The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 49
The Book of Psalms · the Psalter
Psalm 50 in the KJV and most English Bibles
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A Psalm for Asaph. The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken, and called the earth From the rising of the sun to the going down thereof.
Ψαλμὸς τῷ Ἀσάφ. Θεὸς θεῶν Κύριος ἐλάλησε, καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου μέχρι δυσμῶν.
"The God," therefore, "of gods, the Lord has spoken". Hath spoken many ways. By Angels He has Himself spoken, by Prophets He has Himself spoken, by His own mouth He has Himself spoken, by His faithful He does Himself speak, by our lowliness, when we say anything true, He does Himself speak. See then, by speaking…
Out of Zion comes the excellence of his beauty.
Ἐκ Σιὼν ἡ εὐπρέπεια τῆς ὡραιότητος αὐτοῦ.
But we have heard the world called from the rising of the sun unto the going down: whence does He begin to call, who has called? This thing also hear ye: "Out of Sion is the semblance of His beauty". Evidently the Psalm does agree with the Gospel, which says, "Throughout all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."…
God, our God, shall come manifestly, And shall not keep silence: A fire shall be kindled before him, And round about him there shall be a very great tempest.
Ὁ Θεὸς ἐμφανῶς ἥξει, ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐ παρασιωπήσεται· πῦρ ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ καυθήσεται, καὶ κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ καταιγὶς σφοδρά.
"And a mighty tempest round about Him" (ver. 3). "A mighty tempest," in order to winnow so great a floor. In this tempest shall be that winnowing whereby from the saints shall be put away everything impure, from the faithful every unreality; from godly men and them that fear the Word of God, every scorner and every…
He shall summon the heaven above, And the earth, that he may judge his people.
Προσκαλέσεται τὸν οὐρανὸν ἄνω, καὶ τὴν γῆν διακρῖναι τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ.
Since then it is evident, that many are to judge with the Lord, but that others are to be judged, not however on equality, but according to their deserts; He will come with all His Angels, when before Him shall be gathered all nations, and among all the Angels are to be reckoned those that have been made so perfect,…
Assemble ye his saints to him, Those that have engaged in a covenant with him upon sacrifices.
Συναγάγετε αὐτῷ τοὺς ὁσίους αὐτοῦ, τοὺς διατιθεμένους τὴν διαθήκην αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ θυσίαις.
"Gather to Him His righteous". The voice divine and prophetic, seeing future things as if present doth exhort the Angels gathering. For He shall send His Angels, and before Him shall be gathered all nations. Gather to Him His righteous. What righteous men save those that live of faith and do works of mercy? For those…
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: For God is judge. Pause.
Καὶ ἀναγγελοῦσιν οἱ οὐρανοὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, ὅτι Θεὸς κριτής ἐστι· διάψαλμα.
"And the Heaven shall declare His righteousness". Truly this righteousness of God to us the "heavens have declared," the Evangelists have foretold. Through them we have heard that some will be on the right hand, to whom the Householder says, "Come, you blessed of My Father, receive." [Matthew 25:34] Receive what? "A…
Hear, my people, and I will speak to thee, O Israel: And I will testify to thee: I am God, thy God.
Ἄκουσον λαός μου καὶ λαλήσω σοι, Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ διαμαρτύρομαί σοι· ὁ Θεὸς ὁ Θεός σου εἰμὶ ἐγώ.
"Hear, my people, and I will speak to thee". He shall come and shall not keep silence; see how that even now, if ye hear, He is not silent. Hear, my people, and I will speak to thee. For if thou hearest not, I will not speak to thee. "Hear, and I will speak to thee." For if thou hearest not, even though I shall speak,…
I will not reprove thee on account of thy sacrifices; For thy whole burnt offerings are before me continually.
Οὐκ ἐπὶ ταῖς θυσίαις σου ἐλέγξω σε, τὰ δὲ ὁλοκαυτώματά σου ἐνώπιόν μου ἐστὶ διαπαντός.
What He requireth of man, let us see; what tribute our God, our Emperor and our King doth enjoin us; since He hath willed to be our King, and hath willed us to be His province? Let us hear His injunctions. Let not a poor man tremble beneath the injunction of God: what God enjoineth to be given to Himself, He doth…
I will take no bullocks out of thy house, Nor he-goats out of thy flocks.
Οὐ δέξομαι ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου σου μόσχους, οὐδὲ ἐκ τῶν ποιμνίων σου χιυάρους·
As yet that Israel perchance doth not understand what are the holocausts thereof which He hath in His sight always, and is still thinking of oxen, of sheep, of he-goats: let it not so think: "I will not accept calves of thy house." Holocausts I named; at once in mind and thought to earthly flocks thou wast running,…
What then: Dost Thou not accept my sacrifices? "But thy holocausts are always in My sight." Certain holocausts concerning which it is said in another Psalm, "If Thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would surely have given, with holocausts Thou wilt not be delighted:" and again he turneth himself, "Sacrifice to God is a…
For all the wild beasts of the thicket are mine, The cattle on the mountains, and oxen.
Ὅτι ἐμά ἐστι πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ δρυμοῦ, κτήνη ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι, καὶ βόες.
"For mine are all the beasts of the wood". Why should I ask of you what I have made? Is it more yours, to whom I have given it to possess, than Mine, who have made it? "For mine are all the beasts of the wood." But perchance that Israel says, The beasts are God's, those wild beasts which I enclose not in my pen, which…
I know all the birds of the sky; And the beauty of the field is mine.
Ἔγνωκα πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ὡραιότης ἀγροῦ μετʼ ἐμοῦ ἐστιν.
"I know all the winged creatures of heaven". How does He know? He has weighed them, has counted. Which of us knows all the winged creatures of heaven? But even though to some man God give knowledge of all the winged creatures of heaven, He does not Himself know in the same manner as He gives man to know. One thing is…
If I should be hungry, I will not tell thee: For the world is mine, and the fullness of it.
Ἐὰν πεινάσω, οὐ μή σοι εἴπω, ἐμὴ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ οἰκουμένη καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς.
Who can explain, who expound that which is said to Him in another Psalm, "For my goods You need not"? He has said that He needs not from us any necessary thing. "If I shall be hungry, I will not tell you". He that keeps Israel shall neither hunger nor thirst, nor be weary, nor fall asleep. But, lo! According to your…
Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats?
Μὴ φάγομαι κρέα ταύρων, ἢ αἷμα τράγων πίομαι;
Why then dost still think of thy flocks? "Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or shall I drink the blood of he-goats?" Ye have heard what of us He requireth not, who willeth to enjoin us somewhat. If of such things ye were thinking, now withdraw your thoughts from such things: think not to offer God any such thing. If…
Offer to God the sacrifice of praise; And pay thy vows to the Most High.
Θῦσον τῷ Θεῷ θυσίαν αἰνέσεως, καὶ ἀπόδος τῷ ὑψίστῳ τὰς εὐχάς σου.
Say then, Lord our God, what do You enjoin your people, Your Israel? "Immolate to God the sacrifice of praise". Let us also say to Him, "In me, O God, are your vows, which I will render of prose to You." I had feared lest You might enjoin something which would be out of my power, which I was counting to be in my pen,…
And call upon me in the day of affliction; And I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Pause.
Καὶ ἐπικάλεσαί με ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεως, καὶ ἐξελοῦμαί σε, καὶ δοξάσεις με. διάψαλμα.
"And call thou upon Me in the day of your tribulation: and I will draw you forth, and you shall glorify Me". For thou oughtest not to rely on your powers, all your aids are deceitful. "Upon Me call thou in the day of tribulation: I will draw you forth, and you shall glorify Me." For to this end I have allowed the day…
But to the sinner God has said, Why dost thou declare my ordinances, And take up my covenant in thy mouth?
Τῷ δὲ ἁμαρτωλῷ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἱνατί σὺ διηγῇ τὰ δικαιώματά μου, καὶ ἀναλαμβάνεις τὴν διαθήκην μου διὰ στόματός σου;
But see what followeth, my brethren. For now some one or other, because God had said to him, "Immolate to God the sacrifice of praise," and had enjoined in a manner this tribute, did meditate to himself and said, I will rise daily, I will proceed to Church, I will say one hymn at matins, another at vespers, a third or…
Whereas thou hast hated instruction, And hast cast my words behind thee.
Σὺ δὲ ἐμίσησας παιδείαν, καὶ ἐξέβαλες τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω.
"But thou hatest instruction." Thou hatest discipline. When I spare, thou singest and praisest: when I chasten, thou murmurest: as though, when I spare, I am thy God: and, when I chasten, I am not thy God. "I rebuke and chasten those whom I love." "But thou hatest instruction: and hast thrown My sayings behind thee."…
If thou sawest a thief, thou rannest along with him, And hast cast in thy lot with adulterers.
Εἰ ἐθεώρεις κλέπτην, συνέτρεχες αὐτῷ, καὶ μετὰ μοιχῶν τὴν μερίδα σου ἐτίθεις.
"If thou sawest a thief, thou didst consent unto him, and with adulterers thou didst make thy portion." Lest perchance thou shouldest say, I have not committed theft, I have not committed adultery. What if he pleased thee that hath committed? Hast thou not with the very pleasing consented? Hast thou not by approval…
Thy mouth has multiplied wickedness, And thy tongue has framed deceit.
Τὸ στόμα σου ἐπλεόνασε κακίαν, καὶ ἡ γλῶσσά σου περιέπλεκε δολιότητα.
"Thy mouth hath abounded in malice, and thy tongue hath embraced deceit." Of the malevolence and deceit, brethren, of certain men he speaketh, who by adulation, though they know what they hear to be evil, yet lest they offend those from whom they hear, not only by not reproving but by holding their peace do consent.…
Thou didst sit and speak against thy brother, And didst scandalize thy mother’s son.
Καθήμενος κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου κατελάλεις, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς μητρός σου ἐτίθεις σκάνδαλον.
"Sitting against thy brother thou didst detract" (ver. 20). And this "sitting" doth belong to that whereof he hath spoken above in, "hath embraced." For he that doeth anything while standing or passing along, doth it not with pleasure: but if he for this purpose sitteth, how much leisure doth he seek out to do it!…
These things thou didst, and I kept silence: Thou thoughtest wickedly that I should be like thee; But I will reprove thee, and set thine offenses before thee.
Ταῦτα ἐποίησας, καὶ ἐσίγησα, ὑπέλαβες ἀνομίαν ὅτι ἔσομαί σοι ὅμοιος· ἐλέγξω σε, καὶ παραστήσω κατὰ πρόσωπόν σου.
"These things hast thou done, and I held my tongue" (ver. 21). Therefore the Lord our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. Now, "These things hast thou done, and I held my tongue." What is, "I held my tongue"? From vengeance I have desisted, my severity I have deferred, patience to thee I have prolonged, thy…
But, "understand these things, ye that forget God" (ver. 22). See how He crieth, and keepeth not silence, spareth not. Thou hadst forgotten the Lord, didst not think of thy evil life. Perceive how thou hast forgotten the Lord. "Lest at length He seize like a lion, and there be none to deliver." What is "like a lion"?…
"Sacrifice of praise shall glorify Me". How shall "sacrifice of praise glorify Me"? Assuredly sacrifice of praise does no wise profit evil men, because they take Your Covenant in their mouth, and do damnable things that displease Your eyes. Straightway, he says, even to them this I say, "Sacrifice of praise shall…
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.
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.