Psalms 138
Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel
Psalms chapter 138 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.
18 patristic excerpts are attached to this chapter, from Saint Augustine of Hippo. The translator's notes for this chapter (4) follow the text.
Psalms 138
1(139) For the end, a Psalm of David. * O Lord, you have proved me, and known me.Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυίδ. Κύριε ἐδοκίμασάς με, καὶ ἔγνως με.
2You know my down-sitting and my up-rising: you understand my thoughts † long before.Σὺ ἔγνως τὴν καθέδραν μου, καὶ τὴν ἔγερσίν μου· σὺ συνῆκας τοὺς διαλογισμούς μου ἀπὸ μακρόθεν.
3You have traced my path and my ‡ bed, and have foreseen all my ways.Τὴν τρίβον μου καὶ τὴν σχοῖνόν μου ἑξιχνίασας· καὶ πάσας τὰς ὁδούς μου προεῖδες,
4For there is no unrighteous word in my tongue: behold, O Lord, you have known all things,ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι λόγος ἄδικος ἐν γλώσσῃ μου· ἰδοὺ Κύριε, σὺ ἔγνως πάντα
5the last and the first: you have fashioned me, and laid your hand upon me.τὰ ἔσχατα καὶ τὰ ἀρχαῖα· σὺ ἔπλασάς με καὶ ἔθηκας ἐπʼ ἐμὲ τὴν χεῖρά σου.
6The knowledge of you is too wonderful for me; it is very difficult, I can’t attain to it.Ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ γνῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ, ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ μὴ δύνωμαι πρὸς αὐτήν.
7Whither shall I go from your Spirit? and whither shall I flee from your presence?Ποῦ πορευθῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός σου, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου σου ποῦ φύγω;
8If I should go up to heaven, you are there: if I should go down to hell, you are present.Ἐὰν ἀναβῶ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, σὺ ἐκεῖ εἶ· ἐὰν καταβῶ εἰς τὸν ᾅδην, πάρει.
9If I should spread my wings to fly § straight forward, and sojourn at the extremity of the sea, it would be vain,Ἐὰν ἀναλάβω τὰς πτέρυγάς μου κατʼ ὀρθὸν, καὶ κατασκηνώσω εἰς τὰ ἔσχατα τῆς θαλάσσης,
10for even there your hand would guide me, and your right hand would hold me.καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ ἡ χείρ σου ὁδηγήσει με, καὶ καθέξει με ἡ δεξιά σου.
11When I said, Surely the darkness will cover me; even the night was light in my ** luxury.Καὶ εἶπα, ἄρα σκότος καταπατήσει με, καὶ νὺξ φωτισμὸς ἐν τῇ τρυφῇ μου.
12For darkness will not be darkness with you; but night will be light as day: as its darkness, so shall its light be to you.Ὅτι σκότος οὐ σκοτισθήσεται ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ νὺξ ὡς ἡμέρα φωτισθήσεται· ὡς τὸ σκότος αὐτῆς, οὕτως καὶ τὸ φῶς αὐτῆς.
13For you, O Lord, have possessed my reins; you have helped me from my mother's womb.Ὅτι σὺ ἐκτήσω τοὺς νεφρούς μου Κύριε, ἀντελάβου μου ἐκ γαστρὸς μητρός μου.
14I will give you thanks; for you are fearfully wondrous; wondrous are your works; and my soul knows it well.Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι, ὅτι φοβερῶς ἐθαυμαστώθης· θαυμάσια τὰ ἔργα σου, καὶ ἡ ψυχή μου γινώσκει σφόδρα.
15My bones, which you made in secret were not hidden from you, nor my substance, in the lowest parts of the earth.Οὐκ ἐκρύβη τὸ ὀστοῦν μου ἀπὸ σοῦ, ὃ ἐποίησας ἐν κρυφῇ, καὶ ἡ ὑπόστασίς μου ἐν τοῖς κατωτάτω τῆς γῆς.
16Your eyes saw my unwrought substance, and all men shall be written in your book; they shall be formed by day, though there should for a time be no one among them.Ἀκατέργαστόν μου εἶδου οἱ ἀφθαλμοί σου, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον σου πάντες γραφήσονται· ἡμέρας πλασθήσονται καὶ οὐθεὶς ἐν αὐτοῖς.
17But your friends, O God, have been greatly honored by me; their rule has been greatly strengthened.Ἐμοὶ δὲ λίαν ἐτιμήθησαν οἱ φίλοι σου ὁ Θεὸς, λίαν ἐκραταιώθησαν αἱ ἀρχαὶ αὐτῶν.
18I will number them, and they shall be multiplied beyond the sand; I awake, and am still with you.Ἐξαριθμήσομαι αὐτοὺς καὶ ὑπὲρ ἄμμον πληθυνθήσονται· ἐξηγέρθην, καὶ ἔτι εἰμὶ μετὰ σοῦ.
19Oh that you would kill the wicked, O God; depart from me, you men of blood.Ἐὰν ἀποκτείνῃς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ὁ Θεός· ἄνδρες αἱμάτων ἐκκλίνατε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ,
20For you will say concerning their thought, that they shall take your cities in vain.ὅτι ἐρεῖς εἰς διαλογισμόν· λήψονται εἰς ματαιότητα τὰς πόλεις σου.
21Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hate you? and wasted away because of your enemies?Οὐχὶ τοὺς μισοῦντάς σε Κύριε ἐμίσησα, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ἐξετηκόμην;
22I have hated them with perfect hatred; they were counted my enemies.Τέλειον μῖσος ἐμίσουν αὐτοὺς, εἰς ἐχθροὺς ἐγένοντό μοι.
23Prove me, O God, and know my heart; examine me, and know my paths;Δοκίμασόν με ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ γνῶθι τὴν καρδίαν μου· ἔτασόν με, καὶ γνῶθι τὰς τρίβους μου.
24and see if there is any way of iniquity in me, and lead me in an everlasting way.Καὶ ἴδε εἰ ὁδὸς ἀνομίας ἐν ἐμοὶ, καὶ ὁδήγησόν με ἐν ὁδῷ αἰωνίᾳ.
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. 2†Gr. from afar.
- v. 3‡q.d. of rushes, lit. rush.
- v. 9§Alex. κατ᾿ ὄρθον, toward the dawn.
- v. 11**Comp. Heb.
The Fathers on Psalms 138
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 138:1Saint Augustine of Hippo2. “Lord, Thou hast tried me, and known me” (ver. 1). Let the Lord Jesus Christ Himself say this; let Him too say, “Lord,” to the Father. For His Father is not His Lord, save because He hath deigned to be born according to the flesh. He is Father of the God, Lord of the Man. Wouldest thou know to whom He is Father? To the coequal Son. The Apostle saith, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be…
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On Psalms 138:2Saint Augustine of Hippo3. “Thou hast known My down-sitting and Mine up-rising” (ver. 2). What here is “down-sitting,” what “up-rising”? He who sitteth, humbleth himself. The Lord then “sat” in His Passion, “up-rose” in His Resurrection. “Thou,” he saith, hast known this; that is, Thou hast willed, Thou hast approved; according to Thy will was it done. But if thou choosest to take the words of the Head in the person of the Body: man…
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On Psalms 138:3Saint Augustine of Hippo4. “Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar; Thou hast tracked out my path and my limit” (ver. 3); “and all my ways Thou hast seen beforehand” (ver. 4). What is, “from afar”? While I am yet in my pilgrimage, before I reach that, my true country, Thou hast known my thoughts.…The younger son went into a far country. After his toil and suffering and tribulation and want, he thought on his father, and desired to…
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On Psalms 138:4Saint Augustine of Hippo5. “Behold Thou, Lord, hast known all my last doings, and the ancient ones” (ver. 5). Thou hast known my latest doings, when I fed swine; Thou hast known my ancient doings, when I asked of Thee my portion of goods. Ancient doings were the beginnings to me of latest ills: ancient sin, when we fell; latest punishment, when we came into this toilsome and dangerous mortality. And would that this may be “latest” to…
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On Psalms 138:6Saint Augustine of Hippo6. “Thy skill hath displayed itself wonderfully in me: it hath waxed mighty: I shall not be able to attain unto it” (ver. 6). Listen now and hear somewhat, which is obscure indeed, yet bringeth no small pleasure in the understanding thereon. Moses, the holy servant of God, with whom God spake by a cloud, for, speaking after human fashion, He must needs speak to His servant through some work of His hands which He…
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On Psalms 138:7Saint Augustine of Hippo7. Behold thou findest that the runaway in a far country cannot escape His eyes, from whom he fleeth. And whither can he go now, whose “limit is tracked out”? Behold, what saith he? “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?” (ver. 7). Who can in the world flee from that Spirit, with whom the world is filled? “And whither shall I flee from Thy Face?” He seeketh a place whither to flee from the wrath of God. What place…
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On Psalms 138:8–9Saint Augustine of Hippo8. “If I go up,” saith he, “to heaven, Thou art there: if I go down to Hades, Thou art present” (ver. 8). At length, miserable runaway, thou hast learnt, that by no means canst thou make thyself far from Him, from whom thou hast wished to remove far away. Behold, He is everywhere; thou, whither wilt thou go? He hath found counsel, and that inspired by Him, who now deigneth to recall him.…If by sinning I go down…
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On Psalms 138:10Saint Augustine of Hippo9. Now listen who may bring us thither. The very same One whose face in wrath we wish to flee from. For what followeth? “Even thither shall Thy hand conduct me, and Thy right hand lead me” (ver. 10). This let us meditate on, beloved brethren, let this be our hope, this our consolation. Let us take again through love the wings we lost through lust. For lust was the lime of our wings, it clashed us down from the…
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On Psalms 138:11Saint Augustine of Hippo10. And considering the length of the way, what said he to himself? “And I said, Peradventure the darkness shall overwhelm me” (ver. 11). Lo, now I have believed in Christ, now am I wafted aloft on the wings of twofold love.…Regarding the length of the way, I said to myself, “And the night was light in my delight.” The night was made to me light, because in the night I despaired of being able to cross so great a…
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On Psalms 138:12Saint Augustine of Hippo11. “For darkness shall not be darkened by Thee” (ver. 12). Do not thou then darken thy darkness; God darkeneth it not, but enlighteneth it yet more; for to Him is said in another Psalm, “Thou, Lord, shalt light my candle: my God shall enlighten my darkness.” But who are they who “darken their darkness,” which God darkeneth not? Evil men, perverse men; when they sin, verily they are darkness; when they confess…
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On Psalms 138:13Saint Augustine of Hippo13. “For Thou, O Lord, hast possessed my reins” (ver. 13). The Possessor is within; He occupieth not only the heart, but also the reins; not only the thoughts, but also the delights: He then possesseth that whence I should feel delight at any light in this world: He occupieth my reins: I know not delight, save from the inward light of His Wisdom. What then? Dost thou not delight that thy affairs are very…
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On Psalms 138:14Saint Augustine of Hippo14. “I will confess to Thee, O Lord, for terribly hast Thou been made wonderful: wondrous are Thy works, and my soul knoweth it right well” (ver. 14). Aforetime “Thy knowledge was made wonderful from me, it had waxed great, nor could I attain unto it.” From me then “it had waxed great.” Whence doth “my soul” now “know right well,” save because the “night is light in my delight?” save because Thy grace hath come…
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On Psalms 138:15Saint Augustine of Hippo15. “My bone is not hid from Thee, which Thou hast made in secret” (ver. 15). “His bone,” he saith. What the people call ossum, is in Latin called os. This is the word in the Greek. For we might think the word os is here the one which makes in the plural ora, not os (short), which makes ossa. He saith then, I have a certain bone (ossum) in secret. For this word let us prefer to use; better is it that scholars…
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On Psalms 138:16–17Saint Augustine of Hippo16. …“Thine eyes did see Mine imperfect one, and in Thy book shall all be written” (ver. 16), not only the perfect, but also the imperfect. Let not the imperfect fear, only let them advance. Nor yet, because I have said, “let them not fear,” let them love their imperfection, and remain there, where they are found. Let them advance, as far as in them lieth. Daily let them add, daily let them approach; yet let them…
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On Psalms 138:18Saint Augustine of Hippo17. “I will number them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand” (ver. 18). By means of them, who “wandered in the day,” lo! there has been born all this great multitude, which now is like the sand innumerable, save by God. For He said, “they shall be multiplied above the sand,” and yet He had said, “I will number them.” The very same who are numbered, “shall be multiplied above the sand.” For by Him is the…
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On Psalms 138:19, 21–22Saint Augustine of Hippo18. And then He telleth what meanwhile, during this whole time when He already has risen, and remaineth still with the Father, He suffereth by the intermixture of sinners in His Body, the Church, and by the separation of heretics. “If Thou, O God, shalt slay the sinners (since Thou shalt say in Thy thought, Depart from Me, ye men of blood), they shall receive in vanity their cities” (ver. 19, 20). The words seem…
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On Psalms 138:23Saint Augustine of Hippo19. Since then the Body of Christ is in the end to be severed in body also from the unholy and wicked, but now meanwhile groaneth among them, what doeth the “love of Christ among the daughters, as the lily among thorns”? What are her words? what her conscience? what is the “appearance of the king’s daughter within”? Lo, hear what she saith. “Prove me, O God, and know my heart” (ver. 23). Do Thou, O God, Thou…
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On Psalms 138:24Open Psalms 138 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 Hippo20. “And see,” saith he, “if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (ver. 24). “Search,” he saith, “my paths,” that is, my counsels and thoughts. What else saith he, but “lead me in Christ”? For who is “the way everlasting,” save He that is the life everlasting? For everlasting is He who said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” If then thou findest anything in my way…
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