Psalm 128

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This article is about Psalm 128 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 128 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 129.
Psalm 128
"Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD"
Song of Ascents
Folio 56r - Psalm CXXVII.jpg
Miniature illustrating Psalm 128, Blessing on the Faithful, in The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry
Other name
  • Psalm 127 (Vulgate)
  • "Beati omnes"
LanguageHebrew (original)

Psalm 128 is the 128th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is known as Psalm 127 in a slightly different numbering system. In Latin, it is known as "Beati omnes qui timent Dominum".[1]

The psalm is a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.

Text[]

Hebrew Bible version[]

Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 128:[2]

Verse Hebrew
1 :שִׁיר, הַמַּעֲלוֹת

אַשְׁרֵי, כָּל-יְרֵא יְהוָה-- הַהֹלֵךְ, בִּדְרָכָיו.

2 יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ, כִּי תֹאכֵל; אַשְׁרֶיךָ, וְטוֹב לָךְ.
3 אֶשְׁתְּךָ, כְּגֶפֶן פֹּרִיָּה-- בְּיַרְכְּתֵי בֵיתֶךָ:

בָּנֶיךָ, כִּשְׁתִלֵי זֵיתִים-- סָבִיב, לְשֻׁלְחָנֶךָ.

4 הִנֵּה כִי-כֵן, יְבֹרַךְ גָּבֶר-- יְרֵא יְהוָה.
5 יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה, מִצִּיּוֹן: וּרְאֵה, בְּטוּב יְרוּשָׁלִָם--כֹּל, יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ.
6 וּרְאֵה-בָנִים לְבָנֶיךָ: שָׁלוֹם, עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל.

King James Version[]

  1. Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
  2. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
  3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
  4. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
  5. The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
  6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

Theme[]

Written anonymously, Psalm 128 likely dates to the post-exilic period (that is, after about 539 BCE).[3]

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary describes Zechariah 8:1–8 as a "virtual commentary on this psalm".[4]

The psalm ends with a prayer for peace upon Israel. This is best taken as a "detached clause", like the concluding clause of Psalm 125, according to the Pulpit Commentary.[5]

Uses[]

Judaism[]

In traditional Jewish practice, this psalm is recited following Mincha between Sukkot and Shabbat Hagadol.[6]It is also recited prior to Aleinu during Motzei Shabbat Maariv,[7] and among the prayers of the Bedtime Shema.[8] Its second verse is found in Pirkei Avot Chapter 4, no. 1[9] and Chapter 6, no. 4.[10]

Christianity[]

Traditionally, since the Middle Ages, this psalm has been recited within the from Tuesday until Saturday, according to the Rule of St. Benedict (530).[11]

In the liturgy of the current Roman Rite Mass, Psalm 128 is used on the feast of the Holy Family, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time of the year A and the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time of the year B. It is also the traditional psalm for nuptial masses (missa pro votiva sponso and sponsa).

In the Sarum Use, the psalm was also sung by the priest after Psalm 121 at the churching of women.[12]

Music[]

This psalm was used by Michel-Richard Delalande in 1698 to compose a grand motet (S51) which was played in the royal chapel of Versailles to celebrate the offices. Henry Desmarest composed a grand motet "Beati omnes" (unknown date). Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed in 1680/1681 one "Beati omnes qui timent Dominum" H.178, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and continuo.

Salamone Rossi, the 17th-century Jewish-Italian composer who was the first known composer to write choral music for the Jewish liturgy, published three settings of the psalm (for 3, 5, and 6 voices) in his collection Shir Ha'shirim Lishlomo, published in 1622.

References[]

  1. ^ Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 127 (128) medievalist.net
  2. ^ "Psalms Chapter 128 תְּהִלִּים". mechon-mamre.org. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  3. ^ James D. G. Dunn (19 November 2003). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-8028-3711-0.
  4. ^ Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary on Psalm 128, accessed 23 September 2018
  5. ^ Pulpit Commentary on Psalm 128, accessed 23 September 2018
  6. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur page 530
  7. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur page 608
  8. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur page 294
  9. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur page 565
  10. ^ The Complete Artscroll Siddur page 583
  11. ^ Prosper Guéranger, Règle de saint Benoît, (Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, réimpression 2007) p46.
  12. ^ Ordo ad purificandum mulierum, Manuale ad usum ecclesiae Sarum, Renwick.

External links[]

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