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misery. (And the cross is what is signified by reproach and misery.) This expectation being in my heart, I waited to find one grieving with me from among the unbelieving Jews, and there was none, and one comforting me, and I found none. For how could they grieve with and comfort me, who said to Pilate the governor, ‘Crucify, crucify him; his blood be on us and on our children’? How could they comfort or grieve with me, who gave him vinegar mixed with gall? Allegorically, Jesus expected reproach and misery, so that by suffering for the world He might take away its sin; none of the Israelites according to the flesh was willing to die with him, so as to grieve with him whose soul was sorrowful even to death, nor did any comfort him by consenting to the prophecies about his death; whence, in addition to not doing these things, they passed on to greater impiety, and nourished him with gall and gave him vinegar to drink. For how was their fruit not gall and vinegar, when they did not keep the planting from the beginning? For though God planted the whole multitude of the Jews as a fruitful, wholly true vine, it, by its own impulse, turned to bitterness and became a foreign vine. For it is said concerning them, having become enemies and foolish: For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their vine-branch is from Gomorrah; their grape is a grape of gall, their cluster is of bitterness; their wine is the venom of dragons, and the incurable venom of asps. This gall of the grape and cluster of bitterness they brought to him for a drink, although he was thirsting for their salvation. For vinegar is a transgression of wine. Yet though among the traitorous Jews no one was found grieving with him and comforting him, yet in the calling of the Gentiles one is found. For those who have this mind say, 'If we have died with him, we shall also live with him,' and 'If we have become united with the likeness of his death, we shall also be of his resurrection.' 718a Ps 68,26 Peter, the chief of the apostles, has taken the verse, 'Let their habitation be desolate,' and the following verse to be prophesied about Judas. And since it is expressed in the plural, it must be taken as concerning all the betrayers of Jesus, their city having been desolated and become a habitation because of their bestial way of life. For in habitations the cattle have their resting place; and otherwise, not having God in itself, nor the angels who formerly watched over it. 719a Ps 68,27 Jesus, taking up our sins into his own body, on account of which we were wounded, having been struck by robbers while going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, made them his own in order to heal, and spoke of them as his own wounds; but these have pain, for as long as we persist in sinning. If, in addition to this, we also stir up persecution against him, we add pain, so that he no longer suffers for us simply as sinners but also as his persecutors. 720a Ps 68,28 Being handed over to their own desires and to the passions they chose to have, they themselves are the cause of their enduring these things, God not being the cause, if they are handed over to what they longed for; For He 'sent them away according to the pursuits of their hearts; they will walk in their own pursuits,' an addition of iniquity being made to their iniquity. Since, therefore, they did not choose the truth when it came but wished to live lawlessly in the shadow of the law, they were cast out also from the place of the typical worship, so that they might add to their former iniquity another, by wishing to keep it outside of Judea. Therefore they do not enter into the righteousness that is through faith in Jesus Christ, concerning which it is written, 'But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.' For how was it possible for those who are always concerned with external things and the shadow to enter into righteousness, which they were ignorant of as being from God, in order to establish their own? For, he says, being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, to the righteousness of God

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ταλαιπωρίαν. (ὁ σταυρὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ δηλούμενος διὰ τοῦ ὀνειδισμοῦ καὶ τῆς ταλαιπωρίας.) ταύτης τῆς προσδοκίας ουσης ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου, ὑπέμεινα συλλυπούμενον εὑρεῖν ἐκ τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων τῶν ἀπιστούντων, καὶ οὐχ ὑπῆρξε, καὶ παρακαλοῦντα καὶ οὐχ ευρον. πῶς γὰρ συνελυποῦντο καὶ παρεκάλουν φάσκοντες Πιλάτῳ τῷ ἡγεμόνι Σταύρωσον σταύρωσον αὐτόν· ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ αιμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ἡμῶν; πῶς δὲ παρεκάλουν η συνελυποῦντο οἱ δεδωκότες αὐτῷ οξος μετὰ χολῆς μεμιγμένον; Πρὸς ἀλληγορίαν τοῦ ̓Ιησοῦ προσδοκῶντος ὀνειδισμὸν καὶ ταλαιπωρίαν, ιν' ὑπὲρ τοῦ κόσμου παθὼν αρῃ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ· οὐδεὶς τῶν κατὰ σάρκα ̓Ισραηλιτῶν συναποθανεῖν ἠθέλησεν αὐτῷ, ινα συλλυπηθῇ περίλυπον αὐτῷ εχοντι τὴν ψυχὴν εως θανάτου, οὐδὲ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν συγκαταθέμενος ταῖς περὶ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ προφητείαις· οθεν πρὸς τῷ ταῦτα μὴ ποιεῖν εἰς μείζονα ἀσέβειαν διαβάντες χολὴν αὐτὸν διέθρεψαν καὶ ἐπότισαν οξος. πῶς γὰρ οὐ χολὴ καὶ οξος ὁ καρπὸς αὐτῶν ἐγεγόνει μὴ τηρησάντων τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς φυτείαν; τοῦ γὰρ θεοῦ αμπελον καρποφόρον πᾶσαν ἀληθινὴν τὴν ̓Ιουδαικὴν πληθὺν φυτεύσαντος, αυτη ὁρμῇ ἰδίᾳ στραφεῖσα εἰς πικρίαν γέγονεν αμπελος ἀλλοτρία. ειρηται γοῦν περὶ αὐτῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ ἀνοήτων γεγενημένων ̓Εκ γὰρ ἀμπέλου Σοδόμων ἡ αμπελος αὐτῶν καὶ κληματὶς αὐτῶν ἐκ Γομόρρας, σταφυλὴ αὐτῶν σταφυλὴ χολῆς, βότρυς πικρίας αὐτῆς· θυμὸς δρακόντων ὁ οινος αὐτῶν καὶ θυμὸς ἀσπίδων ἀνίατος. ταύτην τὴν τῆς σταφυλῆς χολὴν καὶ τῆς πικρίας τὸν βότρυν προσήγαγον αὐτῷ πότον, καίτοι διψῶντι αὐτῷ τὴν αὐτῶν σωτηρίαν. οινου γὰρ παράβασις τὸ οξος. Πλὴν εἰ καὶ μὴ εὑρεθῇ ἐν τοῖς προδόταις ̓Ιουδαίοις συλλυπούμενος καὶ παρακαλῶν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ κλήσει τῶν ἐθνῶν εὑρίσκεται. φασὶ γοῦν οἱ ουτω γνώμην εχοντες Εἰ συναπεθάνομεν, καὶ συζήσομεν, καὶ Εἰ σύμφυτοι τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ γεγόναμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ ἐσόμεθα. 718a Ps 68,26 Τὸ Γενηθήτω ἡ επαυλις αὐτῶν ερημος καὶ τὸν ἑξῆς στίχον περὶ ̓Ιούδα πεπροφητεῦσθαι Πέτρος ὁ πρόκριτος τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐξείληφεν. καὶ ἐπεὶ πληθυντικῶς ἐξενήνεκται, περὶ πάντων τῶν ̓Ιησοῦ προδοτῶν ἐκληπτέον αὐτό, ἐρημωθείσης τῆς πόλεως αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπαύλεως γεγενημένης διὰ τὸν κτηνώδη αὐτῶν τρόπον. ἐν ἐπαύλεσι γὰρ τὰ θρέμματα τὴν κοίτην εχει· καὶ αλλως δὲ μὴ εχουσα τὸν θεὸν ἐν ἑαυτῇ ἀλλ' ουτε ἀγγέλους τοὺς πάλαι αὐτὴν ἐφορῶντας. 719a Ps 68,27 Τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἀναλαμβάνων εἰς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα ὁ ̓Ιησοῦς, δι' ας μὲν ημεν τραυματίαι πληγέντες ὑπὸ λῃστῶν ἐν τῷ καταβαίνειν ἀπὸ ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ εἰς ̔Ιεριχώ, ἰδιοποιησάμενος ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἰάσασθαι τραύματα ἑαυτοῦ ειπεν· ἀλγήδονα δὲ εχει ταῦτα, εἰς οσον ἐπιμένομεν τῷ ἁμαρτάνειν. εἰ δὲ πρὸς τούτῳ καὶ διωγμὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ κινοῖμεν, προσθήκην ἀλγήματος ποιοῦμεν τῷ μηκέτι ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἁπλῶς ἀλλὰ καὶ διωκόντων αὐτὸν ἀλγεῖν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. 720a Ps 68,28 Ταῖς αὐτῶν ἐπιθυμίαις καὶ αις ειλαντο εχειν πάθεσιν παραδιδόμενοι, ἑαυτοῖς εἰσιν αιτιοι τοῦ ὑπομένειν ταῦτα, τοῦ θεοῦ αἰτίαν οὐκ εχοντος, εἰ οις ἐπόθησαν παραδέδονται· ̓Εξαπέστειλε γοῦν αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν, πορεύσονται ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτῶν, προσθήκης γενομένης ἀνομίας ἐπὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν αὐτῶν. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν οὐχ ειλαντο τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐλθοῦσαν ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ τοῦ νόμου παρανόμως διαβιῶναι ἠθέλησαν, ἐξώσθησαν καὶ τοῦ τόπου τῆς τυπικῆς λατρείας, ινα προσθῶσι τῇ προτέρᾳ ἀνομίᾳ καὶ αλλην τῷ εξωθεν τῆς ̓Ιουδαίας βούλεσθαι ταύτην φυλάττειν. διὸ οὐκ εἰσέρχονται ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ τῇ διὰ πίστεως ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, περὶ ης γράφεται Νυνὶ δὲ χωρὶς νόμου δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ πεφανέρωται, μαρτυρομένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν. πῶς γὰρ οιόν τε ην ἀεὶ περὶ τὰ εξω καὶ τὴν σκιὰν εχοντας εἰσελθεῖν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ην ἠγνόησαν θεοῦ ουσαν, ινα στήσωσι τὴν ἰδίαν; ̓Αγνοοῦντες γάρ φησι τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δικαιοσύνην καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ζητοῦντες στῆσαι, τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ θεοῦ