106

having been turned away, was a great and prodigious wonder. Then he adds: Hope to the pious man; for since he went through the things threatened to the impious, he then next brought in the matter concerning the portion of God, that they will rejoice together with the glory of the Lord and the glory of the Lord will be in the islands. As having indeed set forth “the righteous judgment of God,” he consistently added this: Hope to the pious man; for to every just and pious man a good hope of salvation is laid up, even if he should seem to be a foreigner or a stranger to the seed of Abraham. In addition to these things, according to Symmachus it is said: and he said: my mystery is for me, my mystery is for me; For when the prophets had glorified God for the paradox that was spoken and had remembered the hope of the pious, but had not said what and of what sort were the things hoped for, but were longing to learn and to know “what things God has prepared for those who love him,” God commands them to be silent, saying: my mystery is for me, my mystery is for me; for now, he says, is not the time to reveal “what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man, what I have prepared for those who love me.” But the prophet, perceiving these things by the Holy Spirit, weeps for the impious because he foresees their destruction, and just as he glorified God for the hope of the pious, so out of an excess of love for mankind he laments those who are perishing, adding next: Woe to the transgressors, who transgress and the transgression of those transgressing the law. Instead of: Woe to the transgressors, according to Aquila it is said: woe is me, transgressors have transgressed, and according to Symmachus: alas, transgressors have transgressed. You see how the men of God suffered with those who were perishing and grieved for them out of love for mankind, so as to turn the declaration of woe upon themselves and to say: woe is me, for the things in which the transgressors have transgressed. Then he next brings on the threat against them, saying: fear and a pit and a snare are upon you who dwell on the earth; and it shall be that he who flees from the fear will fall into the pit, and he who comes out of the pit will be caught by the snare. And he adds: because windows from heaven were opened, hinting at the visitation of God and his supervisory, contemplative power over all things, which oversees all things as if through windows of heaven, which seem to be closed whenever God passes by those on earth who are sinning, not proceeding against those who do wrong; for then, as if having turned away, he seems not even to see those who are sinning. But whenever he decides to proceed against those who have sinned, the windows of heaven are, as it were, thrown open. It is likely that the heavenly gates are called windows of heaven, concerning which it is said: “Lift up your gates, O you rulers, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall come in.” Then indeed, in the kingdom of the Lord all the gates will be opened, so that through them those who are ruled may enter, but now that the windows of heaven have been opened, what happens? He says, the foundations of the earth will be shaken. And the earth will be shaken with a shaking, and the earth will be perplexed with perplexity. And the earth will suffer all these things, with those who once inhabited it being thus indicated; and he says they will suffer such things as to be like those who are drunk and hungover from the excess of evils. And in addition to the things said, the indicated earth, clearly the soul of the impious, will be like a lodge in a garden. And this also indicated desolation through the preceding words, in which it was said: “Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall be as a lodge in a garden.” But these things will happen to the earth, I mean to those who formerly inhabited the earth, since lawlessness has prevailed upon it. Therefore at the end of the saying he says: and it will fall and will not be able to rise again; for having fallen once at the end of mortal life, the earth, that is, earthly flesh or a soul that loves the body or those who formerly inhabited the earth, will attain the universal resurrection “to stand before” “the judgment seat of Christ” “and that each one may receive” “the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or

106

ἀποστραφέντα, μέγα τι ἦν καὶ τεράστιον θαῦμα. εἶτ' ἐπιλέγει· Ἐλπὶς τῷ εὐσεβεῖ· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ διῆλθε τὰ τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν ἠπειλημένα, εἶθ' ἑξῆς περὶ τῆς μερίδος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπήγαγεν, ὡς εὐφρανθήσονται ἅμα τῇ δόξῃ κυρίου καὶ ἡ δόξα κυρίου ἐν ταῖς νήσοις ἔσται. ὡς δὴ «τὴν δικαιοκρισίαν τοῦ θεοῦ» παραστήσας ἀκολούθως ἐπήγαγε τό· Ἐλπὶς τῷ εὐσεβεῖ· παντὶ γὰρ δικαίῳ καὶ εὐσεβεῖ ἀνδρὶ ἐλπὶς ἀγαθὴ σωτηρίας ἀπόκειται, κἂν ἀλλόφυλος εἶναι δοκῇ κἂν ἀλλότριος τοῦ σπέρματος Ἀβραάμ. ἐπὶ τούτοις κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον εἴρηται· καὶ εἶπε· τὸ μυστήριόν μου ἐμοί, τὸ μυστήριόν μου ἐμοί· τῶν γὰρ προφητῶν δοξασάντων τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ τῷ λεχθέντι παραδόξῳ καὶ τῆς τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἐλπίδος μνημονευσάντων, μὴ εἰρηκότων δέ, τίνα καὶ ὁποῖα ἦν τὰ ἐλπιζόμενα, ποθούντων δὲ μαθεῖν καὶ γνῶναι, «ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν», σιωπᾶν αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς παρακελεύεται λέγων· τὸ μυστήριόν μου ἐμοί, τὸ μυστήριόν μου ἐμοί· οὐ γὰρ νῦν φησι καιρὸς ἐκφαίνειν· «ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν οὐδὲ οὖς ἤκουσεν οὐδὲ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασα τοῖς ἀγαπῶσί με». ταῦτα δὲ ὁ προφήτης ἁγίῳ πνεύματι συνιδὼν ἀποκλάεται τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς διὰ τὸ συνορᾶν αὐτῶν τὴν ἀπώλειαν, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐδόξασε τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἐλπίδι, οὕτω τοὺς ἀπολλυμένους δι' ὑπερβολὴν φιλανθρωπίας ἀποθρηνεῖ ἐπιφέρων ἑξῆς· Οὐαὶ τοῖς ἀθετοῦσιν, οἱ ἀθετοῦντες καὶ ἀθεσίαν ἀθετούντων τὸν νόμον. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· Οὐαὶ τοῖς ἀθετοῦσι, κατὰ μὲν τὸν Ἀκύλαν εἴρηται· ὠΐ μοι ἀθετοῦντες ἠθέτησαν, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· οἴμοι ἀθετοῦντες ἠθέτησαν. ὁρᾷς ὅπως συνέπασχον τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις καὶ ὑπερήλγουν αὐτῶν οἱ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν, ὡς εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ἀναστρέφειν τὸν ταλανισμὸν καὶ λέγειν· ὠΐ μοι, ἐφ' οἷς ἠθέτησαν οἱ παραβάται. Εἶθ' ἑξῆς ἐπάγει τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν ἀπειλὴν φάσκων· φόβος καὶ βόθυνος καὶ παγὶς ἐφ' ὑμᾶς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ ἔσται ὁ φεύγων τὸν φόβον ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς τὸν βόθυνον, καὶ ὁ ἐκβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ βοθύνου ἁλώσεται ὑπὸ τῆς παγίδος. καὶ ἐπιλέγει· ὅτι θυρίδες ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἠνοίχθησαν τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν ἐποπτικὴν αὐτοῦ θεωρητικὴν τῶν ὅλων δύναμιν αἰνιττόμενος, ἐφορῶσαν τὰ πάντα ὥσπερ διὰ θυρίδων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, αἳ δοκοῦσι μὲν κεκλεῖσθαι, ἐπειδὰν ἁμαρτάνοντας τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς παρέρχηται ὁ θεὸς μὴ ἐπεξιὼν τοῖς πλημμελοῦσι· τότε γὰρ ὥσπερ ἀποστραφεὶς οὐδὲ ὁρῶντι τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας ἔοικεν. ἐπειδὰν δὲ κρίνῃ ἐπεξελθεῖν τοῖς ἡμαρτηκόσιν, ὥσπερ ἀναπετάννυνται τοῦ οὐρανοῦ αἱ θυρίδες. εἰκὸς δὲ θυρίδας λέγεσθαι οὐρανοῦ τὰς οὐρανίους πύλας, περὶ ὧν εἴρηται· «ἄρατε πύλας, οἱ ἄρχοντες ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπάρθητε, πύλαι αἰώνιοι, καὶ εἰσελεύσεται ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης». τότε μὲν οὖν ἀνοιγήσονται πᾶσαι ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ κυρίου βασιλείας πύλαι, ὅπως δι' αὐτῶν εἰσέρχωνται οἱ βασιλευόμενοι, νυνὶ δὲ ἀνοιχθεισῶν τῶν θυρίδων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, τί γίνεται; σεισθήσεταί φησι τὰ θεμέλια τῆς γῆς. καὶ ταραχῇ ταραχθήσεται ἡ γῆ, καὶ ἀπορίᾳ ἀπορηθήσεται ἡ γῆ. καὶ ταῦτα πάντα πείσεται ἡ γῆ τῶν ποτε κατοικησάντων αὐτὴν οὕτως δηλουμένων· τοιαῦτα δέ φησι πείσεσθαι αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐοικέναι μεθύουσι καὶ κραπαιλῶσιν ἐκ τῆς τῶν κακῶν ὑπερβολῆς. ἔσται δὲ πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἡ δηλωθεῖσα γῆ, δῆλον δ' ὅτι ἡ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ψυχὴ ὡς ὀπωροφυλάκιον. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἐρημίαν ἐδήλου, ἐν οἷς ἐλέγετο· «Σιὼν ὡς ἀγρὸς ἀροτριαθήσεται, καὶ Ἰερουσαλὴμ ὡς ὀπωροφυλάκιον ἔσται». ταῦτα δὲ συμβήσεται τῇ γῇ, λέγω δὲ τοῖς πάλαι τὴν γῆν οἰκήσασιν, ἐπειδήπερ κατίσχυσεν ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἡ ἀνομία. διὸ ἐπὶ τέλει τοῦ λόγου φησί· καὶ πεσεῖται καὶ οὐ μὴ δύνηται ἀναστῆναι· ἅπαξ μὲν γὰρ πεσοῦσα κατὰ τὴν τοῦ θνητοῦ βίου τελευτὴν ἡ γῆ ἤτοι σὰρξ γεώδης ἢ φιλοσώματος ψυχὴ ἢ οἱ πάλαι τὴν γῆν οἰκήσαντες τῆς καθολικῆς ἀναστάσεως τεύξονται «εἰς τὸ παραστῆναι» «τῷ βήματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ» «καὶ κομίσασθαι ἕκαστον» «τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος πρὸς ἃ ἔπραξεν, εἴτ' ἀγαθὸν εἴτε