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evils. See how in different ways, sometimes he accuses them of things against their neighbor; They have done wrong, and have not ceased from turning back. And sometimes he everywhere makes this accusation, that their evils are unchangeable. Their tongue has learned to speak lies. For no form of wickedness is so hateful as this, when the appearance is one thing, and the tongue is another. For this reason ... Behold, I will refine them with fire, and test them. The test is not of inexperience; for he knows that they are wicked; but "I test them," I wish to make them approved. Therefore let us not flee from punishment, but let us flee from sin; for the one makes us unapproved, but the other makes us approved. Their tongue is a wounding dart. The Hebrew has, "slaying." How can a tongue ever wound? The tongue wounds more grievously than any arrow; it does not give a blow to the body but reaches the soul itself. Deceitful are the words. All accuse this: the deceit, the hypocrisy. Shall I not visit for these things? 64.856 He puts forth his argument in the form of a question, all but making them judges of what has happened. Is it just, he says, to overlook these things? Ought one not to take vengeance for such manifest deeds? And who would say this? Take up a lamentation on the mountains. Because they have failed. No longer for the men, but for the mountains, which were an occasion perhaps of piety... of impiety, and wail for the paths, he says. See how from every side he makes the saying pitiful, when not only men are destroyed, but also the land because of them, and the wilderness, and the inhabited world, and all the rest. As those who flee will be caught there, because in their fear of the enemy they have gone out of the city. And the Lord said: Because they have forsaken my law, which I gave before their face. He does not simply say, "of their face," but with them being present, bearing witness, praising the things said. He reminds them of the wonders on Sinai or another Mount Sinai. For this reason, thus says the Lord. Thus says the Lord. He did not say: "Thus he does"; "thus he says." For now they are words, and if you wish, they will always be words. For if he speaks for a certain cause, remove the cause. For if the wrath were a passion, you would rightly be afraid; but if he speaks for this reason, remove this, and he will no longer speak. The God of Israel is not a stranger, is not cruel, is not inhuman. Remember the time, from where Israel was called. Behold, I will feed them with afflictions, and I will give them water of gall to drink. I will make their life utterly bitter; for the foods of a despondent soul change their nature. Just as the eyes see the light as darkness, so also the tongue tastes the sweetest things as most bitter, when the head is corrupted. Therefore he does not mean that he changes the nature of the water, but, "I will scatter," he says, "so much despondency, that even the elements, remaining in their own nature, will seem to be different to them." For just as to the sick, even sweet things seem bitter, so also to the despondent, and to these much more than to those. And I will scatter them among the nations into which, etc. Not meaning that they would be completely destroyed, but some among these, and others among those; for it was necessary for those taken captive to become more sober-minded not only by the captivity, but also by the destruction of those who were slain. Thus says the Lord: Call for the mourning women. What are you saying? He commands to call mourning women from everywhere, and he calls them wise? Why indeed? According to their external reputation, wise in their own skill. For he is accustomed to call wise the one who knows something; as when he says: a charmer being charmed by a 64.857 wise one. And: Where are the wise men of Tanis? For what reason, then, does he command this to be done? so as to lead them to faith and correction; not in order that this might happen; for he does not simply wish to mourn. For in the assemblies of the Lord do not weep with tears, he says, but for the sake of trustworthiness, and that they might be fully convinced about the things that are to come. *And teach your daughters a lament, and each woman her neighbor

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κακά. Ὅρα πῶς διαφόρως, ποτὲ μὲν τὰ εἰς τὸν πλησίον ἐγκαλεῖ· Ἠδίκησαν, καὶ οὐχὶ διέλιπον τοῦ ἐπιστρέψαι. Ποτὲ δὲ πανταχοῦ τοῦτο ἐγκαλεῖ, ὅτι ἀμετάβλητα αὐτῶν τὰ κακά. Μεμάθηκεν ἡ γλῶσσα αὐτῶν λαλεῖν ψευδῆ. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως κακίας εἶδος μισητὸν ὡς τοῦτο, ὅταν ἑτέρα μὲν ἡ ὄψις, ἑτέρα δὲ ἡ γλῶσσα ᾖ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ... Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ πυρώσω αὐτοὺς, καὶ δοκιμῶ αὐτούς. Ἡ δοκιμὴ οὐκ ἀπειρίας ἐστίν· οἶδε γὰρ αὐτοὺς πονηροὺς ὄντας· ἀλλὰ ∆οκιμῶ, Ποιῆσαι δοκίμους βούλομαι. Μὴ τοίνυν φεύγωμεν κόλασιν, ἀλλὰ φεύγωμεν ἁμαρτίαν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀδοκίμους, ἡ δὲ δοκίμους ποιεῖ. Βολὶς τιτρώσκουσα ἡ γλῶσσα αὐτῶν. Ὁ Ἑβραῖος, ἀναιροῦσα, ἔχει. Πῶς δύναται γλῶσσα τρῶσαί ποτε; Βέλους παντὸς χαλεπώτερον τιτρώσκει ἡ γλῶσσα· οὐ σώματι δίδωσι πληγὴν ἀλλ' αὐτῆς καθικνεῖται τῆς ψυχῆς. ∆όλια τὰ ῥήματα. Τοῦτο πάντες ἐγκαλοῦσι, τὸν δόλον, τὴν ὑπόκρισιν. Μὴ ἐπὶ τούτοις οὐκ ἐπισκέψομαι; 64.856 Κατ' ἐρώτησιν προάγει τὸν λόγον, μονονουχὶ δικαστὰς καθίζων αὐτοὺς τῶν γεγονότων. Ταῦτα περιιδεῖν, φησὶ, δίκαιον; τοιούτοις φανεροῖς πράγμασι δεῖ μὴ ἀμύνασθαι; καὶ τίς ἂν εἴποι τοῦτο; Ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη λάβετε κοπετόν. Ὅτι ἐξέλιπον. Οὐκέτι ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, ἃ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἴσ. ἀσεβείας ὑπόθεσις ἦν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς τρίβους θρηνεῖτε, φησίν. Ὅρα πῶς πανταχόθεν ἐλεεινὸν τὸν λόγον ποιεῖ, ὅταν μὴ μόνον ἄνθρωποι ἀπολοῦνται, ἀλλὰ καὶ γῆ δι' αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἔρημος, καὶ οἰκουμένη, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ πάντες. Ὡς ἐκεῖ ἁλωσομένων τῶν φευγόντων, διὰ τὸ κατὰ τὸν φόβον τῶν πολεμίων ἐξελθεῖν τὴν πόλιν. Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος· ∆ιὰ τὸ ἐγκαταλιπεῖν αὐτοὺς τὸν νόμον μου, ὃν ἔδωκα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς φησι, τοῦ προσώπου αὐτῶν, ἀλλ' αὐτῶν παρόντων, μαρτυρούντων, ἐπαινούντων τὰ λεγόμενα. Ἐπαναμιμνήσκει αὐτοὺς τῶν ἐν τῷ Σινᾷ ἄλλ. Σιναίῳ ὄρει θαυμάτων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει Κύριος. Τάδε λέγει Κύριος. Οὐκ εἶπεν· Τάδε ποιεῖ· τάδε λέγει. Τέως ῥήματά ἐστι, καὶ ἐὰν ὑμεῖς βούλησθε, διὰ παντὸς ἔσται ῥήματα. Εἰ γὰρ δι' αἰτίαν τινὰ λέγει, ἄνελε τὴν αἰτίαν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ πάθος ἦν ὁ θυμὸς, εἰκότως ἐφοβοῦ· εἰ δὲ διὰ τοῦτο λέγει, ἄνελε τοῦτο, καὶ οὐκέτι ἐρεῖ. Ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀλλότριος, οὐκ ἔστιν ὠμὸς, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀπάνθρωπος. Ἀναμνήσθητι τοῦ χρόνου, πόθεν ἐκλήθη Ἰσραήλ. Ἰδοὺ ψωμίζω αὐτοὺς ἀνάγκας, καὶ ποτιῶ αὐτοὺς ὕδωρ χολῆς. Κατάπικρον αὐτῶν τὸν βίον ἐργάσομαι· τὰ γὰρ σιτία τῆς ψυχῆς ἀθυμούσης μεταβάλλει τὴν φύσιν. Καθάπερ ὀφθαλμοὶ τὸ φῶς σκότος ὁρῶσιν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα τῶν ἡδίστων ὡς πικροτάτων ἀπογεύεται, ὅταν τὸ κεφάλαιον ᾖ διεφθαρμένον. Οὐ τοῦτο οὖν φησιν, ὅτι τὴν φύσιν τοῦ ὕδατος μεταβάλλει, ἀλλὰ, Τοσαύτην, φησὶ, κατασκεδάσω τὴν ἀθυμίαν, ὡς καὶ τὰ στοιχεῖα μένοντα ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως, ἕτερα αὐτοῖς εἶναι δόξειν. Καθάπερ γὰρ τοῖς νοσοῦσι, καὶ τὰ γλυκέα πικρὰ φαίνονται, οὕτω καὶ τοῖς ἀθυμοῦσι, καὶ τούτοις πολλῷ μᾶλλον, ἢ ἐκείνοις. Καὶ διασκορπιῶ αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εἰς οὓς, κ. τ. λ. Οὐ τὸ παντελῶς ἀφανισθῆναι λέγων, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ἐν τούτοις, τοὺς δὲ ἐν ἐκείνοις· ἔδει γὰρ τοὺς αἰχμαλωτισθέντας, μὴ τῇ αἰχμαλωσίᾳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ τῶν ἀναιρουμένων ἀπωλείᾳ γενέσθαι σωφρονεστέρους. Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Καλέσατε τὰς θρηνούσας. Τί λέγεις; Θρηνητρίας κελεύει πανταχόθεν γυναῖκας καλεῖν, καὶ σοφὰς αὐτὰς λέγει; Τί δήποτε; Κατὰ τὴν ἔξωθεν αὐτῶν ὑπόνοιαν σοφὰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπιστήμην. Τὸν γὰρ εἰδότα τι, σοφὸν εἴωθε καλεῖν· ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Φαρμακοῦται φαρμακευομένη παρὰ 64.857 σοφοῦ. Καί· Ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ σοφοὶ Τάνεως; τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν παρακελεύεται τοῦτο ποιεῖν; ὥστε αὐτοὺς εἰς πίστιν ἀγαγεῖν καὶ διόρθωσιν· οὐχ ἵνα τοῦτο γένηται· οὐδὲ γὰρ βούλεται θρηνεῖν ἁπλῶς. Ἐν ἐκκλησίαις γὰρ Κυρίου μὴ κλαίετε δάκρυσι, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ἀξιοπιστίας ἕνεκεν, καὶ τοῦ πληροφορηθῆναι ἑαυτοὺς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐσομένων. *Καὶ διδάξατε τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν οἶκτον, καὶ γυνὴ τὴν πλησίον αὐτῆς