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Another reading: store up only the fruit, and before they are even gathered, he again commands it to bring forth the same things. What is, *He has kept for us*? Just as a loving father always keeps a portion for his children, so also he keeps the rain for us, and the first winter does not use up the showers, nor the second, but it always remains and is left over. Your iniquities have turned these things away. Since he discoursed on much prosperity. But when he said these things, there were famines, and plagues, so that they might not object; And truly we see nothing of these things, neither this nor that. For not, he says, because God has changed, but because you have rejected the benefit by your sins; these things which I say, and because of your sins the good things have departed from you. For it is greater care to give nothing further, than to give; just as with one suffering a fever, he who provides fights him, but he who deprives spares him only. another reading: alone. Because they were found among my people. They treated their countrymen as irrational creatures. Do you see how he avenges not only the sins against himself, but also those against a neighbor? They were set at war against one another, they stood against one another from their prosperity. Do you see how he defends himself to them? He means the idolaters. And children as a fowler's net. He denounces those who take what belongs to others under a pretext. For he adds: *They set up to destroy a man, and they caught him*; *as a snare set up full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit.* That is, so with wickedness they took what belonged to others; for he adds: *They did not judge judgment. They did not judge the case of the orphan and the case of the widow, the comely and delicate one.* They did not judge the case of the orphan. For indeed, in many places one must pursue what is just; but when the one who is wronged also has something that draws to pity, I mean orphanhood, widowhood, who is so cruel and foolish as not to award justice to such a person? For when one does not permit the very person one should pity to partake of justice, where is this tolerable? An astonishment and horrible things have happened. See sin proceeding through all things, some 64.820 did wicked things, but others praised what had been done. Therefore Paul also punishes not only those who dare, nor only those who do wicked things, but also those who approve of them. And my people have loved it so. See the evil poured out through all things. And what should the subjects have done? Not follow the rulers? Not be persuaded by the teachers? By no means, but to oppose them. But now these things did not happen to them even by necessity, but they loved it so, they were not deceived. They did not obey these things because they feared the rulers. But they themselves also loved these things. And what will you do in the end? When there is no longer a time for repentance, when all correction has been taken away, when all change for the better has vanished.

CHAP. 6.

Sound the trumpet, for evil has peered out. See how he gives them a set time for repentance; the phrase, *it has peered out from somewhere*, appears only in part, and it is neither present, so as to cast them into despair; nor yet is it absent (another reading: has departed), so as to make them more careless. But it stands in the middle of presence and absence. The evils have peered out so as to appear in full. You, therefore, are lords of making all things go back again, you would have the authority. And your height will be taken away. Why? Because she used these things for wickedness, her beauty for fornication, her height for arrogance. That is, comely and delicate. He calls her comely because of the law, and the priesthood, and the rest. And delicate, because she was always shown to be superior to her enemies by the alliance of God. Shepherds will come to her. This is a symbol of desolation; but it also came to pass in the case of the apostles. Around, the Churches

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ἄλλ. ἐναπόθετε μόνον τὸν καρπὸν, καὶ μηδέπω συλλεγέντων αὐτῶν, πάλιν αὐτὴν κελεύει τὰ αὐτὰ ἐκφέρειν. Τί ἐστιν, Ἐφύλαξεν ἡμῖν; καθάπερ πατὴρ φιλόστοργος μέρος παιδίοις ἀεὶ διατηρεῖ, οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμῖν τὸν ὑετὸν διατηρεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἀναλίσκει τοὺς ὄμβρους ὁ πρῶτος χειμὼν, οὐδὲ ὁ δεύτερος, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ μένει καὶ ὑπολέλειπται. Αἱ ἀνομίαι ὑμῶν ἐξέκλιναν ταῦτα. Ἐπειδὴ περὶ πολλῆς εὐπραγίας διελέχθη. Ὅτε δὲ ταῦτα ἔλεγε, λιμοὶ, καὶ λοιμοὶ, ἵνα μὴ ἀνθυπενέγκωσι· καὶ μὴν οὐδὲ τούτων ἴσ. τοῦτον, ἢ τοῦτο ὁρῶμεν. Οὐ γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐ διὰ τὸ τὸν Θεὸν μεταβεβλῆσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν ἀποκρούσασθαι τὴν εὐεργεσίαν· ταῦτα ἃ λέγω, καὶ διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ὑμῶν ἀπέστησαν τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἀφ' ὑμῶν. Μείζων γὰρ κηδεμονία μηδὲν δοῦναι λοιπὸν, ἢ δοῦναι· καθάπερ τῷ πυρέττοντι ὁ μὲν παρέχων πολεμεῖ, ὁ δὲ ἀποστερῶν φείδεται μόνον ἄλλ. μόνος. Ὅτι εὑρέθησαν ἐν τῷ λαῷ μου. Ὡς ἀλόγοις ἐχρῶντο τοῖς ὁμοφύλοις. Ὁρᾷς ὡς οὐχὶ τὰ εἰς αὐτὸν ἁμαρτήματα ἐκδικεῖ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τοῦ πλησίον; κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐξεπολεμώθησαν, κατ' ἀλλήλων ἔστησαν ἀπὸ τῆς εὐπραγίας. Ὁρᾷς πῶς αὐτοῖς ἀπολογεῖται; Τοὺς εἰδωλολατροῦντας λέγει. Καὶ παῖδες ὡς δίκτυον ἰξευτοῦ. Τοὺς ἐπὶ προφάσει τὰ ἀλλότρια λαμβάνοντας διαβάλλει. Ἐπάγει γοῦν· Ἔστησαν διαφθεῖραι ἄνδρα, καὶ συνελάμβανον· ὡς παγὶς ἐφισταμένη πλήρης πετεινῶν, οὕτως οἱ οἶκοι αὐτῶν πλήρεις δόλου. Τουτέστιν, οὕτω μετὰ πονηρίας τὰ ἀλλότρια ἐλάμβανον· ἐπάγει γοῦν· Κρίσιν οὐκ ἔκριναν. Κρίσιν ὀρφανοῦ καὶ κρίσιν χήρας οὐκ ἔκριναν τὴν ὡραίαν καὶ τρυφεράν. Οὐκ ἔκριναν κρίσιν ὀρφανοῦ. Μάλιστα μὲν γὰρ πολλαχοῦ τὸ δίκαιον διώκειν δεῖ· ὅταν δὲ ἔχῃ τι καὶ ἐπαγωγὸν, ὁ ἀδικούμενος πρὸς ἔλεον, τὴν ὀρφανείαν, τὴν χηρείαν λέγω, τίς οὕτως ὠμὸς καὶ ἠλίθιος, ὡς μὴ ἂν βραβεῦσαι τῷ τοιούτῳ τὸ δίκαιον; ὅταν γὰρ ὃν ἐλεεῖν ἐχρῆν, τοῦτον μήτε τῶν δικαίων συγχωροίη μετέχειν, ποῦ ταῦτα ἀνεκτά; Ἔκστασις καὶ φρικτὰ ἐγενήθη. Ὅρα διὰ πάντων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν χωροῦσαν, οἱ μὲν 64.820 εἰργάσαντο τὰ πονηρὰ, οἱ δὲ ἐπῄνεσαν τὰ γεγενημένα. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος, οὐχὶ τοὺς τολμῶντας, οὐδὲ τοὺς ἐργαζομένους μόνον τὰ πονηρὰ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς εὐδοκοῦντας αὐτοῖς κολάζει. Καὶ ὁ λαός μου ἠγάπησεν οὕτως. Ὅρα διὰ πάντων κεχυμένην τὴν κακίαν. Καὶ τί ποιῆσαι ἔδει τοὺς ἀρχομένους; οὐχὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἀκολουθῆσαι; οὐχὶ τοῖς διδασκάλοις πεισθῆναι; οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλ' ἐναντιωθῆναι. Νῦν δὲ οὐδὲ κατ' ἀνάγκην αὐτοῖς ταῦτα γέγονεν, ἀλλ' ἠγάπησαν οὕτως, οὐχὶ παρελογίσθησαν. Οὐχὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας φοβούμενοι τούτοις ἐπείθοντο. Ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ ταῦτα ἐφίλουν. Καὶ τί ποιήσετε εἰς τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα; Ὅταν καιρὸς μετανοίας μηκέτι γένηται, ὅταν διόρθωσις πᾶσα ἀνῃρημένη ᾖ, ὅταν ἡ πρὸς τὰ βελτίω μεταβολὴ πᾶσα ἠφανισμένη.

ΚΕΦΑΛ.ʹ.

Σημήνατε σάλπιγγι, ὅτι κακὰ ἐκκέκυφεν. Ὅρα πῶς αὐτοῖς δίδωσι προθεσμίαν μετανοίας, τὸ, διέκυψέ ποθεν, ἐκ μέρους φαίνεται μόνον, καὶ οὔτε πάρεστιν, ὡς εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἐμβαλεῖν· οὔτε μὴν ἄπεστιν ἄλλ. ἀπέστη, ὡς ῥᾳθυμοτέρους ποιῆσαι. Ἀλλ' ἐν μέσῳ παρουσίας καὶ ἀπουσίας ἕστηκεν. Ἐξέκυψε τοῦ πλήρη φανῆναι τὰ κακά. Κύριοι λοιπὸν ὑμεῖς τοῦ πάντα πάλιν εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω ἀπελθεῖν, ὑμεῖς ἂν ἔχοιτε τὴν ἐξουσίαν. Καὶ ἀφαιρεθήσεται τὸ ὕψος σου. ∆ιατί; Ὅτι τούτοις πρὸς κακίαν ἐχρήσατο, τῷ κάλλει πρὸς πορνείαν, τῷ ὕψει πρὸς ἀλαζονείαν. Τουτέστιν, ὡραία καὶ τρυφερά. Ὡραίαν δὲ λέγει διὰ τὸν νόμον, καὶ τὴν ἱερατείαν, καὶ τὰ λοιπά. Τρυφερὰν δὲ, διὰ τὸ κρείττονα τῶν πολεμίων ἀεὶ δείκνυσθαι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ συμμαχίᾳ. Εἰς αὐτὴν ἥξουσι ποιμένες. Τοῦτο ἐρημίας μέν ἐστι σύμβολον· ἐξέβη δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων. Κύκλῳ, τὰς Ἐκκλησίας