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after a great number of years, He forbids all the legal worship. For I am full, he says; I do not want whole burnt offerings of rams and the fat of lambs and the blood of goats, 12not even if you should come to appear before me. And through these words the prophet, or rather God who spoke through him, rejected the trespass offerings and the sin offerings and the offerings of consecration and the whole burnt offerings. For of some the blood and the fat were offered, and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver, while others were entirely consumed by fire. Then he shows more clearly the superfluity of the sacrifices: For who has required these things from your hands? For your sake I tolerated these things; I myself did not need them. You shall no longer tread my court. 13For the Romans, having destroyed the divine temple, by law declared it inaccessible to them. If you offer fine flour, it is in vain; incense is an abomination to me. These too are types of sacrifices. And he necessarily made mention of them on account of the shamelessness of the Jews, so that they might not say: This he does not want us to offer, but with that he is served. Thus in what follows he says through the prophet: 'The sheep of your whole burnt offering were not for me, nor did you glorify me in your sacrifices; you did not serve me with gifts, nor did I make you weary with frankincense, nor did you buy for me incense with silver, nor did I desire the fat of your sacrifices, but in your lawlessness and in your injustices I stood before you.' And through the divine David: 'I will not accept,' he says, 'calves from your house nor goats from your flocks; for all the beasts of the field are mine, cattle on the mountains and oxen. I know all the birds of the sky, and the beauty of the field is with me. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world and its fullness are mine. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?' And teaching with what he is pleased: 'Offer to God,' he says, 'a sacrifice of praise,' and: 'A sacrifice of praise will glorify me.' And the blessed David himself says to him: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.' Your new moons and your sabbaths and the great day I do not tolerate; your fast and your holiday 14and your feasts my soul hates. Behold, he has also rejected the much-vaunted |98 a| feasts: that of the Passover, that of Weeks, that of Tabernacles, and in addition to these, that of Trumpets, that of Atonement. For he calls the great feasts 'the great day', and the fast the Day of Atonement. And universally he says he has hated every feast and every sabbath. And he teaches the reason: You have become a surfeit to me; I will no longer tolerate your sins. I have had my fill of you, he says, and I completely turn away from you on account of the excess of your sins. 15When you stretch out your hands to me, I will turn my eyes away from you; and if you multiply your prayer, I will not listen to you. For your hands are full of blood. Having gone through all these things, both the abolition of the law and the destruction of the temple, he taught the kind of sin for which they endured all manner of punishments, and he accuses them not of the worship of idols nor of adultery and greed but of murder; for more grievous than all impiety and lawlessness is the madness against the Lord. For theirs is the voice: 'His blood be on us and on our children.' This blood deprived them of their ancient renown; this blood rendered them sojourners in the inhabited world. But nevertheless, being a lover of mankind, he shows them a way of salvation: 16Wash yourselves, become clean. Lest they should think that he was prescribing the sprinklings according to the law, he necessarily added: Take away your wickednesses from your souls from before my eyes. I also know your hidden thoughts; nothing of your wicked counsels has escaped me; therefore, with the bath of rebirth cleanse your souls. Cease from your wickednesses. For in addition to rejecting former things, it is necessary to flee from the practice of similar things. 17Learn to do good. For abstinence from evil is not sufficient for perfection, but it is necessary to add the

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μετὰ πολὺν ἐτῶν ἀριθμὸν ἅπασαν τὴν νομικὴν ἀπαγορεύει λατρείαν. Πλήρης γάρ εἰμί φησιν· Ὁλοκαυτώματα τῶν κριῶν καὶ στέαρ ἀρνῶν καὶ αἷμα τράγων οὐ βούλομαι, 12οὐδ' ἂν ἔρχησθε ὀφθῆναί μοι. ∆ιὰ δὲ τούτων ὁ προφήτης, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ διὰ τούτου λαλήσας θεός, καὶ τὰς περὶ πλημμελείας καὶ τὰς περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ τὰς τῆς τελειώσεως θυσίας καὶ τὰς ὁλοκαρπώσεις ἐξέβαλεν. Τῶν μὲν γὰρ τὸ αἷμα καὶ τὸ στέαρ προσεφέρετο καὶ οἱ νεφροὶ καὶ τοῦ ἥπατος ὁ λοβός, τὰ δὲ τέλεια κατεκαίετο. Εἶτα σαφέστερον δείκνυσι τὸ τῶν θυσιῶν περιττόν· Τίς γὰρ ἐξεζήτησε ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν; ∆ι' ὑμᾶς τούτων ἠνειχόμην, οὐκ αὐτὸς τούτων ἐδεόμην. Πατεῖν τὴν αὐλήν μου 13οὐ προσθήσεσθε. Κατα λύσαντες γὰρ Ῥωμαῖοι τὸν θεῖον ναὸν νόμῳ τοῦτον αὐτοῖς ἀπέφηναν ἄβατον. Ἐὰν προσφέρητε σεμίδαλιν, μάταιον· θυμίαμα βδέλυγμά μοί ἐστιν. Εἴδη καὶ ταῦτα θυσιῶν. Καὶ ἀναγκαίως αὐτῶν ἐποιήσατο μνήμην διὰ τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀναίδειαν, ὡς ἂν μὴ λέγοιεν· Τόδε μὲν οὐ βούλεται προσφέρειν ἡμᾶς, τῷδε δὲ θεραπεύεται. Οὕτως ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα διὰ τοῦ προφήτου φησίν· «Οὐκ ἐμοὶ πρόβατα τῆς ὁλοκαρπώσεώς σου, οὐδὲ ἐν ταῖς θυσίαις σου ἐδόξασάς με, οὐκ ἐδούλευσάς μοι ἐν δώροις, οὐδὲ ἔγκοπόν σε ἐποίησα ἐν λιβάνῳ, οὐδὲ ἐκτήσω μοι ἀργυρίου θυμίαμα, οὐδὲ στέαρ τῶν θυσιῶν σου ἐπεθύμησα, ἀλλ' ἐν ταῖς ἀνομίαις σου καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἀδικίαις σου προέστην σου.» Καὶ διὰ τοῦ θεσπεσίου ∆αυίδ· «Οὐ δέξομαί» φησιν «ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου σου μόσχους οὐδὲ ἐκ τῶν ποιμνίων σου χιμάρους· ἐμὰ γάρ ἐστι πάντα τὰ Θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ, κτήνη ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι καὶ βόες. Ἔγνωκα πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ὡραιότης ἀγροῦ μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐστιν. Ἐὰν πεινάσω, οὐ μή σοι εἴπω· ἐμὴ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ οἰκουμένη καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς. Μὴ φάγομαι κρέα ταύρων ἢ αἷμα τράγων πίομαι;» Καὶ διδάσκων, τίσιν ἀρέσκεται· «Θῦσον τῷ θεῷ» φησι «θυσίαν αἰνέσεως», καί · «Θυσία αἰνέσεως δοξάσει με.» Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ μακάριος ∆αυίδ φησι πρὸς αὐτόν· «Θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἐζήτησας.» Τὰς νεομηνίας ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ σάββατα καὶ ἡμέραν μεγάλην οὐκ ἀνέχομαι, νηστείαν καὶ ἀργίαν 14καὶ τὰς ἑορτὰς ὑμῶν μισεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου. Ἰδοὺ καὶ τὰς πολυθρυλήτους |98 a| ἐξέβαλεν ἑορτάς· τὴν τοῦ πάσχα, τὴν τῶν ἑβδομάδων, τὴν τῶν σκηνῶν καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τὴν τῶν σαλπίγγων, τὴν τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ. Ἡμέραν γὰρ μεγάλην τὰς μεγάλας ἑορτὰς ὀνομάζει, νηστείαν δὲ τὴν τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ ἡμέραν. Καὶ καθολικῶς πᾶσαν ἑορτὴν καὶ πᾶν σάββατον μεμισηκέναι φησίν. Καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν διδάσκει· Ἐγενήθητέ μοι εἰς πλησ μονήν, οὐκέτι ἀνήσω τὰς ἁμαρτίας ὑμῶν. Κόρον φησὶν ὑμῶν ἔλαβον καὶ παντελῶς ὑμᾶς ἀποστρέφομαι διὰ τὴν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ὑπερβολήν. 15Ὅταν τὰς χεῖρας ὑμῶν ἐκτείνητε πρός με, ἀποστρέψω τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου ἀφ' ὑμῶν· καὶ ἐὰν πληθύνητε δέησιν, οὐκ εἰσακούσομαι ὑμῶν. Αἱ γὰρ χεῖρες ὑμῶν αἵματος πλήρεις. Ταῦτα πάντα διεξελθών, καὶ τὴν τοῦ νόμου λύσιν καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ τὴν κατάλυσιν, ἐδίδαξε τὸ εἶδος τῆς ἁμαρτίας δι' ὃ ὑπέστησαν τὰς παντοδαπὰς τιμωρίας καὶ κατηγορεῖ αὐτῶν οὐκ εἰδώλων θεραπείαν οὐδὲ μοιχείαν καὶ πλεονεξίαν ἀλλὰ μιαιφονίαν· πάσης γὰρ δυσσεβείας καὶ παρανομίας χαλε πωτέρα ἡ κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου μανία. Αὐτῶν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ φωνή· «Τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν.» Τοῦτο τὸ αἷμα τῆς παλαιᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐστέρησεν εὐκληρίας, τοῦτο τὸ αἷμα μετοίκους τῆς οἰκουμένης ἀπέφηνεν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως φιλάνθρωπος ὢν ὑποδείκνυσιν αὐτοῖς σωτηρίας ὁδόν· 16Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε. Ἵνα μὴ νομίσωσιν αὐτὸν τὰ κατὰ νόμον ὑπαγορεύειν περιρραντήρια, προστέ θεικεν ἀναγκαίως· Ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου. Καὶ τοὺς κεκρυμ μένους ὑμῶν ἐπίσταμαι λογισμούς, οὐδέν με λέληθε τῶν πονηρῶν ὑμῶν βουλευμάτων· τῷ λουτρῷ τοίνυν τῆς παλιγγενεσίας ἐκκαθάρατε τὰς ψυχάς. Παύσασθε ἀπὸ τῶν πονηριῶν ὑμῶν. Πρὸς γὰρ τῷ τὰ πρότερα ἀπορρῖψαι δεῖ φυγεῖν τῶν ὁμοίων τὴν ἐργασίαν. 17Μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν. Οὐκ ἀρκεῖ γὰρ πρὸς τελείωσιν ἡ ἀποχὴ τοῦ κακοῦ, ἀλλὰ δεῖ προσθεῖναι τὴν