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having deemed me worthy of this knowledge; and He will no longer let my heart be troubled within me, nor the fear of death weigh upon me. And having brought all these things to pass, and having scattered them from my soul, He will redeem it in peace from those who wished to trouble it. Wherefore I say: He will redeem my soul in peace from those who draw near to me; for they were with me in many things; instead of which Symmachus rendered: For they became many against me. For those who wished to trouble my soul were few, whom God, who exists before the ages, will humble, having heard my cry. These things, then, are as if the Prophet uttered the preceding words from his own person. But if these things were said by the Savior himself through the prophetic spirit, since it was by him that was said, "If an enemy had reproached me, I would have borne it," and what follows, the Savior would consequently say these things also: That it was not an enemy, but a friend; and not one who hated, but one who a little before loved, who has dared such things against me. But I was doing nothing more, but was crying out to God; and I had him as a Father who hears. And while they were plotting against me, he was saving me; wherefore I will not cease at evening and morning and noon recounting the Father’s virtues to all, and proclaiming the saving Gospel to be heard by all men; and having heard this my voice, the Father will redeem my soul in peace from those who draw near to me, that is, from those who war against me from near and not from afar; who were many; whom also God, who pre-exists before the ages, will humble. For not even the opportunity that came to them for a short time, in which they boasted, and filled their own city with lawlessness and contradiction, will remain with them; but in a very short time they will be humbled, as the wrath of God will come upon them and their city, so that both the famous temple in it will disappear and all the worship performed in it will be destroyed. Thus, then, having heard my cry, God will humble them. For there is no exchange for them, and they did not fear God, and what follows. God, who pre-exists before the ages, will humble the aforementioned impious ones; and they will be humble and will remain so for a very long time; since there will be no one giving an exchange for them. For once the Son of God, giving himself as a ransom and an exchange for sinners, redeemed those who believed in him, and freed them from all their former sins; but he left the others humble, since they did not accept the price given for them, nor did they believe in the precious blood of the Redeemer and Savior of all men. Wherefore the word 23.488 says concerning them: For there is no exchange for them. And why there is no exchange for them, it teaches next, saying: because they did not fear God. For he, being good, wishing all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, stretched out his saving hand so that they too might partake of his good things; but they did not accept the things offered by the right hand of God, but profaned his covenant, having rejected the new evangelical law. Wherefore according to Symmachus it is said: He stretched out his hand to those at peace with him; they broke a covenant; and according to Aquila: He sent his hand among those at peace with him. For he himself offered a peaceful right hand to those who came to receive the peace from him; but they broke his covenant, not accepting the peace offered to them. Wherefore, having exchanged war for peace, they were divided by the wrath of his face. For since they did not accept grace, they were fittingly given over to wrath, scattered far, and dispersed among all the nations. And instead of, "And his heart drew near," "His words were smoother than oil, and they themselves"

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ταύτης τῆς γνώσεως καταξιώσας· καὶ οὐκέτι μὲν ταράττεσθαι ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐάσει τὴν καρδίαν μου, οὐδὲ τὴν δειλίαν τοῦ θανάτου ἐπικεῖσθαί μοι. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα παραγαγὼν, καὶ διασκεδάσας τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς, λυτρώσεται αὐτὴν ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπὸ τῶν θορυβεῖν αὐτὴν ἐθελόντων. ∆ιό φημι· Λυτρώσεται τὴν ψυχήν μου ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐγγιζόντων μοι· ὅτι ἐν πολλοῖς ἦσαν σὺν ἐμοί· ἀνθ' οὗ ἐξέδωκεν ὁ Σύμμαχος· Πολλοστοὶ γὰρ ἐγένοντο πρὸς ἐμέ. Οἱ γὰρ θορυβεῖν ἐθέλοντές μου τὴν ψυχήν μου βραχεῖς τινες ἦσαν, οὓς ὁ Θεὸς ὁ πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων ὑπάρχων ταπεινώσει, τῆς ἐμῆς κραυγῆς ἐπακούσας. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὡς τοῦ Προφήτου ἐξ οἰκείου προσώπου τὰς προκειμένας φωνὰς προενηνεγμένου. Εἰ δὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ταῦτα λέγοιτο διὰ τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύματος, ἐπειδήπερ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐλέγετο τὸ, Εἰ ἐχθρὸς ὠνείδισέ με, ὑπήνεγκα ἂν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, ἀκολούθως καὶ ταῦτα φήσειεν ἂν ὁ Σωτήρ· Ὅτι ὁ μὲν οὐκ ἐχθρὸς, ἀλλὰ φίλος· καὶ οὐχ ὁ μισῶν, ἀλλ' ὁ μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἀγαπῶν, τοιαῦτα κατ' ἐμοῦ τετόλμηκεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ πλέον οὐδὲν ἔπραττον, ἀλλ' ἐβόων πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· εἶχόν τε αὐτὸν οἷα Πατέρα ἐπήκοον. Ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐπεβούλευον ἐμοὶ, ὁ δὲ ἔσωζέ με· διὸ οὐ παύσομαι ἑσπέρας καὶ πρωὶ καὶ μεσημβρίας τὰς τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀρετὰς διηγούμενος εἰς πάντας, εἰσακουστόν τε πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις κηρύττων τὸ σωτήριον Εὐαγγέλιον· καὶ ταύτης μου τῆς φωνῆς ἐπακούσας ὁ Πατὴρ, λυτρώσεται ἐν εἰρήνῃ τὴν ψυχήν μου ἀπὸ τῶν ἐγγιζόντων μοι, τουτέστιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐγγύθεν καὶ οὐ πόῤῥωθέν με πολεμούντων· οἵτινες ἦσαν πολλοστοί· οὓς καὶ ταπεινώσει ὁ προϋπάρχων πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων Θεός. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ πρὸς ὀλίγον αὐτοῖς γενομένη εὐκαιρία, καθ' ἣν ἐμεγαλαύχησαν, καὶ ἐπλήρωσαν τὴν ἑαυτῶν πόλιν ἀνομίας καὶ ἀντιλογίας, παραμενεῖ αὐτοῖς· ὅσον δὲ οὔπω ταπεινωθήσονται, τῆς ἐκ Θεοῦ ὀργῆς μετελευσομένης αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν, ὡς καὶ τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ διαβόητον νεὼν ἀφανισθῆναι καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἐν αὐτῷ ἐπιτελουμένην λατρείαν καταλυθῆναι. Οὕτως οὖν, τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπακούσας ὁ Θεὸς βοῆς, ταπεινώσει αὐτούς. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ἀντάλλαγμα, καὶ οὐκ ἐφοβήθησαν τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ταπεινώσει τοὺς προλεχθέντας ἀσεβεῖς ὁ προϋπάρχων πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων Θεός· ἔσονταί τε ταπεινοὶ καὶ διαμενοῦσιν ἐπὶ μήκιστον τοιοῦτοι· ἐπεὶ μηδεὶς ἔσται ὁ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν διδοὺς ἀντάλλαγμα. Ἅπαξ γὰρ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ λύτρον ἑαυτὸν διδοὺς καὶ ἀντάλλαγμα ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, τοὺς μὲν εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκότας ἐξηγόρασε, πάντων τε αὐτοὺς τῶν προτέρων ἁμαρτημάτων ἠλευθέρωσεν· τοὺς δὲ εἴασε ταπεινοὺς, ἐπεὶ μὴ προσήκαντο τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν δοθεῖσαν τιμὴν, μηδὲ ἐπίστευσαν εἰς τὸ τίμιον αἷμα τοῦ πάντων ἀνθρώπων Λυτρωτοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος. ∆ιό φησι περὶ αὐτῶν ὁ λό 23.488 γος· Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ἀντάλλαγμα. ∆ιὰ τί δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς ἀντάλλαγμα, ἑξῆς διδάσκει λέγων· ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐφοβήθησαν τὸν Θεόν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ, ἅτε ἀγαθὸς, πάντας ἀνθρώπους θέλων σωθῆναι, καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν, ἐξέτεινε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ τὴν σωτήριον εἰς τὸ καὶ αὐτοὺς μεταδοῦναι τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἀγαθῶν· οἱ δὲ οὐκ ἐδέξαντο παρὰ τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ Θεοῦ προτεινόμενα, ἀλλ' ἐβεβήλωσαν τὴν διαθήκην αὐτοῦ, τὸν καινὸν νόμον τὸν εὐαγγελικὸν παρακρουσάμενοι. ∆ιὸ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον εἴρηται· Ἐξέτεινε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς εἰρηνεύοντας πρὸς αὐτόν· παρέβησαν συνθήκην· καὶ κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· Ἀπέστειλε χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐν εἰρηνικοῖς αὐτοῦ. Αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ εἰρηνικὴν δεξιὰν προὔτεινε πρὸς ἐλθόντας παραδέχεσθαι τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ εἰρήνην· οἱ δὲ παρέβησαν τὴν διαθήκην αὐτοῦ, μὴ καταδεξάμενοι τὴν προτεινομένην αὐτοῖς εἰρήνην. ∆ιὸ, πόλεμον ἀντικαταλλαξάμενοι εἰρήνης, διεμερίσθησαν ἀπὸ ὀργῆς τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ μὴ προσεδέξαντο τὴν χάριν, εἰκότως, ὀργῇ παραδοθέντες, μακρὰν διεσκορπίσθησαν, καὶ εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη διασκεδασθέντες διεσπάρησαν. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ, Καὶ ἤγγισεν ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ. Ἡπαλύνθησαν οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ ἔλαιον, καὶ αὐτοί