Psalm 117

This article is about Psalm 117 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 117 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 118.

Psalm 117 is the 117th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people." In Latin, it is known as Laudate Dominum.^[1] Consisting of only two verses, Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm and also the shortest chapter in the whole Bible. It is joined with Psalm 118 in the manuscripts of the Hebraist scholars Benjamin Kennicott and Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi.^[2]

Psalm 117
"O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people."
Psalm 117, from the Wolfcoz Psalter, c. 820 – 830
Other name	Psalm 116 "Laudate Dominum"
Language	Hebrew (original)

Psalm 117
← Psalm 116 Psalm 118 →
Book	Book of Psalms
Hebrew Bible part	Ketuvim
Order in the Hebrew part	1
Category	Sifrei Emet
Christian Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Christian part	19

In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 116.

Uses

The Tosher Rebbe of Montreal, Quebec, Canada shaking the Four species during Sukkot while praying Hallel.

New Testament

Verse 1 is quoted in Romans 15:11.^[3]

In Psalm 117, the gentiles are invited to join in praise of God. Christians view this as a fulfillment of God's promise of mercy to the gentiles, pointing to God's promise that all nations would be blessed in the seed of Abraham, who they believe is Christ, as described in the Letter to the Galatians:

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

— Galatians 3:16, King James Version

Catholicism

In the Catholic Church, the Rule of Saint Benedict assigns this psalm (116 in the Vulgate) to the Office of Vespers on Monday. Saint Benedict of Nursia generally used four psalms in vespers, but because of the shortness of this psalm, he added a fifth when it was used. It is currently used in the Liturgy of the Hours on Saturday of Weeks I and III. The psalm may be sung after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, a ritual performed in Catholic^[4] and some Anglican churches.^[5]

Eastern Orthodoxy

In the Orthodox Church, this psalm is read as part of the 16^th kathisma, to be read ordinarily during Saturday Matins.^[6]

Coptic Orthodoxy

In the Agpeya, the Coptic Church's book of hours, this psalm is prayed in the office of Vespers^[7] and the first watch of the Midnight office.^[8]

Musical settings

Beginning of Bach's motet

Psalm 117, known by the opening words in Latin as Laudate dominum (translated "O, Praise the Lord" or "Praise ye the Lord"), has been set to music by a number of composers, including William Byrd,^[9] Marc-Antoine Charpentier (7 settings: H.177, H.152, H.159, H.182, H.214, H.223, H.224), Michel Richard Delalande,^[10] and Johann Sebastian Bach (Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230). Heinrich Schütz composed a metered paraphrase of the psalm in German, Lobt Gott mit Schall, ihr Heiden all, SWV 215, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote an adaptation of this psalm for solo soprano voice and chorus: the fifth movement of Vesperae solennes de confessore ("Solemn Vespers for a Confessor"), K. 339.^[11]

Alan Hovhaness set portions of it, along with Psalm 27, in his 1935 work "The God of Glory Thundereth".^[12] The American Jewish musician Robert Strassburg (1915 – 2003) also wrote an adaptation.^[13] More recently, it has been set by the Swedish composer Fredrik Sixten. The psalm also forms the introduction of the 90s pop song Happy Nation by Swedish pop group Ace of Base,^{[citation needed]} and a popular arrangement from the Taizé Community.^[14][15]

Text

Further information: Chapters and verses of the Bible

With just two verses, seventeen words, and 62 characters (29 in verse 1 and 33 in verse 2) in Hebrew, this is the shortest psalm in the Book of Psalms. It is also the shortest chapter in the whole Bible. It is the 595th of the 1,189 chapters of the King James Version of the Bible, making it the middle chapter of this version.

The following table shows the Hebrew text^[16][17] of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint,^[18] the Latin text in the Vulgate^[19] and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic text come from different textual traditions.^{[note 1]} In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 116.

#	Hebrew	English	Greek	Latin
1	הַֽלְל֣וּ אֶת־יְ֭הֹוָה כׇּל־גּוֹיִ֑ם שַׁ֝בְּח֗וּהוּ כׇּל־הָאֻמִּֽים׃‎	O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.	᾿Αλληλούϊα. - ΑΙΝΕΙΤΕ τὸν Κύριον, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, ἐπαινέσατε αὐτόν, πάντες οἱ λαοί,	ALLELUIA. Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes; collaudate eum, omnes populi.
2	כִּ֥י גָ֘בַ֤ר עָלֵ֨ינוּ ׀ חַסְדּ֗וֹ וֶאֱמֶת־יְהֹוָ֥ה לְעוֹלָ֗ם הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃‎	For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.	ὅτι ἐκραταιώθη τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια τοῦ Κυρίου μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.	Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia eius, et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.

Notes

1. A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the Jewish Publication Society can be found here or here, and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be found here. Both translations are in the public domain.