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clear, while such evident things proclaim the power of Him who made us, to pay attention to idols and fabrications, and to deify things that are not, and often through heretical doctrines to be carried outside the truth, and, as it were, having departed the light, to live in darkness. Do not be led away. The word exhorts us not to be led away by the persuasiveness of the heterodox; for it is clear madness to follow those who are out of their minds. Know them, that they are out of their minds. They are outside the way that leads to God; do not use them as guides, lest you be led by them to a cliff and a chasm. For if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit. 16.306 The fugitives of Moab will sojourn with you. And after these things, it is said by the good and man-loving God to the daughter of Zion concerning the Moabites who are returning and about to sojourn with her, who long ago, having fled from God, will return to their own Master: The fugitives of Moab will sojourn with you. And these will be sheltered (he says) by you, suffering nothing from the face of a pursuer. For those who were once allies, these will become persecutors, warring against him, because of their return to the true God. - Since therefore they became as, a bird flying up, a fledgling taken away, he was removed from the wicked protection and freed from the evil ruler, who was destroyed through arrogance and tyranny, trampling all. Upon his being removed, the prophecy introduces the good things to come: For the throne (he says) and the kingdom of David will be set aright. Since therefore all will be ruled by Christ (according to what has been said, that He must reign until He puts His enemies under His feet), it said the throne will be set aright, because the things being ruled receive correction; which happens not according to the worth of those who are to be ruled, but according to the mercy and goodness of God. Therefore David (he says) will be seated, that is, Christ who is capable in hand and in power, with truth. And he will reign in a tent, until he, judging, makes the judgment over all. And the seat with truth shows the destruction of falsehood. But he will reign, until he makes judgment. It presents his righteous judgment over all, according to which he does not declare concerning each one as it happens, but seeking what is fitting and suitable, so as to bring the judgment to a good end for each one, urgently hastening and pressing on righteousness, not slackly nor at a walking pace, but working it with all zeal. 16.307 We have heard the insolence of Moab; he is very insolent; I have removed his arrogance; and his insolence and his wrath are not so, your prophecy is not so. Moab will wail; for in the land of Moab all will wail. To the inhabitants of Sedek, meditation, and you will not be ashamed. The fields of Heshbon will mourn. These things must be read from another beginning, as not being connected to the previous things. And in many places Scripture, causing the hearer to breathe through the better things and to look upon the goodness of God and the end that will be according to it, repeats (for our conversion) the threats and the things concerning punishments. For most of us need such things, so that we, not despising the riches of his goodness and long-suffering, may not, according to our hardness and impenitent heart, treasure up for ourselves wrath on the day of wrath and revelation and righteous judgment of God. For we find something of this kind also in the Psalmist: The Lord is good to all. And having said many things about goodness (that he supports those who are falling, that he gives food in due season), he did not end with these, but adds: The Lord preserves all who love him, and160he will destroy all the sinners. And here, therefore, the things said having shown much goodness to those who have returned, from another beginning the more bitter things are again brought forward. We have heard the insolence of Moab. Against the ruler of this world, the first to innovate apostasy, the one who was insolent toward the Creator, the one who is insolent to men and has trampled them with insolence and arro

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σαφὴς, οὕτως ἐναργῶν πραγμάτων κηρυσσόντων τοῦ Ποιήσαντος ἡμᾶς τὴν δύναμιν, εἰδώλοις προσέχειν καὶ πλάσμασι, καὶ θεοποιεῖν τὰ μὴ ὄντα, καὶ πολ λάκις διὰ δογμάτων αἱρετικῶν ἔξω φέρεσθαι τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ οἱονεὶ ἐκβάντας τὸ φῶς ἐν τῷ σκότει διάγειν. Μὴ ἀχθῇς. Προτρέπεται ἡμᾶς ὁ λόγος, μὴ ἄγεσθαι ὑπὸ τῆς πιθα νότητος τῶν ἑτεροδόξων· μανία γὰρ σαφὴς, ἐξεστηκόσιν ἀκολουθεῖν. Γνώρισον αὐτοὺς ὅτι ἐξέστησαν. Ἔξω εἰσὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ, τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀγούσης· μὴ χρήσῃ αὐτοῖς ὁδηγοῖς, μή ποτε ἀχθῇς ὑπ' αὐτῶν εἰς κρημνὸν καὶ βάραθρον. Τυφλὸς γὰρ ἐὰν τυφλὸν ὁδηγῇ, ἀμφότεροι εἰς βόθυνον πεσοῦνται. 16.306 Παροικήσουσί σοι φυγάδες Μωάβ. Μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ τῇ θυγατρὶ Σιὼν λέγεται ὑπὸ τοῦ χρησ τοῦ καὶ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ περὶ τῶν Μωαβιτῶν ἐπιστρεφόν των καὶ παροικεῖν μελλόντων αὐτῇ, οἵτινες πάλαι, πεφευγότες τὸν Θεὸν, ἐπανήξουσι πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτῶν ∆εσπότην· Παροική σουσί σοι φυγάδες Μωάβ. Καὶ σκεπασθήσονται οὗτοι (φησὶ) παρ' ὑμῖν, μηδὲν πεισόμενοι ἀπὸ προσώπου διώκοντος. Οἱ γάρ ποτε συμμαχοῦντες, οὗτοι διῶκται γενήσονται, πολε μοῦντες αὐτῷ, διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν ἐπιστροφήν. - ̓Επεὶ οὖν ἐγένοντο ὡς, πετεινοῦ ἀνιπταμένου, νεοσσὸς ἀφῃρημένος, ἤρθη μὲν τῆς πονηρᾶς προστασίας καὶ τοῦ μοχ θηροῦ ἄρχοντος ἠλευθερώθη, ὃς ἀπώλετο δι' ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ τυραννίδα πατῶν πάντας. Ἐφ' ᾧ ἀρθέντι ἐπάγει ἡ προφητεία τὰ ἐσόμενα ἀγαθά· Ὁ θρόνος γὰρ (φησὶ) καὶ ἡ βασιλεία ∆αβὶδ κατορθωθήσεται. Ἐπεὶ οὖν πάντες βασιλευθήσονται ὑπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ (κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον, ὅτι ∆εῖ αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν ἕως ἂν θῇ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ) τὸν θρόνον εἶπε διορθωθήσεσθαι, τῷ διορθώσεως τυγχάνειν τὰ βασιλευόμενα· ὅπερ γίνεται οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν μελλόντων βασιλεύεσθαι, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν ἔλεον καὶ τὴν χρηστότητα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καθεδεῖται οὖν (φησὶν) ὁ ∆αβίδ, τουτέστιν ὁ ἱκανὸς χειρὶ καὶ δυνάμει ὁ Χριστὸς, μετὰ ἀληθείας. Καὶ βασιλεύσει ἐν σκηνῇ, ἕως ποιήσῃ κρίνων τὴν ἐπὶ πᾶσι κρίσιν. Ἡ δὲ μετὰ ἀληθείας καθέδρα δείκνυσι τὸν τοῦ ψεύδους ἀφανισμόν. Βασιλεύσει δὲ, ἕως ποιήσῃ κρίσιν. Τὴν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν αὐτοῦ δικαιοκρισίαν παρίστησι, καθ' ἣν, οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχεν, ἀποφαίνεται περὶ ἑκάστου, ἀλλ' ἐκζητῶν τὸ πρέπον καὶ τὸ ἁρμόζον, ὡς πρὸς τέλος ἀγαθὸν φέρειν ἑκάστῳ τὸ κρίμα, ἠπειγμένως κατασπεύδων καὶ κατεπείγων τὴν δικαιοσύνην, οὐχὶ δὲ ἀνειμένως οὐδὲ βάδην, ἀλλὰ πάσῃ σπουδῇ ἐργαζό μενος αὐτήν. 16.307 Ἠκούσαμεν τὴν ὕβριν Μωάβ· ὑβριστὴς σφόδρα· τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν αὐτοῦ ἐξῆρα· καὶ ἡ ὕβρις αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ μῆνις οὐχ οὕτως ἡ μαντεία σου, οὐχ οὕτως. Ὀλολύξει Μωάβ· ἐν γὰρ τῇ Μωαβίτιδι πάντες ὀλολύξουσι. Τοῖς κατ οικοῦσι Σεδὲκ, μελέτησις, καὶ οὐκ ἐντραπήσῃ. Τὰ πεδία Ἐσεβὼν πενθήσει. Ταῦτα ἀπὸ ἑτέρας ἀρχῆς, ὡς μὴ ἠρτημένα τῶν προτέρων ἀναγνωστέον. Πολλαχοῦ δὲ ἡ Γραφὴ διὰ τῶν χρηστοτέρων ἀναπνεῦσαι ποιοῦσα τὸν ἀκροατὴν καὶ ἐνιδεῖν τῇ χρηστότητι τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τῷ κατ' αὐτὴν ἐσομένῳ τέλει, ἐπαναλαμβάνει (εἰς ἐπιστροφὴν ἡμῶν) τὰς ἀπειλὰς καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν κολά σεων. Οἱ γὰρ πλείονες τοιούτων δεόμεθα, ἵνα μὴ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας καταφρονοῦντες, κατὰ τὴν σκληρότητα ἑαυτῶν καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν, θησαυ ρίσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως καὶ δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τοιοῦτον γάρ τι εὑρίσκομεν καὶ παρὰ τῷ Ψαλμῳδῷ· Χρηστὸς Κύριος τοῖς σύμπασι. Καὶ πολλὰ εἰπὼν περὶ χρηστότητος (ὅτι ὑποστηρίζει τοὺς καταπίπτοντας ὅτι δίδωσι τὴν τροφὴν ἐν εὐκαιρίᾳ) οὐκ ἐν τούτοις κατέληξεν, ἀλλ' ἐπιφέρει· Φυλάσσει Κύριος πάντας τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτὸν, καὶ160πάντας τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἐξολοθρεύσει. Καὶ ἐν ταῦθα τοίνυν πολλὴν τοῖς ἐπιστρέψασι ἐμφήναντα χρηστό τητα τὰ εἰρημένα, ἀπ' ἄλλης ἀρχῆς τὰ πικρότερα πάλιν ἐπανατείνεται. Ἠκούσαμεν τὴν ὕβριν Μωάβ. Ἐπὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, τὸν πρῶτον τὴν ἀποστασίαν καινοτομή σαντα, τὸν ἐξυβρίσαντα εἰς τὸν Κτίστην, τὸν ἐνυβρίζοντα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις καὶ καταπατήσαντα αὐτοὺς ὕβρει καὶ ὑπε