Psalm 97 is the 97th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice", also as "The Lord is King". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In Latin, it is known as "Dominus regnavit exultet terra". The psalm is a hymn psalm; the Jerusalem Bible calls it an "eschatological hymn". In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint version of the bible and in the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 96. The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has often been set to music, notably by Otto Nicolai as a German motet, and by Antonín Dvořák, who set it in Czech in his Biblical Songs.

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

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). The extant palimpsest AqTaylor includes a translation into Koine Greek by Aquila of Sinope in c. 130 CE, containing verses 1–12.

Themes

Psalm 97 foreshadows the messianic era when God will reign supreme over the earth. Its verses reference God's sovereignty, his enactment of justice, and the widespread rejoicing that will ensue.

Verse 8

<poem style="margin-left: 2em;">Zion hears and is glad, And the daughters of Judah rejoice. 'Zion' means Jerusalem, the 'daughters of Judah' the other towns in Judah.

Uses

Judaism

Psalm 97 is the third of six psalms recited during the Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming the Shabbat) service in Ashkenazic, Hasidic and some Sephardic communities.. These six psalms represent the six days of the week, with Psalm 97 corresponding to the third day (Tuesday). Verse 11 of the psalm, "Light is sown for the righteous...", is recited by Eastern Ashkenazi Jews at the start of the Kol Nidre service on Yom Kippur. Verse 11 is also one of the verses which the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) advises a person to say if he is having trouble falling asleep.

New Testament

In the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament, relates a number of scriptural proofs that "the Son is greater than the angels", including at verse 6, And let all the angels of God worship him. The Masoretic text version of Psalm 97:7 reads worship him, all ye gods but the Septuagint equivalent reads "προσκυνήσατε αὐτῷ πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ", worship him, all ye his angels. Biblical commentator A. F. Kirkpatrick suggests that the Hebrews quotation may have come from Psalm 97:7 or alternatively from the Septuagint expansion of.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set the psalm in German as part of his setting of the Becker Psalter, which he published in 1628. Titled "Der Herr ist König überall" (The lord is King everywhere), it is catalogued as SWV 195. Henry Desmarest composed one grand motet "Dominus regnant" (unknown date). Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville composed one grand motet "Dominus regnavit" in 1734. Johann Sebastian Bach based the first movement of a wedding cantata, Dem Gerechten muß das Licht, BWV 195, on in possibly in 1727. Friedrich Ludwig Benda set the psalm in German as a cantata for three soloists, choir and orchestra in 1786. Otto Nicolai set Psalm 97 in German as a psalm motet for choir a cappella with solo passages, "Der Herr ist König" (The Lord is King) in 1832, published by Bote & Bock in Berlin in 1977. Antonín Dvořák set verses 2–6 in Czech to music in No. 1 of his Biblical Songs, Op. 99, in 1894. Works for Anglican services include a setting by Joseph Barnby, The Lord is King.

Cited sources