Psalm 13 (Tehillim 13) in Hebrew and English
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Text (469) 608-9944Psalm 13
David’s psalm asking how long Hashem will forget him and hide His face, praying for light lest he sleep the sleep of death, and ending in trust in Hashem’s mercy and salvation.
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible, where the heading is verse 1. In most English Bibles the heading has no number, so verses 2–5 here are verses 1–4 there, and verse 6 here is verses 5–6 there.
13:1To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
אלַמְנַצֵּ֗חַ מִזְמ֥וֹר לְדָוִֽד׃
13:2How long will You forget me, O Hashem? for ever? how long will You hide Your face from me?
בעַד־אָ֣נָה יְ֭הוָה תִּשְׁכָּחֵ֣נִי נֶ֑צַח עַד־אָ֓נָה ׀ תַּסְתִּ֖יר אֶת־פָּנֶ֣יךָ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
13:3How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
געַד־אָ֨נָה אָשִׁ֪ית עֵצ֡וֹת בְּנַפְשִׁ֗י יָג֣וֹן בִּלְבָבִ֣י יוֹמָ֑ם עַד־אָ֓נָה ׀ יָר֖וּם אֹיְבִ֣י עָלָֽי׃
13:4Consider and hear me, O Hashem my God: lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
דהַבִּ֣יטָֽה עֲ֭נֵנִי יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֑י הָאִ֥ירָה עֵ֝ינַ֗י פֶּן־אִישַׁ֥ן הַמָּֽוֶת׃
13:5Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him”; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
הפֶּן־יֹאמַ֣ר אֹיְבִ֣י יְכָלְתִּ֑יו צָרַ֥י יָ֝גִ֗ילוּ כִּ֣י אֶמּֽוֹט׃
13:6But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing unto Hashem, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
ווַאֲנִ֤י ׀ בְּחַסְדְּךָ֣ בָטַחְתִּי֮ יָ֤גֵ֥ל לִבִּ֗י בִּֽישׁוּעָ֫תֶ֥ךָ אָשִׁ֥ירָה לַיהוָ֑ה כִּ֖י גָמַ֣ל עָלָֽי׃
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Sources & method
- Hebrew text
- The Masoretic text with vowels (nikkud) and cantillation marks (ta’amim), from the Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain) as published by the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (CC BY 4.0). Where the written text (ketiv) differs from the reading (qere), the reading is shown and the written form follows in small type. The Divine Name is printed as it appears in the codex.
- English translation
- The King James Version (public domain), lightly modernized by Benei Avraham: “thee/thou/ye” become “you,” older verb forms are updated (“hath” to “has”), and archaic words are replaced only where the meaning would otherwise be unclear. People and places carry their Hebrew names, with the familiar English name in parentheses the first time on each page (e.g., Tziyon (Zion)). The Divine Name (יהוה, “the LORD” in the KJV) is written “Hashem,” the short form יָהּ is “Yah,” and הַלְלוּ־יָהּ is “Hallelujah”; “God” (Elohim) and “Lord” (Adonai) are unchanged, and “law” is “Torah” where the Hebrew is תּוֹרָה.
- Verse numbers
- Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In the Hebrew a psalm’s heading (“A Psalm of David…”) is part of the text and is counted as verse 1, or verses 1–2, so in psalms with a heading the verse numbers are often one or two higher than in English Bibles. Where that happens, a note under the summary says so.
- Quiz
- Written by Benei Avraham for young readers (about 11 and up). Every answer is in the psalm on this page. Answers and scores are kept only in this browser (local storage) and can be cleared with Start over.
- Hebrew font
- SBL Hebrew, by the Society of Biblical Literature.