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you will be [subject to] judgment and condemnation, because the Lord through Daniel delivered Susanna from the hand of the lawless, and condemned the elders guilty of her blood to fire, and through him he reproached you, saying: “Are you so foolish, O sons of Israel? Without examining or learning the truth, have you condemned a daughter of Israel? Return then to the place of judgment; for these men have testified falsely against her.” And consider the secular courts, by whose authority we see brought murderers, adulterers, sorcerers, grave-robbers, bandits; and the rulers, having taken their examinations from those who bring them, say to the evildoer, if these things are so; and when he agrees, they do not immediately send him out to the punishment, but for several days they conduct his examination with much counsel and a veil in between; the one who is about to pronounce the final sentence and vote of death against him, raising his hands towards the sun, declares that he is innocent of the man's blood, although they are Gentiles and do not know divinity or the vengeance from God upon them for those unjustly condemned. But you, knowing who our God is and what sort of judgments are his, how could you out of spite be able to give a sentence to someone, when your judgment is immediately known to God? And if indeed you have judged justly, you will be deemed worthy of just rewards both now and hereafter; but if unjustly, you will again receive the same. We then, brothers, advise you to be deemed worthy of praises from God rather than of censures, because the praise of God is eternal life for men, just as indeed the censure is everlasting death. Therefore, be righteous judges, peacemakers, not prone to anger; “For he who is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to the judgment.” And if it should happen from some action that you are angered against someone, let not the sun go down on your anger. “For be angry,” says David, “and do not sin.” That is, be quickly reconciled, lest persistent anger become malice and work sin; “For the souls of the malicious [go] to death,” says Solomon. And our Lord and savior Jesus Christ also says in the Gospels: “If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother, and then having come offer your gift before the altar.” And a gift to God is the

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κρίσεως καὶ καταδίκης γενήσεσθε, ὅτι τὴν μὲν Σωσάνναν ὁ Κύριος διὰ τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ ἐρρύσατο ἐκ χειρὸς παρανόμων, τοὺς δὲ ἐνόχους τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῆς πρεσβυτέρους ἐν πυρὶ κατε δίκασεν, ὑμᾶς δὲ δι' αὐτοῦ ὠνείδισεν λέγων· «Oὕτως μωροὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραήλ; Oὐκ ἀνακρίναντες οὐδὲ τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐπιγνόντες κατεκρίνατε θυγατέρα Ἰσραήλ; Ἀναστρέψατε οὖν εἰς τὸ κριτήριον· ψευδῆ γὰρ οὗτοι κατεμαρτύρησαν αὐτῆ.» Θεάσασθε δὲ καὶ τὰ κοσμικὰ δικαστήρια, ὧν τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ὁρῶμεν ἀγομένους φονεῖς, μοιχούς, φαρμακούς, τυμβωρύχους, λῃστάς· καὶ τὰς ἀνακρίσεις αὐτῶν λαβόντες οἱ ἡγούμενοι παρὰ τῶν προσαγόντων λέγουσιν τῷ κακούργῳ, εἰ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει· κἀκείνου συγκαταθεμένου οὐκ εὐθέως ἐπὶ τὴν κόλασιν αὐτὸν ἐκπέμπουσιν, ἀλλὰ πλείοσιν ἡμέραις ποιοῦνται αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐξέτασιν μετὰ συμβουλίου πολλοῦ καὶ παραπετάσματος μέσου· τελευταῖον ὅρον καὶ ψῆφον θανάτου ὁ μέλλων ἐκφέρειν κατ' αὐτοῦ, πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον ἐπάρας τὰς χεῖρας, διαμαρτύρεται ἀθῶος ὑπάρχειν τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καίτοι ὄντες ἐθνικοὶ καὶ οὐ γινώσκοντες θειότητα ἢ τὴν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἄμυναν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀναιτίως κατακριθέντων. Ὑμεῖς δέ, γινώσκοντες, τίς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν καὶ ὁποῖα τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ, πῶς ἂν κατὰ ἐπήρειαν δυνήσεσθέ τινι ἀπόφασιν δοῦναι, τῆς κρίσεως ὑμῶν παραχρῆμα γινωσκομένης Θεῷ; Καὶ εἰ μὲν δικαίως ἐκρίνατε, δικαίων ἀμοιβῶν καταξιωθήσεσθε καὶ νῦν καὶ εἰς αὖθις· εἰ δὲ ἀδίκως, πάλιν τῶν ὁμοίων τεύξεσθε. Ἡμεῖς μὲν οὖν, ἀδελφοί, συμβουλεύομεν ὑμῖν μᾶλλον ἐπαίνων ἀξιοῦσθαι παρὰ Θεῷ ἢ ψόγων, ὅτι Θεοῦ ἔπαινος ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἀνθρώποις, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ ψόγος θάνατος. ἀΐδιος. ∆ιὸ γίνεσθε δίκαιοι κριταί, εἰρηνοποιοί, ἀόργητοι· «Ὁ ὀργιζόμενος γὰρ εἰκῆ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει.» Eἰ δὲ καὶ συμβῇ ἐξ ἐνεργείας τινὸς ὀργισθῆναι ὑμᾶς κατά τινος, ὁ ἥλιος μὴ ἐπιδυέτω ἐπὶ τῇ ὀργῇ ὑμῶν. «Ὀργίζεσθε γάρ, φησὶν ὁ ∆αυίδ, καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε.» Τοῦτ' ἔστιν ταχέως διαλλάσσεσθε, ὅπως μὴ ἡ ἐπίμονος ὀργὴ μνησικακία γένηται καὶ ἁμαρτίαν ἀπεργάσηται· «Ψυχαὶ γὰρ μνησικάκων εἰς θάνατον», φησὶν ὁ Σολομών. Λέγει δὲ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν καὶ σωτὴρ Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν Eὐαγγελίοις· «Ἐὰν προσφέρῃς τὸ δῶρόν σου ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον καὶ ἐκεῖ μνησθῇς, ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἔχει τι κατὰ σοῦ, ἄφες ἐκεῖ τὸ δῶρόν σου ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ ὕπαγε πρῶτον διαλλάγηθι τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου, καὶ τότε ἐλθὼν πρόσφερε τὸ δῶρόν σου ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου.» ∆ῶρον δέ ἐστιν Θεῷ ἡ