“Something You Should Know: The Hebrew Acrostic. Knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet opens the door of understanding to the Hebrew acrostic or alphabetical psalms. These are biblical poems in which consecutive units (either lines, verses, or groups of verses) begin with sequential letters of the Hebrew alphabet. No doubt such a linguistic device provides a simple memory aid to the listener while still communicating the intensity and passion of the poet. For instance, the individual verses of Pss 9–10; 25; 34, and 145 begin with words whose first letters are, consecutively, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Ps 37, the opening letters of alternate verses are arranged according to the sequence of the alphabet. Another variation occurs in Pss 111 and 112, where each line (rather than each verse) begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The most elaborate acrostic biblical poem is Ps 119. This artistically shaped poem consists of twenty-two sections, each comprised of eight verses. These units feature twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet (counting שׂ and שׁ as one letter), with all eight verses of a given unit beginning with the same letter of the alphabet.
Psalm 111
אוֹדֶה יְהוָה בְּכָל־לֵבָב
בְּסוֹד יְשָׁרִים וְעֵדָה׃
גְּדֹלִים מַעֲשֵׂי יְהוָה
דְּרוּשִׁים לְכָל־חֶפְצֵיהֶם׃
הוֹד־וְהָדָר פָּעֳלוֹ
וְצִדְקָתוֹ עֹמֶדֶת לָעַד׃
זֵכֶר עָשָׂה לְנִפְלְאֹתָיו
חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם יְהוָה׃
טֶרֶף נָתַן לִירֵאָיו
יִזְכֹּר לְעוֹלָם בְּרִיתוֹ׃
כֹּחַ מַעֲשָׂיו הִגִּיד לְעַמּוֹ
לָתֵת לָהֶם נַחֲלַת גּוֹיִם׃
מַעֲשֵׂי יָדָיו אֱמֶת וּמִשְׁפָּט
נֶאֱמָנִים כָּל־פִּקּוּדָיו׃
סְמוּכִים לָעַד לְעוֹלָם
עֲשׂוּיִם בֶּאֱמֶת וְיָשָׁר׃
פְּדוּת שָׁלַח לְעַמּוֹ
צִוָּה־לְעוֹלָם בְּרִיתוֹ
קָדוֹשׁ וְנוֹרָא שְׁמוֹ׃
רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה יִרְאַת יְהוָה
שֵׂכֶל טוֹב לְכָל־עֹשֵׂיהֶם
תְּהִלָּתוֹ עֹמֶדֶת לָעַד׃
As an artistic device, the acrostic uses both structure and content to express totality and completeness. Thus, everything from A to Z (or א to ת) is praised regarding the qualities of God (Pss 111 and 145), the just man (Ps 112), the virtuous woman (Prov 31:10–31), or the beauty of the law (Ps 119). Conversely, the writer of the book of Lamentations uses the acrostic to communicate the complete sense of grief over Jerusalem’s fall. What is notable about the acrostic is that such an artificial scheme did not stand in the way of producing literature of a high order full of passion and thoughtfulness.”
Pratico, G. D., & Van Pelt, M. V. (2019). Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar (Third Edition, pp. 5–6). Zondervan.
The photo is of one of my Legacy Standard Bibles, the only English translation I own which reflects the Hebrew acrostic consistently in all the passages listed above! You can see it very clearly in the text. Sadly most other translations left it out. -DG