Psalms 104:28
He sent darkness, and made it obscure: and grieved not his words.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Misit tenebras, et obscuravit ; et non exacerbavit sermones suos.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἐξαπέστειλεν σκότος καὶ ἐσκότασεν, καὶ παρεπίκραναν τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 105:28
- שָׁ֣לַֽח חֹ֭שֶׁךְ וַיַּחְשִׁ֑ךְ וְלֹֽא מָ֝ר֗וּ אֶת דברוו
Haydock's commentary
Grieved not his words. That is, he was not wanting to fulfil his words: or he did not grieve Moses and Aaron, the carriers of his words: or he did not grieve his words, that is, his sons, the children of Israel, who enjoyed light whilst the Egyptians were oppressed with darkness. (Challoner)
He performed what he had threatened without reluctance. (Worthington)
We may also translate, "he added no threat (Haydock) before this ninth plague was inflicted." Hebrew, "and they did not irritate (or transgress) his word." The envoys of God were obedient to him. The copies of the Septuagint are not uniform; (Calmet) some omit the negation, which would give a very good sense; though it must be allowed to be inaccurate, unless the Hebrew be read with an interrogation, "did they not resist his word?" alluding to the Egyptians. (Berthier)
Almost all the ancients have the plural exacerbaverunt, except St. Jerome, in his commentary. (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
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm CV
19. “He sent darkness, and made it dark” ( ver. 28 ). This is also written among the plagues with which the Egyptians were smitten. But what followeth, is variously read in different copies. For some have, “and they provoked His words;” while others read, “and they provoked not His words;” but the reading first mentioned we have found in most; while, where the negative particle is added, we could hardly discover two copies. But perhaps the false reading has abounded owing to the easy sense; for what is easier understood than this, “They provoked His words,” that is, by their contumacious rebellions? We have endeavoured to explain the other reading also according to some true sense: and this for the present occurs: “They provoked not His words,” that is, in Moses and Aaron; because they most patiently bore with a very stiffnecked people, until all things which God had determined to work b …