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Symmachus said for the dialogue, Discourse; and Aquila, Homily. But I pray, he says, that this song of mine may be seen as most sweet and most delightful. But I will rejoice in the Lord. For when this happens, he says, I will reap the cheerfulness that comes from it. May sinners cease from the earth, and the lawless, so that they exist no more. Having recounted the divine beauty and the ineffable wealth, as was possible for human nature, he longs for all people to partake of the same knowledge, and he beseeches that the company of sinners may utterly cease, not asking that they themselves perish, but praying that they be changed, and that their band cease, imploring them to change their ways and learn the divine things. But if someone wishes to understand these words differently, as the prophet subjecting those who live in impiety to curses, even so he will find the prophecy in agreement with the apostolic teaching. For indeed the blessed Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says: If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema. For it is characteristic of those who love fervently. For we were all in sins, the earth was full of lawlessness; but since the only-begotten Word of God appeared and became man, the sinners have ceased, those who were in lawlessness have disappeared. How or in what way? For He justified all, He delivered them from their transgressions. Therefore the sinners have become few, but the justified very many. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Therefore, let those who do not wish to praise the giver of so many good things suffer what I have said; but you, O soul, ceaselessly praise your Creator and Savior.

PSALM 104. Alleluia.

This psalm also exhorts us to praise the God of all. And the inscription also makes this clear. For Alleluia is interpreted, 'Praise the Lord'. And it recalls the promises made by God to the patriarchs, and the good things granted by Him on their account to their descendants; for the memory both of these and of those is sufficient to stir up and incite to zeal for the virtue of their forefathers those who have enjoyed so many good things; and at the same time it also teaches the new people that He did not unjustly strip that ungrateful people of His own care. For since they were called the people of God, and manifestly enjoyed divine providence, but afterwards became utterly destitute of it, through the preceding psalms He teaches all people how many good things He did for them, and how ungrateful they became regarding the benefits; so that all might learn at the same time the justice of the sentence passed against them, and seeing the wages of ingratitude, might not walk the same road as they, but travel the straight one. And they say the interpretation of Alleluia in these is, 'Praise to God Iao'; and 'Iao', the Hebrews left as a certain name for God, uninterpreted. Necessarily, therefore, this precedes the present psalm. For what is in it tends toward the glorification of God, just as it happened, so also is it said. Therefore the present psalm happens to be the first of those inscribed 'Alleluia'. And I think it has this inscription because it happens to be of a strange character compared to the psalms and matters of song. For throughout they seem to me to contain praises and hymns to God; and reasonably so; for Alleluia is interpreted, 'Praise the Lord'; neither struck on a psaltery, nor spoken through a song, but being this very thing, praises and hymns, and containing the benefactions of God to men.

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Σύμμαχος τὴν διαλογὴν, ∆ιάλεξιν εἴρηκεν· ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας, Ὁμιλίαν. Εὔχομαι δὲ, φησὶ, ταύτην μου τὴν ὑμν ωδίαν ἡδίστην καὶ τερπνοτάτην ὀφθῆναι. Ἐγὼ δὲ εὐ φρανθήσομαι ἐπὶ τῷ Κυρίῳ. Τούτου γὰρ, φησὶ, γινο μένου, ἐγὼ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν εὐθυμίαν καρπώσομαι. Ἐκλεί ποιεν ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἄνομοι, ὥστε μὴ ὑπάρχειν αὐτούς. Τὸ θεῖον κάλλος καὶ τὸν ἄῤῥητον πλοῦτον, ὡς ἐνῆν ἀνθρωπείᾳ φύσει, διεξελθὼν, πάντας ἀνθρώπους τῆς αὐτῆς μεταλαχεῖν ἱμείρεται γνώσεως, καὶ τὴν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν παντελῶς ἐκλεῖψαι συμμορίαν ἱκετεύει, οὐκ αὐτοὺς ἀπολέσθαι παρακαλῶν, ἀλλὰ μετα βληθῆναι δεόμενος, καὶ παύσασθαι αὐτῶν τὸ στῖφος ἀν τιβολῶν μεταταξαμένων καὶ μεταμαθόντων τὰ θεῖα. Εἰ δέ τις ἑτέρως ταῦτα βούλεται νοεῖν τὰ ῥήματα, ὡς τοῦ προφήτου τοὺς δυσσεβείᾳ συζῶντας ὑποβάλλοντος ἀραῖς, καὶ οὕτως εὑρήσει τῇ ἀποστολικῇ διδασκαλίᾳ τὴν προ φητείαν συμβαίνουσαν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος Κο ρινθίοις ἐπιστέλλων φησίν· Εἴ τις οὐ φιλεῖ τὸν Κύριον Ἰησοῦν, ἤτω ἀνάθεμα. Ἴδιον γὰρ τῶν θερμῶς ἀγαπώντων. Καὶ γὰρ ἅπαντες ἦμεν ἐν ἁμαρτίαις, ἀνομίας ἦν πλήρης ἡ γῆ· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐπέφανεν ὁ μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, καὶ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, ἐξέλειψαν οἱ ἁμαρ τωλοὶ, ἐκλελοίπασιν οἱ ὄντες ἐν ἀνομίαις. Πῶς ἢ τίνα τρόπον; Ἐδικαίωσε γὰρ ἅπαντας, ἀπήλλαξε τῶν πε πλημμελημένων. Οὐκοῦν ὀλίγοι γεγόνασιν οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ, πολλοὶ δὲ λίαν οἱ δεδικαιωμένοι. Εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ὑμνεῖν τὸν τοσούτων ἀγαθῶν χορηγὸν οὐ βουλόμενοι, ἐκεῖνα πασχέτωσαν ἅπερ εἴρηκα· σὺ δὲ, ὦ ψυχὴ, ἐνδελεχῶς τὸν σὸν ὕμνει ∆ημιουργὸν καὶ Σωτῆρα.

ΨΑΛΜ. Ρ∆ʹ. Ἀλληλούϊα.

Ὑμνεῖν καὶ οὗτος ὁ ψαλμὸς παρακελεύεται τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεόν. ∆ηλοῖ δὲ καὶ ἡ

ἐπιγραφή. Τὸ γὰρ Ἀλληλούϊα, Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον, ἑρμηνεύεται. Ἀναμιμνήσκει δὲ τῶν τε πρὸς τοὺς πατριάρχας ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγενημένων ὑποσχέσεων, καὶ τῶν δι' ἐκείνους ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πα ρασχεθέντων ἀγαθῶν τοῖς ἐκείνων ἐκγόνοις· ἱκανὴ γὰρ καὶ τούτων κἀκείνων ἡ μνήμη τοὺς τοσούτων ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσαντας εἰς ζῆλον τῆς τῶν προγόνων ἀρετῆς ἐρε θίσαι καὶ παραθῆξαι· διδάσκει δὲ κατὰ ταὐτὸν καὶ τὸν νέον λαὸν, ὡς οὐκ ἀδίκως τὸν ἀχάριστον ἐκεῖνον λαὸν τῆς οἰκείας κηδεμονίας ἐγύμνωσεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ λαὸς Θεοῦ ἐχρημάτιζον, καὶ προφανῶς τῆς θείας προμηθείας ἀπ έλαυον, ἔρημοι δὲ ταύτης ὕστερον ἐγένοντο παντελῶς, διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ψαλμῶν διδάσκει πάντας ἀνθρώπους, ὅσα μὲν αὐτοὺς εὐεργέτησεν, ὅπως δὲ ἀχάριστοι περὶ τὰς εὐεργεσίας ἐκεῖνοι γεγένηνται· ὡς ἂν ὁμοῦ καὶ τῆς κατ' ἐκείνων ἐξενεχθείσης ψήφου τὸ δικαίωμα καταμάθοιεν ἅπαντες, καὶ τῆς ἀχαριστίας ὁρῶντες τὰ ἐπίχειρα, μὴ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνοις βαδίζοιεν ὁδὸν, ἀλλὰ τὴν εὐθεῖαν ὁδεύοιεν. Τὴν δὲ τοῦ Ἀλληλούϊα ἑρμηνείαν ἐν τούτοις εἶναι λέγουσιν, Αἶνον τῷ Θεῷ Ἰαώ· τὸ δὲ, Ἰαὼ, Ἑβραῖοιὀνομασίαν ὥσπερ τινὰ τῷ Θεῷ κατέλιπον ἀνερμήνευτον. Ἀναγκαίως τοίνυν ἡγεῖται τοῦτο τοῦ παρόντος ψαλμοῦ. Πρὸς δοξολογίαν γὰρ Θεοῦ τείνει τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ, ὥσπερ οὖν γενόμενα, οὕτω δὴ καὶ λεγόμενα. Πρῶτος τοίνυν ὁ παρὼν τυγχάνει ψαλμὸς τῶν ἐπιγεγραμμένων τὸ, Ἀλ ληλούϊα. Οἶμαι δὲ ταύτην ἔχειν τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν, διὰ τὸ ξένου τυγχάνειν χαρακτῆρος παρὰ τοὺς ψαλμοὺς καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν ᾠδήν. ∆ι' ὅλου γάρ μοι δοκοῦσιν οὗτοι αἴνους καὶ ὕμνους περιέχειν εἰς τὸν Θεόν· καὶ εἰκότως· τὸ γὰρ Ἀλληλούϊα ἑρμηνεύεται, Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον· οὔτε διὰ ψαλτηρίου κρουσθέντες, οὔτε δι' ᾠδῆς λεχθέντες, ἀλλ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο αἶνοι καὶ ὕμνοι τυγχάνοντες, καὶ τὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐεργεσίας εἰς ἀνθρώπους περιέχοντες.