The Penitential Psalms - Psalm 31/4: On being as stubborn as a mule (verses 11-12)!

It is impossible for me to conclude this mini-series on Psalm 31 without a quick look at my two favourite verses, which deal with our natural instinct to rebel against God's providential guidance of our lives!

God's guidance

Verses 8&9 of Psalm 31 discuss the gifts that God gives to those who repent of their sins, including his guidance and protection.  But verses 11&12 (in the liturgical ordering of the text), which I want to focus on today, contain a warning:

11	V/NV	Nolíte fíeri sicut equus et mulus, * quibus non est intelléctus.
	JH	Nolite fieri sicut equus et mulus in quibus non est intellegentia :
		μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς ἵππος καὶ ἡμίονος οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν σύνεσις

Nolíte fíeri  = be not unwilling to be made = do not be

nolo, nolui, nolle  to be unwilling, not to wish, to refuse.

fio, factus sum, fieri to be made or done, to become, happen.

sicut equus et mulus = like the horse and mule

equus, i. m. a horse.

mulus, i, m., a mule.

quibus non est intelléctus [which he who has not] that have no understanding

intelligo, lexi, lectum, ere 3  understand, give heed to something, to consider

intellectus, us, m.  understanding, insight

DR	Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding.
Brenton	Be ye not as horse and mule, which have no understanding
MD	Be not like the horse and the mule that have no understanding
Cover	Be ye not like to horse and mule, which have no understanding
Knox	Do not be like the horse and the mule, senseless creatures which will not come near thee unless their spirit is tamed by bit and bridle.

12	V	In camo et freno maxíllas eórum constrínge: * qui non appróximant ad te.
	NV	In camo et freno si accedis ad constringendum, non approximant ad te.
	JH	in camo et freno maxillas eorum constringe, qui non accedunt ad te.
		μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς ἵππος καὶ ἡμίονος οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν σύνεσις

Text notes: The sense is ‘don’t be like an animal that will not come to someone unless controlled by bit and bridle’ – but the underlying text in Latin, Greek and the Hebrew is difficult!

In camo et freno maxíllas eórum constringe = with bit and bridle bind their jaws

*camus, i, m.  a bit, curb

*frenum, i, n., a bridle, curb.

maxilla, ae, f the jawbone, the jaw.

*constringo strinxi, strictum, 3, to bind, fetter, shackle, chain, restrain

qui non appróximant ad te = who do not approach you

approximo, are to approach, draw near to

DR	With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto you.
Brenton	but thou must constrain their jaws with bit and curb, lest they should come nigh to thee.
MD	With bit and bridle their jaws must be checked or they will not follow thee
RSV	which must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not keep with you.
Cover	Whose mouths must be held with bit and bridle, if they will not obey thee
Knox	which will not come near thee unless their spirit is tamed by bit and bridle.

The verses are translated fairly literally in the Douay-Rheims as:

"Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding. With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto you."

In terms of the translation, the first phrase, giving us the image of the horse (equus) and mule (mulus) is straightforward.  Intellectus simply means understanding or insight.  The last phrases are a little harder to get but the sense is clear: 'in camo et freno' means with bit and bridle; maxilla means jaw or jawbone; while the verb constringere means to bind together, hold fast, fetter or restrain.  Approximare means to approach or draw near.

The virtue of reason

St Robert Bellarmine explains the verses as follows:

"The Prophet now exhorts all, both good and bad, to learn from his example the evils consequent on sin, and the blessings to be derived from penance and virtue, he having tasted of both. Turning to the wicked first, he says, "Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding." Endowed with reason, but not guided by your animal propen­sities; be not like the horse and the mule in your licentious desires, as I was; be not like the horse and the mule, in tearing and lashing at your fellow creatures, as I have been in regard of Urias. "With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto thee." He foretells the calamities in store for those who will act the part of the horse and the mule towards their neighbor. They will be forced by tribulations either to return to God, or will be prevented from injuring their neighbors to the extent they intended; but, as usual, this prophetic warning is expressed as if it were an imprecation. You will force those wicked men to obey you, as you would subdue a horse or a mule, with a bit and bridle, and make them obedient to you. The words bit and bridle are used in a metaphorical sense to signify the crosses and trials that God has sometimes recourse to..."

And that completes this look at Psalm 31.  The next part in this series on the Seven Penitential Psalms is an introduction to Psalm 37.