Psalms 17:41
And thou hast made my enemies turn their back upon me, and hast destroyed them that hated me.
Open Psalms 17:41 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Et inimicos meos dedisti mihi dorsum, et odientes me disperdidisti.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου ἔδωκάς μοι νῶτον, καὶ τοὺς μισοῦντάς με ἐξωλέθρευσας.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 18:41
- וְֽאֹיְבַ֗י נָתַ֣תָּה לִּ֣י עֹ֑רֶף וּ֝מְשַׂנְאַ֗י אַצְמִיתֵֽם
Haydock's commentary
Upon me. An expression often used to denote a fight, Josue iii. 12., &c. (Calmet)
God strengthens his servants, and weakens their enemies. (Worthington)
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 XVIII
41. “And thou hast given mine enemies the back to me” ( ver. 40 ). And thou hast turned mine enemies, and hast made them to be a back to me, that is, to follow me. “And Thou hast destroyed them that hate me.” But such other of them as have persisted in hatred, Thou hast destroyed.
St John Cassian The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults, Chapter XVII. Various passages which clearly show that we cannot do anything which belongs to our salvation without the aid of God
Lastly , the Author of our salvation teaches us what we ought not merely to think, but also to acknowledge in everything that we do. “I can,” He says, “of mine own self do nothing, but the Father which abideth in me, He doeth the works.” He says, speaking in the human nature which He had taken, that He could do nothing of Himself; and shall we, who are dust and ashes, think that we have no need of God’s help in what pertains to our salvation? And so let us learn in everything, as we feel our own weakness, and at the same time His help, to declare with the saints, “I was overturned that I might fall, but the Lord supported me. The Lord is my strength and my praise: and He is become my salvation.” And “Unless the Lord had helped me, my soul had almost dwelt in hell. If I said, My foot is moved: Thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me. …