Psalms 11
Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel
Psalms chapter 11 is given here in full, verse by verse, in Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), with the Greek text of the Septuagint set beneath each verse. The text follows the Septuagint tradition received throughout the Orthodox Church.
8 patristic excerpts are attached to this chapter, from Saint Augustine of Hippo. The translator's notes for this chapter (2) follow the text.
Psalms 11
1(12) For the end, A Psalm of David, upon the eighth.Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀγδόης, ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυίδ.
2Save me, O Lord; for the godly man has failed; for * truth is diminished from among the children of men.Σῶσον με Κύριε, ὅτι ἐκλέλοιπεν ὅσιος, ὅτι ὠλιγώθησαν αἱ ἀλήθειαι ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
3Every one has spoken vanity to his neighbor: their lips are deceitful, they have spoken with a double heart.Μάταια ἐλάλησεν ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ, χείλη δόλια, ἐν καρδίᾳ καὶ ἐν καρδίᾳ ἐλάλησαν.
4Let the Lord destroy all the deceitful lips, and the tongue that speaks great words:Ἐξολοθρεύσαι Κύριος πάντα τὰ χείλη τὰ δόλια, καὶ γλῶσσαν μεγαλοῤῥήμονα·
5who have said, We will magnify our tongue; our lips are our own: who is Lord of us?Τοὺς εἰπόντας, τὴν γλῶσσαν ἡμῶν μεγαλυνοῦμεν, τὰ χείλη ἡμῶν παρʼ ἡμῶν ἐστι· τίς ἡμῶν Κύριός ἐστιν;
6Because of the misery of the poor, and because of the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, says the Lord, I will set them in safety; I will speak to them thereof openly.Ἀπὸ τῆς ταλαιπωρίας τῶν πτωχῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ στεναγμοῦ τῶν πενήτων, νῦν ἀναστήσομαι, λέγει Κύριος· θήσομαι ἐν σωτηρίῳ, παῤῥησιάσομαι ἐν αὐτῷ.
7The oracles of the Lord are pure oracles; as silver tried in the fire, proved in † a furnace of earth, purified seven times.Τὰ λόγια Κυρίου, λόγια ἁγνά· ἀργύριον πεπυρωμένον, δοκίμιον τῇ γῇ, κεκαθαρισμένον ἑπταπλασίως.
8You, O Lord, shall keep us, and shall preserve us, from this generation, and for ever.Σὺ Κύριε φυλάξεις ἡμᾶς· καὶ διατηρήσεις ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
9The ungodly walk around: according to your greatness you have greatly exalted the sons of men.Κύκλῳ οἱ ἀσεβεῖς περιπατοῦσι, κατὰ τὸ ὕψος σου ἐπολυώρησας τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Translator's Notes
These notes come from the printed edition of Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), and record where the Greek differs from the English rendering or admits more than one reading.
- v. 1*Gr. truths are become rare
- v. 6†Gr. the earth.
The Fathers on Psalms 11
Saint Augustine of Hippo comments on this chapter. Each excerpt below is drawn from the full text held in the Fathers Library; follow the link on any entry to read the whole work.
On Psalms 11:2Saint Augustine of Hippo2. “Save me, O Lord, for the holy hath failed;” that is, is not found: as we speak when we say, Corn fails, or, Money fails. “For the truths have been minished from among the sons of men” (ver. 1). The truth is one, whereby holy souls are enlightened: but forasmuch as there are many souls, there may be said in them to be many truths: as in mirrors there are seen many reflections from one face.
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On Psalms 11:3Saint Augustine of Hippo3. “He hath talked vanity each man to his neighbour” (ver. 2). By neighbour we must understand every man: for that there is no one with whom we should work evil; “and the love of our neighbour worketh no evil.” “Deceitful lips, with a heart and a heart they have spoken evil things.” The repetition, “with a heart and a heart,” signifies a double heart.
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On Psalms 11:4Saint Augustine of Hippo4. “May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips” (ver. 3). He says “all,” that no one may suppose himself excepted: as the Apostle says, “Upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and of the Greek.” “The tongue speaking great things:” the proud tongue.
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On Psalms 11:4Saint Augustine of Hippo7. “The words of the Lord” are “pure words” (ver. 6). This is in the person of the Prophet himself, “The words of the Lord” are “pure words.” He says “pure,” without the alloy of pretence. For many preach the truth impurely; for they sell it for the bribe of the advantages of this life. Of such the Apostle says, that they declared Christ not purely. “Silver tried by the fire for the earth.” These words of the…
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On Psalms 11:5Saint Augustine of Hippo5. “Who have said, We will magnify our tongue, our lips are our own, who is Lord over us?” (ver. 4). Proud hypocrites are meant, putting confidence in their speech to deceive men, and not submitting themselves to God.
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On Psalms 11:6Saint Augustine of Hippo6. “Because of the wretchedness of the needy and the sighing of the poor, now I will arise, saith the Lord” (ver. 5). For so the Lord Himself in the Gospel pitied His people, because they had no ruler, when they could well obey. Whence too it is said in the Gospel, “The harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few.” But this must be taken as spoken in the person of God the Father, who, because of the needy and…
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On Psalms 11:8Saint Augustine of Hippo8. “Thou, O Lord, shalt preserve us, and keep us from this generation to eternity” (ver. 7): here as needy and poor, there as wealthy and rich.
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On Psalms 11:9Open Psalms 11 in the interactive reader Switch translations, hear the chapter read aloud, tap any verse for its patristic commentary, and study the Greek word by word.Saint Augustine of Hippo9. “The ungodly walk in a circle round about” (ver. 8): that is, in the desire of things temporal, which revolves as a wheel in a repeated circle of seven days; and therefore they do not arrive at the eighth, that is, at eternity, for which this Psalm is entitled. So too it is said by Solomon, “For the wise king is the winnower of the ungodly, and he bringeth on them the wheel of the wicked.—After Thine height…
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