Προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου
[lest] you bash your foot against a rock
Translated by William Hutton28 Aug 2013Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
Meaning [lest] you stumble against [one]. But [the psalmist] has indicated [that this pertains to] the smallest [degree of harm] through the [phrase] 'bashing against the rock'.1
Greek original · Adler’s text
Προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου· ἀντὶ τοῦ προσπταίσεις. τὸ σμικρότατον δὲ διὰ τοῦ προσκόψαι τῷ λίθῳ δεδήλωκεν.
Betacode
*prosko/yh|s pro\s li/qon to\n po/da sou: a)nti\ tou= prosptai/seis. to\ smikro/taton de\ dia\ tou= prosko/yai tw=| li/qw| dedh/lwken.
Notes (1)
- The headword phrase -- here omitting the crucial opening phrase
mh/ pote 'not ever' -- comes from Psalm 90:12 LXX (quoted also in the New Testament: Matthew 4:6, Luke 4:11). It is generally interpreted by commentators as a metaphor wherein the foot represents the soul and the rock sin; thus e.g. Athanasius PG 27.401 and (apparently the Suda's source here) Theodoret PG 80.1613b. - 1The idea seems to be that God pays attention to even the smallest stumble; cf. Eustathius PG 23.1160. ↩
Neighbouring entries
Revision history5 revisions · last 29 Nov 2021
- tweaked translation and note — Catharine Roth
- coding — David Whitehead
- Revised — David Whitehead
- expanded note; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- set status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — William Hutton