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by those who plotted against him, he was not abandoned into their hands; for he would have been abandoned then, if he had done what they wanted. The martyrs were killed by some, but they were not abandoned into their hands. For they would have been abandoned then, if they had offered sacrifice. When the sinner is judged with the righteous, the righteous is not condemned. The elders were judged with Susanna, and she was not condemned when they were judged; for they were shown to be false accusers. 256 34 Wait on the Lord and keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit the land. Then he exhorts: though there are many troubles, though the enemies are many and want to harm and kill, yet "wait on the Lord and keep his way," so as to say: "I have finished the race"; for then he will exalt you and you will inherit the land. He has shown the prize of patience, that: He will make you high, He will take you up, He will guide you into heaven itself. 34 When the sinners are destroyed, you shall see it. This means that: you will see the sinners being destroyed and you will know yourself that you have inherited the land. Because you waited for the Lord and kept his way, you did not fall to them. 35-36 I have seen the wicked highly exalted and lifting himself up like the cedars of Lebanon; And I passed by, and lo, he was not, and I sought him, but his place was not found. Often the wicked consider themselves great and exalt themselves like the cedar in Lebanon. It is possible also, since it is said with an article, to take it as the devil himself, that: I saw him being lifted up against all others, saying: "I will grasp the whole world in my hand, as abandoned eggs I will take up," as I will take a nest, you know, that one who comes upon a nest easily takes the eggs. Even if they were recently become fledglings, again he has overcome them, not being able to have strong and soaring flight. From much arrogant insolence he thus thought he held the world, that is, all men, toward him like lifeless eggs, like fledglings made unable to rise up, but still remaining in the nest. "I saw" then "the wicked one," this one who says: "By strength I will do it and by the understanding of wisdom, I will remove the boundaries of nations and plunder their strength," I saw him highly exalted. I passed over in my thought to the life after this, to the principle of providence, and I no longer saw him, nor was his place found when sought. Wickedness will have ceased, there is no more wickedness. It is not among the immortal things, as it says concerning righteousness: "righteousness is immortal." Why: "like the cedars of Lebanon"? - Often it signifies the proud by this tree: "and the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon." There are also praiseworthy cedars. But it signifies the great ones in this life by this name: "Open, Lebanon, your doors, fire will consume your cedars." Then it explains: "because the great ones have greatly afflicted me." It called the great ones cedars. There are, therefore, also praiseworthy cedars, but the discourse is not about these now. "And I passed by, and lo, he was not." I passed by in thought and saw that he was not. I saw him being insolent on account of wealth, on account of human authority. I passed by in thought and saw that the wicked one is not among those who remain. He is still highly exalted like Lebanon and its cedars; for I sought his place among the things that are, and did not find it. God has made all things "very good." "From the mouth of the Lord the good and the evil will not proceed." This does not say that neither the good nor the evil, but that the good indeed will proceed from the mouth of the Lord, but the evils will not. Therefore good things are in abundance. For this reason, for evils there is no place among existing things; for God has made all things "very good." and "he takes no pleasure in the destruction of the living. The generations of the world are wholesome; there is not in them poison

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ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιβουλευσάντων, οὐκ ἐνκατελείφθη εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν· τότε γὰρ ἐνκατελείπετο, εἰ ὅπερ ἠβούλοντο πεποιήκει. οἱ μάρτυρες ἀνῃρέθησαν ὑπό τινων, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐνκατελείφθησαν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν. τότε δὲ ἐνκατελείποντο, εἰ ἦσαν θύσαντες. ὅταν κρίνεται ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς δικαίῳ, οὐ καταδικάζεται ὁ δίκαιος. ἐκρίνοντο οἱ πρε̣σβύτεροι μετὰ Σωσάννης, καὶ οὐ κατεδικάσθη ἐκείνη ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαι ἐκείνους· ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ συκοφάνται ἀπεδείχθησαν ψευδεῖς. 256 34 ὑπόμεινον τὸν κύριον καὶ φύλαξον τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑψώσει σε τοῦ κατακληρονομῆσαι γῆν. λοιπὸν προτρέπει· εἰ καὶ πολλά ἐστιν τὰ ἐνοχλοῦντα, εἰ καὶ πολλοὶ οἱ πολέμιοί εἰσιν καὶ βλάψαι καὶ ἀναιρῆσαι θέλοντες, ἀλλὰ "ὑπόμεινον τὸν κύριον καὶ φύλαξον τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ", ὥστ' ἀνειπεῖν· "τὸν δρόμον τετέλεκα"· τότε γὰρ ὑψώσει σε κα̣ι`̣ κατακληρονομήσεις τὴν γῆν. τὸ ἆθλον τῆς ὑπομονῆς ἐδήλωσεν ὅτι· ὑψηλόν σε ποιήσει, μετάρσιόν σε λήμψεται, εἰς αὐτὸν τ̣ὸν οὐρανὸν ξεναγήσει σε. 34 ἐν τῷ ἐξολεθρεύεσθαι τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ὄψῃ. τοῦτο λέγει ὅτι· ὀλεθρε̣υ̣ομένους τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ὄψῃ καὶ σεαυτὸν γνώσει ὅτι ἐκληρονόμησας τὴν γῆν. ὅτι ὑπέμεινας τὸν κύριον καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ ἐφύλαξας, οὐχ ὑπέπεσας α̣ὐτοῖς. 35-36 εἶδον τὸν ἀσεβῆ ὑπερυψούμενον καὶ ἐπαιρόμενον ὡς τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου· καὶ παρῆλθον, καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἦν, καὶ ἐζήτησα αὐτόν, καὶ οὐχ εὑρέθη ὁ τόπος αὐτοῦ. πολλάκις ἑαυτοὺς οἱ ἀσεβεῖς μεγάλους νομίζουσιν καὶ μετεωρίζουσιν ἑαυτοὺς κατὰ τὴν̣ κέδρον τὴν ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ. δυνατὸν δὲ καί, ἐπειδὴ μετὰ ἄρθρου λέγεται, καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον λαβεῖν ὅτι· εἶδον αὐτὸν κατὰ πάντων ἐπαιρόμενον τῶν ἄλλων λέγοντα· "τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην καταλήμψομαι τῇ χειρί μου, ὡς ᾠὰ καταλελειμμένα ἀρῶ", ὡς νοσσιὰν λήμψομαι, οἶδας, ὅτι εὐκ̣όλως ὁ περιτυγχάνων καλιᾷ τὰ ᾠὰ λαμβάνει. κἂν ἄρτι οὖν νεοττοὶ γενάμενοι ἦσαν, πάλιν αὐτῶν περιγέγονεν μὴ δυναμένων πτῆσιν ἔχειν ἰσχυρὰν καὶ μετεωρίζουσαν. ἀπὸ ἀλαζονείας πολλῆς θρασύτητος οὕτως ἐνόμιζεν ἔχειν τη`̣ν οἰκουμένην, τουτέστιν πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, πρὸς αὐτὸν κατὰ τὰ ᾠὰ τὰ ἄψυχα, κατὰ τὰ νοσσία ποιηθέντα ἐπαρθῆν̣αι μὴ δυν̣άμενα, ἀλλ' ἔτι ἐν τῇ καλιᾷ μένοντα. "εἶδον" οὖν "τὸν ἀσεβῆ" τοῦτον τὸν λέγοντα· "τῇ ἰσχύι ποιήσω καὶ τῇ συνέσει τῆς σοφίας, ἀφελῶ ὅρια ἐθνῶν καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῶν προνομεύσω", εἶδον αὐτὸν ὑπερυψούμενον. διέβην τῷ λογι̣σμῷ εἰς τὸν̣ μετὰ ταῦτα βίον, εἰς τὸν τῆς προνοίας λόγον, καὶ οὐκέτι αὐτὸν εἶδον, οὐδὲ ὁ τόπος αὐτοῦ ἔτι ζητηθεὶς ηὑρέθη. πεπαύσε̣ται ἡ ἀσέβεια, οὐκ ἔνι ἔτι ἀσέβεια. οὔκ ἐστιν τῶν ἀθανάτων, ὥσπερ περὶ τῆς δικαιοσύνης λέγει· "δικαιοσύνη ἀθάνατός ἐστιν". ἐπερ · "ὡς τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου"; -πολλάκις τοὺς ὑπερηφάνους τῷ ξύλῳ τούτῳ σημαίνει· "καὶ συντρίψει κύριος τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου". εἰσὶν καὶ ἐπαινεταὶ κέδροι. τοὺς μεγάλους δὲ ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ σημαίνει· "διάνοιξον, ὁ Λίβανος, τὰς θύρας σου, καταφάγεται πῦρ τὰς κέδρους σου". εἶτα ἑρμηνεύει· "διότι με γιστᾶνες μεγάλως ἐταλαιπώρησαν". τοὺς μεγιστᾶνας κέδρους εἶπεν. εἰσὶν οὖν καὶ ἐπαινεταὶ κέδρ̣ο̣ι̣, ἀλλ' οὐ περὶ τούτων νῦν ὁ λόγος. "καὶ παρῆλθον, καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἦν". παρῆλθον τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ εἶδον αὐτὸν οὐκ ὄντα. εἶδον αὐτὸν θρασυνόμενον διὰ πλοῦτον, διὰ ἀρχὴν ἀνθρώπινον. παρῆλθον τῷ λογισμῷ καὶ εἶδον ὅτι οὐ τῶν μενόντων ἐστὶν ο῾̣ ἀσεβής. ἔτι ὑπερυψοῦται κατὰ τὸν Λίβανον καὶ τὰς κέδρους αὐτοῦ· ἐζήτησα γα`̣ρ ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐχ εὗρον. πάντα "καλὰ λίαν" ὁ θεὸς πεποίηκεν. "ἐκ στόματος κυρίου οὐκ ἐξελεύσεται τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὰ κακά". οὐ τοῦτο λέγει ὅτι οὐδὲ τὸ ἀγαθὸν οὐδὲ τὸ κ̣ακόν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν μὲν ἐκ στόματος κυρίου ἐξελεύσεται, τὰ κακὰ δὲ οὔ. πληθυντικῶς οὖν τὰ ἀγαθά. διὰ τοῦτο τοῖς κακοῖς οὔκ ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν τόπος· πάντα γὰρ "καλὰ λίαν" ὁ θεὸς πεποίηκεν. καὶ "οὐ τέρπεται ἐπὶ ἀπωλείᾳ ζώντων. σωτήριοί εἰσιν αἱ γενέσεις τοῦ κόσμου· οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐταῖς φάρμακον