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Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?” and again: “The God of gods is the Lord.” and again: “God stood in the assembly of gods, and in the midst he judges gods.” Therefore I wonder how, when so many written passages testify that there are many gods, you assert that one must neither say so nor think so. So then, if you have anything to say in response to what has been clearly said, speak before all. And Peter said: Hear a more concise response to what you have said. The law itself which often spoke of gods, itself says to the Jewish multitude: “Behold, the heaven of heaven is the Lord's your God, and all things that are in them,” including that, even if there are gods, they are under him, that is, under the God of the Jews. and again: “For the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath, and there is no other besides him.” and elsewhere the scripture says to the Jewish multitude: “The Lord your God, he is God of gods,” as if to say that, even if there are gods, they are under the God of the Jews. and elsewhere the scripture says concerning him: “The great and true God, who does not show partiality nor take a bribe, executing justice for the orphan and the widow.” But by calling the God of the Jews “great” and “true” and “one who executes justice,” the scripture signified that the others are small and not true. But also elsewhere the scripture says: “As I live, says the Lord, there is no other god besides me. I am the first, I am after these things, besides me there is no god.” and again: “You shall fear the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” and again: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord.” And likewise many passages seal with an oath that God is one and besides him there is no god. Therefore I wonder how, when so many passages testify that God is one, you say that there are many. And Simon said: My argument with you from the beginning was to refute you from the scriptures because you lie in saying that one must not speak of many gods. Therefore I have shown many written passages that the divine scriptures themselves speak of many gods. And Peter said: The very scriptures that speak of many gods, they themselves exhorted us, saying: “The names of other gods shall not come upon your lips.” Thus I did not speak contrary to what is written, O Simon. And Simon said: Hear this in response, you too, O Peter. You seem to me to sin because you speak ill of them, for the scripture says: “You shall not speak evil of them, and you shall not speak ill of a ruler of your people.” And Peter said: I do not sin, Simon, by signifying their destruction in accordance with the scriptures; for thus it is written: “The gods who did not make the heaven and the earth, let them perish,” and in saying this, it is not as if some made them and are not perishing, as you have interpreted. For one who made them is revealed by what is written from the beginning: “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.” and it did not say: “The gods.” and elsewhere it says: “And the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.” and in another place it is written: “The heavens themselves will perish, but you will remain forever.” And Simon said: To show that there are many gods, I have presented clear passages from the scriptures, but you have brought forward as many or even more passages from the same scriptures, showing that God is one, and he is the God of the Jews. And in response to my saying:

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ὅμοιός σοι, κύριε, ἐν θεοῖς;» καὶ πάλιν· «Θεὸς θεῶν κύριος». καὶ πάλιν· «Ὁ θεὸς ἔστη ἐν συναγωγῇ θεῶν, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ θεοὺς διακρίνει». ὅθεν θαυμάζω πῶς τοσούτων φωνῶν ἐγγράφως μαρτυρουσῶν πολλοὺς εἶναι θεούς, σὺ διαβεβαιοῦσαι μὴ δεῖν μήτε λέγειν μήτε εἶναι νομίζειν. λοιπὸν πρὸς τὰ σαφῶς ·ηθέντα εἴ τι ἔχεις εἰπεῖν, ἐπὶ πάντων λέγε. Καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἔφη· Συντομώτερον ἄκουε πρὸς ἃ εἴρηκας. αὐτὸς ὁ νόμος ὁ πολλάκις εἰπὼν θεοὺς αὐτὸς τῷ Ἰουδαίῳ ὄχλῳ λέγει· «Ἰδοὺ κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου ὁ οὐρανὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτοῖς», συνπεριλα- βὼν ὅτι, εἰ καί εἰσιν θεοί, ὑπ' αὐτόν εἰσιν, τουτέστιν ὑπὸ τὸν Ἰουδαίων θεόν. καὶ πάλιν· «Ὅτι κύριος ὁ θεός σου, οὗτος θεὸς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ κάτω, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλος πλὴν αὐτοῦ». καὶ ἄλλῃ που λέγει ἡ γραφὴ τῷ Ἰουδαίων ὄχλῳ· «Κύριος ὁ θεός σου, οὗτος θεὸς τῶν θεῶν», ὥσπερ ὅτι, εἰ καί εἰσιν θεοί, ὑπὸ τὸν Ἰουδαίων θεόν εἰσιν. καὶ ἄλλῃ που περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγει ἡ γραφή· «Ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας καὶ ἀληθινός, ὃς οὐ λαμβάνει πρόσωπον οὐδὲ μὴ λάβῃ δῶρον, ποιῶν κρίσιν ὀρφανῷ καὶ χήρᾳ». «μέγαν» δὲ καὶ «ἀληθινόν» καὶ «κρίσιν ποιοῦντα» τὸν Ἰουδαίων ἡ γραφὴ εἰποῦσα θεὸν τοὺς ἄλλους μικροὺς καὶ οὐκ ἀληθινοὺς ἐσήμανεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλῃ που λέγει ἡ γραφή· «Ζῶ ἐγώ, λέγει κύριος, οὐκ ἔστιν θεὸς ἕτερος πλὴν ἐμοῦ. ἐγὼ πρῶτος, ἐγὼ μετὰ ταῦτα, πλὴν ἐμοῦ θεὸς οὐκ ἔστιν». καὶ πάλιν· «Κύριον τὸν θεόν σου φοβηθήσῃ καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις». καὶ πάλιν· «Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν». καὶ ὁμῶς πολλαὶ φωναὶ μεθ' ὅρκου ἐπισφραγίζουσιν ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς καὶ πλὴν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν θεός. ὅθεν θαυμάζω πῶς το- σούτων μαρτυρουσῶν φωνῶν ἕνα εἶναι θεόν, σὺ πολλοὺς εἶναι λέγεις. Καὶ ὁ Σίμων· Ὁ λόγος τὴν ἀρχὴν ἦν μοι πρὸς σὲ ἀπὸ γραφῶν ἐλέγξαι σε ὅτι ψεύδῃ λέγων μὴ πολλοὺς δεῖν φθέγγεσθαι θεούς. ὅθεν πολλὰς ἐγγράφους ἔδειξα φωνὰς ὅτι αὐταὶ αἱ θεῖαι γραφαὶ πολλοὺς φθέγγονται θεούς. καὶ ὁ Πέτρος· Aὐταὶ αἱ πολλοὺς φθεγγόμεναι θεοὺς γραφαί, αὐταὶ παρῄνεσαν ἡμῖν εἰποῦσαι· «Ὀνόματα θεῶν ἑτέρων οὐκ ἀναβήσεται ἐπὶ τῶν χειλέων σου». οὕτως οὐ παρὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον ἔφην, ὦ Σίμων. καὶ ὁ Σίμων· Ἄκουσον πρὸς αὐτὸ καὶ σύ, ὦ Πέτρε. ἁμαρτάνειν μοι δοκεῖς ὅτι αὐτῶν καταλέγεις, τῆς γραφῆς λεγούσης· «Oὐ κακολογήσεις, καὶ ἄρχοντα τοῦ λαοῦ σου οὐ κακῶς ἐρεῖς». καὶ ὁ Πέτρος· Oὐχ ἁμαρτά- νω, Σίμων, ἀκολούθως ταῖς γραφαῖς τὴν ἀπώλειαν αὐτῶν προσημαί- νων· οὕτω γὰρ γέγραπται· «Θεοί, οἳ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν οὐκ ἐποίησαν, ἀπολέσθωσαν», καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν οὐχ ὡς ἐνίων πεποιηκότων καὶ μὴ ἀπολ- λυμένων, ὡς ἡρμήνευσας. δηλοῦται γὰρ εἷς ὁ πεποιηκὼς τῷ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γε- γράφθαι· «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν». καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν· «Oἱ θεοί». καὶ ἄλλῃ που λέγει· «Ποίησιν δὲ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀναγγέλλει τὸ στερέωμα». καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ γέγραπται· «Oἱ οὐρανοὶ αὐτοὶ ἀπολοῦν- ται, σὺ δὲ διαμενεῖς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα». καὶ ὁ Σίμων ἔφη· Πρὸς τὸ ἐμὲ δεῖξαι πολλοὺς εἶναι θεοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν φωνὰς σαφεῖς παρέστησα, σὺ δὲ τοσαύτας ἢ καὶ πλείονας φωνὰς ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν γραφῶν ἐνήνοχας, δεικνύων ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν θεὸς καὶ οὗτος Ἰουδαίων. καὶ πρὸς τὸ εἰπεῖν με·