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Therefore, complete destruction also follows for him. A wicked conscience does not lead him to the place of prayer, because he does not stand in the order of the faithful; for he has fallen away; and he does not stand in the place of the weepers, for he is ashamed. From this comes hesitation in prayer, devising fabricated excuses to those who seek him. So-and-so (he says) is hurrying me and I am not waiting for the assembly. And for this reason again he withdrew before the prayer of the faithful, fabricating whatever excuse came to mind. Then from gradual habit a practice of apostasy is born in him, and he is led into complete perdition. In general, it is a characteristic of the evil powers, after having shown them to be desolate of the fruits of righteousness, not to depart until they have also enveloped them in errors of knowledge. 1.20 The daughter of Zion will be left, like a tent in a vineyard and like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field. The recompense of like for like is a demonstration of the just judgment of God. She left the Lord, therefore the daughter of Zion will be left. Yet He still holds to His loving-kindness, He calls her daughter, recalling her by the former name, which she had before she was alienated. She will be left like a tent in a vineyard. Tents are pitched for the guarding of the fruits in the vineyards. So when the vineyard abounds with its own fruits, the tent is sought after and is deemed worthy of all care, so that from it the guard can watch, lest those passing by on the way should harvest it; but when it is fruitless, the vineyard’s protections are necessarily neglected. For this reason He threatens the abandonment of the Israelite people, as not bearing the required fruits. Let us therefore fear to be fruitless, lest we be abandoned by the oversight of God. That which guards us is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when the soul bears fruit worthy of the eternal storehouses, He remains and guards and from afar wards off the snares of the wild boar. But when it cultivates a grape of gall and brings forth a cluster of bitterness, He abandons the fruitless soul, and then it is trampled by every beastly thought and every irrational desire. And in many places the word tropically calls Israel a vineyard, as in *You brought a vine out of Egypt*; and *A vineyard belonged to my beloved*; and *And I planted you a fruitful vine, all true*. And if Israel is a vineyard, then perhaps the tent of this vineyard is the house of the temple. For it was called a tabernacle of glory, and the Tabernacle, where He dwelt among men. Therefore, as long as it produced much fruit, the tent also stood for the protection of the fruits. But since He who planted it waited for it to make grapes, but it made thorns (with which they crowned the Lord) and was all turned to bitterness, for it made a grape of gall and a cluster of bitterness, (for which reason also they gave the Lord gall for food) for this reason the tent of the vineyard was abandoned. For behold (He says) your house is left to you desolate. Then this threat was fulfilled; for it was left *Like a tent in a vineyard*; from that time on He also commanded the clouds not to rain upon the vineyard. Therefore, there are no longer prophets among them, no longer heavenly grace, but it has become a dry land and a place to be trodden down. For the fences of that people were torn down, the protection of the holy Powers; and if they do anything according to the law, it is to destruction. 1.21 Therefore now *those who pass by on the road harvest* it and a *boar from the wood ravaged* it, and a *wild boar devoured* it, but now the invisible powers trample them. And like a watchman's hut in a cucumber patch. The watch huts of the harvest are constructed for guarding the cucumbers. A cucumber patch, then, is a place that bears temporary and short-lived fruits, providing some pleasure rather than benefit. Such also is the law, having a short-lived use. For the worship is temporary and blossomed for a short time; then to the true and more solid food, to the

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λοιπὸν καὶ ἡ παντελὴς αὐτῷ καταστροφὴ ἀκολουθεῖ. Οὐκ ἄγει δὲ αὐτὸν ἡ πονηρὰ συν είδησις εἰς τὸν τόπον τῆς προσευχῆς, διότι ἐν τῇ τάξει τῶν πιστῶν οὐχ ἕστηκεν· ἐξέπεσε γάρ· ἐν δὲ τῇ τῶν ὑπο κλαιόντων χώρᾳ οὐχ ἵσταται, αἰσχύνεται γάρ. Ἐντεῦθεν ὄκνος εἰς προσευχὴν, προφάσεις πεπλασμένας ἐπινοῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιζητοῦντας. Ὁ δεῖνά με (φησὶν) ἐπείγει καὶ οὐκ ἀναμένω τὴν σύναξιν. Καὶ διὰ τόδε πάλιν πρὸ τῆς τῶν πιστῶν εὐχῆς ὑπεξῆλθεν, ὅ τι ἂν τύχῃ πλασάμενος. Εἶτα ἐκ τῆς κατὰ μικρὸν συνηθείας μελέτη αὐτῷ πρὸς ἀποστασίαν ἐγγίνεται, καὶ εἰς παντελῆ ἀπώλειαν περιάγεται. Καθόλου δὲ ἴδιον τῶν πονηρῶν δυνάμεων, μετὰ τὸ ἐρήμους ἀποδεῖξαι τῶν καρπῶν τῆς δικαιοσύνης, μὴ ἀφίστασθαι, πρὶν ἂν καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν σφάλμασι περιβάλωσιν. 1.20 Ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ἡ θυγάτηρ Σιὼν, ὡς σκηνὴ ἐν ἀμπελῶνι καὶ ὡς ὀπωροφυλάκιον ἐν σικυηράτῳ. Ἀπόδειξιν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοκρισίας ἔχει ἡ τῶν ὁμοίων ἀντίδοσις. Ἐγκατέλιπε Κύριον, διὰ τοῦτο ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ἡ θυγάτηρ Σιών. Ἔτι δὲ ἔχεται τῆς φιλανθρωπίας, θυγατέρα ὀνομάζει, ἐκ τοῦ προτέρου αὐτὴν ὀνόματος ἀνακαλῶν, ὃ εἶχε πρὶν ἀλλοτριωθῆναι. Ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ὡς σκηνὴ ἐν ἀμ πελῶνι. Εἰς φρουρὰν τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀμπέλοις καρπῶν αἱ σκηναὶ πήγνυνται. Ὅταν μὲν οὖν εὐθηνῇ τοῖς οἰκείοις καρποῖς ἡ ἄμπελος, σπουδάζεται ἡ σκηνὴ καὶ πάσης ἀξιοῦται ἐπι μελείας, ὥστε ἀπ' αὐτῆς κατοπτεύειν τὸν φύλακα, μήποτε τρυγῶσιν αὐτὴν οἱ παραπορευόμενοι τὴν ὁδόν· ὅταν δὲ ἄκαρ πος ᾖ, ἀμελεῖται ἀναγκαίως τῆς ἀμπέλου τὰ φυλακτήρια. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τοῦ Ἰσραηλιτικοῦ λαοῦ τὴν ἐγκατάλειψιν ἀπειλεῖ, ὡς μὴ καρποφοροῦντος τὰ ἐπιβάλλοντα. Φοβηθῶμεν οὖν εἶναι ἄκαρποι, μὴ ἐγκαταλειφθῶμεν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τὸ φυλάσσον ἡμᾶς, τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιόν ἐστι. Ὅταν μὲν οὖν καρποφορῇ ἡ ψυχὴ ἄξια τῶν αἰωνίων ἀποθηκῶν, παρα μένει καὶ φυλάσσει καὶ πόῤῥωθεν ἀπείργει τὰς τοῦ μονιοῦ τοῦ ἀγρίου ἐπιβουλάς. Ὅταν δὲ σταφυλὴν χολῆς γεωργῇ καὶ βότρυν πικρίας ἐκφέρῃ, ἐγκαταλιμπάνει τὴν ἄκαρπον ψυχὴν, καὶ τότε ὑπὸ παντὸς λογισμοῦ θηριώδους, καὶ πάσης ἀλό γου ἐπιθυμίας καταπατεῖται. Πολλαχοῦ δὲ τροπικῶς ἀμπελῶνα τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ὁ λόγος προσ αγορεύει, ὡς τὸ Ἄμπελον ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετῆρας· καὶ Ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ· καὶ Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐφύτευσά σε ἄμπε λον καρποφόρον, πᾶσαν ἀληθινήν. Εἰ δὲ ὁ Ἰσραὴλ ἀμπελὼν, σκηνὴ δὲ τῆς ἀμπέλου ταύτης ὁ οἶκος τάχα ὁ τοῦ ναοῦ. Σκή νωμα γὰρ δόξης ἐλέγετο, καὶ Σκήνωμα, οὗ κατεσκήνωσεν ἐν ἀνθρώποις. Ἕως μὲν οὖν ὅτε ἐποίει καρπὸν πολὺν, καὶ ἡ σκηνὴ διὰ τὴν τῶν καρπῶν φυλακὴν συνειστήκει. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ φυτεύσας αὐτὴν ἔμεινε τοῦ ποιῆσαι σταφυλὴν, ἐποίησε δὲ ἀκάνθας (αἷς τὸν Κύριον ἐστεφάνωσαν) καὶ ἐστράφη πᾶσα εἰς πικρίαν, ἐποίει γὰρ σταφυλὴν χολῆς καὶ βότρυν πικρίας, (διὸ καὶ εἰς τὸ βρῶμα ἔδωκαν τῷ Κυρίῳ χολήν) διὰ τοῦτο ἐγκατελείφθη ἡ σκηνὴ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ (φησὶν) ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος. Τότε ἐπληρώθη ἡ ἀπειλὴ αὕτη· ἐγκατελείφθη γὰρ Ὡς σκηνὴ ἐν ἀμπελῶνι· ἐξ ἐκείνου λοιπὸν καὶ ταῖς νεφέλαις ἐνετείλατο τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι ἐπὶ τὸν ἀμπελῶνα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐκέτι προφῆται παρ' αὐτοῖς, οὐκέτι οὐρανία χάρις, ἀλλὰ γέγονεν εἰς χέρσον καὶ κατα πάτημα. Οἵ τε γὰρ φραγμοὶ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐκείνου καθῃρέθησαν, ὁ ὑπερασπισμὸς τῶν ἁγίων ∆υνάμεων· κἄν τι ἐργάσωνται κατὰ τὸν νόμον, εἰς ἀπώλειάν ἐστι. 1.21 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο νῦν μὲν Τρυγῶσιν οἱ παραπορευόμενοι τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ ὗς ἐκ δρυμοῦ ἐλυμήνατο, καὶ μονιὸς ἄγριος κατενεμήσατο, νῦν δὲ αἱ ἀόρατοι δυνάμεις καταπατοῦσιν αὐτούς. Καὶ ὡς ὀπωροφυλάκιον ἐν σικυηλάτῳ. Εἰς φυλακὴν τῶν σικύων τὰ φυλακτήρια τῆς ὀπώρας κατασκευάζεται. Σικυήλατον οὖν ἐστι τόπος προσκαίρων καὶ ὀλιγοχρονίων καρπῶν οἰστικὸς, τέρψιν τινὰ μᾶλλον, ἢ ὠφέλειαν παρεχο μένων. Τοιοῦτος δὲ καὶ ὁ νόμος, ὀλιγοχρόνιον ἔχων τὴν χρῆσιν. Πρόσκαιρος γὰρ ἡ λατρεία καὶ πρὸς ὀλίγον ἀνθή σασα· εἶτα τῇ ἀληθινῇ καὶ στερεωτέρᾳ τροφῇ, τῇ