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Psalterium Catholicum offers praying the Psalms, practicing Lectio Divina, and exploring faithful Catholic resources for daily devotion.

Psalm 129 The Psalter Psalm 131

PSALMVS CXXX

De profundis

A Song of Degrees: Penitential · Penitential · Book V

Pray this Psalm · Lectio Divina

1Often have they fought against me from my youth, let Israel now say.

2Often have they fought against me from my youth: but they could not prevail over me.

3The wicked have wrought upon my back: they have lengthened their iniquity.

4The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners:

5let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Sion.

6Let them be as grass on the tops of houses: which withered before it be plucked up:

7Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand: nor he that gathereth sheaves his bosom.

8And they that have passed by have not said: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.

Douay-Rheims · Challoner Revision

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Wisdom of the Church

Psalm 130, known as the 'De Profundis,' is one of the fifteen 'Songs of Ascents' (Psalms 120–134) sung by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. Traditionally attributed to David, modern scholarship often identifies it as a post-exilic composition reflecting the profound national repentance required after the Babylonian Captivity. As a 'Gradual Psalm,' it was liturgically performed during the ascent to the Temple, echoing the collective spirit of a people longing for restoration. The psalm's structure moves from the depths of personal and communal anguish to a collective hope grounded in the Covenant. Its placement in the fifth book of the Psalter mirrors the restored community’s reliance on Yahweh's mercy. In the Second Temple period, it served as a prayer for national redemption, capturing the tension between the frailty of human existence and the constancy of divine fidelity. Its themes of waiting and watchfulness define the piety of the 'anawim'—the humble poor of Israel—who placed their trust entirely in the Lord’s promise to deliver his people from iniquity, setting the stage for the New Testament expectation of the Messiah.