(28) Do you not know? Or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, creator of the earth from end to end; He does not tire or grow weary. His understanding cannot be fathomed. (29) He gives strength to the tired, He multiplies power for the helpless. (30) Youths may grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; (31) but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength, they take wing like eagles. They run and do not grow weary; they walk on and do not tire.
(1) A song for ascending. When the Lord restored the captivity of Zion, we were like dreamers, (2) our mouths, then, filled with laughter, and our tongues with joy. The nations saying then, “The Lord has done great things for them!” (3) The Lord has done great things for us as we rejoiced. (4) Return our captivity, O Lord, like streams in the desert. (5) Those who plant tearfully will harvest joyfully. (6) Although he walks along weeping, carrying his bag of seed, he will come back joyfully, carrying his sheaves of grain.
(א) הָיְתָ֣ה עָלַי֮ יַד־יְהוָה֒ וַיּוֹצִאֵ֤נִי בְר֙וּחַ֙ יְהוָ֔ה וַיְנִיחֵ֖נִי בְּת֣וֹךְ הַבִּקְעָ֑ה וְהִ֖יא מְלֵאָ֥ה עֲצָמֽוֹת׃ (ב) וְהֶעֱבִירַ֥נִי עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם סָבִ֣יב ׀ סָבִ֑יב וְהִנֵּ֨ה רַבּ֤וֹת מְאֹד֙ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַבִּקְעָ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֖ה יְבֵשׁ֥וֹת מְאֹֽד׃
(ג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֔י בֶּן־אָדָ֕ם הֲתִחְיֶ֖ינָה הָעֲצָמ֣וֹת הָאֵ֑לֶּה וָאֹמַ֕ר אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִ֖ה אַתָּ֥ה יָדָֽעְתָּ׃ (ד) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֔י הִנָּבֵ֖א עַל־הָעֲצָמ֣וֹת הָאֵ֑לֶּה וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם הָעֲצָמוֹת֙ הַיְבֵשׁ֔וֹת שִׁמְע֖וּ דְּבַר־יְהוָֽה׃ (ה) כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה לָעֲצָמ֖וֹת הָאֵ֑לֶּה הִנֵּ֨ה אֲנִ֜י מֵבִ֥יא בָכֶ֛ם ר֖וּחַ וִחְיִיתֶֽם׃ (ו) וְנָתַתִּי֩ עֲלֵיכֶ֨ם גִּדִ֜ים וְֽהַעֲלֵתִ֧י עֲלֵיכֶ֣ם בָּשָׂ֗ר וְקָרַמְתִּ֤י עֲלֵיכֶם֙ ע֔וֹר וְנָתַתִּ֥י בָכֶ֛ם ר֖וּחַ וִחְיִיתֶ֑ם וִידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּֽי־אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃
(ז) וְנִבֵּ֖אתִי כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר צֻוֵּ֑יתִי וַֽיְהִי־ק֤וֹל כְּהִנָּֽבְאִי֙ וְהִנֵּה־רַ֔עַשׁ וַתִּקְרְב֣וּ עֲצָמ֔וֹת עֶ֖צֶם אֶל־עַצְמֽוֹ׃ (ח) וְרָאִ֜יתִי וְהִנֵּֽה־עֲלֵיהֶ֤ם גִּדִים֙ וּבָשָׂ֣ר עָלָ֔ה וַיִּקְרַ֧ם עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם ע֖וֹר מִלְמָ֑עְלָה וְר֖וּחַ אֵ֥ין בָּהֶֽם׃ (ט) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֔י הִנָּבֵ֖א אֶל־הָר֑וּחַ הִנָּבֵ֣א בֶן־אָ֠דָם וְאָמַרְתָּ֨ אֶל־הָר֜וּחַ כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר ׀ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה מֵאַרְבַּ֤ע רוּחוֹת֙ בֹּ֣אִי הָר֔וּחַ וּפְחִ֛י בַּהֲרוּגִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה וְיִֽחְיֽוּ׃ (י) וְהִנַּבֵּ֖אתִי כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּ֑נִי וַתָּבוֹא֩ בָהֶ֨ם הָר֜וּחַ וַיִּֽחְי֗וּ וַיַּֽעַמְדוּ֙ עַל־רַגְלֵיהֶ֔ם חַ֖יִל גָּד֥וֹל מְאֹד־מְאֹֽד׃ (ס)
(יא) וַיֹּאמֶר֮ אֵלַי֒ בֶּן־אָדָ֕ם הָעֲצָמ֣וֹת הָאֵ֔לֶּה כָּל־בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל הֵ֑מָּה הִנֵּ֣ה אֹמְרִ֗ים יָבְשׁ֧וּ עַצְמוֹתֵ֛ינוּ וְאָבְדָ֥ה תִקְוָתֵ֖נוּ נִגְזַ֥רְנוּ לָֽנוּ׃ (יב) לָכֵן֩ הִנָּבֵ֨א וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם כֹּֽה־אָמַר֮ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִה֒ הִנֵּה֩ אֲנִ֨י פֹתֵ֜חַ אֶת־קִבְרֽוֹתֵיכֶ֗ם וְהַעֲלֵיתִ֥י אֶתְכֶ֛ם מִקִּבְרוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם עַמִּ֑י וְהֵבֵאתִ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֶל־אַדְמַ֥ת יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ס)
(יג) וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם כִּֽי־אֲנִ֣י יְהוָ֑ה בְּפִתְחִ֣י אֶת־קִבְרֽוֹתֵיכֶ֗ם וּבְהַעֲלוֹתִ֥י אֶתְכֶ֛ם מִקִּבְרוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם עַמִּֽי׃ (יד) וְנָתַתִּ֨י רוּחִ֤י בָכֶם֙ וִחְיִיתֶ֔ם וְהִנַּחְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם עַל־אַדְמַתְכֶ֑ם וִידַעְתֶּ֞ם כִּי־אֲנִ֧י יְהוָ֛ה דִּבַּ֥רְתִּי וְעָשִׂ֖יתִי נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ (פ)
(1) The hand of the Lord came upon me. He took me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the valley. It was full of bones. (2) He led me all around them; there were very many of them spread over the valley, and they were very dry.
(3) He said to me, “O human, can these bones live?” I replied, “O Lord God, only You know.” (4) And He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! (5) Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live. (6) I will lay sinews upon you, and cover you with flesh, and form skin over you. And I will put breath into you, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the Lord!”
(7) I prophesied as I had been commanded. And while I was prophesying, suddenly there was a loud sound, and the bones came together, one bone to another. (8) I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had grown, and skin had formed over them; but there was no breath in them. (9) Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, O human! Say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come, O breath, from the four winds, and blow into these slain ones, that they may live.” (10) I prophesied as He commanded me. The breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, a very, very great multitude.
(11) And He said to me, “O human, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost; we are doomed.’ (12) Prophesy, therefore, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and lift you out of your graves, O My people, and bring you to the land of Israel.
(13) And you, My people, shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves and lifted you out of your graves. (14) I will put My breath into you and you shall live, and I will set you upon your own land. Then you shall know that I the Lord have said it and I have done it”—declares the Lord.
(כה) וַיֵּ֨דַע אָדָ֥ם עוֹד֙ אֶת־אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֔ן וַתִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ שֵׁ֑ת כִּ֣י שָֽׁת־לִ֤י אֱלֹהִים֙ זֶ֣רַע אַחֵ֔ר תַּ֣חַת הֶ֔בֶל כִּ֥י הֲרָג֖וֹ קָֽיִן׃ (כו) וּלְשֵׁ֤ת גַּם־הוּא֙ יֻלַּד־בֵּ֔ן וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ אֱנ֑וֹשׁ אָ֣ז הוּחַ֔ל לִקְרֹ֖א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהוָֽה׃ (פ) (א) זֶ֣ה סֵ֔פֶר תּוֹלְדֹ֖ת אָדָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם בְּרֹ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אָדָ֔ם בִּדְמ֥וּת אֱלֹהִ֖ים עָשָׂ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ׃ (ב) זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בְּרָאָ֑ם וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָ֗ם וַיִּקְרָ֤א אֶת־שְׁמָם֙ אָדָ֔ם בְּי֖וֹם הִבָּֽרְאָֽם׃ (ס) (ג) וַֽיְחִ֣י אָדָ֗ם שְׁלֹשִׁ֤ים וּמְאַת֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וַיּ֥וֹלֶד בִּדְמוּת֖וֹ כְּצַלְמ֑וֹ וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ שֵֽׁת׃ (ד) וַיִּֽהְי֣וּ יְמֵי־אָדָ֗ם אַֽחֲרֵי֙ הוֹלִיד֣וֹ אֶת־שֵׁ֔ת שְׁמֹנֶ֥ה מֵאֹ֖ת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֥וֹלֶד בָּנִ֖ים וּבָנֽוֹת׃ (ה) וַיִּֽהְי֞וּ כָּל־יְמֵ֤י אָדָם֙ אֲשֶׁר־חַ֔י תְּשַׁ֤ע מֵאוֹת֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖ים שָׁנָ֑ה וַיָּמֹֽת׃ (ס) (ו) וַֽיְחִי־שֵׁ֕ת חָמֵ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים וּמְאַ֣ת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֖וֹלֶד אֶת־אֱנֽוֹשׁ׃ (ז) וַֽיְחִי־שֵׁ֗ת אַֽחֲרֵי֙ הוֹלִיד֣וֹ אֶת־אֱנ֔וֹשׁ שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֔ים וּשְׁמֹנֶ֥ה מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֥וֹלֶד בָּנִ֖ים וּבָנֽוֹת׃ (ח) וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙ כָּל־יְמֵי־שֵׁ֔ת שְׁתֵּ֤ים עֶשְׂרֵה֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּתְשַׁ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיָּמֹֽת׃ (ס)
(25) Adam again knew his wife, and she bore a son and named him Seth, meaning, God has set for me another offspring in place of Abel for Cain killed him. (26) And to Seth as well a son was born, and he named him Enosh. It was then [people] began to call upon the name of the Lord.
(1) This is the book of the generations of Man/Adam/Humanity: on the day of God's creating Man/Adam/Humanity, He made him in the likeness of God. (2) male and female He created them. And when they were created, He blessed them and called them Man.— (3) When Adam had lived 130 years, he begot a son in his likeness after his image, and he named him Seth. (4) After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters. (5) All the days that Adam lived came to 930 years; then he died. (6) When Seth had lived 105 years, he begot Enosh. (7) After the birth of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and begot sons and daughters. (8) All the days of Seth came to 912 years; then he died.
Septuagint Greek Translation, c. 250 BCE, Alexandria, Egypt / Genesis 4:26
καὶ τῷ Σηθ ἐγένετο υἱός, ἐπωνόμασεν δὲ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ενως· οὗτος ἤλπισεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ.
And Seth had a son, and he named him Enos; he hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God.
Philo of Alexandria, On Abraham, Sections 7-9, 14-15
[7] Since, then, the start of taking part in good things is hope, and the soul that loves virtue, when striving to obtain what is truly beautiful, cuts through and opens up this path [of hope] like a broad highway, Moses called the first lover of hope a "human being," graciously granting him the shared name par excellence of the species.
[8] For the Chaldeans [Semites, Aramaeans, Hebrews] call the human being "Enosh," believing that only one who hopes for good things and is set firmly upon practical hopes is truly a human being--from which it is clear that Moses considers the hopeless person not a human being, but rather a human-looking beast, because he has been deprived of that which is most characteristic of the human soul, hope.
[9] On this basis--and wanting to praise magnificently the hopeful person--after declaring that "he [Enosh] hoped" in the Father and Maker of all [see Gen 4:26], Moses added [at this point], "This is the book of the generation of human beings" (Gen 5:1), even though fathers and grandfathers already had come into being. But he understood that while those men were the founders of a diluted species, this man [Enosh] was the founder of the purest and thoroughly cleansed species, which in reality is the rational one....
[14] And the hopeful person is holy and praised, just as, on the contrary, the hopeless person is unholy and worthy of blame, because he approaches everything with fear as his cowardly advisor. For they say that nothing is so hostile to one another as hope is to fear and fear is to hope, and perhaps [they say this] reasonably, for each one is an expectation, but while one is [an expectation] of good things, the other, in contrast, is of bad things. And their natures are irreconcilable and incompatible.
[15] This much is sufficient to say concerning hope which nature has set like a doorkeeper at the gates to the royal virtues found within, virtues which are not possible to access except by those who have first taken care of this one [hope].
GREEK TEXT
[7] 'Επειδή τοίνυν αρχή μετουσίας αγαθών έστιν έλπίς και ταύτην οια λεωφόρον όδον ή φιλάρετος ανατέμνει και ανοίγει ψυχή σπουδάζουσα τυχειν του προς άλήθειαν καλοΰ, τον πρώτον έλπίδος έραστήν προσεΐπεν ''άνθρωπον" το κοινον του γένους όνομα χατ' έξαίρετον χάριν δωρησάμενος αύτωι.
[8] Χαλδαΐοι γάρ τον άνθρωπον Ένώς καλοΰσιν, ώς μόνου προς άλήθειαν οντος ανθρώπου του τά άγαθά προσδοκώντος χαί έλπίσι χρησταΐς έφιδρυμένου· έξ ου δήλον οτι τον δύσελπιν ούχ άνθρωπον άλλ' ανθρωποειδές ήγεΐται θηρίον το οίκειότατον ανθρωπινές ψυχής, έλπίδα, άφηρημένον.
[9] οθεν καϊ παγκάλως ύμνήσαι βουλόμενος τον εΰελπιν προειπών, οτι ούτος ήλπισεν επί τον των ολων πατέρα καΐ ποιητήν (Gen 4:26), έπιλέγει· ''αΰτη ή βίβλος | γενέσεως ανθρώπων" (Gen 5:1), καίτοι πατέρων και πάππων ήδη γεγονότων· αλλά τους μεν άρχηγέτας του μικτού γένους ύπέλαβεν είναι, τουτονί δε του κιθαρωτάτου καί διηθημένου, όπερ όντως εστί λογικόν....
[14] άγιος δε και έπαινετος ό εύελπις, ώς τουναντίον άναγνος και ψεκτος ό δύσελπις, φόβω προς άπαντα συμβούλω κακώ χρώμενος· ουδέν γαρ ούτως έχθρον άλλο άλλωι φασίν, ώς έλπίδα φόβω και φόβον έλπίδι, και μήποτ' εικότως, προσδοκία μέν γαρ έκάτερον, άλλ' ή μεν αγαθών, ή δ' εμπαλιν κακών, άκατάλλακτοι δ' αί φύσεις τούτων και ασύμβατοι.
[15] τοσαύτα μέν άπόχρη περί ελπίδος ειπείν, ήν επί θύραις οία πυλωρδν ή φύσις ίδρύσατο βασιλίδων τών ένδον αρετών, αις ούχ εστιν έντυχείν μή ταύτην προθεραπεύσαντας.
אָמַר רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אַשְׁרֵיכֶם יִשְׂרָאֵל, לִפְנֵי מִי אַתֶּם מִטַּהֲרִין, וּמִי מְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם, אֲבִיכֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לו), וְזָרַקְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם מַיִם טְהוֹרִים וּטְהַרְתֶּם. וְאוֹמֵר (ירמיה יז), מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל יְיָ, מַה מִּקְוֶה מְטַהֵר אֶת הַטְּמֵאִים, אַף הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְטַהֵר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל:
Rabbi Akiva said: How fortunate are you, Israel! Before whom are you purified, and who purifies you? Your Father in Heaven, as it is stated, “And I will sprinkle purifying water upon you, and you shall be pure” (Ezekiel 36:25). And it says, “The Lord is the mikveh of Israel” (Jeremiah 17:13). Just as a mikveh purifies the impure, so too the Holy One, who is blessed, purifies Israel.
NJPS
(13) O Hope [mikveh] of Israel! O LORD!
All who forsake You shall be put to shame,
Those in the land who turn from You
Shall be doomed men,
For they have forsaken the LORD,
The Fount of living waters.
(14) Heal me, O LORD, and let me be healed;
Save me, and let me be saved;
For You are my glory.
התקווה
כל עוד בלבב פנימה
נפש יהודי הומייה
ולפאתי מזרח קדימה
עין לציון צופיה.
עוד לא אבדה תקוותינו
התקווה בת שנות אלפיים
להיות עם חופשי בארצנו
ארץ ציון וירושלים.
The Hope / Israel's National Anthem
Words by Naftali Herz Imber
While deep within our hearts
The Jewish soul is still longing;
And while ahead to the East
Our eyes still look to Zion –
Our hope is not yet lost.
The two-thousand year old hope:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.