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he says it is the beauty of Jacob; or according to Aquila, the excellence of Jacob; but according to Symmachus, the glory of Jacob; but according to the fifth edition, the boast of Jacob. For the Church of Christ has become the boast and glory of the old prophet Jacob because of Jacob's own prophecies concerning the nations; for it was a disgrace to him for his words not to come true; but for them to have come to pass is his glory and boast. 23.417 The rulers of the peoples were gathered together with the God of Abraham, for the mighty ones of the earth of God have been greatly exalted. Along with the others who were mentioned before, the rulers of the peoples also were gathered together into one Church, becoming the people of the God of Abraham; for so Symmachus interpreted, rendering it wonderfully, saying: The rulers of the peoples were assembled, the people of the God of Abraham. For the former rulers of the peoples, the idolaters, and those given over to every superstition of error, these have become the people of the God of Abraham, having acknowledged the God of Abraham, and crying out to him in their prayers, and holding their assembly with him. And Theodotion also, being one of those who interpreted carefully, interpreted similarly to Symmachus, saying: The rulers of the peoples were gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. But why have the Seventy said, with the God of Abraham? Because the Hebrew language writes "with" and "people" with the same letters. For it is said, 'am Elohim; which can be said both as "with God" and "people of God."

A SONG OF A PSALM FOR THE SONS OF KORE, 47.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy, well-rooted mountain; with the exultation of all the earth, the mountains of Zion, the sides of the north, the city of the great king. The first three inscribed for the sons of Kore contained words of disaster and grief; but the fourth indicated a change to something brighter; therefore it was a song for the Beloved; likewise also the fifth was for the hidden things; but also the sixth was similarly a psalm. But the one at hand, containing a greater theology than the previous ones, is fittingly inscribed A Song of a Psalm for the sons of Kore; for at the same time some, crying out with their voice, were hymning God, while others with musical instruments were striking up the same song, making the harmony consonant with the melody. And they send up a hymn on behalf of the Church to the one who achieved the victories against the enemies, and who redeemed his Church from bitter and harsh slavery. The one before this, then, exhorted the nations to clap their hands and shout to God with a voice of exultation, and to sing psalms to him, because God is king of all the earth; to sing psalms with understanding, since he has become king over the nations. But it was necessary for those commanded to do these things to learn both the manner of the shouting and the psalm itself as from a teacher; therefore the present discourse necessarily teaches this. The nations, therefore, that have been changed from godlessness to the divine teaching are instructed to theologize about their own Lord and to say: Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; or, and greatly to be hymned, according to the others. And you will understand how he is said to be great by looking up to heaven and surveying the whole cosmos, according to Isaiah who said: Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has shown all these things; for from the greatness and beauty of the creatures the creator is contemplated proportionately; not in bodily size, 23.420 but in incomprehensible power; but he is also great in wisdom and goodness and forbearance and love for mankind, and in the other divine powers conceived in him; wherefore it has been said: And in your thoughts there is no one who will be likened to you. some being godless demons having been made by incantations he who his own

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καλλονὴν Ἰακὼβ εἶναί φησιν· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν, τὸ ὑπερφερὲς Ἰακώβ· κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον, τὸν ἐνδοξασμὸν Ἰακώβ· κατὰ δὲ τὴν πέμπτην ἔκδοσιν, τὸ καύχημα Ἰακώβ. Ἡ γὰρ Ἐκκλησία Χριστοῦκαύχημα καὶ δόξα τοῦ παλαιοῦ προφήτου Ἰακὼβ γέγονε διὰ τὰς αὐτοῦ Ἰακὼβ περὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν προαναφωνήσεις· ἀδοξία γὰρ ἦν αὐτῷ τὸ μὴ ἐπαληθεῦσαι αὐτοῦ τοὺς λόγους· τὸ δὲ εἰς ἔργα κεχωρηκέναι δόξα καὶ καύχημα αὐτοῦ. 23.417 Ἄρχοντες λαῶν συνήχθησαν μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ οἱ κραταιοὶ τῆς γῆς σφόδρα ἐπήρθησαν. Μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν προλεχθέντων, καὶ ἄρχοντες λαῶν ὑπὸ μίαν συνήχθησαν Ἐκκλησίαν, γενόμενοι λαὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραάμ· οὕτως γὰρ ἡρμήνευσε θαυμαστῶς ἀποδοὺς ὁ Σύμμαχος εἰπών· Ἄρχοντες λαῶν ἠθροίσθησαν, λαὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραάμ. Οἱ γὰρ πάλαι ἄρχοντες τῶν λαῶν οἱ εἰδωλολάτραι, καὶ πάσῃ δεισιδαιμονίᾳ πλάνης ἐκδεδομένοι, οὗτοι λαοὶ γεγόνασι τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, τὸν Θεὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἐπιγνόντες, καὶ τοῦτον ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς ἀναβοώμενοι, καὶ μετ' αὐτοῦ ποιούμενοι τὴν σύνοδον. Καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων δὲ, εἷς καὶ αὐτὸς τῶν ἐπιμελῶς ἑρμηνευσάντων τυγχάνων, ὁμοίως τῷ Συμμάχῳ ἡρμήνευσεν εἰπών· Ἄρχοντες λαῶν συνήχθησαν, λαὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραάμ. ∆ιὰ τί δὲ οἱ Ἑβδομήκοντα, μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, εἰρήκασι; Ἐπειδὴ ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴφωνὴ τοῖς αὐτοῖς στοιχείοις γράφει τὸ, μετὰ, καὶ τὸ, λαός. Εἴρηται γὰρ, ἀμ' Ἐλοΐμ· ὃ δύναται καὶ, μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, λέγεσθαι, καὶ, λαὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ.

Ω∆Η ΨΑΛΜΟΥ ΤΟΙΣ ΥΙΟΙΣ ΚΟΡΕ ΜΖʹ.

Μέγας Κύριος καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα, ἐν πόλει τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ εὐρίζῳ· ἀγαλλιάματι πάσης τῆς γῆς, ὄρη Σιὼν, τὰ πλευρὰ τοῦ Βοῤῥᾶ, ἡ πόλις τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ μεγάλου. Τρεῖς μὲν οἱ πρῶτοι ἐπιγεγραμμένοι τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ συμφορᾶς καὶ λύπης περιεῖχον λόγους· ὁ δὲ τέταρτος μεταβολὴν ἐπὶ τὸ φαιδρότερον ἐδήλου· διὸ ᾠδὴ ἐτύγχανεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἀγαπητοῦ· ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ πέμπτος, ὑπὲρ τῶν κρυφίων ἦν· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ἕκτος ὁμοίως ψαλμὸς ἦν. Ὁ δὲ μετὰ χεῖρας, μείζονα τῶν ἔμπροσθεν θεολογίαν περιέχων, εἰκότως Ὠδὴ ψαλμοῦ τοῖς υἱοῖς Κορὲ ἐπιγέγραπται· κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ γὰρ οἱ μὲν διὰ φωνῆς ἀναβοῶντες ὕμνουν τὸν Θεὸν, οἱ δὲ δι' ὀργάνων μουσικῶν τὴν αὐτὴν ἀνεκρούοντο ᾠδὴν, τῷ μέλει σύμφωνον ποιούμενοι τὴν ἁρμονίαν. Ὕμνον δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀναπέμπουσι τῷ τὰς κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων νίκας ἀραμένῳ, καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ τῆς πικρᾶς καὶ χαλεπῆς δουλείας λυτρωσαμένῳ. Ὁ μὲν οὖν πρὸ τούτου παρεκελεύετο τοῖς ἔθνεσι κροτεῖν καὶ ἀλαλάζειν τῷ Θεῷ ἐν φωνῇ ἀγαλλιάσεως, καὶ ψάλλειν αὐτῷ, ὅτι βασιλεὺς πάσης τῆς γῆς ὁ Θεός· ψάλλειν τε συνετῶς, ἐπείπερ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔθνη. Ἔδει δὲ τοὺς κεκελευσμένους ταῦτα πράττειν, καὶ τὸν τρόπον τοῦ ἀλαλαγμοῦ, καὶ τὸν ψαλμὸν αὐτὸν ὡς παρὰ διδασκάλου μαθεῖν· διὸ ἀναγκαίως ὁ παρὼν λόγος τοῦτο διδάσκει. Παιδεύεται τοίνυν τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐξ ἀθεότητος ἐπὶ τὴν ἔνθεον διδασκαλίαν μεταβεβλημένα τὸν ἑαυτῶν θεολογεῖν Κύριον καὶ λέγειν· Μέγας Κύριος καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα· ἢ, καὶ ὑμνητὸς σφόδρα, κατὰ τοὺς λοιπούς. Νοήσεις δὲ ὅπως μέγας εἴρηται, ἀναβλέψας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ τὸν σύμπαντα περιαθρήσας κόσμον, κατὰ τὸν Ἡσαΐαν φήσαντα· Ἐπάρατε εἰς ὕψος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἴδετε τίς κατέδειξε ταῦτα πάντα· ἐκ μεγέθους γὰρ καὶ καλλονῆς κτισμάτων ἀναλόγως ὁ γενεσιουργὸς θεωρεῖται· οὐ σωματικῷ με 23.420 γέθει, δυνάμει δὲ ἀκαταλήπτῳ ἀλλὰ καὶ σοφίᾳ μέγας ἐστὶ καὶ ἀγαθότητι καὶ ἀνεξικακίᾳ καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ, ταῖς τε λοιπαῖς ἐπινοουμέναις ἐν αὐτῷ θεϊκαῖς δυνάμεσι διὸ λέλεκται· Καὶ τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς σου οὐκ ἔστι τίς ὁμοιωθήσεται. Ἀθέους τινὰς ὄντας δαίμονας ἐπῳδῶν πεποιημένους ὁ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ