Psalm 130

Updated on Jan 13, 2024

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Psalm 130 (Septuagint numbering: Psalm 129), traditionally "De profundis" from its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential psalms.

Words

The Hebrew transliteration of Psalm 130 is as follows:

Traditional Latin translation, used in compositions when in Latin, translated from the Septuagint Greek:

Latin translated:

Translation of the Hebrew text:
[A Song of ascents]

Commentary

This lament, a Penitential Psalm, is the De profundis used in liturgical prayers for the faithful departed in Western liturgical tradition. In deep sorrow the psalmist cries to God (1-2), asking for mercy (3-4). The psalmist's trust (5-6) becomes a model for the people (7-8).

v1. the depths: Here is a metaphor of total misery. Deep anguish makes the psalmist feel "like those who go down to the pit" (Psalm 143:7). Robert Alter points out that '..."the depths" are an epithet for the depths of the sea, which in turn is an image of the realm of death'. Other Bible passages (Creation, the dwelling of Leviathan, Jesus stilling the storm) also resonate with imagery of fear and chaos engendered by the depths of the sea.

v3. 'If you, Lord, were to mark iniquities, who, O Lord, shall stand?. A temporary shift from the personal to the communal; this plurality (the nation, Israel) again appears in the final two verses.

v4. that you may be revered. The experience of God's mercy leads one to a greater sense of God.

Musical settings

This psalm has been frequently set to music, as part of musical settings for the Requiem, especially under its Latin incipit "De profundis":

Some other works named "De profundis" but with texts not derived from the psalm include:

Frederic Rzewski based on the text of Oscar Wilde

Dmitri Shostakovich, in his Fourteenth Symphony op. 135, to texts of Federico García Lorca translated to Russian

In German

Martin Luther paraphrased Psalm 130 to the hymn Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir ("Out of deep distress I cry to you"), which has inspired several composers, including Bach (cantatas Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131 and Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 38), Mendelssohn and Reger.

In literature

The title "De Profundis" was used as the title of a poem by Spanish author Federico García Lorca in his Poema del cante jondo.

A long letter by Oscar Wilde, written to his former lover Lord Alfred Douglas near the end of Wilde's life while he was in prison, also bears the title "De Profundis" (though it was given the title after Wilde's death), as do poems by Alfred Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charles Baudelaire, Christina Rossetti, C. S. Lewis, Georg Trakl, Dorothy Parker and José Cardoso Pires.

In the novel Fires on the Plain, by Shōhei Ōoka, the character Tamura makes reference to Psalm 130's first line "De profundis clamavi" in a dream sequence.

In Judaism

Psalm 130 is recited as part of the liturgy for the High Holidays, sung responsively before the open Torah ark during the morning service from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. The custom of reciting this psalm during these times had long lain dormant until it was revived in the Birnbaum and Artscroll siddurim in the 20th century.

Is recited following Mincha between Sukkot and Shabbat Hagadol.

Is recited during Tashlikh.

It is also among those psalms traditionally recited as a prayer for the sick.

In some synagogues, it is said on every weekday. In Hebrew, it is often called "(Shir HaMa'alot) MiMa'amakim" after its initial words.

Verses 3-4 are part of the opening paragraph of the long Tachanun recited on Mondays and Thursdays.

Shir hamaalot mima'amakim keraticha adonai Adonai schimah vekoli tiyena oznecha kashuvot Lekol tachanunai Im avonot tishmor ya adonai mi yaamod Ki imcha haslicha Lemaan tivare kiviti adonai Kivta nafshi velidvaro hochalti Nafshi ladonai Mishomrim laboker Yachel yisrael el adonai Ki im adonai hachesed Veharbeh imo fedut Vehu yifdeh et yisrael mikol avonotav.

References

Psalm 130 Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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