that the gentiles who sin receive their sins simply, but we receive our offenses doubly. "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries." The things were prophesied concerning those who would be fish<ed> and hunted and who would first receive their sins doubly. After this, the calling of the gentiles is prophesied more clearly, not as those being called but as those who have been called, and not as those <not> knowing what they will confess and what they will give thanks for, but as those who have already learned. For in the former things, we <were> learning that they were called, they were fished, they were hunted, but <what> they will suffer in the latter. Let us see what he prophesies about us who are now learning to pray, or rather, who have already learned. 16.8 "O Lord, my strength and my help and my refuge in the day of evils; to you the nations will come from the end of the earth and will say: How our fathers have possessed false idols, <and> there is no profit in them." From the end of the earth the nations came to God, and have the nations said: "Our fathers have possessed false idols, and there is no profit in them"? How "from the end of the earth"? There are some who are first of the earth and there are some who are last of the earth. Who are the first? "The wise of the world" are first of the earth, not simply first; "the wise of the world, the noble," the rich, the men of rank. Who are the last? "God has chosen the foolish things of the world, the base things, the despised things, the things that are not." Therefore "the nations will come from the end of the earth," as if he said: from the last of the men on earth. From the foolish, from the base, from the despised, "and they will say: How our fathers have possessed false idols, and there is no profit in them." Not that there are any true idols, in contrast to which the false ones are spoken of, but idols, <which> by nature are false; "and there is no profit in them." 16.9 "Shall a man make gods for himself." Not only from statues do men make gods for themselves, but you will find men also making gods for themselves from their own fabrications; for as many as are able to fabricate another god and another cosmology besides the one written down by the spirit, a world-economy besides the true world [concerning a world-economy], all these have made gods for themselves and have worshiped the works of their hands. For instance, consider for me either among the Greeks those who gave birth to doctrines, say, of this philosophy or that, or in the heresies those who first gave birth to doctrines, these have made for themselves idols and fabrications of the soul and, turning, have worshiped the works of their own hands, accepting their own fabrications as truth. Therefore, refuting all those who make gods for themselves, both sensibly and intelligibly, the Word says: "Shall a man make gods for himself, and these are not gods? Therefore I will show them my hand at this time, and I will make known to them my power also." At what time, or this one? And showing the time of the Lord's coming: <"and they will know," he says,> "that my name is Lord." 16.10 Then there is another prophecy, which I know not how we did not find among the Seventy, but we did find in the other editions, clearly because it lies in the Hebrew, and it is filled with most necessary matters, able to turn our soul back if we pay attention. And the words are thus: "The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen, with a diamond point engraved on the breast of their heart." <It is possible> to yield oneself to the easier course and say: these things are written about the Jews, that their sin "is written." But if you see, as we have often shown, Judah spoken of tropologically as Christ, perhaps the "sin of Judah" is ours, of those who believe in Christ who is from the tribe of Judah. But if you are able to hear it also otherwise, more mystically, perhaps it prophesies about Judas the betrayer, so that the prophecy is about him, saying: "The sin of Judah
τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁμαρτάνοντας ἀπολαμβάνειν αὐτῶν ἁπλᾶ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, ἡμᾶς δὲ διπλᾶ ἡμῶν ἀπολαμβάνειν τὰ πταίσματα· «ἑκουσίως γὰρ ἁμαρτανόντων ἡμῶν μετὰ τὸ λαβεῖν τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας, οὐκέτι περὶ ἁμαρτιῶν ἀπο λείπεται θυσία, φοβερὰ δέ τις ἐκδοχὴ κρίσεως καὶ πυρὸς ζῆλος ἐσθίειν μέλλοντος τοὺς ὑπεναντίους». Προεφητεύθη τὰ περὶ τῶν ἁλιευ<θησ>ομένων καὶ θηρευθησομένων καὶ ἀποληψομένων πρῶτον διπλᾶς τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν. μετὰ ταῦτα προφητεύεται ἡ κλῆσις τῶν ἐθνῶν σαφέστερον, οὐχὶ καλουμένων ἀλλὰ κεκλημένων, καὶ οὐχὶ <μὴ> εἰδότων τί ἐξομολογήσωνται καὶ τί εὐχαρι στήσωσιν, ἀλλ' ἤδη μεμαθηκότων. ἐν γὰρ τοῖς προτέροις <ἐ>μανθάνομεν ὅτι ἐκλήθησαν, ἡλιεύθησαν, ἐθηρεύθησαν, <τί> πείσονται δὲ ἐν τοῖς δευ τέροις. ἴδωμεν τί προφητεύει περὶ ἡμῶν ἤδη μανθανόντων εὔχεσθαι, μᾶλλον δὲ μεμαθηκότων. 16.8 «κύριε, ἰσχύς μου καὶ βοήθειά μου καὶ καταφυγή μου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῶν· πρὸς σὲ ἔθνη ἥξουσιν ἀπ' ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐροῦσιν· ὡς ψευδῆ ἐκτήσαντο οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν εἴδωλα, <καὶ> οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ὠφέλημα». ἀπ' ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς ἦλθε τὰ ἔθνη πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ εἴρηκε τὰ ἔθνη· «ψευδῆ ἐκτήσαντο οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν εἴδωλα, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ὠφέλημα»; πῶς «ἀπ' ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς»; εἰσί τινες τῆς γῆς πρῶτοι καί εἰσί τινες τῆς γῆς ἔσχατοι. τίνες πρῶτοι; «οἱ σοφοὶ τοῦ κόσμου» τῆς γῆς πρῶτοι, οὐχ ἁπλῶς πρῶτοι· «οἱ σοφοὶ τοῦ κόσμου, οἱ εὐγενεῖς», οἱ πλούσιοι, οἱ ἀξιωματικοί. τίνες οἱ ἔσχατοι; «τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός, τὰ ἀγενῆ, τὰ ἐξουθενημένα, τὰ μὴ ὄντα». «ἥξουσιν» οὖν «ἔθνη ἀπ' ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς», ὡσεὶ ἔλεγεν· ἀπὸ τελευταίων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἀνθρώπων. ἀπὸ μωρῶν, ἀπὸ ἀγενῶν, ἀπὸ ἐξουθενημένων, «καὶ ἐροῦσιν· ὡς ψευδῆ ἐκτήσαντο οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν εἴδωλα, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ὠφέλημα». οὐχ ὅτι ἔστι τινὰ εἴδωλα ἀληθῆ, ὧν πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν λέγεται τὰ ψευδῆ, ἀλλὰ εἴδωλα, <ἅ>τινα τῇ φύσει ἐστὶ ψευδῆ· «καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ὠφέλημα». 16.9 «Εἰ ποιήσει ἑαυτῷ ἄνθρωπος θεούς». οὐ μόνον ἀπὸ τῶν ἀγαλμάτων ποιοῦσιν ἑαυτοῖς ἄνθρωποι θεούς, ἀλλ' εὑρήσεις καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀναπλασμάτων ποιοῦντας ἀνθρώπους ἑαυτοῖς θεούς· ὅσοι γὰρ δύνανται ἀναπλάσαι θεὸν ἕτερον καὶ κοσμοποιίαν ἄλλην παρὰ τὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος ἀναγεγραμμένην, οἰκονομίαν κόσμου παρὰ τὸν ἀληθῆ κόσμον [περὶ οἰκονομίας κόσμου], οὗτοι πάντες ἐποίησαν ἑαυ τοῖς θεοὺς καὶ προσεκύνησαν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν. οἷον νόησόν μοι εἴτε ἐν Ἕλλησι τοὺς γεννήσαντας δόγματα, φέρ' εἰπεῖν, τῆςδε τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἢ τῆςδε, εἴτε ἐν ταῖς αἱρέσεσι τοὺς γεννήσαντας πρώτους δόγματα, οὗτοι ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς εἴδωλα καὶ ἀναπλάσματα τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ στραφέντες προσεκύνησαν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν, ἀπο δεξάμενοι ὡς ἀλήθειαν τὰ ἴδια ἀναπλάσματα. πάντας οὖν τοὺς αἰσθη τῶς καὶ τοὺς νοητῶς ποιοῦντας ἑαυτοῖς θεοὺς διελέγχων ὁ λόγος φησίν· «εἰ ποιήσει ἑαυτῷ ἄνθρωπος θεούς, καὶ οὗτοι οὐκ εἰσὶ θεοί; διὰ τοῦτο ἐγὼ δηλώσω αὐτοῖς τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ, καὶ γνωριῶ αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν δύναμίν μου». ποίῳ καιρῷ ἢ τούτῳ; δεικνύων δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ κυρίου· <«καὶ γνώσονται» φησίν> «ὅτι ὄνομά μοι κύριος». 16.10 Εἶτα ἄλλη ἐστὶ προφητεία, ἣν οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως παρὰ τοῖς Ἑβδομή κοντα οὐχ εὕρομεν, εὕρομεν δὲ ἐν ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἐκδόσεσι, δῆλον ὅτι κειμένην ἐν τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ, καὶ πεπλήρωται πραγμάτων ἀναγκαιοτάτων, δυναμένων ἐὰν προσέχωμεν ἐπιστρέψαι τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν. οὕτως δὲ ἔχει τὰ ῥήματα· «ἁμαρτία Ἰούδα γέγραπται ἐν γραφείῳ σιδηρῷ, ἐν ὄνυχι ἀδαμαντίνῳ ἐγκεκολαμμένη ἐπὶ τοῦ στήθους τῆς καρδίας αὐ τῶν». <ἔστιν> ἐπὶ τὸ εὐχερέστερον ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδοῦναι καὶ εἰπεῖν· περὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ταῦτα γέγραπται ὅτι ἡ ἁμαρτία αὐτῶν «γέγραπται». ἀλλ' ἐὰν ἴδῃς, ὡς πολλάκις ἐδείξαμεν, Ἰούδαν τροπικῶς λεγόμενον τὸν Χριστόν, μήποτε «ἁμαρτία Ἰούδα» ἡμῶν ἐστι τῶν πιστευόντων ἐπὶ τὸν Χριστὸν τὸν ἐκ φυλῆς Ἰούδα. εἰ δὲ δύνασαι καὶ ἄλλως ἀκοῦσαι μυστικώτερον, τάχα περὶ Ἰούδα προφητεύει τοῦ παραδόντος, ὡς εἶναι περὶ αὐτοῦ τὴν προφητείαν λέγουσαν· «ἁμαρτία Ἰούδα