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12 But God did not stop the threats through Moses at this point for the ungrateful people, but [added threats] more grievous and greater than those already mentioned. For he says: ‘You will take a wife, and another man will have her. You will build a house, and you will not live in it; You will plant a vineyard, and you will not gather its grapes. Your calf will be slaughtered before your eyes, and you will not eat of it.’ And having threatened many other things in addition to these, he did not hide the cause of them, but adds it after a multitude of threats, which happen to be yoked to the ones just mentioned by us: ‘And your life will be hanging before your eyes; and you will be afraid day and night, and you will not have confidence in your life. In the morning you will say, "3Would that it were evening!"3 And in the evening you will say, "3Would that it were morning!"3 and from the fear of your heart, with which you will be afraid, and from the sights of your eyes, which you will see.’

13 Hear then the end of these things; hear also the outcome, and do not blame Stephen for speaking in public in accordance with the law and the prophets. ‘You will take a wife’: the old covenant, ‘and another man will have her’: for the people from the gentiles has acquired it. ‘You will build a house, and you will not live in it.’ The temple is obvious; for you see it has fallen. ‘You will plant a vineyard, and you will not gather its grapes’; for it produced not grapes but thorns. Or let us also consider the vine of Christ; for Christ was from them, the vine of our life; but we gather his grape, we mix the wine, we drink the new wine. ‘Your calf will be slaughtered before you, and you will not eat of it’; for theirs is the sacrifice of Christ, they themselves led the calf from heaven to the altar, but the supper is ours, the table is ours.

14 And for what reason? Because they were sick with unbelief, instead of knowledge they offered ignorance, at the time for theology they slipped into blasphemy. They prepared the bridal chamber and did not receive the bridegroom, they crowned the wedding chamber and denied the wedding; and while the cross was being accomplished, the elements were shaken, but they themselves were not changed. For this is what he added next: ‘And your life will be hanging before your eyes.’ Who is the life? Christ, who says: ‘I am the way and the life and the truth.’ And where does it hang? Upon the wood of the cross. For he who hung the earth by a word hangs upon the wood, on which he is carried while carrying, on which he hangs while hanging up, on which he is lifted up while lifting up; ‘For when I am lifted up,’ he says, ‘I will draw all people to myself.’ ‘And you will be afraid day and night, and you will not have confidence in your life.’ Therefore, unbelief has become the cause of the fear.

15 ‘You will be afraid day and night’; for the day is the same as the night, because ‘there was darkness over all the land from the sixth hour.’ Whence Zechariah is at a loss what he should rather name it, what is fitting to call it, whether the time should be named from the darkness that occurred or from the law of the day of the cross. Thus then he says: ‘And it will be in that day, there will be no light; and there will be cold and frost. It is a great day, it will be known to the Lord. Not day nor night; and it will be that toward evening there will be light. And in that day living water will go out from Jerusalem; half of it toward the first sea, and half of it toward the last sea.’ And these things happened both perceptibly and spiritually.

16 ‘It will be in that day, there will be no light’; for the sun set in the middle of the day; and darkness and ignorance were poured out upon the hearts of the Jews. ‘There will be cold and frost.’ And Peter bears witness, warming himself by the charcoal fire because of the severity of the winter hour. But in addition to this, there was cold and frost, because the love of the Jews for God had then especially grown cold; for they would not have crucified the savior and redeemer who came from him. ‘It is a great day.’

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12 Οὐ μὴν μέχρι τούτου τὰς διὰ Μωυσέως ἀπειλὰς ὁ θεὸς τῷ λαῷ τῶν ἀγνωμόνων ἔστησεν, ἀλλὰ τῶν εἰρημένων χαλεπω τέρας καὶ μείζονας. Φησὶ γάρ· «Γυναῖκα λήψῃ, καὶ ἀνὴρ ἕτε ρος ἕξει αὐτήν. Οἰκίαν οἰκοδομήσεις, καὶ οὐκ οἰκήσεις ἐν αὐτῇ· Ἀμπελῶνα φυτεύσεις, καὶ οὐ τρυγήσεις αὐτόν. Ὁ μόσχος σου ἐσφαγμένος ἐνώπιόν σου, καὶ οὐ φάγῃ ἐξ αὐτοῦ.» Πολλά τε τούτοις ἐπαπειλήσας ἕτερα, τὴν αἰτίαν ἐξ ἧς ταῦτα οὐκ ἔκρυψεν, ἐπιφέρει δὲ αὐτὴν μετὰ πλήθους ἀπειλῶν, αἳ ταῖς ἔναγχος ἡμῖν εἰρημέναις ἐζευγμέναι τυγχάνουσιν· «Καὶ ἔσται σου ἡ ζωὴ κρεμαμένη ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου· καὶ φοβηθήσῃ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, καὶ οὐ πιστεύσεις τῇ ζωῇ σου. Τὸ πρωῒ ἐρεῖς· "3Πῶς ἂν γένοιτο ἑσπέρα;"3 Καὶ τὸ ἑσπέρας ἐρεῖς· "3Πῶς ἂν γένοιτο πρωΐ;"3 καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου τῆς καρδίας σου, ἃ φοβηθήσῃ, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὁραμάτων τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου, ὧν ὄψῃ.»

13 Ἄκουε τοίνυν τούτων τὸ πέρας· ἄκουε καὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν, καὶ μὴ μέμφου Στεφάνῳ δημηγοροῦντι τῷ νόμῳ καὶ τοῖς προ φήταις σύμφωνα. «Γυναῖκα λήψῃ»· τὴν ἀρχαίαν διαθήκην, «καὶ ἀνὴρ ἕτερος ἕξει αὐτήν»· ὁ λαὸς γὰρ αὐτὴν ὁ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκτήσατο. «Οἰκίαν οἰκοδομήσεις, καὶ οὐκ οἰκήσεις ἐν αὐτῇ.» Τὸν ναὸν εὔδηλον· ὁρᾷς γὰρ καταπεπτωκ<ότα>. «Ἀμπελῶνα φυτεύσεις, καὶ οὐ τρυγήσεις αὐτόν»· οὐδὲ γὰρ σταφυλὴν ἀλλ' ἀκάνθας ἐποίησεν. Ἢ καὶ τὴν ἄμπελον τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ νοήσωμεν· ἐξ αὐτῶν γὰρ ἦν ὁ Χριστός, ἡ τῆς ζωῆς τῆς ἡμετέρας ἄμπελος· ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς αὐτοῦ τὴν σταφυλὴν τρυγῶμεν, ἡμεῖς τὸν οἶνον κιρνῶμεν, ἡμεῖς τὸ γλεῦκος πίνομεν. «Ὁ μόσχος σου ἐσφαγμένος ἐναντίον σου, καὶ οὐ φάγῃ ἐξ αὐτοῦ»· αὐτῶν γὰρ ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ θυσία, αὐτοὶ τὸν ἐξ οὐρανῶν μόσχον εἰς τὸν βωμὸν ἀνήγαγον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμῶν τὸ δεῖπνον, ἡμετέρα ἡ τράπεζα.

14 Καὶ τίνος χάριν; Ἐπειδήπερ ἀπιστίαν ἐνόσησαν, ἀντὶ γνώσεως ἀγνωσίαν προσήνεγκαν, ἐν καιρῷ θεολογίας εἰς βλα σφημίαν ὠλίσθησαν. Ἔδυσαν τὴν παστάδα καὶ τὸν νυμφίον οὐκ ἐδέξαντο, τὸν γαμικὸν νυμφῶνα ἐστεφάνωσαν καὶ τὸν γά μον ἠρνήσαντο· καὶ πραττομένου τοῦ σταυροῦ, τὰ στοιχεῖα ἐσα λεύοντο, αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐ μετεβάλλοντο. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ὅπερ ἑξῆς ἐπήγαγεν· «Καὶ ἔσται σου ἡ ζωὴ κρεμαμένη ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου.» Τίς ἡ ζωή; Χριστὸς λέγων· «Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια.» Καὶ ποῦ κρέμαται; Ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ σταυροῦ. Ὁ γὰρ τὴν γῆν λόγῳ κρεμάσας ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου κρέμαται, ἐν ᾧ βαστάζεται βαστάζων, ἐν ᾧ κρέ μαται κρεμνῶν, ἐν ᾧ ὑψοῦται ὑψῶν· «Ὅταν γὰρ ὑψωθῶ», φησίν, «πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν.» «Καὶ φοβηθήσῃ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός, καὶ οὐ πιστεύσεις τῇ ζωῇ σου.» Οὐκοῦν αἰτία τοῦ φόβου ἡ ἀπιστία γεγένηται.

15 «Φοβηθήσῃ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός»· ἡμέρα γὰρ ἡ αὐτὴ καὶ νύξ, διὰ τὸ «Κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν σκότος ἀπὸ ὥρας ἕκτης ἐτύγχανεν.» Ὅθεν ὁ Ζαχαρίας ἀπορεῖ τί χρὴ μᾶλλον αὐτὴν ὀνομάζειν, τί προσῆκον καλεῖν, πότερον ἀπὸ τοῦ συμβάντος σκό τους ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἡμέρας τοῦ σταυροῦ τὸν καιρὸν ὀνο μάζεσθαι. Οὕτω τοίνυν φησίν· «Καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, οὐκ ἔσται φῶς· καὶ ψῦχος καὶ πάγος ἔσται. Ἡμέρα με γάλη ἐστίν, γνωσθήσεται τῷ κυρίῳ. Οὐχ ἡμέρα οὐδὲ νύξ· καὶ ἔσται τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἔσται φῶς. Καὶ ἐξελεύσεται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ὕδωρ ζῶν ἐξ Ἰερουσαλήμ· τὸ ἥμισυ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν θά λασσαν τὴν πρώτην, καὶ τὸ ἥμισυ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν τὴν ἐσχάτην.» Αἰσθητῶς δὲ ταῦτα καὶ νοητῶς συνέβαινεν.

16 «Ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, οὐκ ἔσται φῶς»· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἥλιος μέσον ἡμέρας ἔδυνεν· σκότος δὲ καὶ ἀγνωσία ταῖς τῶν Ἰουδαίω<ν> καρδίαις ἐκκέχυτο. «Ψῦχος καὶ πάγος ἔσται.» Μαρτυρεῖ δὲ ὁ Πέτρος, παρὰ τὴν ἀνθρακιὰν διὰ τὴν ἀκμὴν τῆς ὥρας τοῦ χειμῶνος θερμαινόμενος. Ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοῦτο ψῦχος καὶ πάγος ἦν, ἐπειδὴ ψυγεῖσα τότε μάλιστα τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἦν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀγάπη· οὐ γὰρ ἂν τὸν ἐλθόντα παρ' αὐτοῦ σω τῆρα καὶ λυτρωτὴν ἐσταύρωσαν. «Ἡμέρα μεγάλη ἐστίν.»