Psalms 87:7
They have laid me in the lower pit: in the dark places, and in the shadow of death.
Open Psalms 87:7 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Posuerunt me in lacu inferiori, in tenebrosis, et in umbra mortis.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἔθεντό με ἐν λάκκῳ κατωτάτῳ, ἐν σκοτεινοῖς καὶ ἐν σκιᾷ θανάτου.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 88:7
- שַׁ֭תַּנִי בְּב֣וֹר תַּחְתִּיּ֑וֹת בְּ֝מַחֲשַׁכִּ֗ים בִּמְצֹלֽוֹת
Haydock's commentary
They. Hebrew, "thou hast."
Shadow. Hebrew, "in the depths," seem to have read a, v, and m, in those two places, which are now wanting. (Houbigant)
The Chaldean has, the shadow of death, as well as the Vulgate. All this regards Jesus Christ, though it may be applied to any in distress. (Berthier), The wicked endeavour to kill the soul by sin, as well as the body. (Worthington)
Great difficulties entangle the psalmist: Christ descends into hell. (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
Origen Origen's Commentary on Matthew, Chapter XXII
Wherefore John, endued with prophetic boldness and not terrified at the royal dignity of Herod, nor through fear of death keeping silence in regard to so flagrant a sin, filled with a divine spirit said to Herod, “It is not lawful for thee to have her; for it is not lawful for thee to have the wife of thy brother.” For Herod having laid hold on John bound him and put him in prison, not daring to slay him outright and to take away the prophetic word from the people; but the wife of the king of Trachonitis, which is a kind of evil opinion and wicked teaching, gave birth to a daughter of the same name, whose movements, seemingly harmonious, pleasing Herod, who was fond of matters connected with birthdays, came the cause of there being no longer a prophetic head among the people. …
Origen Origen's Commentary on Matthew, Chapter III
Next let us remark in what way, when asked in regard to one sign, that He might show it from heaven, to the Pharisees and Sadducees who put the question, He answers and says, “ An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign given to it, but the sign of Jonah the prophet, ” when also, “He left them and departed.” But the sign of Jonah, in truth, according to their question, was not merely a sign but also a sign from heaven; so that even to those who tempted Him and sought a sign from heaven He, nevertheless, out of His own great goodness gave the sign. …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LXXXVIII
5. “They laid Me in the lowest pit” ( ver. 6 ), that is, the deepest pit. For so it is in the Greek. But what is the lowest pit, but the deepest woe, than which there is none more deep? Whence in another Psalm it is said, “Thou broughtest me out also of the pit of misery.” “In a place of darkness, and in the shadow of death,” whiles they knew not what they did, they laid Him there, thus deeming of Him; they knew not Him “whom none of the princes of this world knew.” By the “shadow of death,” I know not whether the death of the body is to be understood, or that of which it is written, “That they walked in darkness and in the land of the shadow of death, a light is risen on them,” because by belief they were brought from out of the darkness and death of sin into light and life. …