Psalms 103:20
Thou hast appointed darkness, and it is night: in it shall all the beasts of the woods go about:
Open Psalms 103:20 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Posuisti tenebras, et facta est nox ; in ipsa pertransibunt omnes bestiæ silvæ :
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἔθου σκότος καὶ ἐγένετο νύξ, ἐν αὐτῇ διελεύσονται πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ δρυμοῦ,
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 104:20
- תָּֽשֶׁת חֹ֭שֶׁךְ וִ֣יהִי לָ֑יְלָה בּֽוֹ תִ֝רְמֹ֗שׂ כָּל חַיְתוֹ יָֽעַר
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm CIV
28. What then, when the sun went down, when our Lord suffered? There was a sort of darkness with the Apostles, hope failed, in those to whom He at first seemed great, and the Redeemer of all men. How so? “Thou didst make darkness, and it became night; wherein all the beasts of the forest shall move” ( ver. 20 ).…Here the beasts of the forest are used in different ways: for these things are always understood in varying senses; as our Lord Himself is at one time termed a lion, at another a lamb. What is so different as a lion and a lamb? But what sort of lamb? One that could overcome the wolf, overcome the lion. He is the Rock, He the Shepherd, He the Gate. …
St John Chrysostom The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Homily XXVIII on Rom. xv. 8
That is, that ye may get clear of that heartlessness ( ἀθυμίας ) towards one another, and may never be cast down by temptations. And this will be by your abounding in hope. Now this is the cause of all good things, and it comes from the Holy Ghost. But it is not simply from the Spirit, but on condition of our contributing our part also. This is why he says, “in believing.” For this is the way for you to be filled with joy, if ye believe, if ye hope. Yet he does not say if ye hope, but, “if ye abound in hope,” so as not to find comfort in troubles only, but even to have joy through the abundance of faith and hope. And in this way, ye will also draw the Spirit to you. In this way, when He is come ye will continually keep to all good things. …
St Jerome The Letters of St. Jerome, To Eustochium
4. So long as we are held down by this frail body, so long as we have our treasure in earthen vessels; so long as the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, there can be no sure victory. “Our adversary the devil goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” “Thou makest darkness,” David says, “and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God.” The devil looks not for unbelievers, for those who are without, whose flesh the Assyrian king roasted in the furnace. It is the church of Christ that he “makes haste to spoil.” According to Habakkuk, “His food is of the choicest.” A Job is the victim of his machinations, and after devouring Judas he seeks power to sift the [other] apostles. The Saviour came not to send peace upon the earth but a sword. …