Explanation of Twelve Psalms 43.9.1–43.25.3
Latin text: CSEL 64 (Latin text: Schenkl/Petschenig, CSEL 64, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Explanation 43, chapter 9
43.9.1CSEL 64:266
Manus tua gentes disperdidit, et plantasti eos, afflixisti populos et expulisti eos. scimus quidem quod multas gentes eradicauerit dominus et euerterit, ut possessionem sibi Iudaeorum populus inueniret, quarum gentium terras Abrahae semini daturum se dominus declarauit. sed cum psalmus iste euangelium domini et tempora aduentus eius annuntiet, non mihi uidetur quae superius a Iudaeis gesta sunt
“Your hand destroyed the nations, and you planted them; you afflicted peoples and drove them out.” We know indeed that the Lord uprooted and overthrew many nations, so that the people of the Jews might find a possession for themselves, nations whose lands the Lord declared he would give to the seed of Abraham. But since this psalm announces the gospel of the Lord and the times of his coming, it does not seem to me to
Ps 44:2 (43:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 15:18 (allusion, medium confidence) · Deut 7:1 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The driving out of the nations is read not as past history but as a prophecy of the gospel.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word splits in the digital text): e xpuli sti → expulisti.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.9.1 (CSEL 64:266; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-9-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.9.2CSEL 64:266
recensere, sed quae futura signare, quemadmodum crediturus esset populus nationum. confirmat igitur fidem ecclesiae, antequam nuntiet, et uictorias pietatis eius enumerat, quae non in brachio neque in gladio suo feras expulit gentes et non certamine bellico turmas fugauit hostiles, sed mansuetudine ac fide terras inimicorum sine ullo cruore possedit; fides enim sola pugnauit. et ideo triumphos
review what was done before by the Jews, but to signify what was to come: how the people of the nations would believe. So it confirms the faith of the church before announcing it, and lists the victories of its piety, which drove out fierce nations not by its arm or its sword, and put enemy troops to flight not by warlike combat, but possessed the lands of enemies without any bloodshed, by gentleness and faith; for faith alone fought. And therefore it won triumphs
Ps 44:3 (43:4 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The church conquered the nations not by the sword but by gentleness and faith.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.9.2 (CSEL 64:266; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-9-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.9.3CSEL 64:266
meruit quos non reuocaret perfidia, sed augeret, quia persecutionibus suis non uincitur ecclesia domini, sed probatur. quae sunt igitur istae gentes, quas uicerit ecclesia, cognoscamus. uetera dico uocabula, sed mysteria noua: Chananaei sunt, Chettaei et Amorraei, Pherezaei uel ceteri quorum infra uocabula digeremus. haec autem
which faithlessness did not undo but increased, because the Lord’s church is not conquered by its persecutions but proved. Let us learn, then, which are these nations that the church has conquered. I speak old names, but new mysteries: they are the Canaanites, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Perizzites and the others whose names we shall set out below. These
Deut 7:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 3:8 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The nations the church conquers are named with old names but are new mysteries.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): uioerit → uicerit.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.9.3 (CSEL 64:266; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-9-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-9-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.9.4CSEL 64:266
populorum sunt nomina, sed passionum infirmitates et humanorum incentiua et obprobria peccatorum. quod primum est igitur, homo in Christo ipse se domuit et ipse se uicit, ut sibi uiueret; sibi enim uiuit qui deo uiuit, ut uitam Christi uiuat aeternam. non ergo pugnauit militaribus armis et ferreis telis populus ecclesiae, sicut pugnauit populus Iudaeorum. ille in figura pugnauit, nos pugnamus in spiritu; ille aduersum alienigenas pugnauit, nos ipsi bellum habemus in nobis et ideo prius nobis uincendae sunt proprii corporis passiones.
are names of peoples, but they are the weaknesses of the passions and the incitements and reproaches of human sins. What comes first, then, is that man in Christ has tamed himself and conquered himself, so as to live for himself; for he lives for himself who lives for God, so as to live the eternal life of Christ. So the people of the church did not fight with military weapons and iron darts, as the people of the Jews fought. They fought in a figure, we fight in the spirit; they fought against foreigners, we have the war within ourselves, and therefore the passions of our own body must first be conquered.
Rom 6:11 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 2:20 (echo, low confidence) · 2 Cor 10:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · Jas 4:1 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The nations are the passions; the church fights not with weapons but against the war within, conquering itself in Christ.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): ecclesiae, -sicut → ecclesiae, sicut.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.9.4 (CSEL 64:266; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-9-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-9-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 10
43.10.1CSEL 64:266–267
Audi pugnantem apostolum Paulum aduersus gentem Chananaeorum: uideo, inquit, legem carnis meae repugnantem legi mentis meae et captiuantem me in lege peccati. nunc se erigit caro nostra, nunc deicit; erigit menti, deicit potestati et, ubi se urgeri uiderit, constantiam deserit et ad subiectionem parata ducitur in lege peccati, ut fidem deserat, perfidiae succumbat et Chettaeae infirmitatis in dicione destituta uero cedat mendacio, seruiat crimini, adquiescat errori et tamquam Amorraeus loquatur amara pro dulcibus; fides enim dulcis, amara perfidia est. unde praeclare Petrus, quid fides esset, expressit dicens: domine, ad quem ibimus? uerba uitae aeternae habes, et nos credimus. quomodo igitur iubes ut discedamus a te? captus enim caelestium suauitate uerborum discedere nolebat a Christo; qui autem negat Christum, ipse se separat uel separatur a Christo.
Hear the apostle Paul fighting against the nation of the Canaanites: “I see,” he says, “a law of my flesh warring against the law of my mind and taking me captive in the law of sin.” Now our flesh lifts itself up, now casts itself down; it lifts itself against the mind, casts itself down before power, and when it sees itself pressed, it abandons constancy and, ready for submission, is led in the law of sin, so as to abandon faith, give way to faithlessness, and, left in the dominion of Hittite weakness, yield the truth to falsehood, serve crime, acquiesce in error, and like an Amorite speak bitter things instead of sweet; for faith is sweet, faithlessness bitter. Hence Peter splendidly expressed what faith is, saying: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we believe.” How then do you bid us depart from you? For, captivated by the sweetness of the heavenly words, he did not wish to depart from Christ; but he who denies Christ separates himself, or is separated, from Christ.
Rom 7:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 5:20 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 6:68 (quotation, high confidence) · John 6:69 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul fights the “Canaanite” of the flesh; the Hittite and Amorite are weakness and bitter faithlessness, against which Peter’s faith clings to Christ.
- Ambrose plays on the supposed meanings of the names (Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite = “bitter”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and word splits in the digital text): 1 eg e m → legem; Chiisto → Christo.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.10.1 (CSEL 64:266–267; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-10-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-10-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.10.2CSEL 64:267
sed neque uersuta Amorraeorum disputatio, quae per philosophiam nonnullos a ueritate transducit, neque Iebusaeorum turpis abiectio, quae se subicit atque substernit cursum currentibus saecularem, qui non potest esse perpetuus, sed in portis deficit mortis, de quibus exaltatum Dauid propheta se gaudet, neque Cinaeus, qui per suam pecuniam possidetur sicut insatiabili auarus affectu, neque Cenezaeus, qui putat in diuitiis possessionem esse perpetuam et uanam spem constituit in caducis atque inani opinione se iactat, neque Raphaim, qui profitetur aliis se ferre medicinam, cum uulnera sua curare non possit.
But neither the crafty disputation of the Amorites, which by philosophy leads some away from the truth; nor the base dejection of the Jebusites, which submits and prostrates itself to those running the course of the world, which cannot be lasting but fails at the gates of death, above which the prophet David rejoices to have been lifted up; nor the Kenite, who is possessed by his money, as the miser is by insatiable desire; nor the Kenizzite, who thinks that in riches there is a lasting possession, and sets vain hope on perishing things and boasts in empty opinion; nor the Rephaim, who professes to bring medicine to others, though he cannot heal his own wounds.
Gen 15:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 15:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 15:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 9:13 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 6:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 4:23 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The other nations stand for philosophical sophistry, worldly servility, avarice, trust in riches and the physician who cannot heal himself.
- The sentence’s verb follows in the next section in sense. The gates of death: Ps 9:13 (LXX 9:14). The nations: Gen 15:19–21.
Topics: Philosophy
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.10.2 (CSEL 64:267; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-10-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-10-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.10.3CSEL 64:267–268
et ideo, si quis ad huiusmodi medicum confugerit, prius necesse est patrimonium suum omne consumat quam profectum sanitatis accipiat, sicut illa mulier in euangelio, quae per duodecim annos fluentem sanguinem corporalium uoluptatum statuere non potuit, nisi posteaquam confugit ad Christum. intellexit enim, quod nemo perfectus medicus nisi qui descendisset e caelo, de quo cognouerat dictum: misit uerbum suum et sanauit eos, et aduertit de ipso dictum: ecce dedi uerba mea in os tuum et constitui te hodie super gentes et regna, eradicare et destruere et perdere et aedificare et plantare. nam licet frequenter deus locutus sit in prophetis, in quo tamen expressius quam suo locutus in filio est, qui uirtutem omnem exprimens patris ait: mea doctrina non est mea sed eius qui me misit? non ergo Hieremias, qui tempore captiuitatis suscepit exilium, sed dominus Iesus suis uerbis eradicauit ex intimis pectoribus uitia gentilium, perfidiam nationum et uersutarum cogitationum praua commenta destruxit atque omnia uestigia iniquitatis aboleuit. deinde infudit postea fidem et continentiae disciplinam, ne tamquam in uase corrupto confusione uitiorum coacescerent sacramenta uirtutum.
And therefore, if anyone flees to a physician of this kind, he must first spend all his patrimony before he receives any progress in health, like that woman in the gospel who for twelve years could not stop the flowing blood of bodily pleasures until after she fled to Christ. For she understood that no one is a perfect physician except him who had come down from heaven, of whom she had known it said: “He sent his word and healed them”; and she noticed that it was said of him: “See, I have put my words in your mouth and set you this day over nations and kingdoms, to uproot and to destroy and to ruin, and to build and to plant.” For although God often spoke in the prophets, yet in whom did he speak more expressly than in his own Son, who, expressing all the power of the Father, says: “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me”? So it was not Jeremiah, who underwent exile at the time of the captivity, but the Lord Jesus who by his words uprooted the vices of the gentiles from their inmost hearts, destroyed the faithlessness of the nations and the depraved inventions of crafty thoughts, and abolished all traces of iniquity. Then afterwards he poured in faith and the discipline of continence, so that the sacraments of the virtues should not turn sour, as in a spoiled vessel, by the confusion of vices.
Mark 5:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 5:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 8:43 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 107:20 (106:20 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 1:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 1:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 1:2 (allusion, high confidence) · John 7:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only Christ, the heavenly physician, heals as the woman with the flow of blood found; he, rather than Jeremiah, uprooted the nations’ vices and planted faith.
- Ambrose reads the flow of blood figuratively as bodily pleasures. Quotations: Ps 107:20 (LXX 106:20); Jer 1:9–10; Heb 1:1–2; John 7:16.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray digit and OCR slip in the digital text; stray letters in the digital text): b a mea → mea; 4et dedificare → et aedificare; frequentet → frequenter.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.10.3 (CSEL 64:267–268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-10-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-10-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 11
43.11.1CSEL 64:268
Unde pulchre tibi apostolus dicit: sed regnauit mors ab Adam usque ad Moyse. quid est Moyses nisi lex, quoniam ipse interpres est legis? finis autem legis Christus Iesus. regnauit ergo peccatum in hoc mundo et in peccato mors saeua atque intolerabilis quaedam poena peccati. docuit quidem nos Moyses leuare ad dominum manus, pii cultus instituens disciplinam.
Hence the apostle rightly says to you: “But death reigned from Adam to Moses.” What is Moses but the law, since he himself is the interpreter of the law? But the end of the law is Christ Jesus. Sin, then, reigned in this world, and in sin death, a cruel and unbearable punishment of sin. Moses indeed taught us to lift up our hands to the Lord, establishing the discipline of pious worship.
Rom 5:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 5:21 (allusion, medium confidence) · Exod 17:11 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Death reigned until Moses, that is, the law, whose end is Christ; Moses taught us to lift our hands to the Lord.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): jnstituens → instituens.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.11.1 (CSEL 64:268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-11-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-11-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.11.2CSEL 64:268
docuit quemadmodum Amalec uersutilocus uinceretur, ut mores nostros et opera leuaremus ad Christum; sic destrui posse perfidiam; sin uero deiceremus animam, inclinaremus affectum et a continentiae studio auerteremus ingenium, ut persuasio nos uana superaret, nullum
He taught how Amalek, the crafty-tongued, was to be conquered: that we should lift up our ways of life and our works to Christ; so faithlessness could be destroyed. But if we let our soul sink, bent down our affection, and turned our mind away from the pursuit of continence, so that vain persuasion overcame us, there would be no
Exod 17:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 17:13 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses’ raised hands teach us to lift our conduct to Christ in order to defeat Amalek, the deceiver.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word spaces lost and OCR slips in the digital text): auerteremusingeniumut persuasid nos uana superaietnullum → auerteremus ingenium, ut persuasio nos uana superaret, nullum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.11.2 (CSEL 64:268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-11-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-11-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.11.3CSEL 64:268–269
remedium futurum, nisi Iesus depressa iam brachia Moysi tamquam infirmitatem legis attolleret et sua misericordia sustineret. sed infirmum adhuc fuisset legis auxilium, nisi ipse Iesus uenisset in terras, qui in se nostras susciperet infirmitates, quem solum nostra peccata grauare non possent nec inclinare manus eius, qui se inclinauit usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis, in qua expandens manus suas totum orbem qui erat periturus erexit, leuauit iacentes atque ad se omnium gentium fidem traxit dicens homini: hodie mecum eris in paradiso. hoc est ergo disperdere atque plantare, ut uitiosa eradicentur, meliora plantentur in pectoribus singulorum.
remedy to come, unless Jesus lifted up the arms of Moses, already sinking, as being the weakness of the law, and sustained them by his mercy. But the help of the law would still have been weak, had not Jesus himself come to earth, to take upon himself our weaknesses, whom alone our sins could not weigh down nor make his hands sink, he who humbled himself to death, even the death of the cross, on which, stretching out his hands, he raised up the whole world that was about to perish, lifted up those lying down, and drew to himself the faith of all nations, saying to a man: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This, then, is to destroy and to plant: that vices be uprooted and better things planted in the hearts of each.
Exod 17:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 8:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Phil 2:8 (quotation, high confidence) · John 12:32 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 23:43 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 44:2 (43:3 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jesus (Joshua) upholding Moses’ arms prefigures Christ, who on the cross stretched out his hands to raise the world.
- In Exod 17:12 Aaron and Hur hold up Moses’ hands while Joshua fights; Ambrose has Jesus (Joshua) as figure of Christ sustain them.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): ina firmum → infirmum.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.11.3 (CSEL 64:268–269; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-11-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-11-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.11.4CSEL 64:269
de quo praeclare Moyses in Exodi cantico ait: inducens planta eos in montem hereditatis tuae, in praeparatum habitaculum tuum, petens ut induceret dominus populum suum in illa praecelsae uirtutis sapientiaeque plantaria ibique plantaretur in opera sua et institueretur praeceptorum caelestium disciplinis atque in eo praepararet sibi suae sanctificationis habitaculum, quod utique non hereditario iure nec nostrorum contemplatione meritorum, sed pro sua gratia dominus conferre dignatur. quomodo enim, ubi remanere non potuimus, eo redire possemus nisi priuilegio fulti redemptionis aeternae?
Of this Moses splendidly says in the song of Exodus: “Bringing them in, plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, in your prepared dwelling”, asking that the Lord would bring his people into those nurseries of high virtue and wisdom and plant it there in his works and train it in the disciplines of the heavenly commandments, and prepare in it a dwelling of his sanctification, which the Lord deigns to grant not by hereditary right nor in view of our merits, but by his grace. For how could we return to the place where we could not remain, unless supported by the privilege of eternal redemption?
Exod 15:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 2:8 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses’ prayer to plant the people in God’s mountain points to God planting his people in virtue by grace.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word split and OCR slip in the digital text): i nducens plantato eos → inducens planta eos; heieditario → hereditario.
Topics: Grace
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.11.4 (CSEL 64:269; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-11-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-11-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 12
43.12.1CSEL 64:269
Et ideo pulchre dixit propheta: quoniam non in gladio suo possederunt terram et brachium suum non liberauit eos, sed dextera tua et brachium tuum et inluminatio uultus tui, quoniam complacuit tibi in illis. quae est igitur terra, quae non brachio capiatur, non gladio possideatur, nisi terra repromissionis, de qua hic ipse dixit propheta: credo uidere bona domini in terra uiuentium? non inmerito igitur eius tam praeclara possessio est, in qua non saeculi aduersa dominantur, sed domini bona aeterna fructificant.
And therefore the prophet rightly said: “For they did not possess the land by their own sword, and their own arm did not free them, but your right hand and your arm and the light of your countenance, because you were well pleased with them.” What, then, is the land which is not taken by the arm nor possessed by the sword, unless the land of promise, of which this same prophet said: “I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living”? Not undeservedly, then, is its possession so glorious, in which the adversities of the world do not rule, but the eternal good things of the Lord bear fruit.
Ps 44:3 (43:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 27:13 (26:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The land won not by sword but by God’s right hand is the land of promise, the land of the living.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllable in the digital text; word splits and OCR slip in the digital text): lib e r it eo s → liberauit eos; inlumin at o uultus → inluminatio uultus; quoniam am complacuit → quoniam complacuit.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.12.1 (CSEL 64:269; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.12.2CSEL 64:269–270
ideoque non gladio adquiritur, sed mansuetudine possidetur, sicut dominus Iesus testificatus est dicens: beati mites. ipsi enim possidebunt terram. nemo ergo inpacificus, nemo arrogans aut superbus, sed mansuetus et humilis corde, qui nihil sibi arroget, sed totum ad gratiam referat, non in sua fortitudine glorietur, sed dextera dei credat se esse protectum dicens: dextera domini fecit uirtutem, dextera domini exaltauit me, gladio quoque dei memoret se esse seruatum, inluminat quoque dei uultu omnipotentis;
And therefore it is not acquired by the sword but possessed by gentleness, as the Lord Jesus testified, saying: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land.” So let no one be unpeaceful, no one arrogant or proud, but gentle and humble of heart, claiming nothing for himself but referring all to grace, not glorying in his own strength, but believing that he is protected by the right hand of God, saying: “The right hand of the Lord has done mightily, the right hand of the Lord has exalted me”; let him recall too that he has been kept safe by the sword of God and by the light of the countenance of almighty God;
Matt 5:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:29 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 118:16 (117:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The land is possessed by the meek, who claim nothing for themselves and trust in God’s right hand.
- The last clause is garbled in the digital text (inluminat … uultu) and is translated by sense.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.12.2 (CSEL 64:269–270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.12.3CSEL 64:270
in quibus omnibus Christus est protector, dextera, defensor et gladius. unde et Symeon dixit ad Mariam: et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius. gladius enim dei uerbum est, quod acutius omni gladio usque ad diuisiones animae cogitationesque pertransit, ut nulla cognitionem eius occulta praetereant. uultus quoque paterni splendor est Christus et ideo dicit: qui me uidet, uidet et patrem, quasi splendor gloriae eius et imago substantiae.
in all of which Christ is the protector, the right hand, the defender and the sword. Hence Simeon too said to Mary: “And a sword will pierce through your own soul.” For the sword is the word of God, which, sharper than any sword, pierces to the divisions of soul and thoughts, so that nothing hidden escapes its knowledge. Christ is also the brightness of the Father’s countenance, and therefore he says: “He who sees me sees the Father also”, as the brightness of his glory and the image of his substance.
Luke 2:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 4:12 (allusion, high confidence) · John 14:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 1:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is the right hand, the sword (the word of God) and the brightness of the Father’s countenance.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): cogitationesque. pertransit → cogitationesque pertransit.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.12.3 (CSEL 64:270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.12.4CSEL 64:270
ad ipsum ergo omnia iure referenda sunt. ipsi Moyses, ipsi Aaron, ipsi etiam patres sacrabant uniuersa quae gesserant, ut de hostibus triumpharent. neque enim in sua confidentia dixit Iesus Naue: stet sol contra Gabaon, sed quia praesumebat in Christo, quem ducem militiae caelestis agnouit et suppliciter adorauit. et ideo gentes feras eradicare promeruit et populum patrum in terram repromissionis inducere, quia nihil suis operibus deputabat, credens indigna esse opera hominum tanta gloriae remuneratione caelestis, quam dominus
To him, then, all things must rightly be referred. To him Moses, to him Aaron, to him the fathers too consecrated all that they had done, in order to triumph over their enemies. For it was not in his own confidence that Jesus son of Nave said: “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon”, but because he presumed upon Christ, whom he recognized as leader of the heavenly army and worshipped as a suppliant. And therefore he was found worthy to uproot fierce nations and bring the people of the fathers into the land of promise, because he attributed nothing to his own works, believing that the works of men are unworthy of so great a reward of heavenly glory, which the Lord
Josh 10:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Josh 5:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 8:18 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Joshua stopped the sun not by his own confidence but by trust in Christ, attributing nothing to his works.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Topics: Good works and merit
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.12.4 (CSEL 64:270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.12.5CSEL 64:270–271
ex sua magis misericordia quam pro nostrorum contemplatione factorum statuit in se credentibus conferendam. unde et Abraham inpigre deo credidit, ut apud eum iustificationis gratiam repperiret quam mercedem sui operis collocaret; uberiora enim dona sunt largientis quam merces operantis. propterea et illi, qui aequalitatem mercedis inuiderat, respondit dominus: si ego bonus, oculus tuus quare nequam? patres ergo nostri, utpote proximi et heredes patriarcharum, plantati in terra repromissionis non suis hoc meritis uindicabant.
has determined to bestow on those who believe in him out of his own mercy rather than in consideration of our deeds. Hence Abraham too promptly believed God, so as to find with him the grace of justification, rather than to place it as the wage of his work; for the gifts of the giver are richer than the wage of the worker. Therefore to that man who had begrudged the equality of the wage the Lord replied: “If I am good, why is your eye evil?” Our fathers, then, as neighbours and heirs of the patriarchs, planted in the land of promise, did not claim this by their own merits.
Gen 15:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 4:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 4:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 20:15 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God gives the reward from mercy, not merit, as with Abraham’s faith and the parable of the labourers.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): coulus → oculus.
Topics: Grace, Good works and merit
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.12.5 (CSEL 64:270–271; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.12.6CSEL 64:271
ideo nec Moyses eos induxit, ne legis hoc aestimetur esse, sed gratiae; lex enim merita examinat, gratia fidem spectat. unde praeclare apostolus fidem patrum secutus ait: sed neque qui plantat est quicquam neque qui rigat, sed qui dat incrementum deus. non enim Iesus Naue, quia induxit neque quia plantauit eos, sed deus, qui incrementum populo dedit, habet gloriae principatum.
Therefore Moses did not bring them in either, so that this should not be thought to be of the law but of grace; for the law examines merits, grace looks to faith. Hence the apostle, following the faith of the fathers, splendidly says: “Neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the growth.” For it is not Jesus son of Nave, because he brought them in or because he planted them, but God, who gave the people growth, who has the primacy of glory.
Deut 34:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 3:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Not Moses or Joshua but God, who gives the growth, has the glory of bringing the people into the land.
Topics: Grace
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.12.6 (CSEL 64:271; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-12-6
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 13
43.13.1CSEL 64:271
Nec te moueat, quia superius dixit: manus tua gentes disperdidit, et plantasti eos. hinc enim colligis, quia non omnis qui plantat aut qui rigat incrementum dat, sed qui incrementum potest dare potest ipse plantare, sicut gentes plantasse dicitur dominus. ipse enim plantauit qui plantationi donauit effectum, in his tamen qui per fidem Christi domino placere meruerunt, cui soli a patre dicitur deo: filius meus tu es, in te complacui.
And do not be troubled because he said above: “Your hand destroyed the nations, and you planted them.” From this you gather that not everyone who plants or waters gives the growth, but he who can give the growth can himself plant, as the Lord is said to have planted the nations. For he planted who gave effect to the planting, yet in those who were found worthy through the faith of Christ to please the Lord, to whom alone as God it is said by the Father: “You are my Son, in you I am well pleased.”
Ps 44:2 (43:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 3:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 1:11 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God, who gives the growth, is himself the planter, in those who please him through faith in Christ.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.13.1 (CSEL 64:271; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-13-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-13-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.13.2CSEL 64:271
qui ergo participes Christi sunt, ab eo placendi gratiam consecuntur. et pulchre ait: complacuit tibi in illis, ut distantia uideatur iure seruata. recte enim deus in filio complacet, quia aequalis est patri nec in ullo decolor inuenitur, quia complacet diuinae iure naturae et unitate substantiae. et recte complacet in filio pater, quia pater honorificatur in filio sicut in patre filius. in nobis autem deo complacuit, quia nobis ipse donauit, ut ei placere possimus. pie autem et hoc homini specialiter donatum, non arrogantius usurpatum scriptura nos docuit.
Those, then, who are partakers of Christ obtain from him the grace of pleasing. And beautifully he says: “You were well pleased with them”, so that the distinction seems rightly kept. For rightly God is well pleased in the Son, because he is equal to the Father and found unlike in nothing, because he is well pleasing by right of the divine nature and by unity of substance. And rightly the Father is well pleased in the Son, because the Father is honoured in the Son as the Son in the Father. But with us God was well pleased, because he himself gave us the power to please him. And Scripture has taught us that this too was piously given to man as a special gift, not arrogantly usurped.
Heb 3:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 44:3 (43:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 5:23 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 14:13 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God is pleased in the Son by nature and unity of substance, and with us because he gave us the power to please him.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): conSecuntur → consecuntur.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.13.2 (CSEL 64:271; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-13-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-13-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.13.3CSEL 64:271–272
decet enim, ut in his complaceat deo, quos ad similitudinem suam fecit et quos per imaginem suam uoluit praerogatiuam gratiae habere caelestis. in imagine ergo sua deus complacet, in his autem, qui secundum imaginem ipsius sunt, complacet deo. in his autem suum munus et suum donum, quod tunc reuelabitur, cum perfectum illud aduenerit, quia, cum apparuerit quid simus, similes ei erimus, ut scriptum est.
For it is fitting that he should be well pleased with those whom he made to his likeness and whom through his image he wished to have the privilege of heavenly grace. So God is well pleased in his Image, and in those who are according to his image he is well pleased. In them is his gift and his present, which will be revealed when that which is perfect has come, because, when it appears what we are, we shall be like him, as it is written.
Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:15 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 13:10 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 John 3:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God is pleased in his Image, the Son, and in those made according to that image, whose likeness will be revealed.
Topics: The image of God
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.13.3 (CSEL 64:271–272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-13-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-13-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 14
43.14.1CSEL 64:272
Ergo qui non in brachio suo, hoc est in sua operatione praesumit, sed in dei gratia, credens quod non facta sua unumquemque iustificant, sed fides prompta, dicit domino: tu es ipse rex meus et deus meus, qui mandas salutes Iacob. non perfunctorius sermo est, ut dicas: tu es ipse rex meus. non quicumque hoc dicit, sed in quo dei regnum est, in quo autem regnat deus, utique in eo peccata non regnant; non enim deo regnum est commune cum crimine.
So he who presumes not on his own arm, that is, on his own working, but on the grace of God, believing that it is not one’s own deeds that justify each one but ready faith, says to the Lord: “You are yourself my king and my God, who command the salvations of Jacob.” It is no casual saying, that you should say: “You are yourself my king.” Not anyone who says this, but the one in whom the kingdom of God is; and in whom God reigns, sins certainly do not reign; for God has no kingdom in common with crime.
Ps 44:4 (43:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:28 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 6:12 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only one in whom God reigns, not sin, can truly say, “You are my king and my God.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word splits and a word (rex) lost in the digital text; the psalm verse is repeated below): t u es ipse m eus → tu es ipse rex meus; I aeob → Iacob.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.14.1 (CSEL 64:272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-14-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-14-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.14.2CSEL 64:272
quis autem dicit deum suum nisi qui ipsi exhibet plenum reuerentiae et pietatis affectum? iusto enim dicitur: ego sum deus tuus. denique et Thomas, ubi tetigit manu propria latus Christi et euidentia indicia indubitatae resurrectionis inuenit, respondit: dominus meus et deus meus;
And who calls God his own except one who shows him a disposition full of reverence and piety? For to the righteous it is said: “I am your God.” Finally Thomas too, when he touched Christ’s side with his own hand and found the evident marks of an undoubted resurrection, answered: “My Lord and my God”;
Gen 17:7 (allusion, low confidence) · John 20:27 (allusion, high confidence) · John 20:28 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only the righteous call God their own, as Thomas did when he touched Christ’s side.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.14.2 (CSEL 64:272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-14-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-14-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.14.3CSEL 64:272
dominus, quia redemit seruulos suos, deus, quia non solum resurrexit, sed etiam ipse se suscitauit. mandauit autem salutes Iacob, quia in singulis oraculis salus est, in singulis quoque salus est mansionibus, salus in ministeriis angelorum qui ad protectionem hominum deputantur. ex mandato ergo dei salus homini, non ex sua operatione confertur. deus enim maluit, ut salus homini fide potius quam operibus quaereretur, ne quis gloriaretur in suis factis et peccatum incurreret. qui autem gloriatur in domino, fructum pietatis adquirit et iactantiae crimen euadit.
Lord, because he redeemed his servants; God, because he not only rose again but also raised himself. And he commanded the salvations of Jacob, because in each oracle there is salvation, in each of the dwellings there is salvation, salvation in the ministries of the angels who are appointed for the protection of men. So salvation is given to man by the command of God, not from his own working. For God preferred that salvation should be sought by man through faith rather than works, lest anyone should glory in his deeds and incur sin. But he who glories in the Lord gains the fruit of piety and escapes the crime of boasting.
Ps 44:4 (43:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Heb 1:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 2:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 2:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:31 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is Lord and God; salvation comes by God’s command and through faith, not works, lest anyone boast.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): hcminum → hominum.
Topics: Christology, Justification, Grace
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.14.3 (CSEL 64:272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-14-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-14-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 15
43.15.1CSEL 64:272–273
Hic igitur est qui potest dicere: in te inimicos nostros uentilabimus. quid est uentilare? dedit dominus cornua pluribus animantibus, ut possint se a ferarum incursione defendere. ideoque et bos leoni frequenter resistit, ursum proterit; ceruus quoque, quamuis sit pauidus, tamen et ipse cornibus se tuetur, aries quoque arietat lupum. ergo ea quae cornua habent animalia uentilare dicuntur. sed homo cornua non habet: quomodo ergo uentilat?
This, then, is the one who can say: “In you we will toss our enemies.” What is “to toss”? The Lord gave horns to many animals, so that they might defend themselves from the attack of wild beasts. And so the ox often resists the lion and tramples the bear; the stag too, although timid, yet protects itself with its horns; the ram too butts the wolf. So those animals that have horns are said to toss. But man has no horns: how, then, does he toss?
Ps 44:5 (43:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “Toss” refers to horned animals defending themselves; how can man, who has no horns, toss his enemies?
- “Toss” translates uentilare (Greek κερατίζειν, “to gore with horns”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray line number in the digital text; word splits and stray period in the digital text): i n t e inimico s n ostros uentilabimus.. → in te inimicos nostros uentilabimus.; ergo 30 uentilat → ergo uentilat.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.15.1 (CSEL 64:272–273; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-15-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-15-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.15.2CSEL 64:273
unde uide scriptura quid dicat: in te, inquit, inimicos nostros uentilabimus. cornu nostrum es tu, domine Iesu, et ideo, sicut non in brachio nostro praesumimus, ita non in cornibus nostris uentilandi habemus praesidium, sed in Christo. habet enim fides cornua sua, quae mutuatur a Christo. siquidem non otiose in benedictionibus Moysi legimus: qui est uisus in rubo ueniat super caput Ioseph et super uerticem eius glorificatus inter fratres suos primogenitus. tauri decus [species] ipsius, cornua unicornui cornua ipsius; in ipsis gentes uentilabit simul usque ad extremum terrae. haec decem milia Ephraem et haec milia Manasse.
See, then, what Scripture says: “In you,” it says, “we will toss our enemies.” You are our horn, Lord Jesus; and therefore, just as we do not presume on our own arm, so we do not have the protection for tossing in our own horns, but in Christ. For faith has its own horns, which it borrows from Christ. Indeed, not idly do we read in the blessings of Moses: “May he who was seen in the bush come upon the head of Joseph, and upon his crown, glorified among his brothers, the firstborn. The beauty of a bull is his; the horns of the unicorn are his horns; with them he will toss the nations together to the end of the earth. These are the ten thousands of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasseh.”
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Ps 44:5 (43:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 1:69 (allusion, medium confidence) · Deut 33:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 33:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is our horn, as Moses’ blessing of Joseph, with the horns of the unicorn, foretold.
- Deut 33:16–17 in the Latin form. The editor deletes the word “[species]” (in square brackets); it is left out.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word space lost in the digital text; word splits in the digital text): in t e, inquit, i n imicos → in te, inquit, inimicos; [species] psius → [species] ipsius; miliaEphraem → milia Ephraem.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.15.2 (CSEL 64:273; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-15-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-15-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.15.3CSEL 64:273
quis est in rubo uisus Moysi nisi primogenitus dei filius, qui ait: ego sum deus patrum tuorum, deus Abraham, deus Isaac, deus Iacob? ideo se demonstrauit humanis aspectibus, quia uenturus erat, ut ab omnibus uideretur. ideo rubus urebatur et non exurebatur, quia terram istam, quae nobis spinas germinabat et sentes, disponebat urere per continentiae disciplinam. quam consumere per mortis aerumnam. unde dicit propheta: ure renes meos et cor meum.
Who is the one seen by Moses in the bush but the firstborn Son of God, who says: “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob”? Therefore he showed himself to human sight, because he was to come so as to be seen by all. Therefore the bush burned and was not burnt up, because he was disposing to burn this earth, which was sprouting thorns and briars for us, through the discipline of continence, rather than to consume it through the misery of death. Hence the prophet says: “Burn my reins and my heart.”
Deut 33:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 3:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 3:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 3:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 26:2 (25:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The one in the burning bush was the Son of God, who purifies our thorny earth by continence rather than destroying it.
- Exod 3:2–6; Gen 3:18; Ps 26:2 (LXX 25:2). One clause is garbled (disciplinam. quam) and is translated by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word spaces lost and word split in the digital text): usus Moysi → uisus Moysi; renesmeos etcormeu m. → renes meos et cor meum..
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.15.3 (CSEL 64:273; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-15-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-15-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.15.4CSEL 64:273–274
reuelauit ergo futurum quoddam corporei splendoris indicium, quo per resurrectionem caro ista fulgeret. quid enim significabat ignis innoxius nisi lumina resurgentium? unde praesumpsit apostolus dicere, quia, sicut stella a stella differt in claritate, ita et resurrectio mortuorum. hic ergo, inquit, ueniat super caput tribus Ioseph, ut exaltet caput populi sui, ueniat etiam super uerticem, ut uerticem capilli perambulet amputaturus superflua delictorum, sanctificaturus ornamenta uirtutum.
So he revealed a certain sign of the future splendour of the body, by which this flesh would shine through the resurrection. For what did the harmless fire signify but the lights of those who rise again? Hence the apostle ventured to say that, as star differs from star in brightness, so also is the resurrection of the dead. “Let him come,” then, he says, “upon the head” of the tribe of Joseph, to exalt the head of his people; let him come also upon the crown, to pass over the crown of the hair, to cut away the superfluities of sins and to sanctify the adornments of virtues.
1 Cor 15:41 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:42 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 33:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The fire that did not consume the bush signifies the glory of the risen body.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips): spiendons mdicium → splendoris indicium.
Topics: Eschatology, Resurrection of the body
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.15.4 (CSEL 64:273–274; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-15-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-15-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 16
43.16.1CSEL 64:274
Hic est glorificatus inter fratres suos, sicut ipse dicit: narrabo nomen tuum fratribus meis. quae maior est gloria quam pectoribus nationum cognitionem diuinitatis infundere? quem in uisione uidit Ioseph, quod manipulum eius adorarent fratrum manipuli, adoraret eum sol et luna cum stellis. manipulus ille in figura carnis accipitur; omnis enim caro faenum. fae-
This is he who was glorified among his brothers, as he himself says: “I will tell your name to my brothers.” What greater glory than to pour the knowledge of the Godhead into the hearts of the nations? It was he whom Joseph saw in his vision, that his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to his sheaf, and that the sun and moon with the stars bowed down to him. That sheaf is taken as a figure of the flesh; for all flesh is grass. He took up
Deut 33:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 22:22 (21:23 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 37:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 37:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 40:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is the one glorified among his brothers, whom Joseph’s dream of the sheaves foreshadowed.
- Ps 22:22 (LXX 21:23); Gen 37:7, 9; Isa 40:6. The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word splits and stray period in the digital text): n a rrabo nomen tu.um → narrabo nomen tuum.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.16.1 (CSEL 64:274; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-16-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-16-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.16.2CSEL 64:274
num suscepit hoc nostrum, ut suum triticum germinaret et fructum resurrectionis afferret. quaeris testimonium? audi de se dicentem: nisi granum tritici cadens in terram moriatur, ipsum solum manet; si autem mortuum fuerit, multum fructum afferet. denique ut scias, quia de dei filio dicit Moyses, ait: glorificatus inter fratres suos primogenitus. utique non Ioseph erat primogenitus inter filios Iacob, sed Ruben; nam Ioseph post plurimos erat. sed primogenitus dicitur qui uenturus erat, ut nationum populos congregaret.
this grass of ours, so that it might sprout his wheat and bring the fruit of resurrection. Do you seek a testimony? Hear him saying of himself: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it will bear much fruit.” Finally, so that you may know that Moses speaks of the Son of God, he says: “Glorified among his brothers, the firstborn.” Certainly Joseph was not the firstborn among the sons of Jacob, but Reuben; for Joseph came after very many. But he is called firstborn who was to come to gather the peoples of the nations.
John 12:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 33:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 49:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 8:29 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ took our flesh to bear the fruit of resurrection; “firstborn” cannot mean Joseph, who was not the eldest.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.16.2 (CSEL 64:274; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-16-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-16-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 17
43.17.1CSEL 64:274
Unde pulchre ait scriptura: tauri decus eius. sicut enim taurus ducit armentum, ita Christus plebem gentium duxit ad ecclesiam, induxit ad pascua, ut posset dicere: in locum pascuae, ibi me conlocauit; Super aquam refectionis constituit me. huius tauri decorem pro captu nostrae fragilitatis armenta secuta sunt praecedentem, ut uitam adipiscerentur aeternam. mugiuit hic taurus et mors refugit.
Hence Scripture beautifully says: “The beauty of a bull is his.” For as the bull leads the herd, so Christ led the people of the nations to the church, led them into pasture, so that it could say: “In a place of pasture, there he has set me; by the water of refreshment he has placed me.” The herds, as far as our frailty allows, have followed the beauty of this bull as he went before, to obtain eternal life. This bull bellowed, and death fled.
Deut 33:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 23:2 (22:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is the bull who leads his herd, the nations, to the pasture of the church.
- Deut 33:17; Ps 23:2 (LXX 22:2).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.17.1 (CSEL 64:274; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.17.2CSEL 64:274–275
leo rugit, et quis non timet? uere maxima taurus uictima, ut ab aduersariis assumamus testimonia; quae maior enim uictima quam quae mundi totius peccatum suo cruore mundauit? audi, quia ipsum taurum dicit etiam sanctus propheta Iacob, cum reuelaret domini passionem, quem Iudaei postea persecuti sunt: in furore, inquit, suo subneruauerunt taurum. et ut aperiret, quia de Iudaeis dicebat, addidit: diuidam eos in Iacob et dispergam in Israel.
“The lion roars, and who will not fear?” Truly the bull is the greatest victim, to take a testimony from our adversaries; for what greater victim than the one that cleansed the sin of the whole world with its blood? Hear that the holy prophet Jacob too calls him a bull, when he revealed the passion of the Lord, whom the Jews afterwards persecuted: “In their fury,” he says, “they hamstrung the bull”; and to make it clear that he spoke of the Jews, he added: “I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”
Amos 3:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 49:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 49:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The bull is the greatest victim, Christ, whose passion Jacob foretold: “They hamstrung the bull.”
- Amos 3:8; Gen 49:6–7 (LXX “they hamstrung a bull”). “From our adversaries”: the pagans, for whom the bull was the greatest sacrifice. Ambrose’s application to the Jews is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and lost word space in the digital text; word spaces lost and OCR slip in the digital text): leorugitetquisnontimett uere → leo rugit, et quis non timet? uere; subneruauert taurum.et → subneruauerunt taurum. et.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.17.2 (CSEL 64:274–275; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.17.3CSEL 64:275
hic est homo qui luctatus est cum Iacob et femur eius tetigit, quo tactu patriarchae neruus obstupuit, significans ex eius successione secundum carnem se esse uenturum, qui subneruandus esset a populo Iudaeorum in sui corporis passione. quod non intellegentes mysterium statuerunt, ne neruum manducarent filii Israel.
This is the man who wrestled with Jacob and touched his thigh, at whose touch the sinew of the patriarch grew numb, signifying that he would come from his descendants according to the flesh, he who was to be hamstrung by the people of the Jews in the passion of his body. Not understanding this mystery, they decreed that the sons of Israel should not eat the sinew.
Gen 32:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 32:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 32:32 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The one who wrestled with Jacob and touched his sinew foreshadowed Christ, hamstrung in his passion.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word space lost in the digital text): hicest → hic est.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.17.3 (CSEL 64:275; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.17.4CSEL 64:275
et ideo sacri sanguinis se redemptione fraudarunt, salutiferae quoque passionis se beneficiis abdicauerunt, ne uitam mereantur aeternam, quia scriptum est: nisi manducaueritis carnem filii hominis et biberitis eius sanguinem, non habebitis uitam in uobis ipsis. qui autem manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem, habebit uitam aeternam. accipe aliud.
And therefore they cheated themselves of the redemption of the sacred blood and renounced the benefits of the saving passion, so as not to be found worthy of eternal life, because it is written: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. But he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life.” Take another meaning.
John 6:53 (quotation, high confidence) · John 6:54 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: By refusing the “sinew”, the passion of Christ, they renounced the flesh and blood that give eternal life.
Topics: Eucharist
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.17.4 (CSEL 64:275; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.17.5CSEL 64:275
quid est neruus nisi quo corpus omne constringitur? corpus Christi ecclesia est, quae uinculo stringitur caritatis. quid aliud in Christo Iudaei nisi caritatis uinculum omne soluerunt? merito Petrus sacerdos eligitur, qui spiritu caritatis diuinae triplici se ligauit.
What is the sinew but that by which the whole body is bound together? The body of Christ is the church, which is bound by the bond of love. What else did the Jews do in Christ but loosen every bond of love? Rightly Peter is chosen as priest, who bound himself with the threefold spirit of divine love.
Col 1:24 (allusion, medium confidence) · Col 3:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 21:15 (allusion, high confidence) · John 21:17 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The sinew is love, the bond of Christ’s body the church; Peter, who professed love three times, is chosen.
- Peter’s threefold confession of love: John 21:15–17.
Topics: Church office, Rome and Peter
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.17.5 (CSEL 64:275; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-17-5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 18
43.18.1CSEL 64:275–276
Accipe adhuc, quia ipsum significauit Moyses. adiecit: cornua unicornui cornua ipsius; in ipsis gentes uentilabit. sed noli timere quia uentilat; dixit enim: percutiam et sanabo. bona cornua, quibus inclusit orbem terrarum; bona cornua, quibus leonem illum nostrum aduersarium uentilauit; bona cornua, quibus fecit ut cornua aduersarii timere nequeamus, quia et satanas habet cornua sua, sicut testificatus est Danihel dicens: uidebam et cornu illud quod faciebat pugnam cum sanctis, et inualescebat eis, donec uenit antiquus dierum.
Take it further that Moses signified him. He added: “The horns of the unicorn are his horns; with them he will toss the nations.” But do not fear that he tosses; for he said: “I will strike and I will heal.” Good horns, with which he enclosed the world; good horns, with which he tossed that lion our adversary; good horns, with which he brought it about that we need not fear the horns of the adversary; for Satan too has his horns, as Daniel testified, saying: “I saw, and that horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came.”
Deut 33:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 32:39 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Pet 5:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Dan 7:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Dan 7:22 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ’s horns toss the nations to heal them and overcome Satan, whose horn Daniel saw.
- Deut 33:17; Deut 32:39; Dan 7:21–22.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text; word space lost in the digital text): Moyses.adiecit → Moyses. adiecit; dicens:.uidebam → dicens: uidebam.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.18.1 (CSEL 64:275–276; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-18-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-18-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.18.2CSEL 64:276
hic est antiquus dierum. quis autem unicornuus nisi unigenitus dei filius et unicum dei uerbum, quod erat in principio apud patrem? quod uerbum suis cornibus gentium populos mortificauit et uiuificauit, ut fierent in decem milia Ephraem usque ad terminos terrae et usque in milia Manasse, eo quod crediturus esset in eum populus nationum, qui totum repleret orbem terrarum, crediturus esset postea etiam populus Iudaeorum ex obliuione conuersus ad gratiam; oblitus est enim salutem suam, qui tam sero conuerteretur ad Christum. ideo Saul in milibus, Dauid in decem milibus, quia durus in paucis, mansuetus in pluribus.
He is the Ancient of Days. And who is the unicorn but the only-begotten Son of God and the only Word of God, which was in the beginning with the Father? This Word with his horns put to death and gave life to the peoples of the nations, so that they became the ten thousands of Ephraim to the ends of the earth and the thousands of Manasseh, because the people of the nations would believe in him and fill the whole world, and afterwards the people of the Jews too would believe, turned from forgetfulness to grace; for it has forgotten its salvation, since it would be converted to Christ so late. Therefore Saul in thousands, David in ten thousands, because he is harsh in few, gentle in more.
Dan 7:9 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:1 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:14 (echo, low confidence) · Deut 33:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:25 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Sam 18:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The unicorn is the only-begotten Word, who gives life to the nations in tens of thousands and later to the Jews.
- Ephraim (the younger, more numerous) is read as the gentiles, Manasseh as the Jews. “Saul in thousands, David in ten thousands”: 1 Sam 18:7.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.18.2 (CSEL 64:276; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-18-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-18-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 19
43.19.1CSEL 64:276
Neque tamen abnuo, si quis quasi ad Ioseph dictum putat: primogenitus tauri decus eius et sic distinguendum putat, quia dedit et sanctis suis cornua. exaltauit enim cornua populi sui, et Anna mater prophetae Samuhel dicit: exultauit cor meum in domino, exaltatum est cornu meum in deo meo. habuit utique et Ioseph in domino cornua spiritalia. accipiatur itaque Ioseph, dummodo in ipso figura sit Christi, cui dicitur:. Ioseph filius meus amplificatus, filius meus iunior; ad me reuertere.
Yet I do not refuse if anyone thinks it was said to Joseph: “The firstborn, the beauty of a bull is his”, and thinks it should be divided thus, because he gave horns to his saints too. For he exalted the horns of his people, and Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel, says: “My heart has exulted in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God.” Joseph too certainly had spiritual horns in the Lord. So let it be taken of Joseph, provided that in him there is a figure of Christ, to whom it is said: “Joseph my son increased, my younger son; return to me.”
Deut 33:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 148:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 2:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 49:22 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The blessing may be taken of Joseph, who had spiritual horns, but only as a figure of Christ.
- 1 Sam 2:1; Ps 148:14. “Joseph my son increased …”: Gen 49:22 in the Old Latin form.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word space lost in the digital text): etsic → et sic.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.19.1 (CSEL 64:276; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-19-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.19.2CSEL 64:276–277
neque enim Ioseph ad Iacob reuertitur, sed Christus a mortuis resuscitatus ad patrem deum reuertitur, ut scriptum est: a summo caelo egressio eius et occursus eius usque ad summum eius. est tamen ut de Ioseph accipiatur: reuertere ad me, quia populus reuertitur in terram Chananaeorum, in quibus ante habitauerant patriarchae. unde dicit Isaac ad Iacob: non accipies uxorem a filiabus Chananaeorum et mittit eum in Mesopotamiam, ut ibi sibi coniugem repperiret. numquid ei insidiati sunt domini sagittarum?
For it is not Joseph who returns to Jacob, but Christ, raised from the dead, returns to God the Father, as it is written: “His going out is from the highest heaven, and his meeting is to its highest point.” Yet it may be taken of Joseph: “Return to me”, because the people returns to the land of the Canaanites, in which the patriarchs had lived before. Hence Isaac says to Jacob: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites”, and sends him to Mesopotamia to find a wife there. Did the lords of the arrows lie in wait for him?
Ps 19:6 (18:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 28:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 28:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 49:23 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “Return to me” fits Christ, who returned to the Father, better than Joseph; the archers of Jacob’s blessing did not lie in wait for Joseph.
- Ps 19:6 (LXX 18:7); Gen 28:1–2; “the lords of the arrows”: Gen 49:23.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text; word space lost in the digital text): Ioseph. ad → Ioseph ad; etoccursus → et occursus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.19.2 (CSEL 64:276–277; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-19-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-19-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.19.3CSEL 64:277
numquid ipse - propter benedictionem uteri materni - in toto orbe benedictus est et non dominus Iesus, quem uirgo generauit? et ideo non solum super homines, sed etiam supra angelos et archangelos et supra omnem sublimitatem caelestium benedictus est potestatum, sicut scriptura testatur dicens benedictus qui uenit in nomine domini; deus dominus et inluxit nobis. dominus enim deus ipse est rex regum et dominus dominantium in his quae habentur in caelis.
Was he — because of the blessing of his mother’s womb — blessed in the whole world, and not the Lord Jesus, whom a virgin bore? And therefore he is blessed not only above men but also above angels and archangels and above every height of the heavenly powers, as Scripture testifies, saying: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; the Lord is God, and he has shone upon us.” For the Lord God himself is King of kings and Lord of lords in the things that are in heaven.
Gen 49:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 118:26 (117:26 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 118:27 (117:27 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 1:21 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 19:16 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The blessing of the womb belongs not to Joseph but to Christ, born of a virgin and blessed above all powers.
- Gen 49:25–26; Ps 118:26–27 (LXX 117:26–27); Rev 19:16.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): enedictus qui → benedictus qui.
Topics: Christology, Mary, mother of Jesus
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.19.3 (CSEL 64:277; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-19-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-19-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.19.4CSEL 64:277
propter haec cornua domini Iesu et Dauid in uoce tubae corneae canens auditus a Christo est et Moyses docuit sacrificiorum ritus tubae sonitu esse celebrandos, sicut scriptum est: canite initio mensis tuba. cui hoc nisi nobis scriptum est? menses enim ab initio lunae ueteres obseruare consuerant. luna autem ecclesia est, quae spiritalibus et euangelicis praedicationibus in abundantia pacis, ut propheta dixit, extollitur. in Christo ergo uentilabimus inimicos nostros.
Because of these horns of the Lord Jesus, David too, singing with the sound of the horn trumpet, was heard by Christ, and Moses taught that the rites of the sacrifices were to be celebrated with the sound of the trumpet, as it is written: “Sound the trumpet at the beginning of the month.” For whom was this written but for us? For the ancients used to observe the months from the beginning of the moon. And the moon is the church, which is lifted up by spiritual and gospel preaching in abundance of peace, as the prophet said. In Christ, then, we will toss our enemies.
Ps 98:6 (97:6 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Num 10:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 81:3 (80:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 72:7 (71:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 44:5 (43:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The horn trumpet of the sacrifices and of the new moon points to the church, the moon, raised by gospel preaching.
- Ps 98:6 (LXX 97:6); Num 10:10; Ps 81:3 (LXX 80:4); Ps 72:7 (LXX 71:7).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): canite-initio → canite initio.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.19.4 (CSEL 64:277; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-19-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-19-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 20
43.20.1CSEL 64:277
Et in nomine eius spernemus insurgentes in nos. quod est nomen nisi quo proprie unusquisque significatur, quod ei non sit commune cum ceteris? homo enim commune uocabulum est; nisi addas qui uocetur, non potest declarari. nomen ergo proprietas uniuscuiusque est, quo possit intellegi. unde arbitror quod et Moyses, uolens propria dei et aliquid de eo speciale cognoscere quod non esset commune cum caelestibus potestatibus. interrogauit: quod est nomen tuum?
“And in his name we will despise those who rise up against us.” What is a name but that by which each one is properly signified, which he does not have in common with the rest? For “man” is a common word; unless you add what he is called, he cannot be made known. A name, then, is the property of each one, by which he can be understood. Hence I think that Moses too, wishing to know the properties of God and something special about him that was not common with the heavenly powers, asked: “What is your name?”
Ps 44:5 (43:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 3:13 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A name expresses what is proper to each; so Moses asked God’s name to know what is proper to him.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen and word split in the digital text; stray period and OCR slip in the digital text): spe-rnemus insur gentes → spernemus insurgentes; uolens. propiia → uolens propria.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.20.1 (CSEL 64:277; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-20-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-20-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.20.2CSEL 64:277–278
denique cognoscens mentem eius deus non respondit nomen, sed negotium, hoc est rem expressit, non appellationem dicens: ego sum qui sum, quia nihil tam proprium dei quam semper esse. qui ergo negant Christum coaeternum patri, uideant quia deum negant, cuius est semper esse nec aliquando non fuisse. hac ergo cognitione proprietatis diuinae Moyses insurgentes in se uolebat spernere uel, ut Aquilas aut Symmachus dixerunt, calcare resistentes sibi tamquam serpentes et scorpiones, quos etiam dominus dicit in euan-
Finally, God, knowing his mind, did not answer with a name but with the thing, that is, he expressed the reality, not an appellation, saying: “I am who I am”, because nothing is so proper to God as always to be. Let those, then, who deny that Christ is co-eternal with the Father see that they deny God, whose property it is always to be and never at any time not to have been. With this knowledge of the divine property, then, Moses wished to despise those who rose up against him, or, as Aquila or Symmachus said, to trample those who resisted him like serpents and scorpions, which the Lord too says in the gospel
Exod 3:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 10:19 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s name, “I am who I am”, means eternal being; those who deny the Son’s co-eternity deny God.
- The polemic against those who deny the Son’s co-eternity is aimed at the Arians. The sentence continues in the next section.
Topics: Trinity, Heresy, Arianism
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.20.2 (CSEL 64:277–278; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-20-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-20-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.20.3CSEL 64:278
gelio esse spiritalibus uestigiis proterendos, ut uiam nostram impedire non possint, quae ducit ad secreta paradisi. habemus ergo in nobis studium diuinae cognitionis, habemus dei uerbum, quod est nomen patris. haec uere proprietas dei, quia pater Christi est, et ideo in nomine patris uenit qui uenit ut patris faceret uoluntatem. et ideo ait: in nomine patris ueni et non me suscepistis; si alius uenerit in nomine suo, illum suscipietis, significans Iudaeos in antichristum credituros, qui in Christum credere noluerunt. ergo qui in Christum credit, non in arcu suo nec gladio suo sperat, sed in nomine eius spem uictoriae locat.
are to be trampled with spiritual footsteps, so that they cannot hinder our way, which leads to the secrets of paradise. We have in us, then, the pursuit of divine knowledge; we have the Word of God, which is the name of the Father. This truly is the property of God, that he is the Father of Christ; and therefore he who came to do the Father’s will came in the name of the Father. And therefore he says: “I have come in my Father’s name, and you did not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive”, signifying that the Jews, who would not believe in Christ, would believe in the Antichrist. So he who believes in Christ hopes not in his own bow nor in his own sword, but places the hope of victory in his name.
Luke 10:19 (allusion, high confidence) · John 6:38 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 5:43 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 44:6 (43:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s proper name is Father of Christ; those who refused Christ, who came in the Father’s name, will receive the Antichrist.
- The application to the Jews is Ambrose’s; translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and word split in the digital text): i 11 um → illum.
Topics: Trinity, Antichrist
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.20.3 (CSEL 64:278; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-20-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-20-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 21
43.21.1CSEL 64:278
Et ideo ait: non enim in arcu meo sperabo et gladius meus non saluabit me, etsi in arcu sperandum est, sed in dei arcu quem posuit in nube, ut a diluuio genus humanum timere desineret. isto arcu nos protegit, quo arcu et iaculatur sagittas, quibus percutiat inimicos et aduersarios nostros.
And therefore he says: “For I will not hope in my bow, and my sword will not save me”; though there is hope to be placed in a bow, but in God’s bow, which he set in the cloud so that the human race might cease to fear the flood. With this bow he protects us, the bow with which he also shoots the arrows with which he strikes our enemies and adversaries.
Ps 44:6 (43:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 9:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 7:12 (7:13 LXX) (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We hope not in our own bow but in God’s bow, the rainbow of the covenant, with which he protects us.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split and OCR slip in the digital text): s aluabitf me → saluabit me.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.21.1 (CSEL 64:278; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-21-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-21-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 22
43.22.1CSEL 64:278–279
Unde et ait: liberasti enim nos ex affligentibus nos et eos qui oderunt nos confudisti; in deo laudabimur tota die et in nomine tuo confitebimur in saecula l a. audi quomodo nos liberet, quia sagittis quas iaculatur e caelo terrae nostrae interiora penetrantur, ut motus omnis terrenus intereat et quiescat, sicut in posterioribus ait: de caelo iaculatus es iudicium, terra tremuit et quieuit.
Hence he also says: “For you have freed us from those who afflict us and have put to shame those who hated us; in God we shall be praised all the day, and in your name we shall confess for ever.” Hear how he frees us: the inner parts of our earth are pierced by the arrows which he shoots from heaven, so that every earthly movement may die and be still, as he says further on: “From heaven you shot judgment; the earth trembled and was still.”
Ps 44:7 (43:8 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 44:8 (43:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 76:8 (75:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God frees us by piercing our earthly nature with his arrows from heaven, stilling every earthly movement.
- Ps 76:8 (LXX 75:9). Two letters at the end of the psalm quotation (l a.) are garbled and are not translated.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllable and word split in the digital text; word split in the digital text): o derunt → oderunt; confit itebimur → confitebimur.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.22.1 (CSEL 64:278–279; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-22-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-22-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.22.2CSEL 64:279
sic igitur liberamur, dum confunduntur inimicae et aduersariae potestates uel sapientia carnis istius retunsa caelestibus imperatis in suis criminibus erubescit et flagitiorum suorum pudore confunditur: adulter in libidinis suae flammis et uaesani amoris incendio, auarus in inmodicae cupiditatis ardore, qui aliena rapiendo, quo plura inuaserit, eo maiora desiderat, ebriosus in temulentia, facinorosus in scelere.
So, then, we are freed when the hostile and adverse powers are put to shame, or when the wisdom of this flesh, beaten back by heavenly commands, blushes in its crimes and is put to shame by its wicked deeds: the adulterer in the flames of his lust and the fire of insane love, the greedy man in the heat of immoderate desire, who, seizing what belongs to others, desires more the more he has seized, the drunkard in his drunkenness, the criminal in his crime.
Rom 8:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We are freed when the hostile powers and the wisdom of the flesh are put to shame in their vices.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): libeiamur → liberamur.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.22.2 (CSEL 64:279; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-22-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-22-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.22.3CSEL 64:279
qui et hic confunduntur grauissime, sed multo amplius confundentur, cum uiderint sanctos domini resurgentes et euangelicum illud impleri, quod ait dominus: multi dormientium in terrae monumentis resurgent, isti in uitam aeternam et hi in obprobrium et perpetuam confusionem.
These are put to shame most grievously here too, but they will be put to shame much more when they see the saints of the Lord rising again and that word of the gospel fulfilled which the Lord spoke: “Many of those who sleep in the tombs of the earth will rise again, these to eternal life and those to reproach and everlasting shame.”
Dan 12:2 (quotation, high confidence) · John 5:28 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Sinners will be put to shame still more at the resurrection.
- The saying is Dan 12:2 (compare John 5:28–29), which Ambrose calls “gospel”.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.22.3 (CSEL 64:279; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-22-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-22-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 23
43.23.1CSEL 64:279
Cum coeperint ergo illi resuscitari in confusionem perpetuam, sanctus domini dicet: in deo laudabimur tota die et in nomine tuo confitebimur in saecula. opulentus in diuitiis laudatur, luxuriosus in conuiuiis, scortator in nocte, potens in hac uita quae habet noctes; sanctus autem non in hac uita, sed in deo laudabitur, qui domino per omnia placere gestiuit, qui potest dicere: fortitudo et laudatio mea dominus. laudabitur tota die, quia honeste egit et opera sua non abscondit et crimina, sed regi patefecit aeterno, in die ambulans, non in tenebris et occultis.
When, then, they begin to be raised to everlasting shame, the saint of the Lord will say: “In God we shall be praised all the day, and in your name we shall confess for ever.” The rich man is praised in his riches, the luxurious in his feasts, the fornicator at night, the powerful man in this life, which has nights; but the saint will be praised not in this life but in God, he who has striven to please the Lord in all things, who can say: “The Lord is my strength and my praise.” He will be praised all the day, because he acted honourably and did not hide his works and his offences, but opened them to the eternal King, walking in the day, not in darkness and in secret.
Ps 44:8 (43:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 118:14 (117:14 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 3:21 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The saint is praised not in this life of nights but in God, all the day, for he walked in the light.
- Ps 118:14 (LXX 117:14).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.23.1 (CSEL 64:279; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-23-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-23-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.23.2CSEL 64:279–280
unde et apostolus: sicut in die honeste ambulemus, hoc est non in ganeis atque gurgustiis, non in cubilibus et inpudicitiis, in quibus flagitiosus putat parietibus se esse tectum, ut possit dei scientiam praeterire, cum inuelata apud deum uniuersorum flagitia sint et occulta diuinae cognitioni peccata hominum esse non possint. ergo sanctus laudabitur in futurum, quia non quaesiuit praesentium laudem, sed gratiam futurorum.
Hence the apostle too: “Let us walk honourably as in the day”, that is, not in taverns and dens, not in beds and impurities, in which the wicked man thinks he is covered by walls, so that he can escape the knowledge of God, though the crimes of all are uncovered before God and the sins of men cannot be hidden from the divine knowledge. So the saint will be praised in the future, because he sought not the praise of present things but the grace of future things.
Rom 13:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 4:13 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Walking honourably as in the day, the saint seeks future grace rather than present praise; nothing is hidden from God.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.23.2 (CSEL 64:279–280; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-23-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-23-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 24
43.24.1CSEL 64:280
Uide tamen distantiam. hic dum est, in domino gloriatur, illic in domino laudabitur, pro breui tempore mercedem aeternitatis accipiet. Aquilas tamen posuit: in domino gloriabimur tota die, Symmachus ait: deo hymnum dicemus per omnem diem. concordat omnium sensus, ut non desinamus circa dei laudes siue hymnum dicendo siue diuinam per omnia momenta gloriam concinendo. qui enim hymnum dicit, puro corde et spiritaliter dicit et omne genus passionis excludit humanae, ut nullo maerore, nullius doloris acerbitate impediatur eius officium, exasperetur eius affectus, sed hymnum deo dicendo immobilis atque inreuocabilis perseueret sicut ipse Dauid, qui ait: benedicam dominum in omni tempore, semper laus eius in ore meo, sicut Iob, qui amissis filiis, interemptis omnibus p.uis, direptis facultatibus ait: dominus dedit, dominus abstulit; sit nomen domini benedictum.
See, however, the difference. While he is here, he glories in the Lord; there he will be praised in the Lord; for a short time he will receive the reward of eternity. Aquila, however, put: “In the Lord we shall glory all the day”; Symmachus says: “To God we shall sing a hymn every day.” The sense of all agrees: that we should not cease from the praises of God, whether by singing a hymn or by singing the divine glory at every moment. For he who sings a hymn sings with a pure heart and spiritually, and shuts out every kind of human passion, so that his service is hindered by no grief, by the bitterness of no pain, his disposition is not soured, but in singing a hymn to God he perseveres unmoved and unshaken, like David himself, who says: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise is always in my mouth”, like Job, who, when he had lost his sons, when all his [flocks] were slain and his possessions plundered, said: “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Ps 34:1 (33:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Job 1:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 1:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The saint never ceases to praise God, unmoved by grief, like David and Job.
- One word in the list of Job’s losses is garbled in the digital text (p.uis) and is translated by sense. Ps 34:1 (LXX 33:2); Job 1:21.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): d icemus → dicemus.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.24.1 (CSEL 64:280; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-24-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-24-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Explanation 43, chapter 25
43.25.1CSEL 64:280
Nunc autem reppulisti et confudisti nos, et non progredieris, deus, in uirtutibus nostris. cum ipse sanctus Dauid alio loco dixerit: quia non repellet dominus plebem suam, quomodo hoc loco ait: reppulisti nos, praesertim cum hoc de plebe dicat, cui non mediocria insignia propriae uirtutis enumeret? neque enim mediocre est dicere, quod tempestates et uariae temptationes super se uenerint
“But now you have cast us off and put us to shame, and you will not go forth, O God, with our forces.” Since holy David himself said in another place: “For the Lord will not cast off his people”, how does he say in this place: “You have cast us off”, especially since he says this of a people for whom he lists no small marks of its own virtue? For it is no small thing to say that storms and various temptations have come upon it
Ps 44:9 (43:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 94:14 (93:14 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: How can the psalm say God has cast off his people, when elsewhere he will not cast them off?
- Ps 94:14 (LXX 93:14). The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips, word splits and lost word spaces in the digital text; stray characters and word split in the digital text): et non f udisti no s, etnonprogredieris → et confudisti nos, et non progredieris; quia 11s o n repellet → quia non repellet.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.25.1 (CSEL 64:280; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-25-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-25-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.25.2CSEL 64:280–281
et obliti non sint dominum deum suum et inique non egerint in testamentum eius et cetera quae secuntur. unde etiam apostolus sanctus interpretatur et dicit, quod eo usque non reppulerit plebem suam dominus, ut posuerit eum loquentem: tota die expandi manus meas ad plebem non credentem et contradicentem. cuius sermonis auctoritate subnixus ait: dico igitur: numquid reppulit deus hereditatem suam? absit; nam et ego Israelita sum ex semine Abraham, tribu Beniamin. non reppulit deus plebem suam quam praesciuit. sed potest hoc loco dici, quoniam ideo non reppulit plebem, quia reliquiae secundum electionem gratiae saluae factae sunt.
and they have not forgotten the Lord their God nor acted unjustly against his covenant, and the rest that follows. Hence the holy apostle too interprets it and says that the Lord did not cast off his people so far that he put him speaking thus: “All day long I have stretched out my hands to a people that does not believe and contradicts.” Relying on the authority of this saying he says: “I say, then, has God cast off his inheritance? By no means; for I too am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast off his people whom he foreknew.” But it can be said in this place that he did not cast off the people because a remnant according to the election of grace has been saved.
Ps 44:17 (43:18 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 10:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 65:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 11:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:5 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul, citing Isaiah, shows that God has not cast off his people, for a remnant is saved by grace.
- Ps 44:17 (LXX 43:18); Rom 10:21 (Isa 65:2); Rom 11:1–2, 5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word space lost in the digital text): inteipretatur → interpretatur; tribuBeniamin → tribu Beniamin.
Topics: The church and Israel, Grace
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.25.2 (CSEL 64:280–281; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-25-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-25-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
43.25.3CSEL 64:281
et uidetur in paucis non reppulisse quidem populum, tamen, etsi non totum populum, sed ex eo plurimos reppulisse. unde addidit ponendo responsum dei, quod non solum in paucis seruauerit plebem, sed etiam septem milia uirorum sibi reliquerit, qui non curuauerunt genua ante Baal. uerum fuerit hoc dictum ab apostolo secundum euangelium, quoniam dominus transierat ad gentes, responsi autem diuini tempus referatur ad zelum adhuc fidei feruentem, quando etiam prophetarum gratia redundabat populo Iudaeorum. unde si Heliae tempore negauit dominus a se plebem repulsam, multo magis tempore Dauid uel filiorum Core, quo adhuc fides electi populi praenitebat.
And it seems that, in a few, he did not cast off the people; yet, though not the whole people, he cast off very many of it. Hence he added, giving God’s answer, that he not only kept the people in a few but also left for himself seven thousand men who had not bowed the knee before Baal. That was said by the apostle according to the gospel, since the Lord had passed over to the gentiles; but let the time of the divine answer be referred to the zeal of faith still fervent, when the grace of the prophets also abounded for the people of the Jews. Hence, if in Elijah’s time the Lord denied that the people had been cast off by him, much more in the time of David or of the sons of Korah, when the faith of the chosen people still shone brightly.
Rom 11:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 19:18 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God kept a remnant of seven thousand in Elijah’s time; much less had he cast off the people in David’s time.
- Rom 11:4 (1 Kgs 19:18).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ma;is → magis.
Topics: The church and Israel
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 43.25.3 (CSEL 64:281; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-25-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/43-25-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 64, 1919); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.