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righteousness has been born of God," and "everyone who has been born of God does not commit sin." He who does not commit sin is a perfect righteous man, concerning whom the Savior has also spoken in the Gospel: "Many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it." But the gnashing of teeth belongs to one who condemns himself; for having watched he did not catch him, did not strike him, did not wound him, and so at the failure he gnashes his teeth. But often the gnashing of teeth signifies repentance, as also in the Gospel concerning the one bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness "prepared for the devil and his angels"; "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." But '3there'3 again here signifies such a state. 13 But the Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day will come. the sinner who gnashes his teeth against the righteous one; for "he sees that his day will come." The Lord, foreseeing that his day will come in which he will be condemned, will laugh at the sinner. But let such words spoken of God not be heard anthropopathically. But in a manner fitting for God we understand their meaning; for it is said: "He who dwells in the heavens will laugh at them, and the Lord will mock them." This is not spoken in human terms, we do not understand it anthropopathically when applied to God. And again in Exodus he says: "how I have mocked the Egyptians." The mocking here again has such a meaning: he did not bring lions upon them, not serpents, not the other great beasts, but gnats and dog-flies in addition to the frog and the locust. Question: what about '3he drowned'3? -But there he does not say: "I have mocked them." 14 The sinners have drawn a sword and have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy. They have prepared a sword, in order to cast down the poor and needy. It turns back and enters their own heart, as it is said: "He who digs a pit for his neighbor will fall into it." And again: "and the trap, which they have hidden, let it catch them." and in Ecclesiastes it says: "a serpent will bite him who breaks down a wall." a serpent will bite him who breaks down another's wall, him who breaks down another's security. "they have drawn a sword": they have drawn from the sheath ... into the open. The sword can be the word with deceit; for they draw it out in order to strike with it. you have it said in Proverbs: "There are those who, speaking, wound like a sword, but the tongues of the wise heal." There are those who in speaking wound with a sword. But it must be read with the dative: there are those who in speaking wound with a sword. Those who corrupt good morals with evil communications, in speaking wound with a sword. "and their tongue a sharp sword"; their word like a sword harms and wounds. Therefore, in speaking there are some who wound with a sword, but the tongues of the wise, the words of the wise, heal. These swords are of medicine, they do not wound, they do not strike, they do not inflict trauma, but they heal the wounds made by other words. A bow being bent is the ruling faculty, so prepared that arrows may be released from it. And let these be evil reasonings, harmful words. "Behold, the sinners have bent a bow, they have prepared arrows for the quiver." 14 to slay the upright in heart. Here we understand '3upright in heart'3 as the righteous man who is being tested, and the wise man, and the righteous man who accuses himself. It is found in the Gospel from the person of the Lord that: "all who take the sword will perish by the sword." And many think that this says that everyone who slays a man will be slain. But this does not appear irrefutable; many murderers have met their own end; but it says this: everyone who inflicts punishment upon someone will fall under punishment, everyone who wishes to harm someone with a sword, with his own sharpened mind or tongue and word, will fall under the same things. Question: "of the

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δικαιοσύνην ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται", καὶ "πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ". ὁ μὴ ποιῶν ἁμαρτίαν τέλειος δίκαιός ἐστιν, περὶ ὧν καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ ἐν εὐαγγελίῳ εἴρηκεν· "πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἃ βλέπετε καὶ οὐκ εἶδον". τ̣ὸ δ̣ε`̣ βρῦξαι τοὺς ὀδόντας καταγνόντος ἐστὶν ἑαυτοῦ· παρατηρησάμενος γὰρ οὐχ εἷλεν αὐτόν, οὐκ ἔβαλεν, οὐκ ἔτρωσεν, καὶ οὕτως ἐπὶ τῇ ἀποτυχίᾳ β̣ρ̣ύχει τοὺς ὀδόντας. μεταμέλειαν δὲ π̣ολλάκις ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων σημαίνει, ὡς καὶ ἐν εὐαγγελίῳ περὶ τοῦ δεθέντος ποσὶν καὶ χερσὶν καὶ βληθέντος εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον "τὸ η῾̣τοιμασμένον τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ"· "ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων". τὸ δὲ "3ἐκεῖ"3 πάλιν ὧδε τὴν κατάστασιν τὴν̣ τοιάνδε σημαίνει. 13 ὁ δὲ κύριος ἐνγελάσεται αὐτόν, ὅτι προβλέπει ὅτι ἥξει ἡ ἡμέρα αὐτοῦ. τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν τὸν βρύξοντα τοὺς ὀδόντας κατὰ τοῦ δικαίου· "προβλέπει" γὰρ "ὅτι ἥξει ἡ ἡμέρα αὐτοῦ". προορῶν ὁ κύριος ὅτι ἡ ἡμέρα αὐτοῦ ἐλεύσεται καθ' ἣν καταδικασθήσεται, καταγελάσει τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ. τὰ τοιαῦτα δὲ ῥήματα λεγόμενα ἐπὶ θεοῦ ἀνθρωποπαθῶς μὴ ἀκουέσθωσαν. θεοπρεπῶς δὲ τὸν νοῦν αὐτῶν ἐκλαμβάνομεν· εἴρηται γοῦν· "ὁ κατοικῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἐγγελάσεται αὐτούς, καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐκμυκτηριεῖ αὐτούς". οὐκ ἀνθρωπολογεῖται τοῦτο, οὐκ ἀνθρωποπαθῶς ἐπὶ θεοῦ ἐκλαμβάνομεν. καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ λέγει· "ὅσα ἐνπέπαιχα τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις". ὁ ἐνπαιγμὸς ὧδε πάλιν τοιαύτην ἔχει διάνοιαν· οὐ λέοντας ἐπήγαγεν ἐπ' αὐτούς, οὐ δράκοντας, οὐ τοὺς ἄλλους μεγάλους θῆρας, ἀλλὰ σκνῖπα καὶ κυνόμυιαν ἐπὶ βατράχῳ καὶ κάμπῃ. ἐπερ · τὸ "3κατεπόντισεν"3 τί; -ἀλλὰ ἐκεῖ οὐ λέγει· "ἐνπέπαιχα αὐτούς". 14 ῥομφαίαν ἐσπάσαντο οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ καὶ ἐνέτειναν τόξον αὐτῶν τοῦ καταβαλεῖν πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα. ἡτοίμασαν ῥομφαίαν, ἵνα πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα καταβάλωσιν. ἀναστρέφεται καὶ εἰς τὴν αὐτῶν ἔρχεται καρδίαν, ὡς τὸ λεγόμενον· "ὁ ὀρύσσων βόθρον τῷ πλησίον ἐνπεσεῖται εἰς αὐτόν". καὶ πάλιν· "καὶ ἡ θήρα, ἣ ἔκρυψαν, συνλαβέτω αὐτούς". καὶ ἐν Ἐκκλησιαστῇ λέγει· "καθαιροῦντα φραγμόν, δήξεται ὄφις". τὸν ἄλλου φραγμὸν καθαιροῦντα ὄφις δήξεται, τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἄλλου καθαιροῦντα. "ῥομφαίαν ἐσπάσαντο"· ἀπὸ τῆς θήκης ἐσπάσαντο εἰς φανερὸν αὐτὴν ···γαν. δύναται ῥομφαία ὁ σὺν δόλῳ λόγος εἶναι· ἐκσπῶσιν γάρ, ἵνα διὰ τούτου πλήξωσιν. ἔχεις ἐν Παροιμίαις λεγόμενον· "εἰσὶν οἳ λέγοντες τιτρώσκουσιν μαχαίρᾳν, γλῶσσαι δὲ σοφῶν ἰῶνται". εἰσὶν οἳ ἐν τῷ λέγειν τιτρώσκουσιν μαχαίρᾳ. δοτικῇ δὲ ἀναγνωστέον· εἰσὶν οἱ ἐν τῷ λέγειν τιτρώσκοντες μαχαίρᾳ. οἱ φθείροντες ἤθη χρηστὰ ὁμιλίαις κακαῖς, ἐν τῷ λέγειν τιτρώσκουσιν μαχαίρᾳ. "καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα αὐτῶν μάχαιρα ὀξεῖα"· ὁ λ̣όγος αὐτῶν οἷα μάχαιρα βλάπτει καὶ τιτρώσκει. ἐν τῷ λέγειν οὖν εἰσίν τινες τιτρώσκοντες μαχαίρᾳ, αἱ δὲ τῶν σοφῶν γλῶσσαι, οἱ λόγοι τῶν σοφῶν, ἰῶνται. αἱ μάχαιραι αὗται φαρμάκου εἰσίν, οὐ τιτρώσκουσιν, οὐ πλήττουσιν, ο̣υ᾿̣ τ̣ρ̣αυματίζουσιν, ἀλλ' ἰῶνται τὰ γενόμενα ὑπ' ἄλλων λόγων τραύματα. τόξον ἐστὶν ἐντεινόμενον τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν τὸ οὕτως ἑτοιμασμένον ὥστε βέλη ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἀπολύεσθαι. οὗτοι δὲ ἔστωσαν πονηροὶ λογισμοί, λόγοι βλαπτικοί. "ἰδοὺ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἐνέτειναν τόξον, ἡτοίμασαν βέλη εἰς φαρέτραν". 14 τοῦ σφάξαι τοὺς εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ. ὧδε "3εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ"3 ἀκούομεν ὡς τὸν ἐλεγχόμενον δίκαιον καὶ τὸν σοφὸν καὶ τὸν δίκαιον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ κατηγοροῦντα. ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ κεῖται ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ κυρίου ὅτι· "πάντες οἱ λαβόντες μάχαιραν μαχαίρῃ ἀπολοῦνται". καὶ οἴονται οἱ πολλοί, ὅτι τοῦτο λέγει ὅτι πάντως ὁ σφάξας ἄνθρωπον σφαγήσεται. οὐ φαίνεται δὲ τοῦτο ἀναντίρρητον· πολλοὶ φονεῖς ἰδίῳ τέλει κέχρηνται· ἀλλὰ τοῦτο λέγει· πᾶς ὁ κατά τινος κόλασιν ἐπιφέρων κολάσει ὑποπεσεῖται, πᾶς ὁ βλάψαι τινὰ βουλόμενος μαχαίρᾳ, τῇ διανοίᾳ ἑαυτοῦ τῇ ἠκονημένῃ ἢ γλώττῃ καὶ λόγῳ, τοῖς αὐτοῖς υ῾̣π̣οπεσεῖται. ἐπερ · "τοῦ