Psalms 144
Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel
Psalms chapter 144 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.
15 patristic excerpts are attached to this chapter, from Saint Augustine of Hippo. The translator's notes for this chapter (4) follow the text.
Psalms 144
1(145) David's Psalm of praise. I will exalt you, my God, my king; and I will bless your name * for ever and ever.Αἴνεσις τοῦ Δαυίδ. Ὑψώσω σε, ὁ Θεός μου ὁ βασιλεύς μου, καὶ εὐλογήσω τὸ ὄνομά σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος.
2Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name † for ever and ever.Καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν εὐλογήσω σε, καὶ αἰνέσω τὸ ὄνομά σου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος.
3The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; and there is no end to his greatness.Μέγας ὁ Κύριος καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα, καὶ τῆς μεγαλωσύνης αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι πέρας.
4Generation after generation shall praise your works, and tell of your power.Γενεὰ καὶ γενεὰ ἐπαινέσει τὰ ἔργα σου, καὶ τὴν δύναμίν σου ἀπαγγελοῦσι.
5And they shall speak of the glorious majesty of your holiness, and recount your wonders.Καὶ τὴν μεγαλοπρέπειαν τῆς δόξης τῆς ἁγιωσύνης σου λαλήσουσι, καὶ τὰ θαυμάσιά σου διηγήσονται.
6And they shall speak of the power of your terrible acts; and recount your greatness.Καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τῶν φοβερῶν σου ἐροῦσι, καὶ τὴν μεγαλωσύνην σου διηγήσονται.
7They shall utter the memory of the abundance of your goodness, and shall exult in your righteousness.Μνήμην τοῦ πλήθους τῆς χρηστότητός σου ἐξερεύξονται, καὶ τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου ἀγαλλιάσονται.
8The Lord is compassionate, and merciful; long suffering, and abundant in mercy.Οἰκτίρμων καὶ ἐλεήμων ὁ Κύριος, μακρόθυμος καὶ πολυέλεος.
9The Lord is good to those that wait on him; and his compassions are over all his works.Χρηστὸς Κύριος τοῖς ὑπομένουσι, καὶ οἱ οἰκτιρμοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ.
10Let all your works, O Lord, give thanks to you; and let your saints bless you.Ἐξομολογησάσθωσάν σοι, Κύριε, πάντα τὰ ἔργα σου, καὶ οἱ ὅσιοί σου εὐλογησάτωσάν σε.
11They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk of your dominion;Δόξαν τῆς βασιλείας σου ἐροῦσι, καὶ τὴν δυναστείαν σου λαλήσουσιν·
12to make known to the sons of men your power, and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.Τοῦ γνωρίσαι τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν δυναστείαν σου, καὶ τὴν δόξαν τῆς μεγαλοπρεπείας τῆς βασιλείας σου.
13Your kingdom is ‡ an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures § through all generations. The Lord is faithful in his words, and holy in all his works.Ἡ βασιλεία σου βασιλεία πάντων τῶν αἰώνων, καὶ ἡ δεσποτία σου ἐν πάσῃ γενεᾷ καὶ γενεᾷ·
13aπιστὸς Κύριος ἐν τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὅσιος ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ.
14The Lord supports all that are falling, and sets up all that are broken down.Ὑποστηρίζει Κύριος πάντας τοὺς καταπίπτοντας, καὶ ἀνορθοῖ πάντας τοὺς κατεῤῥαγμένους.
15The eyes of all wait upon you; and you give them their food in due season.Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ πάντων εἰς σὲ ἐλπίζουσι, καὶ σὺ δίδως τὴν τροφὴν αὐτῶν ἐν εὐκαιρίᾳ.
16You open your hands, and fill every living thing with pleasure.Ἀνοίγεις σὺ τὰς χεῖράς σου, καὶ ἐμπιπλᾷς πᾶν ζῶον εὐδοκίας.
17The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.Δίκαιος Κύριος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὅσιος ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ.
18The Lord is near to all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.Ἐγγὺς Κύριος πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις αὐτόν, πᾶσι τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις αὐτὸν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ.
19He will perform the desire of them that fear him: and he will hear their supplication, and save them.Θέλημα τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτὸν ποιήσει, καὶ τῆς δεήσεως αὐτῶν ἐπακούσεται, καὶ σώσει αὐτούς.
20The Lord preserves all that love him: but all sinners he will utterly destroy.Φυλάσσει Κύριος πάντας τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτόν, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἐξολοθρεύσει.
21My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.Αἴνεσιν Κυρίου λαλήσει τὸ στόμα μου, καὶ εὐλογείτω πᾶσα σὰρξ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος.
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*Lit. to the age, and to the age of the age.
- v. 2†Lit. to the age, and to the age of the age.
- v. 13‡Gr. a kingdom of all ages.
- v. 13§Gr. in every generation and generation.
The Fathers on Psalms 144
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 144:1–2Saint Augustine of Hippo1. …The title is, “Praise, to David himself.” Praise to Christ Himself. And since He is called David, who came to us of the seed of David, yet He was our King, ruling us, and bringing us into His kingdom, therefore “Praise to David himself” is understood to mean, Praise to Christ Himself. Christ according to the flesh is David, because He is the Son of David: but according to His Divine Nature He is the Creator…
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On Psalms 144:3Saint Augustine of Hippo2. “Great is the Lord, and very much to be praised” (ver. 3). How much was he about to say? what terms was he about to seek? How vast a conception hath he included in the one word, “very much”? Imagine what thou wilt, for how can that be imagined, which cannot be contained? “He is very much to be praised. And of His Greatness there is no end;” therefore said he “very much:” lest perchance thou begin to wish to…
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On Psalms 144:4Saint Augustine of Hippo3. For how great things besides has His boundless Goodness and illimitable Greatness made, which we do not know! When we lift the gaze of our eyes even to the heaven, and then recall it from sun, moon, and stars to the earth, and there is all this space where our sight can wander; beyond the heavens who can extend the eyesight of his mind, not to say of his flesh? So far then as His works are known to us, let us…
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On Psalms 144:5–7Saint Augustine of Hippo4. “They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of Thy Holiness, and shall record Thy wondrous deeds” (ver. 5). “And the excellence of Thy fearful works shall they speak of: and Thy greatness, they shall relate it” (ver. 6). “The remembrance of the abundance of Thy sweetness they shall pour forth” (ver. 7): none but Thine. See whether this man, meditating on Thy works, hath turned aside from the Worker to…
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On Psalms 144:8–9Saint Augustine of Hippo7. “Merciful and pitiful is the Lord; long-suffering, and very merciful” (ver. 8). “Sweet is the Lord to all, and His compassions reach into all His works” (ver. 9). Were He not such as this, there would be no seeking to recover us. Consider thyself: what didst thou deserve, O sinner? Despiser of God, what didst thou deserve? See if aught occur to thee but penalty, if aught occur to thee but punishment. Thou…
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On Psalms 144:10Saint Augustine of Hippo9. “Let all Thy works, O Lord, confess to Thee, and let Thy saints bless Thee” (ver. 10). How so? Is not the earth His work? Are not the trees His work? Cattle, beasts, fish, fowl, are not they His works? Plainly they too are. And how shall these too confess to Him? I see indeed in the angels that His works confess to Him, for the angels are His works: and men are His works; and when men confess to Him, His works…
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On Psalms 144:11Saint Augustine of Hippo10. For when Thy saints bless Thee, what say they? “They shall tell the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy Power” (ver. 11). How powerful is God, who hath made the earth! how powerful is God, who hath filled the earth with good things! how powerful is God, who hath given to the animals each its own life! how powerful is God, who hath given different seeds to the womb of the earth, that they might make to…
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On Psalms 144:12Saint Augustine of Hippo11. “That they may make known to the sons of men Thy power, and the glory of the greatness of the beauty of Thy kingdom” (ver. 12). Thy saints then commend “the glory of the greatness of the beauty of Thy kingdom,” the glory of the greatness of its beauty. There is a certain “greatness of the beauty of Thy kingdom:” that is, Thy kingdom hath beauty, and great beauty. Since whatever hath beauty, hath beauty from…
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On Psalms 144:13Saint Augustine of Hippo12. “Thy kingdom.” What kingdom mean I? “a kingdom of all ages.” For the kingdom of this age too hath its own beauty, but there is not in it that greatness of beauty, such as in the “kingdom of all ages.” “And Thy dominion is in every generation and generation” (ver. 13). This is the repetition we noticed, signifying either every generation, or the generation which will be after this generation. “Faithful is the…
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On Psalms 144:14Saint Augustine of Hippo13. “The Lord strengtheneth all that are falling” (ver. 14). But who are “all that are falling”? All indeed fall in a general sense, but he meaneth those who fall in a particular way. For many fall from Him, many also fall from their own imaginations. If they had evil imaginations, they fall from them, and “God strengthened all that are falling.” They who lose anything in this world, yet are holy, are as it were…
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On Psalms 144:15Saint Augustine of Hippo14. “The eyes of all hope upon Thee, and Thou givest them food in due season” (ver. 15). Just as when thou refreshest a sick man in due season, when he ought to receive, then Thou givest, and what he ought to receive, that Thou givest. Sometimes then men long, and he giveth not: he who tendeth, knoweth the time to give. Wherefore say I this, brethren? Lest any one be faint, if perchance he hath not been heard,…
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On Psalms 144:16–17Saint Augustine of Hippo15. “Thou openest Thine Hand, and fillest every living thing with blessing” (ver. 16). Though sometimes Thou givest not, yet “in due season” Thou givest: Thou delayest, not deniest, and that in due season.” “Righteous is the Lord in all His ways, and holy in all His works” (ver. 17). Both when He smiteth and when He healeth, He is righteous, and in Him unrighteousness is not. Finally, all His saints, when set in…
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On Psalms 144:18Saint Augustine of Hippo16. “The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon Him” (ver. 18). Where then is that, “Then shall they call upon Me, and I will not hear them”? See then what follows: “all who call upon Him in truth.” For many call upon Him, but not in truth. They seek something else from Him, but seek not Himself. Why lovest thou God? “Because He hath made me whole.” That is clear: it was He that made thee so. For from none else…
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On Psalms 144:19Saint Augustine of Hippo17. “He will perform the will of them that fear Him” (ver. 19). He will perform it, He will perform it: though He perform it not at once, yet He will perform it. Certainly if therefore thou fearest God, that thou mayest do His will, behold even He in a manner ministereth to thee; He doeth thy will. “And He shall hear their prayer, and save them.” Thou seest that for this purpose the Physician hears, that He may…
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On Psalms 144:20–21Open Psalms 144 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 Hippo18. “The Lord guardeth all that love Him, and all sinners He will destroy” (ver. 20). Thou seest that there is severity with Him, with whom is so great sweetness. He will save all that hope in Him, all the faithful, all that fear Him, all that call upon Him in truth: “and all sinners He will destroy.” What “all sinners,” save those who persevere in sin; who dare to blame God, not themselves; who daily argue…
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