Psalms 57:7
God shall break in pieces their teeth in their mouth: the Lord shall break the grinders of the lions.
Open Psalms 57:7 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Deus conteret dentes eorum in ore ipsorum ; molas leonum confringet Dominus.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ὁ θεὸς συνέτριψεν τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν, τὰς μύλας τῶν λεόντων συνέθλασεν Κύριος.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 58:7
- אֱֽלֹהִ֗ים הֲרָס שִׁנֵּ֥ימוֹ בְּפִ֑ימוֹ מַלְתְּע֥וֹת כְּ֝פִירִ֗ים נְתֹ֣ץ יְהוָֽה
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LVIII
8. “God hath broken utterly the teeth of them in their own mouth” ( ver. 6 ). Of whom? Of them to whom indignation is as the similitude of a serpent, and of an asp closing up its ears, so that it heareth not the voice of men charming, and of medicine medicated by the wise man. The Lord hath done to them what? “Hath broken utterly the teeth of them in their own mouth.” It hath been done, this at first hath been done, and now is being done. But it would have sufficed, my brethren, that it should have been said, “God hath broken utterly the teeth of them.” The Pharisees would not hear the Law, would not hear the precepts of truth from Christ, being like to that serpent and asp. …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LVIII
10. “The jaw-bones of lions the Lord hath broken utterly.” Not only of asps. What of asps? Asps treacherously desire to throw in their venom, and scatter it, and hiss. Most openly raged the nations, and roared like lions. “Wherefore have raged the nations, and the peoples meditated empty things?” When they were lying in wait for the Lord. Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or is it not lawful? Asps they were, serpents they were, broken utterly were the teeth of them in their own mouth. Afterwards they cried out, “Crucify, Crucify.” Now is there no tongue of asp, but roar of lion. …
St Jerome Jerome's Apology for Himself Against the Books of Rufinus, The way of peace is through the wisdom taught in the Book of Proverbs, and through unity in the faith
Such are the lessons in which I have been trained and therefore I was unwilling to return bite for bite, and to attack you by way of retaliation; and I thought it better to exorcise the madness of one who was raving, and to pour in the antidote of a single book into his poisoned breast. But I fear I shall have no success, and that I shall be compelled to sing the song of David, and to take his words for my only consolation:
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
20. For we either hide away our sin, cloaking it over in the depth of our soul, like some festering and malignant disease, as if by escaping the notice of men we could escape the mighty eye of God and justice. Or else we allege excuses in our sins, by devising pleas in defence of our falls, or tightly closing our ears, like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ears, we are obstinate in refusing to hear the voice of the charmer, and be treated with the medicines of wisdom, by which spiritual sickness is healed. Or, lastly, those of us who are most daring and self-willed shamelessly brazen out our sin before those who would heal it, marching with bared head, as the saying is, into all kinds of transgression. …