Chapter X.—That the Same God, by the Same Word, Restrains from Sin by Threatening, and Saves Humanity by Exhorting.

If, then, we have shown that the plan of dealing stringently with humanity is good and salutary, and necessarily adopted by the Word, and conducive to repentance and the prevention of sins; we shall have now to look in order at the mildness of the Word. For He has been demonstrated to be just. He sets before us His own inclinations which invite to salvation; by which, in accordance with the Father’s will, He wishes to make known to us the good and the useful. Consider these. The good (τὸ καλόν) belongs to the panegyrical form of speech, the useful to the persuasive. For the hortatory and the dehortatory are a form of the persuasive, and the laudatory and inculpatory of the panegyrical.

For the persuasive style of sentence in one form becomes hortatory, and in another dehortatory. So also the panegyrical in one form becomes inculpatory, and in another laudatory. And in these exercises the Instructor, the Just One, who has proposed our advantage as His aim, is chiefly occupied. But the inculpatory and dehortatory forms of speech have been already shown us; and we must now handle the persuasive and the laudatory, and, as on a beam, balance the equal scales of justice. The exhortation to what is useful, the Instructor employs by Solomon, to the following effect: “I exhort you, O men; and I utter my voice to the sons of men. Hear me; for I will speak of excellent things;”235    Prov. viii. 4, 6. and so on. And He counsels what is salutary: for counsel has for its end, choosing or refusing a certain course; as He does by David, when He says, “Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsels of the ungodly, and standeth not in the way of sinners, and sitteth not in the chair of pestilences; but his will is in the law of the Lord.”236    Ps. i. 1, 2. And there are three departments of counsel: That which takes examples from past times; as what the Hebrews suffered when they worshipped the golden calf, and what they suffered when they committed fornication, and the like. The second, whose meaning is understood from the present times, as being apprehended by perception; as it was said to those who asked the Lord, “If He was the Christ, or shall we wait for another? Go and tell John, the blind receive their sight, the deaf hear, the lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised up; and blessed is he who shall not be offended in Me.”237    Matt. xi. 3–6; Luke vii. 19, 22, 23. Such was that which David said when he prophesied, “As we have heard, so have we seen.”238    Ps. xlviii. 8. And the third department of counsel consists of what is future, by which we are bidden guard against what is to happen; as also that was said, “They that fall into sins shall be cast into outer darkness, where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth,”239    Matt. xxii. 13, xxv. 30. and the like. So that from these things it is clear that the Lord, going the round of all the methods of curative treatment, calls humanity to salvation.

By encouragement He assuages sins, reducing lust, and at the same time inspiring hope for salvation. For He says by Ezekiel, “If ye return with your whole heart, and say, Father, I will hear you, as a holy people.”240    Ezek. xviii., xxxiii. And again He says, “Come all to Me, who labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest;”241    Matt. xi. 28. and that which is added the Lord speaks in His own person. And very clearly He calls to goodness by Solomon, when He says, “Blessed is the man who hath found wisdom, and the mortal who hath found understanding.”242    Prov. iii. 13. “For the good is found by him who seeks it, and is wont to be seen by him who has found it.”243    In Prov. ii. 4, 5, iii. 15, Jer. ii. 24, we have the sense of these verses. By Jeremiah, too, He sets forth prudence, when he says, “Blessed are we, Israel; for what is pleasing to God is known by us;244    Baruch iv. 4.—and it is known by the Word, by whom we are blessed and wise. For wisdom and knowledge are mentioned by the same prophet, when he says, “Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life, and give ear to know understanding.”245    Baruch iii. 9. By Moses, too, by reason of the love He has to man, He promises a gift to those who hasten to salvation. For He says, “And I will bring you into the good land, which the Lord sware to your fathers.”246    Deut xxxi. 20. And further, “And I will bring you into the holy mountain, and make you glad,”247    Isa. lvi. 7. He says by Isaiah. And still another form of instruction is benediction. “And blessed is he,” He saith by David, “who has not sinned; and he shall be as the tree planted near the channels of the waters, which will yield its fruit in its season, and his leaf shall not wither”248    Ps. i. 1–3. (by this He made an allusion to the resurrection); “and whatsoever he shall do shall prosper with him.” Such He wishes us to be, that we may be blessed. Again, showing the opposite scale of the balance of justice, He says, “But not so the ungodly—not so; but as the dust which the wind sweeps away from the face of the earth.”249    Ps. i. 4. By showing the punishment of sinners, and their easy dispersion, and carrying off by the wind, the Instructor dissuades from crime by means of punishment; and by holding up the merited penalty, shows the benignity of His beneficence in the most skilful way, in order that we may possess and enjoy its blessings. He invites us to knowledge also, when He says by Jeremiah, “Hadst thou walked in the way of God, thou wouldst have dwelt for ever in peace;”250    Baruch iii. 13. for, exhibiting there the reward of knowledge, He calls the wise to the love of it. And, granting pardon to him who has erred, He says, “Turn, turn, as a grape-gatherer to his basket.”251    Jer. vi. 9. Do you see the goodness of justice, in that it counsels to repentance? And still further, by Jeremiah, He enlightens in the truth those who have erred. “Thus saith the Lord, Stand in the ways, and look, and ask for the eternal paths of the Lord, what is the good path, and walk in it, and ye shall find purification for your souls.”252    Jer. vi. 16. And in order to promote our salvation, He leads us to repentance. Wherefore He says, “If thou repent, the Lord will purify thy heart, and the heart of thy seed.”253    Deut. xxx. 6. We might have adduced, as supporters on this question, the philosophers who say that only the perfect man is worthy of praise, and the bad man of blame. But since some slander beatitude, as neither itself taking any trouble, nor giving any to any one else, thus not understanding its love to man; on their account, and on account of those who do not associate justice with goodness, the following remarks are added. For it were a legitimate inference to say, that rebuke and censure are suitable to men, since they say that all men are bad; but God alone is wise, from whom cometh wisdom, and alone perfect, and therefore alone worthy of praise. But I do not employ such language. I say, then, that praise or blame, or whatever resembles praise or blame, are medicines most essential of all to men. Some are ill to cure, and, like iron, are wrought into shape with fire, and hammer, and anvil, that is, with threatening, and reproof, and chastisement; while others, cleaving to faith itself, as self-taught, and as acting of their own free-will, grow by praise:—

And comprehending this, as it seems to me, the Samian Pythagoras gives the injunction:—

Chiding is also called admonishing; and the etymology of admonishing (νουθέτησις) is (νοῦ ἐνθεματισμός) putting of understanding into one; so that rebuking is bringing one to one’s senses.

But there are myriads of injunctions to be found, whose aim is the attainment of what is good, and the avoidance of what is evil. “For there is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord.”254    Isa. lvii. 21, xlviii. 22. Wherefore by Solomon He commands the children to beware: “My son, let not sinners deceive thee, and go not after their ways; and go not, if they entice thee, saying, Come with us, share with us in innocent blood, and let us hide unjustly the righteous man in the earth; let us put him out of sight, all alive as he is into Hades.”255    Prov. i. 10–12. This is accordingly likewise a prediction concerning the Lord’s passion. And by Ezekiel, the life supplies commandments: “The soul that sinneth shall die; but he that doeth righteousness shall be righteous. He eateth not upon the mountains, and hath not set his eyes on the devices of the house of Israel, and will not defile his neighbour’s wife, and will not approach to a woman in her separation, and will not oppress a man, and will restore the debtor’s pledge, and will not take plunder: he will give his bread to the hungry, and clothe the naked. His money he will not give on usury, and will not take interest; and he will turn away his hand from wrong, and will execute righteous judgment between a man and his neighbour. He has walked in my statutes, and kept my judgments to do them. This is a righteous man. He shall surely live, saith the Lord.”256    Ezek. xviii. 4–9. These words contain a description of the conduct of Christians, a notable exhortation to the blessed life, which is the reward of a life of goodness—everlasting life.

Ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς θεὸς διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου καὶ ἀπείργει τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἀπειλῶν καὶ σῴζει τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα παρακαλῶν. Εἰ τοίνυν τὴν περὶ τὸ ἐπιστύφειν τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα οἰκονομίαν, ἀγαθὴν οὖσαν καὶ σωτήριον, ἀναγκαίως ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου παραλαμβανομένην ἐπεδείξαμεν πρός τε μετάνοιαν καὶ πρὸς τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τὴν κώλυσιν εὔθετον γενομένην, ἑξῆς ἂν εἴη σκοπεῖν τὸ ἤπιον τοῦ λόγου· δίκαιος γὰρ οὗτος ἀποδέδεικται καὶ τὰς ἰδίας παρατίθεται γνώμας τὰς πρὸς σωτηρίαν παρακλητικάς, δι' ὧν καὶ τὸ καλὸν καὶ τὸ συμφέρον πατρικῷ θελήματι γνωρίζειν ἡμῖν βούλεται. Σκόπει δὲ ταῦτα· τὸ μὲν καλὸν τοῦ ἐγκωμιαστικοῦ, τὸ δὲ συμφέρον τοῦ συμβουλευτικοῦ· καὶ γὰρ οὖν τοῦ μὲν συμβουλευτικοῦ σχέσις τὸ προτρεπτικὸν καὶ ἀποτρεπτικόν, τοῦ δὲ ἐγκωμιαστικοῦ τὸ ἐπαινετικόν τε καὶ ψεκτικὸν γίνεται. Πῶς γὰρ ἔχουσα ἡ διάνοια ἡ συμβουλευτικὴ προτρεπτικὴ γίνεται καὶ πῶς ἔχουσα ἀποτρεπτική. Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐγκωμιαστικὸν πῶς μὲν ἔχον ψεκτικὸν γίνεται, πῶς δὲ ἔχον ἐπαινετικόν· περὶ ἃ καταγίνεται μάλιστα ὁ παιδαγωγὸς ὁ δίκαιος ὁ τοῦ ἡμετέρου συμφέροντος ἐστοχασμένος. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ τὸ μὲν ψεκτικὸν καὶ ἀποτρεπτικὸν εἶδος ὑποδέδεικται ἡμῖν ἤδη πρότερον, νῦν δὲ αὖ τὸ προτρεπτικὸν καὶ ἐπαινετικὸν μεταχειριστέον καὶ καθάπερ ἐπὶ ζυγοῦ τὰς ἰσοστασίους ἀντισηκώσωμεν τοῦ δικαίου πλάστιγγας. Τῇ μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τὰ συμφέροντα προτροπῇ ὁ παιδαγωγὸς διὰ Σολομῶντος ὧδέ πως χρῆται· ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς, ἄνθρωποι, παρακαλῶ καὶ προΐεμαι ἐμὴν φωνὴν υἱοῖς ἀνθρώπων· ἐπακούσατέ μου, σεμνὰ γὰρ ἐρῶ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Συμβουλεύει δὲ τὰ σωτήρια, ὅτι ἡ συμβουλὴ πρὸς αἵρεσίν ἐστι καὶ φυγὴν ἐπιτήδειος, καθάπερ ποιεῖ διὰ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ λέγων μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὃς οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἐν βουλῇ ἀσεβῶν καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἔστη καὶ ἐπὶ καθέδραν λοιμῶν οὐκ ἐκάθισεν· ἀλλ' ἢ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ κυρίου τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ. Τῆς δὲ συμβουλίας μέρη τρία, τὸ μὲν ἐκ τῶν παρεληλυθότων χρόνων λαμβάνον τὰ παραδείγματα, οἷον τί ἔπαθον οἱ Ἑβραῖοι τῷ χρυσῷ εἰδωλολατρήσαντες ἐν μόσχῳ, καὶ τί ἔπαθον ἐκπορνεύσαντες καὶ τὰ ὅμοια, τὸ δὲ ἐκ τῶν παρόντων χρόνων κατανοούμενον, οἷον αἰσθητικῶς καταλαμβανόμενον, ὡς ἐκεῖνο εἴρηται πρὸς τοὺς ἐρομένους τὸν κύριον εἰ αὐτὸς εἶ ὁ Χριστός, ἢ ἄλλον περιμένομεν· ἀπέλθετε καὶ εἴπατε Ἰωάννῃ· τυφλοὶ ἀναβλέπουσιν, κωφοὶ ἀκούουσιν, λεπροὶ καθαρίζονται, ἀνίστανται νεκροί, καὶ μακάριός ἐστιν ὃς ἐὰν μὴ σκανδαλισθῇ ἐν ἐμοί. Τοῦτ' ἄρα ἦν ὃ προφητεύων εἴρηκεν ∆αβὶδ καθὼς ἠκούσαμεν, οὕτως καὶ εἴδομεν. Ἐκ δὲ τῶν μελλόντων τὸ τρίτον συνίσταται μέρος τῆς συμβουλίας, ᾧ τὰ ἀποβησόμενα κελεύει φυλάττεσθαι· καθὸ κἀκεῖνο εἴρηται· οἱ δὲ ἁμαρτίαις περιπεσόντες βληθήσονται εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων καὶ τὰ παραπλήσια· ὡς ἐκ τούτων εἶναι συμφανὲς διὰ πάσης θεραπείας χωροῦντα τὸν κύριον εἰς σωτηρίαν ἐκκαλεῖσθαι τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα. Τῇ δὲ παραμυθίᾳ παρηγορεῖ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, μειῶν μὲν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἐλπίδα ἐνδιδοὺς εἰς σωτηρίαν. Φησὶ γὰρ δι' Ἰεζεκιήλ· ἐὰν ἐπιστραφῆτε ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας καὶ εἴπητε πάτερ, ἀκούσομαι ὑμῶν ὥσπερ λαοῦ ἁγίου. Καὶ πάλιν λέγει· δεῦτε πρός με πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τούτοις, ἃ αὐτοπροσωπεῖ ὁ κύριος. Σαφέστατα δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀγαθωσύνην καλεῖ διὰ Σολομῶντος λέγων· μακάριος ἄνθρωπος, ὃς εὗρεν σοφίαν, καὶ θνητός, ὃς εὗρεν φρόνησιν. Τὸ γὰρ ἀγαθὸν τῷ ζητοῦντι εὑρίσκεται καὶ ὁρᾶσθαι τῷ εὑρόντι φιλεῖ. Ναὶ μὴν καὶ δι' Ἱερεμίου τὴν φρόνησιν ἐξηγεῖται, μακάριοί ἐσμεν, Ἰσραήλ, λέγων, ὅτι τὰ ἀρεστὰ τῷ θεῷ γνωστὰ ἡμῖν ἐστι, γνωστὰ δὲ διὰ τοῦ λόγου, δι' ὃν μακάριοι καὶ φρόνιμοι. Φρόνησις γὰρ ἡ γνῶσις διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ προφήτου μηνύεται λέγοντος ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, ἐντολὰς ζωῆς, ἐνωτίσασθε γνῶναι φρόνησιν. ∆ιὰ δὲ Μωσέως ἔτι καὶ προσυπισχνεῖται δωρεὰν διὰ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν φιλανθρωπίαν τοῖς σπεύδουσιν εἰς σωτηρίαν. Φησὶ γάρ· καὶ εἰσάξω ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθήν, ἣν ὤμοσεν κύριος τοῖς πατράσιν ὑμῶν· πρὸς δὲ καὶ εἰσάξω ὑμᾶς εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ ἅγιον καὶ εὐφρανῶ ὑμᾶς διὰ Ἡσαΐου λέγει. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλο εἶδος αὐτοῦ παιδαγωγίας, ὁ μακαρισμός· καὶ μακάριος ἐκεῖνος διὰ ∆αβὶδ λέγει φησίν ὁ μὴ ἁμαρτών, καὶ ἔσται ὡς τὸ ξύλον τὸ πεφυτευμένον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων, ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ φύλλον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπορρυήσεται, ταυτὶ μὲν καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀνάστασιν ᾐνίξατο, καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἐὰν ποιήσῃ, κατευοδωθήσεται αὐτῷ. Τοιούτους ἡμᾶς γενέσθαι βούλεται, ἵν' ὦμεν μακάριοι. Ἔμπαλιν δὲ τὸ ἀντισοῦν τοῦ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐνδεικνύμενος ζυγοῦ ἀλλ' ἢ οὐχ οὕτως φησίν οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλ' ἢ ὡς ὁ χνοῦς, ὃν ἐκριπτεῖ ὁ ἄνεμος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς. Τὸ ἐπιτίμιον τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ τὸ εὐδιαφόρητον αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ ὑπηνέμιον δείξας ὁ παιδαγωγὸς ἀπετρέψατο τῆς αἰτίας διὰ τῆς ἐπιτιμίας, καὶ τὴν κόλασιν ἐπανατεινάμενος τὴν κατ' ἀξίαν, τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἐνεδείξατο τὴν εὐποιίαν, τεχνικώτατα ἐπὶ τὴν χρῆσιν ἡμᾶς καὶ τὴν κτῆσιν τῶν καλῶν διὰ ταύτης καλῶν. Ναὶ μὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν γνῶσιν παρακαλεῖ διὰ μὲν τοῦ Ἱερεμίου λέγων· τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ θεοῦ εἰ ἐπορεύθης, κατῴκεις ἂν ἐν εἰρήνῃ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Ὑποδεικνύων γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τὸν μισθὸν τῆς γνώσεως εἰς ἔρωτα αὐτῆς τοὺς συνετοὺς ἐκκαλεῖται καὶ τῷ πεπλανημένῳ συγγνώμην νέμων ἐπίστρεφε γάρ, ἐπίστρεφε, ὡς ὁ τρυγῶν ἐπὶ τὸν κάρταλλον αὐτοῦ λέγει. Ὁρᾷς τὸ ἀγαθὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης μετανοεῖν συμβουλευούσης; Ἔτι δὲ διὰ Ἱερεμίου φωτίζει τοῖς πλανωμένοις τὴν ἀλήθειαν· τάδε λέγει κύριος· στῆτε ἐπὶ ταῖς ὁδοῖς καὶ ἴδετε καὶ ἐρωτήσατε τρίβους κυρίου αἰωνίας, ποία ἐστὶν ἡ τρίβος ἡ ἀγαθή, καὶ βαδίζετε ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ εὑρήσετε ἁγνισμὸν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν. Ἄγει δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν μετάνοιαν σωτηρίας χάριν τῆς ἡμῶν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησιν· ἐὰν μετανοήσῃς, περικαθαριεῖ κύριος τὴν καρδίαν σου καὶ τὴν καρδίαν τοῦ σπέρμα τός σου. Ἐνῆν μὲν οὖν συνηγόρους ἡμῖν τῆς ζητήσεως ταύτης ἐπισπάσασθαι φιλοσόφους, οἵ φασιν ἐπαινετὸν εἶναι μόνον τὸν τέλειον, ψεκτὸν δὲ τὸν φαῦλον τυγχάνειν. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ συκοφαντοῦσί τινες τὸ μακάριον, ὡς πράγματ' οὐκ ἔχον οὔτε αὐτὸ οὔτε ἄλλῳ τῳ παρεχόμενον, τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ἀσυνετοῦντες αὐτοῦ, διὰ τούτους δὴ καὶ τοὺς ἔτι τὸ δίκαιον οὐ προσάπτοντας τῷ ἀγαθῷ, ὅδε ὁ λόγος ἡμῖν παρῃτήθη. Ἑπόμενον γὰρ ἦν φάσκειν ἡμᾶς τὸ ἐπιπληκτικὸν καὶ ψεκτικὸν εἶδος τῆς παιδαγωγίας ἁρμόδιον εἶναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἐπεὶ πάντας ἀνθρώπους φαύλους λέγουσι· σοφὸς δὲ ὁ θεὸς μόνος, ἀφ' οὗ ἡ σοφία, καὶ τέλειος μόνος, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ μόνος ἐπαι νετός. Ἀλλὰ οὐ συγχρῶμαι τῷ λόγῳ τῷδε, φημὶ δ' οὖν ἔπαινον ἢ ψόγον ἢ ἐπαίνῳ τι ἐοικὸς καὶ ψόγῳ μάλιστα πάντων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀναγκαιότατα φάρμακα. Οἱ μὲν οὖν δυσίατοι, καθάπερ ὁ σίδηρος πρὸς τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ σφύρας καὶ ἄκμονος, τουτέστιν ἀπειλῆς, ἐλέγχου, ἐπιτιμήσεως ἐλαύνονται, οἱ δὲ αὐτῇ προσέχοντες τῇ πίστει οἷον αὐτοδίδακτοι καὶ προαιρετικοὶ αὔξονται τῷ ἐπαίνῳ· ἀρετὰ γὰρ ἐπαινεομένα δένδρον ὣς ἀέξεται. Καί μοι δοκεῖ συνεὶς τοῦτο ὁ Σάμιος παραγγέλλειν Πυθαγόρας· δειλὰ μὲν ἐκπρήξας ἐπιπλήσσεο, χρηστὰ δὲ τέρπου. Τὸ δὲ ἐπιπλήσσειν καὶ νουθετεῖν καλεῖται, τὸ δὲ ἐτυμολογεῖται ἡ νουθέτησις νοῦ ἐνθεματισμός, ὡς εἶναι τὸ ἐπιπληκτικὸν εἶδος νοῦ περιποιητικόν. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ μυρίαι ὅσαι προσεξεύρηνται παραγγελίαι εἰς κτῆσιν ἀγαθῶν καὶ φυγὴν κακῶν· τοῖς γὰρ ἀσεβέσιν οὐκ ἔστιν εἰρήνη, λέγει κύριος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο φυλάττεσθαι τοῖς νηπίοις διὰ Σολομῶντος παραγγέλλει· υἱέ, μὴ πλανήσωσί σε ἁμαρτωλοί, μηδὲ πορευθῇς μετ' αὐτῶν ὁδούς, μηδὲ πορευθῇς, ἐὰν παρακαλέσωσίν σε λέγοντες· ἐλθὲ μεθ' ἡμῶν, κοινώνησον αἵματος ἀθῴου, κρύψωμεν δὲ εἰς γῆν ἄνδρα δίκαιον ἀδίκως, ἀφανίσωμεν αὐτὸν ὥσπερ Ἅιδης ζῶντα. Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν καὶ περὶ τοῦ κυριακοῦ προφητεύεται πάθους· ὑποτίθεται δὲ καὶ δι' Ἰεζεκιὴλ ἡ ζωὴ τὰς ἐντολάς· ἡ ψυχὴ ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα ἀποθανεῖται. Ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἔσται δίκαιος, ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην, οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων φάγεται, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔθετο ἐπὶ τὰ ἐνθυμήματα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ, καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ μιάνῃ, καὶ πρὸς γυναῖκα ἐν ἀφέδρῳ οὖσαν οὐκ ἐγγιεῖ, καὶ ἄνθρωπον οὐ καταδυναστεύσει, καὶ ἐνεχυρασμὸν ὀφείλοντος ἀποδώσει καὶ ἅρπαγμα οὐχ ἁρπάσει, τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ τῷ πεινῶντι δώσει καὶ γυμνὸν περιβαλεῖ, τὸ ἀργύριον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τόκῳ οὐ δώσει καὶ πλεόνασμα οὐ λήψεται, καὶ ἐξ ἀδικίας ἀποστρέψει τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ κρίμα δίκαιον ποιήσει ἀνὰ μέσον ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ, ἐν τοῖς προστάγμασί μου πεπόρευται καὶ τὰ δικαιώματά μου πεφύλακται τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτά· δίκαιος οὗτός ἐστι, ζωῇ ζήσεται, λέγει κύριος. Ταῦτα ὑποτύπωσιν Χριστιανῶν περιέχει πολιτείας καὶ προτροπὴν ἀξιόλογον εἰς μακάριον βίον, γέρας εὐζωίας, ζωὴν αἰώνιον.