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he compares the guarding of rational creatures with that of those. For scripture mentions dogs with praise on account of their protective, loyal, and vigilant nature, as "the tongue of your dogs from their enemies," or also certain worthless and wicked men were mocking him, about whom he adds the following: 251 30, 2 And indeed, what is the strength of their hands to me? But neither did I ask for help from them, that for this reason they should use such words towards me. 30, 2 Upon them completion was lost. Either he means this, that they did not have a restrained mind, but a bold one; or that they long owed a penalty for being wicked and in some way their punishment has flown away; or that, desiring death because of their want and extreme poverty, they do not obtain it. 30, 3 In want and famine, barren. But they are also needy, and being famished they were not able to invent and produce a way of providing; for this is what "barren" seems to signify. Or he also says this, that not even by want were they made temperate so as to become generative of good, but they remained barren, unable to generate anything good. The verse can also be understood on its own {to be}—for many of the verses are understood by themselves—to signify those who have not enjoyed the nourishment of instructive speech and for this reason were able to learn nothing good. Or he also speaks about himself as about poor men who have not enjoyed good teaching. 30, 3 those who flee into the waterless land, yesterday in distress and misery. those from dry and desolate land yesterday—instead of: in past time—being in distress and misery. And he seems to slander them as 252 base-born and being from inglorious places and poor fathers. And this blessed man explains these things, so that if we too are insulted by some worthless and dishonored men, we may not be vexed as if we alone have suffered these things, when such a man in virtue, and so great in wealth and renown, has suffered the same things as we, and worse. 30, 4 who surround salt-wort in a resounding place, whose food was salt-wort, dishonored and debased, in need of every good thing, who even chewed roots of trees from great famine. Salt-wort is a certain herb, as they say, that quickly fills the one eating and produces satiety. And "in a resounding place," in ravines and rocky places; for such places are resonant and echo back to those who speak. Or he also calls "resounding" a place that has woods, in which the breath of the winds, moving the woods, makes a sound. He says, therefore, that these men wandered about the woods and the ravines because of extreme want, searching for herbs and scraping the roots of trees for the comfort of food. 30, 5-8 Thieves rose up against me, whose houses were caves of the rocks. They will cry out amidst resonant places, who lived under wild brushwood. Sons of foolish and dishonored men, a name and renown extinguished from the earth. And such men also turned to robbery, having for houses the hollows of the rocks and the self-carved caves, living in desolate places and sheltered by brushwood, foolish from the foolish, dishonored from the dishonored, nameless and inglorious on the earth. 253 30, 9 But now I am their harp, and they have me for a byword. I have become a song to them, he says, and a parody, and they have my misfortunes in their mouth instead of any other conversation. 30, 10 And they abhorred me, standing far off, and from my face they did not spare spittle. And when they approach me, he says, spitting on me they stand far off, considering me an abomination and a disgust. 30, 11 For opening his quiver, God has afflicted me. that is, shooting me with arrows from all sides. 30, 11 and he has sent a bridle to my face to bind it. In this too, the just Job strikes at the devil, not saying that he has any power against him, but that God has inflicted the blows upon him. And he says that he also sent a bridle to me, as it were binding my face, so that he might say that he has made me without defense through the refutations of all who bring forward my misfortunes as proof of my impiety. 30, 12 They rose up on the right hand of the offspring. Or he means this, that against the one who formerly was sprouting and flourishing they rose up from a superior position

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φυλακὴν τῶν λογικῶν θρεμμάτων τῇ ἐκείνων παρεξετάζεικυνῶν γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ ἐπὶ ἐπαίνου μέμνηται διὰ τὸ φυλακτικὸν καὶ εὔνουν καὶ ἐπάγρυπνον ὡς ἡ γλῶσσα τῶν κυνῶν σου ἐξ ἐχθρῶν αὐτῶν, ἢ καὶ εὐτελεῖς τινες καὶ πονηροὶ αὐτὸν ἄνδρες ἐκερτόμουν, περὶ ὧν ἐπάγει καὶ τὰ ἐφεξῆς· 251 30, 2 καί γε ἰσχὺς χειρῶν αὐτῶν ἵνα τί μοι; ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ᾔτησα ἐπικουρίαν παρ' αὐτῶν, ἵνα διὰ τοῦτο τοιούτοις πρὸς ἐμὲ χρήσωνται ῥήμασιν. 30, 2 ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἀπώλετο συντέλεια. ἢ τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι οὐκ ἔσχον γνώμην συνεσταλμένην, ἀλλὰ θρασεῖαν· ἢ ὅτι πάλαι δίκην ἐχρεώστουν πονηροὶ ὄντες καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ἀπέπτη αὐτῶν ἡ τιμωρία· ἢ ὅτι θανάτου ἐπιθυμοῦντες διὰ τὸ ἐνδεὲς καὶ τὴν ἄκραν πενίαν οὐ τυγχάνουσιν. 30, 3 ἐν ἐνδείᾳ καὶ λιμῷ ἄγονος. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνδεεῖς εἰσιν, καὶ λιμώττοντες τρόπον ἐφευρεῖν καὶ γεννῆσαι ποριστικὸν οὐκ ἠδύναντο· τοῦτο γὰρ ἔοικε σημαίνειν τὸ ἄγονος. ἢ καὶ τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι οὐδὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ἐνδείας ἐσωφρονίσθησαν γεννητικοὶ γενέσθαι τοῦ καλοῦ, ἀλλ' ἔμειναν ἄγονοι, γεννῆσαί τι ἀγαθὸν οὐ δυνάμενοι. δύναται δὲ καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὁ στίχος νοούμενος {εἶναι}πολλὰ γὰρ τῶν στιχηρῶν καθ' αὑτὰ νοοῦνταισημαίνειν τοὺς μὴ ἀπολαύσαντας λόγου διδασκαλικοῦ τροφῆς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μηδὲν δυνηθέντας μαθεῖν ἀγαθόν. ἢ καὶ περὶ αὑτοῦ λέγει ὡς περὶ πενήτων μὴ διδασκαλίας ἀγαθῆς ἀπολαυσάντων. 30, 3 οἱ φεύγοντες ἄνυδρον ἐχθὲς συνοχὴν καὶ ταλαιπωρίαν. οἱ ἀπὸ χέρσου καὶ ἐρήμου χθέςἀντὶ τοῦ· ἐν τῷ παρεληλυθότι χρόνῳἐν συνοχῇ καὶ ταλαιπωρίᾳ ὄντες. ἔοικε δὲ ὡς ἀγενεῖς αὐ 252 τοὺς διαβάλλειν καὶ ἐξ ἀδόξων ὄντας χωρίων καὶ πατέρων πενήτων. καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ὁ μακάριος οὗτος ἐξηγεῖται, ἵνα ἐὰν καὶ ἡμεῖς ὑπὸ εὐτελῶν καὶ ἀτίμων τινῶν ὑβρισθῶμεν, μὴ ὡς μόνοι ταῦτα πεπονθότες δυσχεράνωμεν, ὅπουγε ὁ τοιοῦτος τὴν ἀρετήν, τοσοῦτος δὲ τὴν περιουσίαν καὶ περιφάνειαν τὰ αὐτὰ ἡμῖν καὶ τὰ χείρονα πέπονθεν. 30, 4 οἱ περικυκλοῦντες ἄλιμα ἐπὶ ἠχοῦντι, οἵτινες ἄλιμα ἦν αὐτῶν τὰ σῖτα, ἄτιμοι δὲ καὶ πεφαυλισμένοι, ἐνδεεῖς παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ, οἳ καὶ ῥίζας ξύλων ἐμασῶντο ὑπὸ λιμοῦ μεγάλου. ἄλιμα βοτάνη τίς ἐστιν, ὥς φασιν, ταχὺ πληροῦσα τὸν ἐσθίοντα καὶ κόρον ἐμποιοῦσα. ἐπὶ ἠχοῦντι δέ, ἐπὶ φάραγξι καὶ πετρώδεσιν· εὔηχοι γὰρ οἱ τοιοῦτοι τόποι καὶ τοῖς φθεγγομένοις ἀντιφθέγγονται. ἢ καὶ ἠχοῦντα λέγει τὸν ὕλην ἔχοντα τόπον, ἐν ᾧπερ ἡ πνοὴ τῶν ἀνέμων κινοῦσα τὴν ὕλην ἦχον ἐργάζεται. λέγει οὖν, ὅτι περιενόστουν οὗτοι τὰς ὕλας καὶ τὰς φάραγγας ὑπὸ τῆς ἄγαν ἐνδείας τὰς βοτάνας ἀνερευνώμενοι καὶ τὰς ῥίζας τῶν ξύλων περιξέοντες εἰς τροφῆς παραμυθίαν. 30, 58 ἐπανέστησάν μοι κλέπται, ὧν οἱ οἶκοι αὐτῶν ἦσαν τρῶγλαι πετρῶν. ἀνὰ μέσον εὐήχων βοήσονται, οἳ ὑπὸ φρύγανα ἄγρια διῃτῶντο. ἀφρόνων υἱοὶ καὶ ἀτίμων ὄνομα καὶ κλέος ἐσβεσμένον ἀπὸ γῆς. οἱ δὲ τοιοῦτοι καὶ εἰς λῃστείαν ἐτρέποντο οἴκους ἔχοντες τῶν πετρῶν τὰ κοῖλα καὶ τὰ αὐτόγλυφα σπήλαια, ἐν ἐρήμοις διαιτώμενοι καὶ ὑπὸ φρυγάνων σκεπόμενοι, ἐξ ἀφρόνων ἄφρονες, ἐξ ἀτίμων ἄτιμοι, ἀνώνυμοι καὶ ἄδοξοι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. 253 30, 9 νυνὶ δὲ κιθάρα ἐγώ εἰμι αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐμὲ θρύλημα ἔχουσιν. ὠδή, φησίν, αὐτοῖς ἐγενόμην καὶ παρῴδημα, καὶ τὰς ἐμὰς συμφορὰς ἀντ' ἄλλης τινὸς ὁμιλίας ἀνὰ στόμα ἔχουσιν. 30, 10 ἐβδελύξαντο δέ με ἀποστάντες μακράν, ἀπὸ δὲ προσώπου μου οὐκ ἐφείσαντο πτύελον. ἐπὰν δέ μοι πλησιάσωσιν, φησίν, ἐμπτύοντές μοι μακρὰν ἀφίστανται βδέλυγμά με καὶ ἀηδίαν ἡγούμενοι. 30, 11 ἀνοίξας γὰρ φαρέτραν αὐτοῦ ἐκάκωσέ με θεός. δηλονότι πανταχόθεν κατατοξεύσας. 30, 11 καὶ χαλινὸν τῷ προσώπῳ μου ἐξαπέστειλε δεσμοῦντα. πλήττει μὲν κἀν τούτῳ τὸν διάβολον ὁ δίκαιος Ἰὼβ μὴ φάσκων αὐτὸν δύνασθαί τι κατ' αὐτοῦ, τὸν δὲ θεὸν ἐπενηνοχέναι αὐτῷ τὰς πληγάς. λέγει δέ, ὅτι καὶ χαλινόν μοι ἐξαπέστειλεν οἱονεὶ δεσμοῦντα τὸ πρόσωπόν μου, ἵνα εἴπῃ, ὅτι ἀναπολόγητόν με πεποίηκε διὰ τῶν ἐλεγμῶν πάντων τὰς συμφορὰς εἰς ἀπόδειξιν ἀσεβείας μοι προφερόντων. 30, 12 ἐπὶ δεξιῶν βλαστοῦ ἐπανέστησαν. ἢ τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι τῷ πρότερον βλαστοῦντι καὶ εὐθαλοῦντι ἐξ ὑπερδεξίων ἐπανέστησαν