One of the seven penitential psalms and the psalm most associated in Catholic practice with prayer for the dead, said at funerals, in the Office of the Dead, and privately after a death. Catholic English editions follow Vulgate numbering, so it appears as Psalm 129 in Douay-Rheims and Psalm 130 in most other Bibles.
Every text below was transcribed from the edition named under it and checked twice, independently, against that edition. That is a claim about wording only: nothing here is selected or endorsed for a particular situation, and nobody credentialed in the tradition has signed it. Older spelling is kept as the edition prints it.
Psalm 129 / 130, De Profundis (Douay-Rheims)
One of the seven penitential psalms and the psalm most associated in Catholic practice with prayer for the dead, said at funerals, in the Office of the Dead, and privately after a death. Catholic English editions follow Vulgate numbering, so it appears as Psalm 129 in Douay-Rheims and Psalm 130 in most other Bibles.
English · The Douay-Rheims Bible, 1899 American Edition, Psalms, 1899
A gradual canticle. Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord:
Lord, hear my voice. Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word:
my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Challoner revision. John Murphy Company, Baltimore, 1899. Published 1899, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.
Psalm 130 (JPS 1917)
A penitential Song of Ascents calling out from the depths. Recited in Jewish practice at times of crisis and serious illness, added to the daily service on the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the Ashkenazi rite, and said communally for a person in danger.
English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917
Out of the depths have I called Thee, O LORD.
Lord, hearken unto my voice;
Let Thine ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
If Thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
For with Thee there is forgiveness,
That Thou mayest be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait,
And in His word do I hope.
My soul waiteth for the Lord,
More than watchmen for the morning;
Yea, more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is mercy,
And with Him is plenteous redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Source
Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026
Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-02. Source
Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The two columns do not cover quite the same span: the Hebrew opens with the psalm's superscription, “A Song of Ascents”, which the English published here does not carry, because the two transcription passes over the JPS volume agreed only from the first verse proper.
Psalm 130 (Coverdale)
One of the penitential psalms, appointed in the 1662 Burial of the Dead and widely used in Protestant and Anglican practice at grief, depression and crisis. Anglicans usually meet it in the Coverdale psalter form printed in the Prayer Book rather than in a Bible translation.
English · The Book of Common Prayer, 1662, 1662
Out of the deep have I called vnto thee, O Lord : Lord hear my voice.
O Let thine ears consider well : the voice of my complaint
Jf thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is don amiss : O Lord, who may abide it ?
For there is mercy with thee : therefore shalt thou be feared.
I look for the Lord, my soul doth wait for him : in his word is my trust.
My soul fleeth vnto the Lord : before the morning watch, J say, before the morning watch.
O Jsrael, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy : and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel : from all his sins.
Church of England, 1662. Published 1662, long before 1929, US public domain. UK Crown patent applies within the United Kingdom, so this edition is used here on the US basis only. Source
This page describes a prayer and, where we hold one, prints a named edition of it. It does not tell you whether to say it, or when. That judgment belongs to someone credentialed in the tradition, and nobody has signed anything here.
