Psalm 114 sings the Exodus as a cosmic drama: “When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people… The sea saw and fled: Jordan was turned back. The mountains skipped like rams.” In Latin it is the In exitu Israel, sung at Easter Vespers and, in Dante’s poem, by the souls of the saved. In the Douay-Rheims it is the first part of Psalm 113. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 114 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people:
Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
The sea saw and fled: Jordan was turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the flock.
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou didst flee: and thou, O Jordan, that thou wast turned back?
Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams, and ye hills, like lambs of the flock?
At the presence of the Lord the earth was moved, at the presence of the God of Jacob:
Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the stony hill into fountains of waters.
Psalm 114 or Psalm 113?
Psalm 114 is a special case. The Greek and Latin Bibles, and so the Douay-Rheims, join Hebrew Psalms 114 and 115 into a single Psalm 113. Hebrew Psalm 114 is Douay 113:1–8, given above. In Latin it begins In exitu Israel de Aegypto. See how many psalms are there?
Easter, death and the new exodus
Christians read the Exodus as a figure of salvation: Christ’s Passover from death to life, our passage through the waters of Baptism, and the soul’s final journey to God. For this reason the Church sings In exitu Israel at Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday.
The poet Dante, in the Purgatorio (Canto II), pictures the souls of the saved arriving at the shore of Purgatory in an angel’s boat, singing together In exitu Israel de Aegypto. Their death is not an end but an exodus into freedom. See Easter and Catholic funeral prayers.
What the psalm means
- Freedom from slavery: God brings his people out of Egypt.
- God dwells with his people: “Judea was made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.”
- Creation trembles: the sea flees, the Jordan turns back, mountains skip like rams.
- “What ailed thee, O thou sea?”: a playful question that celebrates God’s power.
- Water from the rock: God turns the stony hill into fountains, as he gives living water in Christ.
How the Church uses Psalm 114
- At Evening Prayer (Vespers) on Easter Sunday and on Sundays in the Liturgy of the Hours. See Vespers.
- At the hour of death, as a prayer for the soul’s passage to God.
A prayer with Psalm 114
Written for this page:
Lord, you brought your people out of Egypt and through the sea.
Bring me out of every slavery to sin, and lead me through the waters of salvation.
At the hour of my death, let my passing be a new exodus into your freedom,
and let me sing with your saints for ever. Alleluia. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What does In exitu Israel mean?
“When Israel went out,” the first words of Psalm 114 in Latin.
Why is Psalm 114 sung at Easter?
Because the Exodus prefigures Christ’s Passover from death to life, celebrated at Easter.
More psalms and prayers
- Psalm 115 (Non nobis, Domine)
- Psalm 118
- Psalm 136
- Easter
- Vespers (Evening Prayer)
- How many psalms are there?
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 113:1–8 (114), Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.