Praised be Your Name forever, our King,

Almighty the great and holy King

in heaven and on earth.

For to You it is fitting [to offer]

Adonoy, our God,

and God of our fathers,

song and praise, glorification and hymns,

[to proclaim your] strength and dominion,

victory, grandeur, and might,

praise and glory,

holiness and sovereignty,

blessings and thanksgivings,

from now, forever.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Almighty,

King [Who is] great in [our] praise

Almighty,

of [to Whom we offer our] thanksgiving,

Master of [Whom we praise for His] wonders,

the Selector of song-hymns,

King,

Almighty,

Life of [all] the worlds.

A Song of Ascents.

Out of the depths

I have called to You, Adonoy.

My Master, hear my voice;

let Your ears be attentive

to the voice of my supplications.

If You God should take account of iniquities,

my Master, who could survive?

For with You is forgiveness,

in order that You be feared.

I hope for Adonoy, my soul hopes;

and for His word, I wait.

My soul [waits] for my Master

more than the watchman [waits]

for the morning,

[more than] the watchman [waits]

for the morning.

Wait, Yisrael, upon Adonoy,

for with Adonoy there is loving-kindness,

and with Him there is much redemption.

And He will redeem Yisrael

from all its iniquities.

Exalted and sanctified be His great Name

in the world which He created

according to His will;

and may He rule His Kingdom

in your lifetime and in your days,

and in the lifetime

of the entire House of Yisrael,

speedily and in the near future—

and say Amein.

May His great Name be blessed

forever and for all eternity.

Blessed and praised,

glorified, and exalted and uplifted,

honored and elevated and extolled

be the Name of the Holy One, blessed is He;

far above

all the blessings and hymns,

praises and consolations

which we utter in the world—and say Amein.

Bless Adonoy Who is blessed.

Blessed is Adonoy, Who is blessed

forever and ever.

Blessed are You, Adonoy

our God, King of the Universe,

Who opens for us the gates of mercy

and enlightens the eyes

of those who yearn for His pardon.

Former¹ of light

footnotes: ¹ Forming, יוצֵר, is the act of refining or modifying an original substance, whereas, creating, בּורֵא, refers to creating the original substance from nothing. For example, when one shapes a wooden table, to make it round, he “forms” the wood, the original substance which was “created.” Similarly, Hashem “forms the light” which is His act of modifying or limiting the darkness He created. —Siddur HaGra

Creator of darkness,

Maker² of peace

footnotes: ² Making, עושֶׂה, is the act of completion, such as when one completes a table by painting it. Similarly, Hashem’s finishing touch of creation is “making peace,” the vessel that holds it all together, as stated in the Mishnah, “Hashem found no vessel to contain blessing other than peace.” לֹא מָצָא הקב"ה כְּלִי מַחְזִיק בְּרָכָה אֶלָא הַשָּׁלום— Siddur HaGra

Creator³ of all things.

footnotes: ³ The verse in Yeshaya (45:7) on which this blessing is based concludes with the words, “and creates evil.” In His original creation Hashem created the potential for evil, which He constantly limits and controls as the Former and Maker.—Siddur HaGra

He illuminates the earth

[and provides light] for those who dwell on it

with compassion;⁴

footnotes: ⁴ Hashem causes light to appear in stages, gradually. This is an act of great compassion for if He made it appear all at once, we would be overwhelmed and blinded by its brightness.— Avudraham

and in His goodness

renews every day, continually,⁵

footnotes: ⁵ Hashem is not a far-off observer of a mechanism which He created and ignores, but a Living Ruler, Who guides the universe and continually maintains it.

the work of creation.

How many are Your works, Adonoy;

You made them all with wisdom,

the earth is full of Your possessions.⁶

footnotes: ⁶ Lit., Your acquisitions: See Bereishis 14:22.

The King Who alone is exalted from then,⁷

footnotes: ⁷ I.e., before Creation. Hashem was King before all creatures were created.

Who is praised and glorified

and uplifted,

from the beginning of time.⁸

footnotes: ⁸ I.e., after Creation. Ever since Creation, Hashem has been praised and glorified by His creatures.

Eternal God,

in Your abundant mercy,

have compassion on us,

Master, Who is our strength,

Rock, Who is our stronghold

Shield, of our deliverance,

[Be] a stronghold for us.

The blessed Almighty, great in knowledge,

prepared and made the rays of the sun.

[The] Good [One] created [everything]

for the glory of His Name:⁹

footnotes: ⁹ See Yeshaya 43:7: “All that is called by My Name, I have created for My glory.” —Avudraham

the luminaries He set

around His strength (His throne).

The chiefs of His hosts are holy beings,¹⁰

footnotes: ¹⁰ “Holy beings” are angels. In Hebrew the word for angels means messenger, and includes all the instruments of Divine purpose, whether in human form, or in the forces of nature.—Kuzari

the exalters of Shadai¹¹

footnotes: ¹¹ A name of Hashem (Bereishis 17:1; 35:11; 43:14 etc.) which refers to His setting boundaries and limits throughout creation.

continually recount

the glory of the Almighty¹²

footnotes: ¹² The Heavenly throne is thus conceived of as surrounded by angels and all the adoring heavenly bodies.—See Yeshaya 6:12

and His holiness.

Be Blessed, Adonoy, our God,

for the excellent works of Your hands,

and for the light-giving luminaries

which You made;

they will glorify You forever.¹³

footnotes: ¹³ Those of His creatures capable of praising Him do so. The rest are evidence of His astonishing wisdom and arouse the others to praise Him.

All will thank You, all will praise You,

and all will proclaim:

“There is none holy like Adonoy.”

All will exalt You, forever,

Creator of all.

The Almighty Who opens each day

the doors of the gates¹⁴ of the east

footnotes: ¹⁴ This is an allusion to the sun, rising in the east. Hashem opens the doors each day to permit the sun to rise. Every sunrise is thus an act of Hashem.

and pierces the windows of the firmament;

Who brings the sun out of its place

and the moon from its dwelling-place;

and illuminates the entire world

and to its inhabitants,

whom He created

with [His] attribute of mercy.¹⁵

footnotes: ¹⁵ Hashem saw that the world could not exist if He were to govern it on the basis of His attribute of pure justice. He therefore joined His attribute of compassion with that of justice and dispenses both justice and mercy as He sees fit.—Avudraham

He illuminates the earth

and those who dwell on it

with compassion,

and in His goodness

renews every day, continually,

the work of creation.

The King Who alone is exalted from then;¹⁶

footnotes: ¹⁶ From before Creation.

Who is praised, glorified, and uplifted

from the beginning of time.¹⁷

footnotes: ¹⁷ Ever since Creation He has been praised and glorified by all created beings.

Eternal God—

in Your abundant mercy,

have compassion on us,

Master Who is our strength,

Rock Who is our stronghold,

Shield of our deliverance,

[Be] a stronghold for us.

There is none to be compared to You,

and there is none other than You,

nothing exists without You

and who is like You?

There is none to be compared to You,

Adonoy, our God,¹⁸

footnotes: ¹⁸ In this world where there are so many false gods, we proclaim that he is Adonoy our God.—Avudraham

in this world;

and there is none beside You, our King¹⁹

footnotes: ¹⁹ In the World to Come, Hashem’s sovereignty will be clearly revealed so even now, we proclaim that He is our King.

in the life of the World to Come;

Nothing exists without You

our Redeemer²⁰

footnotes: ²⁰ Ultimate total redemption will come in the Messianic era, and thus we say that Hashem is our Redeemer.—Avudraham

in the days of the Messiah;

and there will be none like You,

our Deliverer,²¹

footnotes: ²¹ The resurrection of the dead is the culmination of deliverance and we say that He is our Deliverer.—Avudraham

at the time of the resurrection of the dead.