Kathisma 18

Kathisma 19

Kathisma 20

The Eighteenth Kathisma

Antiphon One

I called to the Lord when I was under attack, and he answered me. 2) Save me from lying lips, O Lord, from the deceitful tongue.

3) O what he has in store for you, you deceitful tongue, and what more besides: 4) the sharpened arrows of the warrior, the burning coals of broom wood!

5) What a wretched fate! Whether I live in Meshech or among the tents of Kedar, 6) it would still be living too close, too close to those who hate peace. 7) I was for peace, and I said so, but all they wanted was war.

I lift my eyes toward the mountains; where will my help come from? 2) My help comes only from the presence of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

3) He shall not let your foot slip, for he does not slumber, your protector. 4) No, he never slumbers or sleeps, the guardian of Israel.

5) The Lord is your guardian, your shade; the Lord at your right; 6) by day the sun will not harm you, nor the moon by night.

7) The Lord keeps you safe from evil; he guards you, body and soul. 8) He watches your coming and your going, now and forever.

O my joy when they said to me: Let us go to the house of the Lord! 2) We are there! Standing within your gates, Jerusalem! 3) Jerusalem, a city restored for the fellowship of her people! 4) It is there that the tribes go, the tribes of the Lord, to praise the Lord's name, as it was decreed for Israel. 5) For the judgment seats are there, the seats of David's house.

6) Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may those who love you prosper. 7) May there be peace within your walls, prosperity in your homes. 8) For the love of my relatives and friends I say sincerely: Peace to you! 9) For the love of the house of the Lord, our God, I pray for your happiness.

To you do I lift my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens. 2) As the eyes of servants follow their master's hand, like the eyes of a maid on the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes turned to the Lord, our God, waiting for him to show us his mercy.

3) Deal kindly with us, O Lord, deal kindly with us! For we have had our fill of contempt! 4) Long enough have we put up with the scorn of the complacent, the contempt of the arrogant.

Were it not for the Lord on our side -- let Israel repeat it -- 2) were it not for the Lord on our side, when they attacked us, 3) they would have swallowed us alive in their burning rage against us! 4) Then the waters would have swept us away; the rushing current would have drawn us under. 5) Then the raging waters would have overwhelmed us.

6) Blessed be the Lord! He did not let us fall prey to their teeth! 7) We escaped, like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the snare broke, and we escaped. 8) Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: Both now and forever, and unto ages of ages, amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.

Antiphon Two

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion: unshakable, enduring forever! 2) O Jerusalem! As the mountains shelter you, so does the Lord shelter his people from now to eternity.

3) Never will the scepter of the wicked fall upon the land of the just, so long as the just themselves do not turn to evil.

4) Be good, O Lord, to the good, to the upright of heart. 5) But those who waver between good and evil, may the Lord make them vanish with the wicked! Peace upon Israel!

When the Lord restores the fortunes of Sion -- we see it in our dreams! -- 2) our mouths will be filled with laughter, on our lips, songs of joy. Then shall they say among the nations: What wonders the Lord has done for them! 3) The Lord will do great things for us indeed, and we shall rejoice because of it!

4) O Lord, restore our fortunes, like swollen streams in the Negeb! 5) They who sow in tears shall reap with songs of joy. 6) Though they move along weeping, bearing their seedbags, they shall come back with shouts of joy, bearing their sheaves.

Unless the Lord build the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the Lord guard the city, its guards keep watch in vain. 2) For nothing is your early rising, your putting off sleep, you who toil for the bread of idols; for the Lord is trustworthy and he bestows his gifts on those he loves.

3) Sons are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward from him. 4) Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, so are the sons of one's youth. 5) Happy that man who can fill his quiver with them; when he contends at the city gate, he holds his head high against those who challenge him.

Happy are they who revere the Lord and walk in his ways! 2) You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors. You shall be happy and prosperous, 3) with your wife like a fruitful vine at the heart of your home, your children, like olive shoots gathered round your table. 4) [This is the way of the Lord and he can be trusted; he blesses the man who reveres him.

5) May the Lord bless you from Sion all the days of your life; may you see Jerusalem in prosperity!] 6) May you live to see your children's children. Peace to you, Israel!

Often have they assailed me from my youth -- this is Israel's refrain -- 2) often have they assailed me from my youth, but they could not break me! 3) Like plowmen, up and down my back they plowed, drawing furrows long and deep. 4) May the Lord, the just one, shatter the yoke of the wicked!

5) Let them be routed, those who hate Sion, covered with shame! 6) Let them be like grass on a rooftop, withering before harvest! 7) The reaper cannot fill his hands with it, nor can the binder of sheaves, his arms. 8) And those who pass will not say: The Lord's blessing be with you; we bless you in the name of the Lord!

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

Antiphon Three

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord: 2) O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears attend to my cry for mercy.

3) For if you, Lord, keep an account of our sins--Lord, who will survive? 4) But you always forgive us, and for this we revere you.

5) I call on the Lord; my soul calls on him, and I long for his reply. 6) My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for dawn; more than watchmen for dawn let Israel wait for the Lord! 7) For the love of the Lord is unfailing, and great is his power to redeem; it is he who redeems Israel from all its sins.

O Lord, I do not fill my heart with vain ambitions, nor do I set my sights too high. I am not concerned with things too great for me, nor with matters beyond my understanding. 2) Rather, I have kept my soul peaceful and calm, like an infant, like an infant in its mother's arms. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, now and forever!

Remember, O Lord, to David's credit, all his anxious care, 2) how he swore to the Lord, how he made this vow to the mighty one of Jacob: 3) I will never enter my bedroom, nor climb into my bed; 4) I will not let my eyes sleep, nor my eyelids slumber, 5) until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the mighty one of Jacob.

6) [Look, we heard about it in Ephratha; we learned of it in the fields of Jaar.] 7) Let us go to his dwelling; let us fall in worship at his footstool. 8) Advance, O Lord, to your resting place; you and the ark of your majesty. 9) Let your priests be vested in righteousness; let the faithful shout for joy. 10) For the sake of David, your servant, do not reject your anointed one.

11) The Lord has sworn to David, and he will not go back on his word: One of your own issue will I set on your throne. 12) And if your sons keep my covenant and the law that I teach them, their sons, too, shall sit on your throne. 13) For the Lord has chosen Sion; he wants it for his dwelling:

14) This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I prefer it. 15) I will richly provide for its needs; I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16) I will vest her priests in salvation, and her faithful will shout for joy. 17) There I will make David's strength blossom forth, and a lamp shall burn for my anointed. 18) I will cover his enemies with shame, while on him his crown shall sparkle.

Look! See how good, how pleasant it is to live together like brothers! 2) It is like precious ointment on the head, trickling down the beard, trickling down the beard of Aaron, over the collar of his robes. 3) It is like the dew of Hermon descending on the heights of Sion, for there the Lord gives his blessing: life forevermore!

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who serve in the Lord's house, in the courts of the house of our God! 2) Raise your hands toward the sanctuary, and bless the Lord every night! 3) May the Lord of Sion bless you, he who made heaven and earth!

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

The Nineteenth Kathisma

Antiphon One

Alleluia! Praise the name of the Lord! Praise him, O you servants of the Lord, 2) who serve in the Lord's house, in the courts of the house of our God. 3) Praise the Lord, for he is good; sing praise to his name, for he deserves our love. 4) For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own possession.

5) For I know the Lord is great, that our God surpasses all the gods. 6) Whatever pleases the Lord he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in the deep. 7) He makes clouds come forth from the ends of the earth; he makes lightning bring forth rain, and from his treasury he sends forth the wind.

8) He struck down Egypt's firstborn, of man and beast alike. 9) He sent forth signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against pharaoh and all his servants. 10) He struck down nations without number; he made mighty kings perish: 11) Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. 12) And he made their land an inheritance, an inheritance for Israel, his people. 13) O Lord, your name will last forever, your title, unto all generations, O Lord! 14) For the Lord does justice for his people; he takes pity on his servants.

15) Pagan idols -- gold and silver -- these are the work of human hands. 16) They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. 17) They have ears, but they cannot hear; and never does breath come forth from their lips. 18) Like them will their makers be, and all who trust in them!

19) House of Israel, bless the Lord! House of Aaron, bless the Lord! House of Levi, bless the Lord! All you who revere him, bless the Lord! 20) Blessings for the Lord of Sion, for him who dwells in Jerusalem! Alleluia!

With praise, bless the Lord, for he is good! His love lasts forever!
2) with praise, bless the God of gods! His love lasts forever!
3) with praise, bless the Lord of lords! His love lasts forever!
4) He alone has wrought wonders! His love lasts forever!
5) He fashioned the sky with wisdom! His love lasts forever!
6) He fixed the earth on the waters! His love lasts forever!
7) He made the great lights! His love lasts forever!
8) The sun to rule the day! His love lasts forever!
9) The moon and the stars to govern the night! His love lasts forever!
10) He smote the Egyptians in their firstborn! His love lasts forever!
11) And brought Israel out of their midst! His love lasts forever!
12) With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm! His love lasts forever!
13) The Sea of Reeds he divided in two! His love lasts forever!
14) And marched Israel right through it! His love lasts forever!
15) But pharaoh and his army he swept into it! His love lasts forever!
16) He led his people across the desert! His love lasts forever!
17) He battered mighty kingdoms! His love lasts forever!
18) And he struck down great kings! His love lasts forever!
19) Sihon, king of the Amorites! His love lasts forever!
20) And Og, king of Bashan! His love lasts forever!
21) He gave their lands to Israel! His love lasts forever!
22) As their prize! His love lasts forever!
23) For he remembered us in our troubles! His love lasts forever!
24) And he snatched us out of the hand of our foes! His love lasts forever!
25) He provides all living things with food! His love lasts forever!
26) With praise, bless the God of heaven! His love lasts forever!

On the banks of the rivers of Babylon, we used to sit and weep at the thought of Sion. 2) On the poplars that grew there, we used to hang our harps. 3) For it was there our captors urged us to sing; our oppressors, to be happy, to sing the songs of Sion.

4) But how could we sing the Lord's songs in a foreign land? 5) O Jerusalem! If I forget you, let my right hand wither! 6) Let my tongue cleave to my palate if I do not remember you, if I do not prize you above my greatest joy!

7) Remember, O Lord, what Edom's children said, the day Jerusalem fell, how they clamored: Down with it! Down with it! Foundations and all! 8) O Babylon, cursed Babylon! You destroyer! Happy the one who repays you for all you have done to us! 9) He shall seize your little ones and dash them against a rock!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: Both now and forever, and unto ages of ages, amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.

Antiphon Two

I will praise you with all my heart; in the presence of spirit powers I will sing to you. 2) I fall in worship toward your holy temple, grateful to your name for your loving kindness and your faithfulness, for you have glorified your name and your promise before all peoples. 3) The day I called to you, you gave me victory; you inspired me with courage and a feeling of strength.

4) All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth. 5) They will sing of the ways of the Lord, that the glory of the Lord is great indeed! 6) Sublime as the Lord is, he watches over the lowly; lofty as he is, he cares for them even from afar.

7) Though I march in the midst of my foes, O that he would keep me alive though they rage against me! 8) Stretch forth your left hand; give me victory with your right! May the Lord avenge me as long as I live! O Lord, your loving mercy lasts forever; despise not the work of your hands!

O Lord, examine me and know me yourself. 2) You know when I sit still and when I move about; you read my mind even from afar. 3) You observe me when I leave and when I return; you are familiar with all my comings and goings. 4) A word is barely on my lips, and already you know it completely, O Lord. 5) Round about me, behind and before, you shield me with your hand. 6) To know you is just too much for me; it is a mystery too deep for me to fathom.

7) Where can I escape your spirit? Where can I flee your presence? 8) If I ascend to the heavens, you are there! If I make my bed in the world beneath, you are there also! 9) If I take wing with the dawn and rest on the farthest horizon, 10) even there your hand will be guiding me, your right hand, holding me fast. 11) If I say: Let utter darkness conceal me! Let the light become night around me! 12) Even the darkness will not be dark to you, since the night shines like the day for you, the darkness like light.

13) It was you who created my inmost being, who fashioned me in my mother's womb. 14) I praise you for all these mysteries, for the wonder of myself and all your works. You know me through and through, 15) from having watched me take shape, as I was being formed in secret, being knit together in the depths of the earth. 16) Your eyes have followed all the stages of my life; they are all recorded in your book. All my days were listed and determined 17) before one of them came to be. How weighty your thoughts seem to me, O God, how deep their meaning! 18) Were I to count them -- they are more numerous than the grains of sand. Were I to finish, I would still be left with you!

19) O God, if you would only slay the wicked! O you men of idols, say away from me! 20) For they gaze on every graven image and raise their eyes to every empty idol. 21) Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? Am I not appalled by those who challenge you? 22) I feel nothing but contempt for them; I count them all my foes. 23) Examine me, O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my anxious thoughts. 24) See if my way is crooked; watch lest my ways offend you, and lead me into your eternal realm.

Rescue me, Lord, from evil men; from the violent keep me safe, 2) from those who plan evil in their hearts, who stir up strife every day, 3) who sharpen their tongue like an adder's, with the poison of vipers on their lips.

4) Lord, guard me from the hands of the wicked; from the violent keep me safe, for they try to make me stumble. 5) The arrogant have laid a trap for me; villains have spread out a net across my path to ensnare me. 6) I have said to you, Lord: You are my God! Hear my appeal for mercy! 7) Lord, my God, my mighty help, shield my head in battle!

8) Do not grant the wicked what they want; do not let their plans succeed. 9) With heads held high, in their arrogance they surround me. 10) Let the malice of their words overwhelm them; let coals of fire rain down on them. Let them perish in the abyss, never to rise from it.

11) Let not the slanderer last on this earth: let evil hound the violent man to his death. 12) I know the Lord will avenge the poor, that he will do justice for the needy. 13) Indeed, the just shall praise your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

Antiphon Three

O Lord, I cry to you; hear me! Hear my voice when I call to you. 2) Let my prayer rise like incense before you, my hands, like the evening sacrifice.

3) Set a guard at my mouth, O Lord; keep watch at the door of my lips. 4) Let not my heart turn to wrong, to making excuses for sinning with the wicked. 5) Let the just one strike me -- it is a kindness if he upbraids me--but never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head. 6) Unceasingly I pit my prayer against their malice. Let their princes slip on rocky crags; then let them see how sweet my words are. 7) As a millstone is shattered to pieces on the ground, so are their bones strewn at the mouth of the grave.

8) But to you, O Lord, my eyes are turned; in you I hide: Spare my soul. 9) Keep me safe from the trap they set for me, from the snares of all evildoers. 10) Let them fall into their own trap, the wicked -- all of them together! -- while I go on unharmed.

With all my voice I cry to the Lord, with all my voice I entreat the Lord for mercy. 2) I pour out before him my complaint; my distress I place before him. 3) My spirit faints within me, but you know my path.

Along the path I must take they have hidden a snare. 4) Look to my right and see: I have no friends. There is nowhere to run, no one to care for my soul.

5) I cry to you, Lord; I have said it: You are my refuge, all I have left in the land of the living. 6) Listen, then, to my cry, for I am in the very depths of despair. Rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are far too strong for me. 7) Set me free from this prison, so that I may praise your name. Around me the just will throng, because of your goodness to me, O most high.

O Lord, hear my prayer; O God, be true to yourself and listen to my plea for mercy. In your righteousness answer me. 2) Do not call your servant to account, for no one on earth is justified in your sight. 3) O Lord, be generous and grant me life; in your unfailing love rescue my soul from affliction. 4) For the foe hunts after my soul; into the earth he tramples my very life, forcing me into the darkness of those long dead.

5) My spirit faints within me, my heart is numb with despair. 6) My mind goes back to days gone by, dwelling on the memory of all you did, pondering the works of your hands. 7) To you I lift my outstretched hands: Come quick and answer me, O Lord! 8) For my spirit longs for you; like parched earth I thirst for you. 9) Hide not your face from me lest I become like those who go into the pit.

10) Each morning make me understand your loving kindness, for I trust in you. Show me the path to follow, for my heart belongs to you. 11) Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your gracious spirit lead me into the land of life, for your name's sake. 12) Save me from my foes, O Lord, for I seek refuge in you. 13) Wipe out my foes; bring destruction on those who oppress me, for I am your servant.

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

The Twentieth Kathisma

Antiphon One

A blessing for the Lord, my rock, who trains my arms for war, my hands for battle. 2) My faithful one and my fortress, my stronghold and my refuge: He is my shield, in whom I trust, who subdues peoples at my feet. 3) Lord, what is man, that you should care about him, the son of man, that you should think of him? 4) Man is like vapor, his days like a passing shadow.

5) Lord, part the heavens and come down; touch the mountains so that they smoke! 6) Flash your lightning and scatter them; fire your arrows and put them to flight! 7) Stretch forth your hands from above; snatch me and rescue me from the raging waters of the world beneath, from the hands of foreigners, 8) whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are filled with deceit.

9) O God, let me sing you a new song; on the ten-stringed lyre let me play to you; 10) it is you who gave victory to your king, who rescued David, your servant. From the sword of the evil one snatch me, 11) and rescue me from the hands of foreigners, whose mouths are full of lies, whose right hands are filled with deceit.

12) May our sons then be blessed like saplings, carefully trained from their youth; our daughters like pillars, trimmed to give shape to a palace. 13) May our barns be filled to overflowing with crops of every kind. May our sheep bear lambs by the thousands; may they increase by tens of thousands in our fields; 14) may our cattle be well cared for. Let there be no break in our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of terror in our streets. 15) How happy the people of whom this is true, how happy the people whose God is the Lord!

I will extol you, my God and king! I will bless your name, to eternity and beyond! 2) Every day I will bless you and praise your name unto ages of ages. 3) Great is the Lord; worthy of praise is the great one, since his greatness knows no limit. 4) Age after age will praise your works, proclaim your mighty deeds. 5) Majestic Lord, your glorious splendor will they describe, and of your wonders shall I sing. 6) O mighty one, your awesome acts will they announce, and I shall recount your great deeds. 7) They will celebrate your abundant goodness, O master, and joyfully acclaim your justice. 8) Gracious and compassionate is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. 9) The Lord is good to all, and his compassion extends to all he has made.

10) All you have made will praise you, O Lord, and those devoted to you will bless you. 11) They will tell the glory of your kingdom and declare your might, 12) making known to the children of men your mighty works and the glorious splendor of your reign. 13) Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations.

14) The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his deeds. 15) Those who stumble the Lord supports; those bent over he raises up! 16) The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in its season. 17) You open wide your hand, feeding every creature to its heart's content.

18) The Lord is just in all his ways and kind in all his works. 19) The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in purity of heart. 20) He carries out the will of those who revere him; he hears their cry for help and saves them. 21) The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he destroys! 22) The praise of the Lord will my mouth tell out, and all flesh shall bless his holy name, unto ages of ages.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: Both now and forever, and unto ages of ages, amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.

Antiphon Two

Alleluia! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2) I will praise the Lord throughout my life; I will rejoice in my God as long as I live! 3) Put no trust in men of power, or in any mortals, for they cannot help you. 4) Take away their breath, and they return to the dust they came from, and all their plans for that day come to nothing! 5) Happy, rather, is he who has Jacob's God to help him, who puts his trust in the Lord God, 6) in the very one who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all they contain.

For he is ever true to his word: 7) He avenges those who are oppressed; he provides bread for the hungry. He is the Lord who sets prisoners free, 8) who gives sight to the blind. He is the Lord who comforts those who are burdened, who protects the stranger, 9) who upholds the orphan and the widow. He is the Lord who loves the just, who foils the plans of the wicked. 10) The Lord it is who reigns forever, and he is your God, Sion, unto all generations! Alleluia!

Alleluia! How good to sing to our God! How pleasant to praise the glorious one! 2) The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem. He gathers together the exiles of Israel; 3) he heals their broken hearts and binds their wounds. 4) He assigns a number to the stars: to each of them he gives a name. 5) Great is our Lord, surpassing in power; beyond reckoning is his wisdom. 6) The Lord reassures the humble; he consigns the wicked to the world beneath.

7) Sing to the Lord in gratitude; on the lyre make music to our God, 8) for he makes the sky overcast with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes the mountains sprout grass and provides plants for man's use; 9) he gives cattle their grain and the young ravens what they cry for; 10) he does not delight in the strength of horses nor value the fleetness of men. 11) But the Lord values those who revere him, those who rely on his strength.

12) O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Sion, praise your God! 13) He has strengthened the bolts of your gates; He has blessed the children within you. 14) He grants peace on your borders; he feeds you with the finest wheat. 15) He sends his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word. 16) He spreads out snow like fleece and scatters frost like ashes. 17) He hurls down his hail like pebbles -- who can endure his icy blast! 18) He sends out his word and melts them. He stirs up the breezes and the waters flow. 19) He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. 20) He has done this for no other nation, for they know nothing of his law. Alleluia!

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

Antiphon Three

Alleluia! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! 2) Praise him, all his angels; praise him all his hosts! 3) Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you glittering stars! 4) Praise him, heavens of heavens, and the waters above the heavens! 5) Let them praise the name of the Lord: He gave the word, and they took form. 6) He fixed them for all eternity, with a law that will never change.

7) Praise the Lord from the earth, sea monsters and all the depths. 8) Fire and hail, snow and mist, hurricane winds, the work of his word. 9) Mountains and all the hills, fruit trees and all cedars. 10) Wild beasts, and tame ones, too, creeping reptile, the bird that flies.

11) Kings of the earth and all their peoples, princes, and all the judges of the land. 12) Young men and maidens, too, young and old alike. 13) Let them praise the name of the Lord; his name alone is great; his majesty is far above both heaven and earth. 14) He exalts his people's might, -- the boast of all his friends, of Israel, the people of his favored ones! Alleluia!

Alleluia! Sing the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his own! 2) Joy for Israel in its maker; for Sion's children, happiness in their king. 3) Praised be his name in dancing; for him the music of the harp and timbrel! 4) For the Lord is pleased with his people; with redemption he adorns the humble.

5) His own exult in glory; they sing for joy from their beds. 6) God's praise fills their throats; in their hands, the two-edged swords! 7) Vengeance on the peoples; on the nations chastisement. 8) Chains for their kings; for their nobles iron fetters. 9) To carry out on them the written sentence, this is the glory of all his friends. Alleluia!

Alleluia! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him for his vast, unshaking strength. 2) Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him for all his grandeur. 3) Praise him with the trumpet blast; praise him with harp and lyre. 4) Praise him with dance and timbrel; praise him with strings and flutes. 5) Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with clanging cymbals. 6) Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Alleluia!

The Psalter
Copyright © 1984 by the Monks of New Skete