Neither do they who go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
10. "So that they who go by say not so much as, The blessing of the Lord be upon you we have blessed you in the name of the Lord" (ver. 8). For ye know, brethren, when men pass by others at work, it is customary to address them, "The blessing of the Lord be upon you." And this was especially the custom in the Jewish nation. No one passed by and saw any one doing any work in the field, or in the vineyard, or in harvest, or anything of the sort; it was not lawful to pass by without a blessing. ...Who are the passers by? They who have already passed hence to their country through this road, that is, through this life: the Apostles were passers by in this life, the Prophets were passers by. Whom did the Prophets and Apostles bless? Those in whom they saw the root of charity? But those whom they found lifted on high on their house tops, and proud in the bosses of their bucklers, they declared against these what they were doomed to become, but they gave them no blessing. Ye therefore who rea...
Upon you. Chaldean adds, "and they did not reply. "
We (Haydock)
The custom of blessing reapers continued in the days of St. Augustine, Ruth ii. 4. (Calmet)
The wicked render themselves incapable of deriving benefit from the good wishes of others. (Berthier)
