Psalm 139 verse 2: We are at war

Verse  2 of Psalm 139 is a reminder that we are constantly called upon to wage spiritual warfare, since the enemy never ceases planning his assaults on us.

Looking at the Latin

Phrase by phrase, using the Douay-Rheims:

Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde tota die constituébant prælia.

Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.

Tota die (all day long) here really means ceasely, or continually (as the Revised Standard Version suggests, see below), or always (as in the Knox translation).

Praelia literally means battles, and the whole psalm serves as a reminder that in this world we must always conisder ourselves soldiers of Christ, contending against the world, the flesh and the devil.  All the same, in the context of the psalmists complaints about slander and eother evil words, the translation of the word as 'strife' or perhaps 'trouble' also works.

The verb cogitaverunt (they thought, planned) is important, as it recurs in various forms through the psalm, and its repetition - rather than use of other synonmyms  - can be seen as setting in contrast the total knowledge and Providential plan of God reflected on in Psam 138, and the knowledge of faith of the good person, with the twisted and evil thoughts of evildoers.

Word by word:

Qui (who) cogitavérunt (pf: they have thought/planned) iniquitátes (evil) in corde (in the heart): * tota (all) die (the day) constituébant (they were devising/designing/planning) prælia (battles/war).

The key vocabulary for the verse is:

cogito, avi, atum, are to think, plan, devise, take counsel.

iniquitas, atis, f iniquity, injustice, sin.

cor, cordis, n., the heart, regarded as the seat of the faculties, feelings, emotions, passions; the mind, the soul.

totus a um all, the whole

dies, ei, m. and f fem.  a day, the natural day

constituo, stitui, tutum, ere 3  to set, place, put, appoint; o make, create; build, found; devise, design; fix, mark out.

praelium, ii, n., war, battle, contention, disputes

The various translations below provide more of the sense of the verse, with the Knox perhaps providing the most poetic rendering, describing those who devote their entire day to stirring up trouble:

DR	Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
Brenton	Who have devised injustice in their hearts; all the day they prepared war.
MD	Who devise evil in their hearts and daily stir up strifes.
RSV	who plan evil things in their heart, and stir up wars continually.
Cover	who imagine mischief in their hearts, and stir up strife all the day long.
Knox	always plotting treachery in their hearts, always at their quarrelling,
Grail	from those who plan evil in their hearts and stir up strife every day;

[Abbreviations: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

The key Latin translations of this verse vary mainly in the synonyms used for evil doers:

2	V	Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: tota die constituébant prælia.
	OR	qui cogitaverunt malitias in corde tota die constitubant proelia
	NV	Qui cogitaverunt mala in corde, tota die constituebant proelia.
	Pian	Ab iis qui cogitant mala in corde, Omni die excitant lites,
	JH	quia cogitaverunt malitias in corde; tota die versati sunt in proeliis.
	Sept	οἵτινες ἐλογίσαντο ἀδικίας ἐν καρδίᾳ ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν παρετάσσοντο πολέμους

[Abbreviations: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; Jh=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

The Pian (Bea), though, changes the tense of the verb in the opening phrase from perfect (ie they are/have  always/continuously been plotting), to present (they are plotting), a rather substantial change in meaning on the face of it.  It also changes proelia (battles, combat, war) to the noun lis (a strife, dispute, quarrel, altercation), rather softening the sense of the verse.

The heart of good and evil

The three psalms of Thursday Vespers focus heavily on our inner dispositions.  In Psalm 138, the speaker invites God to search our heart and mind, lest we have fallen into evil ways; in Psalm 140 that follows this one, the psalmist asks God's help to not let his heart incline to evil words, or to make excuses for sins.

By contrast, the wicked man has no such desire for insight or correction, but rather acts as if God doesn't exist, thinking that his secrets remain just that.

St Augustine saw this verse as directed against those who plot in secret:

For easy is it to avoid open enmities, easy is it to turn aside from an enemy declared and manifest, while iniquity is in his lips as well as his heart; he is a troublesome enemy, he is secret, he is with difficulty avoided, who bears good things in his lips, while in his heart he conceals evil things. 

And contrary to the interpretation of the Bea Psalter, St Augustine was clear that what is being talked about here is a continuous state of outright war:

Be it sedition, be it schism, be it heresy, be it turbulent opposition, it springs not save from these imaginings which were concealed, and while they spoke good words with their lips, all the day long did they make war. You hear words of peace, yet making war departs not from their thoughts. For the words, all the day long, signify without intermission, throughout the whole time. 

God though, knows the innermost thoughts of everyone, hence our total dependnece on him as St Robert Bellarmine commented:

He assigns a reason for having said, “Deliver me,” and the reason is because he was assailed through thought, word, and deed; and so repeatedly, that they might be called daily, without intermission or truce; and the Apostle, therefore, justly exhorts us “to put on the armor of God,” or, as the Greek has it, all sorts of armor, to wit, the helmet, coat of mail, shield, and sword, to enable us to offer the necessary resistance, and to stand perfect in every respect...They never ceased arranging the plans of battle they had previously decided on. 

Bellarmine's commentary goes on to suggest that the plural used for those plotting makes clear that the evil man of the first verse is not just a particular individual:

Who have devised iniquity in their hearts.” This proves that the expression, “the evil man,” in the first verse, is not intended for an individual, such as Saul, but for a lot of evil men, be they demons or men;

He also suggested, though, that the enemy can mean that which operates within us:

All this may, possibly, refer to the interior struggle within us, in respect of bad thoughts the prince of darkness turns up to us; such as unchaste thoughts, temptations, infidelities to grace, scruples, and mental perplexities; all the source of much annoyance and trouble.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	3 Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	4 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: 6 The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	7 I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	8 O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	9 Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	11 Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	12 A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	13 I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	14 But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

And for the next part in this series on Psalm 139, continue on here.

Psalm 139 verse 1: Save us from the enemy

The first verse of Psalm 139 is a plea for help.

Understanding the literal meaning of the Latin

A word by word translation would be:

Eripe (free, imperative) me, Dómine (O Lord), ab (from+abl) hómine (men) malo (evil): * a (from) viro (men) iníquo (wicked) éripe (free) me.

Or phrase by phrase, using the Douay-Rheims:

Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: a viro iníquo  éripe me.

Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: from the unjust man  rescue me.

The key vocabulary for the verse is:

eripio, ripui, reptum, ere 3  to snatch away, to rescue, deliver; to tear out, snatch away, wrest, pluck, tear, take away

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

malus, a, um, adj., bad, evil, wicked; grievous, sore, severe; subst., malum, i, n., evil, sin; woe, harm, misfortune.

vir, viri, m., a man

iniquus, a, um, unjust, godless, wicked; As a subst.  the wicked, the godless, the unjust (man or men); evil-doers.

At first glance this verse seems like a classic case of paralellism: in the Vulgate version we are given two synonyms for the enemy, the evil man, and the wicked man, with both homo and vir understood as referring to men in general, rather than a particular individual (see the plurals in verse 3-4 below).  St Jerome's version from the Hebrew follows the same text tradition, and reflects the theme of the psalm that the main sin committed by those against the psalmist is slander.  

The Hebrew Masoretic Text however makes the second half of the verse the 'violent man' (חָמָס, chamac), and the Pian and neo-Vulgate versions follow suit:

1	V/OR	Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.
	NV	Eripe me, Domine, ab homine malo, a viro violentiae serva me.
	Pian	Eripe me, Domine, ab homine malo, A viro violento custodi me:
	JH	Erue me, Domine, ab homine malo ; a uiris iniquis serua me:
	Sept	ἐξελοῦ με κύριε ἐξ ἀνθρώπου πονηροῦ ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς ἀδίκου ῥῦσαί με

[Abbreviations: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; Jh=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

The twentieth century Pian version also makes a subtle but perhaps important change in the meaning of the verse: instead of repeating the plea to God to save or rescue us, it asks him to guard us. Several twentieth century translations, such as the Collegeville contained in the Monastic Diurnal, follow suit.

DR	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
Brenton	Rescue me, O Lord, from the evil man; deliver me from the unjust man.
MD	Deliver me O Lord from evil men save me from men of violence
RSV	Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,
Cover	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man, and preserve me from the wicked man,
Knox	Rescue me, Lord, from human malice, save me from the lovers of oppression,
Grail	Rescue me, Lord, from evil men; from the violent keep me safe

[Abbreviations: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

A plea for help

The psalms starts with a plea for help from God, which should be viewed, I think, as an acknowledgement that without God's grace, our own efforts are futile.

Who is it we need help to save us from?

So who, then, is the enemy the psalmist is asking for help against?

St Augustine argued that the verse is talking first and foremost about the devil, but also from those acting under his influence:

Not from one only, but from the class; not from the vessels only, but from their prince himself, that is, the devil. Why from man, if he means from the devil? Because he too is called a man in a figure. ...Now then being made light, not in ourselves, but in the Lord, let us pray not only against darkness, that is, against sinners, whom still the devil possesses, but also against their prince, the devil himself, who works in the children of disobedience.

In this then, we can see the seeds of the Christological interpretation of the psalm, which sees the verse as referring to Judas and the Jewish authorities plotting against Christ.

Dealing with the enemy

St Augustine's commentary includes a key warning against complacency in dealing with the enemy (taking a slant on the verse at odds with the Pian interpretation), warning that even those don't seem to pose an immediate threat can be dangerous:

For he called him wicked because unrighteous, lest perchance you should think that any unrighteous man could be a good man. For many unrighteous men seem to be harmless; they are not fierce, are not savage, do not persecute nor oppress; yet are they unrighteous, because, following some other habit, they are luxurious, drunkards, given to pleasure....Wicked then is every unrighteous man, who must needs be harmful, whether he be gentle or fierce...Let not then men please you who seem gentle and kind, yet are lovers of carnal pleasure, followers of polluted lusts, let them not please you. Though as yet they seem gentle, they are roots of thorns...They may be silent, they may hide their enmity, but they cannot love you. But since they cannot love you, and since they who hate you must needs seek your harm, let not your tongue and heart be slow to say to God, Deliver me, O Lord, from the unrighteous man.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	3 Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	4 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: 6 The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	7 I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	8 O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	9 Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	11 Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	12 A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	13 I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	14 But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

And for the next part in this series, continue on here.

Introduction to Psalm 139

Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Psalm 139 is said on Thursdays in the Benedictine Office, a placement particularly appropriate given that the persecution and suffering of the speaker in the psalm have long been viewed as a prophesy referring to Christ, hence its use in Vespers for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Vespers on Thursday in the Benedictine Office

There are, I think, strong connections between all of the psalms set for Thursday Vespers in the Benedictine Office.

The first half of the hour is taken up with Psalm 138, a meditation on the omniscience and omnipotence of God.  Its most obvious interpretation is as a meditation on the human and divine natures of Christ, particularly in the context of the agony in the garden.  The following psalms too, can readily be interpreted as applying to Christ, and particularly his persecution, trials and passion.

But its ideas flow into the other two psalms of the hour, I think, in the form of instruction for us, in Psalms 139 and 140, on how we as limited humans can obtain and retain the small knowledge (relative to that of God) we need, to find and stay on the path that God has set out for us, in order to become saints, and thus reach heaven.

Psalm 138, for example, reminds us that our entire existence is dependent on God's action:

13   Quia tu possedisti renes meos; suscepisti me de utero matris meæ.

For it was you that created me, and have protected me from my mother's womb.

It goes on to point out that we can only know a tiny fraction of what God does (v6): we can see some of his work's and praise him for them (v14); we can seek to know the correct path to take.  But because we are limited, imperfect beings (v16), we can easily be deluded, and so need God to teach us and correct us when we go astray:

23 Proba me, Deus, et scito cor meum; interroga me, et cognosce semitas meas.	23 Examine  me, O God, and know my heart: examine me, and know my paths.
24 Et vide si via iniquitatis in me est, et deduc me in via æterna.	24 And see if there be in me the way of iniquity: and lead me in the eternal way.

In Psalm 139 the key obstacle we face is the malice of others; in order to overcome this, we need the help of grace.  In Psalm 140, the focus shifts to what should be our own proper actions, aided by grace.  

The text of Psalm 139

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

The psalm title

The literal, historical interpretation of the psalm as a reference to the sufferings of King David are generally referenced in post -Trent commentaries, such as that of St Alphonsus Liguori:

David implores help from God against Saul, and against those that spoke calumniously of him to that prince. 

St Cassiodorus (c485-585), however, explained the relevance of the title of the psalm christologically:

Unto the end denotes the Lord Christ; as Paul says: For the end of the law is Christ, unto justice to everyone that believeth.' Let us lift up our hearts to Him with all our strength, for in this psalm as by the voice of a herald we are forewarned that He comes as a Judge, fearful and almighty but also devoted and the object of great longing.

The voice of the Christ

The Christological explanation of the psalm is reflected in its use in the liturgies of Passiontide, Holy Week, and feasts relating to the Passion.

It is an interpretation of it that goes back at least to St Hilary of Poitiers (310-367), who argued that verses 2-6 can be interpreted as the plotting of the Jewish authorities; while the reference to the hand of the unjust man refers to Judas.

NT references	Romans 3:13, Jas 3:8 (3)
RB cursus	Thursday Vespers+AN 1197 (2)
Monastic feasts etc	Triduum Vespers; Comm. of Passion, Five Wounds, Seven Dolours (Vespers) AN 1199(5), 3535 (14)
Roman pre 1911	Friday Vespers
Responsories	Passion wk Tues v2 (207) 6666, 6671, 7203 (alt verse for Ne avertas) (2);
Brigittine	Wednesday Vespers
Maurist	Friday Vespers
Thesauris schemas	A: Thurs Vespers; B: Tuesday Vespers; C: Tuesday Sext wk 1; D: Thursday Matins wk 2
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Friday Vespers  . 1970: Friday wk 4 little hour omit vv. 10-12
Mass propers (EF)	Holy Tues, OF (4); Good Friday TR (1-10, 14).

The voice of the Church

The psalm can also, though, be interpreted as speaking of the ongoing struggle of the Church against those seeking to subvert it from within and without, as Cassiodorus, for example, explained:

Holy Church speaks throughout the psalm. In the first section she entreats the Lord that He may deign to free her from the wicked devil who seeks to undermine the devotion of the faithful people with many deceits and traps. In the second, she begs not to be consigned to that most evil tempter, now that she is certainly delivered from bitter dangers by His protection. In the third, she says that vengeance at the future judgment will visit those who afflict His poor with senseless disturbances.

St Benedict's use of the psalm

The psalm is also cited in the Benedictine Rule in relation to the ninth degree of humility:

The ninth degree of humility is that a monk restrain his tongue and keep silence,  not speaking until he is questioned.  For the Scripture shows  that "in much speaking there is no escape from sin" (Prov. 10:19) and that "the talkative man is not stable on the earth" (Ps. 139:12).

The text of the psalm

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

And you can find the next part in this series, providing detailed notes on verse 1 of the Psalm, here. 

Coming soon - A Lenten series on Thursday Vespers in the Benedictine Office

Source: Coro alto, Sé de Braga Portugal; author - Joseolgon, Wiki Commons.

This Lent I intend to resume my long neglected effort to provide verse by verse notes on the psalms set for Vespers in the Benedictine Office. I have previously provided notes for the psalms for the hour up to and including Psalm 138..

Accordingly, this Lent I plan to look primarily at Psalms 139 and 140, that is the second half of Vespers on Thursday in the Benedictine Office, whose themes are, I think, particularly appropriate for Lent.  

As in the past, the notes on individual verses will generally include four components:

• a crib for the Latin, so that those with little or no knowledge of the language can understand what they are praying, in order support those who wish to pray the Office in Latin;
• notes on the different text traditions represented primarily by the Hebrew Masoretic Text (the main basis for Protestant translations of the Bible, as well as the Neo-Vulgate published in 1979 by the Vatican) and the Greek Septuagint text;
• a compilation of different translations of the verse, to help get a feel for the different possibilities the Hebrew/Greek/Latin presents; 
• notes on the psalm in the context of Benedicitne spirituality in particular, and drawing on the commentaries of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church more broadly.

If I can, I will also provide some more general notes on St Benedict's design of Vespers, focusing on Thursday, as an act of Scriptural interpretation.

You can find the first part of the series here.

Why pray in Latin? New book...

 

I wanted to alert readers to a new book that may be of interest, called Latin Prayer. Aspects of Language and Catholic Spirituality, by David Birch.

I will provide a review in a week or two, but in the meantime, here is the information from the flyer:

Praying in Latin has been part of Catholic life for almost 2,000 years. Each Latin prayer, whether prayed in public worship, or in private contemplation, is saturated with the very rich history of the Catholic Church. The place of Latin prayer thus forms an intrinsic part of the deep and extensive patrimony that is Catholic Tradition. Latin Prayer. Aspects of Language and Catholic Spirituality offers a grammar of prayer, with a linguist's eye for language, and with a Catholic heart for the numinous, which, linguistically and spiritually, is steeped in this patrimony and Tradition.

Over 13 detailed chapters, exploring a wide range of grammatical, linguistic and stylistic features of Latin prayer, and including a very comprehensive bibliography of Liturgical Latin, this book seeks to offer a linguistic means to exploring, and articulating, some of the spiritual depths that lie at the heart of the Latin prayer of the Church.

This is not a ‘how to learn Latin’ book, nor is it a compendium of Latin prayers, but a sustained meditation on prayer, using both a linguistics and theological/scriptural vocabulary, and written by a now retired academic, who has spent a lifetime, as first medieval and then modern linguist, praying both public and increasingly now, private Latin prayer.

It is hoped that those who know no Latin will be inspired by this book to learn it, and those who know it, and perhaps some, or all, of the prayers included here, to revisit it, perhaps with renewed eyes and heart. Above all, it is hoped that everyone, regardless of linguistic skills, will, through these pages, acknowledge, and indeed marvel at, the depth of Catholic patrimony and Tradition in Latin prayer, and its power and potency as a still completely relevant way of prayer. 

This is not a call to traditionalist arms; nor a condemnation or critique of contemporary post-Vatican II vernacular Catholicism, but an embrace of the prayer of the Church across its entire history, regardless of how parts of that history may now be viewed.

Available in paperback and as an e-book at https://www.amazon.com; online bookstores or please support your local bookshop by ordering it with its ISBN- 978-0-6454193-0-6

All royalties from this book will be donated in full to the Monks of Notre Dame Priory, Colebrook, Tasmania, Australia: https://www.notredamemonastery.org/helpus