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False prophets pretended to foretell. For he has applied "he was carried by a spirit" to the false prophets. "She has been delivered up; who will turn her back?" For when God has delivered [her] up, who will suffice? Thus also he says through the great Moses: "All who seek her will not grow weary; in her humiliation they will find her." For they became easy to capture, having embraced impiety. After these things he teaches that, having often 81.513 been advised to desist from the harmful path, she became openly insolent, confessing her apostasy. But for this reason, he says, I will cover them all together with shame, both kings, and rulers, and priests, and those who prophesy falsely; and they will be compared to a thief caught in the act, and blushing deeply. For they called the gods constructed from wood and stone fathers and progenitors; but to me they gave their backs, and turned away as from an enemy. "And in the time of their evils they will say: 'Arise, and save us.'" This is especially of the utmost shamelessness, that while enjoying good things they are sick with ingratitude; but when they are in want, they ask for a share of them. Then ironically: 28. And where are your gods, which you made for yourself? Will they arise and save you in the time of your affliction? And he also teaches of their multitude. For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah, and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem they sacrificed to Baal. Thus having shown the honor of the non-existent gods, and their multitude, and their weakness, he gently rebukes the ungrateful: 29. Why do you speak to me? All of you have been impious, and all of you have transgressed against me, says the Lord. He also reminds [them] of the chastisements brought upon them. 30. In vain I have struck your children; you did not accept discipline. Neither when receiving benefits did you recognize the benefactor, nor when being disciplined did you desist from impiety. And I have also delivered up to slaughter the authors of the error. 31. Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord. Have I become a wilderness to the house of Jacob, or a land left fallow, that my people said: 'We will not be ruled, and we will not come to you'? He says these things ironically. Am I, he says, similar to the idols? Have I, like them, brought forth no good fruit for them, and for this reason did they flee my service? And he moves on to another image, and says that every bride has cared for her finery, and every virgin has taken care of her breast-band; but the people who were called 81.516 have neglected their guardian. Then again ironically 33. What good thing will you yet do in your ways, to seek for love? What else, he says, do you wish to add to the aforesaid things, so as to procure my love-charm for you? "Not so." None of these things move [one] to love, but on the contrary produce hatred; for not only did you run aground into impiety, but you also dared to commit murder. 34. For in your hands, he says, was found the blood of innocent souls. This also the blessed David said: "And they sacrificed their sons to demons, and they shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the carved images of Canaan, and the land was defiled with blood. And teaching that they did not even do these things in secret, but dared [to do them] openly, he added: "I did not find them in dug-out places, but upon every oak." For not as burglars do this secretly, so also did these try to escape notice while transgressing, but every hill and every grove received their impiety; and being shameless and abominable, they denied even the things that were done openly. 35. For you said, he says: I am innocent; but let his anger be turned away from me. For which reason he added: Behold, I am entering into judgment with you in that you say: 'I have not sinned.' And he does not say, 'I will judge you,' but, "I am entering into judgment with you;" instead of, I am bringing a suit, and I convict you of lying and shamelessly denying. 36. Because you have been held in great contempt for repeating your ways. For shamelessness is suitable to lawlessness; and he hints through

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ψευδοπροφῆται προλέγειν προσεποιοῦντο. Τὸ γὰρ "ἐπνευματοφο ρεῖτο" περὶ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν τέθεικε. "Παρεδό θη τίς ἐπιστρέψει αὐτήν;" Θεοῦ γὰρ παραδεδω κότος, τίς ἐπαρκέσει; Οὕτω καὶ διὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Μωσέως φησί· "Πάντες οἱ ζητοῦντες αὐτὴν, οὐ κοπιάσουσιν· ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει αὐτῆς εὑρήσουσιν αὐτήν." Εὐχείρωτοι γὰρ ἐγένοντο, τὴν ἀσέβειαν ἀσπασάμενοι. Μετὰ ταῦτα διδάσκει, ὅτι πολλάκις 81.513 συμβουλευθεῖσα τῆς βλαβερᾶς ἀποστῆναι πορείας, ἐθρασύνετο ἄντικρυς, τὴν ἀποστασίαν ὁμολογοῦσα. Ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο αἰσχύνῃ αὐτοὺς, φησὶ, περιβαλῶ πάν τας ὁμοῦ, καὶ βασιλέας, καὶ ἄρχοντας, καὶ ἱερέας, καὶ τοὺς τὰ ψευδῆ προφητεύοντας· καὶ ἀπεικασθή σονται κλέπτῃ ἐπ' αὐτοφώρῳ ἁλόντι, καὶ σφόδρα ἐρυθριῶντι. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἐκ ξύλου καὶ λίθου κατα σκευαζομένους θεοὺς, πατέρας ὠνόμαζον καὶ γεν νήτορας· ἐμοὶ δὲ τὰ νῶτα ἔδωκαν, καὶ ὡς ἐχθρὸν ἀπεστράφησαν. "Καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῶν κακῶν αὑτῶν ἐροῦσιν· Ἀνάστα, καὶ σῶσον ἡμᾶς." Τοῦτο μάλιστα ἀναιδείας ἐσχάτης, τὸ ἀπολαύοντας μὲν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀχαριστίαν νοσεῖν· σπανίζοντας δὲ, τούτων αἰτεῖν τὴν μετάληψιν. Εἶτα εἰρωνικῶς· κηʹ. Καὶ ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ θεοί σου, οὓς ἐποίησας σεαυτῇ; εἰ ἀναστήσονται, καὶ σώσουσιν ἐν καιρῷ τῆς κακώσεώς σου; ∆ιδάσκει δὲ καὶ τούτων τὸ πλῆθος. Ὅτι κατὰ ἀριθμὸν τῶν πόλεων ἦσαν οἱ θεοί σου, Ἰούδα, καὶ κατὰ ἀριθμὸν διόδων Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἔθυον τῇ Βάαλ. Οὕτω δείξας τὴν τῶν οὐκ ὄντων θεῶν τιμὴν, καὶ τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν, πράως τοῖς ἀχαρίστοις ἐπιτιμᾷ· κθʹ. Ἱνατί λαλεῖτε πρός με; Πάντες ὑμεῖς ἠσεβήσατε, καὶ πάντες ὑμεῖς ἠνομήσατε εἰς ἐμὲ, λέγει Κύριος. Ἀναμιμνήσκει καὶ τῶν ἐπενε χθεισῶν αὐτοῖς παιδειῶν. λʹ. Μάτην ἐπάταξα τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν· παιδείαν οὐκ ἐδέξασθε. Οὔτε εὐεργετούμενοι τὸν εὐεργέ την ἐπέγνωτε, οὔτε παιδευόμενοι τῆς ἀσεβείας ἀπ έστητε. Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοὺς αἰτίους τῆς πλάνης σφαγῇ παραδέδωκα. λα. Ἀκούσατε λόγον Κυρίου. Τάδε λέγει Κύ ριος. Μὴ ἔρημος ἐγενόμην τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰακὼβ, ἢ γῆ κεχερσωμένη, διότι εἶπεν ὁ λαός μου· Οὐ κυριευθησόμεθα, καὶ οὐχ ἥξομεν πρός σε; Εἰ ρωνικῶς ταῦτα λέγει. Ἆρα, φησὶ, μὴ τοῖς εἰδώλοις εἰμὶ παραπλήσιος; ἆρα μὴ ὁμοίως ἐκείνοις οὐδένα αὐτοῖς καρπὸν ἀγαθὸν προσενήνοχα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν ἐμὴν δουλείαν ἀπέδρασαν; Μεταβαίνει δὲ καὶ ἐφ' ἑτέραν εἰκόνα, καὶ λέγει, πᾶσαν μὲν νύμ φην τοῦ κόσμου πεφροντικέναι, πᾶσαν δὲ παρθένον τῆς στηθοδεσμίδος ἐπιμελεῖσθαι· τὸν δὲ κληθέντα 81.516 λαὸν, κατολιγωρῆσαι τοῦ κηδεμόνος. Εἶτα πάλιν εἰ ρωνικῶς λγʹ. Τί ἔτι καλὸν ἐπιτηδεύσεις ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς σου, τοῦ ζητῆσαι ἀγάπησιν; Τί ἕτερον, φησὶ, τοῖς προειρημένοις προσθεῖναι βούλῃ, ὡς τὸ ἐμὸν περὶ σὲ πραγματεύσασθαι φίλτρον· "Οὐχ οὕτως." Οὐδὲν τούτων εἰς ἀγάπην κινεῖ, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον μῖσος ἐρ γάζεται· οὐ γὰρ μόνον εἰς ἀσέβειαν ἐξώκειλας, ἀλλὰ καὶ μιαιφονίαν ἐτόλμησας. λδʹ. Ἐν γὰρ ταῖς χερσί σου, φησὶν, εὑ ρέθη αἵματα ψυχῶν ἀθώων. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ μακά ριος ἔφη ∆αβίδ· "Καὶ ἔθυσαν τοὺς υἱοὺς αὑτῶν τοῖς δαιμονίοις, καὶ ἐξέχεαν αἷμα ἀθῶον, αἷμα υἱῶν αὑτῶν καὶ θυγατέρων, ὧν ἔθυσαν τοῖς γλυπτοῖς Χαναὰν, καὶ ἐφονοκτονήθη ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς αἵμασι. ∆ιδάσκων δὲ, ὡς οὐδὲ κρύβδην ταῦτα εἰργάζοντο, ἀλλ' ἀναφανδὸν ἐτόλμων, ἐπήγαγεν· "Οὐκ ἐν διορύγμασιν εὗρον αὐτοὺς, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ πάσῃ δρυΐ." Οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ οἱ τοιχωρύχοι λάθρα τοῦτο δρῶσιν, οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι λαν θάνειν ἐπειρῶντο παρανομοῦντες, ἀλλὰ πᾶς βουνὸς, καὶ πᾶν ἄλσος ἐδέξατο τὴν τούτων ἀσέβειαν· ἀναιδεῖς δὲ ὄντες, καὶ βδελυροὶ, καὶ τὰ προφανῶς γινόμενα ἐξηρνοῦντο. λεʹ. Εἶπας γὰρ, φησί· Ἀθῶός εἰμι· ἀλλὰ ἀπο στραφήτω ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπ' ἐμοῦ. Οὗ δὴ χάριν ἐπήγαγεν· Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ κρίνομαι πρὸς σὲ ἐν τῷ σε λέγειν· Οὐχ ἥμαρτον. Καὶ οὐ λέγει, Κρινῶ σε, ἀλλὰ, "Κρίνομαι πρὸς σέ·" ἀντὶ τοῦ, ∆ικάζομαι, καὶ ἐλέγχω σε ψευδομένην καὶ ἀναιδῶς ἀρνουμένην. λϛʹ. Ὅτι κατεφρόνησαι σφόδρα τοῦ δευτε ρῶσαι τὰς ὁδούς σου. Κατάλληλος γὰρ ἡ ἀναί δεια τῇ παρανομίᾳ· αἰνίττεται δὲ διὰ