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to a hundred-year-old man, and shall Sarah, being ninety years old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God: May this Ishmael live before you. And God said to Abraham: Behold, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. 95.1412 And I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, to be God to him, and to his seed after him. Elisha said: Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria. And the officer answered Elisha and said: Behold, if the Lord makes windows in heaven, this saying will not come to pass. And Elisha said: Behold, you shall see with your eyes, and from there you shall not eat. Zechariah said to the angel: Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days. And the angel answering, said to him: I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you shall be silent and not able to speak until the day these things come to pass; because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time. Mary said to the angel: How shall this be to me, since I know not a man? And the angel answering said to her: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. Therefore also the holy thing which shall be born shall be called the Son of God. But Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days, his disciples were again within, and Thomas with them. Jesus comes, the doors having been shut, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then he says to Thomas: Bring your finger here, and see my hands, and bring your hand; and put it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him: My Lord and my God. Jesus says to him: Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.

TITL. 27. -Concerning dinner, and feasting together.

Do not dine with an envious man, nor desire his delicacies. For as if one should swallow a hair, so he eats and drinks. If you sit to dine at the table of a ruler, consider intelligently what is set before you. There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should show his soul good. And this also is from the hand of God. Come, eat your bread with joy. Prepare the table; eat, drink; arise, you princes, prepare the shields. Let righteous men be your fellow-diners. Eat in a human manner, if you have sat at a great table 95.1413. Do not open your throat at it, and do not say: There are many things on it. Where you look, do not stretch out your hand, nor press with him in the dish. Eat in a human manner what is set before you, and do not chew greedily, lest you be hated. Be the first to stop for the sake of good manners, and be not insatiable, lest you give offense. And if you sit in the midst of many, do not stretch out your hand before them. The Lord said to the one who had invited him: When you make a breakfast or a dinner, do not call your friends, nor rich neighbors, nor your relatives, nor your brothers, lest they also invite you back, and a repayment be made to you. But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and you will be blessed, because they have nothing to repay you with. For it shall be repaid to you at the resurrection of the just. And as it is fitting before a meal to bless the God of all things, so also during drinking it is proper to sing psalms. A table that does not have the remembrance of God has differed in no way from a manger of irrational beasts.

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ἑκατονταετεῖ, καὶ Σάῤῥα ἐνενήκοντα ἐτῶν οὖσα τέξεται; Εἶπε δὲ Ἀβραὰμ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· Ἰσμαὴλ οὗτος ζήσεται ἐναντίον σου. Εἶπε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Ἀβραάμ· Ἰδοὺ Σάῤῥα ἡ γυνή σου τέξεταί σοι υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰσαάκ. 95.1412 Καὶ στήσω τὴν διαθήκην μου πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰς διαθήκην αἰώνιον, εἶναι αὐτῷ Θεὸς, καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτόν. Εἶπεν Ἑλισαιέ· ∆ίμετρον κριθῆς σίκλου, καὶ μέτρον σεμιδάλεως σίκλου ἔσται ὡς ἡ ὥρα αὕτη αὔριον ἐν πύλῃ Σαμαρείας. Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ τριστάτης τῷ Ἑλισαιὲ, καὶ εἶπεν· Ἰδοὺ Κύριος ποιεῖ καταράκτας ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, οὐ μὴ ἔσται τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο. Καὶ εἶπεν Ἑλισαιέ· Ἰδοὺ ὄψει τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου,καὶ ἐκεῖθεν οὐ μὴ φάγῃς. Εἶπε Ζαχαρίας πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· Κατὰ τί γνώσομαι τοῦτο; Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι πρεσβύτης, καὶ ἡ γυνή μου προβεβηκυῖα ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτῆς. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ ἄγγελος, εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἐγώ εἰμι Γαβριὴλ, ὁ παρεστηκὼς ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἀπεστάλην λαλῆσαι πρὸς σὲ, καὶ εὐαγγελίσασθαί σοι ταῦτα. Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἔσῃ σιωπῶν, καὶ μὴ δυνάμενος λαλῆσαι ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας γένηται ταῦτα· ἀνθ' ὧν οὐκ ἐπίστευσας τοῖς λόγοις μου, οἵτινες πληρωθήσονται εἰς τὸν καιρὸν αὐτῶν. Εἶπε Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· Πῶς ἔσται μοι τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω; Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ ἄγγελος εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σὲ, καὶ δύναμις Ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι. ∆ιὸ καὶ τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον κληθήσεται Υἱὸς Θεοῦ. Θωμᾶς δὲ εἷς ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα, ὁ λεγόμενος ∆ίδυμος, οὐκ ἦν μετ' αὐτῶν ὅτε ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς. Ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ οἱ ἄλλοι μαθηταί· Ἑωράκαμεν τὸν Κύριον. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἐὰν μὴ ἴδω ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ τὸν τύπον τῶν ἥλων, καὶ βάλω τὸν δάκτυλόν μου εἰς τὸν τύπον τῶν ἥλων, καὶ βάλω τὴν χεῖρά μου εἰς τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ, οὐ μὴ πιστεύσω. Καὶ μεθ' ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ, πάλιν ἦσαν ἔσω οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ Θωμᾶς μετ' αὐτῶν. Ἔρχεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων, καὶ ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον, καὶ εἶπεν· Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν. Εἶτα λέγει τῷ Θωμᾷ· Φέρε τὸν δάκτυλόν σου ὧδε, καὶ ἴδε τὰς χεῖράς μου, καὶ φέρε τὴν χεῖρά σου· καὶ βάλε εἰς τὴν πλευράν μου, καὶ μὴ γίνου ἄπιστος, ἀλλὰ πιστός. Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Θωμᾶς, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὁ Κύριός μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ὅτι ἑώρακάς με, πεπίστευκας. Μακάριοι οἱ μὴ ἰδόντες, καὶ πιστεύσαντες.

ΤΙΤΛ. ΚΖʹ. -Περὶ δείπνου, καὶ συνεστιάσεως.

Μὴ συνδείπνει ἀνδρὶ βασκάνῳ, μηδὲ ἐπιθυμήσῃς τῶν ἐδεσμάτων αὐτοῦ. Ὃν τρόπον γὰρ εἴ τις καταπίοι τρίχα, οὕτως ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει. Ἐὰν καθίσῃς δειπνεῖν ἐπὶ τραπέζης δυνάστου, νοητῶς νόει τὰ παρατιθέμενά σοι. Οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθὸν ἀνθρώπῳ, εἰ μὴ ὃς φάγεται καὶ πίεται, καὶ ὡς δείξῃ ἀγαθὸν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ. Καί γε τοῦτο ἐκ χειρὸς Θεοῦ ἐστιν. ∆εῦρο, φάγε ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ τὸν ἄρτον σου. Ἑτοιμάσατε τράπεζαν· φάγετε, πίετε· ἀνάστητε, οἱ ἄρχοντες, ἑτοιμάσατε θυρεούς. Ἄνδρες δίκαιοι ἔστωσαν σύνδειπνοί σου. Φάγε ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ἐὰν ἐπὶ τραπέζης μεγάλης 95.1413 ἐκάθισας. Μὴ ἀνοίξῃς ἐπ' αὐτὴν φάρυγγά σου, καὶ μὴ εἴπῃς· Πολλά γε ἐπ' αὐτῆς. Οὗ ἐὰν ἐπιβλέψῃς, μὴ ἐκτείνῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου, καὶ μὴ συνθλίβου αὐτῷ ἐν τρυβλίῳ. Φάγε ὡς ἄνθρωπος τὰ παρακείμενά σοι, καὶ μὴ διαμασσῶ, μὴ μισηθῇς. Παῦσαι πρῶτος χάριν παιδείας, καὶ μὴ ἀπληστεύου, μή[πο]τε προσκόψῃς. Καὶ εἰ ἀναμέσον πλειόνων ἐκάθισας, πρότερος αὐτῶν μὴ ἐκτείνῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου. Ἔλεγεν ὁ Κύριος τῷ κεκληκότι αὐτόν· Ὅταν ποιῇς ἄριστον ἢ δεῖπνον, μὴ φώνει τοὺς φίλους σου, μηδὲ γείτονας πλουσίους, μηδὲ τοὺς συγγενεῖς σου, μηδὲ τοὺς ἀδελφούς σου, μήποτε καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀντικαλέσωσί σε, καὶ γένηταί σοι ἀνταπόδομα. Ἀλλ' ὅταν ποιῇς δοχὴν, κάλει πτωχοὺς, ἀναπήρους, χωλοὺς, τυφλούς· καὶ μακάριος ἔσῃ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀνταποδοῦναί σοι. Ἀνταποδοθήσεται γάρ σοι ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῶν δικαίων. Ὡς δὲ ἁρμόδιον πρὸ τῆς τροφῆς εὐλογεῖν τὸν Θεὸν τῶν ἁπάντων· οὕτω καὶ παρὰ πότον καθήκει ψάλλειν. Τράπεζα μὴ ἔχουσα μνήμην Θεοῦ, φάτνης ἀλόγων οὐδὲν διενήνοχεν.