Psalms 28:9
The voice of the Lord prepareth the stags: and he will discover the thick woods: and in his temple all shall speak his glory.
Open Psalms 28:9 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Vox Domini præparantis cervos : et revelabit condensa, et in templo ejus omnes dicent gloriam.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- φωνὴ Κυρίου καταρτιζομένου ἐλάφους, καὶ ἀποκαλύψει δρυμούς· καὶ ἐν τῷ ναῷ αὐτοῦ πᾶς τις λέγει δόξαν.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 29:9
- ק֤וֹל יְהוָ֨ה יְחוֹלֵ֣ל אַיָּלוֹת֮ וַֽיֶּחֱשֹׂ֪ף יְעָ֫ר֥וֹת וּבְהֵיכָל֑וֹ כֻּ֝לּ֗וֹ אֹמֵ֥ר כָּבֽוֹד
Haydock's commentary
Prepareth. Hebrew, "delivereth," as a midwife (St. Jerome, 5 Edition, Aquila) "maketh the hinds to calve;" (Protestants; Haydock) or "to leap, (from eul; Berthier) or frighteneth." Hinds are supposed to bring forth with great difficulty. But the reverse seems to be the case. (St. Chrysostom in Job xxxix. 3.) (Calmet)
They are very swift, and trample serpents under their feet, nature having given them this power. (St. Jerome) (Pliny, [Natural History?] vii. 32.) The text may be understood of the last sacrament, which prepares us for our passage; (Berthier) or of matrimony, by means of which the world is peopled with rational beings, whose duty it is to glorify God in his temple. (Haydock)
This is also the effect of grace, and of the preaching of the gospel, (Berthier) which inspires people with a desire of running on in the way of perfection. Christ explains to them hidden mysteries in his Church, to which he bring multitudes, like the waters, ruling over them, and enabling them to overcome all temptations, till he crown his elect with eternal peace. (Worthington)
Glory. Running thither through fear, or to thank God for rain after a drought.
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 XXIX
9. “The Voice of the Lord perfecting the stags” ( ver. 9 ). For the Voice of the Lord hath first perfected them that overcame and repelled the envenomed tongues. “And will reveal the woods.” And then will He reveal to them the darknesses of the Divine books, and the shadowy depths of the mysteries, where they feed with freedom. “And in His temple doth every man speak of His glory.” And in His Church all born again to an eternal hope praise God, each for His own gift, which He hath received from the Holy Spirit.
St Gregory Nazianzen In Defence of His Flight to Pontus, and His Return, After His Ordination to the Priesthood, with an Exposition of the Character of the Priestly Office
117. Such is my defence: its reasonableness I have set forth: and may the God of peace, Who made both one, and has restored us to each other, Who setteth kings upon thrones, and raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, Who chose David His servant and took him away from the sheepfolds, though he was the least and youngest of the sons of Jesse, Who gave the word to those who preach the gospel with great power for the perfection of the gospel, may He Himself hold me by my right hand, and guide me with His counsel, and receive me with glory, Who is a Shepherd to shepherds and a Guide to guides: that we may feed His flock with knowledge, not with the instruments of a foolish shepherd, according to the blessing, and not according to the curse pronounced against the men of former days: may He give strength and power unto his people, and Himself present to …