The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 40

The Book of Psalms · the Psalter

Psalm 40

Psalm 41 in the KJV and most English Bibles

Tap Fathers under a verse to read what the saints said about it.

1

For the end, a Psalm of David.

Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυίδ.

2

Blessed is the man who thinks on the poor and needy: The Lord shall deliver him in an evil day.

Μακαρίος ὁ συνιῶν ἐπὶ πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πονηρᾷ ῥύσεται αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος.

3

May the Lord preserve him and keep him alive, and bless him on the earth, And not deliver him into the hands of his enemy.

Κύριος φυλάξαι αὐτὸν καὶ ζήσαι αὐτὸν, καὶ μακαρίσαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ, καὶ μὴ παραδοῖ αὐτὸν εἰς χεῖρας ἐχθροῦ αὐτοῦ.

4

May the Lord help him upon the bed of his pain; Thou hast made all his bed in his sickness.

Κύριος βοηθήσαι αὐτῷ ἐπὶ κλίνης ὀδύνης αὐτοῦ, ὅλην τὴν κοίτην αὐτοῦ ἔστρεψας ἐν τῇ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ αὐτοῦ.

5

I said, O Lord, have mercy upon me; Heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

Ἐγὼ εἶπα, Κύριε ἐλέησόν με, ἴασαι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι ἥμαρτόν σοι.

6

Mine enemies have spoken evil against me, saying, When shall he die, and his name perish?

Οἱ ἐχθροί μου εἶπαν κακά μοι, πότε ἀποθανεῖται καὶ ἀπολεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ;

7

And if he came to see me, his heart spoke vainly; He gathered iniquity to himself; He went forth and spoke in like manner.

Καὶ εἰ εἰσεπορεύετο τοῦ ἰδεῖν, μάτην ἐλάλει ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ, συνήγαγεν ἀνομίαν ἑαυτῷ, ἐξεπορεύετο ἔξω, καὶ ἐλάλει

8

All my enemies whispered against me; Against me they devised my hurt.

ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό. Κατʼ ἐμοῦ ἐψιθύριζον πάντες οἱ ἐχθροί μου, κατʼ ἐμοῦ ἐλογίζοντο κακά μοι.

9

They denounced a wicked word against me, saying, Now that he lies, shall he not rise up again?

Λόγον παράνομον κατέθεντο κατʼ ἐμοῦ, μὴ ὁ κοιμώμενος οὐχὶ προσθήσει τοῦ ἀναστῆναι;

10

For even the man of my peace, in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, lifted up his heel against me.

Καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς εἰρήνης μου ἐφʼ ὃν ἤλπισα, ὁ ἐσθίων ἄρτους μου ἐμεγάλυνεν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ πτερνισμόν.

11

But thou, O Lord, have compassion upon me, and raise me up, and I shall requite them.

Σὺ δὲ Κύριε ἐλέησόν με, καὶ ἀνάστησόν με, καὶ ἀνταποδώσω αὐτοῖς.

12

By this I know that thou hast delighted in me, Because mine enemy shall not rejoice over me.

Ἐν τούτῳ ἔγνων, ὅτι τεθέληκάς με ὅτι οὐ μὴ ἐπιχαρῇ ὁ ἐχθρός μου ἐπʼ ἐμέ.

13

But thou didst help me because of mine innocence, And hast established me before thee forever.

Ἐμοῦ δὲ διὰ τὴν ἀκακίαν ἀντελάβου, καὶ ἐβεβαίωσάς με ἐνώπιόν σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

14

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. So be it, so be it.

Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· γένοιτο, γένοιτο.

About these notes

Every note is a real passage, quoted word for word from a published English translation, with its source. Nothing here is summarised or written by us. Some verses have many notes and some have none, because the Fathers wrote more on some passages than others.

  • Blessed Augustine, Expositions on the Book of Psalms, tr. A. Cleveland Coxe from the Oxford translation, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888).
  • Scripture: the Septuagint, in the translation of Sir Lancelot Brenton (1851), with spelling updated by Adam Boyd (2020); the Greek is Brenton's Septuagint text.

All of these translations are in the public domain. The passages were matched to their verses by the Historical Christian Commentaries project, which also hosts the full texts we link to. The Fathers are a treasury of the Church's mind, and they are best read alongside the life of the Church: if a passage raises a question, bring it to your priest.