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they will be destroyed in turn, so that they will not be deemed worthy to behold the sun of righteousness with the eyes of the soul; but even before their thorns grow and come to be a buckthorn, while their thorny deeds are still young, wrath will seize and devour them. The righteous will rejoice, when he sees vengeance, he will wash his hands in the blood of the sinner. And a man will say: If indeed there is fruit for the righteous, then there is a God judging them on the earth. Symmachus: The righteous will rejoice seeing vengeance, he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. Just as it was foretold what kind of end those who falsely speak righteousness but in their deeds weave injustice will have; so it was necessary to be taught in parallel the good end of the truly righteous, who shows righteousness through deeds. What good will happen to such a one? Now, he says, in the present time, not seeing the vengeance against the wicked, he often laments, weeping and saying: Why do the wicked prosper, and grow old in wealth? Their seed is according to their soul, and their children rejoice, taking up the psaltery and lyre? And now the same one, being humbled, says: But my feet were almost shaken, my steps were nearly poured out, because I was envious of the lawless, seeing the peace of the sinner. But when he sees the end of the wicked and the vengeance against them, then he will rejoice and be glad, not gloating over the destruction of the wicked, but rejoicing in the just judgment of God. And he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked; not being some bloodthirsty and warlike person, but being purified by their punishment, and being improved by the conversion of others. Or otherwise: He will wash his hands over the blood of the sinner, showing himself innocent and blameless and pure of his destruction. Therefore, when the wicked receive their due punishments; and the righteous one, having been vindicated, is filled with gladness and joy, and washes his hands and his feet, according to the other interpreters, in the blood of the sinner, according to the meaning given; reasonably then every man, and every voice and tongue will declare that, If indeed there is fruit for the righteous, then there is a God who judges them on the earth. For if there is fruit for the righteous, about which fruit it is said in the first psalm: And he will be like the tree planted by the streams of waters, which its fruit 23.532 will give in its season. And its leaf will not fall off, and whatever he does will prosper. If, therefore, there will be a reward and good fruit for the one who works righteousness, which he will receive at the time of God's just judgment, it follows to understand that even before the judgment, God oversees and judges those who are still carrying out their mortal life on earth. For even if his judgments are not mostly seen at present, nevertheless, human affairs are not unjudged nor unexamined by him. For if the righteous were to perish with the unrighteous, and there was no fruit for the righteous, one could say that God does not even oversee human affairs; but since there will be a time in which the righteous one will rejoice, and the sinners will have the end foretold concerning them, it is reasonable not to doubt, but for every man to confess and declare that there is a God who oversees and is bishop of the things done among men, judging all who have lived on the earth. So much for this. But it is fitting to consider whether the prophecy at hand, being entirely consistent and connected with those before it, describes the ends of those who study the prophecies concerning Christ and speak righteousness with their mouth and have received him when he came, yet have not heeded his voice crying to them and saying: He who has ears to hear, let him hear; who have likened themselves

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ἀνταναιρεθήσονται, ὡς μὴ καταξιωθῆναι αὐτοὺς τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον ὀφθαλμοῖς ψυχῆς θεάσασθαι· ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ αὐξῆσαι τὰς ἀκάνθας αὐτῶν καὶ εἰς ῥάμνον χωρῆσαι, ἔτι νεαρὰς οὔσας αὐτῶν τὰς ἀκανθώδεις πράξεις ἡ ὀργὴ καταλήψεται καὶ καταπίεται. Εὐφρανθήσεται δίκαιος, ὅταν ἴδῃ ἐκδίκησιν, τὰς χεῖρας αὑτοῦ νίψεται ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ. Καὶ ἐρεῖ ἄνθρωπος· Εἰ ἄρα ἐστὶ καρπὸς τῷ δικαίῳ, ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς κρίνων αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ γῇ. Σύμμαχος· Χαρήσεται δίκαιος ἰδὼν ἐκδίκησιν, τοὺς πόδας αὑτοῦ νίψεται αἵματι ἀσεβοῦς. Ὥσπερ οἱ ψευδῶς δικαιοσύνην λαλοῦντες, ἔργοις δὲ ἀδικίαν συμπλέκοντες, προεγράφησαν ὁποῖον ἕξουσι τέλος· οὕτως ἐχρῆν ἐκ παραλλήλου τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ δικαίου, τοῦ δι' ἔργων ἐνδεικνυμένου τὴν δικαιοσύνην, τὸ χρηστὸν τέλος διδαχθῆναι. Τί συνέσται ἀγαθὸν τῷ τοιούτῳ; Νῦν μὲν, φησὶ, κατὰ τὸν παρόντα καιρὸν, οὐχ' ὁρῶν τὴν κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἐκδίκησιν, πολλάκις σχετλιάζει, ἀποκλαιόμενος καὶ λέγων· Ἵνα τί ἀσεβεῖς εὐθηνοῦσι, πεπαλαίωνται δὲ καὶ ἐν πλούτῳ· ὁ σπόρος αὐτῶν κατὰ ψυχὴν, τὰ δὲ παιδία αὐτῶν εὐφραίνεται ἀναλαμβάνοντα ψαλτήριον καὶ κιθάραν; Καὶ νῦν ὁ αὐτὸς ταπεινούμενός φησιν· Ἐμοῦ δὲ παρὰ μικρὸν ἐσαλεύθησαν οἱ πόδες, παρ' ὀλίγον ἐξεχύθη τὰ διαβήματά μου, ὅτι ἐζήλωσα ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀνόμοις, εἰρήνην ἁμαρτωλοῦ θεωρῶν. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἴδῃ τὸ τέλος τῶν ἀσεβῶν καὶ τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν ἐκδίκησιν, τηνικαῦτα χαρήσεται καὶ εὐφρανθήσεται, οὐ τῇ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀπωλείᾳ ἐπιχαίρων, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοκρισίᾳ εὐφραινόμενος. Καὶ τοὺς πόδας δὲ αὑτοῦ νίψεται ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς· οὐχ αἱμοπότης τις ὢν καὶ φιλοπόλεμος, ἀλλὰ καθαιρόμενος διὰ τῆς ἐκείνων τιμωρίας, καὶ βελτιούμενος διὰ τῆς ἑτέρων ἐπιστροφῆς. Ἢ ἄλλως· Νίψεται τὰς χεῖρας ἐπὶ τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ἀθῶον καὶ ἀναίτιον, καὶ καθαρὸν ἑαυτὸν δεικνὺς τῆς ἀπωλείας αὐτοῦ. Ἐπειδὰν οὖν οἱ μὲν ἀσεβεῖς δίκας δῶσι τὰς προσηκούσας· ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκδικηθεὶς, εὐφροσύνης καὶ χαρᾶς ἐμπλησθῇ, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς, ἐν τῷ αἵματι τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ νίψηται, κατὰ τὴν ἀποδοθεῖσαν διάνοιαν· εὐλόγως τότε πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, καὶ πᾶσα φωνὴ καὶ γλῶσσα ἀποφανεῖται, ὅτι, Εἰ ἄρα ἐστὶ καρπὸς τῷ δικαίῳ, ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς ὁ κρίνων αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ γῇ. Εἰ γάρ ἐστι καρπὸς τῷ δικαίῳ, περὶ οὗ καρποῦ εἴρηται ἐν πρώτῳ ψαλμῷ· Καὶ ἔσται ὡς τὸ ξύλον τὸ πεφυτευμένον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων, ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὑτοῦ 23.532 δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τὸ φύλλον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀποῤῥυήσεται, καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἂν ποιῇ κατευοδωθήσεται. Εἰ οὖν ἔσται μισθὸς καὶ καρπὸς ἀγαθὸς τῷ τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐργασαμένῳ, ὃν ἀπολήψεται κατὰ τὸν τῆς δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ καιρόν, ἀκόλουθόν ἐστι νοεῖν, ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τῆς κρίσεως τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τὸν θνητὸν ἔτι διεξανύοντας βίον ἔστι Θεὸς ἐφορῶν καὶ διακρίνων. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα οὐχ ὁρῶνται αὐτοῦ αἱ κρίσεις ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος, ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐκ ἄκριτα, οὐδὲ ἀνεξέταστα τυγχάνει παρ' αὐτῷ τὰ ἐν ἀνθρώποις. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἔμελλον οἱ δίκαιοι τοῖς ἀδίκοις συναπολέσθαι, καὶ μηδεὶς ἦν καρπὸς τῷ δικαίῳ, ἦν ἂν εἰπεῖν μηδὲ ἐφορᾷν τὰ ἀνθρώπινα τὸν Θεόν· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔσται τις καιρὸς ἐν ᾧ ὁ μὲν δίκαιος χαρήσεται, οἱ δὲ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὸ προλεχθὲν περὶ αὐτῶν τέλος ἕξουσιν, εἰκότως οὐδὲ ἀμφιβάλλειν προσήκει, ὁμολογεῖν δὲ πάντα ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀποφαίνεσθαι, ὅτι ἔστι Θεὸς ἔφορος καὶ ἐπίσκοπος τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις πραττομένων, κρίνων ἅπαντας τοὺς ἐν τῇ γῇ πολιτευσαμένους. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ. Ἐπιστῆσαι δὲ προσήκει, μήποτε ἡ μετὰ χεῖρας προφητεία, πᾶσα ἀκόλουθος οὖσα καὶ συνημμένη ταῖς πρὸ αὐτῆς, τὰ τέλη διαγράφει τῶν τὰς περὶ Χριστοῦ προφητείας μελετώντων καὶ δικαιοσύνην τῷ στόματι λαλούντων καὶ παραδεξαμένων αὐτὸν ἐλθόντα, μηδὲ ἐπακουσάντων αὐτοῦ τῆς φωνῆς βοῶντος πρὸς αὐτοὺς, καὶ λέγοντος· Ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω· οἵτινες ὡμοίωσαν ἑαυτοὺς