Psalms 51:3
Why dost thou glory in malice, thou that art mighty in iniquity?
Open Psalms 51:3 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Quid gloriaris in malitia, qui potens es in iniquitate ?
- Septuagint (Swete)
- Τί ἐνκαυχᾷ ἐν κακίᾳ, ὁ δυνατός, ἀνομίαν ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν;
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 52:3
- מַה תִּתְהַלֵּ֣ל בְּ֭רָעָה הַגִּבּ֑וֹר חֶ֥סֶד אֵ֝֗ל כָּל הַיּֽוֹם
Haydock's commentary
On verses 2 to 3
Achimelech. Sixtus V, Septuagint, &c., read Abimelech. But the former is the true name. See 1 Kings xxii. 9, 20. (Calmet)
The word understanding implies, that we ought to reflect on the misery of detraction, and bear our crosses with submission. (Berthier)
Doeg was but half a Jew, and persecuted the faithful. (Worthington)
Iniquity. Hebrew chesed, means also mercy, and some translate, "the mercy of God! or, the great mercy." Noble exploit! (Calmet)
But our version seems more natural. El may be a preposition, as Symmachus has Kath. (Berthier)
If Doeg, who was the most powerful of the shepherds of Saul, (1 Kings xxi. 7.) thought it his duty to give his master information of what had passed, he ought to have stated the matter fairly, instead of insinuating, that the high-priest was ill-affected. (Haydock)
Nothing could be more false, as he supposed he was acting agreeably to the interests of Saul, and of the state. (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 LII
3. “Why doth he glory in malice that is mighty?” ( ver. 1 ). Observe, my brethren, the glorying of malignity, the glorying of evil men. Where is glorying? “Why doth he glory in malice that is mighty?” That is, he that in malice is mighty, why doth he glory? There is need that a man be mighty, but in goodness, not in malice. Is it any great thing to glory in malice? To build a house doth belong to few men, any ignorant man you please can pull down. To sow wheat, to dress the crop, to wait until it ripen, and in that fruit on which one has laboured to rejoice, doth belong to few men: with one spark any man you please can burn all the crop. To breed an infant, when born to feed him, to educate, to bring him on to youth’s estate, is a great task: to kill him in one moment of time any one you please is able. Therefore those things which are done for destruction, are most easily done. …