Psalm 112 is the 112th 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 ...

: "Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD". 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 111. In Latin, it is known as Beatus vir qui timet Dominum. It is a psalm "in praise of the virtuous". This psalm, along with Psalm 111, is

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 ...

by phrase, that is, each 7-9 syllable phrase begins with a letter 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 ...

in order. 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. Musical settings abound, as the psalm was a common part of

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

, such as Monteverdi's 1610 ''

Vespro della Beata Vergine ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' (''Vespers for the Blessed Virgin''), Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 206, is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts, scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitio ...

'' and Mozart's '' Vesperae de Dominica'' and '' Vesperae solennes de confessore'' (K. 339). Górecki composed

Beatus Vir ''Beatus vir'' (; "Blessed is the man...") are the first words in the Latin Vulgate Bible of both Psalm 1 and Psalm 112 (in the general modern numbering; it is Psalm 111 in the Greek Septuagint and the Vulgate). In each case, the words are used ...

as an extended work for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

, choir and orchestra in 1979.

Uses

New Testament

In the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, verse 9 is quoted in 2 Corinthians 9:9.

Judaism

The psalm begins הַלְלוּ-יָהּ:אַשְׁרֵי-אִישׁ, יָרֵא אֶת-יְהוָה; בְּמִצְו‍ֹתָיו, חָפֵץ מְאֹד.

Catholic Church

Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Benedict of Nursia Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...

attributed the psalms from the

Psalm 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 H ...

110 at the services of

, in its Rule of St. Benedict set to 530 AD. So this psalm was traditionally recited or sung during the solemn service of

Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...

between the Psalm 111 and Psalm 113. In ordinary Roman rite, Psalm 112 is currently the reading of the fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Moreover, in the Liturgy of the Hours enacted in 1970, the psalm is still recited at

of Sunday's fourth week and evening of the Solemnity of the Epiphany.

Coptic Orthodox Church

In the Agpeya, the

Coptic Church The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the Apostolic see, See of Alexandria i ...

book of hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

, this psalm is prayed in the office of None.

Musical settings

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 ...

composed a metred paraphrase of Psalm 112 in German, "Der ist fürwahr ein selig Mann", SWV 210, for the '' Becker Psalter'', published first in 1628. The

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

text was set to music by many composers of different nationalities, such as the French Michel-Richard Delalande and André Campra.

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'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

composed five different "Beatus vir qui timet Dominum", H.154, H.199-H.199a, H.208, H.221, H.224 between 1670 and 1695, François Giroust, one setting (1777) and many other composers also set these words. Beatus vir is the title of many musical settings for

, such as in Monteverdi's 1610 ''

'' and 1640 '' Selva morale e spirituale'',

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, impresario of Baroque music and Roman Catholic priest. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lif ...

's Beatus Vir, and the third movement of Mozart's '' Vesperae de Dominica'' (K. 321) and '' Vesperae solennes de confessore'' (K. 339). Górecki composed

, Op. 38, for

, large mixed chorus and grand orchestra in 1979.

Text

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

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 ...

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 111.

Latin Vulgate

# Beatus vir, qui timet Dominum, in mandatis ejus volet nimis. # Potens in terra erit semen ejus, generatio rectorum benedicetur. # Gloria et divitiae in domo ejus, et iustitia ejus manet in saeculum saeculi. # Exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis, misericors et miserator et iustus. # Iucundus homo, qui miseretur et commodat, disponet res suas in judicio, # quia in aeternum non commovebitur. In memoria aeterna erit iustus, # ab auditione mala non timebit. Paratum cor ejus, sperare in Domino, # confirmatum est cor eius, non commovebitur, donec despiciat inimicos suos. # Dispersit dedit pauperibus; justitia ejus manet in saeculum saeculi, cornu ejus exaltabitur in gloria. # Peccator videbit et irascetur, dentibus suis fremet et tabescet. Desiderium peccatorum peribit.

Notes

References

External links

* *
Psalms Chapter 112
text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
Psalm 112 – The Blessings Upon Those Who Fear the LORD
text and detailed commentary, enduringword.com
Hallelujah! Blessed the man who fears the LORD
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 112 / Refrain: The righteous will be held in everlasting remembrance.

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 112
at biblegateway.com
Hymns for Psalm 112
hymnary.org {{Psalms 112