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4

making God known to you; but now we also show through many things that he sins knowingly and willingly; but you are drawn by passion. Why then do you both cooperate and praise;

CHAPTER 2. "Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judges; for in that which you judge the

other, you condemn yourself; for you who judge do the same things. But I know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who do such things?" He directs his argument toward the rulers of Rome, and it will also fit every man; for we judge ourselves, by the way we judge others who do things similar to us. "But do you suppose, O man, who judges those who do such things, and do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" An objection; "But for now I am not punished," he says. But He prepares the deferment not for pardon, but for greater punishment, for those who are unwilling to proceed through it to repentance. 95.453 "But according to your hardness and your impenitent heart," For one who comes to repentance neither through good things, nor through threatened punishments, how could he not be utterly hard-hearted? "you are storing up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing." You draw wrath upon yourself, he says, not God upon you. And the phrase 'you are storing up' implies it will happen in every way and entirely, unless we wash it away with repentance. "seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life." Not being able to speak of the good things that are to be for his saints who stand by, he signifies them through honors among men. Saying glory, and honor and immortality for the things that are truly good, which have not even entered into the heart of man. "But to those who are self-seeking, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness." To show again the accusation of the will, he did not say, "out of ignorance," but "out of self-seeking." "Wrath and fury; tribulation and distress, upon every soul of man who does evil: of the Jew first and also of the Greek." Just as through the good things we trust in he introduces the future rewards, so also through the painful things among us, the future punishments. "But glory and honor and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God." Everywhere he fences in the hearer with good things, urging him to come to it. For first he goes through the rewards that the saints will receive; putting the punishments in the middle, he comes again to the rewards of the good. Saying that glory and honor will belong to the one who does good; for thus he might rather draw the hearer to the work. "For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law." Instead of, not having the law to accuse them; and he begins to make a comparison, of the Jews and of the Greeks before grace; but by Greeks do not understand the idolaters, but the God-fearing; such was Melchizedek, the Ninevites, Job, Cornelius. And he establishes this clearly, to show that the Jew is not benefited by the law, but is also heavily 95.456 burdened by it; and he does this, so that he might call them to receive grace; for the Jews said they did not need grace, being justified in the law; Therefore he shows that it does not benefit them at all. For it is impossible for it to be kept aright; but it also makes them accursed. And all these things, as I said, he establishes, shutting them up to the grace that is through faith. "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. For when Gentiles

4

γνωρίζοντά σοι Θεόν· νῦν δὲ καὶ διὰ πολλῶν δείκνυμεν εἰδότα καὶ ἑκόντα πλημμελοῦντα· ἀλλ' ὑπὸ πάθους ἕλκῃ. Τί οὖν καὶ συμπράττεις καὶ ἐπαινεῖς·

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Βʹ. «∆ιὸ ἀναπολόγητος εἶ, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, πᾶς ὁ κρίνων· ἐν ᾧ γὰρ κρίνεις τὸν

ἕτερον, σεαυτὸν κατακρίνεις· τὰ γὰρ αὐτὰ πράσσεις ὁ κρίνων. Οἶδα μὲν δὲ, ὅτι τὸ κρῖμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ἐπὶ τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντας;» Πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας μὲν τῆς Ῥώμης ἀποτείνει τὸν λόγον, καὶ πρὸς ἕκαστον δὲ ἄνθρωπον ἁρμόσει· ἑαυτοὺς γὰρ κρίνομεν, ἀφ' ὧν τὰ παραπλήσια ἡμὶν πράττοντας ἑτέρους κρίνομεν. «Λογίζῃ δὲ, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, πᾶς ὁ κρίνων τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντας, καὶ ποιῶν αὐτὰ, ὅτι σὺ ἐκφεύξῃ τὸ κρῖμα τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ἢ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀνοχῆς καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας καταφρονεῖς, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι τὸ χρηστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς μετάνοιάν σε ἄγει;» Ἀνθυποφορά· ἀλλὰ τέως οὐ κολάζομαι, φησίν· ὁ δὲ τὴν ὑπέρθεσιν οὐκ εἰς συγγνώμην, ἀλλ' εἰς μείζονα κόλασιν κατασκευάζει, τοὺς μὴ βουλομένους δι' αὐτῆς χωρεῖν εἰς μετάνοιαν. 95.453 «Κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν,» Ὁ γὰρ μήτε διὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, μήτε διὰ τῶν ἠπειλημένων κολάσεων εἰς μετάνοιαν ἐρχόμενος, πῶς οὐ παντελῶς σκληρότατος ἂν εἴη; «Θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὃς ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ καθ' ὑπομονὴν ἔργου ἀγαθοῦ.» Σὺ ἑαυτῷ, φησὶν, ἐπισπᾶσαι τὴν ὀργὴν, οὐχ ὁ Θεός σοι. Καὶ τὸ θησαυρίζεις δὲ, ὡς πάντη τε καὶ πάντως ἐσομένης, εἰ μὴ τῇ μετανοίᾳ αὐτὴν ἀπονιψόμεθα. «∆όξαν καὶ τιμὴν καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν ζητοῦσι, ζωὴν αἰώνιον.» Οὐ δυνάμενος εἰπεῖν τὰ ἀγαθὰ τὰ μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι ἀγαθὰ τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ παριστῶσι, διὰ τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις τιμῶν αὐτὰ κατασημαίνει. ∆όξαν δὲ λέγων, καὶ τιμὴν καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν ἐπὶ τὰ ὄντως ἀγαθὰ, ἃ οὐδὲ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου ἀνέβη. «Τοὺς δὲ ἐξ ἐριθείας, καὶ ἀπειθοῦσι μὲν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, πειθομένοις δὲ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ.» Ἵνα δείξῃ πάλιν τῆς γνώμης τὸ κατηγόρημα, οὐκ εἶπεν, ἐξ ἀγνοίας, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἐριθείας. «Ὀργὴ καὶ θυμός· θλῖψις καὶ στενοχωρία ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ψυχὴν ἀνθρώπου τοῦ κατεργαζομένου τὸ κακόν· Ἰουδαίου τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνος.» Ὥσπερ διὰ τῶν πιστευομένων ἡμῖν ἀγαθῶν τὰς ἀμοιβὰς τὰς μελλούσας εἰσάγει· οὕτω καὶ διὰ τῶν λυπηρῶν πάλιν τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν, τὰς μελλούσας κολάσεις. «∆όξα δὲ καὶ τιμὴ καὶ εἰρήνη παντὶ τῷ ἐργαζομένῳ τὸ ἀγαθὸν, Ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνι. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι προσωποληψία παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ.» Πανταχοῦ τοῖς καλοῖς περιφράττει τὸν ἀκροατὴν, προτρεπόμενος εἰς αὐτὸ ἐλθεῖν. Πρῶτον γὰρ διεξέρχεται τὰς ἀμοιβὰς, ἃς ἀπολήψονται οἱ ἅγιοι· εἰς τὰς μέσας τὰς κολάσεις θεὶς, πάλιν ἐπὶ τὰς τῶν καλῶν ἀμοιβὰς ἔρχεται. ∆όξαν καὶ τιμὴν λέγων ὑπάρξειν τῷ ἐργαζομένῳ τὸ καλόν· οὕτως γὰρ μᾶλλον ἐπισπάσαιτο εἰς ἔργον τὸν ἀκροατήν. «Ὅσοι γὰρ ἀνόμως ἥμαρτον, ἀνόμως καὶ ἀπολοῦνται· καὶ ὅσοι ἐν νόμῳ ἥμαρτον, διὰ νόμου κριθήσονται.» Ἀντὶ τοῦ, μὴ ἔχοντες κατηγοροῦντα τὸν νόμον· ἄρχεται δὲ σύγκρισιν ποιεῖς, Ἰουδαίων τε καὶ τῶν πρὸ τῆς χάριτος Ἑλλήνων· Ἑλλήνας δὲ μὴ τοὺς εἰδωλολάτρας λάμβανε, ἀλλὰ τοὺς θεοσεβεῖς· οἷος ἦν ὁ Μελχισεδὲκ, Νινευΐται, ὁ Ἰὼβ, ὁ Κορνήλιος. Κατασκευάζει δὲ τοῦτο σαφῶς, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖται ὁ Ἰουδαῖος διὰ νόμου, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα 95.456 βαρεῖται· τοῦτο δὲ ποιεῖ, ὅπως ἂν εἰς τὸ δέξασθαι τὴν χάριν αὐτῶν ἐκκαλέσηται· ἔλεγον γὰρ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι μὴ χρῄζειν τῆς χάριτος δικαιούμενοι ἐν νόμῳ· ∆ιὸ δείκνυσιν, ὡς οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς ὠφελεῖ. Ἀδύνατον γὰρ αὐτὸν κατορθωθῆναι· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπικαταράτους ποιεῖ. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα, ὡς εἶπον, κατασκευάζει συγκλείων αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν διὰ πίστεως χάριν. «Οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἀκροαταὶ νόμου δίκαιοι παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλ' οἱ ποιηταὶ νόμου δικαιωθήσονται. Ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη