Psalm 123: verses 3-4

 Verses 3-4 present the second major image of Psalm 123, of a torrent of waters seeking to drown us.

3	V/NV	Cum irascerétur furor eórum in nos, * fórsitan aqua absorbuísset nos.
	JH	cum irasceretur furor eorum super nos : forsitan aquae circumdedissent nos,
		ἐν τῷ ὀργισθῆναι τὸν θυμὸν αὐτῶν ἐφ' ἡμᾶς ἄρα τὸ ὕδωρ κατεπόντισεν ἡμᾶς

Text notes:  The Monastic Diurnal omits to translate the ‘forte’ here, but Ladouceur suggests that is appropriate, as the word is added to translate an untranslatable Greek particle of contingency (in a contrary to the fact condition).  Boylan suggests that the overall image conjured up here is that of a sea monster, which fits with the flooding waters that follow, and is picked up again in verse 5.

irascor, iratus sum, irasci  to be angry or wrathful. (1) Of God. (2) Of men

furor, oris, m.  rage, wrath, fury, indignation

aqua, ae, water

forsitan, adv.  perhaps, perchance, peradventure; surely.

absorbeo, ui, ere 2, to swallow up, gulp down

DR	When their fury was enkindled against us, perhaps the waters had swallowed us up.
Brenton	when their wrath was kindled against us: verily the water would have drowned us,
MD	When their fury was inflamed against us, the waters might have rushed over us.
RSV	when their anger was kindled against us; then the flood would have swept us away,
Cover	Yea, the waters had drowned us, and the stream had gone over our soul.

Cassiodorus parses out the text as follows:

"The first half of the verse goes with what precedes. This is how the sense is to be combined: If it had not been that the Lord was with us when men rose up against us, perhaps they would have swallowed us alive. We must place a fullstop here, so that we may take the remainder of the verse with the connection between the words sundered. 

With regard to his phrase, they would have swal­lowed us alive, it is not a human practice for opponents to swallow people alive; but we are swallowed alive when plunged into the evils of heresy or into the steep depths of sins with sacrilegious wicked­ness. This could have befallen the holy men if heavenly power had not rescued them. 

Next follows the other half of this verse, which must clearly be joined to the statement coming next. He says: When their anger was roused against us. The sense of their roused anger is that they did not have most righteous motives, for anger and envy are lacking in judgment, pursuing as they do their desires with headlong purpose. As Solomon puts it: Anger killeth the foolish, and envy slayeth the little one.What just motive could they have against God's servants when they had the audacity to despise the Creator of all when He was with them? Animus (anger) is a Greek word formed from anemos (wind), because its movement is comparable to the swiftest breezes, or from anaima (bloodlessness) because it is bloodless, since it is not physical, as was stated in the book which with the Lord's help we wrote on the soul.

4	V	Torréntem pertransívit ánima nostra: * fórsitan pertransísset ánima nostra aquam intolerábilem.
	NV	torrens pertransisset animam nostram; forsitan pertransissent animam nostrum aquae intumescentes.
	JH	torrens transisset super animam nostram : forsitan transissent super animam nostram aquae superbae.
		χείμαρρον διῆλθεν ἡ ψυχὴ ἡμῶν ἄρα διῆλθεν ἡ ψυχὴ ἡμῶν τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ἀνυπόστατον

Text notes: The Vulgate (and Septuagint) reverse the subject and object (soul and torrent) in each of the phrases here compared to the Masoretic Text, and the Diurnal follows the MT.  The Septuagint/Vulgate version however makes just as much if not more sense however, making the movement of the soul more active (ie ‘Our soul has passed through the torrent’, rather than ‘the torrent passed over our soul’).  Either way, floods and overwhelming waters often symbolize misfortune.

torrens, entis, m.  a brook, stream, torrent

pertranseo, ii or ivi, ire  to pass through,traverse; to go about, wander, roam; to pass, flow

anima, ae, (1) Equivalent to a personal pronoun:   (2) Untranslated:. (3) Life, soul, and heart

intolerabilis, e, overwhelming, unbearable

DR	Our soul has passed through a torrent: perhaps our soul had passed through a water insupportable.
Brenton	our soul would have gone under the torrent. Yea, our soul would have gone under the overwhelming water.
MD	The torrent might have overwhelmed us, the raging flood might have swept us along.
RSV	the torrent would have gone over us; then over us would have gone the raging waters.
Cover	The deep waters of the proud had gone even over our soul.

Pope Benedict XVI commented on these verses as follows:

In the first, the raging waters, a biblical symbol of devastating chaos, evil and death, predominate: "Then would the waters have engulfed us, the torrent gone over us; over our head would have swept the raging waters" (vv. 4-5). The person of prayer now has the feeling that he lies on a beach, miraculously saved from the pounding fury of the waves. Human life is surrounded by the snares of evil lying in wait that not only attack the person's life but also aim at destroying all human values. We see how these dangers exist even now. However, the Lord rises - and we can be sure of this also today - to preserve the just and save him, as the Psalmist sings in Psalm 18[17]: "From on high he reached down and seized me; he drew me forth from the mighty waters. He snatched me from my powerful foe, from my enemies... the Lord was my support. He brought me forth into freedom, he saved me because he loved me" (vv. 17-20)

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

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

Gradual Psalms - Introduction to Psalm 123

The second psalm of weekday Sext in the Benedictine office, Psalm 123, makes clear our total dependence on God.

In the previous psalm, the speaker has had enough, is sick of being treated with being an object of derision.  Here the psalmist rejoices because God has heard his plea and intervened to strengthen the souls of the people with faith and patience, and bring them safely through the raging waters and the hunter’s trap.

The psalm contrasts the helplessness of man in the face of his enemies, with God, the Creator of all and saviour of the people under attack.

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

In the Hebrew Masoretic Text version (but not the Septuagint) this psalm, the fourth of the gradual psalms, is attributed to David.

There are also a number of minor differences in this psalm between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint.

How to face trials

The psalm opens with a a formula that is an exhortation to prayer: ‘dicat nunc Israël’,  or 'let Israel say'.   It then provides two images of the dire straits the pilgrims finds themselves in: first a sea monster intent on swallowing them alive as they struggle, caught up in a raging flood (verses 2-5); and secondly of birds caught in a trap set by hunters (verses 6-7).

It seems to me to conjure up the image of a people facing certain death, a challenge faced by all too many Christians in our time.  And in this situation, it argues, what counts is not our own virtues, planning or resources, but God’s mercy and aid.

As in the previous psalm, the emphasis here is on cultivating patience and self-abandonment to God.

St John Chrysostom adds another key dimension to this message, stressing the importance of trials in building our character and virtue, and thus helping us progress towards perfection: great troubles bring forth great good for us and from us.

Song of the martyrs

Above all, the psalm reminds us that, in facing our noonday demons, it is the fate of the soul, not the body that counts: St Augustine portrays this psalm as the song of the martyrs, rejoicing that they have passed through the torrents and traps that afflict the body only, their souls resting safe with the Lord in heaven.  Pope Benedict XVI summarises his view thus:

‘St Augustine comments clearly on this Psalm. He first observes that it is fittingly sung by the "members of Christ who have reached blessedness". In particular, "it has been sung by the holy martyrs who, upon leaving this world are with Christ in joy, ready to take up incorrupt again those same bodies that were previously corruptible. In life they suffered torments in the body, but in eternity these torments will be transformed into ornaments of justice". However, in a second instance the Bishop of Hippo tells us that we too, not only the blessed in Heaven, can sing this Psalm with hope. He declares: "We too are enlivened by unfailing hope and will sing in exaltation. Indeed, the singers of this Psalm are not strangers to us.... Therefore, let us all sing with one heart: both the saints who already possess the crown as well as ourselves, who with affection and hope unite ourselves to their crown. Together we desire the life that we do not have here below, but that we will never obtain if we have not first desired it".’

The psalm contains a threefold profession of faith: faith that the Lord is with us in our trials (verse 1); that he will not abandon us to temptations (verse 6); and above all in that final triumphant statement, that the God who is creator of all things will save us (verse 8).

Psalm 122 verses 4-5

The final verses of Psalm 122 describe that state of mind we have all surely felt at some point, of just having had enough!

4	V/NV	Miserére nostri, Dómine, miserére nostri: * quia multum repléti sumus despectióne:
	JH	Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri : quoniam multum repleti sumus despectione.
	Sept	ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς κύριε ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς ὅτι ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐπλήσθημεν ἐξουδενώσεως

Text notes: Have mercy on us, Lord (Miserere nostri Domine) is a very familiar prayer, but here in the plural, not the singular as in Psalm 50 and elsewhere, giving the appearance of a communal plea.  The RSV perhaps best conveys the sense of the second phrase: ‘for we have had more than enough of contempt’.  The Knox translation provides a nice sense of the text of the second phrase and the next verse: "we have had our fill of man’s derision. Our hearts can bear no more to be the scorn of luxury, the derision of the proud".

multus, a, um, much; many, numerous; much, great.

despectio, onis, a looking down upon; fig., a despising, contempt, shame

repleo, plevi, pletum, ere 2, to fill, sate, satisfy.

DR	Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us: for we are greatly filled with contempt.
Brenton	Have pity upon us, O Lord, have pity upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
MD	Have mercy on us, O Lord, be gracious to us, for we are overfilled with reproach.
RSV	Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Cover	Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us; for we are utterly despised.

The solution to the contempt of the world, the psalmist tells us, is to pray for God's mercy.  St John Chrysostom comments:

"Do you see a contrite mind? They beg to be saved for mercy's sake -and not even mercy deservedly, but for having paid a heavy pen­alty, as Daniel too said, "We are reduced in numbers by compari­son with all the nations on earth," which is exactly what they say in their petition. We have endured the ultimate tragedy: we were driven from homeland and freedom, made slaves of savages, passed our days in reproach, overcome by hunger and hardship and thirst, spending all the time spat upon and trampled under­foot. For these reasons, then, spare us and have mercy on us." 

The cultivation of this sense of contrition, and constant petition for God's help is vital, because the world will inevitably persecute those who embark on the pilgrimage to heaven, as Bellarmine reminds us:

Because man, created to God's image, placed over all created things by him, very often even adopted by him as a son, and predestined to enjoy the kingdom of heaven, is so despised in this our pilgrim­age, not only by men and demons, and so constantly annoyed, not only by the aforesaid, but even by animals, even to the minut­est of them, and even by the very elements, that the Prophet could say with the greatest truth, not only that we are despised, but that we are "greatly filled with contempt." For what is there that does not look down upon man, even on the just and the holy, in this valley of tears? However, the contempt principally meant by the Prophet here is that which the just suffer from the unjust, and the good from the bad; because most true and universal is that expression of the apostle, "And all who live piously in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution;" as well as those words of the Lord, "If you had been of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you." This is easily understood; for good and evil, being essentially opposed to each other, they cannot possibly be at peace. And, as the just are patient and mild, and have learned of their Master to turn the other cheek to him who strikes on one, and thus to make no resistance to injuries, they are, in consequence, proudly despised, harassed, and ridiculed by the wicked.

5	V	Quia multum repléta est ánima nostra: * oppróbrium abundántibus, et despéctio supérbis.
	NV	quia multum repleta est anima nostra derisione abundantium et despectione superborum.
	JH	Multum repleta est anima nostra obprobrio abundantium, et despectione superborum.
	Sept	ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἐπλήσθη ἡ ψυχὴ ἡμῶν τὸ ὄνειδος τοῖς εὐθηνοῦσιν καὶ ἡ ἐξουδένωσις τοῖς ὑπερηφάνοις

Text notes: The first phrase repeats the sentiment of the previous verse.  The second phrase is rather ambiguous.  If one assumes a verb in the present tense, sumus, it could be either ‘we are filled with reproaches from the proud and carefree’, a line followed by the Diurnal, RSV and Coverdale translations, and adopted by the Neo-Vulgate.  But the Greek implies it is a curse, so the verb would be ‘sit’, the line taken by the Douay-Rheims.  Boylan translates it as ‘let there be contempt for the wealthy, and mockery for the proud’. The second interpretation seems a more satisfactory way of ending the psalm!

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

anima, ae soul

opprobrium, ii, n. a reproach, taunt, byword; an object of scorn, mockery, derision; a disgrace.

abundantia, ae, /.  greatness, abundance; prosperity, abundance.

superbus, a, um raising one's self above others, proud, haughty, arrogant, insolent.

DR	For our soul is greatly filled: we are a reproach to the rich, and contempt to the proud
Brenton	Yea, our soul has been exceedingly filled with it: let the reproach be to them that are at ease, and contempt to the proud.
MD	We are overfilled with the taunts of the rich, and with the contempt of the proud.
RSV	Too long our soul has been sated with the scorn of those who are at ease, the contempt of the proud.
Cover	Our soul is filled with the scornful reproof of the wealthy, and with the despitefulness of the proud.

St John Chrysostom provides a number of different versions of the text which perhaps help provide a better sense of it:

"...The reproach of the prosper­ous, the scorn of the arrogant. A different version, "Our soul has had its share of many things, the mockery of the prosperous, the dis­paragement of the arrogant;" another, "the sneering of the over­bearing;" another, "of reproach of those who are prosperous," whereas the Septuagint says something else, "Let these things change in their case, and let them have a taste of their actions, and their conceit and gall be checked." 

Disasters, he argues, a meant as a remedy for us:

"In fact, you could often see this happening: God is accustomed to do this without fail, repress­ing those who have fallen victim to conceit and bringing down those whose passions are out of control so as to remove them from the way leading to evil. Nothing, after all, is worse than arrogance: it is the reason for trials and tribulations, a body subject to death, and the many difficult situations; it is the reason for ailments and illnesses, so that many curbs may be applied to the soul easily car­ried away and lifted up to self-importance. Consequently, do not panic if temptation comes, dearly beloved; rather, recall the words of the inspired author, "It was good for me that you humbled me so that I might learn your decrees," accept disaster as a medicine, use temptation properly, and you will suc­ceed in attaining greater relief." 

Psalm 122 - Ad te levavi

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum
1  Ad te levávi óculos meos, * qui hábitas in cælis.	To you have I lifted up my eyes, who dwell in heaven.
2  Ecce sicut óculi servórum, * in mánibus dominórum suórum.	2 Behold as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters,
3  Sicut óculi ancíllæ in mánibus dóminæ suæ: * ita óculi nostri ad Dóminum, Deum nostrum, donec misereátur nostri.	As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress: so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until he have mercy on us.
4  Miserére nostri, Dómine, miserére nostri: * quia multum repléti sumus despectióne:	3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us: for we are greatly filled with contempt.
5  Quia multum repléta est ánima nostra: * oppróbrium abundántibus, et despéctio supérbis.	4 For our soul is greatly filled: we are a reproach to the rich, and contempt to the proud

And for notes on Psalm 123, continue on here.