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Just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Take courage and be strong in your hearts. For thus says the Lord Almighty: Just as I intended to harm you when your fathers provoked me, says the Lord Almighty, and I did not relent, so have I arrayed myself and intended in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. 2.351 To fall into afflictions and a curse comes from nothing other than sin and impiety, while blessing is given from God to the just on account of what they do and think rightly. For since human beings are endowed with free will, having a free and autonomous choice, by their own accord they do things that bring on either punishment or divine promises. Indeed, in the same way they come to be under a curse, so also they come to be in well-being and blessing. 2.352 For example, the author of all good things himself says to Judah and Israel: When your fathers acted impiously and transgressed so as to provoke me against them, I did not relent, but I brought upon them what was likely for those who provoke to suffer; so now I have arrayed myself and intended to save those of Judah and Israel, and I have not relented. 2.353 It is possible to adduce testimonies for these things from the divinely inspired scriptures. 2.354 Once the inhabitants of Nineveh sinned and acted exceedingly impiously, so that the cry of their wickedness went up to God demanding punishment, so that the provider and judge of all things said: “Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” When the guilty learned this, as Jonah the prophet preached to them, at the suggestion of the one who had threatened them they came to repentance, so as to confess and do the things that undo their previous wickedness. To these, then, who repented, he who had proclaimed their affliction relented, having received the cause for his benefaction; this did not happen in the case of the Sodomites, on account of their persistence in impiety and their sins, although the merciful God wished to find in them an occasion for doing good. 2.355 For he says: “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great, and their sins are very grievous. Therefore, having gone down, I will see if they are acting according to their wickedness that has come up to me; but if not, that I may know,” all but saying: Since the cry of their great sins has called me, I am going down so that if they are found still committing great sins, they may be finished, having fallen under the proclaimed punishment; but if they should be found moderately subject to what they impiously thought and to the forbidden deeds, I may know them as my own, according to what is written: “The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 2.356 In this sense, Paul, the chosen vessel, writes to the Galatians: “But then, indeed, not knowing God, you served those which by nature are not gods; but now, knowing God, or rather being known by God.” For he knows those who know him, not then beginning to know them, but being related to them as one who knows those foreknown, this in no way happening with the wicked who still persist in evil. 2.357 For it is said by the Savior to those who have remained evil until the time of the consummation of the world and the manifestation of the judge of all things, he himself being that one: “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity; I never knew you,” that is, you have never had experience or fellowship of me, nor I of you. For if ‘to know’ were taken in its common sense, the same as ‘to understand,’ how did he know that they were workers of iniquity? 2.358 Therefore, since 'to know' and not 'to know' is used in a twofold sense in the divinely inspired scriptures, according to one sense God, who knows the heart, understands all, both the just and sinners; for example, when the king who comes “to judge” “sits upon the throne of his glory”

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ἔσται ὃν τρόπον ἦτε ἐν κατάρᾳ ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὁ οἶκος Ἰούδα καὶ ὁ οἶκος Ἰσραήλ, οὕτως διασώσω ὑμᾶς καὶ ἔσεσθε ἐν εὐλογίᾳ· θαρσεῖτε καὶ κατισχύετε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν. ∆ιότι τάδε λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ· Ὃν τρόπον διενοήθην τοῦ κακῶσαι ὑμᾶς ἐν τῷ παροργίσαι με τοὺς πατέρας ὑμῶν, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ, καὶ οὐ μετενόησα, οὕτως παρατέταγμαι κα̣ι`̣ διανενόημαι ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις τοῦ καλῶς ποιῆσαι τὴν Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰούδα. 2.351 Τὸ ὑποπεσεῖν ἀνιαροῖς καὶ κατάρᾳ, οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἢ ἐξ ἁμαρτίας καὶ ἀσεβείας, τῆς εὐλογίας τοῖς δικαίοις θεόθεν διδομένης, δι' ἃ πράττουσιν καὶ φρονοῦσιν ὀρθῶς. Αὐτεξούσιοι γὰρ ὄντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἐλευθέραν τε καὶ αὐτόνομον προαίρεσιν ἔχοντες, παρ' ἑαυτοὺς πράττουσιν ἤτοι τὰ κόλασιν ἢ ἐπαγγελίας θείας ἐπάγοντα. Ἀμέλει γοῦν ᾧπερ τρόπῳ γίνονται ἐν κατάρᾳ, τούτῳ καὶ εὐπαθείᾳ καὶ εὐλογίᾳ. 2.352 Αὐτίκα γοῦν αὐτὸς ὁ πάντων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος τῷ Ἰούδᾳ καὶ Ἰσραήλ φησιν· Ἀσεβούντωνκαὶ παρανομούντων τῶν πατερῶν ὑμῶν ὡς παροργίσαι με κατ' αὐτῶν, οὐ μετενόησα, ἀλλ' ἐπήγαγον ἃ εἰκὸς παθεῖν τοὺς παροργίσαντας, οὕτω νῦν παρατέταγμαι καὶ διενοήθην σῶσαι τοὺς τοῦ Ἰούδα καὶ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ οὐ μετενόησα. 2.353 Ἔστι δὲ τούτων ἐκ τῶν θεοπνεύστων γραφῶν μαρτυρίας παραγαγεῖν. 2.354 Ἥμαρτόν ποτε καὶ ἠσέβησαν ὑπερβαλλόντως οἱ τὴν Νινευὴν οἰκοῦντες, ὡς τὴν κραυγὴν τῆς κακίας πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀναβῆναι τιμωρίαν ἀπαιτοῦσαν, ὡς τὸν προνοητὴν καὶ κριτὴν τῶν ἁπάντων εἰπεῖν· «Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέρας, καὶ Νινευὴ κατασκαφήσεται.» Τοῦτο μαθόντες οἱ ὑπαίτιοι, κηρύξαντος αὐτοῖς Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου, καθ' ὑφήγησιν τοῦ ἀπειλήσαντος εἰς μετάνοιαν ἐληλύθασιν, ὥσθ' ὁμολογῆσαι καὶ πρᾶξαι τὰ λύοντα τὴν προλαβοῦσαν κακίαν. Τούτοις μὲν οὖν μεταγνοῦσιν μετενόησεν ὁ προαναφωνήσας τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν κάκωσιν, τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς εὐεργεσίας λαβών, τούτου ἐπὶ Σοδομιτῶν οὐ συμβάντος, διὰ τὸ ἔμμονον τῆς ἀσεβείας καὶ ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν, καίτοι τοῦ ἵλεω Θεοῦ εὑρεῖν βουλομένου ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀφορμὴν εὐποιΐας. 2.355 Φησὶν γα´̣ρ· «Κραυγὴ Σοδόμων καὶ Γομόρρων πεπλήθυνται, καὶ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αὐτῶν μεγάλαι σφόδρα. Καταβὰς οὖν ὄψομαι εἰ κατὰ τὴν κακίαν αὐτῶν τὴν ἀναβᾶσαν πρὸς ἐμὲ συντελοῦνται· εἰ δὲ μή, ἵνα γνῶ», μόνον οὐχὶ λέγων· Ἐκκαλεσαμένης με τῆς κραυγῆς τῶν μεγάλων ἁμαρτημάτων, συγκαταβαίνω ἵν' ἂν εὑρεθῶσιν τὰς μεγάλας ἁμαρτίας ἔτι πράττοντες, συντελεσθῶσιν ὑποπεσόντες τῇ προαναφωνηθείσῃ τιμωρίᾳ, εἰ δὲ εὑρεθεῖεν μετρίως ὑποκείμενοι οἷς ἀσεβῶς ἐφρόνουν καὶ τοῖς ἀπηγορευμένοις ἔργοις, γνῶ αὐτοὺς ὡς ἡμετέρους, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· «Ἔγνω Κύριος τοὺς ὄντας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀποστήτω ἀπὸ ἀδικίας πᾶς ὁ ὀνομάζων τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου.» 2.356 Ταύτῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ τὸ τῆς ἐκλογῆς σκεῦος Παῦλος Γαλάταις ἐπιστέλλει· «Ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν οὐκ εἰδότες Θεόν, ἐδουλεύετε τοῖς φύσει μὴ οὖσιν θεοῖς· νῦν δὲ γνόντες Θεόν, μᾶλλον δὲ γνωσθέντες ὑπὸ Θεοῦ.» Γινώσκει γὰρ τοὺς γνόντας αὐτόν, οὐ τότε ἀρχὴν λαμβάνων τοῦ ἐπίστασθαι αὐτούς, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀνακρίνασθαι αὐτοῖς ὡς γινώσκων προγινωσκομένους, οὐδαμῶς πρὸς τοὺς φαύλους ἔτι ἐπιμένοντας τῇ κακίᾳ συμβαίνοντος τούτου. 2.357 Λέγεται γοῦν ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος τοῖς διαμείνασι κακοῖς μέχρι τοῦ καιροῦ τῆς συντελείας τοῦ κόσμου καὶ φανερώσεως τοῦ κριτοῦ τῶν ὅλων, αὐτοῦ δηλονότι ὄντος· «Ἀποχωρεῖτε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ἐργάται ἀνομίας· οὐδέποτε ὑμᾶς ἔγνων», τοῦτ' ἔστιν οὐδέποτε πεῖραν ἢ μετοχήν μου ἐσχήκατε, οὐδὲ ἐγὼ ὑμῶν. Εἰ γὰρ τὸ προχείρως γινώσκειν λαμβάνοιτο, ταὐτὸν εἴη τῷ ἐπίστασθαι, πῶς ᾔδει αὐτοὺς ἐργάτας ἀνομίας ὄντας; 2.358 ∆ιττοῦ τοίνυν τοῦ γινώσκειν καὶ τοῦ μὴ φερ̣ο̣μένου ἐν ταῖς θεοπνεύστοις γραφαῖς, κατὰ τὸ ἕτερον πάντας ἐπίσταται ὁ καρδιογνώστης Θεὸς τούς τε δικαίους καὶ ἁμαρτωλούς· αὐτίκα γοῦν ὅταν «καθίσῃ ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὐτοῦ» ὁ ἐρχόμενος «κρῖναι» βασιλεὺς