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of angels, I say, but of ours. For this reason He said, He took hold, to show that he was pursuing those who were turning away; for He drew us to Himself as we were fleeing far away. Therefore, He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. What does "in every way" mean? He was born, it says, was nourished, grew up, suffered, and having accomplished all that was necessary, He died. This is "to be made like His brothers in every way." For after having discoursed at length about His majesty and His glory above, he now moves to the subject of the economy, practically saying: He who is so great, who is the radiance of the Father, who is the exact imprint of His nature, through whom He made the ages, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, He willed and was eager to become our brother in all things; He willed, and for this reason He also came down to us, and took hold of us, and worked countless good things. He destroyed death, He cast out the devil from his tyranny, He freed us from slavery, He willed to become a High Priest before the Father. Therefore he also added. That He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. What does 'faithful' mean? True and able. And "in things pertaining to God," he added, signifying this, that since we were at war with God, and condemned, and punished, there was no one to offer a sacrifice on our behalf, but He saw us in this state, and had mercy, not by appointing a high priest for us, but by becoming Himself a faithful High Priest, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered when He was tempted. It is as if he were to say: He is not ignorant of our sufferings; not only as God does He know them, but also as man He knew them through the experience of being tempted. He suffered many things; He knows how to sympathize, even though He is impassible as God. He is able to help those who are being tempted. As one might say: With great eagerness He will stretch out His hand, and will sympathize.

CHAPTER 3. Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the

Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ. Being about to prefer Him to Moses, and to make a comparison, he brought the discussion to the law of the priesthood. And the discussion of the priesthood might be taken to refer to the economy. That is, of the faith. 95.944 Who was faithful to Him who appointed Him. Apostle and High Priest. For he says nothing about substance, nor about divinity, but for the time being about human dignities. As Moses also was faithful in all His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone. That is, among the people. For Moses was like a steward and a manager. But He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant. This would be Christ. For a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after. If God calls heaven and earth and hills to witness, much more so men. But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. See how he distinguishes between the created things and the creator; how between a servant and a son, and how the one enters into his father's house as master, while the other managed the house as a servant. Since the good things were in hope, he says to hold on to it in such a way as to boast already, as if over things that have already happened. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, "They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways." So I swore in My wrath, "They shall not enter My rest."' His discourse is about the future hope, that it will surely come to pass

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τῶν ἀγγέλων φημὶ, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν, ἐπελάβετο, ἵνα δείξῃ διώκοντα αὐτὸν τοὺς ἀποστρεφομένους· ὡς πόῤῥω γὰρ ἡμᾶς φεύγοντας ἐπεσπάσατο. Ὅθεν ὤφειλε κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῆναι, ἵνα ἐλεήμων γένηται, καὶ πιστὸς ἀρχιερεὺς τὰ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, εἰς τὸ ἱλάσκεσθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ. Τί ἐστι κατὰ πάντα; Ἐτέχθη, φησὶν, ἐτράφη, ηὐξήθη, ἔπαθε, πάντα ἅπερ ἐχρῆν τελειώσας ἀπέθανεν. Τοῦτό ἐστι κατὰ πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὁμοιωθῆναι. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλὰ διαλεχθεὶς περὶ τῆς μεγαλειότητος αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῆς ἄνω δόξης, λοιπὸν τὸν περὶ τῆς οἰκονομίας λόγον κινεῖ, μονονουχὶ λέγων· Ὁ οὕτω μέγας, ὁ ὢν ἀπαύγασμα τοῦ Πατρὸς, ὁ ὢν χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως, δι' οὗ τοὺς αἰῶνας πεποίηκεν, ὁ ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρὸς καθήμενος, οὗτος ἠθέλησε, καὶ ἐσπούδακεν ἀδελφὸς ἡμῶν ἐν πᾶσι γενέσθαι· Ἐθέλησε, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς κατῆλθεν, καὶ ἡμῶν ἐπελάβετο, καὶ μυρία εἰργάσατο ἀγαθά. Θάνατον ἔλυσεν, τὸν διάβολον τῆς τυραννίδος ἐξέβαλε, δουλείας ἀπήλλαξεν, Ἀρχιερεὺς γενέσθαι ἠθέλησε πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐπήγαγεν. Ἵνα ἐλεήμων γένηται καὶ πιστὸς ἀρχιερεὺς τὰ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. Τί δέ ἐστι, πιστός; Ἀληθὴς καὶ δυνάμενος. Τὰ δὲ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, ἐπήγαγε, τοῦτο δηλῶν, ὡς ἐκ πολεμουμένων τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ κατεγνωσμένων, καὶ τετιμωρημένων, οὐδεὶς ἦν ὁ προσοίσων ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν θυσίαν, ἀλλ' εἶδεν ἡμᾶς ἐν τούτοις ὄντας, καὶ ἠλέησεν, οὐ καταστήσας ἡμῖν ἀρχιερέα, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς γεγονὼς Ἀρχιερεὺς πιστὸς, ἵνα ἱλάσηται τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ λαοῦ. Ἐν ᾧ γὰρ πέπονθεν, αὐτὸς πειρασθείς. Ὅμοιον ὡς εἰ λέγοι· Οὐκ ἀγνοεῖ τὰ πάθη τὰ ἡμέτερα· οὐχ ὡς Θεὸς μόνον οἶδεν αὐτὰ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἔγνω διὰ τῆς πείρας, ἧς ἐπειράθη. Ἔπαθε πολλά· οἶδε συμπάσχειν, καίτοι γε ἀπαθὴς ὢν ὡς Θεός. ∆ύναται τοῖς πειραζομένοις βοηθῆσαι. Ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις· Μετὰ πολλῆς προθυμίας ὀρέξει χεῖρα, καὶ συμπαθήσεται.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Γʹ Ὅθεν, ἀδελφοὶ ἅγιοι, κλήσεως ἐπουρανίου μέτοχοι, κατανοήσατε τὸν

Ἀπόστολον, καὶ Ἀρχιερέα τῆς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν τὸν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. Μέλλων αὐτὸν προθεῖναι τοῦ Μωϋσέως, καὶ σύγκρισιν ποιεῖσθαι, εἰς τὸν τῆς ἱερωσύνης νόμον τὸν λόγον ἤγαγεν. Ὁ δὲ τῆς ἱερωσύνης λόγος, εἰς τὴν οἰκονομίαν ἐκληφθείη ἄν. Τουτέστι τῆς πίστεως. 95.944 Πιστὸν ὄντα τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν. Ἀπόστολον καὶ Ἀρχιερέα. Οὐδὲν γὰρ περὶ οὐσίας φησὶν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ περὶ θεότητος, ἀλλὰ τέως περὶ ἀξιωμάτων ἀνθρωπίνων. Ὡς καὶ Μωϋσῆς ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ. Πλείονος γὰρ δόξης οὗτος παρὰ Μωϋσῆν ἠξίωται, καθ' ὅσον πλείονα τιμὴν ἔχει τοῦ οἴκου, ὁ κατασκευάσας αὐτόν. Πᾶς γὰρ οἶκος κατασκευάζεται ὑπό τινος. Τουτέστιν, ἐν τῷ λαῷ. Ὅτι καθάπερ τις ἐπίτροπος, καὶ οἰκονόμος ἦν ὁ Μωϋσῆς. Ὁ δὲ τὰ πάντα κατασκευάσας, Θεός. Καὶ Μωϋσῆς μὲν πιστὸς ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ ὡς θεράπων. Οὗτος ἂν ᾖ ὁ Χριστός. Εἰς μαρτύριον τῶν λαληθησομένων. Εἰ οὐρανὸν καὶ γῆν, καὶ βουνοὺς μαρτυρεῖται Θεὸς, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἀνθρώπους. Χριστὸς δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον αὑτοῦ, οὗ οἶκός ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς, ἐάνπερ τὴν παῤῥησίαν, καὶ τὸ καύχημα ἐλπίδος μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν κατάσχωμεν. Ὅρα πῶς ποιήματα καὶ ποιητὴν διίστησι· πῶς δοῦλον καὶ υἱὸν, καὶ ὃς μὲν εἰς τὰ πατρῷα ὡς δεσπότης εἰσέρχεται, ἐκεῖνος δὲ ὡς δοῦλος τὸν οἶκον ἐπετρόπευεν. Ἐπειδὴ ἐν ἐλπίσιν ἦν τὰ ἀγαθὰ, οὕτω δὴ αὐτὴν κατέχειν φησὶν, ὡς ἤδη καυχᾶσθαι, ὡς ἐπὶ γεγενημένοις. ∆ιὸ καθὼς λέγει τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ πειρασμοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὗ ἐπείρασάν με οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν, ἐδοκίμασάν με, καὶ εἶδον τὰ ἔργα μου τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη, διὸ προσώχθισα τῇ γενεᾷ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ εἶπον· Ἀεὶ πλανῶνται τὰς καρδίας. Αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὰς ὁδούς μου, ὡς ὤμοσα ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ μου, εἰ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν μου. Περὶ ἐλπίδος αὐτῷ ἐστιν ὁ λόγος τῆς μελλούσης, ὅτι πάντως ἔσται