Psalm 98 is the 98th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things". The Book of Psalms starts the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and, as such, is a book of the ChristianOld Testament. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible, and in the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 97. In Latin, it is known as "Cantate Domino".[1] The psalm is a hymn psalm, one of the Royal Psalms, praising God as the King of His people. Like Psalms 33 and 96, it calls for the singing of "a new song".[2]
Psalm 98 describes God's redemption of Israel and the rejoicing that will ensue.[3] It also features many expressions and instruments of music and song.[4] According to the Midrash Tanchuma, Psalm 98 is the tenth and final song that the Jewish people will sing after the final redemption. Grammatically, the reference to a shir chadash (Hebrew: שיר חדש, a new song) in verse 1 is a masculine construction, in contrast to the shira (Hebrew: שירה, song) mentioned throughout the Tanakh, a feminine construction. Thus, the Midrash teaches that the shir chadash is a song of the future.[5]
Text
Hebrew
The following table shows the Hebrew text[6][7] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
Before the LORD, for He is come to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with equity.
King James Version
O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm
With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together
Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
Uses
Judaism
Psalm 98 is the fourth of six psalms recited during the Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming the Shabbat) service in Ashkenazic, Hasidic and some Sephardic communities.[3] It is one of the additional psalms recited during the morning prayer on Shabbat in the Sephardi tradition.[3] According to the Abudraham, this psalm corresponds to the seventh of the Ten Utterances of Creation, "Let the waters swarm" (Genesis 1:20), corresponding to verse 7 of this psalm, "Let the sea roar".[3]
Verse 6 is one of the ten verses recited during the MussafAmidah on Rosh Hashana in the verses of Shofarot.[8]