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rebuking the intent of those who plotted against him, he says: "Slay, all of you." For you are murderers, he says; and not like antagonists standing against an athlete, making the contest for the sake of exercise; but with murderous intent you attack me, and you attack as though I were helpless, and as a wall already leaning over and a fence that has been pushed. For you attack as if nothing fences me in or walls me in and guards my soul. How long, then, will you labor in vain at these things, and will you not cease hereafter, knowing that I have found my own guard, and my own guardian and Savior? Therefore I have dared to say: "Shall not my soul be subject to God? for from him is my salvation. For he is my God and my Savior, my helper, I shall not be moved any more. But they have consulted to cast away my honor, they ran in thirst; with their mouth they blessed, but with their heart they cursed. Diapsalma." The first things he addressed to himself, either David or Jeduthun; the second he directed against his enemies; the third through the preceding teaches us what the plotters were devising when they constructed their plot against him. Therefore he says: "But they have consulted to cast away my honor." For their whole thought and counsel, he says, was nothing other than to cast me down from my honor with God, and they were eager to strip me of the glory which I formerly had. Then having planned to take away this honor of mine, they ran in thirst, thirsting to see my destruction. Instead of, "in thirst," Aquila has, "in falsehood;" and Symmachus, "in a lie;" and the fifth edition, "in falsehood;" and again another edition has interpreted it, "in deceit." It is likely, therefore, that in our reading too, "in falsehood," was originally present, so that the meaning would be: "They ran in falsehood;" that is, my enemies and plotters were not making their run and their haste against me with truth, but had given themselves over completely to falsehood; but that a scribal error happened in later times, so that "in thirst" was written instead of "in falsehood." And how the plotters ran while lying, he interprets saying next: "With their mouth they blessed, but with their heart they cursed." For deceiving, they used sweet words to draw me down and cast me from my standing with God; therefore they seemed to bless and praise me, and to accept me to my face; but their minds were filled with curses, through which they planned to cast away my honor, and to subject me to a curse. And we are taught through these things that all who plot against the people of God are eager for nothing else than to strip them of their honor with God. "But be subject to God, my soul, because from him is my endurance. For he is my God and my Savior, my helper, I shall not depart." 23.593 At the beginning he said: "Shall not my soul be subject to God?" as if still hesitating; but here declaratively, having been confirmed from what has been said, he encourages his own soul with confidence; therefore he says to it: "But be subject to God, my soul." And above he said: "For from him is my salvation;" but here: "Because from him is my endurance." And this would be similar to the one who said: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." For I do not possess the strength from myself, but from the one who strengthens me; and here, "My endurance," he says, is not constituted from my own virtue and power, but from his grace; "For he is my God and my Savior;" therefore as my God and my Savior he provides me endurance. Then above you have, "For he is my God and my Savior, my helper, I shall not depart;" or according to Aquila and Symmachus, "I shall not be tripped up." And there is a great difference between the one saying, "I shall not be moved any more," and the one saying, "I shall not

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προαίρεσιν τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων αὐτῷ διελέγχων φησί· «Φονεύετε πάντες ὑμεῖς.» Φονευταὶ γάρ ἐστε, φησί· καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ ἀνταγωνισταὶ πρὸς ἀθλητὴν ἱστάμενοι μέχρι γυμνασίου ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἅμιλλαν· ἀλλὰ φονικῇ προαιρέσει ἐπιτίθεσθέ μοι, καὶ ἐπιτίθεσθε ὡς ἀβοηθήτῳ, καὶ ὡς ἤδη κεκλιμένῳ τοίχῳ καὶ φραγμῷ ὠσμένῳ. Ὡς γὰρ μηδενὸς περιφράττοντος μηδὲ περιτειχίζοντος καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν φρουροῦντος ψυχὴν, οὕτως ἐπιτίθεσθε. Ἕως οὖν πότε ταῦτα ματαιοπονήσετε, καὶ οὐχὶ παύσεσθε λοιπὸν, γνόντες, ὅτι εὗρον τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ φυλακὴν, καὶ τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ φρουρὸν καὶ Σωτῆρα; ∆ιὸ ἐθάρσησα φάναι· «Οὐχὶ τῷ Θεῷ ὑποταγήσεται ἡ ψυχή μου; παρ' αὐτοῦ γὰρ τὸ σωτήριόν μου. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς Θεός μου καὶ Σωτήρ μου, ἀντιλήπτωρ μου, οὐ μὴ σαλευθῶ ἐπὶ πλεῖον. Πλὴν τὴν τιμήν μου ἐβουλεύσαντο ἀπώσασθαι, ἔδραμον ἐν δίψει· τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν εὐλόγουν, καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν κατηρῶντο. ∆ιάψαλμα.» Τὰ μὲν πρῶτα αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἤτοι ∆αυῒδ, ἢ Ἰδιθοὺμ διείλεκται· τὰ δὲ δεύτερα πρὸς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἀπετείνατο· τὰ δὲ τρίτα διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ἡμᾶς διδάσκει, τίποτε βουλευόμενοι οἱ ἐπιβουλεύοντες αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν κατεσκεύαζον. ∆ιό φησι· «Πλὴν τὴν τιμήν μου ἐβουλεύσαντο ἀπώσασθαι.» Ἡ γὰρ πᾶσα σκέψις αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ βουλὴ οὐδὲν ἕτερον, φησὶν, ἢ καταβαλεῖν με τῆς παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ τιμῆς, καὶ γυμνῶσαι τῆς δόξης ἧς εἶχον πρότερον ἐσπούδαζον. Εἶτα βουλευσάμενοι ταύτην μου τὴν τιμὴν περιελεῖν, ἔδραμον ἐν δίψει τὴν ἐμὴν ἀπώλειαν θεάσασθαι διψῶντες. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ, «ἐν δίψει, ἐν διαψεύσματι,» ὁ Ἀκύλας· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, «ἐν ψεύσματι·» ἡ δὲ πέμπτη ἔκδοσις, «ἐν ψεύδει·» καὶ πάλιν ἑτέρα ἔκδοσις, «ἐν δόλῳ,» ἡρμήνευσαν. Εἰκὸς οὖν καὶ ἐν τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀναγνώσει κεῖσθαι μὲν πρότερον τὸ, «ἐν ψεύδει,» ἵν' ᾖ τὸ λεγόμενον· «Ἔδραμον ἐν ψεύδει·» τουτέστιν οἱ ἐχθροί μου καὶ οἱ ἐπιβουλεύοντες, οὐ σὺν ἀληθείᾳ τὸν κατ' ἐμοῦ δρόμον καὶ τὴν κατ' ἐμοῦ σπουδὴν ἐποιοῦντο, ὅλους δὲ αὐτοὺς τῷ ψεύδει παραδόντες· σφάλμα δὲ γραφικὸν γεγονέναι ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα συνέβη χρόνοις, ὥστε ἀντὶ τοῦ, «ἐν ψεύδει, ἐν δίψει» γραφῆναι. Πῶς δὲ ψευδόμενοι οἱ ἐπιβουλεύοντες ἔδραμον, διερμηνεύει λέγων ἑξῆς· «Τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν εὐλόγουν, καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν κατηρῶντο.» Ἀπατῶντες γὰρ, λόγοις γλυκέσιν ἐχρῶντο πρὸς τὸ καθελκῦσαί με καὶ καταβαλεῖν τῆς παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ στάσεως· διὸ εὐλογεῖν ἐδόκουν καὶ ἐπαινεῖν με, καὶ ἀποδέχεσθαι εἰς πρόσωπον· τὰ δὲ τῆς διανοίας αὐτῶν πεπλήρωτο καταρῶν, δι' ὧν τὴν τιμήν μου ἐβουλεύσαντο ἀπώσασθαι, καὶ κατάρᾳ με ὑποβαλεῖν. ∆ιδασκόμεθα δὲ διὰ τούτων ὅτι δὴ πάντες οἱ τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνθρώποις ἐπιβουλεύοντες οὐδὲν ἕτερον σπουδάζουσιν ἢ τῆς παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ τιμῆς γυμνῶσαι αὐτούς. «Πλὴν τῷ Θεῷ ὑποτάγηθι, ἡ ψυχή μου, ὅτι παρ' αὐτοῦ ἡ ὑπομονή μου. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς Θεός μου καὶ Σωτήρ μου, ἀντιλήπτωρ μου, οὐ μὴ μεταναστεύσω.» 23.593 Ἀρχόμενος μὲν ἔλεγεν· «Οὐχὶ τῷ Θεῷ ὑποταγήσεται ἡ ψυχή μου;» ὥσπερ ἐνδυάζων ἔτι· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἀποφατικῶς, βεβαιωθεὶς ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων, τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῇ ἐπιθαρσῶν παρακελεύεται· διό φησι πρὸς αὐτήν· «Πλὴν τῷ Θεῷ ὑποτάγηθι, ἡ ψυχή μου.» Καὶ ἀνωτέρω μὲν ἔλεγε· «Παρ' αὐτοῦ γὰρ τὸ σωτήριόν μου·» ἐνταῦθα δέ· «Ὅτι παρ' αὐτοῦ ἡ ὑπομονή μου.» Ὅμοιον δ' ἂν εἴη τοῦτο τῷ φήσαντι· «Πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με.» Οὐ γὰρ παρ' ἐμαυτοῦ κέκτημαι τὴν ἰσχὺν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦ ἐνδυναμοῦντός με· καὶ ἐνταῦθα, «Ἡ ὑπομονή μου» οὐκ ἐξ ἐμῆς, φησὶν, ἀρετῆς καὶ δυνάμεως συνέστηκεν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ χάριτος· «Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς Θεός μου καὶ Σωτήρ μου·» διόπερ ὡς Θεός μου καὶ Σωτήρ μου παρέχει μοι τὴν ὑπομονήν. Εἶτ' ἀνωτέρω μὲν ἔχεις τὸ, «Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς Θεός μου καὶ Σωτήρ μου, ἀντιλήπτωρ μου, οὐ μὴ μεταναστεύσω·» ἢ κατὰ τὸν Ἀκύλαν καὶ τὸν Σύμμαχον, «οὐ σφαλήσομαι.» Πολλὴ δὲ διαφορὰ τοῦ φάσκοντος, «οὐ μὴ σαλευθῶ ἐπὶ πλεῖον,» καὶ τοῦ λέγοντος, «οὐ