myBibleHistory

Journey of a Passage

Psalm 72:20

"The prayers of David… are ended"

An editor's note closes Book II: "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." The Vulgate reads "the praises of David are ended" ("Defecerunt laudes David"). In the library's digital Giguet text, verse 20 is empty.

Same letters, different readings: the consonants agree, but ancient readers vocalized or interpreted them differently

The family tree

Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.

✓ contains it · ✕ does not · ❝ quotes part of it · ⓘ reports on manuscripts · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives

  • Same line, through lost copies
  • Translation
Hebrew
  1. The psalm as first composedPsalms composed over centuries (c. 10th–4th century BC; debated)
  2. Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The psalm as first composed
Greek
  1. Greek Psalter (library: Giguet's French)Old Greek c. 2nd century BC; French 1872Translated from the Old Greek Psalter
Latin
  1. Jerome's Gallican Psalter (Clementine Vulgate)c. AD 386–392, revised from the GreekTranslated from the Greek Psalter (Origen's Hexapla)
English
  1. King James Bible1611Translated from printed Masoretic Hebrew
New Testament quotation

    Every witness, in order

    1. Psalms composed over centuries (c. 10th–4th century BC; debated)

      The psalm as first composed

      – No copy survives

      No original survives. About forty Psalms manuscripts from Qumran, Masada and Nahal Hever (c. 2nd century BC – 1st century AD) are the oldest copies.

    2. c. AD 386–392, revised from the Greek

      Jerome's Gallican Psalter (Clementine Vulgate)

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Greek Psalter (Origen's Hexapla)

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).

      Defecerunt laudes David, filii Jesse.

      Latin numbering: Psalm 71:20. Jerome revised this Latin Psalter from the Greek, so it is a witness to the Greek, not to the Hebrew. Vulgate 71:20.

    3. AD 1008

      Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)

      ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from The psalm as first composed

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

      כָּלּ֥וּ תְפִלּ֑וֹת דָּ֝וִ֗ד בֶּן־יִשָֽׁי׃

      The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended

      Hebrew numbering: Psalm 72:20.

    4. 1611

      King James Bible

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).

      The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

    5. Old Greek c. 2nd century BC; French 1872

      Greek Psalter (library: Giguet's French)

      ✕ Passage not in this witnessTranslated from the Old Greek Psalter

      How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.

      Greek numbering: Psalm 71:20. The library's digital Giguet text has an empty verse 20 here; see the explanation below.

    What changed, and why

    Kallu tefillot David: the note marks the end of a collection of Davidic prayers. Since psalms headed "of David" continue later in the Psalter, the note is usually read as evidence of an earlier, smaller collection that once ended here.

    The Greek tradition is reported to read hymnoi, "hymns," reflected in the Vulgate's "laudes." The empty verse 20 in the library's digital Giguet text is a fact about that digital edition only. It does not show that Giguet's printed 1872 translation, the Greek he used, or any ancient Greek manuscript lacked the words: the line may have been merged with verse 19, dropped in digitisation, or omitted by the translator. Checking the printed Giguet and Rahlfs' edition is an open research check.

    What the evidence shows

    • Strongly supported72:20 is a collection note. Most scholars; see Wilson.
    • Independently documentedThe Vulgate reads "laudes" (praises).
    • Independently documentedThe library's digital Giguet text has no wording at verse 20. A fact about the digital edition, not about ancient Greek manuscripts.
    • Not independently verifiedThe ancient Greek lacked 72:20.

    Sources

      Related lessons

      • Psalm 72: The Prayers of David Are Ended →"A Psalm for Solomon. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son." Let him judge the poor with justice, "break in pieces the oppressor," come down "like rain upon the mown grass." "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea… The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts." For he delivers the needy who cry. Book II closes with a doxology and a note: "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended."