For since, when asked who you are, you were silent about your essence, you preserved your dignity and proclaimed to us suffering and announced judgment and righteousness. Letting go, then, of our 132 learning those things—for perhaps what we see is beyond our hearing—we wish, he says, to ask: Why are your garments red?. Not a single moment is idle for the Savior; being on earth he suffers for us, ascending to the heavens he teaches angels. Why are your garments red, and your clothing as from a trodden winepress. Noble precision of the prophet, or rather of the all-knowing power of the Holy Spirit. For I do not attribute such a thing to Isaiah, nor do I accept them as his words; but considering him a lyre, I understand God making music in him, and I receive through Isaiah the things of the Spirit and understand God speaking through a man. But perhaps someone will say again: what then does the Spirit not know in 'Why are your garments red?' Does this same voice befit the Spirit? Does the Spirit not know the things in Christ? does the Spirit not know what the Son has suffered? does the Spirit not know what he endured for us? For what reason, then, does the Spirit ask? It asks these things not out of declared ignorance, for the Spirit speaks through the prophets.

It speaks not as from one person, but adapts the word to the underlying subjects. And that these things are so, bear with me a little, beloved, and receive the proofs of these things. For you will find in the prophetic words voices both from the person of the Father and from the person of the Son and from the person of the Holy Spirit and from the person of the angels and from the person of the prophet and from the person of the Jews, and you will surely not attribute all these things that are said to God; for just because the Spirit speaks, you will not be forced to refer all these things to the essence of the Holy Spirit. From the person of the Father, for instance, it says: Today I have begotten you; ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your 133 inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. The prophet speaks in the spirit, but the saying does not befit the Spirit, but the Father; not as if the Holy Spirit is alienated, but as the Spirit speaking from the person of the Father. Again from the person of the Son: They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. Does this befit the Spirit, did they divide the Spirit's garments among themselves, did they tear the Spirit's tunics; but the Spirit speaks from the person of the Son. Again it speaks from its own person when it says: Separate for me Saul and Barnabas for the work to which I have called them. Behold, from the person of the Spirit, and surely the voice befits neither the Father nor the Son.

For when we hear that the Holy Spirit has said this: Separate for me Saul and Barnabas for the work to which I have called them, we refer the power of the words to the Holy Spirit, not alienating the saying from the Father and the Son, but assigning to the passage the appropriate person. Again from the person of the prophet: For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins my mother conceived me. Did he not speak in the spirit, does the voice befit the Spirit, was it conceived in iniquities, and did its mother conceive it in sins. Just as here you hear David, but understand that the prophet speaks through the Holy Spirit, so also here when you hear, 'Why are your garments red, and your clothing as from a trodden winepress?', understand that it is spoken through the Spirit from the person of the angels. Why are your garments red, and your clothing as from a winepress, full and well-trodden?. Christ therefore answers and says: I have trodden the winepress alone. Truly Christ has trodden a winepress, a winepress of our sufferings, a winepress of our evils; for he crushed those clusters of grapes and 134 raised up other winepresses. For these things David sings and says: How lovely are your tabernacles, Lord of hosts. And

Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐρωτηθεὶς τίς εἶ ἐσιώπησας τὴν οὐσίαν σου, ἐταμιεύσω τὴν ἀξίαν καὶ πάθος ἡμῖν ἐκήρυξας καὶ κρίσιν καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἀνήγγειλας. Ἐάσαντες λοιπὸν ἡμεῖς 132 μανθάνειν ἐκεῖνα, ἴσως γὰρ ὑπὲρ τὰς ἡμετέρας ἐστὶν ἀκοὰς ἃ βλέπομεν, φησίν, θέλομεν ἐρωτᾶν· ∆ιὰ τί σου ἐρυθρὰ τὰ ἱμάτια;. Οὐδὲ εἷς καιρὸς ἀργὸς τῷ σωτῆρι· ἐπὶ γῆς ὢν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πάσχει, εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνίων ἀγγέλους διδάσκει. ∆ιὰ τί σου ἐρυθρὰ τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ τὰ ἐνδύματά σου ὡς ἀπὸ πατητοῦ ληνοῦ. Εὐγενὴς ἀκρίβεια τοῦ προφήτου, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς πάντα γινωσκούσης δυνάμεως τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ Ἠσαΐα ἐπιγράφω τὸ τοιοῦτο, οὐδὲ αὐτοῦ ῥήματα δέχομαι· κιθάραν δὲ αὐτὸν ὑποτιθέμενος ἐννοῶ τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ μουσουργοῦντα Θεὸν καὶ δέχομαι διὰ Ἠσαΐου τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ ἐννοῶ Θεὸν δι' ἀνθρώπου λαλοῦντα. Ἀλλ' ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις πάλιν· τί οὖν ἀγνοεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα ∆ιὰ τί σου ἐρυθρὰ τὰ ἱμάτια; Ἆρα ἁρμόττει τῷ πνεύματι ἡ φωνὴ ἡ αὐτή; Οὐκ οἶδεν τὸ πνεῦμα τὰ ἐν Χριστῷ; οὐκ οἶδεν τὸ πνεῦμα τί πέπονθεν ὁ υἱός; οὐκ οἶδεν τὸ πνεῦμα τί ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὑπέμεινεν; Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἐρωτᾷ τὸ πνεῦμα; Ἐρωτᾷ ταῦτα οὐ δηλουμένης ἀγνοίας, λαλεῖ γὰρ τὸ πνεῦμα διὰ τῶν προφητῶν.

Λαλεῖ οὐχ ὡς ἐξ ἑνὸς προσώπου, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ὑποκειμένας ὑποθέσεις ἁρμόττει τὸν λόγον. Καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει, μικρὸν ἀνάσχου, ἀγαπητέ, καὶ δέχου τούτων τὰς ἀποδείξεις. Εὑρήσεις γὰρ ἐν τοῖς προφητικοῖς λόγοις καὶ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ πατρὸς φωνὰς καὶ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ ἐκ προσώπου τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ προφήτου καὶ ἐκ προσώπου τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ οὐ δή που ταῦτα πάντα ἀναρτήσεις ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν τὰ λεγόμενα· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ τὸ πνεῦμα φθέγγεται, ἀναγκασθήσει ταῦτα πάντα ἀναγαγεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος οὐσίαν. Ἐκ προσώπου γοῦν τοῦ πατρός φησιν· Ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε· αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν 133 κληρονομίαν σου καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσίν σου τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς. Λαλεῖ ὁ προφήτης ἐν πνεύματι, ἀλλ' οὐ ἁρμόττει τῷ πνεύματι τὸ λόγιον, ἀλλὰ τῷ πατρί· οὐχ ὡς τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἀλλοτριουμένου, ἀλλ' ὡς τοῦ πνεύματος ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ πατρὸς φθεγγομένου. Πάλιν ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ υἱοῦ ∆ιεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον. Μὴ ἁρμόττει ταῦτα τῷ πνεύματι, μὴ τὰ ἱμάτια τοῦ πνεύματος διεμερίσαντο ἑαυτοῖς, μὴ τοῦ πνεύματος τοὺς χιτῶνας κατέκοψαν· ἀλλὰ φθέγγεται ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ υἱοῦ τὸ πνεῦμα. Φθέγγεται πάλιν ἐξ ἰδίου προσώπου ὅταν λέγῃ. Ἀφορίσατε δή μοι τὸν Σαῦλον καὶ τὸν Βαρναβᾶν εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ προσκέκλημαι αὐτούς. Ἰδοὺ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ οὐ δή που ἁρμόττει τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῷ υἱῷ ἡ φωνή.

Ἀκούσαντες γὰρ ἡμεῖς ὅτι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον εἴρηκεν τό· Ἀφορίσατέ μοι Σαῦλον καὶ Βαρναβᾶν εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ προσκέκλημαι αὐτούς, ἐπὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ἀναφέρομεν τῶν ῥητῶν τὴν δύναμιν οὐκ ἀλλοτριοῦντες τὸ λόγιον πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ, ἀλλὰ δίδοντες τῷ χωρίῳ τὸ ἁρμόττον πρόσωπον. Πάλιν ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ προφήτου· Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἐν ἀνομίαις συνελήφθην καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησέν με ἡ μήτηρ μου. Ἄρα οὐκ ἐν πνεύματι εἶπεν, μὴ τῷ πνεύματι ἁρμόττει ἡ φωνή, μὴ ἐν ἀνομίαις συνελήφθη καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησεν ἡ μήτηρ. Ὥσπερ δὲ ἐνταῦθα ἀκούεις ∆αβίδ, νοεῖς δὲ διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου φθέγγεσθαι τὸν προφήτην, οὕτως καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὅταν ἀκούσῃς ∆ιὰ τί σου ἐρυθρὰ τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ τὰ ἐνδύματά σου ὡς ἀπὸ πατητοῦ ληνοῦ;, νόησον διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος λέγεσθαι ἐκ προσώπου τῶν ἀγγέλων. ∆ιὰ τί σου ἐρυθρὰ τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ τὰ ἐνδύματά σου ὡς ἀπὸ πατητοῦ ληνοῦ πλήρους καταπεπατημένης;. Ἀποκρίνεται οὖν ὁ Χριστὸς καί φησιν· Ληνὸν ἐπάτησα μονώτατος. Ἀληθῶν ληνὸν ἐπάτησεν ὁ Χριστός, ληνὸν τῶν ἡμετέρων παθῶν, ληνὸς τῶν ἡμετέρων κακῶν· ἐκείνους γὰρ συνέτριψεν τοὺς βοτρύας καὶ 134 ἄλλας ληνοὺς ἤγειρεν. Ὑπὲρ τούτων ὁ ∆αβὶδ ψάλλει καὶ λέγει· Ὡς ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματά σου Κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων. Καὶ