Psalms 80:16
The enemies of the Lord have lied to him: and their time shall be for ever.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Inimici Domini mentiti sunt ei, et erit tempus eorum in sæcula.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- οἱ ἐχθροὶ Κυρίου ἐψεύσαντο αὐτῷ, καὶ ἔσται ὁ καιρὸς αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα·
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 81:16
- מְשַׂנְאֵ֣י יְ֭הוָה יְכַֽחֲשׁוּ ל֑וֹ וִיהִ֖י עִתָּ֣ם לְעוֹלָֽם
Haydock's commentary
Enemies. The faithless Israelites, (Calmet) or infidel nations. (Bossuet, &c.)
Ever. Impenitent sinners shall suffer for ever. (Challoner)
The Jews will scarcely be converted at last. (Menochius)
For a long time God bore with their infidelities, and heaped favours upon them. (Haydock)
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 LXXXI
18. “The enemies of God have lied unto Him” ( ver. 15 ). Dost thou renounce? I renounce. And he returns to what he renounced. In fact, what things dost thou renounce, except bad deeds, diabolical deeds, deeds to be condemned of God, thefts, plunderings, perjuries, manslayings, adulteries, sacrileges, abominable rites, curious arts.…
St John Cassian The Conferences of John Cassian. Part I. Containing Conferences I-X, Chapter XXII. The answer; viz., that our free will always has need of the help of the Lord
Paphnutius : You have shrewdly enough noticed how it is said “If they would have hearkened to Me:” but have not sufficiently considered either who it is who speaks to one who does or does not hearken; or what follows: “I should soon have put down their enemies, and laid My hand on those that trouble them.” Let no one then try by a false interpretation to twist that which we brought forward to prove that nothing can be done without the Lord, nor take it in support of free will, in such a way as to try to take away from man the grace of God and His daily oversight, through this test: “But My people did not hear My voice,” and again: “If My people would have hearkened unto Me, and if Israel would have walked in My ways, etc.:” but let him consider that just as the power of free will is evidenced by the disobedience of the people, so the daily oversight of God who declares and admonishes him …