Why read Psalm 117?
Read Psalm 117 to give thanks after trouble and seek courage for a new beginning. It celebrates God's goodness, remembers help in distress and invites joy in the day He has given.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
The full text of Psalm 117 (29 verses), from the Sixteenth Kathisma of the Psalter. The opening words — "Praise ye the Lord, for He is good..." — are also the traditional "name" of the psalm: our grandmothers did not say "psalm 117", but called it by name, after its first words.
The Orthodox Septuagint numbering is retained here. This Psalm 117 corresponds to Psalm 118 in Hebrew-text numbering.
The text of Psalm 117
1. Praise ye the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever.
2. Let now the house of Israel say that He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever.
3. Let now the house of Aaron say that He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever.
4. Let all them now that fear the Lord say that He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever.
5. In affliction I called upon the Lord, and He heard me and brought me into delight.
6. The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
7. The Lord is my helper, and I shall look upon my enemies with joy.
8. It is better to trust in the Lord than to have confidence in man.
9. It is better to hope in the Lord than to have confidence in princes.
10. All nations compassed me about, and in the name of the Lord I vanquished them.
11. Surrounding me they compassed me about, and in the name of the Lord I vanquished them.
12. They compassed me about like bees round a honeycomb, but they were quenched as a fire of thorns, and in the name of the Lord I vanquished them.
13. Being pushed I was sore pushed that I might fall, but the Lord helped me.
14. The Lord is my strength and my praise, and He is become my salvation.
15. The voice of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the Lord hath wrought might,
16. The right hand of the Lord hath exalted me, the right hand of the Lord hath wrought might!"
17. I shall not die, but live, and I shall recount the works of the Lord.
18. With chastening hath the Lord chastened me, but He hath not given me over unto death.
19. Open unto me the gates of righteousness; entering in through them, I will praise the Lord.
20. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter in through it.
21. I will praise Thee, for Thou hast heard me and art become my deliverance.
22. The stone which the builders set at nought, the same is become the head of the corner.
23. This is the Lord's doing, and it is wondrous in our eyes.
24. This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad therein.
25. O Lord, save now! O Lord, send now prosperity!
26. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.
27. God is the Lord and hath appeared unto us. Celebrate the feast with thick boughs, even unto the horns of the altar.
28. Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee; Thou art my God, and I will exalt Thee. I will praise Thee, for Thou hast heard me and art become my salvation.
29. Praise ye the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever.
When Psalm 117 is read
- the psalm of the Resurrection — it is sung at Pascha.
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighbouring psalms
Read also
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
