1. A Series of Rabbinic Beatitudes
From David Daube, The New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism
(University of London: The Athone Press, 1956): 198.
A) Blessed be he who spoke and the world existed, blessed be he.
A) Blessed be he who was the maker of the world in the beginning.
B) Blessed be he who speaks and does.
B) Blessed be he who decrees and performs.
C) Blessed be he who has mercy upon the earth.
C) Blessed be he who has mercy upon his creatures.
B) Blessed be he who pays a good reward to them who fear him.
B) Blessed be he who lives forever and endures to eternity.
A) Blessed be he who redeems and delivers, blessed be his name.
D) Blessed are you,
E) O Lord our God, King of the Universe, O God and merciful Father,
F) praised by the mouth of people,
F) lauded and glorified by the tongue of the loving ones and your servants.
G) We will praise you,
E) O Lord our God,
F) with the songs of David, your servant.
G) We will praise you,
H) glorified by your great name forever and ever.
E) O King,
G) praised and
H) glorified by your great name forever and ever.
D) Blessed are you,
E) O Lord, a King,
F) extolled with
G) praises.1
1I have changed the King James English in Daube’s original translation into modern
American English, thus primarily changing “thee” to “you” and omitting all “eth”
endings on verbs, wherever these appeared. I have also tried to point out
parallelism of lines by the use of letters of the alphabet and by indenting lines which
seem to be in parallel.