Psalms 76:7
And I meditated in the night with my own heart: and I was exercised and I swept my spirit.
Open Psalms 76:7 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Et meditatus sum nocte cum corde meo, et exercitabar, et scopebam spiritum meum.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἐμνήσθην καὶ ἐμελέτησα· νυκτὸς μετὰ τῆς καρδίας μου ἠδολέσχουν, καὶ ἔσκαλεν τὸ πνεῦμά μου.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 77:7
- אֶֽזְכְּרָ֥ה נְגִינָתִ֗י בַּ֫לָּ֥יְלָה עִם לְבָבִ֥י אָשִׂ֑יחָה וַיְחַפֵּ֥שׂ רוּחִֽי
Haydock's commentary
Heart. Septuagint have read differently from the present [Hebrew]. (Berthier)
Hebrew, "I recollected my canticle in the night, and communed with my own heart, and my spirit sought to the bottom;" or, "I swept, (or directed, scopebam) my spirit," (St. Jerome) from all things unbecoming. Septuagint Eskallon. "I dug and harrowed" it by earnest meditation, to extract the weeds, and make it fit to receive the divine seed, (St. Jerome, here and ep. ad Sun.) and to bring forth fruit; (Haydock) or I swept to discover the precious jewel (Berthier) of salvation. (Haydock)
Scopebam, is not deemed a good Latin word; but seems to be derived from skopeo, "I consider or direct my aim;" though some think it means rather," I swept," Isaias xiv. 23. Hugo reads scopabam. (Calmet)
I diligently examined my conscience, (Worthington) and left nothing unturned, like the woman in the gospel who sought the groat. [Luke xv. 8.] (Menochius)
Hebrew yechapes, may also mean, "my spirit is set free," to say what might seem too bold, Will God, &c. (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 LXXVII
8. “And I have meditated in the night with my heart” ( ver. 6 ). No slanderous person seeketh for snares in his words, in his heart he hath meditated. “I babbled.” Behold there is the former babbling. Watch again, that thy spirit faint not. I did not, he saith, I did not so babble as if it were abroad: in another way now. How now? “I did babble, and did search out my spirit.” If he were searching the earth to find veins of gold, no one would say that he was foolish; nay, many men would call him wise, for desiring to come at gold: how great treasures hath a man within, and he diggeth not! This man was examining his spirit, and was speaking with that same his spirit, and in the very speaking he was babbling. He was questioning himself, was examining himself, was judge over himself. …