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his children would endure poverty, orphanhood, a life of begging, they would be condemned, driven out from everywhere, they would have no helper, they would fall even from the favor of God, let there be no harbor for them, nor refuge; let his name be wiped out from the earth, let him perish nameless, and may his father and mother pay the penalty for what they have sinned; and after him may they perish utterly and before their time. 2. Does not what has been said astonish the listener, 55.260 Do you not desire to hear who this is who is thus condemned? For if, when we hear a man being reviled, we ask those standing by to tell us who it is that hears these things; much more, hearing the prophet utter these curses, it is necessary to learn, and to learn with fear, and with a humbled mind, who it is that has fallen into such harsh anger, who has grieved the Holy Spirit, so as to hear of so many and so great kinds of sufferings. Therefore, if you please, let us speak of the psalm from the beginning with much attention. And let no one be disturbed. For indeed I will make the explanation with all accuracy, as much as I am able. For the matter being sought is not small; but first and foremost, why, when he himself has sinned—this one who is being denounced—his children are punished with him, and his wife, and his parents. Second, who is the one cursing. Third, how the chief of the apostles shows that the psalm was spoken concerning Judas; or rather not the whole psalm, but a part of the psalm. For it is written, he says, in the book of the Psalms: Let his dwelling become desolate, and in his tents let there be no one dwelling. But again, this presents another question for us; for both are not written in this psalm; for which reason he did not say 'this psalm,' but 'the whole book.' For the phrase, 'Let his dwelling become desolate,' is in another; and in this one, 'Let another take his office.' But nevertheless, Peter brought both together into one testimony. Which Paul also does everywhere, as when he says: The Deliverer will come from Zion, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins. What then should one call what has been said? A prophecy, or a curse? A prophecy in the form of a curse. For indeed we will find something of this kind elsewhere; which Jacob also did. For since the listeners ought to be benefited by what happens to others, they frame many of the prophecies in this manner, so that by the form of the utterance according to their manner of life, the fear might be increased. For it is not the same to say, that so-and-so will suffer this and that, and to deliver this same thing in the manner of one who is angry and enraged. And that I do not simply declare these things, I will make this clear to you from prophetic words. For Jacob, when he was about to die, said to his sons, 'Come, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the last days;' and being about to prophesy, he begins the prophecy straight from the introduction as if seething with some anger, from a curse, saying thus: Reuben my firstborn, hard to bear, and hard and self-willed, you have been insolent, like water you shall not boil over; prophesying his future destruction in the form of a curse. So again when he says good things, he relates them in the form of a prayer, saying, 'May the Lord give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth.' And yet this too is a prophecy. But that it is not of human passion, is clear. For his father also does this very thing concerning Canaan, saying: 'Canaan will be his servant;' so that you may learn that God, anticipating those who are wronged, proceeds against those who 55.261 do wrong. And Christ also used a certain manner of this kind, in the form of a prophecy rather recalling and imitating one who is lamenting, and saying: Woe to you, Chorazin, woe to you, Bethsaida. And again, as when he says: 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets.' Concerning whom then

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παιδία πενίαν, ὀρφανίαν, βίον προσαιτῶν ὑπομείναιεν, καταδικασθεῖεν, ἐλαθεῖεν πάντοθεν, μηδένα σχοῖεν βοηθὸν, ἐκπέσοιεν καὶ τῆς εὐνοίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, μηδεὶς αὐτοῖς γένοιτο λιμὴν, μηδὲ καταφυγή· ἐξαλειφθείη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, ἀνώνυμος ἀπόλοιτο, καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ δίκην δοῖεν, ὧν ἥμαρτον· καὶ μετ' αὐτὸ ἐξώλεις καὶ προώλεις ἀπόλοιντο. βʹ. Ἆρα οὐκ ἐκπλήττει τὸν ἀκροατὴν τὰ εἰρημένα, 55.260 Ἆρα οὐκ ἐπιθυμεῖς ἀκοῦσαι τίς οὗτος ὁ καταδικασθεὶς οὕτως; Εἰ γὰρ ἄνθρωπον ἀκούοντες λοιδορούμενον τοὺς παρεστῶτας ἐρωτῶμεν, φράσαι τίς ὁ ταῦτα ἀκούων· πολλῷ μᾶλλον τοῦ προφήτου ταῦτα καταρωμένου ἀκούοντες, ἀναγκαῖον μαθεῖν, καὶ μετὰ φόβου μαθεῖν, καὶ συνεσταλμένης τῆς διανοίας, τίς ὁ εἰς ὀργὴν οὕτω χαλεπὴν ἐμπεσὼν, τίς ὁ λυπήσας τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὡς τοσαῦτα καὶ τηλικαῦτα ἀκοῦσαι παθῶν εἴδη. Οὐκοῦν, εἰ δοκεῖ, τὸν ψαλμὸν ἄνωθεν εἴπωμεν μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προσοχῆς. Καὶ μηδεὶς θορυβείσθω. Καὶ γὰρ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἁπάσης ποιήσομαι τὴν ἐξήγησιν, ὡς ἂν οἷός τε ὦ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ μικρόν ἐστι τὸ ζητούμενον· ἀλλ' ἓν μὲν καὶ πρῶτον, τίνος ἕνεκεν αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτόντος, τούτου δὴ τοῦ καταβοωμένου, οἱ παῖδες κολάζονται μετ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡ γυνὴ, καὶ οἱ γονεῖς. ∆εύτερον δὲ, τίς ὁ καταρώμενος. Τρίτον δὲ, πῶς ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων κορυφαῖος περὶ τοῦ Ἰούδα τὸν ψαλμὸν εἰρῆσθαι δείκνυσι· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ τὸν ψαλμὸν ἅπαντα, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ τὸ μέρος. Γέγραπται γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν Ψαλμῶν· Γενηθήτω ἡ ἔπαυλις αὐτοῦ ἔρημος, καὶ ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασιν αὐτοῦ μὴ ἔστω ὁ κατοικῶν. Ἀλλὰ πάλιν τοῦτο ἕτερον ἡμῖν ζήτημα παρέχει· οὐ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ γέγραπται τῷ ψαλμῷ ἀμφότερα· διόπερ οὐκ εἶπε τόνδε τὸν ψαλμὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ βιβλίον ἅπαν. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ, Γενηθήτω ἡ ἔπαυλις αὐτοῦ ἔρημος, ἐν ἑτέρῳ· καὶ ἐν τούτῳ· Τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ λάβοι ἕτερος. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ὁ Πέτρος ἀμφότερα συνήγαγεν εἰς μαρτυρίαν μίαν. Ὃ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος πανταχοῦ ποιεῖ, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἥξει ἐκ Σιὼν ὁ ῥυόμενος, καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἐξ Ἰακώβ. Καὶ αὕτη αὐτοῖς ἡ παρ' ἐμοῦ διαθήκη, ὅταν ἀφέλωμαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν. Τί δὲ ἄν τις εἴποι τὸ εἰρημένον; προφητείαν, ἢ ἀράν; Προφητείαν ἐν εἴδει ἀρᾶς. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ τοιοῦτόν τι εὑρήσομεν· ὅπερ καὶ ὁ Ἰακὼβ ἐποίησεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοὺς ἀκούοντας ἐκ τῶν ἑτέροις συμβαινόντων ὠφελεῖσθαι χρὴ, πολλὰς τῶν προφητειῶν τούτῳ σχηματίζουσι τῷ τρόπῳ, ὥστε καὶ τῷ εἴδει τῆς προφορᾶς τῆς κατὰ τὴν πολιτείαν αὐξηθῆναι τὸν φόβον. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα τὸ καὶ τὸ πείσεται, καὶ ἐν τάξει χολῶντος καὶ ὀργιζομένου τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο προσενεγκεῖν. Καὶ ὅτι οὐχ ἁπλῶς ταῦτα ἀποφαίνομαι, ἀπὸ τῶν προφητικῶν ὑμῖν ῥημάτων τοῦτο ποιήσω δῆλον. Ὁ γὰρ Ἰακὼβ, ὅτε ἔμελλε τελευτᾷν, ∆εῦτε, φησὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐρῶ, τί ἀπαντήσεται ὑμῖν ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν· καὶ μέλλων προφητεύειν, ἐκ προοιμίων εὐθέως ὥσπερ τινὶ θυμῷ ζέων ἀπὸ ἀρᾶς ἄρχεται τῆς προφητείας, οὕτω λέγων· Ῥουβὶμ πρωτότοκός μου, σκληρὸς φέρεσθαι, καὶ σκληρὸς αὐθάδης, ἐξύβρισας, ὡς ὕδωρ μὴ ἐκζέσῃς· τὴν μέλλουσαν αὐτοῦ ἀπώλειαν ἐν τάξει ἀρᾶς προφητεύων. Οὕτω πάλιν ὅταν ἀγαθὰ λέγῃ, ἐν τάξει εὐχῆς διηγεῖται, ∆ῴη σοι Κύριος, λέγων, ἐκ τῆς δρόσου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῆς πιότητος τῆς γῆς. Καίτοι καὶ τοῦτο προφητεία. Ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνθρωπίνου πάθους, δῆλον. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ Χαναὰν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ τοῦτο αὐτὸ ποιεῖ, λέγων· Ἔσται Χαναὰν παῖς αὐτοῦ· ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς, προλαμβάνων τοὺς ἀδικουμένους, ἐπεξέρχεται τοῖς 55.261 ἀδικοῦσι. Καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς δὲ τοιούτῳ τινὶ κέχρηται τρόπῳ, προφητείας εἴδει μᾶλλον ἀνακαλῶν καὶ θρηνοῦντα μιμούμενος, καὶ λέγων· Οὐαί σοι, Χωραζὶν, οὐαί σοι, Βηθσαϊδά. Καὶ πάλιν, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἱερουσαλὴμ, Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ἡ ἀποκτείνουσα τοὺς προφήτας. Περὶ τίνος οὖν