70

Does it escape my notice? For this it signifies, If a man shall hide himself in secret places, shall I not see him? that is, does someone wish to hide in the secret place of his own mind, and it escapes my knowledge? That they pushed them into wickednesses, I know. How do I know? I am present; I am present everywhere. For if He often grants to prophets who are not present to know things everywhere, much more does He Himself know. But He does not say this, but, I am a God at hand; I am present everywhere; which was an indisputable proof of knowing all things. And not a God afar off. For just as the light is present everywhere, so also is God. Do not I fill heaven and earth? I know, he says, how they compose prophecies; a proof of suspicion is prophesying evil things to the evil; then also if he should relate it, it will be manifest. *What is the chaff to the wheat, says the Lord? He well added this in the comparison of the prophets to the false prophets, instead of, There is no comparison 64.949 of chaff to wheat. For the one is nourishing, and contributes to the sustenance of men. But chaff is of no use to men, but is either thrown away or becomes food for irrational animals. Thus, he says, the words of the prophets also nourish souls. But the word of the false prophets cannot contribute anything to the profit of men, except that it provides some comfort, not profit, to those who are persuaded out of irrationality, and he adds, Not so; that is, no comparison. *Are not my words like as a fire? says the Lord; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. That is, The words through the prophets are true and have power. Behold, I am therefore against the prophets. How it seems to me that some, hearing the prophets, imitate them, or hearing others relate, like a serpent. For this reason Ezekiel also says that, If a prophet comes, he says, I the Lord have deceived him; for He does not permit him to learn hereafter; for this reason he also says to take away the "burden." Behold, I am against the prophets. He calls the false ones prophecies of the tongue; but the true prophecies are not of the tongue. And who slumber their own slumbers. For many practiced kinds of prophecy through dreams, through oracles. But they will comfort for the present. And the burden of the Lord. And what is the harm? since they pretended to receive that, He does away with the homonymy. For demons also were able to receive, and were thought to receive from God. But this is not so.

CHAPTER 24.

*And the Lord showed me two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah. Then after a little; The one basket, of very good figs, like the early figs, and the other basket of very evil figs, which could not be eaten, they were so evil, and what follows. This vision of the prophet has this meaning. That it occurred, then, in the time of Zedekiah is clear. And the words show it. For when those with Jehoiakim became captives, those in the time of Zedekiah said, "We will suffer nothing terrible from the Babylonians, since we do what is just, for since those men and our forefathers became evil and impious, they have become captives." Through this vision, therefore, God shows that those are better than these. And just as, he says, one would make much of the good figs, not wishing to release or cast away any of them, so also He Himself preserved those who had departed; and he says, a basket of good figs, meaning that colony; since along with the multitude, the righteous were also taken, the house of Daniel, and the three young men, and Ezekiel, and whoever was like them

70

λανθάνει ἐμέ; τοῦτο γὰρ μηνύει, Εἰ κρυβήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐν κρυφίοις, καὶ ἐγὼ οὐκ ὄψομαι αὐτόν; τουτέστιν, ἦ ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ τις τῆς ἑαυτοῦ διανοίας κρύψαι βούλεται, καὶ λανθάνει μου τὴν γνῶσιν; Ὅτι εἰς πονηρίας αὐτοὺς ὤθησαν, οἶδα. Πόθεν οἶδα; Παρὼν ἐγώ εἰμι· πανταχοῦ πάρειμι. Εἰ γὰρ τοῖς μὴ παροῦσι προφήταις δίδωσιν εἰδέναι τὰ πανταχοῦ πολλάκις, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς οἶδεν. Ἀλλ' οὐ λέγει τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ, Θεὸς ἐγγίζων ἐγώ εἰμι· πανταχοῦ πάρειμι· ὅπερ ἀναμφισβήτητον τεκμήριον ἦν τοῦ πάντα εἰδέναι. Καὶ οὐχὶ Θεὸς πόῤῥωθεν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ φῶς πανταχοῦ πάρεστιν, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Θεός. Μὴ οὐχὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐγὼ πληρῶ; Οἶδα, φησὶ, πῶς συντιθέασι προφητείας· ὑποψίας τεκμήριον τὸ τοῖς πονηροῖς προφητεύειν τὰ πονηρά· εἶτα καὶ ἐὰν διηγήσηται, φανερὰ ἔσται. *Τί τὸ ἄχυρον πρὸς τὸν σῖτον, φησὶ Κύριος; Καλῶς τῇ συγκρίσει τῶν προφητῶν πρὸς τοὺς ψευδοπροφήτας ἐπήγαγε τοῦτο ἀντὶ τοῦ, Σύγκρισις 64.949 οὐδεμία ἀχύρου πρὸς σῖτον. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τρόφιμός ἐστι, καὶ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους σύστασιν συντελεῖ. Οὐδὲν δὲ χρήσιμον ἀνθρώποις ἄχυρον, ἀλλ' ἢ ῥίπτεται ἢ ἀλόγων τροφὴ γίνεται. Οὕτω, φησὶ, καὶ τῶν προφητῶν οἱ λόγοι τρέφουσι ψυχάς. Οὐ μὴν ὁ λόγος τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν δύναταί τι συντελεῖν πρὸς κέρδος ἀνθρώπων, πλὴν εἰ μή τι τοῖς ἐξ ἀλογίας πειθομένοις, παραμυθίαν τινὰ παρέχει, οὐ κέρδος, καὶ ἐπάγει, Οὐχ οὕτως· τουτέστιν οὐδεμία σύγκρισις. *Οἱ λόγοι μου ὥσπερ πῦρ, λέγει Κύριος, καὶ ὡς πέλεκυς κόπτων πέτραν. Τουτέστιν, Οἱ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν λόγοι ἀληθεῖς καὶ ἐνέργειαν ἔχοντες. Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τοὺς προφήτας. Πῶς ἐμοὶ δοκοῦσι τῶν προφητῶν ἀκούοντες μιμεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς ἔνιοι, ἢ ἑτέρων διηγουμένων ἀκούοντες, καθάπερ ὄφις. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Ἰεζεκιήλ φησι, ὅτι Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ, φησὶ, προφήτης, ἐγὼ Κύριος ἐπλάνησα αὐτόν· οὐ γὰρ συγχωρεῖ μαθεῖν λοιπόν· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ λῆμμα λέγει ἀνελεῖν. Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ πρὸς τοὺς προφήτας. Προφητείας γλώττης τὰς ψευδεῖς καλεῖ· οὐ γλώσσης δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἀληθεῖς προφητεῖαι. Καὶ νυστάζοντας νυσταγμὸν αὐτῶν. Πολλοὶ γὰρ εἴδη ἐπετήδευον προφητείας διὰ ὕπνων, διὰ χρησμῶν. Ἀλλὰ παραμυθήσονται πρὸς τὸ παρόν. Καὶ λῆμμα Κυρίου. Καὶ ποία βλάβη; ἐπειδὴ ἐκεῖνον προσεποιοῦντο λήψεσθαι, τὴν ὁμωνυμίαν ἀναιρεῖ. Λαμβάνειν γὰρ καὶ οἱ δαίμονες ἠδύναντο καὶ ἐνομίζοντο ὑπὸ Θεοῦ λήψεσθαι. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Κ∆ʹ.

*Καὶ ἔδειξέ μοι Κύριος δύο καλάθους σύκων κειμένους κατὰ πρόσωπον ναοῦ Κυρίου μετὰ τὸ ἀποικίσαι Ναβουχοδονόσορ βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος τὸν Ἰεχονίαμ υἱὸν Ἰωακεὶμ βασιλέα Ἰούδα. Εἶταμετ' ὀλίγα· Ὁ κάλαθος ὁ εἷς, σύκων χρηστῶν σφόδρα, ὡς σῦκα πρώϊμα, καὶ ὁ κάλαθος ὁ ἕτερος σύκων πονηρῶν σφόδρα, τῶν μὴ βιβρωσκομένων ἀπὸ πονηρίας αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ταύτην τὴν ἔννοιαν ἔχει ἡ ὀπτασία αὕτη τοῦ προφήτου. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τοῦ Σεδεκίου γέγονε, δῆλον. Καὶ δείκνυσι τὰ ῥήματα. Αἰχμαλώτων δὲ γενομένων τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἰωακεὶμ, ἔφασκον οἱ ἐπὶ τοῦ Σεδεκίου, ὡς Οὐδὲν πεισόμεθα δεινὸν ἡμεῖς παρὰ Βαβυλωνίων, πράττοντες δίκαια, ἐπείπερ κακοὶ γενόμενοι ἐκεῖνοι καὶ ἀσεβεῖς, οἵ τε προπάτορες οἱ ἡμέτεροι αἰχμάλωτοι γεγόνασι. ∆ιὰ τοίνυν ταύτης τῆς ὀπτασίας δείκνυσιν ἐκείνους ἄμεινον τούτων ὁ Θεός. Καὶ ὥσπερ, φησὶ, τὰ σῦκα τὰ χρηστὰ περὶ πολλοῦ ἄν τις ποιήσαιτο, οὐδ' ἀπολύειν οὐδὲ ῥίπτειν ἐθέλων ἐξ αὐτῶν τι, οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς περιεποιήσατο τοὺς ἀπελθόντας· φησὶ δὲ, κάλαθον σύκων χρηστῶν, ἐκείνην τὴν ἀποικίαν· ἐπειδήπερ μετὰ τοῦ πλήθους, καὶ ὁ δίκαιος παρελήφθησαν, οἶκος ∆ανιὴλ, καὶ οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες, καὶ Ἐζεκιὴλ, καὶ εἴ τις κατ' ἐκείνους