The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 35
The Book of Psalms · the Psalter
Psalm 36 in the KJV and most English Bibles
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The transgressor, that he may sin, says within himself, That there is no fear of God before his eyes.
Φησὶν ὁ παράνομος τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, οὐκ ἔστι φόβος Θεοῦ ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ.
..."The ungodly hath said in himself that he will sin: there is no fear of God before his eyes" (ver. 1). Not of one man, but of a race of ungodly men he speaketh, who fight against their own selves, by not understanding, that so they may live well; not because they cannot, but because they will not. For it is one…
For he has dealt craftily before him, To discover his iniquity and hate it.
Ὅτι ἐδόλωσεν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, τοῦ εὑρεῖν τὴν ἀνομίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ μισῆσαι.
"For he has wrought deceitfully in His sight". In whose sight? In His, whose fear was not before the eyes of him that did work deceitfully. "To find out his iniquity, and hate it." He wrought so as not to find it. For there are men who as it were endeavour to seek out their iniquity, and fear to find it; because if…
The words of his mouth are transgression and deceit: He is not inclined to understand how to do good.
Τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἀνομία καὶ δόλος, οὐκ ἠβουλήθη συνιέναι τοῦ ἀγαθῦναι.
"The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he would not understand, that he might do good" (ver. 3). Ye see that he attributeth that to the will: for there are men who would understand and cannot, and there are men who would not understand, and therefore understand not. "He would not understand, that he might do…
He devises iniquity on his bed; He gives himself to every evil way; And does not abhor evil.
Ἀνομίαν ἐλογίσατο ἐπὶ τῆς κοίτης αὐτοῦ, παρέστη πάσῃ ὁδῷ οὐκ ἀγαθῇ, τῇ δὲ κακίᾳ οὐ προσώχθισε.
"He hath meditated iniquity on his bed." What said He, "On his bed?" (ver. 4). "The ungodly hath said in himself, that he will sin:" what above he said, in himself, that here he said, "On his bed." Our bed is our heart: there we suffer the tossing of an evil conscience; and there we rest when our conscience is good.…
O Lord, thy mercy is in the heaven; And thy truth reaches to the clouds.
Κύριε, ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ τὸ ἔλεός σου, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθειά σου ἕως τῶν νεφελῶν.
"Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Thy truth reacheth even unto the clouds" (ver. 5). I know not what Mercy of Him he meaneth, which is in the heavens. For the Mercy of the Lord is also in the earth. Thou hast it written, "The earth is full of the Mercy of the Lord." Of what Mercy then speaketh He, when He…
Thy righteousness is as the mountains of God, Thy judgments are as a great deep: O Lord, thou wilt preserve men and beasts.
Ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου ὡς ὄρη Θεοῦ, τὰ κρίματά σου ὡσεὶ ἄβυσσος πολλή· ἀνθρώπους καὶ κτήνη σώσεις Κύριε.
"Thy Righteousness is like the mountains of God: Thy Judgments are a great deep" (ver. 6). Who are the mountains of God? Those who are called clouds, the same are also the mountains of God. The great Preachers are the mountains of God. And as when the sun riseth, he first clothes the mountains with light, and thence…
How hast thou multiplied thy mercy, O God! So the children of men shall trust in the shelter of thy wings.
Ὡς ἐπλήθυνας τὸ ἔλεός σου ὁ Θεός· οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν σκέπῃ τῶν πτερύγων σου ἐλπιοῦσι.
Because he said, Your Mercy is in the Heavens, that it may be known to be also on earth, he said, "O Lord, You save man and beast, as Your Mercy is multiplied, O God". Great is Your Mercy, and manifold is Your Mercy, O God; and that showest Thou both to man and beast. For from whom is the saving of men? From God. Is…
They shall be fully satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And thou shalt cause them to drink of the full stream of thy delights.
Μεθυσθήσονται ἀπὸ πιότητος οἴκου σου, καὶ τὸν χειμάῤῥουν τῆς τρυφῆς σου ποτιεῖς αὐτούς.
"They shall be satiated with the fulness of Thy House" (ver. 8). He promiseth us some great thing. He would speak it, and He speaketh it not. Can He not, or do not we receive it? I dare, my Brethren, to say, even of holy tongues and hearts, by which Truth is declared to us, that it can neither be spoken, which they…
For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light we shall see light.
Ὅτι παρὰ σοὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς, ἐν τῷ φωτί σου ὀψόμεθα φῶς.
With what fountain then will you be overflowed, and whence runs such a torrent of His Pleasure? "For with You," says he, "is the fountain of Life." What is the fountain of Life, but Christ? He came to you in the flesh, that He might bedew your thirsty lips: He will satisfy you trusting, who bedewed you thirsting. "For…
Extend thy mercy to them that know thee; And thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
Παράτεινον τὸ ἔλεός σου τοῖς γινώσκουσί σε, καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου τοῖς εὐθέσι τῇ καρδίᾳ.
"Show forth Thy Mercy unto them that know Thee; Thy Righteousness to them that are of a right heart" (ver. 10). As I have said, Those are of a right heart who follow in this life the Will of God. The will of God is sometimes that thou shouldest be whole, sometimes that thou shouldest be sick. If when thou art whole…
Let not the foot of pride come against me, And let not the hand of sinners move me.
Μὴ ἐλθέτω μοι ποῦς ὑπερηφανίας, καὶ χεὶρ ἁμαρτωλῶν μὴ σαλεύσαι με·
"Let not the foot of pride come against me". But now he said, The children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of Your wings: they shall be satiated with the fullness of Your House. When one has begun to be plentifully overflowed with that Fountain, let him take heed lest he grow proud. For the same was not…
There have all the workers of iniquity fallen: They are cast out, and shall not be able to stand.
Ἐκεῖ ἔπεσον πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν, ἐξώσθησαν καὶ οὐ μὴ δύνωνται στῆναι.
But wherefore so greatly fearest thou this? Because it is said, "Thereby have fallen all that work iniquity" (ver. 12); so that they have come into that abyss of which it is said, "Thy judgments are like the great abyss:" so that they have come even to that deep wherein sinners who despise have fallen. "Have fallen."…
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.