Psalm 19

This article is about Psalm 19 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 19 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 20.
Psalm 19
"The heavens declare the glory of God"
Psalm 19 in a Scottish Metrical Psalter
Other name
  • Psalm 18
  • "Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei"
  • "Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes"
TextAttributed to David
LanguageHebrew (original)

Psalm 19 is the 19th psalm in the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The heavens declare the almighty of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible, this psalm is Psalm 18. The Latin version begins "Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei".[1] The psalm is attributed to David.

The psalm considers the glory of God in creation, and moves to reflect on the character and use of "the law of the LORD". Psalm 1, this psalm and Psalm 119 have been referred to as "the psalms of the Law".[2] It forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox Church and Protestant liturgies. It has often been set to music, notably by Heinrich Schütz, by Johann Sebastian Bach who began a cantata with its beginning, by Joseph Haydn, who based a movement from Die Schöpfung on the psalm, and by Beethoven, who set a paraphrase by Gellert in "Die Himmel rühmen des Ewigen Ehre". Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville wrote a grand motet Caeli enarrant in 1750 and François Giroust in 1791.

  1. ^ Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 18 (19) Archived 2017-05-07 at the Wayback Machine medievalist.net
  2. ^ Breen, C., The Psalms of the Law, The Furrow, Vol. 15, No. 8 (Aug., 1964), pp. 516-525