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What desire to please God and zeal for repentance, so that from this there might be hope that the terrible things will cease? But their tongues disobey the things of the Lord, and they do not simply disobey, but with lawlessness. For, because the heart was estranged from God and unsubmissive to the divine law, their tongue, which ought to meditate day and night on the law of the Lord, contradicts and disobeys. Of whom then shall I rule? (he says). Of Jerusalem? But it has been cast out and is desolate. Of Judea? But it no longer stands upright; for it has collapsed. Of the repentant? But they disobey with their tongues. Perhaps, then, on account of their pre-existing glory, it is a venerable thing to rule such people. But their glory (he says) was humbled, and the shame of their face rose up against them. That is, they have no confidence to look up to God, because their sin was not an ordinary one, but was worthy to be compared to that of the Sodomites, which they committed not secretly, nor with shame, but as if exulting in the working of wicked things, they announced and manifested it to all, just as those men, rushing to unlawful pleasures, did not cover their licentiousness with fair-seeming words. For where are (he says) the men who came in to you? Bring them out to us, that we may be with them. They imitated that sin. For they announced and manifested their sin, like that of Sodom. He who encounters the history which narrates the sufferings before the destruction of Jerusalem will be astonished at the clarity of the prophecy. There are, then, two reasonable causes for the refusal of those drawn to the leadership of the people: his own weakness, and the difficulty of the situation, the people being hard to correct because of the great outpouring of sin. The present discourse contains both of these: concerning his own weakness, he who forswears the rule says: There is no bread in my house, nor a garment. And the incurable state of the people, from his saying: I will not be a ruler of this people, because Jerusalem is desolate and Judea has collapsed. And their tongues with lawlessness disobey the things of the Lord. For they announced and manifested their lawlessness like that of Sodom. For not even one would have been able to completely save the Sodomites, but they needed at least ten righteous men to intercede for them. 3.114 Woe to their soul, because they have devised a wicked counsel against themselves, saying: Let us bind the just one, because he is useless to us. Therefore they shall eat the fruits of their works. These things, then, the Prophet, after seeing the people become shameless in sinning like the Sodomites, so that they did not transgress with covering and concealment, but spoke openly without shame and took pride in shameful things, lamenting them, says: Woe to their soul, because they have devised a wicked counsel against themselves, saying: Let us bind the Just One, because he is useless to us. Counsels against the just return upon the heads of those who devise them, just as arrows striking hard and resistant bodies return to those who shot them. For this reason he says: They devised a counsel against themselves, saying: Let us bind the Just One, because he is useless to us. And the Jews did these things at the coming of the Lord; for having bound him, they led him to Caiaphas. They bound the hands that did good, not bearing the advent of Righteousness, because it was destructive of wickedness. For righteousness is useless to the unjust, just as the sun is to those with sore eyes. Therefore he says: They shall eat the fruits of their works. And these are the fruits of those works: the captivity, the dispersion, the destruction of the temple, the fall from glory, the shame of their face, not allowing them to look up to God, because of the sin against the Only-Begotten. Therefore they lost their former confidence, having neither Prophets, nor worship; and having bound the Word, having bound the truth, having bound the light,

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τίς τοῦ εὐαρεστῆσαι Θεῷ καὶ σπουδὴ εἰς με τάνοιαν, ὥστε ἐντεῦθεν ἐλπίδα εἶναι παυθήσεσθαι τὰ δει νά; Ἀλλ' Αἱ γλῶσσαι αὐτῶν τὰ πρὸς Κύριον ἀπειθοῦσιν, καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἀπειθοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ Μετὰ ἀνομίας. Ὡς, διὰ τὸ τὴν καρδίαν ἠλλοτριῶσθαι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνυπότακτον εἶναι τοῦ θείου νόμου, τῆς γλώσσης αὐτῶν, δέον μελετᾷν νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας τὸν νόμον Κυρίου, ἀντιλεγούσης καὶ ἀπειθούσης. Τίνος οὖν ἄρξω; (φησί). Τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ; Ἀλλὰ ἐκβέβληται καὶ ἀνεῖται. Τῆς Ἰουδαίας; Ἀλλ' οὐκέτι ἕστηκεν ὀρθή· συμπέπτωκε γάρ. Τῶν μετανοούντων; Ἀλλ' ἀπειθοῦσι ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν. Τάχα τοίνυν διὰ τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν δόξαν, σεμνὸν τὸ ἄρχειν τῶν τοιούτων. Ἀλλ' Ἐταπεινώθη (φησὶν) ἡ δόξα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡ αἰσχύνη τοῦ προσώπου αὐτῶν ἀντέστη αὐ τοῖς. Τουτέστιν, οὐδὲ παῤῥησία αὐτοῖς ἀνανεύειν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, διὰ τὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν μὴ τὴν τυχοῦσαν εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τῇ Σοδομιτῶν ἀξίαν εἶναι παραβάλλεσθαι, ἢν οὐχὶ λάθρᾳ, οὐδὲ ἐπαισχυνόμενοι πεποιήκασιν, ἀλλ' οἱονεὶ ἐπαγαλλόμενοι τῇ ἐργασίᾳ τῶν πονηρῶν, ἀνήγγειλαν πᾶσι καὶ ἐνεφάνισαν, ὥσ περ ἐκεῖνοι, ἐπὶ τὰς παρανόμους ἡδονὰς ὁρμῶντες, οὐχὶ ῥή μασιν εὐπροσώποις τὴν ἀσέλγειαν συνεκάλυπτον. Ποῦ γάρ εἰσι (φησὶν) οἱ ἄνδρες, οἱ εἰσελθόντες παρὰ σοί; Ἐξάγαγε αὐτοὺς πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ἵνα αὐτοῖς συγγενώμεθα. Ἐκείνην ἐμιμήσαντο τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Τὴν γὰρ ἁμαρτίαν αὐ τῶν, ὡς Σοδόμων, ἀνήγγειλαν καὶ ἐνεφάνισαν. Ταῦτα ὁ ἐντυ χὼν τῇ ἱστορίᾳ διηγουμένῃ τὰ πρὸ τῆς καταστροφῆς Ἱερουσα λὴμ πάθη, τῆς προφητείας τὸ ἐναργὲς ἐκπλαγήσεται. ∆ύο τοί νυν αἰτίαι παραιτήσεως εὐλόγου τῶν εἰς προστασίαν ἑλκομέ νων τοῦ λαοῦ· ἡ οἰκεία αὐτοῦ ἀδυναμία, καὶ ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων δυσκολία, δυσδιορθώτων ὄντων τῶν λαῶν διὰ τὴν πολλὴν χύ σιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Ἅπερ ἀμφότερα ὁ προκείμενος περιέχει λόγος· περὶ μὲν τῆς ἰδίας ἀδυναμίας, τοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐξομνυ μένου, λέγοντος. Οὐκ ἔστιν ἄρτος ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ μου, οὐδὲ ἱμάτιον. Τὸ δὲ τοῦ λαοῦ ἀνίατον, ἐκ τοῦ εἰπεῖν· Οὐκ ἔσο μαι ἄρχων τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, ὅτι ἀνεῖται Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ ἡ Ἰουδαία συμπέπτωκε. Καὶ αἱ γλῶσσαι αὐτῶν μετὰ ἀνο μίας τὰ πρὸς τὸν Κύριον ἀπειθοῦσι. Τὴν γὰρ ἀνομίαν αὐτῶν ὡς Σοδόμων ἀνήγγειλαν καὶ ἐνεφάνισαν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ Σοδο μίτας εἷς ἂν ἐγένετο δυνατὸς περισώσασθαι, ἀλλ' ἔχρῃζον δικαίων δέκα τὸ ἐλάχιστον, τῶν ἐξαιτουμένων αὐτούς. 3.114 Οὐαὶ τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτῶν, ὅτι βεβούλευνται βουλὴν πονηρὰν καθ' ἑαυτῶν, εἰπόντες· ∆ήσωμεν τὸν δίκαιον, ὅτι δύσχρηστος ἡμῖν ἐστι. Τοίνυν τὰ γεννήματα τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν φάγονται. Ταῦτα λοιπὸν ὁ Προφήτης μετὰ τὸ ἰδεῖν τὸν λαὸν παραπλησίως Σοδόμοις ἀπερυθριάσαντα πρὸς τὸ ἁμαρ τάνειν, ὡς μηδὲ μετὰ ἐπικαλύψεως καὶ ἐπικρύψεως πταί ειν, ἀλλ' ἐμπαῤῥησιάζεσθαι ἀναισχύντως καὶ ἐπισεμνύ νεσθαι τοῖς αἰσχροῖς, ἀποθρηνῶν αὐτοὺς, φησίν· Οὐαὶ τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτῶν, ὅτι βεβούλευνται βουλὴν πονηρὰν καθ' ἑαυ τῶν, λέγοντες· ∆ήσωμεν τὸν ∆ίκαιον, ὅτι δύσχρηστος ἡμῖν ἐστιν. Αἱ κατὰ τῶν δικαίων βουλαὶ ἐπιστρέφουσιν ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς τῶν βουλευομένων, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ στεῤῥῶν καὶ ἀντιτύπων σωμάτων τὰ προσπεσόντα βέλη πρὸς τοὺς ἀφιέντας ἐπάνεισι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησιν· Ἐβουλεύσαντο βουλὴν καθ' ἑαυτῶν, εἰπόντες· ∆ήσωμεν τὸν ∆ίκαιον, ὅτι δύσχρηστος ἡμῖν ἐστι. Ταῦτα δὲ ἐποίουν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐν τῇ ἐπιδημίᾳ τοῦ Κυ ρίου· δήσαντες γὰρ αὐτὸν, ἤγαγον πρὸς Καϊάφαν. Ἐδέσ μουν τὰς χεῖρας τὰς εὐεργετούσας, οὐ φέροντες τῆς ∆ι καιοσύνης τὴν ἐπιδημίαν, διότι πονηρίας ὑπῆρχεν ἀφα νιστική. ∆ύσχρηστος γὰρ τοῖς ἀδικοῦσιν ἡ δικαιοσύνη, ὥσπερ ὀφθαλμιῶσιν ὁ ἥλιος. ∆ιό φησι· Τὰ γεννήματα τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν φάγονται. Ταῦτα δὲ ἐκείνων τῶν ἔργων τὰ γεννήματα· ἡ αἰχμαλωσία, ἡ διασπορὰ, ἡ καταστροφὴ τοῦ ναοῦ, ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης κατάπτωσις, ἡ αἰσχύνη τοῦ προσ ώπου αὐτῶν, οὐκ ἐῶσα αὐτοὺς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀναβλέπειν, διὰ τὴν εἰς τὸν Μονογενῆ ἁμαρτίαν. Ἀπώλεσαν οὖν τὴν προτέραν παῤῥησίαν, μήτε Προφήτας, μήτε λατρείαν ἔχοντες· δή σαντες δὲ τὸν Λόγον, δήσαντες τὴν ἀλήθειαν, δήσαντες τὸ φῶς,