Psalms 81:3
Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor.
Open Psalms 81:3 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Judicate egeno et pupillo ; humilem et pauperem justificate.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- κρίνατε ὀρφανὸν καὶ πτωχόν, ταπεινὸν καὶ πένητα δικαιώσατε·
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 82:3
- שִׁפְטוּ דַ֥ל וְיָת֑וֹם עָנִ֖י וָרָ֣שׁ הַצְדִּֽיקוּ
Haydock's commentary
Do justice. This is the sense of justificate, "justify," as the poor must not be screened from justice, any more than the rich. (Haydock)
They are in greater danger of being neglected, Isaias i. 23., and Jeremias v. 28. (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
Tertullian The Five Books Against Marcion, Christ's Sermon on the Mount. In Manner and Contents It So Resembles the Creator's Dispensational Words and Deeds. It Suggests Therefore the Conclusion that Jesus is the Creator's Christ. The Beatitudes
In the psalm he exclaims: “Defend the fatherless and the needy; do justice to the humble and the poor; deliver the poor, and rid the needy out of the hand of the wicked.” Similarly in the seventy-first Psalm: “In righteousness shall He judge the needy amongst the people, and shall save the children of the poor.” And in the following words he says of Christ: “All nations shall serve Him.” Now David only reigned over the Jewish nation, so that nobody can suppose that this was spoken of David; whereas He had taken upon Himself the condition of the poor, and such as were oppressed with want, “Because He should deliver the needy out of the hand of the mighty man; He shall spare the needy and the poor, and shall deliver the souls of the poor. …
St Cyprian Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews, Testimony V
In Isaiah: “Thus saith the Lord God, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is the stool of my feet. What seat will ye build for me, or what is the place for my rest? For all those things hath my hand made, and all those things are mine. And upon whom else will I look, except upon the lowly and quiet man, and him that trembleth at my words?” On this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Of this same thing, too, according to Luke: “He that shall be least among you all, the same shall be great.” Also in the same place: “Whosoever exalteth himself shall be made low, and whosoever abaseth himself shall be exalted.” Of this same thing to the Romans: “Be not high-minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, (take heed) lest He also spare not thee.” Of this same thing in the thirty-third Psalm: “And He shall sav …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LXXXII
3. “How long will ye judge unrighteously, and accept the persons of the ungodly” ( ver. 2 ); as in another place, “How long are ye heavy in heart?” Until He shall come who is the light of the heart? I have given a law, ye have resisted stubbornly: I sent Prophets, ye treated them unjustly, or slew them, or connived at those who did so. But if they are not worthy to be even spoken to, who slew the servants of God that were sent to them, ye who were silent when these things were doing, that is, ye who would imitate as if they were innocent those who then were silent, “how long will ye judge unrighteously, and accept the persons of the ungodly?” If the Heir comes even now, is He to be slain? Was He not willing for your sake to become as it were a child under guardians? Did not He for your sake hunger and thirst like one in need? Did He not cry to you, “Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly o …
The Fathers are given as they wrote. Where a passage lays the Passion on the Jewish people, the Church teaches that it cannot be charged against all the Jews then living, nor against the Jews of today, and that all sinners were its authors (CCC 597, 598).