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27 [1] **By David. The Lord is my light and my salvation. **Consequently, **whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? **
[2] **When evildoers come upon me to devour my flesh, my foes and my adversaries, it is they who stumble and fall. **
[3] **If an army besieges me, my heart will not fear. If war comes upon me, I will put my trust in this** realization that God is my light and salvation.
[4] The psalmist is aware that God is his Protector and he is grateful for that. But his foremost desire and wish is in a different direction altogether. **One request have I made of the Lord; this is what I ask for: That I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the goodness of the Lord and to visit His Temple. **This entreaty, especially when expressed by someone who, as neither priest nor Levite, has no tasks to perform in the daily Temple service, is not to be taken as a literal request to stay in the Temple to participate in its religious rituals. Rather, it is an ecstatic exclamation of devotion to God made by a person who enters His Temple and experiences the sheer joy of being close to God there.** **
[5] **For in time of trouble He shelters me in His pavilion. He conceals me in the secret of His tent **to protect me from adversity.** He sets me high upon a mighty rock, **where no harm can come to me,
[6] **so that now my head rises above my enemies around me. I will offer victory sacrifices [*****zivh******·*****] in His tent. **The unusual phrase*** ****zivĥei terua* literally means “sacrifices with shofar blasts.” It refers to thanksgiving sacrifices that are offered in the wake of a victory or triumph. **I will sing songs of praise to the Lord. **
[7] Now, again, are words of prayer:* ***Hear, Lord, when I cry out **to You.** Be gracious to me and answer me. **
[8] **For You, **on Your behalf,** my heart said: Seek Me. **When my heart says, “seek Me,” it is quoting God, who is asking of me, and all others, to seek Him. To this divine call I can honestly respond: **Your presence, Lord, I do seek. **
[9] **Do not hide Your face from me **by withholding Your assistance and abandoning me to the vicissitudes of life.** Do not turn Your servant away in anger, **even if Your wrath is justified. **You have been my succor **until this point;** do not abandon me or forsake me** now or in the future, **God of my salvation. **
[10] **For my father and my mother may abandon me. **The bond between parent and child is one that endures almost unconditionally. For this reason, there is no greater sense of isolation than that felt by an abandoned child. **But** **the Lord will gather me up. **God’s protection, however, covers everyone, even those who have been completely and utterly deserted. This verse is, therefore, a most powerful expression of trust in God and God alone.
[11] **Teach me Your way, **the way of righteousness, **Lord, and lead me on a level path, **a correct and tranquil path in both the physical and the moral sense, **because of my foes, **in order for me to escape my foes.
[12] **Do not deliver me to my foes, as is their desire, for they have risen against me as** **false witnesses, **making untrue accusations against me,** testifying unjustly. **An alternative interpretation is that *yafe’aĥ*, translated here as “testifying,” may be related to *yifraĥ*, meaning to make something blossom or grow. The translation would then be “and they foment injustice.”
[13] If I survive unharmed, it is only because of my faith and prayers; I would have been vanquished **had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. **It was this faith that enabled me to continue fighting against my adversaries.
[14] In conclusion, the psalmist offers words of encouragement to himself and to others:* ***Put your hope in the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage, and **continue to **put your** **hope in the Lord** even if you do not see immediate results.
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center