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21, 2 Hear me, hear my words, so that this may not be my consolation from you. Hear, he says, what I am about to say, so that you may know you have brought forth words not of consolation, but of ignorance. 21, 3 Lift me up, and I will speak, then do not mock me. Raise me up from my lying down. Or also lift me up instead of: bear with me as I speak, endure my words. For you will not laugh at what is said. 21, 4 For what? Is my reproof of a man? And why should I not be angry? 183 You provoke me to anger, he says, by falsely accusing me of such things, since what man can convict me of ever having been a robber or impious and a lover of what belongs to others, as you have accused? Or he also says this, which the apostle later said: But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court, but he who judges me is the Lord. And for this reason I am moved to anger, because not knowing what is clear, you anticipate the divine judgment. 21, 5 Look at me and be astonished, laying a hand on your jaw. Those who listen in silence for the most part, having rested their elbow on their thigh and having rested their face on their hand, pay attention to what is said. He says therefore: Listen to me with silence and attention, so that you may be astonished at what is said. 21, 6 For if I remember, I am troubled; and pains seize my flesh. But I will speak with haste and will briefly call to mind the things that are about to be said; for the torments besieging my flesh do not allow me to linger on the word. 21, 7 Why do the wicked live, and grow old in wealth? Since you think you are wise and say that those who pay the penalty for wickedness 184 fall into such calamities, tell me, if you please, whence it is that many wicked men often not only live, but also grow old in wealth. 21, 8-11 Their seed is according to their soul, and their children are before their eyes. Their houses prosper, and fear is nowhere; and the scourge of the Lord is not upon them. Their cow has not miscarried, but their pregnant one was saved and did not fail. And they abide like eternal sheep. Their crops flourish for them, they delight in their children, they prosper, they fear no one, they do not receive a divinely sent blow. The farming cow did not miscarry—that is: it did not bring forth a dead and imperfect offspring, their women did not miscarry an aborted child. And they abide in prosperity like sheep, instead of: without care. And eternal as if having obtained some divine and immortal lot, so as to say: outside of human suffering. 21, 11-14 And their children play, taking up the psaltery and kithara and rejoice at the sound of the psalm. And they completed their life in good things, and in the rest of Hades they fell asleep. And he says to the Lord: Depart from me, I do not wish to know your ways. Another happiness of fathers is the gladness of their children. But they also die, he says, having their prosperity extended together with their good things throughout their whole life, and this while manifestly fighting against God and departing from God and shamelessly saying to him: We do not wish to know your ways, instead of: your commandments. 185 21, 14-16 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him, and what profit is it, that we should meet him? For their good things were in their hands, but he does not watch over the works of the wicked. The words are as from the person of the wicked. What more is God able, he says—for this is what the Almighty means—to give us, that we should serve him and meet him, that is: we should come to his worship as those who rise up before glorious persons and for the sake of honor come to meet them. We have these things, therefore, they say, in our hands, we acquire good things from our own house; what more can God profit us? And the phrase he does not watch over the works of the wicked is again their word, saying: Does God watch over these things? Is he concerned with these things? He cares nothing for the things done among men. 21, 17 Nevertheless, the lamp of the wicked will also be extinguished. But just as, he says, we see wicked men living well until the end, we also see other similarly wicked men, whose splendor of life was extinguished. 21, 17-18 But destruction will come upon them, pains upon them

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21, 2 ἀκούσατέ μου, ἀκούσατέ μου τῶν λόγων, ἵνα μὴ ᾖ μοι παρ' ὑμῶν αὕτη ἡ παράκλησις. ἀκούσατε, φησίν, ὧν ἐρεῖν μέλλω, ὡς ἂν γνῶτε μὴ παρακλήσεως, ἀλλ' ἀγνοίας προκομίσαντες λόγους. 21, 3 ἄρατέ με, ἐγὼ δὲ λαλήσω, εἶτα οὐ καταγελάσατέ μου. ὀρθώσατέ με ἐκ τῆς κατακλίσεώς μου. ἢ καὶ ἄρατέ με ἀντὶ τοῦ· βαστάσατέ με λαλοῦντα, ἀνάσχεσθέ μου τῶν λόγων. οὐ γὰρ γελάσετε τὰ λεγόμενα. 21, 4 τί γάρ; μὴ ἀνθρώπου μου ἡ ἔλεγξις; καὶ διὰ τί οὐ θυμωθήσομαι; 183 εἰς ὀργήν με, φησίν, ἐκκαλεῖσθε τοιαῦτά μου καταψευδόμενοι, ἐπεὶ τίς ἀνθρώπων ἐλέγξαι με δύναται ἅρπαγα γεγονότα ποτὲ ἢ ἀσεβῆ καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐραστήν, ὡς ὑμεῖς κατηγορήσατε; ἢ καὶ τοῦτο λέγει, ὅπερ ὕστερον ὁ ἀπόστολος ἔφη· ἐμοὶ δὲ εἰς ἐλάχιστόν ἐστιν, ἵνα ὑφ' ὑμῶν ἀνακριθῶ ἢ ὑπὸ ἀνθρωπίνης ἡμέρας, ὁ δὲ ἀνακρίνων με κύριός ἐστιν. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰς ὀργὴν κινοῦμαι, ὅτι τὸ σαφὲς οὐκ εἰδότες τὴν θείαν προλαμβάνετε κρίσιν. 21, 5 εἰσβλέψαντες εἰς ἐμὲ θαυμάσατε χεῖρα θέντες ἐπὶ σιαγόνι. οἱ μεθ' ἡσυχίας ἀκούοντες ὡς τὰ πολλὰ τὸν ἀγκῶνα τῷ μηρῷ προσερείσαντες καὶ τῇ χειρὶ τὸ πρόσωπον ἐπανακλίναντες τοῖς λεγομένοις τὸν νοῦν προσέχουσιν. λέγει οὖν ὅτι· μεθ' ἡσυχίας καὶ προσοχῆς ἀκούσατέ μου, ἵνα θαυμάσητε τὰ λεγόμενα. 21, 6 ἐάν τε γὰρ μνησθῶ, ἐσπούδακα· ἔχουσι δέ μου τὰς σάρκας ὀδύναι. μετὰ σπουδῆς δὲ ἐρῶ καὶ συντόμως ἐπιμνησθήσομαι τῶν μελλόντων ῥηθήσεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἐῶσιν ἐμφιλοχωρῆσαι τῷ λόγῳ αἱ πολιορκοῦσαι τὰς σάρκας μου βάσανοι. 21, 7 διὰ τί ἀσεβεῖς ζῶσιν, πεπαλαίωνται δὲ καὶ ἐν πλούτῳ; ἐπειδήπερ οἴεσθε σοφοί τινες εἶναι καί φατε τοὺς ὑπὲρ ἀσε 184 βείας ἐκτίνοντας δίκας τοιαύταις ἐπιπεσεῖν συμφοραῖς, ἐρωμένῳ φράσατε, πόθεν πολλοὶ πολλάκις ἀσεβεῖς οὐ μόνον ζῶσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ καταγηρῶσιν ἐν πλούτῳ. 21, 8-11 ὁ σπόρος αὐτῶν κατὰ ψυχήν, τὰ δὲ τέκνα αὐτῶν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς. οἱ οἶκοι αὐτῶν εὐθηνοῦσιν, φόβος δὲ οὐδαμοῦ· μάστιξ δὲ παρὰ κυρίου οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπ' αὐτοῖς. ἡ βοῦς αὐτῶν οὐκ ὠμοτόκησεν, διεσώθη δὲ αὐτῶν ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα καὶ οὐκ ἔσφαλεν. μένουσι δὲ ὡς πρόβατα αἰώνια. κομῶσιν αὐτοῖς τὰ λήια, ἥδονται τοῖς τέκνοις, εὐθηνοῦσιν, οὐδένα διευλαβοῦνται, οὐ δέχονται πληγὴν θεήλατον. ἡ γεωργικὴ βοῦς οὐκ ὠμοτόκησεντουτέστιν· οὐ νεκρὸν καὶ ἀτελῆ γονὴν ἤνεγκε, αἱ παρ' αὐτοῖς γυναῖκες ἀμβλωθρίδιον οὐκ ἐξέτρωσαν. μένουσι δὲ ἐν ταῖς εὐπραγίαις ὥσπερ πρόβατα, ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἀμέριμνοι. αἰώνια δὲ οἱονεὶ θείας τινὸς καὶ ἀθανάτου μοίρας ἐπειλημμένοι, ἵνα εἴπῃ· τῆς τληπαθείας τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἔξω. 21, 11-14 τὰ δὲ παιδία αὐτῶν προσπαίζουσιν ἀναλαβόντες ψαλτήριον καὶ κιθάραν καὶ εὐφραίνονται φωνῇ ψαλμοῦ. συνετέλεσαν δὲ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς τὸν βίον αὐτῶν, ἐν δὲ ἀναπαύσει ᾅδου ἐκοιμήθησαν. λέγει δὲ κυρίῳ· ἀπόστα ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὁδούς σου εἰδέναι οὐ βούλομαι. ἄλλη πατέρων εὐδαιμονία τῶν παίδων ἡ εὐφροσύνη. ἀλλὰ καὶ συντελευτῶσιν, φησίν, τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς συνεκτεινομένην ἔχοντες τῷ παντὶ βίῳ τὴν εὐπραγίαν, καὶ ταῦτα προφανῶς θεομαχοῦντες καὶ ἀφιστάμενοι τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἀνερυθριάστως λέγοντες πρὸς αὐτόν· ὁδούς σου εἰδέναι οὐ βουλόμεθα, ἀντὶ τοῦ· τὰς ἐντολάς σου. 185 21, 1416 τί ἱκανός, ὅτι δουλεύσομεν αὐτῷ, καὶ τίς ὠφέλεια, ὅτι ἀπαντήσομεν αὐτῷ; ἐν χερσὶ γὰρ ἦν αὐτῶν τὰ ἀγαθά, ἔργα δὲ ἀσεβῶν οὐκ ἐφορᾷ. ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τῶν ἀσεβῶν οἱ λόγοι. τί πλέον ἰσχύει, φησίν, θεόςτοῦτο γὰρ σημαίνει τὸ ἱκανόςδοῦναι ἡμῖν, ἵνα δουλεύσωμεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἀπαντήσωμεν, τουτέστιν· εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ προσκύνησιν ἔλθωμεν ὡς οἱ τοῖς ἐνδόξοις προσώποις προανιστάμενοι καὶ τιμῆς χάριν εἰς ἀπάντησιν ἐρχόμενοι. ἔχομεν οὖν, φασίν, ταῦτα χερσίν, οἴκοθεν κτώμεθα τὰ ἀγαθά· τί πλέον ἡμᾶς ὠφελῆσαι δύναται θεός; τὸ δὲ ἔργα ἀσεβῶν οὐκ ἐφορᾷ πάλιν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὁ λόγος φασκόντων· ταῦτα θεὸς ἐφορᾷ; εἰς ταῦτα καταγίνεται; οὐδὲν αὐτῷ μέλει τῶν παρὰ ἀνθρώποις πραττομένων. 21, 17 οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀσεβῶν λύχνος σβεσθήσεται. ἀλλ' ὥσπερ, φησίν, ὁρῶμεν μέχρι τέλους εὐπαθήσαντας ἀσεβεῖς, ὁρῶμεν καὶ ἑτέρους ὁμοίως ἀσεβεῖς, ὧν ἀπεσβέσθη ἡ τοῦ βίου λαμπρότης. 21, 1718 ἐπελεύσεται δὲ αὐτοῖς ἡ καταστροφή, ὠδῖνες αὑτοῖς