by the name of the treasury wishes to give to the poor rather than to the relatives of the givers, if they happen to be in need of necessities and the givers are not able to do both, this man would justly be called a brother of the Pharisees who nullified the word of God through their tradition, and were convicted by the Savior as hypocrites. And it is very much a deterrent from the principle of the poor to take something eagerly and to think that "the piety of others is a means of gain," not only <but> these things, but also the things written about the traitor Judas, who in appearance advocated for the poor and said in indignation: "This ointment could have been sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor," but in truth "he was a thief and having the money box he used to take what was put into it." If, therefore, anyone now having the church's money box speaks, just as Judas, on behalf of the poor, but carries away what is put into it, let him place his own portion with Judas who did these things. Because of which, like a gangrene that had taken hold in his soul, the devil put it "into his heart" to betray the Savior, and when he had afterward received "the flaming arrow" concerning this, he himself, entering into his soul, filled him. And perhaps when the apostle says: "The love of money is the root of all evils," he says it because of the love of money of Judas, which is the root of all evils against Jesus. 11.10 But let us return to the subject at hand, in which the Savior, summarizing, set forth two commandments from the law, one from the Decalogue from Exodus, and the other from Leviticus or from one of the other books in the Pentateuch. Then, since we have related how they nullified the word of God which says: Honor your father and your mother, those who say: he shall not honor his father or his mother, whoever says to his father or his mother: It is a gift, by which you might be profited by me, one might ask how *he who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die* is not superfluous. For let it be granted, he does not honor his father and mother by dedicating to what is called corban what would have been given for the honor of his father and mother, how then does the tradition of the Pharisees also nullify the one who says: *he who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die*? But perhaps whoever says to his father or mother: *It is a gift, by which you might be profited by me* brings a reproach, as it were, against his father or mother, as if calling his parents sacrilegious for taking what has been dedicated to corban from the one who dedicated it to him. The Jews, therefore, punish sons according to the law as speaking evil of father or mother, those who say to the father or the mother: *It is a gift, by which you might be profited by me*; but you, by your one tradition, nullify two commandments of God. Then are you not ashamed to accuse my disciples who transgress no commandment—for they walk "in all his commandments and ordinances blamelessly"—but they transgress a tradition of the elders out of reverence, so as not to transgress a commandment of God. If this were also your purpose, you would have kept the commandment concerning the honor of father and mother and the one saying *he who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die*, but you would not have kept the tradition of the elders which is contrary to these commandments. 11.11 After these things, wishing to denounce all the traditions of the elders among the Jews from the prophetic words, he cited a saying from Isaiah, which in the very words is as follows: "And the Lord said: This people draws near to me with their mouth" and so on. And we have said before that Matthew did not write down the prophetic saying in the very words. But if it is necessary, because the gospel used it, to explain it as far as possible, we shall take up the text from above, which has been usefully, I think, preserved for us for the explanation of what has been taken from the prophet in the gospel. And the saying in Isaiah has it thus from the beginning: "Be slack and be amazed, be drunk not with strong drink nor with wine; for the Lord has made you drink a spirit of deep sleep, and he will shut their eyes and of their prophets and of their rulers, who see
τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ κοινοῦ βούλεται διδόναι τοῖς πένησιν ἤπερ τοῖς οἰκείοις τῶν διδόντων, εἰ τύχοιεν τῶν ἀναγκαίων χρῄζοντες καὶ μὴ δύναιντο οἱ διδόντες ἀμφότερα ποιεῖν, ἀδελφὸς ἂν οὗτος ἐνδίκως λέγοιτο τῶν ἀκυρωσάντων τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ἑαυτῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ ἐλεγχθέντων ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος ὑποκριτῶν. Καὶ σφόδρα γε ἀποτρεπτικά ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ λόγου τῶν πενήτων λαμβάνειν τινὰ προθύμως καὶ νομίζειν «πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν ἑτέρων εὐσέβειαν», οὐ μόνα <δὲ> ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ περὶ τοῦ προδότου Ἰούδα γεγραμ μένα, ὃς τῷ μὲν δοκεῖν ἐπρέσβευε περὶ τῶν πενήτων καὶ ἀγανακτῶν ἔλεγεν· «Ἠδύνατο τοῦτο τὸ μύρον πραθῆναι δηναρίων τριακοσίων, καὶ δοθῆναι πτωχοῖς», τὸ δ' ἀληθὲς «κλέπτης ἦν καὶ τὸ γλωσσόκομον ἔχων τὰ βαλλόμενα ἐβάσταζεν». Εἴ τις οὖν καὶ νῦν τὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἔχων γλωσσόκομον λέγει μέν, ὡς καὶ ὁ Ἰούδας, ὑπὲρ πενήτων, τὰ δὲ βαλλόμενα βαστάζει, τὴν μερίδα ἑαυτῷ τιθείη μετὰ τοῦ ταῦτα πράξαντος Ἰούδα. ∆ι' ἃ ὡς γάγγραινα νομὴν ἐσχηκότα ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ, ὁ διάβολος ἔβαλεν αὐτοῦ «εἰς τὴν καρδίαν» τὸν σωτῆρα παραδοῦναι, καὶ παραδεξάμενον «τὸ πεπυρωμένον» περὶ τούτου «βέλος» ὕστερον, αὐτὸς εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐπλήρωσεν αὐτόν. Καὶ τάχα ἐπὰν λέγῃ ὁ ἀπόστολος· «Ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία», διὰ τὴν Ἰούδα λέγει φιλαργυρίαν, ἥτις ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστι τῶν κατὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ. 11.10 Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπανέλθωμεν ἐπὶ τὰ προκείμενα, ἐν οἷς ὁ σωτὴρ δύο ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου ἐπιτεμόμενος ἐντολὰς ἐξέθετο, τὴν μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς δεκαλόγου ἀπὸ τῆς Ἐξόδου, τὴν δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Λευϊτικοῦ ἢ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπό τινος τῶν ἐν τῇ Πεντατεύχῳ. Εἶτα ἐπεὶ διηγησάμεθα πῶς ἠκύρωσαν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ φάσκοντα· τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, οἱ λέγοντες· οὐ τιμήσει τὸν πατέρα ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ· δῶρον ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς, ζητήσαι τις ἂν πῶς οὐ παρέλκει τὸ ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω. Ἔστω γάρ, οὐ τιμᾷ τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα τῷ καλουμένῳ κορβᾶν ἀνατιθεὶς τὰ δοθησόμενα ἂν εἰς τιμὴν πατρὸς καὶ μητρός, πῶς οὖν ἡ τῶν Φαρισαίων παράδοσις ἀκυροῖ καὶ τὸν λέγοντα· ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω; Ἀλλὰ μήποτε ὃς ἐὰν εἴπῃ τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί· δῶρον ὃ ἂν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς ὡσπερεὶ λοιδορίαν ἐπιφέρει τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί, οἷον ἱεροσύλους λέγων τοὺς γονεῖς λαμβάνοντας τὰ ἀνακείμενα τῷ κορβᾶν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνατεθεικότος αὐτὰ αὐτῷ. Ἰουδαῖοι οὖν υἱοὺς ὡς κακολογοῦντας πατέρα ἢ μητέρα τοὺς λέγοντας τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί· δῶρον, ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς κολάζουσι κατὰ τὸν νόμον· ὑμεῖς δὲ τῇ μιᾷ ὑμῶν παραδόσει δύο ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοῦ ἀκυροῦτε. Εἶτα οὐκ αἰδεῖσθε ἐγκαλοῦντες τοῖς ἐμοῖς μαθηταῖς οὐδεμίαν μὲν ἐντολὴν παραβαίνουσι-πορεύονται γὰρ «ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐντολαῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ δικαιώμασιν ἀμέμπτως»-, παρα βαίνουσι δὲ πρεσβυτέρων παράδοσιν εὐλαβείᾳ τοῦ μὴ παραβῆναι ἐντολὴν θεοῦ. Ὅπερ εἰ καὶ ὑμῖν προέκειτο, τὴν μὲν περὶ τιμῆς πατρὸς καὶ μητρὸς ἐντολὴν ἐφυλάξατε ἂν καὶ τὴν λέγουσαν ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω, τὴν δὲ ἐναντιουμένην ταῖς ἐντολαῖς ταύταις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων παράδοσιν οὐκ ἂν ἐφυλάξατε. 11.11 Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ὅλας τὰς παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων παραδόσεις ἀπὸ τῶν προφητικῶν βουλόμενος διαβάλλειν λόγων, παρέθετο ῥητὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου, ὅπερ αὐταῖς λέξεσιν οὕτως ἔχει· «Καὶ εἶπε κύριος· ἐγγίζει μοι ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Καὶ προείπομέν γε ὅτι οὐκ αὐταῖς λέξεσιν ἀνέγραψεν ὁ Ματθαῖος τὸ προφητικόν. Εἰ δὲ δεῖ, διὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον χρησάμενον αὐτῷ, κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν αὐτὸ διηγήσασθαι, προσληψόμεθα τὴν ἀνωτέρω λέξιν, χρησίμως, οἶμαι, ἡμῖν τετηρημένην εἰς διήγησιν τῆς ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ἀπὸ τοῦ προφήτου εἰλημμένης. Ἔχει δὲ οὕτως ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τὸ ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ ῥητόν· «Ἐκλύθητε καὶ ἔκστητε, κραιπαλήσατε οὐκ ἀπὸ σίκερα οὐδ' ἀπὸ οἴνου· ὅτι πεπότικεν ὑμᾶς κύριος πνεῦμα κατα νύξεως, καὶ καμμύσει τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτῶν, οἱ ὁρῶντες