—and faithful is all this,¹

footnotes: ¹ All that we have affirmed in the Shema. is true and trustworthy.—Etz Yosef

and it is permanently established with us

that he is Adonoy, our God,

and there is nothing besides Him,

and that we, Israel, are His people.

[He] Who liberated us

from the hand of kings,²

footnotes: ² He redeemed us from Pharaoh, and saved us from Sichon and Og in the days of Moses and from the thirty-one kings in the days of Joshua.—Etz Yosef

[is] our King, Who redeemed us

from the grasp of all the tyrants.³

footnotes: ³ “Tyrants” include Amalek and others who wanted to destroy us.—Etz Yosef

[He is] the Almighty

Who exacts payment [punishment]

from our oppressors,⁴ says that “oppressors” (צרינו) refers to those who actively persecute us whereas “enemies” (אויבינו) refers to those who would rejoice over our misfortune without necessarily contributing to our downfall in an outright manner.

footnotes: ⁴ The Malbim

and brings retribution

on all those who are enemies of our soul.

He does great things⁵

footnotes: ⁵ “Great things” refers to the way God rules according to the laws of nature and “wonders” refers to those things that are classified as miracles.—Siach Yitzchak

beyond comprehension,

miracles and wonders without number.

He sustains our soul in life⁶

footnotes: ⁶ Not only does God sustain our souls in exile, but He also sustains our physical well-being.—Siach Yitzchak

and does not allow our feet to slip.

He makes us tread

upon the high places of our enemies,

and exalts our strength

over all who hate us.

He performed miracles for us

and vengeance upon Pharaoh,

signs and wonders

in the land of the Hamites.

He slew in His wrath,

all the firstborn of Egypt,

and brought out His people, Israel,

from their midst

to everlasting⁷ freedom.

footnotes: ⁷ The redemption from Egypt is the source for all later redemptions; it is the source from which our final and total salvation will spring. We became free, never again to taste the bitterness of spiritual or physical bondage.—Sfas Emes

He led His children

through the divided parts of

the Sea of Reeds,

their pursuers and their enemies

He drowned in its depths.

And His children saw His mighty power—

they praised and gave thanks to His Name,

His sovereignty

they willingly accepted;

Moses and the children of Israel

sang unto You with great joy,

and they all said:

“Who is like You among the mighty, Adonoy!

Who is like You?

[You are] adorned in holiness,

awesome in praise, performing wonders”⁸

footnotes: ⁸ Exodus 15:11.

Your children beheld Your sovereignty

when You divided the sea before Moses.

“This is my God,”⁹ they exclaimed,

footnotes: ⁹ Exodus 15:2.

and declared,

“Adonoy will reign forever and ever.”¹⁰

footnotes: ¹⁰ Exodus 15:18.

And it is said,

“For Adonoy has liberated Jacob

and redeemed him

from a hand, mightier than his.”¹¹

footnotes: ¹¹ Jeremiah 31:10.

Blessed are You, Adonoy

Who has redeemed Israel.

Adonoy our God; make us lie down in peace,

our King, raise us again

to good life, and peace¹²

footnotes: ¹² Undisturbed peace, and strength for a new day of vigorous living, are the gifts that night brings and for which we pray to God.—S.R. Hirsch

Spread over us the shelter of Your peace,

and direct us to better ourselves

through Your good counsel;¹³ and Siach Yitzchak

footnotes: ¹³ We particularly ask of Him at night to bless us with wise counsel. Daytime is the time for achievement, but the rest that comes with nightfall is made to allow man to compose his thoughts. By virtue of the complete relaxation It affords, sleep endows the mind and spirit with renewed vigor. We pray therefore for Divine aid so that our nightly rest will help us take wise counsel and affirm worthy resolution for future days.—Avudraham

and deliver us speedily for Your Name's sake.

Shield us, and remove from us¹⁴

footnotes: ¹⁴ Shield us from trouble before it comes, and remove it from us if it has already come.—Siach Yitzchak

enemies, pestilence, sword,

famine and sorrow.

Remove the adversary¹⁵ and others from before us

footnotes: ¹⁵ The Hebrew word שטן (Satan) used in the Prayer Book refers to the Evil Impulse, the lower passions which are a hindrance to man's pursuit of the nobler aims in life. It is against the dominance of this impulse that the Jew prays. The “adversary,” therefore, is any person, spirit, or Evil Impulse that seduces us to do wrong.—Dover Sholom

and from behind us,

and shelter us in the shadow of Your wings.

For, Almighty,

You are our Protector and Rescuer,

For, Almighty

You are a gracious and merciful King.

Guard our going out and our coming in

for life and peace

for now forever.

Blessed are You, Adonoy,

Who guards His people Israel forever.

Blessed is Adonoy forever,

Amein and Amein!¹⁶

footnotes: ¹⁶ Psalms 89:53.

Blessed is Adonoy from Zion

Who dwells in Jerusalem,

Praise God.¹⁷

footnotes: ¹⁷ Psalms 135:21.

Blessed is Adonoy, God,

God of Israel

Who alone performs wonders.¹⁸

footnotes: ¹⁸ Psalms 72:18.

Blessed is the Name of His glory forever

and may His glory fill the whole earth;

Amein and Amein!¹⁹

footnotes: ¹⁹ Psalms 72:19.

The Glory of Adonoy will endure forever;

Adonoy will rejoice in His works.²⁰

footnotes: ²⁰ Psalms 104:31.

The Name of Adonoy will be blessed

from now forever.²¹

footnotes: ²¹ Psalms 113:2.

For Adonoy will not cast off His people,

for the sake of His great Name,

because Adonoy has determined

to make you His people.²²

footnotes: ²² I Samuel 12:22.

And all the people saw it

and they fell on their faces, and proclaimed,

“Adonoy, He is God!²³

footnotes: ²³ I Kings 18:39. This verse describes the reaction of the people when they saw the miracle performed by God on behalf of Elijah on Mount Carmel when he disproved and ridiculed the false prophets of Baal.

Adonoy, He is God!”

And Adonoy will be King

over the whole earth;

on that day Adonoy will be One

and His Name One.²⁴

footnotes: ²⁴ Zecharyah 14:9.

Adonoy, may Your kindness be upon us

as we have hoped for You.²⁵

footnotes: ²⁵ Psalms 33:22.

Deliver us, Adonoy, our God,

gather us from the nations

to give thanks to Your Holy Name,

to be extolled in Your praise.²⁶

footnotes: ²⁶ I Chronicles 16:35.

All the nations which You have made

will come and bow down

before You, my Master,

and they will give honor to Your Name.²⁷

footnotes: ²⁷ Psalms 86:9.

For You are great and do wondrous things,

You alone are God.²⁸

footnotes: ²⁸ Psalms 86:10.

And we,

Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,

will give thanks to You forever,

from generation to generation

we will recount Your praise.²⁹

footnotes: ²⁹ Psalms 79:13.

Blessed is Adonoy by day,

Blessed is Adonoy by night,

Blessed is Adonoy when we lie down,

Blessed is Adonoy when we rise.

For in Your hand

are the souls of the living and the dead:

[as it is written]: for in His hand

is the soul of every living thing,

and the spirit of every human being.³⁰

footnotes: ³⁰ Job 12:10.

In Your hand, I commit my spirit;

You have liberated me

Adonoy, Almighty of truth.³¹

footnotes: ³¹ Psalms 31:6.

Our God in heaven,

reveal the unity of Your Name,

preserve Your kingdom always

and reign over us forever and ever.

May our eyes behold,

our heart rejoice, and our soul exalt

in Your true deliverance,

when it will be said to Zion:

“Your God has begun His reign.”

“Adonoy is King, Adonoy was King

Adonoy will reign for ever and ever”

For the kingdom is Yours

and to all eternity, You will reign in glory;

for we have no king except You.

Blessed are You,

the King in His glory,

will always reign over us

forever and ever,

and over all His creation.

Exalted and sanctified be His great Name

in the world which He created

according to His will

and may He rule His kingdom

bring forth His redemption

and hasten the coming of His Mashiach.

In your lifetime and in your days,

and in the lifetime

of the entire House of Israel,

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;

above (Ten Days of Penitence: far above)

all the blessings and hymns,

praises and consolations

which we utter in the world—and say Amein.