לַמְנַצֵּחַ אַל תַּשְׁחֵת מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף שִׁיר

For the chief musician, al tashhet, a psalm by Asaf, a song. The term ·al tashḥet is apparently a reference to an ancient poem or melody (see 57:1).

הוֹדִינוּ לְּךָ אֱלֹהִים הוֹדִינוּ וְקָרוֹב שְׁמֶךָ סִפְּרוּ נִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ

We give thanks to You, God, we give thanks, and Your name is near to us; it is constantly in our mouths. They, our forefathers and teachers, have told us of Your wonders.

כִּי אֶקַּח מוֹעֵד אֲנִי מֵישָׁרִים אֶשְׁפֹּט

Here God speaks, as it were: When I set a time, when the proper time arrives, I will judge the world with equity.

נְמֹגִים אֶרֶץ וְכָל יֹשְׁבֶיהָ אָנֹכִי תִכַּנְתִּי עַמּוּדֶיהָ סֶּלָה

The earth and all its inhabitants melt away; I set firm its pillars, Selah. Since I created the foundations of the earth, I can either shake them or keep them standing.

אָמַרְתִּי לַהוֹלְלִים אַל תָּהֹלּוּ וְלָרְשָׁעִים אַל תָּרִימוּ קָרֶן

Now the psalmist speaks again: I said to the revelers: Do not revel, for your joy will not last forever. And to the wicked I said: Do not raise a horn. “Raising the horn” in biblical idiom refers to showing off one’s strength or status.

אַל תָּרִימוּ לַמָּרוֹם קַרְנְכֶם תְּדַבְּרוּ בְצַוָּאר עָתָק

Do not raise your horn on high in haughtiness and contempt, speaking with insolent pride, literally, “with a stiff neck,” stretched out as a sign of pride and arrogance.

כִּי לֹא מִמּוֹצָא ו מִמַּעֲרָב וְלֹא מִמִּדְבּר הָרִים

For it is not from the east or the west that victory and salvation come, nor from the wilderness of the south or the mountains of the north,

כִּי אֱלֹהִים שֹׁפֵט זֶה יַשְׁפִּיל וְזֶה יָרִים

but it is God who is the Judge; He humbles this one and raises that one. In the end, it is only God who has the power to determine who will rise and who will fall.

כִּי כוֹס בְּיַד ה' וְיַיִן חָמַר מָלֵא מֶסֶךְ וַיַּגֵּר מִזֶּה אַךְ שְׁמָרֶיהָ יִמְצוּ יִשְׁתּוּ כֹּל רִשְׁעֵי אָרֶץ

For a cup is in the hand of the Lord with foaming wine, filled with a mixture of spices, and He pours from it. The cup of wine symbolizes God’s administering of either deliverance, represented by the good-tasting wine, or vengeance. But the bitter dregs, which are not fit for drinking and which represent punishment, are sucked, their extract drunk by all the wicked of the earth.

וַאֲנִי אַגִּיד לְעֹלָם אֲזַמְּרָה לֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב

As for me, I will tell it, God’s praise, forever; I will sing to the God of Jacob.

וְכָל קַרְנֵי רְשָׁעִים אֲגַדֵּעַ תְּרוֹמַמְנָה קַרְנוֹת צַדִּיק

The last verse is spoken by God: All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, while the horns of the righteous shall be raised.