Verse 3 of Psalm 53 states the
central problem of the psalm: people the psalmist doesn’t know are seeking to
harm him, ignoring all thought of God. Theodoret of Cyr paraphrased it as
follows:
I need your assistance and support, 0 Lord, he is saying, harassed as I am by impious men trusting in their great power, human though it is and dependent on this belief in many gods, and longing to dispatch me to death. They presume to make this attempt against me, however, since they are ignorant of your providence, or rather they even despise it.
Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum
me, et fortes quæsiérunt ánimam meam: et non proposuérunt Deum ante
conspéctum suum
|
For strangers have risen up against
me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God
before their eyes.
|
Looking
at the Latin
The
key vocabulary for this verse is:
alienus i m strange, not
one's own; a stranger in a hostile, unfriendly sense
insurgo, surrexi,
surrectum, ere 3 to rise up against, revolt against;
adversus or
adversum, prep, with ace against; in the presence of, over against, before.
fortis, e, strong, mighty, patient, long-suffering
quaero, sivi, situm, ere 3, to
seek, seek after; to will, desire, think upon.
propono posui positum ere 3 to set or place before; to
prefer, give preference to
ante, +acc, before,
conspectus, us, m. sight,
presence;
Accordingly,
a word by word rendering of the verse is:
Quóniam (for/because) aliéni (strangers) insurrexérunt (they have risen up) advérsum (against) me, et (and) fortes (the strong) quæsiérunt (they seek) ánimam (the soul) meam (mine): * et (and) non (not) proposuérunt (they have set/placed) Deum (God) ante (before) conspéctum (the sight/presence) suum (their).
A
selection of English translations of the verse are set out below:
DR
|
For strangers have risen up against
me;
and the mighty have sought after my
soul:
and they have not set God before
their eyes.
|
Brenton
|
For strangers have risen up against
me,
and mighty men have sought my life:
they have not set God before them.
|
RSV
|
For insolent men have risen against
me,
ruthless men seek my life;
they do not set God before them.
|
Coverdale
|
For strangers are risen up against
me;
and tyrants, which have not God
before their eyes,
seek after my soul.
|
Knox
|
Scornful foes take arms against me,
fierce foes that grudge me life
itself,
with no thought of God to check them.
|
Collegeville
|
For strangers have risen up against
me,
and the mighty have sought my soul;
they set not God before their sight.
|
Grail
|
For proud men have risen against me,
ruthless men seek my life.
They have no regard for God.
|
Strangers
or the proud and arrogant?
One
of the key differences between the translations given above reflects the debate
around the word alieni.
In
the Scriptural story alluded to in the title of the verse, the strangers in
question, the Ziphites, were Jews not gentiles, so the verse would seem not to
be talking about foreigners.
Some have argued, though, that in fact the Septuagint is a misreading of the original Hebrew, which should have been read as zedim (violent or arrogant ones), rather than zarim (strangers), and both the Pian and neo-Vulgate translations take this position.
However, Jerome’s translation from the Hebrew, the Masoretic Text (which uses zuwr, Strong's H2114) and the Syriac all agree with the Septuagint in this case.
Some have argued, though, that in fact the Septuagint is a misreading of the original Hebrew, which should have been read as zedim (violent or arrogant ones), rather than zarim (strangers), and both the Pian and neo-Vulgate translations take this position.
However, Jerome’s translation from the Hebrew, the Masoretic Text (which uses zuwr, Strong's H2114) and the Syriac all agree with the Septuagint in this case.
Vulgate
|
Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum me,
et fortes quæsiérunt
ánimam meam: *
et non
proposuérunt Deum ante conspéctum suum.
|
Pian
|
Nam
superbi insurrexerunt contra me,
Et violenti quaesierunt vitam meam;
Non proposuerunt Deum ante oculos suos.
|
Neo-Vulgate
|
Quoniam superbi insurrexerunt adversum me,
et fortes
quaesierunt animam meam
et non
proposuerunt Deum ante conspectum suum.
|
Jerome from the HebrewH
|
Quia alieni
insurrexerunt adversum me,
et fortes quaesierunt animam meam,
et non posuerunt Deum in conspectu suo.
|
Septuagint
|
ὅτι ἀλλότριοι ἐπανέστησαν ἐ{P'} ἐμέ
καὶ κραταιοὶ ἐζήτησαν τὴν ψυχήν μου
οὐ προέθεντο τὸν θεὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν
διάψαλμα
|
Who are
strangers to us?
In what sense then, are the Ziphites
strangers to David (and Christ's betrayers to him)?
The first and most obvious meaning of
stranger in this verse is simply people we don’t personally know.
David’s persecution by Saul was unjust,
but he did at least know him, as St Robert Bellarmine notes:
Saul’s persecution was entirely grounded on his fears that David would, at one time come to the throne; and, therefore, sought to have his life at any risk; for though he knew him to be innocent, yet, so blinded was he by the desire of keeping the sovereignty in his own family, that he looked upon as fair and honorable, what, in reality, was the height of injustice..
What though is the motivation of the
Ziphites? St Thomas Aquinas suggests
three: their inherent dispositions and desires, or what St Cassiodorus describes
as the malevolence of their deranged minds; a desire for and trust in secular power
wealth; and a contempt for God.
But the
verse is applicable to Judas too, the Fathers argued, because we become
strangers to God when we reject him through our action: strangers, St
Cassiodorus argues, means ‘those who have become foreign to the Lord through
their works’.
The
problem of practical atheism
Although the title to the psalm talks
specifically about individuals who betrayed David (and hence Christ), the
Fathers also interpreted strangers to refer to the temptations that also assail
us all, such as a desire for wealth, pleasure and power.
St Augustine, for example, warned that the mighty men who seek our
souls can take the form of the world, the flesh and devil, and that by
succumbing to these sources of temptation, we can become strangers to Christ.
Interestingly, the psalm’s reference to
those who act as if God doesn’t exist is also a key theme that runs through the
Benedictine version of Prime.
Many of the psalms St Benedict sets for
Prime (Ps 1-2, 6-19) mirror the opening verses of Psalms 53’s plea for God to
hear our prayer and vindicate the speaker; many are pleas for help in the face
of persecution by enemies.
And the proud, and arrogant who act as if God does not exist are the key target of the psalmists woes in this group of psalms.
And the proud, and arrogant who act as if God does not exist are the key target of the psalmists woes in this group of psalms.
On Monday for example, St Benedict sets
Psalm 2, which deals with the kings of the earth – usually interpreted as Herod
and the Jewish leaders – conspiring against Christ; on Wednesday, the section of
Psalm 9 set for the hour uses almost the same words as Psalm 53 (Non est Deus
in conspectus eius) to complain of the sinner who oppresses the poor seemingly
without fear of consequences; and on Thursday Psalm 13 opens with the verse,
The fool says in his heart, there is no God’.
Vulgate
|
Douay-Rheims
|
In finem, in carminibus. Intellectus
David, 2 cum venissent Ziphæi, et dixissent ad
Saul : Nonne David absconditus est apud nos?
|
Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.
2 When the men of Ziph had come and said to
Saul: Is not David hidden with us?
|
1 Deus, in
nómine tuo salvum me fac: * et in virtúte tua júdica me.
|
3 Save me, O God, by your
name, and judge me in your strength.
|
| 2 Deus, exáudi oratiónem meam: * áuribus pércipe verba
oris mei. |
4 O God, hear my prayer:
give ear to the words of my mouth.
|
| 3 Quóniam aliéni insurrexérunt advérsum me, et fortes
quæsiérunt ánimam meam: * et non proposuérunt Deum ante conspéctum suum. |
5 For strangers have risen
up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not
set God before their eyes.
|
4 Ecce enim Deus ádjuvat me: * et Dóminus suscéptor est ánimæ meæ.
|
6 For behold God is my
helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul.
|
5 Avérte mala inimícis meis: *
et in veritáte tua dispérde illos.
|
7 Turn back the evils upon
my enemies; and cut them off in your truth.
|
6 Voluntárie sacrificábo tibi, * et
confitébor nómini tuo, Dómine: quóniam bonum est :
|
8 I will freely sacrifice to
you, and will give praise, O God, to your name: because it is good:
|
| 7 Quóniam ex omni tribulatióne eripuísti me: * et super
inimícos meos despéxit óculus meus. |
9 For you have delivered me
out of all trouble: and my eye has looked down upon my enemies.
|
And you can find the next post in this series on Psalm 53 here.
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