1YAHWEH1 reigns! Let the peoples tremble.
He sits enthroned among the karubin.2
Let the earth be moved.
2YAHWEH is great in Al-Quds.3
He is high above all the peoples.
3Let them praise your great and awesome Name.
He is Holy!
4The King’s strength also loves justice.
You do establish equity.
You execute justice and righteousness in Yaqub.4
5Exalt YAHWEH our God.5
Worship at his footstool.
He is Holy!
6Musa6 and Harun7 were among his priests,
Samuel among those who call on his Name;
They called on YAHWEH, and he answered them.
7He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud.
They kept his testimonies,
The statute that he gave them.
8You answered them, YAHWEH our God.
You are a God who forgave them,
Although you took vengeance for their doings.
9Exalt YAHWEH, our God.
Worship at his holy hill,
For YAHWEH, our God, is holy!
- 99:1 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.” ↩︎
- 99:1 karubin, an Arabic word based on the plural Hebrew word cherubim, describing a class of angels first mentioned in Genesis 3:24 as living creatures guarding the way to the Garden of Eden after the expulsion of Adam and Hawa. ↩︎
- 99:2 Al-Quds, meaning “the Holy (City).” The Hebrew text reads Zion, a synonym for Jerusalem. It originally referred to Mount Zion, one of the hills of Jerusalem. ↩︎
- 99:4 Yaqub, or Jacob, derived from the Hebrew name Ya’akov. An alternative name for the people of Israel. ↩︎
- 99:5 God, English translation of elohim. Elohim (Hebrew) is related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 99:6 Musa, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Moses meaning “to pull out” or “draw out” (of water); referring to the biblical story where he was rescued from the Nile River by Firaun’s daughter. ↩︎
- 99:6 Harun, this Arabic name and the English name Aaron, are both derived from the Hebrew name Aharon, possibly meaning “exalted” or “high mountain.” ↩︎