Psalm 30 is the 30th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will extol thee, O ; for thou hast lifted me up". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and in the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 29. In Latin, it is known as "Exaltabo te Domine". It is a psalm of thanksgiving, traditionally ascribed to David upon the building of his own royal palace. The psalm is a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has inspired hymns based on it, and has been set to music.

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

Theme

Psalm 30 is called, Mizmor Shir Ḥănukkāt HaBayit, "A Psalm, a song for the Dedication of a House" Greek numbering: Psalm 29). It is a psalm of thanksgiving, traditionally ascribed to David upon the building of his own royal palace. David dedicated his life work to be completed by his son, who built the "Hallowed House", Beit HaMiqdash Solomon's Temple. It is Solomon and his lineage, not the building, which in later sources are called the House of David. חינוך Chinuch, from the same root as Hanukkah, is the name for Jewish education, emphasizing ethical training and discipline.

Liturgical use in Judaism

Christian uses

Augustine saw the psalm David wrote of the founding of the house as pointing to the resurrection of Christ and the foundation of God's house, the church. In the Catholic Church, Psalm 30 is appointed to be read at Lauds (Morning Prayer) on Thursday in the first week of the month. In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the sixth day of the month. Verse 5 is used in the Jesus Culture song "Your Love Never Fails".

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz wrote a setting of a metric paraphrase of Psalm 30 in German, "Ich preis dich, Herr, zu aller Stund", SWV 127, for the Becker Psalter, published first in 1628.