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and the word is accustomed to call the place of death a pit of mire, and a well of corruption; into which the souls of the impious are cast down, like waters brought down from above into cisterns. And since through the preceding words he was indicating the murderers of our Savior, consequently he now speaks about the same men: Men of blood and deceit; they shall not live out half their days; or according to Symmachus: Murderous and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; or according to Aquila: Men of blood and attack shall not live out half their days. You will understand how these things were also fulfilled by observing that immediately and not long after the plot against 23.492 our Savior, the entire race of the aforementioned was utterly given over to destruction, wrath having come upon them in the siege that overtook them during the Roman war. And for the time being, in the present age, and in mortal life among men, not even having lived out half their days, the men of blood and deceit were delivered to such a perdition; and after their end here, what will befall them has been previously shown through the words, But you, O God, will bring them down into the well of corruption. These things, therefore, they will suffer; But I will hope in you; that is, either the prophet who utters these oracles, or he himself who is being prophesied. FOR THE END, FOR THE PEOPLE, REMOVED FROM THE HOLY ONES, OF DAVID

FOR AN INSCRIPTION, WHEN THE FOREIGNERS SEIZED HIM IN GATH. 55.

Have mercy on me, O God, for man has trampled me down; all day long he has afflicted me by fighting. A people removed from the holy ones, as far as the history goes, seems to be the one with David, fleeing from the face of Saul; and they were six hundred men in number, as the Scripture of the Kingdoms testifies. Since he was twice among the foreigners in Gath: once, when being taken alone within the gates, he feigned madness, when he also drummed on the gates of the city, and his spittle ran down upon his beard; and another time, when with 600 men he fled to the king of Gath, and he assigned him Ziklag as a dwelling place. This present inscription seems to have been spoken by David, at the time when, together with the 600 who were fleeing with him, he sojourned among those in Geth; and they received him and kept him with them as a friend, when he was also deemed worthy of honor by the king of Geth. Therefore the inscription contains: For the end, for the people, removed from the holy ones, for David, an inscription, when the foreigners seized him in Geth. And according to Aquila it is said: To the one who gives victory, concerning the mute dove, of the removals of David, humble, perfect, when the Philistines seized him in Geth; and according to Symmachus: A song of victory concerning the dove, concerning the driven away tribe of David, the humble-minded and blameless, when the Philistines seized him in Geth; and the fifth edition: To the one who gives victory, concerning the dove that speaks with difficulty, of the hidden things for David, for an inscription, when the foreigners seized him in Geth; and Theodotion also, instead of, For the people removed from the holy ones, rendered 'concerning the dove,' similarly to the others. Perhaps those who spoke of a 'mute' or 'hard-speaking' dove are alluding to David himself being among foreigners, and not being able to speak his prophecies in the Holy Spirit as usual, nor to offer up hymns with boldness. For this reason they called him a hard-speaking or even mute dove. And in the psalm before this one it was said: Who will give me wings like a dove? And I will fly away or even be established. I would have made my retreat far away, I would have lodged in the wilderness, according to Symma 23.493 chus. Since, therefore, the Holy Spirit in the Prophet

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καὶ πηλὸν ἰλύος, καὶ φρέαρ διαφθορᾶς τὸν τοῦ θανάτου τόπον καλεῖν εἴωθεν ὁ λόγος· εἰς ὃν καταβάλλονται δίκην τῶν ἄνωθεν καταφερομένων ἐν τοῖς λάκκοις ὑδάτων αἱ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ψυχαί. Καὶ ἐπειδήπερ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν τοὺς φονευτὰς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐδήλου, ἀκολούθως καὶ νῦν περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν φησιν· Ἄνδρες αἱμάτων καὶ δολιότητος· οὐ μὴ ἡμισεύσωσι τὰς ἡμέρας αὐτῶν· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· Μιαιφόνοι καὶ δόλιοι οὐχ ἡμισεύσωσι τὰς ἡμέρας αὐτῶν· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν· Ἄνδρες αἱμάτων καὶ ἐπιθέσεως οὐχ ἡμισεύσωσιν ἡμέρας αὐτῶν. Νοήσεις δὲ ὅπως ἐπληροῦντο καὶ ταῦτα ἐπιστήσας, ὡς παραχρῆμα καὶ μετ' οὐ πολὺν χρόνον τῆς κατὰ 23.492 τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιβουλῆς ἄρδην τὸ πᾶν γένος τῶν προλεχθέντων ὀλέθρῳ παρεδόθη, μετελθούσης αὐτοὺς τῆς ὀργῆς ἐν τῇ καταλαβούσῃ αὐτοὺς πολιορκίᾳ κατὰ τὸν Ῥωμαϊκὸν πόλεμον. Καὶ τέως μὲν κατὰ τὸν παρόντα καιρὸν, καὶ τὸν θνητὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποις βίον, μηδὲ ἡμισεύσαντες τὰς ἡμέρας αὐτῶν τοιαύτῃ παρεδόθησαν ἀπωλείᾳ οἱ ἄνδρες αἱμάτων καὶ δολιότητος· μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐνταῦθα τελευτὴν, ὁποῖα αὐτοὺς διαδέξεται, προδεδήλωται διὰ τοῦ, Σὺ δὲ ὁ Θεὸς κατάξεις αὐτοὺς εἰς φρέαρ διαφθορᾶς. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐκεῖνοι πείσονται· Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐλπιῶ ἐπὶ σέ· ἤτοι ὁ ταῦτα θεσπίζων προφήτης, ἢ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ προφητευόμενος. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΟΥ ΛΑΟΥ, ΤΟΥ ΑΠΟ ΤΩΝ ΑΓΙΩΝ ΜΕΜΑΚΡΥΜΜΕΝΟΥ, ΤΟΥ ∆ΑΥΙ∆

ΕΙΣ ΣΤΗΛΟΓΡΑΦΙΑΝ, ΟΠΟΤΕ ΕΚΡΑΤΗΣΑΝ ΑΥΤΟΝ ΟΙ ΑΛΛΟΦΥΛΟΙ ΕΝ ΓΕΘ. ΝΕʹ.

Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι κατεπάτησέ με ἄνθρωπος, ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν πολεμῶν ἔθλιψέ με. Λαὸς ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων μεμακρυμμένος, ὅσον ἐπὶ τῆς ἱστορίας, ἔοικεν εἶναι ὁ σὺν τῷ ∆αυῒδ φεύγων ἀπὸ προσώπου Σαούλ· ἦσαν δὲ τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἄνδρες ἑξακόσιοι, ὡς ἡ Γραφὴ μαρτυρεῖ τῶν Βασιλειῶν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ δὶς γέγονεν παρὰ τοῖς ἐν Γὲθ ἀλλοφύλοις· ἅπαξ, ὅτε μόνος ἀποληφθεὶς εἴσω πυλῶν, μανίαν προσεποιήθη, ὅτε καὶ ἐτυμπάνιζεν ἐν ταῖς πύλαις τῆς πόλεως, καὶ κατέῤῥει τὰ σίελα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν πώγωνα αὐτοῦ· ἄλλοτε δὲ, ὅτε σὺν ἀνδράσιν χʹ προσέφυγε τῷ βασιλεῖ τῆς Γὲθ, ἀφώρισέ τε αὐτῷ οἰκητήριον τὴν Σίκελα. Ταῦτ' ἔοικεν ἡ προκειμένη στηλογραφία εἰρῆσθαι τῷ ∆αυῒδ, καθ' ὃν καιρὸν ἅμα τοῖς χʹ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ φεύγουσιν ἐπεδήμει τοῖς ἐν Γέθ· ὑπεδέξαντό τε αὐτὸν καὶ κατέσχον παρ' ἑαυτοῖς ὡς φίλον, ὅτε καὶ τιμῆς ἀξιοῦται παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ Γέθ. ∆ιὸ τὰ τῆς προγραφῆς περιέχει· Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ, τοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων μεμακρυμμένου, τῷ ∆αυῒδ, στηλογραφία, ὅτε ἐκράτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι ἐν Γέθ. Κατὰ δὲ τὸν Ἀκύλαν εἴρηται· Τῷ νικοποιῷ ὑπὲρ περιστερᾶς ἀλάλου, μακρυσμῶν τοῦ ∆αυῒδ ταπεινοῦ, τελείου, ἐν τῷ κρατῆσαι αὐτὸν Φυλισταίους ἐν Γέθ· κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· Ἐπινίκιον ὑπὲρ τῆς περιστερᾶς, ὑπὲρ τοῦ φύλου ἀπωσμένου τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, τοῦ ταπεινόφρονος καὶ ἀμώμου, ὅτε κατέσχον αὐτὸν οἱ Φυλισταῖοι ἐν Γέθ· ἡ δὲ πέμπτη ἔκδοσις· Τῷ νικοποιῷ ὑπὲρ τῆς περιστερᾶς τῆς μογιλάλου, κεκρυμμένων τῷ ∆αυῒδ, εἰς στηλογραφίαν, ὁπότε ἐκράτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι ἐν Γέθ· καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων δὲ ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων μεμακρυμμένου, ὑπὲρ τῆς περιστερᾶς, ὁμοίως τοῖς λοιποῖς ἐξέδωκε. Τάχα δέ που αἰνίττονται οἱ περιστερὰν ἄλαλον ἢ μογιλάλον εἰρηκότες αὐτὸν τὸν ∆αυῒδ παρὰ τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις ὄντα, καὶ μὴ δυνάμενον λαλεῖν συνήθως τὰς ἐν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι προφητείας, μηδὲ σὺν παῤῥησίᾳ τοὺς ὕμνους προσφέρεσθαι. ∆ιὸ μογιλάλον περιστερὰν ἢ καὶ ἄλαλον αὐτὸν ὠνόμαζον. Καὶ ἐν τῷ πρὸ τούτου δὲ ψαλμῷ λέλεκτο· Τίς δώσει μοι πτέρυγας ὡσεὶ περιστερᾶς; Καὶ πετασθήσομαι ἢ καὶ ἑδρασθήσομαι. Πόῤῥω ἂν ἐποίησα τὴν ἀναχώρησίν μου, ηὐλιζόμην ἂν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, κατὰ τὸν Σύμμα 23.493 χον. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τὸ ἐν τῷ Προφήτῃ