Psalm 96 is the 96th 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 ...

, a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

. The first verse of the psalm calls to praise in singing, 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 sing a new song unto the Lord". Similar to

Psalm 98 Psalm 98 is the 98th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things". The Book of Psalms starts the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and, as such, ...

("Cantate Domino") and

Psalm 149 Psalm 149 is the 149th psalm of the Book of Psalms, a hymn as the book's penultimate piece. The first verse of the psalm calls to praise in singing, in English in the King James Version: "Sing a new song unto the Lord". Similar to Psalm 96 and P ...

, the psalm calls to praise God in music and dance, because he has chosen his people and helped them to victory. It is one of the

royal psalms 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 ...

praising God as the King of His people. In the slightly different numbering system used by 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 ...

, this psalm is Psalm 95. The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican

liturgies 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 ...

. The Latin conclusion, "Laetentur caeli", is used during the Christmas night liturgy. The psalm or verses of it have been paraphrased to hymns, and it has often been set to music, notably by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

in his '' Chandos Anthems'', by

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

who quoted from it in a movement of his choral symphony ''

Lobgesang ''Lobgesang'' (''Hymn of Praise''), Op. 52 ( MWV A 18), is an 11-movement "Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible for Soloists, Choir and Orchestra" by Felix Mendelssohn. After the composer's death it was published as his Symphony No. 2 in ...

'', and Zoltán Gárdonyi as part of three motets.

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 ...

: "O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth." (KJV; in Hebrew ).

Background and themes

According to

Radak ''Cervera Bible'', David Qimhi's Grammar Treatise David Kimhi ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד קִמְחִי, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commen ...

, this psalm was composed by

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 ...

when he brought the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...

up to Jerusalem. On this day, David composed two songs – '' Hodu'', and "Sing to the Lord, the entire earth" (verse 2 of this psalm, which is also recorded in ). As recounted in , David instructed Asaph and his brothers to sing these songs daily. ''Hodu'' was sung before the Ark every morning, and Psalm 96 was sung before the Ark every afternoon, until the time the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

was constructed and the Ark was moved into it. However,

Alexander Kirkpatrick Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick (25 June 1849 – 22 January 1940) was Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University (1882–1903) and the third Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge (1898–1907). Life Kirkpatrick was born at Lewes, East Su ...

associates the "newness" of the song with the deliverance of Israel from

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat ...

, inaugurating "a new stage in the nation’s history".Kirkpatrick, A. (1906)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on Psalm 96, accessed 20 April 2022 He notes that the Septuagint's title for this psalm is "When the house was being built after the Captivity". In Hebrew, this psalm is known as ''Shiru Lashem'' ("Sing to the Lord"), and repeats the word "sing" three times. According to the

Midrash Tehillim Midrash Tehillim (Hebrew: מדרש תהלים), also known as Midrash Shocher Tov or the Midrash to Psalms, is an aggadic midrash to the Psalms. It has been known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome, by R. Isaac ben Jud ...

, these three instances allude to the three daily prayer services "when Israel sings praises to God". They are: ''

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( he, שַחֲרִית ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning ''tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ...

'', the morning prayer, corresponding to "Sing a new song to the Lord" (verse 1); ''

Mincha Mincha ( he, מִנחַה, pronounced as ; sometimes spelled ''Minchah'' or ''Minḥa'') is the afternoon prayer service in Judaism. Etymology The name ''Mincha'', meaning "present", is derived from the meal offering that accompanied each sacrif ...

'', the afternoon prayer, corresponding to "Sing to the Lord, all the earth" (verse 1); and ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and '' Amidah''. The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms, ...

'', the evening prayer, corresponding to "Sing to the Lord, bless His Name" (verse 2). In Baptist minister

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 ...

's assessment, Psalm 96 is a "missionary hymn". It is specifically paired with

Psalm 95 Psalm 95 is the 95th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation". The Book of Psalms starts the third section of the He ...

, which described "Israel's hard-heartedness" toward God in the desert. Christian scholars assert that Israel employed that same hard-heartedness to reject Jesus as the Messiah, so now the Christians have the task of declaring

the gospel The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...

to the world.

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist minister and author, who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition ...

interprets verses 10 to 13 in this psalm as instructions of what to say for those who preach the gospel. Biblical scholars note numerous thematic and structural similarities between Psalm 96 and

Psalm 97 Psalm 97 is the 97th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice", also as "The Lord is King". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and ...

, which are both "Kingship of YHWH" psalms.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 96:

King James Version

#O sing unto the a new song: sing unto the , all the earth. #Sing unto the , bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. #Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. #For the is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. #For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the made the heavens. #Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. #Give unto the , O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the glory and strength. #Give unto the the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. #O worship the in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. #Say among the heathen that the reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. #Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. #Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice #Before the : for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter 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 ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

tradition, which includes the

Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex ( he, כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא, romanized: , lit. 'Crown of Aleppo') is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the ...

(10th century), and

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). The extant

palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off so that the page can be reused for another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid skin an ...

Aq includes a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

Aquila of Sinope Aquila (Hebrew: עֲקִילַס ''ʿăqīlas'', fl. 130 AD) of Sinope (modern-day Sinop, Turkey; la, Aquila Ponticus) was a translator of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, a proselyte, and disciple of Rabbi Akiva. Relationship to Onkelos Opinions d ...

in about 130 CE, containing verses 7–13.

Verse 1

:''Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! :''Sing to the Lord, all the earth.'' These words match those of the prophet

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

in .

Uses

Judaism

Psalm 96 is the second of six psalms recited during the

Kabbalat Shabbat Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...

(Welcoming the

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

) service in Ashkenazic, Hasidic and some Sephardic communities.. These six psalms represent the six days of the week, with Psalm 96 corresponding to the second day of the week (Monday). Verses 4 and 9 are part of

Selichot Selichot ( he, סְלִיחוֹת, səlīḥōt, singular: , ''səlīḥā'') are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, especially those said in the period leading up to the High Holidays, and on fast days. The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are ...

. Psalm 96 is recited to increase joy among family members.

Catholicism

The final three verses in Latin, "Laetentur caeli", comprise the

offertory The offertory (from Medieval Latin ''offertorium'' and Late Latin ''offerre'') is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar. A collection of alms (offerings) from the c ...

antiphon used in the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

During the Night for the Nativity of the Lord.

Musical settings

Calling to sing, Psalm 96 has been paraphrased in hymns, and often set to music. "Laetentur caeli" (vv. 11–13 of the Psalm) was set by

Orlande de Lassus Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palest ...

for four parts, and by

Giovanni Bassano Giovanni Bassano (c. 1561 – 3 September 1617) was an Italian composer associated with the Venetian School of composers and a cornettist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a key figure in the development of the instrumental en ...

for double choir, among others.

set the psalm around 1712, and a movement of his '' Chandos Anthems'' in 1717 or 1718. German settings of the Baroque era: *

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 ...

set Psalm 96 in German, "Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied", for choir as part of his composition of 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 ...

, SWV 194. * ''Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied'', previously attributed to

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

TWV The Telemann-Werke-Verzeichnis (Telemann Works Catalogue), abbreviated TWV, is the numbering system identifying compositions by Georg Philipp Telemann, published by musicologist Martin Ruhnke. The prefix TWV is generally followed by a Music genre, ...

1:1748, is Melchior Hoffmann's 1708 setting of Psalm 96, as a church cantata for New Year's Day. * Telemann's ''Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied'', TWV 7:30 is a setting of Psalm 96. In the 19th century,

quoted from Psalm 96 in movement 10 of his choral symphony ''

'' on biblical texts in 1810. Czech composer

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

quoted the psalm, combined with verses of

, in the final movement of his ''

Biblical Songs ''Biblical Songs'' ( cs, Biblické písně) is a song cycle which consists of musical settings by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák of ten texts, selected by him, from the Book of Psalms. It was originally composed for low voice and piano (1894, Op ...

'' of 1894. In the 20th century, Zoltán Gárdonyi set Psalm 96 as part of three

motets In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margare ...

in German, "Singet dem Herren", for mixed choir

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

, along with a Finnish song and

Psalm 23 Psalm 23 is the 23rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The Lord is my shepherd". In Latin, it is known by the incipit, "". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a boo ...

, published by Schott.

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

wrote "A New Song" in 1997, with lyrics taken from this Psalm. Hymns referring to the psalm include the 1901 "

This Is My Father's World "This is My Father's World" is a Christian hymn written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, a minister from New York, and published posthumously in 1901. History When Rev. Babcock lived in Lockport, New York, he took frequent walks along the Niagara ...

", and "Sing to the Lord a new made song". Music inspired by the psalm also includes a

gospel blues Gospel blues (or holy blues) is a form of blues-based gospel music that has been around since the inception of blues music. It combines evangelistic lyrics with blues instrumentation, often blues guitar accompaniment. According to musician and ...

Blind Willie Johnson Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "ch ...

, " Church, I'm Fully Saved To-Day", based on the hymn "Fully Saved Today".

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* * * Text of Psalm 96 according to th
1928 Psalter

text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
Sing to the LORD a new song; / sing to the LORD, all the earth.
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 96 – Declaring the Glory of God to the Entire World
enduringword.com
Psalm 96 / Refrain: O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

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 96
at biblegateway.com
A tune for Kabbalat Shabbat
on the Zemirot Database
Psalm 96 Christian Sermon
{{Psalms 096