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we have sinned. And he teaches the reason: 12For great is our iniquity before You, and our sins have overcome us. You have not neglected us, but our lawless life deprived us of your care. For our iniquities are in us, and we have known our wrongdoings, 13we acted impiously and we lied in the Lord and we turned away from behind our God, we spoke unjust things and we disobeyed, we conceived and we meditated from our heart unjust words 14and we turned judgment backward, and righteousness has stood far off. And these things the prophetic word relates, exhorting those who wish to be helped to propitiate the master with these words: that we know our transgressions, we have known our impiety, we have lied to you, the master, having promised to keep your laws, but transgressing them, we have continually contradicted you, uttering unjust things, thinking unjust things, not fearing your judgment, becoming far from righteousness. Then he changes the form of the discourse and makes the accusation of these very things: |175 a| That truth was consumed in the ways. It has vanished, he says, as falsehood concealed it. And they were not able to come by the straight way. For they continually traveled the opposite way. 15And truth has been taken away, and they turned their mind from understanding. He showed how the truth withdrew; for he says they did not wish to perceive what was right but turned their mind from understanding what should be done and what is advantageous. Truth came to be lacking, and the one turning from evil was besieged. For they became so far from the truth as to openly war against those turning away from wickedness and choosing good things. And the Lord saw, and it did not please him, because there was no judgment, 16And he saw, and there was no man, and he perceived, and there was no one to help. For unjust works are displeasing to the just judge, nor does he call the workers of these things men; for "a man" "being in honor did not understand, he was compared to the senseless beasts and was made like them." And he defended them with his arm and supported them with his mercy. Instead of mercy, the Three Interpreters have put "righteousness"; he says he brought a just punishment upon them. And he calls the arm 'the energy'. And mercy teaches the usefulness of the discipline; for the God of all disciplines for benefit. 17And he put on righteousness as a breastplate and placed a helmet of salvation on his head and he wrapped himself in a cloak of vengeance and the mantle of zeal 18as one who will repay a recompense, a reproach to his adversaries, a defense to his enemies. The prophetic word has shown to us the God of all as a kind of general armed against enemies. And it prepares us to understand the form of the weapons spiritually, things said tropically; it showed the breastplate made not of iron but of righteousness and likewise it called the helmet salvation and the cloak vengeance and the mantle zeal, instead of: he will bring the punishment justly and for salvation. For even his chastisement is saving; for it frees those who are being destroyed from more sins. Then what follows is added with asterisks: He will pay a recompense to the islands. For by punishing the Jews, he will then bring to the nations the promised blessing and will pay what he promised to the patriarchs, and he promised to bless all the nations in their seed. And this is also what the following signifies: 19And those from the west will fear the name of the Lord, and those from the rising of the sun his glorious name. He has indicated the whole world under the sun through the east and west. And through this he proclaims the knowledge of God for all the nations. For the wrath from the Lord will come like a violent river, it will come with anger. For when the people throughout the whole inhabited world see what just penalties the Jews paid for what they dared against the Savior, they will reasonably worship the one who displayed divine power. Then he teaches for what reason he brought wrath upon the Jews: 20And he will come for the sake of Zion the

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διημαρτήκαμεν. Καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν διδάσκει· 12Πολλὴ γὰρ ἡμῶν <ἡ ἀνομία ἐναντίον σου, καὶ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἡμῶν ἀντέστησαν ἡμῖν. Οὐ σὺ ἡμῶν> ἠμέλησας, ἀλλ' ὁ παράνομος ἡμῶν βίος τῆς σῆς ἡμᾶς ἐπιμελείας ἐστέρησεν. Αἱ γὰρ ἀνομίαι ἡμῶν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ τὰ ἀδικήματα ἡμῶν ἔγνωμεν, 13ἠσεβήσαμεν καὶ ἐψευσάμεθα ἐν κυρίῳ καὶ ἀπέστημεν ἀπ' ὄπισθεν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ἐλαλήσαμεν ἄδικα καὶ ἠπειθήσαμεν, ἐκύομεν καὶ ἐμελετήσαμεν ἀπὸ καρδίας ἡμῶν λόγους ἀδίκους 14καὶ ἀπεστήσαμεν ὀπίσω τὴν κρίσιν, καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη μακρὰν ἀφέστηκεν. Ταῦτα δὲ ὁ προφη τικὸς διεξέρχεται λόγος, τοὺς ὠφελεῖσθαι βουλομένους πα ρακαλῶν τούτοις τοῖς λόγοις τὸν δεσπότην ἱλεοῦσθαι ὅτι ἴσμεν ἡμῶν τὰ πλημμελήματα, ἔγνωμεν τὴν ἀσέβειαν, ἐψευσάμεθά σε τὸν δεσπότην ὑποσχόμενοι μὲν φυλάττειν σου τοὺς νόμους, τούτους δὲ παραβάντες, ἀντιλέγοντές σοι διετελέσαμεν, ἄδικα φθεγγόμενοι, ἄδικα λογι ζό μενοι, τὴν σὴν οὐ δειμαίνοντες κρίσιν, πόρρω τῆς δικαιοσύνης γινόμενοι. Εἶτα μετα βάλλει τοῦ λόγου τὸ σχῆμα καὶ τούτων αὐτῶν τὴν κατηγορίαν ποιεῖται· |175 a| Ὅτι καταναλώθη ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἡ ἀλήθεια. Φροῦδός φησιν ἐγένετο, τοῦ ψεύδους αὐτὴν κατακρύψαντος. Καὶ δι' εὐθείας οὐκ ἠδύναντο ἐλθεῖν. Τὴν γὰρ ἐναντίαν ὁδεύοντες διετέλεσαν. 15Καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια ἦρται, καὶ μετέστησαν τὴν διάνοιαν τοῦ συνιέναι. Ἔδειξε πῶς ὑπεχώρησεν ἡ ἀλήθεια · συνιδεῖν γάρ φησι τὸ δέον οὐκ ἠβουλήθησαν ἀλλὰ μετέστησαν τὴν διάνοιαν τοῦ συνιέναι τὸ πρακτ έον τε καὶ συμφέρον. Ἐγένετο ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐπιλεί πουσα, καὶ ὁ ἐκκλίνων ἀπὸ κακοῦ πολιορκούμενος. Οὕ τω γὰρ πόρρω τῆς ἀληθείας ἐγένοντο ὡς προφανῶς πολεμεῖν τοῖς ἀποστρεφομένοις τὴν πονη ρίαν καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ αἱρου μένοις. Καὶ εἶδε κύριος, καὶ οὐκ ἤρεσεν αὐτῷ, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν κρίσις, 16Καὶ εἶδε, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀνήρ, καὶ κατενόησε, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ ἀντιληψόμενος. Ἀπαρέσκει γὰρ τῷ δικαίῳ κριτῇ τὰ ἄδικα ἔργα οὐδὲ ἄνδρας καλεῖ τοὺς τούτων ἐργάτας· «ἄνθρωπος» γὰρ «ἐν τιμῇ ὢν οὐ συνῆκε, παρασυνεβλήθη τοῖς κτήνεσι τοῖς ἀνοήτοις καὶ ὡμοιώθη αὐτοῖς.» Καὶ ἠμύνατο αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ βραχίονι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐλεημοσύνῃ αὐτοῦ ἐστηρίσατο. Ἀντὶ τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης οἱ Τρεῖς Ἑρμηνευταὶ «τὴν δικαιοσύνην» τεθείκασιν· δικαίαν αὐτο ῖς φησι τιμωρίαν ἐπήγαγεν. Βραχίονα δὲ τὴν ἐνέργειαν ὀνομάζει. Καὶ ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη δὲ τὸ χρήσιμον τῆς παιδείας διδάσκει· ἐπ' ὠφελείᾳ γὰρ ὁ τῶν ὅλων παιδεύει θεός. 17Καὶ ἐνεδύσατο δικαιοσύνην ὡς θώρακα καὶ περιέθετο περικεφαλαίαν σωτηρίου ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ περιεβάλετο ἱμάτιον ἐκδικήσεως καὶ τὸ περιβόλαιον ζήλου 18ὡς ἀνταποδώσων ἀνταπόδοσιν, ὄνειδος τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις αὐτοῦ, ἄμυναν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς αὐτοῦ. Ὑπέδειξεν ἡμῖν ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος οἷόν τινα στρατηγὸν κατὰ πολεμίων καθωπλιςμένον τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεόν. Τὸ δὲ εἶδος τῶν ὅπλων πνευματικῶς νοεῖν παρασκευάζει τὰ τροπικῶς εἰρημένα· τὸν θώρακα οὐκ ἐκ σιδήρου ἀλλ' ἐκ δικαιοσύνης πεποιημένον ἔδειξε καὶ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν ὡςαύτως σωτηρίαν ἐκάλεσε καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον ἐκδικήσεως καὶ τὸ περιβόλαιον ζήλου, ἀντὶ τοῦ· δικαίως καὶ ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τὴν τιμωρίαν ἐπάξει. Σωτήριος γὰρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ κόλασις· πλειόνων γὰρ ἁμαρτημάτων τοὺς ἀναιρουμένους ἐλευθεροῖ. Εἶτα μετὰ ἀστερίσκων πρόσκειται· Ταῖς νήσοις ἀπόδομα ἀποτίσει. Τοὺς γὰρ Ἰουδαίους κο λάζων τοῖς ἔθνεσι λοιπὸν τὴν ἐπηγγελμένην εὐλογίαν προσοίσει καὶ ἀποτίσει ὅπερ τοῖς πατρι άρχαις ὑπέσχετο, ὑπέσχετο δὲ ἐν τῷ σπέρματι αὐτῶν εὐλογήσειν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς σημαίνει· 19Καὶ φοβηθήσονται οἱ ἀπὸ δυσμῶν τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ τὸ ἔνδο ξον. Πᾶσαν δεδήλωκε τὴν ὑφ' ἡλίῳ διὰ τῶν ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσμῶν. ∆ιὰ τούτου δὲ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων τὴν θεογνωσίαν θεσπίζει. Ἥξει γὰρ ὡς ποταμὸς βίαιος ἡ ὀργὴ παρὰ κυρίου, ἥξει μετὰ θυμοῦ. Ὁρῶντες γὰρ οἱ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἄνθρωποι, οἵας ἔδοσαν Ἰουδαῖοι δίκας ὑπὲρ ὧν κατὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐτόλμησαν, προσκυνήσουσιν εἰκότως τὸν τὴν θείαν ἐπιδείξαντα δύναμιν. Εἶτα διδάσκει τίνος χάριν ἐπήγαγε τὴν ὀργὴν Ἰουδαίοις· 20Καὶ ἥξει ἕνεκεν Σιὼν ὁ