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it happens, has not yet been swallowed up by death, being able to repent, yet he is not completely delivered. 2001 Therefore it is said to be in the shadow of death. And otherwise they were overshadowed by death. For a deep cloud of idolatry lay upon them. Then the discourse shifts to the very person of the Lord. The greater part of the people whom you brought down, in gladness. For in this land he acquired a great people, and his apostles. But instead of "you brought down," the others have interpreted "you have magnified." And these shall rejoice as in harvest. With respect to the letter, because of whom he blessed the loaves in this land, both seven and five, and fed so many. For in harvest time also they are accustomed to feast together, gathered in the same place. But with respect to the meaning, that the apostles, and their successors even to this day, rejoice in the presence of the Savior, working like reapers, being laborers of the harvest of the nations; to whom he said, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, and how are they not indeed few, who, as is right, are leading the way to the great and plentiful harvest of the nations? who also divided among themselves the spoils of the polytheistic error, which the Savior gave them to plunder, he who was previously told, spoil quickly, plunder swiftly? For according to the parable, being stronger than the strong man, he took his full armor, and distributed the spoils. The full armor being the evil powers, through which he effected idolatry. And the spoils, the souls of men, which he, having secretly plundered, held under him, using the manner and force of a robber. But he who is truly strong, having cast down idolatry, and having freed the plundered souls, distributed them to his disciples to care for and to heal them; who also rejoice as in the harvest of the Church, seeing the crops. And otherwise, whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. In the retribution, therefore, those who received the word and bore fruit, receiving the reward from the just Judge in proportion to what was previously laid down here, will rejoice, enjoying their own labors. For those who become rich from spoils receive at once the source of their wealth, which is why he mentions both, the good things from recompense, and those given by grace from him who bestows great things; but let us return to where we digressed. The disciples of Christ therefore rejoice to this day, because the yoke that was long laid upon the spoils has been taken away, and the rod that was upon the neck of the spoils. For a deadly yoke and rod bent their neck. For he who plundered them for this purpose subjected their souls to the slavery of sin; for like an exactor he stood over human life, beating with a rod, and making it incline to the earth by its relation to the passions. Being struck by this rod, David said: "My wounds have become foul and festered." For the evil rod makes foul-smelling wounds on the one who is struck. Consider how one led by various desires 2004 is like one who is being beaten with a rod. For desire causes goads and pains to the intemperate, until it imprints a foul-smelling wound upon wretched souls, which the memory of shameful things produces. He will therefore scatter this rod, as he scattered the rule of Midian. And he mentions the history from Numbers [and the] or from Judges. In one place saying, "They waged war against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed every male, and the kings of Midian." In another place Gideon says: "Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hands." Which the text seems rather to indicate. For as in the time of Gideon the enemies were not conquered by an array of weapons, but by an unseen and divinely-sent plague; so also the enemies of souls; and their rod has been scattered, whose yoke lay both upon those from the nations through idolatry, and upon those from Israel through the Pharisees. For in addition to the yoke of the law, about which the disciples say: "And now why do you test God by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither you nor your fathers were able to bear?" they themselves also a heavier

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τυγχάνει, οὔπω κατεπόθη θανάτῳ, μετανοῆσαι δυνάμενος, οὐ μὴν ἀπήλλακται παντελῶς. 2001 ∆ιὸ λέγεται ἐν σκιᾷ θανάτου εἶναι. Καὶ ἄλλως ἐσκιάζοντο ὑπὸ θανάτου. Βαθεῖα γὰρ αὐτοὺς νεφέλη τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ἐπέκειτο. Λοιπὸν ὁ λόγος πρὸς αὐτὸ μεταβαίνει τοῦ Κυρίου τὸ πρόσωπον. Τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ λαοῦ ὃ κατήγαγες, ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ. Ἐν ταύτῃ γὰρ τῇ χώρᾳ πλεῖστον ἐκτήσατο λαὸν, καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους αὐτοῦ. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ κατήγαγες, ἐμεγάλυνας ἑρμήνευσαν οἱ λοιποί. Εὐφρανθήσονται δὲ οὗτοι καθάπερ ἐν ἀμητῷ. Πρὸς μὲν τὴν λέξιν, δι' οὓς εὐλόγησεν ἄρτους ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ χώρᾳ ἑπτά τε καὶ πέντε, καὶ τοσούτους ἐχόρτασεν. Καὶ ἐν θερισμῷ γὰρ ἠθροισμένως καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ συμποσιάζειν εἰώθασιν. Πρὸς δὲ διάνοιαν, ὅτιπερ οἱ ἀπόστολοι, καὶ οἱ τούτων εἰσέτι νῦν ὄντες διάδοχοι, ἐνώπιον τοῦ Σωτῆρος εὐφραίνονται δίκην ἀμώντων ἐργαζόμενοι τοῦ θερισμοῦ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐργᾶται τυγχάνοντες· πρὸς οὓς ἔλεγεν, ὁ μὲν θερισμὸς πολὺς οἱ δὲ ἐργᾶται ὀλίγοι, καὶ πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ὀλίγοι τινὲς, οἳ, ὡς δεῖ καθηγούμενοι πρὸς τὸν μέγαν καὶ πολὺν τῶν ἐθνῶν θερισμόν; οἳ καὶ τῆς πολυθέου πλάνης εἰς ἑαυτοὺς διῃροῦντο τὰ σκύλα, ἃ δέδωκεν αὐτοῖς εἰς προνομεῖν ὁ Σωτὴρ ὁ λεγόμενος πρόσθε, ταχέως σκύλευσον, ὀξέως προνόμευσον; Κατὰ γὰρ τὴν παραβολὴν, τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ τυγχάνων ἰσχυρότερος, ἦρε τὴν πανοπλίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ σκύλα διέδωκεν. Πανοπλίαν μὲν τὰς πονηρὰς δυνάμεις, δι' ὧν ἐνείργει τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν. Σκύλα δὲ τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχὰς, ἃς ὑποσυλήσας εἶχεν ὑφ' ἑαυτῷ λῃστοῦ καὶ τρόπῳ καὶ βίᾳ χρησάμενος. Ὁ δὲ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἰσχυρὸς καθελὼν τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν, ἐλευθερώσας τε τὰς σκυλευθείσας ψυχὰς, διένειμε τοῖς μαθηταῖς προνοεῖν καὶ θεραπεύειν αὐτάς· οἳ καὶ εὐφραίνονται καθάπερ ἐν ἀμητῷ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ὁρῶντες τὰ λήϊα. Καὶ ἄλλως, ὃ σπείρει ἕκαστος, τοῦτο καὶ θερίσει. Ἐν οὖν τῇ ἀνταποδόσει οἱ τὸν λόγον δεξάμενοι καὶ καρποφορήσαντες, ἀνάλογον τῶν ἐνταῦθα προκαταβεβλημένων παρὰ τοῦ δικαίου Κριτοῦ λαμβάνοντες τὸν μισθὸν, εὐφρανθήσονται τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἐναπολαύοντες πόνοις. Οἱ γὰρ ἐκ σκύλων πλουτοῦντες ἀθρόαν ὑποδέχονται τοῦ πλούτου τὴν ἀφορμὴν, διόπερ ἄμφω φησὶν, καὶ τὰ ἐξ ἀντιδόσεως ἀγαθὰ, καὶ τὰ ἐκ χάριτος παρὰ τοῦ τὰ μεγάλα δωρουμένου διδόμενα· ἀλλ' ἐπανέλθωμεν ὅθεν ἐξέβημεν. Εὐφραίνονται τοίνυν οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μέχρι νῦν μαθηταὶ, διότι ἀφῄρηται ὁ ζυγὸς ὁ πάλαι τοῖς σκύλοις ἐπικείμενος, καὶ ἡ ῥάβδος ἡ ἐπὶ τοῦ τραχήλου τῶν σκύλων. Τὸν γὰρ τράχηλον αὐτῶν συνέκαμπτε ζυγὸς καὶ ῥάβδος θανατική. Τὰς γὰρ ψυχὰς τῇ δουλείᾳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὑπέταξεν ὁ πρὸς τοῦτο συλήσας αὐτάς· ὡς γὰρ ἀπαιτητὴς ἐφέστηκεν τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ζωῇ ῥαβδίζων, καὶ νεύειν εἰς γῆν τῇ πρὸς τὰ πάθη σχέσει ποιῶν. Ὑπὸ ταύτης τῆς ῥάβδου πληγεὶς ἔλεγεν ὁ ∆αβίδ· "Προσώζεσαν καὶ ἐσάπησαν οἱ μώλωπές μου." Ἡ πονηρὰ γὰρ ῥάβδος δυσώδεις μώλωπας τῷ πληγέντι ποιεῖ. Λογίζου τὸν ἐπιθυ 2004 μίαις ποικίλαις ἀγόμενον πῶς ἔοικεν ῥαβδιζομένῳ. Κέντρα γὰρ καὶ ὠδῖνας ἐπιθυμία τοῖς ἀκολάστοις ποιεῖ, μέχρι μώλωπα δυσώδη ψυχαῖς ἀθλίαις ἐναπομάξηται, ὃν ἡ τῶν αἰσχρῶν ἐνεργάζεται μνήμη. Ταύτην οὖν διασκεδάσει τὴν ῥάβδον, ὡς διεσκέδασε τὴν ἀρχὴν Μαδιάμ. Ἱστορίας δὲ μέμνηται ἡ τῆς ἐν Ἀριθμοῖς [καὶ ἡ] ἢ τῆς ἐν τοῖς Κριταῖς. Πῆ μὲν λέγων, "Παρετάξαντο ἐπὶ Μαδιὰμ καθὰ ἐνετείλατο Κύριος τῷ Μωϋσεῖ, καὶ ἀπέκτειναν πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν, καὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς Μαδιάμ." Πῆ δέ φησι Γεδεών· "Ἀνάστητε, ὅτι παρέδωκεν Κύριος ἐν χερσὶν ὑμῶν τὴν παρεμβολὴν Μαδιάμ." Ὃ καὶ μᾶλλον ἔοικεν ὁ λόγος δηλοῦν. Ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ Γεδεῶνος οὐχ ὅπλων παρατάξει νενίκηντο οἱ πολέμιοι, ἀφανεῖ δὲ καὶ θεηλάτῳ πληγῇ· οὕτω τῶν ψυχῶν οἱ πολέμιοι· καὶ ἡ τούτων διεσκέδασται ῥάβδος, ὧν ὁ ζυγὸς ἐπέκειτο, καὶ τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν διὰ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας, καὶ τοῖς ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, διὰ τῶν Φαρισαίων. Πρὸς γὰρ τῷ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου ζυγῷ, περὶ οὗ φασιν οἱ μαθηταί· "Καὶ νῦν τί πειράζετε τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιθεῖναι ζυγὸν ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον τῶν μαθητῶν, ὃν οὔτε ὑμεῖς οὔτε οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἴσχυσαν βαστᾶσαι;" καὶ αὐτοὶ βαρύτερον