Psalm 103 is the 103rd psalm of the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of ...

, beginning in English in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...

: "Bless the , O my soul". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Old Testament The Old Testament (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 and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. In Latin, it is known as "Benedic anima mea Domino". The psalm is a hymn psalm. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

and Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 102. The first verse (the sub-heading in most English translations) attributes the psalm to King

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

. The psalm forms a regular part of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and other Protestant liturgies. The psalm has been 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 ''hymn'' d ...

s, and has often been set to music.

Background and themes

Baptist preacher and biblical commentator

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

suggests that the psalm was written in David's later life, as seen by the psalmist's focus on the frailty of life and his "higher sense of the preciousness of pardon, because a keener sense of sin". Spurgeon divides the psalm into three sections: * Verses 1–5: The Psalmist's personal experience of God's compassion; * Verses 6–19: The attributes of God as seen in his interactions with his people; * Verses 20–22: The Psalmist's call to all creatures to join him in blessing God. Lutheran minister Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg notes that the number of verses in the psalm parallels the 22 letters of the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...

, and that the concluding words repeat the opening words, "finishing" and "rounding off" the psalm into a complete whole. Nonconformist minister

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a British Nonconformist and Presbyterian 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 o ...

also notes this circular form, stating: "Blessing God and giving him glory must be the alpha and the omega of all our services". The Midrash Tehillim offers several explanations of the first verse, among them:

Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Hama: A sculptor makes a statue; the sculptor dies, but his sculpture endures. It is not thus with the Holy One, blessed be He. The Holy One made man, and man dies, but the Holy One lives and endures. … Another comment: A sculptor makes a statue, but cannot make a soul or vital organs. But the Holy One made a statue, man, and within him made a soul and vital organs. Therefore, David offered praise, "Bless the , O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name".

The opening words, "Bless the , O my soul", appear again at the beginning of Psalm 104, reinforcing the thematic connection between these psalms. But

Patrick D. Miller Patrick D. Miller, Jr. (24 October 1935 – 1 May 2020) was an American Old Testament scholar who served as Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1984 to 2005. He was an ordained minister in t ...

also sees Psalm 103 as a logical extension of Psalm 102, pointing out that "one may see salm102 as opening issues and questions to which salm103 offers the solution or answer". For example, in Psalm 102 the psalmist blames his illness and pain on God's "indignation and anger" (verse 10), while Psalm 103 makes it clear that divine anger is not the final word, nor will it last forever.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

tradition, which includes the

Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex () 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 rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, and was endorsed for its accuracy by Maimonides. ...

(10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (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 in preparation for reuse in the form of another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid ski ...

Aq includes a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

Aquila of Sinope Aquila (Hebrew language, Hebrew: עֲקִילַס ''ʿăqīlas'', Floruit, fl. 130 Common Era, CE) of Sinope (modern-day Sinop, Turkey; ) was a translator of the Hebrew Bible into Greek language, Greek, a proselyte, and disciple of Rabbi Akiva. R ...

in c. 130 CE, containing verses 1–13.

Uses

New Testament

Verse 17 is quoted in Mary's song of praise, the

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

, in Luke .

Judaism

Verse 1 is the final verse of

Nishmat Nishmat ( or 'the soul of every living thing') is a Jewish prayer that is recited during Pesukei D'Zimrah between the Song of the Sea and Yishtabach on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Yom Tov. It is also recited during the Passover seder. Shochen A ...

. Verses 2, 10, and 13 are recited during Selichot. Verses 10, 13, and 14 are part of the

Tachanun ''Tachanun'' or ''Taḥanun'' ( "Supplication"), also called ''nefilat apayim'' ( "falling on the face"), is part of Judaism's morning (''Shacharit'') and afternoon (''Mincha'') prayer services; it follows the recitation of the ''Amidah'', the ce ...

prayer. Verse 14 is also recited during a burial service. Verse 17 is recited during the blessings before the

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; , “Hear, O Israel”) is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Its first verse encapsulates the monothe ...

on the second day of

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

. Verse 19 is part of the

Yehi kevod Yehi kevod () is a prayer recited daily during pesukei dezimra prior to Ashrei. The prayer is a representation of God's exaltation in both the heavens and the earth. The succession Yehi kevod has with Ashrei is significant: it symbolizes the conne ...

prayer recited during

Pesukei Dezimra ''Pesukei dezimra'' (; Rabbinic Hebrew: ''pasuqẽ hazzǝmiroṯ'' "Verses of songs"), or ''zemirot'' as they are called by the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, are a group of prayers that may be recited during Shacharit (the morning set of prayers ...

Catholic Church

In the

Western church Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic C ...

, this psalm was traditionally performed during the celebration of

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

of Saturday by the order of St. Benedict, probably since its founding to 530. In the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (), Divine Office (), 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 Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official ...

, Psalm 103 is sung or recited during the Office of Sunday readings, second week. It is also used for Mass readings: it is the psalm read at the Mass of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

in Year A of the three-yearly cycle. In ordinary time, we find the 7th and the 24th Sunday of the year A and the eighth Sunday of the year B. In

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

, it is played the 3rd and 7th Sunday. Finally, it is the 7th Psalm on Easter Sunday.

Eastern Orthodox Church

In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

this psalm is one of the six psalms of Orthros (Matins) read every morning outside of

Bright Week Bright Week, Pascha Week or Renewal Week () is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches for the period of seven days beginning on Easter and continuing up to (but not including) the following Sunday, which is k ...

. It is also the first of the "Typical Psalms" of the

Typica The Typica (Slavonic language, Slavonic: ''Изобрази́тельны, Izobrazítelny'') is a part of the Canonical hours#Daily cycle of services, Divine Office of Eastern Orthodox Worship, Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic Church, Greek Ca ...

, which is read in place of the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

when the latter is not celebrated on days it is permitted to be. It is frequently sung as the first antiphon of the Divine Liturgy, but there it is often replaced by another antiphon on great feasts and on many weekdays, and is always thus replaced in Greek practice (except on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

Protestant

R. J. Thesman finds in this psalm a declaration that God ''never betrays us, never abandons us, and never forgets ..... His mercy covers our mistakes and our human tendencies'', while Thomas Coke, calls it ''an exquisite performance, very applicable to every deliverance: it may properly be said to describe the wonders of grace''. This Psalm is one continued hymn of praise, and includes a comprehensive view of the goodness of Jehovah, in all the great works of creation and redemption, while Albert Barnes called it ''exceedingly regular in its structure and composition; beautiful in its language and conceptions; adapted to all times and ages; suited to express the feelings of gratitude to God for deliverance from trouble, and for the manifestation of his mercy; suited to elevate the soul, and to fill it with cheerful views.'' The Old Testament scholar Bernhard Duhm considers the Psalm a "compilation of all sorts of beautiful sentences from a fairly extensive reading".

Musical settings

Hymns

Psalm 103 is the basis of several

s. A paraphrase of Psalm 103 in German is "

Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren "" (Now praise, my soul, the Lord) is a Lutheran hymn written in German by the theologian and reformer Johann Gramann in 1525. It was published in 1540 and appears in 47 hymnals. A translation by Catherine Winkworth, "My Soul, now Praise thy M ...

", written by Johann Gramann in 1525, which was translated by Catherine Winkworth as "My Soul, now Praise thy Maker!" and published in 1863. English hymns include " Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven", written in the nineteenth century by Henry Francis Lyte, as well as "Sing to the Lord and praise him"; and “Like as a Father” by Florence Margaret Spencer Palmer. In 1991, " Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele" as written as a hymn with a refrain round of verses 2 and 1.

Compositions

In the 16th century, Claudin de Sermisy set the Psalm 102.

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

set the hymn "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren", SWV 201, for the '' Becker Psalter'', published first in 1628. Henry Dumont set the psalm in Latin for La Chapelle Royale au Louvre in 1666. In contemporary music, the song "Bless the Lord" in the musical ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...

'' is based on this psalm. " 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)" by

Matt Redman Matthew James Redman (born 14 February 1974) is an English Christian worship leader, singer-songwriter and author. Redman has released 16 albums, written 8 books, and helped start three church-plants. He is best known for his two-time Grammy A ...

and

Jonas Myrin Jonas Myrin is a Swedish singer, songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles, California. His solo career began in 2012 with the gold-certified song, "Day of the Battle" in Germany. Myrin won two Grammy Awards for the song " 10,000 Reasons (Bl ...

takes lyrics from this psalm, as does "The Lord is Gracious and Compassionate" by Vineyard Worship.

Text

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the

text in the

and the English translation from the

. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the

Masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

come from different textual traditions.A 1917 translation directly from Hebrew to English by the

Jewish Publication Society The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...

can be foun
here
o
here
and an 1844 translation directly from the Septuagint by L. C. L. Brenton can be foun
here
Both translations are in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 102.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* * * Text of Psalm 103 according to th
1928 Psalter

text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
Bless the LORD, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 103 – Help Quickly, O Lord
enduringword.com
Psalm 103 / Refrain: Come to me quickly, O God.

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Psalm 103
at biblegateway.com
Tehillim – Psalm 103 (Judaica Press)
translation with

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

's commentary at

Chabad.org Chabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad, Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic movement. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites. History In 1988, Yosef Yitzchak Kazen, a Chabad rabbi, began creating a Chabad-Lubavitch prese ...

{{Psalms 103