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his house upon the rock; and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it did not fall. For it was founded upon a rock. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother. He who is of God hears God's words. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God. He who keeps His commandment abides in Him, and He in him. What skill is in the playing of the lyre, this is the demonstration through works in the laws of God. 95.1421 Whatever the law commands us, these we must necessarily observe; and these hold the place of a tax. But whatever things are of free choice, such as virginity, withdrawal, are gifts, and hold the place of a guest-gift. A guest-gift is not offered by necessity; otherwise, it is not a guest-gift.

TITLE II. -Concerning the commandments of God, and those who do not keep them. God called Adam, and said to him: Adam, where are you? Adam said to him:

I heard the sound of you walking in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. And he said to him: Who told you that you were naked, unless you have eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat? If you will not listen to me, nor do my commandments, I will bring upon you distress, both the scab and jaundice, blighting your eyes, and making your soul waste away. And you shall sow your seeds in vain, and your enemies shall eat them, and you shall fall before your enemies; and you shall flee when no one pursues you, and I will break the insolence of your pride; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as bronze, and the earth shall not give its seed, and the tree of your field shall not give its fruit; and you shall eat the flesh of your sons and your daughters. Cursed is the man who does not abide in all the words of the law to do them; and all the people shall say: So be it. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall you be in your storehouses, and your leftovers. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb, and the produce of your land, the herds of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will send on you want, and famine, and consumption upon all that you set your hand to because of your wicked practices. The Lord will strike you with helplessness, and with fever and with chills, and with inflammation, and with slaughter, and with blight. And the heaven that is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be iron. May the Lord give the rain of your land as dust; and you shall be a dispersion in all the kingdoms of the earth. The Lord will strike you with madness, with blindness, with ecstasy of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in the dark, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be wronged and plundered, and there shall be no one to help you. You will take a wife, and another man will take her; you will build a house, and you will not dwell in it. Samuel said to Saul: Are you not small, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel? And the Lord sent you on a mission, and said to you, Go, utterly destroy Amalek, and those who sin against me; and you shall fight against them until you have consumed 95.1424 them. And why did you not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil, and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said: Because I listened to the people. It shall be, in the manner the Lord spoke, and they did not listen to him, so they will cry out, and I will not listen to them, says the Lord. The seed of the disobedient came to destruction. If you had listened to my commandments, your peace would have been like rivers, and your righteousness like a wave of the sea.

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τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν· καὶ κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ, καὶ ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι, καὶ προσέπεσαν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ οὐκ ἔπεσεν. Τεθεμελίωτο γὰρ ἐπὶ πέτραν. Ὃς ἂν ποιήσῃ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὗτος ἀδελφός μου, καὶ ἀδελφὴ, καὶ μήτηρ ἐστίν. Ὁ ὢν ἐκ Θεοῦ, τὰ ῥήματα Θεοῦ ἀκούει. Ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ με, τὸν λόγον μου τηρήσει, καὶ ὁ Πατήρ μου ἀγαπήσει αὐτὸν, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλευσόμεθα, καὶ μονὴν παρ' αὐτῷ ποιήσομεν. Περιτομὴ οὐδέν ἐστι, καὶ ἀκροβυστία, ἀλλὰ τήρησις ἐντολῶν Θεοῦ. Ὁ τηρῶν τὴν ἐντολὴν αὐτοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν αὐτῷ. Ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῆς κιθαρῳδίας ἡ τέχνη, τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ νόμων ἡ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπίδειξις. 95.1421 Ὅσα προστάττει ἡμῖν ὁ νόμος, ταῦτα δεῖ κατ' ἀνάγκην φυλάσσειν· ταῦτα δὲ φόρου λόγον ἐπέχει. Ὅσα δὲ ἐκ προαιρέσεως, οἷον παρθενία, ἀναχώρησις, δῶρά εἰσι, καὶ ξενίου λόγον ἐπέχει. Ξένιον δὲ οὐ προσφέρεται κατ' ἀνάγκην· εἰ δὲ μὴ, οὐκ ἔστι ξένιον.

ΤΙΤΛ. Βʹ. -Περὶ ἐντολῶν Θεοῦ, καὶ τῶν μὴ φυλασσόντων αὐτάς. Ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀδὰμ, ποῦ εἶ; Εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ἀδάμ·

Τῆς φωνῆς σου ἤκουσα περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, καὶ ἐφοβήθην, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι, καὶ ἐκρύβην. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τίς ἀνήγγειλέ σοι ὅτι γυμνὸς εἶ, εἰ μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι μὴ φαγεῖν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, ἔφαγες; Ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσητε μου, μηδὲ ποιήσητε τὰ προστάγματά μου, ἐπιστήσω ἐφ' ὑμᾶς τὴν ἀπορίαν, τήν τε ψώραν καὶ τὸν ἴκτερον, σφακελίζοντα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν, καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ὑμῶν ἐκτήκουσαν. Καὶ σπερεῖτε διὰ κενῆς τὰ σπέρματα ὑμῶν, καὶ ἔδονται οἱ ὑπεναντίοι ὑμῶν, καὶ πεσεῖσθε ἐναντίον τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὑμῶν· καὶ φεύξεσθε οὐδενὸς διώκοντος ὑμᾶς, καὶ συντρίψω τὴν ὕβριν τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ὑμῶν· καὶ θήσω τὸν οὐρανὸν ὑμῶν σιδηροῦν, καὶ τὴν γῆν ὑμῶν ὡς χαλκῆν, καὶ οὐ δώσει ἡ γῆ τὸν σπόρον αὐτῆς, καὶ τὸ ξύλον τοῦ ἀγροῦ ὑμῶν οὐ δώσει τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ· καὶ φάγεσθε τὰς σάρκας τῶν υἱῶν ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων. Ἐπικατάρατος ἄνθρωπος, ὃς οὐκ ἐμμένει ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτούς· καὶ ἐρεῖ πᾶς ὁ λαός· Γένοιτο. Ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν τῇ πόλει, καὶ ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν ἀγρῷ. Ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν ταῖς ἀποθήκαις σου, καὶ τὰ ἐγκαταλείμματα. Ἐπικατάρατα τὰ ἔγγονα τῆς κοιλίας σου, καὶ τὰ γεννήματα τῆς γῆς σου, τὰ βουκόλια τῶν βοῶν σου, καὶ τὰ ποίμνια τῶν προβάτων σου. Ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν τῷ εἰσπορεύεσθαι, καὶ ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἐν τῷ ἐκπορεύεσθαι. Ἐξαποστελεῖ σοι Κύριος τὴν ἔνδειαν, καὶ τὴν ἐκλιμίαν, καὶ τὴν ἀνάλωσιν ἐπὶ πάντα οὗ ἐὰν ἐπιβάλῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου διὰ τὰ πονηρὰ ἐπιτηδεύματά σου. Πατάξει σε Κύριος ἀπορίᾳ, καὶ πυρετῷ καὶ ῥίγει, καὶ ἐρεθισμῷ, καὶ φόνῳ, καὶ ἀνεμοφθορίᾳ. Καὶ ἔσται σοι ὁ οὐρανὸς ὁ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς σου χαλκοῦς, καὶ ἡ γῆ ἡ ὑποκάτω σου σιδηρᾶ. ∆ῷ Κύριος τὸν ὑετὸν τῆς γῆς σου κονιορτόν· καὶ ἔσῃ ἐν διασπορᾷ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς βασιλείαις τῆς γῆς. Πατάξει σε Κύριος παραπληξίᾳ, ἀορασίᾳ, ἐκστάσει διανοίας, καὶ ἔσῃ ψηλαφῶν μεσημβρίας, ὡς ψηλαφήσει ὁ τυφλὸς ἐν τῷ σκότει, καὶ οὐκ εὐοδώσει τὰς ὁδούς σου. Καὶ ἔσῃ ἀδικούμενος καὶ ἁρπαζόμενος, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται σοι βοηθῶν. Γυναῖκα λήψῃ, καὶ ἀνὴρ ἕτερος λήψεται αὐτήν· οἰκίαν οἰκοδομήσεις, καὶ οὐκ οἰκήσεις. Εἶπε Σαμουὴλ πρὸς Σαούλ· Οὐχὶ μικρὸς σὺ, καὶ ἔχρισέ σε Κύριος εἰς βασιλέα ἐπὶ Ἰσραήλ; Καὶ ἀπέστειλέ σε Κύριος ἐν ὁδῷ, καὶ εἶπέ σοι, Πορεύθητι, ἐξολόθρευσον τὸν Ἀμαλὴκ, καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας εἰς ἐμέ· καὶ πολεμήσεις αὐτοὺς ἕως συντελέσῃς 95.1424 αὐτούς. Καὶ ἵνα τί οὐκ ἤκουσας φωνῆς Κυρίου, ἀλλ' ὥρμησας ἐπὶ τὰ σκύλα, καὶ ἐποίησας τὸ πονηρὸν ἐναντίον Κυρίου; Καὶ εἶπε Σαούλ· ∆ιὰ τὸ ἀκοῦσαί με τὸν λαόν. Ἔσται ὃν τρόπον εἶπε Κύριος, καὶ οὐκ εἰσήκουσαν αὐτοῦ, οὕτως κεκράξονται, καὶ οὐ μὴ εἰσακούσομαι αὐτῶν, λέγει Κύριος. Ἐγενήθη τὸ σπέρμα τῶν ἀπειθούντων εἰς ἀπώλειαν. Εἰ ἤκουσας τῶν ἐντολῶν μου, ἐγένετο ἂν ὡς ποταμοὶ ἡ εἰρήνη σου. καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου ὡς κῦμα θαλάσσης.