Psalm 117 is the 117th 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 ...

: "O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people." In Latin, it is known as ''Laudate Dominum''. Consisting of only two verses, Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm and also the shortest chapter in the whole

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. It is joined with

Psalm 118 Psalm 118 is the 118th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever." The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the He ...

in the manuscripts of the

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

scholars

Benjamin Kennicott Benjamin Kennicott (4 April 171818 September 1783) was an English churchman and Hebrew scholar. Life Kennicott was born at Totnes, Devon where he attended Totnes Grammar School. He succeeded his father as master of a charity school, but the gene ...

and

Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi (October 25, 1742 in Castelnuovo Nigra, Piedmont – March 23, 1831 in Parma) was an Italian Christian Hebraist. He studied in Ivrea and Turin. In October 1769, he was appointed professor of Oriental languages at the Uni ...

. In the slightly different numbering system 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 the 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 ...

version of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 116.

Text

With just two verses and seventeen words and 62 characters in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

(29 in v1 + 33 in v2 is 62), it is the shortest psalm in the

. It is also the shortest chapter in the whole Bible. It is the 595th of the 1,189 chapters of the

of the Bible, making it the middle chapter of this version. In Hebrew, it is an

acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...

poem and is one of the so-called

Egyptian Hallel Hallel ( he, הַלֵּל, "Praise") is a List of Jewish prayers and blessings, Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving. Holy days Hallel consi ...

prayers.

Hebrew Bible version

King James Version

Uses

Judaism

Psalm 117 is one of six psalms (113-118) of which

Hallel Hallel ( he, הַלֵּל, "Praise") is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving. Holy days Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which ...

is composed. On all days when Hallel is recited, this psalm is recited in its entirety.

Christianity

In Psalm 117, the

gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...

s 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 Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

, who they believe is Christ, as described in the

Letter to the Galatians The Epistle to the Galatians is the ninth book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul the Apostle to a number of Early Christian communities in Galatia. Scholars have suggested that this is either the Roman province of Galatia in sou ...

. says "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." Verse 1 is quoted in

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Catholicism

In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the

Rule of Saint Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...

assigns this psalm (116 in the Vulgate) to the Office of

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

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 The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

on Saturday of Weeks I and III. The psalm may be sung after

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, also called Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament or the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction, is a devotional ceremony, celebrated especially in the Roman Catholic Church, but also in some other Ch ...

, a ritual performed in Catholic and some

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

churches.

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 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 ...

, Johann Sebastian Bach ''Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden'', BWV 230,

Michel Richard Delalande Michel Richard Delalande e Lalande'' (; 15 December 1657 – 18 June 1726) was a French Baroque composer and organist who was in the service of King Louis XIV. He was one of the most important composers of grands motets. He also wrote orch ...

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 ...

, (6 settings), H.152, H.159, H.182, H.214, H.223, H.227,

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

and

Robert Strassburg Robert Strassburg (August 30, 1915 – October 25, 2003) was a leading American conductor, composer, musicologist and music educator of the twentieth century. His studies in music were completed under the supervision of such leading composers ...

Alan Hovhaness Alan Hovhaness (; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American- Armenian composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) a ...

set portions of it, along with Psalm 27, in his 1935 work ''The God of Glory Thundereth''. More recently, it has been set by the Swedish composer

Fredrik Sixten Sven Fredrik Johannes Sixten (born 21 October 1962) is a Swedish composer, cathedral organist and conductor. Sixten was born in Skövde, Sweden. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (1986) at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. He studied composit ...

. The psalm also forms the introduction of the 90s pop song

Happy Nation ''Happy Nation'' is the debut studio album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base. It was initially released in Denmark on 2 November 1992 by Mega Records. During development of the record, the group was heavily influenced by a Jamaican reggae ban ...

by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, and a popular arrangement from the

Taizé community The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic fraternity in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of more than one hundred brothers, from Catholic and Protestant traditions, who originate from about thirty countrie ...

.Le site de l
communauté
propose une version Midi et les partitions.

References

External links

* *

text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org * Text of Psalm 117 according to th
1928 Psalter
*United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Praise the LORD, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!
text and footnotes, usccb.org

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 117 – Calling All Peoples to Praise the LORD
enduringword.com
Psalm 117 / Refrain: Alleluia.

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 ...

Psalm 117
at biblegateway.com *

Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...

Psalm 117
detailed commentary, archive.spurgeon.org * *
Laudate Dominum (Psalm 117) (William Byrd) - Midi files and PDF scores by ChoralWiki

Laudate Dominum (Psalm 117) (Mozart) - Midi files and PDF scores by ChoralWiki

Laudate Dominum (Psalm 150) (Ronald Corp) - Excerpt, programme note and PDF score
{{Psalms 117 Hallel