Psalms 90:6
Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil.
Open Psalms 90:6 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- a sagitta volante in die, a negotio perambulante in tenebris, ab incursu, et dæmonio meridiano.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἀπὸ πράγματος διαπορευομένου ἐν σκότει, ἀπὸ συμπτώματος καὶ δαιμονίου μεσημβρινοῦ.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 91:6
- מִ֭דֶּבֶר בָּאֹ֣פֶל יַהֲלֹ֑ךְ מִ֝קֶּ֗טֶב יָשׁ֥וּד צָהֳרָֽיִם
Haydock's commentary
Day. Neither open attacks, nor unforeseen accidents prevail. (Calmet)
Business. Hebrew dabar, "thing," ver. 3., "the pestilence." (St. Jerome) (Haydock)
The Hebrews suppose, that one angel presides over death in the daytime, and another during the night; or that various demons send maladies at these different times.
Invasion. Septuagint and old Italic, have, "ruin."
St. Jerome, after Aquila, "from the bite of him who rageth, damonizontos, at noon. Keteb, (Haydock) according to an ancient tradition of the Jews, denotes one of the bolder devils, who attacks in open day, and seeks no aid from nocturnal craft. (Genebrard) The psalmist may allude to those popular notions, (Theodoret; St. Jerome) which were prevalent among the pagans. (Theocrit. Idyl. i.; Lucan iii.) (Calmet)
Thou shalt fear no danger of the day or night, (Bellarmine) nor any which disturbs the life of man. (Scaligers, ep. i. p. 95.)
This author mistakes, when he supposes that Keteb is rendered devil. (Amama)
He might also ask how the Chaldean, Aquila, and Symmachus came to discover, that the devil is here mentioned, as well as the Septuagint? (Berthier)
These seem to have read ussod, "and the devil," instead of issud, "from destruction which ravages," (Amama) vastabit. (Montanus) (Haydock)
But allowing that the Septuagint, &c., are accurate, what is meant by this devil? St. Peter seems to explain the idea, when he exhorts us to sobriety, 1 Peter v. 8. (Berthier)
Read on
Violent temptations of sloth, (St. Athanasius) or impurity, (Theodoret) or the persecutions against the faithful, may be meant. Four different sorts of attacks seem to be designated. 1. Such as assult the ignorant with the fears of the night, tempting them to secure their temporal estates, while they think not of eternal woe impending. 2. Others are attacked with the arrow in the day, and threatened with death, which they know they ought rather to endure, than abandon their faith. 3. The business, &c., imitates some grievous but latent temptation, as when the faithful are persuaded to take some unlawful oath. 4. But the greatest and most manifest attack, is styled, invasion, &c., when persecutors assail those who adhere to the true faith with a succession of torments, and subtle arguments, which have been the occasion of the fall of many, who had resisted the former attacks. Yet none of these yield, but by their own fault, trusting in themselves, and not in God. (St. Augustine) (Worthington)
Noon day. Grotius explains this of the heat of the sun, which is very dangerous to travellers in Palestine. (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
The Apostolic Constitutions Book VIII. Concerning Gifts, and Ordinations, and the Ecclesiastical Canons, Sec. II. Election and Ordination of Bishops: Form of Service on Sundays
XI . O Lord Almighty, the Most High, who dwellest on high, the Holy One, that restest among the saints, without beginning, the Only Potentate, who hast given to us by Christ the preaching of knowledge, to the acknowledgment of Thy glory and of Thy name, which He has made known to us, for our comprehension, do Thou now also look down through Him upon this Thy flock, and deliver it from all ignorance and wicked practice, and grant that we may fear Thee in earnest, and love Thee with affection, and have a due reverence of Thy glory. Be gracious and merciful to them, and hearken to them when they pray unto Thee; and keep them, that they may be unmoveable, unblameable, and unreprovable, that they may be holy in body and spirit, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that they may be complete, and none of them may be defective or imperfect. …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm XCI
7. “Nor for the arrow that flieth by day, for the matter that walketh in darkness, nor for the ruin and the devil that is in the noonday” ( ver. 6 ). These two clauses above correspond to the two below; “Thou shalt not fear” for “the terror by night, from the arrow that flieth by day:” both because of “the terror by night,” from “the matter that walketh in darkness:” and because of “the arrow that flieth by day,” from “the ruin of the devil of the noon-day.” What ought to be feared by night, and what by day? When any man sins in ignorance, he sins, as it were, by night: when he sins in full knowledge, by day. The two former sins then are the lighter: the second are much heavier; but this is obscure, and will repay your attention, if, by God’s blessing, I can explain it so that you may understand it. …
St John Chrysostom The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, 1 Timothy 5.8
But, as I said, at the crowing of the cock their President comes, and gently touching the sleeper with his foot, rouses them all. For there are none sleeping naked. Then as soon as they have arisen they stand up, and sing the prophetic hymns with much harmony, and well composed tunes. And neither harp nor pipe nor other musical instrument utters such sweet melodies, as you hear from the singing of these saints in their deep and quiet solitudes. And the songs themselves too are suitable, and full of the love of God. “In the night,” they say, “lift up your hands unto God. With my soul have I desired Thee in the night, yea with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early,” ( Isa. xxvi. 9 .) And the Psalms of David, that cause fountains of tears to flow. For when he sings, “I am weary with my groaning, all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears” ( Ps. vi. …
St Jerome The Letters of St. Jerome, To Eustochium
3. I would have you draw from your monastic vow not pride but fear. You walk laden with gold; you must keep out of the robber’s way. To us men this life is a race-course: we contend here, we are crowned elsewhere. No man can lay aside fear while serpents and scorpions beset his path. The Lord says: “My sword hath drunk its fill in heaven,” and do you expect to find peace on the earth? No, the earth yields only thorns and thistles, and its dust is food for the serpent. “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We are hemmed in by hosts of foes, our enemies are upon every side. The weak flesh will soon be ashes: one against many, it fights against tremendous odds. …
St Jerome Against the Pelagians, Book II
xci. 6 . From “the thing that walketh in darkness” who can be free? For
St John Cassian The Conferences of John Cassian. Part I. Containing Conferences I-X, Chapter XXXII. Of the different desires and wishes which exist in the powers of the air
But it is clearly proved that there exist in unclean spirits as many desires as there are in men. For some of them, which are commonly called Plani, are shown to be so seductive and sportive that, when they have taken continual possession of certain places or roads, they delight themselves not indeed with tormenting the passers by whom they can deceive, but, contenting themselves merely with laughing at them and mocking them, try to tire them out rather than to injure them: while some spend the night merely by harmlessly taking possession of men, though others are such slaves to fury and ferocity that they are not simply content with hurting the bodies of those of whom they have taken possession, by tearing them in a dreadful manner, but actually are eager to rush upon those who are passing by at a distance, and to attack them with most savage slaughter: like those described in the gospe …