Psalm 130 is the 130th psalm of the Book of Psalms, one of the

penitential psalms The Penitential Psalms or Psalms of Confession, so named in Cassiodorus's commentary of the 6th century AD, are the Psalms 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143 in the Hebrew numbering). *Psalm 6 – Domine, ne ...

and one of 15 psalms that begin with the words "A song of ascents" (Shir Hama'alot). The first verse is a call to God in deep sorrow, from "out of the depths" or "out of the deep", as it is translated 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 ...

of the Bible and the Coverdale translation (used in the

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 ...

) respectively. In Latin, it is known as De profundis. 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 ...

version of the Bible, and in 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 129. The

New American Bible Revised Edition The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) is an English-language Catholic translation of the Bible, the first major update in 20 years to the New American Bible (NAB), which was translated by members of the Catholic Biblical Association an ...

(2010) divides the psalm into two parts: verses 1-4 are a cry for mercy; verses 5-8 are a model expression of trust in God. The psalm forms a regular part of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Catholic 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 ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It is paraphrased in

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 ''hy ...

s such as

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

's "

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir "" (From deep affliction I cry out to you), originally "", later also "", is a Lutheran hymn of 1524, with words written by Martin Luther as a paraphrase of Psalm 130. It was first published in 1524 as one of eight songs in the first Lutheran ...

" in German. The psalm has often been set to music, by composers such as

Orlando di Lasso 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 Pales ...

and

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 ...

John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...

set it in English as a movement of his Requiem.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 130: A marginal note in 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 indicates that Psalm 130:2 is the middle of the whole

Ketuvim The Ketuvim (; hbo, , Modern: ''Kəṯūvīm'', Tiberian: ''Kăṯūḇīm'' "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (instruction) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bi ...

(Book of Writings) section in Hebrew.

King James Version

# Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. # Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. # If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? # But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. # I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. # My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. # Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. # And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Liturgical usage

Judaism

Psalm 130 is recited as part of the liturgy for the High Holidays, sung responsively before the open

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

during the morning service from Rosh Hashanah until

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

. The custom of reciting this psalm during these times had long lain dormant until it was revived in the Birnbaum and Artscroll siddurim in the 20th century. Psalm 130 is one of the 15 Songs of Ascents recited after the Shabbat afternoon prayer in the period between Sukkot and

Shabbat HaGadol Special Shabbatot are Jewish Shabbat days on which special events are commemorated. Variations in the liturgy and special customs differentiate them from the regular Sabbaths and each one is referred to by a special name; many communities also ad ...

(the Shabbat prior to

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

). In some congregations, it is said on every weekday. In Hebrew, it is often referred to as "''Shir HaMa'alot MiMa'amakim''" after its opening words. It is recited during the

Tashlikh ''Tashlikh'' ( he, "cast off") is a customary Jewish atonement ritual performed during the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashannah). Practice The ritual is performed at a large, natural body of flowing water (e.g., river, lake, sea, or ocean) on the ...

prayer. It is one of the psalms traditionally recited "in times of communal distress". Verses 3-4 are part of the opening paragraph of the long

Tachanun ''Tachanun'' or ''Taḥanun'' ( he, תחנון "Supplication"), also called ''nefilat apayim'' ( he, נפילת אפיים "falling on the face"), is part of Judaism's morning (''Shacharit'') and afternoon (''Mincha'') services, after the recitati ...

recited on Mondays and Thursdays.

Catholic Church

Ordinary use

According to the Rule of Saint Benedict established around 530, the psalm was used at the beginning of the vespers service on Tuesday, followed by Psalm 131 (130). Psalm 130 came to be associated with the seven

which were recited after the hour of Lauds on Fridays in Lent in the medieval Christendom. In the current

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 ...

, the psalm is recited or sung at vespers on the Saturday of the fourth week of the four-weekly cycle of liturgical prayers, and on Wednesday evenings. In the Liturgy of the Mass, Psalm 130 is read on the 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year B, on the 5th Sunday of Lent in Year A, and on the Tuesday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time on weekday cycle I. It is also used as the entrance antiphon on the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Bell prayer

= Requiem Mass and the prayer for the dead

= The ''De Profundis'' bell is a slow, solemn and measured toll of the bell that marks the end of the day. In 1610,

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

established the custom of ringing the ''De Profundis'' bell on

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kn ...

. Pope Clement XII encouraged Christians through his brief ''Caelestes Ecclesiae thesauros'' promulgated on August 14, 1736, to pray daily for the souls in Purgatory inviting all to kneel at the first hour of nightfall and devoutly recite Psalm 130 with a Requiem aeternam at the end of it. Pope Pius VI by a

rescript In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation. Over ...

of Mach 18, 1781, granted an equal indulgence to those who should pray the ''De Profundis'' in any place where no bell for the dead is sounded. The Catholic tradition became that the ''De profundis'' and the versicle Requiem æternam were said after the evening

Angelus The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation of Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ o ...

= Consecration of new bell

= According to the ''

Rituale Romanum The ''Roman Ritual'' ( la, Rituale Romanum) is one of the official liturgical books of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. It contains all of the services which may be performed by a priest or deacon which are not contained within either the ' ...

'', the recitation of Psalm 130 accompanies the blessing of a new bell in a church or chapel, perhaps because the tolling of a church bell connotes a transition through death to life beyond.

Literature

''De Profundis'' was used as the title of a poem by Spanish author

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

in ''Poema del cante jondo.'' A long letter by Oscar Wilde, written to his former lover Lord Alfred Douglas near the end of Wilde's life while he was in prison, also bears the title " De Profundis", although it was given the title after Wilde's death. Poems by

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

, Elizabeth Barrett Browning,

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited ...

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which he wr ...

Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhap ...

and

José Cardoso Pires José Cardoso (2October 192526October 1998) was a Portuguese author of short stories, novels, plays, and political satire. Life and career Early life Pires was born in the Portuguese village of São João do Peso, which is within the district ...

bear the same title. In the novel '' Fires on the Plain'' by Shōhei Ōoka, the character Tamura makes reference to the psalm's first line "De profundis clamavi" in a dream sequence.

Musical settings

This psalm has frequently been set to music. It was sometimes used for funeral services, especially under its Latin incipit "De profundis":

Latin

Francesco Barsanti Francesco Barsanti (1690–1775) was an Italian flautist, oboist and composer. He was born in 1690 in the Tuscan city of Lucca, but spent most of his life in London and Edinburgh. Biography Very little is known about Barsanti's background. His f ...

as part of his ''Sei Antifon'' *

Nicolaus Bruhns Nicolaus Bruhns (also ''Nikolaus'', ''Nicholas''; late 1665 – in Husum) was a Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer. He was one of the most prominent organists and composers of his generation. Biography Bruhns was born in Schwabst ...

* Marc Antoine Charpentier: ** ''De profundis'' H.156, for soloists, chorus and continuo (?1670s) ** ''De profundis'' H.189, for soloists, double chorus, flutes, strings and continuo (1683) **''De profundis'' à 4 voix H.211, for soloists, chorus and continuo (?early 1690) **''De profundis'' H.212, for soloists, chorus and continuo (?early 1690s) **''De profundis'' H.213 (?early 1690), H.213 a (1690s), for soloists, chorus and continuo **''Court De profundis'' H.222, for soloists, chorus and continuo (?early 1690s) *

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis ( pl, Mikołaj Konstanty Czurlanis – ) was a Lithuanian painter, composer and writer. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau, and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. He has been ...

: cantata *

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 ...

: ''De profundis'' * Henry Desmarest: ''De profundis'' (before 1704) * Josquin des Prez *

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Czech composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was rais ...

: **''De Profundis'' ZWV 95, A minor, for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, violin, continuo ("violini et oboe colle voce ad libitum") (1728) **''De Profundis'' ZWV 96, C minor, for tenor and bass soloists, chorus (SATB), strings and continuo (1727) **''De Profundis'' ZWV 97, D minor, for alto, tenor and three bass soloists, chorus (SATB), two oboes, three trombones, strings and continuo (1724) *

Marcel Dupré Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...

Andrea Gabrieli Andrea Gabrieli (1532/1533Bryant, Grove online – August 30, 1585) was an Italian composer and organist of the late Renaissance. The uncle of the somewhat more famous Giovanni Gabrieli, he was the first internationally renowned member of the V ...

, as part of his '' Psalmi Davidici'' * Christoph Willibald Gluck * Sofia Gubaidulina, ''De profundis'' *

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 t ...

, slow movement of Symphony No. 3 *

, as part of his ''Penitential Psalms'' * Franz Liszt * George Lloyd *

Leevi Madetoja Leevi Antti Madetoja (; 17 February 1887 – 6 October 1947) was a Finns, Finnish composer, music criticism, music critic, conductor (music), conductor, and teacher of the Romantic music, late-Romantic and modernism (music), early-moder ...

* Felix Mendelssohn * Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville (1748) *

Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, singer and organist of the Renaissance. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian influence on the Engl ...

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important ...

Terry Oldfield Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), A ...

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina ( – 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of late Renaissance music. The central representative of the Roman School, with Orlande de Lassus and Tomás Luis de Victoria, Palestrina is considered the leading ...

Pothárn Imre
"De Profundis Clamavi"
/ref> * Arvo Pärt: '' De profundis'' *

Nicola Porpora Nicola (or Niccolò) Antonio Porpora (17 August 16863 March 1768) was an Italian composer and teacher of singing of the Baroque music, Baroque era, whose most famous singing students were the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli (castrato), Caffarel ...

* Henry Purcell * Joachim Raff: ''De Profundis'', Opus 141, 8-part * Georg Reutter (once attributed to Mozart) * Pierre Robert * Pedro Ruimonte *

Marc Sabat Marc Sabat (born 22 September 1965) is a Canadian composer based in Berlin, Germany, since 1999. Works He has made concert music pieces, works with video, and installations with acoustic instruments and, in some recent pieces, computer-generate ...

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...

Johann Hermann Schein Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into Germa ...

* Arnold Schoenberg *

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard compo ...

Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclass ...

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

, ZWV 50 Some other works named ''De profundis'' but with texts not derived from the psalm are: *

Frederic Rzewski Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. His major compositions, which often incorporate social an ...

based on the text of Oscar Wilde * Dmitri Shostakovich, in his ''Fourteenth Symphony'' op. 135, to texts of

translated to Russian

English

French

German

Other

Hymns

paraphrased Psalm 130 as the hymn "

" (Out of deep distress I cry to you), which has inspired several composers, including Bach ( cantatas '' Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131'' and '' Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 38''),

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 period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

and

Reger Reger is a German surname, derived from the Middle High German ''reiger'', meaning "heron", likely referring to a tall thin person.''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Reger Family History" Oxford University Press, 2013. Retrieved on 16 January ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Text of Psalms 126–131
from the 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' * Text of Psalms 107–150 from the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer * Nova Vulgata Online
Psalm 130
* *

text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
Out of the depths I call to you, LORD
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 130
enduringword.com
Psalm 130 / Refrain: My soul waits for the Lord.

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 Britai ...

* Hymnary.org
Hymns for Psalm 130

– excerpted text of Wilde's ''De Profundis'' (1905 version?) * – From the 1908

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

, this short article talks about the hymn's origins and its Jewish and (pre

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

)

Roman Catholic 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 let ...

usage. * * {{Psalms 130