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these things are accomplished, we are well-pleased with them. And the name itself, Judgments, signifies the correctness of the administration; for it is included and understood that it has happened according to righteousness, since judgments accomplished contrary to what is right are for this very reason unjust and perverted. For on this account, it says, the judgment will go forth perverted. 127 Ps 17,23b Of God's, it says, justifications I hold fast; for those not contained by them depart from them. And justifications should be called the things legislated according to equality and righteousness, such as 'If you acquire a Hebrew servant,' and what follows. For before all these things is placed 'And these are the justifications which you shall set before them,' and what follows. But the judgments named along with the justifications can signify the approved and tested words of God; for these, being judged because they are not refuted or overturned, are called judgments; for in this way also the thoughts of the just are judgments, that is, made precise and approved, and for this very reason like rules. 128 Ps 17,24a Perhaps those who are blameless and sinless not for God's sake but for glory or something else can indeed be blameless, but not with God; but those who embrace the good for God's sake and not for the sake of anything else are blameless with God; for this union with God keeps them blameless and good. But those who are unyoked and separated from God immediately become blameworthy, becoming blameworthy children because they sin. 129 Ps 17,24b He who has accomplished all the aforementioned things, how does he speak of his own iniquity? You will note whether what he wants to say is this: The mind of man is diligently inclined to evil things from youth, so that it is prone to sinning, being charmed by pleasure. Therefore, he who has given himself to the law of God is kept from the iniquity that has hardened in men. And perhaps also the so-called mind of the flesh in us, being hostile to God and not subject to his law, is the iniquity of man, from which one is kept by putting to death the deeds of the body by the spirit and abstaining from the works of the flesh. 130 Ps 17,25 Here he calls righteousness that which is established by faith in Jesus Christ. For the righteousness of God has been revealed to all who believe; for to the one who believes correctly, 'Faith is counted as righteousness.' Correspondingly, you will call cleanness of hands the works of faith that are performed brightly and without stain, without which faith is dead. 131 Ps 17,26-28 A sudden change of person having occurred, someone will say that the preceding verses are spoken to God because of what follows; for to no one else would he say, 'For you will save a humble people and will humble the eyes of the proud,' than to God. But another will say that these things are said not to God but to man, because the one who spends time with the holy imitates their virtue, while the one who is with the wicked undergoes perversion, as the divine writing of the Proverbs says: 'He who walks with the wise will be wise, but he who walks with fools will be known.' You will interpret thus: With the holy one, O master, you will be made holy, providing him with the holiness supplied by you, so that, being perfected according to it, you may lead him into the fitting promise, and the other things accordingly with what precedes it. And he also speaks well in saying, 'You will pervert'; for though he could have said 'With the crooked you are perverted,' he did not say this, but 'You will pervert.' For God, hindering the course toward wicked things, perverts the one running after them, blocking his way with thorns and building up his paths; for the beginning of benefaction is being hindered from evils. But he who wants it to be taken as about man will say that the one who is with a holy man is made holy by the holy deeds that are done, as Elisha with Elijah and Timothy with Paul; and he who hastens to be with the innocent, having embraced his virtue, will be innocent. And likewise, both he who spends time with a chosen man and he who is with a crooked one, according to his will to be like him, will pervert his own life. but he who thus the verses

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ταῦτα ἐπιτελεῖται, εὐαρεστούμεθα αὐτοῖς. καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ ονομα τὸ Κρίματα τὴν ὀρθότητα τῆς διοικήσεως σημαίνει· ἐμπεριέχεται γὰρ καὶ συνεξακούεται τῷ κατὰ δικαιοσύνην γεγονέναι, τῶν παρὰ τὸ ὀρθὸν ἐπιτελουμένων κριμάτων αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀδίκων καὶ διεστραμμένων. Ενεκεν γὰρ τούτου, φησίν, ἐξελεύσεται τὸ κρίμα διεστραμμένον. 127 Ps 17,23b Τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ, φησίν, δικαιωμάτων ἀντέχομαι· ἀναχωροῦσι γὰρ ἐκείνων τῶν μὴ περιεχομένων αὐτῶν. δικαιώματα δὲ ῥητέον τὰ κατ' ἰσότητα καὶ δικαιοσύνην νενομοθετημένα, ὡς τὸ ̓Εὰν κτήσῃ παῖδα ̔Εβραῖον, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. τούτων γὰρ ἁπάντων προτέτακται Καὶ ταῦτα τὰ δικαιώματα α παραθήσεις, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. δύναται δὲ τὰ αμα τοῖς δικαιώμασιν ὠνομασμένα κρίματα σημαίνειν τοὺς δεδοκιμασμένους καὶ ἐξητασμένους τοῦ θεοῦ λόγους· ουτοι γὰρ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐλέγχεσθαι η ἀνατρέπεσθαι κεκριμένοι οντες κρίματα ειρηνται· ταύτῃ γὰρ καὶ οἱ λογισμοὶ τῶν δικαίων κρίματα, τουτέστιν ἠκριβωμένοι καὶ δεδοκιμασμένοι, καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο κανόσιν ἐοικότες. 128 Ps 17,24a Τάχα οἱ μὴ διὰ θεὸν ἀλλὰ διὰ δόξαν η ετερόν τι τὸ αμωμον εχοντες καὶ ἀναμάρτητον αμωμοι μὲν ειναι δύνανται, οὐ μὴν μετὰ θεοῦ· οἱ δὲ διὰ θεόν τ' ἀγαθὸν καὶ μὴ αλλου του χάριν ἀσπασάμενοι μετὰ θεοῦ εἰσιν αμωμοι· αυτη γὰρ ἡ πρὸς θεὸν ενωσις ἀμώμους καὶ ἀγαθοὺς φυλάττει. οἱ δὲ ἀποζευγνύμενοι καὶ χωριζόμενοι θεοῦ μωμητοὶ εὐθὺς γίνονται, τεκνὰ μωμητὰ διὰ τὸ ἁμαρτεῖν γινόμενα. 129 Ps 17,24b ̔Ο τὰ προειρημένα πάντα κατορθώσας, πῶς ἰδίαν αὐτοῦ ἀνομίαν λέγει; ἐπιστήσεις μήποτ' ουν ο βούλεται λέγειν ἐστὶν τοῦτο· ̔Η διάνοια τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ εγκειται ἐπιμελῶς ἐκ νεότητος, ὡς ἐπιρρεπῶς εχειν πρὸς τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν ἡδονῇ θελγόμενος. ὁ ουν τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ θεοῦ ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδεδωκὼς φυλάττεται ἀπὸ τῆς ἐνσκιρωσάσης τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀνομίας. τάχα δὲ καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον ἐν ἡμῖν τῆς σαρκὸς φρόνημα, εχθρα ον πρὸς θεὸν καὶ τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μὴ ὑποταττόμενον, ἀνομία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν, ἀφ' ης φυλάττεταί τις πνεύματι τὰς πράξεις τοῦ σώματος θανατῶν καὶ ἀπεχόμενος τῶν τῆς σαρκὸς εργων. 130 Ps 17,25 ∆ικαιοσύνην ἐνταῦθα καλεῖ τὴν ἐκ πίστεως ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ συνισταμένην. ∆ικαιοσύνη γὰρ θεοῦ πεφανέρωται εἰς πάντας τοὺς πιστεύοντας· τῷ γὰρ ὀρθῶς πιστεύοντι ̔Η πίστις εἰς δικαιοσύνην λογίζεται. συζύγως δὲ καθαριότητα χειρῶν ἐρεῖς τὰ λαμπρῶς καὶ ἀμολύντως ἐνεργούμενα τῆς πίστεως εργα, ων χωρὶς ἡ πίστις νεκρά ἐστιν. 131 Ps 17,26-28 ̓Αθρόας μεταβολῆς προσώπου γεγενημένης, ἐρεῖ τις πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τοὺς προκειμένους στίχους λέγεσθαι διὰ τὰ ἑπόμενα· οὐκ αλλῳ γὰρ ἐρεῖ τὸ Οτι σὺ λαὸν ταπεινὸν σώσεις καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπερηφάνων ταπεινώσεις, η τῷ θεῷ. αλλος δὲ λέξει μὴ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀλλὰ πρὸς ανθρωπον ταῦτα λέγεσθαι τῷ τὸν ὁσίοις συνδιατρίβοντα μιμεῖσθαι ἐκείνων τὴν ἀρετήν, τὸν δὲ σὺν φαύλοις οντα διαστροφὴν ὑφίστασθαι, ῃ φησιν ἡ θεία τῶν Παροιμιῶν γραφή· ̔Ο συμπορευόμενος σοφοῖς σοφὸς εσται, ὁ δὲ συμπορευόμενος αφροσιν γνωσθήσεται. ἑρμηνεύσεις ουτως· Μετὰ τοῦ ὁσίου, ω δέσποτα, ὁσιωθήσῃ, παρέχων αὐτῷ τὴν ἐκ σοῦ χορηγουμένην ὁσιότητα ινα τελειωθέντα κατ' αὐτὴν εἰς τὴν ἁρμόζουσαν ἐπαγγελίαν εἰσάξῃς, καὶ τὰ αλλα ἀκολούθως τῷ πρὸ αὐτοῦ. Ευ δέ φησιν καὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν ∆ιαστρέψεις· δυναμένου γὰρ εἰπεῖν Μετὰ στρεβλοῦ διαστρέφῃ, τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ειρηκεν ἀλλὰ ∆ιαστρέψεις. τὴν γὰρ πρὸς τὰ φαῦλα πορείαν κωλύων ὁ θεὸς διαστρέφει τὸν επειτα κατατρέχοντα, φράσσων τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν σκώλοψιν καὶ τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ ἀνοικοδομῶν· ἀρχὴ γὰρ εὐεργεσίας τὸ κωλύεσθαι τῶν κακῶν. ̔Ο δὲ ἐπ' ἀνθρώπου ἐξειλῆφθαι βουλόμενος ἐρεῖ τὸν συνόντα ὁσίῳ ανδρα ἐκ τῶν πραττομένων ὁσίων ὁσιοῦσθαι, ὡς ̓Ελισσαιὲ μετὰ τοῦ ̔Ηλία καὶ Τιμόθεος μετὰ τοῦ Παύλου· καὶ ὁ σὺν τῷ ἀθῴῳ σπεύδων ειναι, τὴν ἐκείνου ἀρετὴν σπασάμενος, ἀθῷος εσται. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀνδρὶ ἐκλεκτῷ συνδιατρίβων καὶ ὁ στρεβλῷ δὲ συνὼν κατὰ τὸ ἐθέλειν αὐτῷ ἐξομοιοῦσθαι διαστρέψει ἑαυτοῦ τὸν βίον. ὁ δὲ ουτως τοὺς στίχους