Psalm 111 is the 111th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 110. In Latin, it is known as Confitebor tibi Domine. It is a psalm "in praise of the divine attributes". This psalm, along with Psalm 112, is acrostic by phrase, that is, each 7-9 syllable phrase begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order. Psalm 119 is also acrostic, with each eight-verse strophe commencing with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order. The Jerusalem Bible describes Psalm 112, "in praise of the virtuous", as "akin to this psalm in doctrine, style and poetic structure. The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. Musical settings include works by Heinrich Schütz in German, and Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Henri Desmarets and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi in Latin.

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

Uses

Judaism

New Testament

In the New Testament, Psalm 111 is quoted twice:

Protestantism

This is a psalm of praise to God for:

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the twenty-third day of the month, as well as at Mattins on Easter Day.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of Psalm 111 in German, "Ich danke dem Herrn", SWV 34, as part of Psalmen Davids, published first in 1619. He wrote a setting of a metred paraphrase of the psalm in German, "Ich will von Herzen danken Gott dem Herren", SWV 209, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628. Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed four settings of the psalm in Latin: Henri Desmarets set one grand motet lorrain of it, "Confitebor tibi Domine" in 1707. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi composed a setting, Confitebor tibi Domine in C majoy for soprano, alto, choir, strings and continuo 1732.