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to the serpent, and have made their ears like those of a deaf asp that stops its ears. These same ones have also sharpened their teeth and their molars through their blasphemies against our Savior. Therefore, it might fittingly be said of them: God will break their teeth in their mouth, the Lord has shattered the molars of the lions. But these things can also be said of all those who have established godless dogmas and impious false opinions in godless heresies, and of those who profess the wisdom of this age, who have sharpened their tongues against the teaching of salvation; nor should we fail to include with these those in the Church who engage in slanders and evil-speaking for the destruction of their neighbors; to all of whom might be said: If you indeed speak righteousness, judge uprightly, you sons of men; knowing that God will bring every work into judgment; and, everyone must stand before the judgment seat of God; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad.

FOR THE END, DESTROY NOT, FOR DAVID, FOR AN INSCRIPTION, WHEN SAUL SENT, AND GUARDED HIS HOUSE, TO PUT HIM TO DEATH. 58. Deliver me from my enemies, O God, and from those who rise up against me, rescue me. We have already previously observed that those from the 1st and 50th were spoken before David became king, while Saul was still living; just as, therefore, almost all in the first part of the book, except for a few, after the transgression he committed, and because of his extreme piety he placed first in the book those containing a confession, 23.533 being second in time; but those first in time, he joined as second, so that the matters of the confession might be covered by the memory of his righteous deeds. This, then, the present psalm also establishes; let it be said in the usual manner, since it too happens to be an inscription, signifying the time at which it was spoken; and this was, When Saul sent and guarded his house, to put him to death. But the first book of Kings presents the history more broadly, in this manner: And there was war again; and David prevailed, and he fought the Philistines, and struck them with a very great blow, and they fled from his presence. And an evil spirit came upon Saul; and he was sleeping in the house, with a spear in his hand; and behold David was playing with his hands. And Saul sought to strike David with the spear; and David withdrew from Saul’s presence, and he struck the spear into the wall. And David departed and was saved. And it came to pass on that night, that he sent messengers to David’s house to guard him, to put him to death in the morning. And Michal, his wife, told David, saying: If you do not save your life this night, tomorrow you will be put to death. And Michal lets David down through the window, and he departed and fled, and is saved; at which time he also composes the present inscription; wherefore it is inscribed: For the end, destroy not, for David for an inscription, when Saul sent, and guarded his house to put him to death. Therefore, the 'for the end for David,' and the 'destroy not,' and the 'inscription,' have now been said for the third time in a row; but the first one signified another time, which the title indicated, saying: When the Philistines seized him in Gath; the second, When he fled from the presence of Saul into the cave; and here, When Saul sent, and guarded his house to put him to death. But the cause of Saul against David

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τῷ ὄφει, καὶ τὰ ὦτα αὑτῶν πεποιήκασιν ὡσεὶ ἀσπίδος κωφῆς καὶ βυούσης τὰ ὦτα αὑτῆς. Οἱ δὲ αὐτοὶ καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς μύλας διὰ τῶν κατὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν βλασφημιῶν ἠκόνησαν. Εἰκότως οὖν περὶ αὐτῶν λεχθείη ἄν· Ὁ Θεὸς συντρίψει τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν, τὰς μύλας τῶν λεόντων συνέθλασεν ὁ Κύριος. ∆ύναται δὲ ταῦτα καὶ περὶ πάντων τῶν τὰ ἄθεα δόγματα καὶ τὰς ἀσεβεῖς ψευδοδοξίας ἐν ταῖς ἀθέοις αἱρέσεσι συστησαμένων λέγεσθαι, καὶ περὶ τῶν τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐπαγγελλομένων, οἳ τὰς γλώσσας αὐτῶν ἠκόνησαν κατὰ τῆς σωτηρίου διδασκαλίας· οὐ παραιτητέον δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ διαβολαῖς καὶ καταλαλιαῖς ἐπ' ὀλέθρῳ τῶν πλησίον σχολάζοντας τούτοις συμπαραλαμβάνειν· πρὸς οὓς ἅπαντας λέγοιτ' ἂν τὸ, Εἰ ἀληθῶς ἄρα δικαιοσύνην λαλεῖτε, εὐθέα κρίνετε, υἱοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων· εἰδότες, ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ποίημα ἄξει ὁ Θεὸς εἰς κρίσιν· καὶ, δεῖ τοὺς πάντας παραστῆναι τῷ βήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἵνα κομίσηται ἕκαστος τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος πρὸς ἃ ἔπραξεν, εἴτε ἀγαθὸν εἴτε κακόν. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ, ΜΗ ∆ΙΑΦΘΕΙΡΗΣ ΤΩ ∆ΑΥΙ∆, ΕΙΣ ΣΤΗΛΟΓΡΑΦΙΑΝ, ΟΠΟΤΕ ΑΠΕΣΤΕΙΛΕ

ΣΑΟΥΛ, ΚΑΙ ΕΦΥΛΑΞΕ ΤΟΝ ΟΙΚΟΝ ΑΥΤΟΥ, ΤΟΥ ΘΑΝΑΤΩΣΑΙ ΑΥΤΟΝ. ΝΗʹ. Ἐξελοῦ με ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου, ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐπανισταμένων ἐπ' ἐμὲ λύτρωσαί με. Τετηρήκαμεν ἤδη πρότερον, ὅτι οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ αʹ καὶ νʹ πρὸ τοῦ βασιλεῦσαι τὸν ∆αυῒδ, ἔτι ζῶντος τοῦ Σαοὺλ, εἴρηντο· ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ κατὰ τὸ πρῶτον μέρος τῆς βίβλου σχέδον πάντες, παρεκτὸς ὀλίγων, μετὰ τὸ πλημμεληθὲν αὐτῷ σφάλμα, καὶ ὅτι καθ' ὑπερβολὴν εὐλαβείας πρώτους ἔταξεν ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τοὺς ἐξομολόγησιν 23.533 περιέχοντας, δευτέρους ὄντας τῷ χρόνῳ· τοὺς δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ πρώτους, δευτέρους συνῆψε, ὡς ἂν καλύπτοιτο τὰ τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως διὰ τῆς τῶν κατορθωμάτων μνήμης. Τοῦτο τοίνυν καὶ ὁ παρὼν συνίστησι ψαλμός· συνήθως δὲ εἰρήσθω, ἐπείπερ καὶ αὐτὸς στηλογραφία τυγχάνει, ἐπισημαινόμενος καθ' ὃν ἐλέχθη καιρόν· ἦν δὲ οὗτος, Ὁπότε ἀπέστειλε Σαοὺλ καὶ ἐφύλαξε τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, τοῦ θανατῶσαι αὐτόν. Πλατύτερον δὲ τὴν ἱστορίαν ἡ πρώτη τῶν Βασιλειῶν παρίστησι, τοῦτον ἔχουσα τὸν τρόπον· Καὶ προσέθετο πόλεμος γενέσθαι· καὶ κατίσχυσε ∆αυῒδ, καὶ ἐπολέμησε τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους, καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς πληγὴν μεγάλην σφόδρα, καὶ ἔφυγον ἐκ προσώπου αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐγένετο πνεῦμα πονηρὸν ἐπὶ Σαούλ· καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν οἴκῳ καθεύδων, καὶ δόρυ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἰδοὺ ∆αυῒδ ἔψαλλεν ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐζήτει Σαοὺλ πατάξαι τὸ δόρυ εἰς ∆αυΐδ· καὶ ἀπέστη ∆αυῒδ ἐκ προσώπου Σαοὺλ, καὶ ἐπάταξε τὸ δόρυ εἰς τὸν τοῖχον. Καὶ ∆αυῒδ ἀνεχώρησε καὶ διεσώθη. Καὶ ἐγενήθη ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἀγγέλους εἰς οἶκον ∆αυῒδ φυλάξαι αὐτὸν, τοῦ θανατῶσαι αὐτὸν πρωΐ. Καὶ ἀνήγγειλε τῷ ∆αυῒδ Μελχὸλ, ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ, λέγουσα· Ἐὰν μὴ σὺ σωθῇς τὴν ψυχὴν σεαυτοῦ τὴν νύκτα ταύτην, αὔριον θανατωθήσῃ. Καὶ κατάγει ἡ Μελχὸλ τὸν ∆αυῒδ διὰ τῆς θυρίδος, καὶ ἀπῆλθε καὶ ἔφυγε, καὶ σώζεται· ὅτε καὶ τὴν προκειμένην στηλογραφίαν συντάττει· διὸ προγέγραπται· Εἰς τὸ τέλος, μὴ διαφθείρῃς, τῷ ∆αυῒδ εἰς στηλογραφίαν, ὁπότε ἀπέστειλε Σαοὺλ, καὶ ἐφύλαξε τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ τοῦ θανατῶσαι αὐτόν. Τὸ μὲν οὖν, εἰς τὸ τέλος τῷ ∆αυῒδ, καὶ τὸ, μὴ διαφθείρῃς, καὶ ἡ στηλογραφία, τρίτον ἤδη εἴρηται ἐφεξῆς· ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον, ἕτερον ἐσήμανε καιρὸν, ὃν ἐδήλου ἡ προγραφὴ λέγουσα· Ὁπότε ἐκράτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι ἐν Γέθ· τὸ δὲ δεύτερον, Ἐν τῷ ἀποδιδράσκειν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ προσώπου Σαοὺλ εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον· ἐνταῦθα δὲ, Ὁπότε ἀπέστειλε Σαοὺλ, καὶ ἐφύλαξε τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ τοῦ θανατῶσαι αὐτόν. Τὸ δὲ αἴτιον τῆς τοῦ Σαοὺλ κατὰ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ