"O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD."
Small and wide
The shortest psalm has the widest audience: all nations (goyim) and all peoples. Its reason is particular: God's hesed ("merciful kindness") "toward us," toward Israel. The faithfulness shown to one people is the cause of praise for all.
The middle chapter
In Bibles of 66 books, Psalm 117 is the middle chapter: the library's KJV has 1,189 chapters in those books, with 594 before Psalm 117 and 594 after it. This is a fact about the later chapter division (13th century), not about the Psalter's design.
Romans 15:11
Paul quotes 117:1 in Romans 15:11, among texts showing that the Gentiles would glorify God. The psalm belongs to the Hallel (113–118); in the Greek and Latin it is Psalm 116 (Vulgate "Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes"), famously set by Mozart in the Vesperae solennes de confessore (1780).
Heading and setting
Psalm 117 has no heading. Its setting is the Hallel sung at the pilgrim festivals; in Jewish worship it is part of the Hallel recited on festivals and new moons.
What the evidence shows
- Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm.
- Psalm 117 is the middle chapter of the 66-book Bible (594 before, 594 after).Source: The site's library: Westminster Leningrad Codex, KJV, Clementine Vulgate (Gallican Psalter), Giguet's French of the Greek, Douay-Rheims
- Romans 15:11 quotes 117:1.
Continue the journey
Connected elsewhere in ScriptureThe Call of AbrahamGenesis 12:3: All the families of the earth in Abraham's blessing.More from this lesson
Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- All the families of the earth in Abraham's blessing.
- "Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles."
- "All ye lands."