Psalms 98:8
Thou didst hear them, O Lord our God: thou wast a merciful God to them, and taking vengeance on all their inventions.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Domine Deus noster, tu exaudiebas eos ; Deus, tu propitius fuisti eis, et ulciscens in omnes adinventiones eorum.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- Κύριε ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, σὺ ἐπήκουες αὐτῶν· ὁ θεός, εὐίλατος ἐγίνου αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐκδικῶν ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα αὐτῶν.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 99:8
- יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵינוּ֮ אַתָּ֪ה עֲנִ֫יתָ֥ם אֵ֣ל נֹ֭שֵׂא הָיִ֣יתָ לָהֶ֑ם וְ֝נֹקֵ֗ם עַל עֲלִילוֹתָֽם
Haydock's commentary
All their inventions. That is, all the enterprizes of their enemies against them, as in the case of Core, Dathan, and Abiron. (Challoner) (Numbers xvi.) (Worthington) Syriac, "injuries." The failings of these great men were punished in mercy. (Calmet)
Thou hast made them harmless in all their works. (Houbigant)
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 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants, God Punishes Both in Wrath and in Mercy
Although there are some men who are so eminent in righteousness that God speaks to them out of His cloudy pillar, such as “Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among them that call upon His name,” the latter of whom is much praised for his piety and purity in the Scriptures of truth, from his earliest childhood, in which his mother, to accomplish her vow, placed him in God’s temple, and devoted him to the Lord as His servant; yet even of such men it is written, “Thou, O God, wast propitious unto them, though Thou didst punish all their devices.” Now the children of wrath God punishes in anger; whereas it is in mercy that He punishes the children of grace; since “whom He loveth He correcteth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” However, there are no punishments, no correction, no scourge of God, but what are owing to sin, except in the case of Him who prepared His back fo …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm XCIX
9. “Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among such as call upon His Name: these called upon the Lord, and He heard them” ( ver. 6 ). “He spake unto them out of the cloudy pillar” ( ver. 7 ).…Of Moses it is not there stated that he was a priest. But if he was not this, what was he? Could he be anything greater than a priest? This Psalm declareth that he also was himself a priest: “Moses and Aaron among His priests.” They therefore were the Lord’s priests. Samuel is read of later in the Book of Kings: this Samuel is in David’s times; for he anointed the holy David. Samuel from his infancy grew up in the temple.…He mentioneth these: and by these desireth us to understand all the saints. Yet why hath he here named those? Because we said that we ought here to understand Christ. Attend, holy brethren. …