De Nieuwe Psalmberijming: Psalm 151

No, there isn't exactly a Psalm 151, or at least it's not titled such. But an additional one does occur in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Old Testament as a Psalm "outside the number," or a supernumerary Psalm, about which I wrote two years ago. It is known especially in the Orthodox tradition, where it is accorded something close to canonical status. If Protestants are at all aware of it, they consider it part of the Apocrypha, those extra books (Judith, Tobit, the Maccabees, &c.) often included in an appendix after the New Testament or between the two testaments.

So I was surprised—pleasantly so, to be sure—to discover that our friends behind De Nieuwe Psalmberijming have recently posted a Dutch metrical versification of this psalm set to the Genevan tune for Psalm 19: Psalm 151. To be clear, the arrangement is not precisely of the version found in the LXX but of a longer version found at Qumran and thus part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This psalm is unusual in being autobiographical in nature and is written in the voice of David himself. The story recounted is the familiar one in which David slays the Philistine warrior Goliath of Gath (1 Samuel 17).

'O', 'oh': interjections and our English Bible translations

In my work with the Psalms I've noticed a peculiarity in several contemporary English translations. In the King James Version of the Bible, we read the following:

O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1).

But in the English Standard Version we read this:

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

And in the New King James Version this:

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

Anatomy of the Soul: Psalm 28

Our friend Brian Wright has posted another psalm for our edification and enjoyment: