Psalm 9


Psalm 9 is the ninth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works." In Latin, it is known as "Confitebor tibi, Domine". The topic of the psalm is that the success of evil is only temporary, and in the end, the righteous will endure. Psalm 10 is considered part of Psalm 9 in the Greek Septuagint and in most pre-Reformation Christian Bibles. These two consecutive psalms have the form of a single acrostic Hebrew poem.
The psalm is a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.

Structure

The Psalm is an acrostic Hebrew poem, and with Psalm 10 forms a single combined work.
Old Testament scholar Hermann Gunkel divided Psalm 9 as follows:
  1. Verses 2-3: hymn-like opening song of thanksgiving
  2. Verses 4-5: main piece of the peace song
  3. Verse 6-17: transition to an eschatological hymn
In describing the structure of Psalm 9/10 there are some quite different approaches. Gunkel rated the Psalm by the alphabetical arrangement as "artificial" or "forced", saying, "One cannot place overly strict demands on the internal coherence of such a forced product. The writer was likely glad to have found a fitting word for each letter; he did not have the literary ability to mould his poem into a fully unified work of art." Anders, by contrast, calls the shape of the Psalm an elegant correspondence of form.
The French theologian Pierre Auffret gives the following structure for Psalm 9:
Psalm 9:2 to 9 corresponds to Psalm 10:6 to 15:
  1. in respect to the heart
  2. relative to the face
  3. in respect to the throne
  4. in respect to the wicked
  5. in respect to eternity.
Psalm 9 is the first of the acrostic Psalms, covering half of the Hebrew alphabet, with Psalm 10 covering the rest of the alphabet. There is some tension between psalms 9 and 10. Psalm 9 has a tone of victory over evil and its ancient Chaldean title suggests that it was written to celebrate David's victory over Goliath. Then, as the acrostic continues into Psalm 10, the tone becomes a lament: God seemingly stands afar off. Victory over evil may be 'here and not yet'.

Dating

Some scholars question the Davidic authorship of this psalm: Bernhard Duhm and Emil Kautzsch date it to Maccabean times while form critic Hermann Gunkel links it the Persian era.

Text

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions. In the Septuagint, this is only the first half of Psalm 9, with the rest of Psalm 9 being Psalm 10 in the Masoretic text.
#HebrewEnglishGreek
Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῶν κρυφίων τοῦ υἱοῦ· ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυΐδ. -
1I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.ΕΞΟΜΟΛΟΓΗΣΟΜΑΙ σοι, Κύριε, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου, διηγήσομαι πάντα τὰ θαυμάσιά σου·
2I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.εὐφρανθήσομαι καὶ ἀγαλλιάσομαι ἐν σοί, ψαλῶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου, ῞Υψιστε.
3When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.ἐν τῷ ἀποστραφῆναι τὸν ἐχθρόν μου εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, ἀσθενήσουσι καὶ ἀπολοῦνται ἀπὸ προσώπου σου,
4For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.ὅτι ἐποίησας τὴν κρίσιν μου καὶ τὴν δίκην μου, ἐκάθισας ἐπὶ θρόνου ὁ κρίνων δικαιοσύνην.
5Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.ἐπετίμησας ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβής· τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐξήλειψας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος.
6O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἐξέλιπον αἱ ῥομφαῖαι εἰς τέλος, καὶ πόλεις καθεῖλες· ἀπώλετο τὸ μνημόσυνον αὐτοῦ μετ᾿ ἤχου,
7But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.καὶ ὁ Κύριος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μένει. ἡτοίμασεν ἐν κρίσει τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ,
8And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.καὶ αὐτὸς κρινεῖ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, κρινεῖ λαοὺς ἐν εὐθύτητι.
9The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.καὶ ἐγένετο Κύριος καταφυγὴ τῷ πένητι, βοηθὸς ἐν εὐκαιρίαις ἐν θλίψεσι·
10And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.καὶ ἐλπισάτωσαν ἐπὶ σοὶ οἱ γινώσκοντες τὸ ὄνομά σου, ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπες τοὺς ἐκζητοῦντάς σε, Κύριε.
11Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.ψάλατε τῷ Κυρίῳ, τῷ κατοικοῦντι ἐν Σιών, ἀναγγείλατε ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα αὐτοῦ,
12When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.ὅτι ἐκζητῶν τὰ αἵματα αὐτῶν ἐμνήσθη, οὐκ ἐπελάθετο τῆς κραυγῆς τῶν πενήτων.
13Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:ἐλέησόν με, Κύριε, ἴδε τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου, ὁ ὑψῶν με ἐκ τῶν πυλῶν τοῦ θανάτου,
14That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.ὅπως ἂν ἐξαγγείλω πάσας τὰς αἰνέσεις σου ἐν ταῖς πύλαις τῆς θυγατρὸς Σιών. ἀγαλλιάσομαι ἐπὶ τῷ σωτηρίῳ σου.
15The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.ἐνεπάγησαν ἔθνη ἐν διαφθορᾷ, ᾗ ἐποίησαν, ἐν παγίδι ταύτῃ, ᾗ ἔκρυψαν, συνελήφθη ὁ ποὺς αὐτῶν.
16The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.γινώσκεται Κύριος κρίματα ποιῶν, ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη ὁ ἁμαρτωλός..
17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.ἀποστραφήτωσαν οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ εἰς τὸν ᾅδην, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐπιλανθανόμενα τοῦ Θεοῦ,
18For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.ὅτι οὐκ εἰς τέλος ἐπιλησθήσεται ὁ πτωχός, ἡ ὑπομονὴ τῶν πενήτων οὐκ ἀπολεῖται εἰς τέλος.
19Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.ἀνάστηθι, Κύριε, μὴ κραταιούσθω ἄνθρωπος, κριθήτωσαν ἔθνη ἐνώπιόν σου.
20Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.κατάστησον, Κύριε, νομοθέτην ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς, γνώτωσαν ἔθνη ὅτι ἄνθρωποί εἰσιν..

Uses

Judaism

According to the Rule of St. Benedict, Psalm 1 to Psalm 20 were mainly reserved for the office of Prime. In the Rule of St. Benedict, Psalm 9 is sung by the Latin version translated in the Greek of the Septuagint; therein, Psalm includes 18 additional verses in Psalm 10. Benedict divided this joint Psalm 9/10 in two parts, one sung to the end of the office of Prime Tuesday and the other earlier on Wednesdays. In other words, the first verses of Psalm 9 until Quoniam non in finem erit oblivio pauperis: patientia pauperum non peribit in finem, formed the third and final psalm on Tuesday, the second part of the Psalm was recited as the first psalm of the office of the prime Wednesday.
Psalms 9 and 10 were traditionally recited as the fourth and fifth Psalms of Sunday Matins in the Liturgy of non monks clerics and canons. In the current Liturgy of the Hours, Psalm 9 is sung in the Office of Readings for Monday of the first week of the four weekly cycle of liturgical prayers.

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the first day of the month.

Musical settings

The French hymn and its German translation, "Ich lobe meinen Gott von ganzem Herzen", are a paraphrase of verses from Psalm 9.
Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a paraphrase in German, "Mit fröhlichem Gemüte", SWV 105, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.
François Giroust wrote a grand motet in 1767.

Illuminated manuscripts