Psalms 112: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

This psalm describes the person who fears the LORD and delights in his commands, and lists what follows for that person: strong descendants, wealth in the house, righteousness that lasts, light in the dark, and a steady heart that does not fear bad news. Such a person is generous, lends freely, gives to the poor, and is remembered long after. The psalm closes with the wicked watching this, grinding their teeth, and wasting away while their desires come to nothing. It is an acrostic poem.

Claim by Claim

1. 112:1
   • The chapter opens with a call to praise the LORD.
   • The man who fears the LORD is blessed.
   • That man delights greatly in the LORD's commandments.
2. 112:2
   • His offspring will be mighty in the land.
   • The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3. 112:3
   • Wealth and riches are in his house.
   • His righteousness stands forever.
4. 112:4
   • Light rises in the darkness for the upright.
   • The one who is gracious, compassionate, and righteous is described, and the verse does not say whether this is the upright man or the LORD.
5. 112:5
   • It goes well for the man who is generous and lends.
   • He sustains his affairs with justice.
6. 112:6
   • He will never be shaken.
   • The righteous man will be remembered forever.
7. 112:7
   • He will not be afraid of bad news.
   • His heart is firm.
   • His heart trusts in the LORD.
8. 112:8
   • His heart is upheld.
   • He will not be afraid.
   • He will look upon his enemies, and the verse does not say what he sees, though the King James says he sees his desire upon them.
9. 112:9
   • He has scattered abroad.
   • He has given to the needy.
   • His righteousness stands forever.
   • His horn will be lifted high in honor.
10. 112:10
    • The wicked man will see it.
    • The wicked man will be angry and vexed.
    • He will gnash his teeth.
    • He will melt away.
    • The desire of the wicked will perish.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

112:1

"Praise the LORD" translates the single Hebrew word *hallelujah*. LORD in small capitals stands in for the personal name of God, which Hebrew writes with four consonants (YHWH) and which Jewish readers traditionally do not pronounce aloud. To "fear" the LORD means awe and reverence rather than being frightened: it describes a whole way of living, not an emotion. In Hebrew this psalm is an acrostic: it has twenty-two lines, and each one begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That is why the thoughts sit side by side in short units rather than building one long argument.

112:2

"The land" is the land of Israel, the territory promised to Abraham's descendants. Prosperity there, and a family line that continues in it, was the standard picture of a life that had gone well.

112:3

"Righteousness" means doing right by other people: paying what you owe, telling the truth, treating them fairly.

112:4

Who "he" refers to here is genuinely unsettled, and the Hebrew does not say. It may be the upright person just mentioned (kind, compassionate and fair, and so a light to others) or it may be the LORD, who is described in exactly these words elsewhere in the Psalms. Translators divide on it; the rendering leaves the ambiguity open.

112:5

Under Israelite law a fellow Israelite could not be charged interest on a loan (Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 23:19), so lending was not a business transaction but an act of generosity toward someone in trouble. "Justice" here is the same word used for a legal verdict: he handles his own affairs by the standard a fair court would apply.

112:6

"Not be moved" pictures a building or a tree that a storm cannot push over.

112:7

"Evil tidings" simply means bad news. "His heart is fixed" means his mind is settled and calm, not that he refuses to listen.

112:8

The Hebrew says only that he "looks on" his enemies, without saying what he sees. It is a set phrase for watching from a position of safety once a threat has passed, seeing the outcome rather than gloating over it. "Until" marks the point his confidence is finally proved right, not the point at which it runs out.

112:9

A "horn" is the horn of an ox or ram, the standard image in Hebrew for strength and standing; to have your horn lifted high is to be publicly honored rather than humiliated. "Given widely" translates a verb meaning to scatter, as a farmer scatters seed by hand, open-handed rather than measured out.

112:10

Grinding or gnashing the teeth is a gesture of helpless rage and frustration, not of hunger or grief. "Waste away" translates a word used of things dissolving or melting, the wicked man's substance simply drains out of him.