The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 127
The Book of Psalms · the Psalter
Psalm 128 in the KJV and most English Bibles
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A Song of Degrees. Blessed are all they that fear the Lord; Who walk in his ways.
Ὠδὴ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν. Μακάριοι πάντες οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον, οἱ πορευόμενοι ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ.
"Blessed are all they that fear the Lord, and walk in His ways". He speaketh to many; but since these many are one in Christ, in the next words he speaketh in the singular: "For thou shall eat the labours of thy fruits."...When I speak of Christians in the plural, I understand one in the One Christ. Ye are therefore…
Thou shalt eat the labors of thy hands: Blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.
Τοὺς πόνους τῶν καρπῶν σου φάγεσαι· μακάριος εἶ καὶ καλῶς σοι ἔσται.
"You shall eat the labours of your fruits". And ye, O thou, you many who are One, "You shall eat of the labours of your fruits." He seems to speak perversely to those who understand not: for he should have said, you shall eat the fruit of your labours. For many eat the fruit of their labours. They labour in the…
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine On the sides of thy house: Thy children as young olive plants Round about thy table.
Ἡ γυνή σου ὡς ἄμπελος εὐθηνοῦσα ἐν ταῖς κλίτεσι τῆς οἰκίας σου· οἱ υἱοί σου ὡς νεόφυτα ἐλαιῶν κύκλῳ τῆς τραπέζης σου.
Let us now come to the words, "Thy wife": it is said unto Christ. His wife, therefore, is the Church: His Church, His wife, we ourselves are. "As a fruitful vineyard." But in whom is the vineyard fruitful? For we see many barren ones entering those walls; we see that many intemperate, usurious persons, slave dealers,…
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord.
Ἰδοὺ οὕτως εὐλογηθήσεται ἄνθρωπος ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον.
...Such children ought therefore to be "around" the Lord's "table, like olive-branches." A complete Vine it is, a great bliss: who would now refuse to be there? When thou seest any blasphemer have a wife, children, grandchildren, and thyself perchance without them, envy them not; discern that the promise hath been…
May the Lord bless thee out of Zion; And mayest thou see the prosperity of Jerusalem All the days of thy life.
Εὐλογήσαι σε Κύριος ἐκ Σιὼν, καὶ ἴδοις τὰ ἀγαθὰ Ἱερουσαλὴμ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου·
"The Lord from out of Sion bless thee: and mayest thou see thee good things that are of Jerusalem". Even to the birds was it said, "Be fruitful and multiply." [Genesis 1:22] Dost thou wish to hold as a great blessing what was given unto birds? Who can be ignorant, that it was given indeed by the voice of God? But use…
For, "if in this life only," saith the Apostle, "we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." [1 Corinthians 15:19] For what reason were the Martyrs condemned to beasts? What is that good? Can it be declared? by what means, or what tongue can tell it? or what ears can hear it? That indeed, "Neither ear…
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.