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they did not believe Jesus to be the Christ of God, the one begotten by him before all ages, only-begotten Son, God the Word, whom they did not recognize because of unbelief, neither through his works, nor indeed through the prophecies written about him. For that he would be born of a virgin, they read, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel; for a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder, and his name is called angel of great counsel, wonderful counselor, mighty God, potentate, prince of peace, father of the age to come.” But that because of exceeding wickedness they would disobey him, it says: “Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” And next: “By hearing you will hear, and will not understand; and seeing you will see, and will not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull.” Therefore knowledge was taken from them, because seeing they overlooked, and hearing they did not hear. But to you from the Gentiles the kingdom was given, because not knowing God, through the preaching you believed and knew him, or rather you were known by him through Jesus the savior and redeemer of those who hope in him. For having passed from your former vain-working custom and having despised lifeless idols and having disdained the demons in darkness, and having run to the true light and having known through him the one and only true God and Father, you were shown to be heirs of his kingdom. For having been baptized into the Lord's death and into his resurrection, as newborn infants you ought to be inactive toward all sin; for you are not your own, but his who bought you with his own blood. For concerning the former Israel the Lord said because of their unbelief, that: The kingdom of God will be taken from them and will be given to a nation producing its fruits, that is, to you who were once far alienated from him having given the kingdom, he expects the fruits of gratitude. For you are the ones once sent into the vineyard and not obeying, and they are the ones who obeyed; but you, having repented of your contradiction, now work in it, but they, having been displeased with their own covenants, not only left the vineyard unworked, but also killed the stewards of the lord of the vineyard, one with stones, another with a sword, and one they sawed in two, another inside

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τὸν Ἰησοῦν οὐκ ἐπίστευον αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸν πρὸ πάντων αἰώνων ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεγεννημένον, Υἱὸν μονογενῆ, Λόγον Θεόν, ὃν οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν δι' ἀπιστίαν, οὔτε διὰ τῶν ἐνεργειῶν αὐτοῦ, οὔτε μὴν διὰ τῶν περὶ αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένων προφητειῶν. Ὅτι γὰρ ἐκ παρθένου γεννη θήσεται, ἀνεγίνωσκον τὸ «Ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεται καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ καλέσουσι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ· ὅτι παιδίον ἐγεννήθη, καὶ υἱὸς ἐδόθη ἡμῖν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ êμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος, θαυμαστὸς σύμβουλος, Θεὸς ἰσχυ ρὸς ἐξουσιαστής, ἄρχων εἰρήνης, πατὴρ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος.» Ὅτι δὲ διὰ κακίαν ὑπερβάλλουσαν ἀπειθή σουσιν αὐτῷ, λέγει· «Κύριε, τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν, καὶ ὁ βραχίων Κυρίου τίνι ἀπεκαλύφθη;» Καὶ ἑξῆς· «Ἀχοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε· ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου.» ∆ιὸ ἤρθη ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἡ γνῶσις, ὅτι ἰδόντες παρεῖδον καὶ ἀκούσαντες οὐκ ἤκουσαν. Ὑμῖν δὲ τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐδόθη ἡ βασιλεία, ὅτι μὴ γινώ σκοντες Θεὸν διὰ τοῦ κηρύγματος πιστεύσαντες ἔγνωτε αὐτόν, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐγνώσθητε ὑπ' αὐτοῦ διὰ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ λυτρωτοῦ τῶν ἐλπιζόντων ἐπ' αὐτόν. Μετα βάντες γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς προτέρας ματαιοπόνου συνηθείας καὶ τῶν ἀψύχων εἰδώλων ὑπεριδόντες καὶ τῶν ἐν σκότει δαιμόνων καταφρονήσαντες, προσδραμόντες τε τῷ φωτὶ τῷ ἀληθινῷ καὶ ἐπιγνόντες δι' αὐτοῦ τὸν ἕνα καὶ μόνον ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν καὶ Πατέρα, κληρονόμοι τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἀνεφάνητε. Βαπτισθέντες γὰρ εἰς τὸν τοῦ Κυρίου θάνατον καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀνάστασιν αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἀρτιγέννητα βρέφη ἀνενέργητοι πρὸς πᾶσαν ἁμαρτίαν ὀφείλετε εἶναι· οὐ γάρ ἐστε ἑαυτῶν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀγοράσαντος ὑμᾶς τῷ ἑαυτοῦ αἵματι. Περὶ γὰρ τοῦ ποτε Ἰσραὴλ εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν, ὅτι· Ἀρθήσεται ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ δοθήσεται ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς, δηλαδὴ ὅτι ὑμῖν τοῖς ποτε οὖσιν ἀπεξενωμένοις αὐτοῦ μακρὰν δοὺς τὴν βασιλείαν, ἐκδέχεται τοὺς τῆς εὐγνωμοσύνης καρπούς. Ὑμεῖς γάρ ἐστε οἵ ποτε ἀποσταλέντες εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα καὶ μὴ ὑπακούσαντες, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οἱ ὑπακούσαντες· ἀλλὰ ὑμεῖς μὲν μεταμεληθέντες ἐπὶ τῇ ἀντιλογίᾳ ἐργάζεσθε ἐν αὐτῷ νῦν, οἱ δὲ δυσχεράναντες ἐπὶ ταῖς ἑαυτῶν συνθήκαις οὐ μόνον ἀνέργαστον κατέλειψαν τὸν ἀμπελῶνα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐπιτρόπους τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ἀπέκτειναν, ὃν μὲν λίθοις, ὃν δὲ ξίφει, καὶ τὸν μὲν ἔπρισαν, τὸν δὲ ἔνδον