Psalm 17 enables contradictory readings: either the Psalmist is supremely confident or profoundly vulnerable. Consider the last line: “As for me with justice, may I behold your face; may I be satisfied with a wakeful vision of You.” Does this refer to the World to Come or the audacious request to see God directly now, similar to a request by Moses that was denied. Rabbi Benjamin Segal writes, “It is possible that discomfort with this last phrase explains why the psalm was later omitted from Jewish liturgy, where one might expect to find it.” Come and read this Psalm closely, along with some alternative translations.
