Psalm 123: verses 1-2

The opening verses of Psalm 123 set the scene:

1	V/NV	Nisi quia dóminus erat in nobis, dicat nunc Israël: * nisi quia dóminus erat in nobis,
	JH	Nisi Dominus fuisset in nobis, dicat nunc Israhel ; nisi Dominus fuisset in nobis,
		εἰ μὴ ὅτι κύριος ἦν ἐν ἡμῖν εἰπάτω δὴ Ισραηλ εἰ μὴ ὅτι κύριος ἦν ἐν ἡμῖν

Text notes:‘Nisi quia’ means unless, or ‘if not’; Ladouceur suggests that this reflects an overly literal rendering of the Hebrew (which is literally ‘except that’) in the Septuagint.  In any case, the Diurnal translation ‘If the Lord had not been with us’ conveys the sense of the line well, not withstanding the fact that it plays fast and loose with the verb tense, following St Jerome’s rendering of it as imperfect subjunctive rather than imperfect as in the Vulgate and Neo-Vulgate. ‘Dicat nunc’ is a common way of exhorting the people to prayer.

nisi quia, unless, if not.

dico, dixi, dictum, ere 3, to say, speak;  to sing; in the sense of to think, plan, desire; to command; to praise.

nunc, adv. at present, at this moment

DR	If it had not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say: If it had not been that the Lord was with us,
Brenton	If it had not been that the Lord was among us, let Israel now say; if it had not been that the Lord was among us,
MD	If the Lord had not been with us, let Israel now say, if the Lord had not been with us
RSV	If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, let Israel now say if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
Coverdale	If the Lord himself had not been on our side (now may Israel say), if the Lord himself had not been on our side,

Cassiodorus comments: 

When sudden joy comes over us at the recollection of past dangers, it often makes us fail to observe the natural order of words. These confessors express astonishment at how they escaped their pursuers, at how tortures did not prevail over human frailty, at how, when their bodies yielded, their minds were reinforced by faith and did not cave in. They put at the beginning of the sentence a tiny version of these words, a relic of their sublime thought, but then they explain them, so that astonishment at the great dangers would not be withheld and the full import of the words would be rendered a little later. It would have been the normal statement to say: "We could not have overcome the dangers imposed on us if it had not been that the Lord was with us." 

The wicked tendency of our human presumption is at the same time removed from consideration, for it is not our wealth or planning or virtue which is said to have helped us, but only the Lord's pity which is known to have delivered us. Next follows: Let Israel now say. They recognise that it is a most healthy thing to decree that it is by the Lord's authority that such important events occur, for the rest of the blessed were rightly urged to give thanks for the source of their salvation. This is the power of charity and unity, that when an individual is granted some success, all should rejoice that it has befallen them, and likewise if some reverse is sustained, all should grieve that it has affected them. So he appended below what Israel should now say; and so anyone wishing to be identified with Israel should not refuse to say such things with a pure heart.

2	V/NV	Cum exsúrgerent hómines in nos, * forte vivos deglutíssent nos:
	JH	cum exsurgerent super nos homines : forsitan uiuos obsorbuissent nos,
		ἐν τῷ ἐπαναστῆναι ἀνθρώπους ἐφ' ἡμᾶς ἄρα ζῶντας ἂν κατέπιον ἡμᾶς

Text notes: Ladouceur sees homines as indicating ‘mere man’ in contrast to God, especially with the reference God as creator in the last verse.

cum, with, together with, in company with .before, in the presence of. to be with as a helper,when, as soon as, as often as.

exsurgo, surrexi, surrectum, ere 3,  to rise up, arise, i.e., to come to the aid of

homo, inis, m  man, a human being; mortal man as compared with God;man, person, individual

forte, adv.  perhaps, perchance.

vivus, a, um alive

deglutio, ivi, ire, to swallow down or up.

DR	When men rose up against us, perhaps they had swallowed us up alive.
Brenton	when men rose up against us; verily they would have swallowed us up alive,
Cover	When men rose up against us, they had swallowed us up alive, when they were so wrathfully displeased at us.

St John Chrysostom: 

"Let us also now say this, If the Lord had not been among us, surely they would have swallowed us alive. I mean, what would our enemy the devil have not done if the Lord had not been among us? Listen to what Christ says to Simon: "Simon, Simon, how many times has Satan asked to sift you like wheat, and I prayed for you that your faith might not fail?" 

The wild beast, after all, is evil and insa­tiable, and unless reined in constantly, would have overturned and demolished everything. If in the case of Job, for example, it was only slight licence he was given, and yet he rooted up and over­threw his household, mutilated his body, worked such an awful tragedy, destroyed his substance, buried his children, had worms crawling out of his flesh, alienated his wife, his friends, his foes, his servants and caused them to say such terrible things, how would he not have been the ruin of everything had he not been held in check by countless restraints? 

Hence this author also says, If the Lord had not been among us: they were very few and insignificant, and on their return many people attacked them. Even in this, however, God's wisdom is demonstrated, in not providing them with security all at once, but slowly and gradu­ally.... "

Psalm 123: Nisi quia Dóminus erat in nobis 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum
1  Nisi quia Dóminus erat in nobis, dicat nunc Israël: * nisi quia Dóminus erat in nobis,	If it had not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say: 2 If it had not been that the Lord was with us,
2  Cum exsúrgerent hómines in nos, * forte vivos deglutíssent nos:	When men rose up against us, 3 perhaps they had swallowed us up alive.
3  Cum irascerétur furor eórum in nos, * fórsitan aqua absorbuísset nos.	When their fury was enkindled against us, perhaps the waters had swallowed us up.
4  Torréntem pertransívit ánima nostra: * fórsitan pertransísset ánima nostra aquam intolerábilem.	5 Our soul has passed through a torrent: perhaps our soul had passed through a water insupportable.
5  Benedíctus Dóminus * qui non dedit nos, in captiónem déntibus eórum.	6 Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us to be a prey to their teeth.
6  Anima nostra sicut passer erépta est * de láqueo venántium.	7 Our soul has been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers.
7  Láqueus contrítus est, * et nos liberáti sumus.	The snare is broken, and we are delivered.
8  Adjutórium nostrum in nómine Dómini, * qui fecit cælum et terram.	8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth