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we become remiss, thinking that the whole task has been completed. 11 1,6a And it came to pass, it says, on this day, 6b that the angels of God came to present themselves before him, 6c and the devil came with them 6d having gone around the earth and walked through the world under heaven. 1,7a And the Lord said to the devil: From where have you come? 7b And the devil answered the Lord and said: 7c Having gone around the earth and walked through the world under heaven, I am here. The theater is then opened, the athlete is dragged to the stadium. For in order that no one might say those things which the devil said: Does Job revere you for nothing?, He silences not only the devil, but through him also his imitators. “Yes, he was righteous, true, God-fearing; but it is no great thing,” he says, “he endured no temptation, no storm, no shipwreck. Show him to me in poverty, show him to me in calamities. But if he was pious while prospering and being wealthy, what is so great about that?” And yet this is great, O man, and the one who is pious with wealth is no less proven than the one who does this with poverty. Listen to the prophet saying: For I was envious of the lawless when I saw the peace of sinners, and again: They are not in the trouble of men, nor are they scourged with men; because of this, pride has seized them completely. Do you see that this too was no small temptation, to be wealthy and to be in prosperity and not to be scourged? So that, if you are fair-minded, the righteous one is already in the stadium and always in a contest, not only when poor, but also when rich. For being wealthy does not lift one up to piety, but to the opposite. But nevertheless, learn from another part, who he is. And the devil, it says, came with them. What are you saying? The one who has offended, the one who is dishonored, is with the angels? Do not be troubled, beloved, this is a figurative representation and a description. For just as it says elsewhere in the third book of Kings, that an evil spirit came forth, and 12 it said: “Who will deceive Ahab for me?” And it says: “I will,” and it says: “How?” And it is very anthropomorphic, so as to give a personification to the account and to draw in the simpler person more to the narrative. For to simply declare and to shape an account and describe it are not equal for persuading; so also here. If it had said that the devil plotted against Job with God permitting, would the narrative have had so much appeal? Not at all, but the brevity would have cut it short. But now, to add to the word also a dialogue and to say these things, which the devil would have said, if he had been permitted, cuts off every pretext of the shameless; for what he says the devil spoke, he did not say it to God, but thought it. For he does not have a share in speech and so much boldness—for indeed the demons, seeing the Son of God, cried out, saying: What have we to do with you?—; for neither does he have a share in the station with the angels. The angels came, it says, and the devil came with them, having gone around the earth and walked through the world under heaven. What do we learn from this? That the inhabited world is filled with both demons and angels, and that both are under the authority of God, and that angels come to God to receive commands, while the devil can do nothing according to his pleasure without receiving permission from above. For even if he became unruly and is outside of serving God, nevertheless fear is imposed like a bridle and does not permit him to use his own authority. 13 But see, those ones come like servants reporting what is being done, just as it is possible to see in Zechariah, but this one has nothing to say. Therefore, “he came with them” indicates nothing other than that he too is subject to God, so that the account might not give a pretext to those who introduce matter. And the devil, it says,—but this one is no longer of God; for those are of God, but this one is no longer of God—, and the devil came with them, not to stand before the Lord like those, but he simply came. For those had boldness, with good reason, and came to stand before God, but this one did not come to stand before God. For if Cain was cast out from the presence of

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ἀναπίπτομεν νομίζοντες τὸ πᾶν τετελεκέναι. 11 1,6a καὶ ἐγένετο, φησίν, ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη, 6b καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ παραστῆναι ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, 6c καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθε μετ' αὐτῶν 6d περιελθὼν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσας τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανόν. 1,7a καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρὸς τὸν διάβολον· πόθεν παραγέγονας; 7b καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ διάβολος τῷ κυρίῳ εἶπεν· 7c περιελθὼν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσας τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανὸν πάρειμι. ἀνοίγεται λοιπὸν τὸ θέατρον, ἐπὶ τὸ στάδιον ὁ ἀθλητὴς ἕλκεται. ἵνα γὰρ μηδείς, ἅπερ ὁ διάβολος εἶπεν, ταῦτα λέγῃ· μὴ δωρεὰν σέβεταί σε Ἰώβ, οὐχὶ τὸν διάβολον μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ δι' ἐκείνου τοὺς ἐκείνου ζηλωτὰς ἐπιστομίζει. «ναί, δίκαιος ἦν, ἀληθινός, θεοσεβής· ἀλλ' οὐδὲν μέγα», φησίν, «οὐδένα πειρασμὸν ὑπέστη οὐδὲ χειμῶνα οὐδὲ ναυάγιον. τοῦτόν μοι δεῖξον ἐν πενίᾳ, τοῦτόν μοι δεῖξον ἐν συμφοραῖς. εἰ δὲ εὐθηνούμενος καὶ πλουτῶν εὐσεβὴς ἦν, τί μέγα;» καὶ μὴν τοῦτο μέγα, ἄνθρωπε, καὶ οὐχ ἧττον δόκιμος ὁ μετὰ πλούτου εὐσεβῶν τοῦ μετὰ πενίας τοῦτο ποιοῦντος. ἄκουε τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· ὅτι ἐζήλωσα ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀνόμοις εἰρήνην ἁμαρτωλῶν θεωρῶν, καὶ πάλιν· ἐν κόπῳ ἀνθρώπων οὐκ εἰσὶ καὶ μετὰ ἀνθρώπων οὐ μαστιγωθήσονται· διὰ τοῦτο ἐκράτησεν αὐτοὺς ἡ ὑπερηφανία εἰς τέλος. ὁρᾷς, ὅτι καὶ τοῦτο πειρασμὸς οὐ μικρὸς ἦν τὸ πλουτεῖν καὶ ἐν εὐθηνίᾳ εἶναι καὶ μὴ μαστίζεσθαι; ὥστε, εἰ εὐγνωμονεῖς, ἤδη ἐν σταδίῳ ἐστὶν ὁ δίκαιος καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐν ἀγῶνι, οὐχὶ πενόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλουτῶν. τὸ γὰρ πλουτεῖν οὐχὶ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοὐναντίον ἐπαίρει. πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρου μέρους μάθε αὐτόν, ὅστις ἐστίν. καὶ ὁ διάβολος, φησίν, ἦλθε μετ' αὐτῶν. τί λέγεις; μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὁ προσκεκρουκώς, ὁ ἠτιμωμένος; μὴ θορυβηθῇς, ἀγαπητέ, τοῦτο διατύπωσίς ἐστι καὶ διαγραφή. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀλλαχοῦ φησιν ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ τῶν Βασιλειῶν, ὅτι ἐξῆλθε πνεῦμα πονηρόν, καὶ 12 ἔλεγεν· «τίς ἀπατήσει μοι τὸν Ἀχαάβ;» καὶ λέγει· «ἐγώ», καὶ λέγει· «πῶς;» καὶ πολὺ τὸ ἀνθρώπινόν ἐστιν, ὥστε πρόσωπον δοῦναι τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὸν ἀφελέστερον προσαγάγεσθαι τῷ διηγήματι μᾶλλον. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον εἰς τὸ πεῖσαι τὸ ἁπλῶς ἀποφαίνεσθαι καὶ τὸ τυπῶσαι λόγον καὶ διαγράψασθαι· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα. εἰ εἶπεν, ὅτι ἐπεβούλευσεν ὁ διάβολος τῷ Ἰὼβ τοῦ θεοῦ συγχωροῦντος, ἆρα τοσαύτην εἶχεν ἡδονὴν τὸ διήγημα; οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλ' ἡ βραχυλογία ἐνέκοψεν ἄν. νῦν δὲ τῷ τῷ ῥήματι προσθεῖναι καὶ διάλεξιν καὶ ταῦτα εἰπεῖν, ἅπερ εἶπεν ἂν ὁ διάβολος, εἰ συνεχωρήθη, πᾶσαν ἐκκόπτει τῶν ἀναισχυντούντων τὴν πρόφασιν· ἃ γὰρ λέγει τὸν διάβολον εἰρηκέναι, πρὸς τὸν θεὸν μὲν οὐκ εἶπεν, ἐνεθυμήθη δέ. οὐ γὰρ αὐτῷ μέτεστι λόγου καὶ παρρησίας τοσαύτης-ἦ γὰρ οἱ δαίμονες τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἰδόντες ἐβόων λέγοντες· τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί; -· οὐδὲ γὰρ τῆς στάσεως μέτεστιν αὐτῷ τῆς μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων. ἦλθον, φησίν, οἱ ἄγγελοι, καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθε μετ' αὐτῶν περιελθὼν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσας τὴν ὑπ' οὐρανόν. τί μανθάνομεν ἀπὸ τούτου; ὅτι καὶ δαιμόνων καὶ ἀγγέλων ἡ οἰκουμένη πεπλήρωται, καὶ ὅτι ἑκάτεροι ὑπὸ τὴν ἐξουσίαν εἰσὶ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὅτι ἄγγελοι μὲν παραγίνονται πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐπιτάγματα δεχόμενοι, ὁ διάβολος δὲ οὐδὲν δύναται ποιῆσαι τῶν καθ' ἡδονὴν αὐτῷ μὴ τὴν συγχώρησιν ἄνωθεν λαβών. εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἀφηνίασε καὶ ἔξω τοῦ θεραπεύειν ἐστὶ τὸν θεόν, ἀλλ' ὅμως ὁ φόβος ἔγκειται καθάπερ χαλινὸς καὶ οὐ συγχωρεῖ τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ χρήσασθαι τῇ ἑαυτοῦ. 13 ἀλλ' ὅρα, ἐκεῖνοι μὲν παραγίνονται καθάπερ οἰκέται ἀναφέροντες τὰ πραττόμενα, καθάπερ καὶ ἐν τῷ Ζαχαρίᾳ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν, οὗτος δὲ οὐδὲν ἔχει εἰπεῖν. τὸ οὖν μετ' αὐτῶν ἦλθεν οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐμφαίνει, ἀλλ' ἢ ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπόκειται τῷ θεῷ, ἵνα τοῖς ὕλην εἰσάγουσι μὴ δῷ ἀφορμὴν ὁ λόγος. καὶ ὁ διάβολος, φησίν,-οὗτος δὲ οὐκέτι τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ τοῦ θεοῦ, οὗτος δὲ οὐκέτι τοῦ θεοῦ-, καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθε μετ' αὐτῶν, οὐχὶ παρεστάναι ἐνώπιον κυρίου καθάπερ ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς ἦλθεν. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ παρρησίαν εἶχον εἰκότως καὶ παρεστάναι ἦλθον ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ, οὗτος δὲ οὐχὶ παρεστάναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ. εἰ γὰρ Κάϊν ἐξεβλήθη ἀπὸ προσώπου