4 Kings 3:15
But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said:
Open 4 Kings 3:15 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Nunc autem adducite mihi psaltem. Cumque caneret psaltes, facta est super eum manus Domini, et ait :
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ νῦν λάβε μοι ψάλλοντα. καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἔψαλλεν ὁ ψάλλων, καὶ ἐγένετο ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν χεὶρ Κυρίου·
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וְעַתָּ֖ה קְחוּ לִ֣י מְנַגֵּ֑ן וְהָיָה֙ כְּנַגֵּ֣ן הַֽמְנַגֵּ֔ן וַתְּהִ֥י עָלָ֖יו יַד יְהוָֽה
Haydock's commentary
Minstrel. The priests and Levites, who officiated in the temple, accompanied the army. Eliseus wants no profane music, (Calmet) but, by this request, shews his respect for the true religion, (Haydock) and by sounding forth the divine praises, in some of David's psalms, wishes to obtain of God the favour which was desired. (Theodoret) (Menochius)
He had felt some emotion at the sight of Joram, and was sensible that God required a calm. (Calmet)
He dwells not in a violent wind, &c., 3 Kings xix. 11. (Haydock)
The surprising effects of ancient music to calm the passions are well attested, 1 Kings xvi. 17. By this means St. Francis was raised to the contemplation of heavenly things; and St. Augustine says of himself: "How I wept when I heard thy hymns and canticles, being greatly moved at the delightful harmony of thy church:" suavesonantis Ecclesiæ tuæ vocibus commotus acriter. (Conf. ix. 6. de C. xiv. 24.)
Upon him, so that he experienced that enthusiasm which shewed that he was actuated by the divine spirit, to speak with all the authority requisite. The pagans strove to imitate the true prophets, but the difference was very evident; no less than the spirit with which they were filled; the former were agitated in a furious manner; the latter were composed and majestic. (Calmet)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
Aphrahat Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations, Of Monks
16. I will instruct thee of that which is written, that the Spirit is not at every time found with those that receive it. For thus it is written about Saul, that the Holy Spirit, which he received when he was anointed, departed from him , because he grieved it, and God sent to him instead of it a vexing spirit. And whenever he was afflicted by the evil spirit, David used to play upon the harp, and the Holy Spirit, which David received when he was anointed, would come, and the evil spirit that was vexing Saul, would flee from before it. So the Holy Spirit that David received was not found with him at every time. As long as he was playing the harp, then it used to come. For had it been with him always, it would not have allowed him to sin with the wife of Uriah. …