Explanation of Twelve Psalms 37.19.1–37.37.2
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 37, chapter 19
37.19.1CSEL 64:149–150
Ideo ergo Dauid moderationem tenuit, non remissionem orauit dicens: domine, ne in ira tua arguas me neque in furore tuo corripias me. furor Graece θυμὸς dicitur et irae impetus. hoc ergo Latinus uoluit exprimere: neque in ira neque in ipso impetu irae arguas me aut corripias. correptio autem eruditio est; ipsa Graece dicitur παιδεία, de qua dicitur: beatus homo quem tu erudieris, domine.
So David kept to moderation; he did not pray for remission, saying: "Lord, do not reprove me in your wrath, nor chasten me in your fury." "Fury" in Greek is θυμός, the impetus of anger. This the Latin wished to express: neither in anger nor in the very impetus of anger reprove or chasten me. And chastening is instruction; in Greek it is called παιδεία, of which it is said: "Blessed is the man whom you instruct, O Lord."
Ps 38:1 (37:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 94:12 (93:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David asks for moderated chastening; chastening is instruction.
- Ps 38:1 [LXX 37:2]; Ps 94:12 [LXX 93:12].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: Greek read as Latin letters): naidevoiQ → παιδεία.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.19.1 (CSEL 64:149–150; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-19-1
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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.
37.19.2CSEL 64:150
non enim deus passioni patet, ut irascatur, cum sit inpassibilis; sed quia uindicat, uidetur irasci. nobis hoc uidetur, quia ipsi cum commotione uindicare consueuimus. plerumque tamen et homines inueniuntur, cum uindicant, non moueri, sed summa patientia celebrare uindictam, exercere tormenta. cur ergo mireris in deo, si hoc interdum in homine recognoscas?
For God is not open to passion, so as to be angry, since he is impassible; but because he punishes, he seems to be angry. It seems so to us, because we ourselves are used to punishing with agitation. Yet often men too are found who, when they punish, are not moved, but carry out punishment and apply torments with the greatest calm. Why, then, wonder at it in God, if you sometimes recognize it in man?
Notes and citation
Summary: God is impassible; his "anger" is his punishing.
Topics: God
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.19.2 (CSEL 64:150; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-19-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-19-2
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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.
37.19.3CSEL 64:150
uindictam autem iram esse supra diximus de die irae. denique usus habet, ut dicamus de quoquam punito, quia iram incidit legum, non quia legum iram, sed quia legum seueritatem incidit. sic et alibi de decem plagis Aegyptiorum ait: misit in eos iram per angelos malos, id est uindictam; lex enim nescit irasci, sed scit legum minister. nescit ergo irasci et qui auctor est legum, cui terrendi est uoluntas, non puniendi. imitamini ergo, imperatores, exemplum diuinum, ut sitis in statuendis legibus seueriores, in exigendis suppliciis misericordes.
And we said above, of the day of wrath, that wrath is punishment. Indeed usage has it that we say of someone punished that he fell into the wrath of the laws, not because the laws have wrath, but because he fell into the severity of the laws. So too elsewhere, of the ten plagues of the Egyptians, he says: "He sent wrath on them through evil angels," that is, punishment; for the law does not know how to be angry, but the minister of the laws does. Neither, then, does he know how to be angry who is the author of laws, whose will is to frighten, not to punish. Imitate, then, you emperors, the divine example, so as to be more severe in making laws, merciful in exacting punishments.
Ps 78:49 (77:49 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's wrath is punishment; emperors should be strict in law, merciful in punishing.
- Ps 78:49 [LXX 77:49].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: r for colon, words joined): aitrmisit → ait: misit.
Topics: Rulers and the state
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.19.3 (CSEL 64:150; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-19-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-19-3
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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.
37.19.4CSEL 64:150–151
seueritas legum insolentem restringat audaciam, misericordia principum reos subtrahat poenae. recognoscit igitur propheta culpam suam, uidet uulnera, curari postulat. qui sanari uult, argui non reformidat, sed non uult argui in furore, sed in uerbo dei. uerbum dei sanitas est; sic enim legimus: misit uerbum suum, et sanauit eos. non uult erudiri in ira, sed in doctrina, ut si medicum roges, ne secet uulnus tuum, sed medicamentum apponat. urget medicamento, sed non secat, est dolor, sed non supra mensuram doloris, mordet, sed non cruentat.
Let the severity of the laws restrain insolent boldness; let the mercy of princes withdraw the guilty from punishment. So the prophet recognizes his guilt, sees his wounds, asks to be healed. He who wishes to be healed does not fear to be reproved, but he does not want to be reproved in fury, but in the word of God. The word of God is health; for so we read: "He sent his word and healed them." He does not want to be instructed in anger, but in teaching, as if you asked a physician not to cut your wound but to apply a medicine. He presses with medicine but does not cut; there is pain, but not beyond the measure of pain; it bites, but does not draw blood.
Ps 107:20 (106:20 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 38:1 (37:2 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David asks to be healed by the word, not cut in anger.
- Ps 107:20 [LXX 106:20]; Ps 38:1 [LXX 37:2].
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.19.4 (CSEL 64:150–151; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-19-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-19-4
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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 37, chapter 20
37.20.1CSEL 64:151
Et addidit: quoniam sagittae tuae infixae sunt mihi. eadem uidetur dicere quae sanctus Iob, sed diuersa sunt. nam et ille ait: sagittae enim domini in corpore meo sunt, quarum furor bibit sanguinem meum, cum incipio loqui, conpungunt me. ille de uulnere sui corporis queritur, hic deplorat animae suae uulnera. et forte hic agit paenitentiam de peccato, ille causam agit infirmitatis humanae et quasi nostrae inbecillitatis assertor ad remedium operis auxilium creatoris exposcit.
And he added: "For your arrows are fixed in me." He seems to say the same as holy Job, but they are different. For he too says: "For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose fury drinks my blood; when I begin to speak, they prick me." He complains of the wound of his body; this one laments the wounds of his soul. And perhaps this one does penance for sin, that one pleads the cause of human weakness and, as a defender of our frailty, begs the help of the Creator as a remedy for his work.
Ps 38:2 (37:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Job 6:4 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David's arrows wound the soul for sin; Job's the body in innocent suffering.
- Ps 38:2 [LXX 37:3]; Job 6:4 (Greek form).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: l for I; digitization: split and joined words): in fixae suntmihi → infixae sunt mihi; lob → Iob.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.20.1 (CSEL 64:151; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-1
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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.
37.20.2CSEL 64:151
hic igitur precatur, ille patrocinatur, ideoque uehementior huius est dolor, quia animae uulnera grauiora quam carnis sunt. ille dicit sagittas domini in suo esse corpore, iste deplorat infixas; illius sanguis bibitur, huius effunditur; ille conpungitur, hic uulneratur; illum manus dei tetigit, super hunc confirmata est graui pondere; hic animam suam deflet illusionibus esse completam, ille suum corpus ulceribus. manum autem dei uirtutem intellegimus puniendi.
This one, then, prays; that one pleads; and so this one's grief is the more vehement, because the wounds of the soul are graver than those of the flesh. That one says the arrows of the Lord are in his body; this one laments that they are fixed; that one's blood is drunk, this one's is poured out; that one is pricked, this one wounded; the hand of God touched that one; upon this one it is confirmed with heavy weight; this one weeps that his soul is filled with mockeries, that one that his body is filled with sores. And by the hand of God we understand the power of punishing.
Job 19:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 38:2 (37:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 38:7 (37:8 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Job 2:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The contrasts between David's and Job's sufferings.
- Job 19:21; Ps 38:2, 7 [LXX 37:3, 8]; Job 2:7.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.20.2 (CSEL 64:151; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-2
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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.
37.20.4CSEL 64:151–152
hanc manum Dauid in se ipso expertus et liberis alterius incestum, alterius parricidium deplorauit et, quod pio patri grauius est suae salutis exitiis, simul obprobria subolis et pietatis defleuit excidia; quorum alter ad incestum ac-
This hand David experienced in himself, and lamented in his children the incest of one, the parricide of another; and, what is graver for a loving father than the ruin of his own safety, he wept at once the disgrace of his offspring and the destruction of family love. Of these, one to incest
2 Sam 13:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Sam 15:10 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David felt God's hand in the crimes of his sons Amnon and Absalom.
- 2 Sam 13:14 (Amnon); 2 Sam 15–18 (Absalom). The staged text has no section 37.20.3.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.20.4 (CSEL 64:151–152; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-4
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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.
37.20.5CSEL 64:152
census de germanitatis affectu, alter ad parricidium armatus est studio castitatis. quemadmodum illos in grauissimis criminibus confinia lusere uirtutum! utinam aut ille sororem non amasset aut hic non uindicasset! ad postremum et ipse patriae finibus pulsus a filio fugiebat hostem quem optabat heredem, metuebat uincere, ne pietatis dispendio uinceretur.
was kindled from brotherly affection, the other armed for parricide by zeal for chastity. How the borders of virtues deceived them in the gravest crimes! Would that the one had not loved his sister or the other had not avenged her! Lastly he himself, driven from the borders of his country by his son, fled the enemy whom he wished as heir; he feared to conquer, lest he be conquered at the cost of fatherly love.
2 Sam 13:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Sam 13:28 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Sam 15:14 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Amnon's incest and Absalom's vengeance, and David's flight from his son.
- 2 Sam 13:1–29; 15:14.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.20.5 (CSEL 64:152; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-5
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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.
37.20.8CSEL 64:151
haec manus regem Aegyptiorum propter Abrahae iniuriam ob temptatam Sarrae pudicitiam flagellauit, haec manus Aegyptiorum currus et equos et populos Rubri Maris demersit profundo, haec manus mentem grauauit regis Saul, ut gratiam sui conseruatoris odisset et pro praeuaricatione caelestis imperii desertus a sociis, interemptis quoque filiis destitutus, uictus ab hostibus, quo spectaculo nihil est deformius regi, gladium suum in se ipse conuerteret, ne captiuus senex uiueret et filiis superstes et regno.
This hand scourged the king of the Egyptians for the wrong done to Abraham, for the attempt on Sarah's chastity; this hand sank the chariots and horses and peoples of the Egyptians in the depth of the Red Sea; this hand weighed down King Saul's mind, so that he hated the favor of his preserver, and, for his transgression of the heavenly command, deserted by his companions, bereft too when his sons were killed, beaten by his enemies (than which no sight is more shameful for a king), he turned his own sword on himself, lest he live as an aged captive surviving his sons and his kingdom.
Gen 12:17 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 14:28 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 16:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 31:2 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 31:4 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's hand struck Pharaoh, the Egyptians and Saul.
- Gen 12:17; Exod 14:28; 1 Sam 16:14; 18:10–12; 1 Sam 31:2–4. The staged text has no sections 37.20.6–7.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.20.8 (CSEL 64:151; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-20-8
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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 37, chapter 21
37.21.1CSEL 64:152
Sed forte aliquis dicat, quomodo in parricidio uel incesto manus fuerit dei, cum opus illud inimici sit. cognoscamus igitur, quoniam et, ubi diabolus uulnerat sagittae domini uulnerare dicantur. nempe sic legimus, quod, cum in concilio angelorum sanctum Iob seruulum suum dominus conuersus ad diabolum praedicaret, ut ureretur inuidus et humani generis aduersarius — laus enim inferioris substantiae uiri condemnatio eius est, qui de statu superiore
But perhaps someone may say: how was the hand of God in the parricide or the incest, when that is the enemy's work? Let us learn, then, that even where the devil wounds, the arrows of the Lord are said to wound. Indeed so we read that, when in the council of the angels the Lord, turning to the devil, praised holy Job his servant, so that the envious adversary of the human race might be burned (for the praise of a man of lower substance is the condemnation of him who was cast down from a higher state),
Job 1:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 1:8 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Even where the devil wounds, the arrows are called the Lord's, as Job shows.
- Job 1:6–8.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.21.1 (CSEL 64:152; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-21-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-21-1
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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.
37.21.2CSEL 64:152
deiectus est —, responderit diabolus, quia non gratis Iob dominum ueneraretur qui nutu dei omnibus abundaret. sed mitte, inquit, manum tuam et tange omnia quae habet; uideamus si non in faciem te benedicit. et deus potestatem dedit diabolo, ut mitteret manum suam in omnia quae haberet Iob. quibus gestis cum sanctus Iob in sua fortitudine permaneret, quia non est motus Iob aut in interitu filiorum aut dispendio facultatum, iterum dominus ad diabolum dixit inludens ei, quod dissipasset omnia quae habuerat Iob, filios
the devil answered that Job did not worship the Lord for nothing, who by God's will abounded in all things. "But put out," he says, "your hand and touch all that he has; let us see whether he will not bless you to your face." And God gave the devil power to put out his hand on all that Job had. When this was done and holy Job remained in his fortitude, because Job was not moved either by the death of his sons or by the loss of his means, the Lord again said to the devil, mocking him, that he had scattered all that Job had and killed his sons,
Job 1:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 1:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 1:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 2:3 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The devil was allowed to strike Job's goods and children.
- Job 1:9–12; 2:3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: l for I): lob → Iob.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.21.2 (CSEL 64:152; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-21-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-21-2
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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.
37.21.3CSEL 64:152–153
eius interemisset, ipsum tamen nequaquam mouere de uirtutis statione potuisset. et ille respondit: quaecumque habet homo pro anima sua dabit. sed mitte, inquit, manum tuam et tange carnem et ossa eius. et accepit iterum potestatem, ut mitteret manum suam in corpus eius, tamen ut animam ipsius custodiret, et perfudit ulceribus sanctum Iob, ubi est egressus a domino. aduertimus ergo, quod manus domini dicatur, ubi est hominis diabolo infestante temptatio, siquidem et Iob manum domini dixit esse quae se tetigerit et sagittas domini esse memorauit sagittas piratarum: et tradidit, inquit, me in manus iniusti.
yet could by no means move him from his station of virtue. And he answered: "Whatever a man has he will give for his soul. But put out," he says, "your hand and touch his flesh and bones." And he received power again to put out his hand on his body, yet so as to keep his soul, and he covered holy Job with sores when he went out from the Lord. We note, then, that it is called the hand of the Lord where there is the temptation of a man with the devil attacking, since Job too said it was the hand of the Lord that had touched him, and called the arrows of the robbers the arrows of the Lord: "And he has handed me over," he says, "into the hands of the unjust."
Job 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 2:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 2:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 19:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 6:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 16:11 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Job calls the devil's blows the Lord's hand and arrows.
- Job 2:4–7; Job 19:21; Job 6:4; Job 16:11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: missing letter): statone → statione; hom pro → homo pro.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.21.3 (CSEL 64:152–153; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-21-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-21-3
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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.
37.21.4CSEL 64:153
ipse itaque absoluit, quia, cum diabolus uulnerat, domini sunt sagittae, qui uulnerandi permisit diabolo potestatem. denique si mandes, ut tuus seruulus uerberetur, nonne, etiamsi ab alio adstante caedatur, a te dicitur uerberatus? est et illa ratio, quia dominus ideo dat temptatori potestatem, ut hominum in temptationibus probetur affectus; ideo fit persecutio, ut fides luceat, uirtus excellat, mens interna omnibus manifestetur.
He himself, then, resolved it: because, when the devil wounds, the arrows are the Lord's, who allowed the devil power to wound. Indeed, if you order your slave to be beaten, is he not said to be beaten by you, even if he is struck by another standing by? There is also this reason: the Lord gives the tempter power so that men's affection may be proved in temptations; persecution happens so that faith may shine, virtue excel, the inner mind be shown to all.
Notes and citation
Summary: The arrows are the Lord's because he permits the devil to test us.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: jl for d; digitization: n for p): inse itaque → ipse itaque; jlicitur → dicitur.
Topics: Persecution, The devil and demons, Temptation
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.21.4 (CSEL 64:153; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-21-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-21-4
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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 37, chapter 22
37.22.1CSEL 64:153
Ergo temptatio quasi sagitta penetrat interiora hominis et quasi gladius dei qui scrutatur interna. gladius autem uerbum est dei ualidum et acutius omni gladio acutissimo. de quo gladio audi dicentem Mariae: et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius, ut reuelentur multorum cordium cogitationes.
So temptation penetrates the inner parts of man like an arrow, and like the sword of God which searches inward things. And the sword is the word of God, powerful and sharper than any sharpest sword. Of this sword hear one saying to Mary: "And a sword will pierce your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
Heb 4:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 2:35 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Temptation is like the sword of God's word, which pierced even Mary's soul.
- Heb 4:12; Luke 2:35.
Topics: Temptation
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.22.1 (CSEL 64:153; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-22-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-22-1
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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.
37.22.2CSEL 64:153
uerbo enim dei omnia reuelantur, in cuius conspectu nuda et aperta sunt omnia. anima ipsa diuiditur, medullae interiores cogitationesque manifestae sunt, nec ulla postremo est creatura, ut scriptura dicit, quae se a cognitione eius abscondat. ergo uendamus omnia, ut uerbum emamus, ipsum in nostris uisceribus recondamus.
For by the word of God all things are revealed, in whose sight all things are naked and open. The soul itself is divided, the inner marrow and the thoughts are made manifest; in short, "there is no creature," as Scripture says, that hides itself from his knowledge. Let us sell all things, then, to buy the Word, and store him in our inmost parts.
Heb 4:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 4:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 13:44 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 13:46 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Nothing is hidden from the Word; let us sell all to buy him.
- Heb 4:12–13; Matt 13:44–46.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: words joined): necullapostremo → nec ulla postremo.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.22.2 (CSEL 64:153; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-22-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-22-2
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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 37, chapter 23
37.23.1CSEL 64:153
Ipse postremo diabolus testificatur, quia omnia dat homo quae habet pro anima sua, nec dignum illud pretium totius patrimonii pro redemptione unius animae confitetur. quid parcimus patrimonio, quod et ipse diabolus uile iudicat pro salute? parum dixi pro salute; parum esse et pro errore testatur.
Lastly, the devil himself testifies that a man gives all he has for his soul, and confesses that the price of a whole patrimony is not worthy for the redemption of one soul. Why do we spare a patrimony which even the devil judges cheap for salvation? I have said too little with "for salvation": he testifies it is little even for error.
Job 2:4 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Even the devil admits a soul is worth more than all possessions.
- Job 2:4.
Topics: The soul
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.23.1 (CSEL 64:153; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-23-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-23-1
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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.
37.23.2CSEL 64:153–154
denique haec omnia, inquit, tibi dabo, si procidens adoraueris me, nec solum diuitias mundi, sed etiam honores et regna monstrauit. si tanto constat, ut diabolus adoretur, quantum christianus debet offerre, ut cum Christo resuscitetur? sed diabolum dimittamus quasi hircum emissionis in desertum; neque enim fidelis assertor est ueritatis, etsi aliquando transfiguret se in angelum lucis.
Indeed: "All these," he says, "I will give you, if you fall down and worship me," and he showed not only the riches of the world but honors and kingdoms. If it costs so much for the devil to be worshipped, how much ought a Christian to offer to be raised with Christ? But let us send the devil away like the scapegoat into the desert; for he is not a faithful witness of truth, even if he sometimes transforms himself into an angel of light.
Matt 4:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Lev 16:10 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 11:14 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The devil offered the world for worship; a Christian should give more to rise with Christ.
- Matt 4:8–9; Lev 16:10; 2 Cor 11:14.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.23.2 (CSEL 64:153–154; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-23-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-23-2
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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 37, chapter 24
37.24.1CSEL 64:154
Abundant nobis diuinarum testimonia scripturarum, quibus instruimur nihil esse in homine pretiosius fide, nullum tantum esse patrimonium, quod salutis nostrae atque animae pretio conferatur. fide Abraham patriam suam reliquit et terram et proximos etiam quos uidebat, et eum quem non uidebat tamquam aspiciens sequebatur;
The testimonies of the divine Scriptures abound for us, by which we are taught that nothing in man is more precious than faith, that no patrimony is so great as to be compared with the price of our salvation and soul. By faith Abraham left his country and land and neighbors too whom he saw, and followed him whom he did not see as though seeing him;
Heb 11:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 11:27 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 12:1 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Faith is worth more than everything, as Abraham showed.
- Heb 11:8, 27; Gen 12:1.
Topics: Faith
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.24.1 (CSEL 64:154; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-24-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-24-1
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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.
37.24.2CSEL 64:154
Moyses quoque pretium animae suae maius omnibus Aegypti diuitiis aestimauit. quid de uiris sublimibus loquor? Raab meretrix, alienigena illa de saeculo, tamen animam suam non solum contemptu omnium quae habebat, sed etiam uitae periculis putauit esse redimendam, quae exploratores Iesu Naue ciuibus suis quaerentibus denegauit et hostes patriae, legatos tamen fidei maluit occultare quam prodere.
Moses too judged the price of his soul greater than all the riches of Egypt. Why speak of sublime men? Rahab the harlot, that foreigner of the world, yet thought her soul must be redeemed not only by contempt of all she had but even by the dangers of her life; she refused the spies of Joshua son of Nun to her citizens who sought them, and preferred to hide rather than betray those who were enemies of her country yet envoys of faith.
Heb 11:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Josh 2:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 11:31 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses and Rahab valued their souls above all wealth and safety.
- Heb 11:24–26; Josh 2:1–7; Heb 11:31.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.24.2 (CSEL 64:154; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-24-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-24-2
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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.
37.24.3CSEL 64:154
non eam minae ciuium, non bellorum pericula, non incendia patriae, non suorum discrimina terruerunt. disce, uir, disce, christiane, quomodo uerum Iesum sequi debeas, quando femina contempsit omnia sua et Iesum in figura propter similitudinem nominis est secuta. unde praeclare Salomon dixit: diuitiae uiri redemptio animae eius. redime ergo animam tuam. uilis est pecunia, sed fit pretiosa per fidem; uilis est cum conditur, pretiosa cum dispergitur; sic enim scriptum est: dispersit, dedit pauperibus, iustitia eius manet in aeternum.
Neither the threats of the citizens, nor the dangers of war, nor the burning of her country, nor the perils of her family terrified her. Learn, man, learn, Christian, how you ought to follow the true Jesus, when a woman despised all her things and followed Jesus in figure because of the likeness of the name. Hence Solomon excellently said: "The riches of a man are the ransom of his soul." Ransom, then, your soul. Money is cheap, but becomes precious through faith; cheap when hoarded, precious when scattered; for so it is written: "He has scattered, he has given to the poor; his justice remains for ever."
Prov 13:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 112:9 (111:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 9:9 (quotation, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Rahab followed Joshua, a figure of Jesus; money redeems the soul when given to the poor.
- Joshua and Jesus have the same name in Greek and Latin. Prov 13:8; Ps 112:9 [LXX 111:9] (2 Cor 9:9).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: words joined): inaeternum → in aeternum.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.24.3 (CSEL 64:154; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-24-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-24-3
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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 37, chapter 25
37.25.1CSEL 64:154–155
Si igitur talis fueris, ut possis contemnere non solum omnia tua, sed etiam ipsam carnem tuam pro iustitia, qua nulla potest locupletior esse possessio — possessio enim pretiosa homo mundus —, etsi flumina te superiora concluserint, transis, etsi dederit temptandi tui dominus potestatem, mandat tamen diabolo ut animam ipse custodiat, secundum quod scriptum est: ut destruas inimicum et defensorem; temptat enim ut aduersarius, defendit ut seruus.
If, then, you are such that you can despise not only all your things but even your very flesh for justice, than which no possession can be richer (for a clean man is a precious possession), even if the upper rivers shut you in, you pass through; even if the Lord has given power to tempt you, yet he commands the devil to keep your soul himself, according to what is written: "to destroy the enemy and the defender"; for he tempts as an adversary and defends as a servant.
Isa 43:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Job 2:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God makes the devil, who tempts us, guard our soul.
- Isa 43:2; Job 2:6; Ps 8:2 [LXX 8:3] (read "defender" for "avenger").
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.25.1 (CSEL 64:154–155; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-25-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-25-1
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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.
37.25.2CSEL 64:155
scriptum est enim: et uolet tibi unicornuus seruire. seruit enim qui non ex uoluntate sua quod optat exequitur, sed ex necessitate mandatis imperialibus inuitus obtemperat. uide altitudinem Christi, qui retorsit in diabolum malitiae suae pretium. ille nos cogit quod odio habemus hoc facere; non enim quod uolo hoc ago, ut apostolus dixit, sed quod odi illud facio. retorsit in illum dominus, ut et ipse plerumque non faciat quod uult, sed quod odit hoc faciat; denique animam quam uult expugnare custodit.
For it is written: "And will the unicorn be willing to serve you?" For he serves who carries out what he desires not by his own will but, by necessity, unwillingly obeys imperial commands. See the depth of Christ, who turned back on the devil the price of his malice. He forces us to do what we hate; for "I do not do what I want," as the apostle said, "but what I hate, that I do." The Lord turned it back on him, so that he too often does not what he wants but what he hates; in short, he guards the soul he wants to conquer.
Job 39:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 7:15 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ turned the tables: the devil must serve and guard what he hates.
- Job 39:9 (Greek "unicorn"); Rom 7:15.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.25.2 (CSEL 64:155; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-25-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-25-2
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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.
37.25.3CSEL 64:155
nos corruptelam carnis condemnamus et sequimur ut illa uidua, quae promissam marito fidem irritam fecit et postea nubere uult, quod ante fugiebat. ille inimicus est sanctis et defensor adhibetur, quo amplius puniatur, ut nocere non audeat qui nocere desiderat. et quanto tolerabilius est amare uirtutes, etsi implere non possis, quam odisse uirtutes, quibus nocere non possis!
We condemn the corruption of the flesh and follow it, like that widow who made void the faith promised to her husband and afterwards wants to marry, which before she fled. He is an enemy to the saints and is employed as a defender, so that he may be punished the more, not daring to harm though he desires to harm. And how much more bearable it is to love the virtues, even if you cannot fulfil them, than to hate virtues you cannot harm!
1 Tim 5:11 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 5:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We condemn the flesh yet follow it, like a widow who breaks her pledge and wants to remarry.
- 1 Tim 5:11–12 (younger widows who "want to marry", breaking their first pledge). The comparison is passing; translated as written.
Topics: Divorce and remarriage
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.25.3 (CSEL 64:155; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-25-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-25-3
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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 37, chapter 26
37.26.1CSEL 64:155–156
Non est, inquit, sanitas in carne mea a uultu irae tuae. exposuit nobis hunc locum Esaias: iratus es, et nos peccauimus. qui est tamen irae domini uultus? ne forte ille, quia oculi domini super facientes mala? si enim oculi domini super iustos, quomodo a uultu irae dei infirmatur propheta? unde et illud considera, quod ipse Dauid in posterioribus dixit: quoniam ex omnibus tribulationibus eripuisti me et super inimicos meos respexit oculus tuus.
"There is no health in my flesh," he says, "from the face of your anger." Isaiah explained this place for us: "You were angry, and we sinned." Yet what is the face of the Lord's anger? Is it perhaps that "the eyes of the Lord are upon those who do evil"? For if the eyes of the Lord are on the just, how is the prophet weakened from the face of God's anger? Hence consider also what David himself said in later psalms: "For you have rescued me from all tribulations, and your eye has looked upon my enemies."
Ps 38:3 (37:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 64:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 34:16 (33:17 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 34:15 (33:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 54:7 (53:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The face of God's anger is his eye upon evildoers.
- Ps 38:3 [LXX 37:4]; Isa 64:5; Ps 34:16, 15 [LXX 33:17, 16]; Ps 54:7 [LXX 53:9].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: stray number): quomodo 25 a uultu → quomodo a uultu.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.26.1 (CSEL 64:155–156; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-26-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-26-1
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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.
37.26.2CSEL 64:156
sicut enim bona iustorum respicit, ita et peccatorum occulta deprehendit. nisi forte ad Christum hoc referas, qui ab omnibus a quibus conterebatur ereptus est, quando se exuit a populo Iudaeorum, qui eum frequentibus sacrilegiis et cotidianis impietatibus conterebant, et inimicos suos uocauit ad gratiam, quos oculus dei uidit et amauit. ergo quia pius est deus, nequaquam est desperandum; etsi irascitur, ignoscit, etsi percutit, sanat, etsi tradit in interitum carnem, spiritum saluat. noli ergo timere carnis infirmitatem, quia sanctus, cum infirmatur, potentior est.
For as he looks on the good things of the just, so he detects the hidden things of sinners. Unless perhaps you refer this to Christ, who was rescued from all by whom he was crushed, when he stripped himself from the Jewish people, who crushed him with frequent sacrileges and daily impieties, and called his enemies to grace, whom the eye of God saw and loved. Since God is loving, then, there is no reason to despair; even if he is angry, he forgives; even if he strikes, he heals; even if he hands the flesh over to destruction, he saves the spirit. Do not fear, then, the weakness of the flesh, because the saint, when weak, is stronger.
1 Cor 5:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 12:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Deut 32:39 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's anger heals; even when he strikes the flesh he saves the spirit.
- 1 Cor 5:5; 2 Cor 12:10. Ambrose's language about the Jews is translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.26.2 (CSEL 64:156; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-26-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-26-2
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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 37, chapter 27
37.27.1CSEL 64:156
Quid autem est quod ait: non est pax ossibus meis a facie peccatorum meorum? quae sunt ista ossa? utrum animae an corporis? sed non tanta esset doloris cura corporei ubi et anima laborat, cum sancti sit uelle carnem propter animam flagellari, sicut se flagellabat et Paulus, ne eius reprobaretur assertio.. sunt quaedam interioris ossa hominis sicut et membra sunt cetera, oculi mentis et nares, sicut Iob dixit: spiritus diuinus qui est in naribus meis.
And what is it he says: "There is no peace for my bones from the face of my sins"? What are these bones? Of the soul or of the body? But there would not be such care for bodily pain where the soul too suffers, since it is the saint's will that the flesh be scourged for the soul's sake, as Paul too scourged himself, lest his preaching be rejected. There are certain bones of the inner man, just as there are other members, eyes of the mind and nostrils, as Job said: "the divine spirit which is in my nostrils."
Ps 38:3 (37:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:27 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 27:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The bones are those of the inner man, as the soul has eyes and nostrils.
- Ps 38:3 [LXX 37:4]; 1 Cor 9:27; Job 27:3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: 0 for o): 0ssibus → ossibus.
Topics: The soul
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.27.1 (CSEL 64:156; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-27-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-27-1
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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.
37.27.2CSEL 64:156–157
sunt ergo et ossa, quibus caritatis quaedam compago formatur. unde et Adam dixit de consorte caritatis et coherede gratiae uitae: hoc nunc os de ossibus meis et caro de carne mea, quod apostolus interpretatus ait: sacramentum hoc magnum est, ego autem dico in Christo et in ecclesia. Christi autem et ecclesiae sacramentum non carnale, sed spiritale esse quis dubitet, cum bonus quisque in ipso coniugio non carnis, sed uirtutis decore teneatur et mores diligat in uxore, non usus? denique audi, quia non secundum carnem loquitur, sed secundum uirtutem interiorem: non est absconditum os meum quod fecisti in abscondito. uirtus itaque, non caro est, quae dei patris nouit abscondita.
There are, then, bones by which a kind of framework of love is formed. Hence Adam too said of his partner in love and co-heir of the grace of life: "This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh," which the apostle interpreted, saying: "This mystery is great, but I speak of Christ and the church." And who would doubt that the mystery of Christ and the church is not carnal but spiritual, since every good man, even in marriage itself, is held not by the beauty of the flesh but of virtue, and loves the character in his wife, not her use? Indeed hear that he speaks not according to the flesh but according to inner virtue: "My bone is not hidden from you, which you made in secret." It is virtue, then, not flesh, that knows the hidden things of God the Father.
Gen 2:23 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Pet 3:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 5:32 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 139:15 (138:15 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The bones of the soul are the bonds of love, as in marriage and in Christ and the church.
- Gen 2:23; 1 Pet 3:7; Eph 5:32; Ps 139:15 [LXX 138:15].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters): abscon d itum os meum quod fecisti in abscon d ito → absconditum os meum quod fecisti in abscondito.
Topics: Marriage, Love of God and neighbour
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.27.2 (CSEL 64:156–157; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-27-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-27-2
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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 37, chapter 28
37.28.1CSEL 64:157
Ergo non est pax animae uirtutibus, quando ante oculos nobis nostra peccata concurrunt et offundunt se mentibus nostris. et hoc bene interpretatus est gentium doctor electus in epistula secunda ad Corinthios dicens: nam et cum uenissemus in Macedoniam, nullam requiem habuit caro nostra, sed in omnibus sumus afflicti; foris pugnae, intus timores.
There is no peace, then, for the virtues of the soul when our sins run together before our eyes and spread themselves over our minds. And this the chosen teacher of the Gentiles explained well in the second epistle to the Corinthians, saying: "For even when we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way: fightings without, fears within."
2 Cor 7:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Sins before our eyes leave the soul no peace, as Paul knew.
- 2 Cor 7:5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: stray point): secunda. ad Corinthios → secunda ad Corinthios.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.28.1 (CSEL 64:157; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-28-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-28-1
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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.
37.28.2CSEL 64:157
illum Macedonum peccata uexabant; quanto magis propria unumquemque nostrum peccata perturbant, ut requies nobis esse non possit! grauior aduersaria nobis culpa est nostra, quae sollicitat otiosos, affligit sanos, contristat laetos, inquietat placidos, exagitat mites, excitat dormientes. rei sumus sine accusante, sine torquente cruciamur, sine uinculis astringimur, sine uenditore seruimus.
The sins of the Macedonians troubled him; how much more do each one's own sins disturb us, so that there can be no rest for us! Our own guilt is a heavier adversary to us, which troubles the idle, afflicts the healthy, saddens the glad, disquiets the calm, harasses the gentle, wakes the sleeping. We are defendants without an accuser, tormented without a torturer, bound without chains, slaves without a seller.
Notes and citation
Summary: Our own guilt is the heaviest adversary.
Topics: Conscience
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.28.2 (CSEL 64:157; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-28-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-28-2
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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.
37.28.3CSEL 64:157
unde et scriptura dicit: peccatis uestris uenditi estis. haec igitur peccata sunt quae contra nos semper sunt, ut dixit propheta: uendiderunt nos et dominantur nobis. seruus qui uenditur superiore seruitio exit, ut ad dominum alterum migret; nos nec superiorum iugum deponimus et ad noua peccata curuamur.
Hence Scripture too says: "By your sins you have been sold." These, then, are the sins which are always against us, as the prophet said: "They sold us and they rule over us." A slave who is sold leaves his former service to pass to another master; we neither lay down the yoke of the former and bend to new sins.
Isa 50:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 51:3 (50:5 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Neh 9:37 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Sin sells us into a slavery that only grows.
- Isa 50:1; Ps 51:3 [LXX 50:5]. The second quotation ("they sold us and rule over us") is unidentified; compare Neh 9:37.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.28.3 (CSEL 64:157; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-28-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-28-3
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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 37, chapter 29
37.29.1CSEL 64:157–158
Unde ingemuit sanctus dicens: quoniam iniquitates meae superposuerunt caput meum, sicut onus graue grauatae sunt super me, hoc est: iniquitates meae supertransierunt caput meum et supereminent mihi, ut sensus meos deprimant; oculi enim sapientis in capite eius. et ideo Nabal malus erat et durus, quia sensus eius malitia et iniquitas obserabant. unde et Abigaeae uerbum ferre non potuit, sed obduruit cor eius et quasi infirmus occubuit.
Hence the saint groaned, saying: "For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they have weighed upon me," that is: my iniquities have passed over my head and tower above me, so as to press down my senses; for "the eyes of the wise man are in his head." And so Nabal was evil and hard, because malice and iniquity locked up his senses. Hence he could not bear Abigail's word, but his heart hardened and he died like a sick man.
Ps 38:4 (37:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Eccl 2:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 25:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 25:37 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Iniquities over the head press down the mind, as with Nabal.
- Ps 38:4 [LXX 37:5]; Eccl 2:14; 1 Sam 25:3, 37–38.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters, stray letter): quoniam m iniquit ates meae superposuerunt caput meum, sicut onus graue gr auatae → quoniam iniquitates meae superposuerunt caput meum, sicut onus graue grauatae.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.29.1 (CSEL 64:157–158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-29-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-29-1
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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.
37.29.2CSEL 64:158
aut uide ne hoc sit caput, de quo ait apostolus, quia non tenet illud mente carnis inflatus. hoc autem caput Christus est, quia omnis uiri caput Christus. hoc est caput, quod per conpaginationes et conligationes totius plebis crescit in incrementum dei, quia in omnibus nobis per singula membra sua Christus assurgit. ergo quando ingrauant nostra peccata et talento quodam iniquitatis plumbeo ad terrena deprimimur, disrumpamus uincula eorum et abiciamus a nobis iugum ipsorum, ut possimus oculos mentis nostrae adtollere et audire dicentem:
Or see whether this is not the head of which the apostle says that he does not hold it, puffed up by the mind of the flesh. And this head is Christ, for the head of every man is Christ. This is the head which, through the joints and bonds of the whole people, grows with the increase of God, because in all of us Christ rises up through each of his members. So when our sins weigh us down and we are pressed to earthly things by a kind of leaden talent of iniquity, let us break their chains and cast their yoke from us, so that we can lift up the eyes of our mind and hear one saying:
Col 2:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:19 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 11:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Zech 5:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 2:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The head is Christ; we must break the chains of sin to look up to him.
- Col 2:18–19; 1 Cor 11:3; Zech 5:7; Ps 2:3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: stray point and hyphen, garbled letters): uincula. eorum et abiciamus a nobis iugum-ipsorura → uincula eorum et abiciamus a nobis iugum ipsorum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.29.2 (CSEL 64:158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-29-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-29-2
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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.
37.29.3CSEL 64:158
uenite ad me omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego uos reficiam. denique Aegyptum auaritia onerabat, pecunia uexabat mercatus Aethiopum, sicut scriptum est: laborauit Aegyptus et mercatus Aethiopum, et Sabaim uiri excelsi ad te transibunt. laborauit Aegyptus, antequam cognosceret ueritatem, sed iam non laborat, postquam transiuit ad Christum. secuntur uolentes Sabaei uiri qui ante fugiebant, quia tenent eos uincula caritatis, quae adamante fortiora sunt. pulchre et illud Esaiae huic loco aptatur: omne caput in dolore et omne cor in maestitia. a
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you." Indeed avarice burdened Egypt, the trade of the Ethiopians troubled it with money, as it is written: "Egypt has labored, and the trade of the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans, tall men, will pass over to you." Egypt labored before it knew the truth, but it labors no longer since it passed over to Christ. The Sabean men who once fled now follow willingly, because the chains of love hold them, which are stronger than adamant. Isaiah's saying too fits this place finely: "Every head in pain and every heart in sadness. From
Matt 11:28 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 45:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Hos 11:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 1:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ refreshes the burdened, as the converted Gentiles show.
- Matt 11:28; Isa 45:14 (Greek form); Hos 11:4; Isa 1:5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: words joined): laborauitAegyptus → laborauit Aegyptus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.29.3 (CSEL 64:158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-29-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-29-3
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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.
37.29.4CSEL 64:158–159
pedibus usque ad caput non est uulnus neque cicatrix neque plaga cum feruore. feruet enim iniquitas, cum dominatur super caput nostrum sese extollens et locum occupans, ne eum Christus magister teneat paenitentiae. non mediocrem uim habent istae iniquitates, si consideres hominem illum iniquitatis, qui uenturus est secundum opera satanae in omni uirtute et signis et prodigiis mendacibus et omni seductione iniquitatis, quem cauendum nobis apostolus demonstrauit, quia operationem erroris accipiet, ut probentur fideles, iudicentur infidi.
the feet to the head there is no wound nor scar nor festering sore." For iniquity festers when it rules over our head, exalting itself and occupying the place, so that Christ, the teacher of penance, may not hold it. These iniquities have no small force, if you consider that man of iniquity who is to come according to the working of Satan with all power and lying signs and wonders and every seduction of iniquity, whom the apostle showed must be guarded against, because he will receive the working of error, so that the faithful may be proved and the faithless judged.
Isa 1:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Thess 2:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Thess 2:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Thess 2:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Thess 2:11 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Iniquity festers when it rules the head; its height is the man of iniquity to come.
- Isa 1:6 (Greek form); 2 Thess 2:3, 9–12.
Topics: Eschatology, Antichrist
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.29.4 (CSEL 64:158–159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-29-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-29-4
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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 37, chapter 30
37.30.1CSEL 64:159
Merito ergo sub iniquitatibus posito sibi et, quod peius est, suis computuisse et computruisse dicit cicatrices suas a facie insipientiae suae, quia leuantem onera iniquitatum tardius remedium sequebatur. tamen et Iob sancto, qui saniem radebat suorum ulcerum perfusus ulceribus a pedibus usque ad caput, sanitas est refusa et Lazarus pauper, qui iacebat ad ianuas diuitis lambentibus ulcera eius canibus, de cicatricum suarum faetore sublatus ab angelis in Abrahae sinu est collocatus. est ergo in sancto Dauid spes et remedium sanitatis, quia non unguentum redolent, sed faetorem suorum uulnera peccatorum et quia affligitur his atque curuatur et non delectatur.
Rightly, then, placed under iniquities, he says that his scars have rotted and festered for himself and, what is worse, for his own, from the face of his foolishness, because the remedy followed late on one carrying the burdens of iniquities. Yet health was poured back into holy Job too, who scraped the pus of his sores, covered with sores from his feet to his head; and Lazarus the poor man, who lay at the rich man's gate while the dogs licked his sores, was taken from the stench of his scars by angels and placed in Abraham's bosom. There is, then, in holy David hope and a remedy of health, because the wounds of his sins smell not of ointment but of stench, and because he is afflicted and bowed down by them and does not delight in them.
Ps 38:5 (37:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Job 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 2:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 16:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 16:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 16:22 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David's wounds stink to him, and so there is hope for him, as for Job and Lazarus.
- Ps 38:5 [LXX 37:6]; Job 2:7–8; Luke 16:20–22.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: garbled letters): itnsipieråÜle → insipientiae.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.30.1 (CSEL 64:159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-30-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-30-1
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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.
37.30.2CSEL 64:159–160
specta nunc epheborum aliquem lasciuum et egregie libidinosum, qui in stupris uitam suam exigat, more illius diuitis in bysso et ostro iacentem atque epulantem cotidie splendide, cui natent pauimenta uino, tegatur humus floribus et spinis cooperta piscium incensis diuersorum thymiamatum odoribus triclinia compleantur, quemadmodum se beatum putet et bene se olere iudicet, cum grauia atque diuturna animae suae uulnera gerat et corruptum sanguinem fluat, nullum tamen faetorem suae cicatricis accipiat. obstructas caeno nares habet nec potest dicere: spiritus diuinus qui est in naribus meis. ideo diues ille remedium salutis inuenire non potuit, pauper inuenit; denique alter apud inferos in supplicio, alter in requie.
Look now at some young man, wanton and exceedingly lustful, who spends his life in debauchery, in the manner of that rich man lying in fine linen and purple and feasting splendidly every day, whose floors swim with wine, whose ground is covered with flowers, and whose dining rooms, the fish-bones covered, are filled with the burnt odors of various incenses: how he thinks himself blessed and judges that he smells sweet, when he bears grave and long-standing wounds of his soul and runs with corrupt blood, yet perceives no stench of his scar. He has nostrils blocked with mud and cannot say: "the divine spirit which is in my nostrils." So that rich man could not find the remedy of salvation; the poor man found it; in the end one is in torment in the underworld, the other in rest.
Luke 16:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 16:23 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 27:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The luxurious man does not smell his own wounds, like the rich man of the parable.
- Luke 16:19, 23; Job 27:3.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.30.2 (CSEL 64:159–160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-30-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-30-2
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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 37, chapter 31
37.31.1CSEL 64:160
Inuenit ergo perpetuae salutis remedium etiam sanctus propheta Dauid, qui faetere sibi animae suae uulnera fatebatur et a facie insipientiae suae conputruisse sibi cicatrices proprias loquebatur. sed est et insipientia, quae per stultitiam praedicationis credentibus salutem afferat. refugit ergo propheta euangelico iam spiritu
The holy prophet David, then, found the remedy of everlasting salvation, who confessed that the wounds of his soul stank to him and said that his scars had rotted from the face of his foolishness. But there is also a foolishness which through the foolishness of preaching brings salvation to those who believe. The prophet, then, already with the gospel spirit, shuns
Ps 38:5 (37:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David confessed his foolishness, the foolishness that saves.
- Ps 38:5 [LXX 37:6]; 1 Cor 1:21.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: OCR letter slips; digitization: e for c; digitization: stray point): insipientiae. suae → insipientiae suae; dedentibus → credentibus; euangelieo → euangelico.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.31.1 (CSEL 64:160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-31-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-31-1
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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.
37.31.2CSEL 64:160
sapientiam istius mundi qua non cognoscitur deus, quae tegit sua uulnera, non reuelat ad dominum. melior igitur insipientia quae oculos habet, ut uideat ulcera sua, quam sapientia quae non habet. et ideo insipientiae suae obtutu ammonitus spiritali tantus rex afflictum se miseriis protestatur, ut remedium possit paenitentiae repperire, quod Iudas, qui agrum de iniquitatis mercede possedit, repperire non potuit.
the wisdom of this world, by which God is not known, which covers its wounds and does not reveal them to the Lord. Better, then, is the foolishness that has eyes to see its sores than the wisdom that has none. And so, warned by the spiritual sight of his foolishness, so great a king declares himself afflicted by miseries, so as to find the remedy of penance, which Judas, who possessed a field from the reward of iniquity, could not find.
1 Cor 1:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 1:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Foolishness that sees its sores is better than the world's wisdom; David found penance, Judas did not.
- 1 Cor 1:21; Acts 1:18.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: OCR letter slips; digitization: missing stop): reuelat ad dominum melior → reuelat ad dominum. melior; ludas, aui agrum → Iudas, qui agrum.
Topics: Repentance
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.31.2 (CSEL 64:160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-31-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-31-2
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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 37, chapter 32
37.32.1CSEL 64:160
Miseriis, inquit, afflictus sum et curuatus sum usque ad finem, tota die contristatus ingrediebar. usque in quem finem se dicit esse curuatum: utrum legitimum in finem paenitentiae aut amplius, ut mystice intellegamus, usque ad Christum qui finis est legis, qui se passus est lapidari, passus est corpus suum mortuum uulnerari?
"By miseries," he says, "I was afflicted and bowed down to the end; all day long I went about sad." To what end does he say he was bowed down: to the lawful end of penance, or further, that we may understand it mystically, even to Christ, who is the end of the law, who allowed himself to be stoned, allowed his dead body to be wounded?
Ps 38:6 (37:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:4 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:59 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 19:34 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: "Bowed to the end" may refer to the end of penance or to Christ.
- Ps 38:6 [LXX 37:7]; Rom 10:4; John 8:59; John 19:34. The psalm verse is garbled in the digital text and restored by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: garbled letters; digitization: spaced letters, h for b): rt t t lie t use t curuatus → afflictus sum et curuatus; ingr e dieh ar → ingrediebar.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.32.1 (CSEL 64:160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-32-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-32-1
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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.
37.32.2CSEL 64:160–161
sed nullum faetorem paenitentiae, sed odorem gratiae uulnera illa redolebant. denique non tabes mortis de uulnere eius, sicut hominum ceterorum, sed fons uitae scaturiuit aeternae, ut scriptura nos edocet dicens: et saliet aqua cum delectatione de fontibus salutaris. exiliuit ergo de uulnere aqua, ut nos biberemus salutem; bibent omnes peccatores terrae, ut peccata deponant. uide singula. miseriis afflictus est Christus, ut beatos faceret homines qui erant in miseriis constituti. nemo miserum eum qui sit iustus appellet, quia ipse dixit: uos nemo faciet miseros, curuatus est ille, ut nos erigeremur; contristatus est ille, ut nos laetificaret, secundum quod scriptum est: si enim ego contristo uos, et quis est qui me laetificet nisi qui contristatur ex me?
But those wounds smelled not of the stench of penance but of the fragrance of grace. Indeed not the decay of death, as with other men, but the fountain of eternal life gushed from his wound, as Scripture teaches us, saying: "And water will leap up with delight from the fountains of salvation." Water leapt from the wound, then, so that we might drink salvation; all the sinners of the earth will drink, so as to lay down their sins. See each point. Christ was afflicted with miseries, so as to make blessed the men who were set in miseries. Let no one call a just man miserable, because he himself said: "No one will make you miserable." He was bowed down so that we might be raised up; he was saddened so as to gladden us, according to what is written: "For if I sadden you, who is it that gladdens me but he who is saddened by me?"
John 19:34 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 12:3 (quotation, high confidence) · John 16:22 (echo, low confidence) · 2 Cor 2:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: From Christ's wound flowed the water of life; he was bowed and saddened for us.
- John 19:34; Isa 12:3; 2 Cor 2:2. "No one will make you miserable" is unidentified (compare John 16:22).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: split word): s aliet → saliet.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.32.2 (CSEL 64:160–161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-32-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-32-2
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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.
37.32.3CSEL 64:161
qui contristatur ergo ex domino Iesu Christo ipse laetificat Christum et ipse laetificatur a Christo. ideo ergo et nos non perfunctorie satisfaciendum a nobis esse cognoscimus. curuemur usque in finem, id est non solum Christo fidem, sed etiam passionum nostrarum perseuerantiam deferentes, et gaudeamus in passionibus nostris, sicut et Christus gaudebat in passionibus suis. quas ille suscipiebat pro seruulis suis, nos subeamus pro domino.
He, then, who is saddened by the Lord Jesus Christ himself gladdens Christ and is himself gladdened by Christ. And so we too know that we must not make satisfaction carelessly. Let us be bowed down to the end, that is, bringing to Christ not only faith but also perseverance in our sufferings, and let us rejoice in our sufferings, as Christ too rejoiced in his sufferings. Those he undertook for his servants, let us undergo for the Lord.
Rom 5:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Col 1:24 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Penance must be thorough; we should rejoice in suffering for Christ.
- Rom 5:3; Col 1:24.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: c for e): cx domino → ex domino.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.32.3 (CSEL 64:161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-32-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-32-3
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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.
37.32.4CSEL 64:161
hic ergo finis, ut adimpleam, inquit, quae desunt tribulationum Christi in carne mea pro corpore eius, quae est ecclesia, cuius sum factus minister. uidemus quid nobis suscipiendum sit, qui ministerium sacerdotale suscipimus, ut non solum pro nobis, sed etiam pro ecclesia domini sustinere fortiter passiones corporis debeamus. Dauid autem addidit et animae passiones.
This, then, is the end: "that I may fill up," he says, "what is lacking of the tribulations of Christ in my flesh for his body, which is the church, of which I have been made a minister." We see what we must undertake, who undertake the priestly ministry: that we ought to bear bravely the sufferings of the body not only for ourselves but also for the Lord's church. But David added the sufferings of the soul too.
Col 1:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 1:25 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Priests must suffer for the church as Paul did.
- Col 1:24–25.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: split word, garbled letters; digitization: stray point): passiones. corporis debeamus → passiones corporis debeamus; animae pas- Mones. → animae passiones..
Topics: Church office
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.32.4 (CSEL 64:161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-32-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-32-4
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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 37, chapter 33
37.33.1CSEL 64:161
Denique ipse ait: quoniam anima mea completa est inlusionibus et non est sanitas in carne mea. incuruatus sum et humiliatus sum nimis, rugiebam a gemitu cordis mei. et ante te omne desiderium meum et gemitus meus non est absconditus a te. cor meum conturbatum est et deseruit me fortitudo mea, et lumen oculorum meorum non est mecum. aduertimus igitur laborem animae maiorem esse quam carnis.
Indeed he says: "For my soul is filled with mockeries, and there is no health in my flesh. I am bowed down and humbled exceedingly; I roared from the groaning of my heart. And before you is all my desire, and my groaning is not hidden from you. My heart is troubled and my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes is not with me." We note, then, that the labor of the soul is greater than that of the flesh.
Ps 38:7 (37:8 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 38:8 (37:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 38:9 (37:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 38:10 (37:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The psalmist's soul suffers more than his flesh.
- Ps 38:7–10 [LXX 37:8–11].
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: spaced letters): ab s conditus → absconditus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.33.1 (CSEL 64:161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-1
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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.
37.33.2CSEL 64:161–162
denique quibus anima inlusionibus compleatur intellege, eo quod in temptationibus diabolus ei uideatur inludere et insultare quasi grauiter laboranti. Symmachus tamen ait lumbos, in quibus seminaria sunt generationis humanae. unde praecinctos lumbos habere te praecipit sapientia dei, ne tua castimonia resoluatur. denique ut scias, quia in lumbis sint libidinis commotiones quae plerumque excitantur a diabolo, quando contendit dissipare membra Christi et facere
In short, understand with what mockeries the soul is filled: that in temptations the devil seems to mock and insult it as it labors heavily. Symmachus, however, says "loins," in which are the seeds of human generation. Hence the wisdom of God bids you have your loins girded, lest your chastity be loosened. And so that you may know that in the loins are the stirrings of lust, which are often roused by the devil when he strives to scatter the members of Christ and make them
Ps 38:7 (37:8 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 12:35 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 6:15 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Symmachus reads "loins": the devil mocks through lust.
- Ps 38:7 [LXX 37:8] (Symmachus, from the Hexapla, "my loins" for "my soul"); Luke 12:35; 1 Cor 6:15.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: stray number; digitization: stray point): laboranti. 30 Symmachus → laboranti. Symmachus; in lumbis. sint → in lumbis sint.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.33.2 (CSEL 64:161–162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-2
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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.
37.33.3CSEL 64:162
membra meretricis, ecce, inquit, fortitudo eius in lumbis et uirtus eius in utero. in lumbis uiri semina sunt, in utero autem feminae. inludit ergo diabolus in his, ut faciat adulterium incestum fornicationes. et ideo qui fornicatur in corpus suum peccat, non extra corpus, primum quia infirmatur caro, quae in libidinibus diffluit et non seruat moderamina castitatis, deinde quoniam seminaria, quae
members of a harlot: "Behold," he says, "his strength is in his loins and his power in his belly." In the man's loins are the seeds, in the woman's womb. So the devil mocks in these, to make adultery, incest, fornications. And so "he who commits fornication sins against his own body," not outside the body: first because the flesh is weakened, which dissolves in lusts and does not keep the restraints of chastity; then because the seeds which
1 Cor 6:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 40:16 (40:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 6:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The devil works through the loins to bring adultery and sexual immorality.
- 1 Cor 6:15; Job 40:16 [LXX 40:11]; 1 Cor 6:18. Fornicationes rendered "fornications" here as a list of sexual sins.
Topics: Ethics, Sexual morality, The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.33.3 (CSEL 64:162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-3
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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.
37.33.4CSEL 64:162
debent suboli proficere procreandae, inquinamentum corporis, non fructum posteritatis operantur. illae itaque dicuntur inlusiones, fortasse quod in his corporis aestus sine coitus celebritate frequenter inludat. unde bene Septuaginta uiri animae inlusiones dixerunt eo quod diabolus affectus alicuius inludens in uanum studeat uires eius effundere uirtutemque uacuare, resoluere fortitudinem.
should serve to beget offspring work the defilement of the body, not the fruit of posterity. Those, then, are called mockeries, perhaps because in them the heat of the body often mocks without the act of union. Hence the Seventy rightly called them mockeries of the soul, because the devil, mocking someone's affection, strives in vain to pour out its strength, empty its virtue, loosen its fortitude.
Ps 38:7 (37:8 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The "mockeries" are the devil's illusions that waste the soul's strength.
- Ps 38:7 [LXX 37:8]. Ambrose's discussion seems to include nocturnal emissions; translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.33.4 (CSEL 64:162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-4
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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.
37.33.5CSEL 64:162
ideoque alibi ait: et renes mei resoluti sunt. in quo nos etiam beatus confirmat apostolus, quod non inlusiones animae, non carnis infirmitatem metuere debeamus, quia et animae et corporis nostri Christus est uirtus, qui curat aegrotos quasi medicus, confirmat inualidos quasi omnium fortitudo. denique etsi foris homo noster corrumpitur, sed renouatur interior de die in diem.
And so elsewhere he says: "And my reins are loosened." In this the blessed apostle too confirms us, that we should fear not the weakness of the flesh but the mockeries of the soul, because Christ is the strength both of our soul and body, who cures the sick as a physician and strengthens the weak as the strength of all. Indeed, "even if our outer man is corrupted, yet the inner is renewed day by day."
1 Cor 1:24 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Cor 4:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We should fear the soul's mockeries more than bodily weakness; Christ strengthens both.
- "And my reins are loosened" is unidentified (compare Ps 38:7 in Symmachus; Isa 21:3); 1 Cor 1:24; 2 Cor 4:16.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: c for o; digitization: g for o): ngn → non; rencuatur → renouatur.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.33.5 (CSEL 64:162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-33-5
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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 37, chapter 34
37.34.1CSEL 64:162–163
His itaque animae inlusionibus fatigatus incuruauerat et humiliauerat se nimis sanctus Dauid, non quo iniquitatibus superponentibus se supra caput eius, ut diximus, locum daret aut inimico cederet, qui in posterioribus docet ei non esse cedendum dicens: quanta maligne operatus est inimicus in sanctis tuis! et gloriati sunt qui oderant te in medio festi tui. posuerunt signa sua signa et non cognoui sicut in uia supra summum. quasi in silua lignorum securibus conciderunt ianuas eius.
Wearied, then, by these mockeries of the soul, holy David had bowed down and humbled himself exceedingly, not so as to give place to iniquities placing themselves over his head, as we said, or to yield to the enemy, who teaches in later psalms that one must not yield, saying: "How much evil the enemy has worked in your holy places! And those who hated you have boasted in the midst of your feast. They set up their signs as signs, and I did not know, as on the way above the summit. As in a wood of trees they cut down its doors with axes."
Ps 38:6 (37:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 74:3 (73:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 74:4 (73:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 74:5 (73:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David humbled himself but did not yield to the enemy.
- Ps 38:6 [LXX 37:7]; Ps 74:3–5 [LXX 73:3–5] (Greek form).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.34.1 (CSEL 64:162–163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-1
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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.
37.34.2CSEL 64:163
inimicis meis, inquit, signa iniquitatis suae supra summum ponentibus — quod est summum nisi caput tuum, ubi sensus sunt, ubi Christus est sapientia? — ego non cognoui, id est non adquieui, non his consensi et meae sententiam cogitationis adiunxi. unde et alibi: non cognoui uerbum nequam et declinantes a me malignos non cognoscebam. denique cum omnia nouerit Christus, peccatum non cognouit; cognoscit enim quae sua sunt, id est quae uirtutum sunt, non quae flagitiorum.
When my enemies, he says, set up the signs of their iniquity above the summit (and what is the summit but your head, where the senses are, where Christ is wisdom?), I did not know them, that is, I did not acquiesce, did not consent to them and add the judgment of my thought. Hence elsewhere too: "I did not know the wicked word, and the malicious who turned from me I did not know." Indeed, though Christ knows all things, he did not know sin; for he knows what is his, that is, what belongs to the virtues, not what belongs to shameful deeds.
Ps 101:4 (100:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:21 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: "Not knowing" evil means not consenting to it; Christ did not know sin.
- Ps 101:4 [LXX 100:4]; 2 Cor 5:21.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.34.2 (CSEL 64:163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-2
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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.
37.34.3CSEL 64:163
ideoque scriptura tibi dicit: cognouit dominus qui sunt ipsius, iniquis autem dicit: discedite a me, quia non noui uos, et per Hieremiam locutus est dicens: sicut agnus ductus sum ad immolandum et nesciui. quomodo nesciebat quod futurum ante praedixerat? sed nesciui, inquit, cogitationes eorum, malitiam eorum, nolo scire quae sanguinis sunt; denique non congregabo conuenticula eorum de sanguinibus.
And so Scripture says to you: "The Lord knows those who are his," and to the wicked he says: "Depart from me, for I do not know you," and through Jeremiah he spoke, saying: "Like a lamb I was led to the slaughter, and I did not know." How did he not know what he had foretold would come? But I did not know, he says, their thoughts, their malice; I will not know what is of blood; indeed, "I will not gather their assemblies from blood."
2 Tim 2:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 7:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 11:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 16:4 (15:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God "does not know" the wicked and their bloody counsels.
- 2 Tim 2:19; Matt 7:23; Jer 11:19; Ps 16:4 [LXX 15:4].
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.34.3 (CSEL 64:163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-3
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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.
37.34.4CSEL 64:163
deleo iniquitates eorum et memor non sum, nolo scire quae remissurus adueni. non cognoui ligna quae ardeant nec quae in aceruo lignorum sunt posita uel stipulam uel faenum, ut citius ea nutrimentis suis flamma consumat. illa uolo scire quae maneant, ut fructum suae mercedis accipiant.
I blot out their iniquities and do not remember; I will not know what I came to forgive. I did not know the wood that is to burn, nor what is placed in the pile of wood, either stubble or hay, so that the flame may consume them sooner with its fuel. I will know those things that remain, so that they may receive the fruit of their reward.
Isa 43:25 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 3:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 3:14 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God forgets forgiven sins and "knows" only what endures.
- Isa 43:25; 1 Cor 3:12–14.
Topics: Forgiveness of sins
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.34.4 (CSEL 64:163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-4
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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.
37.34.5CSEL 64:163–164
illa uolo scire quae supra fundamentum aedificata sunt, ut meliorentur, non quae in uia, ubi ea diripiant transeuntes. illa uolo scire quae uitis sunt, illa certa ligna quae ferant fructum, non quae in fasce collecta ad incendium praeparantur; id est: non sum illis arbiter et socius quae caduca sunt. non ergo societas alicuius rei, sed societas criminosa in culpa est.
I will know those things that are built on the foundation, so that they may be improved, not those on the way, where passers-by snatch them. I will know those things that belong to the vine, those sure trees that bear fruit, not those gathered in a bundle and prepared for burning; that is: I am not judge and partner of those things that are perishable. It is not, then, partnership in any thing, but criminal partnership that is in fault.
1 Cor 3:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 8:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 15:6 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 13:30 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God "knows" the fruitful, not what is destined for burning.
- 1 Cor 3:11–12; Luke 8:5, 12; John 15:5–6; Matt 13:30.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: u for e): ubi ua diripiant → ubi ea diripiant.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.34.5 (CSEL 64:163–164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-34-5
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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 37, chapter 35
37.35.1CSEL 64:164
Qua ratione autem non cognouit in infructuosis et fragilibus gloriantes? quia malis operibus et iniquitatis suae securibus euertunt animae fidelis ingressus et crudelibus factis findunt piae mentis uestibula, ne per ea possit Christus intrare. debet autem unusquisque portas suas et ianuas custodire, ut, cum uenerit Christus et pulsauerit, dicant ministrae potestates quae praeeunt et praecurrunt:
For what reason, then, did he not know those who glory in fruitless and fragile things? Because with evil works and the axes of their iniquity they overturn the entrances of the faithful soul, and with cruel deeds split the porches of the pious mind, so that Christ cannot enter through them. Each one ought to guard his gates and doors, so that, when Christ comes and knocks, the ministering powers who go before and run ahead may say:
Ps 74:6 (73:6 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 3:20 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The wicked break down the soul's doors so that Christ cannot enter; we must guard them.
- Ps 74:5–6 [LXX 73:5–6]; Rev 3:20.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.35.1 (CSEL 64:164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-35-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-35-1
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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.
37.35.2CSEL 64:164
tollite portas, principes, uestras, et eleuamini, portae aeternales. uere principes qui se bene rexerint, ut in animas eorum Christo ingressus sit. simile quoque illud est Salomonis: si spiritus habentis potestatem ascenderit aduersum te, locum tuum non relinquas, quia cura mitigabit delicta magna. diligentia enim et fides superiorem locum tenent, inferiorem perfidia. ideo ascendat ad te bona diligentia, quae insidias excludit ini-
"Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates." Truly princes are those who have ruled themselves well, so that Christ may enter into their souls. Like this too is Solomon's saying: "If the spirit of one who has power rises against you, do not leave your place, for care will soothe great offenses." For diligence and faith hold the higher place, faithlessness the lower. So let good diligence rise to you, which shuts out the enemy's
Ps 24:7 (23:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Eccl 10:4 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who rule themselves well open the gates to Christ; diligence holds firm against the evil spirit.
- Ps 24:7, 9 [LXX 23:7, 9]; Eccl 10:4 (Old Latin).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.35.2 (CSEL 64:164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-35-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-35-2
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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.
37.35.3CSEL 64:164–165
mici et aufert peccatum, ne malitia potestatem habentis nocere possit. in Canticis hanc uidit Ecclesiastes malitiam sub sole, hoc est in hoc mundo, unde et subsolanum locum hunc scriptura memorauit. sub sole ergo uidit, non supra solem, ubi pax angelorum est uel sanctitas caelestium potestatum. aut forte sub sole iniquitatis dixit; malitiae enim diabolus praesidet, uirtutibus Christus. itaque ut uinceret spiritum potestatem habentis, quam ad tempus accepit, incuruabat se in oratione Dauid ceruicem sicut circulum flectens et humiliabat in precibus; oratio enim se humiliantis nubes penetrat et elementorum alta transcendit, ut Christo appropinquet.
snares and takes away sin, so that the malice of the one who has power cannot harm. In "the Canticles" Ecclesiastes saw this malice under the sun, that is, in this world; hence Scripture also called this place the region under the sun. He saw it under the sun, then, not above the sun, where is the peace of angels or the holiness of the heavenly powers. Or perhaps he said "under the sun of iniquity"; for the devil presides over malice, Christ over the virtues. And so, to overcome the spirit of the one who has power, which he received for a time, David bowed himself in prayer, bending his neck like a ring, and humbled himself in his entreaties; for the prayer of one who humbles himself pierces the clouds and goes beyond the heights of the elements, so as to draw near to Christ.
Eccl 10:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 38:6 (37:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 58:5 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David bowed himself in prayer, for the humble man's prayer pierces the clouds.
- Eccl 10:5 ("In the Canticles" seems a slip; the passage is from Ecclesiastes); Ps 38:6 [LXX 37:7]; Isa 58:5; Sir 35:17.
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 35:17 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Topics: Prayer, Humility and pride
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.35.3 (CSEL 64:164–165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-35-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-35-3
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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 37, chapter 36
37.36.1CSEL 64:165
Et rugiebat a gemitu cordis sui. rugit qui gemitum solum, non uerba exprimit. haec est ergo illa praeclara oratio, quando interpellat pro nobis spiritus gemitibus inenarrabilibus, ut uas electionis asseruit. hic est gemitus quem non despicit deus, qui non despicit seruum iuniorem orbatum patre nec uiduam, si effundat loquelam.
"And I roared from the groaning of my heart." He roars who utters only a groan, not words. This, then, is that excellent prayer, when the Spirit intercedes for us with unutterable groanings, as the vessel of election declared. This is the groaning God does not despise, who does not despise the younger servant bereft of his father, nor the widow if she pours out her complaint.
Ps 38:8 (37:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:26 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The wordless groan is the Spirit's prayer, which God does not despise.
- Ps 38:8 [LXX 37:9]; Rom 8:26; Sir 35:14 (Old Latin).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization: stray point): s.eruum → seruum.
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 35:14 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Topics: Prayer, The Holy Spirit
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.36.1 (CSEL 64:165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-36-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-36-1
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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 37, chapter 37
37.37.1CSEL 64:165
Gemitum ergo ante omnia signum spiritus sancti apostolus ponit, ut legimus. denique custodiamus animae nostrae ianuas, ne multiloquii securibus scindatur nostrae confessionis ingressus. nihil insolens et superbum nostro ex ore procedat nec securim leuemus aut malleum, quae non intrant in ecclesiam domini. claude ianuas, cum oras, ne se ingerat spiritus nequam, ut ibi peccatum extorqueat ubi lucrum uolumus pietatis adquirere.
So the apostle puts groaning, before all, as a sign of the Holy Spirit, as we read. Let us guard, then, the doors of our soul, lest the entrance of our confession be split by the axes of much speaking. Let nothing insolent and proud come from our mouth, nor let us raise the axe or hammer, which do not enter the church of the Lord. Shut the doors when you pray, lest the evil spirit thrust himself in, to extort sin where we wish to gain the profit of piety.
Rom 8:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 10:19 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 74:6 (73:6 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Kgs 6:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Guard the soul's doors in prayer; no axe or hammer enters the Lord's house.
- Rom 8:26; Prov 10:19; Ps 74:6 [LXX 73:6]; 1 Kgs 6:7; Matt 6:6.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.37.1 (CSEL 64:165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-37-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-37-1
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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.
37.37.2CSEL 64:165–166
qui sic orat, non est a domino gemitus eius absconditus. denique Petri sancti gemitus et cognitus et exauditus est, quando fleuit amarissime; utique non lacrimae amarae, sed amarus qui eas fundebat affectus. in ipso perfido Achab gemitus inuenisset gratiam, nisi manens inuidia cumulasset offensam. non enim perfunctorius gemitus praedicatur, sed qui habet conuersionem; scriptum est enim: si conuersus ingemueris, saluus eris.
He who prays thus, his groaning is not hidden from the Lord. Indeed holy Peter's groaning was both known and heard when he wept most bitterly; not that the tears were bitter, but the feeling of him who shed them. Even in faithless Ahab groaning would have found grace, had not persistent envy heaped up the offense. For not a perfunctory groan is praised, but one that has conversion; for it is written: "If, turning, you groan, you will be saved."
Ps 38:9 (37:10 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 26:75 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 21:27 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 21:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 30:15 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Groaning with conversion is heard, as Peter's was; Ahab's was not lasting.
- Ps 38:9 [LXX 37:10]; Matt 26:75; 1 Kgs 21:27–29; Isa 30:15 (Greek form).
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 37.37.2 (CSEL 64:165–166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-37-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/37-37-2
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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.