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receiving. And see how he has used the words properly. He was trapped, he says; that is, he was seized by force, the plot became inescapable for him. And again: In this trap which they hid, their foot was caught. With unbreakable bonds, he says, the wicked are ensnared. These things happened in the case of the apostles and in the case of the Jews. For when they made war on the apostles, they did not harm them at all, but surrounded themselves with countless evils, falling away from their city, and freedom, and all other things, and the preaching increased, while those who plotted were destroyed. And those who cast the three children into the Babylonian furnace, were again captured by it; which indeed also happened in the case of Daniel. But in the case of Daniel this happened with good reason, for they themselves cast him in; but in the case of the three children, why, when the king had sinned, are these standing before the furnace punished? Because these who were burned up had also served the command of the tyrant, and had worshiped the golden image. In the trap which they hid. See how he showed their accusation to be unspeakable. For since what was happening was full of shame, for this reason they hide it, and try to escape notice. The Lord is known when he executes judgments. Another, He was known, having executed judgment; that is, punishing, avenging, prosecuting. Did you see another form of beneficence from punishment? For not only, 55.133 he says, does he make those who are punished more zealous, but he also prepares the word of the knowledge of God to shine forth; and one might see him converting men from this even more. For when he allowed the herd of swine to be carried down the cliffs, and to be drowned in the sea, then they were especially astonished. And in the Old Testament the Jews, "When he slew them, then they sought him," as the Prophet says. And why, then, does he not do this more continuously? Because he does not wish the things of virtue to be achieved more by force, but rather by choice, and more by being benefited than by being punished. And how much, he says, is it better to be good by necessity than evil by choice? It is not good to be so by necessity. For he who becomes good by a bond will not be good forever, but when released from the necessity, he will return to wickedness; but he who is guided so as to become good by choice, having become so, remains steadfast. In the works of his own hands the sinner is snared. He did not say of the hands of God, but of the hands of the sinner. 8. Did you see how he varies his speech, bringing both punishment from above and inflicting justice from wickedness? How punishment from above? The Lord is known, he says, when he executes judgments. How justice from wickedness? The nations were trapped in the corruption which they made. And again from wickedness: In the works of his own hands the sinner is snared. For he speaks neither only of the punishment from God, since it is often delayed and tarries; nor only of that from wickedness, since many also take pleasure in this; but from both sides he secures his argument. Therefore he says: In the works of his own hands he was snared. Another, Of his ankles. Therefore, do not think you are devising plots for another when you are scheming; for you are weaving nets for yourself. Song, Interlude. Another, A sound always. Another, A melody always. But the Hebrew, Higgaion selah. Let the sinners be turned back into hades, all the nations that forget God. Another, They shall turn back. Again he insists on the same things, showing that wickedness has punishment allotted to it, and impiety begets death, and sin dangers. For the poor shall not be forgotten forever, the patience of the needy shall not perish in the end. Another interpreter says: For the expectation of the meek shall not forever

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ἀπολαμβάνοντες. Καὶ ὅρα πῶς κυρίως κέχρηται ταῖς λέξεσιν. Ἐνεπάγη, φησί· τουτέστι, κατὰ κράτος κατεσχέθη, ἄφευκτος αὐτῷ γέγονεν ἡ ἐπιβουλή. Καὶ πάλιν· Ἐν παγίδι ταύτῃ, ᾗ ἔκρυψαν, συνελήφθη ὁ ποὺς αὐτῶν. ∆εσμοῖς ἀλύτοις, φησὶν, οἱ πονηροὶ περιπείρονται. Ταῦτα ἐπὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων γέγονεν. Ὅτε γὰρ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἐπολέμουν, ἐκείνους μὲν οὐδὲν ἔβλαπτον, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ μυρίοις περιέβαλλον κακοῖς, πόλεως, καὶ ἐλευθερίας, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ἐκπίπτοντες, καὶ τὸ μὲν κήρυγμα ηὐξάνετο, οἱ δὲ ἐπιβουλεύοντες κατελύοντο. Καὶ οἱ τοὺς τρεῖς παῖδας ἐμβαλόντες εἰς τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν κάμινον, ὑπ' αὐτῆς πάλιν ἑάλωσαν· ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ γέγονεν. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ τοῦτο εἰκότως γέγονεν, αὐτοὶ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐνέβαλον· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν τριῶν παίδων τί δήποτε, τοῦ βασιλέως ἁμαρτόντος, οἱ πρὸ τῆς καμίνου ἑστῶτες οὗτοι κολάζονται; Ὅτι καὶ οἱ καταφλεχθέντες οὗτοι ἦσαν τῷ ἐπιτάγματι τοῦ τυράννου ὑπηρετήσαντες, καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι τῇ χρυσῇ προσκυνήσαντες. Ἐν παγίδι, ᾗ ἔκρυψαν. Ὅρα πῶς ἔδειξεν ἄφατον οὖσαν αὐτῶν τὴν κατηγορίαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ αἰσχύνης γέμον ἦν τὸ γινόμενον, διὰ τοῦτο κρύπτουσι, καὶ λανθάνειν πειρῶνται. Γινώσκεται Κύριος κρίματα ποιῶν. Ἄλλος, Ἐγνώσθη κρῖμα ποιήσας· τουτέστι, κολάζων, ἐκδικῶν, ἐπεξιών. Εἶδες ἕτερον εἶδος εὐεργεσίας ἀπὸ κολάσεως; Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον, 55.133 φησὶ, τοὺς κολαζομένους σπουδαιοτέρους ποιεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ θεογνωσίας ἐκλάμπειν παρασκευάζει τὸν λόγον· καὶ ἴδοι τις ἂν μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ἐντεῦθεν ἐπιστρέφοντα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Ὅτε γοῦν κατὰ τῶν κρημνῶν εἴασεν ἐνεχθῆναι τὴν ἀγέλην τῶν χοίρων, καὶ καταποντισθῆναι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, τότε μάλιστα ἐξεπλάγησαν. Καὶ ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, Ὅτε ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτοὺς, τότε ἐξεζήτουν αὐτὸν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Προφήτης. Καὶ τί δήποτε τοῦτο οὐ συνεχῶς ποιεῖ μᾶλλον; Ὅτι οὐ βούλεται βιαιότερον, ἀλλὰ καὶ προαιρετικώτερον τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς κατορθοῦσθαι, καὶ μᾶλλον εὐεργετουμένους ἢ κολαζομένους. Καὶ πόσῳ, φησὶ, βέλτιον ἀνάγκῃ εἶναι ἀγαθὸν ἢ προαιρέσει κακόν; Οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθὸν εἶναι ἀνάγκῃ. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τῷ δεσμῷ γινόμενος καλὸς, οὐκ ἔσται ἀεί ποτε καλὸς, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀνάγκης ἀπαλλαγεὶς, ἐπανήξει πρὸς τὴν κακίαν· ὁ δὲ παιδαγωγούμενος ὥστε προαιρέσει γενέσθαι καλὸς, γενόμενος, πάγιος μένει. Ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. Οὐ τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ. ηʹ. Εἶδες πῶς ποικίλλει τὸν λόγον, καὶ τὴν ἄνωθεν φέρων τιμωρίαν, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς κακίας ἐπάγων δίκην; Πῶς τὴν ἄνωθεν τιμωρίαν; Γινώσκεται Κύριος, φησὶ, κρίματα ποιῶν. Πῶς τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς κακίας δίκην; Ἐνεπάγησαν ἔθνη ἐν διαφθορᾷ, ᾗ ἐποίησαν. Καὶ πάλιν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς πονηρίας· Ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. Οὔτε γὰρ μόνην τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγει τιμωρίαν, ἐπειδὴ μέλλει πολλάκις καὶ βραδύνει· οὔτε μόνην τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς κακίας, ἐπειδὴ πολλοὶ ταύτῃ καὶ ἐμφιλοχωροῦσιν· ἀλλ' ἑκατέρωθεν ἀσφαλίζεται τὸν λόγον. ∆ιό φησιν· Ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη. Ἄλλος, Ταρσῶν αὐτοῦ. Μὴ τοίνυν νόμιζε ἑτέρῳ κατασκευάζειν τὰ μηχανήματα, ὅταν ἐπιβουλεύῃς· σεαυτῷ γὰρ πλέκεις τὰ δίκτυα. Ὠδὴ διάψαλμα. Ἄλλος, Φθογγὴ ἀεί. Ἄλλος, Μελῴδημα ἀεί. Ὁ δὲ Ἑβραῖος, Ἐγγαὼν σέλ. Ἀπστραφήτωσαν οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ εἰς τὸν ᾅδην, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐπιλανθανόμενα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἄλλος, Ἀναστρέψουσι. Πάλιν τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐπιμένει, δεικνὺς ὅτι ἡ κακία τὴν κόλασιν ἔχει συγκεκληρωμένην, καὶ ἡ ἀσέβεια θάνατον τίκτει, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία κινδύνους. Ὅτι οὐκ εἰς τέλος ἐπιλησθήσεται ὁ πτωχὸς, ἡ ὑπομονὴ τῶν πενήτων οὐκ ἀπολεῖται εἰς τέλος. Ἄλλος ἑρμηνευτής φησιν· Οὐ γὰρ εἰς τέλος ἡ προσδοκία τῶν πράων