord. 8 Thou hast given gladness to my heart, being multiplied by the fruit of wheat, wine, and oil. 9 In peace together I will fall asleep and rest, for You, Lord, alone have given me hope.

Psalm 5.

1 About him who inherits, a psalm to David.

2 Command my words, O Lord, understand my calling. 3 Hear the voice of my prayer, my King and my God, as I will pray to You, O Lord. 4 Tomorrow hear my voice, tomorrow I will appear to You, and you will see me. 5 For You are not a God who wills iniquity; the wicked will not dwell in You; 6 The wicked will abide before Your eyes; You have hated all the workers of iniquity. 7 Destroy all those who speak lies: the Lord abhors men of blood and flattery. 8 But through the multitude of Thy mercy, I will go into Thy house, and worship Thy holy temple, in Thy fear. 9 Lord, guide me in Your righteousness; for my sake, my enemy, straighten my path before You. 10 Because truth is not in their mouth, their heart is futile, their grave is opened, their throat is open; their tongues are flattering. 11 Judge unto them, O God, that they may depart from their thoughts; because of the multitude of their wickedness, I despise them, for I have made Thee so bitter, O Lord. 12 And let all who trust in You rejoice, they will rejoice forever, and dwell in them, and they who love Your name will boast in You. 13 For thou hast blessed the righteous, O Lord: for thou hast crowned us with weapons of favor.

Psalm 6.

1 Finally, in the song of osmosis, a psalm to David.

2 Lord, do not rebuke me with Your wrath; do not punish me with Your wrath. 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are broken. 4 And my soul was greatly troubled: and Thou, O Lord, how long? 5 Turn, O Lord, deliver my soul: save me for Thy mercy's sake. 6 What will you remember in death? Who will confess to you in hell? 7 I am weary with my groaning, I will wash my couch every night, I will wet my bed with my tears. 8 My eye is troubled with wrath; I have sworn in all my enemies. 9 Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my crying: 10 The Lord has heard my prayer, the Lord has accepted my prayer. 11 Let all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed; let them return and be greatly ashamed soon.

Glory:

Psalm 7.

1 Psalm to David, which the Lord sang about the words of Husha, the son of Jemen.

2 O Lord my God, in Thee I have trusted, save me from all those who persecute me and deliver me: 3 lest a lion snatch away my soul; I am not the one who delivers, but the one who saves. 4 O Lord my God, if I have done these things, if wickedness is in my hand, 5 if I repay those who repay evil to me, let me then fall away from the leanness of my enemies. 6 Let the enemy marry my soul and overwhelm me, and trample my life into the ground, and place my glory in the dust. 7 Arise, O Lord, by Thy wrath, Thy enemies are exalted in the end, and arise, O Lord my God, by the commandment which Thou hast commanded. 8 And a multitude of people will go around Thee, and for this reason they will look up on high. 9 The Lord judges people: judge me, Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my kindness towards me. 10 Let the wickedness of sinners come to an end, and correct the righteous, try hearts and bellies, O God, righteous. 11 My help comes from God, who saves the upright in heart. 12 God the judge is righteous and mighty and slow to anger, and does not cause wrath every day. 13 And if you do not turn, He will cleanse His weapon, His bow and its preparation, 14 And in it He will prepare the vessels of death, His arrows will be burned up. 15 Behold, through wickedness, sickness will be conceived, and iniquity will be born: 16 a pit, and fossils, and it will fall into the pit that it has made. 17 His sickness will come upon his head, and unrighteousness will come down upon his head. 18 Let us confess to the Lord His righteousness and sing to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 8.

1 Finally, O sharpeners, a psalm to David.

2 O Lord, our Lord, for your name is wonderful in all the earth, for your splendor is exceeding the heavens. 3 From the mouth of a child and of those who piss, You have made praise, O Thy enemy, for the sake of destroying the enemy and the local. 4 For I will see the heavens, the works of Your finger, the moon and the stars which You founded. 5 What is man, that you remember him? or son of man, how do you visit him? 6 You made him less than an angel, and crowned him with glory and honor. 7 And Thou hast placed Thy hand over his affairs; Thou hast put all things in subjection under his nose. 8 All sheep and oxen, and also the cattle of Poland, 9 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, the passing paths of the sea. 10 O Lord, our Lord, for your name is wonderful in all the earth.

Glory:

According to the 1st kathisma, the Trisagion of Our Father: And this troparia, tone 1:

I, the prodigal, was conceived in iniquity; I do not dare to look at the heights of Heaven, but daring in Your love for mankind, I call: God, cleanse me, a sinner, and save me.

Even if a righteous person is barely saved, where will I appear, a sinner? I did not bear the hardships and heat of the day, but with the mercenaries of the tenth hour, count me, O God, and save me.

Glory: Open the Father's embrace to me, I have spent my life fornication, I look at the unexpected riches of Your bounties, O Savior, do not despise my now impoverished heart. For you, Lord, I call with tenderness: I have sinned in Heaven and before You.

And now: Hope of Christians, Most Holy Virgin, Whom you gave birth to God above your mind and words, pray unceasingly with the powers on high to grant forgiveness of sins to us all, and correction of our lives, through faith and love Oviyu always honoring You.

Lord, have mercy (40) and prayer:

Master Almighty, Incomprehensible, the beginning of the light and the exceeding power, like the Hypostatic Word, the Father and the emitter of Your only powerful Spirit: merciful for the sake of mercy and ineffable blessings guests, not despising human nature, which contains sin, but the Divine lights of Your sacred teachings, the law and prophets of the world, follow let us be your only begotten Son, who has been pleased to shine forth in flesh and instruct us in the illumination of your enlightenment: may your ears be attentive to the voice of our prayer, and grant us, O God, in vigil and vigil Linked heart, the whole night of this present life will pass away, awaiting the coming of Your Son and God ours, the judge of all, let us not lie down and sleep, but be awake and raised up to do Your commandments and let us find ourselves in His joy, where those who celebrate the unceasing voice and the indescribable sweetness of those who see You his face has unspeakable kindness. For You are a Good and Lover of Mankind, and we give glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, amen.

Translation by German Plisetsky

It is believed that the poet and translator German Plisetsky was undeservedly excluded 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 it. Geshka and Plisa, as his friends called him, kept up with the times, seeking truth and justice, composing rhymes in the spirit of Vysotsky, Voznesensky, Yevtushenko. Became widely known after his death.

Poet German Plesetsky

His first collection of essays and translations was published only in 2001, nine years after his death. And the main popularity was mainly earned by his poem about Pasternak and translations of Omar Khayyam. They say that German Borisovich is one of the transcriptions of the Psalter into poetic form. But, to be honest, apart from the first psalm, I did not find evidence of the existence of his translation of the entire biblical collection. Perhaps I'm mistaken.

Blessed is he who does not go to council, depraved, deceitful and stinking. Blessed is he who is not in a hurry to gather, having said to the wicked: “No!” He listens to God. He wants to comprehend God's law. Let it be like a trunk, branching, and let every leaf not wither! Growing at the source of the waters, may it bear ripe fruit! And the wicked are dust scattered to all the winds. The prayers of the depraved will not save, and God’s Judgment will not escape. Blessed be the right path! And the path of the depraved - be damned!

The abundance of exclamation marks indicates the influence of the slogans of the communist USSR. But why not?

Translation by Naum Grebnev

Naum Isaevich Rambakh (this was his real last name) was born in China shortly before the Great Patriotic War, then moved with his family to the USSR. He didn’t really like to talk about his Jewish nationality - the times were too turbulent, and because of this he was criticized by his colleagues - they say he was 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, bravely fighting “for the Motherland, for Stalin,” shoulder to shoulder with other soldiers of the multinational Soviet Union.

Naum Grebnev (Rambakh)

Fame 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. Taking into account his blood 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 thus presented the psalter to the judgment of today's Russian-speaking readers, translating the synodal translation into verse. This is what his 99th Psalm looks like:

Glorify, O people, the palace of the Lord, Go to it with joy, with praise. Come before His face with song, He created us, He 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, the Lord's people, Bless them in heartfelt prayer, For whatever happens 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 Kyiv, he was fond of exact sciences, and accordingly 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 what they say is true: talented people are talented in everything. Naum Basovsky is the author of not only a large number of scientific inventions and publications in the media, he is also a laureate of many poetry competitions. His erudition and outlook were wonderfully embodied in literature.

N. Basovsky

Let's see how figuratively and richly he presents Psalm 99:

God reigns, and the nations tremble, and the face of the earth trembles. He is as high as the vaults of heaven, great above the nations of the world. Judgment and truth are from God over them; justice is their triumph. Holy is the terrible name of the Lord, and holy is His footstool. Both Moses and Aaron, and Shmuel - those whose voice sounded inviting - pulled their prayers to the Almighty, and the Lord answered. They heard God's voice from a large pillar of clouds, received the holy tablets, and kept them forever. Forgiveness was given to us according to the Law, according to the Law and punishment. Worship Zion, people, glorify God at all times!

From these lines one can smell not only David’s song to the kinnora, but also “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” And this style is probably 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. By embodying the Israeli word of God for the Russians, he thus literally united two ancient cultures into one. The prominence of the syllables and beautiful chanting melody, the abundance of images and ancient Russian words will undoubtedly bring pleasure not only to any reader, but also to a linguist.