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they have been the cause of the growth of evil fruits, because of whom the vineyard has been left desolate, that is, their whole nation, and its hedge was torn down, namely, those who long ago defended the nation and guarded the people along with the place itself, both the tower in it, the temple itself, and the winepress and the altar. All these things, then, were utterly razed to their foundations because of the blood-guiltiness of the husbandmen, who indeed killed the first and second servants sent to them, that is, the prophets throughout the ages. The old scripture also testifies to the account, and of the prophets, Elijah, saying in a prayer to God: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and dug down your altars, and I am left alone, and they seek to take my life.” These things, then, the prophet accuses the rulers of the Jewish nation of through his prayer, but they, not content with the murder of the prophets, later also the son himself, that is, the Son of God, not being ignorant but knowing very well and precisely that he was the heir, they killed. And these things the Savior was hinting at about himself before his passion, anticipating the future according to his foreknowledge. And he says these things while staying in the temple to the husbandmen of the vineyard according to him, to the chief priests and the teachers and the rest of the leaders of the people, very clearly through the parable preparing them to pass sentence against themselves. Indeed, he asks them at the end of the parable, saying: “When the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen?” And they, not yet understanding that it was spoken about them, passed the verdict against themselves ... . . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . And since the Word of God also prophesied concerning the place, come, let us see his utterances about this. The rulers of the Jews, not bearing his solemn teaching nor his boldness and his reproofs, tried to get rid of him from the city. But he, departing from Jerusalem, uttered such words against the city: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again from now on until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” For since a cursed pollution was committed by them in the time after this, -and this was the abomination they dared to commit against the Savior-, it was necessary, surely, for not only the inhabitants of the city, but also the very ground, on which they were so proud, to suffer the penalty for what the inhabitants had done, which indeed they suffered not long after, when the Romans attacked the city and slaughtered some of the inhabitants by the law of war, and led others away as captives, and destroyed others by famine, and drove others out and scattered them to every place, and burned their house and temple, casting them into utter desolation. But since these things happened in the times after this, the Savior, anticipating the future by his foreknowledge as God the Word, foretells what will happen through the preceding words. And he calls the children of the city the entire nation of the Jews, and he calls their house the temple. Then he testifies that the grim things will come upon them because of their own fault, since he himself often wished to gather their children under the yoke of piety, being preexistent to all and from eternity having made provision for them, through each prophet and in each generation turning them back and calling them, but they were not willing to obey the call, for which reason he has pronounced the sentence against them, saying: “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” And very precisely he says not that the city will be desolate, but the house in it, that is, the temple, which is no longer his but

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παραίτιοι γεγόνασι τῆς τῶν πονηρῶν καρπῶν ἐκφυῆς, δι' οὓς καὶ ὁ ἀμπελὼν καταλέλειπται ἔρημος, τουτέστι τὸ πᾶν αὐτῶν ἔθνος, καὶ ὁ τούτου καθῃρέθη φραγμός, οἱ πάλαι δηλαδὴ τοῦ ἔθνους προμαχοῦντες καὶ τὸν λαὸν φυλάττοντες σὺν αὐτῷ τῷ τόπῳ, ὅ τε ἐν αὐτῷ πύργος αὐτὸς ὁ νεώς, καὶ ἡ ληνὸς καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον. ταῦτα γοῦν πάντα ἄρδην ἐκ βάθρων ἤρθη διὰ τὴν τῶν γεωργῶν μιαιφονίαν, οἳ δὴ πρώτους δούλους καὶ δευτέρους ἀποσταλέντας πρὸς αὐτούς, δηλαδὴ τοὺς κατὰ χρόνους προφήτας, ἀνεῖλον. μαρτυρεῖ τῷ λόγῳ καὶ ἡ παλαιὰ γραφὴ καὶ προφητῶν δὲ Ἠλίας ἐν εὐχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν λέγων· «κύριε τοὺς προφήτας σου ἀπέκτειναν καὶ τὰ θυσιαστήριά σου κατέσκαψαν κἀγὼ ὑπελείφθην μόνος καὶ ζητοῦσι τὴν ψυχήν μου λαβεῖν αὐτήν». ταῦτα γοῦν ὁ προφήτης τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς κατηγορεῖ, οἱ δὲ μὴ ἀρκεσθέντες τῇ κατὰ τῶν προφητῶν μιαιφονίᾳ ὕστερον καὶ αὐ τὸν τὸν υἱόν, τουτέστι τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱόν, οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντες ἀλλ' εὖ μάλα καὶ ἀκριβῶς εἰδότες αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν κληρονόμον ἀνεῖλον. ταῦτα δὲ ὁ σωτὴρ πρὸ τοῦ πάθους περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ᾐνίττετο, προλαμβάνων τὸ μέλλον κατὰ τὴν πρόγνωσιν. καὶ λέγει ταῦτα ἐν αὐτῷ διατρίβων τῷ ἱερῷ τοῖς κατ' αὐτὸν γεωργοῖς τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσι καὶ τοῖς διδασκάλοις καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς τοῖς τοῦ λαοῦ προεστῶσιν, σφόδρα σαφῶς διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς αὐτοὺς καθ' ἑαυτῶν τὴν ἀπόφασιν ἐξενέγκασθαι παρασκευάζων. ἐρωτᾷ μὲν δὴ αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ τῆς παραβολῆς τέλει λέγων· «ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, τί ποιήσει τοῖς γεωργοῖς ἐκείνοις»; οἱ δὲ οὔπω συνέντες ὅτι περὶ αὐτῶν εἴρητο, καθ' ἑαυτῶν τὴν ψῆφον ἐξήνεγκον ... . . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ τόπου ἔχρησεν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, φέρε ἴδωμεν τὰς αὐτοῦ περὶ τούτου φωνάς. οὐ φέροντες αὐτοῦ τὴν σεμνὴν διδασκαλίαν οὐδὲ τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ τοὺς ἐλέγχους οἱ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἄρχοντες τῆς πόλεως ἀπαλλαγῆναι ἐποίουν. ὁ δὲ ἀναχωρῶν τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων τοιάσδε προήκατο κατὰ τῆς πόλεως φωνάς· «Ἱερουσαλὴμ Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἡ ἀποκτείνουσα τοὺς προφήτας καὶ λιθοβολοῦσα τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους πρὸς αὐτήν, ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυναγαγεῖν τὰ τέκνα σου, ὃν τρόπον ὄρνις ἐπισυνάγει τὰ νόσσια αὐτῆς ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε. ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος. λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ ἴδητε ἀπ' ἄρτι ἕως ἂν εἴπητε· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου.» μιάσματος γὰρ ἐναγοῦς ἐν τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνῳ δρασθέντος ὑπ' αὐτῶν, -τοῦτο δ' ἦν τὸ τολμηθὲν αὐτοῖς ἄγος κατὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος-, ἐχρῆν δήπου μὴ μόνον τοὺς τῆς πόλεως οἰκήτορας, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἔδαφος, ἐφ' ᾧ μέγα ἐφρόνουν, τἀπίχειρα ὧν ἔδρασαν οἱ οἰκήτορες παθεῖν, ἃ δὴ καὶ πεπόνθασιν οὐκ εἰς μακράν, Ῥωμαίων ἐπελθόντων τῇ πόλει καὶ τῶν οἰκητόρων τοὺς μὲν πολέμου νόμῳ κατασφαξάντων, τοὺς δ' αἰχμαλώτους ἀπαγαγόντων, τοὺς δὲ λιμῷ διαφθειράντων, τοὺς δ' ἀπελασάντων καὶ εἰς πάντα τόπον διασκεδασάντων, τὸν δ' οἶκον αὐτῶν καὶ τὸν νεὼν ἐμπρησάντων εἰς ἔσχατά τε ἐρημίας περιβαλόντων. ἀλλὰ γὰρ τούτων ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνοις γενομένων προλαβὼν ὁ σωτὴρ τὸ μέλλον τῇ προγνώσει οἷα θεὸς λόγος τὰ συμβησόμενα προαγορεύει διὰ τῶν προκειμένων. τέκνα δὲ τῆς πόλεως ὀνομάζει τὸ Ἰουδαίων πᾶν ἔθνος, οἶκον δὲ αὐτῶν ἀποκαλεῖ τὸν νεών. εἶτα μαρτύρεται ὅτι παρὰ τὴν αὐτῶν αἰτίαν τὰ σκυθρωπὰ αὐτοὺς μετελεύσεται, ἐπειδήπερ αὐτὸς μὲν πολλάκις ἐπισυναγαγεῖν αὐτῶν τὰ τέκνα ὑπὸ τὸν τῆς θεοσεβείας ζυγὸν βεβούληται, οἷα τοῦ παντὸς προὼν καὶ ἐξ αἰῶνος πρόνοιαν αὐτῶν πεποιημένος δι' ἑκάστου τε προφήτου καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην γενεὰν ἐπιστρέφων αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀνακαλούμενος, οἱ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελον ὑπακοῦσαι τῇ κλήσει, οὗ δὴ χάριν τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν ἀπόφασιν προενήνεκται εἰπών· «ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος». σφόδρα δὲ ἀκριβῶς οὐ τὴν πόλιν ἔρημον ἔσεσθαί φησιν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ οἶκον, δηλαδὴ τὸν νεών, ὃν οὐκέτι ἑαυτοῦ ἀλλ'