5

were they about to hear of perpetual slavery? If Jeremiah said, “You shall go to Babylon,” and they did not endure to hear it, but punished the one who said it; if they had heard from the prophets who said, “Not to Babylon, but you will be scattered throughout the whole world, and you will no longer return,” would they not have drunk the blood of those who said it? But if this still seems to be conjecture, I offer you a clear proof that it was not safe for them to speak of future things, I mean our honor, their fall. For Stephen, tell me, the first-fruits of the martyrs, why did they stone him? was it not for accusing him of these things and saying, “This man speaks blasphemous words”? He said, it says, that Jesus will destroy this temple and change the customs that Moses delivered, and for this reason they stoned him. But if at that time they could not bear to hear these things, and this when the events were already persuading them, how would they have borne the prophets proclaiming these things beforehand? You have heard, beloved, that they stoned him because of the temple and the change of the polity; hear how they also bring this charge against Christ. For this man said, it says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Do you see how everywhere the destruction of the temple, and the change56.170 of the polity provoked their anger? For this reason the prophets said these things, but they did not say them openly. For this reason also they wanted to kill Paul, because he was persuading them to change from their polity. How is this clear? “You see, brother,” it says, “how many thousands there are of Jews who have believed, and these all have been informed about you, that you teach apostasy from the law.” The faithful did not endure being taught apostasy from the law; and how would those who had not yet believed have endured to hear that the law would one day cease? That the Jews, then, would have killed the prophets if they had clearly foretold any such thing, we have shown from the testimonies, from the blessed Jeremiah, and from the protomartyr Stephen, from Christ Himself, and from the apostle Paul. For accusing them all of the same things, they thus killed them. And that they would have also burned the prophetic books themselves, if they had understood the things being said, I will also try to demonstrate this from a certain history, hidden from you, but which will be made clear very soon; for so I will try to relate it. What then is the history? Listen. And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, the Lord said to Jeremiah: “Write all the words that I have spoken to you from the day of Josiah, until this day”; that is, all the evils that I intend to do to them. See how philanthropic and caring God is. For since they did not endure to hear piecemeal, “Gather,” He says, “all these things, and increase the fear, that even so they might become better.” Remember the promise; the thing sought by us is to show that they would have even cut the books themselves to pieces, if they had understood all the things that have come to pass today. “Perhaps they will hear”—for it is necessary to keep to the history—“the evils that I intend to do to them, and they will turn from their evil way.” “Perhaps,” God says? Is He ignorant, tell me, of future things? Does He not know if they will hear, He who knows all things before their beginning, who searches hearts and minds, who is a judge of thoughts and intentions? To whom all things are naked and laid bare to His eyes? For what reason then did He say, “Perhaps they will hear”? For it is necessary for you to learn these things also, on account of those who accuse the Only-begotten of ignorance. For behold, the Father also utters the words of one who is ignorant; for “Perhaps” is the word of one who is ignorant; but He is not ignorant. Whenever, then, you hear the Son also saying any such thing, accept the same judgment. For being the Son, He imitates the Father everywhere. But let the times of these contests wait, so that we may not fall away from the proposed subject; but let us say for what reason He says, “Perhaps”

5

διηνεκοῦς δουλείας ἔμελλον εἰσακούειν; Εἰ Ἱερεμίας εἶπεν, ὅτι Ἀπελεύσεσθε εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, καὶ οὐχ ὑπήνεγκαν ἀκοῦσαι, ἀλλ' ἐτιμωρήσαντο τὸν εἰπόντα· εἰ ἤκουσαν τῶν προφητῶν εἰπόντων, ὅτι Οὐκ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, ἀλλὰ πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης διασπαρήσεσθε, καὶ οὐκέτι λοιπὸν ἐπανήξετε, οὐκ ἂν καὶ τὸ αἷμα τῶν λεγόντων ἐξέπιον; Εἰ δὲ δοκεῖ τοῦτο ἔτι στοχασμὸς εἶναι, φανερὰν ὑμῖν ἀπόδειξιν παρέχω, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἀσφαλὲς αὐτοῖς λέγειν τὰ μέλλοντα, τὴν ἡμετέραν τιμὴν λέγω, τὴν ἔκπτωσιν τὴν ἐκείνων. Στέφανον γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, τὴν ἀπαρχὴν τῶν μαρτύρων, διὰ τί ἐλίθασαν; οὐ ταῦτα ἐγκαλοῦντες αὐτῷ καὶ λέγοντες, ὅτι Ὁ ἀνὴρ οὗτος λαλεῖ βλάσφημα ῥήματα; Εἶπε, φησὶν, ὅτι Ἰησοῦς καταλύσει τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἀλλάξει τὰ ἔθη, ἃ παρέδωκε Μωϋσῆς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν ἐλίθασαν. Εἰ δὲ τότε οὐκ ἠνείχοντο ταῦτα ἀκούειν, καὶ ταῦτα τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτοὺς πειθόντων λοιπὸν, πῶς ἂν τῶν προφητῶν ἠνέσχοντο ταῦτα προαναφωνούντων; Ἤκουσας, ἀγαπητὲ, ὅτι διὰ τὸν ναὸν καὶ τὴν μετάθεσιν τῆς πολιτείας αὐτὸν ἐλίθασαν· ἄκουσον πῶς καὶ τῷ Χριστῷ τοῦτο προφέρουσιν ἔγκλημα. Εἶπε γὰρ, φησὶν, οὗτος· Λύσατε τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν. Εἶδες πῶς πανταχοῦ ἡ κατάλυσις τοῦ ναοῦ, καὶ ἡ μετά56.170 θεσις τῆς πολιτείας τὴν ὀργὴν αὑτοῖς ἐνεποίει; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγον μὲν οἱ προφῆται ταῦτα, οὐκ ἔλεγον δὲ φανερῶς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ Παῦλον ἐβούλοντο ἀνελεῖν, ὅτι ἔπειθεν αὐτοὺς μετατίθεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς πολιτείας Πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον; Θεωρεῖς, φησὶν, ἀδελφὲ, πόσαι μυριάδες εἰσὶν Ἰουδαίων τῶν πεπιστευκότων, καὶ οὗτοι πάντες κατήχηνται περὶ σοῦ, ὅτι ἀποστασίαν τοῦ νόμου διδάσκεις. Οἱ πιστοὶ οὐκ ἠνείχοντο διδάσκεσθαι ἀποστασίαν τοῦ νόμου· καὶ οἱ οὐδέπω πιστεύσαντες πῶς ἂν ἠνέσχοντο ἀκοῦσαι, ὅτι παυθήσεται ὁ νόμος ποτέ; Ὅτι μὲν οὖν τοὺς προφήτας ἀπέκτειναν ἂν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, εἴ τι τοιοῦτον σαφῶς προεῖπον, ἐδείξαμεν ἀπὸ τῶν μαρτυριῶν, ἀπό τε τοῦ μακαρίου Ἱερεμίου, καὶ τοῦ πρωτομάρτυρος Στεφάνου, ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἀποστόλου Παύλου. Πᾶσι γὰρ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐγκαλοῦντες, οὕτως αὐτοὺς ἀνεῖλον. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ βιβλία κατέκαυσαν ἂν τὰ προφητικὰ, εἰ συνεῖδον τὰ λεγομένα, καὶ τοῦτο παραστῆσαι πειράσομαι ἀπό τινος ἱστορίας, κεκρυμμένης μὲν ὑμῖν, δήλης δὲ ἐσομένης αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα· οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὴν ἀπαγγεῖλαι πειράσομαι. Τίς οὖν ἡ ἱστορία, ἀκούσατε. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ ἔτει Ἰωακεὶμ υἱοῦ Ἰωσίου βασιλέως Ἰούδα, εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν· Γράψον πάντας τοὺς λόγους, οὓς ἐχρημάτισα πρὸς σὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας Ἰωσίου, ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης· τουτέστι, πάντα τὰ κακὰ, ἃ λογίζομαι ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς. Ὅρα τί φιλάνθρωπος ὁ Θεὸς καὶ κηδεμονικός. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ κατὰ μέρος ἀκοῦσαι οὐκ ἠνείχοντο, Συνάγαγε, φησὶν, αὐτὰ πάντα, καὶ αὔξησον τὸν φόβον, ἵνα κἂν οὕτω βελτίους γένωνται. Μνημονεύετε τῆς ὑποσχέσεως· τὸ ζητούμενον ἡμῖν δεῖξαι, ὅτι καὶ τὰ βιβλία ἂν αὐτὰ κατέκοψαν, εἰ ἐνόησαν τὰ σήμερον ἐκβάντα πάντα. Ἴσως ἀκούσονται κακὰ δεῖ γὰρ ἔχεσθαι τῆς ἱστορίας, ἃ λογίζομαι ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἀποστραφήσονται ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ αὐτῶν τῆς πονηρᾶς. Ἴσως, ὁ Θεὸς λέγει; ἀγνοεῖ, εἰπέ μοι, τὰ ἐσόμενα; οὐκ οἶδεν εἰ ἀκούσονται, ὁ εἰδὼς πάντα πρὶν γενέσεως, ὁ ἐτάζων καρδίας καὶ νεφροὺς, ὁ κριτικὸς ἐνθυμήσεων καὶ ἐννοιῶν; ᾧ πάντα γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ; Τίνος δὲ ἕνεκεν ἔλεγεν, Ἴσως ἀκούσονται; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα ἀναγκαῖον ὑμᾶς μανθάνειν, διὰ τοὺς ἐγκαλοῦντας ἄγνοιαν τῷ Μονογενεῖ. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἀγνοοῦντος φθέγγεται ῥήματα· τὸ γὰρ, Ἴσως, ἀγνοοῦντός ἐστιν· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀγνοεῖ. Ὁπόταν οὖν καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἀκούσῃς τι τοιοῦτον λέγοντος, τὴν αὐτὴν κατάδεξαι ψῆφον. Υἱὸς γὰρ ὢν, πανταχοῦ τὸν Πατέρα μιμεῖται. Ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν τῶν ἀγώνων καιροὶ τούτων ἀναμενέτωσαν, ἵνα μὴ τῆς προκειμένης ὑποθέσεως ἐκπέσωμεν· εἴπωμεν δὲ, τίνος ἕνεκεν λέγει, Ἴσως