The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 129
The Book of Psalms · the Psalter
Psalm 130 in the KJV and most English Bibles
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A Song of Degrees. Out of the depths have I cried to thee, O Lord.
Ὠδὴ τῶν ἀναβαθμῶν. Ἐκ βαθέων ἐκέκραξά σοι Κύριε.
"Out of the deep have I called unto Thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice". Jonas cried from the deep; from the whale's belly. [Jonah 2:2] He was not only beneath the waves, but also in the entrails of the beast; nevertheless, those waves and that body prevented not his prayer from reaching God, and the beast's belly…
O Lord, hearken to my voice; Let thine ears be attentive To the voice of my supplication.
Κύριε εἰσάκουσον τῆς φωνῆς μου· γενηθήτω τὰ ὦτά σου προσέχοντα εἰς τὴν φωνὴν τῆς δεήσεώς μου.
"Lord, hear my voice. O let Your ears consider well the voice of my complaint". Whence does he cry? From the deep. Who is it then who cries? A sinner. And with what hope does he cry? Because He who came to absolve from sins, gave hope even to the sinner down in the deep. What therefore follows after these words: "If…
If thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Ἐὰν ἀνομίας παρατηρήσῃς Κύριε, Κύριε, τίς ὑποστήσεται;
For with thee is forgiveness: For thy name’s sake
Ὅτι παρὰ σοὶ ὁ ἱλασμός ἐστιν· ἕνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματός σου
But wherefore is there hope? "For there is propitiation with Thee". And what is this propitiation, except sacrifice? And what is sacrifice, save that which hath been offered for us? The pouring forth of innocent blood blotted out all the sins of the guilty: so great a price paid down redeemed all captives from the…
have I waited for thee, O Lord, My soul has waited for thy word.
ὑπέμεινά σε Κύριε, ὑπέμεινεν ἡ ψυχή μου εἰς τὸν λόγον σου,
We therefore trust without fear on the word of Him who cannot deceive. "My soul has trusted in the Lord, from the morning watch even unto night". This morning watch is the end of night. We must therefore understand it so that we may not suppose we are to trust in the Lord for one day only. What do you conceive to be…
My soul has hoped in the Lord; From the morning watch till night.
ἤλπισεν ἡ ψυχή μου ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον· ἀπὸ φυλακῆς πρωΐας μέχρι νυκτός,
Let Israel hope in the Lord: For with the Lord is mercy, And with him is plenteous redemption.
Ἐλπισάτω Ἰσραὴλ ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον· ὅτι παρὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ τὸ ἔλεος, καὶ πολλὴ παρ αὐτῷ λύτρωσις.
"For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption". Admirable! This could not have been better said in its own place, on account of the words, "From the morning watch." Wherefore? Because the Lord rose again from the morning watch; and the body ought to hope for that which went before in the…
And he shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.
Καὶ αὐτὸς λυτρώσεται τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἐκ πασῶν τῶν ἀνομιῶν αὐτοῦ.
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.