Psalms 78:10
Lest they should say among the Gentiles: Where is their God? And let him be made known among the nations before our eyes, By the revenging the blood of thy servants, which hath been shed:
Open Psalms 78:10 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Ne forte dicant in gentibus : Ubi est Deus eorum ? et innotescat in nationibus coram oculis nostris ultio sanguinis servorum tuorum qui effusus est.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- μή ποτε εἴπωσιν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν; καὶ γνωσθήτω ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐνώπιον τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἡμῶν ἡ ἐκδίκησις τοῦ αἵματος τῶν δούλων σου τοῦ ἐκκεχυμένου.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 79:10
- לָ֤מָּה יֹאמְר֣וּ הַגּוֹיִם֮ אַיֵּ֪ה אֱֽלֹהֵ֫יהֶ֥ם יִוָּדַ֣ע בגיים לְעֵינֵ֑ינוּ נִ֝קְמַ֗ת דַּֽם עֲבָדֶ֥יךָ הַשָּׁפֽוּךְ
Haydock's commentary
Their God. Let him rescue his people. Cicero (pro Flacco) speaking of the Jewish nation, says, "How dear it was to the immortal gods, appears from its being overcome, enslaved," &c.
Shed. He speaks not of revenge; (Calmet) but in order that chastisement may open the eyes of the infidels, that they may be converted. (Eusebius)
Let none suspect that thou disregardest thy people. The event will evince the contrary. (Worthington)
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 LX
13. “Wilt not Thou, O God, that hast driven us back? And wilt not Thou, O God, march forth in our powers?” ( ver. 10 ). Wilt not Thou lead us down, that hast driven us back? But wherefore “hast driven us back”? Because Thou hast destroyed us. Wherefore hast destroyed us? Because angry Thou hast been, and hast had pity on us. Thou therefore wilt lead down, that hast driven back; Thou, O God, that wilt not march forth in our powers, wilt lead down. What is, “wilt not march forth in our powers”? The world is to rage, the world is to tread us down, there is to be a heap of witnesses, builded of the spilled blood of martyrs, and the raging heathen are to say, “Where is the God of them?” Then “Thou wilt not march forth in our powers:” against them Thou wilt not show Thyself, Thou wilt not show Thy power, such as Thou hast shown in David, in Moses, in Joshua the son of Nun, when to their might …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LXXIX
13. But that which he addeth, “lest at any time they should say among the Gentiles, Where is their God?” ( ver. 10 ) must be taken as rather for the Gentiles themselves. For to a bad end they come that have despaired of the true God, thinking that either He is not, or doth not help His own, and is not merciful to them. But this which followeth, “and that there may be known among the nations before our eyes the vengeance of the blood of Thy servants which hath been shed:” is either to be understood as of the time, when they believe in the true God that used to persecute His inheritance; because even that is vengeance, whereby is slain the fierce iniquity of them by the sword of the Word of God, concerning which hath been said, “Gird Thou Thy sword:” or when obstinate enemies at the last are punished. …