 
OU.ORG Presents
"U'Netaneh Tokef
Kedushat Hayom"
"Let Us Tell How Utterly
Holy This Day Is"
The Full Text
(Scanned
from the ArtScroll Rosh HaShanah Machzor)
The following is
the full translated text of the great prayer, "U'Netaneh Tokef," attributed to
Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, as related to Rabbi Klonimus ben Meshullam
THE ARK BEING OPEN:
Congregation and chazzan:
So now, the Kedushah prayer shall ascend to You, for
You, our God, are King.
Congregation and chazzan:
Let us now relate the power of this day's holiness, for it is awesome and frightening. On
it Your Kingship will be exalted; Your throne will be firmed with kindness and You will
sit upon it in truth. It is true that You alone are the One Who judges, proves, knows, and
bears witness; Who writes and seats, (counts and calculates); Who remembers all that was
forgotten. You will open the Book of Chronicles - it will read itself, and everyone's
signature is in it. The great shofar will be sounded and a still, thin sound will be
heard. Angels will hasten, a trembling and terror will seize them - and they will say,
'Behold, it is the Day of Judgment, to muster the heavenly host for judgment!'- for they
cannot be vindicated in Your eyes in judgment.
Chazzan:
All mankind will pass before You like
members of the flock. Like a shepherd pasturing his flock, making sheep pass under
his staff, so shall You cause to pass, count, calculate, and consider the soul of all the
living; and You shall apportion the fixed needs of all Your creatures and inscribe their
verdict.
Congregation then
chazzan [in some congregations this is recited only by the chazzan]:
On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass
from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die
at his predestined time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by
sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst, who by storm, who by plague, who by
strangulation, and who by stoning. Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in
harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquillity and who will suffer, who will
be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted.
Congregation aloud,
then chazzan:
But REPENTANCE, PRAYER and CHARITY
Remove the Evil of the
Decree!
Congregation and chazzan:
For Your Name signifies Your praise: hard to anger and easy to appease, for You do not
wish the death of one deserving death, but that he repent from his way and live. Until the
day of his death You await him; if he repents You will accept him immediately.
Chazzan:
It is true that You are their Creator and You know
their inclination, for they are flesh and blood. A man's origin is from dust and his
destiny is back to dust, at risk of his life he earns his bread; he is likened to a broken
shard, withering grass, a fading flower, a passing shade, a dissipating cloud, a blowing
wind, flying dust, and a fleeting dream.
Congregation aloud, then chazzan:
But You are the King, the Living and
Enduring G-d.
THE ARK IS CLOSED
Congregation then chazzan:
There is no set span to Your years and there is no end to the length of Your days. It is
impossible to estimate the angelic chariots of Your glory and to elucidate Your Name's
inscrutability. Your Name is worthy of You and You are worthy of Your Name, and You have
included Your Name in our name.
The Annulment of
Vows
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