Die Here Is My Herder (Psalm 23)

The story of this hymn

Psalm 23, David's shepherd psalm, is the funeral text of the Afrikaans church — read at almost every service and sung in metrical form. Afrikaans congregations have sung the psalms in rhyme since Totius's psalmberyming of the 1930s, and the Liedboek van die Kerk (2001) added a newer beryming. Whichever version your congregation sings, the words every Afrikaans speaker carries — 'Die Here is my herder; niks sal my ontbreek nie' — come from the 1933/53 Afrikaans Bible.

Where it sits in the service

It fits almost anywhere: as the opening psalm while the family comes in, after the Scripture reading, or at the graveside, where the shepherd's words carry furthest. Because congregations sing different berymings, print 'Psalm 23' with the psalm number and verses from your own psalter or Liedboek rather than copying a text from the internet.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Die Here Is My Herder (Psalm 23)” with the leader or choir named beside it.

How it is actually sung

The Afrikaans metrical Psalm 23, and the single most likely hymn at any Afrikaans funeral. Congregations sing it from memory, in parts, and it carries at a graveside without accompaniment or a printed word. If you choose only one hymn for an Afrikaans service, it is this one — and if the family cannot decide, a minister will almost always suggest it first.

Printing the words

Print the psalm number from the berymde psalms rather than the text — Afrikaans congregations navigate by number, and the words are held in memory regardless.

This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.