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seal the law among my teachings, but Theodotion: bind the testimony, seal the law among my disciples, and Aquila likewise: bind the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And the Lord says these things after the aforementioned things “concerning the two houses of Israel and concerning the inhabitants in Jerusalem,” when, he says, the things foretold befall them. Then bind the testimony, seal the law among my disciples; for there will no longer be need of the law of Moses nor of the testimonies with it, because he will henceforth deliver a new teaching through the new covenant to his disciples, that is, to all those from the nations called to his teaching, who will then be manifest sealing the law so as not to learn it; for those who have received the gospel and been taught to live according to the new covenant, as if placing seals on the law, put it away as being no longer useful because of the presentation of what is better; And these same ones, awaiting the grace through Jesus Christ, will say, I will wait for the God who has turned his face from the house of Jacob, and I will trust in him. Therefore also he becomes their sanctification, according to the promise he made, saying: “And if you trust in him, he will be to you for a sanctuary.” But according to Symmachus: And they will say, I will expect the Lord who hides his face from the house of Jacob and I will wait for him; and who will say these things, he will teach by adding: behold, I and the children whom God has given me. Now the Judaic children were physical, from a man and a woman, but the children of the Lord who utters these things “were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh but of God,” the Father having gifted him such children, who, no longer paying attention to the law through Moses, wait for the Lord and trust in him. And not only these children, he says, have been given to me by God in a wondrous way, but also many other signs and wonders which will take place in the house of Israel according to the prophesied times. But according to the other interpreters it is said: behold, I and my children whom the Lord has given me for signs and for wonders in Israel; for these are the children, he says, whom God has given me for the purpose of doing signs and wonders through them in Israel. And these things were also fulfilled when the Savior to his children, that is, his disciples and apostles, “gave authority to heal every disease and every infirmity,” and he advised them “to go” “to the lost sheep of the house of Jacob” with the doing of signs and wonders. Therefore he added: “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers.” And all these things happened from the Lord Sabaoth, who dwells on mount Zion. And it has been shown through the preceding things who this was and what sort of dwelling place he had on the “heavenly” mountain, about which the Apostle says: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” 1.53 The word, having spoken beforehand about the children of Christ, I mean his apostles and his disciples, and about the signs and the wonders accomplished through them; through whom also the calling of the nations has come to be, consequently teaches the new and recent people from the nations, established through Christ, the things set forth, as if speaking to them: hear these things, my disciples, you who have turned from the polytheistic error of the nations; if any of your former acquaintances and associates, either fathers or relatives, should exhort you to return to your former error, and to marvel at the divinations and oracles and such things accomplished by demons among them; do not be persuaded by their counsel nor marvel at demons speaking from the belly of men, those called pythons, nor those thought to come up from the earth according to certain magical arts, but attend to your own Lord alone; for if each nation, although in error, nevertheless of the

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σφράγισον νόμον ἐν τοῖς διδάγμασί μου, ὁ δὲ Θεοδοτίων· δῆσον τὸ μαρτύριον, σφράγισον νόμον ἐν τοῖς διδακτοῖς μου, καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας ὁμοίως· δῆσον τὸ μαρτύριον, σφράγισαι νόμον ἐν τοῖς διδακτοῖς μου. λέγει δὲ ταῦτα ὁ κύριος μετὰ τὰ προειρημένα «περὶ τῶν δύο οἴκων τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ περὶ τῶν κατοικούντων ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ», ἐπειδὰν ἐκείνοις φησὶ τὰ προλεχθέντα συμβῇ. τότε δῆσον τὸ μαρτύριον, σφράγισον τὸν νόμον ἐν τοῖς διδακτοῖς μου· οὐκέτι γὰρ ἔσται χρεία τοῦ Μωσέως νόμου οὐδὲ τῶν παρ' αὐτῷ μαρτυρίων διὰ τὸ καινὴν λοιπὸν διδασκαλίαν διὰ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης παραδιδόναι τοῖς διδακτοῖς αὐτοῦ, δηλαδὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ διδαχὴν κεκλημένοις, οἵτινες φανεροὶ τότε ἔσονται σφραγίζοντες τὸν νόμον τοῦ μὴ μαθεῖν αὐτόν· οἱ γὰρ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον παραδεξάμενοι καὶ ζῆν δεδιδαγμένοι κατὰ τὴν καινὴν διαθήκην, ὥσπερ σφραγῖδας ἐπιθέντες τῷ νόμῳ, ἀποτίθενται αὐτὸν ἅτε οὐκέτ' ὄντα χρήσιμον διὰ τὴν τοῦ κρείττονος παράθεσιν· οἱ αὐτοὶ δὲ τὴν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ περιμένοντες χάριν ἐροῦσι Περιμενῶ τὸν θεὸν τὸν ἀποστρέψαντα τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴκου Ἰακὼβ καὶ πεποιθὼς ἔσομαι ἐπ' αὐτῷ. διὸ καὶ ἁγίασμα αὐτῶν γίγνεται, καθ' ἣν πεποίηται ἐπαγγελίαν φήσας· «κἂν ἐπ' αὐτῷ πεποιθὼς ᾖς, ἔσται σοι εἰς ἁγίασμα». κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· καὶ ἐροῦσι Προσδοκήσω τὸν κύριον τὸν κρύβοντα τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴκου Ἰακὼβ καὶ ἀναμενῶ αὐτόν· τίνες δὲ ταῦτα ἐροῦσι, διδάξει ἐπιφέρων· ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία, ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός. τὰ μὲν οὖν Ἰουδαϊκὰ παιδία σωματικὰ ἦν ἐξ ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικός, τὰ δὲ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ταῦτα χρηματίζοντος κυρίου «οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκὸς ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν», τοῦ πατρὸς τοιαῦτα αὐτῷ δεδωρημένου τέκνα, ἃ μηκέτι τῷ διὰ Μωσέως προσέχοντα νόμῳ περιμένει τὸν κύριον καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν πέποιθεν. οὐ μόνον δὲ τὰ παιδία ταῦτά φησιν ἐκ θεοῦ μοι παραδόξως δέδοται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλα πλεῖστα σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα, ἃ γενήσεται ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰσραὴλ κατὰ τοὺς προφητευομένους χρόνους. κατὰ δὲ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς εἴρηται· ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία μου ἅ μοι δέδωκε κύριος εἰς σημεῖα καὶ εἰς τέρατα ἐν Ἰσραήλ· ταῦτα γάρ φησι τὰ παιδία, ἃ δέδωκέ μοι ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸ δι' αὐτῶν ποιεῖν σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ. ἐπληροῦτο δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ὅτε ὁ σωτὴρ τοῖς αὐτοῦ παιδίοις, μαθηταῖς δηλαδὴ καὶ ἀποστόλοις, «ἐδίδου ἐξουσίαν τοῦ θεραπεύειν πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν», παρῄνει τε αὐτοῖς «πορεύεσθαι» «πρὸς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰακὼβ» μετὰ τοῦ ποιεῖν σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα. διὸ ἐπήγαγεν· «ἀσθενοῦντας θεραπεύετε, λεπροὺς καθαρίζετε». ταῦτα δὲ πάντα ἐγίγνετο παρὰ κυρίου σαβαώθ, ὃς κατοικεῖ ἐν τῷ ὄρει Σιών. δεδήλωται δὲ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, τίς ἦν οὗτος καὶ ὁποῖον τὸ κατοικητήριον αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐν τῷ ὄρει «τῷ ἐπουρανίῳ», περὶ οὗ φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· «προσεληλύθατε Σιὼν ὄρει καὶ πόλει θεοῦ ζῶντος, Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρανίῳ». 1.53 Προειπὼν ὁ λόγος τὰ περὶ τῶν παιδίων τοῦ Χριστοῦ, λέγω δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, περί τε τῶν σημείων καὶ τῶν τεράτων τῶν ἐπιτελεσθέντων δι' αὐτῶν· δι' ὧν καὶ ἡ κλῆσις γεγένηται τῶν ἐθνῶν, ἀκολούθως τὸν νέον καὶ καινὸν λαὸν τὸν ἐξ ἐθνῶν διὰ Χριστοῦ συστάντα διδάσκει τὰ προκείμενα, ὡς πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγων· ἀκούσατε ταῦτα οἱ ἐμοὶ διδακτοί, οἱ τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν πολυθέου πλάνης μεταθέμενοι· εἴ τινες τῶν πάλαι γνωρίμων ὑμῖν καὶ συνήθων, ἢ πατέρες ἢ συγγενεῖς παρακαλοῖεν ὑμᾶς ἐπανιέναι ἐπὶ τὴν προτέραν πλάνην, θαυμάζειν τε τὰς ἀπὸ δαιμόνων παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐπιτελουμένας μαντείας καὶ χρησμοὺς καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· μὴ πείθεσθε τῇ τούτων συμβουλῇ μηδὲ θαυμάζετε δαίμονας ἀπὸ κοιλίας ἀνθρώπων φωνοῦντας τοὺς ὀνομαζομένους πύθωνας μηδὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς κατά τινας γοητικὰς τέχνας ἀνιέναι νομιζομένους, τὸν δὲ ἑαυτῶν κύριον μόνον περιέπετε· εἰ γὰρ ἕκαστον ἔθνος καίτοι πεπλανημένως ὅμως δ' οὖν τοῦ