Fragments on the Psalms · §16 · Origen of Alexandria

Psalm 4:7 — the light of your face; angels see the face, men the light

“The light of your face has been marked upon us, Lord” (Psalm 4:6).

The angels always see the face of God; but men, the light of his face. For the face of the Lord is a spiritual contemplation of all things that have come to be on earth. And the light of the face is the partial knowledge of these same things, as the wise Tekoite said: “As an angel of God, knowing all things on the earth” (2 Samuel 14:20).

Greek

4.7 ̓Εσημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου, Κύριε. Οἱ μὲν α γγελοι διὰ παντὸς βλέπουσι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ· οἱ δὲ α νθρωποι, τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ. Πρόσωπον γὰρ Κυρίου ἐστὶ θεωρία πνευματικὴ πάντων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς γεγονότων. Φῶς δὲ προσώπου ἐστὶν ἡ μερικὴ γνῶσις τούτων αὐτῶν, ει περ κατὰ τὴν σοφὴν Θηκωϊτίδα· Ωσπερ α γγελος Θεοῦ η ν ὁ ∆αυὶδ, πάντα εἰδὼς τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.

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About this text

Origen's verse-by-verse notes on Psalms 1 to 22, read as words about Christ and as steps in the soul's progress from shunning evil to doing good.

Origen of Alexandria (c. 185–c. 254) was a Christian teacher in Alexandria and later at Caesarea. This English is the Greek fragments of his comments on the Psalms.

The sections follow the Psalms in order, beginning with Psalm 1 and running through Psalm 22. He reads them as prophecies of Christ and as a picture of the soul's progress. These fragments are not Didymus the Blind's commentary on the Psalms, and they are not Didymus's separate book of fragments on the Psalms.

A reader meets the opening psalms, including the tree and the water of Psalm 1 and the king of Psalm 2, then the psalms that follow. Psalms are cited by the Septuagint numbering.

Fresh English from PG 12 Greek of Fragmenta in Psalmos, Psalms 1–22.3.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 12 Fragmenta in Psalmos (Greek)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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