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treading upon me, or because they rose up against my right-hand offspring, that is, against my righteous deeds, saying that I did not pursue piety purely. 254 30, 12 He stretched out his feet and made paths of destruction against me. When God moved himself against me, they also had a way of attack. 30, 13 my paths were worn away, for they stripped me of my robe. All my ways vanished when God stripped from me the robe of comeliness, which is to say: taking away his own help. 30, 14 With his arrows he shot me down, and he has used me as he wishes. Through these things he showed the severity of the trial. 30, 1415 I am carried about in pains, and my pains return. so that he might say that: I am in pain repeatedly, that is, with intensity and with increase. 30, 15 My hope is gone like the wind, and my salvation like a cloud. And every better hope has flown away from me, in the manner of a wind that has passed by and of a cloud that has dispersed. 30, 16 And now my soul will be poured out upon me. The tensions of my soul have been loosed by the evils that have come upon me. 30, 1617 Days of pain possess me, and by night my bones are burned, and my sinews are loosed. I am in pain during the nights and the days, so that even my bones are parched and my sinews are dissolved from the extreme affliction. 255 30, 18 With great strength he took hold of my robe; like the collar of my tunic he has encompassed me. Many people often, by tightening the collar of the garment around the neck, suffocate someone. So he says that: having seized me strongly, he presses and suffocates me. 30, 19 You have considered me equal to clay, in earth and ashes is my portion. I have cried to you and you will not hear me. As a son to a father he laments to God and puts forward the lowliness of his nature in his supplication. For consider, he says, O Master, that I am earth and to earth I return. Hear my cry and do not turn away my prayer. But the "you will not hear me" has much emphasis on his love for God; for believing that he would be heard, thus he spoke. 30, They stood and observed me. either mocking, or even marveling at the magnitude of the misfortune. 30, 2122 You have come upon me without mercy; with a mighty hand you have scourged me. You have set me in pains and cast me away from salvation. The saints know the great mercy of God, wherefore David also said: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy; looking to this unspeakable mercy of God he says: You have come upon me without mercy. For if I had obtained your great mercy, I would not be tried in these present pains. Therefore the words are of one who asks and seeks to obtain mercy. 256 30, 2324 For I know that death will wear me out, for the earth is a house for every mortal. For if only I were able to do away with myself or indeed by asking another and he will do this for me. I know, he says, having been born mortal and being about to die in any case, so that I would gladly be delivered from my misfortunes more quickly, either by killing myself—being established without sin—or by beseeching another for my destruction. Does he not then teach us as a most beautiful dogma that one must not lead oneself out of the body? and yet he was able, since indeed also his wife was urging death upon him; but he was not able, being a righteous man, on account of God who bound the soul to the body. 30, 25 But I wept over every helpless person, and I groaned seeing a man in distress. Again he relates his own way of life. ... God having so arranged it for my benefit. 30, 26 But I waited for good things. He says this, that: I was waiting and expecting good things, being protected by God; wherefore he also adds: 30, 26 behold, days of evils rather met me. The opposite of my hopes came to pass for me. 30, 27 My belly has boiled over and will not be silent. He states the reason for dramatizing his misfortunes and for recounting his own noble deeds. For I have, he says, reason to speak because my soul has been filled with evils. 257 For to boil over is for the water in the cauldrons to bubble up from fire and gush forth, and the belly is the soul on account of its being invisible and hidden, or receptive and productive of reason. 30, 2728 days have come upon me beforehand

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ἐπεμβαίνοντές μοι, ἢ ὅτι τοῖς βλαστοῖς μου τοῖς δεξιοῖς, τουτέστι τοῖς δικαιώμασιν, ἐπανέστησαν λέγοντες, ὡς οὐ καθαρῶς τὴν εὐσέβειαν μετῄειν. 254 30, 12 πόδας αὐτοῦ ἐξέτεινε καὶ ὡδοποίησεν ἐπ' ἐμὲ τρίβους ἀπωλείας. κινήσαντος ἑαυτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ κατ' ἐμοῦ ἔσχον καὶ αὐτοὶ ὁδὸν ἐφόδου. 30, 13 ἐξετρίβησαν τρίβοι μου, ἐξέδυσαν γάρ μου τὴν στολήν. πᾶσαι αἱ ὁδοί μου ἐξηφανίσθησαν τοῦ θεοῦ περιδύσαντός με τῆς εὐπρεπείας τὴν στολήν, ἀντὶ τοῦ· περιελόντος τὴν οἰκείαν βοήθειαν. 30, 14 βέλεσιν αὐτοῦ κατηκόντισέ με, κέχρηται δέ μοι ὡς βούλεται. τὸ σφοδρὸν τοῦ ἐτασμοῦ διὰ τούτων ἔδειξεν. 30, 1415 ἐν ὀδύναις περιφέρομαι, ἐπιστρέφονται δέ μου αἱ ὀδύναι. ἵνα εἴπῃ ὅτι· ἐπιστρόφως ὀδυνῶμαι, τουτέστι μετ' ἐπιτάσεως καὶ κατὰ αὔξησιν. 30, 15 ὤχετό μου ἡ ἐλπὶς ὥσπερ πνεῦμα καὶ ὥσπερ νέφος ἡ σωτηρία μου. ἀπέπτη δέ μου πᾶσά τις ἐλπὶς χρηστοτέρα δίκην ἀνέμου παρεληλυθότος καὶ νέφους διαλυθέντος. 30, 16 καὶ νῦν ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἐκχυθήσεται ἡ ψυχή μου. διαλέλυνταί μου οἱ τόνοι τῆς ψυχῆς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπελθόντων μοι κακῶν. 30, 1617 ἔχουσι δέ με ἡμέραι ὀδυνῶν, νυκτὶ δὲ τὰ ὀστᾶ μου συγκέκαυται, τὰ δὲ νεῦρά μου διαλέλυνται. τὰς δὲ νύκτας καὶ τὰς ἡμέρας ὀδυνῶμαι, ὡς καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ μου φρυγῆναι καὶ τὰ νεῦρα διαλελῦσθαι ὑπὸ τῆς ἄγαν κακοπαθείας. 255 30, 18 ἐν πολλῇ ἰσχύι ἐπελάβετό μου τῆς στολῆς, ὥσπερ τὸ περιστόμιον τοῦ χιτῶνός μου περιέσχε με. πολλοὶ πολλάκις περισφίγγοντες τὸ περιστόμιον τοῦ ἱματίου περὶ τὸν τράχηλον ἀποπνίγουσί τινα. λέγει οὖν ὅτι· ἰσχυρῶς μου περιδραξάμενος πιέζει καὶ ἀποπνίγει με. 30, 19 ἥγησαι δέ με ἴσα πηλῷ, ἐν γῇ καὶ σποδῷ μου ἡ μερίς. κέκραγα δὲ πρὸς σὲ καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσῃ μου. ὡς υἱὸς πρὸς πατέρα πρὸς θεὸν ἀποδύρεται καὶ τὸ εὐτελὲς τῆς φύσεως εἰς δέησιν προτείνει. λόγισαι, γάρ φησιν, δέσποτα, ὅτι γῆ τέ εἰμι καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀναλύομαι. εἰσάκουσόν μου τῆς κραυγῆς καὶ μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὴν δέησίν μου. τὸ δὲ οὐκ εἰσακούσῃ μου πολλὴν ἔμφασιν τῆς εἰς θεὸν ἀγάπης ἔχει· ὡς γὰρ ἀκούεσθαι πιστεύων οὕτως ἔφη. 30, ἔστησαν καὶ κατενόησάν με. ἢ χλευάζοντες ἢ καὶ τὸ τῆς συμφορᾶς θαυμάζοντες μέγεθος. 30, 2122 ἐπέβης δέ μοι ἀνελεημόνως, χειρὶ κραταιᾷ με ἐμαστίγωσας. ἔταξας δέ με ἐν ὀδύναις καὶ ἀπέρριψάς με ἀπὸ σωτηρίας. ἴσασιν οἱ ἅγιοι τὸ μέγα τοῦ θεοῦ ἔλεος, διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν ὁ ∆αυίδ· ἐλέησόν με, ὁ θεός, κατὰ τὸ μέγα ἔλεός σου· πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ ἄφατον ἔλεος τοῦ θεοῦ ἀποβλέπων λέγει· ἐπέβης δέ μοι ἀνελεημόνως. εἰ γὰρ ἐτύγχανον τοῦ μεγάλου σου ἐλέους, οὐκ ἂν ἐν ταῖς παρούσαις ὀδύναις ἐξηταζόμην. αἰτοῦντός εἰσι τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἀξιοῦντος ἐλέους τυχεῖν τὰ ῥήματα. 256 30, 2324 οἶδα γάρ, ὅτι θάνατός με ἐκτρίψει, οἰκία γὰρ παντὶ θνητῷ γῆ. εἰ γὰρ ὤφελον δυναίμην ἐμαυτὸν διαχειρώσασθαι ἢ δεηθείς γε ἑτέρου καὶ ποιήσει μοι τοῦτο. οἶδα, φησίν, θνητὸς γεγονὼς καὶ πάντως τελευτήσειν μέλλων, ὥστε ἡδέως συντομώτερον τῶν συμφορῶν ἀπηλλαττόμην ἢ αὐθεντήσαι ἐμαυτὸν δίχα ἁμαρτίας καθιστάμενος ἢ ἕτερον ἱκετεύων ἐπὶ τὴν ἀναίρεσιν τὴν ἐμήν. ἆρα οὖν ὡς κάλλιστον ἡμᾶς διδάσκει δόγμα τὸ μὴ χρῆναι ἑαυτὸν ἐξαγαγεῖν τοῦ σώματος; καίτοιγε ἠδύνατο, ὅπουγε καὶ ἡ γυνὴ κατέσπευδεν αὐτῷ τὸν θάνατον· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἠδύνατο δίκαιος ὢν διὰ τὸν θεὸν τὸν συνδήσαντα τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ σώματι. 30, 25 ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπὶ παντὶ ἀδυνάτῳ ἔκλαυσα, ἐστέναξα δὲ ἄνδρα ἰδὼν ἐν ἀνάγκαις. πάλιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πολιτείαν ἐξηγεῖται. ... οὕτως οἰκονομήσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ὠφέλειαν. 30, 26 ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπέσχον ἀγαθοῖς. τοῦτο λέγει ὅτι· ἐπεῖχον καὶ προσεδόκων ἀγαθὰ ὑπὸ θεοῦ σκεπόμενος· διὸ καὶ ἐπάγει· 30, 26 ἰδοὺ συνήντησάν μοι μᾶλλον ἡμέραι κακῶν. τοὐναντίον μοι τὰ τῶν ἐλπίδων ἐξέβη. 30, 27 ἡ κοιλία μου ἐξέζεσε καὶ οὐ σιωπήσεται. αἰτίαν λέγει τοῦ τὰς συμφορὰς ἐκτραγῳδεῖν καὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα καταλέγειν ἀνδραγαθήματα. ἔχω γάρ, φησίν, καιρὸν τοῦ λέγειν τῷ πεπλη 257 ρῶσθαί μου τὴν ψυχὴν τῶν κακῶν. ἐκζέσαι γάρ ἐστι τὸ ὑπὸ πυρὸς ἐκβράζειν καὶ ἀναβλύζειν τὸ ἐν τοῖς χαλκείοις ὕδωρ, κοιλία δὲ ἡ ψυχὴ διὰ τὸ ἀόρατον καὶ ἀπόκρυφον ἢ τοῦ λόγου χωρητικὸν καὶ ἀναδοτικόν. 30, 2728 προέφθασάν με ἡμέραι