# Letter to Marcellinus on the Interpretation of the Psalms - Author: [Athanasius of Alexandria](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/athanasius/) - Latin title: *Epistula ad Marcellinum de interpretatione psalmorum* - Date: uncertain, after 335 (disputed) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 27 (Paris: Migne, 1857), cols. 11-46 (reprinting the Benedictine edition of B. de Montfaucon, Paris, 1698) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: Hans-Georg Opitz et al., eds., Athanasius Werke (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1935-) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/ - Passages: 31 ## Letter to Marcellinus 1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-1 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Athanasius praises Marcellinus for studying the Psalms during his illness and promises to pass on what an old man taught him about them. ### Greek text Μᾶτα α΄. "Αγαμαί σε τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ προαιρέσεως, φίλε Μαρκελλῖνε. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸν παρόντα πειρασμὸν, καίτοι πολλὰ παθὼν ἐν αὐτῷ, καλῶς φέρεις, καὶ τῆς ἀσκήσεως οὐχ ἀμελεῖς. Πυνθανόμενος γὰρ τοῦ κομίσαντος τὴν ἐπιστολὴν, πῶς ἄρα καὶ μετὰ τὴν νόσον διάγεις ἔμαθον πρὸς μὲν πᾶσαν τὴν θείαν Γραφὴν ἔχειν σε τὴν σχολὴν, πυκνότερον δὲ μάλιστα τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν ψαλμῶν ἐντυγχάνειν, καὶ φιλονεικεῖν τὸν ἐν ἑκάστῳ ψαλμῷ νοῦν ἐγκείμενον καταλαμβάνειν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν ἀποδέχομαί σε, πολὺν ἔχων εἰς αὐτὴν " τὴν βίβλον κἀγὼ πόθον, ὥσπερ καὶ εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν Γραφήν. Καὶ γὰρ οὕτως ἔχων, συνέτυχόν τινι φιλοπόνῳ γέροντι, καὶ βούλομαι καί σοι, ἅπερ ἐκεῖνος κατέχων τὸ Ψαλτήριον περὶ αὐτοῦ μοι διηγήσατο, γράψαι" ἔχει γάρ τινα χάριν καὶ πιθανότητα μετʼ εὐλόγου τοῦ διηγήματος. Ἔλεγε γὰρ οὕτως " ### English translation (Claude) I admire your purpose in Christ, my dear Marcellinus. For you are bearing the present trial well, though you have suffered much in it, and you do not neglect your discipline. When I asked the man who brought your letter how you were spending your time after your illness, I learned that you give your leisure to the whole divine Scripture, but read the book of the Psalms most often, and strive to grasp the meaning contained in each psalm. For this I commend you, since I too have a great love for that book, as indeed for all Scripture. And being so disposed, I met a studious old man, and I want to write to you what he, holding the Psalter, told me about it; for his account has a certain charm and persuasiveness, together with sound reason. He spoke thus: ### Translation notes - Marcellinus is otherwise unknown. The text is from the Archive.org OCR of Migne PG 27, which is badly damaged in places; lost or unreadable passages are marked … and noted. Psalm numbers in this letter are those of the Greek Psalter; the Scripture tags give the English numbering (usually one higher). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 1 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1). ## Letter to Marcellinus 2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-2 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Each book of Scripture has its own subject, but the Psalter, like a garden, contains them all in song. ### Greek text Πᾶσα μὲν, ὦ τέκνον, ἡ καθʼ ἡμᾶς Γραφὴ, παλαιά τε καὶ καινὴ, θεόπνευστός ἔστι καὶ ὠφέλιμος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, ὡς γέγραπται " ἔχει δέ τινα πιθανὴν παρατήρησιν τοῖς προσέχουσιν ἡ τῶν Ψαλμῶν βίβλος. Ἑκάστη μὲν γὰρ βίβλος τὸ ἴδιον ἐπάγγελμα διακονεῖ καὶ ἀπαγγέλλει" οἷον ἡ Πεντάτευχος γένεσιν κόσμου καὶ τῶν πατριαρχῶν τὰς πράξεις, τὴν τε ἀπʼ Αἰγύπτου τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἔξοδον, καὶ τὴν τῆς νομοθεσίας διάταξιν ἡ Τρίτευχος τὴν κληροδοσίαν, καὶ τῶν κριτῶν τὰς πράξεις, καὶ γενεαλογίαν τοῦ Δαβίδ αἱ Βασιλεῖαι καὶ Παραλειπόμεναι βασιλέων πράξεις " καὶ ὁ μὲν "Ἔσδρας ἀπόλυσιν τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας καὶ ἐπάνοδον τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ τῆς πόλεως " ὃὲ Προφῆται προφητείας περὶ τῆς ἐπιδημίας τοῦ Σωτῆρος, ὑπομνήσεις τε περὶ τῶν ἐντολῶν, καὶ μέμψεις, κατὰ τῶν παραβαινόντων, καὶ προφητείας τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. Ἢ δέ γε βίβλος τῶν Ψαλμῶν, ὡς παράδεισος λιν μετʼ αὐτῶν Ψάλλουσα δείκνυσι. ### English translation (Claude) "All our Scripture, my son, old and new, is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, as it is written; but the book of Psalms holds a certain persuasive observation for those who attend to it. For each book ministers and announces its own message: thus the Pentateuch tells of the beginning of the world and the deeds of the patriarchs, the exodus of Israel from Egypt and the ordering of the law; the Triteuch tells of the allotment of the land, the deeds of the judges, and the genealogy of David; the books of Kingdoms and Chronicles tell the deeds of kings; Ezra tells of the release from captivity, the return of the people, and the building of the temple and of the city; the Prophets contain prophecies about the coming of the Saviour, reminders of the commandments, rebukes against transgressors, and prophecies for the nations. But the book of Psalms, like a garden, … shows, singing them together with them. ### Scripture references - 2 Tim 3:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 2 Tim 3:16. The "Triteuch" is Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. Several lines are lost in the scan after "like a garden" (the standard text says the Psalter contains the matter of all the other books and sings them); marked …. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 2 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/2). ## Letter to Marcellinus 3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-3 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Psalms sing of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, and the priesthood, as Psalms 18, 23, 113, 104, 105, and 28 (Greek numbering) show. ### Greek text Τὰ μὲν γὰρ τῆς Γενέσεως ψάλλει ἐν τῷ ὀχτωδιηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ, ποίησιν δὲ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀναγγέλλει τὸ στερέωμα΄ καὶ ἐν τῷ χγ᾿ Τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ γῆ καὶ τὸ πιλήρωμα αὐτῆς, ἡ οἰκουμένη καὶ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ αὐτὸς ἐπὶ θαλασσῶν ἐθεμελίωσεν αὐτήν. Τὰ δὲ τῆς Ἐξόδου καὶ τῶν ᾿Αριθμῶν καὶ τοῦ ψαλμῷ, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ τρισκαιδεχάτῳ ψαλμῷ, λέγων: Ἐν ἐξόδῳ Ἰσραὴ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, οἴκου β Ἰακὼβ ἐκ λαοῦ βαρβάρου, ἐγενήθη Ἰουδαία ἁγίαΑ σμα αὑτοῦ, Ἰσραὴ.1 εἰς ἐξουσίαν αὐτοῦ. Ψάλλει ὃὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ τετάρτῳ: Μωῦδσὴν τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ, 'Δωρὼν, ὃν ἐξελέξατο αὑτόν" ἔθετο ἐν αὐτοῖς τοὺς «1όγους των σημείων αὑτοῦ καὶ τῶν τεράτων αὑτοῦ ἐν γῇ Χάμ. Ἐξαπσχότος, καὶ ἐσκότασε, καὶ τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ. Μετέστρεψε τὰ ὕδατα αὐτῶν εἰς αἷμα, καὶ ἀπέκτεινε τοὺς ἰχθύας αὐτῶν. Ἐξὴηρ“εν ἡ γῆ αὐτῶν βατράχους ἐν τοῖς ταμείοις τῶν βασιλέων αὐτῶν, Εἶπε, καὶ ἦ1θε κυνόμυια καὶ σκνῖφες ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῶν. Καὶ ὅλως ὅλον τε τὸν ψαλμὸν τοῦτόν τε καὶ ἑκατὸν πέμπτον περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἔστιν εὑρεῖν γεγραμμένον. Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἱερατείας καὶ τῆς σκηνῆς ἀναφωνεῖ ἐν ἐξοδίῳ σκηνῆς ἐν τῷ χηʼ Ψαλμῷ Ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κυρίῳ, υἱοὶ Θεοῦ, ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κυρίῳ υἱοὺς κριῶν, ἐνέγκατε τῷ Κυρίῳ δόξαν καὶ τιμήν. ### English translation (Claude) For it sings of the things of Genesis in the eighteenth: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands"; and in the twenty-third: "The earth is the Lord's and its fullness, the world and all who dwell in it; he himself founded it upon the seas." The things of Exodus and Numbers and … psalm, and in the hundred and thirteenth psalm, saying: "When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, Judea became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion." It also sings these things in the hundred and fourth: "He sent Moses his servant, Aaron whom he chose; he set among them the words of his signs and of his wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and it grew dark, and … his words. He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish. Their land swarmed with frogs in the chambers of their kings. He spoke, and the dog-fly came, and gnats in all their borders." And in general one can find this whole psalm, and the hundred and fifth, written about the same things. And the things of the priesthood and of the tabernacle it proclaims in the twenty-eighth psalm, "at the going out of the tabernacle": "Bring to the Lord, you sons of God, bring to the Lord young rams; bring to the Lord glory and honour." ### Scripture references - Ps 19:1 (18:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 24:1 (23:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 24:2 (23:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 114:1 (113:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 114:2 (113:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 105:26 (104:26 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 105:27 (104:27 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 105:28 (104:28 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 105:29 (104:29 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 105:30 (104:30 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 105:31 (104:31 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 106:1 (105:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 29:1 (28:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 19:1 (LXX 18:2); Ps 24:1–2 (LXX 23:1–2); Ps 114:1–2 (LXX 113:1–2); Ps 105:26–31 (LXX 104); Ps 106 (LXX 105); Ps 29:1–2 (LXX 28:1, with the Greek title "at the going out of the tabernacle"). Part of a line is lost after "Exodus and Numbers and" (the standard text cites Psalm 77, Greek numbering, for Deuteronomy); the first numeral is garbled in the scan. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 3 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/3). ## Letter to Marcellinus 4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-4 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms 106, 19, 125, and 121 (Greek numbering) recall Joshua, Judges, Kingdoms, and the return under Ezra. ### Greek text Τὰ δὲ τοῦ Ναυῆ καὶ τῶν Κριτῶν ἐμφαίνει πως γοΓῸ δεδι Νάγς ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ ἕκτῳ, λέγων Καὶ συνεστήσαντο πόλεις κατοικεσίας, καὶ ἔσπειραν ἀγροὺς, καὶ ἐφύτευσαν ἀμπειῶνας. Ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῦ Ναυῇ διαδέδοται αὐτοῖς ἣ γῆ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας. Λέγων δὲ ἐν τῷ αὐὖΨψαλμῷ συνεχῶς " Καὶ ἐκέκραξαν πρὸς Κύριον θ.λἰβεσθαι αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀναγκῶν αὖτῶν ἔσωσεν αὐτούς " σημαίνει τῶν Κι ρ'τῶν τὴν βίὕλονʼ τότε γὰρ χραζόντων αὐτῶν ἤγειρε κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν κριτὰς, καὶ ἔσωζε τὸν λαὸν ἀπὸ τῶν θλιδόντων αὐτούς. Καὶ τὰ τῶν Βασιλειῶν ψάλλει πως ἐν τῷ ἐνλέγων " Οὗτοι ἐν ἅρμασικαὶ οὗτοι ἐν ἵπποις, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν μεγαλυνθησόμεθα. Αὐτοὶ συνεποδίσθησαν καὶ ἕπεσαν, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀνέστημεν καὶ ἀγωρθώθημεν. Κύριε, σῶσον τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν ὦ τόσεπι, εἰ ἐχαμάϊ πος ἵπ ἀΐε φια ἱπυοσαυέξγίπιις ἐν ἡ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπικαζλεσώμεθά σδ. Τὰ δὲ τοῦ "Ἔσδρα πέμπτῳ τῶν ἀναδαθμῶν ἄδει" Ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέψαι Κύριον τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν Σιὼν, ὡσεὶ παραχεχιϊημέγνοι" καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ ὁχατονειχοστῷ πρώτῳ Εὐφράνγθην ἐλὶ τοῖς εἰρηπκόσι μοι" Εὶς οἶκον Κυρίου πορευσώμεθα. Ἑστῶτας ἦσαν οἱ πόδες ἡμῶν ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς σου, Ἱεἧξ ἡ μετοχὴ αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό" ἐχδῖ γὰρ ἀνέθησαν αἱ φυ.λαὶ Κυρίου, μαρτύριον τῷ ### English translation (Claude) The things of Joshua son of Nun and of the Judges it shows somewhat in the hundred and sixth, saying: "And they founded cities to dwell in, and sowed fields, and planted vineyards"; for under Joshua the land of promise was given to them. And when it says repeatedly in the same psalm, "And they cried to the Lord in their affliction, and he saved them out of their distresses," it signifies the book of Judges; for then, when they cried out, he raised up judges in their time and saved the people from those who afflicted them. And it sings somewhat of the things of the Kingdoms in the nineteenth, saying: "Some in chariots and some in horses, but we will be magnified in the name of the Lord our God. They were bound and fell, but we have risen and been set upright. Lord, save the king, and hear us … on whatever day we call upon you." The things of Ezra it sings in the fifth of the Songs of Ascent: "When the Lord turned the captivity of Zion, we became as those comforted"; and again in the hundred and twenty-first: "I was glad at those who said to me: Let us go to the house of the Lord. Our feet were standing in your courts, (Jerusalem;) Jerusalem, whose sharing is together; for there the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, a testimony for …" ### Scripture references - Ps 107:36 (106:36 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 107:37 (106:37 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 107:6 (106:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 20:7 (19:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 20:8 (19:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 20:9 (19:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 126:1 (125:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 122:1 (121:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 122:2 (121:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 122:3 (121:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 122:4 (121:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 107:36–37, 6, 13 (LXX 106); Ps 20:7–9 (LXX 19:8–10); Ps 126:1 (LXX 125:1); Ps 122:1–4 (LXX 121:1–4). OCR debris in the middle of Ps 20:9 (from the facing Latin column) is not translated (…); the section breaks off at its end. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 4 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/4). ## Letter to Marcellinus 5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-5 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Psalms foretell the coming of God the Word, begotten of the Father, through whom all things were made. ### Greek text Τά τε τῶν Προφητῶν σχεδὸν ἐν ἑκάστῳ σημαίγει. Περὶ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπιδημίας, καὶ ὅτι μὲν Θεὸς ὧν ἐπιδημήσει, οὕτως φησὶν ἐν μὲν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ ἐννάτῳ ψαλμῷ Ὁ Κύριος ἐμφανῶς ἥξει, ὦ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐ κου Κυρίου" Θεὸς Κύριος, καὶ ἐπέφαγεν ἡμῖν. Ὅτι δὲ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ Πατρὸς Λόγος, οὕτως ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ ἔκτῳ ψάλλει " ᾿Απέστειλε τὸν Λόγον αὖτοῦ, καὶ ἰάσατο αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐῤῥύσατο αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν διαφθορῶν αὐτῶν. Ὁ γὰρ ἐρχόμενος Θεὸς αὐτός ἐστι καὶ Λόγος ἀποστελλόμενος. Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν Λόγον εἰδὼς ὄντα τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἄδει φωνὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς Ἷ ἐν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ τετάρτῳ ψαλμῷ Ἐξηρεύξατο ἡ καρδία μου Λόγον ἀγαθόν " καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ ἐχαϑαρὶ οι ἰΔη} ᾿ρ5ʼ05 ἢ μην βοί οὶ ἰφί ὰΓ ᾿ρϑυι 6586, τοστῷ ἐννάτῳ' Ἐκχ γαστρὸς πρὸ Ἑωσφόρου ἐξεγέγγησά σε. Τί γὰρ ἂν ἄλλο τις εἴποι γέννημα τοῦ Πάτρος ἣ τὸν Λόγον καὶ τὴν Σοφίαν αὐτοῦ ; Τοῦτον εἰδυῖα ὄντα, ᾧ εἶπεν ὁ στερέωμα, καὶ τὰ πάγτα, καὶ αὕτη ἡ βίβλος περιέχει λέγουσα Τῷ Λόγῳ Κυρίου οἱ οὐρανοὲ ἐστερεὠωθησαν, καὶ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ### English translation (Claude) And it signifies the things of the Prophets in almost every psalm. Concerning the coming of the Saviour, and that, being God, he will come, it says thus in the forty-ninth psalm: "God will come openly, our God, and will not keep silence"; [and in the hundred and seventeenth: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; we have blessed you from the house] of the Lord; God is the Lord, and he has shone upon us." And that he is the Word of the Father it sings thus in the hundred and sixth: "He sent his Word and healed them, and rescued them from their corruptions." For the God who comes is himself also the Word who is sent. Knowing that this Word is the Son of God, it sings the voice of the Father in the forty-fourth psalm: "My heart has poured forth a good Word"; and again in the hundred and ninth: "From the womb before the morning star I begot you." For what else would anyone call the offspring of the Father but his Word and Wisdom? Knowing that it was he to whom [the Father] said, ["Let there be light," and "Let there be a] firmament," and all things, this book too contains it, saying: "By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made firm, and by the Spirit of his mouth all their power." ### Scripture references - Ps 50:3 (49:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 118:26 (117:26 LXX): quotation, medium confidence - Ps 118:27 (117:27 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 107:20 (106:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 45:1 (44:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 110:3 (109:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:6: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 33:6 (32:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 50:3 (LXX 49:3); Ps 118:26–27 (LXX 117:26–27); Ps 107:20 (LXX 106:20); Ps 45:1 (LXX 44:2); Ps 110:3 (LXX 109:3); Gen 1:3, 6; Ps 33:6 (LXX 32:6). Words lost in the scan are supplied in square brackets from the quotations themselves; a line of OCR debris is not translated. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 5 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/5). ## Letter to Marcellinus 6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-6 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Psalms foretell Christ the anointed King, his becoming man, and his birth from a virgin of David's line. ### Greek text ". Καὶ Χριστὸν ὃὲ αὑτὸν ἐρχόμενον οὐχ ἢγνόησεν " ἀλλὰ καὶ μάλιστα περὶ τούτον λέγει ἐν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ τετάρτῳ ψαλμῷ " 'Ο θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶγος " ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιιείας σου. ᾿Ηγάπησας διχαιοσύΨΉΥ, καὶ ἐμίσησας ἀδικίαν " διὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέ σε ὁ Θεὸς ὁ Θεός σου ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως παρὰ τοὺς ῃ μετόχους σον. Καὶ ἵνα μὴ κατὰ φαντασίαν τις ἔρχεσθαι αὐτὸν (εἶναι) νομίσῃ, σημαίνει αὐτὸν ἄνθρωπὸν γενησόμενον, καὶ τοῦτον εἶναι διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα γέγονε, λέγων ἐν τῷ ὀγδοηκοστῷ ἔκτῳ ᾿ Μήτηρ Σιὼν τῇ, καὶ αὑτὸς ἐθεμελίωσεν αὐτὴν ὁ Ὕψιστος. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἴσον ἐστὶ τῷ εἰπεῖν: Καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ ΛόγῸς " πάγτα διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγέγετο, καὶ ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ, ἐκ Παρθένου, γινώσκων Ϊ οὐκ ἐσιώπησεν, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς ἔμφασίν τινα δίδωσιν ἐν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ τετάρτῳ ψαλμῷ, λέγων Ακουσον, θύγατερ, καὶ ἴδε, καὶ κλῖνον τὸ οὖς σου, καὶ ἐπιλάθου τοῦ λαοῦ σου καὶ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου, ὅτι ἐπεθύμησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ κάλλους σου. Τοῦτο γὰρ πάλιν ὅμοιόν ἐστι τοῦ λεγομένου παρὰ τοῦ Γαθριήλʼ Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμέγῃ, ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. εἰκότως θυγατέρα προσφωνεῖ ταύτην. Καὶ γὰρ εἰρηκὼς αὐτὸν Χριστὸν, εὐθὺς καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην γένεσιν ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου ἐδήλωσε, λέγων " "Ακχουσον, θύγατερ. Ἰδὲ ὁ μὲν Γαβριὴλ ἐξ ὀνόματος καλεῖ Μαρίαν, ξένος ὧν αὐτῆς κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν" ὁ δὲ Δαβὶδ ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματος αὑτοῦ τυγχάνουσαν αὐτὴν ### English translation (Claude) And it was not ignorant that Christ himself would come; indeed it speaks of him especially in the forty-fourth psalm: "Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of your kingdom. You loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows." And lest anyone think that he came only in appearance, it signifies that he would become man, and that he is the one through whom all things came to be, saying in the eighty-sixth: "Mother Zion, a man will say, and a man was born in her, and the Most High himself founded her." For this is the same as saying: "And the Word was God; all things came into being through him; and the Word became flesh." Therefore, knowing also the birth from a virgin, it did not keep silence, but at once gives some indication of it in the forty-fourth psalm, saying: "Hear, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house, for the king has desired your beauty." For this again is like what was said by Gabriel: "Hail, favoured one, the Lord is with you." … Fittingly it addresses her as daughter. For having called him Christ, it at once declared also his human birth from the Virgin, saying, "Hear, daughter." And Gabriel calls Mary by name, being a stranger to her by birth; but David [calls her daughter], since she was of his seed … ### Scripture references - Ps 45:6 (44:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 45:7 (44:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 87:5 (86:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 1:1: quotation, high confidence - John 1:3: quotation, high confidence - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence - Ps 45:10 (44:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 45:11 (44:12 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 1:28: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 45:6–7 (LXX 44:7–8); Ps 87:5 (LXX 86:5, in the Greek form "Mother Zion, a man will say"); John 1:1, 3, 14; Ps 45:10–11 (LXX 44:11–12); Luke 1:28. A line of OCR debris after the Gabriel quotation is not translated (…); the section breaks off at the end. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 6 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/6). ## Letter to Marcellinus 7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-7 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Psalms foretell Christ's sufferings—the plot of the rulers, the piercing of hands and feet, the dividing of his garments—borne for our sake. ### Greek text δὲ αὐτὸν εἰρηκυῖα γενησόμενον, ἀκολούθως καὶ παθητὸν αὐτὸν σαρκὶ σημαίνει. Τὴν τε ἐπιβουλὴν παρὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὁρῶσα γινομένην, ψάλλει ἐν μὲν τῷ δευτέρῳ ψαλμῷ Ἵνα τί ἐφρύαξαν ἔθνη, καὶ λαοὶ ἐμελέτησαν κενά; Παρέστησαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες συγήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὑτὸ κατὰ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐν δὲ τῷ εἰκοστῷ καὶ πρώτῳ τὴν ποιότητα τοῦ θανάτου ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Σωτῆρός φησινʼ Εἰὶς χοῦν θαγάτου , συναγωγὴ πογηρευομέγνων περιέσχον με. Ὥρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας μου, ἐξηρίθμησαν πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου. Αὐτοὶ δὲ κατενόησαν, καὶ ἐπεῖδόν με᾿ ὃ διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔδαιλον κιϊῆρον. Τὸ δὲ τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας ὀρύττεσθαι, τί ἕτερον ἣ σταυρὸν λέγων σημαίνει; Πάντα ταῦτα διδάσκουσα προστίθησιν, ὅτ μὴ διʼ ἑαυτὸν, διʼ ἡμᾶς δὲ ταῦτα πάσχει ὁ Κύριος. Κα φησιν ἐκ προσώπου πάλιν αὐτοῦ ἐν μὲν τῷ πζ΄ Ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ ἐπεστηρίχθη ὁ θυμός σου " ἐν δὲ τῷ ἑξηκοστῷ, ὀγδόῳ “ΑἋ οὐχ ἥρπασα, τότε ἀπέτίνγγυον. Οὐ γὰρ ἀπέθντσχεν, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἔπασχε, υεϑαπι. Νοὸπ καὶ τὸν καθʼ ἡμῶν θυμὸν διὰ τὴν παράβασιν ἐφʼ ἑαυτὸν ἐθάσταξε, λέγοντα διὰ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου ᾿ Αὐτὸς τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν ἔι1αδε" καὶ λεγόντων μὲν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ τριακοστῷ ἑβδόμῳ ψαλμῷ Κύριος ἀγτὠποδώσει ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ" λέγοντος δὲ καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐν ἑδδομηχοστῷ πρώτῳ Καὶ σώσει τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν πεγήτων, καὶ ταπειγώσει συκοφάντην, ὅτι ἐῤῥύσατο. πτωχὸν ἐκ χειρὸς δυνάστου, καὶ πένητα, ᾧ οὐχ ὑπῆρχε βοηθός. ### English translation (Claude) [Having said that] he would become [man], it consequently signifies also that he would be capable of suffering in the flesh. And seeing the plot being made by the Jews, it sings in the second psalm: "Why did the nations rage, and the peoples meditate vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ." And in the twenty-first it tells the manner of his death in the person of the Saviour: "[You have brought me down] into the dust of death; [for many dogs surrounded me,] a gathering of evildoers encircled me. They dug my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones. They looked and stared at me; they divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." The digging of the hands and feet—what else does it signify but the cross? Teaching all these things, it adds that the Lord suffers them not for his own sake but for ours. And it says again in his person, in the eighty-seventh: "Your wrath lay heavily upon me"; and in the sixty-eighth: "Then I repaid what I did not take." For he did not die [as one liable to death], but suffered for us, and bore upon himself the wrath against us for our transgression, as he says through Isaiah: "He himself took our infirmities"; and as we say in the hundred and thirty-seventh psalm: "The Lord will repay on my behalf"; and as the Spirit says in the seventy-first: "And he will save the sons of the poor and humble the slanderer, for he rescued the poor from the hand of the powerful, and the needy who had no helper." ### Scripture references - Ps 2:1: quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:15 (21:16 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:16 (21:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:17 (21:18 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:18 (21:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 88:7 (87:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 69:4 (68:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:4: quotation, high confidence - Ps 138:8 (137:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:4 (71:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:12 (71:12 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 2:1–2; Ps 22:15–18 (LXX 21:16–19); Ps 88:7 (LXX 87:8); Ps 69:4 (LXX 68:5); Isa 53:4 (Matt 8:17); Ps 138:8 (LXX 137:8); Ps 72:4, 12 (LXX 71:4, 12). Words in square brackets are supplied where the scan has lost them; a few garbled letters after "suffered for us" are not translated. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 7 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/7). ## Letter to Marcellinus 8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-8 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Psalms foretell Christ's ascension, session at God's right hand, judgment, and the calling of the nations. ### Greek text ἡἢ΄. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς σωματικὴν αὖτοῦ ἄνοδον προμηνύει, καὶ λέγει ἐν μὲν εἰκοστῷ καὶ τρίτω " ΓΑρᾶτε πύινας, οἱ ἄρχοντες, ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπάρθητε, πύιιαι αἰώνιοι, καὶ σιλεὺς τῆς δόξης " ἐν δὲ τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ “ ἔδη ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἀλαλαγμῷ, Κύριος ἐν φωνῇ σαϊλπιγηὉς. Τὴν μὲν χάθισιν ἀναγγέλλει, καί φησιν ἐν μὲν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ ἐννάτῳΕἶπεν ὁ Κύῤιος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου" Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἃν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου" ἕν δὲ τῷ ἐννάτῳ καὶ τὴν γενομένην ἀπώλειαν τοῦ διαβόλου βοᾷ " ᾿χάθισας ἐπὶ θρόγου, ὁ κρίνων δικαιοσύνην" ἐπετίμησας ἔθγεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβής. Καὶ γὰρ ὅτι τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν ἔλαθε παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὐχ ἔκρυψεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κριτὴν πάντων αὐτὸν ἐρχόμενον προμηνύει ἐν μὲν οαʼ" Ὃ Θεὸς, τὸ κρῖμά σου τῷ βασιλεῖ δὸς, καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ βασιλέως, κρίγειν τὸν λαόν σου ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, καὶ τοὺς πτωχούς σου ἐν κρίσει" ν δὲ τῷ μθ' φησί" Προσχα.ϊέσεται τὸν οὐρανὸν ἄνω καὶ τὴν γὴν, τοῦ διαχρῖγαι τὸν ἰαὸν αὑτοῦ. Καὶ ἀναγγελοῦσιν οἱ οὐραγοὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὖτοῦ" ὅτε ὁ Θεὸς κριτής ἐστι" καὶ ἐν τῷ πα'" Ὃ Θεὸς ἔστη ὃν συναγωγῇ θεῶν" ἐν μέσῳ δὲ θεοὺς διαχριγεῖ. Καὶ μὴν καὶ τὴν χλῇτιν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἔστιν ἀπ᾿ αὑτῆς μαθεῖν ἐπὶ πολλῶν μὲν, μάλιστα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ μς'΄ " Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, κροτήσατε χεῖρας, δὲ τῷ οα΄ Ἐγώπιον αὑτοῦ προπεσοῦνται πες, καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτοῦ χοῦν «εἰξουσι" βασι.εῖς Θαρσεῖς καὶ αἱ νῆσοι δῶρα προσοίσουσι" πιεῖ, ἀἄοπθο μοναὶ ἱπὶηιϊσοβ δου θεοί μι} μοαά γιὲ μια ϊσας βασιλεῖς ᾿Αράδων καὶ Σαβὰ δῶρα προσάξουσι" καὶ προσχυγήσουσιν αὐτῷ πάντες οἱ βασιϊεῖς τῆς γῆς, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη δουλεύσουσιν αὐτῷ. Ταῦτα μὲν ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοῖς ἄδεται, ἐν δὲ ἐκάστῃ τῶν ἄλλων. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore it also foretells his bodily ascent into the heavens, and says in the twenty-third: "Lift up your gates, O rulers, and be lifted up, eternal gates, and the King of glory shall come in"; and in the forty-sixth: "God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet." It announces his session, saying in the hundred and ninth: "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet"; and in the ninth it proclaims aloud the destruction of the devil that has come about: "You sat on a throne, you who judge righteousness; you rebuked the nations, and the ungodly one perished." And that he received all judgment from the Father it did not hide, but foretells that he is coming as judge of all, in the seventy-first: "O God, give your judgment to the king and your righteousness to the king's son, to judge your people in righteousness and your poor in judgment"; and in the forty-ninth it says: "He will call the heaven above and the earth, to judge his people"; and, "The heavens will declare his righteousness, for God is judge"; and in the eighty-first: "God stood in the assembly of gods; in the midst he judges gods." And indeed the calling of the nations can be learned from it in many places, but especially from the forty-sixth: "All you nations, clap your hands …"; and in the seventy-first: "Before him the Ethiopians will fall down, and his enemies will lick the dust; the kings of Tarshish and the islands will bring gifts … the kings of the Arabs and Saba will offer gifts; and all the kings of the earth will worship him; all the nations will serve him." These things are sung in the Psalms, and in each of the other [books] … ### Scripture references - Ps 24:7 (23:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 47:5 (46:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 9:4 (9:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 9:5 (9:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 5:22: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 72:1 (71:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:2 (71:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 50:4 (49:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 50:6 (49:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 82:1 (81:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 47:1 (46:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:9 (71:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:10 (71:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:11 (71:11 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 24:7 (LXX 23:7); Ps 47:5, 1 (LXX 46:6, 2); Ps 110:1 (LXX 109:1); Ps 9:4–5; John 5:22; Ps 72:1–2, 9–11 (LXX 71); Ps 50:4, 6 (LXX 49:4, 6); Ps 82:1 (LXX 81:1). Two lines of OCR debris in the quotation of Ps 72 are not translated (…); the section breaks off at the end. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 8 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/8). ## Letter to Marcellinus 9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-9 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The one Spirit inspires every book, so prophecy, law, history, and song appear in all of them; the Psalter in turn legislates, narrates, and prophesies. ### Greek text Οὐχ ἀγνοῶν δὲ πάλιν ἔλεγεν, ὅτι καὶ ἐν ἐκάστῃ Ὁ βίβλῳ τῆς Γραφῆς τὰ αὐτὰ περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐξαι, ρέτως σημαίνεται" καὶ ἔστι τοῦτο (ὅ) πάσα:ς αὐταῖς ἀπάγγελμα, καὶ συμφωνία ἧ αὐτὴ τοῦ Πνεύματος. Καὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἐν ταύτῃ δυνατὸν εὑρεῖν " οὕτως καὶ τὰ ταύτης ἐν ταῖς ἑτέραις πολλάκις εὑρίσκεται. Καὶ γὰρ Μωῦσῆς δὴν γράφει, καὶ Ἡσαῖας ἄδει, καὶ ὁ ᾿Αμδαχοὺμ προσεύχεται μετʼ ᾧδῆς.. Πάλιν τε ἐν ἑκάστῃ βίβλῳ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν καὶ προφητείας καὶ νομοθεσίας καὶ ἱστορίας. Τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα ἐπὶ πάντας ἐστί" καὶ κατὰ μὲν τὴν εἰς ἔκαστον γενομένην αὐτοῦ διαίρεσιν. ἔκαστος τὴν δοθεῖσαν αὑτῷ ἰὴ πος ταρυγῖγα ᾿ἰσοί : ἃ συ ἴῃ Πος : δινα ργορίιδιϊς 5'}, χάριν διακονεῖ καὶ πληροῖ, εἴτε προφητεία ἐστὶν, εἴτε [ἃ υἱ ΠΟη ππὶ φαὶ Ἀμμ ἰογῖς, Πρη (βίη [γα νομοθεσία, εἴτε τῆς ἱδτορίας ἡ μνήμη, εἴτε τῶν ψαλμῶν ἣ χάρις " ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ ὃν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν, οὗπερ καὶ πᾶσαι διαιρέσεις εἰσὶν, αὐτὸ δὲ ἀδιαἰρετόν ἔστι κατὰ φύσιν διά τοι τοῦτο τὸ ὅλον μέν ἐστιν ἑκάστῳ, κατὰ δὲ τὴν διακονίαν αἱ φανερώσεις καὶ αἱ διαιρέσεις τοῦ Πνεύματος ἑκάστοις γίνονται" καὶ λοιπὸν κατὰ τὴν ἀποχειμένην χρείαν πολλάκις ἔκαστος, ὑποσχοῦντος τοῦ Πνεύματος, διακονεῖ τὸν λόγον' ὥστε, καθὰ προεῖπον, νομοθετοῦντα Μωῦσῆν προφητεύειν ποτὲ καὶ ἄδειν, καὶ προφητεύοντας τοὺς προφήτας ἐντέλλεσθαί ποτε. Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γίγεσθε. ᾿ἀπόπλυνε ἀπὸ κακίας τὴν καρδίαν σου, Ἱερουσαλήμ" καὶ ἱστορεῖν ποτε, τὸν μὲν Δανιὴλ τὰ κατὰ Σουσάνναν, τὸν δὲ Ἡσαΐαν τὰ κατὰ τὸν ῬαψάΒ χὴν καὶ τὸν Σενναχηρείμ. Οὕτως γὰρ καὶ ἡ τῶν αᾳλμῶν βίθλος, ἔχουσα τὸ ἴδιον τῶν ᾧδῶν,, ὅπερ ταῖς ἄλλαις βίβλοις διεξοδιχῶς εἴρηται, ταῦτα αὐτὴ τῇ κατὰ πλάτος φωνῇ μετὰ μέλους Ψάλλει, καθὼς προείρηται. Νομοθετεῖ γοῦν ποτε καὶ αὐτῇ Παῦσαι ἀπὸ ὀργῆς, καὶ ἐγχατάλιπε θυμόν" καὶ, "Εκχιλιγον ἀπὸ κακοῦ, καὶ ποίησον ἀγαθόν " ζήτησον εἰρή-γην, καὶ δίωξον αὐτήν. Καὶ ἱστορεῖ δέ ποτε κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ προφητεύει περὶ τοῦ Σωεἰ ὃν ὥσπερ εἴρηται πρότερον. ### English translation (Claude) Knowing this, again, he said that in each book of Scripture the same things about the Saviour are signified in a special way, and that this is the message common to them all and the same harmony of the Spirit. For just as one can find the things of the others in this book, so too the things of this book are often found in the others. For Moses too writes a song, and Isaiah sings, and Habakkuk prays with a song. Again, in each book one can see prophecies and legislation and histories. For the same Spirit is over all; and according to the distribution of him made to each, each ministers and fulfils the grace given to him, whether it is prophecy, or legislation, or the record of history, or the grace of the psalms. But since the Spirit, from whom all the distributions come, is one and the same, and is himself indivisible by nature, therefore the whole is in each, while according to the ministry the manifestations and distributions of the Spirit come to each; and so, according to the need at hand, each often ministers the word as the Spirit supplies; so that, as I said before, Moses, while legislating, sometimes prophesies and sings; and the prophets, while prophesying, sometimes give commands—"Wash yourselves, become clean"; "Wash your heart from wickedness, Jerusalem"—and sometimes narrate history, Daniel the things concerning Susanna, and Isaiah those concerning the Rabshakeh and Sennacherib. So too the book of Psalms, having its own character as songs, sings with melody, in broad voice, the things that are told at length in the other books, as was said before. Indeed it too sometimes legislates: "Cease from anger and forsake wrath," and, "Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." And sometimes it narrates the journey of Israel, and prophesies about the Saviour, as was said before. ### Scripture references - Exod 15:1: allusion, medium confidence - Deut 32:1: allusion, medium confidence - Hab 3:1: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:4: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 12:11: allusion, medium confidence - Isa 1:16: quotation, high confidence - Jer 4:14: quotation, high confidence - Isa 36:2: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 37:8 (36:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 34:14 (33:15 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sus 1-64 (Susanna): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Exod 15 and Deut 32 (songs of Moses); Isa 5:1 or 26:1 (songs of Isaiah); Hab 3; 1 Cor 12:4–11; Isa 1:16; Jer 4:14; Susanna (Daniel 13 in the Greek Bible); Isa 36–37; Ps 37:8 (LXX 36:8); Ps 34:14 (LXX 33:15). Several lines of OCR debris from the Latin column are not translated. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 9 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/9). ## Letter to Marcellinus 10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-10 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Unlike the other books, the Psalter portrays the movements of each reader's soul and gives him the very words with which to repent, endure, give thanks, and praise. ### Greek text ʼ. Κοινὴ μὲν οὖν τοιαύτη τοῦ Πνεύματος γλ της ἐξω παρὰ πᾶσι, καὶ ἐν ἐκάστῳ γινομένη εὑρισχέσθω, καὶ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἣ αὐτὴ, ὡς ἐὰν ἡἧ χρεία ἀπαιτῇ, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα βούληται. Οὐ διαφέρει γὰρ τὸ πλέον καὶ ἔλαττον ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ χρείᾳ, ὡς ἕκαστος ἀνενδότως τὴν ἰδίαν ἀποπληροῖ καὶ τελειοῖ διακονίαν. Ἢ δέ γε βίβλος τῶν Ψαλμῶν καὶ οὕτως ἔχει τινὰ πάλιν χάριν ἰδίαν καὶ παρατήρησιν ἑξαίρετον πρὸς γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις, ἐν οἷς πρὸς τὰς ἄλλας βίβλους ἔχει: τὴν σχέσιν καὶ κοινωνίαν, λοιπὸν καὶ ἴδιον ἔχει τοῦτο θαῦμα, ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἐκάστης ψυχῆς κινήματα, τάς τε τούτων μεταβολὰς καὶ διορθώσεις ἔχει διαγεγραμμένας καὶ Ι διατετυπωμένας ἐν ἑαυτῇ ὥστε τινὰ τὸν βουλόμενον οὕτω τὸ τυποῦν ἑαυτὸν, ἐχεὶ γέγραπται, Ἐν μὲν γὰρ ταῖς ἄλλαις βίβλοις μόνον τις ἀκούει τὸν νόμὸν προστάττοντα, ἃ (μὴ) δεῖ ποιεῖν καὶ μὴ δεξ πράττειν προφητείας τε χαταχούει, ὥστε μόνον εἰδέναι τὸν ἐρχόμενον Σωτῆρα" καὶ ἱστορίαις δὲ προσέχει, ἐξ ὧν γινώσκειν δύναται τὰς τῶν βασιλέων καὶ τὰς τῶν ἁγίων πράξεις. Ἐν δὲ τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν Ψαλμῶν, πρὸς τῷ ταῦτα μανθάνειν τὸν ἀκούοντα, ἔτι καὶ τὰ κινήματα τῆς ξαυτοῦ ψυχῆς ἐν αὐτῇ κχατανοεῖ καὶ διδάσχεται" καὶ λοιπὸν πρὸς ὃ πάσχει καὶ ἐν ᾧ συν. ἐχεται, δύναται πάλιν ἐκ ταύτης ἔχεσθαι τὴν εἰχόνοα τῶν λόγων: ὥστε μὴ μόνον ἀκούσαντα παρέρχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πῶς δεῖ λέγοντα καὶ ποιοῦντα θεραπεύειν τὸ πάθος, διδάσκει Εἰσὶ μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἄλ λαις βίβλοις χωλυτιχοὶ λόγοι ἀπαγορεύοντες τὰ φαῦλα ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ καὶ πῶς ἀπέχεσθαι δεῖ τετύπωται" οἷον παράγγελμα ἐστι τὸ μετανοεῖνʼ τὸ δὲ παύεσθαι τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐστίν" ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ πῶς μετανοεῖν, καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν ἐπὶ τῇ μετανοία, τετύταυται. Καὶ πάλιν εἴρηκεν ὁ Παῦλος: Ἡ θ.ίψις ψυχῇ ὑπομονὴν κατεργάζεται, ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ δοκι μὴν, ἡ δὲ δοκιμὴ ἐλπίδα, ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς οὐ κατὠἰσχύγει. Ἕν δὲ τοῖς Ἑαλμοῖς καὶ πῶς δεῖ φέρειν τὰς θλίψεις, καὶ τί θλιδόμενον δεῖ λέγειν, καὶ τί μετὰ τὰς θλίψεις, καὶ κῶς ἔκαστος δοκιμάζεται, καὶ τίνες οἱ λόγοι τῶν ἐλπιζόντων ἐπὶ Κύριον, γέγραπται καὶ χεχάραχται. Πάλιν τε ἐντολὴ ἐστιν ἐν παντὶ εὐχαριστεῖνʼ' ἀλλὰ καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν εὐχαριστοῦντας διδάσκουσιν οἱ αλμοί. Εἶτα παρʼ ἑτέρων ἀκούοντες" Ὅσοι θέλουσιν εὐσεθῶς ζῇν διωχθήσονται, παρὰ «κούτων διδασκόμεθα, καὶ πῶς δεῖ φεύγοντας φωνεῖν, κἀὶ τίνας διωχομένους καὶ μετὰ τὸν διωγμὸν ῥυσθέντας δεῖ λόγους ἀναφέρειν τῷ Θεῷ. Εὐλογεῖν παραγγελλόμεθα τὸν Κύριον, καὶ ἐξομολογεῖσθαι αὐτῷ" ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοῖς τυπούμεθα πῶς τε αἰνεῖν δεῖ τὸν Κύριον, καὶ τίνα ῥήματα λέγοντες ἐξομολογούμεθα πρεπόντως. Καὶ ἐφʼ ἑκάστου δέ τις οὕτως ἂν εὕροι τὰς θείας ᾧῦὰς, πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ ἡμῶν κινήσεις καὶ χαταστάσεις κειμένας. ### English translation (Claude) Such, then, is the grace of the Spirit, common to all; let it be found in each and the same among all, as need requires and the Spirit wills. For more and less make no difference in this matter, as long as each tirelessly fulfils and completes his own ministry. But the book of Psalms, even so, has a certain grace of its own and a special character. For besides the other things in which it has relation and fellowship with the other books, it has this marvel of its own: it has the movements of each soul, and their changes and corrections, written and portrayed in itself, so that whoever wishes can find there what forms him, as it is written there. For in the other books one only hears the law commanding what one must and must not do; one listens to prophecies so as only to know of the coming Saviour; and one attends to histories, from which one can learn the deeds of kings and of saints. But in the book of Psalms, besides learning these things, the hearer also perceives and is taught in it the movements of his own soul; and further, according to what he suffers and by what he is gripped, he can take from it again the pattern of the words, so that he does not merely hear and pass on, but learns how, by speaking and acting, he should heal his passion. For in the other books too there are forbidding words that prohibit what is base; but in this one it is also portrayed how one must abstain. For example, there is a command to repent, and to repent is to cease from sin; but here is portrayed both how to repent and what one should say in repentance. And again Paul has said: "Affliction produces endurance in the soul, endurance proven character, proven character hope, and hope does not put to shame." But in the Psalms it is written and engraved how one should bear afflictions, what the afflicted should say, and what after the afflictions, how each is tested, and what are the words of those who hope in the Lord. Again, there is a commandment to give thanks in everything; but the Psalms also teach what those giving thanks should say. Then, hearing from others, "All who wish to live godly will be persecuted," we are taught by these how those who flee should cry out, and what words those who are persecuted, and those rescued after persecution, should offer to God. We are commanded to bless the Lord and to confess him; but in the Psalms we are shown how one should praise the Lord, and with what words we may fittingly confess him. And in each case one would find the divine songs thus set out for us, and our movements and states. ### Scripture references - Rom 5:3: quotation, high confidence - Rom 5:4: quotation, high confidence - Rom 5:5: quotation, high confidence - 1 Thess 5:18: allusion, high confidence - 2 Tim 3:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 5:3–5; 1 Thess 5:18; 2 Tim 3:12. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 10 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/10). ## Letter to Marcellinus 11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-11 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Readers take the words of the patriarchs and prophets as others' words, but the Psalms they speak as their own. ### Greek text Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο παράδοξόν ἔστι πάλιν ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοῖς, ὅτι ἐν μὲν ταῖς ἄλλαις βίθλοις. Ὑουσιν οὗ ἅγιοι, καὶ περὶ ὧν ἂν λέγωσι, ταῦτα καὶ οἱ ἀναγινώσκοντες, περὶ ὧν ἐκεῖνα γέγραπται, ἀπαγὙέλλοντές εἰσιν οἵ τε ἀκούοντες ἄλλους ἑαυτοὺς ἐκείνων ἡγοῦνται, περὶ ὧν ὁ λόγος φησὶ, καὶ τὰς ἐπαγγελλομένας δὲ πράξεις, ἄχρι τοῦ θαυμάζειν καὶ ζηλοῦν αὐτὰς, εἰς τὸ μιμεῖσθαι γίνονται. Ταύτην δὲ λαμθάνων τὰς μὲν περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος προφητείας συνήθως ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις Γραφαῖς θαυμάζων καὶ προσκυνῶν διεξέρχεται, τοὺς δὲ ἑτέρους ψαλμοὺς ὡς ἰδίους ὄντας λόγους ἀναγινώσκει" καὶ ὁ ἀκούων δὲ ὡς αὐτὸς λέγων κατανύσσεται, καὶ τοῖς τῶν ᾧδῶν ῥήμασιν, ὡς ἰδίαν ὄντων αὐτοῦ Σαφηνείας δὲ χάριν οὐχ ὀχνητέον, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον ᾿Απόστολον, ἐπαναλαδόντα τὸ, αὐτὸ λέγειν. Πλεῖστοι λόγοι τῶν πατριαρχῶν εἰσι, καὶ ἴδιοι παρʼ αὐτῶν εἰρημένοι: καὶ Μωῦσῃς ἐλάλει, ὁ δὲ Θεὸ ἀπεχρίνατοʼ Ἡλίας τε καὶ ᾿Ελισσαῖος ἐπὶ τὸ Καρμήλιον ὄρος καθήμενοι ἐπεχαλοῦντο τὸν Κύριον, καὶ ἀεὶ ἔλεγον" Ζῇ Κύριος, ᾧ παρέστην ἐνώπιον αὖτοῦ σήμερον. Οἵ τε τῶν ἄλλων ἁγίων προφητῶν λόγοι προηγούμενοι μέν εἶδιν οἱ περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος" ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ πλεῖστοι γεγόνασι τοῖς τε ἔθνεσι: καὶ τῷ Ἰσραήλ. Καὶ ὅμως οὐδεὶς οὔτε τῶν πατριαρχῶν λόγους ὡς ἰδίους ἄν ποτε εἴποι, οὔτε τολμήσοι τις μιμῆσασθαι καὶ εἰπεῖν τὰ Μωῦσέως ἴδια ῥήματα, οὐδὲ τοῦ ᾿Αβραὰμ περὶ τοῦ οἰκογενοῦς καὶ τοῦ Ἰσμαὴλ χαὶτὰ περὶ τοῦ μεγάλου Ἰσαὰκ, κἂν ἡ αὐτὴ χρεία τινὰ καὶ ἀνάγκη χαταλάθῃ, τολμήτας ἄν τις ὡς ἴδια ᾿ εἴποι. Ἄν δὲ καὶ συμπάσχῃ τἰς τοῖς πάσχουσι, καὶ πόθον ποτὲ λάβῃ τοῦ κρείττονος, οὔποτʼ ἂν εἴποι ὡς Ἰδίων αὐτοῦ ὄντων. τερτοΑ Μωῦσῆς " ᾿Εμφάνισόν μοι σεαυτόν " ἢ πάλιν" Εἰ μὲν ἀφῇς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἄφες" εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀφῇς, ἐξάλειψόν με ἐκ τῆς βίδἪλου σον, ἧς ἔγραας. ᾿Αλλʼ οὐδὲ, τὰς τῶν προφητῶν τις λαμθάνων ὡς ἴδια ῥήματα, μέμψαιτό τις ἣ ἐπαινέσειε τούτοις τὰ ὅμοια πράξαντας, οἷς ἐμέμψαντο καὶ ἑἐπήνεσαν ἐκεῖνοι" οὐδὲ τὸ, Ζῇ Κύριος, ᾧ παρέστην ἐνώπιον αὖτοῦ σήμερον, μιμήσηται ἄν τις εἰπεῖν ὡς ἴδιον λόγον. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἐντυγχάνων ταῖς βίβλοις φανερός ἔστι μὴ ὡς ἰδίους, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ τῶν διʼ αὐὖτῶν δηλουμένων λέγων τοὺς λόγους. Τοὺς δέ γε Ψαλμοὺς, τὸ παράδοξον, μετὰ τὰς περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος καὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν προφητείας ὁ λέγων τὰ ἄλλα ὡς ἴδια ῥήματα λαλῶν ἐστι, καὶ ὡς περὶ αὑτοῦ γραφέντας αὑτοὺς ἕκαστος ψάλλει, καὶ οὐχ ὡς ἑτέρου λέγοντος οοὺ ρδιγίαγομαΒ ἢ περὶ ἑτέρου σημαίνοντος δέχεται, καὶ διεξέρχεται" ἄνθρωπον ἐν τούτοις συνέχεσθαι, καὶ ἣ ὡς φυλάξαντα “περὶ ἑκάστου γεγραμμένους λόγους. ἀλλʼ ὡς αὐτὸς περὶ αὐτοῦ λαλῶν διατίθεται" καὶ οἷά ἐστι τὰ λεγόμενα, ταῦτα ὡς αὐτὸς πράξας καὶ ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ λαλῶν ἀναφέρει τῷ Θεῷ. Οὐ γὰρ ὡς τὰ τῶν πατριαρχῶν ῥήματα, καὶ Μωϊσέως, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων προφητῶν, εὐλαδηθήσεται καὶ ταῦτα ἀλλὰ καὶ μάλιστα ὡς ἴδια καὶ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ γραφέντα θαρσεῖ λέ-γων ὁ ψάλλων ταῦτα. Τὸν γὰρ φυλάξαντα τὴν ἐντολὴν, καὶ παραδάντα ταύτην, τὴν τε ἑἐχατέρου πρᾶξιν περιέχουσιν οἱ Ῥαλμοί, ᾿Ανάγχη δὲ πάντα τὴν ἐντολὴν, ἦ ὡς παραδάντα ταύτην, λέγειν τοὺς ### English translation (Claude) And this too is a wonder in the Psalms: in the other books the saints speak, and readers, reciting what is written about those of whom it is written, are telling of others; and the hearers regard themselves as other than those of whom the word speaks, and the deeds that are told become, at most, objects of wonder and emulation, for imitation. But whoever takes up this book goes through the prophecies about the Saviour with wonder and worship, as is usual in the other Scriptures; but the other psalms he reads as if they were his own words; and the hearer, as if he himself were speaking, is pierced to the heart and [moved] by the words of the songs as his own. For the sake of clarity one should not hesitate, like the blessed apostle, to say the same thing again. Very many words of the patriarchs exist, spoken by them as their own; and Moses spoke, and God answered; and Elijah and Elisha, sitting on Mount Carmel, called upon the Lord and always said, "As the Lord lives, before whom I stand today." And the words of the other holy prophets concern first the Saviour, and then very many were addressed to the nations and to Israel. And yet no one would ever say the words of the patriarchs as his own, nor would anyone dare to imitate and speak Moses' own words, nor Abraham's about his servant and about Ishmael, or about the great Isaac; even if the same need and necessity should overtake someone, would anyone dare to say them as his own? And even if someone suffers with those who suffer, and at some time conceives a longing for something better, he would never say, as though it were his own, what Moses said: "Show yourself to me," or again: "If you will forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of your book which you have written." Nor would anyone, taking the prophets' words as his own, blame or praise those who do things like those whom they blamed and praised; nor would anyone imitate and say as his own word, "As the Lord lives, before whom I stand today." For whoever reads those books plainly speaks the words not as his own but as those of the saints and of those signified through them. But the Psalms—and this is the marvel—apart from the prophecies about the Saviour and the nations, he who says them speaks as his own words, and each sings them as written about himself, and does not receive and go through them as if another were speaking or as signifying another; … but he is disposed as one speaking about himself; and whatever is said, he offers to God as having done it himself and as speaking from himself. For he will not be wary of these as of the words of the patriarchs and of Moses and of the other prophets; rather, the one who sings them is bold to say them as his own and as written about himself. For the Psalms contain both the one who has kept the commandment and the one who has transgressed it, and the deeds of each; and everyone must, either as having kept the commandment or as having transgressed it, say the … ### Scripture references - Phil 3:1: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Kgs 18:15: quotation, high confidence - Gen 15:3: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 17:18: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 33:13: quotation, high confidence - Exod 32:32: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Phil 3:1; Exod 33:13; 1 Kgs 18:15 (with 1 Kgs 17:1; 2 Kgs 3:14); Gen 15:2–3; Gen 17:18; Exod 33:13, 18; Exod 32:32. A line of OCR debris is not translated (…); the section breaks off at the end. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 11 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/11). ## Letter to Marcellinus 12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-12 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Psalms are a mirror in which the singer recognizes his own soul and its movements. ### Greek text Καί μοι δοκεῖ τῷ ψάλλοντι γίνεσθαι τούτους ὥσπερ εἴσοπτρον, εἰς τὸ κατανοεῖν καὶ αὐτὸν ἐν αὖτοῖς καὶ τὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς κινήματα, καὶ οὕτως αἰσθόμενον ἀπαγγέλλειν αὐτούς. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἀκούων τοῦ ἀναγινώσκοντος ὡς περὶ αὐτοῦ λεγομένὴν τὴν δὴν καταδέχεταιʼ καὶ ἣ ἐλεγχόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ συνειδότος κατανυγεὶς μετανοήσει, ἣ περὶ τῆς εἰς Θεὸν ἐλπίδος ἀκούων καὶ τῆς εἰς τοὺς πιστεύοντας γινομένης ἀντιλήψεως, ὡς εἰς αὐτὸν γενομένης τοιαύτης χάριτος ἀγαλλιᾶται, καὶ εὐχαριστεῖν ἄρχεται τῷ θεῷ. Ὅτε γοῦν τὸν τρίτον ψάλλει τις εἰς τὰς ἰδίας θλίψεις συνορῶν, ὡς αὑτοῦ εἶναι νομίζει τὰ ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ ῥήματα" καὶ τότε τὸν ταʼ καὶ τὸν ιςʼ ὡς εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πεποίθησιν καὶ προσευχὴν ἔστιν ἀπχγγέλλωνʼ καὶ τὸν μὲν ν΄ ψαλμὸν ὡς αὐτός ἔστι τὰ ἴδια τῆς μετανοίας ἑαυτοῦ λέγων ῥήματαʼ τὸν δὲ νγ΄, καὶ τὸν νε΄, καὶ τὸν νςʼ, καὶ τὸν ρμα΄, ὅτε ψάλἰδία ἢ λει τις, οὐχ ὡς ἄλλου διωχομένον, ἀλλʼ ὡς ὧν ὁ πάσχων συνδιατίθεται, καὶ ἄδει τῷ Κυρίῳ ὡς ἰδίους «τοὺς λόγους τούτους. Καὶ ὅλως οὕτως ἕκαστος ψαλμὸς παρὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος εἴρηταί τε καὶ συντέτακται, ὡς ἐν αὐτοῖς, καθὰ πρότερον εἴρηται, τὰ κινήματα τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν χατανοεῖσθαι, καὶ πάντὰς αὐτοὺς ὡς περὶ ἡμῶν εἰρῆσθαι, καὶ εἶναι ἡμῶν αὐτοὺς ὡς ἰδίους λόγους, εἰς ἀνάμνησιν τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν κινημάτων καὶ διόρθωσιν τῆς ἡμῶν πολιτείας. Ἃ γὰρ οἱ ψάλλοντες εἰρήκασι, ταῦτα καὶ ἡμῶν δύνανται τύποι καὶ χαραχτῆρες εἶναι. ### English translation (Claude) And it seems to me that these become for the one who sings them like a mirror, so that he perceives himself and the movements of his own soul in them, and, perceiving them so, recites them. For the one who hears the reader also receives the song as spoken about himself; and either, convicted by his conscience and pierced to the heart, he will repent, or, hearing about hope in God and the help that comes to those who believe, he exults as though such grace had come to him, and begins to give thanks to God. When, then, someone sings the third psalm, considering his own afflictions, he will think the words in the psalm are his own; and then he recites the tenth and the fifteenth as expressing his own confidence and prayer; and the fiftieth psalm as speaking himself the words proper to his own repentance; and the fifty-third, the fifty-fifth, the fifty-sixth, and the hundred and forty-first, when one sings them, he sings them to the Lord as his own words, not as though another were being persecuted, but as the one who suffers, sharing the same disposition. And in general each psalm has been spoken and composed by the Spirit in such a way that in them, as was said before, the movements of our soul are perceived, and all of them are spoken as about us and are ours as our own words, for the remembrance of the movements within us and for the correction of our way of life. For what the psalmists said can also be types and patterns for us. ### Scripture references - Ps 3:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 11:1 (10:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 16:1 (15:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 51:1 (50:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 54:1 (53:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 56:1 (55:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 57:1 (56:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 142:1 (141:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering: Psalms 3, 10, 15, 50, 53, 55, 56, 141 are English 3, 11, 16, 51, 54, 56, 57, 142. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 12 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/12). ## Letter to Marcellinus 13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-13 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ both taught and lived virtue, giving himself as a pattern; the Psalms likewise give a pattern for every movement of the soul. ### Greek text ιγ. Αὕτη δὲ πάλιν τοῦ Σωτῇρός ἔστιν ἣ χάρις" ἄνθρωπος γὰρ διʼ ἡμᾶς γενόμενος, τὸ μὲν σῶμα τὸ ἴδιον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν προσήνεγκεν εἰς θάνατον, ἵνα πάντας ἀπαλλάξῃ τοῦ θανάτου' τὴν δὲ οὐράνιον χα εὐάρεστον ἑαυτοῦ πολιτείαν δεῖξαι θέλων ἡμῖν, εν ἑαυτῳ ταύτην ἐτύπωσεν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηκέτι τινὰς εὐχερῶς ἀπατᾶσθαι παρὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, ἔχοντας ἐνέχυρον πρὸς ἀσφάλειᾳν, τὴν παρʼ αὐτοῦ γενομένην ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου νίκην. Διὰ τοῦτο γοῦν οὐ μόνον ἐδίδαξεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πεποίηκεν ἃ ἐδίδαξεν, ἵνα ἔκαστος ἀκούῃ μὲν αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος, ὡς ἐν εἰκόνι δὲ βλέπων λαμβάνῃ παρʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ παράδειγμα τοῦ ποιεῖν, ἀχούωνʼ Μάθετε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πραῦς εἰμι καὶ ταπειγὺὶς τῇ καρδίᾳ. Τελειοτέραν δὲ καὶ εἰς Ι ἀρετὴν διδασκαλίαν οὐκ ἄν τις εὕροι, ἧς ὁ Κύριος ἐτύπωσεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Εἴτε γὰρ ἀνεξιχκαχίαν, εἴτε φιλανθρωπίαν, εἴτε ἀγαθότητα, εἴτε ἀνδρίαν, εἴτε ἐλεημοσύνην, εἴτε δικαιοσύνην, πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ τις εὑρήσει γενόμενα, ὥστε μηδὲν εἰς ἀρετὴν λείπειν τῷ κατανοοῦντι τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον τοῦτον. Τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ Παῦλος εἰδὼς ἔλεγε" Μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε, καθὡς κἀγὼ Χριστοῦ. Οἱ μὲν παρʼ "Ἕλλησι νομοθέται ἄχρι τοῦ λέγειν ἔχουσι τὴν χάριν" ὁ δὲ Κύριος, ὡς ἀληθῶς Κύριος ὧν τοῦ παντὸς, καὶ κηδόμενος εἰργάσατο, οὐ μόνον νομοθετεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τύπον ἑαυτὸν δέδωκεν, εἰς τὸ εἰδέναι τοὺς βουλομένους τὴν τοῦ ποιεῖν δύναμιν. Διὰ τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ πρὸ τῆς εἰς ἡμᾶς αὐτοῦ ἐπιδημίας ἐνήχησε καὶ ἐν τοῖς ψάλλουσι τοῦτο, ἵνʼ ὥσπερ ἐν αὐτῷ τὸν ἐπίγειον καὶ οὐράνιον ἄνηρωπον τυπῶν ἔδειξεν, οὕτω καὶ ἐκ τῶν Ψαλμῶν πὰ κινήματα καὶ τὰς διαθέσεις τῶν ψυχῶν ὁ βουλόμξνος καταμαθεῖν δύνηται, εὑρίσκων. ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν ἑἐχάστου χινήματος θεραπείαν τε καὶ ### English translation (Claude) This again is the grace of the Saviour: having become man for us, he offered his own body to death on our behalf, so as to free all from death; and wishing to show us his heavenly and well-pleasing way of life, he portrayed it in himself, so that no one might any longer easily be deceived by the enemy, having as a pledge of safety the victory he won for us over the devil. For this reason he not only taught but also did what he taught, so that each one might hear him speaking and, looking as at an image, take from him the example for acting, hearing: "Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart." One could not find a more perfect teaching toward virtue than that which the Lord portrayed in himself. For whether forbearance, or love of mankind, or goodness, or courage, or mercy, or righteousness, one will find all of them done in him, so that nothing toward virtue is lacking to one who contemplates this human life of his. Knowing this, Paul said: "Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ." The lawgivers among the Greeks have their grace only in speaking; but the Lord, as truly Lord of all and caring for his works, not only legislates but also gave himself as a pattern, so that those who wish might know the power of acting. For this reason, even before his coming among us, he made this sound in those who sing psalms, so that, just as he showed in himself the pattern of the earthly and the heavenly man, so also from the Psalms whoever wishes can learn the movements and dispositions of souls, finding in them also the remedy and correction of each movement. ### Scripture references - Matt 11:29: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:1: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:47: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 11:29; 1 Cor 11:1; 1 Cor 15:47–49. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 13 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/13). ## Letter to Marcellinus 14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-14 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Athanasius classifies the psalms by kind—narrative, prayer, petition, confession, prophecy, praise, thanksgiving, and others. ### Greek text Εἰ γὰρ δεῖ καὶ πιθανώτερον εἰπεῖν, πᾶσα μὲν ἡ θεία Γραφὴ διδάσκαλός ἐστιν ἀρετῆς καὶ πίστεως ἀληθοῦς" ἡ δέ γε βίθλος τῶν Ψαλμῶν ἔχει καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα πως τῆς διαγωγῆς τῶν ψυχῶν. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ ᾿ εἰσερχόμενος πρὸς βασιλέα τυποῦται καὶ τῷ σχήματι καὶ τοῖς ῥήμασιν, ἵνα μὴ, παρὰ ταῦτα λέγων, ὡς ἀπαίδευτος ἐχθληθῇʼ οὕτως ἡ θεία βίβλος τὸν π᾿ ἀρετῇ τρέχοντα καὶ βουλόμενον κατανοῆσαι τὴν κοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐν σώματι πολιτείαν ὑπομιμνήσκει πρῶτον διὰ τῆς ἀναγνώσεως τὰ κινήματα τῆς ψυχῖς, καὶ οὕτω λοιπὸν τυποῖ καὶ διδάσκει τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας τοῖς τοιούτοις λόγοις. Εἰσὶ μὲν οὖν, ἵνα τοῦτο πρῶτόν τις τῆς βίβλου παρατηρήσηται, οἱ μὲν ὃὲ ἐν προφητείᾳ, οἱ δὲ ὡς ἐν εὐχῇ, οἱ δὲ ἐν ἐξἢ Καὶ εἰσὶ μὲν οἱ ἐν διηγήματι ιη΄, αγ΄, ος΄, οζ', πη΄, ρς', ριγ΄, ραςʼ, βὰς". Οἱ δὲ ὡς ἐν εὐχῇ, τις", ξζʼ, πθ', ραʼ ρλα', ρμα΄. Οἱ δὲ ὡς ἐν ἐντυχίᾳ καὶ εὐχῇ καὶ δεήσει ε΄, ς!, τα΄, τϑ΄,. ιε΄, κδ', κζ', λ΄, λδ', λζ, μβ΄, νγ΄, νδʼ, νε΄, νςʼ, νη΄, νθʼ, ξʼ, ξγ΄, αβ', πε΄, πζ', ρλζ', ρλθʼ, Καὶ ὁ μὲν ὡς ἐν ἐντυχίᾳ καὶ εὐχαριστίᾳ ρλη. Οἱ δὲ ὡς ἐν ἐντυχίᾳ μόνῃ γ', χεʼ, ξη΄, ξθʼ, ο΄, ογ΄, Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐν ἐξομολογήσει θʼ, οδ΄, ἵ,αʼ, ρδ', 7Ὁ τοιαῦτα λέγοντα. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον περὶ τῶν ἔργων, Οἱ δὲ συμπεπλεγμένην ἔχοντες ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ διήγησιν θ', οδ', ρε', ρς", ριζ', Ὁ δὲ συμπεπλεγμένην ἔχων ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ διήγησιν μετὰ αἰνέσεως ρι'΄. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐν παραινέσει ἐστὶ λς'. Οἱ δὲ ἐν προφητείᾳ χ', χαʼ, μδ', μς', οε΄, Καὶ ἀπαγγελτικὸς μὲν μετὰ προφητείας ρθ'. Προτρεπτιχὸς δὲ μετὰ ἄσματος ἐλέχθη ρμθ'. Καὶ οἱ μὲν διαγράφοντες τὸν ἐνάρετον βίον εἰαὶ Οἱ δὲ αἵνον ἀπαγγέλλοντες οὗτοί εἰσιν {., ρις΄, ρλδ', ρμδ', ρμε΄, ρμς΄, ρμη, ρν Καὶ οἱ μὲν εὐχαριστιχοί εἰσιν η΄, θʼ, ιζ΄, λγ', μϑ, Καὶ ἄλλος ἐπιδειχτιχὸς προθυμίας μετʼ ᾧδῆς ρζʼ. Καὶ ὁ μὲν προτρεπτιχὸς εἰς ἀνδρίαν ἐστὶ π΄. κατηγοριχοὶ τῶν ἀσεβῶν καὶ παρανόμων εἰσὶ ὁ . Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐπικλήσεώς ἐστι δ΄. Καὶ οἱ μὲν καυχήσεως τῆς ἐν Κυρίῳ ἀπαγγέλλονο τὲς λόγους εἰσὶ κβ' καὶ χςʼ, ληʼ, λθ΄, μα΄, ξαʼ, οεʼ, Καὶ οἱ μὲν ὕμνον ῥήματα λέγουσι μζ', ξδ΄. Ὁ δὲ ἀλαλαγμοῦ καὶ περὶ ἀναστάσεως ξε'. Καὶ ἕτερος ἀλαλαγμοῦ μόνον ῥήματα λέγει θ'; ### English translation (Claude) If one must speak still more persuasively: all divine Scripture is a teacher of virtue and of true faith, but the book of Psalms also has in some way the image of the conduct of souls. For as one who goes in to a king is formed in his bearing and his words, lest by speaking otherwise he be thrown out as uneducated, so the divine book first reminds the one who runs in virtue and wishes to understand the Saviour's way of life in the body, through the reading, of the movements of the soul, and so then forms and teaches those who read such words. Now—so that one may first observe this about the book—some psalms are in narrative, some in prayer, some in … Those in narrative are [the 18th], 43rd, 76th, 77th, 88th, 104th, 105th, 106th, 113th, …. Those in prayer: …, 67th, 89th, 101st, 131st, 141st. Those in petition, prayer, and supplication: the 5th, 6th, 11th, …, 15th, 24th, 27th, 30th, 34th, 37th, 42nd, 53rd, 54th, 55th, 56th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 63rd, …, 85th, 87th, 137th, 139th. One is in petition and thanksgiving: the 138th. Those in petition alone: the 3rd, 25th, 68th, 69th, 70th, 73rd. Those in confession: the 9th, 74th, …, 104th, …. For not only concerning works … Those that combine confession and narrative: the 9th, 74th, 105th, 106th, 117th. One combining confession and narrative with praise: the 110th. One is in exhortation: the 36th. Those in prophecy: the 20th, 21st, 44th, 46th, 75th. One is announcing, with prophecy: the 109th. One was spoken as exhorting, with song: the 149th. Those describing the virtuous life are … Those that proclaim praise are …, 116th, 134th, 144th, 145th, 146th, 148th, 150th. Those of thanksgiving are the 8th, 9th, 17th, 33rd, 49th (?), …. Another showing eagerness with song is the 107th. One exhorting to courage is the 80th. Those accusing the ungodly and lawless are …. One is of invocation: the 4th. Those proclaiming words of boasting in the Lord are the 22nd and 26th, 38th, 39th, 41st, 61st, 75th, …. Those speaking words of hymn are the 47th and 64th. One is of shouting and about the resurrection: the 65th. And another speaks only words of shouting: the [99th?]. ### Translation notes - The lists of psalm numbers (Greek numbering) are badly damaged in the scan: many numerals are missing or misread (the letter for 90, ϟ, is often lost), and some entries are run together. Numbers are given only as far as they can be read; … marks lost or unreadable entries, and the lists here should not be relied on. Scripture tags are not given for this section. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 14 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/14). ## Letter to Marcellinus 15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-15 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Athanasius begins a guide to which psalm to use in each circumstance: blessing, persecution, thanksgiving, morning prayer, fear of God's threat, and conspiracy. ### Greek text Τοιαύτης οὖν τῆς διατάξεως οὔσης τῶν Ψαλμῶν, ἔστι λοιπὸν δυνατὸν τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας εὑρεῖν ἐν ἑκάστῳ, καθὰ προεῖπον, τὰ κινήματα καὶ τὴν κατάστασιν τῆς ἰδίας ψυχῆς, οὕτως τε περὶ ἑκάστον τὸν τύπον καὶ τὴν διδασκαλίαν " καὶ τίνα μὲγ λέγων ἀρέσκειν δύναται τῷ Κυρίῳ,, διὰ ποίων δὲ ῥημάτων ἑαυτὸν διορθοῦσθαι δύναται, καὶ εὐχαριστεῖν τῷ Κύρίῳ, ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ εἰς ἀσέβειαν ἐκπίπτειν τὸν παρὰ ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ ἀργοῦ ῥήματος ἀποδοῦναι λόγον ἔχομεν τῷ Κριτῇ. Δν τε τοίνυν μαχαρίσαι τινὰ θελήσης, ἔχεις πῶς δεῖ, καὶ ἐπὶ τίνι, καὶ τίνα δεῖ λέγειν, τόν τε α' καὶ τὸν λαʼ, καὶ μ', καὶ ρια', καὶ ριη΄, καὶ ρχζ'" ἄν τε μέμψασθαι τὴν Ἰουδαίων κατὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπιβουλὴν, ἔχεις τὴν δευτέραν ᾧδήν. Ἂν δὲ διώχῃ παρὰ τῶν ἰδίων, καὶ πολλοὺς ἔχῃς τοὺς ἐπαναστάντας κατὰ σοῦ, λέγε τὸν γ' ψαλμόν. Εἰ δὲ οὕτως θλιθόμενος ἐπεκαλέσω τὸν Κύριον, καὶ εἰσαχουσθεὶς θέλεις εὐχαριστεῖν, ψάλλε τὸν τέταρτον, καὶ οδ', καὶ ροιδ΄. Καὶ ἐὰν, ἔτι τοὺς πονηρευομένους βλέπων ἐνεδρεύειν Ϊ θέλοντας, ἐνωτίζεσθαί σου θέλῃς τὴν εὐχὴν, ὀρθρίζων τὰ πρωΐ ψάλλε τὸν ε΄. Αἰσθόμενος δὲ ἀπειλῆς τοῦ ρίου, ἐὰν διὰ τοῦτο ταραττόμενον σεαυτὸν βλέπῃς, δύνασαι λέγειν τὸν ς΄ καὶ τὸν λζ΄. Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ βουλεύωνταί τινες κατὰ σοῦ, ὡς ὁ ᾿Αχιτόφελ κατὰ τοῦ Δαβὶδ, καὶ τοῦτό σοΐ τις ἀπαγγείλῃ, ψάλλε τὸν ζ΄, καὶ θάῤῥει τῷ ῥῤνομένῳ σε Θεῷ. ### English translation (Claude) Such being the arrangement of the Psalms, it is possible for readers to find in each, as I said before, the movements and state of their own soul, and so for each case the pattern and the teaching: what one can say to please the Lord, and with what words one can correct oneself and give thanks to the Lord, so that he who [speaks otherwise] may not fall into ungodliness. For we must give account to the Judge not only for our works but even for an idle word. If, then, you wish to call someone blessed, you have how one should do it, and on what ground, and what one should say: the 1st, the 31st, the 40th, the 111th, the 118th, and the 127th. If you wish to rebuke the plot of the Jews against the Saviour, you have the second song. If you are persecuted by your own people and have many rising up against you, say the 3rd psalm. If, so afflicted, you have called upon the Lord and, having been heard, wish to give thanks, sing the fourth, the 74th, and the 114th. And if, seeing evildoers still wishing to lie in wait for you, you want your prayer to be heard, rise early in the morning and sing the 5th. If you perceive a threat from the Lord and see yourself troubled by it, you can say the 6th and the 37th. And if some take counsel against you, as Ahithophel did against David, and someone tells you of it, sing the 7th, and take courage in God who rescues you. ### Scripture references - Matt 12:36: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 15:31: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 1:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 32:1 (31:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 41:1 (40:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 112:1 (111:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 119:1 (118:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 128:1 (127:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 2:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 3:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 4:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 75:1 (74:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 116:1 (114:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 5:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 6:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 38:1 (37:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 7:1: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 12:36; 2 Sam 15:31. A few words are lost in the scan after "lest he who" (marked by the bracketed sense). Greek numbering; the English numbers are mostly one higher (tags give English numbering). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 15 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/15). ## Letter to Marcellinus 16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/1/#p-16 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Further psalms for occasions: praise for salvation, the winepress song, Christ's victory, trust under trouble, refuge from wickedness, and long persecution. ### Greek text Βλέπων δὲ τὴν πανταχοῦ χάριν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐχτεταμένην, καὶ σωθὲν τὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐὰν προσφωνεῖν θέλῃς τῷ Κυρίῳ, ψάλλε τὸν η΄. ᾿Αλλὰ πάλιν σαι θέλεις ἐπιλήνιον, εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἔχεις αὐτὸν πάλιν τὸν η΄ καὶ τὸν πγ΄. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ κατ᾿ ηργῆσθα: τὸν ἐχθρὸν καὶ σεσῶσθαι τὴν κτίσιν, μὴ καυχώμενος ἐπὶ σαυτῷ, ἀλλὰ εἰδὼς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦτο κατορθώσαντα, λέγε τὸν εἰς αὐτὸν εἰρημένον θ' ψαλμόν. Καὶ ἐὰν λίαν σέ τις ταράσσειν ἐθέλη, ἔχε σὺ τὴν πεποίθησιν εἰς τὸν Κύριον, καὶ νυΐηο, ψάλλε τὸν ι΄. Ὅταν δὲ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ὑπερηφανίαν ἴδῃς καὶ πλεονάζουσαν τὴν κακίαν, ὥστε μηδὲν ὅσιον ἐπ᾿ ἀνθρώποις γενέσθαι, κατάφυγε σὺ ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον, καὶ λέγε τὸν ια΄. Ἐγχρονιζούσης δὲ τῆς παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπιβουλῆς, μὴ ὀλιγώρει ὡς ἐπιλησθεὶς “«αρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλὰ παρακάλει τὸν Κύριον ἄδων τὸγ ### English translation (Claude) Seeing the grace of the Saviour extended everywhere and the human race saved, if you wish to address the Lord, sing the 8th. And again, if you wish to sing a song of the winepress, giving thanks to the Lord, you have the same 8th and the 83rd. For the overthrow of the enemy and the saving of the creation, not boasting in yourself but knowing that it was the Son of God who accomplished it, say the 9th psalm, spoken about him. And if someone wishes to trouble you greatly, keep your confidence in the Lord and sing the 10th. When you see the pride of the many and wickedness abounding, so that nothing holy remains among men, take refuge in the Lord and say the 11th. When the plot of the enemies drags on, do not lose heart as though forgotten by God, but call upon the Lord, singing the … ### Scripture references - Ps 8:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 84:1 (83:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 9:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 11:1 (10:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 12:1 (11:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 13:1 (12:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - "Song of the winepress": the Greek title of Psalms 8 and 83 (English 8 and 84), "for the winepresses." The section breaks off in the scan before the psalm number (the 12th, English 13, in the standard text); a word of OCR debris is not translated. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 16 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/16). ## Letter to Marcellinus 17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-17 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms for those who hear blasphemy, seek to know the citizen of heaven, are surrounded by enemies, marvel at creation, comfort the afflicted, or dedicate a house. ### Greek text Ἐπειδὰν βλασφημούντων τινῶν κατὰ τῆς Προνοίας ἀκούσῃς, μὴ κοινώνει μὲν αὐτῶν τῇ ἀσεβείᾳ, ἐντυγχάνων δὲ τῷ Θεῷ, λέγε τὸν ιγ' καὶ νβ΄. Καὶ λοιπὸν ἐὰν θέλης μαθεῖν ὁποῖός ἐστι τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν ὁ πολίτης, ψάλλε τὸν ιδ'. ξ΄, Προσευχῆς σοι χρεία διὰ τοὺς ἀνθεστηχότας σοι καὶ περιέχοντάς σου τὴν ψυχὴν, ἀδΞ τὸν τιςʼ, καὶ «ὸν πε', καὶ τὸν πζ', καὶ τὸν ρμ'. ᾿Αλλὰ θέλεις μας θεῖν, πῶς Μίωῦσῆς προσηύξατο, ἔχεις τὸν πθ΄. ᾿Αλλʼ ἐσώθης ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου, καὶ ἐῤῥύσθης ἀπὸ τῶν ͵, διωκόντων σε, ἄδε καὶ σὺ τὸν ιζʼ ψαλμόν. θαυμάζεις ἱ τὴν τῆς κτίσεως τάξιν, καὶ τὴν εἰς αὐτὴν τῆς Προνοίας χάριν, τοῦ τε νόμοὐύ τὰ ἱερὰ προστάγματα, ψάλλε τὸν ιηʼ καὶ τὸν κγ΄. θλιδομένους δὲ ὁρῶν, παρακάλει τούτους, ἐπευχόμενος καὶ λέγων αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐν τῷ ιθ' ψαλμῷ ῥήματα. Ὁρᾷς σεαυτὸν ποιμαινόμενον καὶ εὐοδούμενον παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, χαίρων ἐπὶ τούτῳ ψάλλε τὸν κβ'. Οἱ ἐχθροὶ περὶ σὲ, ἀλλὰ σὺ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπαίρων πρὸς Θεὸν, λέγε τὸν κδ΄, καὶ ὄψει τούτους ἁμαρτάνοντας διαχεγῆς. Ἐπιμένουσιν οἱ ἐχθροὶ, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἣ τὰς χεῖρας ἔχοντες αἱμάτων πλήρεις, καὶ ζητοῦντες ἑλκῦσαί σε καὶ ἀπολέσαι, μὴ δῷς ἀνθρώπῳ τὸ κρῖμα (ὕποπτα γὰρ πάντα τὰ ἀνθρώπινα)" ἀλλὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἀξιῶν κριτὴν γενέσθαι ( μόνος γὰρ αὑτὸς δίκαιος), λέγε τὰ ἐν τῷ χεʼ, καὶ τὸν λδ', καὶ τὸν μβ'. Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ τραχύτερον ἐπίθωνται, καὶ πλῇθος ὡς παρεμθολαὶ γένωνται οἱ ἐχθροὶ, τες ὡς μήπω σου χρισθέντος, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πολεμεῖν ἐθέλοντες " μὴ πτήξῃς, ἀλλʼ ἀδε τὸν χςʼ ψαλμόν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀσθενής ἐστιν ἡ φύσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ; πρὸὴς ἐκείνους ἔχης τὴν σχολὴν, χράζε πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, Καὶ ἑὰν θέλῃς εὐχαριστῶν μᾳθεῖν πῶς δεῖ προσφέρειν τῷ Κυρίῳ, νοητῶς νοῶν ψάλλε τὸν κη΄. Καὶ λοιπὸν ἐγχαινίξων τὰν οἶκόν σου τὴν τε ψυχὴν τὴν τὸν Κύριον ὑποδεχομένην, καὶ τὸν σωματικὸν οἶκον, ἐν ᾧ σωματικῶς χατοιχεῖς, εὐχαρίστει, καὶ λέγε τόν τε χθʼ καὶ τὸν ἐν τοῖς ἀναβαθμοῖς ρχτ'. ### English translation (Claude) When you hear some blaspheming against Providence, do not share in their ungodliness, but, appealing to God, say the 13th and the 52nd. And further, if you wish to learn what kind of man is a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, sing the 14th. Do you need prayer because of those who oppose you and surround your soul? Sing the 16th, the 85th, the 87th, and the 140th. Do you wish to learn how Moses prayed? You have the 89th. Have you been saved from your enemies and rescued from those who pursue you? Sing yourself the 17th psalm. Do you marvel at the order of creation and the grace of Providence toward it, and the holy precepts of the law? Sing the 18th and the 23rd. Seeing people afflicted, comfort them, praying for them and saying to them the words in the 19th psalm. Do you see yourself shepherded and guided on your way by the Lord? Rejoicing at this, sing the 22nd. Enemies are around you; but lifting up your soul to God, say the 24th, and you will see them sinning in vain. The enemies persist, having nothing but hands full of blood, and seeking to drag you off and destroy you; do not give the judgment to a man—for all human things are suspect—but asking God to become judge—for he alone is just—say the words in the 25th, the 34th, and the 42nd. And if they attack more harshly and the enemies become a multitude like armies, … as though you had not yet been anointed, and wishing to make war on that account—do not cower, but sing the 26th psalm. But since human nature is weak, if … you have to deal with them, cry out to God [with the 27th]. And if, giving thanks, you wish to learn how one should make offerings to the Lord, understanding it spiritually, sing the 28th. And further, dedicating your house—both the soul that receives the Lord and the bodily house in which you dwell bodily—give thanks and say the 29th and, among the Songs of Ascent, the 126th. ### Scripture references - Ps 14:1 (13:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 53:1 (52:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 15:1 (14:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 17:1 (16:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 86:1 (85:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 88:1 (87:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 141:1 (140:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 90:1 (89:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 18:1 (17:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 19:1 (18:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 24:1 (23:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 20:1 (19:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 23:1 (22:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 25:1 (24:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 26:1 (25:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 35:1 (34:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 43:1 (42:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 27:1 (26:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 28:1 (27:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 29:1 (28:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 30:1 (29:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 127:1 (126:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). Some words are lost in the scan where … appears; the number of the psalm for crying out to God (the 27th, English 28, in the standard text) is lost and supplied in brackets. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 17 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17). ## Letter to Marcellinus 18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-18 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms for the persecuted, the newly baptized, common worship, rescue from enemies, rejecting the heretics' claim that evil is natural, warning against envy of the wicked, mercy to the poor, and remembering God's past benefits. ### Greek text Ὅταν δὲ σαυτὸν διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν μισούμενον καὶ διωχόμενον παρὰ πάντων τῶν τε φίλων καὶ συγγενῶν βλέπῃς, μὴ τούτοις μηδὲ σαυτῷ κατανοῶν ὀλιγωρήσῃς, μηδʼ, ἂν τοὺ; γνωρίμους ἴδῃς ἀποστρεφοπτήξῃς, ἀλλʼ ἐχστὰς ἀπὸ τούτων, καὶ σκοπῶν τὰ μέλλοντα, ψάλλε τὸν λ΄. Τοὺς δὲ βαπτιζομένους καὶ λυτρουμένους ἀπὸ τῆς φθαρτῆς γενέσεως βλέπων, καὶ θαυμάζων τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν, ᾿ δε εἰς ἐκείνους τὸν λα΄. Καὶ ὅταν μὲν ψάλλειν μετὰ πολλῶν ἐθέλῃς, τοὺς δικαίους ἄνδρας καὶ τοὺς ὀρθοὺς τῷ βίῳ συναγαγὼν,, λέγε καὶ σὺ τὸν λβ΄. Ἐμπεσὼν δὲ εἰς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς, καὶ σοφῶς αὐτοὺς διαφυγὼν, καὶ ἐκκλίνας ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς αὑτῶν, εἰ θέλεις εὐχαριστῇσαι, συγκαλέσας τοὺς πραεῖς ἄνδρας, ἔπ' αὐτῶν ψάλλε τὸν λγ΄. Καὶ ἐὰν ἴδῃς τῶν παρανομούντων 6556, υἱ γι ἰοἱ δἰυηιϊ, ἀϊς ιγἰοαοὶ18 τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ κακὸν φιλονεικίαν, μὴ νόμιζε ἐν αὐτοῖς κατὰ φύσιν τὴν κακίαν εἶναι, οἷα λέγουσιν οἱ αἱρε" ἀλλὰ λέγε τὸν λε', καὶ ὄψει, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν εἰσὶν αἴτιοι. Ἐὰν δὲ πολλὰ πράττοντας ἄνομα τοὺς πονηροὺς βλέπῃς, καὶ ἐπαιρομένους αὖτοὺς κατὰ τῶν μικρῶν, καὶ θέλῃς παραινεῖν τισι μὴ προσέχειν τούτοις, μηδὲ παραζηλοῦν αὐτοὺς, διὰ τὸ ταχέως αὐτοὺς ἀποσθέννυσθαι, λέγε καὶ σαυτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἑτέροις τὸν λς', ᾿Αλλὰ δὴ καὶ σὺ, προθέμενος προσέχειν σαυτῷ, ἐὰν βλέπῃς ἐπιτιθέμενον τὸν ἐχθρὸν (τότε γὰρ μᾶλλον ἐπεγείρεται κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων), καὶ θέλῃς ἐπἀλείφειν σαυτὸν κατʼ αὐτοῦ, ἀδε τὸν ληʼ ψαλμόν. Καὶ ἐὰν, τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπιτιθεμένων, ὑπομένης τὰς θλίψεις, καὶ θέλῃς μαθεῖν τὴν ἐκ τῆς ὑπομονής ὠφέλειαν, ψάλλε τὸν λθ' ψαλμόν. Βλέπων δὲ πολλοὺς πένητας καὶ πτωχοὺς, καὶ θέλεις ἐλεεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς, δύνασαι τοὺς μὲν ἤδη ἐλεήσαντας ἀποδέχεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλου: εἰς τὸ ποιεῖν προτρέπεσθαι, ἐν τῷ λέγειν τὸν μ΄. Εἶτα ἑὰν, πάνυ τὸν πόθον ἔχων εἰς τὸν Θεὸν, ἀκούσῃς τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὀνειδιζόντων, μὴ ταράσσου " ἀλλὰ συνιεὶς τὸν ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου πόθου ἀθάνατον καρπὸν, παρακάλει σαυτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν τῇ εἰς Θεὸν ἐλπίδι, καὶ ταύτῃ ἐπιχουφίζων καὶ χαταπραύνων τὰς ἐν τῷ βίῳ λύπας αὐτῆς, λέγε τὸν μαʼ ψαλμόν. Συνεχῶς δὲ ἀναμιμνῆσχεσθαι θέλων τὰς εὐεργεσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰς γενομέ-" νας εἰς τοὺς πατέρας, καὶ περι τῆς ἐξόδου τῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ τῆς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διαγωγῆς, πῶς τε ὁ μὲν Θεὸς ἀγαθὸς, οἱ δὲ ἄνθρωποι ἀχάριστοι, ἔχεις τὸν μγ΄, δυο δά Ὁ καὶ τὸν οζʼ, καὶ πηʼ, καὶ τὸν ρδ', καὶ τὸν ρε΄, καὶ ρος", καὶ ριγ'. Καταφυγὼν δὲ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ διασωθεὶς ἀπὸ τῶν περὶ σὲ γενομένων θλίψεων, ἐὰν θέλῃς εὐχαριστῆσαι τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ διηγήσασθαι τὴν εἰς σὲ γενομένην φιλανθρωπίαν, ἔχεις τὸν με΄. ### English translation (Claude) When you see yourself hated and persecuted for the truth by all, friends and kin alike, do not lose heart over them or over yourself; nor, if you see your acquaintances turning away, cower; but, withdrawing from them and looking to the things to come, sing the 30th. Seeing those who are baptized and redeemed from corruptible birth, and marvelling at God's love of mankind, sing over them the 31st. And when you wish to sing psalms with many, gathering righteous men and those upright in life, say yourself the 32nd. Having fallen among enemies and wisely escaped them, and avoided their plot, if you wish to give thanks, call together the meek and sing the 33rd before them. And if you see the lawless … eager for evil, do not think that wickedness is in them by nature, as the heretics say; but say the 35th, and you will see that they themselves are the cause of their sinning. [19] If you see the wicked doing many lawless things and exalting themselves against the humble, and you wish to warn some not to heed them or envy them, because they are quickly extinguished, say the 36th to yourself and to others. And you yourself, having resolved to attend to yourself, if you see the enemy attacking—for then he rises the more against such people—and you wish to anoint yourself against him, sing the 38th psalm. And if, while the enemies attack, you endure afflictions and wish to learn the benefit of endurance, sing the 39th psalm. Seeing many poor and needy, and wishing them to receive mercy, you can commend those who have already shown mercy and urge others to do it, by saying the 40th. Then, if, having a great longing for God, you hear the enemies reproaching you, do not be troubled; but understanding the immortal fruit of such longing, comfort your soul with hope in God, and, lightening and soothing by it the griefs of this life, say the 41st psalm. Wishing to remember continually the benefits God gave to the fathers, both the exodus from Egypt and the sojourn in the desert, and how God is good but men ungrateful, you have the 43rd, the 77th, the 88th, the 104th, the 105th, the 106th, and the 113th. Having fled to God and been saved from the afflictions that surrounded you, if you wish to give thanks to God and recount his love for you, you have the 45th. ### Scripture references - Ps 31:1 (30:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 32:1 (31:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 33:1 (32:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 34:1 (33:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 36:1 (35:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 37:1 (36:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 39:1 (38:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 40:1 (39:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 41:1 (40:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 42:1 (41:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 44:1 (43:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 78:1 (77:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 89:1 (88:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 105:1 (104:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 106:1 (105:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 107:1 (106:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 114:1 (113:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 46:1 (45:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The section numbered 19 in the edition lies inside this one; its beginning is marked [19] at the place where it probably begins (the boundary is approximate). Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). "As the heretics say" refers to those (such as the Manichaeans) who held evil to be a nature. A line of OCR debris is not translated (…). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 18 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/18). ## Letter to Marcellinus 20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-20 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms for repentance, slander, betrayal, hiding from a persecutor, escape, false friends, hypocrites, flight to the desert, and enemies who lie in wait. ### Greek text ᾿Αλλ' ἥμαρτες, καὶ ἐντραπεὶς μεταγινώσκεις καὶ ἐλεηθῆναι ἀξιοῖς, ἔχεις τοὺς τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως καὶ μετανοίας λόγους ἐν τῷ ν΄. Εἰ δὲ καὶ διεδλήθης πονηρῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ ὁρᾷς τὸν διάβολον καταχαυχώ-᾿ μενον, ἀναχώρει, καὶ λέγε καὶ σὺ τὰ ἐν τῷ να΄. Καὶ ὅτε μὲν διώχῃ, καὶ διαβάλλουσί τινες παραδοῦναί σε θέλοντες, ὡς οἱ Ζιφαῖοι καὶ οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι τὸν Δαβὶδ, ἀκηδιάσῃς, ἀλλὰ θαῤῥῶν τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ὑμνῶν αὐτὸν, λέγε τὰ ἐν τῷ νγ΄ καὶ να΄. Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ συνδράμῃ ὁ διώκων, καὶ μὴ γινώσκων εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὸ σπήΑὶ 8] λαιον ἐν ᾧ καὶ σὺ χρύπτη, μηδʼ οὕτως πτήξῃς " ἔχεις γὰρ τοὺς ἐν τοιαύτῃ ἀνάγκῃ χρησμοὺς εἰς παράχλῃησιν καὶ στηλογραφίας λόγους, τοὺς ἐν τῷ νςʼ καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῷ ρμα΄. ᾿Εὰν δὲ καὶ φυλαχθῆναι τὴν οἰκίαν χερΐῳ τὴν χάριν, ὡς ἐν στήλαις γράφων αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ, μνημόσυνον οὖσαν τοῦ μὴ διεφθάρθαι σε, καὶ λέγε τὰ ἐν τῷ νηʼ ψαλμῷ. Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ὀνειδίξζωσι θλέθοντες οἱ ἐχθροὶ, καὶ δοκοῦντες εἶναι φίλοι, καὶ λυπηθῇς ἐν τῇ ἀδολεσχίᾳ σο) πρὸς ὀλίγον, ἀλλὰ δύνασαι παραχαλεῖσθαι ὑμνῶν καὶ σὺ τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ λέγων τὰ ἐν τῷ νδ΄ ῥήματα. Καὶ πρὸς μὲν ὑποχρινομένους καὶ ἐν προσώπῳ χαυχωμένους λέγε πρὸς ἐντροπὴν ἐκείνων τὸν νζʼ ψαλδά ΘΟη ΞΟ] Δί ΟΠ τη οἱ ({{0}} Ἰηϑοτγι ρει αυΐ (ο ΔἸ καπὶ ᾿πἰ μοὶ τυἱ, οἱ αὶ νʼ ἀδη( δηνὶεὶ μόν" πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ὁρμῶντας ἀγρίως κατὰ σοῦ, καὶ θέλοντας λαβεῖν σον τὴν Ψυχὴν, ἀντίθες σὺ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν σου ὑποταγὴν, καὶ θάῤῥει. "Ὅσῳ γὰρ ὀχεῖνο! μαίνονται, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον Κυρίῳ, καὶ λέγε τὰ ἐν τῷ ξα', Καὶ ἐὰν μὲν διωκόμενος εἰς ἐρημίαν ἀπέλθης, μὴ φοβηθῇς ὡς μόνος ὧν ἐχεῖ, ἔχων δὲ τὸν Θεὺν ἐχεῖ καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὀρθρίζων ψάλλε τὸν ξβ΄. Ἐχφηδούντων δὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ μὴ παυομένων τοῦ ἐνεδρεύειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξερευνώντων πᾶν κατὰ σοῦ, κἂν πλῆθος ὦσι, μὴ ὑπενξῷς " βέλη γὰρ νηπίων ἔδονται τούτων αἱ πληγαὶ, ψάλλον«ὃς σοῦ τὸν ξγʼ, καὶ τὸν ξδ', καὶ ξθ', καὶ ο΄. ### English translation (Claude) Have you sinned, and, ashamed, do you repent and ask for mercy? You have the words of confession and repentance in the 50th. If you have been slandered before a wicked king and see the devil boasting, withdraw and say yourself the words in the 51st. And when you are persecuted, and some slander you, wishing to betray you, as the Ziphites and the foreigners did David, do not lose heart, but, trusting in the Lord and hymning him, say the words in the 53rd and the [55th]. And if the persecutor comes upon you and, not knowing, enters the cave in which you too are hiding, do not cower even so; for you have, for comfort in such need, the oracles and the words of inscription in the 56th and in the 141st. And if [one gives orders] that your house be watched, [and you escape, give thanks and], writing the grace in your soul as on pillars, a memorial that you were not destroyed, say the words in the 58th psalm. And if the enemies, afflicting you, reproach you, and those who seem to be friends as well, and you are grieved for a little while in your meditation, you can still be comforted by hymning God yourself and saying the words in the 54th. And against those who play the hypocrite and boast to your face, say, to shame them, the 57th psalm. … And against those who rush savagely at you and wish to take your life, set your submission to your God, and take courage; for the more they rage, the more [submit] to the Lord, and say the words in the 61st. And if, being persecuted, you go away into the desert, do not fear as though you were alone there; but, having God there, rise early to him and sing the 62nd. If the enemies terrify you and do not cease lying in wait, but search out everything against you, even if they are many, do not yield; for their blows will be like the arrows of children, as you sing the 63rd, the 64th, the 69th, and the 70th. ### Scripture references - 1 Sam 23:19: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Sam 24:3: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Sam 19:11: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 64:7 (63:8 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 51:1 (50:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 52:1 (51:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 54:1 (53:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 56:1 (55:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 57:1 (56:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 142:1 (141:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 59:1 (58:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 55:1 (54:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 58:1 (57:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 62:1 (61:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 63:1 (62:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 64:1 (63:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 65:1 (64:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 70:1 (69:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 71:1 (70:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). The psalm about the foreigners (Philistines) is the 55th (English 56) by its title; the scan reads "51st" there, apparently a misreading. Words lost in the scan are supplied in brackets from the sense; a line of OCR debris is not translated (…). 1 Sam 23:19; 1 Sam 21:10–15; 1 Sam 24:3; 1 Sam 19:11; Ps 64:7 (LXX 63:8, "arrows of children"). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 20 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/20). ## Letter to Marcellinus 21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-21 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms for praise, teaching on the resurrection, mercy, the prosperity of the wicked, God's anger, confession, shaming pagans and heretics, distress, the desecration of God's house, and feasts. ### Greek text Καὶ ὅταν μὲν ὑμνῆσαι βούλῃ τὸν Κύριον, ᾧδε τὰ ἐν τῷ ξδ΄. Ἐὰν δὲ κατηχῆσαι θέλῃς τινὰς περὶ ( ἀναστάσεως, ἀδε τὰ ἐν τῷ ξε΄. Οἰχτιρμοὺς δὲ αἰτῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὕμνει αὐτὸν, Ψάλλων τὸν ξς΄. Ὅτε δὲ βλέπεις τοὺς μὲν ἀσεβεῖς ἐν εἰρήνῃ εὐθηνου μένους καὶ χαταθυμίως ζῶντας τοὺς δὲ δικαίους θλιδομέκαὶ σὺ τὰ ἐν τῷ οϑ' ψαλμῷ. Καὶ ὅταν μὲν ὀργισθῇ ὁ Θεὺς ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν, ἔχεις εἰς παράκλησιν περὶ τούτου λόγους συνετοὺς τοὺς ἐν τῷ ογ΄ ὅτε δὲ χρεία σοι ἐξομολογήσεώς ἔστι, ψάλλε τὸν θ΄, οδ΄ καὶ [α', καὶ ρδʼ, καὶ ρε', καὶ ρς', καὶ οζ', καὶ ρι', καὶ ριζ', καὶ ρλε', καὶ ρλζ'. Καὶ δυσωπῆσαι μὲν θέλων τὰ τῶν Ἕλλήνων καὶ τὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν, ὅτι μὴ παρʼ αὑτοῖς ἕνι θεογνωσία, ἀλλʼ ἐν μόνῃ τῇ καθολικῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, δύνασαι νοῶν ἄδειν καὶ λέγειν τὰ ἐν τῷ οε΄. Τῶν δὲ ἐχθρῶν προχαταλαθόντων τὰς διεχφυγὰς, καὶ πάνυ θλιδόμενος, κἂν ταραχθῇς, μὴ ἀπελπίσῃς, ἀλλὰ εὕχου" καὶ ἐὰν χράζων εἰσαχουσθῇς, εὐχαρίστει τῷ Θεῷ, λέγων τὰ ἐν τῷ ος΄. Ἐὰν δὲ ἐχθρὼ ἐπεισέλθωσι, καὶ μιάνωσι τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ, τούς τε ἁγίους ἀποκτείνωσι, καὶ τὰ σώματα αὑτῶν ῥὀΐγωσι τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἵνα μὴ συνελχυσθεὶς χαταπτήξῃς αὐτῶν τὴν ὠμότητα, σύμπασχε μὲν τοῖς πάσχουσιν, ἐντύγχανε δὲ τῷ Θεῷ, λέγων τὸν ογ χϑ'. Ἕν ἑορτῇ δὲ, θέλων σα: τῷ Κυρίῳ, συγκαλέσας τοὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ δούλους, ψάλλε τὰ ἐν τῷ π'ʼ καὶ ### English translation (Claude) And when you wish to hymn the Lord, sing the words in the 64th. If you wish to instruct some about the resurrection, sing the words in the 65th. Asking mercies from God, hymn him, singing the 66th. When you see the ungodly prospering in peace and living as they please, while the righteous are afflicted, … yourself the words in the … psalm. And when God is angry with his people, you have, for comfort about this, wise words in the 73rd. When you have need of confession, sing the 9th, the 74th, the [91st], the 104th, the 105th, the 106th, the [107th], the 110th, the 117th, the 135th, and the 137th. And wishing to shame the Greeks and the heretics, that the knowledge of God is not among them but only in the catholic Church, you can sing with understanding and say the words in the 75th. When the enemies have cut off the ways of escape, and you are greatly afflicted, even if you are troubled, do not despair, but pray; and if, crying out, you are heard, give thanks to God, saying the words in the 76th. And if enemies break in and defile the house of God, and kill the saints, and throw their bodies to the birds of heaven, then, so that you are not drawn in and do not cower before their cruelty, suffer with those who suffer, and appeal to God, saying the [78th]. At a feast, wishing to sing to the Lord, call together the servants of God and sing the words in the 80th and … ### Scripture references - Ps 65:1 (64:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 66:1 (65:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 67:1 (66:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 74:1 (73:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 9:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 75:1 (74:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 92:1 (91:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 105:1 (104:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 106:1 (105:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 107:1 (106:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 108:1 (107:1 LXX): allusion, low confidence - Ps 111:1 (110:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 118:1 (117:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 136:1 (135:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 138:1 (137:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 76:1 (75:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 77:1 (76:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 79:1 (78:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 81:1 (80:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). Several numerals are lost or misread in the scan: the psalm on the prosperity of the wicked (the 72nd, English 73, in the standard text) is lost in a gap; the numbers in brackets are read from damaged letters; the psalm on the desecrated temple is the 78th (English 79). The section breaks off at the end. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 21 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/21). ## Letter to Marcellinus 22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-22 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms for when enemies threaten God's house, for longing for his dwelling, for release from captivity, against schisms, for confidence in God, and for the Sabbath and the Lord's day. ### Greek text Τῶν δὲ ἐχθρῶν πάλιν ἐπισυναχθέντων πάντων πανταχόθεν, καὶ ἀπειλούντων κατὰ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ Θεοῦ, συνθήκας ποιούγτων κατὰ τῆς εὐπεθείας. αιδϑοὶ ΔἢΑ ἵνα μὴ ἀθυμήσῃς διὰ τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τὴν δυναστείαν αὐτῶν, ἔχεις ὥσπερ ἄγκυραν ἐλπίδος τὰ ἐν τῷ πβ' ῥήματα. Καὶ ἐὰν, βλέπων τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὰ αἰώνια αὐτοῦ σκηνώματα, τὸν πόθον ἔχῃς εἰς αὐτὰ, ὡς εἶχεν ὁ ᾿Απόστολος, λέγε καὶ σὺ τὸν πγ΄ ψαλμόν. Παυσαμένης δέ ποτε τῆς ὀργῆς, καὶ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας λυθεέσης, ἐὰν θέχῃς εὐχαριστῇσαι, ἔχεις εἰς τὸ λέγειν τὰ ἐν τῷ πδ' καὶ ρχε΄. Καὶ τὴν μὲν διαφορὰν τῆς καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας πρὸς τὰ σχίσματα ἐὰν θέλῃς. γινώσκειν, καὶ ἐντρέπειν ἐκείνους, δύνασαι λέγειν τὰ ἐν τῷ πεςʼ γεγραμμένα. Παραθαρσῦναι θέλων σεαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς ἑτέρους εἰς θεοσέβειαν, καὶ ὡς εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἐλπὶς οὔτε καταισχύνει, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄφοδον τὴν Ψυχὴν κατασκευάζει, αἴνει τὸν Θεὸν, λέγων τὰ ἐν τῷ μ΄. Ψάλαι θέλεις τῷ Σαββάτῳ ; ἔχεις τὸν ἰ.α΄. δβθγ Βογιίηϊοῦ ἀϊθ αρθὲ κγ', Εὐχαριστῇσαι θέλεις τῇ Κυριακῇ; ἔχεις τὸν ### English translation (Claude) And when the enemies are again gathered together from all sides and threaten the house of God, making covenants against piety, … lest you lose heart because of their number and power, you have, as an anchor of hope, the words in the 82nd. And if, seeing the house of God and his eternal tabernacles, you have a longing for them, as the apostle had, say yourself the 83rd psalm. When at last the wrath has ceased and the captivity been loosed, if you wish to give thanks, you have to say the words in the 84th and the 125th. And if you wish to know the difference between the catholic Church and the schisms, and to shame them, you can say what is written in the 86th. Wishing to encourage yourself and others to the worship of God, and [to show] that hope in God does not put to shame but makes the soul fearless, praise God, saying the words in the [90th]. Do you wish to sing on the Sabbath? You have the [91st]. … Do you wish to give thanks on the Lord's day? You have the [23rd]. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 5:1: allusion, low confidence - Rom 5:5: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 83:1 (82:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 84:1 (83:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 85:1 (84:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 126:1 (125:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 87:1 (86:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 91:1 (90:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 92:1 (91:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 24:1 (23:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). The numerals for the psalm of confidence (the 90th, English 91), the Sabbath psalm (the 91st, English 92, titled "for the Sabbath day"), and the Lord's day psalm (the 23rd, English 24, titled "of the first day of the week" in the Greek) are damaged in the scan and given in brackets; a line of OCR debris is not translated (…). 2 Cor 5:1–2; Rom 5:5. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 22 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/22). ## Letter to Marcellinus 23 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-23 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms for the days of the week—Monday, Friday (the day of the cross), Wednesday (the day of betrayal)—and for the rebuilding of God's house, the Lord's reign, instruction, and approach to the Judge. ### Greek text ἾΑσαι θέλεις δευτέρᾳ Σαββάτων ; λέγε τὰ ἐν τῷ μζ΄. Αἰνέσαι βούλει τῇ Παρασχενῇ ; ἔχεις τὸν αἷἵνον ἐν τῷ ιβ΄. Τότε γὰρ, γενομένου τοῦ σταυροῦ, ὁ οἶκος τοὔ Θεοῦ χοδομήθη, χαίΐίτοι τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπιχειρὴσάντων χωλῦσαιʼ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπινίκιον ἄδειν τῷ Θεῷ πρέπει τότε τὰ εἰρημένα ἐν τῷ ..8΄. Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ, αἰχμαλωσίας γενομένης, χαθαιρεθῇ ὁ οἶκος, καὶ πάλιν οἰχοδομηθῇ, ᾧδΞ τὰ ἐν τῷ νε΄. Τῆς δὲ γῆς κατάστασιν λαθούσης ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμούντων, καὶ λοιπὸν ἡρεμούσης, καὶ βασιλεύσαντος τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐὰν θέλῃς σαι περὶ τούτου, ἔχεις τὸν ς΄. Θέλεις τῇ τετράδι τοῦ Σαδθάτον ψάλλειν ; ἔχεις τὸν ἴγ΄ " τότε γὰρ παραδοθεὶς ὁ Κύριος ἐχδιχεῖν ἤρξατο τὴν κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου δίκην, καὶ θριαμδεύειν αὐτὸν παῤῥησίᾳ. τʼ ἂν οὖν, ἀναγινώσκων τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, ἴδῃς τῇ Ἰουδαίους κατὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ὁρῶν αὐτὸν τότε παῤῥηπσιαζόμενον ἐν τῇ κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐχδιχία, ψάλλε τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ χ΄. Πάλιν βλέπων τὴν εἰς πάντα πρόνοιαν τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ τὴν κυριότητα αὐτοῦ, καὶ θέλων χατηχῇσάί τινας εἷς τὴν αὖτοῦ πίστιν καὶ ὑπακοὴν, πείθων αὐτοὺς πρῶτον ἐξομολογεῖσθαι, ψάλλε τὸν Καὶ ἐὰν, μαθὼν αὐτοῦ τὴν χριτιχὴν δύναμιν, καὶ ὅτι ἐλέῳ τὴν κρίσιν χερά» σας κρίνει ὁ Κύριος, θελήσῃς αὐτῷ προσελθεῖν ἔχεις εἰς τοῦτο λόγους τοὺς ἕν τῷ ρ΄. ### English translation (Claude) Do you wish to sing on the second day of the week? Say the words in the 47th. Do you wish to praise on the Day of Preparation? You have the praise in the [92nd]. For then, when the crucifixion had taken place, the house of God was built, although the enemies tried to prevent it; and therefore it is fitting to sing to God then a song of victory, the words in the [92nd]. And if, a captivity having occurred, the house is destroyed and built again, sing the words in the [95th]. When the land has gained stability, freed from those who war against it, and is at rest, and the Lord reigns, if you wish to sing about this, you have the [96th]. Do you wish to sing psalms on the fourth day of the week? You have the [93rd]; for then the Lord, having been betrayed, began to exact the penalty from death and to triumph over it openly. So when, reading the Gospel, you see the Jews [plotting] against the Lord, seeing him then speaking boldly in his vengeance against the devil on your behalf, sing the words in that same psalm. Again, seeing the Lord's providence over all things and his lordship, and wishing to instruct some in faith in him and obedience, persuading them first to confess, sing the [99th]. And if, having learned his power of judgment, and that the Lord judges mixing judgment with mercy, you wish to come to him, you have for this the words in the 100th. ### Scripture references - Ps 48:1 (47:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 93:1 (92:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 96:1 (95:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 97:1 (96:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 94:1 (93:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 100:1 (99:1 LXX): allusion, low confidence - Ps 101:1 (100:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). In this part of the scan the Greek numeral sign for 90 (ϟ) has dropped out, so the numbers in brackets are read as 90 plus the surviving units, which fits the Greek titles of these psalms (e.g. the 92nd "for the day before the Sabbath," the 93rd "for the fourth day of the week"). "Day of Preparation" is Friday. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 23 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/23). ## Letter to Marcellinus 24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-24 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms for discouragement, blessing God, praise, faith in prayer, spiritual progress (the Songs of Ascents), repentance after captivity to sinful thoughts, testing, and a tyrant enemy. ### Greek text ᾿Ασθενοῦς δὲ ἡμῶν τῆς φύσεως οὔσης, ἐὰν διὰ τὰς συνοχὰς τοῦ βίου ὡς πτωχὸς γενόμενος ἀχηδιάσῃς ποτὲ, καὶ θέλῃς παραχληθῆναι, ἔχεις τὸν ραʼ ψαλμόν. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ πρέπει διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν εὐχαριστεῖν ἡμᾶς τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτε θέλεις εὐλογεῖν αὐτὸν, ἔχεις εἰς τοῦτο προτρέπεσθαι σαυτοῦ τὴν Ψυχὴν, καὶ λέγειν τὸν ρβ' καὶ ργ΄. Αἰνεῖν θέλεις τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ εἰδέναι πῶς καὶ ἐπὶ τίνι δεῖ αἰνεῖν, καὶ τίνας πρέπει λέγειν τὸν αἶνον ; ἔχεις τὸν ρδ', καὶ τὸν ῥς", καὶ ρλδ', καὶ ρμε', καὶ τὸν ρμς΄, καὶ τὸν ρμζ΄, καὶ τὸν ρμη', καὶ τὸν ρν΄. Ἔχεις πίστιν, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος, καὶ πιστεύεις οἷς εὐχόμενος λαλεῖς ; λέγε τὸν ριεʼ., ᾿Αλλὰ ἀναβαίνοντα σαυτὸν αἴσθῃ ταῖς πράξεσιν, ὥστε λέγεῖν " Τὰ μὲν ὀπίσω ἐπιλανθάνομαι, τοῖς δὲ ἔμ» προσθεν ἐπεχτείγομαι; ἔχεις καθʼ ἐκάστην προχοἣν εἰς τὸ λέγειν τὰς τεʼ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν δάς. '! Ἠχμαλωτεύθης ὑπὸ ἀλλοτρίων λογισμῶν, καὶ ἥσθου σεαυτὸν ἀπαγόμενον, καὶ μετέγνως, παῦσαι τοῦ λοιποῦ, καὶ μείνας ἐφʼ οἷς ἀμαρτάνοντα σεαυτὸν χατἔλαδες, κάθου, καὶ χλαῦσον καὶ σὺ, ὡς πεποίηκεν ὁ «ὅτε λαὸς, λέγων τὰ ἐν τῷ ρὰλς΄. Τοὺς δὲ πειρασμοὺς ἡγούμενος εἶναί σου δοχι μὴν, μετὰ τοὺς πειρασμοὺς ἐὰν εὐχαριστῆσαι θελήσῃς, ἔχεις τὸν ρλη ψαλμόν. Συνέχῃ πάλιν ἀπὸ ἐχθρῶν, καὶ ῥυσθῆναι θέλεις ; λέγε δὲ καὶ προσεύξασθαι θέλεις ψάλλε τὸν ε΄ καὶ ρμβ'. Ἐχθρὸς τύραννος ἐπανέστη τῷ λαῷ καί σοι, ὥσπερ Γολιὰθ τῷ Δαόδὶδ, ἀλλὰ πίστευε καὶ σὺ, ὡς ὁ Δαθὶδ, καὶ λέγε τὰ ἐν τῷ ### English translation (Claude) Since our nature is weak, if through the pressures of life you become like a poor man and lose heart at times, and wish to be comforted, you have the 101st psalm. And since we ought to give thanks to God through all things and in all, when you wish to bless him, you have, to rouse your soul to this, the 102nd and the 103rd to say. Do you wish to praise God and to know how and for what one should praise him, and what words of praise are fitting? You have the 104th, the 106th, the 134th, the 145th, the 146th, the 147th, the 148th, and the 150th. Do you have faith, as the Lord said, and do you believe what you say when you pray? Say the 115th. Do you perceive yourself ascending in your deeds, so as to say, "Forgetting what lies behind, I stretch forward to what lies ahead"? You have, for each advance, the fifteen Songs of Ascents to say. Have you been taken captive by alien thoughts, and felt yourself carried away, and repented? Stop for the future, and, remaining where you caught yourself sinning, sit down and weep yourself too, as the people did, saying the words in the 136th. Considering temptations to be your testing, if after the temptations you wish to give thanks, you have the 138th psalm. Are you again hemmed in by enemies and do you wish to be rescued? Say … And do you wish to pray? Sing the 5th and the 142nd. A tyrant enemy has risen up against the people and against you, as Goliath did against David; but believe yourself, as David did, and say the words in the … ### Scripture references - Mark 11:22: allusion, medium confidence - Phil 3:13: quotation, high confidence - 1 Sam 17:4: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 120:1 (119:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 102:1 (101:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 103:1 (102:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 104:1 (103:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 105:1 (104:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 107:1 (106:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 135:1 (134:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 146:1 (145:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 147:1 (146:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 147:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 148:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 150:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 116:1 (115:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 137:1 (136:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 139:1 (138:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 5:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 143:1 (142:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). Mark 11:22–24; Phil 3:13; 1 Sam 17. The fifteen Songs of Ascents are Psalms 119–133 in the Greek (English 120–134). Words lost in the scan are marked …; the section breaks off before the last number (the 143rd, English 144, in the standard text). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 24 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/24). ## Letter to Marcellinus 25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-25 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms for blessing God's goodness, for singing to the Lord, for one raised to office among his brethren (the 151st), and for psalms with the Alleluia response. ### Greek text Εἶτα θαυμάζων τὰς εἰς πάντας τὸῦ Θεοῦ εὐεργεσίας, καὶ μνημονεύων τῆς τε εἰς σὲ καὶ εἰς πάντας γενομένης ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ, ἐὰν θέλης διὰ ταῦτα βίους ἴῃ ανίἃ ΟοΙ] αι, οἵ ΟΥρᾶ οὔθ ὈΟηϊ δια, εὐλογεῖν τὸν Θεὸν, λέγε τὰ τοῦ Δαβὶδ ῥήματα, ἅπερ καὶ αὐτὸς εἶπεν ἐν τῷ ρμδ' ψαλμῷ. ἾΑσαι θέλεις τῷ Κυρίῳ; ἔχεις εἰς τὸ λέγειν τὸν .ιβ' καὶ ζ΄. Ἐὰν μικρὸς ὧν προχριθῇς εἰς ἀρχὴν τινα τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου, μὴ ἑπαίρου κατʼ αὐτῶν ἀλλὰ τῷ ἐχλεξαμένῳ Κυρίῳ διδοὺς δόξαν, ψάλλε καὶ σὺ τὸν ρναʼ ἴδιον ὄντα τοῦ Δαβίδ. ᾿Αλλὰ θέλεις Ψάλλειν ἐπαχοὴν ἔχοντας τὸ ᾿Αλληλούϊα, ἔχεις τὸν ρδ', ρεʼ, ρς", ριαʼ, ριβʼ, ριγ', ### English translation (Claude) Then, marvelling at God's benefits to all and remembering his goodness that has come to you and to all, if you wish for this reason to bless God, say the words of David which he himself spoke in the 144th psalm. Do you wish to sing to the Lord? You have the [92nd] and the [97th] to say. If, though small, you are preferred to some office among your brethren, do not exalt yourself over them, but, giving glory to the Lord who chose you, sing yourself the 151st, which is David's own. And do you wish to sing psalms that have the response "Alleluia"? You have the 104th, 105th, 106th, 111th, 112th, 113th, … ### Scripture references - Ps 145:1 (144:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 93:1 (92:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 98:1 (97:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 105:1 (104:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 106:1 (105:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 107:1 (106:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 112:1 (111:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 113:1 (112:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 114:1 (113:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Ps 151 1 (Psalm 151): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). Psalm 151 ("I was small among my brothers") is in the Greek Psalter but outside the Hebrew and Protestant canon. The bracketed numbers are read with the lost numeral sign for 90 restored; a line of OCR debris is not translated; the section breaks off in the list. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 25 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/25). ## Letter to Marcellinus 26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-26 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The psalms most fully about Christ: his generation, cross, betrayal, kingdom and judgment, resurrection, ascension, and the benefits of his passion. ### Greek text Ὅτς δὲ θέλῃς κατʼ ἰδίαν τὰ περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ψάλλειν, ἐν ἐκάστῳ μὲν σχεδὸν εὑρίσκεις ψαλμῷ τὰ «οιαῦταʼ ἔχεις δὲ μάλιστα τὸν μὲν μδ΄ καὶ τὸν ρθʼ δηλοῦντας τὴν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτοῦ γνησίαν γέννησιν καὶ τὴν ἔνσαρκον αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν" τὸν δὲ χα' καὶ προλέγοντας περὶ τοῦ θείου σταυροῦ, καὶ ὅσην δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐπιβουλὴν ἀνεδέξατο, καὶ πόσα πέπονθε" καὶ τὸν μὲν β' καὶ ρηʼ σημαίνοντας τὴν τὸ τῶν Ἴουδαίων ἐπιβουλὴν καὶ πονηρίαν, καὶ τὴν Ἰούδᾳ τοῦ Ἰσχαριώτου προδοσίαν" τόν τε χ', καὶ μθ', καὶ οα' , (καλὴ δηλοῦντας τὴν τε βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ καὶ χριτι4 χὴν δύναμιν, καὶ τὴν εἰς ἡμᾶς αὐτοῦ πάλιν ἔνσαρκον παρουείαν, καὶ τὴν κλῆσιν τῶν ἐθνῶν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ιε΄ δείκνυσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν" ὁ δὲ κγ' καὶ μςʼ ἀπαγγέλλουσι τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἄνοδον αὐτοῦ " τὸν δὲ κβ΄, καὶ ιε΄, καὶ ὑζʼ, καὶ μη ἀναγινώσκων, θεωρῆσαι δυνήσῃ τὰς εἰς ἡμᾶς τοῦ Σωτῆρος διὰ τῶν παθημάτων αὐτοῦ γενομένας εὐεργεσίας. ᾿ ### English translation (Claude) When you wish to sing by yourself the things concerning the Saviour, you find such things in almost every psalm; but you have especially the 44th and the 109th, which declare his genuine generation from the Father and his coming in the flesh; and the 21st and [the 68th], which foretell the divine cross, and how great a plot he endured for us, and how much he suffered; and the 2nd and the 108th, which signify the plot and wickedness of the Jews and the betrayal by Judas Iscariot; and the 20th, the 49th, and the 71st, which declare his kingdom and his power of judgment, and his coming to us again in the flesh, and the calling of the nations. The 15th shows his resurrection from the dead; the 23rd and the 46th proclaim his ascent into heaven; and reading the [92nd], the [95th], the [97th], and the [98th], you will be able to behold the benefits that came to us from the Saviour through his sufferings. ### Scripture references - Ps 45:1 (44:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 22:1 (21:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 69:1 (68:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 2:1: allusion, high confidence - Ps 109:1 (108:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 21:1 (20:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 50:1 (49:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 72:1 (71:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 16:1 (15:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 24:1 (23:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 47:1 (46:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 93:1 (92:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 96:1 (95:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 98:1 (97:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 99:1 (98:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Greek numbering (tags give English numbering). Bracketed numbers are read from damaged numerals (the sign for 90 has dropped out); "the 68th" is lost in the scan and supplied from the sense (the passion psalm). The phrase "coming to us again in the flesh" is Athanasius's wording as printed. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 26 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/26). ## Letter to Marcellinus 27 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-27 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Psalms are sung not for pleasure but so that God is praised with full voice and so that the singer's soul is brought into harmony with itself. ### Greek text Τοιοῦτος μὲν οὖν ἐστι καὶ ὁ χαρακτὴρ εἰς ὠφέλειαν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐκ τῆς βίβλου τῶν Ψαλμῶν, Ἰχούσης αὐτῆς ἰδίους ψαλμοὺς, καὶ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ὃς περὶ τῆς ἐν σώματι παρουσίας τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν καὶ Σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ πυχνοτέρας τὰς προφητείας, καθὰ προεῖπον. Διὰ τί δὲ μετὰ μέλους καὶ δῇς ψάλλονται οἱ τοιοῦτοι λόγοι, ἀναγκαῖον μηδὲ τοῦτο παρελθεῖν. Τινὲς μὲν γὰρ τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν ἀκεραίων, καίσοι πιστευόντων εἶναι θεόπνευστα τὰ ῥήματα, ὅμως νομίζουσι διὰ τὸ εὔφωνον καὶ τέρψεως ἔνεκεν τῆς ἀκοῆς μελῳδεῖσθαι τοὺς ψαλμούς. Οὐχ ἔστι δὲ οὕτως" οὐ γὰρ τὸ ἡδὺ καὶ πιθανὸν ἐζήτησεν ἡ Γραφή “ ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο ὠφελείας ἕνεκεν τῆς ψυχῆς τετύπωται διὰ πάντα μὲν, μάλιστα δὲ διὰ δύο ταῦτα " πρῶτον μὲν, ὅτι ἔπρεπε τὴν θείαν Γραφὴν μὴ μόνον τῇ συνεχείᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ κατὰ πλάτος φωνῇ τὸν Θεὸν ὑμνεῖν. ΠΟΙ φοιῬγοξεθ, δορὰ ἰῃ ]Ἰαιπἀϊη6 τοοῖὶδ Ὠεοῦπὶ ἃ Κατὰ συνέχειαν μὲν οὖν εἴρηται, οἷά ἐστι τὰ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, καὶ τὰ ἱστορούμενα πάντα, μετὰ τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκης ᾿ κατὰ πλάτος δὲ λέγεται, οἷά ἐστι τὰ τῶν ψαλμῶν καὶ ᾧδῶν καὶ ἀσμάτων ῥήματα καὶ οὕτως γὰρ σωθήσεται τὸ ἐξ ὅλης ἰσχύος καὶ δυνάμεως ἀγαπᾷν τὸν Θεὸν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Δεύτερον δὲ, ὅτι, ὥσπερ ἁρμονία τοὺς αὐλοὺς συντιθεῖσα μίαν τὴν συμφωνίαν ἀποτελεῖ, οὕτως, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ διάφορα κινήματα φαίνεται, καὶ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῇ τὸ λογίζεσθαι, καὶ τὸ ἐπιθυμεῖν, καὶ τὸ θυμοειδὲς, ἐκ δὲ τῆς τούτων κινήσεως καὶ ἡ τῶν μελῶν γίνεται τοῦ σώματος ἐνέργεια, βούλεται ὁ λόγος μὴ ἀσύμφωνον εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἑαυτῷ, μηδὲ διίστασθαι πρὸς ἑαυτόν" ὥστε λογίζεσθαι μὲν τὰ βέλτιστα, πράττειν δὲ τῷ θυμῷ τὰ φαῦλα, ὡς ὁ Πιλᾶτος λέγων : αυὐἱ μέν“ Οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν εὑρίσκω εἰς αὐτόν" συντρέχων δὲ τῇ γνώμῃ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἢ ἐπιθυμεῖν μὲν τὰ φαῦλα, μὴ δύνασθαι δὲ πράττειν, ὡς οἱ κατὰ ἣ πάλιν μὴ μοιχεύειν μὲν, κλέπτειν δέ" ἣ μὴ κλέπτειν μὲν, φονεύειν δέ" ἣ μὴ φονεύειν μὲν, βλασφημεῖν δέ. ### English translation (Claude) Such, then, is the character of the book of Psalms for people's benefit: it has psalms of its own, and in the rest, as I said before, rather frequent prophecies about the bodily coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Why such words are sung with melody and song, it is necessary not to pass over either. Some of the simple among us, though they believe the words to be inspired, nevertheless think that the psalms are sung for the sake of euphony and to delight the ear. But it is not so; for Scripture did not seek what is sweet and persuasive, but this too was ordained for the benefit of the soul, for every reason, but especially for these two. First, because it was fitting that the divine Scripture should hymn God not only in continuous speech but also in broad voice. … In continuous speech are said such things as those of the law and the prophets and all the histories, together with the New Testament; in broad voice are said such things as the words of psalms, odes, and songs; and so it will be ensured that people love God with all their strength and power. Second, because, just as harmony, joining the pipes together, produces a single concord, so, since different movements appear in the soul—there is in it reasoning, desiring, and the spirited part, and from their motion comes also the activity of the body's members—the Word wishes a man not to be out of tune with himself, nor at variance with himself, so as to reason the best things but do base things in passion, like Pilate, who said, "I find no fault in him," yet ran along with the opinion of the Jews; or to desire base things but be unable to do them, like those who [plotted] against …; or again not to commit adultery but to steal; or not to steal but to murder; or not to murder but to blaspheme. ### Scripture references - Mark 12:30: allusion, medium confidence - John 18:38: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Mark 12:30; John 18:38. "Continuous speech" and "broad voice" contrast plain reading with extended, chanted delivery. A line of OCR debris is not translated, and a few words are lost after "like those who … against" (the standard text names the elders who plotted against Susanna). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 27 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/27). ## Letter to Marcellinus 28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-28 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Melodious psalmody is an image of the harmony of a soul guided by the mind of Christ; the Psalms calm, heal, correct, and strengthen it. ### Greek text χη". Ἵνʼ οὖν μὴ τοιαύτη τις ἐν ἡμῖν ταραχὴ γίνηται, θέλει τὴν ψυχὴν ὁ λόγος ἔχουσαν Χριστοῦ νοῦν, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ᾿Απόστολος, τούτῳ καθηγεμόνι χρήσασθαι, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τῶν μὲν ἐν αὐτῇ παθητιχῶν κρατεῖν, τῶν δὲ τοῦ σώματος μελῶν ἄρχειν, εἰς τὸ ὑπακούειν τῷ λόγῳʼ ἵνα, ὡς ἐν ἀρμονῖ τὸ πλῆκτρον, οὕτως αὐτὸς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ψαλτήριον γενόμενος, καὶ τῷ πνεύματι προσέχων ὁλοχλήρως, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς μέλεσι καὶ τοῖς χινήμασιν ὑπαχούῃ, καὶ δουλεύῃ τῷ βουλήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τῆς δὲ τοιαύτης τῶν λογισμῶν ἀταραξίας καὶ ἀκύμονος καταστάσεως εἰκὼν καὶ τύπος ἐστὶν ἡ τῶν Ψαλμῶν ἐμμελὴς ἀνάγνωσις. "Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς νοήματα γνωρίζομεν καὶ σημαίνομὲν διʼ ὧν προφέρομεν λόγων, οὕτως, τῆς πνευματικῆς ἐν ψυχῇ ἁρμονίας τὴν ἐκ τῶν λόγων μελῳδίαν σύμθολον εἶναι θέλων ὁ Κύριος, τετύπωχεν ἐμμελῶς τὰς ᾧδὰς ψάλλεσθαι, καὶ τοὺς ψαλμοὺς μετʼ δῆς ἀναγινώσχεσθαι. Καὶ τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ἡ ἐπιθυμία ([0) τῆς ψυχῆς, τὸ καλῶς αὐτὴν διακεῖσθαι, ὡς γέγραπται' Εὐθυμεῖ τις ἐν ὑμῖν; ψα.1.λέτω. Οὕτως τὸ μὲν ἐν αὐτῇ ταραχῶδες καὶ τραχὺ καὶ ἄταχτον ἐξτὸ δὲ λυποῦν θεραπεύεται, ψαλλόντων ἡμῶν" ἽἼνα τί περίλυπος εἶ, ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ ἵγα ῃ τί συνταράσσεις με; Καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐσφαλμένον ἐπιγνώσεται λέγουσαʼ Ἐμοῦ δὲ παρὰ μικρὸν ἐσα.λεύθησαν οἱ πόδες" τὸ δὲ φοδηθὲν ἐπιῤῥώσει τῇ ἐλπίδι ἐν τῷ λέγεινʼ Κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθὸς, καὶ οὗ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος. ### English translation (Claude) So that no such confusion may arise in us, the Word wishes the soul that has the mind of Christ, as the apostle said, to use it as its guide, and by it to master the passions within it and to rule the members of the body, so that they obey reason; so that, as the plectrum in harmony, so the man himself, having become a psaltery and attending wholly to the Spirit, may obey in all his members and movements and serve the will of God. Of such calmness of thoughts and waveless condition the melodious reading of the Psalms is an image and type. For just as we make known and signify the thoughts of the soul by the words we utter, so the Lord, wishing the melody of the words to be a symbol of the spiritual harmony in the soul, has ordained that the odes be sung melodiously and the psalms read with song. And this is the desire of the soul: to be in a good state, as it is written: "Is anyone among you cheerful? Let him sing psalms." So what is turbulent, rough, and disordered in it is smoothed out, and what grieves is healed, as we sing: "Why are you very sorrowful, my soul, and why do you trouble me?" And it will recognize where it has stumbled, saying: "But my feet had almost slipped"; and what is afraid it will strengthen with hope by saying: "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me." ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 2:16: allusion, high confidence - Jas 5:13: quotation, high confidence - Ps 42:5 (41:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 73:2 (72:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 118:6 (117:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 2:16; Jas 5:13; Ps 42:5 (LXX 41:6); Ps 73:2 (LXX 72:2); Ps 118:6 (LXX 117:6). A few letters lost in the scan after "what is turbulent, rough, and disordered in it" are rendered by the sense ("is smoothed out"). ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 28 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/28). ## Letter to Marcellinus 29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-29 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms must be sung with understanding; then, like David's playing before Saul, they bring the soul into order and calm, as the body's members become strings for the Spirit. ### Greek text χθʼ, Οἱ μὲν οὖν μὴ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἀναγινώσκοντες τὰς θείας ᾧδὰς οὐ συνετῶς ψάλλουσιν, ἀλλʼ ἑαυτοὺς μὲν τέρπουσιν, ἔχουσι δὲ μέμψιν, ὅτι Οὐχ ὡραῖος αἷγος ἐν στόματι ἁμαρτω,λοῦ" οἱ δὲ κατὰ τὸν προειρημένον τρόπον ψάλλοντες, ὥστε τὴν μελῳδίαν τῶν ῥημάτων ἐκ τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὸ πνεῦμα συμφωνίας προσφέρεσθαι, οἱ κοιοῦτοι Ψάλλουσι μὲν τῇ γλώσσῃ, Ψάλλοντες δὲ καὶ τῷ νοῖ, 5|0] οὐ μόνον ἑαυτοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς θέλοντας ἀκούειν αὐτῶν μεγάλως ὠφελοῦσιν. Ὁ γοῦν μακάριος Δαβὶδ, οὕτως χαταψάλλων τοῦ Σαοὺλ, αὐτὸ: εὐηρέστει Θεῷ, καὶ τὸν τάραχον καὶ τὸ μανιχὸν πάθος τοῦ τ; Σαοὺλ ἀπέλαυνε, καὶ γαληνιᾶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ παρεσχεύαζεν. Οὕτως οἱ ἱερεῖς ψάλλοντες, εἰς ἀταραξίαν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν λαῶν καὶ εἰς ὁμόνοιαν αὐτὰς «ὧν ἐν οὐρανοῖς χορευόντων προσεχαλοῦντο. Τὸ ἄρα μετὰ μέλους λέγεσθαι τοὺς ψαλμοὺς οὐχ ἔστιν εὖὕφωνίας σπουδὴ, ἀλλὰ τεκμήριον τῆς ἁρμονίας τῶν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ λογισμῶν. Καὶ ἡ ἐμμελὴς δὲ ἀνάγνωσις αὐμθολόν ἔστι τῆς εὐρύθμου καὶ ἁχειμάστου καταστάσεως τῆς διανοίας. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ αἰνεῖν τὸν Θεὸν χυμόάλοις εὐήχοις καὶ κιθάρᾳ καὶ δεχαχόρδῳ Ψαλσθα! μὲν νομίμως τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος: ὡς χορδὰς, «οὺς δὲ λογισμοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς ὡς; χύμθαλα γίνεσθαι, καὶ λοιπὸν τῇ ἠχῇ καὶ τῷ νεύματι τοῦ πνεύματος ; καῦτα πάντα κινεῖσθαι καὶ ζῆν' ὥττε, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, τῷ πνεύματι τὸν ἄγθρωπον ζὴν μὲν, καὶ τὰς πράξεις τοῦ σώματος θανατοῦν. Οὕτως γὰρ καὶ καλῶς ψάλλων δυθμίζει τὴν Ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀνισότητος εἰς ἰσότητα ἄγειʼ ὥστε ἐν τῷ κατὰ φύσιν αὐτὴν ἑστηχυΐαν μὴ πτοεῖσθαι ὑπό τινος, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον εὐφαντάσιον γίνεσθαι, καὶ πλέον αὐτὴν λαμθδάνειν πόθον τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν. Τῇ γὰρ τῶν ῥημάτων μελῳδίᾳ συνδιατιθεμένη ἐπιλανθάνεται τῶν παθῶν, καὶ χαίρουσα βλέπει πρὸς τὸν νοῦν τὸν ἐν Χριστῷ, λογιξομένη ### English translation (Claude) Those, then, who do not read the divine songs in this way do not sing with understanding, but please themselves and incur blame, because "praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner"; but those who sing in the way described, so that the melody of the words is offered from the rhythm of the soul and its concord with the Spirit, sing with the tongue, and singing with the mind as well, they greatly benefit not only themselves but also those who wish to hear them. Thus blessed David, singing so before Saul, was himself pleasing to God, and drove away Saul's turmoil and frenzied passion, and made his soul calm. So too the priests, singing psalms, called the souls of the peoples to calm and to concord with those who dance in heaven. To speak the psalms with melody, then, is not zeal for euphony but a token of the harmony of the thoughts in the soul; and melodious reading is a symbol of the well-ordered and storm-free state of the mind. For to praise God on well-sounding cymbals and harp and the ten-stringed psaltery is for the members of the body to become, as it were, strings, rightly tuned, and the thoughts of the soul cymbals, and then for all these to be moved and live by the sound and the nod of the Spirit; so that, as it is written, a man lives by the Spirit and puts to death the deeds of the body. For so one who sings well brings his soul into rhythm and leads it, as it were, from unevenness to evenness, so that, standing in its natural state, it is not frightened by anything, but rather has good imaginings and gains more longing for the good things to come. For, attuned to the melody of the words, it forgets the passions and, rejoicing, looks to the mind that is in Christ, reasoning … ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 14:15: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 16:23: allusion, high confidence - Ps 150:5: allusion, high confidence - Ps 33:2 (32:2 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Rom 8:13: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 15:9 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Sir 15:9; 1 Cor 14:15; 1 Sam 16:23; Ps 150:5; Ps 33:2 (LXX 32:2); Rom 8:13. The section breaks off at the end. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 29 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/29). ## Letter to Marcellinus 30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-30 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Every human need is provided for in the Psalms; they should be used in their own words, not embellished, so that the saints and the Spirit who spoke in them may pray with us. ### Greek text Δεῖ τοίνυν, ὦ τέκνον, τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἔκαστον ταύτη τῇ βίβλῳ ἐντυγχάνειν μὲν ἄἅπατι γνησΐως τοῖς ἐν αὐτῇ θεοπνεύστοις οὖσι, λαμθάνειν λοιπὸν ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν ὡς ἐκ παραδείσου καρπῶν ὠφελείας, πρὸς ὃ τὴν χρείαν ἑαυτὸν ἔχοντα συνορᾷ. ᾿γοῦμαι γὰρ ἐν τούτοις τοῖς λόγοις τῆς βίδλουʼ τὸν πάντα βίον τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τάς τε τῆς ψυχῆς διαθέσεις, καὶ τὰ τῶν λογισμῶν κινήματα μεμετρῆσθαι καὶ περιέχεσθαι" καὶ μτδὲν πλέον τούτων ἐν ἀνθρώτοῖς εὑρίσκεσθαι. Εἴτε γὰρ μετανοίας ἢ ἐξομολογήἄξως χρεία, ἣ θλίψις καὶ πειρασμὸς κατέλαβεν, ἐδιώχθη τις, καὶ ἣ ἐἑπιδουλευόμενος ἐῤῥύσθη, εἰ δὲ καὶ περίλυπός τις γέγονεν καὶ ταράττεται, καὶ πάσύμθολον πάλιν ἦν καὶ σημαντικὸν τοῦ συγχεῖὃ ΝΠ) δῖνα ροιμοηια δἶνα ΘΟΗ ΠΡΟ ΓαῖῸ δῖνα ποσί ποιοῦτον, οἷον ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται, ἣ Ὁ Δ] υἱά καὶ συνορᾷ ἑαυτὸν μὲν προοχόπτοντα, τὸν δὲ ἐχθρὸν χαταργούμενον, ἣ καὶ αἰνέσαι καὶ εὐχαριστῆσαι, καὶ εὐλογῆσαι βούλεται τὸν Κύριον, ἔχει τὴν διδασκαλίαν τούτων ἐν τοῖς θείοις ψαλμοῖς, Ἐχλεγέσθω γὰρ τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς περὶ ἐκάστου τούτων εἰρημένα, καὶ οῦτως ὡς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ γεγραμμένα λέγων, καὶ συνδια«θέμενος τοῖς γεγραμμένοις, ἀναφέρει τῷ Κυρίῳ. τις αὐτὰ τοῖς ἔξωθεν τιθανοῖς ῥήμασι, μηδὲ πειραζέτω τὰς λέξεις μεταποιεῖν ἢ. ὅλως ἐναλλάσσειν' ἀλλʼ οὕτως ἀτεχνῶς τὰ Ὑεγραμμένα λεγέτω καὶ ψαλλέτω, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, ὑπὲρ τοῦ καὶ τοὺς διαχονήσαντας ἀνθρώπους αὐτὰ ἣ δἰεἰ, (ται ίδογο, σ08 αβποβοθηϊαβ νοῦθ8, ΠΟΙ σοῦ) ἐπιγινώσκοντας τὸ ἑαυτῶν συνεύχεσθαι ἧμῖν" μᾶλλον ἴμεν θα ]ο05 6]1.8 δὰϊ πίον ὃὲ ἵνα καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ λαλῇσαν ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις, θεωροῦν τοὺς παρʼ αὐτοῦ λόγους ἐνηχηθέντας ἐκείνοις, συναντιλαμβάνηται ἡμῖν. Ὅσῳ γὰρ τῶν ἁγίων ὁ βίος βελτίων τῶν ἄλλων ἐστὶ, τοσούτῳ καὶ τὰ παρʼ αὐτῶν ῥήματα τῶν παρʼ ἡμῶν συντιθεμένων βελτίονα καὶ ἰσχυρότερα ἄν τις εἴποι δικαίως. Ἐν τούτοις γὰρ εὐηρέστησαν τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ταῦτα λέγοντες, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ᾿Απόστολοςʼ Κατηγωγίσανγτο βασι(λείας, πυρὸς, ἔφυγον στόματα μαχαίρας, ἐνεδυγαμώθησαν ἀπὸ ἀσθενείας, ἐγεγήθησαν ἰσχυροὶ ἐν ὅον γυναῖκες ἐξ ἀναστάσξδως τοὺς ### English translation (Claude) It is necessary, then, my son, for everyone who reads this book to read all of it sincerely, since its contents are inspired by God, and then to take from them, as from a garden, the fruits of benefit for whatever need he sees in himself. For I think that in these words of the book the whole life of men, the dispositions of the soul and the movements of the thoughts, are measured and contained, and that nothing more than these is to be found among men. For whether there is need of repentance or confession, or affliction and temptation have overtaken someone, or someone has been persecuted, or, being plotted against, has been rescued; or if someone has become very sorrowful and is troubled, and … such things as were said above; or if he sees himself making progress and the enemy brought to nothing, or wishes to praise, give thanks, and bless the Lord—he has the teaching for these things in the divine psalms. Let him choose the things said in them about each of these, and so, saying them as written about himself, and sharing the disposition of what is written, offer them to the Lord. [31] Let no one adorn them with persuasive words from outside, nor try to alter the expressions or change them at all; but let him say and sing what is written simply as it is, as has been said, so that the men who ministered these words, recognizing their own words, may pray with us; or rather, so that the Spirit who spoke in the saints, seeing the words that he sounded in them, may help us. For as much as the life of the saints is better than that of others, so much better and stronger might one justly call their words than those composed by us. For by these they pleased God, and by saying these, as the apostle said, "they conquered kingdoms, … fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in [war], … women [received their dead] by resurrection …" ### Scripture references - Heb 11:33: quotation, high confidence - Heb 11:34: quotation, high confidence - Heb 11:35: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The section numbered 31 in the edition lies inside this one; its beginning is marked [31]. Heb 11:33–35. A long stretch of OCR debris in the middle of the section and parts of the quotation from Hebrews are lost (…); the section breaks off at the end. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 30 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/30). ## Letter to Marcellinus 32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-32 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who pray the Psalms will be heard and protected; Scripture itself shows the power of God's words, as with Moses' Song, Deuteronomy in Joshua's and Josiah's days, and the ark of the law. ### Greek text Οὐκοῦν καὶ νῦν ταῦτα λέγων ἕκαστος ἔστω θαῤῥῶν, ὅτι διʼ αὐτῶν ταχέως ὁ Θεὸς ἐπαχούσεται τοῖς δεομένοις" εἴτε γὰρ θλίθεται λέγων ταῦτα, μεγάλην ὄψεται τὴν ἐν αὑτοῖς παράκλησιν' εἴτε πεεράζεται καὶ διώχεται ψάλλων οὕτως, δοκιμώτερος ἄναφανήσεται, καὶ σκεπασθήσεται παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, τοῦ καὶ τὸν εἰπόντα ταῦτα. σχεπάσαντοςʼ ἐν τούτοις τὸν μὲν διάβολον ἀνατρέψει, τοὺς δὲ δαέμονας αὐτοῦ δοθήσει. Ταῦτα λέγων εἰ μὲν ἥμαρτεν, ἑαυτὸν ἐντρέψει καὶ παύσεται" εἰ δὲ μὴ ἥμαρτεν, ὄψεται ἑαυτὸν ἢ ΠΡΟ χαίροντα, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεχτείνεται, καὶ ἀγωνιζόμενος μὲν ἰσχύσει ψάλλων οὕτως, οὐ σαλευθήσεται δὲ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἀπατῶντας καὶ πλανᾷν ἐπιχειροῦντας ἐλέγξει" καὶ τούτου οὐκ ἄνθρωπος ἐγγυητὴς, ἀλλʼ αὑτὴ ἡ θεία γίνεται Γραφή. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς ἐνετείλατο τῷ Μωῦσῇ γράψαι τὴν μεγάλην Ὠδὴν, καὶ διδάξαι τὸν λαόν" τόν τε χαθιστάμενον ἄρχοντα κελεύει γράψαι τὸ Δευτερονόμιον, ἔχειν τε τοῦτο μετὰ χεῖρας, καὶ μελετᾷν ἀεὶ τὰ ἐν αὑτῷ ῥήματα, ὡς ἀρχούντων τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς λόγων πρός τε ὑπόμνησιν ἀρετῆς, καὶ βοήθειαν φέρειν τοῖς γνησίως αὐτοὺς μελετῶσιν.; ᾿Αμέλει ὁπηνίκα εἰς τὴν γῆν εἰσῆλθεν ὁ τοῦ Νανῇ, βλέπων τὰς τῶν ἐχθρῶν διατάξεις, καὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς τῶν ᾿Αμοῤῥαίων πάντας συνελθόντας εἰς πόλεμον, αὐτὸς ἀνθʼ ὅπλων καὶ ξιφῶν τὸ Δευτερονόμιον ἀνὰγνοὺς εἰς τὰ ὦτα πάντων, τά τε ῥήματα τοῦ νόμου ὑπομνήσας, καὶ τούτοις τὸν λαὸν χαθοπλίσας, πεὉ Ρἰ γέγονε τῶν πολεμίων. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Ἰωσίας, εὑρεθέντος τοῦ βιβλίου, καὶ ἀναγνωσθέντος εἰς τὰς πάντων ἀκοὰς, οὐκέτι τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἐφοθεῖτο. Καὶ εἴ ποῖ δὲ πόλεμος ἣν τῷ λαῷ, ἡ κιβωτὸς ἔχουσα τὰ πυξία τοῦ νόμου προώδευς πάντων, καὶ ἠρχεῖτο τούτοις ἀντὶ πάσης παρατάξεως εἰς βοήθειαν, εἰ μὴ τις ἦν παρὰ τοῖς βαστάζουσι καὶ ἐν τοῖς λαοῖς προχρατήσασα ἁμαρτία καὶ ὑπόχρισις. Πίστεως γὰρ καὶ γνησίας διαθέσεως χρεία, ἵνα ὁ νόμος εἰς τὰ ### English translation (Claude) So now too let each who says these words be confident that through them God will quickly hear those who ask. For whether he is afflicted when he says them, he will find great comfort in them; or whether he is tempted and persecuted as he sings so, he will appear the more approved and will be sheltered by the Lord, who sheltered also the one who first spoke these words; by them he will overturn the devil and drive away his demons. Saying these things, if he has sinned, he will put himself to shame and cease; if he has not sinned, he will see himself rejoicing that he stretches forward to what lies ahead; and, contending, he will be strong as he sings so, and will never be shaken from the truth, but will also refute those who deceive and try to lead astray. And of this no man is the guarantor, but the divine Scripture itself. For God commanded Moses to write the great Song and to teach it to the people; and he commands the one appointed ruler to write Deuteronomy, to have it in his hands, and always to meditate on the words in it, since the words in them suffice both for remembrance of virtue and for giving help to those who meditate on them sincerely. Indeed, when Joshua son of Nun entered the land and saw the enemies' battle lines and all the kings of the Amorites gathered for war, instead of arms and swords he read Deuteronomy in the ears of all, recalling the words of the law, and, arming the people with them, he prevailed over the enemies. And king Josiah, when the book had been found and read in the hearing of all, no longer feared his enemies. And whenever the people had a war, the ark containing the tablets of the law went before all, and it sufficed them instead of any battle array for help—unless there was some sin and hypocrisy prevailing among those who carried it and among the people. For there is need of faith and a sincere disposition, so that the law, … ### Scripture references - Phil 3:13: allusion, high confidence - Deut 31:19: allusion, high confidence - Deut 17:18: allusion, high confidence - Deut 17:19: allusion, high confidence - Josh 8:34: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Kgs 22:8: allusion, high confidence - Num 10:35: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Phil 3:13; Deut 31:19, 22; Deut 17:18–19; Josh 8:34–35 with Josh 10; 2 Kgs 22–23; Num 10:33–35. The section breaks off at the end; section 33 has only its opening words in the scan. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 32 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/32). ## Letter to Marcellinus 33 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/17/#p-33 - Source: PG 27 27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The opening words of the last section; the rest is lost in the scan. ### Greek text Ἐγὼ γοῦν, ἔλεγεν ὁ γέρων, ἤκουσα καὶ παρὰ φρονίμων ἀνδρῶν, ὡς ἄρα τὸ παλαιὸν ἐν τῷ ### English translation (Claude) "For I," said the old man, "have heard also from wise men that in olden times, in the …" ### Translation notes - Only the first words of this section survive in the scan; the rest of the letter is lost here. ### Citation (SBL) Athanasius, Marcell. 33 (PG 27 27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/athanasius-epistula-marcellinum/33).