Psalm 118
The full text of Psalm 118 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
'His steadfast love endures forever.'
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
'His steadfast love endures forever.'
4 Let those who fear the LORD say,
'His steadfast love endures forever.'
5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me free.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
'The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the LORD exalts,
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!'
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18 The LORD has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O LORD!
O LORD, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Translation notes (6)
- Psalm 118:12a The Masoretic Text reads do'akhu (דֹּעֲכוּ), 'they were extinguished': a fire in dry thorns flares violently but burns out at once, so the enemies' fury is fierce yet short-lived. The Septuagint reverses the image with exekauthesan, 'they blazed up'. The simile of swarming bees for an attacking foe also appears in Deuteronomy 1:44.
- Psalm 118:14a This line quotes the Song of Moses verbatim: ozzi vezimrat Yah (עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ), 'my strength and song is Yah' (Exodus 15:2; also Isaiah 12:2). The psalmist thus casts his personal deliverance in the language of the exodus. Some philologists take zimrat as 'protection' rather than 'song', but the traditional sense fits the singing of the next verse.
- Psalm 118:22a The Hebrew rosh pinnah (רֹאשׁ פִּנָּה), literally 'head of the corner', denotes the stone that anchors or crowns a structure. Jesus applies the verse to himself in Matthew 21:42, and it is likewise cited in Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7, making it a foundational text for the pattern of rejection followed by exaltation.
- Psalm 118:25a The Hebrew plea hoshia na (הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא), 'save, we pray', passed into Greek as hōsanna and was shouted by the crowds at Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9), together with the words of the following verse. What began as a cry for deliverance had by that time become an acclamation of praise.
- Psalm 118:26a The phrase baruch habba (בָּרוּךְ הַבָּא), 'blessed is he who comes', originally greeted pilgrims arriving for the festival, spoken by priests from within the temple precincts. The Gospels report the crowds acclaiming Jesus with these words at his entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9), and Jesus himself cites the verse in Matthew 23:39, giving it a messianic sense.
- Psalm 118:27a Hebrew avotim (עֲבֹתִים) means either 'cords' or 'leafy boughs', and chag can denote the festival itself or its sacrificial victim. This rendering takes the line as a command to tether the offering at the altar; others see a festal procession waving branches toward the altar, a practice attested for the Feast of Booths in the Mishnah (Sukkah 4:5).
About this translation
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