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Since they also "have presented themselves before the Lord," and the devil came with them with hypocrisy, they reasonably conferred to God the judgment concerning his presentation, which also happened. For God himself says the following things to him. "And the Lord said to the devil: Whence have you come?" He said this to him, so that by hearing we might understand this: "Whence have you come?" These our angels, being ordered by me to perform divine services, having executed these, have presented themselves to me, performing this very thing instead of a presentation—for theirs is not a local presentation; but you, whence? For you are not my minister. "Whence" therefore "have you come"? You will take as similar to this what was said to Adam by God: "Adam, where are you?" The phrase, "Whence have you come?", was a refutation of the vain movement of the devil. "And the devil answered the Lord and said: Having gone round the earth, and walked through what is under heaven, I am present." If the answer formed in the devil to the question by God were his thought, it would have been 16 seen by God. For God, on the one hand, wishing to speak his will to a created being, places it in his mind. But the devil, answering the Lord, is not said to answer thus, but as he chooses. But let us see what his answer is. "Having gone round," he says, "the earth, and walked through what is under heaven, I am present." One must not be surprised if, being a subtle spirit, he passed through the aforementioned places. For not even God rebuked him as lying. And the phrase "having gone round" is well put; for it is not "encompassing." And he goes round as an "adversary, seeking whom he may devour," so that he might draw those persuaded by his wicked suggestions, and might demand those who resist, which also happened in the case of Job. Whence he does not use force nor come against us beyond our ability. For we are commanded as ones able to resist: "Resist, steadfast in the faith," and: "If the spirit of the ruler rise up against you, leave not your place." But that God also provides the power has been said, who will also provide "a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." But it should be noted that the earth and what is under heaven are different places, the earth 17 being under heaven, but the places under heaven not in every case being the earth. And the devil went around those places, delighting in the "spiritual forces of wickedness," the demons. Therefore, he says, having gone round these, I am present, which must be understood thus: having come through all these and found the blessed Job unable to receive any of our things, I am present, which is: I show my hidden purpose to your inescapable eye, wishing to demand him. "And the Lord said to him: Have you then considered in your mind my servant Job, that there is not like him among men on the earth, a blameless, true, God-fearing man, abstaining from every evil thing?" The phrase: the Lord said to the devil must be taken in the same way as what came before, it not being inconsistent if what God wishes the devil to understand is put into his mind for his most grievous refutation, because God did not overlook his thought. For one must not be unaware that God's conversation with the devil is not in vain; for nothing is in vain with the one who established all things, but this too is for a beneficial purpose, so that he might be put to shame by the presentation of the just and blameless 18 man. The Lord has called Job "servant" according to both meanings; for he was both his attendant according to what was said by the psalmist: "I am your slave, and the son of your handmaid," and a son from his service and genuine slavery, having been deemed worthy of the grace of the Spirit, and he himself also saying according to the wise Paul: "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." For "he who does righteousness is born of God." And what was said is emphatic of the devil being rational: "have you considered in your mind"; for it is proper to a rational being to think. And not only here is this said about the devil, but also in the...

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ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ "παρεστήκασιν ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου" ἐλθόντος καὶ τοῦ διαβόλου μετ' αὐτῶν μεθ' ὑποκρίσεως, εἰκότως θεῷ τὴν περὶ τῆς παραστάσεως αὐτοῦ κρίσιν συνενέβαλον, ὃ καὶ γέγονεν. αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ θεὸς πρὸς αὐτὸν τὰ ἑξῆς φησιν. "καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ διαβόλωι· πόθεν παραγέγονας;" τοῦτο εἶπεν αὐτῷ, ὅπως ἀκούοντες νοήσωμεν τό· "πόθεν παραγέγονας;" οὗτοι οἱ ἄγγελοι οἱ ἡμέτεροι ὑπηρεσίας θείας πρὸς ἐμοῦ ποιεῖν προσταττόμενοι ταύτας ἐκτελοῦντες παρεστήκασίν μοι αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀντὶ παραστάσεως ἐνεργοῦντες-οὐ γὰρ τοπικὴ τούτων παράστασις· σὺ δὲ πόθεν; οὐ γὰρ ὑπάρχεις λειτουργὸς ἐμός. "πόθεν" οὖν "παραγέγονας"; ὅμοιον τούτῳ ἐκλήμψῃ τὸ εἰρημένον πρὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ ὑπὸ θεοῦ· "Ἀδάμ, ποῦ εἶ;" ἠ῀̣ν ἐλεγκτικὸν τῆς ματαίας κινήσεως τοῦ διαβόλου τό· "πόθεν παραγέγονας;". "καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ διάβολος τῶι κυρίῳ εἶπεν· περιελθὼν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐνπεριπατήσας τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανὸν πάρειμι." εἰ ἦν ἐνθύμησις τοῦ διαβόλου ἡ πρὸς τὴν ὑπὸ θεοῦ ἐρώτησιν συστᾶσ̣α̣ ἐν αὐτῶι ἀπόκρισις, αὐτοῦ ἂν εἴη 16 πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁρωμένη. ὁ μὲν γὰρ θεὸς βουλόμενος λαλῆσαι γεννητῷ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ βούλημα τῇ ἐκείνου ἐντίθησι διανοίᾳ. διάβολος δὲ ἀποκρινόμενος τῶι κυρίωι οὐχ οὕτως ἀλλ' ὡς προαιρεῖται ἀποκρίνεσθαι λέγεται. τίς δὲ αὐτοῦ η῾̣ ἀπόκρισις, ἴδωμεν. "περιελθών", φησίν, "τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐνπεριπατήσας τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανὸν πάρειμι". οὐ δεῖ ξενίζεσθαι, εἰ λεπτὸν ὑπάρχων πνεῦμα διέβη τοὺς προειρημένους τόπους. καὶ γὰρ οὐδ' ὁ θε ὸς ὡς ψευδόμενον αὐτὸν ἤλεγξεν. εὖ δὲ καὶ τὸ "περιελθών"· οὐ γὰρ περιέχων. περιέρχεται δὲ ὡς "ἀντίδικος ζητῶν τίνα καταπίῃ", ὅπως τοὺς μὲν ταῖς ὑποβολαῖς αὐτοῦ ταῖς πονηραῖς πειθομένους ἑλκύσῃ, τοὺς δ' ἀντιτείνοντας ἐξαιτήσηται, ὅπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰὼβ γεγένηται. ὅθεν οὐ βιάζεται οὐδὲ παρὰ δύναμιν ἡμῖν ἐπέρχεται. ὡς γὰρ δυναμένοις ἀντιστῆναι προστάττεται· "ἀντιστῆτε στερεοὶ τῆι πίστει", καί· "ἐὰν πνεῦμα τοῦ ἐξουσιάζοντος ἀναβῇ ἐπὶ σέ, τόπον σου μὴ ἀφῇς." ὅτι δὲ καὶ τὴν δύναμιν παρέχει ὁ θεὸς εἴρηται, ὃς δώσει "καὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν τοῦ δύνασθαι ὑπενεγκεῖν". σημειωτέον, δέ, ὅτι διάφοροι τόποι ἡ γῆ καὶ ἡ ὑπ' οὐρανόν εἰσιν, τῆς μὲν γῆς 17 ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν οὔσης, τῶν δὲ ὑπ' οὐρανὸν τόπων οὐ πάντως γῆς ὑπαρχόντων. κἀκείνους δὲ περιῄει τοὺς τόπους διάβολος ἐνευφραινόμενος "τοῖς πνευματικοῖς τῆς πονηρίας" δαίμοσιν. τούτους οὖν, φησίν, περιελθὼν πάρειμι, ὅπερ νοητέον οὕτως ὅτι· διὰ πάντων τούτων ἐλθὼν καὶ εὑρὼν τὸν μακάριον Ἰὼβ μὴ δυνάμενον δέξασθαί τι τῶν ἡμετέρων πάρειμι, ὅ ἐστι· δείκνυμι το`̣ κρυπτόν μου τῶι ἀναποδράστωι σου ὀφθαλμῶι βουλόμενος αὐτὸν ἐξαιτήσασθαι. "καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος· προσέσχες οὖν τῆι διανοίαι σου κατὰ τοῦ παιδός μου Ἰώβ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν κατ' αὐτὸν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἄνθρωπος ἄμεμπτος, ἀλη̣θινός, θεοσεβής, ἀπεχόμενος̣ ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματ̣ος." τό· εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῶι διαβόλωι ὡσαύτως τοῖς φθάσασιν ἐκλημπτέον, οὐκ ἀπεμφαίνοντος, εἰ ὅπερ ὁ θεὸς βούλεται νοῆσαι τὸν διάβολον, ἐνιῆτ̣α̣ι πρὸς ἔλεγχον αὐτοῦ χαλεπώτατον, ὅτι οὐ παρῆκεν ὁ θεὸς δια̣νοούμενος. οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοητέον μὴ εἰκαίαν εἶναι τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς τὸν διάβολον ὁμιλίαν· οὐδὲν γὰρ παρὰ τῷ τὰ ὅλα συστησαμένωι εἰκαῖον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον, ὅπως καταισχύνηται τῆι τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ἀμέμπτου ἀνδρὸς πα18 ραθέσει. "παῖδα" τὸν Ἰὼβ ὁ κύριος κέκληκεν κατ' ἀμφότερα τὰ σημαινόμενα· καὶ γὰρ θεράπων αὐτοῦ ὑπῆρχεν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον πρὸς τοῦ ψαλμῳδοῦ· "ἐγὼ δοῦλος σὸς καὶ υἱὸς τῆς παιδίσκης σου", καὶ υἱὸς ἀπὸ τῆς θεραπείας καὶ γνησίας δουλείας τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος ἀξιωθεὶς χάριτος, καὶ λέγων καὶ αὐτὸς κατὰ τὸν σοφὸν Παῦλον· "αὐτὸ τὸ πνεῦμα συνμαρτυρεῖ τῶι πνεύματι ἡμῶν, ὅτι ἐσμὲν τέκνα θεοῦ." "ὁ" γὰρ "ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται". ἐμφατικὸν δὲ καὶ τοῦ λογικὸν εἶναι τὸν διάβολον τὸ ῥηθῆναι· "προσέσχες τῆι διανοίᾳ σου"· λογικοῦ γὰρ οἰκεῖον τὸ διανοεῖσθαι. οὐκ ἐνταῦθα δὲ μόνον τοῦτο π̣ε̣ρὶ τοῦ διαβόλου εἴρηται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ·