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of you, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.” The history of the Judges has taught us these things more clearly. And we also know the reason why, according to the divine promise, they did not receive dominion over all the land. For having embraced kinship with the impious nations, and having imitated their impiety, they were stripped of divine providence and were forced to serve them. His discourse on death is also wonderful and philosophical: “For I,” he said, “am going the way of all the earth.” And he shows them also the truthfulness of the divine prophecy: “and you shall know in your heart and in your soul that not one word has failed of all the good words which the Lord our God spoke to us; all that he has said to us, he has given to us; nothing of them has failed.” You have learned, he says, the truth of the divine 286 promises from his benefactions. He has fulfilled what he promised. Therefore, from this learn also the truthfulness of the threats. For he added this: “And it shall be that just as all the good things have come upon you which he spoke to you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord has given you, when you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded us.” And teaching that these words are not human, he added: “For thus says the Lord God of Israel.” And he recalls Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor; and he placed Nahor because of the maternal line, for from him came Rebekah and Leah and Rachel. Then he teaches that Terah served other gods, and for this reason the Lord God separated Abraham and moved him to that land. And he added the entry of Jacob into Egypt, and the exodus that happened through Moses; and the miracle of the sea, and the life in the wilderness and the utter destruction of the Amorites; and the schemes of Balak and the blessings from Balaam against his will; and the strange crossing of the river, and the destruction of the opposing enemies and the enjoyment of all kinds of good things. And he exhorts them to be freed from the bondage of foreign gods, and to serve only the God who made and saved them. And he added a choice for them: “Choose,” he says, “for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your fathers that were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” Thus having offered 287 the choice to the others, he himself showed the piety of his own mind. For he said: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, because he is holy.” Then, when the people had forbidden the worship of those falsely named and promised to serve only the God who had saved them, the most divine Joshua replied and said to them: “You will not be able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God; and being zealous for you he will not forgive your iniquities and your sins, whenever you forsake the Lord and serve other gods; and he will come upon you and harm you and consume you, in return for the good he has done for you.” Do not expect, he says, that you will enjoy the same good things while transgressing. For the Lord God knows not only how to do good but also how to punish transgressors. And when they accepted this proposal and promised to serve the Lord, he necessarily added: “You are witnesses against yourselves, that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And the history taught these things also, that having exhorted them to be freed from the worship of foreign gods and having legislated concerning piety, he did not leave these things unwritten, but preserved their memory in writing. XX Why, having set up the stone, did he say: “This stone shall be a witness to you, for this has heard all the words spoken by the Lord which he spoke to you today”? The stone is indeed inanimate; but for the refutation of animate and rational beings, it bears witness through inanimate things; and he also used the ancient custom. For indeed

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ὑμῶν, καὶ σκῶλα ἐν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ὑμῶν, ἕως ἂν ἀπόλησθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἀγαθῆς ταύτης, ἣν ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν ". ταῦτα δὲ σαφέστερον ἡμᾶς ἐδίδαξεν ἡ τῶν Κριτῶν ἱστορία. ἔγνωμεν δὲ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν, δι' ἣν κατὰ τὴν θείαν ἐπαγγελίαν οὐχ ἁπάσης τῆς γῆς τὴν δεσποτείαν παρέλαβον. ἀσπασάμενοι γὰρ τῶν δυσσεβῶν ἐθνῶν τὴν συγγένειαν, καὶ μιμησάμενοι τὴν ἀσέβειαν, τῆς θείας ἐγυμνώθησαν προ μηθείας, καὶ δουλεύειν αὐτοῖς ἠναγκάζοντο. θαυμαστὸς δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ φι λόσοφος καὶ ὁ περὶ τοῦ θανάτου λόγος· " ἐγώ, γὰρ ἔφη, ἀποτρέ χω τὴν ὁδὸν καθὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ". δείκνυσι δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ τὸ τῆς θείας προρρήσεως ἀψευδές· " καὶ γνώ σεσθε ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν, διότι οὐ διέπεσε λόγος εἷς ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν λό γων τῶν καλῶν, ὧν εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν πρὸς ἡμᾶς· πάντα ἃ εἴρηκεν ἡμῖν, δέδωκεν ἡμῖν· οὐ δὲν διαπεφώνηκεν ἐξ αὐτῶν ". τὸ ἀληθές, φησί, τῶν θείων 286 ἐπαγγελιῶν ἐκ τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν μεμαθήκατε. πεπλήρωκε ἅπερ ὑπέσχετο. τοιγαροῦν ἐντεῦθεν μάθετε καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀπειλῶν ἀψευδές. τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπή γαγεν· " καὶ ἔσται ὃν τρόπον ἦλθεν ἐφ' ὑμᾶς πάντα τὰ ῥήματα τὰ καλὰ ὅσα ἐλάλησε πρὸς ὑμᾶς. οὕ τως ἐπάξει Κύριος ἐφ' ὑμᾶς πάντα τὰ ῥήματα τὰ πονηρά, ἕως ἂν ἐξολοθρεύσῃ ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τῆς ἀγαθῆς ταύτης, ἧς ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν Κύριος, ἐν τῷ παραβῆναι ὑμᾶς τὴν διαθήκην Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑμῶν, ἣν ἐνετείλατο ἡμῖν ". διδάσκων δὲ ὡς οὐκ ἀνθρώπινα ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ἐπήγαγεν· " ὅτι τάδε λέγει Κύ ριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραήλ ". καὶ ἀναμιμνῄσκει Θάρρα τοῦ πατρὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ναχώρ· τέθεικε δὲ τὸν Ναχὼρ διὰ τὸ μητρῷον γένος· ἐξ ἐκείνου γὰρ ἡ Ῥεβέκκα καὶ ἡ Λεία καὶ ἡ Ῥαχήλ. εἶτα διδάσκει, ὡς ὁ Θάρρα θεοῖς ἑτέροις ἐλάτρευσε, καὶ ὡς τούτου χάριν ὁ δεσπότης Θεὸς χωρίσας τὸν Ἀβραὰμ εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην μετέστησεν. προστέθεικε δὲ καὶ τὴν εἰς Αἴγυπτον τοῦ Ἰακὼβ εἴσοδον, καὶ τὴν διὰ Μωϋσέως γεγενημένην ἔξοδον· καὶ τῆς θαλάττης τὸ θαῦμα, καὶ τὴν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διαγωγὴν καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀμορραίων πανωλεθρίαν· καὶ τὰς τοῦ Βαλὰκ ἐπινοίας καὶ τὰς παρὰ γνώ μην τοῦ Βαλαὰμ εὐλογίας· καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὴν ξένην διάβασιν, καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐπαναστάντων πολεμίων ἀναίρεσιν καὶ τῶν παντοδαπῶν ἀγα θῶν ἀπόλαυσιν. καὶ παραινεῖ, τῆς μὲν τῶν ἀλλοτρίων θεῶν ἀπαλλαγῆναι δουλείας, μόνῳ δὲ λατρεύειν τῷ πεποιηκότι καὶ σεσωκότι Θεῷ. προστέ θεικε δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ αἵρεσιν· " ἐκλέξασθε, γάρ φησιν, ὑμῖν αὐ τοῖς σήμερον, τίνι λατρεύσητε, εἴτε τοῖς θεοῖς τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν τοῖς ἐν τῷ πέραν τοῦ ποτα μοῦ, εἴτε τοῖς θεοῖς τῶν ἀμορραίων, ἐν οἷς ὑμεῖς κατοικεῖτε ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτῶν ". οὕτω τοῖς ἄλλοις προστεθει 287 κὼς τὴν αἵρεσιν, αὐτὸς τὸ τῆς οἰκείας γνώμης ἐπέδειξεν εὐσεβές. ἔφη γάρ· " ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ἡ οἰκία μου λατρεύσομεν Κυρίῳ, ὅτι ἅγιός ἐστιν ". εἶτα τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν μὲν ψευδωνύμων ἀπαγορεύσαν τος τὴν λατρείαν ὑποσχομένου δὲ μόνῳ δουλεύειν τῷ σεσωκότι Θεῷ, ὑπο λαβὼν ὁ θειότατος Ἰησοῦς ἔφη πρὸς αὐτούς· " οὐ μὴ δυνήσησθε λατρεύειν Κυρίῳ, ὅτι Θεὸς ἅγιός ἐστι· καὶ ζη λώσας ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀνήσει ὑμῶν τὰ ἀνομήματα καὶ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα ὑμῶν, ἡνίκα ἂν ἐγκαταλίπητε Κύριον καὶ λατρεύσητε θεοῖς ἑτέροις· καὶ ἐπελ θὼν κακώσει ὑμᾶς καὶ ἐξαναλώσει ὑμᾶς, ἀνθ' ὧν εὖ ἐποίησεν ὑμῖν ". μὴ προσδοκήσητε, φησίν, καὶ παρανο μοῦντες τῶν αὐτῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσεσθε. οἶδε γὰρ οὐ μόνον εὐεργετεῖν ἀλλὰ καὶ κολάζειν τοὺς παραβαίνοντας ὁ δεσπότης Θεός. ἐκείνων δὲ καὶ ταύτην δεξαμένων τὴν πρότασιν, καὶ ὑποσχομένων τῷ Κυρίῳ δουλεύειν, ἀναγκαίως ἐπήγαγε· " μάρτυρες ὑμεῖς καθ' ὑμῶν, ὅτι ὑμεῖς ἐξελέξασθε Κύριον λατρεύειν αὐτῷ ". ἐδίδαξε δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἡ ἱστορία, ὡς παραινέσας αὐτοῖς τῆς τῶν ἀλλοτρίων θεῶν ἀπαλλαγῆναι λατρείας καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας νομοθετήσας, οὐκ ἄγρα φα ταῦτα κατέλιπεν, ἀλλ' ἀνάγραπτον αὐτῶν τὴν μνήμην ἐφύλαξεν. XX Τί δήποτε τὸν λίθον στήσας εἴρηκεν· " ὁ λίθος οὗτος ἔσται ὑμῖν εἰς μαρτύριον, ὅτι οὗτος ἀκήκοε πάντα τὰ λεχθέντα παρὰ Κυρίου ἃ ἐλάλησε πρὸς ὑμᾶς σή μερον "; Ἄψυχος μὲν ὁ λίθος· εἰς ἔλεγχον δὲ τῶν ἐμψύχων καὶ λογικῶν, διὰ τῶν ἀψύχων μαρτύρεται· ἐχρήσατο δὲ καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ παλαιῷ. καὶ γὰρ