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betrays, and as it were, he came into a certain doubt concerning the things that were said; he speaks accordingly, as if God were answering him. 64.988 The one who is, Lord. He does not simply note, and say: The one who is, Master, Lord. It is not possible to say that he will pass away; you are always able, for you are always Lord. Therefore you have power. And rendering. He does not say, unto the third and fourth generation, but is silent on this. For he wishes them to be pitied again. This is a work of power, to be able both here to save, and to punish those after them. For example, that you are able to punish those after these things, but to save from the ancestors. Therefore he says: No word will be impossible for you, whether it be necessary to pity, or to punish, or for a long time. God is great. That which in itself is separate among men, by wisdom and power. Your eyes. And he said well, They are open always; you never close them; a sleepless eye, a wakeful gaze. No one can say, You see, but you do not repay. And this is present with men, but not so with you, but your eyes are on all ways, even the hidden ones. You who made. And this is a work of power, and of justice, and of love for mankind, and of knowledge. And they did not listen to your voice. And you made all these evils happen to them. Behold a multitude. He does not dare to ask for the rest, but recalls the former things done on behalf of the people. I have nothing to say; but I did what was commanded, even though the city was captured. *And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, shall any word be hidden from me? Then he foretells the capture of the city, and brings on the restoration; saying this to the prophet, that In vain have you been distressed by buying the field. For knowing accurately the things that would be after this, I promised the restoration. And let the present things be a sign to you of the accuracy of the future. For as I now said the city would be captured, and this has happened; so also I declare the restoration, and I will fulfill the promise. I am the Lord. Do you see that he asked this of him, so as not to hand over the city? but he, practically making a defense, also states the sins of the places that are about to be burned, and the reason. That they were. I did everything on my part, he says, I taught, I disciplined; but they ran aground into evil. They showed that they did these things out of contentiousness. They set up altars in my temple; and they dared all other things, and burned their sons, and they were ignorant of nature itself. And now thus said the Lord. 64.989 I will deliver them up, and I will bring them back. And he shows them a wonderful life, and a God-loving heart, which he always calls also an eternal covenant. These things have reached their end. But if it has not, when will it be, tell me? *And they shall acquire fields for silver, and it shall be written in a book, and it shall be sealed, and testimonies shall be testified in Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountain, and in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negev, because I will turn back their captivities, says the Lord. For in the way that you now acquired security by making the transfer of the pasture, so shall it be also after the return. And the phrase "in the cities of the Negev" indicated the place of confinement, that is, in the cities to the south, so that it might say, everywhere in the land of promise.

CHAPTER 33.

And cry to me. See how he wishes to make the prophet his own through prayer? Since Moses also experienced this, saying in the promises: How is this? Will you give them the fish of the sea, and will you sacrifice oxen and sheep for them? For even if they were great,

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προδίδωσι, καὶ ὥσπερ εἴς τινα ἀμφιβολίαν κατέστη ἐπὶ τοῖς λεχθεῖσι· λέγει τοίνυν ἀκολούθως, ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποκρινομένου. 64.988 Ὁ ὢν, Κύριε. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐπισημαίνεται, καί φησιν· Ὁ ὢν, ∆εσπότα, Κύριε. Οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι παρελεύσεται· δύνασαι ἀεὶ, ἀεὶ γὰρ Κύριος εἶ. Οὐκοῦν κρατεῖς. Καὶ ἀποδιδούς. Οὐ λέγει, ἐπὶ τὴν τρίτην καὶ τετάρτην γενεὰν, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο σιγᾷ. Βούλεται γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐλεηθῆναι πάλιν. Τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦτο ἔργον ἐστὶ, τὸ καὶ ἐνταῦθα δύνασθαι σώζειν, καὶ κολάζειν τοὺς μετ' ἐκείνους. Οἷον, ὅτι δύνασαι τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα κολάσαι, τοὺς δὲ σῶσαι ἐκ τῶν προγόνων. ∆ιό φησιν· Οὐδὲν ἀδυνατήσει σοι ῥῆμα, κἂν ἐλεῆσαι δέῃ, κἂν κολάσαι, κἂν ἐπὶ χρόνον πολύν. Ὁ Θεὸς μέγας. Ὅπερ καθ' ἑαυτὸ κεχωρισμένον ἐστὶ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις, σοφίᾳ καὶ δυνάμει. Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου. Καὶ καλῶς εἶπεν, Ἀνεῳγμένοι διὰ παντός εἰσιν· οὐδέ ποτε αὐτοὺς μύεις· ἄγρυπνος ὀφθαλμὸς, ἀκοίμητον ὄμμα. Οὐκ ἔχει τις εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Ὁρᾷς μὲν, οὐκ ἀνταποδίδως δέ. Καὶ αὐτὸ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις πάρεστιν, ἀλλ' οὐχ οὕτως ἐπὶ σοῦ, ἀλλ' εἰς πάσας τὰς ὁδοὺς οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου, καὶ τὰς λανθανούσας. Ὃς ἐποίησας. Καὶ τοῦτο δυνάμεως, καὶ δικαιοσύνης, καὶ φιλανθρωπίας, καὶ γνώσεως ἔργον ἐστί. Καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν τῆς φωνῆς σου. Καὶ ἐποίησας συμβῆναι αὐτοῖς ἅπαντα τὰ κακὰ ταῦτα. Ἰδοὺ ὄχλος. Οὐ τολμᾷ τὸ λοιπὸν αἰτῆσαι, ἀλλ' ἀναμιμνήσκει τῶν προτέρων ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ γενομένων. Οὐκ ἔχω τί εἴπω· ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐπιταχθὲν ἐποίησα, καί τοι τῆς πόλεως ἁλούσης. *Καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος Κυρίου πρός με λέγων· Ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς πάσης σαρκὸς, μὴ ἀπ' ἐμοῦ κρυβήσεται πᾶς λόγος. Εἶτα προλέγει τῆς πόλεως τὴν ἅλωσιν, καὶ τὴν ἀνάκλησιν ἐπάγει· τοῦτο λέγων πρὸς τὸν προφήτην, ὅτι Μάτην εἰς ἀνίαν κατέστης πριάμενος τὸν ἀγρόν. Ἀκριβῶς γὰρ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐσόμενα εἰδὼς, τὴν ἀνάκλησιν ὑπεσχόμην. Σημεῖον δὲ ἔστω σοι τῆς ἀκριβείας τοῦ μέλλοντος τὰ παρόντα αὐτοῖς. Ὡς γὰρ νῦν ἔφην ἁλώσεσθαι τὴν πόλιν, καὶ γέγονε τοῦτο· οὕτως μηνύω καὶ τὴν ἀνάκλησιν, καὶ τελέσω τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν. Ἐγὼ Κύριος. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι τοῦτο αὐτὸν ἠξίου, ὥστε μὴ παραδοῦναι τὴν πόλιν; ὁ δὲ μονονουχὶ ἀπολογούμενος, καὶ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα λέγει τῶν τόπων τῶν μελλόντων κατακαίεσθαι, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν. Ὅτι ἦσαν. Τὰ παρ' ἐμαυτοῦ πάντα ἐποίησα, φησὶν, ἐδίδαξα, ἐπαίδευσα· οἱ δὲ εἰς κακίαν ἐξώκειλαν. Ἔδειξαν ὅτι προσφιλονεικοῦντες ταῦτα ἐποίουν. Βωμοὺς ἔστησαν ἐν τῷ ναῷ μου· καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δὲ πάντα ἐτόλμων, καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς κατέκαυσαν, καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν φύσιν ἠγνόησαν. Καὶ νῦν οὕτως εἶπε Κύριος. 64.989 Ἐγὼ παραδώσω, καὶ ἀνοίσω αὐτούς. Καὶ βίον θαυμαστὸν ἐπιδείκνυται αὐτοῖς, καὶ καρδίαν θεοφιλῆ, ὅπερ ἀεὶ λέγει καὶ διαθήκην αἰώνιον. Ταῦτα τέλος εἴληφεν. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἔλαβε, πότε ἔσται, εἰπέ μοι; *Καὶ κτήσεται ἀγροὺς ἐν ἀργυρίῳ, καὶ γράψεται ἐν βιβλίῳ, καὶ σφραγισθήσεται, καὶ διαμαρτυρεῖται μαρτυρίας ἐν τῇ Βενιαμὶν, καὶ κύκλωθεν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, καὶ ἐν πόλεσιν Ἰούδα, καὶ ἐν πόλεσι τοῦ ὄρους, καὶ ἐν πόλεσι τῆς Σεφιλᾶ, καὶ ἐν πόλεσι τῆς Νογὲβ, ὅτι ἀποστρέψω τὰς ἀποικίας αὐτῶν, φησὶ Κύριος. Ὃν γὰρ τρόπον ἐκτήσω σὺ νῦν ἀσφάλειαν τῇ τῆς νομῆς παραδόσει ποιησάμενος, οὕτως ἔσται καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον. Τὸ δὲ ἐν πόλεσι τῆς Νογὲβ ἀποκλείσματος τὸν τόπον ἐμήνυσε, τουτέστιν, ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι ταῖς πρὸς νότον, ἵνα εἴπῃ, πανταχοῦ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἐπαγγελίας.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΛΓʹ.

Καὶ κράξον πρός με. Ὅρα, πῶς βούλεται οἰκειῶσαι διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς τὸν προφήτην; Ἐπεὶ καὶ Μωϋσῆς αὐτὸ ἔπαθε, λέγων ἐν ταῖς ἐπαγγελίαις· Πῶς τοῦτο; μὴ τὸ ὄψον δώσεις αὐτοῖς τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ βόας, καὶ πρόβατα θύσεις αὐτοῖς; Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μεγάλοι ἦσαν,