Psalm 31

Psalm 31 verse 16 as an inscription on a sundial ...

... and as an entry in a poetry album

The 31st psalm (according to Greek numbers the 30th) is a psalm of David in the Bible and belongs in the series of lamentations of an individual.

structure

The psalm is divided into two parts, both of which are quite similar. Therefore it was already assumed that the psalm was originally two different.

There is no general research consensus on how the two parts should be broken down. A possible subdivision, as made by Hermann Gunkel , looks like this:

1. Verses 2-9: Part 1 : Requests and requests
   1. Verses 2a, 4a and 5c-7: Add the expression of trust
   2. Verse 9f: Conclusion: wish to sing a song of thanksgiving
2. Verses 10-25: part 2
   1. Verse 10a: Introductory "cry for help"
   2. Verses 10b-14: Lament
   3. Verses 15-19: Trust and prayer for the fall of the enemy
   4. Verses 20-25: Jubilant final piece: Thanksgiving song

interpretation

The psalm touches with others and with a lament of Jeremiah . Bernhard Duhm therefore calls the psalm “patched together from quotations”. Rudolf Kittel takes the view that he does not require any “personal experience” at all.

Liturgical use

• In the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours , Psalm 31, verses 2 to 6, is part of Compline (night prayer) on Wednesday (followed by Ps 130 ).

Musical reception

The psalm (verses 1-6) became the basis of the chant In you I have hoped, Lord (1533, EG 275) by Adam Reissner .

Web links

Commons : Psalm 31  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Psalm 31 in the standard translation , the Luther Bible and other translations from bibleserver.com
• Psalm 31 in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) on bibelwissenschaft.de
• Sheet music in the public domain for settings of Psalm 31 in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Emil Balla: Das Ich der Psalmen (1912), p. 16.
2. ↑ Peter C. Craigie: Psalms 1-50 (1983), p. 259.
3. ^ Hermann Gunkel: Die Psalmen ( ⁶ 1986), p. 131f.
4. ^ Bernhard Duhm: Psalms, 1899.
5. ↑ Rudolf Kittel: The Psalms, ^1.2 1914.