130th psalm of the Book of Psalms
This article is about
Psalm 130 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For
Psalm 130 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see
Psalm 131 .
Psalm 130 "From the depths, I have cried out to you, O Lord" Penitential psalm Other name Psalm 129 (Vulgate) "De profundis" Language Hebrew (original)
Psalm 130 is the 130th psalm of theBook of Psalms , one of thepenitential psalms 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 theKing James Version of the Bible and theCoverdale translation (used in theBook of Common Prayer ), respectively. In Latin, it is known asDe profundis .[ 1]
In the slightly different numbering system used in the GreekSeptuagint version of the Bible, and in the LatinVulgate , this psalm isPsalm 129 .
TheNew American Bible Revised Edition (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.[ 2]
The psalm forms a regular part ofJewish ,Catholic ,Lutheran ,Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It is paraphrased inhymns such asMartin Luther 's "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir " in German. The psalm has often been set to music, by composers such asOrlando di Lasso andHeinrich Schütz .John Rutter set it in English as amovement of hisRequiem .
The following table shows the Hebrew[ 3] [ 4] and Latin[ 5] text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon theJPS 1917 translation (now in thepublic domain ).
Verse Hebrew Latin English (Jewish Publication Society of America Version) 1 שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֑וֹת מִמַּעֲמַקִּ֖ים קְרָאתִ֣יךָ יְהֹוָֽה׃ De profundis clamavi ad te Domine. A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths have I called Thee, O LORD. 2 אֲדֹנָי֮ שִׁמְעָ֢ה בְק֫וֹלִ֥י תִּהְיֶ֣ינָה אׇ֭זְנֶיךָ קַשֻּׁב֑וֹת לְ֝ק֗וֹל תַּחֲנוּנָֽי׃ Domine, exaudi vocem meam.Fiant aures tuæ intendentes in vocem deprecationis meæ.
Lord, hearken unto my voice; let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3 אִם־עֲוֺנ֥וֹת תִּשְׁמׇר־יָ֑הּ אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י מִ֣י יַעֲמֹֽד׃ Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quis sustinebit? If Thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 כִּֽי־עִמְּךָ֥ הַסְּלִיחָ֑ה לְ֝מַ֗עַן תִּוָּרֵֽא׃ Quia apud te propitiatio est; et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.Sustinuit anima mea in verbo eius:
For with Thee there is forgiveness, that Thou mayest be feared. 5 קִוִּ֣יתִי יְ֭הֹוָה קִוְּתָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֑י וְֽלִדְבָר֥וֹ הוֹחָֽלְתִּי׃ Speravit anima mea in Domino. I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope. 6 נַפְשִׁ֥י לַאדֹנָ֑י מִשֹּׁמְרִ֥ים לַ֝בֹּ֗קֶר שֹׁמְרִ֥ים לַבֹּֽקֶר׃ A custodia matutina usque ad noctem, speret Israël in Domino. My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning; yea, more than watchmen for the morning. 7 יַחֵ֥ל יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֶל־יְ֫הֹוָ֥ה כִּֽי־עִם־יְהֹוָ֥ה הַחֶ֑סֶד וְהַרְבֵּ֖ה עִמּ֣וֹ פְדֽוּת׃ Quia apud Dominum misericordia, et copiosa apud eum redemptio. O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. 8 וְ֭הוּא יִפְדֶּ֣ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִ֝כֹּ֗ל עֲוֺנֹתָֽיו׃ Et ipse redimet Israël ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
A marginal note in theMasoretic Text tradition indicates that Psalm 130:2 is the middle of the wholeKetuvim (Book of Writings) section in Hebrew.[ 6]
Scroll of the Psalms Psalm 130 is recited according toNusach Sefard as part of the liturgy for theHigh Holidays , sung responsively before the openTorah ark during the morning service fromRosh Hashanah untilYom Kippur .[ 7] It is not recited in pureNusach Ashkenaz , although it has been adopted in some Nusach Ashkenaz communities since it is included in theBirnbaum andArtscroll siddurim.[ 8]
Psalm 130 is one of the 15Songs of Ascents recited in some communities after theShabbat afternoon prayer in the period betweenSukkot andShabbat HaGadol (the Shabbat prior toPassover ).[ 9] 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 by some during theTashlikh prayer.[ 10]
It is one of the psalms traditionally recited "in times of communal distress".[ 11]
Verses 3-4 are part of the opening paragraph of the longTachanun recited on Mondays and Thursdays.[ 12]
According to theRule of Saint Benedict established around 530, the psalm was used at the beginning of thevespers service on Tuesday, followed by Psalm 131 (130).[ 13] [ 14]
Psalm 130 came to be associated with the sevenpenitential psalms which were recited after the hour of Lauds on Fridays in Lent in the medieval Christendom.[ 15]
In the currentLiturgy of the Hours , 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,[ a] and on the Tuesday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time on weekday cycle I.[ b] It is also used as theentrance antiphon on the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Requiem Mass and the prayer for the dead [ edit ] TheDe Profundis bell is a slow, solemn and measured toll of the bell that marks the end of the day.
In 1610,Pope Paul V established the custom of ringing theDe Profundis bell onAll Saints' Day .[ 16]
Pope Clement XII encouraged Christians through his briefCaelestes 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 arescript of March 18, 1781, granted an equal indulgence to those who should pray theDe Profundis in any place where no bell for the dead is sounded.[ 17] The Catholic tradition became that theDe profundis and the versicle Requiem æternam were said after the eveningAngelus .[ 18]
Consecration of new bell [ edit ] According to theRituale Romanum , 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.[ 19]
Coptic Orthodox Church [ edit ] In theAgpeya , theCoptic Church 'sbook of hours , this psalm is prayed in the office ofCompline [ 20] and the third watch of theMidnight office .[ 21] It is also in the prayer of the Veil, which is generally prayed only by monks.[ 22]
Book of Common Prayer [ edit ] In theChurch of England 'sBook of Common Prayer , this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the twenty-seventh day of the month,[ 23] as well as atEvensong onAsh Wednesday .[ 24]
De Profundis was used as the title of a poem bySpanish author Federico García Lorca inPoema del cante jondo.
A long letter byOscar Wilde , written to his former loverLord 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 byAlfred Tennyson ,Elizabeth Barrett Browning ,Charles Baudelaire ,Christina Rossetti ,C. S. Lewis ,[ 25] Georg Trakl ,Dorothy Parker andJosé Cardoso Pires bear the same title.
In the novelFires on the Plain by Shōhei Ōoka, the character Tamura makes reference to the psalm's first line "De profundis clamavi" in a dream sequence.[ 26]
This psalm has frequently been set to music. It was sometimes used for funeral services, especially under its Latin incipit "De profundis":
Francesco Barsanti as part of hisSei Antifon [ 27] Nicolaus Bruhns [ 28] Antoine-Esprit Blanchard De profundis (1740) Marc Antoine Charpentier :De profundis H.156, for soloists, chorus and continuo (?1670s)[ 29] De profundis H.189, for soloists, double chorus, flutes, strings and continuo (1683)[ 30] 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 continuoCourt De profundis H.222, for soloists, chorus and continuo (?early 1690s)De profundis H.232, for 3 voices, 2 treble instruments and contiuo (date unknown) Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis : cantata[ 31] Michel Richard Delalande :De profundis [ 32] Henry Desmarest :De profundis (before 1704)[ 33] Josquin des Prez [ 34] Jan Dismas Zelenka :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 [ 35] Andrea Gabrieli , as part of hisPsalmi Davidici [ 36] Christoph Willibald Gluck [ 37] Charles Gounod De profundis CG 88, for 4 voices, mixed chorus with orchestra (1871) Sofia Gubaidulina ,De profundis [ 38] Arthur Honegger , slow movement ofSymphony No. 3 [ 39] Orlando di Lasso , as part of hisPenitential Psalms Franz Liszt George Lloyd Leevi Madetoja Felix Mendelssohn Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville (1748)[ 40] Thomas Morley Vítězslav Novák Terry Oldfield Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina [ 41] Arvo Pärt:De profundis Nicola Porpora Henry Purcell Joachim Raff :De Profundis , Opus 141, 8-partchorus and orchestra Georg Reutter (once attributed toMozart )Pierre Robert Pedro Ruimonte Marc Sabat Antonio Salieri [ 42] Johann Hermann Schein Arnold Schoenberg Roger Sessions Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck Virgil Thomson Vangelis Jan Dismas Zelenka , ZWV 50Some other works namedDe profundis but with texts not derived from the psalm are:
Arne Nordheim (Clamavi for solo cello)Simon Steen Andersen (De Profundis for solo soprano saxophone also playing percussion) Djuro Zivkovic (inCitadel of Love the second movement 'De Profundis' - for chamber ensemble)
Martin Luther paraphrased Psalm 130 as the hymn "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir " (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 andAus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 38 ),Mendelssohn andReger .
^ The cycle of Sunday Mass readings takes place over three years. ^ The lectionary on weekdays follows a bi-yearly cycle, alternating every other year. ^ Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 129 (130) Archived 2017-05-07 at theWayback Machine medievalist.net^ Psalm 130 : NABRE^ "Psalms – Chapter 130" . Mechon Mamre.^ "Psalms 130 - JPS 1917" .Sefaria.org .^ "Psalms – 130" . New Advent.^ Shepherd, Michael (2018).A Commentary on the Book of the Twelve: The Minor Prophets . Kregel Exegetical Library. Kregel Academic. p. 23.ISBN 978-0825444593 . ^ Ezras Torah Luach, 5769,page 18 . ^ Cohen, Jeffrey M,1,001 Questions and Answers on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur , p. 167 .^ Scherman, Rabbi Nosson (1984).The Complete Artscroll Siddur (3rd ed.).Mesorah Publications Ltd. p. 530.ISBN 0-89906-650-X . ^ Scherman (2003), p. 772. ^ Weintraub, Rabbi Simkha Y."Psalms as the Ultimate Self-Help Tool" .My Jewish Learning . RetrievedJanuary 18, 2018 . ^ Scherman (2003), p. 125. ^ Psautier latin-français du bréviaire monastique , 2003 [1938], p. 502 .^ Rule of Saint Benedict , traduction deProsper Guéranger , Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, 2007 [réimpression]{{citation }}
: CS1 maint: others (link ) .^ Jeffrey, David Lyle (1992).A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 185.ISBN 978-0-8028-3634-2 . ^ Hillier, Paul (1997-04-24).Arvo PÄrt . Clarendon Press. p. 20.ISBN 978-0-19-159048-1 . ^ Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (1869).Rules and Indulgences Granted by the Sovereign Pontiffs: With the Explanatory Notes Annexed. From the Manual of the Society . Council of New York. p. 65. ^ Heaven (1866).The path to Heaven, a collection of all the devotions in general use . p. 193. ^ Jeffrey, David Lyle (1992).A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 185.ISBN 978-0-8028-3634-2 . ^ "Compline" . agpeya.org. Retrieved3 March 2025 .^ "Midnight" . agpeya.org. Retrieved3 March 2025 .^ "Veil" . agpeya.org. Retrieved3 March 2025 .^ Church of England,Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter as printed byJohn Baskerville in 1762, pp. 297-298 ^ "The Book of Common Prayer: Proper Psalms On Certain Days" (PDF) .The Church of England . p. 6. Retrieved19 April 2023 .^ Lewis, C. S.,De Profundis , accessed 13 June 2022 ^ Ōoka, Shōhei (1957),Fires on the Plain ,Tokyo, Japan : Tuttle Co., p. 86 ,ISBN 978-0-8048-1379-2 .^ Francesco Barsanti:Sei Antifon, Op. 5 inSacred Vocal Music , 2018 ^ Free scores by De profundis clamavi (Nicolaus Bruhns) in theChoral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)^ Free scores by De Profundis H.156 (Marc-Antoine Charpentier) in theChoral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)^ Free scores by De Profundis H.189 (Marc-Antoine Charpentier) in theChoral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)^ De Profundis Clamavi ad Te, Lietuvą: Elements of Lithuanian Nationalism in Čiurlionis’s De Profundis Cantata ^ De Profundis, S.23 (Lalande, Michel Richard de) : Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project ^ "Henry Desamrest" .data.bnf.fr .^ Free scores by De profundis clamavi (Josquin des Prez) in theChoral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)^ De Profundis Oratorienchor Potsdam^ De profundis clamavi / composer / Andrea Gabrieli (c1510-1586) Hyperion Records^ Free scores by De profundis clamavi (Christoph Willibald Gluck) in theChoral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)^ David Fay:Sofia’s Choice: Gubaidulina at 80 at the Royal Academy of Music BachTrack.com, 23 February 2012. ^ [Arthur Honegger / Symphony No. 3 'Liturgique']BBC ^ La Flute de Pan."De profundis" . ^ Pothárn Imre."De Profundis Clamavi" ^ Free scores by De profundis (in g) (Antonio Salieri) in theChoral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)^ Out Of The Depths (Psalm 130) op. 142; 3 Edition Peters^ "Boulanger, Lili, Musical score" .Repertoire Explorer . Retrieved12 March 2016 .^ The attribution of the melody is uncertain, seeBraatz, Thomas; Oron, Aryeh."Chorale Melody: Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (I+II)" .www.bach-cantatas.com . Retrieved17 February 2020 . ^ Psalm 130 SikorskiWikisource has original text related to this article:
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Hymns and songs based on
psalms Psalm 6 : Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn (Not in Anger, Mighty God)Psalm 12 (11) : Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein (O Lord, Look Down from Heaven, Behold)Psalm 14 (13) : Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl (The Mouth of Fools Doth God Confess)Psalm 19 (18) : Dein Lob, Herr, ruft der Himmel aus Psalm 23 (22) : The King of Love My Shepherd Is ,The Lord's my Shepherd ,Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt (The Lord is my faithful Shepherd)Psalm 31 (30) : In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr Psalm 36 (35) : Herr, deine Güt ist unbegrenzt Psalm 39 (38) : Lord, let me know mine end Psalm 45 (44) : Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (How Lovely Shines the Morning Star)Psalm 46 (45) : A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott)Psalm 67 (66) : Es woll uns Gott genädig sein (May God Bestow on Us His Grace)Psalm 90 (89) : Our God, Our Help in Ages Past Psalm 98 (97) : Nun singt ein neues Lied dem Herren Psalm 100 (99) : All People that on Earth do Dwell –Nun jauchzt dem Herren, alle Welt Psalm 103 (102) : Praise, my soul, the King of heaven Psalm 124 (123) : Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit (If God Had Not Been on Our Side) –Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält Psalm 130 (129) : Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee)Psalm 133 (132) : Hine Ma Tov Psalm 136 (135) : Let us with a gladsome mind Psalm 137 (136) : An Wasserflüssen Babylon (By the rivers of Babylon)Psalm 138 (137) : Mein ganzes Herz erhebet dich Psalm 139 (138) : Herr, dir ist nichts verborgen Psalm 146 (145) : Du meine Seele singe Psalm 149 : Singt dem Herrn ein neues Lied
By number (Septuagint numbering in brackets) People Types of psalm Terminology Psalm phrases Psalmody Related Manuscripts