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Psalm 134

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This article is aboutPsalm 134in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. ForPsalm 134in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, seePsalm 135.

Psalm 134
"Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD"
Song of Ascents
Verse 2 of the psalm, written above a sink used forritual hand washingat theBeit El yeshiva,Old City,Jerusalem
Other name
  • Psalm 133
  • "Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum"
LanguageHebrew (original)

Psalm 134is the 134th psalm from theBook of Psalms,a part of theHebrew Bibleand the ChristianOld Testament,beginning in English in theKing James Version:"Behold, bless ye the LORD,all ye servants of the LORD".Its Latin title is"Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum".[1]It is the last of the fifteenSongs of Ascents(Shir Hama'alot), and one of the three Songs of Ascents consisting of only three verses.[2]TheNew King James Versionentitles this psalm "Praising the Lord in His House at Night".[3]

This psalm isPsalm 133in the slightly different numbering system of the GreekSeptuagintand LatinVulgateversions of the Bible.

The psalm forms a regular part ofJewish,Catholic,Lutheran,Anglicanand other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music often and paraphrased in hymns. The short psalm is part of the daily Catholic serviceCompline,for which settings in Latin were composed by composers such asTomás Luis de VictoriaandOrlande de Lassus.It is frequently used inAnglican Evening Prayer,with settings byJohn DowlandandBenjamin Rogers,among others.

Text[edit]

Hebrew[edit]

The following table shows the Hebrew text[4][5]of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon theJPS 1917translation (now in thepublic domain).

Verse Hebrew English translation (JPS 1917)
1 שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת הִנֵּ֤ה ׀ בָּרְכ֣וּ אֶת־יְ֭הֹוָה כׇּל־עַבְדֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה הָעֹמְדִ֥ים בְּבֵית־יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה בַּלֵּילֽוֹת׃‎ A Song of Ascents. Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, That stand in the house of the LORD in the night seasons.
2 שְׂאֽוּ־יְדֵכֶ֥ם קֹ֑דֶשׁ וּ֝בָרְכ֗וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה׃‎ Lift up your hands to the sanctuary, And bless ye the LORD.
3 יְבָרֶכְךָ֣ יְ֭הֹוָה מִצִּיּ֑וֹן עֹ֝שֵׂ֗ה שָׁמַ֥יִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃‎ The LORD bless thee out of Zion; Even He that made heaven and earth.

King James Version[edit]

  1. Behold, bless ye the LORD,all ye servants of the LORD,which by night stand in the house of the LORD.
  2. Lift your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
  3. The LORDthat made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

Background and themes[edit]

NonconformistministerMatthew Henrynotes that, as the last of the Songs of Ascents, this psalm serves as a fitting conclusion to the singing of all the Songs of Ascents in theTemple in Jerusalemwhich took place by the day, as it exhorts "the ministers to go on with their work in the night when the solemnities of the day were over". The psalm could also be interpreted as a "dialogue", as thepriestsandLeviteswho served in the Temple are enjoined in verses 1 and 2 to spend their time during the night watch in acts of devotion rather than small talk; and in verse 3 these devotees are urged to pray for the one who enjoined them in verse 1 – either thehigh priestor a captain of the night guard.[6]A note in theJerusalem Biblesuggests that the dialogue involves pilgrims and temple ministers.[7]Similarly,BaptistpreacherCharles Spurgeonposits that verse 1 was recited by the festival pilgrims leaving the temple in the predawn darkness; seeing the guards with their lamps on the temple wall, they bid farewell to these loyal caretakers of the sanctuary. In return, the priests call out their blessing for the departing pilgrims in verse 3. Spurgeon extrapolates from this the need for congregants to pray for those who minister to them, and forministersto pronounce blessings on their congregations.[8]

TheMidrash Tehillimconnects the contents of this psalm to several Jewish practices.Rabbi Yochanansays that "servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord at night" mentioned in verse 1 refers to those who engage in nighttimeTorah study,which God considers in the same light "as if they occupied themselves with the priest's service in the house of the Lord". The midrash connects the lifting of the hands in preparation for blessing the Lord in verse 2 with the practice of lifting the cup of wine with both hands for the recital of theBirkat Hamazon(Grace after Meals). The midrash further connects this verse to thePriestly Blessing,as Rabbi Simeon ben Pazzi says that aKohenwho has notritually washed his handsmay not lift them to invoke the Priestly Blessing.[9]

TheZoharalso explains verse 2 as referring to thekohanim(members of the Jewish priestly class) who bestow the priestly blessing upon the congregation in thesynagoguewith raised hands. Before pronouncing the blessing, the kohanim must ritually wash their hands. They do not do so themselves; rather, the handwashing is performed by members of thelevitical class,"who themselves are holy". If a Levite is not present in the synagogue, afirstborn sonpours the water, since he too is called "holy".[10]

Uses[edit]

Judaism[edit]

Psalm 134 is recited following theShabbatafternoon prayerbetweenSukkotandShabbat Hagadol(the Shabbat beforePassover).[11]In theSiddur Avodas Yisrael,the entire psalm is recited before theevening prayeron weekdays.[12]The psalm is also recited in full before engaging inTorah study.[13]

Verses 1 and 2 are part of the penitential poetry ofSelichot.[12]

During theritual washing of the handsbefore breaking bread, some say verse 2 prior to the blessing ofal netilat yadayim.[14][15]

Catholic Church[edit]

The psalm, mentioning "night", forms part of theBenedictinerite of the daily evening prayerCompline.[16]After theReform of the Roman Breviary by Pope Pius Xit was only used on Sundays and Solemnities. In theLiturgy of the Hoursit is part of Compline on the eve of Sunday and Solemnities.

Anglican Communion[edit]

TheBook of Common Prayertranslation of the psalm consists of four verses:[17]

  1. Behold now, praise the Lord: all ye servants of the Lord;
  2. Ye that by night stand in the house of the Lord: even in the courts of the house of our God.
  3. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary: and praise the Lord.
  4. The Lord that made heaven and earth: give thee blessing out of Sion.

In theChurch of Irelandand other churches in theAnglican Communion,this psalm (listed asEcce Nunc) is also listed as acanticle.[18]

Orthodox Church[edit]

This Psalm is used in the night prayer, which is one among the seven canonical prayers. The psalm 134, 119:169-176, 117 together used as a single prayer.

Musical settings[edit]

Among the hymns which are based on Psalm 134 is "Come, all you servants of the Lord", whichArlo D. Dubawrote in 1984 to the melodyOld Hundredth.[19]

Tomás Luis de Victoriaset the psalm in Latin,Ecce nunc benedicite,fordouble choir.[20]Flemish composerOrlande de Lassuswrote the motetEcce nunc benedicite Dominumfor seven voicesa cappella,using a wide range from low bass to very high soprano.[21][22]

John Dowlandsupplied a setting in English, "Behold and have regard", to the collectionThe Whole Booke of Psalmeswith works by ten composers, published in 1592 by Thomas Este.[23][24]Benjamin Rogersset the version in the EnglishBook of Common Prayer,Behold, now praise the Lord,for choir a cappella in the 17th century.[25]Malcolm Hill composed a setting in English for mixed choir and organ in 1996, titledMeditation on Psalm 134.[26]

Heinrich Schützcomposed a metred paraphrase of Psalm 134 in German, "Den Herren lobt mit Freuden",SWV239, for theBecker Psalter,published first in 1628.

References[edit]

  1. ^Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 133 (134)Archived7 May 2017 at theWayback Machinemedievalist.net
  2. ^Samet, Rav Elchanan (2018)."Shiur #08: Psalm 117 – 'O Praise The Lord, All You Nations' The Shortest Psalm in the Book of Tehillim".Yeshivat Har Etzion. Archived fromthe originalon 14 September 2018.Retrieved13 September2018.
  3. ^Psalm 134:NKJV
  4. ^"Psalms – Chapter 134".Mechon Mamre.
  5. ^"Psalms 134 - JPS 1917".Sefaria.org.
  6. ^Henry, Matthew."Psalms 134".Bible Study Tools.Retrieved13 September2018.
  7. ^Jerusalem Bible (1966), footnote at Psalm 134
  8. ^"Charles H. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: Psalm 134".christianity. 2018.Retrieved13 September2018.
  9. ^"Midrash Tehillim / Psalms 134"(PDF).matsati. October 2012. p. 1.Retrieved15 September2018.
  10. ^Gelbard, Shemu'el Pinḥas (1998).Rite and Reason: 1050 Jewish Customs and Their Sources.Vol. 1. Feldheim Publishers. p. 82.ISBN9780873068895.
  11. ^Nulman, Macy (1996).The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer: The Ashkenazic and Sephardic Rites.Jason Aronson. p. 303.ISBN1461631246.
  12. ^abBrauner, Reuven (2013)."Shimush Pesukim: Comprehensive Index to Liturgical and Ceremonial Uses of Biblical Verses and Passages"(PDF)(2nd ed.). p. 49.
  13. ^"General".DailyTehillim. Archived fromthe originalon 14 December 2018.Retrieved13 September2018.
  14. ^Berkowitz, Adena K.; Haut, Rivka (2007).Shaarei Simcha: Gates of Joy.KTAV Publishing House, Inc. p. 36.ISBN9780881259667.
  15. ^Sutton, Rabbi Avraham (2018).The Breslov Siddur: Shabbos/Yom Tov.Breslov Research Institute,pp. 184–185.ISBN978-1-928822-84-4
  16. ^"St. Benedict's Psalmody".University of Toronto.Retrieved21 October2018.
  17. ^"Psalm 134".ChoralWiki.Retrieved22 February2019.
  18. ^"2004 Texts (Section: The Canticles)".The Church of Ireland.
  19. ^"Come, all you servants of the Lord".hymnary.org.Retrieved13 September2018.
  20. ^Free scores of Ecce nunc benedicite (Tomás Luis de Victoria)in theChoral Public Domain Library(ChoralWiki)
  21. ^"Laudent Deum: Sacred Music by Orlande de Lassus"(PDF).Chandos Records.2011. p. 10.Retrieved16 September2018.
  22. ^Free scores of Ecce nunc benedicite Dominum (Orlando di Lasso)in theChoral Public Domain Library(ChoralWiki)
  23. ^The Whole Booke of Psalmes (Various):Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project
  24. ^Psalm 134:Free scores at theChoral Public Domain Library(ChoralWiki)
  25. ^Free scores of Behold, now praise the Lord (Benjamin Rogers)in theChoral Public Domain Library(ChoralWiki)
  26. ^Meditation on Psalm 134 (Hill, Malcolm):Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project

External links[edit]

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