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your fathers, tested me, and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; and they did not know my ways; as I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter into my rest''), then he adds: Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. For unbelief comes from hardness; and just as the calloused and hard parts of bodies do not yield to the hands of physicians; so also souls that have been hardened do not yield to the word of God; for it is likely that some would then disbelieve, as if the things that had happened were not true. For this reason he says: Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. For since the word concerning things to come is not as persuasive as that of things past, he reminds them of a history in which they needed faith. For if your fathers, he says, because they did not hope as they ought to have hoped, suffered these things; much more you; for to them also is this word. For, "Today," he says, is always, as long as the world exists. But exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today." That is, build one another up, set yourselves upright, lest the same things happen. Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 2. Do you see that sin produces unbelief? For just as unbelief begets an evil life, so also the soul, when it has come into the depth of evils, despises; and having despised, it cannot endure to believe, so that it may free itself from fear. For they said, it says, The Lord will not see, nor will the God of Jacob understand. And again, Our lips are our own; who is Lord over us? And again, For what reason has the wicked provoked God? And again, The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt and have become abominable in their doings. And again, There is no fear of God before his eyes. And again, 63.56 for he has dealt deceitfully before him to find his iniquity and to hate. And Christ himself makes this clear, saying: Everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light. Then he adds: For we have become partakers of Christ. What is, We have become partakers of Christ? We partake of him, he says; we and he have become one; if indeed he is the head, and we the body, joint-heirs and of the same body. We are one body, from his flesh, he says, and from his bones. If indeed we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end. What is, The beginning of our confidence? He means faith, through which we have our being and have come to be and been made of one substance, as one might say. Then he adds, When it is said, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation. This is by hyperbaton; for the sequence is thus: Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to have come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them, when it is said, Today if you hear his voice. For "Today" is always. Then he adds: But the word of hearing did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it; showing how the word did not profit; for from not being mixed, they were not profited. Then, wishing to make them afraid, he shows this very thing by what he says: For some, when they had heard, did provoke, howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? And we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Having again stated the testimony, he adds the question, making the discourse clear. For he said, it says, Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation. Of whom does he make mention, he says, who were hardened, and of whom who disobeyed? Was it not of the Jews? And what he says is this: They too heard, he says, just as

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πατέρες ὑμῶν, ἐδοκίμασάν με, καὶ εἶδον τὰ ἔργα μου τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη. ∆ιὸ προσώχθισα τῇ γενεᾷ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ εἶπον, ἀεὶ πλανῶνται τῇ καρδίᾳ· αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὰς ὁδούς μου· ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μου, εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν μου), τότε ἐπάγει· Βλέπετε, ἀδελφοὶ, μή ποτε ἔσται ἔν τινι ὑμῶν καρδία πονηρὰ ἀπιστίας, ἐν τῷ ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ζῶντος. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς σκληρότητος ἡ ἀπιστία γίνεται· καὶ καθάπερ τὰ πεπωρωμένα τῶν σωμάτων καὶ σκληρὰ οὐκ εἴκει ταῖς τῶν ἰατρῶν χερσίν· οὕτω καὶ αἱ ψυχαὶ αἱ σκληρυνθεῖσαι οὐκ εἴκουσι τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ· εἰκὸς γάρ τινας καὶ ἀπιστεῖν λοιπὸν, ὡς οὐκ ὄντων ἀληθῶν τῶν γεγενημένων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησι· Βλέπετε μή ποτε ἔσται ἔν τινι ὑμῶν καρδία πονηρὰ ἀπιστίας, ἐν τῷ ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ζῶντος. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ τῶν μελλόντων λόγος οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτω πιθανὸς, ὡς ὁ τῶν παρελθόντων, ἀναμιμνήσκει αὐτοὺς ἱστορίας, ἐν ᾗ πίστεως ἐδεήθησαν. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν, φησὶν, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἤλπισαν ὥσπερ ἐχρῆν ἐλπίσαι, ταῦτα ἔπαθον· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὑμεῖς· καὶ γὰρ πρὸς αὐτοὺς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος. Τὸ γὰρ, Σήμερον, φησὶν, ἀεί ἐστιν, ἕως ἂν συνεστήκῃ ὁ κόσμος. Ἀλλὰ παρακαλεῖτε ἑαυτοὺς καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, ἄχρις οὗ τὸ σήμερον καλεῖται. Τουτέστιν, οἰκοδομεῖτε ἀλλήλους, ἀνορθώσατε ἑαυτοὺς, ἵνα μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ γένηται. Ἵνα μὴ σκληρυνθῇ τις ἐξ ὑμῶν ἀπάτῃ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. βʹ. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι τὴν ἀπιστίαν ἡ ἁμαρτία ποιεῖ; Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ ἀπιστία βίον τίκτει πονηρὸν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ, ὅταν εἰς βάθος ἔλθῃ κακῶν, καταφρονεῖ· καταφρονήσασα δὲ, οὐδὲ πιστεύειν ἀνέχεται, ὥστε ἀπαλλάξαι φόβου ἑαυτήν. Εἶπον γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐκ ὄψεται Κύριος, οὐδὲ συνήσει ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ἰακώβ· καὶ πάλιν, Τὰ χείλη ἡμῶν παρ' ἡμῖν ἐστι· τίς ἡμῶν Κύριός ἐστι; καὶ πάλιν, Ἕνεκεν τίνος παρώργισεν ὁ ἀσεβὴς τὸν Θεόν; καὶ πάλιν, Εἶπεν ἄφρων ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἔστι Θεός. ∆ιεφθάρησαν καὶ ἐβδελύχθησαν ἐν ἐπιτηδεύμασι. Καὶ πάλιν, Οὐκ ἔστι φόβος Θεοῦ ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ· καὶ πάλιν, 63.56 ὅτι Ἐδόλωσεν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ τοῦ εὑρεῖν τὴν ἀνομίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ μισῆσαι. Καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο δηλοῖ, λέγων· Πᾶς ὁ φαῦλα πράσσων, μισεῖ τὸ φῶς, καὶ οὐκ ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς. Εἶτα ἐπάγει· Μέτοχοι γὰρ γεγόναμεν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Τί ἐστι, Μέτοχοι γεγόναμεν τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Μετέχομεν αὐτοῦ, φησίν· ἓν ἐγενόμεθα ἡμεῖς καὶ αὐτός· εἴπερ αὐτὸς μὲν κεφαλὴ, σῶμα δὲ ἡμεῖς, συγκληρονόμοι καὶ σύσσωμοι. Ἓν σῶμά ἐσμεν, ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ, φησὶ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων αὐτοῦ. Ἐάνπερ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ὑποστάσεως μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν κατάσχωμεν. Τί ἐστιν, Ἀρχὴ τῆς ὑποστάσεως; Τὴν πίστιν λέγει, δι' ἧς ὑπέστημεν καὶ γεγενήμεθα καὶ συνουσιώθημεν, ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι. Εἶτα ἐπάγει, Ἐν τῷ λέγεσθαι, Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ. Καθ' ὑπερβατόν ἐστι τοῦτο· τὸ ἀκόλουθον δὲ οὕτως ἔχει· Φοβηθῶμεν οὖν, μήποτε καταλειπομένης ἐπαγγελίας εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν αὐτοῦ, δοκῇ τις ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑστερηκέναι. Καὶ γάρ ἐσμεν εὐηγγελισμένοι, ὥσπερ κἀκεῖνοι, ἐν τῷ λέγεσθαι, Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε. Τὸ γὰρ Σήμερον ἀεί ἐστιν. Εἶτα ἐπάγει· Ἀλλ' οὐκ ὠφέλησεν ὁ λόγος τῆς ἀκοῆς ἐκείνους, μὴ συγκεκραμένης τῇ πίστει τοῖς ἀκούσασι· δεικνὺς πῶς ὁ λόγος οὐκ ὠφέλησεν· ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ μὴ συγκραθῆναι, οὐκ ὠφελήθησαν. Εἶτα βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς φοβῆσαι, δείκνυσιν αὐτὸ τοῦτο δι' ὧν φησι· Τινὲς γὰρ ἀκούσαντες παρεπίκραναν, ἀλλ' οὐ πάντες οἱ ἐξελθόντες ἐξ Αἰγύπτου διὰ Μωϋσέως. Τίσι δὲ προσώχθισε τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη; οὐχὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήσασιν, ὧν τὰ κῶλα ἔπεσον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ; τίσι δὲ ὤμοσε μὴ εἰσελεύσεσθαι εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν αὑτοῦ, εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἀπειθήσασι; Καὶ βλέπομεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν εἰσελθεῖν δι' ἀπιστίαν. Εἰπὼν πάλιν τὴν μαρτυρίαν, καὶ τὴν ἐρώτησιν ἐπάγει, ποιῶν τὸν λόγον σαφῆ. Εἶπε γὰρ, φησὶ, Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ. Τίνων μέμνηται, φησὶ, σκληρυνθέντων, τίνων δὲ ἀπειθησάντων; οὐχὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων; Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· ἤκουσαν κἀκεῖνοι, φησὶν, ὥσπερ