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a snare for me. For through these he represents the distress in which he was being tested; and even more so through what he adds next, saying: Flight has perished from me; for with Saul sitting before the doors of the cave, hiding inside, he had despaired of his own escape. But having despaired of flight, he flees to the harbor of salvation; wherefore he adds: I cried to you, O Lord, I said: You are my hope; and he adds, saying: Bring my soul out of prison. Do you see how he signifies the confinement within the cave? Rightly, therefore, he also inscribes the words as a "Prayer," indicating the occasion by the title. For it says: A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave, a prayer. But these things he prayed while beset by a great struggle at the indicated time; but the inscription at hand was spoken by him, I think, when he was in the cave of Adullam, receiving all his brothers and relatives and the other fugitives, who were perhaps being plotted against by Saul on his account; but also every soul in distress and everyone who was wronged became a companion in David's flight. For seeing a just man, honored by God, being unjustly persecuted by Saul, they were consoled in their own troubles. Then, as they themselves were also fleeing those who wronged them, they emulated David and embraced his company, preferring to be persecuted with him than to be with the one who persecuted. Therefore, while at leisure in the cave of Adullam, he wrote the present inscription. And this is shown by what is said next, both in other passages and through the one in which he says: He sent from heaven and saved me; and again: God has sent his mercy and his truth, and has delivered my soul from the midst of lions’ cubs. Do you see how, having escaped the foreigners in Gath, since he was indeed in safety 23.505 and at ease, he uttered such words, and even more so the ones that follow, through which it is said: My heart is ready, O God, I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I will awake early. I will praise you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to you among the nations. For these things are indicative of great leisure, but also of gladness. For the holy apostle says: Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. But he was not able to say these things in the cave of Engedi, being confined by Saul sitting before the entrance. For what opportunity was there then to take up psaltery and harp, while hiding in the innermost part of the cave? Just as, on the other hand, it made no sense, while he was at leisure and ease in the cave of Adullam with the four hundred men who were with him, to say: Flight has perished from me, and, Bring my soul out of prison. Let these things, then, be said concerning the difference between the subjects at hand. But let us proceed to the exegesis of what is before us. To the end, do not destroy, for David, for an inscription, and so forth. Saul was persecuting David; but he, fulfilling in deed the saying, If they persecute you in this city, flee to another, was running away, so that by not being present he would not provoke the enemy, and become the cause of bloodshed for him. For David knew better than anyone the saying, Do not kindle the coals of a sinner; therefore he withdrew and gave way, even though he was loved by the whole nation, and had very many who sympathized and grieved with him, and were able to receive and hide him in their own homes. But so that he might not also become a cause of dangers for others, he fled to the desert places and embraced life in the caves. And it seems to me that the holy Apostle alludes to his memory when he says: Wandering in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes of the earth. And just as the one set before the present was not a psalm, but an inscription, which Aquila interpreted as, of the humble perfect one; and Symmachus, of the humble-minded and blameless one; so also the present discourse, the utmost

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παγίδα μοι. ∆ιὰ τούτων γὰρ τὴν συνοχὴν ἐν ᾗ ἐξητάζετο παρίστησι· καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον δι' ὧν ἐπάγει λέγων ἑξῆς· Ἀπώλετο φυγὴ ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν γὰρ τοῦ σπηλαίου καθεζομένου τοῦ Σαοὺλ, ἔνδον κρυπτόμενος, ἀπεγνώκει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φυγήν. Πλὴν τὴν φυγὴν ἀπογνοὺς, ἐπὶ τὸν σωτήριον λιμένα καταφεύγει· διὸ ἐπιλέγει· Ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σὲ, Κύριε, εἶπα· Σὺ εἶ ἐλπίς μου· καὶ προστίθησι λέγων· Ἐξάγαγε ἐκ φυλακῆς τὴν ψυχήν μου. Ὁρᾷς ὅπως τὸν εἴσω τοῦ σπηλαίου ἀποκλεισμὸν σημαίνει; Εἰκότως οὖν καὶ προσευχὴν ἐπιγράφει τοὺς λόγους, δηλῶν διὰ τῆς προγραφῆς τὸν καιρόν. Λέγει γοῦν· Συνέσεως τῷ ∆αυῒδ, ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ, προσευχή. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν προσηύξατο ἐν μεγάλῳ περιστὰς ἀγῶνι κατὰ τὸν δηλωθέντα χρόνον· ἡ δὲ μετὰ χεῖρας στηλογραφία λέλεκτο αὐτῷ, ὡς οἶμαι, ὄντι ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τῷ Ὀδολλὰμ, πάντας τε ὑποδεχομένῳ τούς τε ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς συγγενεῖς καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς φυγάδας, τάχα που δι' αὐτὸν ἐπιβουλευομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ Σαούλ· ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶς κατώδυνος ψυχὴ καὶ πᾶς ἀδικούμενος κοινωνὸς ἐγίγνετο τῆς τοῦ ∆αυῒδ φυγῆς. ∆ίκαιον γὰρ ἄνδρα καὶ παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ τετιμημένον, ἐλαυνόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ Σαοὺλ ἀδίκως ὁρῶντες, τὰ ἑαυτῶν παρεμυθοῦντο κακά. Εἶτα καὶ αὐτοὶ τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας αὐτοὺς φεύγοντές τε, τὸν ∆αυῒδ ἐζήλουν, ἠσπάζοντό τε τὴν σὺν αὐτῷ μερίδα, μᾶλλον ἀγαπῶντες ἐλαύνεσθαι σὺν αὐτῷ, ἢ τῷ ἐλαύνοντι συνεῖναι. Ἐπὶ σχολῆς τοίνυν διάγων ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τῷ Ὀδολλὰμ τὴν παροῦσαν ἔγραφε στηλογραφίαν. Παρίστησι δὲ τοῦτο τὰ ἐπιλεγόμενα, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ δι' ὧν φησιν· Ἐξαπέστειλεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἔσωσέ με· καὶ πάλιν· Ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐῤῥύσατο τὴν ψυχήν μου ἐκ μέσου σκύμνων. Ὁρᾷς, ὡς τοὺς ἐν Γὲθ ἀλλοφύλους διαφυγὼν, ἅτε δὴ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ 23.505 τυγχάνων, καὶ ἐν ἀνέσει ὢν, τοιαύτας ἠφίει φωνὰς, καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον τὰς ἑξῆς ἐπιφερομένας δι' ὧν εἴρηται· Ἑτοίμη ἡ καρδία μου, ὁ Θεὸς, ᾄσομαι καὶ ψαλῶ. Ἐξεγέρθητι ἡ δόξα μου, ἐξεγέρθητι ψαλτήριον καὶ κιθάρα, ἐξεγερθήσομαι ὄρθρου. Ἐξομολογήσομαι ἐν λαοῖς, Κύριε, ψαλῶ σοι ἐν ἔθνεσι. Ταῦτα γὰρ πολλῆς σχολῆς ἐμφατικὰ τυγχάνει, ἀλλὰ καὶ θυμηδίας. Λέγει γοῦν ὁ ἱερὸς ἀπόστολος· Κακοπαθεῖ τις ἐν ὑμῖν; προσευχέσθω· εὐθυμεῖ τις; ψαλάτω. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οἷός τε ἦν ταῦτα λέγειν ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τῷ Ἐνγαδδὶ συνεχόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ Σαοὺλ πρὸ τῆς εἰσόδου καθεζομένου. Ποία γὰρ ἦν εὐκαιρία τότε, ὡς ψαλτήριον ἀναλαμβάνειν καὶ κιθάραν, κρυπταζόμενον ἐνδοτάτω τοῦ σπηλαίου; ὡς αὖ πάλιν οὐκ εἶχε λόγον, ἐν σχολῇ καὶ ἀνέσει διάγοντα αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τῷ Ὀδολλὰμ μετὰ τετρακοσίων ἀνδρῶν τῶν συνόντων αὐτῷ, λέγειν· Ἀπώλετο φυγὴ ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ, Ἐξάγαγε ἐκ φυλακῆς τὴν ψυχήν μου. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν εἰρήσθω εἰς τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν προκειμένων. Ἴωμεν δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ μετὰ χεῖρας ἐξήγησιν. Εἰς τὸ τέλος, μὴ διαφθείρῃς, τῷ ∆αυῒδ εἰς στηλογραφίαν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ἤλαυνε μὲν ὁ Σαοὺλ τὸν ∆αυΐδ· ὁ δ' ἔργοις ἐπιτελῶν τὸ, Ἐὰν διώκωσιν ὑμᾶς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης, φεύγετε εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν, ἀπεδίδρασκεν, ὡς ἂν μὴ παρὼν ἐρεθίζοι τὸν ἐχθρὸν, αἴτιός τε αὐτῷ γίγνοιτο μιαιφονίας. Τὸ γὰρ, Μὴ ἔκκαιε ἄνθρακας ἁμαρτωλοῦ, πάντων μᾶλλον ∆αυῒδ ἠπίστατο· διὸ ὑπεχώρει καὶ παρεχώρει, καίπερ ἀγαπώμενος ὑπὸ παντὸς τοῦ ἔθνους, πλείστους τε ἔχων τοὺς συμπάσχοντας καὶ συναλγοῦντας, δυναμένους τε αὐτὸν οἴκοι παρ' ἑαυτοῖς ὑποδέχεσθαι καὶ κρύπτειν. Ἀλλὰ ἵνα μὴ καὶ ἑτέροις αἴτιος γίγνοιτο κινδύνων, ἔφυγεν ἐπὶ τὰς ἐρήμους χώρας, καὶ τὰς ἐν τοῖς σπηλαίοις ἠσπάζετο διατριβάς. Καί μοι δοκεῖ καὶ αὐτοῦ τὴν μνήμην αἰνίττεσθαι λέγων ὁ ἱερὸς Ἀπόστολος· Ἐν ἐρημίαις πλανώμενοι καὶ ὄρεσι καὶ σπηλαίοις καὶ ταῖς ὀπαῖς τῆς γῆς. Ὥσπερ δὲ ὁ προτεταγμένος τοῦ παρόντος, ψαλμὸς οὐκ ἦν, ἀλλὰ στηλογραφία, ὅπερ ἡρμήνευσεν ὁ Ἀκύλας, ταπεινοῦ τελείου· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, τοῦ ταπεινόφρονος καὶ ἀμώμου· οὕτως καὶ ὁ παρὼν λόγος, τὴν εἰς ἄκρον