Psalm 105 is the 105th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O give thanks unto the LORD". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 104. In Latin, it is known as "Confitemini Domino". Alexander Kirkpatrick observes that Psalms 105 and 106, the two historical psalms which end Book 4 of the Hebrew psalms, are closely related. Psalm 105 gives thanks for God's faithfulness to the covenant he made with Abraham; Psalm 106 is a psalm of penitence, reciting the history of Israel’s faithlessness and disobedience. Psalm 105 is used as a regular part of Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music. Psalm 105 and Psalm 106, both long historical Psalms, delineate contrasting narratives within the thematic spectrum of divine fidelity and human unfaithfulness. Psalm 105 serves as a chronicle of God's unwavering faithfulness, while Psalm 106, concluding Book 4 of Psalms, presents a historical account marked by the unfaithfulness of God's people. Noteworthy is O. Palmer Robertson's discernment that both Psalms draw inspiration from disparate sections of 1 Chronicles 16. A distinctive feature of Book 4 is a pronounced prevalence of references to Chronicles.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

King James Version

Related Bible passages

Related Bible passages include: Va'eira, Bo (parsha), and Beshalach: Torah portions (parashot) telling the Exodus story; Psalm 78. There are two slight differences between the wording of verses 1–15 and the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 16:

Verse 1

The word "Ἁλληλουιά", "alleluia", precedes this verse in the Septuagint, where it has been transposed from verse 35 of the previous psalm.

Uses

Judaism

Psalm 105 is one of the ten Psalms of the Tikkun HaKlali of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.

Eastern Orthodox Church

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Psalm 104 (Psalm 105 in the Masoretic Text) is part of the fourteenth Kathisma division of the Psalter, read at Matins on Thursday mornings, as well as on Tuesdays and Fridays during Lent, at the Third Hour and Matins, respectively.

New Testament

In the New Testament, verses 8–9 are quoted in Luke.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz composed a four-part setting to a metric German text, "Danket dem Herren, lobt ihn frei", SVW 203, for the 1628 Becker Psalter.