1Give thanks to YAHWEH,1 for he is good,
For his loving kindness endures forever.
2Let Israel now say
That his loving kindness endures forever.
3Let the house of Harun now say
That his loving kindness endures forever.
4Now let those who fear YAHWEH say
That his loving kindness endures forever.
5Out of my distress, I called on YAH.2
YAH answered me with freedom.
6YAHWEH is on my side. I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?3
7YAHWEH is on my side among those who help me.
Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8It is better to take refuge in YAHWEH,
Than to put confidence in man.
9It is better to take refuge in YAHWEH,
Than to put confidence in princes.
10All the nations surrounded me,
But in the Name of YAHWEH, I cut them off.
11They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
In the Name of YAHWEH, I indeed cut them off.
12They surrounded me like bees.
They are quenched like the burning thorns.
In the Name of YAHWEH, I cut them off.
13You pushed me back hard, to make me fall,
But YAHWEH helped me.
14YAH is my strength and song.
He has become my salvation.
15The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous.
The right hand of YAHWEH does valiantly.
16The right hand of YAHWEH is exalted!
The right hand of YAHWEH does valiantly!
17I will not die, but live,
And declare YAH’s works.
18YAH has punished me severely,
But he has not given me over to death.
19Open to me the gates of righteousness.
I will enter into them.
I will give thanks to YAH.
20This is the gate of YAHWEH;
The righteous will enter into it.
21I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me,
And have become my salvation.
22The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.
23This is YAHWEH’s doing.
It is marvelous in our eyes.4
24This is the day that YAHWEH has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it!
25Save us now, we beg you, YAHWEH;
YAHWEH, we beg you, now send prosperity.
26Blessed is he who comes in the Name of YAHWEH!5
We have blessed you out of the house of YAHWEH.
27YAHWEH is God, and he has given us light.
Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.
28You are my God, and I will give thanks to you.
You are my God,6 I will exalt you.
29Oh give thanks to YAHWEH, for he is good,
For his loving kindness endures forever.
- 118:1 YAHWEH, the name God revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.” ↩︎
- 118:5 YAH, abbreviated form of YAHWEH, for which see note 1 above. ↩︎
- 118:6 Quoted in the Injil in Hebrews 13:5-6, which says, “Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So that with good courage we say, ‘The LORD is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?‘” ↩︎
- 118:22-23 Quoted in the Injil in Matthew 21:42: ‘ISA said to them, “Did you never read in Al-Kitab, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This is the LORD’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes’?” Recorded also in Mark 12:10-11 and Luke 20:17.
This passage is also quoted by the Apostle Peter in Acts 4:11 after he was challenged by religious leaders for healing a crippled man in Acts 4:11: Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the Name of ‘ISA AL-MASIH the Nasrani, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him does this man stand here before you whole. He is ‘the stone which you, the builders rejected and has become the head of the corner.’ There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved!”
Also quoted by the Apostle Peter when writing to followers of ‘ISA AL-MASIH in 1 Peter 2:7-8: For you therefore who believe is the honour, but for such as are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the Word, being disobedient, for which also they were appointed. ↩︎ - 118:26 Quoted in the Injil, Matthew 21:9, which says, “The multitudes who went before him [‘ISA], and who followed kept shouting, ‘Praise God for IBN DAWUD! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the LORD! Praise God in the highest!'” Also recorded in Mark 11:9-10, Luke 19:38, and John 12:13.
Quoted by ‘ISA himself near the end of his earthly mission in Matthew 23:39, “For I tell you, you will not see me from now on, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the LORD!‘” Also recorded in Luke 13:35. ↩︎ - 118:28 God, English translation of elohim (Hebrew), and is related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which accurately translate as “God,” referring to the one true God. ↩︎