prostravit, sed ex rebellibus quotidie facit sibi obse- quentem populum, quum verbo suo carnis nostree lasci- viam domat; rursus hostes suos, h.e. impios omnes quasi ferreis catenis continet constrictos, dum illorum furorem cohibet sta virtute, ne plus valeant, quam illis concedit. This clause of the quotation is, however, entirely subordinate. The stress lies on the last clause, “He gave gifts to men.”
There are two serious difficulties connected with this citation. The first is, that the quotation does not agree with the original. In the Ps. 68,18, the passage is, “Thou hast received gifts among men.” Paul has it, “ He gave gifts to man.” To get over this difficulty some have supposed that the apostle does not quote the Psalm, but some Hymn which the Ephesians were in the habit of using. But this is not only contrary to the uniform usage of the New Testament writers, but also to the whole context, for the apostle argues from the passage quoted as of divine authority. Others have assumed an error in the Hebrew text. Ration- alists say it is a misquotation from failure of memory. Others argue that the word np>, used by the Psalmist, means to gwe as well as to take. Or, at least, it often means to bring; and therefore, the original passage may be translated, “Thou hast brought gifts among men ;” the sense of which is, ‘Thou hast given gifts to ’ The ditference is thus reduced to a mere verbal alteration, the sense remaining the same. It is a strong confirmation of this view that the Chaldee Paraphrase expresses the same sense: dedisti dona filits hominwm.
men.