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Psalm 27

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? It is said twice a day from the start of the month of Elul through the autumn festivals, the season of repentance.

Every text below comes from the edition named under it and was checked twice, independently, before it appeared. Neither check was a person. That is a claim about wording only: nothing here is selected or endorsed for a particular situation, and nobody credentialed in the tradition has signed it. Older spelling is kept as the edition prints it.

Psalm 27 (JPS 1917)

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? It is said twice a day from the start of the month of Elul through the autumn festivals, the season of repentance.

English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917

[A Psalm] of David.

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

When evil-doers came upon me to eat up my flesh,

Even mine adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.

Though a host should encamp against me,

My heart shall not fear;

Though war should rise up against me,

Even then will I be confident.

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

To behold the graciousness of the LORD, and to visit early in His temple.

For He concealeth me in His pavilion in the day of evil;

He hideth me in the covert of His tent;

He lifteth me up upon a rock.

And now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me;

And I will offer in His tabernacle sacrifices with trumpet-sound;

I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, when I call with my voice,

And be gracious unto me, and answer me.

In Thy behalf my heart hath said: 'Seek ye My face';

Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

Hide not Thy face far from me;

Put not Thy servant away in anger;

Thou hast been my help;

Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

For though my father and my mother have forsaken me,

The LORD will take me up.

Teach me Thy way, O LORD;

And lead me in an even path,

Because of them that lie in wait for me.

Deliver me not over unto the will of mine adversaries;

For false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out violence.

If I had not believed to look upon the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living!—

Wait on the LORD;

Be strong, and let thy heart take courage;

Yea, wait thou for the LORD.

Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source

Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026

לְדָוִד יְהוָה אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי מִמִּי אִירָא יְהוָה מָעוֹז־חַיַּי מִמִּי אֶפְחָד׃

בִּקְרֹב עָלַי מְרֵעִים לֶאֱכֹל אֶת־בְּשָׂרִי צָרַי וְאֹיְבַי לִי הֵמָּה כָשְׁלוּ וְנָפָלוּ׃

אִם־תַּחֲנֶה עָלַי מַחֲנֶה לֹא־יִירָא לִבִּי אִם־תָּקוּם עָלַי מִלְחָמָה בְּזֹאת אֲנִי בוֹטֵחַ׃

אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת־יְהוָה אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית־יְהוָה כָּל־יְמֵי חַיַּי לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם־יְהוָה וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ׃

כִּי יִצְפְּנֵנִי בְּסֻכֹּה בְּיוֹם רָעָה יַסְתִּרֵנִי בְּסֵתֶר אָהֳלוֹ בְּצוּר יְרוֹמְמֵנִי׃

וְעַתָּה יָרוּם רֹאשִׁי עַל אֹיְבַי סְבִיבוֹתַי וְאֶזְבְּחָה בְאָהֳלוֹ זִבְחֵי תְרוּעָה אָשִׁירָה וַאֲזַמְּרָה לַיהוָה׃

שְׁמַע־יְהוָה קוֹלִי אֶקְרָא וְחָנֵּנִי וַעֲנֵנִי׃

לְךָ אָמַר לִבִּי בַּקְּשׁוּ פָנָי אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ יְהוָה אֲבַקֵּשׁ׃

אַל־תַּסְתֵּר פָּנֶיךָ מִמֶּנִּי אַל־תַּט־בְּאַף עַבְדֶּךָ עֶזְרָתִי הָיִיתָ אַל־תִּטְּשֵׁנִי וְאַל־תַּעַזְבֵנִי אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי׃

כִּי־אָבִי וְאִמִּי עֲזָבוּנִי וַיהוָה יַאַסְפֵנִי׃

הוֹרֵנִי יְהוָה דַּרְכֶּךָ וּנְחֵנִי בְּאֹרַח מִישׁוֹר לְמַעַן שׁוֹרְרָי׃

אַל־תִּתְּנֵנִי בְּנֶפֶשׁ צָרָי כִּי קָמוּ־בִי עֵדֵי־שֶׁקֶר וִיפֵחַ חָמָס׃

לוּלֵא הֶאֱמַנְתִּי לִרְאוֹת בְּטוּב־יְהוָה בְּאֶרֶץ חַיִּים׃

קַוֵּה אֶל־יְהוָה חֲזַק וְיַאֲמֵץ לִבֶּךָ וְקַוֵּה אֶל־יְהוָה׃

Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source

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Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The English keeps the line breaks of one digitisation of the 1917 volume. The second, which it was checked against, stores each verse as running text, so it confirms the words and cannot confirm where a line ends.

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