Amen

Amen is a Hebrew word that means “verily” or ‘”truly”, and derives from the verb amen, which means “to have faith” and “to be reliable”. The word amen is used in the Bible as an exclamation: after a prayer, oath or praise, the people listening say “amen” out loud to affirm that they are in agreement.

When King David gives the order in 1 Kings 1:35 to make Solomon king, Benaiah, one of David’s commanders, responds with “amen” (1 Kings 1:36, ESV), indicating that he will carry out David’s order.

In Deuteronomy 27:15-26, a range of curses is mentioned that God will visit on the Israelites if they do not keep his commandments. The Levites must speak these curses out loud, and the people must respond to each curse with “amen”. In this way, everyone who disobeys God’s commandments in effect curses himself.

When a leader or priest praised God, the congregation responded with “amen” (1 Chronicles 16:36). This “amen” can also be found in the Psalms: a number of Psalms of praise end with “amen” (see for example Psalm 41:13; Psalm 72:19).

When a man said a prayer, his wife could join him in this by saying “amen” with him at the end (Tobit 8:8). This is the origin of the later tradition to conclude one’s own prayer with “amen”.

In the New Testament, “amen” occurs at the end of prayer, blessings and praise, and as a response to Jesus’ promises. In addition to this, Jesus precedes his own statements with “amen” (see for example Matthew 5:18; Matthew 5:26; Matthew 6:2). In the Good News Translation, this initial “amen” has been translated with “I tell you” or “I assure you”.

In the Good News Translation, the expression is usually rendered as “amen”, but also sometimes with phrases as “It shall be done” (1 Kings 1:36), “Yes” (Jeremiah 11:5), “I assure you” (see above) or “Wonderful!” (Jeremiah 28:6).