Explanation of Twelve Psalms 36.60.1–36.78.2
Latin text: CSEL 64 (Latin text: Schenkl/Petschenig, CSEL 64, 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).
Explanation 36, chapter 60
36.60.1CSEL 64:117
Explanauimus, ut potuimus, quomodo dixerit: iuuenis fui; sed quomodo addiderit: etenim senui consideremus. bona iuuentus, sed melior senectus; qui enim usque in finem perseuerauerit, hic saluus erit. unde non perfunctorie de patriarcha Abraham dictum est, quod nutritus esset in senectute bona. et Iohannes senex coepit scribere euangelium uel epistulas.
We have explained as we could how he said: "I was young"; but let us consider how he added: "for I have grown old." Good is youth, but better old age; for "he who perseveres to the end will be saved." Hence it is not lightly said of the patriarch Abraham that he was nourished in a good old age. And John began to write the gospel or the epistles as an old man.
Ps 37:25 (36:25 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 10:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 15:15 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Old age is better than youth; Abraham and John were honored in age.
- Ps 37:25 [LXX 36:25]; Matt 10:22; Gen 15:15 (25:8).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: p for n): Iohanpes → Iohannes.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.60.1 (CSEL 64:117; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-60-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-60-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.60.2CSEL 64:117–118
qui cum refugeret apostolum se scribere, seniorem scripsit nec minor est aestimatus, cui cygnea quaedam suppeteret gratia senectutis. ipse uas electionis dominicae scribens ad Philemonem ait: cum sis talis ut Paulus senex, nunc autem et uinctus Christi Iesu, obsecro te pro meo filio, quem genui in uinculis, Onesimo. uolens itaque illi plurimum deferre seniori Paulo eum, non iuueni
He, though he avoided writing himself as apostle, wrote himself as the elder, and was not thought less, since a kind of swan-like grace of old age was at hand for him. The vessel of the Lord's election himself, writing to Philemon, says: "Since you are such as Paul the old man, and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus, I beseech you for my son, whom I have begotten in chains, Onesimus." Wishing, then, to show him the greatest deference, he compared him to the old Paul, not the young,
2 John 1:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 3 John 1:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 9:15 (allusion, medium confidence) · Phlm 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Phlm 1:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: John called himself the elder; Paul called himself the old man.
- 2 John 1; 3 John 1; Acts 9:15; Phlm 9–10 (Ambrose's Latin construes the verse differently from the Greek).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: words joined): cumsis talis utPaulus → cum sis talis ut Paulus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.60.2 (CSEL 64:117–118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-60-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-60-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.60.3CSEL 64:118
comparauit et ibi se senem est gloriatus, ubi iam in uinculis tenebatur. et uidete distantiam: adulescens significatus est in alterius passione, senex in sua; ibi ut adulescens, quia Iudaeorum uestimenta seruabat, hic senex, ubi sui corporis exuuias exuebat. denique et Petrus ibi senex dicitur, ubi certamen est passionis: cum iunior, inquit, esses, cingebas te et ambulabas ubi uolebas; cum autem senueris, extendes manus tuas et alius te cinget et ducet quo tu non uis.
and gloried in being old where he was already held in chains. And see the difference: he is described as a young man in another's passion, as an old man in his own; there as a young man, because he guarded the clothes of the Jews, here as an old man, when he was putting off the spoils of his own body. Indeed Peter too is called old there where the contest of the passion is: "When you were younger," he says, "you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish."
Acts 7:58 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:6 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 21:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul was young at Stephen's death, old at his own; Peter likewise grew old for martyrdom.
- Acts 7:58; 2 Tim 4:6; John 21:18.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.60.3 (CSEL 64:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-60-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-60-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.60.4CSEL 64:118
hoc autem dixit significans qua morte clarificaturus esset deum. ante certamen iunior dicitur, in certamine senex qui omne certamen impleuerit. hoc ergo dicit Dauid ille in iuuentute bellator, in senectute pacificus: iuuenis, inquit, fui, sed nolo me adhuc iuuenem putes; etenim senui et non uidi iustum derelictum nec semen eius quaerens panem.
"This he said signifying by what death he would glorify God." Before the contest he is called younger; in the contest, old, one who has completed every contest. This, then, is what David, a warrior in youth, a peacemaker in old age, says: "I was young," he says, "but I do not want you to think me still young; for I have grown old, and I have not seen the just man forsaken nor his seed seeking bread."
John 21:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:25 (36:25 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Old age stands for the completed contest.
- John 21:19; Ps 37:25 [LXX 36:25].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: OCR letter slips; digitization: stray point): certaipen → certamen; inquit., fui → inquit, fui.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.60.4 (CSEL 64:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-60-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-60-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 61
36.61.1CSEL 64:118
Quod est semen iusti? Abrahae dictae sunt promissiones et semini eius. non dicit et seminibus tamquam in multis, sed sicut in uno: et semini tuo, quod est Christus. audi iusti semen: filioli mei, quos ego parturio, donec formetur Christus in uobis. et nunc si quis ex gentibus ueniens sermonem audiat nostrum et dominus iuuare dignetur, ut formetur
What is the seed of the just man? "The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say 'and to seeds,' as of many, but as of one: 'and to your seed,' which is Christ." Hear the seed of the just man: "My little children, with whom I am in labor until Christ be formed in you." And now, if anyone coming from the Gentiles hears our word and the Lord deigns to help, so that
Gal 3:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 4:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:25 (36:25 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The seed of the just man is Christ, formed in believers.
- Gal 3:16; Gal 4:19.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: garbled letters): dictae s 11 ut. → dictae sunt.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.61.1 (CSEL 64:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.61.2CSEL 64:118–119
Christus in animo eius, quo partus fidei ferat, semen ei Christus erit [illic in utroque]. Abraham itaque et generationis pater erat secundum carnem et is, qui uerbum domini in pectoribus iustorum primus infuderit. et ideo hoc semen Abrahae panes istos, quibus praebeatur corporalis alimonia, non requirit, quia habet panem iustitiae qui descendit de caelo. sicut enim negantur filii Abrahae qui opera Abrahae non fecerint, ita semen Abrahae sunt et inter filios recipiuntur qui opus eius effecerint. uerum Abrahae semen Helias, cui angelus alimenta praebebat et in uirtute escae illius quadraginta dierum curriculis ambulabat.
Christ is formed in his soul, so that he bears the fruit of faith, Christ will be his seed. Abraham, then, was both father of the race according to the flesh and he who first poured the word of the Lord into the hearts of the just. And so this seed of Abraham does not seek those loaves by which bodily nourishment is supplied, since it has the bread of justice that came down from heaven. For just as those are denied to be sons of Abraham who have not done the works of Abraham, so those are the seed of Abraham and received among his sons who have done his work. A true seed of Abraham was Elijah, to whom an angel gave food, and in the strength of that food he walked for forty days.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
John 6:51 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:39 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 19:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 19:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 37:25 (36:25 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Abraham's true seed does not seek bodily bread but has the bread from heaven, like Elijah.
- John 6:41, 51; John 8:39; 1 Kgs 19:5–8. The editor deletes the words "there in both".
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: stray hyphen): non requirit, -quia → non requirit, quia.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.61.2 (CSEL 64:118–119; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.61.3CSEL 64:119
non requirebat istam corporis huius alimoniam uerum semen Abrahae, cui panes deferebantur de caelo; denique corui ei cotidianum conuiuium ministrabant. ita indiguus erat omnium, ut nihil haberet suum, et mittebatur ut uictum aliis largiretur. uerum semen Danihel, cui inter leones posito aeria fercula per Habacuc prophetam referta messorum epulis uehebantur.
The true seed of Abraham did not seek this nourishment of the body, he to whom loaves were brought from heaven; indeed ravens served him a daily banquet. He was so needy of all things that he had nothing of his own, and he was sent to bestow food on others. A true seed was Daniel, to whom, placed among the lions, dishes filled with the reapers' meal were carried through the air by the prophet Habakkuk.
1 Kgs 17:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Elijah fed by ravens and Daniel fed by Habakkuk were the true seed of Abraham.
- 1 Kgs 17:6, 9–16; Bel 33–39 (Greek additions to Daniel).
Extrabiblical texts: Bel 33 (Bel and the Dragon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.61.3 (CSEL 64:119; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.61.4CSEL 64:119
est ergo panis angelorum quem manducauit homo; sic enim scriptum est: panem angelorum manducauit homo. hic est panis de quo dixit Dauid: dominus pascit me et nihil mihi deerit. in loco uiridi ibi me collocauit, super aquam refectionis educauit me. bonus Dauid docuit me panem angelorum et ipse me docuit aquam refectionis. haec refectio spiritalis est, haec refectio requies est mentis internae. bona aqua quae peccatum lauat, mundat interna.
It is, then, the bread of angels that man ate; for so it is written: "Man ate the bread of angels." This is the bread of which David said: "The Lord feeds me and I shall lack nothing. In a green place there he has set me; beside the water of refreshment he has brought me up." Good David has taught me the bread of angels, and he himself has taught me the water of refreshment. This refreshment is spiritual; this refreshment is rest of the inner mind. Good is the water that washes sin and cleanses within.
Ps 78:25 (77:25 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 23:1 (22:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 23:2 (22:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The just are fed with the bread of angels and the water of refreshment.
- Ps 78:25 [LXX 77:25]; Ps 23:1–2 [LXX 22:1–2].
Topics: Angels
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.61.4 (CSEL 64:119; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.61.5CSEL 64:119–120
quae sit aqua haec, audiamus: si quis, inquit, sitit, ueniat ad me et bibat. qui credit in me, sicut dicit scriptura, flumina de uentre eius fluent aquae uiuae. hocautem dicebat de spiritu quem incipiebant accipere qui credituri erant in eum. ergo nec pane hoc nec aqua refectionis indiget iustus, cui spiritus sanctus est requies et refectio.
Let us hear what this water is: "If anyone thirsts," he says, "let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his belly. This he said of the Spirit, which those who were to believe in him were beginning to receive." So the just man does not lack this bread or the water of refreshment, for whom the Holy Spirit is rest and refreshment.
John 7:37 (quotation, high confidence) · John 7:38 (quotation, high confidence) · John 7:39 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The water of refreshment is the Holy Spirit.
- John 7:37–39.
Topics: The Holy Spirit
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.61.5 (CSEL 64:119–120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-61-5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 62
36.62.1CSEL 64:120
Quomodo autem poterit indigere qui tota die miseretur et faenerat? quid est quod faenerat iustus? non aes, non ferrum, non plumbum, sed argentum igni examinatum. hoc defert ad mensam domini et diuidit requirentibus, cui unam, cui duas, cui quinque mnas cotidie diuidit, et numquam deficit.
And how can he be in need who "all day long has mercy and lends"? What is it that the just man lends? Not bronze, not iron, not lead, but silver tried by fire. This he brings to the Lord's table and distributes to those who seek it, to one one mina, to another two, to another five he distributes daily, and never runs short.
Ps 37:26 (36:26 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 12:6 (11:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 19:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 25:15 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The just man lends the silver of God's word and never runs short.
- Ps 37:26 [LXX 36:26]; Ps 12:6 [LXX 11:7]; Luke 19:13 with Matt 25:15.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters): mis eretur e t faenerat → miseretur et faenerat.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.62.1 (CSEL 64:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-62-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-62-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.62.2CSEL 64:120
sed faenerationem audiuimus in lege reprehensam dicente Moyse non faenerabis. duplex est faeneratio, una pecuniae, altera gratiae. diuide utramque, quia scriptum est: si recte offeras, non recte diuidas, peccasti; quiesce. et tu recte diuide, ne pecces. ipse Moyses doceat te diuidere qui ammonuit recte diuidendum, ut sequaris quod Abel, qui recte diuisit, fugias quod Cain erat; parricida erat qui recte diuidere nesciebat. diuidit ergo spiritus sanctus
But we have heard lending at interest blamed in the law, when Moses says: "You shall not lend at interest." Lending is twofold: one of money, the other of grace. Distinguish the two, for it is written: "If you offer rightly but do not divide rightly, you have sinned; be still." You too, divide rightly, lest you sin. Let Moses himself teach you to divide, who warned that one must divide rightly, so that you may follow what Abel was, who divided rightly, and flee what Cain was; he was a fratricide who did not know how to divide rightly. So the Holy Spirit divides
Exod 22:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Deut 23:19 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gen 4:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 4:4 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Lending is of money or of grace; one must distinguish rightly, as Abel did and Cain did not.
- Exod 22:25 (Deut 23:19); Gen 4:7 in the Greek form.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.62.2 (CSEL 64:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-62-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-62-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.62.3CSEL 64:120
diuisiones, qui operatur omnia diuidens singulis prout uult. ille prout uult, tu prout potes, prout ingenio uales. diuide quando lex de pecunia dicat, quando de gratia. dixit enim tibi: faenerabis gentibus, cuius dominus usuras exigit, tu autem non mutuaberis. est et pecunia faenoris, est et gratia, cuius dominus usuras exigit; pecunia faenoris aes habet, gratia fidem confert. faenerato ergo fidem gentibus, ut tibi abundet gratia;
the divisions, who works all things, dividing to each as he wills. He as he wills, you as you can, as you are able by your talent. Distinguish when the law speaks of money and when of grace. For it said to you: "You shall lend to the nations," whose interest the Lord requires, "but you shall not borrow." There is money for lending and there is grace, whose interest the Lord requires; money for lending holds bronze, grace confers faith. Lend faith, then, to the nations, so that grace may abound to you;
1 Cor 12:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 15:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 28:12 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Spirit divides gifts; we must lend faith to the nations.
- 1 Cor 12:11; Deut 15:6; 28:12.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.62.3 (CSEL 64:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-62-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-62-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.62.4CSEL 64:120–121
tu autem noli mutuari quasi indiguus, sed quasi diues et locuples faenerato. faenerauit Petrus, faenerauit Paulus, faenerauit Iohannes Euangelista uel uterque et non indiguit, hoc est: faenerarunt pecuniam Christi, non faenerarunt pecunias ad usuram. faenera ergo et noli desistere faenerare. audis quid dicat scriptura: tota die miseretur et faenerat? iustus per diem faenerat, auarus in nocte; gratia enim lucis est, auaritia autem usura tenebrarum est. et ideo semen faenerantis fidem in benedictione erit, habens utique praemium benedictionis.
but do not borrow as one in need; lend as one rich and wealthy. Peter lent, Paul lent, John the Evangelist lent, or both Johns, and did not lack; that is, they lent the money of Christ, they did not lend money at usury. Lend, then, and do not cease lending. Do you hear what Scripture says: "All day long he has mercy and lends"? The just man lends by day, the greedy man by night; for grace belongs to light, but avarice is the usury of darkness. And so the seed of one who lends faith will be in blessing, having indeed the reward of blessing.
Ps 37:26 (36:26 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The apostles lent Christ's money; the just lend faith by day and are blessed.
- Ps 37:26 [LXX 36:26]. "Both Johns": the Evangelist and the Baptist, probably.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.62.4 (CSEL 64:120–121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-62-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-62-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 63
36.63.1CSEL 64:121
Declina a malo et fac bonum et inhabita in saecula saeculorum. quoniam dominus amat iudicium et non derelinquet sanctos, in aeternum conseruabuntur; iniusti autem punientur et semen impiorum peribit. iusti hereditate possidebunt terram et inhabitabunt in saeculum saeculi super eam. his uersiculis demonstrat propheta, quod pertineamus ad dominum et ipse arbiter cogitationum operationumque nostrarum sit spectans merita singulorum, qui nihil sine iudicio agit, sed malos et bonos actus iudicio discernit.
"Turn aside from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever. For the Lord loves judgment and will not forsake his saints; they will be preserved for ever; but the unjust will be punished, and the seed of the ungodly will perish. The just will possess the land by inheritance and will dwell upon it for ever and ever." By these verses the prophet shows that we belong to the Lord and that he is the judge of our thoughts and actions, looking on the merits of each, who does nothing without judgment, but distinguishes evil and good acts by judgment.
Ps 37:27 (36:27 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:28 (36:28 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:29 (36:29 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God judges every act and preserves the saints for ever.
- Ps 37:27–29 [LXX 36:27–29].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters; digitization: split word): f ac b onum et inhabita in s aecula → fac bonum et inhabita in saecula; puni entur → punientur; p erib it → peribit; her e d ita t e → hereditate.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.63.1 (CSEL 64:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-63-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-63-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.63.2CSEL 64:121
declinandum ergo est a malo et faciendum bonum. ne bona malaque confundas, prius est ut crimine careas, postea ut innocentiae fructum deferas, quo possis esse perpetuus. noli putare, quod deum tua peccata praetereant; sic enim plerique labuntur. ipse uniuersa cernit et damnat et impiorum semen exterminat, semen utique non corporalis generationis, sed mentis internae et impietatis successionem.
One must, then, turn aside from evil and do good. Lest you confuse good and evil, first you must be free of crime, afterwards bring the fruit of innocence, so that you can be everlasting. Do not think that your sins escape God; for so many slip. He sees all and condemns, and exterminates the seed of the ungodly, the seed not of bodily generation but of the inner mind and the succession of ungodliness.
Ps 37:27 (36:27 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 37:28 (36:28 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The seed of the ungodly that perishes is their succession in impiety, not offspring.
- Ps 37:27–28 [LXX 36:27–28].
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.63.2 (CSEL 64:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-63-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-63-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.63.3CSEL 64:121
nam utique Iob de semine Esau genitus scripturae testificatione signatur. quomodo ergo semen Esau periit in Iob, cum tantus iste uir fuerit, ut uenturum in terras dominum praeuideret, qui cetum istius saeculi diabolum subiugaret? ergo hoc quaeritur, ne malitia transfundatur in posteros.
For indeed Job is marked by the testimony of Scripture as born of the seed of Esau. How, then, did the seed of Esau perish in Job, when he was so great a man that he foresaw the Lord coming to earth, who would subdue the devil, the sea monster of this world? What is sought, then, is that malice not be passed on to descendants.
Job 42:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Job 41:1 (40:25 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Job, of Esau's line, shows that it is malice, not descent, that perishes.
- The Greek appendix to Job (LXX Job 42:17b–e) makes Job a descendant of Esau; Job 41:1 [LXX 40:25] (the sea monster).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.63.3 (CSEL 64:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-63-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-63-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.63.4CSEL 64:121–122
hoc per baptismatis sacramentum Christus operatur, ut exuat unusquisque quod natus est, induat quod renatus, fiat non familiae heres, sed gratiae, ut perpetuum domicilium habitationis aeternae sibi possit adquirere. qui autem habitare meruerit in saeculum saeculi, et ipse honorificabit deum in saecula saeculorum.
This Christ works through the sacrament of baptism, so that each one puts off what he was born and puts on what he was reborn, and becomes heir not of a family but of grace, so as to be able to acquire for himself a perpetual dwelling of eternal habitation. And he who has deserved to dwell for ever and ever will himself honor God for ever and ever.
John 3:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Titus 3:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Col 3:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 37:27 (36:27 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Baptism makes us heirs of grace, not of family.
- John 3:5; Titus 3:5; Col 3:9–10; Ps 37:27 [LXX 36:27].
Topics: Baptism
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.63.4 (CSEL 64:121–122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-63-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-63-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 64
36.64.1CSEL 64:122
Ubi moralibus iustum instituit disciplinis, ut, qualis deo deberet esse, te doceret quaeue esset perfectae forma iustitiae, ad sapientiam et theoremata mentem uult eius assurgere et excitat eius intentionem, ut spectet intento corde caelestia et diuina intra se uoluat oracula atque ad ea quae complaceant deo suum informet
When he has trained the just man in moral disciplines, to teach you what he ought to be toward God and what the form of perfect justice is, he wants his mind to rise to wisdom and contemplation, and rouses his attention, so that he may look with intent heart on heavenly things and turn over within himself the divine oracles and shape his affection toward what pleases God;
Notes and citation
Summary: After the moral teaching, the psalm lifts the just man to contemplation.
- "Contemplation" renders theoremata.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: missing letters): beret → deberet.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.64.1 (CSEL 64:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.64.2CSEL 64:122
affectum, sit meditatus in lege nec ulla eum domini mandata praetereant, motus diuini sacramenti cognoscat. denique abhinc uide in praeceptis sanctum prophetam assurgere: os iusti meditabitur sapientiam et lingua eius loquetur iudicium; lex dei eius in corde ipsius. nec damnabit, inquit, eum dominus, cum iudicabitur illi. expecta dominum et custodi uiam eius et exaltabit te, ut hereditate possideas terram; cum pereunt peccatores uidebis. uidi impium superexaltatum et eleuatum ultra cedros Libani et transiui, et ecce non erat, et quaesiui eum, et non est inuentus locus eius.
that he may meditate on the law, that none of the Lord's commands may escape him, and that he may know the movements of the divine mystery. Indeed from here see the holy prophet rise in his precepts: "The mouth of the just will meditate wisdom and his tongue will speak judgment; the law of his God is in his heart. Nor will the Lord condemn him when he is judged. Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you, so that you may possess the land by inheritance; when sinners perish you will see. I saw the ungodly exalted and lifted up beyond the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and behold, he was not; and I sought him, and his place was not found."
Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:31 (36:31 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:33 (36:33 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:34 (36:34 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:35 (36:35 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:36 (36:36 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The higher precepts: the just man's mouth meditates wisdom.
- Ps 37:30–36 [LXX 36:30–36] (Old Latin).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: 0 for o, spaced letters; digitization: l for b; digitization: spaced letters; digitization: split word): 0 s iusti → os iusti; le x dei → lex dei; iudicalitur → iudicabitur; e xp ecta → expecta; her editate → hereditate; per eunt → pereunt.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.64.2 (CSEL 64:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.64.3CSEL 64:122
superiora moralia, haec intellegibilia. quod est iusti os quod meditabitur sapientiam nisi interioris hominis? duo sunt enim homines in singulis, unus interior, alter exterior. interior cogitat quae mentis sunt, quae mentis sunt loquitur, exterior quae sunt corporis. tamen adueniens dominus utrumque coniunxit et duos condidit in uno homine, ne diuersis
The earlier things were moral, these are intelligible. What is the mouth of the just that will meditate wisdom but that of the inner man? For there are two men in each one, one inner, the other outer. The inner thinks the things of the mind and speaks the things of the mind; the outer the things of the body. Yet the Lord, coming, joined both and made the two into one man, so that they should not
Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 2:15 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The mouth that meditates wisdom is the inner man's; Christ joined inner and outer man.
- 2 Cor 4:16; Eph 2:15.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.64.3 (CSEL 64:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.64.4CSEL 64:122–123
sese inpugnent motibus, sed inuicem sibi uoluntatum suarum unitate socientur. ideo os iusti meditabitur sapientiam. iam enim et ipse exterior homo iusti in interioris hominis transfusus est disciplinam et in eius conformatus naturam ipsius exercet officia, ut caro meditetur quod mentis internae est. sed ne hoc incredibile tibi uideatur, audi dicentem, quia dominus Iesus transfigurauit corpus humilitatis nostrae, ut conforme fieret corpori gloriae suae.
attack each other with different movements but be joined to each other in the unity of their wills. Therefore the mouth of the just will meditate wisdom. For now even the outer man of the just has been transferred into the discipline of the inner man and, conformed to its nature, performs its offices, so that the flesh meditates what belongs to the inner mind. But lest this seem incredible to you, hear one saying that the Lord Jesus transfigured the body of our lowliness, so that it might be conformed to the body of his glory.
Phil 3:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In the just even the outer man serves the inner, as Christ transforms our bodies.
- Phil 3:21.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.64.4 (CSEL 64:122–123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.64.5CSEL 64:123
quis audeat dicere carnem sine peccato, carnem assumptam ex uirgine, carnem spiritu dei in Mariam superueniente generatam, quae in nullo discrepauit a sapientiae disciplinis, interioris hominis exsortem fuisse uirtutum nec in usus eius transire potuisse, cum supra hominem fuerit quod tactu eius sanabantur aegroti, caecis refundebatur lux, mortui resurgebant?
Who would dare to say that the flesh without sin, the flesh taken from the virgin, the flesh begotten by the Spirit of God coming upon Mary, which in nothing departed from the disciplines of wisdom, was without share in the virtues of the inner man and could not pass into its uses, when it was above man that by its touch the sick were healed, light was poured back to the blind, the dead rose?
Luke 1:35 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 14:36 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 11:5 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ's sinless flesh shared fully in the virtues of the inner man.
- Luke 1:35; Matt 14:36; Matt 11:5.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.64.5 (CSEL 64:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.64.6CSEL 64:123
competenter ergo scriptum est: os iusti meditabitur sapientiam, eo quod totus homo sit spiritalis, non utique terrenus. qualis enim terrenus, tales et terreni et qualis caelestis, tales et caelestes. abiit ergo terrenus, remansit caelestis. ideoque in tempora redemptionis referens propheta meditabitur dixit, licet unus e pluribus meditatur scripserit neque abhorreat a sensu, quia prophetarum spiritui futura pro praesentibus sunt. alii putant os pro mente dictum.
Fittingly, then, it is written: "The mouth of the just will meditate wisdom," because the whole man is spiritual, not earthly. For "as is the earthly, such are the earthly, and as is the heavenly, such are the heavenly." The earthly, then, has gone; the heavenly has remained. And so the prophet, referring to the times of redemption, said "will meditate," although one of many has written "meditates," nor does it depart from the sense, because to the spirit of the prophets future things are as present. Others think "mouth" is said for "mind."
Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:48 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The future "will meditate" refers to the time of redemption, when the whole man is spiritual.
- Ps 37:30 [LXX 36:30]; 1 Cor 15:48. "One of many" probably means one of the translators or copies.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: c for e): abhorrcat → abhorreat.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.64.6 (CSEL 64:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-6
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.64.7CSEL 64:123
pulchre autem istud exposuit nobis Salomon dicens: narratio iusti semper sapientia, stultus autem sicut luna inmutatur, id est: quod saepe uarietur nec in sua perseueret sententia et tamquam in tenebris lumen uideatur offundere nec tenere.
Finely Solomon explained this to us, saying: "The talk of the just is always wisdom, but the fool changes like the moon," that is, he often varies and does not persevere in his opinion, and seems as it were in darkness to spread light and not hold it.
Notes and citation
Summary: The just speak wisdom always; the fool changes like the moon.
- Sir 27:11 (attributed to Solomon).
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 27:11 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.64.7 (CSEL 64:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-64-7
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 65
36.65.1CSEL 64:123–124
Sit ergo nobis semper in corde et ore meditatio sapientiae et lingua tua loquatur iudicium, lex dei tui in corde sit tuo. ideo tibi dicit scriptura: loqueris in illis sedens in domo, ambulans in uia, dormitans, resurgens. loquamur ergo dominum Iesum, quia ipse est sapientia, ipse est uerbum et uerbum dei. nam et hoc scriptum est: aperi os tuum uerbo dei. ipsum spirat qui sermones eius resonat et uerba meditatur.
Let there be, then, always in our heart and mouth the meditation of wisdom, and let your tongue speak judgment, let the law of your God be in your heart. So Scripture says to you: "You shall speak of them sitting in the house, walking on the way, lying down, rising up." Let us speak, then, of the Lord Jesus, for he is wisdom, he is the Word and the Word of God. For this too is written: "Open your mouth to the word of God." He breathes him who resounds his words and meditates his sayings.
Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 37:31 (36:31 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Deut 6:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 31:8 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Speak always of Christ, who is wisdom and the Word.
- Ps 37:30–31 [LXX 36:30–31]; Deut 6:7; 1 Cor 1:24; Prov 31:8 (Greek form).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters, 11 for ll): in i 11 i s → in illis.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.65.1 (CSEL 64:123–124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-65-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-65-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.65.2CSEL 64:124
ipsum semper loquamur. cum de sapientia loquimur, ipse est, cum de uirtute loquimur, ipse est, cum de iustitia loquimur, ipse est, cum de pace loquimur, ipse est, cum de ueritate et uita et redemptione loquimur, ipse est. aperi os tuum dei uerbo, scriptum est. tu aperi, ille loquitur. ideo dixit Dauid: audiam quid loquatur in me dominus et ipse dei filius dicit: aperi os tuum et adimplebo illud. sed non omnes ut Salomon possunt percipere sapientiae perfectionem, non omnes ut Daniel;
Let us always speak of him. When we speak of wisdom, it is he; when we speak of virtue, it is he; when we speak of justice, it is he; when we speak of peace, it is he; when we speak of truth and life and redemption, it is he. "Open your mouth to the word of God," it is written. You open, he speaks. So David said: "I will hear what the Lord speaks in me," and the Son of God himself says: "Open your mouth and I will fill it." But not all can grasp the perfection of wisdom as Solomon did, not all as Daniel;
1 Cor 1:30 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 2:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 14:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 31:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 85:8 (84:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 81:10 (80:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is wisdom, virtue, justice, peace, truth and life; open your mouth and he fills it.
- 1 Cor 1:24, 30; Eph 2:14; John 14:6; Prov 31:8; Ps 85:8 [LXX 84:9]; Ps 81:10 [LXX 80:11].
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.65.2 (CSEL 64:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-65-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-65-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.65.3CSEL 64:124
omnibus tamen pro possibilitate infunditur spiritus sapientiae, sed omnibus qui fideles sunt. si credas, habes spiritum sapientiae. ideo sapiens dicit: credidi, propter quod locutus sum. cum credideris, accipies loquendi gratiam. et qui credit redimitur et qui orat redimitur, si pie intendat orationibus et in oratione assiduus sit, diem praeueniat, noctem frequentet, solis matutinis occurrat, ut ante ipse inluminetur a Christo quam terra solis exortu. et qui psallit redimitur et qui compungitur redimitur.
yet the spirit of wisdom is poured into all according to their capacity, but into all who are faithful. If you believe, you have the spirit of wisdom. So the wise man says: "I believed, therefore I spoke." When you have believed, you will receive the grace of speaking. And he who believes is redeemed, and he who prays is redeemed, if he applies himself devoutly to prayers and is assiduous in prayer, anticipates the day, frequents the night, meets the morning sun, so as to be enlightened by Christ before the earth by the sunrise. And he who sings psalms is redeemed, and he who is pricked to compunction is redeemed.
Ps 116:10 (115:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:13 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Faith brings the spirit of wisdom; prayer before dawn and psalmody redeem.
- Ps 116:10 [LXX 115:1] (2 Cor 4:13); Wis 16:28 ("one must rise before the sun to give you thanks").
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 16:28 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; allusion)
Topics: Prayer, Hymns and singing
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.65.3 (CSEL 64:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-65-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-65-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 66
36.66.1CSEL 64:124
Ideo meditare semper, loquere quae dei sunt, sedens in domo. domum possumus accipere ecclesiam, possumus domum accipere interiorem in nobis, ut intra nos loquamur. sedent iudices in Hierusalem, sederunt sedes in iudicio, sedit etiam iudicum consilium et libri aperti sunt. propheta dicit: et tu cum consilio omnia fac. cum consilio de factis tuis iudica, cum
So meditate always, speak the things of God, sitting in the house. We can take the house as the church; we can take it as the inner house in us, so that we speak within ourselves. Judges sit in Jerusalem; thrones sat in judgment; the council of judges sat too, and the books were opened. The prophet says: "And do all things with counsel." With counsel judge your deeds, with
Deut 6:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 122:5 (121:5 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Dan 7:10 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: "Sitting in the house" means in the church or in the inner self, judging oneself with counsel.
- Deut 6:7; Ps 122:5 [LXX 121:5]; Dan 7:9–10; Sir 32:19 ("do nothing without counsel").
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 32:19 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.66.1 (CSEL 64:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.66.2CSEL 64:124–125
consilio uinum bibe, cum consilio loquere, ut effugias peccatum, ne incidas per multiloquium. sedens loquere tecum quasi qui iudices. in uia loquere, ne umquam uaces. in uia loqueris, si in Christo loquaris, quia uia Christus est. in uia loquere tibi, loquere Christo. audi quomodo illi loquaris: uolo, inquit, uiros in omni loco orare leuantes puras manus suas sine ira et disceptatione. loquere, o homo, dormitans, ne tibi somnus mortis obrepat.
counsel drink wine, with counsel speak, so that you escape sin and do not fall through much speaking. Sitting, speak with yourself as one who judges. On the way speak, so that you are never idle. You speak on the way if you speak in Christ, for the way is Christ. On the way speak to yourself, speak to Christ. Hear how you should speak to him: "I want men," he says, "to pray in every place, lifting up pure hands, without anger and dispute." Speak, O man, when lying down, lest the sleep of death steal upon you.
Prov 10:19 (allusion, high confidence) · John 14:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 2:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 6:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Speak with counsel; on the way, speak to Christ, who is the way.
- Prov 10:19; John 14:6; 1 Tim 2:8.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.66.2 (CSEL 64:124–125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.66.3CSEL 64:125
audi quomodo dormitans loquaris: si dedero somnum oculis meis et palpebris meis dormitationem, donec inueniam locum domino, tabernaculum deo Iacob. uince naturam diligentia, exclude corporis somnum. naturam nobis formare non possumus, possumus diligentiam. homo erat Dauid, indulgebat aliquid et somno per noctem, sed excludebat somnum lauans per singulas noctes lectum suum et lacrimis inrigans stratum suum.
Hear how you should speak when lying down: "If I give sleep to my eyes and slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob." Overcome nature by diligence, shut out the sleep of the body. We cannot form our nature for ourselves; we can our diligence. David was a man; he indulged somewhat in sleep at night, but he shut out sleep, washing his bed every night and watering his couch with tears.
Ps 132:4 (131:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 132:5 (131:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 6:6 (6:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Overcome sleep by diligence, as David did with prayer and tears.
- Ps 132:4–5 [LXX 131:4–5]; Ps 6:6 [LXX 6:7].
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.66.3 (CSEL 64:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.66.4CSEL 64:125
ideo memor erat in stratu suo semper domini sui et in ipso meditabatur, ut diluculum praeueniret et in tenebris ei inlucesceret Christus dicens: surge qui dormis. non in omnibus haec gratia est, sed potest esse et in pluribus diligentia. ne igitur expectes, ut te excitet Christus, sed potius Christum excita. excitat eum qui de ipso dormitans cogitat. si tu illum excitaueris, et ipse te excitabit a somno, resuscitabit a morte dicens tibi: exurge a mortuis.
So he always remembered his Lord on his bed and meditated on him, so as to anticipate the dawn and that Christ might shine on him in the darkness, saying: "Rise, you who sleep." This grace is not in all, but diligence can be in more. Do not wait, then, for Christ to rouse you, but rather rouse Christ. He rouses him who thinks of him while lying down. If you rouse him, he too will rouse you from sleep, raise you from death, saying to you: "Arise from the dead."
Ps 63:6 (62:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 119:147 (118:147 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 5:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Rouse Christ by thinking of him, and he will raise you.
- Ps 63:6 [LXX 62:7]; Ps 119:147 [LXX 118:147]; Eph 5:14.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.66.4 (CSEL 64:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.66.5CSEL 64:125–126
cum surges ergo uel resurges, ipsum loquere, ut impleas quod iuberis. audi quomodo te Christus excitet. anima tua dicit: uox fratris mei pulsat ad ianuam et Christus ait: aperi mihi, soror mea sponsa. audi quomodo tu exsuscites Christum. anima dicit: adiuraui uos, filiae Hierusalem, si suscitaueritis et resuscitaueritis caritatem. caritas Christus est. audi etiam quomodo dormiens loquaris: ego dormio et cor meum uigilat. haec communiter; attolle nunc paulo altius mentem tuam.
When you rise, then, or rise again, speak of him, so that you fulfil what you are commanded. Hear how Christ rouses you. Your soul says: "The voice of my brother knocks at the door," and Christ says: "Open to me, my sister, my bride." Hear how you rouse Christ. The soul says: "I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, if you rouse and rouse again love." Love is Christ. Hear also how you speak while sleeping: "I sleep and my heart keeps watch." These things in common; now lift your mind a little higher.
Song 5:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Song 2:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 John 4:8 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In the Song, Christ rouses the soul and the soul rouses Christ, who is love.
- Song 5:2; Song 2:7 (3:5); 1 John 4:8.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.66.5 (CSEL 64:125–126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-66-5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 67
36.67.1CSEL 64:126
Loquere sedens in domo, in hac terrestri domo huius habitationis quae dissoluitur, in qua peregrinamur a domino. in corpore enim isto positi dum superuestire magis quam expoliare nos uolumus, exulamus a Christo et grauiter ingemescimus. in hac sedens ergo confitere peccata tua, quia sedisti et non stetisti et non dixisti:
Speak sitting in the house, in this earthly house of our dwelling which is dissolved, in which we are exiles from the Lord. For placed in this body, while we wish to be clothed over rather than stripped, we are exiled from Christ and groan heavily. Sitting in this, then, confess your sins, because you sat and did not stand and did not say:
2 Cor 5:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The house is the body, in which we groan in exile and must confess our sins.
- 2 Cor 5:1–4, 6.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.67.1 (CSEL 64:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-67-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-67-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.67.2CSEL 64:126
stantes erant pedes nostri in atriis Hierusalem. loquere magis et noli occultare delicta, loquere sedens, ut audias dicentem: surgite, postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris. loquere in uia ambulans, id est carpens uitae istius cursum. hic loquere, ne illic ommutescas, sicut ille ommutuit qui angelo Christi ante non credidit, postea tamen cum credidisset uocem recepit.
"Our feet were standing in the courts of Jerusalem." Speak rather and do not hide your offenses; speak sitting, so that you may hear one saying: "Rise, after you have sat, you who eat the bread of sorrow." Speak walking on the way, that is, running the course of this life. Speak here, lest you become dumb there, as he became dumb who did not at first believe the angel of Christ, yet afterwards, when he had believed, recovered his voice.
Ps 122:2 (121:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 127:2 (126:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 1:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 1:64 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Confess now on life's way, lest you become dumb hereafter like Zechariah.
- Ps 122:2 [LXX 121:2]; Ps 127:2 [LXX 126:2] (Greek form); Luke 1:20, 64.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: 1 for l; digitization: missing letter): Hierusa1em → Hierusalem; in ui ambulans → in uia ambulans.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.67.2 (CSEL 64:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-67-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-67-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.67.3CSEL 64:126
loquere dormiens et quiescens, consepultus in Christo, ut cum ipso in nouitate uitae resurgas. loquere etiam sepultus in tumulo, sicut loquebantur animae sanctorum de mortis petentes auctore uindictam: usque quo, domine sanctus et uerus, non iudicas et uindicas sanguinem nostrum? loquere postremo, cum surgis, sicut docuit ille qui dixit:
Speak sleeping and resting, buried with Christ, so that you may rise with him in newness of life. Speak even buried in the tomb, as the souls of the saints spoke, asking vengeance from the author of death: "How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood?" Speak, lastly, when you rise, as he taught who said:
Rom 6:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 6:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Speak even in death, as the souls under the altar do.
- Rom 6:4; Rev 6:10.
Topics: Eschatology, Death and burial
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.67.3 (CSEL 64:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-67-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-67-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.67.4CSEL 64:126–127
ego dormiui et quieui et resurrexi, quoniam dominus suscipiet me. et illic ergo os iusti meditabitur sapientiam, donec ad sublimiora tabernaculi secreta, caelestis ac sacrae plena iocunditatis atque laetitiae, ipse perueniat, quemadmodum scriptura nos docuit dicente Dauid: haec recordatus sum et effudi super me animam meam, quoniam ingrediar in locum tabernaculi admirabilis usque ad domum dei, in uoce exultationis et confessionis, sonitus epulantis. ergo et sedentes in hac corporea domo et egressi hinc atque ambulantes in uia cum rapimur, si meremur, obuiam Christo et dormientes loquemur.
"I slept and rested and rose again, for the Lord will take me up." There too, then, the mouth of the just will meditate wisdom, until he reaches the more sublime secrets of the tabernacle, full of heavenly and sacred joy and gladness, as Scripture taught us when David said: "These things I remembered and poured out my soul upon me, for I shall go into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God, with the voice of exultation and confession, the sound of one feasting." So, both sitting in this bodily house and having gone out from here and walking on the way, when we are caught up, if we deserve it, to meet Christ, even sleeping we shall speak.
Ps 3:5 (3:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 42:4 (41:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Thess 4:17 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Even after death and resurrection the just will speak wisdom in God's house.
- Ps 3:5 [LXX 3:6]; Ps 42:4 [LXX 41:5]; 1 Thess 4:17.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: a for o; digitization: words joined): haecrecordatus → haec recordatus; erga et sedentes → ergo et sedentes.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.67.4 (CSEL 64:126–127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-67-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-67-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 68
36.68.1CSEL 64:127
Accipe tertiam ἀναγωγήν, qua se anima eleuat iusti. est enim quidam spiritalis somnus intellegendus, de quo Salomon ait: si enim sedeas, sine timore sedebis, si dormias, suauiter requiesces; et non timebis pauorem qui superuenit tibi neque impetus impiorum superuenientes tibi. cum suauitate requiesces et pauorem et superuenientes impiorum impetus non timebis, si lingua tua loquatur iudicium dei et semper illud ante oculos habeas, ut peccato locum nullum relinquas et noueris, quod delicti pretium supplicii retributione soluetur.
Take a third ascent (anagoge), by which the soul of the just man lifts itself. For there is a kind of spiritual sleep to be understood, of which Solomon says: "For if you sit, you will sit without fear; if you sleep, you will rest sweetly; and you will not fear the terror that comes upon you, nor the attacks of the ungodly coming upon you." You will rest with sweetness and not fear the terror and the attacks of the ungodly coming upon you, if your tongue speaks God's judgment and you always have it before your eyes, so that you leave no place to sin and know that the price of offense will be paid by the requital of punishment.
Prov 3:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 3:25 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A third, spiritual sense: the restful sleep of one who keeps God's judgment before him.
- Prov 3:24–25 (Greek form). Ἀναγωγή ("ascent", the higher sense) is garbled in the digital text.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: Greek read as Latin letters): avayayyrjv → ἀναγωγήν.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.68.1 (CSEL 64:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-68-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-68-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.68.2CSEL 64:127
ipse enim hoc in nonagesimo interpretatus est psalmo dicens: non timebis a timore nocturno et a sagitta uolante per diem, a negotio perambulante in tenebris, ab occursu et daemonio meridiano. cadent a latere tuo mille et dena milia a dextris tuis, ad te autem non adpropinquabit; uerumtamen oculis tuis considerabis et retributionem peccatorum uidebis.
For he himself explained this in the ninetieth psalm, saying: "You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the business that walks in darkness, nor the attack and the noonday demon. A thousand will fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you; yet with your eyes you will look and see the requital of sinners."
Ps 91:5 (90:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 91:6 (90:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 91:7 (90:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 91:8 (90:8 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalm 90 (91) describes the same fearless rest.
- Ps 91:5–8 [LXX 90:5–8] (Greek form, "noonday demon").
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: stray point): t.uis → tuis.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.68.2 (CSEL 64:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-68-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-68-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.68.3CSEL 64:127–128
iustus enim cum loquitur iudicium dei uel cum loquitur ipse quae iusta sunt et ueri plena iudicii, non cum iracundia loquitur, non ex animi maerentis afflictione, non ex dolore, non ex aliqua passione, sed loquitur ex ueritate, loquitur ex aequitate, ut non propendat affectu, sed quae loquitur uero pendat examine; iudicat enim, quae dicenda sint uel non promenda. cui simile est illud: labia sapientium alligata sunt sensu, eo quod omnia quae locuntur uero sensui conuenire uideantur et sensus sui prudentia intellegant, quae loqui debeant uel tacere, ut quae silenda sunt cohibeant claustro quodam
For the just man, when he speaks God's judgment, or when he himself speaks what is just and full of true judgment, does not speak with anger, not from the affliction of a grieving mind, not from pain, not from any passion, but speaks from truth, speaks from equity, so that he does not lean by feeling but weighs what he says by a true balance; for he judges what is to be said or not to be brought out. Like this is that saying: "The lips of the wise are bound by sense," because all they say seems to agree with true sense, and by the prudence of their sense they understand what they ought to speak or keep silent, so that what must be kept silent they hold back with a kind of bar
Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 15:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The just man speaks judgment without passion, weighing what to say and what to keep silent.
- Ps 37:30 [LXX 36:30]; Prov 15:7 (Greek form).
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.68.3 (CSEL 64:127–128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-68-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-68-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.68.4CSEL 64:128
nexuque labiorum, in his autem quae oporteat dici labiorum uincula resoluantur. merito ergo praemisit: os iusti meditabitur sapientiam; meditatio enim diuturna plenum poterit habere iudicium, quod loquetur iustus in tempore, cum ea quae perfecta sunt facie ad faciem uiderit; nunc enim de his quae non comprehendimus loqui uera non possumus. denique nec Paulus praesumpsit dicere, qui raptus in paradisum audiuit secreta caelestia, sed uolens non in his errare quae diceret ait: quam inscrutabilia sunt iudicia dei et inuestigabiles uiae eius! nunc autem absolutus corpore forsitan inuestigabilium uiarum genera et iudicia eius, quae sicut abyssus multa sunt, comprehendit.
and binding of the lips, while in what ought to be said the bonds of the lips are loosed. Rightly, then, he put first: "The mouth of the just will meditate wisdom"; for long meditation can hold full judgment, which the just man will speak in its time, when he sees face to face what is perfect; for now we cannot speak true things about what we do not grasp. Indeed not even Paul dared to say, who, caught up into paradise, heard the heavenly secrets; but, wishing not to err in what he said, he said: "How unsearchable are the judgments of God and his ways past finding out!" But now, released from the body, perhaps he grasps the kinds of the unsearchable ways and his judgments, which are like a great abyss.
Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 12:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 11:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 36:6 (35:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Full judgment comes when we see face to face; even Paul confessed God's judgments unsearchable.
- 1 Cor 13:10, 12; 2 Cor 12:4; Rom 11:33; Ps 36:6 [LXX 35:7].
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.68.4 (CSEL 64:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-68-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-68-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 69
36.69.1CSEL 64:128
Adhuc iustitiae forma describitur et augetur dicente scriptura: lex dei eius in corde ipsius et non subplantabuntur gressus eius. in corde iusti lex dei est. quae lex? non scripta, sed naturalis; iusto enim lex non est posita, sed iniusto. in corde eius lex est, non perfunctorie sicut in labiis Iudaeorum; corde enim creditur ad iustitiam. qui credit, et loquitur; qui autem loquitur, non continuo credit. denique non credidit populus, de quo dictum est:
Still the form of justice is described and increased, as Scripture says: "The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps will not be supplanted." In the heart of the just is the law of God. What law? Not written, but natural; for "the law is not laid down for the just man, but for the unjust." The law is in his heart, not superficially as on the lips of the Jews; for "with the heart one believes unto justice." He who believes also speaks; but he who speaks does not necessarily believe. Indeed the people did not believe of whom it was said:
Ps 37:31 (36:31 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:13 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The law in the just man's heart is the natural law, believed from the heart.
- Ps 37:31 [LXX 36:31]; 1 Tim 1:9; Rom 10:10; 2 Cor 4:13.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: 1 for l; digitization: repeated letter): lex x dei → lex dei; 1ex non → lex non.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.69.1 (CSEL 64:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-69-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-69-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.69.2CSEL 64:128–129
populus hic labiis me honorat, cor autem eorum longe est a me. si igitur gentes, cum ea quae legis sunt faciunt, ipsi sibi sunt lex cognoscentes quae sequi debeant uel cauere, quanto magis fidelis et iustus, qui ad imaginem et similitudinem dei uiuit, decora nouit et honesta decernere et uti legitimo quodam naturalis sapientiae gubernaculo, ne eius subplantentur uestigia sicut Esau, quem propter gulae auiditatem frater subplantauit, ut caderet, atque in mortem uestigia eius effudit!
"This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." If, then, the Gentiles, when they do the things of the law, are a law to themselves, knowing what they should follow or avoid, how much more does the faithful and just man, who lives after the image and likeness of God, know how to discern the seemly and honorable and use a kind of lawful rudder of natural wisdom, lest his footsteps be supplanted like Esau's, whom his brother supplanted because of the greed of his gluttony, so that he fell, and poured out his footsteps into death!
Isa 29:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 15:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 2:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 1:26 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gen 25:33 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 27:36 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: If Gentiles are a law to themselves, much more the just; Esau was supplanted through gluttony.
- Isa 29:13 (Matt 15:8); Rom 2:14; Gen 1:26; Gen 25:29–34; 27:36.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: words joined): longe est ame → longe est a me.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.69.2 (CSEL 64:128–129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-69-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-69-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 70
36.70.1CSEL 64:129
Quo magis iustus est quisque, eo magis illi insidiatur inimicus, et ideo ait scriptura: considerat peccator iustum et quaerit perdere eum; dominus autem non derelinquet eum in manibus eius nec damnabit eum, cum iudicabitur illi. uidens ergo peccator, quia iustus in ore suo loquitur et in corde meditatur sapientiam, quia in lingua sua iudicium loquitur, quia in corde suo legem domini custodit, mortem peccati ei conatur inferre, sed dominus tuetur eum.
The more just anyone is, the more the enemy lies in wait for him; and so Scripture says: "The sinner watches the just man and seeks to destroy him; but the Lord will not leave him in his hands nor condemn him when he is judged." So the sinner, seeing that the just man speaks with his mouth and meditates wisdom in his heart, that he speaks judgment with his tongue, that he keeps the law of the Lord in his heart, tries to bring on him the death of sin; but the Lord protects him.
Ps 37:32 (36:32 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:33 (36:33 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:30 (36:30 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The more just a man is, the more the enemy attacks him, but God protects him.
- Ps 37:32–33 [LXX 36:32–33].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: split word; digitization: stray point): der elinquet → derelinquet; damn.abit → damnabit.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.70.1 (CSEL 64:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-70-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-70-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.70.2CSEL 64:129
et ideo non timeamus insidias peccatoris, quoniam deus pro nobis est. si ergo deus pro nobis, quis contra nos? propterea non derelinquet iustum suum deus nec damnabit eum, cum habuerit de ipso iudicium; uerus enim iudex est et ideo iustitia non potest periclitari. unde et Aquilas dixit: nec damnabit eum in iudicando eo, Symmachus: nec damnabit, cum iudicatur iustus.
And so let us not fear the sinner's plots, since God is for us. "If God, then, is for us, who is against us?" Therefore God will not forsake his just one nor condemn him when he holds judgment on him; for he is the true judge, and so justice cannot be endangered. Hence Aquila too said: "nor will he condemn him in judging him"; Symmachus: "nor will he condemn when the just man is judged."
Rom 8:31 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:33 (36:33 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: With God for us, the just need not fear; Aquila and Symmachus agree.
- Rom 8:31; Ps 37:33 [LXX 36:33]; Aquila and Symmachus cited from the Hexapla.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters; digitization: stray letter, split word): s i ergo → si ergo; nec c da mnabit → nec damnabit.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.70.2 (CSEL 64:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-70-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-70-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 71
36.71.1CSEL 64:129
Sed quia Septuaginta uiri sic posuerunt: cum iudicabitur illi putamus quod ad illud respexerit, quia scriptum est: quoniam ipse dominus ueniet in iudicium. sed in quod iudicium? audi dicentem: tibi soli peccaui et malum coram te feci, ut iustificeris in sermonibus tuis et uincas, cum iudicaris.
But because the Seventy put it thus: "when he is judged," we think it looked to what is written: "For the Lord himself will come into judgment." But into what judgment? Hear one saying: "Against you only have I sinned and done evil before you, that you may be justified in your words and overcome when you are judged."
Ps 37:33 (36:33 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 3:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 51:4 (50:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Septuagint's "when he is judged" points to God himself submitting to judgment.
- Ps 37:33 [LXX 36:33]; Isa 3:14; Ps 51:4 [LXX 50:6].
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.71.1 (CSEL 64:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-71-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-71-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.71.2CSEL 64:129–130
ideo ergo praebet se dominus audiendum, ut de se iudicetur, quo magis uincat. quomodo se praebeat, audi: populus meus, quid feci tibi aut in quo contristaui te aut quid molestus tibi fui? responde mihi. quia ex Aegypto eduxi te et de domo seruitutis libera te, et alibi: ego sum ego sum, qui deleo iniquitates tuas et memor non ero. tu autem memor esto et iudicemur.
So the Lord offers himself to be heard, to be judged, so as to overcome the more. Hear how he offers himself: "My people, what have I done to you, or in what have I grieved you, or how have I troubled you? Answer me. For I brought you out of Egypt and freed you from the house of slavery"; and elsewhere: "I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities and will not remember them. But you, remember, and let us be judged."
Mic 6:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Mic 6:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 43:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 43:26 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God submits to judgment with his people, as in Micah and Isaiah.
- Mic 6:3–4; Isa 43:25–26 (Greek form).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.71.2 (CSEL 64:129–130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-71-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-71-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 72
36.72.1CSEL 64:130
Graue hoc iudicium, cum dominus de se postulat contra hominem iudicari. quid enim respondeas ei qui uniuersa tibi contulit, omnibus te praefecit, subiecit tibi Aegyptios ad quos hospes adueneras, insectantes postea mari mersit? ille tuos deleuit hostes atque subuertit, ille te creauit et condidit; ille suo sanguine te redemit, et tu tradis te, ut seruias eius inimico?
Heavy is this judgment, when the Lord asks to be judged about himself against man. For what will you answer him who has bestowed all things on you, set you over all, subjected to you the Egyptians to whom you had come as a guest, and afterwards drowned them in the sea when they pursued you? He destroyed and overthrew your enemies; he created and formed you; he redeemed you with his blood; and do you hand yourself over to serve his enemy?
Exod 14:28 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Pet 1:19 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: What can man answer God, who has given and redeemed everything?
- Exod 14:27–28; 1 Pet 1:18–19.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: j for i): quj → qui.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.72.1 (CSEL 64:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-72-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-72-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.72.2CSEL 64:130
ille tibi omnia peccata dimisit, et tu grauiora committis? uocat te: in iudicium ueniens quid responsurus es ei, qui nisi iterum tibi donet, peristi? ideoque uidens sanctus Dauid hac quadam moralitate dei amplius se grauari iudicium refugit, misericordiam poscit dicens: et ne intres in iudicium cum seruo tuo, quoniam non iustificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis uiuens.
He has forgiven you all your sins, and do you commit graver ones? He calls you: coming into judgment, what will you answer him, without whose giving to you again you have perished? And so holy David, seeing that by this kind of moral dealing of God he is weighed down the more, flees judgment, asks mercy, saying: "And do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living will be justified in your sight."
Ps 143:2 (142:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David, seeing this, flees judgment and asks for mercy.
- Ps 143:2 [LXX 142:2].
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.72.2 (CSEL 64:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-72-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-72-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.72.3CSEL 64:130
confitetur se in tenebris sicut mortuum saeculi conlocatum. caute sicut mortuum saeculi dixit, non mortuum. non enim mortui saeculi sunt qui moriuntur in Christo, illi autem sunt mortui saeculi qui omnem uitam suam, quam uixerunt in saeculo, in interitu et morte constituunt. et ideo quasi desperatus ad remedium confugit dicens: cito exaudi me, domine, quia defecit spiritus meus. talis enim iudicii proposita sibi oblatione defecit, in quo examinanda ueritas foret potius quam misericordia conferenda.
He confesses that he has been placed in darkness like the dead of the world. Carefully he said "like the dead of the world," not "dead." For those who die in Christ are not the dead of the world; but those are the dead of the world who place their whole life, which they lived in the world, in ruin and death. And so, as one desperate, he flees to the remedy, saying: "Hear me quickly, O Lord, for my spirit has failed." For he failed when the offer of such a judgment was set before him, in which truth was to be examined rather than mercy conferred.
Ps 143:3 (142:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 143:7 (142:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David, set in darkness, begs quick help, fearing a judgment of truth without mercy.
- Ps 143:3, 7 [LXX 142:3, 7].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: Q for c): miseriQordia → misericordia.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.72.3 (CSEL 64:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-72-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-72-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 73
36.73.1CSEL 64:130
Tamen tam pius est dominus, ut, etsi nemo iustificetur in conspectu eius uiuens — quis enim quamuis iustus non obnoxius est peccato aut cuius talis est uita, ut digna iudicetur dei similitudine? -, utique ad imaginem et similitudinem dei factus debeat sicut deus, qui sine peccato est, ita et is qui ad imaginem eius est esse sine peccato.
Yet the Lord is so loving that, even if no one living is justified in his sight (for who, however just, is not liable to sin, or whose life is such as to be judged worthy of God's likeness?), yet one made after the image and likeness of God ought, as God is without sin, so to be without sin as one who is after his image.
Ps 143:2 (142:2 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No one is justified before God, though man, made in his image, ought to be sinless.
- Ps 143:2 [LXX 142:2]; Gen 1:26. The sentence is loosely constructed in the Latin.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: split word): similitudi ne → similitudine.
Topics: Justification
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.73.1 (CSEL 64:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-73-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-73-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.73.2CSEL 64:130–131
qua ergo dignus est poena, qui gratiam tantam dominicae operationis et similitudinem diuini decoris amisit? sed quia misericors est, etiamsi ipse se iudicio subiciat, iustum tamen non iudicat, sed iniustum. iusto parcit quasi condicionis fragilitate peccanti, iniustum punit, quasi qui detestetur ingratum. deinde etiamsi multa habeas opera iustitiae, noli esse inpatiens atque arrogans, qui praemia tibi iustitiae in hoc saeculo existimes flagitanda aut indigne tibi aduersa accidisse aliqua conqueraris. quamdiu enim uiuis, certamen tibi debetur, non praemium.
What punishment, then, does he deserve who has lost so great a grace of the Lord's working and the likeness of divine beauty? But because he is merciful, even if he subjects himself to judgment, he does not judge the just man, but the unjust. He spares the just man as one sinning through the frailty of his condition; he punishes the unjust as one who detests the ungrateful. Then, even if you have many works of justice, do not be impatient and arrogant, thinking that the rewards of justice should be demanded for you in this world, or complaining that some adversities have befallen you undeservedly. For as long as you live, a contest is owed you, not a reward.
Notes and citation
Summary: God spares the just and punishes the ungrateful; in this life we are owed a contest, not a reward.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.73.2 (CSEL 64:130–131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-73-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-73-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 74
36.74.1CSEL 64:131
Expecta ergo uel auxiliatorem dominum uel remuneratorem et custodi uias eius. hoc est expectare, eius quem expectandum putas mandata conseruare. etsi conteraris, etsi affligaris, etsi aegritudine deficias, tamen expecta dominum; non te confundet spes.
"Wait, then," for the Lord as helper or as rewarder, "and keep his ways." This is to wait: to keep the commands of him you think you should wait for. Even if you are crushed, even if afflicted, even if you fail through sickness, yet wait for the Lord; hope will not confound you.
Ps 37:34 (36:34 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 5:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: To wait for the Lord is to keep his commands even in affliction.
- Ps 37:34 [LXX 36:34]; Rom 5:5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters; digitization: split word): Exp ecta → Expecta; remuneratorem e t custodi → remuneratorem et custodi.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.74.1 (CSEL 64:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-74-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-74-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 75
36.75.1CSEL 64:131
Ueniet dominus et exaltabit te, ut hereditate possideas terram. liquet superiorem esse terram, non istam in ualle terrenam, sed illam quae est repromissionis aeternae, in qua quicumque constituitur exaltatur a domino.
The Lord will come "and exalt you, so that you may possess the land by inheritance." It is clear that the land is the higher one, not this earthly one in the valley, but that of the eternal promise, in which whoever is set is exalted by the Lord.
Ps 37:34 (36:34 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The land promised is the higher land of eternal promise.
- Ps 37:34 [LXX 36:34].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters): e xalt ab it t e → exaltabit te.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.75.1 (CSEL 64:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-75-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-75-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 76
36.76.1CSEL 64:131
Uidebis autem, cum pereunt peccatores. tunc enim iustorum remuneratio erit, cum iudicium fuerit de meritis impiorum. sed non uno genere pereunt peccatores. ante tibi pereunt, si eorum potentiam, (si) diuitias non mireris, si non te moueat, cum eos honoribus liberis amicis abundare cognoueris.
"But you will see when sinners perish." For then will be the reward of the just, when judgment has been given on the deserts of the ungodly. But sinners do not perish in one way only. They perish for you beforehand if you do not admire their power, (if) not their riches, if it does not move you when you learn that they abound in honors, children, friends.
Ps 37:34 (36:34 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Sinners perish for you now if you do not admire their prosperity.
- Ps 37:34 [LXX 36:34]. "If" in brackets is an editor's supplement.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters): U idebis autem, cum per eunt → Uidebis autem, cum pereunt.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.76.1 (CSEL 64:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-76-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-76-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.76.2CSEL 64:131
haec enim saeculi sunt et saeculum saeculari subiacet malignitati et princeps mundi his qui sibi seruiunt fauet secundum illud: omnia tibi dabo, si procidens adoraueris me. quid quaeris ut ea tibi dentur, cum ipse impius qui dat in eis diutius esse non possit? transit etiam ipse: quomodo possunt non transire quae contulit? tu modo constantem animum gere, iustitiam tene, nemo te moueat, et uidebis nihil esse impium.
For these belong to the world, and the world lies subject to worldly malice, and the prince of the world favors those who serve him, according to that saying: "All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me." Why do you seek that these be given you, when the ungodly one who gives them cannot remain long in them himself? He too passes away: how can the things he bestowed not pass? You, only keep a constant mind, hold to justice, let no one move you, and you will see that the ungodly man is nothing.
1 John 5:19 (allusion, high confidence) · John 12:31 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 4:9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Worldly goods come from the world's prince and pass away with him.
- 1 John 5:19; John 12:31; Matt 4:9.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.76.2 (CSEL 64:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-76-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-76-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 77
36.77.1CSEL 64:131–132
Denique audi dicentem: uidi impium superexaltatum et eleuatum super cedros Libani et transiui, et ecce non erat. uidi eum in saeculo hoc, uidi oculis corporis, uidi etiam iactantem se et superexaltantem sermonibus suis, aestimantem se aliquid esse qui nihil est. quomodo se superexaltat? ponam, inquit, thronum meum super nubes et ero similis altissimo.
In short, hear one saying: "I saw the ungodly man exalted and lifted above the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and behold, he was not." I saw him in this world, I saw him with the eyes of the body; I saw him boasting too and exalting himself with his words, thinking himself to be something when he is nothing. How does he exalt himself? "I will set my throne," he says, "above the clouds and I will be like the Most High."
Ps 37:35 (36:35 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:36 (36:36 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 6:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 14:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 14:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The ungodly exalt themselves like the devil, but are nothing.
- Ps 37:35–36 [LXX 36:35–36]; Gal 6:3; Isa 14:13–14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters): super e xaltatum et eleuatum super c e dr o s Lib an i et transi u i, e t ecce non er at → superexaltatum et eleuatum super cedros Libani et transiui, et ecce non erat.
Topics: The devil and demons, Humility and pride
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.77.1 (CSEL 64:131–132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-77-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-77-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.77.2CSEL 64:132
exaltat se, ut uideas eum sicut cedros Libani superexaltatas. et ipsae altae sunt et in monte sunt altissimo; merito ergo superexaltatae sunt et superexaltatus uidetur impius, qui se in illo monte constituit de quo scriptum est: si habueritis fidem sicut granum sinapis, diceretis huic monti: tollere et iactare in mare. huic daemonio, inquit, a quo iste inuasus fuerat et oppressus quem miramini esse sanatum. ideo caritatem magis habetis in Christo quam potestatem in diabolo. uides cedrum in
He exalts himself, so that you see him like the cedars of Lebanon exalted. These too are high and stand on a very high mountain; rightly, then, they are exalted, and the ungodly man seems exalted who has set himself on that mountain of which it is written: "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would say to this mountain: be taken up and cast into the sea." "To this demon," he means, by whom this man had been invaded and oppressed whom you wonder to see healed. And so you have more love in Christ than power in the devil. You see a cedar on
Matt 17:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 17:18 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The ungodly stand on the devil's mountain, which faith can cast into the sea.
- Matt 17:20 (with 17:18, the healed boy); the mountain is read as the demon.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.77.2 (CSEL 64:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-77-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-77-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.77.3CSEL 64:132
monte altissimo superexaltatam, sed uento frangitur, sed igni exuritur, sed uetustate dissoluitur. ita est diues in saeculo; fulget quidem splendore quodam gratiae saecularis ut Libanus, nixus est mundi potentia, opibus et diuitiis exultat. uidetur tibi aliquid esse, antequam dicas: transiens uidebo. sicut enim Moyses animo et mente transiuit materialia et deum uidit, ita et tu, si transeas hinc, ad dei gratiam uestigium tuae mentis attollens
a very high mountain exalted, but it is broken by the wind, burned by fire, dissolved by age. So is the rich man in the world: he shines indeed with a kind of splendor of worldly favor like Lebanon, leans on the world's power, exults in wealth and riches. He seems to you to be something, before you say: "Passing over, I will see." For as Moses in mind and spirit passed beyond material things and saw God, so you too, if you pass from here, raising the step of your mind to God's grace,
Exod 3:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The rich man is a cedar soon broken; pass beyond the world, like Moses, to see this.
- Exod 3:3 (Greek "passing over").
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.77.3 (CSEL 64:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-77-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-77-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.77.4CSEL 64:132
uidebis eum nihil esse, qui in hac terra sibi potentissimus uidebatur. ideo animae tuae dicit, menti tuae dicit deus uerbum: ades huc a Libano, sponsa, ades huc a Libano; transibis et pertransibis. si transeas saecularia, pertransies ad paradisum. audi transeuntem: memento mei, domine, cum ueneris in regnum tuum; audi iterum pertranseuntem: amen amen dico tibi, hodie mecum eris in paradiso.
will see that he is nothing who seemed to himself most powerful on this earth. Therefore God the Word says to your soul, says to your mind: "Come here from Lebanon, bride, come here from Lebanon; you will pass and pass through." If you pass beyond worldly things, you will pass through to paradise. Hear one passing: "Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom"; hear again one passing through: "Amen, amen I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."
Song 4:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 23:42 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 23:43 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The soul that passes beyond the world passes through to paradise, like the thief.
- Song 4:8 (Greek form); Luke 23:42–43 (Ambrose doubles "Amen").
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: garbled letters): amen e n. amen dico → amen amen dico.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.77.4 (CSEL 64:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-77-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-77-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 36, chapter 78
36.78.1CSEL 64:132–133
Quid est: ecce non erat? in principio utique uerbum erat et qui uerbum uidet, qui particeps uerbi est, utique et ipse est, quia uerbum dei semper est et sermo qui de ipso est non est est et non, sed est et manet in eo qui sequitur deum. qui autem nescit uerbum, non est, quia non adhaeret ei qui dixit: ego sum qui sum. qui autem adhaeret ei unus spiritus est; ubi autem spiritus, et uita. ideo tibi dicit scriptura de deo: qui uiuificat mortuos et uocat ea quae non sunt tamquam ea quae sunt, hoc est: uocat gentes quae non erant tamquam populum suum qui erat; erant enim patres nostri qui erant electi dei.
What is "behold, he was not"? In the beginning, surely, the Word was, and he who sees the Word, who shares in the Word, himself also is, because the Word of God always is, and the speech that is from him is not "is and is not," but is and remains in him who follows God. But he who does not know the Word is not, because he does not cling to him who said: "I am who am." But he who clings to him is one spirit; and where the Spirit is, there is life. So Scripture says to you of God: "who gives life to the dead and calls the things that are not as though they were," that is, calls the nations which were not as his people which was; for our fathers were, who were God's chosen.
Ps 37:36 (36:36 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 1:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 3:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 6:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 4:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He who clings to the Word truly is; the ungodly, cut off from "He who is", are not.
- Ps 37:36 [LXX 36:36]; John 1:1; 2 Cor 1:19; Exod 3:14; 1 Cor 6:17; Rom 8:10; Rom 4:17.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: missing space, ) for e; digitization: spaced letters): non erat?in principio utique uerbum )rat → non erat? in principio utique uerbum erat; unus spiritus e s t → unus spiritus est.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.78.1 (CSEL 64:132–133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-78-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-78-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
36.78.2CSEL 64:133
et alibi, ubi dicitur: cognouit dominus qui sunt ipsius, non cognoscit eos qui non sunt, et Esther ait: non des uirgam regni tui his qui non sunt. recte ergo iustus dicit: et transiui et ecce non erat, hoc est: uidi eum superexaltatum in saeculo, antequam considerarem quia nihil est saeculum; ubi autem transiui mente supra mundum, uidi quia iam non erat qui ante erat superexaltatus in hoc mundo.
And elsewhere, where it is said: "The Lord knows those who are his," he does not know those who are not; and Esther says: "Do not give your scepter to those who are not." Rightly, then, the just man says: "And I passed by, and behold, he was not"; that is: I saw him exalted in the world before I considered that the world is nothing; but when I passed in mind above the world, I saw that he who before was exalted in this world already was not.
2 Tim 2:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 37:36 (36:36 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Seen from above the world, the exalted ungodly man is no longer.
- 2 Tim 2:19; Esther, Greek addition C (Esth 14:11 in the Vulgate): "do not give your scepter to those who are not".
Extrabiblical texts: Add Esth C 22 (Additions to Esther [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 36.78.2 (CSEL 64:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-78-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/36-78-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.