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Vain is the strength of your spirit, fire will consume you. But instead of: "and nations will be burned," the Hebrew text and all the other interpreters have said "and peoples will be set on fire," the word clearly distinguishing the peoples to whom the word was addressed; for these, he says, will be like a thorn cast down in a field and trampled. 2.5 Although he decrees these things concerning those of the Jewish people who did not accept the grace that was preached to them, you, "hearing with the ear" these prophetic words "do not understand," knowing that these very things spoken and written to you in the Hebrew tongue, and whatever other wondrous things I have wrought for you, those who dwell far off, even to the ends of the earth, and what I spoke among you and did in your sight, those at the ends of the inhabited world will know. But how will they know, except by "drawing near to God" and approaching him and having learned his strength. These themselves will know how the lawless in Zion have apostatized from me; for which reason, because of their apostasy, trembling will seize them. Then, as if to the unbelievers from the people of the circumcision, he says next: Who will announce to you that a fire is burning? concerning which he said a little before: "fire will consume you," and again: Who will announce to you the eternal place? that is, "the one prepared for the devil and his angels." Who then will be the one who knows these things and testifies beforehand to those who do not know, but everyone who walks in righteousness and speaks a straight path, and everyone who hates impiety and injustice, and turns away from bribery and stops his ears from hearing a judgment of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing an unjust deed? Such was each of the prophets of God and every God-loving man, and the choir of the apostles and disciples of our Savior. Therefore, everyone of this kind, he says, will announce to you that a fire is burning, "prepared" for the impious. And this same one will also declare to you the place of eternal condemnation, testifying beforehand to beware of falling into it. But this one himself, who is far from the fire and from the aforementioned eternal place, will dwell in a high cave and on a strong rock, but according to Symmachus: he will encamp in high places, as the surrounding rocks are his height, so that we may understand through these things the ascetic practice of the blessed and their life in the summit of philosophy. Therefore he adds: bread will be given to him, and his water will be sure; and such a one, having practiced the present life with bread and water, will have as a prize and fruit of his asceticism the glorious vision of the king. Therefore it is added: you will see a king with glory; and what king, but the one on account of whom the present subject has recounted all these things, beginning from: "Behold, a righteous king will reign, and rulers will rule with judgment." Therefore, such as the word has described will see him in glory, but while they will obtain these things, your soul, to whom it was said: "Who will announce to you that a fire is burning?" will from afar see "the land of promise," the heavenly one, you not being in it, but seeing it from afar; for "the meek will inherit" that "land," but those cast far from it will fall into fear of their own condemnation. Therefore it is added for them: your soul will meditate on fear. Then the word turns again to the people of the circumcision and says: Where are the scribes, who revered the letter of the law and knew to understand nothing other than the promises of the text, whom the Savior pronounced wretched in the Gospels, saying: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." Where then, he says, are the scribes, where are the counselors? For where will these appear on the day of judgment, who nurture those taught by them with flatteries? Therefore he says: the one who numbers those who are nurtured, a people small and great, whom they did not counsel, but nurturing them with flatteries, they perverted them. But according to

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ματαία ἡ ἰσχὺς τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν, πῦρ κατέδεται ὑμᾶς. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· καὶ ἔσονται ἔθνη κατακεκαυμένα, ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ λέξις καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ πάντες ἑρμηνευταὶ καὶ ἔσονται λαοὶ ἐμπεπυρισμένοι εἰρήκασι σαφῶς διαστελλομένου τοῦ λόγου λαοὺς πρὸς οὓς ἦν ὁ λόγος· οὗτοι γάρ φησιν ἔσονται ὡς ἄκανθα ἐν ἀγρῷ ἐρριμμένη καὶ καταπεπατημένη. 2.5 Εἰ καὶ ταῦτα περὶ τῶν μὴ παραδεξαμένων τὴν εὐαγγελισθεῖσαν αὐτοῖς χάριν τοῦ Ἰουδαίων λαοῦ θεσπίζει, ὑμεῖς «ἀκοῇ» τούτων τῶν προφητικῶν λόγων «ἀκούοντες οὐ συνίετε» γινώσκοντες, ὅτι ταῦτα αὐτὰ πρὸς ὑμᾶς Ἑβραϊκῇ φωνῇ λαλούμενά τε καὶ γραφόμενα, ὅσα τε ἄλλα θαυμαστὰ εἰς ὑμᾶς διεπραξάμην, οἱ πόρρωθεν μέχρι καὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων τῆς γῆς οἰκοῦντες καὶ ἅπερ παρ' ὑμῖν ἐλάλησα καὶ ὑμῶν ὁρώντων ἐποίησα, οἱ ἐν τοῖς πέρασι τῆς οἰκουμένης γνώσονται. πῶς δὲ γνώσονται, ἀλλ' ἢ «ἐγγίσαντες τῷ θεῷ» καὶ προσελθόντες αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτοῦ μεμαθηκότες. Οὗτοι δὲ αὐτοὶ εἴσονται, ὅπως ἀπέστησάν μου οἱ ἐν Σιὼν ἄνομοι· οὗ χάριν διὰ τὴν ἀποστασίαν αὐτῶν λήψεται αὐτοὺς τρόμος. εἶτα ὡς πρὸς αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἀπιστήσαντας τοῦ ἐκ περιτομῆς λαοῦ ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει· τίς ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν ὅτι πῦρ καίεται; περὶ οὗ μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἔλεγεν· «πῦρ κατέδεται ὑμᾶς», καὶ πάλιν· τίς ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν τὸν τόπον τὸν αἰώνιον; «τὸν ἡτοιμασμένον» δηλονότι «τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ». τίς οὖν ἔσται ὁ ταῦτα εἰδὼς καὶ τοῖς μὴ εἰδόσι προμαρτυρόμενος ἢ πᾶς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ λαλῶν εὐθεῖαν ὁδὸν καὶ πᾶς μισῶν ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν, δωροδοκίαν τε ἀποστρεφόμενος καὶ τὰ ὦτα φράττων τοῦ μὴ ἀκοῦσαι κρίσιν αἵματος, καμμύων τε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ μὴ θεωρεῖν ἄδικον πρᾶξιν; τοιοῦτος δὲ ἦν ἕκαστος τῶν προφητῶν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πᾶς θεοφιλὴς ἀνήρ, ὅ τε χορὸς τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ μαθητῶν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν. πᾶς τοίνυν ὁ τοιοῦτος ἀπαγγελεῖ ὑμῖν φησι διότι πῦρ καίεται τοῖς ἀσεβέσιν «ἡτοιμασμένον». ὁ δ' αὐτὸς καὶ τὸν τόπον τῆς αἰωνίου κατακρίσεως δηλώσει ὑμῖν προμαρτυρόμενος φυλάττεσθαι μὴ περιπεσεῖν εἰς αὐτόν. Αὐτὸς δὲ οὗτος ὁ μακρὰν τοῦ πυρὸς γεγονὼς καὶ τοῦ προλεχθέντος αἰωνίου τόπου οἰκήσει ἐν ὑψηλῷ σπηλαίῳ καὶ ἐπὶ πέτρας ἰσχυρᾶς, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· αὐτὸς ἐν ὑψηλοῖς κατασκηνώσει ὡς περιοχαὶ πετρῶν τὸ ὕψος αὐτοῦ, ὡς νοεῖν ἡμᾶς διὰ τούτων τὴν τῶν μακαρίων ἄσκησιν καὶ τὸν ἐν ἀκρότητι φιλοσοφίας βίον αὐτῶν. διὸ ἐπιλέγει· ἄρτος αὐτῷ δοθήσεται, καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ αὐτοῦ πιστόν· ὁ δὲ τοιοῦτος ἄρτῳ καὶ ὕδατι τὴν παροῦσαν ζωὴν ἀσκηθεὶς γέρας ἕξει καὶ καρπὸν τῆς ἀσκήσεως τὴν ἔνδοξον τοῦ βασιλέως θέαν. ∆ιὸ ἐπιλέγεται· βασιλέα μετὰ δόξης ὄψεσθε· ποῖον δὲ βασιλέα ἢ δι' ὃν πάντα ταῦτα ἡ παροῦσα ὑπόθεσις κατέλεξεν ἀρξαμένη ἀπὸ τοῦ· «ἰδοὺ βασιλεὺς δίκαιος βασιλεύσει, καὶ ἄρχοντες μετὰ κρίσεως ἄρξουσιν». τοῦτον οὖν αὐτὸν ὄψονται ἐν δόξῃ οἱ τοιοῦτοι, ὁποίους διέγραψεν ὁ λόγος, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τούτων τεύξονται, ὑμῶν δέ, πρὸς οὓς ἐλέγετο· «τίς ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν ὅτι πῦρ καίεται»; ἡ ψυχὴ πόρρωθεν ὄψεται «τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας» τὴν ἐπουράνιον οὐκ ἐσομένων ὑμῶν ἐν αὐτῇ, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ μακρόθεν αὐτὴν ὁρώντων· «οἱ» γὰρ «πραεῖς κληρονομήσουσιν» ἐκείνην «τὴν γῆν», οἱ δὲ μακρὰν αὐτῆς ἀπορριφέντες φόβῳ τῆς αὐτῶν κατακρίσεως περιπεσοῦνται. ∆ιὸ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐπιλέγεται· ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν μελετήσει φόβον. εἶτ' ἐπιστρέφεται πάλιν ὁ λόγος πρὸς τὸν ἐκ περιτομῆς λαὸν καί φησι· ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ γραμματικοί, οἱ τὸ γράμμα τοῦ νόμου πρεσβεύσαντες καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον εἰδότες νοεῖν ἢ τὰς τῆς λέξεως ἐπαγγελίας, οὓς ἐταλάνιζεν ὁ σωτὴρ ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις λέγων· «Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταί». ποῦ τοίνυν οἱ γραμματικοί φησι, ποῦ οἱ συμβουλεύοντες; ποῦ γὰρ οὗτοι φανήσονται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, οἱ κολακείαις ἐκτρέφοντες τοὺς μαθητευομένους αὐτοῖς; διό φησιν· ὁ ἀριθμῶν τοὺς τρεφομένους, μικρὸν καὶ μέγαν λαόν, ᾧ οὐ συνεβουλεύσαντο, κολακείαις δὲ αὐτοὺς τρέφοντες διέστρεφον. κατὰ δὲ