Nishmat kol ḥai (The Breath of Every Living Thing)
The breath of every living thing shall praise Your name, Adonai our God,
and the spirit of all flesh shall glorify and exalt Your remembrance, our King.
From eternity to eternity You are God,
and beside You we have no king, redeemer, helper, savior, releaser, or rescuer in every time of distress and affliction, save for You.
God of the first and the last, God of all creatures, Lord of all generations,
who is extolled with a multitude of praises,
who governs His world with righteousness and His creatures with compassion,
Adonai neither slumbers nor sleeps,
who awakens those who sleep and rouses those who slumber,
supports the fallen and heals the sick,
[and] to You we offer our gratitude.
Were our mouths filled with song as the sea,
and our tongues as the multitude of its waves,
and our lips like the expanses of the firmament,
and our eyes like the sun and the moon,
and our arms like the eagles of heaven,
and our feet like the hinds—
still we could not suffice to thank You, Adonai our God and God of our fathers,
and to praise Your name for even one of the thousand thousands
and myriad myriads of the acts of goodness that You have bestowed upon our forefathers and upon us:
From Egypt You redeemed us, Adonai our God, and from the house of bondage You released us.
During famine You nourished us, and in satiety You provided for us.
You saved us from the sword, You delivered us from pestilence,
You relieved us from many serious illnesses.
Until now Your mercies have helped us, and Your compassion has not forsaken us, Adonai our God.
Therefore the limbs that You have formed within us,
breath and spirit that You have breathed into our nostrils,
the tongue that You have placed into our mouths—
all of them will thank, bless, and praise Your name, Adonai our God,
for every mouth shall praise You, every tongue swear loyalty to You,
every knee bend to You, every upright body bow down to You,
all hearts revere You, all innards sing out to Your name,
as it has been written:
All my bones shall say, Adonai, who is like You? (Psalm 35:10a).
Who is similar to You? Who is equal to You? Who can be compared to You?
Who can perform powerful deeds like Yours?
The great and mighty God, God Supreme, Creator of heaven and earth.
God—in Your supreme power,
great—in the glory of Your name,
mighty—for eternity are Your awesome deeds.
We shall praise, laud, and glorify You and bless Your holy name.
Of David. Bless Adonai, O my soul,
and all my innards bless His holy name (Psalm 103:1).
And You save the poor from one stronger than him,
the poor and the needy from his despoiler (Psalm 35:10b).1
And it is written:
Sing, O righteous, to Adonai;
for the upright, praise is befitting (Psalm 33:1).
With the mouth of the upright You shall be praised,
with the words of the righteous You shall be blessed,
with the tongue of the pious You shall be sanctified,
and in the midst of the holy You shall be exalted.
And in the assemblies of the myriads of Your people, the household of Israel,
may Your name and Your remembrance be glorified, our King, in every generation.
For thus is the duty of every created being before You, our God and God of our fathers,
to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, beautify, acclaim, and sanctify beyond all words of song and praise [uttered] by David son of Jesse, Your servant.
May Your name, our King, be praised forever,
God, great and holy King in heaven and on earth—
for to You, our God and God of our fathers,
are befitting song and praise, hymn and psalm, blessings and thanks,
might and rulership, eternity, greatness and power, kingship, sanctity, lauds and glory
from henceforth and forever.
Praised are You, Adonai,
King great in praises,
[God of] thanksgivings,
Master of all deeds,
who delights in song and hymn,
King, Ever-living God.
Source: Russian National Library, St. Petersburg, Yevr. IIIB (Antonin B), 122
Translated by Richard S. Sarason.
Notes
[This half verse is out of place here and belongs above, following Psalm 35:10a.—Trans.]
Credits
Nishmat kol ḥai (The Breath of Every Living Thing), from Russian National Library, St. Petersburg, Yevr. IIIB (Antonin B), 122.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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