32

was brought into the royal treasuries; and for this reason is of no use, although it has the royal stamp and letters, its substance having been corrupted. So also these have a form of godliness, but have denied the truth.

CHAPTER 7.

Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah. And yet if they sin incorrigibly, and are sick incurably, and there will be no comfort for their terrors, for what reason does he again send the physician, doing nothing else than increasing their punishment, and taking away all excuse? For he who has often heard, and has remained 64.833 uncorrected, has the continuousness of the counsel and of the exhortation as his greatest accuser. Amend your ways, and your practices. That is, your deeds, and what you did for the sake of idolatry. For this is what practices signifies. But he says these things upon the prophets announcing the captivity. But some of the false prophets bade them be of good courage, saying, You will suffer nothing terrible. For even if God is angry with you, yet he would not choose to betray the temple to the enemies for this reason, and he commanded the prophet to stand at the gate and say these things. For going forward he says: Do not trust in yourselves, in lying words, because they will not profit you at all, saying: Temple of the Lord, it is the Temple of the Lord. He said it terribly; for having said that You commit adultery by practicing idolatry, and having listed the evils in general, and that after these things they entered the temple, he says: Is it a cave. For this seemed to them to be the greatest thing. For even if they dwelt in it, yet by the decision of God they happened to be cast out from then on. This assumption greatly harmed them; for just as Christ says to them, or rather John: Do not think to say, We have Abraham as our father; so also here, Do not say: It is the Temple of the Lord. For if he himself had need of a house, you would rightly think these things, that I would not have destroyed the house. But if there is no place for me, but I am uncontainable by all; if Heaven is my throne, and the earth is the footstool of my feet; or rather, not even these things are so; for by my hand I made the heavens firm; what house will you build for me? Do not trust in lying words. That if you do not thoroughly amend. To whom the silversmith silversmiths in vain, you say again, If you amend? but it is the custom for those who are angry to say this, This child has no hope; it is impossible for this one to be useful; nevertheless we persuade this one to be useful, and we do all things, and we exhort him. For the one is of passion and of anger, but the other is of care and of exhortation. So that, being in no way harmed by those things, you may not think that evil is natural. For so that you may not say this, he adds, If you amend your ways. And in doing so, execute judgment between a man and between his neighbor. That is, not to judge with injustice. What does he say? For are those who dispute with one another foreigners? Are they of another race? He is a neighbor? you wrong yourself; are you in charge of this, to wrong your brother, to corrupt the member? even if nothing else, let this persuade you, that a brother is judged with a brother. And do not oppress the sojourner, and the orphan, and the widow. 64.836 For was there a need for commandments for these things? for is not nature sufficient to teach this? Do you not see the pitiful names? Who is so rash as to be cruel to a stranger? who is so stony as not to pity the woman bereft of a husband? who is so inhuman as not to commiserate the one deprived of a father? For I do not say, Have mercy, he says; but, Do not oppress. For was I not able to prevent it; but

32

ταμείοις τοῖς βασιλικοῖς εἰσηνέχθη· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς οὐδὲν χρήσιμον, καίτοι καὶ τύπον ἔχον βασιλικὸν, καὶ γράμματα, τῆς ὕλης αὐτῷ διεφθαρμένης. Οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι μόρφωσιν ἔχουσιν εὐσεβείας, τὴν δὲ ἀλήθειαν ἤρνηνται.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Ζʹ.

Ἀκούσατε λόγον Κυρίου, πᾶσα Ἰουδαία. Καὶ μὴν εἰ ἀδιόρθωτα πταίουσι, καὶ ἀνίατα νοσοῦσι, καὶ οὐδεμία ἔσται παραμυθία τῶν δεινῶν, τίνος ἕνεκεν πάλιν πέμπει τὸν ἰατρὸν, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ τὴν τιμωρίαν αὐτοῖς αὔξοντα, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀναιροῦντα συγγνώμην; Ὁ γὰρ πολλάκις ἀκούσας, καὶ ἀδιόρ 64.833 θωτος μείνας, τὸ συνεχὲς τῆς συμβουλῆς καὶ τῆς παραινέσεως κατήγορον ἔχει μέγιστον. ∆ιορθώσατε τὰς ὁδοὺς ὑμῶν, καὶ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα ὑμῶν. Τουτέστι τὰς πράξεις ὑμῶν, καὶ ἃ ἐποιήσατε τῆς εἰδωλολατρίας ἕνεκεν. Τοῦτο γὰρ μηνύει τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα. Ταῦτα δέ φησι ἐπὶ τῶν προφητῶν μηνυόντων τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν. Τινὲς δὲ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν θαῤῥεῖν αὐτοῖς ἐκέλευον φάσκοντες, ὡς Οὐδὲν πείσεσθε δεινόν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ὀργίζεται Θεὸς δι' ὑμᾶς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν ἕλοιτο τὸν ναὸν προδοῦναι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ταύτης ἕνεκα τῆς αἰτίας, καὶ εἰς τὴν πύλην στῆναι τῷ προφήτῃ προσέταξε, καὶ λέγειν ταῦτα. Προϊὼν γοῦν φησι· Μὴ πεποίθατε ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς ἐπὶ λόγοις ψευδέσιν, ὅτι τὸ παράπαν οὐκ ὠφελήσουσιν ὑμᾶς λέγοντες· Ναὸς Κυρίου, Ναὸς Κυρίου ἐστίν. Φοβερῶς αὐτὸ εἶπεν· εἰπὼν γὰρ, ὅτι Μοιχεύετε εἰδωλολατροῦντες, καὶ ὅλως καταλέξας τὰ κακὰ, καὶ ὅτι μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς τὸν ναὸν εἰσῄεσαν, φησί· Μὴ σπήλαιον. Τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτοῖς μέγιστον ἐδόκει εἶναι. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ᾤκουν αὐτὴν, ἀλλ' ὅμως τῇ ἀποφάσει τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκβεβλημένοι λοιπὸν ἐτύγχανον. Μεγάλως αὐτοὺς ἔβλαπτεν αὕτη ἡ ὑπόληψις· καθάπερ γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς λέγει αὐτοῖς, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ Ἰωάννης· Μὴ δόξητε λέγειν, Πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν Ἀβραάμ· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα, Μὴ εἴπῃς· Ναὸς Κυρίου ἐστίν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ οἴκου χρείαν εἶχεν αὐτὸς, εἰκότως ταῦτα νομίζετε, ὅτι οὐκ ἂν κατέστρεψα τὸν οἶκον. Εἰ δὲ οὐδεὶς ἐμοὶ τόπος, ἀλλ' ἀχώρητός εἰμι πᾶσιν· εἰ δὲ Ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει· τῇ γὰρ χειρί μου ἐστερέωσα τὸν οὐρανόν· ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι; Μὴ πεποίθατε ἐπὶ λόγοις ψευδέσιν. Ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ διορθοῦντες διορθώσητε. Οἷς μάτην ἀργυροκόπος ἀργυροκοπεῖ, λέγεις καὶ πάλιν, Ἐὰν διορθώσητε; ἀλλ' ἔθος τοῖς ὀργιζομένοις τοῦτο λέγειν, Οὗτος ὁ παῖς ἐλπίδας οὐκ ἔχει· ἀδύνατον τοῦτον εὐχρηστῆσαι· ὅμως πείθομεν αὐτὸν τοῦτον εὐχρηστῆσαι, καὶ πάντα ποιοῦμεν, καὶ παραινοῦμεν αὐτῷ. Τὸ μὲν γάρ ἐστι τοῦ θυμοῦ, καὶ τῆς ὀργῆς, τὸ δὲ τῆς κηδεμονίας, καὶ τῆς παραινέσεως. Ὥστε μηδὲν ἀπ' ἐκείνων βλαβεὶς, μὴ νομίσῃς φυσικὴν εἶναι τὴν κακίαν. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ τοῦτο λέγῃς ἐπάγει, Ἐὰν διορθώσητε τὰς ὁδούς. Καὶ ποιοῦντες ποιήσητε κρίσιν ἀναμέσον ἀνδρὸς, καὶ ἀναμέσον τοῦ πλησίου αὐτοῦ. Τουτέστι, μὴ ἀδικίᾳ κρίνειν. Τί λέγει; μὴ γὰρ ἀλλογενεῖς εἰσιν οἱ πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαλεγόμενοι; μὴ γὰρ ἑτέρου γένους; πλησίον ἐστίν; ἀδικεῖς σαυτόν· τούτου προΐστασαι, ἵνα τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀδικήσῃς, ἵνα τὸ μέλος διαφθείρῃς; εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον, σὲ παρακαλείτω, ὅτι ἀδελφὸς μετὰ ἀδελφοῦ δικάζεται. Καὶ προσήλυτον, καὶ ὀρφανὸν, καὶ χήραν μὴ καταδυναστεύσητε. 64.836 Ἆρα γὰρ ἐπιταγμάτων εἰς ταῦτα χρεία ἦν; ἆρα γὰρ ἡ φύσις οὐκ ἀρκεῖ παιδεῦσαι τοῦτο; Οὐχ ὁρᾶτε τὰ ὀνόματα ἐλεεινά; Τίς οὕτω προπετεύεται ὡς πρὸς ξένον ὠμὸς εἶναι; τίς οὕτω λίθινος ὡς τὴν γυναῖκα τὴν ἔρημον ἀνδρὸς μὴ ἐλεεῖν; τίς οὕτως ἀπάνθρωπος ὡς τὸν ἀπεστερημένον πατρὸς μὴ οἰκτείρειν; Οὐ γὰρ λέγω, Ἐλέησον, φησί· ἀλλὰ μὴ καταδυναστεύσῃς. Μὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἠδυνάμην κωλῦσαι· ἀλλὰ