← Western Sephardic Liturgical Classics
יְיָ רֹעִי
Adonai Roʿi
Psalm 23 — “God is my shepherd”
Text & translation
מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד יְיָ רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר
Mizmor l’David. Adonai roʿi lo eḥsar.
A psalm of David. God is my shepherd; I shall not want.
בִּנְאוֹת דֶּשֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵנִי עַל־מֵי מְנֻחוֹת יְנַהֲלֵנִי
Bin’ot deshe yarbitzeni, al mei m’nuḥot y’nahaleni.
In green pastures God lets me lie down; beside still waters God leads me.
נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי־צֶדֶק לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ
Nafshi y’shovev, yanḥeni v’maʿg’lei tzedek l’maʿan sh’mo.
God restores my soul, and guides me in right paths for the sake of God’s Name.
גַּם כִּי־אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת לֹא־אִירָא רָע כִּי־אַתָּה עִמָּדִי שִׁבְטְךָ וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּךָ הֵמָּה יְנַחֲמֻנִי
Gam ki elekh b’gei tzalmavet lo ira ra, ki atah ʿimmadi; shivt’kha umishʿantekha hemmah y’naḥamuni.
Though I walk through the valley of deepest darkness, I fear no harm, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff — they comfort me.
תַּעֲרֹךְ לְפָנַי שֻׁלְחָן נֶגֶד צֹרְרָי דִּשַּׁנְתָּ בַשֶּׁמֶן רֹאשִׁי כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה
Taʿarokh l’fanai shulḥan neged tzor’rai, dishanta vashemen roshi, kosi r’vayah.
You set a table before me in the presence of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
אַךְ טוֹב וָחֶסֶד יִרְדְּפוּנִי כׇּל־יְמֵי חַיָּי וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית־יְיָ לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים
Akh tov vaḥesed yird’funi kol y’mei ḥayyai, v’shavti b’veit Adonai l’orekh yamim.
Surely goodness and kindness shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the House of God for length of days.
Psalm 23 in full.
About this piece
Psalm 23, sung at se’udah sh’lishit, the third Sabbath meal, as the day declines.
A psalm of trust: the table set, the cup overflowing, goodness in pursuit.
Recordings — Daniel Halfon
London
In the living tradition
This music is the prayer of a living rite. It is sung today at Kehillah Kedoshah Zikhron Zvi, the egalitarian Western Sephardi congregation of the Hudson Valley — the community at the endpoint of the Program’s Sephardi Liturgy project.