[First posted May 28, 2014:
Postscript: Since ELZ@S6K, the author of this article has passed away, and we are in the process of updating our official website translation to Everett Fox, we face a conundrum here:
- Should we even tamper with someone else’s article who can no longer agree or disagree with the revision, or should we leave the previous translation in, as is? The answer to this is—her husband has granted us permission.
- Another problem — Everett Fox has not translated the whole of TNK, only The First Five Books; in fact we’ve been resorting to ArtScroll Tanach, the JPS Tanakh, for the books in NEVIIM and KETUVIIM;
- the problem is — JPS and AST do not use the Tetragrammaton Name in their translations and substitute “LORD” like Christian translators do, or “HASHEM” (“the Name”) wherever YHWH occurs;
- they expect the reader to mentally connect the name of his God whenever he reads LORD or HASHEM . . .
- Obviously there’s a big BUT in doing this — what if the reader is of another religion believing in another God whose name is not YHWH? What if they’re calling some other God other than YHWH as “LORD”? hence, when that reader sees LORD or HASHEM he automatically connects it to the God of his faith.
We believe in CLARITY, in STRAIGHTFORWARDNESS, in simply telling it like it is instead of resorting to circumlocutions and euphemisms. If YHWH is our Lord and God, we should say so. Sinaites believe in proclaiming the Name YHWH and we do so with deep reverence, gratitude and pride that we finally learned the Creator God’s True Name, by His own declaration.
So what to do? The next best thing. Until Everett Fox and other translators come up with the Neviim and Ketuviim that use the Name of YHWH and not substitute words, our rule of thumb is this: we will use AST and JPS but write in “YHWH” wherever we see “LORD” or “HASHEM”; they are consistent in that way. Surely, the Self-revealing God Who revealed His Name is honored to be known for WHO HE IS, with all the implications associated with His Name. How else will people know the Name of the One True God if they never hear it or read it, and start declaring it with reverence?—Admin1]
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Psalms 146 to 150 starts with Halelu YHWH, enjoining all creation to praise the mighty Creator.
The reasons to sing praises with thanksgiving are enumerated to manifest his greatness and his provisions. Indeed, for all the many blessings Yahweh bestowed, let everything that has breath, praise him.
Psalm 148:13 declares,
“Hallelu the name of YHWH,
for His Name alone is exalted;
His glory is above earth and heaven.
There is a song that consists of “Hallelujah to the Lord” from beginning to end; if Hallelujah means praise (haleluw) Yah (Yahweh), so there is a problem with the sentence construction of “Praise Yahweh to the Lord.”
In Handel’s Messiah, the alleluia chorus obviously does not refer to haleluw-yah(weh), but to the newborn Messiah. In so many Christian circles, the exclamation of praise is devoid of its original meaning—praise Yahweh.
Psalm 146
Hallelu YAH. Praise YHWH, O my soul! I will praise YHWH all my life, sing hymns to my God while I exist. Put not your trust in the great, in mortal man who cannot save. His breath departs; he returns to the dust; on that day his plans come to nothing. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in YHWH his God, maker of heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who secures justice for those who are wronged, gives food to the hungry. YHWH sets prisoners free; YHWH restores sight to the bind; YHWH makes those who are bent stand straight; YHWH loves the righteous; YHWH watches over the stranger; He gives courage to the orphan and widow but makes the path of the wicked tortuous. YHWH shall reign forever, your God O Zion, for all generations. Hallelu YAH.Psalm 147
HALELU YAH! It is good to chant hymns to our God; it is pleasant to sing glorious praise. YHWH builds Jerusalem; He gathers in the exiles of Israel. He heals the broken hearts, and binds up their wounds. He reckoned the number of the stars; to each He gave its name. Great is YHWH and full of power; His wisdom is beyond reckoning. YHWH gives courage to the lowly, and brings the wicked down to the dust. Sing to YHWH a song of praise, chant a hymn with a lyre to our God, who covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, makes mountains put forth grass; who gives the beasts their food, to the raven’s brood what they cry for. He does not prize the strength of horses, nor value the fleetness of men; but YHWH values those who fear Him, those who depend on His faithful care. O Jerusalem, glorify YHWH; praise your God, O Zion! For He made the bars of your gates strong, and blessed your children within you. He endows your realm with well-being, and satisfies you with choice wheat. He sends forth His word to the earth; His command runs swiftly. He lays down snow like fleece, scatters frost like ashes. He tosses down hail like crumbs— who can endure His icy cold? He issues a command—it melts them; He breathes—the waters flow. He issued His commands to Jacob, His statutes and rules to Israel. He did not do so for any other nation; of such rules they know nothing. Hallelu YAH.Psalm 148
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Hallelu YAH.
Praise YHWH from the heavens; praise Him on high. Praise Him, all His angels, Praise Him, all His hosts. Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all bright stars. Praise Him, highest heavens, an you waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the Name of YHWH, for it was He who commanded that they be created. He made them endure forever, establishing an order that shall never change. Praise YHWH O you who are on earth, all sea monsters and ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and smoke, storm wind that execute His command, all mountains and hills, all fruit trees and cedars, all wild and tamed beasts, creeping things and winged birds, all kings and peoples of the earth, all princes of the earth and its judges, youths and maidens alike, old and young together. Let them praise the name of YHWH, for His name, His alone, is sublime; His splendor covers heaven and earth. He has exalted the horn of His people for the glory of all His faithful ones, Israel, the people close to Him Hallellu YAH.Psalm 149
Hallelu YAH. Sing to YHWH a new song, His praises in the congregation of the faithful. Let Israel rejoice in its maker; let the children of Zion exult in their king. Let them praise Hs name in dance; with timbrel and lyre let them chant His praises. For YHWH delights in His people; He adorns the lowly with victory. Let the faithful exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their couches, with paeans to God in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to impose retribution upon the nations, punishment upon the peoples, binding their kings with shackles, their nobles with chains of iron, executing the doom decreed against them. This is the glory of all His faithful. Hallelu YAH.Psalm 150
Hallelu YAH. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the sky, His stronghold. Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him for His exceeding greatness. Praise Him with balsts of the horn; praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dance; praise Him with lute and pipe. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud-clashing cymbals. Let all that breathes praise YHWH, Hallelu YAH.