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he says when they were in Hades itself. For they will be the nurslings of death, shepherded by him; but according to Symmachus, they have appointed themselves as the flocks of Hades. For they did not wish to be placed under the good shepherd and for this reason they have become nurslings of death, and some he will lead away into the eternal fire, and others Where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, and others into the outer darkness. But instead of: And their help shall wax old in Hades from their glory, Aquila has, And their form 23.433 shall consume Hades from their dwelling place. For their form which they impressed upon themselves, having obliterated from themselves that which is according to the image and likeness of God, and having clothed the soul with the species and forms of irrational animals and reptiles through the depravity of their ways, will be consumed in the dwelling place of Hades. But according to Symmachus: And Hades will make their strength old from its honorable habitation. For what they thought to secure for themselves as strong through the wickedness innate in them, this Hades will make old in the dwellings that are with him. And this is the end of the impious. But the pious at that time, having been deemed worthy of the morning and of a new light, of the dawn, shall have dominion over the impious; or according to Aquila: they will rule as one, or according to Symmachus: they will subject them to themselves. For of the impious who here humbled the upright, there he will deliver the soul so that it may not be led away with the impious, but be in other regions and flocks. Because his soul will be blessed in his life, he will give thanks to you when you do good to him. The just man blesses the Lord at all times; but the sinner, giving thanks at that time, blesses God whenever some good thing comes to him from God.

A PSALM OF ASAPH 49.

Those inscribed to Asaph are twelve in all; and eleven are in succession, beginning from the 72nd; from which the present psalm was separated, not without reason; but since the psalm before this one was about the judgment of God, and the present one is also of such a kind, it naturally received its sequence on this account. But also overturning the legislation through Moses, he delivers the way of the New Testament given to the gentiles. And this was also in the psalms of the sons of Korah; who themselves are also twelve in number. But the preceding eight were arranged in succession, from which the remaining four, having been separated, were arranged after the psalms of Asaph; perhaps because all the psalms of Asaph, so to speak, prophesied the rejection of Israel, and the dispersion into all the nations, after which the grace of God came upon all the nations; whence the remaining psalms of the sons of Korah succeeded, foretelling the calling of all the nations. The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken, and called the earth. But the other three have interpreted: The mighty God, having spoken, called the earth. But the Seventy called the rulers and judges gods, which is proper to God alone. Therefore, having said in the 81st psalm: God has stood in the assembly of gods, and in the midst he judges gods, he added: How long do you judge unjustly? Thus also the law proclaims: You shall not speak evil of the gods, and you shall not speak ill of the rulers of your people. And reasonably would they be called so who have kept that which is according to the image; the God of these gathers the whole world to the judgment seat; being himself the Lord, the Word of God who became man, he spoke through the Gospel, and he calls all, but not all have obeyed the Gos 23.436 pel. But those who have obeyed obtain the things promised; but to those who reject the grace, he threatens the fire at his glorious coming, coming from the heavenly Sion, about which the

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λέγει ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ᾅδῃ γενόμενοι. Θρέμματα γὰρ ἔσονται θανάτου ὑπὸ αὐτοῦ ποιμαινομένοι· κατὰ δὲ Σύμμαχον, ὡς βοσκήματα ᾅδου ἔταξαν ἑαυτούς. Οὐ γὰρ ἠθέλησαν ὑπὸ τῷ καλῷ ποιμένι τετάχθαι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γεγόνασι θρέμματα θανάτου, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀπάξει εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον, τοὺς δὲ Ὅπου ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων, τοὺς δὲ εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· Καὶ ἡ βοήθεια αὐτῶν παλαιωθήσεται ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ ἐκ τῆς δόξης αὐτῶν, ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας, Καὶ χαρακτὴρ αὐ 23.433 τῶν κατατρίψαι ᾅδην ἐκ κατοικητηρίου αὐτῶν. Ὁ γὰρ χαρακτὴρ αὐτῶν ὃν ἑαυτοῖς ἐξετύπωσαν, τὸ μὲν κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀφανίσαντες, εἴδη δὲ καὶ μορφὰς ἀλόγων ζώων καὶ ἑρπετῶν διὰ τρόπων μοχθηρίας τῇ ψυχῇ περιθέμενοι, κατατριβήσεται ἐν τῷ κατοικητηρίῳ τοῦ ᾅδου. Κατὰ δὲ Σύμμαχον· Τὸ δὲ κρατερὸν αὐτῶν παλαιώσει ᾅδης ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκήσεως τῆς ἐντίμου αὐτοῦ. Ὃ γὰρ ἔδοξαν περιποιεῖν ἑαυτοῖς κραταιὸν διὰ τῆς ἐμφυείσης ἐν αὐτοῖς κακίας, τοῦτο παλαιώσει ὁ ᾅδης ἐν ταῖς οἰκήσεσι ταῖς παρ' αὐτῷ. Καὶ τοῦτο μὲν τῶν ἀσεβῶν τὸ τέλος. Οἱ δὲ εὐσεβεῖς κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ πρωΐας ἀξιωθέντες καὶ νέου φωτὸς, ἀνατολῆς τῆς τῶν ἀσεβῶν κατακυριεύσουσι· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· ἑνὶ κρατήσουσιν, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· ὑποτάξουσιν αὐτοῖς. Τῶν γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ταπεινωσάντων τοὺς εὐθεῖς ἀσεβῶν, ἐκεῖ ῥύσεται τὴν ψυχὴν πρὸς τὸ μὴ συναπαχθῆναι τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν, ἀλλ' ἐν ἑτέροις εἶναι χωρίοις τε καὶ ποιμνίοις. Ὅτι ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ εὐλογηθήσεται, ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι ὅταν ἀγαθύνῃς αὐτῷ. Ὁ μὲν δίκαιος εὐλογεῖ τὸν Κύριον ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ· ὁ δὲ ἁμαρτωλὸς τοτηνικαῦτα ἐξομολογούμενος, εὐλογεῖ τὸν Θεὸν ὁπηνίκα ἂν ἀγαθόν τι αὐτῷ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀποβῇ.

ΨΑΛΜΟΣ ΤΩ ΑΣΑΦ ΜΘʹ.

Οἱ ἐπιγεγραμμένοι τοῦ Ἀσάφ εἰσι μὲν οἱ πάντες τὸν ἀριθμὸν ιβʹ· ἐφεξῆς δὲ οἱ ιαʹ ἀρχόμενοι ἀπὸ τοῦ οβʹ· ἐξ ὧν ὁ παρὼν ἀπεσπάσθη ψαλμὸς, οὐχ ἁπλῶς· ἀλλ' ἐπείπερ ὁ πρὸ τούτου ψαλμὸς περὶ κρίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ διεστέλλετο, τοιοῦτος δὲ καὶ ὁ παρὼν, εἰκότως κατὰ τοῦτο ἀκολουθίαν ἐδέξατο. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν διὰ Μωϋσέως ἀνατρέπων νομοθεσίαν, παραδίδωσι τῆς καινῆς ∆ιαθήκης τὸν δοθέντα τοῖς ἔθνεσι τρόπον. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ἦν ἐν τοῖς τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ ψαλμοῖς· οἵτινες καὶ αὐτοὶ τυγχάνουσι μὲν ιβʹ. Ἀλλ' ηʹ οἱ προλαβόντες ἐφεξῆς κατετάγησαν, ὧν ἀποσπασθέντες οἱ λείποντες τέσσαρες, μετὰ τοὺς τοῦ Ἀσὰφ ψαλμοὺς κατετάγησαν· ἴσως ἐπεὶ οἱ τοῦ Ἀσὰφ πάντες, ὡς εἰπεῖν, τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐθέσπιζον τὴν ἀποβολὴν, καὶ τὴν εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη διασπορὰν, μεθ' ἣν ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ ἔθνη πάντα μετῆλθεν· ὅθεν οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ ψαλμοὶ διεδέξαντο, τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων προαγορεύοντες κλῆσιν. Θεὸς θεῶν Κύριος ἐλάλησε, καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὴν γῆν. Οἱ λοιποὶ δὲ τρεῖς ἡρμήνευσαν· Ἰσχυρὸς Θεὸς λαλήσας ἐκάλεσε τὴν γῆν. Οἱ δὲ Ἑβδομήκοντα θεοὺς ἐκάλεσαν τούς τε ἄρχοντας καὶ κριτὰς, ὅπερ ἴδιον μόνου Θεοῦ. Τοιγαροῦν ἐν παʹ ψαλμῷ προφήσας· Ὁ Θεὸς ἔστη ἐν συναγωγῇ θεῶν, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ θεοὺς διακρίνει, ἐπήγαγεν· Ἕως πότε κρίνετε ἀδικίαν; Οὕτω καὶ ὁ νόμος διαγορεύει· Θεοὺς οὐ κακολογήσεις, καὶ ἄρχοντας τοῦ λαοῦ σου οὐκ ἐρεῖς κακῶς. Εὐλόγως δ' ἂν κληθεῖεν οἱ τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα φυλάξαντες· ὁ τούτων Θεὸς πᾶσαν συνάγει τὴν οἰκουμένην εἰς τὸ κριτήριον· αὐτὸς ὢν ὁ Κύριος ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος ἐνανθρωπήσας ἐλάλησε διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, καὶ πάντας μὲν καλεῖ, οὐ πάντες ὑπήκουσαν τῷ Εὐαγγε 23.436 λίῳ. Ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν ὑπακούσαντες τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων τυγχάνουσι· τοῖς δὲ τὴν χάριν ἀθετοῦσι, τὸ πῦρ ἀπειλεῖ κατὰ τὴν ἔνδοξον αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν, ἥξων ἐκ τῆς ἐπουρανίου Σιὼν, περὶ ἧς ὁ