Psalm 21 is the 21st psalm of the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

, beginning in English in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

: "The king shall joy in thy strength". The Book of Psalms is part of the

third section The Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery (russian: Tretiye Otdeleniye, or ''III otdeleniye sobstvennoy E.I.V. kantselyarii'' - in full: Третье отделение Собственной Его Императорского В ...

of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

, and a book of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

and Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 20. In Latin, it is known by the

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...

, "". The psalm is attributed to

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. Psalm 21 is used in both Jewish and Christian liturgies. It has often been set to music, especially for royal functions, such as Handel's

Coronation anthems A coronation anthem is a piece of choral music written to accompany the coronation of a monarch. Many composers have written coronation anthems. However, the best known were composed by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of the British ...

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the

JPS 1917 The Jewish Publication Society of America Version (JPS) of the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) was the first Bible translation published by the Jewish Publication Society of America and the first translation of the Tanakh into English by a committee o ...

translation (now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

King James Version

(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.) # The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! # Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. ''

Selah (; hbo, סֶלָה, selā) is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its etymology and precise meaning are unknown, though various interpretations are given. It is probably either a liturgical-musical mark or an instruction on the reading ...

''. # For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. # He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. # His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. # For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance. # For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. # Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. # Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. # Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. # For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. # Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. # Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

Themes

This

royal psalm Hermann Gunkel categorized ten psalms by their subject matter of kingship as royal psalms. Specifically, the royal psalms deal with the spiritual role of kings in the worship of Yahweh. Aside from that single qualification, there is nothing else wh ...

and the previous one are closely related: they are both

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

psalms; in both, the king is the prominent figure. Psalm 21 is characterised as a psalm of thanksgiving. It focuses on the imagery of a king; the king is often credited with being an example of the moral state of a kingdom in the

. Commentary by the

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

relates this psalm to the belief that God had appointed a succession of rulers on Earth, starting with David and eventually leading to the

messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

, who Calvin identified as

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. Calvin also implies that this psalm does not refer to a specific king, but to all kings. The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...

identifies both messianic and eschatological themes, and commends the application of this psalm to the idea of "

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

". Verse 9, ''the time of thine anger'' in the

, ''the day that you appear'' in the Jerusalem Bible, and the reference to a blazing furnace "suggest a more ... eschatological perspective". Commentator Cyril Rodd notes that "the situation to which he psalmrefers is not clear". He identifies four possible occasions for its composition or use: *before a battle *after a victory *at the king's

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

*at an annual celebration of the king's accession. The

New Revised Standard Version The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.

Uses

In the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

's ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'', this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the fourth day of the month, as well as at Mattins on

Ascension Day The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared b ...

. This psalm has been used as the name of the church ministry known as "Psalm 21 Church" or "Psalm 21 Kingdom Heritage", in

Pontianak Pontianak or Khuntien is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.31 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas River at a point where it is joined by ...

West Kalimantan West Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city is Pontianak, Indonesia, Pontianak. The province has ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

since 2004. Verses 1-4 are used as the source material for the anthem "O Lord Make Thy Servant Elizabeth" by

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He ...

Musical settings

A setting of Psalm 21 in English, "O Lord how joyful is the king", by John Bennet was published in 1621 in ''The Whole Booke of Psalmes'', edited by

Thomas Ravenscroft Thomas Ravenscroft ( – 1635) was an English musician, theorist and editor, notable as a composer of rounds and catches, and especially for compiling collections of British folk music. Little is known of Ravenscroft's early life. He prob ...

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

wrote a setting of a paraphrase of the psalm in German, "Hoch freuet sich der König", SWV 118, for the ''

Becker Psalter The ''Becker Psalter'' is a German metrical psalter authored by the Leipzig theologian Cornelius Becker and first published by Jakob Apel in Leipzig in 1602 under the title ''Der Psalter Davids Gesangweis''. Several composers set the psalms contai ...

'', published first in 1628.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

set a Latin version around 1675, one ''Prière pour le Roi "Domine in virtute tua",'' H.164 for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments, and continuo. Handel used verses 1 and 3–5 in English for his

Coronation anthem A coronation anthem is a piece of choral music written to accompany the coronation of a monarch. Many composers have written coronation anthems. However, the best known were composed by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of the British ...

in three movements, ''The King Shall Rejoice'', HWV 260, in 1727.

References

External links

* * * in Hebrew and English - Mechon-mamre * Text of Psalm 21 according to th
1928 Psalter

For the leader. A psalm of David. / LORD, the king finds joy in your power
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 21 – The Joyful King
enduringword.com
Psalm 21 / Refrain: The king puts his trust in the Lord.

Psalm 21
at biblegateway.com
Hymns for Psalm 21
hymnary.org {{Psalms

021 021 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

category:Texts assigned to David