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of the wind, and the angel of the Lord afflicting them, permitting them neither to be gathered together, nor to turn back, but let the same one persist in afflicting them, that is, punishing them. Let their way be darkness and a slippery place, and the angel of the Lord pursuing them. He calls the wicked life the way of the ungodly, according to which they made their journey. Because they hid for me without cause the corruption of their snare. Instead of which Symmachus translated thus: Because they hid for me without cause the corruption of their nets. For having suffered nothing beforehand from me, they plotted against me without cause and for no reason, hiding a snare by which they prepared destruction for me. For even if they seemed to fight me through men, that is, through Saul or through others, yet I was not ignorant of the causes of Saul's jealousy and the instigators of the other enemies. For they were others who were hiding their own snares and trying to corrupt my soul, who also reproached my soul in vain; instead of which Symmachus translated: They dug for my soul without a cause. For they did everything, wishing to drive his soul from its inherent gentleness and forbearance, and so that, being filled with temper and anger, he might come to self-defense, and do some evil to Saul. These things, then, are about the many enemies; but concerning the leader among them he adds: Let a snare that he does not know come to him, and let the trap that he hid catch him, and into that snare he will fall 23.300 into it. But these things, spoken as if in a prayer by David, were predictive of things to come, and prophetic of what would happen. Thus indeed it was also said prophetically above: Let them be ashamed and confounded, instead of, They will be ashamed and confounded; and again: Let them be turned back and put to shame, and let them become as dust, instead of: They will be turned back and will be ashamed and will become as dust. For he foretold the things that would happen to his enemies. And one might indeed suppose that the aforementioned saying was spoken about Saul; since he also suffered these things not long after; but we, remembering what was said at the beginning of the psalm, will take these things as referring to one of the spiritual enemies, the one who is more powerful in evil, that is, the devil. All my bones shall say: Lord, who is like you? Delivering the poor from the hand of those stronger than him, and the poor and needy from those who plunder him. The bones of the soul are its intellectual powers, as was said before; and these, being enlightened by his presence, will say: Lord, who is like you? For if you were not present with the poor man, and had not deemed him worthy of help from you, who and how great would he be alone, being compared to his so many and so great enemies? And you will understand the saying from the plain history, taking into account how David, as a fugitive, was driven to such poverty that he was in need of bread and necessary food, and came to the necessity of daring to partake of the loaves of the presence. For he did not come to this living in luxury, nor being puffed up with righteousness, nor otherwise despising the law, but from great lack of food. Therefore the Savior says: Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry? And he himself was poor, fleeing with a few; but those pursuing him were powerful; for Saul was king of the whole nation, and the rulers with him; and the leaders of the foreign enemies were stronger than David, from whose hands he was escaping, and he was not ignorant of his helper. And these things relate to the history; but if you would consider the unseen and invisible enemies of the righteous soul, you will see that we need no other helper and Savior than Christ himself in the battle against the spiritual enemies, who are always trying to plunder his soul. And you will consider whether the poor man is different from the needy one, and whether in substance, or in concept, by it being possible for the same person to be both poor, having become poor by having fallen away

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ἀνέμου καὶ ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐκθλίβων αὐτοὺς, μηδὲ συναχθῆναι, μηδὲ παλινδρομῆσαι συγχωρῶν, ὁ δ' αὐτὸς ἐπιμενέτω ἐκθλίβων αὐτοὺς, τουτέστι κολάζων. Γενηθήτω ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτῶν σκότος καὶ ὀλίσθημα, καὶ ἄγγελος Κυρίου καταδιώκων αὐτούς. Ὁδὸν ἀσεβῶν τὸν μοχθηρὸν βίον ὀνομάζει, καθ' ὃν τὴν πορείαν ἐποιήσαντο. Ὅτι δωρεὰν ἔκρυψάν μοι διαφθορὰν παγίδος αὐτῶν. Ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἐξέδωκεν οὕτως· Ὅτι ἀναιτίως κατέκρυψάν μοι διαφθορὰν δικτύων αὐτῶν, Μηδὲν γὰρ ὑπ' ἐμοῦ προπεπονθότες δωρεὰν καὶ ἀναιτίως ἐπεβούλευόν μοι κρύπτοντες παγίδα, δι' ἧς ἐμοὶ διαφθορὰν κατεσκεύαζον. Εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα γὰρ ἐδόκουν δι' ἀνθρώπων με πολεμεῖν, ἤτοι διὰ τοῦ Σαοὺλ, ἢ καὶ δι' ἑτέρων, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἠγνόουν ἐγὼ τῆς τοῦ Σαοὺλ ζηλοτυπίας τοὺς αἰτίους καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐχθρῶν τοὺς ὑποβολεῖς. Ἄλλοι γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ τὰς ἑαυτῶν παγίδας κρύπτοντες καὶ τὴν ψυχήν μου διαφθεῖραι πειρώμενοι, οἳ καὶ μάτην ὠνείδισαν τὴν ψυχήν μου· ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἐξέδωκεν· Ἀναιτίως ὑπώρυξαν τὴν ψυχήν μου. Πάντα γὰρ ἔπραττον, ἐκστῆσαι βουλόμενοι αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν τῆς ἐνυπαρχούσης αὐτῇ πραότητος καὶ ἀνεξικακίας, καὶ ὅπως, πληρωθεὶς θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς, ἐπὶ τὴν ἄμυναν ἔλθοι, καὶ δράσῃ τι κακὸν τὸν Σαούλ. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τῶν πολλῶν ἐχθρῶν· περὶ δὲ τοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς κορυφαίου ἐπιλέγει· Ἐλθέτω αὐτῷ παγὶς ἣν οὐ γινώσκει, καὶ ἡ θήρα ἣν ἔκρυψε συλλαβέτω αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐν τῇ παγίδι πε 23.300 σεῖται ἐν αὐτῇ. Ταῦτα δὲ ὥσπερ ἐν εὐχῇ τῷ ∆αυῒδ εἰρημένα μελλόντων ἦν προαγορευτικὰ, καὶ συμβησομένων προφητικά. Οὕτω γοῦν καὶ ἀνωτέρω προφητικῶς ἐλέγετο· Αἰσχυνθήτωσαν καὶ ἐντραπήτωσαν, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Αἰσχυνθήσονται καὶ ἐντραπήσονται· καὶ πάλιν· Ἀποστραφήτωσαν καὶ καταισχυνθήτωσαν, καὶ γενηθήτωσαν ὡς χοῦς, ἀντὶ τοῦ· Ἀποστραφήσονται καὶ αἰσχυνθήσονται καὶ γενήσονται ὡς χοῦς. Τὰ γὰρ μέλλονται συμβήσεσθαι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς αὐτοῦ προηγόρευεν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἡγήσεται περὶ τοῦ Σαοὺλ εἰρῆσθαι τὴν προκειμένην ῥῆσιν· ἐπεὶ καὶ πέπονθεν οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ταῦτα· ἡμεῖς δὲ, μεμνημένοι τῶν προλελεγμένων εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ ψαλμοῦ, καὶ ταῦτα εἰς ἕνα τινὰ τῶν νοητῶν ἐχθρῶν τὸν ὡς ἐν κακίᾳ δυνατώτερον, δηλαδὴ τὸν διάβολον, ἐκληψόμεθα. Πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου ἐροῦσι· Κύριε, τίς ὅμοιός σοι; Ῥυόμενος πτωχὸν ἐκ χειρὸς στερεωτέρων αὐτοῦ, καὶ πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα ἀπὸ τῶν διαρπαζόντων αὐτόν. Ὀστᾶ ψυχῆς αἱ διανοητικαὶ αὐτῆς δυνάμεις ὡς ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται· φωτιζόμεναι δὲ αὗται ἐκ τῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίας, φήσουσι· Κύριε, τίς ὅμοιός σοι; Εἰ μὴ γὰρ σὺ παρῇς τῷ πτωχῷ, καὶ κατηξίωσας αὐτὸν τῆς παρὰ σοῦ βοηθείας, τίς ἂν καὶ πόσος μόνος αὐτὸς συγκρινόμενος τοῖς τοσούτοις καὶ τηλικούτοις αὐτοῦ ἐχθροῖς; Νοήσεις δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ ψιλῆς τῆς ἱστορίας τὸν λόγον, ἐν νῷ λαβὼν, ὡς φεύγων ὁ ∆αυῒδ εἰς τοσαύτην ἤλαυνε πτωχείαν, ὥστε ἄρτων καὶ τῆς ἀναγκαίας τροφῆς δεηθῆναι, εἰς ἀνάγκην τε ἐλθεῖν τοῦ τολμῆσαι τῶν ἄρτων τῆς προθέσεως μεταλαβεῖν. Οὐ γὰρ τρυφῶν ἐπὶ τοῦτ' ἤρχετο, οὐδ' ἐπαιρόμενος δικαιοσύνῃ, οὐδ' ἄλλως καταφρονῶν τοῦ νόμου, ἀλλ' ἐκ πολλῆς ἀσιτίας. ∆ιό φησιν ὁ Σωτήρ· Οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε τί ἐποίησε ∆αυῒδ, ὅτε ἐπείνασε; Καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν ἦν πτωχὸς σὺν ὀλίγοις φεύγων· οἱ δ' ἐλαύνοντες αὐτὸν δυνατοί· βασιλεὺς γὰρ ἦν τοῦ παντὸς ἔθνους Σαοὺλ, παὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ ἄρχοντες· οἵ τε τῶν ἀλλοφύλων πολεμίων καθηγεμόνες στερεώτεροι ὄντες τοῦ ∆αυΐδ, ὧν τὰς χεῖρας διαδιδράσκων, οὐκ ἠγνόει τὸν αὐτοῦ βοηθόν. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν πρὸς τὴν ἱστορίαν· εἰ δὲ τοὺς ἀφανεῖς καὶ ἀοράτους ἐχθροὺς τῆς τοῦ δικαίου ψυχῆς νοήσειας, ὄψει, ὡς οὐδ' ἄλλου βοηθοῦ δεόμεθα καὶ Σωτῆρος ἢ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ παρατάξει τῇ πρὸς τοὺς νοητοὺς πολεμίους, τοὺς τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ διαρπάζειν ἀεὶ πειρωμένους. Ἐπιστήσεις δὲ εἰ ἕτερός ἐστιν ὁ πτωχὸς παρὰ τὸν πένητα, καὶ πότερον τῇ ὑποστάσει, ἢ τῇ ἐπινοίᾳ τῷ ἐγχωρεῖν τὸν αὐτὸν καὶ πτωχὸν εἶναι πτωχεύσαντα τῷ ἀποπεπτωκέναι