Explanation of Twelve Psalms 48.3.1–61.3.1
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 48, chapter 3
48.3.1CSEL 64:362–363
Hic sensus est psalmi, quem suo ordine digeremus, cum explicauerimus superiorum uim qualitatemque uerborum. praecipiuntur enim audire gentes et auribus percipere qui inhabitant orbem terrae, illum utique orbem terrarum, de quo supra dixit: domini est terra et plenitudo eius, orbis terrarum et qui habitant in eo. ipse super maria fundauit eum et super flumina praeparauit eum.
This is the sense of the psalm, which we shall set out in its order when we have explained the force and nature of the preceding words. For the nations are commanded to hear, and those who inhabit the world to give ear — that world, surely, of which he said above: “The earth is the Lord’s and its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it. He has founded it upon the seas and prepared it upon the rivers.”
Ps 49:1 (48:2 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 24:1 (23:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 24:2 (23:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The “world” of the psalm is that of Psalm 23 (24), founded on the seas.
- Ps 24:1–2 (LXX 23:1–2).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray period in the digital text): exulicauerimus → explicauerimus; uim. qualitatemque → uim qualitatemque.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.3.1 (CSEL 64:362–363; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-3-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-3-1) · Report an error
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.
48.3.2CSEL 64:363
quem Graeci οἰκουμένην dicunt, eo quod inhabitetur a Christo, sicut ipse dixit: quoniam inhabitabo in illis; inhabitat enim, ut impleat quae uacua uidebantur. quae est ergo οἰκουμένη nisi sancta ecclesia, templum dei et habitaculum Christi? nec incongrue Latini dissono quidem sermone, sed pari sensu orbem terrae nuncupauerunt, eo quod uita sanctorum, qui inhabitantur ab spiritu, sicut rota in orbem sine ulla cursus sui offensione uoluatur.
The Greeks call it oikoumenē, because it is inhabited by Christ, as he himself said: “For I will dwell in them”; for he dwells so as to fill what seemed empty. What, then, is the oikoumenē but the holy church, the temple of God and the dwelling of Christ? Nor unfittingly did the Latins, in different words but with equal sense, name it orbis terrae, because the life of the saints, who are inhabited by the Spirit, rolls like a wheel in a circle without any stumbling in its course.
2 Cor 6:16 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 3:16 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The inhabited world, oikoumenē, is the church, inhabited by Christ; the Latin “orbis” suggests the smooth course of the saints’ life.
- The Greek words are garbled in the digital text and are restored (οἰκουμένην, οἰκουμένη). 2 Cor 6:16.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Greek word garbled by font encoding in the digital text): oixovfiivrjv → οἰκουμένην; olxovptiw] → οἰκουμένη.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.3.2 (CSEL 64:363; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-3-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-3-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-3-2) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 4
48.4.1CSEL 64:363
In tribulationibus igitur fundatur ecclesia, in tempestatibus et procellis, in sollicitudinibus et maerore, in rebus aduersis et in fluminibus praeparatur. in quibus fluminibus, audi dicentem: eleuauerunt flumina uocem suam. audi et in euangelio: qui credit in me, sicut dixit scriptura, flumina de uentre eius fluent aquae uiuae. hoc autem dicebat de spiritu quem accipiebant credentes in eum.
The church, then, is founded in tribulations, in storms and gales, in anxieties and grief, in adversities, and is prepared in rivers. In which rivers, hear him saying: “The rivers have lifted up their voice.” Hear too in the gospel: “He who believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from his belly.” He said this of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive.
Ps 93:3 (92:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 7:38 (quotation, high confidence) · John 7:39 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The church is founded in tribulations and prepared in the rivers of the Spirit.
- Ps 93:3 (LXX 92:3); John 7:38–39.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word space lost in the digital text): tiibulationibus → tribulationibus; flumini uocem → flumina uocem; ineum → in eum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.4.1 (CSEL 64:363; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-4-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-4-1) · Report an error
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.
48.4.2CSEL 64:363
in his ergo fluminibus praeparatur ecclesia, in quibus profluit dei gratia. hi sunt fluuii qui aure percipiunt uerbum dei et locuntur, ut uerbum infundant pectoribus singulorum. ideoque scriptura discretionem fecit dicendo: audite haec, omnes gentes, auribus percipite, omnes qui habitatis orbem terrae. possunt omnes audire, non omnes tamen auribus percipere nisi electi dei. ideoque saluator dicit: qui habet aures audiendi audiat.
In these rivers, then, the church is prepared, in which the grace of God flows. These are the rivers which take in the word of God by the ear and speak, so as to pour the word into the hearts of each. And therefore Scripture made a distinction, saying: “Hear these things, all nations; give ear, all you who inhabit the world.” All can hear, yet not all give ear except the elect of God. And therefore the Saviour says: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Ps 49:1 (48:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:15 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: All may hear, but only the elect “give ear” and become rivers pouring the word into others.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.4.2 (CSEL 64:363; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-4-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-4-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-4-2) · Report an error
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.
48.4.3CSEL 64:363–364
illas aures dicit interioris hominis spiritales, cuius et nares legimus dicente Iob: spiritus diuinus qui est in naribus meis. non omnes homines has aures et has nares habent; alia est enim forma corporis, alia gratiae spiritalis. qui spiritalis est audit omnia, diiudicat omnia, animalis autem homo non percipit quae sunt spiritus dei; hic enim terrigena est, ille caelestis.
He means those spiritual ears of the inner man, whose nostrils too we read of, Job saying: “The divine Spirit which is in my nostrils.” Not all men have these ears and these nostrils; for the form of the body is one thing, that of spiritual grace another. He who is spiritual hears all things and judges all things, but the natural man does not perceive the things of the Spirit of God; for this one is earth-born, that one heavenly.
Job 27:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 2:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 2:15 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:47 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The ears meant are the spiritual senses of the inner man, which the natural man lacks.
- Job 27:3; 1 Cor 2:14–15; 15:47–48.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray line number in the digital text): naribus 30 meis → naribus meis.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.4.3 (CSEL 64:363–364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-4-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-4-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-4-3) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 5
48.5.1CSEL 64:364
Ideoque addidit: quique terrigenae et filii hominum, simul in unum diues et pauper, ut uniuersos uocaret. quis est terrigena nisi filius hominis? quis est spiritalis nisi dei filius? ille ex sanguine concretus et ex carnis et uiri uoluptate generatus, iste ex deo natus; alius diues in omni uerbo
And therefore he added: “Both earth-born and sons of men, rich and poor together in one”, so as to call all. Who is earth-born but the son of man? Who is spiritual but the son of God? The one formed from blood and born of the pleasure of flesh and of a man, the other born of God; one rich in every word
Ps 49:2 (48:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:13 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:5 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The psalm calls the earth-born and the spiritual, rich and poor alike.
- Ps 49:2 (LXX 48:3); John 1:13; 1 Cor 1:5. The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word split in the digital text): terrig enae → terrigenae; dec natus → deo natus; cmni → omni.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.5.1 (CSEL 64:364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-5-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-5-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-5-1) · Report an error
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.
48.5.2CSEL 64:364
et scientia, alius pauper, gratia tamen diues, quia et pauper clamauit et dominus exaudiuit eum. e contrario est et diues in superbia et pauper in humilitate. omnes uocantur ad ecclesiam, ut omnes redimantur a Christo. qui aeger est medicum inuenit, qui sanus sapientiam adquirit, captiuus redemptorem, liber remuneratorem. omnes aedificat scriptura diuina;
and knowledge, another poor yet rich in grace, because the poor man too cried out and the Lord heard him. On the other hand there is also the rich in pride and the poor in humility. All are called to the church, so that all may be redeemed by Christ. The sick man finds a physician, the healthy acquires wisdom, the captive a redeemer, the free a rewarder. Divine Scripture builds up all;
Ps 34:6 (33:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: All are called to the church: the sick find a physician, the captive a redeemer; Scripture builds up everyone.
- Ps 34:6 (LXX 33:7).
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.5.2 (CSEL 64:364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-5-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-5-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-5-2) · Report an error
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.
48.5.3CSEL 64:364
in ea inuenit unusquisque, quo aut uulnera sua curet aut merita confirmet. simul autem in unum diuitis et pauperis facta uocatio in quandam humilitatem aequalitatemque nos prouocat, ut neque diues fastidiat inopem neque diuiti pauper inuideat, sed utrumque sibi gratia una conectat, quia et dominus pauper factus est cum diues esset, ut idem et pauperum saluator esset et diuitum.
in it each one finds that by which to heal his wounds or confirm his merits. And the call of rich and poor together into one calls us to a certain humility and equality, so that neither the rich man disdains the needy nor the poor man envies the rich, but one grace joins both to itself, because the Lord too became poor though he was rich, so that he might be the Saviour both of the poor and of the rich.
Ps 49:2 (48:3 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 8:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The common call of rich and poor teaches humility and equality, for Christ became poor to save both.
- 2 Cor 8:9.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.5.3 (CSEL 64:364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-5-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-5-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-5-3) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 6
48.6.1CSEL 64:364–365
Et subtexuit: os meum loquetur sapientiam et meditatio cordis mei prudentiam. merito omnes uocantur, quia omnibus sapientiae fons abundat, nec thesauro pecuniario comparatur quae pretiosior thesauris omnibus declaratur. ideoque nec diues auertitur nec pauper excluditur, quia sapientia non facultates discriminat, sed uoluntates; ille aptior, qui prior affectu et proximus disciplina. quodsi meditatio cordis prudentiam loquitur, quanto magis perfecta doctrina! deinde ammonemur non tumultuarium proferre sermonem, sed exercitio quodam meditationis et statera mentis internae examinare dicenda, quia scriptum est alibi: statera fallax non bonum,
And he added: “My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart prudence.” Rightly all are called, because the fountain of wisdom abounds for all, and it is not compared to a treasure of money, being declared more precious than all treasures. And therefore neither is the rich turned away nor the poor shut out, because wisdom distinguishes not resources but wills; that one is fitter who is first in affection and nearest in discipline. But if the meditation of the heart speaks prudence, how much more perfect teaching! Then we are warned not to bring forth a hasty speech, but to examine what is to be said by a kind of exercise of meditation and the balance of the inner mind, because it is written elsewhere: “A false balance is not good.”
Ps 49:3 (48:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 3:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · Prov 3:15 (allusion, medium confidence) · Prov 20:23 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Wisdom, more precious than treasure, is open to rich and poor; speech must be weighed by meditation.
- Ps 49:3 (LXX 48:4); Prov 3:14–15; 20:23.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word split in the digital text): c or dis → cordis; soriptum → scriptum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.6.1 (CSEL 64:364–365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-6-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-6-1) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 7
48.7.1CSEL 64:365
Inclinabo ad parabolam aurem meam, aperiam in psalterio propositionem meam. sapiens auditor intendit atque inclinat aurem suam, ut intellegat parabolarum figuras. ipsum aurem suam dicit saluator qui aurem habet audiendi. aperit etiam dominus clausam propositionem suam, cum aptum organum sibi et uas electionis inuenerit, quod psalterium uocat, cuius similis Paulus dulcis gratiae cantilenam neruis omnibus sibi concinentibus resultauit, sancti spiritus plectro interiorem chordam exterioremque pulsando, ut et lingua oraret et mente.
“I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on the psaltery.” The wise hearer attends and inclines his ear, so as to understand the figures of parables. The Saviour calls him his ear who has an ear to hear. The Lord also opens his closed proposition when he has found a fit instrument and chosen vessel for himself, which he calls a psaltery; like this, Paul sounded out the song of sweet grace with all his strings in concord, striking the inner and the outer string with the plectrum of the Holy Spirit, so as to pray both with the tongue and with the mind.
Ps 49:4 (48:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:15 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 9:15 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God opens his hidden meaning through a chosen vessel like Paul, a psaltery played by the Holy Spirit.
- Ps 49:4 (LXX 48:5); Acts 9:15.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllable in the digital text): aurem em meam → aurem meam.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.7.1 (CSEL 64:365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-7-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-7-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-7-1) · Report an error
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.
48.7.2CSEL 64:365
ideoque ait: orabo spiritu, orabo et mente; psallam spiritu, psallam et mente. huiusmodi ergo uirum Christus multo ante promittit, per quem manifestaret abscondita et inuoluta prophetici obscuritate sermonis aperiret. bonum psalterium, cum fidei uita consentit et caro animae, uirtuti adspirat uoluntas. hoc est dulce psalterium, ubi canora est disciplina uiuendi, ut impleatur illud quod scriptum est: clara erit lingua mutorum.
And therefore he says: “I will pray with the spirit, I will pray with the mind also; I will sing psalms with the spirit, I will sing psalms with the mind also.” Such a man, then, Christ promises long before, through whom he would make plain hidden things and open what was wrapped in the obscurity of prophetic speech. A good psaltery, when life agrees with faith and the flesh with the soul, and the will breathes in harmony with virtue. This is a sweet psaltery, where the discipline of living is melodious, so that what is written is fulfilled: “Clear will be the tongue of the dumb.”
1 Cor 14:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 32:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 35:6 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A good psaltery is a life in harmony with faith; through such men Christ opens the prophets’ hidden sense.
- 1 Cor 14:15; Isa 32:4 (35:6).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): maniicstaret → manifestaret.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.7.2 (CSEL 64:365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-7-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-7-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-7-2) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 8
48.8.1CSEL 64:365
Sequitur: ut quid timebo in die mala? iniquitas calcanei mei circumdabit me, hoc est: cum os meum loquatur sapientiam et meditatio cordis mei prudentiam, in die iudicii timere quid possum, nisi forte calcanei mei iniquitas mihi sit abluenda? alia est iniquitas nostra, alia calcanei nostri, in quo Adam dente serpentis est uulneratus et obnoxiam hereditatem successionis humanae suo uulneri dereliquit, ut omnes illo uulnere claudicemus.
There follows: “Why shall I fear in the evil day? The iniquity of my heel will surround me”, that is: since my mouth speaks wisdom and the meditation of my heart prudence, what can I fear in the day of judgment, unless perhaps the iniquity of my heel must be washed from me? Our iniquity is one thing, the iniquity of our heel another, in which Adam was wounded by the serpent’s tooth and left a liable inheritance to human descendants by his wound, so that we all limp from that wound.
Ps 49:5 (48:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 3:15 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The “iniquity of the heel” is Adam’s wound from the serpent, from which all his descendants limp.
- Ps 49:5 (LXX 48:6); Gen 3:15.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text; word splits in the digital text): timeb o in die m ala → timebo in die mala; circumdabit m e, → circumdabit me,.
Topics: The fall, Original sin and concupiscence
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.8.1 (CSEL 64:365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-8-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-8-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-8-1) · Report an error
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.
48.8.2CSEL 64:365–366
unde dominus discipulis pedes lauit, ut lauaret uenena serpentis, et Petrus reprehenditur, quod excusabat, ne sibi dominus pedes lauaret. ideoque dictum est ei: nisi lauero tibi pedes, non habebis mecum partem. quo audito non solum pedes, sed etiam manus obtulit abluendas. cui dominus respondit: qui lotus est non habet necesse ut iterum lauet nisi ut pedes lauet, sed est mundus totus.
Hence the Lord washed his disciples’ feet, so as to wash away the serpent’s poisons, and Peter is rebuked for excusing himself, lest the Lord should wash his feet. And therefore it was said to him: “Unless I wash your feet, you will have no part with me.” Hearing this, he offered not only his feet but also his hands to be washed. To him the Lord answered: “He who has been washed has no need to wash again, except to wash his feet, but is clean all over.”
John 13:5 (allusion, high confidence) · John 13:8 (quotation, high confidence) · John 13:9 (allusion, high confidence) · John 13:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ washed the disciples’ feet to wash away the serpent’s poison from the heel.
- John 13:5–10. Ambrose connects the foot-washing with Adam’s wounded heel (as in On the Mysteries 31–32).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): non -habet → non habet.
Extrabiblical texts: Ambrose, Myst. 31 (On the Mysteries; echo)
Topics: Baptism
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.8.2 (CSEL 64:365–366; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-8-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-8-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-8-2) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 9
48.9.1CSEL 64:366
Ergo Dauid dicit: iniquitates meae superposuerunt caput meum, qui nouerat in iniquitate esse conceptum et in delictis a matre generatum. dominus autem, qui sua peccata non habuit nec cognouit proprias iniquitates, ait: iniquitas calcanei mei circumdabit me, hoc est iniquitas Adae, non mea. sed ea non potest mihi esse terrori; in die enim iudicii nostra in nobis, non alienae iniquitatis flagitia puniuntur.
So David says: “My iniquities have gone over my head”, he who knew that he was conceived in iniquity and born of his mother in offences. But the Lord, who had no sins of his own nor knew iniquities of his own, says: “The iniquity of my heel will surround me”, that is, the iniquity of Adam, not mine. But that cannot be a terror to me; for in the day of judgment our own crimes in us, not another’s iniquities, are punished.
Ps 38:4 (37:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 51:5 (50:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 49:5 (48:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ezek 18:20 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David confesses his own iniquities; Christ, sinless, speaks only of Adam’s iniquity at his heel, which cannot condemn him.
- Ps 38:4 (LXX 37:5); Ps 51:5 (LXX 50:7); Ezek 18:20.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.9.1 (CSEL 64:366; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-9-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-9-1) · Report an error
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.
48.9.2CSEL 64:366
unde reor iniquitatem calcanei magis lubricum delinquendi quam reatum aliquem nostri esse delicti. meritoque dominus, qui pro nobis uniuersa suscepit, lauemus, inquit, et pedes, ut calcanei lubricum possimus auferre, quo fida statio possit esse uirtutum nec paterno quis errore labatur, qui suo paratus est stare proposito, non metuat lubricum hereditatis, qui cupit uestigium tenere uirtutis. iniquitas ergo calcanei nostri praeuaricatio est Adae, per quam prolapsus est in contemptum et dissimulationem caelestium mandatorum.
Hence I think that the iniquity of the heel is the slipperiness of sinning rather than any guilt of our own offence. And rightly the Lord, who took up all things for us, says: Let us wash the feet too, so that we may take away the slipperiness of the heel, so that there may be a faithful standing of virtues, and that no one may slip by his father’s error who is ready to stand by his own purpose, nor fear the slipperiness of inheritance who wishes to keep the footing of virtue. So the iniquity of our heel is the transgression of Adam, by which he slid into contempt and neglect of the heavenly commands.
John 13:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 5:19 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The iniquity of the heel is the inherited slipperiness toward sin from Adam’s transgression, which Christ washes away.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): do-minus → dominus.
Topics: Original sin and concupiscence
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.9.2 (CSEL 64:366; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-9-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-9-2) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 10
48.10.1CSEL 64:366–367
Est etiam iniquitas calcanei Iudae detestanda proditio. calcanei ideo, quia scriptum est: qui manducat meum panem leuauit super me calcaneum suum. bene et ibi suum et hic meum dixit: suum, quia Christus sine iniquitate, haec autem solius iniquitas proditoris; meum autem calcaneum quasi ultimum sui corporis ludam Christus appellat, cuius nos sumus corpus et membra.
There is also the detestable betrayal of Judas, the iniquity of the heel. “Of the heel”, because it is written: “He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me.” Rightly there he said “his” and here “my”: “his”, because Christ is without iniquity, and this was the iniquity of the traitor alone; but Christ calls Judas “my heel” as the last part of his body, whose body and members we are.
John 13:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 41:9 (40:10 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 12:27 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Judas’s betrayal is another “iniquity of the heel”; Christ calls Judas his heel, the lowest part of his body.
- John 13:18 (Ps 41:9, LXX 40:10); 1 Cor 12:27.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray digit in the digital text; stray period in the digital text; word spaces lost in the digital text): calcanei4 → calcanei; quimanducatmeum → qui manducat meum; ibi. suum → ibi suum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.10.1 (CSEL 64:366–367; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-10-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-10-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-10-1) · Report an error
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.
48.10.2CSEL 64:367
apostoli praestantiora et actuosa membra sunt Christi, ludas calcaneum, quasi extrema pars corporis serpenti obnoxia et patens uulneri. primum ergo calcaneum Adam, secundum calcaneum ludas; ille lapsus totius hereditatis, hic solius proditoris, qui hereditatem implicare non potuit, quia iam non carnales sumus, sed redemptoris hereditas scriptura dicente: est hereditas credentibus in domino.
The apostles are the more excellent and active members of Christ, Judas the heel, as the furthest part of the body, exposed to the serpent and open to wounding. So the first heel is Adam, the second heel Judas; the one the fall of the whole inheritance, the other of the traitor alone, who could not entangle the inheritance, because we are no longer carnal but the inheritance of the redeemer, Scripture saying: “There is an inheritance for those who believe in the Lord.”
Acts 20:32 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Adam’s fall affected all his heirs, Judas’s only himself, for believers are now the Redeemer’s inheritance.
- The source of “There is an inheritance for those who believe in the Lord” is uncertain (compare Prov 13:22; Acts 20:32).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): actuoca → actuosa.
Topics: The fall
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.10.2 (CSEL 64:367; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-10-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-10-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-10-2) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 11
48.11.1CSEL 64:367
Est et illa iniquitas calcanei sui quae circumdedit Christum: circumdantes, inquit, circumdederunt me et in nomine domini ultus sum eos. calcaneum eius synagoga est, decor et gloria uultus eius ecclesia, sicut scriptum est: dominus regnauit, decorem induit.
There is also that iniquity of his heel which surrounded Christ: “Surrounding,” he says, “they surrounded me, and in the name of the Lord I took vengeance on them.” His heel is the synagogue; the beauty and glory of his countenance is the church, as it is written: “The Lord has reigned, he has put on beauty.”
Ps 49:5 (48:6 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 118:11 (117:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 93:1 (92:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The heel that surrounded Christ is the synagogue; the church is the beauty of his face.
- Ps 118:11 (LXX 117:11); Ps 93:1 (LXX 92:1). The contrast is Ambrose’s; translated as written.
Topics: The church and Israel
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.11.1 (CSEL 64:367; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-11-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-11-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-11-1) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 12
48.12.1CSEL 64:367
Illi ergo sunt calcaneum de quibus dicit: qui confidunt in uirtute sua quique in abundantia diuitiarum suarum gloriantur; diuites enim eguerunt et esurierunt. quod de Iudaeis dictum est; sed et omnes, qui luxuriose uiuunt et non tenent caput, calcaneum Christi sunt. sed haec generalia, quae late patent; ceterum specialiter de Iuda locutus est proditore, qui sibi ualidus et diues apostolatus gloria uidebatur.
They, then, are the heel, of whom he says: “Those who trust in their strength and glory in the abundance of their riches”; for “the rich have wanted and been hungry.” This was said of the Jews; but all too who live luxuriously and do not hold the head are the heel of Christ. But these are general things, which extend widely; but specially he spoke of Judas the traitor, who seemed to himself strong and rich in the glory of the apostleship.
Ps 49:6 (48:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 34:10 (33:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Col 2:19 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The heel are those who trust in strength and riches, especially Judas, proud of his apostleship.
- Ps 49:6 (LXX 48:7); Ps 34:10 (LXX 33:11); Col 2:19.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word spaces lost in the digital text; word splits in the digital text): Illiergosuntcalcaneumdequibusdicit → Illi ergo sunt calcaneum de quibus dicit; con f idunt → confidunt.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.12.1 (CSEL 64:367; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-12-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-12-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-12-1) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 13
48.13.1CSEL 64:367
Denique de passione domini sermo contexitur: frater non redimet, redimet homo. nec dabit deo propitiationem suam et pretium redemptionis animae suae. hoc est: ut quid timebo in die mala? quid enim potest mihi nocere, qui non solum non indigeo redemptore, sed ipse omnium sum redemptor? alios liberos faciam, et pro me ipso ipse trepidabo?
Then the discourse is woven about the Lord’s passion: “A brother does not redeem; a man will redeem. Nor will he give to God his propitiation and the price of the redemption of his soul.” That is: “Why shall I fear in the evil day?” For what can harm me, who not only do not need a redeemer but am myself the redeemer of all? Shall I make others free, and myself tremble for myself?
Ps 49:7 (48:8 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:8 (48:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:5 (48:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No brother can redeem, but a man will; Christ, the redeemer of all, needs no redemption himself.
- Ps 49:7–8 (LXX 48:8–9) in the Old Latin form.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray letters and word split in the digital text; word split in the digital text): frater non r redimet, r edimet homo → frater non redimet, redimet homo; pr opitiationem → propitiationem; dnimae → animae.
Topics: Christology, Atonement
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.13.1 (CSEL 64:367; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-13-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-13-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-13-1) · Report an error
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.
48.13.2CSEL 64:367–368
ecce faciam noua omnia, qui supra ipsum germanitatis affectum sim atque pietatem. quem frater eodem matris utero effusus in lucem redimere non potest, quia parilis naturae infirmitate retinetur, redimet homo, sed ille homo de quo scriptum est, quia mittet illis dominus hominem qui saluabit eos, qui de se ipso dixit: quaerit me occidere, hominem qui ueritatem locutus sum uobis.
“See, I will make all things new”, I who am above even the affection of brotherhood and piety. The one whom a brother, poured into light from the same mother’s womb, cannot redeem, because he is held by the weakness of a like nature, a man will redeem — but that man of whom it is written that the Lord will send them a man who will save them, who said of himself: “You seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you.”
Rev 21:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 19:20 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:40 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No brother of like weakness can redeem, but the man God sends, Christ, who spoke the truth.
- Rev 21:5; Isa 19:20 (LXX); John 8:40.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.13.2 (CSEL 64:367–368; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-13-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-13-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-13-2) · Report an error
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.
48.13.3CSEL 64:368
sed quamuis homo sit, quis cognoscet eum? quare nemo cognoscet? quia, sicut unus deus, ita unus mediator dei et hominum, homo Christus Iesus. ipse est solus qui redimet hominem, uincens pietate germanos, quia pro alienis sanguinem suum fudit, quem nemo potest offerre pro fratre. itaque corpori proprio non pepercit, ut nos redimeret a peccato, et dedit semet ipsum redemptionem pro omnibus, sicut uerus eius testis adseruit apostolus Paulus, qui ait:
But although he is a man, who will know him? Why will no one know him? Because, as there is one God, so there is one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He alone is the one who will redeem man, surpassing brothers in kindness, because he shed his blood for strangers, which no one can offer for a brother. And so he did not spare his own body, so as to redeem us from sin, and gave himself as a redemption for all, as his true witness the apostle Paul asserted, who says:
Jer 17:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 2:5 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 2:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 8:32 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, the one mediator, alone redeems man, shedding his blood even for strangers.
- Jer 17:9 (LXX/Old Latin); 1 Tim 2:5–7. The quotation continues in the next section.
Topics: Christology, Atonement
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.13.3 (CSEL 64:368; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-13-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-13-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-13-3) · Report an error
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.
48.13.4CSEL 64:368
ueritatem dico, non mentior. sed quare solus hic redimet? quia nemo potest eum aequare pietate, ut pro seruulis suis animam suam ponat, nemo integritate; omnes enim sub peccato, omnes Adae illius subiacent prolapsioni, solus redemptor eligitur qui peccato ueteri obnoxius esse non possit. ergo per hominem dominum Iesum intellegamus, qui suscepit hominis condicionem, ut in carne sua peccatum omnium crucifigeret et chirographum uniuersorum suo cruore deleret.
“I speak the truth, I do not lie.” But why will this one alone redeem? Because no one can equal him in kindness, so as to lay down his life for his servants, no one in integrity; for all are under sin, all lie under the fall of that Adam; the redeemer alone is chosen who could not be liable to the old sin. So by “man” let us understand the Lord Jesus, who took on the condition of man, so as to crucify the sin of all in his flesh and blot out the handwriting of all with his blood.
1 Tim 2:7 (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 3:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 8:3 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ alone redeems, for he alone is free of Adam’s sin and gave his life for his servants.
- 1 Tim 2:7; John 10:11; Rom 3:9; Col 2:14.
Topics: Christology, Atonement
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.13.4 (CSEL 64:368; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-13-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-13-4
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-13-4) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 14
48.14.1CSEL 64:368–369
Sed forte dicas: quomodo redempturus frater negatur, cum ipse dixerit: narrabo nomen tuum fratribus meis? sed non quasi frater [nobis], sed quasi homo Christus Iesus, in quo deus erat, nobis peccata dimisit. sic enim scriptum est: deus erat in Christo mundum reconcilians sibi, in illo Christo Iesu, de quo solo dictum est, quia uerbum caro factum est et habitauit in nobis. non ergo quasi frater, sed quasi dominus habitauit in nobis, cum habitaret in carne. cum igitur reconciliauerit deo mundum, utique ipse reconciliatione non eguit; pro quo enim peccato suo propitiaret deum qui nulla peccata cognouit?
But perhaps you say: How is a brother denied to be the redeemer, when he himself said: “I will tell your name to my brothers”? But not as a brother, but as the man Christ Jesus, in whom God was, he forgave us our sins. For so it is written: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself”, in that Christ Jesus of whom alone it was said: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” So not as a brother but as Lord he dwelt among us, when he dwelt in the flesh. Since, then, he reconciled the world to God, surely he himself had no need of reconciliation; for for what sin of his own would he propitiate God, who knew no sin?
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Ps 22:22 (21:23 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:19 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:21 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ redeems not as our brother but as God in Christ reconciling the world; he needed no reconciliation himself.
- The editor deletes “[nobis]” (in square brackets); it is left out. Ps 22:22 (LXX 21:23); 2 Cor 5:19, 21; John 1:14.
Topics: Christology, Atonement
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.14.1 (CSEL 64:368–369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-14-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-14-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-14-1) · Report an error
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.
48.14.2CSEL 64:369
denique didragma poscentibus Iudaeis, quod pro peccato dabatur ex lege, dixit ad Petrum: Simon, reges terrae a quibus accipiunt tributum uel censum? a filiis suis aut ab alienis? respondit Petrus: ab alienis. cui dixit dominus: ergo liberi sunt filii. ut autem non faciamus illis offendiculum, mitte hamum et eum piscem qui primus ascenderit tolle, et aperto ore eius inuenies staterem; illum tollens dabis pro me et pro te.
Finally, when the Jews asked for the didrachma, which was given for sin according to the law, he said to Peter: “Simon, from whom do the kings of the earth receive tribute or tax? From their sons or from strangers?” Peter answered: “From strangers.” The Lord said to him: “Then the sons are free. But so that we may not give offence to them, cast a hook, and take the fish that first comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a stater; take it and give it for me and for you.”
Matt 17:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 17:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 17:26 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 17:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 30:12 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ paid the temple tax only to avoid offence, for the Son is free.
- Matt 17:24–27. Ambrose takes the didrachma as an offering for sin (compare Exod 30:12–16).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period inside the word): tri.butum → tributum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.14.2 (CSEL 64:369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-14-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-14-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-14-2) · Report an error
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.
48.14.3CSEL 64:369
ostendit quod non pro se propitiationem debeat peccatorum, quia seruus peccati non erat, sed ab omni erat liber errore filius dei. filius enim liberat, seruus est in reatu. ergo liber iste ab omnibus nec pretium redemptionis animae suae dat, cuius sanguinis pretium poterat abundare ad uniuersa mundi totius redimenda peccata. recte ergo alios liberat qui pro se nihil debeat.
He showed that he did not owe propitiation for sins on his own account, because he was not a slave of sin, but the Son of God was free from all error. For the son frees; the slave is in guilt. So this one, free from all, does not give the price of the redemption of his soul, whose blood’s price could abound to redeem all the sins of the whole world. Rightly, then, does he free others who owes nothing for himself.
John 8:34 (allusion, high confidence) · John 8:36 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 49:8 (48:9 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Son, free from sin, owed nothing for himself, and his blood could redeem the whole world.
- John 8:34–36.
Topics: Christology, Atonement
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.14.3 (CSEL 64:369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-14-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-14-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-14-3) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 15
48.15.1CSEL 64:369
Plus adicio. non solum pro se Christus pretium non debet suae redemptionis aut propitiationem pro peccato, sed etiam si de quocumque homine accipias, possit intellegi, quia non debeant singuli propitiationem suam, quia propitiatio omnium Christus est et ipse est uniuersorum redemptio. cuius enim hominis sanguis iam idoneus est ad redemptionem sui, cum pro redemptione omnium suum sanguinem Christus effuderit?
I add more. Not only does Christ not owe the price of his redemption or propitiation for sin for himself, but even if you take it of any man whatever, it can be understood that individuals do not owe their own propitiation, because Christ is the propitiation of all and he himself is the redemption of all. For whose blood is now fit for his own redemption, since Christ has shed his blood for the redemption of all?
1 John 2:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 49:8 (48:9 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No one now needs to pay his own redemption, for Christ is the propitiation and redemption of all.
- 1 John 2:2.
Topics: Atonement
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.15.1 (CSEL 64:369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-15-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-15-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-15-1) · Report an error
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.
48.15.2CSEL 64:369
est ergo cuiusquam sanguis qui Christi possit sanguini comparari? aut quis tam potens homo, qui pro se propitiationem suam dare possit supra eam propitiationem, quam in se optulit Christus, qui solus deo mundum reconciliauit per suum sanguinem? quae maior hostia, quod praestantius sacrificium, qui melior aduocatus quam qui pro peccatis omnium factus est deprecatio et animam suam dedit pro nobis redemptionem?
Is there, then, anyone’s blood that can be compared to the blood of Christ? Or what man is so powerful that he can give his propitiation for himself beyond that propitiation which Christ offered in himself, who alone reconciled the world to God through his blood? What greater victim, what more excellent sacrifice, what better advocate than he who became the intercession for the sins of all and gave his life as a ransom for us?
Col 1:20 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 John 2:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 20:28 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No blood compares with Christ’s, the one sacrifice that reconciled the world.
- Col 1:20; 1 John 2:1; Matt 20:28.
Topics: Atonement
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.15.2 (CSEL 64:369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-15-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-15-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-15-2) · Report an error
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.
48.15.3CSEL 64:369–370
non quaeritur ergo propitiatio aut redemptio singulorum, quia omnium pretium sanguis est Christi quo nos redemit dominus Iesus, qui solus patrem reconciliauit et laborauit usque in finem, quia nostrum laborem ipse suscepit dicens: uenite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et ego uos reficiam. uide laborantem: laboraui clamans, raucae factae sunt fauces meae, et alibi: Isachar quod bonum est concupiuit, requiescens inter sortes, et infra:
So the propitiation or redemption of individuals is not sought, because the blood of Christ is the price of all, by which the Lord Jesus redeemed us, who alone reconciled the Father and laboured to the end, because he himself took up our labour, saying: “Come to me, all you who labour, and I will refresh you.” See him labouring: “I have laboured crying out; my throat has become hoarse”; and elsewhere: “Issachar desired what is good, resting between the lots”; and below:
1 Pet 1:19 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 11:28 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 69:3 (68:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 49:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ’s blood is the price for all; he took up our labour, as the psalm and Jacob’s blessing of Issachar foretell.
- Matt 11:28; Ps 69:3 (LXX 68:4); Gen 49:14 (Old Latin form). The quotation continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): leans → Iesus; ucs → uos; lrborantem → laborantem.
Topics: Christology, Atonement
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.15.3 (CSEL 64:369–370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-15-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-15-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-15-3) · Report an error
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.
48.15.4CSEL 64:370
supposuit humerum suum ad laborandum et factus est uir agricola. ergo non dabit homo iam propitiationem suam nec redemptionem, quia semel ablutus est a peccato per sanguinem Christi, laborabit tamen, ut seruet praecepta uiuendi et a mandatis caelestibus non recedat. dum uiuit, in labore sit et perseueret in eo, ut uiuat in finem, ne et ipse morte moriatur, cum sit iam redemptus a morte.
“He set his shoulder to labour and became a farmer.” So a man will no longer give his own propitiation or redemption, because he has once been washed from sin through the blood of Christ; yet he will labour to keep the precepts of living and not depart from the heavenly commands. While he lives, let him be in labour and persevere in it, so as to live to the end, lest he too die the death, when he has already been redeemed from death.
Gen 49:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:8 (48:9 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 49:9 (48:10 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 24:13 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Redeemed once by Christ’s blood, the believer must still labour to keep God’s commands to the end.
- Gen 49:15 (Old Latin form); Ps 49:8–9 (LXX 48:9–10).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ii peccato → a peccato.
Topics: Baptism
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.15.4 (CSEL 64:370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-15-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-15-4
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-15-4) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 16
48.16.1CSEL 64:370
Qui autem seruauerit mandata uitae, non uidebit interitum, cum uiderit mori eos qui sibi sapientissimi et prudentissimi in hoc saeculo uidebantur. quod specialiter ad scribas et Pharisaeos spectat, qui sibi cathedras in synagogis uindicant quasi sapientiae principatum. qui uere frustra laborant, cum putant, quia per didragmum liberentur, cum spiritale pretium animae suae atque illud singulare dominici corporis sacrificium inani quadam legis interpretatione contempserint refugientes baptismatis sacramentum. neminem enim sanguis redimit hircorum atque taurorum, sed omnes unus sanguis liberat Christi, cuius in Leuitico figura, non ueritas. non enim didragma, sed illius solius sanguinis pretio liberamur.
But he who keeps the commands of life will not see destruction, when he sees those die who seemed to themselves most wise and prudent in this world. This applies specially to the scribes and Pharisees, who claim for themselves the chairs in the synagogues as though the primacy of wisdom. They truly labour in vain, when they think that they are freed by the didrachma, since they have despised by an empty interpretation of the law the spiritual price of their soul and that unique sacrifice of the Lord’s body, fleeing the sacrament of baptism. For the blood of goats and bulls redeems no one, but the one blood of Christ frees all, of which there is a figure in Leviticus, not the truth. For we are freed not by the didrachma but by the price of that blood alone.
Ps 49:9 (48:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:10 (48:11 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 23:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 10:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 9:12 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who keep God’s commands will not see destruction; the scribes, trusting the didrachma and refusing baptism, labour in vain.
- Ps 49:9–10 (LXX 48:10–11); Matt 23:6; Heb 10:4. The polemic against the scribes and Pharisees is Ambrose’s; translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word space lost in the digital text): prudentissyni → prudentissimi; cilm → cum; contempserintrefugientes → contempserint refugientes.
Topics: Baptism
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.16.1 (CSEL 64:370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-16-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-16-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-16-1) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 17
48.17.1CSEL 64:370–371
Simus ergo docibiles dei, ut nemo nostrum uideat interitum in illo die, quando damnabuntur morte perpetua sapientes istius mundi uel principes Iudaeorum, quando simul insipiens et stultus peribunt. non idem est utrumque: stultus est qui nihil sapit et stulta intellegit, insipiens qui male sapit: dixit insipiens, quia non est deus; quomodo iniquus, non quia aequitatem nesciat, sed quia improbitate cordis sui iniqua committat, improbus quoque dicitur, eo quod probitatem malitia sua destruere uelit, non quia probitatem ignoret.
Let us be, then, taught by God, so that none of us may see destruction on that day when the wise of this world or the leaders of the Jews will be condemned to everlasting death, when the senseless and the fool will perish together. The two are not the same: the fool is one who knows nothing and understands foolish things, the senseless one who knows badly: “The senseless one has said: There is no God”; just as the unjust man is so called not because he does not know justice but because by the wickedness of his heart he commits unjust things; the wicked too is so called because by his malice he wishes to destroy uprightness, not because he does not know uprightness.
John 6:45 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 49:10 (48:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 14:1 (13:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The fool knows nothing; the senseless knows wrongly; both will perish together at the judgment.
- John 6:45; Ps 49:10 (LXX 48:11); Ps 14:1 (LXX 13:1).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word splits in the digital text): in s i pi en s e t stultus → insipiens et stultus; d i xi t insipiens → dixit insipiens.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.17.1 (CSEL 64:370–371; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-17-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-17-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-17-1) · Report an error
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.
48.17.2CSEL 64:371
ipsi ergo insipiens et stultus quando pereunt, alienis relinquunt diuitias suas; suum enim et legitimum stultitiae et improbitatis heredem repperire non possunt. legitimi enim dicunt: quia filii dei sumus. si autem filii, et heredes; heredes quidem dei, coheredes autem Christi, si tamen compatimur, ut et simul glorificemur. insipientes ergo diuitias non habent, quia nec hereditatem habent.
So when the senseless and the fool perish, they leave their riches to strangers; for they cannot find a proper and lawful heir of folly and wickedness. For the lawful heirs say: “For we are sons of God. And if sons, also heirs; heirs indeed of God, fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him.” The senseless, then, have no riches, because they have no inheritance.
Ps 49:10 (48:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The senseless leave their riches to strangers, having no inheritance, while God’s sons are heirs with Christ.
- Ps 49:10 (LXX 48:11); Rom 8:16–17.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.17.2 (CSEL 64:371; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-17-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-17-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-17-2) · Report an error
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.
48.17.3CSEL 64:371
non habent diuitias infidi, non possessionem; fideli enim totus mundus possessio est. non habent hereditatem, quia sola est hereditas credentibus in domino. suas autem diuitias habent, ideoque auarus dicit: non habeo quo congregem fructus meos; non enim uerus fructus, sed auari fructus pecunia est. et dominus auaro dicit: uade, uende bona tua et ueni, sequere me; non enim perfectum bonum est patrimonium, sed haec sunt auari bona, quae in emolumento aliquo constituta sunt.
The faithless have no riches, no possession; for to the faithful the whole world is a possession. They have no inheritance, because the inheritance belongs only to those who believe in the Lord. But they have their own riches, and therefore the greedy man says: “I have nowhere to gather my fruits”; for money is not true fruit but the fruit of the greedy. And the Lord says to the greedy man: “Go, sell your goods, and come, follow me”; for a patrimony is not the perfect good, but these are the goods of the greedy, which are set in some profit.
Prov 17:6 (allusion, low confidence) · Luke 12:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 19:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The faithless have no true riches; the greedy man’s “fruits” are only money, and Christ bids him sell all.
- Prov 17:6 (LXX); Luke 12:17; Matt 19:21.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): sequere m e; → sequere me;.
Topics: Ethics, Wealth and poverty
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.17.3 (CSEL 64:371; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-17-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-17-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-17-3) · Report an error
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.
48.17.4CSEL 64:371–372
uende, inquit, quae putas tua esse, cum tua non sint, quia ad alios fluminis modo transeunt, et sequere me, ut bonum inmortale cognoscas. sapientes ergo in interitum deducuntur, quibus deus abscondit quae paruulis reuelauit. peribunt simul et in uno eodemque loco erunt insipiens et stultus et alienis relinquent diuitias suas, quia non inuenit nequitia legitimum successorem.
Sell, he says, what you think is yours, when it is not yours, because it passes to others like a river, and follow me, so that you may know the immortal good. So the wise are led into destruction, from whom God has hidden what he has revealed to little ones. The senseless and the fool will perish together and will be in one and the same place, and they will leave their riches to strangers, because wickedness does not find a lawful successor.
Matt 11:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 49:10 (48:11 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Riches pass like a river; the worldly wise perish and leave their wealth to strangers.
- Matt 11:25; Ps 49:10 (LXX 48:11).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; line-end hyphen and stray line number in the digital text): Lua → tua; suc- 30 cessorem → successorem.
Topics: Wealth and poverty
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.17.4 (CSEL 64:371–372; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-17-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-17-4
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-17-4) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 18
48.18.1CSEL 64:372
Et sepulchra eorum domus eorum in saeculum, tabernacula eorum in progenie et generatione; inuocauerunt nomina eorum in terris ipsorum. ubique scriptura sepulchra pro uilibus ducit, quibus degeneres et uitae huius cupidi comparantur: sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum. his ergo, qui ad diem de die uiuunt, sepulchra pro domibus sunt. domus enim iustorum non in terra est, sed in caelo, sicut apostolus docuit dicens:
“And their tombs are their houses for ever, their dwellings in generation and generation; they have called their names in their lands.” Everywhere Scripture regards tombs as base things, to which the degenerate and those greedy for this life are compared: “Their throat is an open tomb.” For those, then, who live from day to day, tombs are in place of houses. For the house of the righteous is not on earth but in heaven, as the apostle taught, saying:
Ps 49:11 (48:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 5:9 (5:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 3:13 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:1 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: For those who live only for this life, tombs are their houses; the house of the righteous is in heaven.
- Ps 49:11 (LXX 48:12); Ps 5:9 (LXX 5:10); Rom 3:13. The quotation follows in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): ip sorum → ipsorum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.18.1 (CSEL 64:372; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-18-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-18-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-18-1) · Report an error
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.
48.18.2CSEL 64:372
nostra autem conuersatio in caelis est. ipsa est domus nostra quae domus Christi est, unde ait scriptura: et Moyses quidem fidelis in tota domo eius tamquam famulus in testimonium eorum quae dicenda essent, Christus uero tamquam filius in domo sua. piis ergo domus ecclesia est, piis patria caelum est, ideoque iustus ait:
“But our citizenship is in heaven.” That is our house which is the house of Christ; hence Scripture says: “And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of the things that were to be spoken, but Christ as a son in his own house.” For the devout, then, the house is the church, for the devout the homeland is heaven, and therefore the righteous man says:
Phil 3:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 3:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 3:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Our citizenship is in heaven; the house of the devout is the church, the house of Christ.
- Phil 3:20; Heb 3:5–6. The quotation follows in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word splits in the digital text): s u a. → sua.; dpmus → domus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.18.2 (CSEL 64:372; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-18-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-18-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-18-2) · Report an error
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.
48.18.3CSEL 64:372
aduena ego sum apud te in terra et peregrinus sicut omnes patres mei. luxuriosis domus sepulchrum est; denique tamquam in sepulchro uiuunt, qui possunt dicere: manducemus et bibamus, cras enim moriemur, resurrectionem ante oculos non habentes. ideoque tumulis suis affixi atque attumulati adhaerent, quia resuscitari se posse non crediderunt. habitaculum ergo illis in suo busto est et tabernaculum eorum in progenie et generatione terrena est, qui uermes sui corporis heredes relinquunt, ut hic tantum sit memoria eorum, in aeternum transire non possit.
“I am a stranger with you on earth and a sojourner, like all my fathers.” For the luxurious the house is a tomb; indeed they live as in a tomb, who can say: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”, not having the resurrection before their eyes. And therefore they cling, fixed and entombed, to their tombs, because they did not believe that they could be raised. So their dwelling is in their own grave, and their tabernacle is in an earthly generation and lineage, who leave worms as heirs of their body, so that their memory is only here and cannot pass into eternity.
Ps 39:12 (38:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:32 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 22:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 49:11 (48:12 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The righteous are pilgrims on earth; the luxurious, not believing in the resurrection, live as in their tombs.
- Ps 39:12 (LXX 38:13); 1 Cor 15:32 (Isa 22:13); Sir 10:11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray period in the digital text): etis peregrinus → et peregrinus; moriemur. resurrectionem → moriemur, resurrectionem.
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 10:11 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; allusion)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.18.3 (CSEL 64:372; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-18-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-18-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-18-3) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 19
48.19.1CSEL 64:372–373
Denique nomina eorum in terris ipsorum, quia opera eorum corruptibilia atque terrena, et ideo ibi scribuntur eorum nomina ubi uiuere maluerunt. qui autem eleuauerunt opera sua, his dicitur: nolite gaudere quia daemonia uobis subiecta sunt, sed gaudete quia nomina uestra scripta sunt in caelo. hinc ergo intellegamus, quia non otiose dominus eos arguit, qui aedificabant sepulchra sibi uel tumulos prophetarum et exornabant ea.
Finally, their names are in their lands, because their works are corruptible and earthly, and therefore their names are written where they preferred to live. But to those who have raised up their works it is said: “Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” From this, then, let us understand that not idly did the Lord rebuke those who built tombs for themselves or tombs of the prophets and adorned them.
Ps 49:11 (48:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 10:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 23:29 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The worldly have their names written on earth; the faithful in heaven; the Lord rebuked those who adorned tombs.
- Ps 49:11 (LXX 48:12); Luke 10:20; Matt 23:29.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word spaces lost in the digital text): suahisdicitur → sua, his dicitur.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.19.1 (CSEL 64:372–373; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-19-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-19-1) · Report an error
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.
48.19.2CSEL 64:373
condemnantur enim Iudaei, qui prophetis quos occiderant terrena solacia, non aeterna praemia deferebant. ideoque prohibet, ut discipulus suus sepeliat patrem, quia aeterno patri sine cessatione esse debet intentus. et in Esaiae libro scriptum est: quid, inquit, quia aedificasti et excidisti tibi sepulchrum? et reprehenditur Maria, quae Christum in tumulo requirebat.
For the Jews are condemned, who offered the prophets whom they had killed earthly consolations, not eternal rewards. And therefore he forbids his disciple to bury his father, because he ought to be intent without ceasing on the eternal Father. And in the book of Isaiah it is written: “Why,” he says, “have you built and hewn yourself a tomb?” And Mary is rebuked, who sought Christ in the tomb.
Matt 23:31 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 8:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 8:22 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 22:16 (quotation, high confidence) · John 20:15 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Earthly honours for the dead are rebuked; the disciple must look to the eternal Father, and Mary is rebuked for seeking Christ in the tomb.
- Matt 23:29–31; 8:21–22; Isa 22:16; John 20:15.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and word split in the digital text): teri ana → terrena.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.19.2 (CSEL 64:373; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-19-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-19-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-19-2) · Report an error
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.
48.19.3CSEL 64:373
relinque sepulchra, quae reliquerunt qui audita uoce domini in ipsius passione surrexere de tumulis, noli inter mortuos habitare qui uiuis. audi uocem resuscitantis Iesu: surge qui dormis et exurge a mortuis, ut lumen tibi Christi infundatur aeternum. lumen eius spiritus sanctus est, qui apostolis sanctis in dispersione linguarum tamquam ignis inluxit.
Leave the tombs, which those left who, hearing the voice of the Lord in his passion, rose from their graves; do not dwell among the dead, you who live. Hear the voice of Jesus raising you: “Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead”, so that the eternal light of Christ may be poured into you. His light is the Holy Spirit, who shone like fire on the holy apostles in the dividing of the tongues.
Matt 27:52 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 24:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 5:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 2:3 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Leave the tombs and rise at Christ’s call, so that the light of the Holy Spirit may shine on you.
- Matt 27:52–53; Luke 24:5; Eph 5:14; Acts 2:3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word space lost in the digital text): amortuis → a mortuis.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.19.3 (CSEL 64:373; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-19-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-19-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-19-3) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 20
48.20.1CSEL 64:373
Sequitur: homo cum in honore esset non intellexit; comparatus est iumentis quae sine sensu sunt et similis factus est illis. haec uia eorum in offendiculum ipsis, et postea in ore eorum complacebunt. quia non intellexit homo cum in honore esset — est autem honor, quod ad imaginem dei factus est, factus est rationis capax —, comparatus est iumentis quae sensum non habent; qui autem intellexit angelis comparatur.
There follows: “Man, when he was in honour, did not understand; he is compared to the beasts that are without sense and has become like them. This way of theirs is a stumbling block to them, and afterwards they will be pleased in their mouth.” Because man did not understand when he was in honour — and the honour is that he was made to the image of God, made capable of reason —, he is compared to beasts that have no sense; but he who has understood is compared to the angels.
Ps 49:12 (48:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:13 (48:14 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Man, made in God’s image, is likened to beasts when he does not understand his honour; one who understands is like the angels.
- Ps 49:12–13 (LXX 48:13–14); Gen 1:26.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): f actus → factus.
Topics: The image of God
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.20.1 (CSEL 64:373; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-20-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-20-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-20-1) · Report an error
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.
48.20.2CSEL 64:373–374
et ideo hic bonorum operum claritate magnificus est, ille sicut equus adhinniens aestimatur conluuione uiuendi, quae uiae offendiculum affert in turpitudine et obscenitate uiuentibus; insipientia enim uiri contaminat uias eius. huiusmodi autem uiri uiuunt secundum appetentiam suam, quae offendiculum creat, et post offendiculum complacebunt in ore suo, sed non in corde; non enim boni de quibus dicitur: ore suo benedicebant et corde suo maledicebant. quo responsum est etiam his qui habent in codicibus suis ita scriptum: et postea in ore suo benedicent. uerbum enim tuum prope et in ore tuo sit et in corde.
And therefore this one is magnificent in the brightness of good works, that one is reckoned like a neighing horse by the filth of his living, which brings a stumbling block to the way of those who live in baseness and obscenity; for the folly of a man defiles his ways. Such men live according to their appetite, which creates a stumbling block, and after the stumbling block they will be pleased in their mouth, but not in their heart; for they are not good, of whom it is said: “With their mouth they blessed and with their heart they cursed.” This answers those too who have it written thus in their copies: “And afterwards they will bless with their mouth.” For let your word be near you, in your mouth and in your heart.
Jer 5:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 19:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 62:4 (61:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:13 (48:14 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 30:14 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The base man, like a neighing horse, stumbles by his folly and blesses with the mouth but not the heart.
- Jer 5:8; Prov 19:3; Ps 62:4 (LXX 61:5); Rom 10:8 (Deut 30:14).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): hio → hic; clantate → claritate; ita seriptum → ita scriptum.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.20.2 (CSEL 64:373–374; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-20-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-20-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-20-2) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 21
48.21.1CSEL 64:374
Sicut oues in infernum deducentur, mors depascet eos; et dominabuntur eorum iusti in matutinum et auxilium eorum ueterascet in inferno a gloria eorum. qui noluerunt, ut pasceret eos Christus, depascet eos mors. quis ergo dimittat bonum pastorem, qui pro ouibus suis animam suam ponit, quia pertinet ad eum gregis sui cura? aut quis eligat mercennariam mortem, quae operum pessimorum digna mercede referatur? simul cognosce o homo, quia Christus uerus est pastor, qui suos pascit ad uitam. mors sub-
“Like sheep they will be led down into hell; death will feed on them; and the righteous will rule over them in the morning, and their help will grow old in hell, away from their glory.” Those who did not wish Christ to feed them, death will feed on. Who, then, would leave the good shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep, because the care of his flock belongs to him? Or who would choose death, the hireling, which is paid back as the worthy wage of the worst works? Know at the same time, O man, that Christ is the true shepherd, who feeds his own for life. Death
Ps 49:14 (48:15 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:11 (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 6:23 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who refuse Christ the good shepherd are fed upon by death, the hireling.
- Ps 49:14 (LXX 48:15); John 10:11–13. The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and word split in the digital text; word split and stray hyphen in the digital text): inf ernum deduce-ntur → infernum deducentur; ueteraseet in inf erno → ueterascet in inferno.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.21.1 (CSEL 64:374; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-21-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-21-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-21-1) · Report an error
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.
48.21.2CSEL 64:374
intrauit, quae ad interitum adducit alienos et deuorat eos, quibus potest propter eorum flagitia praeualere. quibus licet in hac uita studium potentiae fuerit et diuitiarum, ut aliis dominarentur, sed in resurrectione erit seruitus, cum iustis matutinus splendor inluxerit, quorum figura est, quod Iacob dominus praeponitur fratri. miserabilis itaque seruitus, ut eo tempore, quo alii uocantur in gloriam splendoris et luminis, horum gloria ueterascat et consumatur in tenebris inferorum, meritoque de his dicitur: de honore suo et a gloria sua expulsi sunt, quia temporalis haec gloria.
crept in, which leads strangers to destruction and devours those over whom it can prevail because of their crimes. Though in this life they had the pursuit of power and riches, so as to rule over others, in the resurrection there will be servitude, when the morning splendour shines on the righteous, of which there is a figure in Jacob being set as lord over his brother. A wretched servitude, then, that at the time when others are called into the glory of splendour and light, their glory should grow old and be consumed in the darkness of hell; and rightly it is said of them: “They have been driven from their honour and from their glory”, because this glory is temporal.
Ps 49:14 (48:15 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 27:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 27:37 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: At the resurrection the powerful of this world will serve, as Esau served Jacob, while the righteous shine in the morning.
- Gen 27:29, 37; Ps 49:14 (LXX 48:15). The final quotation is uncertain (compare Mic 2:9).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): domijius → dominus; ueteraseat → ueterascat.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.21.2 (CSEL 64:374; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-21-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-21-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-21-2) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 22
48.22.1CSEL 64:374–375
Uerumtamen deus liberabit, inquit, animam meam de manu inferni, cum acceperit eam. bene hoc dicit qui sciebat animam suam in inferno non derelinquendam. descendit enim, ut captiuos absolueret de faucibus inferorum, non ut in his captiua remaneret.
“But God,” he says, “will free my soul from the hand of hell, when he receives it.” Rightly he says this who knew that his soul would not be left in hell. For he went down to free the captives from the jaws of hell, not to remain a captive among them.
Ps 49:15 (48:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 16:10 (15:10 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 4:9 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, whose soul was not left in hell, went down to free its captives.
- Ps 49:15 (LXX 48:16); Ps 16:10 (LXX 15:10); Eph 4:8–9.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): inf erni → inferni.
Topics: Christology, Descent into Hades
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.22.1 (CSEL 64:374–375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-22-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-22-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-22-1) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 23
48.23.1CSEL 64:375
Ergo quoniam haec, quae in isto saeculo sunt, nobiscum transire non possunt, ideo tibi dicitur: ne timueris, cum diues factus fuerit homo et cum multiplicata fuerit gloria domus eius, quoniam non cum morietur accipiet omnia neque simul descendet cum eo gloria domus eius. noli, inquit, expauescere diuitias et potentiam diuitis et gloriam saecularem, quoniam caduca illa sunt et citius abeunt quam uenerunt.
So, since the things of this world cannot pass over with us, therefore it is said to you: “Do not fear when a man has become rich and when the glory of his house has been multiplied, since when he dies he will not take all things, nor will the glory of his house go down with him.” Do not, he says, be afraid of the riches and power of the rich man and worldly glory, since they are perishable and go away faster than they came.
Ps 49:16 (48:17 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:17 (48:18 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Do not fear the rich, for they take nothing with them at death.
- Ps 49:16–17 (LXX 48:17–18).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split and letters lost in the digital text): f uer homo → fuerit homo.
Topics: Wealth and poverty
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.23.1 (CSEL 64:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-23-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-23-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-23-1) · Report an error
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.
48.23.2CSEL 64:375
somnium est iste thesaurus; euigilas et recessit, quoniam, qui potuerit crapulam mundi istius edormire et sobrietatem uirtutis assumere, ista contemnit et pro nihilo pecuniam ducit. neque timueris, cum multiplicatam gloriam domus alicuius potentis audieris. inspice diligenter, et uacua est quae nihil habeat de fidei plenitudine. et quid de domo dicam? uacuus erat totus hic mundus, antequam numero credentium eum Christus impleret, ideoque scriptum est: iudicabit inter gentes, replebit ruinas.
This treasure is a dream; you wake and it has gone, since he who has been able to sleep off the drunkenness of this world and take up the sobriety of virtue despises these things and counts money as nothing. And do not fear when you hear of the multiplied glory of some powerful man’s house. Look carefully, and it is empty, having nothing of the fullness of faith. And what shall I say of a house? This whole world was empty before Christ filled it with the number of believers; and therefore it is written: “He will judge among the nations; he will fill up the ruins.”
Ps 73:20 (72:20 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 110:6 (109:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Worldly treasure is a dream; the world was empty until Christ filled it with believers.
- Ps 110:6 (LXX 109:6).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.23.2 (CSEL 64:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-23-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-23-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-23-2) · Report an error
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.
48.23.3CSEL 64:375
quid enim aliud erat ante in hoc mundo nisi ruina perfidiae? quid est ruina? audi dicentem: ubi ruina, ibi et a quilae, est: ubi ruina, ibi et resurrectio. ruina uacua firmitatis est, resurrectio plenitudo uiuendi est. ideoque nos Adae illius ruina uacuauit, sed Christi repleuit gratia. ideo se ille exinaniuit, ut nos repleret atque in carne hominis plenitudo uirtutis habitaret. quid sit ruina, cognosce.
For what else was there before in this world but the ruin of faithlessness? What is ruin? Hear him saying: “Where the ruin is, there too the eagles”, that is: where the ruin is, there too is the resurrection. Ruin is empty of firmness; resurrection is the fullness of living. And therefore the ruin of that Adam emptied us, but the grace of Christ filled us. Therefore he emptied himself, so as to fill us and so that the fullness of virtue might dwell in the flesh of man. Learn what ruin is.
Matt 24:28 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 17:37 (allusion, medium confidence) · Phil 2:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Adam’s ruin emptied us, and Christ, emptying himself, filled us with his grace and resurrection.
- Ambrose’s form of Matt 24:28 / Luke 17:37 has “ruin” (Greek πτῶμα, “carcass”). Phil 2:7.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): perfidiae r quid → perfidiae? quid.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.23.3 (CSEL 64:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-23-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-23-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-23-3) · Report an error
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.
48.23.4CSEL 64:375
dum uiuit homo, infusus est spiritu; ubi mortuus fuerit, uacuus utique huius uitalis est spiritus. multo magis uacuum facit amissio gratiae spiritalis, quem gratia replere consueuit, ut possimus dicere: quoniam nos omnes de plenitudine eius accepimus, et gratiam pro gratia. de alio dicitur: in uacuum laboraui, iustus autem sicut odor agri pleni.
While a man lives, he is filled with spirit; when he has died, he is certainly empty of this vital spirit. Much more does the loss of spiritual grace make empty the one whom grace was accustomed to fill, so that we can say: “For we have all received of his fullness, and grace for grace.” Of another it is said: “I have laboured in vain”; but the righteous man is like the smell of a full field.
John 1:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 49:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 27:27 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Loss of grace empties a man more than death; the righteous are filled from Christ’s fullness.
- John 1:16; Isa 49:4; Gen 27:27.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.23.4 (CSEL 64:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-23-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-23-4
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-23-4) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 24
48.24.1CSEL 64:375–376
Quid autem non uacuum quod saeculare atque mundanum, cum recte dixerit qui mundum istum sobria uirtute contempsit: nudus sum natus, nudus et moriar? numquid secum quis potest auferre quae possidet? hic omnia derelinquit, solus intrat in tumulum et uacuum illius diuitis est sepulchrum, quem nec ipsa terra capiebat. unde dictum est: numquid soli habitabitis super terram? numquid descendit in illud sepulchrum gloria domus eius aut copiae? uide uim scripturae.
And what is not empty that is worldly and of this world, since he rightly said who despised this world with sober virtue: “Naked I was born, naked too I shall die”? Can anyone take with him what he possesses? Here he leaves everything, he enters the tomb alone, and empty is the tomb of that rich man whom the earth itself could not hold. Hence it was said: “Will you alone dwell upon the earth?” Did the glory of his house or his wealth go down into that tomb? See the force of Scripture.
Job 1:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 5:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:17 (48:18 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 6:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: All worldly things are empty; the rich man enters the tomb alone, taking nothing.
- Job 1:21; Isa 5:8; Ps 49:17 (LXX 48:18).
Topics: Wealth and poverty
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.24.1 (CSEL 64:375–376; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-24-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-24-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-24-1) · Report an error
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.
48.24.2CSEL 64:376
gloria saeculi non descendet cum peccatore, sed gloria uirtutis ascendet cum innocente et, ut compendiosius dicamus, gloria hominis cum ascendente ascendet, cum descendente non descendet. quod gratiae est ac uirtutis, ascendet. in paradisum ascenditur, in infernum descenditur. descendant, inquit,
The glory of the world will not go down with the sinner, but the glory of virtue will go up with the innocent; and, to say it more briefly, the glory of a man will go up with one who goes up, it will not go down with one who goes down. What belongs to grace and virtue will go up. One goes up to paradise, one goes down to hell. “Let them go down,” he says,
Ps 49:17 (48:18 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Worldly glory stays behind; the glory of virtue goes up with the innocent to paradise.
- The quotation continues in the next section.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.24.2 (CSEL 64:376; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-24-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-24-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-24-2) · Report an error
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.
48.24.3CSEL 64:376
in infernum uiuentes, ideoque Lazarus pauper per angelos in Abrahae sinum est eleuatus. diues luxuriosus eleuans in inferno oculos suos rogat Abraham, ut mittat pauperem et digito suo contingat linguam eius, quo requiem aliquam in ardore maximo constitutus possit adipisci. uide illum pauperem bonis omnibus abundantem, quem sancti patriarchae requies beata circumdabat; uide hunc uacuum, qui sibi in hoc saeculo abundare omnibus uidebatur, cuius anima in uita ipsius benedicebatur, sed nunc iners morte cruciatur.
“alive into hell.” And therefore Lazarus the poor man was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The luxurious rich man, lifting his eyes in hell, asks Abraham to send the poor man to touch his tongue with his finger, so that, set in the greatest burning, he may obtain some rest. See that poor man abounding in all good things, whom the blessed rest of the holy patriarch surrounded; see this empty one, who seemed to himself in this world to abound in all things, whose soul was blessed in his life, but now is tormented, helpless, by death.
Ps 55:15 (54:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 16:22 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 16:23 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 16:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 49:18 (48:19 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Lazarus the poor man rests in Abraham’s bosom; the rich man, once blessed in his lifetime, is tormented.
- Ps 55:15 (LXX 54:16); Luke 16:22–24; Ps 49:18 (LXX 48:19).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): smum → sinum.
Topics: Eschatology, Wealth and poverty
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.24.3 (CSEL 64:376; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-24-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-24-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-24-3) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 25
48.25.1CSEL 64:376
Unde pulchre sequitur: quoniam anima eius in uita ipsius benedicetur, confitebitur tibi cum benefeceris ipsi. benedicent, inquit, eum benedictione terrena stulti homines, qui praesentia, non futura considerant, benedicent eum adseclae eius atque parasiti. ipse quoque beatum se putat, si agrum aliquem quem desiderabat inuaserit. confitetur tunc deo, cum ei in hoc saeculo secunda succedunt, quando autem aduersa contingunt, impio ore maledicit. hoc ergo dicit, quia saecularis non agit gratias in paupertate positus et aduersis;
Hence there follows beautifully: “Since his soul will be blessed in his life, he will confess to you when you do good to him.” Foolish men, he says, who consider present things, not future, will bless him with an earthly blessing; his hangers-on and parasites will bless him. He himself too thinks himself blessed if he has seized some field he desired. He confesses to God when things go well for him in this world; but when adversities come, he curses with an impious mouth. This, then, he says: that the worldly man does not give thanks when set in poverty and adversity;
Ps 49:18 (48:19 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The worldly man is blessed by flatterers and thanks God only in prosperity, cursing him in adversity.
- Ps 49:18 (LXX 48:19).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip (letters lost in the digital text; the psalm reads anima eius); OCR slip and word splits in the digital text; word split and OCR slip in the digital text): quoniam euis → quoniam anima eius; conf itetitur → confitebitur; l ene f eceris → benefeceris; patasiti → parasiti.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.25.1 (CSEL 64:376; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-25-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-25-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-25-1) · Report an error
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.
48.25.2CSEL 64:376–377
iustus autem in angustiis magis dominum grato benedicit affectu. denique diabolus ad deum dicit: quid mirum si te benedicit Iob? abundant ei omnia. sed mitte, inquit, manum tuam et tange ea quae possidet; uideamus si in faciem te benedicit. et dedit ipsi dominus potestatem, ut, quae saeculi essent huius, auferret, carnem ipsius ulceris atrocitate perfunderet. Iob tamen benedicebat dicens: dominus dedit, dominus abstulit; sit nomen domini benedictum.
but the righteous man in distress blesses the Lord the more with grateful affection. Finally the devil says to God: “What wonder if Job blesses you? He has everything in abundance. But send,” he says, “your hand and touch what he possesses; let us see whether he blesses you to your face.” And the Lord gave him power to take away the things of this world and to cover his flesh with the horror of sores. Yet Job blessed him, saying: “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 1:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 1:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 1:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 1:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The righteous man, like Job, blesses God even in loss and suffering.
- Job 1:9–11, 21; 2:7.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray period in the digital text): tange ea. quae → tange ea quae; diceife → dicens.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.25.2 (CSEL 64:376–377; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-25-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-25-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-25-2) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 26
48.26.1CSEL 64:377
Introibit usque in progeniem patrum eius, usque in saeculum non uidebit lumen. homo cum in honore esset non intellexit, comparatus est iumentis quae sensum non habent et similis factus est illis. ideo, inquit, iste in progeniem patrum suorum introibit. qui est pater impiorum, dominus declarauit dicens: uos ex patre diabolo estis.
“He will go in to the generation of his fathers; for ever he will not see light. Man, when he was in honour, did not understand; he is compared to the beasts that have no sense and has become like them.” Therefore, he says, this one will go in to the generation of his fathers. Who is the father of the ungodly the Lord declared, saying: “You are of your father the devil.”
Ps 49:19 (48:20 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:20 (48:21 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:44 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The ungodly man goes to the generation of his fathers; the father of the ungodly is the devil.
- Ps 49:19–20 (LXX 48:20–21); John 8:44.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.26.1 (CSEL 64:377; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-26-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-26-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-26-1) · Report an error
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.
48.26.2CSEL 64:377
sunt et illi patres, de quibus dicitur: relinque mortuos sepelire mortuos suos. ideo et Moabitae usque in tertiam et quartam generationem prohibiti sunt introire in ecclesiam domini, ut filii eorum propter peccata patrum suorum introirent in eorum generationem, quorum facta imitabantur et mores. unde et scriptum est: filii adulterorum inconsummati erunt.
There are also those fathers of whom it is said: “Let the dead bury their dead.” Therefore the Moabites too were forbidden to enter the assembly of the Lord to the third and fourth generation, so that their sons, because of the sins of their fathers, entered into the generation of those whose deeds and ways they imitated. Hence it is also written: “The children of adulterers will not come to maturity.”
Matt 8:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 23:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 20:5 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who imitate their fathers’ sins enter their generation, as with the Moabites and the children of adulterers.
- Matt 8:22; Deut 23:3 (Exod 20:5); Wis 3:16 (“the children of adulterers will not come to maturity”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word space lost in the digital text; word splits in the digital text): scriptumest → scriptum est; in consumma ti erunt → inconsummati erunt.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 3:16 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.26.2 (CSEL 64:377; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-26-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-26-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-26-2) · Report an error
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.
48.26.3CSEL 64:377–378
ergo qui non illum patrem qui in caelo est sequitur, sed illum terrena conluuione uiuentem, in progeniem terreni patris intrat. qualis enim terrenus, tales et terreni, ut sit eius uita terrena, requies nulla post mortem, in aeternum non uideat lumen, quoniam temporale quaesiuit. ille autem, qui Christi secutus est gloriam, qui desiderauit illud lumen, quod inluminat omnem hominem uenientem in hunc mundum, inueniet et uidebit lumen aeternum, quia eum Christus redemit a morte.
So he who follows not that Father who is in heaven, but that one living in earthly filth, enters the generation of the earthly father. For as is the earthly, such are the earthly, so that his life is earthly, there is no rest after death, he does not see light for ever, since he sought what is temporal. But he who has followed the glory of Christ, who has desired that light which enlightens every man coming into this world, will find and see the eternal light, because Christ has redeemed him from death.
Matt 6:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 15:48 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 49:19 (48:20 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Followers of the earthly father never see light; those who follow Christ, the light of every man, see eternal light.
- Matt 6:9; 1 Cor 15:48; John 1:9.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Chistus → Christus.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.26.3 (CSEL 64:377–378; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-26-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-26-3
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-26-3) · Report an error
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 48, chapter 27
48.27.1CSEL 64:378
Tunc ergo cogitabit secum, quia cum in honore esset non intellexit, et ideo erit similis iumentorum, qui similis debuit esse angelorum per domini nostri Iesu Christi gratiam, cui est honor, gloria, perpetuitas a saeculis et nunc et semper et in omnia saecula saeculorum. amen.
Then, therefore, he will think to himself that, when he was in honour, he did not understand, and therefore he will be like the beasts, he who should have been like the angels through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be honour, glory and everlastingness from the ages, now and always and for all ages of ages. Amen.
Ps 49:20 (48:21 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 20:36 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The man who did not understand his honour becomes like the beasts, when he could have been like the angels.
- Ps 49:20 (LXX 48:21).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): similis- iumentorum → similis iumentorum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 48.27.1 (CSEL 64:378; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-27-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/48-27-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-48-27-1) · Report an error
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 61, chapter 1
61.1.1CSEL 64:378–379
Omnium nostrum indubia consuetudo est, ut festinemus ad finem et eorum, quae legimus uel uidimus et audiuimus, uelimus summam cognoscere. unde titulus ipse otiosos nos esse non patitur nec feriatis praeterire auribus desiderii communis indicium. prae ceteris enim, licet etiam in ceteris clareat, diuinum tamen in huiusmodi psalmo refulget oraculum. unde diligentius qui sit finis consideremus; finis enim dicitur σκοπός; et summa rei eius, quam uolumus explicare. finis dicitur Christus, quia ipse est finis legis, sicut scriptum est:
It is the undoubted custom of us all to hasten to the end and to wish to know the sum of what we read or have seen and heard. Hence the title itself does not allow us to be idle, nor to pass over with holiday ears the sign of a common desire. For above the rest, though it shines in the rest too, the divine oracle shines in a psalm of this kind. Hence let us consider more carefully what the end is; for the end is called skopos, and the sum of the matter we wish to explain. Christ is called the end, because he is the end of the law, as it is written:
Ps 62:1 (61:1 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 10:4 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The title “to the end” of Psalm 61 (Protestant 62) points to Christ, the end of the law.
- Psalm 61 in Ambrose’s (LXX/Vulgate) numbering is Psalm 62 in the Protestant numbering; Scripture tags give the Protestant number with the LXX number as alternative. The Greek word is garbled in the digital text and is restored (σκοπός). The quotation follows in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Greek word garbled by font encoding in the digital text; OCR slip; stray hyphen and OCR slip in the digital text; stray line number in the digital text; stray period in the digital text): festinemus 10 ad finem → festinemus ad finem; lieet → licet; finis. consideremus → finis consideremus; oxonot; → σκοπός;; sicut -seriptum est: → sicut scriptum est:.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 61.1.1 (CSEL 64:378–379; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/61-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/61-1-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-61-1-1) · Report an error
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.
61.1.2CSEL 64:379
finis enim legis Christus ad iustitiam omni credenti. finis etiam dicitur, quia ipse est principium et finis. ergo isti psalmi qui titulantur in finem aut de Christo sunt aut ipsius Christi: de Christo, cum ipse annuntiatur, ipsius Christi, cum ipse se nuntiat uenturumque promittit in terras et futuram nobis reuelare dignatur proprii corporis passionem.
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” He is also called the end because he is the beginning and the end. So these psalms which are entitled “to the end” are either about Christ or Christ’s own: about Christ, when he is announced; Christ’s own, when he announces himself and promises that he will come to earth and deigns to reveal to us the coming passion of his own body.
Rom 10:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 22:13 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalms titled “to the end” are about Christ or spoken by Christ himself.
- Rom 10:4; Rev 22:13.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen in the digital text): finis enim -legis → finis enim legis.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 61.1.2 (CSEL 64:379; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/61-1-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/61-1-2
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-61-1-2) · Report an error
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 61, chapter 2
61.2.1CSEL 64:379
Ideoque ipsi Dauid inscribuntur in titulo, quasi uero Dauid, ipsi domino, prophetici oris ministeria deputentur, per quem humanae uocis officio uis caelestis increpuit et diuina sententia resultauit.
And therefore they are inscribed in the title “to David himself”, as though the ministries of the prophetic mouth were assigned to the true David, the Lord himself, through whom the heavenly power sounded forth by the office of a human voice and the divine sentence resounded.
Ps 62:1 (61:1 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “To David himself” refers to the true David, Christ, whose voice spoke through the prophet.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 61.2.1 (CSEL 64:379; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/61-2-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/61-2-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-61-2-1) · Report an error
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 61, chapter 3
61.3.1CSEL 64:379
Meritoque pro Idithun, qui fuit propheta et psalmos cum sex filiis canebat suis, uelut quaedam praefatio est, eo quod esset his uenia prophetandi, qui in psallendi ministerio constituti diuina oracula humana uoce loquerentur. et quia pro totius mundi abolendo errore suscipienda dominici corporis passio foret, huius scilicet nomine, cuius sedulitas probaretur, commendatiorem eruditionem plebis expressit. itaque ipsum audiamus loquentem.
And rightly “for Jeduthun”, who was a prophet and sang psalms with his six sons, is a kind of preface, because the leave to prophesy belonged to those who, appointed to the ministry of singing psalms, spoke the divine oracles with a human voice. And since the passion of the Lord’s body was to be undergone for abolishing the error of the whole world, by the name of this man, whose diligence was approved, he expressed the more commended instruction of the people. So let us hear him speaking.
Ps 62:1 (61:1 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Chr 25:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Chr 25:3 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jeduthun, a prophet who sang psalms with his sons, introduces the psalm of the Lord’s passion.
- 1 Chr 25:1–3 (Jeduthun “prophesied” with the lyre; six sons).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Expl. Ps. 61.3.1 (CSEL 64:379; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/61-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmos-xii/61-3-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-ambrose-psalmos-xii-61-3-1) · Report an error
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.