Psalms 40:8
All my enemies whispered together against me: they devised evils to me.
Open Psalms 40:8 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- In idipsum adversum me susurrabant omnes inimici mei ; adversum me cogitabant mala mihi.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κατ᾽ ἐμοῦ. ἐψιθύριζον πάντες οἱ ἐχθροί μου κατ᾽ ἐμοῦ· ἐλογίζοντο κακά μοι·
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 41:8
- יַ֗חַד עָלַ֣י יִ֭תְלַחֲשׁוּ כָּל שֹׂנְאָ֑י עָלַ֓י יַחְשְׁב֖וּ רָעָ֣ה לִֽי
Haydock's commentary
To me, seems useless, though it be added conformably to the Hebrew, (Berthier) or rather it intimates, that the enemies made no secret of their plots. (Haydock)
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 City of God, Of the 3d, 41st, 15th, and 68th Psalms, in Which the Death and Resurrection of the Lord are Prophesied
About His resurrection also the oracles of the Psalms are by no means silent. For what else is it that is sung in His person in the 3d Psalm, “I laid me down and took a sleep, [and] I awaked, for the Lord shall sustain me?” Is there perchance any one so stupid as to believe that the prophet chose to point it out to us as something great that He had slept and risen up, unless that sleep had been death, and that awaking the resurrection, which behoved to be thus prophesied concerning Christ? For in the 41st Psalm also it is shown much more clearly, where in the person of the Mediator, in the usual way, things are narrated as if past which were prophesied as yet to come, since these things which were yet to come were in the predestination and foreknowledge of God as if they were done, because they were certain. …
St Augustine Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen, Section 7
7. “Give heed unto me,” the Church says unto you; give heed unto me, whom ye see, although to see ye be unwilling. For the faithful, who were in those times in the land of Judæa, were present at, and learnt as present, Christ’s wonderful birth of a virgin, and His passion, resurrection, ascension; all His divine words and deeds. These things ye have not seen, and therefore ye refuse to believe. Therefore behold these things, fix your eyes on these things, these things which ye see reflect on, which are not told you as things past, nor foretold you as things future, but are shown you as things present. What? seemeth it to you a vain or a light thing. …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm XLI
8. “All mine enemies whisper against Me unto the same thing” ( ver. 7 ). Against Me all unto the same thing. How much better with me unto the same thing, than against me “unto the same thing.” What is, “Against me unto the same thing”? With one counsel, with one conspiring. Christ then speaketh unto thee, Ye consent against Me, consent ye to Me: why against Me? wherefore not with Me? That same thing if ye had always had, ye had not divided you into schisms. …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LV
10. “Sink, O Lord, and divide the tongues of them” ( ver. 9 ). He is referring to men troubling him and shadowing him, and he hath wished this thing not of anger, brethren. They that have wickedly lifted up themselves, for them it is expedient that they be sunk. They that have wickedly conspired, it is expedient for them that their tongues should be divided: to good let them consent, and let their tongues agree together. But if to one purpose there were a whispering against me, he saith, all mine ene mies, let them lose their “one purpose” in evil, divided be the tongues of them, let them not with themselves agree together. “Sink, O Lord, and divide the tongues of them.” Wherefore “sink”? Because themselves they have lifted up. Wherefore “divide”? Because for an evil thing they have united. …
St Jerome Against the Pelagians, Book I
A. This passage to the ignorant, and to those who are unaccustomed to meditate on Holy Scripture, and who neither know nor use it, does appear at first sight to favour your opinion. But when you look into it, the difficulty soon disappears. And when you compare passages of Scripture with others, that the Holy Spirit may not seem to contradict Himself with changing place and time, according to what is written,“Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water spouts,” the truth will show itself, that is, that Christ did give a possible command when He said: “Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” and yet that the Apostles were not perfect.