the Fourth Week of Advent
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Brenton's Septuagint
Psalms 8:2
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You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, because of thine adversaries, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have established strength, Because of your adversaries, That you might still the enemy and the avenger.
You have taught children and babies to sing praises to you because of your enemies. And so you silence your enemies and destroy those who try to get even.
From the mouths of children and nursing babies you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries, so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thy enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength, Because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
Of the mouth of yonge children, not spekynge and soukynge mylk, thou madist perfitli heriyng, for thin enemyes; that thou destrie the enemy and avengere.
From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and avenger.
With praises from children and from tiny infants, you have built a fortress. It makes your enemies silent, and all who turn against you are left speechless.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength, Because of thine adversaries, That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
You have made clear your strength even out of the mouths of babies at the breast, because of those who are against you; so that you may put to shame the cruel and violent man.
Adonai ! Our Lord! How glorious is your name throughout the earth! The fame of your majesty spreads even above the heavens!
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established praise because of thine adversaries, to still the enemy and the avenger.
From the mouths of children and babies come songs of praise to you. They sing of your power to silence your enemies who were seeking revenge.
O LORD, our Lord, how glorious is Thy name in all the earth!
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemie and the auenger.
Out of the mouth of children and babies, You have built up strength because of those who hate You, and to quiet those who fight against You.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
Out of the mouth of babes & suckelings hast thou ordeined strength, because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemie and the auenger.
Out of the mouth of young men and infants hast thou established thy glory because of thine enemies, that thou mightest destroy the enemy and the avenger.
it is sung by children and babies. You are safe and secure from all your enemies; you stop anyone who opposes you.
Out of the mouth of children and sucklings, hast thou laid a foundation of strength, - because of thine adversaries, to make foe and avenger be still.
(8-3) Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger.
by the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
Out of the mouth of very babes and sucklinges thou hast layde the foundation of thy strength for thyne aduersaries sake: that thou mightest styll the enemie and the auenger.
From the mouths of infants and nursing babies,you have established a strongholdon account of your adversariesin order to silence the enemy and the avenger.
From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength, Because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
From the mouth of children and infants you have founded strength on account of your enemies, to silence the enemy and the avenger.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, You have ordained strength, because of the ones distressing You, to cause the enemy and the avenger to cease.
From the mouths of infants and sucklings Thou hast founded strength, Because of Thine adversaries, To still an enemy and a self-avenger.
Out of the mouth of the very babes & sucklinges thou hast ordened prayse, because of thine enemies, yt thou mightest destroye the enemie and the auenger.
Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.
From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established strength Because of Your enemies, To do away with the enemy and the revengeful.
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
From the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have established strengthBecause of Your adversaries,To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Out: Matthew 11:25, Matthew 21:16, Luke 10:21, 1 Corinthians 1:27
ordained: Heb. founded
strength: Psalms 84:5-7, Isaiah 40:31, Amos 5:9, 2 Corinthians 12:9, 2 Corinthians 12:10
still: Psalms 4:4, Psalms 46:10, Exodus 11:7, Exodus 15:16, Joshua 2:9-11, 1 Samuel 2:9, Isaiah 37:20-29, Isaiah 37:36-38, Habakkuk 2:20
the enemy: Psalms 44:16
Reciprocal: 2 Kings 22:1 - eight years old Ezra 8:21 - for our little ones Psalms 9:6 - O thou Psalms 13:2 - enemy Psalms 148:12 - young men
Cross-References
In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the abyss were broken up, and the flood-gates of heaven were opened.
And the dove returned to him in the evening, and had a leaf of olive, a sprig in her mouth; and Noe knew that the water had ceased from off the earth.
And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year of the life of Noe, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water subsided from off the earth, and Noe opened the covering of the ark which he had made, and he saw that the water had subsided from the face of the earth.
And who is he that numbers the clouds in wisdom, and has bowed the heaven down to the earth?
and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the fountains of the earth:
and said,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings,.... Not literally such, though the Jewish writers e generally so understand it; as do some Christian interpreters, who explain it of the wonderful formation, nourishment, and growth of infants; and of the marvellous care of God in providing the breast for them; in filling it with milk, and teaching them to suck; which, being observed by men, occasion praise to God, to the confusion of atheists and infidels. But this is no other than what is common to brute creatures: rather the words are to be understood in a figurative sense. So Jarchi applies them to the priests and Levites in the temple: but it is best to interpret them of the apostles and first preachers of the Gospel; and of such who received it and professed it; who were in their own eyes, and in the eyes of the world, as babes and sucklings, Matthew 11:25;
hast thou ordained strength: by which is meant the Gospel, the rod of Christ's strength, and the power of God unto salvation; and which being made useful for the conversion of souls, is the cause of much praise and thanksgiving to God: this, by the mouths and means of the apostles and first ministers of the word, God ordained, or "founded" f, settled and established in the world, notwithstanding all the opposition made unto it; so that the gates of hell cannot prevail against it, to root it out of the world; but it will continue the everlasting Gospel;
because of thine enemies: either for the sake of subduing them, and bringing them to the obedience of Christ, that is, the elect of God, who are before conversion enemies to God and Christ; or rather for the sake of confounding the implacable enemies of God and Christ, and of the cause and interest of religion. In order to which God has made choice of instruments the most mean and despicable, 1 Corinthians 1:26; and God's end in this more particularly is expressed in the following clause;
that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger; Satan, the enemy of mankind, the adversary of Christ personal and mystical, who is filled with envy, wrath, and malice, against Christ and his people; him, by the, means of the Gospel and the ministry of it, God has "caused to cease" g, as the word may be rendered; not as to his being, but as to his power and authority, in the Gentile world; out of which, to his great mortification, he was cast, by the mouth and ministry of babes and sucklings. These words are applied by Christ to the children in the temple, crying Hosanna to the son of David, out of whose mouths God perfected the praise of the Messiah; and by which, and Christ's defence of them, the Scribes and Pharisees, the mortal enemies of Christ, and who wanted to revenge themselves on him, were silenced and stilled,
Matthew 21:15.
e Aben Ezra R. Moses in ibid. Kimchi, Obadiah Gaon, Ben Melech in loc. f יסדת "fundasti", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Cocceius, so the Targum "fundatam disposuisti", Junius Tremellius, Rivetus. g להשבית "ad eessare faciendum", Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator "ut facias cessare", Gejerus so Ainsworth.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Out of the mouth - This passage is quoted by the Saviour in Matthew 21:16, to vindicate the conduct of the children in the temple crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” against the objections of the Pharisees and Scribes, and is perhaps alluded to by him in Matthew 11:25. It is not affirmed, however, in either place, that it had an original reference to the times of the Messiah, or that it was meant, as used by the psalmist, to denote that children would be employed in the praise of God. The language sufficiently expressed the idea which the Saviour meant to convey; and the princip e or great truth involved in the psalm was applicable to the use which he made of it. The language would, perhaps, most naturally denote that infant children would give utterance to the praises of God, as the word “mouth” is used; but still it is not quite certain that the psalmist meant to convey that idea. It is probable, as we shall see, that he meant to say, God had conferred great honor on men - men so humble and weak that they might be compared to infants - by making them the means of overthrowing his enemies, thus showing the greatness of the divine condescension.
Babes - The word used here - עולל ‛ôlêl - means properly a boy or child, and is usually connected with the word rendered sucklings, Jeremiah 44:7; Lamentations 2:11. It is applied to a boy playing in the streets, Jeremiah 6:11; Jeremiah 9:21; asking for bread, Lamentations 4:4,; carried away captive, Lamentations 1:5; borne in the arms, Lamentations 2:20; and once to an unborn infant, Job 3:16. It refers here to a child, or to one who is like a child; and the idea is that those to whom it is applied were naturally unable to accomplish what was done by them, and that God had honored them, and had shown his own condescension, by making them the instruments of doing what they had done.
And sucklings - The word used here - יונק yôneq - means a suckling, or a suckling child, a babe, Deuteronomy 32:25. It may be used literally, or employed to denote one who, in respect to strength, may be compared with a babe. The latter is probably the use made of it here.
Hast thou ordained strength - The word rendered ordained - יסד yâsad - means to found, to lay the foundation of, as of a building, Ezra 3:12; Isaiah 54:11. Then it means to establish, appoint, ordain, constitute, etc. The meaning here is, that in what is referred to, there was, as it were, some basis or foundation for what is called “strength;” that is, that what is here meant by “strength” rested on that as a foundation - to wit, on what was done by babes and sucklings. The word “strength” is rendered by the Septuagint as “praise” - αἷνον ainon - and this is followed in the quotation in Matthew 21:16. The same rendering is adopted in the Latin Vulgate and in the Syriac. The Hebrew word - עז ‛ôz - properly means strength, might; and the idea here would seem to be, that even from babes and sucklings - from those who were in themselves so feeble - God had taken occasion to accomplish a work requiring great power - to wit, in “stilling the enemy and the avenger;” that is, he had made those who were so feeble the instruments of accomplishing so great a work.
Because of thine enemies - In respect to thine enemies, or in order to accomplish something in regard to them, namely, in stilling them, as is immediately specified. The idea is, that there were those who rose up against God, and opposed his government and plans, and that God, in overcoming them, instead of putting forth his own power directly, had condescended to employ those who were weak and feeble like little children. Who these enemies were is not specified, but it is most natural to suppose that the reference is to some of the foes of the author of the psalm, who had been subdued by the prowess of his arm - by strength imparted to him, though in himself feeble as an infant.
That thou mightest still - Mightest cause to rest, or to cease. The original word - שׁבת shâbath - from which our word Sabbath is derived, means to rest; to lie by; to sit down; to sit still; and in the Hiphil, to cause to rest, or to cause to desist; to put an end to, Ezekiel 34:10; Joshua 22:25; Psalms 46:9; Proverbs 18:18. Here it means to bring to an end the purposes of the enemy and the avenger; or, to cause him to desist from his designs.
The enemy - The enemy of the writer, regarded also as the enemy of God.
And the avenger - One who was endeavoring to take revenge, or who was acting as if determined to avenge some imaginary or real wrong. This, too, may refer either to some one who was seeking to revenge himself on the author of the psalm, or who, with the spirit of revenge, stood up against God, and had set himself against him.
In regard to the meaning of this verse, which I apprehend is the key to the whole psalm, and which contains the original germ of the psalm, or the thought which suggested the train of reflection in it, the following remarks may be made:
(a) There is no evidence that it was designed to refer originally to infants, or to children of any age, as stating anything which they would do in contributing to the praise of God, or as defeating sceptics and cavillers by “their instinctive recognition of God’s being and glory,” as is supposed by Calvin, DeWette, Prof. Alexander, and others. What is said here to be done by “babes and sucklings” has reference to some mighty enemy that had been overcome, not to anything which had been effected by the influence of the recognition of God by little children. It may be doubted, also, whether there is any such “instinctive admiration of his works, even by the youngest children,” as would be “a strong defense against those who would question the being and glory” of God, as is supposed by Prof. Alexander and others; and, at all events, that is not the manifest thought in the passage.
(b) Nor does it refer merely to praise as proceeding from children, as being that by which the effect referred to is accomplished. It is true that this idea is in the translation by the Septuagint, and true that it is so quoted in Matthew 21:16, and true, also, that, as quoted by the Saviour, and as originally applied, it was adapted to the end which the Saviour had in view - to silence the chief priests and Scribes, who objected to the praises and hosannas of the children in the temple, for the psalm, on any interpretation, originally meant that God would accomplish good effects by those who were feeble and weak as children, and this principle was applicable to the praises of the children in the temple. But it does not appear that it originally referred to praise, either of children or others. It was to some manifested strength or prowess, by which some enemy, or some one who was seeking revenge, was overcome by the instrumentality of those who might be compared with children on account of their feebleness. From this the psalmist takes occasion to make his reflections on the exalted honor conferred in general on a creature so weak and feeble as man, especially in the wide dominion granted him over the inferior creation.
(c) This was, not improbably, some enemy of the author of the psalm; but who it was is not mentioned. David was often, however, in the course of his life, in such circumstances as are here supposed. Might it not refer to Goliath of Gath - a mighty giant, and a formidable enemy of the people of God, overcome by David, quite a stripling - a child? Would not the language of the psalm agree with that? Was it not true that he was an “enemy” and an “avenger,” or one socking revenge? and was it not true that God had, from one who was a mere child, “ordained strength” to subdue him?
(d) God had, then, condescended to honor one who was in himself weak and feeble as a child - who had no power of himself to accomplish what had been done.
(e) This was great condescension on the part of God; and especially was it to be so regarded when the eye looked out - as the author of the psalm appears to have done at the time of its composition - on the starry heavens, and contemplated their greatness and grandeur. What astonishing condescension was it that he who marshalled all those hosts should bestow such honor on man!
(f) It was not, therefore, unnatural to reflect on the greatness of the honor which God had actually bestowed on man, and the dignity to which God had exalted him; and the psalmist is thus, from a particular act of his condescension, led into the beautiful train of reflections on the exalted dominion of man with which the psalm concludes. Thus understood, the psalm has no orignal reference to the Messiah, but still it contains the principle on which the apostle reasons in Hebrews 2:0, for the dignity of man is most seen in the Redeemer, and the actual conferring of all the dignity and honor referred to in the psalm - the actual and entire subjugation of the earth to man - will be found only in the universal dominion conceded to Him. At the same time, however, there is a foundation for all that the psalmist says in respect to the honor originally conferred on man, and in his actual dominion over the inferior creation.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Psalms 8:2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings — We have seen how our Lord applied this passage to the Jewish children, who, seeing his miracles, cried out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Matthew 21:16. And we have seen how the enemy and the avenger-the chief priests and the scribes-were offended because of these things; and as the Psalm wholly concerns Jesus Christ, it is most probable that in this act of the Jewish children the prophecy had its primary fulfilment; and was left to the Jews as a witness and a sign of the Messiah, which they should have acknowledged when our Lord directed their attention to it.
There is also a very obvious sense in which the mouths of babes and sucklings show forth the praises of God; viz., the means by which they derive their first nourishment. In order to extract the milk from the breasts of their mothers, they are obliged to empty their own mouths entirely of air, that the eternal air, pressing on the breast, may force the milk through its proper canals into the mouth of the child, where there is no resistance, the child having extracted all air from its own mouth which in this case resembles a perfectly exhausted receiver on the plate of an airpump; and the action of sucking is performed on the same principle that the receiver is exhausted by the working of the airpump. Of this curious pneumatic action the child is capable the moment it breathes; and, its strength considered, performs it as perfectly the first hour as it does in any other period of its childhood or infancy. What does all this argue? Why instinct. And pray what is instinct? You cannot tell. But here is an operation by which the pure Boylean vacuum is made; and this by an infant without any previous teaching! Do you suppose that this is an easy operation, and that it requires little skill? You are mistaken. You have done this yourself while an infant, under the sole guidance of God. Can you do it now? You are startled! Shall I tell you what appears to you a secret? There is not one in ten thousand adults, who have had their first nourishment from the breasts of their mothers who can perform the same operation again! And those who have had occasion to practise it have found great difficulty to learn that art which, in the first moment of their birth, they performed to perfection! Here is the finger of God; and here, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, he has ordained such a strength of evidence and argument in favour of his being, his providence, and his goodness, as is sufficient to still and confound every infidel and atheist in the universe, all the enemies of righteousness, and all the vindicators of desperate and hopeless causes and systems.
The words may also be applied to the apostles and primitive preachers of the Gospel; to the simple and comparatively unlearned followers of Christ, who, through his teaching, were able to confound the wise among the Jews, and the mighty among the heathens: and in this sense our Lord uses the term babes, Matthew 11:25: "I thank thee, O Father-because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes."
We may also witness, in the experience of multitudes of simple people who have been, by the preaching of the Gospel, converted from the error of their ways, such a strength of testimony in favour of the work of God in the heart, and his effectual teaching in the mind, as is calculated to still, or reduce to silence, every thing but bigotry and prejudice, neither of which has either eyes or ears. This teaching, and these changing or converting influences, come from God. They are not acquired by human learning; and those who put this in the place of the Divine teaching never grow wise to salvation. To enter into the kingdom of heaven, a MAN must become as a little child.
