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understanding, but your obedience; that is, your readiness to be persuaded; which was a great testimony to their gentleness. I rejoice, therefore, in you. This too is no small 60.677 encomium. Then after the praise, an admonition. For lest, having freed them from accusations, he should make them more careless as if they were unnoticed, he hints again to them, saying: I want you to be wise as to what is good, and simple as to what is evil. Do you see how he rebukes them again, and unsuspectingly? For this is an insinuation that some of them were even being led astray. But the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. For since he spoke of those who cause divisions and offenses, he spoke of the God of peace, so that they might be confident about their deliverance from these things. For He who rejoices in this, will destroy the things that spoil it. And he did not say, ‘He will subject,’ but, what is greater, ‘He will bruise;’ and not only them, but also Satan who commands them in such things. And He will not simply bruise, but ‘Under your feet;’ so that they themselves might carry off the victory, and be made brilliant by the trophy. And the comfort again comes from the timing; for he added, ‘Shortly.’ This was at once both a prayer and a prophecy. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. The greatest weapon, the unbreakable wall, the unshakable tower; for he reminded them of grace, to make them more eager. For if you have been delivered from things much more difficult, and were delivered by grace alone; much more will you be delivered from the lesser things, since you have also become friends, and contribute what is from yourselves. 2. See how he posits neither prayer without works, nor works without prayer. For having testified to their obedience, he then prayed, showing that we need both things from ourselves and things from God, if we are to be saved with precision. For not only before, but also now, even if we are great and renowned, we need His grace; Timothy my fellow worker greets you. Did you see again the customary encomia? And Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. Luke also mentions this Jason, and presents his courage to us, saying, that they dragged him to the city authorities, shouting. And it is likely that the others are also among the notable; for he does not simply mention kinsmen, unless they are like him in piety. I, Tertius, who wrote the epistle, greet you. This too is no small encomium, to be a scribe for Paul; however, he says this not to praise himself, but to draw warm love from them because of his service. Gaius, my host and the host of the whole Church, greets you. Did you see what a crown he wove for him, by bearing witness to such great hospitality, and by gathering the whole Church into his house? For here by ‘host’ he means ‘one who receives guests.’ But when you hear that he was Paul’s host, do not admire him for his generosity alone, but also for the precision of his life; for if he had not been worthy of his virtue, he would not have lodged there. For he who was zealous to surpass many of the commandments of Christ would not have transgressed this law, which commands to inquire about those who receive us, and to lodge with those who are worthy. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus the brother. He did not simply add, ‘Treasurer of the city’; but just as 60.678 he wrote to the Philippians, ‘Those of Caesar’s household greet you,’ to show that the preaching had reached even the great ones; so also here he mentions the office, establishing this same point, and showing that for one who pays attention, neither wealth becomes a hindrance, nor the cares of office, nor anything else of the sort. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Did you see from where all things must begin, and where they must end? For from here he both laid the foundation of the epistle, and from here he placed the roof, at the same time both praying for the mother of all good things for them, and reminding them of every benefit. For this is especially characteristic of a noble teacher, not by word only, but also by prayer

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σύνεσις, ἀλλ' Ἡ ὑμῶν ὑπακοή· τουτέστιν ἡ πειθώ· ὅπερ πολλὴν αὐτοῖς ἦν μαρτυροῦντος πραότητα. Χαίρω οὖν τὸ ἐφ' ὑμῖν. Οὐ μικρὸν καὶ 60.677 τοῦτο ἐγκώμιον. Εἶτα μετὰ τὸν ἔπαινον νουθεσία. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἀπαλλάξας αὐτοὺς, ὡς λανθάνοντας ῥᾳθυμοτέρους ἐργάσηται, αἰνίττεται πάλιν αὐτοῖς λέγων· Θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς σοφοὺς μὲν εἶναι εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ἀκεραίους δὲ εἰς τὸ κακόν. Ὁρᾷς πῶς πάλιν αὐτῶν καθάπτεται, καὶ ἀνυπόπτως; τοῦτο γὰρ αἰνιττομένου ἐστὶν, ὅτι τινὲς ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ παρήγοντο. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης συντρίψει τὸν σατανᾶν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν ἐν τάχει. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπε τοὺς τὰς διχοστασίας καὶ τὰ σκάνδαλα ποιοῦντας, εἶπεν εἰρήνης Θεὸν, ἵνα θαρσήσωσι περὶ τῆς τούτων ἀπαλλαγῆς. Ὁ γὰρ ταύτῃ χαίρων, τὰ λυμαινόμενα αὐτῇ καταλύσει. Καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν, Ὑποτάξει, ἀλλ', ὃ μεῖζόν ἐστι, Συντρίψει· καὶ οὐκ ἐκείνους μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν στρατηγοῦντα αὐτοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα Σατανᾶν. Καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς συντρίψει, ἀλλ' Ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν· ὥστε αὐτοὺς τὴν νίκην ἄρασθαι, καὶ τῷ τροπαίῳ γενέσθαι λαμπρούς. Καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ χρόνου δὲ ἡ παραμυθία πάλιν· ἐπήγαγε γὰρ, Ἐν τάχει. Τοῦτο δὲ ὁμοῦ καὶ εὐχὴ καὶ προφητεία ἦν. Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μεθ' ὑμῶν. Τὸ μέγιστον ὅπλον, τὸ τεῖχος τὸ ἄῤῥηκτον, ὁ πύργος ὁ ἄσειστος· ἀνέμνησε γὰρ αὐτοὺς τῆς χάριτος, ἵνα προθυμοτέρους ἐργάσηται. Εἰ γὰρ τῶν πολὺ χαλεπωτέρων ἀπηλλάγητε, καὶ ἀπηλλάγητε χάριτι μόνον· πολλῷ μᾶλλον τῶν ἐλαττόνων ἀπαλλαγήσεσθε, ὅτι καὶ φίλοι γεγόνατε, καὶ τὰ παρ' ἑαυτῶν συνεισάγετε. βʹ. Ὅρα πῶς οὔτε εὐχὴν χωρὶς ἔργων, οὔτε ἔργα χωρὶς εὐχῆς τίθησι. Μαρτυρήσας γὰρ αὐτοῖς τὴν ὑπακοὴν, τότε ἐπηύξατο, δεικνὺς ὅτι ἀμφοτέρων δεόμεθα, καὶ τῶν παρ' ἡμῶν, καὶ τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰ μέλλοιμεν μετὰ ἀκριβείας σώζεσθαι. Καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἔμπροσθεν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν, κἂν μεγάλοι ὦμεν καὶ εὐδόκιμοι, τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ δεόμεθα χάριτος· Ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Τιμόθεος ὁ συνεργός μου. Εἶδες πάλιν τὰ συνήθη ἐγκώμια; Καὶ Λούκιος καὶ Ἰάσων καὶ Σωσίπατρος οἱ συγγενεῖς μου. Τούτου τοῦ Ἰάσονος καὶ Λουκᾶς μέμνηται, καὶ τὴν ἀνδρείαν αὐτοῦ παρίστησιν ἡμῖν λέγων, ὅτι ἦγον αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολιτάρχας βοῶντες. Καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους δὲ εἰκὸς εἶναι τῶν ἐπισήμων· οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς συγγενῶν μέμνηται, εἰ μὴ κατὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν εἶεν ἐοικότες αὐτῷ. Ἀσπάζομαι ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ Τέρτιος ὁ γράψας τὴν ἐπιστολήν. Οὐ μικρὸν καὶ τοῦτο ἐγκώμιον ὑπογραφέα εἶναι Παύλου· πλὴν οὐχ ἵνα ἑαυτὸν ἐγκωμιάσῃ, τοῦτο λέγει, ἀλλ' ἵνα θερμὴν ἐπισπάσηται παρ' αὐτῶν τὴν ἀγάπην ἀπὸ τῆς διακονίας. Ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Γάϊος ὁ ξένος μου καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὅλης. Εἶδες οἷον αὐτῷ στέφανον ἔπλεξε, τοσαύτην φιλοξενίαν μαρτυρήσας, καὶ ὁλόκληρον τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν συναγαγὼν τὴν ἐκείνου; τὸν γὰρ ξένον ἐνταῦθα τὸν ξενοδόχον φησίν. Ὅταν δὲ ἀκούσῃς, ὅτι Παύλου ξενοδόχος ἦν, μὴ τῆς φιλοτιμίας αὐτὸν θαύμαζε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον ἀκριβείας· εἰ μὴ γὰρ ἦν ἄξιος τῆς ἀρετῆς τῆς ἐκείνου, οὐδ' ἂν ἐκεῖνος ἐκεῖ κατήχθη. Ὁ γὰρ πολλὰ τῶν ἐπιταγμάτων τοῦ Χριστοῦ σπουδάζων ὑπερβαίνειν, οὐκ ἂν τοῦτον παρέβη τὸν νόμον τὸν κελεύοντα περιεργάζεσθαι τοὺς ὑποδεχομένους, καὶ παρὰ ἀξίοις κατάγεσθαι. Ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Ἔραστος ὁ οἰκονόμος τῆς πόλεως, καὶ Κούαρτος ὁ ἀδελφός. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς προσέθηκεν, Οἰκονόμος τῆς πόλεως· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ 60.678 Φιλιππησίοις ἔγραφεν, Ἀσπάζονται ὑμᾶς οἱ ἐκ τῆς Καίσαρος οἰκίας, ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι καὶ τῶν μεγάλων τὸ κήρυγμα ἥψατο· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα τοῦ ἀξιώματος μέμνηται, τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο κατασκευάζων, καὶ δεικνὺς ὅτι τῷ προσέχοντι οὔτε πλοῦτος κώλυμα γίνεται, οὔτε ἀρχῆς φροντίδες, οὔτε ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδέν. Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μεθ' ὑμῶν. Ἀμήν. Εἶδες πόθεν ἄρχεσθαι δεῖ, καὶ ποῦ τελευτᾷν πάντα; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸν θεμέλιον ἐντεῦθεν κατέβαλε τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, καὶ τὸν ὄροφον ἐντεῦθεν ἐπέθηκεν, ὁμοῦ καὶ ἐπευχόμενος τὴν μητέρα τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἁπάντων αὐτοῖς, καὶ πάσης ἀναμιμνήσκων τῆς εὐεργεσίας. Τοῦτο γὰρ μάλιστα διδασκάλου γενναίου, τὸ μὴ λόγῳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐχῇ