Psalms 21:13
Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me.
Open Psalms 21:13 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Circumdederunt me vituli multi ; tauri pingues obsederunt me.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- περιεκύκλωσάν με μόσχοι πολλοί, ταῦροι πίονες περιέσχον με·
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 22:13
- סְ֭בָבוּנִי פָּרִ֣ים רַבִּ֑ים אַבִּירֵ֖י בָשָׁ֣ן כִּתְּרֽוּנִי
Haydock's commentary
Calves. The insolent Jews and soldiers.
Bulls. The more inveterate enemies, the priests and Pharisees. (St. Augustine, &c.)
Hebrew, "strong bulls of Basan," (Protestants) a fertile country east of the Jordan, where the finest cattle were found, Amos iv. 1. (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
The Apostolic Constitutions Book V, Sec. III. On Feast Days and Fast Days
XIV . For they began to hold a council against the Lord on the second day of the week, in the first month, which is Xanthicus; and the deliberation continued on the third day of the week; but on the fourth day they determined to take away His life by crucifixion. And Judas knowing this, who for a long time had been perverted, but was then smitten by the devil himself with the love of money, although he had been long entrusted with the purse, and used to steal what was set apart for the needy, yet was he not cast off by the Lord, through much long-suffering; nay, and when we were once feasting with Him, being willing both to reduce him to his duty and instruct us in His own foreknowledge, He said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you will betray me;” and every one of us saying, “Is it I?” And the Lord being silent, I, who was one of the twelve, and more beloved by Him than the …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm XXII
13. “Many calves came about Me.” The multitude of the wanton populace came about Me. “Fat bulls closed Me in” ( ver. 12 ). And their leaders, glad at My oppression, “closed Me in.”
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Part 2
2. What in them wilt Thou slay? The Crucify, Crucify, which they cried out, not them that cried out. For they willed to blot out, cut off, destroy Christ: but Thou, by raising to life Christ, whom they willed to destroy, dost slay the “transgressions of their mouth, the discourse of their lips.” For in that He whom they cried out should be destroyed, liveth, they are taken with dread: and that He whom on earth they despised, in heaven is adored by all nations, they wonder: thus are there slain the transgressions of them, and the discourse of their lips. What is, “let them be taken in their pride”? Because to no purpose have strong men rushed on, and it hath fallen out to them as it were to think themselves to have done somewhat, and they have prevailed against the Lord. …