Psalms 71:16
And there shall be a firmament on the earth on the tops of mountains, above Libanus shall the fruit thereof be exalted: and they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Et erit firmamentum in terra in summis montium ; superextolletur super Libanum fructus ejus, et florebunt de civitate sicut fœnum terræ.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἔσται στήριγμα ἐν τῇ γῇ ἐπ᾽ ἄκρων τῶν ὀρέων· ὑπεραρθήσεται ὑπὲρ τὸν Λίβανον ὁ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξανθήσουσιν ἐκ πόλεως ὡσεὶ χόρτος τῆς γῆς.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 72:16
- יְהִ֤י פִסַּת בַּ֨ר בָּאָרֶץ֮ בְּרֹ֪אשׁ הָ֫רִ֥ים יִרְעַ֣שׁ כַּלְּבָנ֣וֹן פִּרְי֑וֹ וְיָצִ֥יצוּ מֵ֝עִ֗יר כְּעֵ֣שֶׂב הָאָֽרֶץ
Haydock's commentary
A firmament on the earth, &c. This may be understood of the Church of Christ, ever firm and visible: and of the flourishing condition of its congregation. (Challoner)
The strength or staff of bread shall not fail, Psalm civ. 16., and Isaias iii. 1. (Calmet)
Protestants, "there shall be a handful of corn in the," &c. (Haydock)
Thus moderns follow the Rabbins, who greatly exaggerate the abundance which will take place under the Messias, as expecting that wheat will then grow as high as cedars. The country was indeed very luxuriant and populous in the reign of Solomon. But the fathers explain this of the Church, founded on Christ, the rock, and enriched with all virtues, (Calmet) and the most efficacious sacraments, particularly with the holy Eucharist, to which St. Jerome may allude: "there shall be memorable wheat," &c. (Haydock)
By these hyperbolical allegories, the abundance enjoyed in the Church was denoted. (Menochius)
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 LXXII
18. “And there shall be a firmament on the earth, on the tops of the mountains” ( ver. 16 ). For, “all the promises of God in Him are Yea,” that is, in Him are confirmed: because in Him hath been fulfilled whatever hath been prophesied for our salvation. For the tops of the mountains it is meet to understand as the authors of the divine Scriptures, that is, those persons through whom they were supplied: wherein He is indeed Himself the Firmament: for unto Him all things that have been divinely written are ascribed. But this He willed should be on earth; because for the sake of those that are upon earth, they were written. Whence He came also Himself upon earth, in order that He might confirm all these things, that is, in Himself might show them to have been fulfilled. …