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And the Word, threatening them with what they will suffer, says after those things: “And it shall be in those days, says the Lord your God, I will not strike you to completion.” But if these things especially extend also to the future punishments, you will inquire; if not, let the one who is able from the things that have happened in this life concerning the people pass over also to those things; for I, being persuaded, would say that just as “they serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things,” so that people was punished with a copy and shadow of the true punishments for their own sins, so that every punishment recorded according to the law and the prophets concerning the people contains a shadow of the true punishments. If, then, for them a completion for their sins did not happen, but at some end, so perhaps there will also be punishment for those who have sinned after the exodus; but a completion upon Jerusalem, when the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar is. And yet someone will say that not even then was it a completion, nor even in the Maccabean times, but a completion for the people at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ; for as long as the Savior did not say to them, “Behold, your house is left to you,” it was not left; but when he wept over Jerusalem, saying, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing? Behold, your house is left to you desolate,” the house is left, “Jerusalem is surrounded by armies” as the house having been left and “her desolation has drawn near”; then after their transgression “salvation” came to us “the Gentiles.” They were therefore punished, and a completion did not reach them until the advent of my Lord Jesus; but I consider whether such things are not also the case concerning us, and certain punishments occur, so that these have no experience of second punishments but are content with the first, while others come also to the second, but not even to the third, and others will come even to the fourth. For “I will add seven plagues” signifies some mystery of one plague occurring and a second and a third up to the aforementioned seven upon some; but not all are struck with seven plagues, but I think some will be struck with six plagues, others five, others four, others three or two, and those who are least of all in punishments I think will be struck with one plague. God therefore also knows the things concerning the plagues, for which reason it is written here at the beginning of the reading: “And it shall be in those days,” those concerning the things mentioned, “I will not make an end of you”; but not in those days is the completion; for there are certain days, when he will make an end of those whom he will make. “And it shall be when you say: ‘For what reason has the Lord God done to us all these evil things?’ you will also say to them: ‘Because you forsook me and served other gods in your land, so shall you serve in a land that is not yours.’” Let the saying be understood, and it is sufficient for the present to furnish the reminder from the saying to those who are able to hear. Therefore the sons of Israel had the holy land, the temple, the house of prayer. It was necessary for them to worship God, but transgressing the divine commandments they both practiced idolatry and adopted the idols of Damascus, as it is written in Kings, and they took up other idols of the nations into the holy land. Through the idols of the nations which they adopted, they made themselves worthy to be cast down into the land of idols, to be settled there where they worshiped the idols. The Word therefore says to them according to the saying: “Because you forsook me and served foreign gods in your land, so shall you serve foreign gods in a land that is not yours”; for everyone who deifies something serves foreign gods. Do you deify food and drink? Your “god” is your “belly.” Do you honor silver as a great good and wealth below? Mammon is your god and lord. For Jesus called him the lord of the lovers of money, stating: “You cannot serve God and Mammon; no one is able

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καὶ ἀπειλῶν αὐτοῖς ὁ λόγος ἃ πείσονται μετ' ἐκεῖνά φησιν· «Καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου, οὐ μὴ πατάξω ὑμᾶς εἰς συντέλειαν.» Εἰ δὲ ταῦτα μάλιστα φθάνει καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς μελλούσας κολάσεις <ζητήσεις>· εἰ μή, ὁ δυνάμενος ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ συμβεβηκότων περὶ τὸν λαὸν μεταβάτω καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνας· ἐγὼ γὰρ πειθόμενος εἴποιμι, ὅτι ὡς «ὑποδείγματι καὶ σκιᾷ λατρεύουσιν τῶν ἐπουρανίων», οὕτως ὑποδείγματι καὶ σκιᾷ τῶν ἀληθινῶν κολάσεων ἐκολάσθη ὁ λαὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν ἑαυτῶν, ὡς εἶναι πᾶσαν κόλασιν τὴν κατὰ <τὸν> νόμον καὶ τοὺς προφήτας ἀναγεγραμμένην περὶ τὸν λαὸν περιέχουσαν σκιὰν κολάσεων ἀληθινῶν. Εἴπερ οὖν ἐκείνοις συντέλεια ἐπὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις οὐ γέγο νεν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τέλει ποτέ, οὕτω μήποτε ἔσται καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἔξοδον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας κόλασις· συντέλεια δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ, ὅτε ἡ αἰχμαλωσία ἐστὶν ἡ Ναβουχοδο νόσωρ. Καίτοιγε ἐρεῖ τις ὅτι οὐδὲ τότε συντέλεια, ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐπὶ τοῖς Μακκαβαϊκοῖς, ἀλλὰ συντέλεια τῷ λαῷ ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ κυρίου μου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας· ὅσον γὰρ οὐκ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ὁ σωτήρ· «Ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν», οὐκ ἠφίετο· ὅτε δὲ ἔκλαυσεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ λέγων· «Ἱερουσαλήμ, Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἡ τοὺς προφήτας ἀποκτείνουσα καὶ λιθοβολοῦσα τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους πρὸς αὐτήν, ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυναγαγεῖν τὰ τέκνα σου, ὃν τρόπον <ὄρνις> ἐπισυνάγει τὰ νοσσία ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε; ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος», ἀφεῖται ὁ οἶκος, κεκύκλωται «ὑπὸ στρατοπέδων Ἱερου σαλὴμ» ὡς ἀφεθέντος τοῦ οἴκου καὶ «ἤγγισεν ἡ ἐρή μωσις αὐτῆς»· εἶτα μετὰ τὸ ἐκείνων παράπτωμα ἦλθεν «ἡ σωτηρία» ἡμῖν «τοῖς ἔθνεσιν». Ἐκολάζοντο οὖν ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ συντέλεια οὐκ ἔφθανεν ἐπ' 7.2 αὐτοὺς ἕως τῆς τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ μου ἐπιδημίας· σκοπῶ δὲ μήποτε καὶ περὶ ἡμᾶς τοιαῦτά ἐστιν, καὶ κολάσεις τινὲς γίνονται, ὥστε τούσδε μὲν μὴ πεῖραν ἔχειν δευτέρων κολά σεων ἀλλὰ ἀρκεσθῆναι ταῖς προτέραις, ἄλλους δὲ ἥκειν καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δευτέρας, οὐ μὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς τρίτας, ἄλλους δὲ ἐλεύσεσθαι καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς τετάρτας. Τὸ γὰρ «προσθήσω πληγὰς ἑπτὰ» ὁτίποτε μυστήριον δηλοῖ μιᾶς πληγῆς γινομένης καὶ δευτέρας καὶ τρίτης μέχρι τῶν εἰρημένων ἑπτὰ ἐπί τινας· οὐ πάντες δὲ ἑπτὰ πληγὰς πλήσσονται, ἀλλ' οἶμαί τινας πληγήσεσθαι πληγὰς ἕξ, ἄλλους πέντε, ἄλλους τέσσαρας, ἄλλους τρεῖς <ἢ> δύο, τοὺς δὲ πάντων ὑποδεεστέρους ἐν κολάσεσιν πληγὴν νομίζω πληγήσεσθαι μίαν. Οἶδεν οὖν ὁ θεὸς καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν πληγῶν, διὸ γέγραπται ἐνθάδε κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ ἀναγνώσματος· «Καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις», ταῖς περὶ τῶν εἰρημένων, «οὐ μὴ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς εἰς συντέλειαν»· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις συντέλεια· εἰσὶν γάρ τινες ἡμέραι, ὅτε ποιήσει 7.3 οὓς ποιήσει <εἰς> συντέλειαν. «Καὶ ἔσται ὅταν εἴπητε· τίνος ἕνεκεν ἐποίησεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῖν ἅπαντα τὰ κακὰ ταῦτα; καὶ ἐρεῖς αὐτοῖς· ἀνθ' ὧν ἐγκατελίπετέ με καὶ ἐδουλεύσατε θεοῖς ἑτέροις ἐν τῇ γῇ ὑμῶν, οὕτως δουλεύ σετε ἐν γῇ οὐχ ὑμῶν.» Τὸ ῥητὸν νοηθήτω, καὶ ἀρκεῖ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τὴν ὑπόμνησιν τοῖς ἀκούειν δυναμένοις ἐκ τοῦ ῥητοῦ παραστῆσαι. Οὐκοῦν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ τὴν ἁγίαν γῆν, τὸν ναὸν εἶχον, τὸν οἶκον τῆς προσευχῆς. Ἔδει αὐτοὺς λατρεύειν τῷ θεῷ, παραβαίνοντες δὲ τὰς θείας ἐντολὰς καὶ εἰδωλολάτρουν καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα παρελάμβανον ∆αμασκοῦ, ὡς γέγραπται ἐν ταῖς Βασιλείαις, καὶ ἄλλα εἴδωλα ἀνελάμβανον τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν γῆν. ∆ι' ὧν παρελάμβανον τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰδώλων, ἀξίους ἑαυτοὺς ἐποίουν καταβληθῆναι εἰς τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων γῆν, καταγενέσθαι ἐκεῖ, ὅπου προσεκύνουν τὰ εἴδωλα. Φησὶν οὖν ὁ λόγος αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὸ ῥητόν· «Ἀνθ' ὧν ἐγκατελίπετέ με καὶ ἐδουλεύσατε θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐν τῇ γῇ ὑμῶν, οὕτως δουλεύσετε θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐν γῇ οὐχ ὑμῶν»· πᾶς δὲ ὁ θεοποιῶν τι δουλεύει θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις. Ἐκθειάζεις τὰ βρώματα καὶ τὰ πόματα; «Θεός» σού ἐστιν «ἡ κοιλία». Τιμᾷς τὸ ἀργύριον ὡς μέγα ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸν πλοῦτον τὸν κάτω; θεός σού ἐστιν ὁ Μαμωνᾶς καὶ κύριος. Ἰησοῦς γὰρ αὐτὸν εἶπεν κύριον τῶν φιλαργύρων φάσκων· «Οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ Μαμωνᾷ· οὐδεὶς δύναται