Overview
Summary
Jerome produced three distinct Latin Psalters: the Romana (a light revision of the Old Latin), the Gallicana (revised from the Hexaplaric LXX, c. 392), and the Iuxta Hebraeos (translated fresh from the Hebrew, c. 392). The Gallicana became the standard Psalter in the Vulgate and in Western liturgical use, despite Jerome's own preference for the Iuxta Hebraeos. This means the Vulgate Psalms are primarily a LXX-based text, unlike most of Jerome's Old Testament, which was translated from Hebrew.
Notable Renderings
Psalm 22:16 foderunt (they pierced) supporting the Messianic reading; Psalm 23's pastoral vocabulary; the Miserere (Psalm 51); the numbering divergence between MT and Vulgate (Psalms 10-146 are offset by one); and key liturgical phrases that entered Western worship directly from the Latin Psalter.
Theological Legacy
The Vulgate Psalms are the most liturgically influential biblical text in Western Christianity. Phrases like Miserere mei Deus, De profundis, Dominus illuminatio mea, and Dixit Dominus Domino meo entered the liturgy, hymnody, music, and common speech of Latin Christendom. The Psalter numbering (following LXX) remains the standard in Catholic liturgy.
Source Text
אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָלַךְ בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים
Vulgate (Latin)
beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum
Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly
TCR Rendering
How happy is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
Theological Legacy
Beatus vir became one of the most famous opening phrases in Latin literature and liturgy. The choice of beatus (blessed, happy) rather than a more strictly happiness-oriented word shaped the Western theological concept of blessedness as divine favor rather than mere emotion.
Hebrew ashrei is a plural construct meaning 'happinesses of' or 'how happy is.' Jerome's beatus captures the sense of divinely-favored happiness. This psalm opening became an antiphon and was set to music by countless composers.
Source Text
בְּנִי אַתָּה אֲנִי הַיּוֹם יְלִדְתִּיךָ
Vulgate (Latin)
filius meus es tu ego hodie genui te
You are my son; today I have begotten you
TCR Rendering
You are My son; today I have begotten you
Theological Legacy
Filius meus es tu became a cornerstone of Latin Christology, cited at Christ's baptism and transfiguration. Genui te (I have begotten you) fed directly into the Nicene homoousios debate — the creed's genitum non factum (begotten not made) echoes this Psalm.
Jerome's rendering is straightforwardly literal. The theological weight comes from New Testament application (Acts 13:33, Heb 1:5, 5:5). The Latin genui (from gignere, to beget) became technically precise in Trinitarian theology.
Source Text
וַתְּחַסְּרֵהוּ מְּעַט מֵאֱלֹהִים (vattechaserehu me'at me-elohim)
Vulgate (Latin)
minuisti eum paulo minus ab angelis
You made him a little less than the angels
TCR Rendering
Yet you made him a little lower than God
Theological Legacy
Ab angelis (than the angels) follows the LXX par' angelous rather than the Hebrew me-elohim (than God/gods). This reading, quoted in Hebrews 2:7, shaped Western angelology and anthropology — humanity is below angels but above the rest of creation.
The Hebrew elohim here likely means 'God' or possibly 'divine beings.' The LXX rendered it as angelous (angels), and Jerome's Gallicana follows the LXX. His Iuxta Hebraeos has 'a Deo' (than God), showing he knew the Hebrew reading. The Gallicana reading became standard in Western theology.
Source Text
כִּי לֹא־תַעֲזֹב נַפְשִׁי לִשְׁאוֹל לֹא־תִתֵּן חֲסִידְךָ לִרְאוֹת שָׁחַת
Vulgate (Latin)
quoniam non derelinques animam meam in inferno nec dabis sanctum tuum videre corruptionem
For you will not abandon my soul in hell, nor will you let your holy one see corruption
TCR Rendering
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let your faithful one see the Pit
Theological Legacy
In inferno (in hell) for Hebrew Sheol and corruptionem (corruption) for Hebrew shachat (pit/corruption) became central to the Apostles' Creed clause descendit ad inferos (he descended into hell) and to resurrection apologetics (Acts 2:27, 13:35).
Jerome's Gallicana follows LXX closely. Hebrew shachat can mean 'pit' or 'corruption/decay' — Jerome chose corruptionem, which Peter uses in Acts 2 to argue that David prophesied Christ's body would not decay. This interpretive choice became doctrinally fixed.
Source Text
הַשָּׁמַיִם מְסַפְּרִים כְּבוֹד־אֵל
Vulgate (Latin)
caeli enarrant gloriam Dei
The heavens declare the glory of God
TCR Rendering
The heavens declare the glory of God
Theological Legacy
Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei became a foundational text for natural theology in Western tradition — the idea that creation itself reveals God. It was set to music by Haydn, Marcello, and many others. Gloria Dei became a standard theological phrase.
Jerome's rendering is essentially identical to the Hebrew sense. The phrase's cultural influence comes from its liturgical use and its role in scholastic natural theology (e.g., Aquinas's Fifth Way argument from design).
Source Text
אֵלִי אֵלִי לָמָה עֲזַבְתָּנִי (Eli, Eli, lamah azavtani)
Vulgate (Latin)
Deus Deus meus quare dereliquisti me
God, my God, why have you forsaken me
TCR Rendering
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Theological Legacy
Deus Deus meus quare dereliquisti me is Christ's cry from the cross in Latin (Matt 27:46). The Latin dereliquisti (forsaken, abandoned) became central to Western atonement theology and the 'cry of dereliction' in passion theology.
The Gospel accounts preserve the Aramaic/Hebrew (Eli, Eli / Eloi, Eloi) before giving the translation. Jerome's Psalm rendering provided the standard Latin version that was used in Western passion liturgies and meditations for centuries.
Source Text
כָּאֲרִי יָדַי וְרַגְלָי (ka'ari yadai veraglai)
Vulgate (Latin)
foderunt manus meas et pedes meos
They have pierced my hands and my feet
TCR Rendering
Like a lion, my hands and my feet
Theological Legacy
Foderunt (they pierced/dug) is one of the most significant christological variants in the entire Bible. The Vulgate follows the LXX ōryxan (they pierced), reading ka'aru (they pierced) rather than the MT's ka'ari (like a lion). This verse became a primary proof-text for the crucifixion in Jewish-Christian disputations.
The MT reads ka'ari (like a lion), which is grammatically difficult ('like a lion my hands and my feet'). The LXX and Vulgate read a verbal form meaning 'they pierced.' Some Hebrew manuscripts and the Nahal Hever scroll support a reading kaaru. Jerome's foderunt (literally 'they dug') follows the LXX tradition and became the standard Western reading. This variant was debated in every major Jewish-Christian disputation of the medieval period.
Source Text
יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר
Vulgate (Latin)
Dominus regit me et nihil mihi deerit
The Lord rules/shepherds me and nothing shall be lacking to me
TCR Rendering
The LORD is my shepherd; I lack nothing
Theological Legacy
Dominus regit me (the Lord rules/governs me) uses regit rather than a pastoral term like pascit (feeds/shepherds). This gave the psalm a more regal, governmental tone in Latin, though the pastoral imagery returns in subsequent verses.
Hebrew ro'i means 'my shepherd.' Jerome's Gallicana uses regit (rules, guides), following the LXX poimainei in a broader sense. His Iuxta Hebraeos has 'Dominus pascit me' (the Lord feeds/shepherds me), which is closer to the Hebrew. The Gallicana reading became liturgically standard.
Source Text
גַּם כִּי־אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת
Vulgate (Latin)
nam et si ambulavero in medio umbrae mortis
For even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death
TCR Rendering
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Theological Legacy
Umbra mortis (shadow of death) became one of the most recognizable biblical phrases in Western culture. The phrase entered funeral liturgies, hymnody, and literature. The reading of tsalmaveth as a compound ('shadow of death' rather than simply 'deep darkness') was reinforced by the Vulgate.
Hebrew tsalmaveth was traditionally parsed as tsel (shadow) + maveth (death), yielding 'shadow of death.' Modern scholarship often reads it as tsalmut, an abstract noun meaning 'deep darkness.' Jerome follows the traditional compound reading, which remains the beloved English rendering.
Source Text
יְהוָה אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי מִמִּי אִירָא
Vulgate (Latin)
Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea quem timebo
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
TCR Rendering
The LORD is my light and my salvation — whom should I fear?
Theological Legacy
Dominus illuminatio mea is the motto of the University of Oxford. Illuminatio (enlightenment, illumination) shaped Western light-theology and mystical traditions. Salus mea (my salvation) reinforced the Latin soteriology vocabulary.
Jerome's rendering is faithful to the Hebrew. The phrase's extraordinary cultural legacy — from Oxford's motto to countless musical settings — testifies to the Vulgate Psalter's deep penetration into Western civilization.
Source Text
אַשְׁרֵי נְשׂוּי־פֶּשַׁע כְּסוּי חֲטָאָה
Vulgate (Latin)
beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates et quorum tecta sunt peccata
Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered
TCR Rendering
How happy is the one whose transgression is lifted away, whose sin is covered
Theological Legacy
Remissae sunt iniquitates (iniquities are forgiven/remitted) established the Latin vocabulary for remission of sins. Remissio peccatorum entered the creeds and became the standard Western theological term for forgiveness, still used in Catholic liturgy today.
Hebrew nesui-fesha literally means 'lifted/carried away of transgression.' Jerome's remissae (sent back, released, forgiven) shifts the metaphor from carrying away to releasing/remitting. Paul quotes this psalm in Romans 4:7-8 in his justification argument.
Source Text
כִּסְאֲךָ אֱלֹהִים עוֹלָם וָעֶד
Vulgate (Latin)
thronus tuus Deus in saeculum saeculi
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever
TCR Rendering
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever
Theological Legacy
Thronus tuus Deus addresses the king as 'God,' a reading quoted in Hebrews 1:8 as addressed to Christ. This became a key proof-text for Christ's divinity in Latin theology.
The Hebrew is ambiguous: 'Your throne, O God' (vocative) or 'Your throne is God's' (nominative). Jerome follows the vocative reading. Hebrews 1:8 quotes this verse as addressed to the Son, making it central to Nicene Christology.
Source Text
חָנֵּנִי אֱלֹהִים כְּחַסְדֶּךָ כְּרֹב רַחֲמֶיךָ מְחֵה פְשָׁעָי
Vulgate (Latin)
miserere mei Deus secundum magnam misericordiam tuam et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum dele iniquitates meas
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy, and according to the multitude of your compassions blot out my iniquities
TCR Rendering
Be gracious to me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my transgressions
Theological Legacy
Miserere mei Deus became the most famous penitential text in Western Christianity. The Miserere psalm was sung daily in monastic offices, set to music by Allegri (whose version was famously transcribed by the young Mozart), and became the model for all Western penitential prayer. Misericordia became the standard Latin term for mercy/compassion.
Hebrew chesed is rendered as misericordiam (mercy, compassion) rather than a covenant-loyalty term. Jerome's choice shaped the Western understanding of divine mercy as compassion toward the wretched (miser + cor, wretched heart) rather than covenantal faithfulness.
Source Text
הֵן־בְּעָווֹן חוֹלָלְתִּי וּבְחֵטְא יֶחֱמַתְנִי אִמִּי
Vulgate (Latin)
ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum et in peccatis concepit me mater mea
For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me
TCR Rendering
Look — I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me
Theological Legacy
In iniquitatibus conceptus sum became the proof-text for original sin in Western theology. Augustine cited this verse extensively to argue that sin is transmitted through conception. The plural iniquitatibus intensifies the sense of inherited sinfulness.
Hebrew cholalti means 'I was brought forth/born' (from chul, to writhe in labor), not strictly 'conceived.' Jerome's conceptus sum (I was conceived) shifts the moment of sinfulness from birth to conception, which supported Augustinian original sin doctrine more directly.
Source Text
אֱלֹהִים מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לְמֶלֶךְ תֵּן
Vulgate (Latin)
Deus iudicium tuum regi da
O God, give your judgment to the king
TCR Rendering
O God, give the king your judgments
Theological Legacy
Iudicium tuum regi da established the theology of divinely delegated royal justice. This psalm was read as both Solomonic and Messianic, and iudicium (judgment) became a key term in Latin political theology — the king's justice as derived from God's justice.
Jerome's rendering is close to the Hebrew. The psalm's influence on Western political theology — the divine right and duty of kings to judge justly — operated primarily through the Vulgate text.
Source Text
אֲנִי־אָמַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִים אַתֶּם
Vulgate (Latin)
ego dixi dii estis
I said: you are gods
TCR Rendering
I said, 'You are gods'
Theological Legacy
Dii estis (you are gods) is quoted by Jesus in John 10:34. Jerome's literal rendering preserved the provocative claim that became important in patristic discussions of deification (theosis) in both Eastern and Western theology.
Jerome renders elohim as dii (gods) rather than iudices (judges), preserving the literal sense. The verse's quotation by Christ made it a key text in debates about human participation in divine nature.
Source Text
כִּי אֶלֶף שָׁנִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל
Vulgate (Latin)
quoniam mille anni ante oculos tuos tamquam dies hesterna
For a thousand years before your eyes are as yesterday
TCR Rendering
For a thousand years in your eyes are like yesterday
Theological Legacy
Mille anni became the basis for millennial calculations and the 'day-age' theory in Western biblical interpretation. Quoted in 2 Peter 3:8, this verse shaped Western eschatology and creation chronology debates.
Jerome's rendering is faithful to the Hebrew. The Latin mille anni (thousand years) became loaded terminology in millennial and chiliastic debates throughout Western church history.
Source Text
הַיּוֹם אִם־בְּקֹלוֹ תִשְׁמָעוּ אַל־תַּקְשׁוּ לְבַבְכֶם
Vulgate (Latin)
hodie si vocem eius audieritis nolite obdurare corda vestra
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts
TCR Rendering
Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts
Theological Legacy
Hodie si vocem eius audieritis became one of the most frequently chanted texts in Western monasticism, used as the invitatory psalm at Matins. Hebrews 3-4 builds an extended argument on this verse. The Latin hodie (today) acquired urgent eschatological force.
Jerome follows both Hebrew and LXX closely. The verse's liturgical placement as the daily invitatory in the Divine Office meant that every Western monk and cleric encountered this text at the beginning of each day's prayer.
Source Text
נְאֻם יְהוָה לַאדֹנִי שֵׁב לִימִינִי
Vulgate (Latin)
dixit Dominus Domino meo sede a dextris meis
The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand
TCR Rendering
A declaration of the LORD to my lord: 'Sit at My right hand'
Theological Legacy
Dixit Dominus Domino meo is the most quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament and became the most frequently set psalm text in Western music (settings by Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, etc.). The double Dominus obscures the Hebrew distinction between YHWH and adoni but reinforced the christological reading of two divine persons.
Hebrew distinguishes YHWH (the LORD) from adoni (my lord). Jerome's Dominus...Domino meo loses this distinction, using the same root word for both, which actually strengthened the argument for Christ's divinity — the Lord speaks to the Lord. The Iuxta Hebraeos has the same rendering.
Source Text
אַתָּה־כֹהֵן לְעוֹלָם עַל־דִּבְרָתִי מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק
Vulgate (Latin)
tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech
You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek
TCR Rendering
You are a priest forever according to the manner of Melchizedek
Theological Legacy
Sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech became the foundational text for Catholic priesthood theology. The phrase ordo Melchisedech (order of Melchizedek) defined priestly ordination as participation in an eternal priesthood, distinct from and superior to the Levitical order. Hebrews 5-7 develops this extensively.
Hebrew al-divrati means 'according to the manner/word of.' Jerome's secundum ordinem (according to the order of) follows the LXX kata tēn taxin and implies an institutional order or rank, which was more architecturally useful for Western priesthood theology than the vaguer Hebrew.
Source Text
יָקָר בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה הַמָּוְתָה לַחֲסִידָיו
Vulgate (Latin)
pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum eius
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints
TCR Rendering
Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones
Theological Legacy
Mors sanctorum (death of his saints) became a foundation text for the cult of the saints and the theology of martyrdom in Western Christianity. The Latin sanctorum (of the holy ones/saints) rather than Hebrew chasidav (his faithful/loyal ones) reinforced the veneration of saints.
Hebrew chasidav means 'his faithful/loyal ones' (from chesed). Jerome's sanctorum (saints, holy ones) shifts the sense toward holiness and sanctity, feeding directly into the Western cult of saints and the theology that the deaths of holy persons are valuable to God.
Source Text
אֶבֶן מָאֲסוּ הַבּוֹנִים הָיְתָה לְרֹאשׁ פִּנָּה
Vulgate (Latin)
lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes hic factus est in caput anguli
The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner
TCR Rendering
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone
Theological Legacy
Lapis...caput anguli (stone...head of the corner) became the standard christological image of Christ as the cornerstone (quoted in Matt 21:42, Acts 4:11, 1 Pet 2:7). The Latin vocabulary shaped Western ecclesiology — the Church built on Christ the cornerstone.
Jerome's rendering is literal and faithful. Caput anguli (head of the corner) was debated by medieval architects and theologians — does it mean cornerstone (foundation) or keystone (capstone)? The ambiguity exists in both Hebrew and Latin.
Source Text
נֵר־לְרַגְלִי דְבָרֶךָ וְאוֹר לִנְתִיבָתִי
Vulgate (Latin)
lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum et lumen semitis meis
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths
TCR Rendering
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path
Theological Legacy
Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum entered Western hymnody and devotional literature as the paradigmatic statement about Scripture's guiding role. Verbum tuum (your word) reinforced the Western doctrine of Scripture as the verbum Dei (word of God).
Jerome's rendering is faithful to the Hebrew. The verse's influence comes from its liturgical use and its role as a proof-text for the sufficiency and clarity of Scripture — a verse both Catholics and Protestants claimed during the Reformation.
Source Text
אִם־יְהוָה לֹא־יִבְנֶה בַיִת שָׁוְא עָמְלוּ בוֹנָיו בּוֹ
Vulgate (Latin)
nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain
TCR Rendering
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain
Theological Legacy
Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum became a motto and inscription on countless churches, civic buildings, and coats of arms (notably Edinburgh's). The verse shaped Western theology of divine providence and human dependence on God.
Jerome's rendering is literal. The phrase became proverbial in Latin Christendom, appearing in architecture, heraldry, and political theory as a statement about the necessity of divine blessing for any human endeavor.
Source Text
מִמַּעֲמַקִּים קְרָאתִיךָ יְהוָה
Vulgate (Latin)
de profundis clamavi ad te Domine
Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord
TCR Rendering
Out of the depths I call to you, O LORD
Theological Legacy
De profundis became one of the most famous Latin phrases in Western culture, used as a penitential psalm at funerals and in prayers for the dead. Oscar Wilde titled his prison letter 'De Profundis.' The phrase entered common speech as a designation for any cry from the depths of despair.
Jerome's de profundis (from the depths) for Hebrew mima'amaqim (from the depths) is straightforwardly literal. The phrase's extraordinary cultural resonance — from liturgy to literature — is a testament to the Vulgate's penetration into Western consciousness.
Source Text
עַל נַהֲרוֹת בָּבֶל שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִינוּ
Vulgate (Latin)
super flumina Babylonis illic sedimus et flevimus
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept
TCR Rendering
By the rivers of Babylon — there we sat, and we wept
Theological Legacy
Super flumina Babylonis became an emblem of exile and longing in Western culture, from Palestrina's motet to Verdi's Va pensiero (Nabucco) to reggae music. The psalm's imagery of exile and memory shaped Western theology of pilgrimage and the Church as 'not yet home.'
Jerome's rendering is faithful to the Hebrew. The psalm's cultural afterlife in Western music, art, and literature is perhaps the richest of any psalm, operating primarily through the Vulgate text in the pre-Reformation period.
Source Text
אוֹדְךָ עַל כִּי נוֹרָאוֹת נִפְלֵיתִי
Vulgate (Latin)
confitebor tibi quia terribiliter magnificatus sum
I will praise you because I am fearfully magnified
TCR Rendering
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Theological Legacy
Terribiliter magnificatus sum (fearfully magnified/made great) shaped Western anthropology — humanity as awesome in its God-given dignity. The verse became a proof-text for the sanctity of human life from conception.
Hebrew nifleiti means 'I am wonderfully made' (niphal of pala, to be wonderful). Jerome's magnificatus sum (I am made great/magnified) shifts the emphasis slightly from 'wonderful' to 'great/exalted.' Terribiliter (fearfully, awesomely) captures the Hebrew noraot.
Source Text
הַלְלוּ יָהּ הַלְלוּ אֶת־יְהוָה מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִם
Vulgate (Latin)
laudate Dominum de caelis laudate eum in excelsis
Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights
TCR Rendering
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights
Theological Legacy
Laudate Dominum de caelis became a major liturgical text and inspired countless musical settings (Mozart's Laudate Dominum is among the most beloved). The phrase in excelsis connects to the angelic Gloria in excelsis Deo of Luke 2:14.
Jerome's laudate for Hebrew halelu preserves the imperative plural. The Hallelujah psalms (146-150) in the Vulgate became the backbone of Western praise liturgy, their Latin phrases entering the common vocabulary of worship.
Source Text
הַרְפּוּ וּדְעוּ כִּי־אָנֹכִי אֱלֹהִים
Vulgate (Latin)
vacate et videte quoniam ego sum Deus
Be still and see that I am God
TCR Rendering
Be still and know that I am God
Theological Legacy
Vacate et videte (be free/empty and see) — Jerome's vacate means 'be at leisure, be free, be empty.' This influenced the Western contemplative tradition's emphasis on vacatio (stillness, emptiness) as preparation for encountering God. The phrase became a touchstone for contemplative prayer and mystical theology.
Hebrew harpu means 'cease, relax, let go' and de'u means 'know.' Jerome's vacate (be free, be at leisure) captures the 'let go' sense, while videte (see) shifts from knowing to seeing — a more mystical/contemplative emphasis. This rendering fed the Western tradition of apophatic prayer and spiritual stillness.
Source Text
כִּרְחֹק מִזְרָח מִמַּעֲרָב הִרְחִיק מִמֶּנּוּ אֶת־פְּשָׁעֵינוּ
Vulgate (Latin)
quantum distat ortus ab occidente longe fecit a nobis iniquitates nostras
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our iniquities from us
TCR Rendering
As far as east is from west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us
Theological Legacy
Quantum distat ortus ab occidente (as far as the rising is from the setting) became a beloved text on the completeness of divine forgiveness in Western theology. The spatial metaphor of infinite distance was used by Latin fathers to argue that forgiven sins are utterly removed, not merely covered.
Jerome's ortus ab occidente (rising from setting, i.e., east from west) preserves the Hebrew spatial metaphor. The verse was frequently paired with Psalm 51 in Western penitential theology as assurance after confession.