Psalm 22:5 — you prepared a table opposite those who afflict me; each affliction sets a spiritual table

Click or tap any sentence to jump there. The side buttons skip a paragraph.

“You prepared a table before me, opposite those who afflict me; you anointed my head with oil, and your cup that makes drunk as strongest” (Psalm 22:5).

What does “opposite those who afflict me” want? It has some unspeakable mystery, that someone may pray to be afflicted. Think for me, just as in the great contests prizes lie upon each contest, so according to each affliction: whenever an afflicting is present, and the afflicting powers, the opposing ones, think for me a spiritual and intelligible table prepared through this affliction. As often, then, as you are afflicted, so often also a spiritual table is set beside you. Only have eyes that see my tables, that giving thanks you may say with the apostle: “And not only so, but also boasting in the afflictions” (Romans 5:3).

And in the beginnings we were saying that the one from progress encamps into a place of green grass; since then the one progressing, even if he should arrive at the end, no longer remaining a sheep, but having been shown rational, has a table of rational foods, made ready by the Lord … And give heed, whether also as long as someone is in this life, seeing the truth through a mirror and through a riddle, he is a sheep led under a shepherd; but having passed upon the coming age, applying face to face to the truth, he applies to a spiritual table, according to: “And I will covenant a covenant to you, to eat and to drink upon the table of the Father in the truth.” Whence also “you prepared” has been said, for from here God prepared the things which the eye has not seen, and so on. And “before me” shows that the table has been manifested to me and known to me, opposite those who afflict me, many wishing to be hostile to me.

And the Lord, wishing me through these who afflict me to rise strongly toward them, prepared a table before me, on which solid food lies, that having been filled with this athletically I may be able to stand against the afflicting nobly. For when we happen upon perfect good things, we have the opposing strong and more, as the apostle says: “For a great door has opened to me, and the opposing are many” (1 Corinthians 16:9).

And the one whose head is anointed with oil from the Lord will say: “Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head” (Psalm 140:5), as being anointed from God with the oil of gladness, Christ. And I think that also when fasting he is thus anointed on the head, and the face is washed. And since not only a table, and so on.

Greek

22.5 ̔Ητοίμασας ἐνώπιόν μου τράπεζαν, ἐξεναντίας τῶν θλιβόντων με· ἐλίπανας ἐν ἐλαίῳ τὴν κεφαλήν μου, καὶ τὸ ποτήριον σου μεθύσκον ὡς κράτιστον. Τί βούλεται τό· ἐξεναντίας τῶν θλιβόν των με; Εχει τι μυστήριον ἀπόῤῥητον, ι να τις ευ χηται θλίβεσθαι. ̓Επινόει μοι, ω σπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγώνων τῶν μεγάλων α θλους ἐπι κειμένους καθ' ε καστον ἀγώνισμα, ου τως καθ' ἑκάστην θλῖψιν· ἡνίκ' α ν θλῖβον παρῇ, καὶ αἱ θλίβουσαι δυνάμεις, αἱ ἀντικείμεναι, νόει μοι ἡτοιμασμένην τράπεζαν πνευμα τικὴν καὶ νοητὴν, διὰ ταύτην τὴν θλῖψιν. ̔Οσάκις γοῦν ἐὰν θλιβῇς, τοσαυτάκις καὶ τράπεζά σοι παρατίθεται πνευματική. Μό νον ε χε ὀφθαλμοὺς τοὺς βλέποντας τραπέ ζας μου, ι ν' εὐχαριστῶν λέγῃς μετὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου· Οὐ μόνον δὲ, ἀλλὰ καὶ καυχώ μενοι ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν. ̓Εν ἀρχαῖς δὲ ἐφάσ κομεν τὸν ἐκ προκοπῆς ο ντα κατασκηνοῦν εἰς τόπον χλόης· ἐπεὶ ου ν ὁ προκόπτων κα ν ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος φθάσειεν, οὐκέτι μείνας πρό βατον, ἀλλὰ λογικὸς ἀναδειχθεὶς, τράπεζαν ε χει λογικῶν τροφῶν, ηὐτρεπισμένην ὑπὸ Κυρίου ... ̓Επίστησον δὲ, εἰ καὶ ο σον τις ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ, δι' ἐσόπτρου καὶ δι' αἰ νίγματος τὴν ἀλήθειαν βλέπων, πρόβατόν ἐστιν ὑπὸ ποι μένι ἀγόμενον· μεταβὰς δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν μέλλοντα αἰῶνα, πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον προσβάλ λων τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, πνευματικῇ προσβάλλει τραπέζῃ, κατὰ τό· Κἀγὼ διαθήσομαι ὑμῖν δια θήκην, ἐσθίειν καὶ πίνειν ἑπὶ τῆς τραπέζης τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Οθεν καὶ τό· ἡτοίμασας, ει ρηται, ἀπεντεῦθεν γὰρ ἡτοί μασεν ὁ Θεὸς α ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ ει δεν κτλ. Καὶ τό· ἐνώπιον δέ μου, δηλοῖ πεφανερῶσθαί μοι καὶ ἐγνῶσθαί μοι τὴν τράπεζαν, ἐξεναν τίας τῶν θλιβόντων με, πολλῶν ἐχθρεύειν μοι βουλομένων. Καὶ διὰ τούτων θλιβόντων με ἀνίστασθαί με ἰσχυρῶς πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ Κύ ριος θέλων, ἡτοίμασεν ἐνώπιόν μου τράπε ζαν, ἐν ῃ ἐπίκειται στερεὰ τροφὴ, ι να ταύ της ἀθλητικῶς ἐμφορηθεὶς, ἀντιστῆναι γεν ναίως πρὸς τοὺς θλίβοντας δυνηθῶ. Καὶ γὰρ ο τε ἀγαθῶν τελείων τυγχάνομεν, ἰσχυροὺς καὶ πλείονας ε χομεν τοὺς ἀντικειμένους, ῃ φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος· Θύρα γάρ μοι ἀνέῳγεν μεγάλη καὶ οἱ ἀντικείμενοι πολλοί. –Ου δὲ ἀπὸ Κυρίου λιπαίνεται ἐν ἐλαίῳ ἡ κε φαλὴ, ἐρεῖ· Ελαιον δὲ ἁμαρτωλοῦ μὴ λι πανάτω τὴν κεφαλήν μου, ὡς ἀπὸ Θεοῦ χριόμενος ἐλαίῳ ἀγαλλιάσεως Χριστός. Οι μαι δὲ ο τι καὶ νηστεύων ου τως ἀλείφεται τὴν κεφαλὴν, καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον νίπτεται. – Καὶ ἐπεὶ μὴ μόνον τράπεζαν κτλ.

About this text

New English, free to read. Open any section below.

New English from locked PG 12 / Khazarzar Greek of Fragmenta in Psalmos, Psalms 1–22.3. Earlier lemma-led SERIES-CLOSEOUT English was discarded.

Catalogue & scope

Khazarzar scan

Witnesses

Copy-text PG 12 Fragmenta in Psalmos (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.