The Ascent to the Intelligible and the Transformation of the Psalm
A people whose tongue is to proclaim that all shall serve the Lord under a yoke. From the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia come sacrifices to me. It agrees with the filling of Ethiopia from the kingdoms and in what is said. She herself, the one from nearby, and Ethiopia, having become spiritual and having embraced genuine repentance, says about herself: 'I am black and beautiful'; black indeed because of idolatry and practical wickedness, but beautiful because of the withdrawal from those things.
And what will exist after having confessed to her and having reached out the hand to God: to be cleansed by casting away all evil from the heart and to become in light? This is shown by the one of the sins seeing her with the... It indeed signifies all the mortal things of Ethiopia; it presents the bride saying through repentance: 'I am black and beautiful'; black indeed and double-natured because of idolatry and practical wickedness, but beautiful because of the withdrawal from them. And it happened to her to become luminous after having reached out her hand to God, as those seeing her with the benefactor say: 'Who is she, the one ascending, having become white?' (Ps 67:34).
His voice is the divine scripture. By this he will give a voice to receive spiritual power. And even in these things, his voice, John, must be taken, saying: 'I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness' (Matt 3:3), to be spoken as the Savior having ascended to the heaven of heavens, having fulfilled the prophecies that pre-proclaimed his incarnation, death, and resurrection, and his ascension, he gave voice to them. For those speaking about the things to come seem to be weak because of the lack of clarity of the outcome, then receiving the voice of power they will be fulfilled.
And also the saying that God has set himself upon the heaven of heavens: for only He reclines for the Lord according to 'The heaven of heavens is the Lord' (Ps 108:1), and 'Behold, the heaven of your God, the heaven of heavens' (Deut 10:14), into which no one has been born.
But to ascend to the things of the mind. For the place to which God ascended into heaven is not any created thing, but a state befitting God, which is not manifest, not declared by a master word. Ps 67:35ab Being made thankful in deed and word, glorify Him with hymns and theologies, so that you may be able to contain His majesty, having become true Israel by purity of heart, seeing God. For the superlative knowledge of God possesses what is fitting in greatness only to the one having sanctification and peace.
Since from beginning to end he preserves the same face speaking, one should take up the same rhythm of thought following him. Since therefore the Psalm signifies the Lord who has come among us, transforming men by life and teaching as to become from unbelievers and sinners faithful and righteous, the inscription 'Concerning those who shall be transformed' lies most fittingly. But also those having believed from circumcision were transformed, living according to the Spirit rather than the law. And if even through the change occurring from the better to the inferior quality, I say even so: nothing will be more fitting than 'Concerning those who shall be transformed' than the inscription for the Jews who did not believe in Him. And if even those transformed according to the resurrection from the dead, as in 'We also shall be changed' 1 Cor 15:52, are to be visited. For if the Psalm is from the person of Christ, and His passion is signified in it, concerning His dying and rising and all being raised, it is not lacking to take the inscription 'Concerning those thus transformed' to be for them.
It is necessary to consider what the most frequent things in the Psalm are said from our person by Jesus, bearing our infirmities and suffering on our behalf Ps 68:2-3. For certainly He does not confess sins, nor has He done anything at all. If therefore He does not confess on His own behalf, it is evident that He does this on our behalf. For also those fleeing from sinners, through...
Greek
λαοὺς γλῶσσαν τοῦ ἐπαγγελεῖσθαι πάντας τὸ ο νομα κυρίου τοῦ δουλεύειν αὐτῷ ὑπὸ ζυγὸν ε να· ἐκ περάτων ποταμῶν Αἰθιοπίας οι σουσι θυσίας μοι. συνᾴδει τῷ ... πληροῦσθαι τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν ἐκ * τῶν βασιλειῶν * κ̣α̣ὶ̣ ἐν * λεγομένῳ. αὐτὴ ἡ ἀπ' ἐγγὺς καὶ ἡ Αἰθιοπία πνευματικὴ γενομένη γνησίαν μετάνοιαν συνεισενεγκαμένη φησὶ περὶ ἑαυτῆς Μέλαινά εἰμι καὶ καλή· μέλαινα μὲν διὰ τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν καὶ πρακτικὴν κακίαν, καλὴ δὲ διὰ τὴν *** ἀναχώρησιν ἐξ ἐκείνων δι' α μέλαινα ἐχρημάτισα. τί δὲ ὑπάρξει ἐξομολογησαμένῃ αὐτῇ καὶ προσφθασάσῃ τῷ θεῷ τὴν χεῖρα η τὸ καθαρισθῆναι ἐπὶ τῷ πᾶσαν καρδίαν ἀποβαλεῖν καὶ ἐν φωτὶ γενέσθαι; δηλοῖ τοῦτο τὸ τῶν ᾀσμάτων Αισμα ἐν τῷ ὁρᾶσθαι αὐτὴν σὺν τῷ *** 5–13 ο τι γε μὴν Αἰθιοπία πάντα τὰ ε θνη δηλοῖ, παρίστησιν ἡ διὰ μετανοίας λέγουσα νύμφη Μέλαινά εἰμι καὶ καλή· μέλαινα μὲν καὶ δυσειδὴς διὰ τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν καὶ τὴν κακίαν τὴν πρακτικήν, καλὴ δὲ διὰ τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀναχώρησιν. ὑπῆρξε δὲ αὐτῇ φωτεινῇ γενέσθαι προφθασάσῃ χεῖρα θεῷ, ὡς τοὺς ὁρῶντας αὐτὴν σὺν τῷ εὐεργετήσαντι λέγειν Τίς αυ τη ἡ ἀναβαίνουσα λελευκασμένη; 704a Ps 67,34 Φωνὴ αὐτοῦ ἡ θεία γραφή. ταύτῃ δώσει φωνὴν δυνάμεως πνευματικὴν λαβεῖν. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτοις φωνὴν αὐτοῦ τὸν ̓Ιωάννην δεῖ λαβεῖν εἰπόντα ̓Εγὼ φωνὴ βοοῦντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, λεκτέον ὡς ἐπιβὰς τῷ οὐρανῷ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ σωτήρ, πληρώσας τὰς προφητείας τὰς προαναφωνησάσας τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν θάνατόν τε καὶ ἀνάστασιν καὶ ἀνάληψιν αὐτοῦ, φωνὴν αὐταῖς δέδωκε. τὰ γὰρ περὶ μελλόντων λέγοντα ἀσθενεῖν δοκεῖ διὰ τὸ α δηλον τῆς ἐκβάσεως, τότε φωνὴν δυνάμεως λαμβάνοντα ο ταν πληρωθῇ. Ευ δὲ καὶ τὸ φάναι τὸν θεὸν ἐπιβεβηκέναι ἐπὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· ο στις μόνος ἀνάκειται τῷ κυρίῳ κατὰ τὸ ̔Ο οὐρανὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ ̓Ιδοὺ κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ οὐρανὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, εἰς ο ν οὐδεὶς πέφυκε τῶν νοητῶν ἀναβαίνειν. οὐ γὰρ κτίσμα τι η τόπος εἰς ο ν ἀνέβη θεὸς οὐρανόν, ἀλλὰ πρέπουσα θεῷ περιωπὴ η κατάστασις α φραστος, διὰ κυρίας λέξεως οὐ δηλουμένη. 705a Ps 67,35ab Εὐχάριστοι γινόμενοι ε ργῳ καὶ λόγῳ, δοξάσατε αὐτὸν υ μνοις καὶ θεολογίαις, ι να τὴν μεγαλοπρέπειαν αὐτοῦ χωρῆσαι δυνηθεῖτε ἀληθινὸς ̓Ισραὴλ γεγενημένοι διὰ καθαρότητα καρδίας θεὸν ὁρῶντες. ἡ γὰρ ὑπερφυὴς θεοῦ γνῶσις ἐν μεγάλοις τὸ πρέπον ε χουσα σύνεστι μόνῳ τῷ ἁγιασμὸν καὶ εἰρήνην ε χοντι. 132 706a Ps 68 αργ ̓Επεὶ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς μέχρι τέλους πρόσωπον τὸ αὐτὸ λέγον φυλάττει, ἀκόλουθον ο λον αὐτῷ εἱρμῷ διανοίας τῆς αὐτῆς ἐκλαβεῖν. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τὸν ἐπιδημήσαντα κύριον σημαίνει ὁ ψαλμὸς ἀλλοιώσαντα βίῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὡς ἐξ ἀπίστων καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν πιστοὺς καὶ δικαίους γενέσθαι, ἁρμοδιώτατα ̔Υπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων ἡ ἐπιγραφὴ κεῖται. ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πιστεύσαντες ἐκ περιτομῆς ἠλλοιώθησαν κατὰ τὸ πνεῦμα ζῶντες τοῦ νόμου. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ε μπαλιν τῆς μεταβολῆς γινομένης ἐκ τῆς κρείττονος ἐπὶ τὴν χείρονα ποιότητα, φημὶ καὶ ου τως· οὐδὲν η ττον ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων ε σται τῶν μὴ πιστευσάντων αὐτῷ ̓Ιουδαίων. εἰ δὲ καὶ τοὺς κατὰ ἀνάστασιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἠλλοιωμένους κατὰ τὸ Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀλλαγησόμεθα, συνεπίσκεψαι. εἰ γὰρ ἐκ προσώπου Χριστοῦ ἐστιν ὁ ψαλμός, σημαίνεται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ πάθος αὐτοῦ ῳ ε πεται ἀποθανόντος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναστάντος καὶ πάντας ἐγείρεσθαι, οὐκ ἀπᾴδει ἐκλαβεῖν καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ου τως ἀλλοιωθησομένων τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν ει ναι. 707 Ps 68,2.3 ̓Ιστέον ο τι τὰ πλεῖστα ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ ἐκ προσώπου ἡμετέρου ὑπὸ ̓Ιησοῦ λέγεται τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν φέροντος καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὀδυνωμένου. ου τος γοῦν ἐξομολογεῖται περὶ ἁμαρτημάτων ω ν οὐδ' ο λως τι πεποίηκεν. εἰ τοίνυν μὴ ὑπὲρ ἰδίων ἐξομολογεῖται, δηλονότι ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τοῦτο ποιεῖ. καὶ γὰρ οἱ περὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν φυγὴν ὑποστάντων, δι'
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.