Psalm 67

This article is about Psalm 67 in Hebrew (Masoretic) numbering. For Psalm 67 in Greek Septuagint or Latin Vulgate numbering, see Psalm 68.
Psalm 67
"God be merciful unto us, and bless us"
Psalm 67 written in the shape of the menorah, a form called Shiviti
Other name
  • Psalm 66
  • "Deus misereatur"
LanguageHebrew (original)

Psalm 67 is the 67th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us". In Latin, it is known as "Deus misereatur".[1] In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible, and in the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 66. Its theme is a prayer for God's mercy, blessing and light.

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been paraphrased in hymns and set to music.

Biblical commentator Cyril Rodd divides it into three sections: two "broadly parallel" sections in verses 1-3 and 4–5, which seek God's favour and blessing, and verses 6–7, which express universal joy as "all the nations" [2] experience God's blessing.[3] Verses 3 and 5 are a repeated refrain:

May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.[4]
  1. ^ Parallel Latin/English Psalter / Psalmus 66 (67) Archived 2017-05-07 at the Wayback Machine medievalist.net
  2. ^ Psalm 67:5: New Living Translation
  3. ^ Rodd, C. S., 18. Psalms in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary Archived 2017-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, p. 385
  4. ^ Psalm 67:3–5: New Living Translation