In that day shall this canticle be sung the land of Juda. Sion the city of our strength a saviour, a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein.2 Open ye the gates, and let the just nation, that keepeth the truth, enter in.3 The old error is passed away: thou wilt keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in thee.4 You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty for ever.5 For he shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low. He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust.6 The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.
The city that was our strength, salvation shall He place The city of Jerusalem, which was always our strength from time immemorial, the Savior shall place salvation for its walls and its bulwark. and a bulwark a low wall before the high wall.
Open the gates I.e., open her gates, and let a righteous nation, awaiting, that waited and longed in its exile many days for the faith of the Holy One, blessed be He, that He fulfill His promise through His prophets, to redeem them. awaiting (שֹׁמֵר) waiting. Comp. (Gen. 37:11) “And his father awaited (שָׁמַר) the matter.” Similarly (Deut. 7:12), “And the Lord, your God, shall await (וְשָׁמַר) the covenant for you.”
The creature that relied on the Holy One, blessed be He, and depended on Him steadfastly, that did not deviate from his faith because of any fear or torture. You shall guard that there be peace, for he trusted in You. It is, therefore, fitting for You to guard him.
the feet of a poor man The King Messiah, who is referred to as a poor man riding on a donkey (Zech. 9:9). the soles of the impoverished Israel, who were heretofore impoverished.
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 118:1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a
Ps 117:1-1
Give praise to Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.8 It is good to confide in the Lord, rather than to have confidence in man.9 It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than to trust in princes.19 Open ye to me the gates of justice: I will go into them, and give praise to the Lord.20 This is the gate of the Lord, the just shall enter into it.21 I will give glory to thee because thou hast heard me: and art become my salvation.25 O Lord, save me: O Lord, give good success.26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.27 The Lord is God, and he hath shone upon us. Appoint a solemn day, with shady boughs, even to the horn of the alter.
Let us therefore root this out quickly, and let us fall down before the Master and entreat him with tears, that he may show himself propitious and be reconciled to us and may restore us to the seemly and pure conduct that belongs to our love of the brothers. For this is a gate of righteousness opened to life, as it is written: "Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter in thereby and praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter in thereby." Seeing then that many gates are opened, this is that gate that is in righteousness, even that which is in Christ, whereby all are blessed who have entered in and direct their path in holiness and righteousness, performing all things without confusion. Let a person be faithful, let him be able to expound a deep saying, let him be wise in the discernment of words, let him be strenuous in deeds, let him be pure; for so much the more ought he to be lowly in mind, in proportion as he seems to be the greater; and he ought to seek the common advantage of all, and not his own.
Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.24 Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock,†25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.26 And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand,†27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.
They even assure themselves of glory for their prophesying in teaching, for their casting out dæmons, for their mighty works; and hence promise themselves the kingdom of heaven, saying, Have we not prophesied in thy name?
But thus the hypocrites boasted, as though they spoke somewhat of themselves, and as though the power of God did not work all these things, being invoked; but reading has brought them the knowledge of His doctrine, and the name of Christ casts out the dæmons. Out of our own selves then is that blessed eternity to be earned, and out of ourselves must be put forth something that we may will that which is good, that we may avoid all evil, and may rather do what He would have us do, than boast of that to which He enables us. These then He disowns and banishes for their evil works, saying, Depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Otherwise; By the showers He signifies the allurements of smooth and gently invading pleasures, with which the faith is at first watered as with spreading rills, afterwards comes down the rush of torrent floods, that is, the motions of fiercer desire, and lastly, the whole force of the driving tempests rages against it, that is, the universal spirits of the Devil’s reign attack it.
About CSB. A personal translation of the New Testament, rendered directly from the public-domain Greek in a literary style — not a scholarly critical edition, and not for liturgical or doctrinal authority. It is one reader's work, offered for enjoyment; where it matters, weigh it against an established translation. (Placeholder text — final wording to come.)