Psalm 129: verses 3-5a

Image: Belles Heures of Jean de France, duc de Berry, folio 71v*

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The middle verses of Psalm 129 focus on God's saving mercy: no sin is too great to be forgiven, for through Christ the law of God is the law of love.

Notes on the verses

3	V/NV/JH	Si iniquitátes observáveris, Dómine: * Dómine, quis sustinébit?
		ἐὰν ἀνομίας παρατηρήσῃ κύριε κύριε τίς ὑποστήσεται

Si (if) iniquitátes (iniquities) observáveris (you will observe/take note) Dómine (O Lord) Dómine (O Lord), quis (who/what) sustinébit  (he/she/it will endure/stand)?

The sense of observaveris here is not just passive watching, but critically observing and clocking up our sins for punishment.

iniquitas, atis, f (iniquus), iniquity, injustice, sin.

observo, avi, atum, are, to watch, observe, regard

sustineo, tinui, tentum, ere 2  to bear, bear with, endure, stand

DR	If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
Brenton	If thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Coverdale	If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it?
KJV	If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

The psalm now turns to a plea for mercy and forgiveness over justice.  The point is that no human deserves heaven, for we are all tainted by original sin, that evil compounded by our own thoughts and actions: we are all of us sinners. 

Yet this verse also, as Chrysostom points out, a demolition of the excuse offered by many, that there sins are too great to approach God:

"In other words, in case anyone were to say, "I am a sinner, I am full of sins beyond counting, I cannot approach and pray and call on God," he strips away this pretext by saying, If you were to take note of crimes, Lord, Lord, who would stand? Who here means "no one," you see. It is impossible, after all, it is impossible for anyone to under a meticulous account of one's affairs and ever attain mercy and loving kindness. We say this, not to drive souls to indifference, but to comfort those who have fallen into despair." 

Indeed, Pope St Leo the Great used this psalm to instruct a bishop that absolution should not be withheld from those who express penitence, no matter what the circumstance, or what doubts there may be around the case.

4	V	Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te, Dómine.
	NV	Quia apud te propitiatio est, ut timeamus te. Sustinui te, Domine
	JH	Quia tecum est propitiatio, cum terribilis sis. Sustinui Dominum
		ὅτι παρὰ σοὶ ὁ ἱλασμός ἐστιν  ἕνεκεν τοῦ νόμου σου ὑπέμεινά σε κύριε

5A	V/NV	Sustinuit ánima mea in verbo ejus:
	JH	sustinuit anima mea, et uerbum eius expectaui.
		ὑπέμεινεν ἡ ψυχή μου εἰς τὸν λόγον σου

Quia (for) apud (with) te (you) propitiátio (forgiveness/atonement) est (there is) et (and) propter (by reason of) legem (the law) tuam (your) sustínui (I have endured/waited for) te (you), Dómine (O Lord) Sustinuit (it has waited/endured) ánima (soul) mea (my) in verbo (on the word) ejus (his) 

This is one of those verses that differs substantially in the two main surviving text traditions, namely the Septuagint/Vulgate and the (medieval) Hebrew Masoretic Text.  Because the official Vatican Neo-Vulgate text was prepared before contemporary scholarship had fully assimilated the Dead Seas Scrolls, and thus come to a full appreciation of the integrity of Septuagint tradition, it deletes the reference to the law, and 'that thou mayest be feared' (ut timeamus te).  

More recent scholarship suggests that this may well be a first century Jewish revision to the text made in direct reaction to Christian uses of the verse, for the propitiation referred to here is clearly Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, the true fulfillment of the law.

It is worth noting too that the Knox translation (echoed by the NAB) renders this verse as: 'Ah, but with thee there is forgiveness; be thy name ever revered'.

quia, for, because, that. truly, surely, indeed;  nisi quia, unless, if not. 

apud +acc: at, near , by, with, in the presence of

propitiatio forgiveness, atonement, ie Christ’s sacrifice

propter,  with ace. In stating a cause: on account of, by reason of, because of, from, for, for the sake of.

lex, legis,  a law; the Law of God. the will of Go
anima, ae, soul
verbum, i, n.,word, command, edict, also a promise; saying, speech; Law, the Eternal Son. 

DR	For with you there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, O Lord.
Brenton	For with thee is forgiveness: for thy name’s sake have I waited for thee
Cover	For there is mercy with thee; therefore shalt thou be feared
KJV	But [there is] forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

DR	My soul has relied on his word
Brenton	O Lord, my soul has waited for thy word.
MD	My soul trusteth in His word, my soul hopeth in the Lord.
Cover	I look for the Lord; my soul doth wait for him.
KJV	I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait,

St Augustine's commentary on the verse points to St Paul's analysis of the law given to the Jews not as a source of salvation, but rather of condemnation since none could live up to it without the help of grace.  The point of the law, he argues was not to give life but to 'show his sins to the sinner'.   Christ changes this, for he teaches us the law of love that blots out fear:

"There is therefore a law of the mercy of God, a law of the propitiation of God. The one was a law of fear, the other is a law of love. The law of love gives forgiveness to sins, blots out the past, warns concerning the future; forsakes not its companion by the way, becomes a companion to him whom it leads on the way...Therefore, For the sake of Your law I have waited for You, O Lord, because you have condescended to bring in a law of mercy, to forgive me all my sins, to give me for the future warnings that I may not offend."

God's should in turn invoke in us a sense of reverent awe, as Pope Benedict XVI has pointed out:

“It is significant that reverent awe, a sentiment in which respect and love are mingled, is not born from punishment but from forgiveness. Rather than sparking his anger, God's generous and disarming magnanimity must kindle in us a holy reverence. Indeed, God is not an inexorable sovereign who condemns the guilty but a loving father whom we must love, not for fear of punishment, but for his kindness, quick to forgive.”

Note

*For a key to the abbreviations and links to full texts see the Notes on the psalm notes post.  Those used here are: V=Vulgate; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint; DR=Douay-Rheims; Brenton=Brenton's translation from the Septuagint; Cover=Coverdale; KJV=King James Bible

Psalm 129: De Profundis

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	Canticum graduum.
De profúndis clamávi ad te, Dómine: * Dómine, exáudi vocem meam :	Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord:
2  Fiant aures tuæ intendéntes: * in vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
3  Si iniquitátes observáveris, Dómine: * Dómine, quis sustinébit?	3 If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
4  Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te, Dómine.	4 For with you there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, O Lord.
5  Sustinuit ánima mea in verbo ejus: * sperávit ánima mea in Dómino.	My soul has relied on his word: 5 My soul has hoped in the Lord.
6  A custódia matutína usque ad noctem: * speret Israël in Dómino.	6 From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
7  Quia apud Dóminum misericórdia: * et copiósa apud eum redémptio.	7 Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
8  Et ipse rédimet Israël: * ex ómnibus iniquitátibus ejus.	8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities

And for the next set of notes on this psalm, go here.

Psalm 129: Verses 1-2

El Greco The Repentance of St Peter

The first two verses of Psalm 129 above all justify its inclusion as one of the Seven Penitential Psalms.  But they also have other lessons to offer us on the nature of prayer in general.

Notes on the verses

1	V/NV/JH*	De profúndis clamávi ad te, Dómine: * Dómine, exáudi vocem meam :
	Sept	ἐκ βαθέων ἐκέκραξά σε κύριε κύριε εἰσάκουσον τῆς φωνῆς μου

De (from/out of) profúndis (the deeps) clamávi (I have called) ad (to) te (you) Dómine (O Lord) Dómine (O Lord) exáudi (hear) vocem (the voice) meam (my)

The depths (profundis) can mean literally the depths of the sea, or the depths of misfortune and sin. The Monastic Diurnal's translation, along the RSV, makes this verse present tense to reflect the Hebrew perfect (action occurring simultaneously).   

profundum, i, n., the depth, the sea, any deep water;  the depths, deep

clamo, avi, atum, are  to call, cry out; to call to or upon for aid.

exaudio, ivi, Itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer

vox, vocis, f., the voice of a person, or, the sound of an instrument, thunder. 

DR	Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord: I have cried to you, Lord, hear my voice.
Brenton	Out of the depths have I cried to thee, O Lord. 2 O Lord, hearken to my voice
Cover	Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.
KJV 1769	Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.

To obtain God's mercy, according to this verse, requires two things: intensity in prayer (a cry) and a recognition of the depths of our sin.  the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2559) notes that:

"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer, Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God."

The Fathers' commentaries on this verse point us to examples of great sinners who repented deeply, such as Jonah in the whale, St Peter, and the tax-collector.

2	V/NV	Fiant aures tuæ intendéntes: * in vocem deprecatiónis meæ.
	JH	fiant aures tuae intendentes ad uocem deprecationis meae.
	Sept	γενηθήτω τὰ ὦτά σου προσέχοντα εἰς τὴν φωνὴν τῆς δεήσεώς μου

Fiant (let them be) aures (the ears) tuae (your) intendéntes (being attentive = be attentive) in vocem (to the voice) deprecatiónis (supplications) meæ (my supplications)

The Coverdale translation renders the last phrase as 'the voice of my complaint', but 'complaint' here is really meant in the Old English sense of a petition or request for mercy or pardon.

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

auris, is, f the ear.

intendo, tendi, tentum, ere 3 to give heed to, pay attention to.

vox, vocis, f., the voice of a person, or, the sound of an instrument, thunder. 

deprecatio, onis, prayer, supplication, entreaty.

DR	Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
Brenton	let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
Cover	O let thine ears consider well the voice of my complaint.
KJV	Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications

Prayer is communication between two people.  The opening verse demands that we say 'I', that we acknowledge our sin individually.  This verse turns to the other side of the conversation, namely God, and  asks that he listens to us.  Yet since God sees and hears everything anyway, why do we need to do that?  First we need to be clear that we are not just talking to ourselves but seeking to engage directly with our creator and redeemer!  Secondly, we do need to be insistent when we really want something.  St Robert Bellarmine comments:

"However loud one may cry, he will not be heard, unless the person to whom he cries attend to him. People are often so absorbed in other mat­ters, that they pay no heed to one talking to them, and then one talks to them in vain. Now, God always sees and hears every­thing, but when he does not grant what we ask, he is like one that does not attend to us, as if he were thinking of something else, and, therefore, David, being most anxious for a hearing, and not content with having called out with a loud voice, asks, furthermore, that God may deign to attend to him; that is, to receive his prayer, and grant what it asked."

*For a key to the abbreviations and links to full texts see the Notes on the psalm notes post.  

Those used here are: V=Vulgate; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint; DR=Douay-Rheims; Brenton=Brenton's translation from the Septuagint; Cover=Coverdale; KJV=King James Bible

Psalm 129: De Profundis

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	Canticum graduum.
De profúndis clamávi ad te, Dómine: Dómine, exáudi vocem meam	Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord:
2  Fiant aures tuæ intendéntes: * in vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
3  Si iniquitátes observáveris, Dómine: * Dómine, quis sustinébit?	3 If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
4  Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te, Dómine.	4 For with you there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, O Lord.
5  Sustinuit ánima mea in verbo ejus: * sperávit ánima mea in Dómino.	My soul has relied on his word: 5 My soul has hoped in the Lord.
6  A custódia matutína usque ad noctem: * speret Israël in Dómino.	6 From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
7  Quia apud Dóminum misericórdia: * et copiósa apud eum redémptio.	7 Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
8  Et ipse rédimet Israël: * ex ómnibus iniquitátibus ejus.	8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities

And for notes on the next set of verses of this psalm, continue on here.

Psalm 129: De Profundis - Introduction

The first psalm of Tuesday Vespers, Psalm 129, is a psalm that is used in many different contexts: it is one of the seven penitential psalms; it is used in the Office of the Dead at Vespers; it is a traditional preparatory prayer for Mass; and it carries an indulgence if said for those in purgatory.

Psalm 129: De Profundis

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	Canticum graduum.
De profúndis clamávi ad te, Dómine: * Dómine, exáudi vocem meam :	Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord:
2  Fiant aures tuæ intendéntes: * in vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
3  Si iniquitátes observáveris, Dómine: * Dómine, quis sustinébit?	3 If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
4  Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te, Dómine.	4 For with you there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, O Lord.
5  Sustinuit ánima mea in verbo ejus: * sperávit ánima mea in Dómino.	My soul has relied on his word: 5 My soul has hoped in the Lord.
6  A custódia matutína usque ad noctem: * speret Israël in Dómino.	6 From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
7  Quia apud Dóminum misericórdia: * et copiósa apud eum redémptio.	7 Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
8  Et ipse rédimet Israël: * ex ómnibus iniquitátibus ejus.	8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities

Historical context

The psalm is almost certainly Davidic in origin, as 2 Chronicles 6:36-42, which is part of a prayer of King Solomon, alludes to and explains this psalm, and explicitly mentions Solomon's father, King David in this context.

Here are the verses in question from Chronicles:

"And if they sin against you (for there is no man that sins not) and you be angry with them, and deliver them up to their enemies, and they lead them away captive to a land either afar off, or near at hand, and if they be converted in their heart in the land to which they were led captive, and do penance, and pray to you in the land of their captivity saying: We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have dealt unjustly: And return to you with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they were led away, and adore you towards the way of their own land which you gave their fathers, and of the city, which you have chosen, and the house which I have built to your name: Then hear from heaven, that is, from your firm dwelling place, their prayers, and do judgment, and forgive your people, although they have sinned: For you are my God: let your eyes, I beseech you, be open, and let your ears be attentive to the prayer, that is made in this place. Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into your resting place, you and the ark of your strength: let your priests, O Lord God, put on salvation, and your saints rejoice in good things. O Lord God, turn not away the face of your anointed: remember the mercies of David your servant."

In the Benedictine Office

Above all though, it is one of the Gradual psalms, the pilgrim songs sung as the pilgrims climbed the steps to the Temple on the occasion of the great feasts each year.  The slow ascent of the steps is meant to symbolize the pilgrim's journey, firstly towards the earthly Temple, but also the spiritual ascent to heaven.

Christ's earthly life, and particularly his public ministry which we can particularly meditate today on, in the context of the Office, is meant to teach us how to make that spiritual ascent: following the steps of the Apostles as they learnt from the Master, we too can gradually grow in the grace represented by each of these steps.

In this light, Pope Benedict XVI suggested that:

"the text is first and foremost a hymn to divine mercy and to the reconciliation between the sinner and the Lord, a God who is just but always prepared to show himself "a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin" (Ex 34: 6-7)."

One can perhaps use it to meditate on incidents in the Gospel such as Jesus' repeated forgiveness of sins of those he healed through his miracles; the tearful repentance of Mary Magdalene; the story of the woman caught in adultery and more.

Competing textual traditions?

It is worth noting that this is one of those psalms where the Septuagint Greek (and thus Vulgate) and the (late medieval) Hebrew Masoretic Text are in places very different, in ways impossible to reconcile by looking for alternative readings of the Hebrew.  

In particular, from verse 4 onwards, the Hebrew puts much more emphasis on fear of God, and omits two references to the hope of the Christ’s redemption.  This may well be the result of early rabbinical reaction to Christianity, and in fact the text is so corrupt that in places even protestant bibles that usually prefer the Hebrew have adopted the Vulgate tradition.

You can find notes on the individual verses of the psalm starting here. and an updated introduction to it here.

De Profundis in the Office and the Mass

Over the last few weeks I've been looking at Psalm 114, the first psalm of Vespers of the Dead. 

One of the other psalms from this Office features heavily in today's propers in the Extraordinary Form, namely Psalm 129 (130), Out of the Deep.  The first verse of Psalm 129, actually gets two guenseys in the Propers of the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, as the Alleluia and the Offertory.

Psalm 129

First the full text of the psalm:

De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine; Domine, exaudi vocem meam.
Fiant aures tuæ intendentes in vocem deprecationis meæ.
Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quis sustinebit?
Quia apud te propitiatio est; et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.
Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus: speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem, speret Israël in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia, et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israël ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus.

Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
For with you there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, O Lord. My soul has relied on his word: My soul has hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities

In the context of the Mass, the psalm clearly looks forward to the dark days of the end of the world (Out of the deep) but also suggests the promise of redemption in the Second Coming.

The medieval exegetes, Dom Gueranger points out in Liturgical Year, saw it as particularly referring to the promised conversion of the Jews in the last days. It is therefore not altogether surprising therefore that this is one of those psalms where the (pre-Christian) Septuagint Greek (and thus Vulgate) and the (medieval) Hebrew Masoretic Text are in places very different, in ways impossible to reconcile by looking for alternative readings of the Hebrew. In particular, from verse 4 onwards, the Hebrew puts much more emphasis on fear of God, and omits two references to the hope of the Christ’s redemption.

Psalm 129 is one of the most heavily used psalms liturgically and quasi-liturgically, showing its applicability not only as a collective hymn, but also as an individual prayer. As well as featuring in Vespers of the dead, it is one of the Gradual psalms and one of the seven penitential psalms. In this context, Cassiodorus suggests that in this psalm, “as penitent he cries from the depths to the Lord, asking that the great power of the Godhead be experienced by the deliverance of mankind.”

You can find some notes I've previously written on this psalm in the context of the penitential psalms, starting here.  And you can find notes on it in the context of Tuesday Vespers here.

Here is the Alleluia:



And to listen to the Offertory: