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For they were appropriating everyone's things. And teaching this, the Lord said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, for you devour the houses of widows." For he did no lawlessness, nor was there deceit in his mouth. For neither through works nor through words did he sin, but he kept human nature undefiled and free from sins; but they nailed him to the wood as a transgressor. 10And the Lord wishes to cleanse him from the wound, that is, to show him innocent and not subject to death. Thus also the blessed Peter said: "This Jesus God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it." Thus having proclaimed the lawlessness of the people, he offers them exhortation about repentance—for he foresaw those among them who would believe after these things; for from these was the most divine Paul, from these the three thousand and the many myriads—and he says: If you should give for sin, your soul will see long-lived seed. If you confess your impiety and ask for salvation, you will obtain eternal life; for this he has called long-lived. And the Lord wishes in his hand to take away 11from the travail of his soul, to show him light and to form him with understanding, to justify a just one who serves many well. He showed the loosing of death happening through the Lord himself; for in his hand, that is, of the one who suffered, he both loosed the pain of death and revealed the light of the resurrection and, as it were, formed a new, incorruptible and immortal creation, and justified him not as being a sinner but as being just, that is, innocent of sins. |168 b| And the phrase: who serves many well, corresponds to the saying of the gospel; for the Lord himself said: "Just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." For this very reason he also "girded himself with a towel" and washed "the feet of the disciples". And he himself will bear their sins. But Aquila, instead of "will bear," has put "will carry," and Theodotion, "he bore up under." For he was, according to the divine John, "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." 12Because of this, he himself will inherit many, that is, all the nations; for thus also the blessed David spoke from the person of God the Father: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession." And he will divide the spoils of the strong. He calls the demons strong, and humans spoils. The weapons of those who have been slain are called spoils. And formerly, humans were the weapons of the demons; for they warred against us through our own members. But having overcome them, the Master Christ distributed their spoils to the apostles, appointing some teachers of the Romans, some of the Egyptians, some of the Indians. In return for which his soul was delivered up to death. For this supposed dishonor of the passion will bring him reverence from them all. And he was numbered among the lawless. For not only did he endure the punishment assigned to the lawless, but he was also crucified with robbers. And the evangelist has also stated this; for having said that they crucified two robbers with him, he said that the scripture was fulfilled which says: "And he was numbered among the lawless." And he bore the sins of many and was delivered up for their lawlessness. But Symmachus thus: "But he took up the sins of many and opposed the renegades," and thus also the Others. They, he says, joined him with lawless robbers, but he, having taken upon himself the sins of all, endured the passion, resisting the renegade demons. Having thus prophesied the passion, he foretells the fruitfulness of the church that was formerly barren: 541Rejoice, O barren one, who does not bear. For she did not bear piety formerly, but was devoted to the service of idols. Then as for a woman with a difficult childbirth: Break forth and cry aloud and be delighted, you who are not in labor. And he has placed "break forth" in reference to a violent birth, and likewise also "cry aloud"; for they say that the midwives also

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οὗτοι γὰρ τὰ πάντων ἐσφετερίζον. Καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκων ὁ κύριος ἔλεγεν· «Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὅτι κατεσθίετε τὰς οἰκίας τῶν χηρῶν.» Ὅτι ἀνομίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν οὐδὲ δόλον ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ. Οὔτε γὰρ δι' ἔργων οὔτε διὰ λόγων ἐξήμαρτεν, ἀλλ' ἀκηλίδωτον καὶ ἁμαρτημάτων ἐλευθέραν καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν διεφύλαξε φύσιν, οἱ δὲ ὡς παράνομον τῷ ξύλῳ προσήλωσ αν . 10Καὶ κύριος βούλεται καθαρίσαι αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς πληγῆς, τουτέ στιν ἀθῷον δεῖξαι καὶ μὴ ὑποκείμενον θανάτῳ. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἔφη Πέτρος· «Τοῦτον τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀνέστησεν ὁ θεὸς λύσας τὰς ὠδῖνας τοῦ θανάτου, καθότι οὐκ ἦν δυνατὸν κρατεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ.» Οὕτω τοῦ λαοῦ τὴν παρανομίαν προαγορ εύσας τὴν περὶ μετανοίας αὐτοῖς προσφέρει παραίνεσιν-προεώρα γὰρ τοὺς ἐξ αὐτῶν μετὰ τ αῦτα πιστεύοντας· ἐκ τούτων γὰρ ἦν καὶ ὁ θειότατος Παῦλος, ἐκ τούτων οἱ τρισχίλιοι καὶ αἱ πολλαὶ μ υριά δες-καί φησιν· Ἐὰν δῶτε περὶ ἁμαρτίας, ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν ὄψεται σπέρμα μακρόβιον. Ἐὰν ὁμολογή σητε τὴν ἀσέβειαν καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν αἰτήσητε, τεύξεσθε τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς· ταύτην γὰρ μακρόβιον κέκληκεν. Καὶ βούλεται κύριος ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ ἀφελεῖν 11ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, δεῖξαι αὐτῷ φῶς καὶ πλάσαι τῇ συνέσει, δικαιῶσαι δίκαιον εὖ δουλεύοντα πολλοῖς. Τὴν λύσιν ἔδ ειξε τοῦ θανάτου δι' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου γεγενημένην· ἐν γὰρ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι τοῦ πεπονθότος, καὶ τοῦ θανάτου τὸν πόνον ἔλυσε καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ὑπέδειξε φῶς καὶ οἱονεὶ πλάσιν νέαν διέπλασεν ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἀθ άνα τον καὶ ἐδικαίωσεν οὐχ ἁμαρτωλὸν ὄντα ἀλλὰ δίκαιον τουτέστιν ἀθῷον ὄντα ἁμαρτημάτων . |168 b| Τὸ δέ· εὖ δουλεύοντα πολλοῖς, τῷ εὐαγγελικῷ συμβαίνει ῥητῷ· αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ κύριος ἔφη· «Ὥσπερ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθε διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν.» ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ «λέντιον διέζωσεν ἑαυτὸν» καὶ ἔνιψε «τοὺς πόδας τῶν μαθητῶν». Καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν αὐτὸς ἀνοίσει. Ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀνοίσει «βαστάσει» τέθεικεν, ὁ δὲ Θεοδοτίων «ὑπήνεγκεν». Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἦν κατὰ τὸν θεσπέσιον Ἰωάννην «ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου». 12∆ιὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλούς, τουτέστι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὁ μακάριος ∆αυὶδ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἔφη· «Αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσίν σου τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς.» Καὶ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῖ σκῦλα. Ἰσχυροὺς καλεῖ τοὺς δαίμονας, σκῦλα δὲ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Σκῦλα δὲ καλεῖται τῶν ἀνῃρημένων τὰ ὅπλα. Ὅπλα δὲ τῶν δαιμόνων πάλαι ἦσαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι· διὰ γὰρ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἡμῖν ἐπολέμουν μελῶν. Ἀλλὰ τούτους καταλύσας ὁ δεσπότης Χριστὸς τὰ τούτων σκῦλα τοῖς ἀποστόλοις διένειμε, τοὺς μὲν Ῥωμαίων, τοὺς δὲ Αἰγυπτίων, τοὺς δὲ Ἰνδῶν διδασκάλους χειροτονήσας. Ἀνθ' ὧν παρεδόθη εἰς θάνατον ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ. Ἡ γὰρ νομιζομένη τοῦ πάθους ἀτιμία αὕτη τὸ παρὰ πάντων αὐτῶν προσοίσει σέβας. Καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνόμοις ἐλογίσθη. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον τὴν τοῖς παρανόμοις ἀπονενεμημένην ὑπέμεινε τιμω ρίαν ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ λῃστῶν ἐσταυρώθη. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς τέθεικεν· εἰρηκὼς γὰρ ὅτι συνεσταύρωσαν αὐτῷ δύο λῃστάς, ἔφη πληρωθῆναι τὴν γραφὴν τὴν λέγουσαν· «Καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνόμοις ἐλογίσθη.» Καὶ αὐτὸς ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν ἀνήνεγκε καὶ διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν παρεδόθη. Ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος οὕτως· «Αὐτὸς δὲ ἁ μα ρτίας πολλῶν ἀνέλαβε καὶ τοῖς ἀθετοῦσιν ἀντέστη», οὕτω δὲ καὶ οἱ Λοιποί. Ἐκεῖνοι μέν φησι τοῖς ἀν όμοις αὐτὸν συνέζευξαν λῃσταῖς, αὐτὸς δὲ τὰς ἁπάντων ἁμαρτίας εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀναλαβὼν τὸ πάθος ὑπέμεινε, τοῖς ἀθετήσασιν ἀνθιστάμενος δαίμοσιν. Οὕτω προθεσπίσας τὸ πάθος, τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς πάλαι στείρας τὴν πολυπαιδίαν προλέγει· 541Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα, ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα. Οὐ γὰρ ἔτικτεν εὐσέβειαν πάλαι, τῇ δὲ τῶν εἰδώλων δουλείᾳ προσήδρευεν. Εἶτα ὡς ἐπὶ γυναικὸς δυστο κούσης· Ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον καὶ τέρπου ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα. Τέθεικε δὲ τὸ μὲν ῥῆξον ἐπὶ τῆς βιαίας γεννήσεως, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὸ βόησον· φασὶ γὰρ καὶ τὰς μαίας