The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 53

The Book of Psalms · the Psalter

Psalm 53

Psalm 54 in the KJV and most English Bibles

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1

For the end, among the Hymns of instruction by David,

Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ἐν ὕμνοις συνέσεως τῷ Δαυὶδ,

2

when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Lo, is not David hidden with us?

ἐν τῷ ἐλθεῖν τοὺς Ζειφαίους, καὶ εἰπεῖν τῷ Σαοὺλ, οὐκ ἰδοὺ Δαυὶδ κέκρυπται παρʼ ἡμῖν;

3

Save me, O God, by thy name, And judge me by thy might.

Ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου σῶσόν με, καὶ ἐν τῇ δυνάμει σου κρῖνόν με.

4

O God, hear my prayer; Hearken to the words of my mouth.

Ὁ Θεὸς εἰσάκουσον τῆς προσευχῆς μου, ἐνώτισαι τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ στόματός μου.

5

For strangers have risen up against me, And mighty men have sought my life: They have not set God before them. Pause.

Ὅτι ἀλλότριοι ἐπανέστησαν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ, καὶ κραταιοὶ ἐζήτησαν τὴν ψυχήν μου, οὐ προέθεντο τὸν Θεὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν· διάψαλμα.

6

For lo! God assists me; And the Lord is the helper of my soul.

Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς βοηθεῖ μοι, καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἀντιλήπτωρ τῆς ψυχῆς μου.

7

He shall return evil to mine enemies; Utterly destroy them in thy truth.

Ἀποστρέψει τὰ κακὰ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μου, ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου ἐξολόθρευσον αὐτούς.

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.