33

I set it forth to be an exercise for you, another thing to be a matter of philanthropy for you. And do not go after other gods to your own harm. And yet the customary is always dear; so that even if you do not worship him as God, honor him as one who is familiar. Do you see here too how great the ease is? And not only this is sufficient to deter them, to abandon the one, and the familiar one, and to give oneself over to strangers and foreigners; but also that punishment follows at their heels. For why has he placed here, 'That it may be ill with you'? Lest anyone think that, looking out for his own interests, he turns them from their error for your sake I do not wish you to do these things. And I will make you dwell in the place. Therefore, it is not a matter of a wall, nor of soldiers, nor of weapons to make men dwell, but of God's help. In the land which I gave to your fathers. For what reason did he bring the fathers into the midst? All men are accustomed to cling especially to their ancestral things, so that this also made the land very dear; and this is the greatest accusation against the Jews, if they loved the land as their fatherland, but fled from God who was their ancestral God. But if you trust in lying words, from which you will not be profited. See the cause of all evils, trusting in oneself. For cursed is the man who trusts in man. For nothing so leads away from God as not to entrust all things to him. For this reason, though able to make man self-sufficient in many things, He constantly attaches him to heaven, as by a kind of necessity, imposing the continual need of remembering the Master. The farmer, the sailor have continual reminders through their craft; each, even unwillingly, is taught to look up to heaven. And you came, and stood before me. Great is the shamelessness, after doing these things, to stand before the judge who knows them all; to set foot in his temple, in the holy place. That is, you made covenants with me. For everywhere he is accustomed to judge them by their own promises. Is it a den of robbers? For what reason does he say these things? Has it not been prepared for prayer, not for robbery, not for adultery, not for impurities? for just as Christ 64.837 says, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers; so also here, that they committed perjury, and made covenants for the sake of plunder. *Do not think that I share in your evils, and cooperate with you in your injustices, by not reproving the evils; that is, Do you consider me as a chief of robbers? *And behold, I have even seen, says the Lord. That is, Your worship of idols does not escape my notice. And he called them robbers, because of their greed. *For you went to the place of Shiloh, where I made my name to dwell there before. For as I did not spare that, so neither the temple. And yet that is more ancient, but they gained nothing from the place, having been shown to be unworthy of God. And now, in return for all these works that you have done. He speaks of great wickedness. Neither, perhaps, according to the one in Shiloh. For neither the things concerning the place in Shiloh, nor teaching them will profit anything, he says. For see with how much zeal he turned them away from wickedness. And do not pray for this people. He says this, not that he should cease from praying, but that he might frighten them. For just as when he says to Moses, 'Let me alone,' so that he might not let him alone; so also to this one: 'Do not pray'; so that hearing this they might be terrified, and not place their hopes in another. For if he did not want this, he would not have also set forth the causes, all but making an apology to them. *And do not ask that they be pitied. The prophet suffered something on hearing of the capture of the temple. Then, persuading them, God adds: Or do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah? For what reason do you not listen, tell me? It would be the part of one who is angry not even to state the causes, but of one who wishes to heal and to cure, to set forth the pretext, so that they may hasten to remove it. Or do you not see what they are doing?

33

προέθηκα αὐτὴν γυμνάσιον ἐσομένην σοι ἄλλ. ἐσόμενόν σοι φιλανθρωπίας. Καὶ ὀπίσω θεῶν ἑτέρων μὴ πορεύησθε εἰς κακόν. Καίτοι γε ἀεὶ τὸ σύνηθες φίλον· ὥστε καὶ ἂν μὴ ὡς Θεὸν θεραπεύσῃς, ὡς συνήθη τίμησον. Ὁρᾷς καὶ ἐνταῦθα πολλὴν τὴν εὐκολίαν οὖσαν; Καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ἱκανὸν αὐτοὺς ἀποτρέψαι, τό τε ἕνα ἀφεῖναι, καὶ συνήθη, τοῖς δὲ ξένοις καὶ ἀλλοτρίοις ἑαυτὸν ἐκδοῦναι· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ παρὰ πόδας ἀκολουθεῖν τὴν τιμωρίαν. ∆ιατί γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τέθεικε τὸ, Κακῶς εἶναι ὑμῖν; Ἵνα μή τις νομίσῃ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σκοποῦντα ἀπάγειν αὐτοὺς τῆς πλάνης δι' ὑμᾶς οὐ βούλομαι ταῦτα ποιεῖν ὑμᾶς. Καὶ κατοικιῶ ὑμᾶς ἐν τῷ τόπῳ. Ἄρα οὐ τείχους ἐστὶν, οὐδὲ στρατιωτῶν, οὐδὲ ὅπλων τὸ κατοικίζειν ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ βοηθείας. Ἐν τῇ γῇ ἣν ἔδωκα τοῖς πατράσιν ὑμῶν. Τίνος ἕνεκεν τοὺς πατέρας εἰς μέσον ἤγαγεν; εἰώθασι πάντες ἄνθρωποι τῶν πατρῴων ἀντέχεσθαι μάλιστα, ὥστε καὶ τοῦτο πολυφίλητον ἐποίει τὴν γῆν· τοῦτο δὲ μεγίστη κατηγορία τῶν Ἰουδαίων, εἰ τὴν μὲν γῆν ὡς πατρίδα οὖσαν ἐφίλουν, τὸν δὲ Θεὸν ὄντα πατρῷον ἀπέφευγον. Εἰ δὲ ὑμεῖς πεποίθατε ἐπὶ λόγοις ψευδέσιν, ὅθεν οὐκ ὠφεληθήσεσθε. Ὅρα πάντων τῶν κακῶν αἴτιον, τὸ θαῤῥεῖν ἑαυτῷ. Ἐπικατάρατος γὰρ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς πέποιθεν ἄνθρωπον. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως ἀπάγει τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς τὸ μὴ πάντα ἀνατιθέναι αὐτῷ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τὸν ἄνθρωπον δυνάμενον ἐν πολλοῖς καταστῆσαι ἀνενδεᾶ, συνεχῶς αὐτὸν ἀναρτᾷ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν, καθάπερ τινὰ ἀνάγκην, τὴν συνεχῆ χρείαν ἐπιτιθεὶς τοῦ ἀναμιμνήσκεσθαι τοῦ ∆εσπότου. Ὁ γεωργὸς, ὁ πλωτὴρ ὑπομνήματα ἔχουσι συνεχῆ διὰ τὴν τέχνην· ἕκαστος καὶ μὴ βουλόμενος εἰς οὐρανὸν παιδευόμενος ἀναβλέπει. Καὶ ἤλθετε, καὶ ἔστητε ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ. Πολλὴ ἡ ἀναισχυντία, μετὰ τὸ πρᾶξαι παραστῆναι τῷ δικαστῇ τῷ ταῦτα πάντα εἰδότι· ἐπιβῆναι τοῦ ναοῦ αὐτοῦ παρὰ τὸν τόπον τὸν ἱερόν. Τουτέστι συνθήκας ἔθεσθε πρὸς ἐμέ. Πανταχοῦ γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ὑποσχέσεων κρίνειν εἴωθε. Μὴ σπήλαιον λῃστῶν; Τίνος ἕνεκεν ταῦτά φησιν; Οὐκ εἰς προσευχὴν παρεσκεύασται, μὴ πρὸς ἁρπαγὰς, μὴ πρὸς μοιχείας, μὴ πρὸς ἀκαθαρσίας; ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ Χριστός 64.837 φησιν, Ὁ οἶκός μου, οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται, ὑμεῖς δὲ αὐτὸν ἐποιήσατε σπήλαιον λῃστῶν· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα, ὅτι ἐπιόρκουν, καὶ ἐπὶ ἁρπαγμῷ συνθήκας ἐποιοῦντο. *Μὴ οἴεσθέ με κοινωνεῖν ὑμῖν τῶν κακῶν, καὶ συμπράττειν ὑμῖν ταῖς ἀδικίαις, οὐκ ἐλέγχοντα τὰ κακά· τουτέστι, Μὴ ὡς λῄσταρχόν με νομίζετε; *Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ ἑώρακα, λέγει Κύριος. Τουτέστιν, Οὐ λανθάνει με ἡ περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα ὑμῶν θεραπεία. Λῃστὰς δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐκάλεσε, διὰ τὸ πλεονεκτικόν. *Ὅτι πορεύθητε εἰς τὸν τόπον Σιλὼμ, οὗ κατεσκήνωσα τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐκεῖ ἔμπροσθεν. Ὡς γὰρ ἐκείνου οὐκ ἐφεισάμην, οὕτως οὐδὲ τοῦ ναοῦ. Καίτοιγε ἀρχαιότερος ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ἀπώναντο τοῦ τόπου, ἀνάξιοι τοῦ Θεοῦ φανέντες. Καὶ νῦν ἀνθ' ὧν ἐποιήσατε πάντα τὰ ἔργα ταῦτα. Πολλὴν λέγει τὴν κακίαν. Οὔτε κατ' αὐτὸν τὸν ἐν Σιλὼμ ἴσ. οὔτε γὰρ τὰ κατὰ τὸν ἐν Σιλ. τόπον, οὔτε τὸ διδάσκειν αὐτοὺς ὠφελήσει τι, φησίν. Ὅρα γὰρ αὐτοὺς μετὰ πόσης σπουδῆς ἀπήγαγε τῆς κακίας. Καὶ σὺ μὴ προσεύχου περὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου. Τοῦτο λέγει, οὐχ ἵνα ἀποστῇ προσευχόμενος, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἐκείνους φοβήσῃ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὅταν λέγῃ πρὸς Μωυσῆν, Ἄφες με, ἵνα αὐτὸν μὴ ἀφῇ· οὕτω καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον· Μὴ προσεύχου· ἵνα ἀκούσαντες ἐκεῖνοι καταπλαγῶσι, καὶ μὴ ἐν ἑτέρῳ τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχωσιν. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ τοῦτο ἐβούλετο, οὐκ ἂν καὶ τὰς αἰτίας ἐτίθει, μόνον οὐχὶ ἀπολογούμενος αὐτοῖς. *Καὶ μὴ ἀξιοῦ τοῦ ἐλεηθῆναι αὐτούς. Ἔπαθέ τι ὁ προφήτης ἀκούσας τοῦ ναοῦ τὴν ἅλωσιν. Εἶτα πείθων αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς ἐπάγει· Ἢ οὐχὶ ὁρᾷς τί αὐτοὶ ποιοῦσι ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν Ἰούδα; Τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐκ ἀκούεις, εἰπέ; Ὀργιζομένου ἦν, μηδὲ τὰς αἰτίας εἰπεῖν, βουλομένου δὲ ἰάσασθαι καὶ θεραπεῦσαι, θεῖναι τὴν πρόφασιν, ἵνα αὐτὴν ἀνελεῖν σπουδάσωσιν. Ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾷς, τί αὐτοὶ ποιοῦσιν;