Psalms 111

Praise the LORD! I will thank the LORD with my whole heart, in the meeting of people who live right, and in the gathering of his people.

1Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

Note"Praise ye the LORD" translates the single Hebrew word *hallelu-yah*, an imperative addressed to a crowd: "all of you, praise Yah", Yah being the short form of God's personal name. In the King James Version, LORD printed in capitals marks that name (Hebrew YHWH) wherever it stands. From this opening word on, the psalm is an acrostic: it consists of twenty-two short lines, and each begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order. That form, invisible in English, is why the poem reads as a series of compact, self-contained statements rather than a developing argument.

2The things the LORD has done are great. Everyone who enjoys them studies them closely.

2The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.

Note"Sought out of all them that have pleasure therein" is 1611 English for "searched into by all who take delight in them." "Of" here means "by," not "from": the works are studied by the people who enjoy them. The verb suggests careful investigation, the way one would examine or research something, not merely looking at it.

3What he does is splendid and majestic, and the right way he acts lasts forever.

3His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

Note"Righteousness" (Hebrew *tsedaqah*) is broader than personal moral purity. It covers acting rightly, keeping faith with obligations, and putting things right for people who have been wronged, which is why it can shade into "deliverance" or "vindication" in Hebrew poetry. "Honourable and glorious" renders two words for visible splendor and kingly majesty, the sort of impressiveness a royal court was meant to project.

4He has made sure his wonderful acts are remembered. The LORD is kind and full of pity for people.

4He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

Note"Made his wonderful works to be remembered" points to something concrete: Israel's festivals, sacrifices and recited stories existed as memorials, fixed practices that kept particular past events in public circulation. The phrase "gracious and full of compassion" is a stock pair that runs through the Hebrew Bible (it appears in Exodus 34:6 as part of a set description of God); the second word is built on the noun for a womb, and carries the sense of the feeling a parent has for a child.

5He has given food to those who honor him with awe. He always keeps his promise in mind.

5He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.

Note"Meat" in 1611 English meant food of any kind, not flesh specifically; the Hebrew word here is *tereph*, normally "prey" or "torn food," an unusual and vivid choice for provisions. "Them that fear him" does not mean people who are frightened of God: throughout the Hebrew Bible "fear of the LORD" means reverence, awe, taking God seriously, closer to the respect owed a king than to terror. A "covenant" is a formal binding agreement with stated obligations on both sides, like a treaty between a ruler and a people; in Israel's case it refers to the agreements made with Abraham and at Sinai.

6He has shown his people how powerful his acts are, by giving them the land that belonged to other nations.

6He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.

Note"The heathen" translates *goyim*, simply "the nations", the other peoples, with no comment on their beliefs; the modern connotation of "heathen" as savage or irreligious is later. "Heritage" means an inheritance, specifically an allotment of land handed down within a family. The line refers to Israel's occupation of Canaan, land that had belonged to other peoples.

7Everything he does with his hands is true and fair. All his instructions can be trusted.

7The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.

Note"Verity" is an old word for truth or reliability. "Judgment" here means justice (the right verdict a judge would hand down), rather than criticism or condemnation. "Commandments" translates *piqqudim*, better rendered "precepts" or "instructions," a word used almost only in the Psalms for the specific directions God has laid down. "Sure" in 1611 English means dependable, something that will hold, not "certain" in the sense of "undoubtedly true."

8They hold firm forever and ever. They were put in place with truth and honesty.

8They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

NoteThe Hebrew of the second half of this verse is compressed and genuinely open: the participle can mean the precepts were *made* or *enacted* in truth and uprightness (God established them honestly), or that they are *to be done* in truth and uprightness (people are to carry them out honestly). Translators split on which reading to take, and the Hebrew does not settle it.

9He sent rescue to his people. He set up his agreement with them to last forever. His name is holy and fills people with awe.

9He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.

Note"Redemption" is a commercial term before it is a religious one: paying a price to buy something back, a relative out of debt-slavery, a field out of another family's hands, a life that has been forfeited. Applied to a whole people, it points to the exodus from Egypt. "Reverend" has shifted meaning since 1611. It was not yet a title for clergy; it meant "to be revered," awe-inspiring, the kind of thing that makes people go quiet.

10Honoring the LORD with awe is where wisdom starts. Everyone who follows his instructions gains good understanding. Praise for him lasts forever.

10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Note"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" is a fixed saying in Israel's wisdom literature, appearing also at Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10. The Hebrew word for "beginning" (*reshit*) carries both senses at once: the starting point you begin from, and the first or chief part of the thing, so the claim is either that reverence is where wisdom starts or that reverence is wisdom's most important element, and the word does not choose. "A good understanding" translates *sekel tov*, which means practical good sense, the competence to handle life well, and can extend to the success such competence brings.