Passages · Psalm 118:19-29
Ask Derekh about this passage ↓
"This is the day that Yahweh has made" (Psalm 118:24) is not a line about mornings in general. In the psalm, "this day" is a particular day: the one on which the stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone (verse 22), the day a man who had been brought near death walked through the temple gates alive (verses 17–20). The Hebrew verb is asah (made, did, acted), and the verse before it says the same thing without the word "day": "this is Yahweh's doing." The call to rejoice answers something God did.
עָשָׂה asah, Hebrew — translated "has made" — the ordinary Hebrew verb for making or doing; it can also mean acted (Psalm 118:24)
118:19 Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah. 118:20 This is the gate of Yahweh; the righteous will enter into it. 118:21 I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation. 118:22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 118:23 This is Yahweh’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. 118:24 This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! 118:25 Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh! Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now. 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name! We have blessed you out of Yahweh’s house. 118:27 Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar. 118:28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will exalt you. 118:29 Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
118:19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: 118:20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. 118:21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. 118:23 This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 118:25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 118:26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. 118:27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 118:28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. 118:29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 118 is the last of the Hallel psalms (113–118), the set sung at Passover and the other pilgrim festivals. It is a thanksgiving after a rescue: a speaker surrounded by enemies (verses 10–13) and brought near death (verse 18) arrives at the temple gates to give thanks (verses 19–21). Verse 24 belongs to that arrival. The congregation answers the speaker's testimony, and the psalm closes as it opened, with "his loving kindness endures forever."
"This is the day that Yahweh has made" (118:24) — asah (made, did, acted) is the ordinary Hebrew verb for doing something. The line can be read two ways: "the day Yahweh has made," or "the day on which Yahweh acted." Either way it points backward. The verse before says, literally, "from Yahweh this came to be," and verse 24 names when. The day is the day of the reversal in verse 22, not a day in general.
"The stone which the builders rejected" (118:22) — the Hebrew even (stone) and rosh pinnah (head of the corner). Builders examine a stone, discard it, and it turns out to be the one the structure depends on. Jesus applies the verse to himself in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10–11, Luke 20:17), and Peter quotes it twice (Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:7). "This is the day" comes two lines later.
"We will rejoice and be glad in it" (118:24) — nagilah venismechah (let us rejoice, let us be glad): two verbs for joy, both in a form that means "let us." The joy is shared, and it is an answer. "In it" could also be read "in him": the Hebrew pronoun is masculine, and so are "day" and the name Yahweh. Most translations take it as the day.
"Save us now, we beg you" (118:25) — hoshia-na (save, now), the cry that comes into the New Testament as "Hosanna." The crowd at Jesus' entry into Jerusalem quotes verses 25 and 26 together (Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9–10, John 12:13). In the psalm the two lines stand side by side: the day God acted, and the plea that he act again.
"His loving kindness endures forever" (118:1, 29) — hesed (covenant loyalty). The line opens and closes the psalm, and in verses 1–4 three groups say it in turn. The day in verse 24 is one instance of that loyalty.
"The day which the Lord hath made" and "The Lord has done it this very day" — the King James Version's "hath made" is only the older form of "has made," which most versions keep. The New International Version (2011) reads "The LORD has done it this very day." Both render asah; the difference is whether "day" is what was made or when it happened. The claim underneath is the same: something happened on this day, and Yahweh did it.
Something here catch your eye? Ask Derekh about it below — 3 questions, free, no account needed.
Derekh — Hebrew for “the way” — brings this same depth to every passage in all 66 books, and always stops to ask what you see.
Start your 7-day free trial →$7.99/month (early access) · cancel anytime