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but being found also among others, it might be thought through forgetfulness not to have been said by us. 18. This Ebion then also himself had his preaching in Asia and in Rome, but they have the roots of their thorny offshoots for the most part from Nabataea and Paneas, and Moabitis and Cocabe in the land of Bashan beyond Adraa, but also in Cyprus. And they compel and give in marriage the young who are under age, supposedly by the direction of the teachers among them—for these have elders and rulers of the synagogue, and they call their own church a synagogue and not a church, but they pride themselves only on the name of Christ. And not only do they permit unions to be made in one marriage, but if anyone should wish to be separated from a first marriage, and be joined to another, they permit it—for among them everything is permitted without fear—up to a second and third and seventh marriage. They confess Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and Moses and Aaron, and Joshua the son of Nun, who simply succeeded Moses, but being nothing. But after these they no longer confess any of the prophets, but they even anathematize and mock David and Solomon, and likewise they reject those 1.358 around Isaiah and Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel, and Elijah and Elisha; for they do not agree, blaspheming their prophecies, but they accept only the gospel. And they say that Christ is a prophet of truth and Christ, but son of God by progress and by a union of an uplifting from above which happened to him; and they say the prophets are prophets of * understanding and not of truth. And they want him alone to be both a prophet and a man and a son of God and Christ, and a mere man as we said before, having come to be called son of God through virtue of life. And they do not accept the whole Pentateuch of Moses, but they cast out certain sayings. And when you say to them concerning the eating of animate things: "How then did Abraham set before the angels the calf and the milk? Or how did Noah eat and hear from God saying, sacrifice and eat, and how did Isaac and Jacob sacrifice to God, and likewise also Moses in the 1.359 wilderness?", he disbelieves those things and says "What need is there for me to read the things in the law, when the gospel has come?". "Whence then do you know the things concerning Moses and Abraham? For I know that you confess them to be, and you inscribe them as your righteous fathers". Then he answers and says, that Christ revealed it to me, and he blasphemes the greater part of the legislation and those concerning Samson and David and Elijah and Samuel and Elisha and the others. 19. But the impostor is refuted from every side by the savior, expressly and as if briefly from one word refuting the whole of his deceitful teaching and saying "John came in the way of righteousness, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he has a demon; the son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber". And not at all that John did not eat even a random thing or that the savior ate everything whatsoever, so that one might suppose also the forbidden things; but the scripture shows the emphasis of the truth, that "to be a glutton and a winebibber" is nothing other than to eat meat and drink wine, and "neither eating nor drinking", that he did not partake of meat and wine, but John partook only of locusts and honey, and it is clear that also of water. And who does not know that the savior rose from the dead and ate? just as the holy gospels of the truth have it, that "bread was given to him and a piece of a broiled fish, and having taken it he ate and gave it to the disciples"; as he also did at the sea of Tiberias both eating and giving. And there are many things to say about this. But I must with subtlety come to the refutation of these stale and rotten sayings preached among them and effect their overthrow.

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εὑρισκόμενα δὲ καὶ παρ' ἑτέροις, νομισθείη κατὰ λήθην ὑφ' ἡμῶν μὴ εἰρῆσθαι. 18. Οὗτος μὲν οὖν ὁ Ἐβίων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ ἔσχεν τὸ κήρυγμα καὶ Ῥώμῃ, τὰς δὲ ῥίζας τῶν ἀκανθωδῶν παραφυάδων ἔχουσιν ἀπό τε τῆς Ναβαταίας καὶ Πανεάδος τὸ πλεῖστον, Μωαβίτιδός τε καὶ Κωκάβων ἐν τῇ Βασανίτιδι γῇ ἐπέκεινα Ἀδραῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ Κύπρῳ. ἀναγκάζουσι δὲ καὶ παρ' ἡλικίαν ἐκγαμίζουσι τοὺς νέους, ἐξ ἐπιτροπῆς δῆθεν τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς διδασκάλων πρεσβυτέρους γὰρ οὗτοι ἔχουσι καὶ ἀρχισυναγώγους, συναγωγὴν δὲ καλοῦσι τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ οὐχὶ ἐκκλησίαν, τῷ Χριστοῦ δὲ ὀνόματι μόνον σεμνύνονται καὶ οὐ μόνον ἑνὶ τῷ γάμῳ ἐπιτρέπουσι τὰς συναφείας ποιεῖσθαι, ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ θελήσειέν τις τοῦ πρώτου γάμου διαζεύγνυσθαι, ἑτέρῳ δὲ συνάπτεσθαι, ἐπιτρέπουσιν-πάντα γὰρ παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀδεῶς ἐφίεται-ἄχρι καὶ δευτέρου καὶ τρίτου καὶ ἑβδόμου γάμου. Ἀβραὰμ δὲ ὁμολογοῦσι καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ, Μωυσέα τε καὶ Ἀαρών, Ἰησοῦτε τὸν τοῦ Ναυῆ, ἁπλῶς διαδεξάμενον Μωυσέα, οὐδὲν δὲ ὄντα. μετὰ τούτους δὲ οὐκέτι ὁμολογοῦσί τινα τῶν προφητῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀναθεματίζουσι καὶ χλευάζουσι ∆αυίδ τε καὶ Σολομῶντα, ὁμοίως δὲ τοὺς 1.358 περὶ Ἠσαΐαν καὶ Ἰερεμίαν, ∆ανιὴλ καὶ Ἰεζεκιήλ, Ἠλίαν τε καὶ Ἐλσαῖον ἀθετοῦσιν· οὐ γὰρ συντίθενται, βλασφημοῦντες τὰς αὐτῶν προφητείας, ἀλλὰ μόνον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον δέχονται. τὸν δὲ Χριστὸν προφήτην λέγουσι τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ Χριστόν, υἱὸν δὲ θεοῦ κατὰ προκοπὴν καὶ κατὰ συνάφειαν ἀναγωγῆς τῆς ἄνωθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν γεγενημένης· τοὺς δὲ προφήτας λέγουσι * συνέσεως εἶναι προφήτας καὶ οὐκ ἀληθείας. αὐτὸν δὲ μόνον θέλουσιν εἶναι καὶ προφήτην καὶ ἄνθρωπον καὶ υἱὸν θεοῦ καὶ Χριστὸν καὶ ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον ὡς προείπαμεν, διὰ δὲ ἀρετὴν βίου ἥκοντα εἰς τὸ καλεῖσθαι υἱὸν θεοῦ. οὔτε δὲ δέχονται τὴν πεντάτευχον Μωυσέως ὅλην, ἀλλά τινα ῥητὰ ἀποβάλλουσιν. ὅταν δὲ αὐτοῖς εἴπῃς περὶ ἐμψύχων βρώσεως· «πῶς οὖν Ἀβραὰμ παρέθετο τοῖς ἀγγέλοις τὸν μόσχον καὶ τὸ γάλα; ἢ πῶς ἔφαγεν Νῶε καὶ ἤκουσεν ἀπὸ θεοῦ λέγοντος, θῦσον καὶ φάγε, πῶς δὲ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ ἔθυσαν τῷ θεῷ, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Μωυσῆς ἐν τῇ 1.359 ἐρήμῳ;», ἐκείνοις μὲν ἀπιστεῖ καί φησι «τίς χρεία με ἀναγινώσκειν τὰ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ, ἐλθόντος τοῦ εὐαγγελίου;». «πόθεν σοι τοίνυν τὰ περὶ Μωυσέως καὶ Ἀβραὰμ εἰδέναι; οἶδα γὰρ ὡς ὁμολογεῖτε αὐτοὺς εἶναι, δικαίους καὶ πατέρας ἑαυτῶν ἐπιγράφεσθε». εἶτα ἀποκρίνεται καὶ λέγει, ὅτι Χριστός μοι ἀπεκάλυψε, καὶ βλασφημεῖ τὰ πλείω τῆς νομοθεσίας καὶ τοὺς περὶ Σαμψὼν καὶ ∆αυὶδ καὶ Ἠλίαν καὶ Σαμουὴλ καὶ Ἐλισσαῖον καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους. 19. Ἐλέγχεται δὲ πανταχόθεν ὁ ἀγύρτης ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος, διαρρήδην καὶ ὡς ἐν συντόμῳ ἀπὸ μιᾶς λέξεως τὸ πᾶν αὐτοῦ ἐλέγχοντος τῆς ἀπατηλῆς διδασκαλίας καὶ λέγοντος «ἦλθεν Ἰωάννης ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης μήτε ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων, καὶ λέγουσι, δαιμόνιον ἔχει· ἦλθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων καὶ λέγουσιν, ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης». καὶ οὐ πάντως ὅτι κἂν τὸ τυχὸν οὐκ ἤσθιεν Ἰωάννης ἢ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἤσθιεν ὁ σωτήρ, ἵνα τις ὑπολάβῃ καὶ τὰ ἀπηγορευμένα· ἡ γραφὴ δὲ τὴν ἔμφασιν δηλοῖ τῆς ἀληθείας, ὡς τό «φάγον αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ οἰνοπότην» οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν ἢ τὸ κρέας ἐσθίειν καὶ οἶνον πίνειν, καὶ τό «μὴ ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων», ὅτι κρεῶν οὐ μετείληφε καὶ οἴνου, ἀλλ' ἢ ἀκρίδων μόνον ὁ Ἰωάννης καὶ μέλιτος μετελάμβανε, δῆλον δὲ ὡς καὶ ὕδατος. τίς δὲ οὐκ οἶδε τὸν σωτῆρα ἀναστάντα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν καὶ φαγόντα; καθάπερ ἔχει τὰ ἅγια εὐαγγέλια τῆς ἀληθείας, ὅτι «ἐπεδόθη αὐτῷ ἄρτος καὶ μέρος ὀπτοῦ ἰχθύος, καὶ λαβὼν ἔφαγε καὶ ἔδωκε τοῖς μαθηταῖς»· ὡς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης τῆς Τιβεριάδος ἐποίησεν καὶ φαγὼν καὶ διδούς. καὶ πολλὰ ἔστι περὶ τούτου λέγειν. δεῖ δέ με κατὰ λεπτότητα εἰς τὸν τούτων τῶν ῥημάτων τῶν ἑώλων τε καὶ σαθρῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς κηρυττομένων ἥκειν ἔλεγχον καὶ τὴν αὐτῶν ποιεῖσθαι ἀνατροπήν.