Exposition of Psalm 118 2.30.1–3.23.2
Latin text: CSEL 62 (Latin text: Schenkl/Petschenig, CSEL 62, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Exposition 2, chapter 30
2.30.1CSEL 62:38
Ideo quasi edoctus propheta iustitias quinto uersu dicit: in labiis meis pronuntiaui omnia iudicia oris tui. et quomodo alibi dicit: iudicia tua sicut abyssus multa? quomodo apostolus ait: o altitudo sapientiae et scientiae dei! quam inscrutabilia sunt iudicia eius et inuestigabiles uiae eius!
Therefore, as one taught the righteous acts, the prophet says in the fifth verse: “With my lips I have declared all the judgments of your mouth.” And how does he say elsewhere: “Your judgments are like a great deep”? How does the apostle say: “O the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out!
Ps 119:13 (118:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 36:6 (35:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:33 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 13: how can the psalmist declare God’s judgments when they are unsearchable?
- Ps 118:13 (Ps 119:13); Ps 36:6 (LXX 35:7); Rom 11:33. The digital text’s “ait:s o” is read as “ait: o”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): ait:s o altitudo → ait: o altitudo.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.30.1 (CSEL 62:38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-30-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-30-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-30-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
2.30.2CSEL 62:38
quis enim. cognouit sensum domini? si inscrutabilia sunt iudicia, quomodo ergo pronuntiaui, ait propheta, omnia iudicia oris t u i? sed fortasse non eadem sunt iudicia dei quae iudicia oris eius. si alia sunt, bene dicitur: cogitationibus tuis quis similis erit?, et ideo inscrutabilia sunt iudicia eius, quia ex parte cognoscimus et ex parte prophetamus. si autem nullus nisi Christus hoc dicit, qui potest dicere: ego et pater unum sumus?
For who has known the mind of the Lord?” If the judgments are unsearchable, how then, says the prophet, “I have declared all the judgments of your mouth”? But perhaps the judgments of God are not the same as the judgments of his mouth. If they are different, it is well said, “Who will be like your thoughts?”, and so his judgments are unsearchable, because we know in part and we prophesy in part. But what if no one says this but Christ, who can say: “I and the Father are one”?
Rom 11:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:13 (118:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 40:5 (39:6 LXX) (allusion, low confidence) · 1 Cor 13:9 (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:30 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Perhaps God’s judgments differ from the judgments of his mouth, or perhaps Christ, one with the Father, speaks here.
- Rom 11:34; Ps 40:5 (LXX 39:6, Greek form, uncertain); 1 Cor 13:9; John 10:30.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.30.2 (CSEL 62:38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-30-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-30-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-30-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 2, chapter 31
2.31.1CSEL 62:38
Distinguamus tamen nec uereamur, ne inpugnet se uelut contrariis scriptura uenerabilis. consideremus enim, quia non dixit: iudicia oris eius sicut abyssus multa., sed iudicia tua dixit, nec apostolus posuit: inscrutabilia iudicia oris eius, sed inscrutabilia iudicia eius. possumus enim iudicia dei aestimare
Let us nevertheless distinguish, and not fear that venerable Scripture fights against itself as if with contradictions. Let us consider that he did not say, “The judgments of his mouth are like a great deep,” but “your judgments”; nor did the apostle write, “unsearchable are the judgments of his mouth,” but “unsearchable are his judgments.” For we can consider the judgments of God to be
Ps 36:6 (35:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 11:33 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture does not contradict itself: the unsearchable judgments are not called the judgments of his mouth.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.31.1 (CSEL 62:38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-31-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-31-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-31-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
2.31.2CSEL 62:38–39
quae occulta nobis non patefecerit, iudicia autem oris eius quae adnuntiauerit et per os prophetarum locutus est. os enim dei propheta intellegitur, cui dicitur: clama, et ille ait: quid clamabo? et inspiratum est, ut diceret: omnis caro faenum. quod utique locutus oris dei functus officio est, quia locutus est iudicium dei. ergo prophetica oracula iam non abyssus, sed etiam ipsa sicut abyssus, quia nemo potuit in caelo uel in terra librum aperire nisi Christus. ueniamus nunc ad sextum uersum.
those hidden ones which he has not disclosed to us, but the judgments of his mouth those which he has announced and spoken through the mouth of the prophets. For the prophet is understood as the mouth of God, to whom it is said, “Cry out,” and he says, “What shall I cry?” And it was inspired in him to say: “All flesh is grass.” In saying this he surely performed the office of God’s mouth, because he spoke the judgment of God. Therefore the prophetic oracles are now not the deep, but they too are like a deep, because no one in heaven or on earth could open the book except Christ. Let us come now to the sixth verse.
Isa 40:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 5:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 5:5 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s hidden judgments are unsearchable; the judgments of his mouth are those spoken by the prophets, though only Christ opens them.
- Isa 40:6; Rev 5:3–5.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.31.2 (CSEL 62:38–39; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-31-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-31-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-31-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 2, chapter 32
2.32.1CSEL 62:39
In uia, inquit, testimoniorum tuorum delectatus sum sicut in omnibus diuitiis. alii in auro, alii in argento, alii in uestibus, alii in possessionibus uinetis oleis segetibus, alii in operibus picturae, marmorum, in diuersis denique singuli delectationes habent: spiritalis in uia testimoniorum caelestium delectatur tamquam omne possidens patrimonium, in omnibus diues, sicut apostolus dicit: gratias ago deo meo semperpro uobis in gratia dei nostri quae data est uobis in Christo Iesu, quia in omnibus diuites facti estis in ipso, inomni uerbo et in omni scientia.
“In the way of your testimonies,” he says, “I have delighted as in all riches.” Some delight in gold, some in silver, some in clothes, some in possessions, vineyards, olive groves, cornfields, some in works of painting or marble; each, in short, has his delights in different things. The spiritual man delights in the way of the heavenly testimonies as one possessing the whole inheritance, rich in all things, as the apostle says: “I give thanks to my God always for you, for the grace of our God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you have been enriched in him, in all speech and in all knowledge.”
Ps 119:14 (118:14 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 14: the spiritual man delights in God’s testimonies as in all riches.
- Ps 118:14 (Ps 119:14); 1 Cor 1:4–5. The digital text’s “Inuia” is read as “In uia”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words joined in the digital text): Inuia, inquit → In uia, inquit.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.32.1 (CSEL 62:39; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-32-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-32-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-32-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
2.32.2CSEL 62:39
in tantum doctrina apostoli Corinthii profecerunt, ut, qui ante non poterant nisi sicut paruuli lac solum bibere, postea in omnibus diuitiis abundarent cognitionis et uerbi. delectabatur ergo Dauid in omnibus diuitiis cognitionis scientiae sapientiae, in omni actu bonorum operum. et si quis nunc intentus diuinis triplicem illam sapientiae hauriat disciplinam, ϑεωο̰ητιϰήν, ποαϰτιϰήνι, λοϒιϰήν, bono studio percipiendae cognitionis pulchrior erit, exequendae rationalis moralisque doctrinae gratiam tenens. qui prophetica aenigmata dei spiritu reuelante cognouerit, euangelii altitudinem in operibus et consiliis conprehenderit, apostolici sermonis moralitatem aduerterit, is tamquam in omnibus diues uberem capiet uoluptatem.
The Corinthians advanced so far in the apostle’s teaching that they who before could only drink milk like little children afterwards abounded in all the riches of knowledge and speech. David, then, delighted in all the riches of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, in every action of good works. And if anyone now, intent on divine things, drinks in that threefold discipline of wisdom, the theoretical, the practical, and the logical, he will be the more beautiful for his good zeal in acquiring knowledge, holding the grace of carrying out rational and moral teaching. He who has come to know the riddles of the prophets by the revelation of the Spirit of God, has grasped the depth of the gospel in works and counsels, and has noted the moral teaching of the apostolic word, will, as one rich in all things, take abundant delight.
1 Cor 3:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The riches of the Corinthians and David are the threefold wisdom of contemplation, practice, and reason.
- The Greek words, garbled in the digital text, are θεωρητικήν, πρακτικήν, λογικήν (theoretical, practical, logical philosophy). 1 Cor 3:2.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.32.2 (CSEL 62:39; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-32-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-32-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-32-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 2, chapter 33
2.33.1CSEL 62:39–40
Et quia suauis est corporalis uoluptas, ideo non quasi pro gratiae qualitate cum spiritalibus conparatur, sed quasi ad testimonium suauitatis arcessitur, siquidem et apostolus docet inuisibilia et sempiterna dei a nobis per ea intellecta esse quae facta sunt. in Canticis quoque habemus scriptum: equae meae in curribus Pharaonis adsimulaui te, proxima mea.
And because bodily pleasure is sweet, it is not compared with spiritual things as though equal in the quality of its grace, but it is called on as a witness to sweetness, since the apostle too teaches that the invisible and eternal things of God are understood by us through the things that are made. In the Song too we have it written: “To my mare among Pharaoh’s chariots I have likened you, my neighbor.”
Rom 1:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Song 1:9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Bodily delights serve as images of spiritual ones, as in the Song’s likeness of the bride to Pharaoh’s horses.
- Rom 1:20; Song 1:9.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): Cantic-is → Canticis.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.33.1 (CSEL 62:39–40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-33-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-33-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-33-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
2.33.2CSEL 62:40
in quo dum uelocium equorum cursui similitudo ecclesiae conparari uidetur, aestimatur diues eius gratia. non igitur unam equam diuitis regis accipias, sed absolute pro equitatu, ut saepe dicimus: qualis ouis illius est?- pro "grege ouium". Pharao igitur, ut potentissimus rex et praediues, habebat equos potentes, unde et scriptura dicit currus Pharao quasi potentissimum genus ad bellorum usum et subsidium proeliandi:
In this, since a likeness of the church seems compared to the course of swift horses, her rich grace is valued. Do not, then, take it of one mare of a rich king, but absolutely, for cavalry, as we often say, “What is his sheep like?” for “a flock of sheep.” Pharaoh, then, as a very powerful and very rich king, had powerful horses, which is why Scripture speaks of “Pharaoh’s chariots” as the mightiest kind of force for use in war and for help in battle;
Song 1:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The single mare stands for Pharaoh’s whole cavalry, his mightiest force.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.33.2 (CSEL 62:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-33-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-33-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-33-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
2.33.3CSEL 62:40
denique his curribus Pharao fugientes Hebraeos facile conprehendit. sicut ergo equi iuncti concorditer trahunt currum et patienter suscipiunt iugum et portant congrua cum gratia et iugi illius susceptione mansuescunt, sic et congregatio nationum gentilibus indomita moribus se ante iactabat; ubi uero suscepit iugum dicentis: tollite iugum meum, quia leue est, et onus meum, quia suaue est, et coepit sponsa Christi concordia et mansuetudine populorum esse sublimis et toto circumferri orbe, tamquam currus equis uelocibus supra mundum rapta ascendit ad sponsum.
indeed with these chariots Pharaoh easily overtook the fleeing Hebrews. Just as, then, horses yoked together draw a chariot in harmony, patiently take the yoke, carry their load with fitting grace, and grow gentle by taking up that yoke, so too the gathering of the nations, untamed in Gentile ways, used to toss about before; but when it took up the yoke of him who says, “Take my yoke, for it is light, and my burden, for it is sweet,” and the bride of Christ began to be exalted by the harmony and gentleness of the peoples and to be carried about the whole world, she was caught up, as a chariot with swift horses, above the world and ascended to the bridegroom.
Exod 14:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 11:29 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:30 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Like horses yoked to a chariot, the nations took up Christ’s yoke and bear the church to her bridegroom.
- Exod 14:9; Matt 11:29–30. The digital text’s “est est” is a repeated word.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text): leue est est, → leue est,.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.33.3 (CSEL 62:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-33-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-33-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-33-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 2, chapter 34
2.34.1CSEL 62:40
Denique et in posterioribus Canticorum partibus dicit: posui te currus Aminadab. multos currus habet in se ecclesia, quos omnes spiritalibus habenis dominus regit, et una anima
Indeed in the later parts of the Song too she says: “I have set you as the chariots of Aminadab.” The church has many chariots within her, all of which the Lord guides with spiritual reins; and one soul
Song 6:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The church has many chariots, which the Lord guides with spiritual reins.
- Song 6:12 (Greek form; Hebrew 6:12, Vulgate 6:11).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.34.1 (CSEL 62:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-34-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-34-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-34-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
2.34.2CSEL 62:40–41
multas cogitationes habet, quas domini habena restringit et reuocat, ne quod in praeruptum noster hic currus feratur. Aminadab. autem interpretatione significatur pater beneplaciti, cuius filius legitur in Numeris Naason princeps populi: qui sit, intellege interpretatione serpentinus, et istud agnoscis, si repetas, quia sicut serpens pependit in ligno qui te redemit.
has many thoughts, which the Lord’s rein restrains and calls back, lest this chariot of ours be carried over some precipice. Aminadab means by interpretation “father of good pleasure,” whose son, Naasson, is read in Numbers as a prince of the people. Understand who he is: by interpretation “serpentine”; and you recognize this if you recall that he who redeemed you hung on the tree like a serpent.
Num 1:7 (allusion, high confidence) · John 3:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Num 21:9 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Aminadab means father of good pleasure; his son Naasson, “serpentine”, points to Christ lifted up like the serpent.
- Num 1:7; 2:3; John 3:14 (Num 21:8–9). The digital text’s “quod m praeruptum” is read as “quod in praeruptum”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): quod m praeruptum → quod in praeruptum.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.34.2 (CSEL 62:40–41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-34-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-34-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-34-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 2, chapter 35
2.35.1CSEL 62:41
Ergo anima currus est dei, ut ira eius et libido et timor et omnes saeculares concupiscentiae refrenentur. ecclesia quoque currus est dei, quae regenda est gubernaculis Christi, ne diuersorum populorum motus eam dissensionesque perturbent. illo quoque Naason bene intellegitur Christus, quia uirga Aaron conuersa in serpentem illos serpentes Aegyptios deuorauit. has ergo diuitias habeamus, his delectemur, ut currant nobis equi rationabiles et commoremur in praeceptis eorum.
The soul, then, is the chariot of God, so that its anger and lust and fear and all worldly desires may be reined in. The church too is the chariot of God, to be steered by the helm of Christ, lest the movements and dissensions of different peoples disturb her. By that Naasson too Christ is well understood, because Aaron’s rod, turned into a serpent, devoured those Egyptian serpents. Let us have these riches, let us delight in these, so that rational horses may run for us and we may dwell on their precepts.
Exod 7:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The soul and the church are God’s chariots, steered by Christ, the serpent-rod that conquers.
- Exod 7:10–12.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.35.1 (CSEL 62:41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-35-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-35-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-35-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 2, chapter 36
2.36.1CSEL 62:41
Et ideo ait: in mandatis tuis exercebor et considerabo uias tuas. qui enim exercetur in uerbis apostolorum, Iesu domini mandata cognoscit et considerat uias eius. quibus finis est Christus, qui ait: ego sum uia.
And so he says: “In your commandments I will exercise myself, and I will consider your ways.” For he who exercises himself in the words of the apostles comes to know the commandments of the Lord Jesus and considers his ways, whose end is Christ, who says: “I am the way.”
Ps 119:15 (118:15 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 15: exercising oneself in the commandments leads to Christ, the way.
- Ps 118:15 (Ps 119:15); John 14:6.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.36.1 (CSEL 62:41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-36-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-36-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-36-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 2, chapter 37
2.37.1CSEL 62:41
Et in tuis iustitiis meditabor, non obliuiscar uerborum tuorum. admonet hic locus memores scripturarum nos esse debere et iustitias eius non solum sermone, sed etiam operis imitatione meditari. non enim qui disputant legem et non faciunt quae legis sunt, sed qui factores legis sunt iustificantur.
“And in your righteous acts I will meditate; I will not forget your words.” This place reminds us that we ought to be mindful of the Scriptures and to meditate on his righteous acts not only in speech but also by imitating them in deed. For it is not those who debate the law and do not do what belongs to the law, but the doers of the law who are justified.
Ps 119:16 (118:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 2:13 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 16: we must meditate on God’s righteous acts by doing them.
- Ps 118:16 (Ps 119:16); Rom 2:13.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 2.37.1 (CSEL 62:41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-37-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/2-37-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-2-37-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 1
3.1.1CSEL 62:41
Tertia littera secundum Hebraeos Gimel, quae Latine retributio dicitur. denique primo statim uersu hoc ostenditur.
The third letter according to the Hebrews is Gimel, which in Latin is called “retribution.” Indeed this is shown at once in the first verse.
Notes and citation
Summary: Gimel means retribution, as the first verse shows.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.1.1 (CSEL 62:41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-1-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-1-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 2
3.2.1CSEL 62:41–42
Retribue, inquit, seruo tuo. quomodo supra ipse Dauid ait: non secundum peccata nostra reddas nobis neque secundum iniquitates nostras restituas nobis, et hic poscit retributionem? illa uidetur uox peccatoris esse, haec bene sibi conscii, qui praemia boni operis exposcat. unde possumus etiam hoc intellegere, quod eius persona psalmus iste formetur, qui natus ex uirgine pro totius mundi redemptione ad dexteram patris sedere praesumat, sicut ipse ait: amodo uidebitis filium hominis sedentem ad dexteram uirtutis.
“Repay,” he says, “your servant.” How is it that above David himself says, “Do not repay us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities,” and here he asks for repayment? That seems to be the voice of a sinner, this of one with a good conscience who asks for the rewards of good work. Hence we can also understand that this psalm is framed in the person of him who, born of a virgin for the redemption of the whole world, may confidently claim to sit at the right hand of the Father, as he himself says: “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power.”
Ps 119:17 (118:17 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 103:10 (102:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 26:64 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 17: one who earlier asked not to be repaid for sins now asks for reward; the psalm may be spoken in Christ’s person.
- Ps 118:17 (Ps 119:17); Ps 103:10 (LXX 102:10); Matt 26:64.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.2.1 (CSEL 62:41–42; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-2-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-2-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-2-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 3
3.3.1CSEL 62:42
Non est tamen alienum nec adrogans, si Dauid remunerationem a domino deo suo pro egregiis laboribus postulet: praerogatiua est fidei atque iustitiae de domini fauore mercedem usurpare. denique reprehenditur Petrus, quia super fluctus ambulans humano magis dubitauit affectu quam apostolica auctoritate praesumpsit. in euangelio quoque docemur habere fidem et non haesitare de his quae supra hominem sunt gerendis. merito ergo Dauid in superioribus,
Yet it is neither unfitting nor arrogant if David asks the Lord his God for a reward for his outstanding labors: it is the privilege of faith and righteousness to claim a recompense from the Lord’s favor. Indeed Peter is rebuked because, walking on the waves, he doubted from human feeling rather than presuming with apostolic authority. In the gospel too we are taught to have faith and not to hesitate about doing things that are beyond man. Rightly, then, David in the earlier psalms,
Matt 14:31 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 21:21 (allusion, medium confidence) · Mark 11:23 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: It is not arrogant to ask God for reward; faith may claim it, as Peter’s rebuke for doubting shows.
- Matt 14:31; Matt 21:21; Mark 11:23.
Topics: Good works and merit
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.3.1 (CSEL 62:42; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-3-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-3-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.3.2CSEL 62:42–43
quasi adhuc inperfectus, secundum peccata sibi reddi refugit atque declinat. in hoc autem psalmo, qui est posterior, quasi fundatus uirtutis processu retribui sibi secundum fidei operisque certamina deprecatur, siquidem etiam Paulus, qui ante dixerat: non sum dignus uocari apostolus, postea ait: reposita est mihi corona iustitiae, quam reddet mihi dominus in illa die, iustus iudex, non solum autem mihi, sed e t his qui diligunt aduentum eius. et apostolus sibi pollicetur, hic autem uerecundius adhuc precatur, quod utique non insolentis adrogantiae, sed innocentis est conscientiae, ab ipso cui seruieris petere mercedem, quam desperare segnitiae materia, sperare autem incentiuum laboris est.
as still imperfect, shrinks from and declines to be repaid according to his sins. But in this psalm, which is later, as one grounded by progress in virtue, he prays to be repaid according to the contests of faith and work, since Paul too, who had said before, “I am not worthy to be called an apostle,” afterwards says: “There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but also to those who love his appearing.” And the apostle promises it to himself, but this one still more modestly prays for it; which surely belongs not to insolent arrogance but to an innocent conscience: to ask a reward from him whom you have served; for to despair of it is a ground for sloth, but to hope for it is an incentive to labor.
1 Cor 15:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:8 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: As Paul moved from unworthiness to confidence in his crown, David now asks for the reward of his labors; hope spurs work.
- 1 Cor 15:9; 2 Tim 4:8.
Topics: Good works and merit, Hope
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.3.2 (CSEL 62:42–43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-3-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-3-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-3-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 4
3.4.1CSEL 62:43
Pete igitur confidenter, si merita suffragantur, ut talia petendo studiosius elabores, quo ea petitione sis dignior. quis athleta, si desperet coronam, descendat in stadium aut. si eam postulet uictor, offendat? probatio spem facit, spes confidentiam. iusti ergo talis oratio est; delectatur dominus tali precatione, ut pro puritate conscientiae utaris auctoritate.
Ask, then, with confidence, if your merits support you, so that by asking for such things you may labor more zealously, to be more worthy of that petition. What athlete would go down into the stadium if he despaired of the crown, or would give offense if, as victor, he claimed it? Testing produces hope, hope confidence. Such, then, is the prayer of the righteous; the Lord delights in such a prayer, that you should use authority in accordance with the purity of your conscience.
Rom 5:4 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Like an athlete seeking the crown, the righteous may ask confidently for their reward.
- Rom 5:4.
Topics: Prayer, Good works and merit
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.4.1 (CSEL 62:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-4-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-4-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 5
3.5.1CSEL 62:43
Tamen, quo minus uideatur petitio adrogans, bene addidit: seruo tuo, in quo et humilitatis est gratia et praemium seruitutis. qui enim uocatus est in domino seruus, libertus est domini; quare non praesumat fauorem domini, tam pretioso emptus sanguine? magnum tibi est uocari puerum meum quasi ad seruum dicitur. si quis ergo est seruus et bene seruit domino et nihil facit quasi seruus peccati, sed qui dicit: seruus inutilis sum, quod debui facere feci, bene is dicit: retribue seruo tuo.
Yet, so that the petition might seem less arrogant, he well added “your servant,” in which there is both the grace of humility and the reward of service. For he who is called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman; why should he not presume on the Lord’s favor, bought at so precious a price of blood? “It is a great thing for you to be called my servant,” as is said to a servant. If anyone, then, is a servant and serves the Lord well and does nothing as a slave of sin, but says, “I am an unprofitable servant; I have done what I ought to do,” he well says: “Repay your servant.”
1 Cor 7:22 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:23 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Pet 1:19 (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 49:6 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:34 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 17:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:17 (118:17 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The word “servant” makes the petition humble; the Lord’s servant, bought with his blood, may hope for reward.
- 1 Cor 7:22–23; 1 Pet 1:19; Isa 49:6; John 8:34; Luke 17:10.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.5.1 (CSEL 62:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-5-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-5-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-5-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 6
3.6.1CSEL 62:43
Gloriosa seruitus, qua pro nobis seruiuit et Christus. beata seruitus, qua et tu seruis, sed ita, si nihil possit aduersarius de tuo sibi seruitio uindicare. amat ergo Christus boni libertatem seruuli; denique in Canticis dicit: quam speciosae factae sunt genae tuae sicut turturis, ceruix tua sicut redimicula! uultus liberior est, ubi est castitatis conscientia, et portare Christi iugum suaue est, si ornamenta putes ceruicis tuae esse, non onera.
Glorious service, in which Christ too served for us; blessed service, in which you too serve, but only if the adversary can claim nothing from your service for himself. Christ, then, loves the freedom of a good little servant; indeed in the Song he says: “How beautiful your cheeks have become, like a turtledove’s, your neck like ornaments!” The face is freer where there is the conscience of chastity, and to bear Christ’s yoke is sweet if you consider it the ornament of your neck, not a burden.
Phil 2:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Song 1:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ’s service is freedom; his yoke is an ornament for the neck, not a burden.
- Phil 2:7; Song 1:10 (Greek form).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.6.1 (CSEL 62:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-6-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-6-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.6.2CSEL 62:43–44
adtolle ergo oculos semper ad dominum deum tuum et quaere deum, ut inuenias. erige ceruicem; redimicula, non uincula geris. muta quoque animalia redimiculis gaudent et falerari sibi magis quam nodari uidentur. genae sicut turturis praeferant insignia uerecundiae, redimicula ceruicis libertatis attollant fiduciam: leue est enim iugum Christi et ideo ceruix eo non premitur, sed leuatur.
Lift up your eyes, then, always to the Lord your God, and seek God, that you may find him. Raise your neck: you wear ornaments, not chains. Even dumb animals rejoice in ornaments, and seem to themselves to be adorned rather than tied. Let the cheeks, like a turtledove’s, display the marks of modesty; let the ornaments of the neck lift up the confidence of freedom; for Christ’s yoke is light, and so the neck is not pressed down by it but lifted up.
Matt 7:7 (allusion, low confidence) · Song 1:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 11:30 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ’s light yoke lifts up the neck it rests on.
- Matt 7:7; Song 1:10; Matt 11:30. The digital text’s “tleum” is read as “deum”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): tleum → deum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.6.2 (CSEL 62:43–44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-6-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-6-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-6-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 7
3.7.1CSEL 62:44
Similitudines, inquit, auri faciemus tibi ex distinctionibus argenti, quoad usque rex in declinatione sua. ex his enim, qui ex lege sunt et prophetis, mediocriter ante crediderant gloriam domini lesu, sed hereditas eius diffusa per populos quo frequentius examinata, hoc amplius est probata:
“Likenesses of gold,” it says, “we will make for you, with studs of silver, until the king is at his reclining.” For of those who are of the law and the prophets, few had believed before in the glory of the Lord Jesus; but his inheritance, spread among the peoples, the more often it was tested, the more it was proved:
Song 1:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 1:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The gold and silver ornaments of the Song signify the church, tested and proved among the nations.
- Song 1:11–12 (Greek form). “mediocriter” is rendered “few”, as the sense seems to require; it may mean “moderately”.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.7.1 (CSEL 62:44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-7-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-7-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-7-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.7.2CSEL 62:44
crebrae enim persecutiones ecclesiae iustorum nobis titulos martyrii uictoriis ediderunt. itaque sicut aurum bonum, ita ecclesia, cum uritur, detrimenta non sentit, sed magis fulgor eius augetur, donec Christus ueniat in regnum suum et reclinet caput suum in ecclesiae fide. qui cum uenisset ad oues perditas domus Israel, non habebat ubi caput suum reclinaret: nunc autem iam redolet fides ideoque dicit ecclesia: nardum meum dedit odorem suum et dicit cum praesumptione, expectans retributionem.
for the frequent persecutions of the church have brought forth for us titles of martyrdom for the righteous by their victories. And so, like good gold, the church, when she is burned, feels no loss, but her brightness is rather increased, until Christ comes into his kingdom and lays his head on the faith of the church. When he came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he had nowhere to lay his head; but now faith is fragrant, and so the church says, “My nard has given forth its fragrance,” and she says it with confidence, expecting repayment.
1 Pet 1:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 15:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 8:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Song 1:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Persecution refines the church like gold until Christ rests his head on her faith.
- 1 Pet 1:7; Matt 15:24; Matt 8:20; Song 1:12.
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.7.2 (CSEL 62:44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-7-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-7-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-7-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 8
3.8.1CSEL 62:44
Fragrat unguentum gratiae, ex quo uirgo generauit et dominus Iesus sacramentum incarnationis adsumpsit. colligatio, inquit, guttae consobrinus meus, botryo Cypri frater meus mihi. inter media ubera mea requiescit. corpus enim suscipiens dominus Iesus caritatis se uinculis inligauit et non solum se membris nostris et passionibus naturalibus, sed etiam cruci uinxit ideoque sicut botryo in ecclesiae fide et morali requiescit gratia.
The ointment of grace is fragrant, from which the Virgin brought forth and the Lord Jesus took up the sacrament of the incarnation. “A cluster of drops,” she says, “is my cousin, a cluster of grapes of Cyprus is my brother to me; he rests between my breasts.” For the Lord Jesus, taking a body, bound himself with the bonds of love and bound himself not only to our members and natural passions but also to the cross, and so like a cluster of grapes he rests in the faith of the church and in moral grace.
Song 1:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 1:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The cluster of the Song is Christ, who bound himself by love to our body, its passions, and the cross.
- Song 1:13–14 (Greek form).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): c-aritatis → caritatis.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.8.1 (CSEL 62:44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-8-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-8-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-8-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.8.2CSEL 62:44–45
nardum Cypri consobrinus meus, in uineis Engaddi. si locum quaerimus, regionis cuiusdam est [quia in Iudaea et loeus sic dicitur], in qua opobalsamum gignitur: si interpretationem, Engaddi temptatio Latine significatur. in illis ergo uineis lignum est, quod, si quis conpungat, unguentum emittit; hic fructus est ligni. si non incidatur lignum, non ita fragrat et redolet, cum autem conpunctum fuerit artificis manu, tunc lacrimam destillat; sicut et Christus in illo temptationis ligno crucifixus inlacrimabat populum, ut peccata nostra dilueret, et de uisceribus misericordiae suae fundebat unguentum dicens: pater, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt.
“My cousin is nard of Cyprus in the vineyards of Engaddi.” If we seek the place, it belongs to a certain region in which balsam is produced; if the meaning, Engaddi signifies in Latin “temptation.” In those vineyards, then, there is a tree which, if anyone pierces it, gives off an ointment; this is the fruit of the tree. If the tree is not cut, it is not so fragrant and sweet-smelling; but when it has been pierced by the craftsman’s hand, then it drips a tear. So too Christ, crucified on that tree of temptation, wept over the people, to wash away our sins, and from the depths of his mercy poured out an ointment, saying: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Song 1:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 23:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 19:41 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The balsam tree of Engaddi, which gives its fragrance when pierced, figures Christ on the cross.
- Song 1:14 (Greek form); Luke 23:34; Luke 19:41. The editor deletes the words “because a place in Judea is also so called”.
Topics: Christology, Passion and death of Christ
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.8.2 (CSEL 62:44–45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-8-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-8-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-8-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.8.3CSEL 62:45
tunc ergo in ligno conpunctus est lancea et exiuit de eo sanguis et aqua omni unguento suauior, accepta deo hostia, per totum mundum odorem sanctificationis effundens, et quasi balsamum ex arbore, sic uirtus exibat e corpore. unde ait: sentio uirtutem exisse de me. inde opobalsamum expressio dicitur, eo quod conpunctione ligni balsamum per cauernam punctionis erumpit. conpunctus igitur Iesus odorem remissionis peccatorum et redemptionis effudit. nam et constrictus erat, uerbum cum esset, homo factus.
Then, therefore, on the tree he was pierced with a lance, and there came out of him blood and water, sweeter than any ointment, a victim acceptable to God, pouring the fragrance of sanctification through the whole world; and as balsam from a tree, so power went out from his body. Hence he says: “I perceive that power has gone out from me.” Hence too “opobalsam” is called an extraction, because when the tree is pierced the balsam bursts out through the hollow of the puncture. Jesus, then, pierced, poured out the fragrance of the forgiveness of sins and of redemption. For he was also confined, when, being the Word, he was made man.
John 19:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 8:46 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 5:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: From Christ’s pierced side flowed blood and water, the fragrance of forgiveness and redemption.
- John 19:34; Luke 8:46; Eph 5:2. The digital text’s “i-xiuit” is read as “exiuit”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): i-xiuit → exiuit.
Topics: Christology, Passion and death of Christ, Forgiveness of sins
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.8.3 (CSEL 62:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-8-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-8-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-8-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.8.4CSEL 62:45
et pauper factus est, cum diues esset, ut nos illius inopia ditaremur, potens erat, et despiciendum se praebuit, ita ut Herodes sperneret eum et inluderet ei, terram mouebat, et haerebat in ligno, caelum obducebat tenebris, mundum crucifigebat, et crucifixus erat, inclinabat caput, et exibat uerbum, exinanitus erat, et replebat omnia. descendit deus, ascendit homo, uerbum caro factum est, ut caro sibi uerbi solium in dei dextera uindicaret, uulnus erat. et fluebat unguentum, scarabeus audiebatur. et deus agnoscebatur.
And he became poor, though he was rich, so that we might be made rich by his poverty; he was powerful, and he offered himself to be despised, so that Herod scorned him and mocked him; he shook the earth, and he hung on the tree; he covered the sky with darkness, he crucified the world, and he was crucified; he bowed his head, and the Word went forth; he was emptied, and he filled all things. God came down, man went up; the Word was made flesh, so that the flesh might claim for itself the throne of the Word at the right hand of God. There was a wound, and ointment flowed; a beetle was heard, and God was recognized.
2 Cor 8:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 23:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 27:45 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 27:51 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 19:30 (allusion, high confidence) · Phil 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Hab 2:11 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In a series of paradoxes Ambrose sets the humility of the cross beside Christ’s divine power.
- 2 Cor 8:9; Luke 23:11; Matt 27:45, 51; John 19:30; Phil 2:7; John 1:14. The beetle is from Hab 2:11 in the Old Latin (“the beetle from the wood will speak”), read of Christ on the cross.
Topics: Christology, Passion and death of Christ
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.8.4 (CSEL 62:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-8-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-8-4
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-8-4) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 9
3.9.1CSEL 62:45–46
Respondet ei Christus: ecce es bona. proxima mea, ecce es bona. quoniam cognouerat ecclesia mysterium et pro totius mundi redemptione crucifixum dominum Iesum praedicabat, meretur audire: ‘ecce es bona. quae me bonum dicis, et ipsa bona es et, quia uidisti gloriae meae decorem, et ipsa speciosa es et decora. quid est autem Christum dicere bona es uel decora es nisi illud euangelicum: constans esto, filia, remissa sunt tibi peccata tua?
Christ answers her: “Behold, you are good, my neighbor; behold, you are good.” Since the church had come to know the mystery and was preaching the Lord Jesus crucified for the redemption of the whole world, she deserves to hear: “Behold, you are good: you who call me good are good yourself; and because you have seen the beauty of my glory, you too are fair and beautiful.” But what is it for Christ to say “you are good” or “you are beautiful,” but that word of the gospel: “Take heart, daughter, your sins are forgiven you”?
Song 1:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 9:2 (quotation, medium confidence) · Matt 9:22 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ calls the church good and beautiful, which means that her sins are forgiven.
- Song 1:15 (Greek form); Matt 9:2, 22.
Topics: Forgiveness of sins
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.9.1 (CSEL 62:45–46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-9-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-9-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 10
3.10.1CSEL 62:46
Ergo, cui Christus peccata donauit, recte dicit: retribue s er uo tuo; uiuam et custodiam u e rb a tu a. non habet in retributione quod desperet, quia dominus Iesus mundum uenit saluare, non perdere, ideoque inmemor est iniuriae, memor gratiae, sicut in prophetico libro testificatur ipse dicens: ego sum ego sum, qui deleo iniquitates tuas, et memor non ero. tu autem memor esto et iudicemur; dic iniquitates tuas, ut iustificeris. quicumque ergo dicit iniquitates suas deo, iustificatur, et quicumque iustificatur, retributionem non timet, sed exposcit, qui retributionem non timet, uiuet.
So she to whom Christ has forgiven her sins rightly says: “Repay your servant; I shall live and keep your words.” She has nothing to despair of in the repayment, because the Lord Jesus came to save the world, not to destroy it, and so he is unmindful of injury, mindful of grace, as he himself testifies in the prophetic book, saying: “I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember them. But you, remember, and let us be judged together; tell your iniquities, so that you may be justified.” Whoever, then, tells his iniquities to God is justified, and whoever is justified does not fear repayment but asks for it; he who does not fear repayment will live.
Ps 119:17 (118:17 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 3:17 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 43:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 43:26 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Whoever confesses his sins to God is justified and need not fear repayment.
- Ps 119:17; John 3:17; Isa 43:25–26 (Greek form).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words joined in the digital text): memornon → memor non.
Topics: Forgiveness of sins, Justification
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.10.1 (CSEL 62:46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-10-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-10-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-10-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 11
3.11.1CSEL 62:46
Sed quare dixit uiuam et non dixit uiuo? quia haec uita non est loco praemii, quae in loco mortis est. dolet propheta in puluerem mortis se esse deductum, apostolus cupit ex hoc mortis corpore liberari: et putamus quod de hac uita sibi blandiatur propheta? omnia hic plena mortis sunt; intrat mors per fenestram, intrat per os tuum, nisi dominus ori tuo ponat custodiam;
But why did he say “I shall live” and not “I live”? Because this life, which is in the place of death, is not in the place of reward. The prophet grieves that he has been brought down into the dust of death; the apostle longs to be set free from this body of death; and do we think that the prophet flatters himself about this life? Here everything is full of death; death enters through the window, it enters through your mouth, unless the Lord sets a guard on your mouth;
Ps 22:15 (21:16 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 7:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Jer 9:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 141:3 (140:3 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He says “I shall live” because this present life is full of death.
- Ps 22:15 (LXX 21:16); Rom 7:24; Jer 9:21; Ps 141:3 (LXX 140:3).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.11.1 (CSEL 62:46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-11-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-11-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-11-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.11.2CSEL 62:46–47
denique ex multiloquio peccatum nascitur. lege mandata legis et inuenies scriptum, quia uiuens, si mortuum contigerit, inquinatur. quantos tangimus mortuos, inter quantos mortuos uersamur! ideo tibi auctor uitae dicit: relinque mortuos sepelire mortuos suos, ideo tibi alibi dicitur: surge, qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis. quomodo tibi diceretur surge a mortuis, nisi inter mortuos uiueres? ponamus te mundum esse ab operibus mortuis, a peccati colluuione: quomodo mundus es, qui in corpore mortis es, qui inter sepulchra uiuis mortuorum? oportebat Petrum loqui mortuis, ut procederent de sepulchris suis.
indeed from much speaking sin is born. Read the commandments of the law and you will find it written that a living man, if he touches a dead one, is defiled. How many dead we touch, among how many dead we move! That is why the author of life says to you: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead”; that is why it is said to you elsewhere: “Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead.” How would it be said to you, “Arise from the dead,” unless you lived among the dead? Suppose you are clean from dead works, from the filth of sin: how are you clean, you who are in the body of death, who live among the tombs of the dead? Peter had to speak to the dead, so that they might come out of their tombs.
Prov 10:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Num 19:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 8:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 5:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 9:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 5:28 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Living among the dead, we are defiled and need cleansing, as the law and the gospel teach.
- Prov 10:19; Num 19:11; Matt 8:22; Eph 5:14; Heb 9:14; Rom 7:24; compare John 5:25, 28.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.11.2 (CSEL 62:46–47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-11-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-11-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-11-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 12
3.12.1CSEL 62:47
Indigemus ergo purgatione, quia tetigimus mortuos. lex nos mundari iubet: quis tantus, ut supra legem sit? ipsum nazaraeum sanctum dei, si is tetigerit mortuum, inmundum pronuntiat. ideoque radit caput suum et deponit capillum quasi non sanctum et iterum orat ut exaudiatur, qui ante propter mortui adtactum exorare non potuit. inrationabiles duxit dies, quia inrationabili adpropinquauerat: deponit igitur mortua et superflua capitis sui, ut Christo reconcilietur. ergo si nazaraeus purificatur, et nos purificari oportet.
We need purification, then, because we have touched the dead. The law commands us to be cleansed: who is so great as to be above the law? It pronounces unclean even the Nazirite, the holy one of God, if he has touched a dead man. And so he shaves his head and puts off his hair as unholy, and again prays to be heard, he who before, because of touching the dead, could not obtain his prayer. He counts the days as void, because he had approached what is void of reason: he puts off, then, the dead and superfluous things of his head, so as to be reconciled to Christ. If, then, the Nazirite is purified, we too must be purified.
Num 6:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Num 6:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Even the Nazirite who touches the dead must be purified, so we must be too.
- Num 6:9–12. inrationabiles (“void”) plays on the Greek ἄλογοι of Num 6:12.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.12.1 (CSEL 62:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-12-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-12-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-12-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 13
3.13.1CSEL 62:47
Omnes contigimus mortuum. quis enim gloriabitur castum se habere cor? aut quis audebit dicere mundum se a peccatis? sit aliquis fortasse qui in sermone non deliquerit, licet rarus iste, de quo deus dicat sicut de sancto Iob: ille non peccauit labiis suis; tamen non semper habere potuit mundas cordis sui cogitationes; inicit se diabolus in cor hominis.
We have all touched the dead. For who will boast that he has a chaste heart? Or who will dare to say that he is clean from sins? There may perhaps be someone who has not sinned in speech, though he is rare, of whom God might say as of holy Job: “He did not sin with his lips”; yet he could not always have the thoughts of his heart clean; the devil casts himself into a man’s heart.
Prov 20:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Jas 3:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Job 2:10 (quotation, high confidence) · John 13:2 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No one is pure in heart; even one who does not sin in speech is troubled by thoughts the devil sends.
- Prov 20:9; Jas 3:2; Job 2:10; John 13:2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing space in the digital text): peccatis?sit → peccatis? sit.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.13.1 (CSEL 62:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-13-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-13-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-13-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.13.2CSEL 62:47–48
pone parata semper et peruigili custodia quisquam cor suum saepserit: tamen in medio peccatorum uersatur, necesse habet etiam ipse purificari: unde Esaias cum dixisset: o miser ego, quoniam inmunda labia habeo et in medio populi uersor inmunda labia habentis, statim descendit unum de Seraphim et contigit labia eius carbone, ut inmunda eius labia mundaret.
Suppose someone has always fenced his heart with a ready and watchful guard: yet he moves in the midst of sinners, and he too needs to be purified. Hence, when Isaiah had said, “Woe is me, for I have unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips,” at once one of the Seraphim came down and touched his lips with a coal, to cleanse his unclean lips.
Isa 6:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 6:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 6:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Like Isaiah among a people of unclean lips, even the watchful need cleansing.
- Isa 6:5–7.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.13.2 (CSEL 62:47–48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-13-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-13-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-13-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 14
3.14.1CSEL 62:48
Non unum est baptisma. unum est quod hic tradit ecclesia per aquam et spiritum sanctum, quo necesse est baptizari catechumenos. est et aliud baptisma, de quo dicit dominus Iesus: baptisma habeo baptizari quod uos nescitis. et utique iam baptizatus in Iordane fuerat, sicut superiora declarant;
Baptism is not one. One is that which the church hands on here through water and the Holy Spirit, with which catechumens must be baptized. There is another baptism too, of which the Lord Jesus says: “I have a baptism to be baptized with, which you do not know.” And surely he had already been baptized in the Jordan, as what was said earlier declares;
John 3:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 12:50 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 10:38 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 3:16 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Besides the church’s baptism by water and the Spirit, there is another baptism, of which Christ spoke.
- John 3:5; Luke 12:50 (Ambrose adds “which you do not know”, compare Mark 10:38); Matt 3:13–16.
Topics: Baptism
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.14.1 (CSEL 62:48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-14-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-14-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-14-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.14.2CSEL 62:48
sed sit hoc baptismum passionis, quo etiam sanguine suo unusquisque mundatur. est baptismum etiam in paradisi uestibulo, quod ante non erat. sed postea quam peccator exclusus est, coepit esse romphaea ignea quam posuit deus, quae ante non erat, quando peccatum non erat. culpa coepit et baptismum coepit, quo purificentur qui in paradisum redire cupiebant, ut regressi dicerent: transiuimus per ignem et aquam; hic per aquam, illic per ignem, per aquam, ut abluantur peccata, per ignem, ut exurantur. sed, quod est grauius, et hic ignem et illic sustinemus.
but let this be the baptism of suffering, by which also each one is cleansed by his own blood. There is a baptism too at the entrance of paradise, which did not exist before; but after the sinner was shut out, there began to be the fiery sword which God set there, which did not exist before, when there was no sin. Guilt began, and baptism began, by which those who longed to return to paradise might be purified, so that on their return they might say: “We went through fire and water”: here through water, there through fire; through water, so that sins may be washed away, through fire, so that they may be burned away. But, what is more serious, we undergo fire both here and there.
Gen 3:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 66:12 (65:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: There is also the baptism of martyrdom and a baptism of fire at the gate of paradise, the fiery sword set after the fall.
- Gen 3:24; Ps 66:12 (LXX 65:12). Ambrose’s teaching on a purifying fire at the entrance to paradise is translated as written.
Topics: Baptism, Martyrdom, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.14.2 (CSEL 62:48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-14-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-14-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-14-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 15
3.15.1CSEL 62:48
Quis est qui in hoc igne baptizat? non presbyter, non episcopus, non lohannes, qui ait: ego uos baptizo in paenitentiam, non angelus, non archangelus, non dominationes, non potestates, sed ille, de quo Iohannes ait: qui uenit post me fortior m e est, cuius non sum dignus calciamenta portare: ipse uos baptizabit in spiritu sancto et igni: habet uentilabrum in manu sua et permundabit aream suam et congre-
Who is it that baptizes in this fire? Not a presbyter, not a bishop, not John, who says, “I baptize you unto repentance”; not an angel, not an archangel, not the dominions, not the powers; but he of whom John says: “He who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor and gather
Matt 3:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 3:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ alone baptizes with this fire, as John the Baptist foretold.
- Matt 3:11–12.
Topics: Baptism, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.15.1 (CSEL 62:48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-15-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-15-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-15-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.15.2CSEL 62:48–49
gabit triticum in horreum suum, palcas autem conburet igni inextinguibili. non de hoc baptismate, quod fit per sacerdotes ecclesiae, dictum ipse dominus testificatur, siquidem post consummationem saeculi missis angelis, qui segregent bonos et malos, hoc futurum est baptisma, quando per caminum ignis iniquitas exuretur, ut in regno dei fulgeant iusti sicut sol ipse in regno patris sui. et si aliquis sanctus ut Petrus sit, ut Iohannes, baptizatur hoc igni.
the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” The Lord himself testifies that this was not said of the baptism performed by the priests of the church, since after the end of the age, when the angels have been sent to separate good and evil, this baptism will take place, when iniquity will be burned out by the furnace of fire, so that in the kingdom of God the righteous may shine like the sun itself in the kingdom of their Father. And even if someone is a saint like Peter, like John, he is baptized with this fire.
Matt 3:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 13:41 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 13:42 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 13:43 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 13:49 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The baptism of fire comes at the end of the age, and even saints like Peter and John pass through it.
- Matt 3:12; Matt 13:40–43, 49–50. Ambrose’s view that even the saints pass through this fire is translated as written.
Topics: Baptism, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.15.2 (CSEL 62:48–49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-15-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-15-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-15-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.15.3CSEL 62:49
ueniet ergo baptista magnus—sic enim eum nomino, quomodo nominauit Gabriel dicens: hic erit magnus —, uidebit multos ante paradisi stantes uestibulum, mouebit romphaeam uersatilem, dicet his qui a dextris sunt non habentibus grauia peccata: intrate qui praesumitis, qui ignem non timetis. praedixeram etiam uobis: ecce uenio sicut ignis, et per Ezechiel dixeram: ecce proficiscar in Hierusalem et insufflabo in uos in igne irae meae, ut tabescatis a plumbo et ferro.
The great Baptist will come, then (for so I name him, as Gabriel named him, saying, “He will be great”); he will see many standing before the entrance of paradise; he will wave the turning sword; he will say to those on the right, who have no grave sins: “Enter, you who are confident, who do not fear the fire. I had foretold to you too: ‘Behold, I come like fire’; and through Ezekiel I had said: ‘Behold, I will go to Jerusalem and will blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, so that you may melt away from lead and iron.’”
Luke 1:32 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 3:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Mal 3:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 66:15 (allusion, low confidence) · Ezek 22:20 (quotation, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, the great Baptist, will wave the fiery sword before paradise and bid those without grave sins enter.
- Luke 1:32; Gen 3:24; Mal 3:2 (compare Isa 66:15); Ezek 22:19–21 (loose quotation).
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.15.3 (CSEL 62:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-15-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-15-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-15-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 16
3.16.1CSEL 62:49
Leniat ergo ignis consumens, qui exurat in nobis plumbum iniquitatis, ferrum peccati faciatque nos aurum sincerum. urat renes meos et cor meum, ut bona cogitem, ea quae castitatis sunt concupiscam. sed quia hic purgatus iterum necesse habet illic purificari, illic quoque nos purificet, quando dicet dominus: intrate in requiem meam, ut unusquisque nostrum ustus romphaea illa flammea, non exustus, introgressus in illam paradisi amoenitatem gratias agat domino suo dicens: induxisti nos in refrigerium. qui ergo per ignem transierit, intrat in requiem, transit a materialibus atque mundanis ad illa incorruptibilia atque perpetua.
Let the consuming fire, then, soften us, burning out in us the lead of iniquity, the iron of sin, and make us pure gold. Let it burn my reins and my heart, so that I may think good things and desire what belongs to chastity. But because one purified here must again be purified there, let him purify us there too, when the Lord will say, “Enter into my rest,” so that each of us, scorched by that flaming sword but not burned up, having entered into that delight of paradise, may give thanks to his Lord, saying: “You have brought us into refreshment.” He, then, who has passed through fire enters into rest; he passes from material and worldly things to those that are incorruptible and everlasting.
Heb 12:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 26:2 (25:2 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 4:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 66:12 (65:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ambrose prays that the fire may purify us both now and at the gate of paradise, so that we enter God’s rest.
- Heb 12:29; Ps 26:2 (LXX 25:2); Heb 4:3–5 (Ps 95:11); Ps 66:12 (LXX 65:12).
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.16.1 (CSEL 62:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-16-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-16-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-16-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 17
3.17.1CSEL 62:49–50
Alius ignis iste est, quo exuruntur peccata non uoluntaria, sed fortuita, quem parauit seruulis suis dominus Iesus, ut eos ab ista commoratione, quae permixta est mortuis, emundet; alius ille ignis, quem deputauit diabolo et angelis eius, de quo dicit: intrate in ignem aeternum, quo ille diues ardebat, qui stillari sibi de Lazari digito poscebat umorem. at uero Lazarus in Abrahae sinu recumbens uitam carpebat aeternam, quam sibi promittit propheta dicens: uiuam et custodiam uerba tua. uiuam ait quasi nondum uiuens; hic enim in umbra uiuimus.
That fire is one, by which sins are burned away, not deliberate sins but chance ones, which the Lord Jesus has prepared for his little servants, to cleanse them from this sojourn which is mingled with the dead; the other fire is that which he has assigned to the devil and his angels, of which he says, “Enter into the eternal fire,” in which that rich man burned who asked that moisture be dropped for him from Lazarus’s finger. But Lazarus, reclining in Abraham’s bosom, enjoyed eternal life, which the prophet promises himself, saying: “I shall live and keep your words.” He says “I shall live” as one not yet living; for here we live in shadow.
Matt 25:41 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 16:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 16:22 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 119:17 (118:17 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The purifying fire for lesser sins differs from the eternal fire prepared for the devil, in which the rich man burned.
- Matt 25:41; Luke 16:22–24; Ps 119:17. Ambrose distinguishes a purifying fire for non-deliberate sins from the eternal fire; translated as written.
Topics: Eschatology, Hell and eternal punishment
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.17.1 (CSEL 62:49–50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-17-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-17-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-17-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 18
3.18.1CSEL 62:50
Ergo ista uita in corpore umbra est uitae atque imago, non ueritas; denique in imagine ambulat homo et in regione umbrae mortis consistimus. sed si quis non ad terrena oculos mentis intendat, sed ad spiritalia erigat, ut possit dicere: spiritus ante faciem nostram Christus dominus, dignus erit qui dicat: in umbra eius uiuemus. Christus enim uita est et ideo, qui in umbra Christi uiuit, in umbra uitae est, meritoque alibi dicit sanctus domini: in umbra alarum tuarum protege me.
So this life in the body is a shadow and image of life, not the truth; indeed “man walks in an image,” and we dwell in the region of the shadow of death. But if anyone does not turn the eyes of his mind to earthly things but lifts them to spiritual things, so that he can say, “The Spirit before our face is Christ the Lord,” he will be worthy to say: “In his shadow we shall live.” For Christ is life, and so he who lives in the shadow of Christ is in the shadow of life; and rightly the Lord’s holy one says elsewhere: “In the shadow of your wings protect me.”
Ps 39:6 (38:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 9:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Lam 4:20 (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:6 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 17:8 (16:8 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: This life is a shadow of true life; whoever lives in Christ’s shadow lives in the shadow of life.
- Ps 39:6 (LXX 38:7); Isa 9:2; Lam 4:20 (Greek form); John 14:6; Ps 17:8 (LXX 16:8).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.18.1 (CSEL 62:50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-18-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-18-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-18-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.18.2CSEL 62:50
omnes ergo etiam sancti in umbra sunt, quamdiu sunt in corpore: non perfecte uident, non perfecte, sed ex parte cognoscunt. ipse Paulus ait: ex parte enim cognoscimus, ipse uas electionis, cui Christus oculos reddidit et sua inluminauit gratia, non facie ad faciem, sed per speculum uidebat, et Dauid reuelari petit
All, then, even the saints, are in shadow as long as they are in the body: they do not see perfectly, they do not know perfectly but in part. Paul himself says, “For we know in part”; the vessel of election himself, to whom Christ restored his eyes and whom he enlightened by his grace, saw not face to face but through a mirror; and David asks that his eyes be unveiled,
1 Cor 13:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 9:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 9:18 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Even the saints see only in part in this life, as Paul says.
- 1 Cor 13:9, 12; Acts 9:15, 18.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.18.2 (CSEL 62:50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-18-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-18-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-18-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.18.3CSEL 62:50
oculos suos, ut remoueretur umbra, quae integrum oculorum inpediebat obtutum. regionem autem hanc mortuorum esse quis dubitet, cum sanctus ipse dicat: placebo domino in regione uiuorum, quia perfecte hic placere nemo potest, ubi, etiamsi fieri possit ut sua peccata non habeat, in ipsa tamen mortuorum regione uiuendo purificatione indiget, quae a contagio eum regionis huius absoluat?
so that the shadow which hindered the full gaze of his eyes might be removed. And who would doubt that this is the region of the dead, when the holy one himself says, “I will please the Lord in the land of the living,” because no one can please perfectly here, where, even if it were possible for him not to have sins of his own, yet, living in the very region of the dead, he needs a purification to free him from the contagion of this region?
Ps 119:18 (118:18 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 116:9 (114:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: This world is the region of the dead; even one without sin needs purification from it.
- Ps 119:18; Ps 116:9 (LXX 114:9).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.18.3 (CSEL 62:50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-18-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-18-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-18-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 19
3.19.1CSEL 62:50–51
In umbra igitur hic uiuimus et ideo in umbra custodimus uerba dei. et ut exemplo utamur, utique ante eramus sub umbra legis, quando custodiebamus neomenias et sabbata quae sunt umbra futurorum, sicut hodieque Iudaei, qui uerum sabbatum non uident, exemplari et umbrae seruiunt. nos quoque secundum euangelium nunc uiuentes umbram sequimur uerborum dei.
Here, then, we live in shadow, and so in shadow we keep the words of God. And to use an example: surely before we were under the shadow of the law, when we kept new moons and sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, as the Jews do even today, who do not see the true sabbath and serve a copy and shadow. We too, now living according to the gospel, follow the shadow of the words of God.
Col 2:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:17 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 8:5 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Under the law we kept new moons and sabbaths as shadows; even under the gospel we follow a shadow of God’s words.
- Col 2:16–17; Heb 8:5; Heb 10:1.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.19.1 (CSEL 62:50–51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-19-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-19-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.19.2CSEL 62:51
Nathanael sub arbore fici uidetur, Dauid in umbra alarum domini Iesu sperare se dicit, Zachaeus in arborem sycomori ascendit, ut Christum uideret. nobis quoque expandit manus suas Iesus, ut totum mundum obumbraret. quomodo non sumus in umbra, qui crucis eius protegimur uelamento? quomodo non sumus in umbra, quos crucifixus a malignitate saeculi et corporis ardore defendit? an nescimus, quoniam uerbum dei ueniens in hunc mundum non sicut uerbum aduenit, quale erat in principio, quale erat apud deum, sed semet ipsum exinaniuit formam serui accipiens? uenit in nube leui et, cum esset uirtus altissimi, obumbrauit Mariae, ut transfiguraret corpus humilitatis nostrae conforme fieri corpori gloriae suae.
Nathanael is seen under the fig tree; David says he hopes in the shadow of the wings of the Lord Jesus; Zacchaeus climbs into the sycamore tree to see Christ. For us too Jesus spread out his hands, to overshadow the whole world. How are we not in shadow, we who are protected by the covering of his cross? How are we not in shadow, whom the Crucified defends from the malice of the world and the heat of the body? Or do we not know that the Word of God, coming into this world, did not come as the Word, such as he was in the beginning, such as he was with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant? He came on a light cloud, and, being the power of the Most High, he overshadowed Mary, so as to transform the body of our lowliness to be conformed to the body of his glory.
John 1:48 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 57:1 (56:2 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 19:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 65:2 (allusion, low confidence) · John 1:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Phil 2:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 19:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 1:35 (allusion, high confidence) · Phil 3:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Through the incarnation and the cross Christ overshadows us; the Word came veiled in the form of a servant.
- John 1:48; Ps 57:1 (LXX 56:2); Luke 19:4; Isa 65:2; John 1:1–2; Phil 2:7; Isa 19:1; Luke 1:35; Phil 3:21.
Topics: Christology, Incarnation
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.19.2 (CSEL 62:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-19-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-19-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-19-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.19.3CSEL 62:51
sicut ille ergo formam mutauit, cum ex uirgine nasceretur, ita et nobis sermones dei transfigurati uidentur, cum leguntur in euangelio, cum species eorum uidetur in scripturis quasi per speculum, quia tota ueritas hic non potest conprehendi. cum autem uenerit quod perfectum est, non iam per descensionem, non per speciem, ut transfigurati, sed integra atque expressa ueritate resplendeant.
Just as he, then, changed his form when he was born of the Virgin, so the words of God appear to us transformed when they are read in the gospel, when their appearance is seen in the Scriptures as through a mirror, because the whole truth cannot be grasped here. But when that which is perfect has come, they will shine no longer by descent, not by appearance, as transformed, but in complete and express truth.
1 Cor 13:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: As the Word took a lowly form, so God’s words appear to us now as in a mirror, until perfect truth comes.
- 1 Cor 13:10, 12. The digital text’s “for- Diam” is read as “formam”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break debris in the digital text): for- Diam → formam.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.19.3 (CSEL 62:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-19-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-19-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-19-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 20
3.20.1CSEL 62:51–52
Neque te moueat, quod ait: multa uerba custodiam, quia, cum unum uerbum cognouerit, multa uerba cognoscit. in uno multa sunt et in multis unum est. probandum est igitur, quomodo unum uerbum multa sint et multa uerba unum uerbum sit. nec difficile doceri, cum dixerit apostolus, quia ipse est imago dei inuisibilis, primogenitus omnis creaturae, in quo creata sunt omnia in caelestibus et in terra, siue uisibilia siue inuisibilia, siue sedes siue dominationes siue principatus siue potestates; omnia per ipsum et in ipso creata sunt. unum est igitur uerbum quod operatur in singulis, et cum in singulis operatur, operatur omnia et in omnibus. hoc uer-
Nor should it trouble you that he says he will keep many words, because, when one knows the one Word, one knows many words. In the one there are many, and in the many there is one. It must be shown, then, how the one Word is many and how many words are one Word. Nor is it hard to teach, since the apostle has said that he “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, in whom all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and in him.” There is, then, one Word that works in each, and when it works in each, it works all things and in all. This
Ps 119:17 (118:17 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 1:16 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 12:6 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The many words are one Word, Christ, in whom all things were created and who works in each.
- Ps 119:17 (plural “words”); Col 1:15–16; 1 Cor 12:6.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words joined in the digital text): etin ipso → et in ipso.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.20.1 (CSEL 62:51–52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-20-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-20-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-20-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.20.2CSEL 62:52
bum unicum apud patrem se diffudit in plurima, quia de plenitudine eius omnes accepimus. itaque si uideas singula omnium, quae creata sunt in ipso, uidebis in singulis unum uerbum esse omnium, cuius pro captu nostro participes sumus. in me uerbum est humanum, in alio uerbum caeleste, uerbum angelorum in plerisque, sunt qui habent uerbum dominationum et potestatum. uerbum est iustitiae, uerbum castitatis, uerbum prudentiae, uerbum pietatis, uerbum etiam uirtutis. sic unum uerbum multa sunt et multa uerba unum sunt. nec uero arduum est istud aestimari, cum legerimus, quia omnia potest spiritus sapientiae.
one only Word with the Father has poured himself out into many, because from his fullness we have all received. And so, if you look at each of all the things that were created in him, you will see in each that there is the one Word of all, in whom we share according to our capacity. In me there is a human word, in another a heavenly word, in many the word of the angels; there are those who have the word of the dominions and powers. There is the word of righteousness, the word of chastity, the word of prudence, the word of godliness, the word of virtue too. So the one Word is many and the many words are one. Nor is this hard to grasp, since we have read that the spirit of wisdom can do all things.
John 1:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The one Word is shared out in many words of virtue according to each one’s capacity.
- John 1:16; Wis 7:27.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 7:27 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; allusion)
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.20.2 (CSEL 62:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-20-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-20-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-20-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 21
3.21.1CSEL 62:52
Itaque sicut alii datur per spiritum sermo sapientiae et alii sermo scientiae secundum eundem spiritum, alii fides in eodem spiritu, alii gratia curationum in uno spiritu, alii operatio uirtutum, alii spiritus cognitionis, alii spiritus consilii plenioris, alii spiritus for-
And so, just as to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith in the same Spirit, to another the grace of healings in the one Spirit, to another the working of powers, to another the spirit of understanding, to another the spirit of fuller counsel, to another the spirit of
1 Cor 12:8 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 12:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 12:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 11:2 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: As the one Spirit gives many gifts, so the one Word is shared among many.
- 1 Cor 12:8–10; Isa 11:2.
Topics: Trinity, The Holy Spirit, Spiritual gifts and visions
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.21.1 (CSEL 62:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-21-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-21-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-21-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.21.2CSEL 62:52–53
titudinis, alii pietatis spiritus, et in omnibus unus atque idem spiritus est, diuidens singulis prout uult. est spiritus prophetarum, est spiritus apostolorum, est etiam artificum spiritus, sicut et Beselehel et Eliab, quos impleuit dominus spiritu diuino sapientiae et scientiae et omnis artis, ut facerent amictum et tabernaculum atque altare secundum sensum, quem dedit his deus, sed etiam ceteris sapientibus intellegere et facere omnia opera secundum omnia, quae dominus imperabat. itaque fecerunt quae non didicerant nec uiderant secundum ea, quae his spiritus demonstrabat. et plerisque uidetur alius apostolorum spiritus, alius prophetarum, et diuersus in singulis; sed non est diuersus, sed unus est spiritus, diuidens genera diuersa uirtutum.
strength, to another the spirit of godliness, and in all there is one and the same Spirit, distributing to each as he wills. There is a spirit of the prophets, there is a spirit of the apostles, there is even a spirit of craftsmen, as with Bezalel and Eliab, whom the Lord filled with the divine spirit of wisdom and knowledge and every art, so that they made the vestment, the tabernacle, and the altar according to the understanding which God gave them, and also to the other wise men, to understand and make all the works according to all that the Lord commanded. And so they made what they had neither learned nor seen, according to what the Spirit showed them. And to most it seems that the spirit of the apostles is one, that of the prophets another, and different in each; but it is not different: the Spirit is one, distributing different kinds of powers.
Isa 11:2 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 12:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 31:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 31:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 36:1 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: One Spirit inspired prophets, apostles, and even the craftsmen of the tabernacle.
- Isa 11:2; 1 Cor 12:11; Exod 31:2–6; 35:30–36:1. Ambrose writes Eliab for Oholiab (son of Ahisamach).
Topics: Trinity, The Holy Spirit
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.21.2 (CSEL 62:52–53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-21-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-21-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-21-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.21.3CSEL 62:53
unde non dubium uideri debet, si aliis uerbum apostolicum, aliis propheticum, aliis angelicum, aliis uerbum operatorium datum est, et unum est uerbum diuidens se singulis pro nostra possibilitate uel pro sua uoluntaria largitate. hoc uerbum igitur, quod est caput omnium, hic per speculum uideo et ideo uerba dei hic custodire non possum; sed cum uidero gloriam eius reuelata facie, tunc uiuam et uita uiuens etiam uerba diuina custodiam.
Hence it should not seem doubtful if to some an apostolic word, to others a prophetic word, to others an angelic word, to others a word of workmanship has been given, and yet the Word is one, dividing himself to each according to our capacity or according to his own free generosity. This Word, then, who is the head of all, I see here through a mirror, and so here I cannot keep the words of God; but when I see his glory with unveiled face, then I shall live, and living by the life I shall also keep the divine words.
Col 1:18 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:18 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Seeing the one Word now only in a mirror, we shall keep his words fully when we see his glory face to face.
- Col 1:18; 1 Cor 13:12; 2 Cor 3:18. The digital text’s “apostoucum” is read as “apostolicum”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): apostoucum → apostolicum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.21.3 (CSEL 62:53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-21-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-21-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-21-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 22
3.22.1CSEL 62:53
Ideo ergo secundo uersu dicit: adaperi oculos meos, et considerabo mirabilia de lege tua. qui adaperiri sibi oculos petit, utique et grauari intellegit; neque enim medicum rogat nisi qui remedium aegritudini suae poscit. dicit ergo iste ad medicum uenientem de caelo: adaperi oculos meos. si turbatus est oculus, facile dolor omnis sedatur collyrio; sin uero acies eius umoris suffusione praetexitur. maiora remedia quaeruntur. est ergo, sicut in oculis corporis.
So, then, in the second verse he says: “Open my eyes, and I will consider wondrous things from your law.” He who asks for his eyes to be opened surely understands that they are also heavy; for no one asks a physician unless he seeks a remedy for his illness. He says, then, to the physician coming from heaven: “Open my eyes.” If the eye is disturbed, all pain is easily soothed with eye salve; but if its sight is covered by an overflow of fluid, greater remedies are sought. So, as in the eyes of the body,
Ps 119:18 (118:18 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 18: asking God to open his eyes, the psalmist turns to the heavenly physician.
- Ps 118:18 (Ps 119:18). suffusio is a cataract.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.22.1 (CSEL 62:53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-22-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-22-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-22-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.22.2CSEL 62:53–54
ita etiam in oculis animae huiusmodi quaedam passio quae ingrauescat necesse est, nisi bonus medicus uelamen illud abstulerit et nebulam quandam concreti humoris, quae inpedire uel potius operire, ne uideat quae uidebat, mentis aestimatur obtutum. inrepsit aegritudo ueteri fermento, eo quod non exuimus uel gentilem uel Iudaicam suffusionem, cum primum ueniremus ad ecclesiam, non audiuimus dicentem boni medici disciplinam: e xpoliantes ueterem hominem cum actibus eius, induite nouum qui renouatur i n agnitione
so too in the eyes of the soul there is a certain affliction of this kind which must grow worse unless the good physician removes that veil and a sort of cloud of congealed fluid, which is reckoned to hinder, or rather to cover, the gaze of the mind, so that it does not see what it used to see. The illness has crept in through the old leaven, because we did not put off the cataract of the Gentiles or of the Jews when we first came to the church, we did not hear the discipline of the good physician saying: “Stripping off the old man with his deeds, put on the new, who is renewed in knowledge
1 Cor 5:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Col 3:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 3:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The soul’s eyes are clouded by the old leaven, which we failed to put off when we came to the church.
- 1 Cor 5:7; Col 3:9–10. The digital text’s “«elamen” is read as “uelamen”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): «elamen → uelamen.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.22.2 (CSEL 62:53–54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-22-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-22-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-22-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.22.3CSEL 62:54
secundum imaginem eius qui creauit eum. superuestiuit ergo se aliquis, non expoliauit: serpit grauior aegritudo, grauat oculos diuturnum uelamen, non potest quisquam illud auferre, non angelus, non uirtutes, non dominationes, non potestates.; manet uelamen, lectionem inpedit, uisionem obducit; quod non reuelatur, inquit apostolus — hoc est: a quocumque alio —, nisi in Christo fuerit euacuatum. cum uero conuersus huiusmodi fuerit ad dominum, auferetur uelamen.
according to the image of him who created him.” Someone, then, has put clothing on over it and has not stripped it off: the illness creeps on more seriously, the long-standing veil weighs on the eyes; no one can remove it, not an angel, not the powers, not the dominions, not the principalities; the veil remains, it hinders the reading, it clouds the vision; which is not unveiled, says the apostle (that is, by anyone else), unless it has been done away in Christ. But when such a one has turned to the Lord, the veil will be taken away.
Col 3:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only Christ removes the veil that hinders the reading of Scripture; when one turns to the Lord it is taken away.
- Col 3:10; 2 Cor 3:14–16.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.22.3 (CSEL 62:54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-22-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-22-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-22-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 3, chapter 23
3.23.1CSEL 62:54
Habes igitur quomodo auferas uelamen, quod manet supra oculos cordis tui; conuertere ad dominum, et uelamen cadet. conuersus est Paulus ad benedictionem Ananiae; uelut squamae ceciderunt ab oculis eius et uidit, qui per triduum ante non uiderat; simul oculus corporis animaeque sanatur, quia medicamentum ei medicus demonstrauerat ille de caelo, de quo scriptum est: misit uerbum suum et sanauit eos et ex omnibus infirmitatibus suis liberauit eos. non est medicus iste de terris, qui omnes curat infirmitates et populos integros sanat.
You have, then, how you may remove the veil that remains over the eyes of your heart: turn to the Lord, and the veil will fall. Paul turned at the blessing of Ananias; something like scales fell from his eyes, and he saw, who for three days before had not seen. The eye of body and soul is healed at once, because the physician from heaven had shown him the medicine, of whom it is written: “He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from all their infirmities.” This physician is not from the earth, who cures all infirmities and heals whole peoples.
2 Cor 3:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 9:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 9:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 107:20 (106:20 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 4:23 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul’s healing at Ananias’s blessing shows how turning to the Lord removes the veil.
- 2 Cor 3:16; Acts 9:9, 17–18; Ps 107:20 (LXX 106:20); Matt 4:23.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.23.1 (CSEL 62:54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-23-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-23-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-23-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
3.23.2CSEL 62:54–55
mitte ergo, pater, medicum istum, ueniat uerbum tuum, aperiat oculos meos. et apostolorum oculi clausi erant, nisi eos Iesus aperuisset. denique duobus ex his euntibus in castellum, cui nomen Emmaus, cum interpretaretur scripturas et benediceret eos, aperti sunt, inquit, oculi eorum et cognouerunt eum. ergo nisi Iesus aperuisset nobis oculos, nemo uidisset; nisi Iesus sustulisset uelamen, nulli euangelii gratia refulsisset. et Petrus clausos habebat oculos et Iohannes clausos habebat et Iacobus clausos habebat. denique in monte grauati erant somno, sed excitati maiestatis fulgore diuinae oculos cordis sui aperuerunt. et quia siti in corpore plene uidere non poterant, obumbrauit eos nubes, ne corporis oculos gloriae caelestis fulgor hebetaret.
Send, then, Father, this physician; let your Word come and open my eyes. The eyes of the apostles too were closed, unless Jesus had opened them. Indeed, when two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, as he interpreted the Scriptures and blessed them, “their eyes were opened,” it says, “and they recognized him.” So, unless Jesus had opened our eyes, no one would have seen; unless Jesus had taken away the veil, the grace of the gospel would have shone on no one. Peter too had his eyes closed, and John had his closed, and James had his closed. Indeed on the mountain they were heavy with sleep, but, roused by the brightness of the divine majesty, they opened the eyes of their heart. And because, being in the body, they could not see fully, a cloud overshadowed them, lest the brightness of heavenly glory dull their bodily eyes.
Luke 24:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 24:27 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 24:31 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 9:32 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 9:34 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only Jesus opens our eyes, as at Emmaus and on the mountain of the Transfiguration.
- Luke 24:13, 27, 30–31; Luke 9:32–34.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 3.23.2 (CSEL 62:54–55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-23-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/3-23-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmo-118-3-23-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.