Commentarii in epistulam ad Romanos (I.1-XII.21) (in catenis) i 1 set apart for the gospel of God. Thirdly, one must see set apart for the gospel of

 he should object to these things, whether it is possible for things not to happen which God foreknew would happen in such a way we will say that it i

 to God, so that he might not be under the 'woe,' he was not silent but preached the gospel. And these things he saw who set him apart from his mother'

 commanded Joab to number the people the second is represented by he sent upon them the fierceness of anger, wrath and indignation, a sending of evil

 similar to that and have made themselves worthy of nothing gloomy but of that in which one ought to rejoice. Therefore the gospel is theirs, along wit

 of God is not characterized by entrusting books and letters, but by knowing the mind within them and the mysteries stored therein. For according to so

 His mouth is full of bitterness and deceit. Then what follows is this: Their feet are swift to shed blood and you will seek this in Isaiah, or in the

 secondly to the spiritual. But if the same law is received according to some, if it is manifested without law it is not testified by the law, but if i

 to be justified or through faith, just as from a man is better understood insofar as it is from a man, <or> through a woman insofar as it is th

 owed by God eternal life, but His gift for he says, the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, it should not be thought tha

 heirs of the law, faith is made void. In the list of the gifts given according to the proportion of faith, faith is also included for Paul says after

 kingdom of the heavens or kingdom of God. For these things, insofar as human nature is concerned, are beyond hope, but insofar as the power of God and

 belonging to God himself. (Of Origen) [For not only do we await immortal life, but also in the present life, having been reconciled to God, we glory,

 to death. As if someone for the sake of an example, being free, gives himself as a slave to the general of the enemies, so that by being with him he m

 to sin, just as apart from the law sin was dead, not coming from ever having been alive to the state of being dead. But the divine apostle also shows

 the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The distinction is good, 'wages' being applied to sin, but 'g

 of the epistle it is possible to take from the [phrase] Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that A

 of truth by the spirit in the prophets and by the word of Christ in the apostles, is in many places confused also by its phrasing and is not spoken as

 on the earth by the Word, but before the law and the coming of the commandment it lived, being dead. <And here someone has rendered the natural law, s

 of the law of sin and of death, he speaks thus: for just as virtue by its own nature is strong, so also is evil and the things from it weak and powerl

 I will pray with the spirit, he says, and I will pray with the mind also. 49 viii 31, 32 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,

 in which one dies to sin, and in some way by our life which is hidden with Christ in God. And angels too wish to separate us from the love of God whic

of God is not characterized by entrusting books and letters, but by knowing the mind within them and the mysteries stored therein. For according to sound reason, the wise man will understand the things from his own mouth; and upon his lip he bears discretion. Such was Moses and the prophets, being Jews and entrusted with the oracles of God, and anyone among them like these. And the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ had the advantage of the Jew and the benefit of circumcision over those who learned Christianity from them. But there is also for those from the nations a great advantage over those of the circumcision; for from them the kingdom of God was taken away so that it might be given to a nation producing its fruits. But if they were the first to be entrusted with the oracles of God, there are also those who were entrusted second; for the first is the first of someone or the first of some people. Who then were entrusted second can be seen from "to one for through the Spirit is given a word of wisdom," and so on. But if anyone, being confused, thinks the oracles of God are the same as the letters of God, let him attend to the psalm which says, "the oracles of the Lord are pure oracles, silver tried in the fire, tested for the earth, purified sevenfold." For I do not think the pure oracles are the same as the letter that kills. And just as the aforementioned Jews were first entrusted with the oracles of God, so also some did not believe; but the unbelief of such people, whether toward God or toward his oracles, will not nullify the faith of God. But what faith of God? Whether that by which God entrusts the oracles to some? Or that by which those entrusted with the oracles believe in God, as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness? I think each makes sense; for it is necessary for both the one who believes in God and the one who has been entrusted with his oracles to remember, especially at a time of the mockery of unbelievers with which they mock those who have believed, that the faith of God is not nullified by the word of the unbelievers. 12 iii 4 But let God be true and every man a liar; as it is written: "That you may be justified in your words, and may overcome when you are judged." The "let it be" then is said instead of an optative, like the "may your name be blessed for ever." 13 iii 9-18 What then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." He wishes to collect sayings about how all, both Jews and Greeks, have come under sin, beginning from the "as it is written": "There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God;" which in these very words we have not found written anywhere, but we think that the sayings have been altered by the apostle from the thirteenth and the 52nd psalm; for in the 13th psalm it is said, "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is one who understands or who seeks God;" and in the 52nd, "God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is one who understands or who seeks God." It seems, therefore, that he understood "to see if there is one who understands or who seeks God" to be equivalent to "there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God." And the "there is no one righteous, not even one" I think came from the "there is no one who does good, not even one;" so that in effect he has placed it twice, once having altered it, and once using the same words, and omitting the second "there is not" that is stated. And the "poison of asps is under their lips," the usage is found in the very same words in the 139th psalm; and in addition to this, "whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness" seems to have come from what is said thus in the ninth psalm: "of whose cursing the

τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἐν τῷ βιβλία καὶ γράμματα πι στευθῆναι χαρακτηρίζεται, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς νοῦν καὶ τὰ ἐναποκείμενα μυστήρια γινώσκεσθαι. κατὰ γὰρ τὸν ὑγιῆ λόγον ὁ οφὸ νοήει τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου τόματο· ἐπὶ δὲ χείλει φορέει ἐπιγνωμούνην. τοιοῦτος ἦν Μωυσῆς καὶ οἱ προφῆται, Ἰουδαῖοι ὄντες καὶ πιστευθέντες τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ εἴ τις παρ' αὐτοῖς τούτοις παραπλήσιος. καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι δὲ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἶχον τὸ περισσὸν τοῦ Ἰουδαίου καὶ τὴν τῆς περιτομῆς ὠφέλειαν παρὰ τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτῶν μαθόντας τὸν χριστιανισμόν. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν πολὺ τὸ περισσὸν παρὰ τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς· ἀπ' ἐκείνων γὰρ ἤρθη ἡ βαιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ἵνα δοθῇ ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺ καρποὺ αὐτῆ. εἰ δὲ πρῶτοι ἐκεῖνοι ἐπιστεύθησαν τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰσὶν οἱ καὶ δεύτερον πιστευ θέντες· τὸ γὰρ πρῶτον τινός ἐστιν ἢ τινῶν πρῶτον. τίνες οὖν δεύτερον ἐπιστεύθησαν ἰδεῖν ἐστὶν ἐκ τοῦ ᾧ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τοῦ πνεύματο δίδοται λόγο οφία καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. εἰ δέ τις συγχεόμενος ταὐτὸν οἴεται τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ τοῖς γράμμασι τοῦ θεοῦ, προσεχέτω τῷ λέγοντι ψαλμῷ τὰ λόγια κυρίου λόγια ἁγνὰ ἀργύριον πεπυρωμένον δοκίμιον τῇ γῇ κεκαθαριμένον ἑπταπλαίω. ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ οἶμαι τὰ ἁγνὰ λόγια εἶναι τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ ἀποκτείννυντι γράμματι. ὥσπερ δὲ οἱ προειρημένοι Ἰουδαῖοι πρῶτοι ἐπιστεύθησαν τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ, οὕτως καί τινες ἠπίστησαν· ἀλλ' οὐχὶ τῶν τοιούτων εἴτε πρὸς τὸν θεὸν εἴτε πρὸς τὰ λόγια αὐτοῦ ἀπιστία τὴν πίστιν τοῦ θεοῦ καταργήσει. ποίαν δὲ πίστιν τοῦ θεοῦ; πότερον ἣν θεὸς πιστεύει τισὶ τὰ λόγια; ἢ ἣν οἱ πιστευθέντες τὰ λόγια πιστεύουσι τῷ θεῷ, ὡς Ἀβραὰμ ἐπίτευε τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίθη αὐτῷ εἰ δικαιούνην; ἑκάτερον οἶμαι λόγον ἔχειν· μεμνῆσθαι γὰρ δεῖ τόν τε πιστεύοντα τῷ θεῷ καὶ τὸν πεπιστευμένον τὰ λόγια αὐτοῦ, μάλιστα ἐν καιρῷ τῆς τῶν ἀπίστων χλεύης ἣν χλευάζουσι τοὺς πεπιστευκότας, τοῦ μὴ καταργεῖσθαι τὴν πίστιν τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου τῶν ἀπιστούντων. 12 iii 4 γινέσθω δὲ ὁ θεὸς ἀληθὴς πᾶς δὲ ἄνθρωπος ψεύστης· καθὼς γέγραπται· ὅπως ἂν δικαιωθῇς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σου καὶ νικήσῃς ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε. τὸ οὖν γενηθήτω εἴρηται ἀντὶ εὐκτικοῦ, ὡς τὸ εἴη τὸ ὄνομά ου εὐλογημένον εἰ τοὺ αἰῶνα. 13 ιιι 9-18 τί οὖν; προεχόμεθα; οὐ πάντως· προῃτιασάμεθα γὰρ Ἰουδαίους τε καὶ Ἕλληνας πάντας ὑφ' ἁμαρτίαν εἶναι καθὼς γέγραπται· οὐκ ἐστὶν δίκαιος οὐδὲ εἷς· οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ συνιών· οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐκζητῶν τὸν θεόν· πάντες ἐξέκλιναν, ἅμα ἠχρειώθησαν· οὐκ ἔστιν ποιῶν χρηστότητα, οὐκ ἔστιν ἕως ἑνός· τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν· ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν· ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν· ὧν τὸ στόμα ἀρᾶς καὶ πικρίας γέμει· ὀξεῖς οἱ πόδες αὐτῶν ἐκχέαι αἷμα· σύντριμμα καὶ ταλαιπωρία ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ὁδὸν εἰρήνης οὐκ ἔγνωσαν· οὐκ ἔστιν φόβος θεοῦ ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτῶν. βούλεται ῥητὰ συναγαγεῖν πῶς ἅπαντες Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ Ἕλληνες ὑπὸ ἁμαρτίαν γεγόνασιν, ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τοῦ καθὼς γέγραπται οὐκ ἔστιν δίκαιος οὐδὲ εἷς, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ συνιών, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐκζητῶν τὸν θεόν· ὅπερ αὐταῖς λέξεσιν οὐχ εὕρομέν που γεγραμμένον, ἀλλὰ νομίζομεν ἀπὸ τοῦ τρισκαιδεκάτου ψαλμοῦ καὶ τοῦ νβʹ μεταπεποιῆσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου τὰ ῥητά· ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ ιγʹ ψαλμῷ εἴρηται κύριο ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ διέκυψεν ἐπὶ τοὺ υἱοὺ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῦ ἰδεῖν εἰ ἔτιν υνιὼν ἢ ἐκζητῶν τὸν θεόν· ἐν δὲ τῷ νβʹ ὁ θεὸ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ διέκυψεν ἐπὶ τοὺ υἱοὺ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῦ ἰδεῖν εἰ ἔτι υνιὼν ἢ ἐκζητῶν τὸν θεόν. ἔοικεν οὖν νενοηκέναι ἰσοδυναμεῖν τὸ τοῦ ἰδεῖν εἰ ἔτι υνιὼν ἢ ἐκζητῶν τὸν θεὸν τῷ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ συνιών, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐκζητῶν τὸν θεόν. καὶ τὸ οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιος οὐδὲ εἷς νομίζω γεγονέναι ἐκ τοῦ οὐκ ἔτι ποιῶν χρητότητα, οὐκ ἔτιν ἕω ἑνό· ὥστε τῇ δυνάμει δὶς αὐτὸν τεθεικέναι, ἅπαξ μὲν μεταποιήσαντα, ἅπαξ δὲ λέξεσι ταῖς αὐταῖς χρησάμενον, καὶ παραλιπόντα τὸ δεύτερον εἰρημένον οὐκ ἔστιν. τὸ δὲ ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν, αὐταῖς λέξεσι κεῖται ἡ χρῆσις ἐν τῷ ρλθʹ ψαλμῷ· τὸ δ' ἐπὶ τούτοις ὧν τὸ στόμα ἀρᾶς καὶ πικρίας γέμει ἔοικεν γεγονέναι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν τῷ ἐνάτῳ ψαλμῷ οὕτως εἰρημένου οὗ ἀρᾶ τὸ