Interpretation of the 37th Psalm in the Old Georgian translation (part 1)

Edition of the ancient Georgian text and Russian translation Eusebius of Caesarea's interpretation of Psalm 37 in the original Greek was studied by the author of this article as part of the project on Alexandrian and Antiochian exegesis at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences 1 in 2017–2018. Based on the results of the study of Greek manuscripts, a new critical edition was prepared (in press). This article is a continuation of the work on this monument and presents to the reader the first part of the ancient Georgian version of the Commentary on the 37th Psalm and its Russian translation. Eusebius of Caesarea († 339/340) compiled a “Commentary on the Psalms,” which is preserved in fragments in the original Greek. The interpretations of individual psalms have been fully preserved as part of the exegetical corpus of St. Basil the Great, while a large number of fragments of interpretations on the psalms under the name of Eusebius have come down to us in exegetical catenas on the psalms. The Georgian text of the Commentary, as in Greek writing, is included in the exegetical corpus of St. Basil the Great. Translation into Old Georgian Commentary on the 37th Psalm of Eusebius of Caesarea - as part of the works of St. Basil the Great - was carried out by the Monk Euthymius of Athos († 1024), the founder of the translation school of the Iveron Monastery. Information about the ownership of the translation by the Monk Euthymius is reported in the “Lives of the Monks John and Euthymius” 2, and is also confirmed by the colophon of the Athonite manuscript Iviron georg. 33 (=A), f. 162v 3. The Georgian translation is published for the first time. P. J. Fedwick gives a list of manuscripts in which our text is preserved 4 ; of these, four are quite ancient 5: Aathon. Iviron georg. 33 (a. 1014), f. 88T-103v 6 (no. X); NCGR 7 A-135 (a. 1035), f. 130r-141r (no. X); NCGR A-927 (XII century), f. 179v-185v (no. XXXIX); J Hier. georg. 139 8 (XI-XII centuries), f. 285v-302r. We are publishing the text from two manuscripts - A and J, of which A is, obviously, a lifetime copy of the translation of St. Euthymius of Athos. In the apparatus for the critical edition of the ancient Georgian text, we provide a collation with the Greek original of the work (under the sign X). Our Holy Father Basil's interpretation of the 37th Psalm 9 4 Ps. 37, 1; 7 Ps. 49, 21; 12/13 Ps. 37, 2; 17 cf. Ps. 6.3; 17/18 cf. Ps. 6, 7; 18/19 Ps. 6, 7; 22/25 Ps. 37, 4–5. 3 აღსაარებისაჲ] აღსააბისაჲ (sic!) A; 5 დადგომად] დადგრომად A; 6 მხილებად ჩუენდა] om. X; 7 წარმოვადგინნე] წარმოგიდგინნე J; 8 ვისმინნეთ] om . X ; ǀ იგი] ესე J; 10 ჟამსა] ή ήμέρα add. X; 13 ნუცა] და praem. J; 18 სულ-თქუმათაგან დაშურომასა] და შურომასა სულ-თქუმისაგან J; 19 დიავალტო] დავალტვე J; 25 ურჩულოებანი] ურჯულოოებანი J. 1. Psalm of David. In remembrance (Ps.37:1) 10 The words of the Holy Scriptures will stand before the throne of Christ to condemn us, for He says: I will reprove you and bring your sins before you (Ps. 49:21), so let us be attentive and diligently listen to the words of Scripture, and let us hasten to fulfill the commandments of the Lord with deeds, for we do not know at what hour our Lord will come. Lord, do not reprove me in Your wrath and teach me not in Your anger (Ps. 37:2). The beginning of the sixth psalm is similar to these words; and other words of the sixth [psalm] are also similar and close to these [words]. Thus, in the sixth [psalm] he spoke of how his bones were broken (Ps. 6:3), that his soul was weary with groaning (Ps. 6:7), and again: I will wash my bed daily, I will wet my bed with tears (Ps. 6:7), and so on. Also here his words are similar to those, since he says: There is no healing for my flesh, there is no peace in my bones because of my sins, for my iniquities have surpassed my head (Ps. 37:5) - 29/30 Ps. 37, 7; 32 Ps. 6, 1; 34 Ps. 37, 1; 35 Ps. 37, 1; 37 Ps. 6, 1; 38 Ps. 6, 1; 40 Ps. 37, 1; 49/50 Ps. 37, 2; 51/52 Ps. 37, 2. 27/28 თჳსთა – სიგლახაკესა] τήν έαυτοὒ ταλαιπωρίαν X; 28 X; 29 ვმდაბლდი] დავმდაბლდი] J; 30 და] om. J; 37 გალობაჲ] καί έν ΰμνοις X; J; 39 ვიტყოდით] ვიტყოდეთ J; 42 აუვარებიეს] აღუვარებიეს J; | ღმრთისა მიმართ] om. X; 44 მას] მ ᷉ს A, მარადის J; 48 მას]om. J; 49 თუ] trsp. ante რომელ J; 54 რომლისა] რომელსა J . h6 and similar to these words, which he utters throughout this psalm, when he laments his sins and poverty and says: I became poor and greatly humbled and walked sadly all day (Ps. 37:7). However, the inscription of the sixth [psalm] was as follows: At the end, a song about the eighth, a psalm of David (Ps. 6:1), but this [psalm] is not like that, but only says: A Psalm of David, in remembrance (Ps. 37:1). This expression: in remembrance - brings to mind the inscription of the sixth [psalm], so it turns out that everything that is said in this psalm is also: in the end, the song about the eighth (Ps. 6:1). This [word] end pointed to everything that [we are reading now], |but since, when we talked about the inscription of the sixth [psalm], we already spoke about the remembrance of this, let there be a remembrance of this here too† 11. However, I say this because David confessed his sin before God many times and in many places; and this psalm was spoken by him along with all the others to remind him of his sins, to keep it on his lips and resort to it as a spell to heal his soul. He brings a prayer to God that He would turn away from him His wrath, prepared for sinners, and appeases the good Lord with the words of a good confession. And the fact that he says: Lord, do not punish me with Your wrath (Ps. 37:2), is because he is not running away from punishment, but from punishment with rage. And teach me [the words] not with Thy anger (Ps. 37:2), [he pronounces] not because he shirks teaching, but because he asks for teaching 55 განკურნებად] განკურნებაჲ J ; | სენისა] სენისაჲ J ; 56 განმკურნებ] მე add . J; 57 არა] თუ add . J; 58/59 წამალთა ფიცხელთასა] τών βοηθημάτων X ; 61 რომელსა – იტყჳან] λεγόμενα έν ταΐς θεοπνεύστοις γραφαΐς X ; 62 იგი] το θεîον X ; 65 რომელი-იგი] რომელ-იგი J ; 66 ; 70 იტყჳს] იტყჳან J ; | გუასწავლის] გუასწავებს J ; 71 სიფიცხლისაებრ] სიფიცხისაებრ J ; 74 მათთაებრ] მისთაებრ J ; 75 რჩეულისა] შჯულისა J ; 77 რამეთუ] om. J; |ჭეშმარიტად – განრისხნების] შჯული J ; გამრისხნების] καί όργιζομένου add . X ; 78 არამედ] რამეთუ რომელი add . J; შეერაცხოს] შეერაცხების J ; 79 რჩულისამიერი] შჯულისამიერი] J , in marg . A ; 80 ანგელოზნიცა] ύπηρετικαΐ δυνάμεις X ; | J without anger. This is the same as if a person says to a doctor who is going to treat his illness with fire, a scalpel and bitter medicines: “Do not treat me with fire and a scalpel, but [treat] me with pleasant and mild medicines.” Such a person refuses not treatment, but suffering due to painful drugs. It has often been said that when the Scriptures mention the “wrath” and “wrath of God,” they do not mean a partial feeling (for [God] is alien to any partial feeling), but the Scripture pronounces these words figuratively, just as it speaks of the eyes of God, ears, hands, fingers, feet and other members of the body - all this is mentioned according to our weakness so that people can understand good. Likewise, about the punishments that befall sinners according to the judgment of God - since they are heavy and painful for them - it says that they occur because of anger and rage. The holy apostle also teaches us about this when he says: Because of your hardness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment from God, who will reward everyone according to his deeds (Rom. 2:5-6). It is as if someone called the punishment that the law determines for murderers and evildoers “wrath” and “fury,” not because the law is really angry, but because the person undergoing punishment perceives the punishment from the law as anger. Moreover, the evil demons who perform 84/85 Ps. 77, 49; 99/102 Ps. 37, 3–4; 105/107 Job 6, 4 . 81 საქმეთა – განჩინებულნი] om. X; 86 ღმრთისაჲ] ღმრთსა J; 87 ღირსთა – მიეცემის] მიეცემის ღირსთა მათ J; 89 ჴელითა] δι’ άποστολής X; | X ; | J; | მრისხანისაჲთა] s.l. manu recentiore J; 91 ტკბილითა] ώφελίμων X; | რაჲთა] რომელ J; | იქმნას] იქმნეს J; 92 და 2 ] om. J; 93 აქავე] καί κατά τον παρόντα βίον add. X ; 94 თჳსსა ვედრებასა] trsp. J ვედრებასა] τοΰ σκοπού X ; 95 ვხედავთ] φαίνεται X; 96 რომელნი] რომელ J ; 97 თჳსსა ზედა] trsp. J; | მას] om. J; 100 ამტკიცე] დაამტკიცე J; 101 კურნებაჲ] კურნება J; 104 არა ] არაჲ J; 106 რომელთაჲ] რომელთა J. h6 punishment over sinners, and the angels of God appointed for this purpose receive the names of “wrath” and “fury.” Thus, in [the story] about the ten plagues brought upon the Egyptians, it is said: He sent His fury of anger upon them, He sent it upon them by the hand of evil angels (Ps. 77:49). Likewise, the “hand of God” is the name given to the visit that is sent to the worthy through good and beneficent powers. So, David pleads that reproof come not through evil forces and that he receive punishment not by the hand of an evil angel (Ps. 77:49), but through saving words and gentle instructions. And besides, he asks that [God] not postpone until the day of wrath and revelation and the righteous judgment of God (Rom. 2:5), but grant him forgiveness for his sins already here, before his departure from this world. And he achieved his request, for we see that he already received punishment here through what happened to him, as well as through what he inflicted on himself and tormented himself with exploits and confessions. 2. Because Your arrows pierced me, and You have established Your hand on me; there is no healing for my flesh in the face of Your wrath, there is no peace to my bones in the face of my sins. The great ascetic Job, who was subjected to various temptations, was not ignorant of where it came from, so he said: For the arrows of the Lord are in my body; their wrath drinks my blood (Job 6:4). And this [David – S.K.] also says: Your arrows pierced me, and You established Your hand on me (Ps. 37:3). Job mentioned the hand of the Lord and said: It is the hand of the Lord that touched me (Job 19:21), and the demon also said to the Lord: Stretch out Your hand and touch everything, 107/108 Rs. 37, 3; 109/110 Job 19, 21; 111/112 Job 1, 11; 112/113 Job 2, 5; 117 Rs. 37, 3; 126/127 Eph. 6, 13–16; 132/133 Job 6, 4. 107 და – იტყჳს] Ό δέ Δαβίδ ού τό σώμα πληγείς ομοίως τώ Ιώβ, αύτήν δέ τήν ψυχήν καιρίαν τρωθείς ούχ ομοίως τώ Ἱώβ φάσκεӀ· „Βέλη γάρ κυρίου έν τώ σώματί μού είσιν”· άλλ’ X ; 108 ამტკიცე] დაამტკიცჱ J; 109 და იტყოდა] λέγων X ; 111/112 ყოველივე – შეახე] om. A; 113 სხუაჲ] έτέρα τις ήν χείρ καί έτερα βέλη X ; 116 მისა] მისსა J | ჴელსა] ἤφθαι αύτοΰ add. X ; 118 და] om. J; 121 მოეცნეს] მიეხოყნეს J | მას]ამას J 124 ურიაჲს – მიმართ]ცოლისა მის მიმართ ურიაჲს J; 125 გუსწავლის] გუასწავლის J; | მოციქული] მოციქულიცა J; 128 იპოვა] პოვა J; და] om. J; 130 რომელ – ეშმაკისაჲ] om. X; 132 იქმნეს ] იწმნნნეს (sic!) J; | უფლისა] ღმრთისა J . what he has (Job 1:11), and also: Stretch out Your hand and touch his flesh and his bones (Job 2:5). But one hand touched his flesh and his bodily possessions, and here, since David's very soul was fainting, he says that he was touched by other arrows and another hand. And I think that the “arrows” mentioned here were reasonable and, most likely, they were the words of God, tormenting and convicting his soul, tormenting his mind because he was such a great man, received such great things from God and yet gave himself up to an evil cause. Or maybe he means the devil himself, and those fiery arrows (Eph. 6:16) of passions that kindled in him lust for Uriah’s wife; The apostle also teaches us about these arrows: Take up the whole armor of God, so that you can (Eph.6:13) quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one (Eph.6:16). And since he, finding himself defenseless, could not resist the fiery arrows of the evil one (Eph. 6:13), his soul was pierced by lust, which is the demonic arrow. Just as Job called the wounds of the flesh, because they occurred by God’s permission, the arrows of the Lord (Job 6:4) and said: 133/134 Job 6, 4; 135 Ps. 37, 3; 137 Ps. 29, 7; 139/140 Ps. 29, 7; 149/150 Ps. 37, 2; 151 Ps. 37, 3; 155/158 Ps. 37, 3; 156/157 Ps. 37, 3 (S). 134 გულის-წყრომაჲ] αύτών add. X; 135 უფლისა] ღმრთისა J; 136 ისწავოს] ისწაოს J; 144 ისართა] ისართასა J; 146 მარადის] მ ᷉ს A; 147 გარე-ასვლად] გარე-აღსლვად J; 158 დაამტკიცე] საამტკიცჱ J; 161 რომელ-მისი] om. X ; 163 აბესალომ] აბისალომ J . h6 The arrows of the Lord are in my body; their rage drinks up my blood (Job.6:4), in the same way David spoke here about the “arrows of the Lord,” since, by the permission of the Lord, the demon took up arms against him, so that he would learn not to say in the future: I will never move (Ps.29:7). After all, due to the fact that he was strengthened by the grace of the Lord, he once became proud, so that he said: “I have cried in my abundance: “I will never move” (Ps. 29:7). For this reason, he was deservedly betrayed to the tempter, who touched his soul and caused him much more harm than Job. And his words are a reminder of his trial and a lesson about the wrath that is in store for sinners; they are sharper than arrows, they torment the mind, torment and wound it constantly. Therefore, David, exhausted and tormented by the memory of all this, begged to be delivered from reproof with rage and from teaching through anger: Reprove me not in Your wrath, and teach me not in Your anger (Ps. 37:2). Why is this so? Because Your arrows have pierced me, Your arrows bear rage and anger, they have pierced me and are tormenting me, therefore I beg you to no longer experience rage and anger. 3. Because Your arrows pierced me (or, as Symmachus translated, they pierced me), and You have established Your hand on me (Ps. 37:3). By the “hand of the Lord” that touched him, understand the same hand that touched Job. This is the same hand of the Lord that shook the entire house of David to the foundations (that is, His permission), set fire to the firstborn of his children, Amnon, with lust for his sister, filled 172/173 Ps. 37, 4; 178 Ps. 34, 13; 179 Ps. 108, 24; 179/181 Ps. 101, 5–6; 181/182 Ps.6, 7; 183/184 Ps. 37, 4; 185 Ps. 37, 4 (A); 188 Ps. 37, 4 (AS); 190 Ps. 37, 4; 191 Ps. 37, 4 (S); 192/196 Ps. 37, 5–7. 164 ვიდრემდის] ვითარმედ J; 165 ბოროტნი] om. X; 169 მე] om. J; 172 τής οργἥς σου add. X ; 175 ვტანჯე] ვტანჯჱ J; 176 მივეცი] მივეც J; 177 ვაჭირვებდი] ვათრვებდი J; 178 იტყოდა] იტყჳს J; 181 მე] om. J; 182 ცრემლითა] და praem. J; 192 ურჩულოებანი] ურჯულოებანი J. and Absalom with hatred for his brother, so that he killed Amnon, and then rebelled against his own father, and all the other evil that happened to him, as it is written, was done by the hand of God. He says: “Your hand has touched me through various temptations, so I ask you, no longer rebuke me with anger and do not punish me with even stronger anger (Ps. 37:2). And he says not only this, but also what comes next: “There is no peace in my bones because of my sins (Ps. 37:4). “I,” he says, “in advance, not expecting that someone would torment my body from the outside, punished myself with severe pain, and my body itself, through which I committed a sin, I gave over to suffering, punishing and punishing myself with various punishments.” He spoke about this in another place: I humbled my soul with fasting (Ps. 34:13), and also: My body changed from [deprivation] of oil (Ps. 109:24), and also: I forgot to eat my bread; because of my loud groan my flesh stuck to my bones (Ps. 101:5-6), and also: Every day I wash my bed, I water my bed with my tears (Ps. 6:7). He says the same thing here: There is no healing for my flesh from the face of Your wrath (Ps. 37:4). Instead of translating it with the word “wrath,” both Aquila and Symmachus translated it as follows: “From the presence of Thy reproach.” It was enough for me, he says, to be rebuked by Your holy Scriptures and reproached by Your prophet Nathan, so I punished myself in the face of Your reproach, so that my flesh suffered and there was no peace in my bones in the face of my sins (Symmachus translates instead “because of my sins”). For my iniquities have gone beyond my head, 197/198 Ps. 37, 4; 204 cf. Prov. 18, 17; 206/207 Prov. 18, 17; 219 Ps. 37, 5. 193 მე] om. J; 196 დავმდაბლდი] έως τέλους add. X ; 198 ფრიად] έως τέλους X ; მარადღჱ] მარადღე J ; 199 მოიწინეს] მის ზედა add. J; 202 დაიფარვიან-ო] μπδέ εϊσω τοΰ σώματος λανθάνειν add.; X | აღმემატნეს] აღემატნეს J; 203 ყოველთაგან] ყოველთადა J; 204 თჳსისა] έν πρωτολογία καί X ; 205 და – სხუათასა] om. X ; 208 და დაშჯიდა] om. X ; | პირსა] πἃν ... στόμα X ; 209 რაჲმე] რაჲ J; 210 გუასწავლის] გუასწავლებს J; 212 ცოდვისაჲ] om. J X ; 214 შინა] om. J; | სიღრმეთა] ასოთა J; 218 ვითარცა – ესერა] Καί άλλο δέ τι X ; | გუასწავლის] გუასწავლებს J; 219 რამეთუ] ხოლო J. like a heavy burden weighed down on me. My wounds have become stinking and rotten in the face of my madness; I became poor and was greatly bent (Ps. 37:5-7). Because I committed this evil, he says, because of this I became poor and was greatly bent, and walked sadly all day long (Ps. 37:7). With these words, he reveals the suffering that befell him and how he tormented himself; and it is not only sin that he assimilates to himself, but great and numerous [sins], which he does not hide in the depths of his soul, which have gone beyond his head (Ps. 37:5) and which are known to everyone. So, we see that he himself was an accuser against himself (Prov. 18:17) before everyone and even more than all other people, so that the word is fulfilled in him: The righteous is an accuser against himself (Prov. 18:17), because he is ahead of any human accuser. He blamed himself and condemned himself and shut the lips of his enemies, who had nothing more to say. The Word teaches us not to hide our evil deeds and not to hold sins like darkness and the stench of sin in the depths of our souls, so that our minds are not condemned by them from within. Just as during a body illness, while the heat is inside, in the depths of the body, the illness will only intensify, and when it comes out and appears on the surface, then it gives hope for recovery - the same thing happens with the soul. And so David tells us about himself: They weighed me down like a heavy burden (Ps. 37:5). The sins that happened to him weighed heavily 223/225 Rom. 2, 5; 226/227 Prov. 18, 3; 231/232 Math. 12, 34; 233/234 Ps. 37, 5; 235/236 Ps. 37, 6. 222 პატიოსნებისა ] εύγνωμοσύνην X; 223 სიფიცხლისაებრ] სიფიცხისაებრ J; 225 ცოდვათა] ცოდვასა J; 228 სული – და] om. X ; | დაღაცათუ] დაღაღაცათუ (sic!) J ოდესმე] om. J; 229 მეუბრკუმეს] მეუბრკუმეს J; J 234 ზედა] δήλον δέ, ότι add. X | J ; 235 შეყროლდეს და] om. X ; 237 საქმესა] έξ άφροσύνης γενομένην add. ; X | ცოდვაჲ] πἃν praem. X ; | უგუნურება] om. X ; 238 რამეთუ] ხოლო J; 239 საწადელ] ἃξια add. X ; 240 ყოველნი სულისა] trsp. J; 242 არამედ] om. J | ყოველნი] om. X ; 246 ცოდვისაჲ] om. X; 248 სულიერთა – საცნობელთაჲსა] ύγιοΰς X . h6 over his inner mind, so that he could not bear them for the nobility and dignity of his soul. An unrepentant and cruel person, because of his cruelty and unrepentant heart, prepares for himself wrath on the day of wrath (Rom. 2:5), accumulating sin upon sin and multiplying his evil: When the wicked reaches the depths of sins, he neglects them (Prov. 18:3), but a sincere and honest soul, even if it suddenly slips one day because of the devil, immediately his inner mind is burdened, so that he is not able to remain silent and hide his evil deed. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). For this reason, he could not remain silent about what happened to him, but said: My iniquities weighed down on me like a heavy burden (Ps. 37:5), and also: My wounds stank and rotted in the face of my madness (Ps. 37:6). He calls a thoughtless act madness, because sin is foolishness and is committed through foolishness, while virtue is wisdom, it makes any action worthy of praise and imitation. And health is all the actions of the soul that are performed with wisdom, while foolishness fills the soul with wounds and illnesses. Therefore, all those who are in sins rejoice in them and find them pleasant, such people are like pigs rolling around in the mud. And for someone who slipped once, but then got up again, a sinful act is disgusting as something vile, fetid and unclean. So David, thanks to his healthy mental state, confessed and said this: They stank 249/250 Ps. 37, 6; 253 Ps. 37, 7; 254/255 Ps. 37, 7; 255/256 Ps. 37, 7 (S); 259 Ps. 37, 7. 251 აღმემატნეს] აღემატნეს J; | დამძიმდეს] დამიმძიმდეს J; 254 ერთსა 2 ] βραχεΐαν X; 255 მჭუნვარედ] მჭმუნვარე J; 256 და 2 – იგი] επί τὢν πεπραγμένων μοι X ; 257 მეფე] მეფჱ J; 258 ქუეშე] ქუეშჱ J; 259 მარადღე] მარადღჱ J. and my wounds rotted in the face of my madness (Ps. 37:6). Because my sins multiplied, they rose above my head and fell heavily on me, they stank and rotted, that’s why I wanted to be healed, and I became poor and bent heavily (Ps. 37:7). And not one day, and not one hour, but the whole day he walked sadly (Ps. 37:7) (or, according to Symmachus, “wandered sadly”). I did not remain indifferent, and did not at all forget my sin, and did not become proud because I, as a king, am not subject to any judgment, but for the sake of fear of You and because of Your reproach, I walked sadly all day long (Ps. 37:7). Blake R. Catalog des manuscrits gėorgiens de la bibliothėque de la Laure d’lviron au Mont Athos // Revue de l’Orient chrėtien. 1933–1934. Vol. IX (29). P. 114–271. Fedwick P. J. Bibliotheca Basiliana Universalis. A Study of the Manuscript Tradition, Translations and Editions of the Works of Basil of Caesarea. II. The Homiliae Morales, Hexaemeron, De litteris, with Additional Coverage of the Letters. Part two: Editions, Translations. Turnhout, 1996. Martin-Hisard B. La Vie de Jean et Euthyme et le statut du monastere des Ibėres sur l’Athos // Revue des ėtudes byzantines. 1991. Vol. 49. P. 67–142. Eusebius of Caesarea. Commentary on Psalm 37 in the Old Georgian Version A Critical Edition of the Old Georgian Text and Its Russian Translation. Part 1 Lecturer of Philology Department of Moscow Theological Academy Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, Sergiev Posad 141300, Russia kimserge@gmail.com For citation: "Eusebius of Caesarea. Commentary on Psalm 37 in the Old Georgian Version." A Critical Edition of the Old Georgian Text and Its Russian Translation by Priest Sergiî S. Kim. Bible and Christian Antiquity, vol. 1, no. 1, 2019, pp. 15–38. (In Russian) doi: 10.31802/2658–4476–2019–1-1–15–38 Abstract. The Greek original of the Commentary on Psalm 37 by Eusebius of Caesarea was studied by the author of the present contribution in the frame of the project “Die alexandrinische und antiochenische Bibelexegese in der Spätantike” at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences in 2017–2018. The investigation of the Greek manuscripts led to a new critical edition of Eusebius' text (forthcoming). We conceived the present article as a continuation of our study on this text and offer the reader a first part of the critical edition of the hitherto inedited Old Georgian version of Eusebius' Commentary on Psalm 37 alongside its Russian translation. Project "Die alexandrinische und antiochenische Bibelexegese in der Spätantike". See the recent translation of the Life: Martin-Hisard B. La Vie de Jean et Euthyme et le statut du monastère des Ibères sur I’Athos // Revue des études byzantines. 1991. Vol. 49. P. 67–142, here 103 (“Comme nous le disions, il traduisit... les Enseignements de notre saint père, le grand Basile, le Commentaire des Psaumes, du même...”). See the text of the colophon and the French translation in the catalogue: Blake R. Catalog des manuscrits géorgiens de la bibliothèque de la Laure d’lviron au Mont Athos // Revue de l’Orient chretien. 1933–1934. Vol. IX (29). P. 158 [118]. Fedwick P. J. Bibliotheca Basiliana Universalis. A Study of the Manuscript Tradition, Translations and Editions of the Works of Basil of Caesarea. II. The Homiliae Morales, Hexaemeron, De Llitteris, with Additional Coverage of the Letters. Part two: Editions, Translations. Turnhout, 1996. P. 1176 (see manuscripts: h641, h642, h643, h644, h647, h649, h650, h652, h655, h656, h657, h659). Manuscripts h642, h644, h647, h650, h652, h655, h656, h657 (according to Fedwick) are copies of the 17th-20th centuries, for this reason they can be neglected. We are correcting the sheet numbering information. Fedwick points to ff. 83r-101v: see Fedwick P. J. Op. cit. Part one: Manuscripts. P. 194–195. Tbilisi, National Center of Georgian Manuscripts named after. K. S. Kekelidze. Freely available: https://www.loc.gov/item/00271073343-jo. The text is placed on the spreads of the printed edition. – Editorial of the ABC of Faith. Hereinafter, the Russian text of biblical quotations is adapted by us from the translation of P.A. Yungerova. The ancient Georgian text is not entirely intelligible (between the cruces signs); the Greek original also appears to be corrupt. The crux †, also called a dead sign, denotes a heavily broken, “dead” phrase at the beginning and at the end.