Psalm 141:5 - The denial of Peter

In the previous verse, the psalmist tells of the snares and traps being laid for him.  Here, he looks for help, but found none, a verse that has long been interpreted as the abandonment and denial of Christ by his disciples.

 Text notes

5	V/NV	Considerabam ad dexteram, et videbam: * et non erat qui cognosceret me.
	R	Considerabam a dextris et videbam et non erat qui agnosceret me.
	JH	Custodem quia adhuc oratio ambulo: respice ad dexteram, et vide quia non sit qui cognoscat me:
		κατενόουν εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ καὶ ἐπέβλεπονὅτι οὐκ ἦν ὁ ἐπιγινώσκων με

Word by word 

Considerabam ( looked) ad dexteram (to the right hand), et (and) videbam (I was watching), et (and) non (not) erat (he was) qui (who) cognosceret (he would know) me (me)

Key vocabulary

considero, avi, atum, are, to look at closely, observe, contemplate; to lie in wait for, to watch for with hostile intent.

dexter, tera, terum; the right hand.

video, vidi, visum, ere 2,  to see, behold; consider; experience, undergo, suffer, realize; keep watch, look for, meditate on

cognosco, gnovi, gnitum, ere 3, to know, see, learn, perceive, be come acquainted with. 

Selected English translations

DR	I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
Brenton	I looked on my right hand, and behold, for there was none that noticed me
MD	I look to the right to see, but there is none that taketh note of me
RSV	I look to the right and watch, but there is none who takes notice of me;
Cover	I looked also upon my right hand, and saw there was no man that would know me.
Knox	I look to the right of me, and find none to take my part;
Grail	Look on my right and see: there is no one who takes my part.

Looking to the right

The right side was traditionally the place of a friend or bodyguard; in court the place of the witnesses for the defense.

St Augustine draws out the implied distinction:

If, in bearing, you seek the praise of men, you have regarded the left: if, in bearing, you seek the promises of God, you have regarded the right hand. 

The lack of anyone there paints a picture of the isolation and alienation that can come at times of persecution, when even those on our side fade away out of fear, as St John Chrysostom points out:

Here he shows the extent of the disaster, the increasing problems and plots of the enemies, how they approached and came nearer, intending to trip him up; and what in fact was worse, that not only were any assistants or allies not at hand, but they did not even recognize him.  This is the extent of isolation, this height of alienation; it is true of few people, after all, to be at hand and give assistance, especially when disaster entails risk….

The Passion

 As St Jerome points out, though, the verse most obviously applies to Christ's abandonment by his disciples:

If we construe the psalm in the name of Our Lord, it is the Lord himself who is saying: All my disciples abandoned me and fled.  One only remained, Peter who had promised: ‘Even if I should have to die with thee, I will not deny thee,’ yet he is the one who denied his Lord.  Because Peter repented, however, the Lord said: I look to the right to him, and I did not look to the left. 

Psalm 141 (142): Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Intellectus David, cum esset in spelunca, oratio	Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.
1 Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * voce mea ad dóminum deprecátus sum.	2 I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2. Effúndo in conspéctu ejus oratiónem meam, * et tribulatiónem meam ante ipsum pronúntio	3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble:
3. In deficiéndo ex me spíritum meum: * et tu cognovísti sémitas meas.	4 When my spirit failed me, then you knew my paths.
4  In via hac, qua ambulábam, * abscondérunt láqueum mihi.	In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.
5 Considerábam ad déxteram, et vidébam: * et non erat qui cognósceret me.	5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
6. Périit fuga a me: * et non est qui requírat ánimam meam.	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
7. Clamávi ad te, Dómine, * dixi: Tu es spes mea, pórtio mea in terra vivéntium.	6 I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
8.  Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.	7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
9.  Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
10 Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.	8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.