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Interpretatio in Psalmos

OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, AN INTERPRETATION ON THE PSALMS.

PREFACE.

To me, indeed, before the other divine oracles, it was pleasing to interpret the prophecy of the great David; since also the disciples of piety, both city-dwellers and country-folk, have all been especially eager to attend to it. And not least those who embrace the ascetic life utter this by night and by day with their tongue, hymning the God of all, and calming the passions of the body. For divine grace, having mingled 80.860 benefit with the pleasure of melody, has set forth a teaching for men that is thrice-desired and worthy of love. And it is possible to see most men remembering either none, or few, of the other divine Scriptures; but many often remembering the spiritual strains of the divine David even in their houses, and in the streets, and on the roads, and charming themselves with the harmony of the melody, and through this delight reaping the benefit. For these reasons, therefore, I wished to interpret this prophecy first, and to set forth the benefit in its depth to wise merchants; so that singing and at the same time seeing the meaning of what is sung, they might reap a double profit. But those who requested from us interpretations of the other divine Scriptures did not allow this eagerness of ours to reach its end. For some announced the clarification of the Song of Songs, while others desired to understand the prophecy of the man of desires; others sought that the predictions of the divine Ezekiel, and others of the twelve prophets, which are hidden in obscurity, might be made clear and plain to them. Since, therefore, the God of all has granted—He who makes the blind wise and reveals mysteries, He who gave a mouth to man, and made the mute and deaf, and the seeing and the blind—to complete the interpretation of these His divine oracles; come, let us, having invoked the divine grace—which leads the blind, according to the prophecy, in a way they did not know, and prepares them to walk in paths they were not aware of, and grants to the formerly deaf to hear the divine oracles, and supplies sight to eyes that live in darkness and gloom—let us venture upon this prophecy also. But let no one consider this labor of ours superfluous, because others before us have set forth this interpretation. For having encountered various commentaries, and having found some who proceeded into allegory with great insatiability, and others who fitted the prophecy to certain histories, so that the interpretation favored the Jews rather than the disciples of the faith; I have thought it wise to flee the excess of both the one and the other; as many things as pertained to the ancient histories, to adapt these things to them now also; but the prophecies concerning the Lord Christ, and the Church from the gentiles, and the evangelical way of life, and the apostolic preachings, not to attribute to any others, which the Jews are fond of doing, living with malice and weaving an apology for their own unbelief. For the testimony 80.861 of the events themselves is sufficient to guide towards the truth of the interpretation those who desire to find it. For which reason the interpretation of the prophecy is not too laborious for us; for the consideration of the events makes it clear. We will endeavor as much as possible to avoid lengthiness in the discourse, and to set forth a concise benefit for those who wish it. But first, having declared the purpose of the psalms, thus of the

1

Interpretatio in Psalmos

ΤΟΥ ΜΑΚΑΡΙΟΥ ΘΕΟ∆ΩΡΗΤΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΚΥΡΟΥ ΕΡΜΗΝΕΙΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΨΑΛΜΟΥΣ.

ΠΡΟΘΕΩΡΙΑ.

Ἐμοὶ μὲν πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων θείων λογίων καταθύ μιον ἦν τοῦ μεγάλου ∆αβὶδ ἑρμηνεῦσαι τὴν προφη τείαν· ἐπειδὴ καὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας οἱ τρόφιμοι, καὶ ἀστοὶ καὶ χωρικοὶ, διαφερόντως ταύτῃ προσ έχειν ἐσπουδάκασιν ἅπαντες. Οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ οἱ τὸν ἀσκητικὸν ἀσπαζόμενοι βίον νύκτωρ ταύτην καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν διὰ τῆς γλώττης προφέρουσι· τὸν τῶν ὅλων ὑμνοῦντες Θεὸν, καὶ τὰ τοῦ σώματος κατευνάζοντες πάθη. Τῇ γὰρ ἡδονῇ τῆς μελῳδίας 80.860 τὴν ὠφέλειαν ἡ θεία χάρις κεράσασα, τριπόθητόν τε καὶ ἀξιέραστον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις διδασκαλίαν προ τέθεικε. Καὶ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν τῶν μὲν ἄλλων θείων Γρα φῶν ἢ οὐδαμῶς, ἢ ὀλίγα, τῶν ἀνθρώπων μεμνημέ νους τοὺς πλείστους· τῶν δὲ πνευματικῶν τοῦ θεσ πεσίου ∆αβὶδ κρουμάτων πολλοὺς πολλάκις κἀν ταῖς οἰκίαις, κἀν ταῖς ἀγυιαῖς, κἀν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἀπο μεμνημένους, καὶ τῇ τοῦ μέλους ἁρμονίᾳ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς καταθέλγοντας, καὶ διὰ ταύτης τῆς θυμηδείας καρπουμένους τὴν ὠφέλειαν. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα μὲν οὖν πρώτην ταύτην ἐβουλόμην ἑρμηνεῦσαι τὴν προφη τείαν, καὶ τὴν ἐν τῷ βυθῷ ὠφέλειαν προθεῖναι τοῖς φρονίμοις ἐμπόροις· ἵν' ᾄδοντες ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν ᾀδομένων ὁρῶντες, διπλοῦν θερίζωνται κέρδος. Ἀλλὰ ταύτην ἡμῶν πέρας λαβεῖν τὴν προ θυμίαν οὐκ εἴασαν οἱ τῶν ἄλλων θείων Γραφῶν παρ' ἡμῶν τὰς ἑρμηνείας αἰτήσαντες. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Ἄσματος τῶν ᾀσμάτων ἐπήγγειλαν τὴν σαφή νειαν, οἱ δὲ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν ἐπεθύμησαν διαγνῶναι τὴν προφητείαν· ἄλλοι δὲ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Ἰεζεκιὴλ, καὶ ἕτεροι τῶν δώδεκα προφητῶν τὰς τῇ ἀσαφείᾳ κεκρυμμένας προῤῥήσεις σαφεῖς αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι καὶ δήλας ἐζήτησαν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν δέδω κεν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, ὁ σοφίζων τοὺς τυφλοὺς, καὶ ἀποκαλύπτων μυστήρια, ὁ δοὺς στόμα ἀνθρώπῳ, καὶ ποιήσας δύσκωφον καὶ κωφὸν, καὶ βλέποντα καὶ τυφλὸν, τούτων αὐτοῦ τῶν θείων λόγων συμ περάναι τὴν ἑρμηνείαν· φέρε τὴν θείαν ἐπικαλε σάμενοι χάριν, τὴν ἄγουσαν τυφλοὺς, κατὰ τὴν προφητείαν, ἐν ὁδῷ ᾗ οὐκ ᾔδεισαν, καὶ τρίβους, ἃς οὐκ ἐπίσταντο, ὁδεῦσαι παρασκευάζουσαν, καὶ τοῖς πάλαι κωφοῖς τὸ τῶν θείων λογίων ἐπαΐειν παρ έχουσαν, καὶ τοῖς ἐν σκότῳ καὶ ὁμίχλῃ διάγουσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς χορηγοῦσαν τὸ βλέπειν, καὶ τῆσδε τῆς προφητείας κατατολμήσωμεν. Ἀλλὰ μηδεὶς περιτ τὸν ἡμῶν τοῦτον ἡγείσθω τὸν πόνον, τῷ καὶ ἄλλους πρὸ ἡμῶν τήνδε προθεῖναι τὴν ἑρμηνείαν. ∆ιαφόροις γὰρ ἐντυχὼν ὑπομνήμασι, καὶ τοὺς μὲν εἰς ἀλληγο ρίαν μετὰ πολλῆς χωρήσαντας ἀπληστίας εὑρὼν, τοὺς δέ τισιν ἱστορίαις τὴν προφητείαν ἁρμόσαντας, ὡς Ἰουδαίοις μᾶλλον τὴν ἑρμηνείαν συνηγορεῖν, ἢ τοῖς τροφίμοις τῆς πίστεως· πανούργου νενόμικα καὶ τούτων κἀκείνων τὴν ἀμετρίαν φυγεῖν· ὅσα μὲν ταῖς παλαιαῖς προσῆκεν ἱστορίαις, ταύταις ταῦτα προσαρμόσαι καὶ νῦν· τὰς δὲ περὶ τοῦ ∆εσπό του Χριστοῦ προῤῥήσεις, καὶ τῆς ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλη σίας, καὶ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας, καὶ τῶν ἀπο στολικῶν κηρυγμάτων, μὴ ἑτέροις ἀναθεῖναί τισιν, ὅπερ Ἰουδαίοις φίλον ποιεῖν κακουργίᾳ συζῶσι, καὶ τῆς σφῶν ἀπιστίας ἀπολογίαν ὑφαίνουσιν. Ἱκανὴ 80.861 γὰρ καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ἡ μαρτυρία ποδηγῆσαι πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τῆς ἑρμηνείας τοὺς ταύτην ἐφιεμένους εὑρεῖν. Οὗ δὴ χάριν οὐδὲ λίαν ἐπίπονος ἡμῖν ἡ τῆς προῤῥήσεως ἑρμηνεία· δήλην γὰρ ταύ την ποιεῖ τῶν πραγμάτων ἡ θεωρία. Σπουδάσομεν δὲ ὡς οἷόν τε φυγεῖν μὲν τοῦ λόγου τὸ μῆκος, σύντο μον δὲ προθεῖναι τοῖς βουλομένοις τὴν ὠφέλειαν. Πρότερον δέ γε τῶν ψαλμῶν δηλώσαντες τὸν σκοπὸν, οὕτω τῆς