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being evils of wickedness, certainly not then of God. And so even the wicked, when they feign virtue, do not say: "we are bringing evil upon someone." But it is said concerning God that as wise He brings evils. He means afflictions. And observe the purpose of bringing on evils: "and His word shall not be set aside." So that His word might not be set aside, the painful things are brought on; for since they heard by a commanding word what they must do and what they must abstain from, and they scorned this word and, as far as it depended on their wickedness, it was set aside, He brings on evils, so that His word might not be set aside. And medical surgery and cauterization, bringing health to the one suffering these things, are not evils. But here he speaks of a shadow, not that which we say the law has—"for the law, having a shadow of the good things to come"—, but here he speaks of the shadow that pre-exists death. For sin pre-exists death. And by death I do not now mean the common one. Look: painters, before the images and the forms, make a sketch. And that shadow is the beginning of an image. Therefore death also has a shadow, which is sin. And this prefigures and pre-shows death. Therefore if I should be in the midst of the shadow of death, I do not fear it. For instance Joseph, regarding the enticement wishing to drag him down into licentiousness, was in the midst of the shadow of death, and he was not afraid of evil, it did not take him. A question: the shadow in the midst? -since the discourse is not about common death, one must not think about its shadow in this way; for just as that which you call a prefiguration, being something perceptible and subject to sight, brings also that which is perceptible and visible after the shadow, so also here, since the shadow occurs in the soul, death also touches the soul. "Sin"—it was a shadow—"when it is finished" becomes the mother of death, that is, it brings and makes death. "If" therefore "I walk in the midst of the shadow of death." 62 A question: was he in afflictions? -Yes, if he had been afraid, he would have sinned. A question: "in the midst" of sin? -I do not mean this. I do not say that being afflicted is the shadow of death, but the giving in and cowardice from being afflicted. Since the martyrs were in the midst of the shadow of death, but not in death itself. They were afflicted, but what the affliction brought on threatened, they did not undergo. A meaning of this kind was also said: "lead us not into temptation." For they are not saying this: "do not let us be afflicted." If this were so, the apostles would never have spoken the truth when they said: "in everything afflicted." Therefore, not to enter into temptation means this: not to be captured by the will of the tempter. "I will fear no evil, for you are with me." Having you with me, I fear nothing of those things that seem to harm. 4 Your rod and your staff, they have comforted me. You see that he was not inexperienced in the shadow of death. Your staff which became my support and your rod which disciplines me have comforted me, they have placed me outside of death, even if I was in its shadow, even if I went into the midst of its shadow. The rod and staff of God are taken both for discipline and for support; "He who utters wisdom from his lips, strikes a heartless man with a rod." He called the disciplinary and reproving word a rod. And to the Corinthians Paul writes: "What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod?" And it is also taken for support: "your staffs in your hands; and you shall eat it with haste: it is the Lord's Passover." 5 You have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies. We now connect the present things to the introduction; for it was for their sake, when we said that after drinking milk, "solid food" is given, being the wisdom of God spoken among the perfect. And here too, after the beast-like guidance, even if it occurred with stability and gentleness, being shepherded by you I remained without lack; for a table succeeded the green pasture. I was in the state of a sheep, I had need of lessons like green pasture

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κακίας κακὰ ὄντα, οὔ τί γε λοιπὸν θεοῦ. καὶ αὐτοὶ γοῦν οἱ κακοὶ ὅτε ὑποκρίνονται ὑποκρίνονται ἀρετήν, οὐ λέγουσιν ὅτι· "ἐπιφέρομέν τινι κακόν". λέγεται δὲ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι ὡς σοφὸς ἐπάγει κακά. τὰ κακωτικὰ λέγει. καὶ θεώρει τὸ τέλος τῆς ἐπαγωγῆς τῶν κακῶν· "καὶ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἀθετηθῇ". ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ ἀθετηθῆναι αὐτοῦ τὸν λόγον ἐπάγεται τὰ ἐπίπονα· ἐπεὶ γὰρ προστακτικῷ λόγῳ ἤκουσαν ἃ δεῖ ποιεῖν καὶ ὧν δεῖ ἀπέχεσθαι, κατεφρόνησαν δὲ τούτου τοῦ λόγου καί, τὸ ὅσον ἧκεν εἰς τὴν αὐτῶν μοχθηρίαν, ἠθετήθη, ἐπάγει κακά, ἵνα μὴ ἀθετηθῇ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἡ χειρουργία δὲ ἡ ἰατρικὴ καὶ ἡ καῦσις ὑγίειαν φέρουσα τῷ πάσχοντι ταῦτα, οὔκ εἰσιν κακά. σκιὰν δὲ ἐνταῦθα λέγει οὐκ ἐκείνην, ἣν λέγομεν ἔχειν τὸν νόμον-"σκιὰν γὰρ ἔχων ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγα θῶν"-, ἀλλὰ ὧδε σκιὰν̣ λέγει τὴν προυφισταμένην τοῦ θανάτου. προυφίσταται δὲ τοῦ θανάτου ἡ ἁμαρτία. θάνατον δὲ λέγω νῦν οὐ τὸν κοινόν. ἴδε· οἱ ζωγράφοι πρὸ τῶν εἰκόνων καὶ τῶν μορφῶν σκιογραφοῦσιν. καὶ ἀρχὴ εἰκόνος ἐστὶν ἐκείνη ἡ σκιά. καὶ ὁ θάνατος τοίνυν ἔχει σκιάν, τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. αὕτη δὲ προτυποῖ καὶ προδείκνυσιν τὸν θάνατον. ἐὰν γοῦν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς σκιᾶς γένωμαι τοῦ θανάτου, οὐ φοβοῦμαι αὐτόν. οἷον ὁ Ἰωσήφ, ὅσον ἐπὶ προτροπῇ τῇ κατασπάσαι αὐτὸν θελούσῃ εἰς ἀκολασίαν, γέγονεν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς σκιᾶς τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ οὐ πεφόβηται κακόν, οὐχ εἷλεν αὐτὸν ἐκείνη. ἐπερ · ἡ σκιὰ ἡ ἐν μέσῳ; -ἐπεὶ οὐ περὶ κοινοῦ θανάτου ὁ λόγος, οὐδὲ περὶ τῆς σκιᾶς αὐτοῦ οὕτω διανοεῖσθαι ἔδει· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκείνη ἣν λέγεις προτύπωσις αἰσθητή τις οὖσα καὶ ὄψει ὑποκειμένη, φέρει καὶ τὸ μετὰ τὴν σκιὰν αἰσθητὸν καὶ ὁρατόν, οὕτω καὶ ὧδε, ἐπεὶ κατὰ ψυχὴν ἡ σκιὰ γίνεται, καὶ ὁ θάνατος ψυχῆς ἅπτεται. "ἡ ἁμαρτία"-σκιὰ ἦν- "ἀποτελεσθεῖσα" μήτηρ γίνεται θανάτου, τουτέστιν φέρει καὶ ποιεῖ θάνατον. "ἐὰν" οὖν "πορευθῶ ἐν μέσῳ σκιᾶς θανάτου". 62 ἐπερ · γέγονεν ἐν θλιβηροῖς; -ναί, εἰ ἦν φοβηθείς, ἡμάρτανεν. ἐπερ · τὸ "ἐν μέσῳ" ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ; -οὐ τοῦτο λέγω. οὐ τὸ θλιβῆναι λέγω τὴν σκιὰν τοῦ θανάτου, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ θλιβῆναι ἔνδοσιν καὶ δειλίαν. ἐπεὶ οἱ μάρτυρες γέγοναν ἐν μέσῳ σκιᾶς θανάτου, οὐκ ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ δέ. ἐθλίβησαν, ὃ ἐπηγγέλλετο δὲ ἡ θλῖψις ἡ ἐπαγομένη, οὐχ ὑφέστασαν. τοιουτότροπον ἐλέχθη νόημα καὶ τό· "μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν". μὴ γὰρ τοῦτο λέγουσιν· "μὴ ἐάσῃς ἡμᾶς θλιβῆναι". ἐὰν τοῦτο ᾖν, οὐδέποτε ἠλήθευσαν οἱ ἀπόστολοι λέγοντες· "ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμενοι". τὸ μὴ εἰσελθεῖν οὖν εἰς πειρασμὸν τοῦτο λέγομεν τὸ μὴ ἁλῶναι τῷ βουλήματι τοῦ πειράζοντος. "οὐ φοβηθήσομαι κακά, ὅτι σὺ μετ' ἐμοῦ εἶ". σὲ μετ' ἐμαυτοῦ ἔχων οὐδὲν φοβοῦμαι τῶν βλάπτειν δοκούντων. 4 ἡ ῥάβδος σου καὶ ἡ βακτηρία σου, αὐταί με παρεκάλεσαν. θεωρεῖς ὅτι οὐκ ἄπειρος ἦν τῆς σκιᾶς τοῦ θανάτου. ἡ βακτηρία σου ἡ ἀντιστήριγμά μου γινομένη καὶ ἡ ῥάβδος σου ἡ παιδεύουσά με παρεκάλεσάν με, ἔξω με πεποίηκαν τοῦ θανάτου, εἰ καὶ ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ αὐτοῦ γέγονα, εἰ καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τῆς σκιᾶς αὐτοῦ ἐχώρησα. λαμβάνεται ἡ ῥάβδος καὶ ἡ βακτηρία θεοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ παιδεύσεως καὶ ἐπὶ ἀντιστηριγμοῦ· "ὃς προφέρει ἐκ χειλέων σοφίαν, ῥάβδῳ τύπτει ἄνδρα ἀκάρδιον". τὸν παιδευτικὸν καὶ ἐλεγκτικὸν λόγον ῥάβδον ὠνόμασεν. καὶ Κορινθίοις δὲ Παῦλος γράφει· "τί θέλετε; ἐν ῥάβδῳ ἔλθω πρὸς ὑμᾶς"; καὶ ἐπὶ ἀντιστηριγμοῦ δὲ λαμβάνεται· "αἱ βακτηρίαι ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ὑμῶν· καὶ ἔδεσθε αὐτὸ μετὰ σπουδῆς· πάσχα ἐστὶν κυρίου". 5 ἡτοίμασας ἐνώπιόν μου τράπεζαν ἐξ ἐναντίας τῶν θλιβόντων με. εἰς τὸ προοίμιον λοιπὸν συνάπτομεν τὰ παρόντα· αὐτῶν γὰρ ἕνεκα γεγένηται, ὅτε ἐλέγομεν ὅτι μετὰ τὴν πόσιν τοῦ γάλακτος "στερεὰ τροφὴ" δίδοται οὖσα σοφία θεοῦ ἐν τελείοις λαλουμένη. ἡ δὲ καὶ ἐνταῦθα μετὰ τὴν κτηνώδη ἀγωγήν, εἰ καὶ μετ' εὐσταθείας καὶ πραότητος ἦν γινομένη, ποιμανθεὶς ὑπὸ σοῦ ἀκαθυστέρητος ἔμεινα· διεδέξατο γὰρ τὴν χλοὴν τράπεζα. ὡς προβάτου κατάστασιν εἶχον, χρείαν εἶχον μαθημάτων χλοῇ ἐοικότων