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the scripture, declaring the word, says: 'Your goings have been seen, O God,' and what follows. 9.9.3 And having become as it were forerunners of this manifestation, the God-beloved prophets of old, preaching and singing praises through psaltery and dances and all kinds of spiritual instruments, 'went before' 'in the midst of damsels playing on timbrels.' 9.9.4 For surely the divine prophets, coming into the midst of the synagogues of the circumcision, proclaimed beforehand the coming of Christ, and they themselves, by the divine spirit, addressed the apostles of our Savior, saying: 'In the churches bless God the Lord from the fountains of Israel.' And the fountains of Israel would be the words delivered to Israel. 'For they were first entrusted with the oracles of God,' from which we too, drawing, must water the churches of Christ. 9.9.5 But by 'damsels' and 'women playing timbrels' he alluded to the souls that formerly lived more carnally according to the law of Moses, calling them 'damsels' because of the youth and immaturity of their understanding, and 'women playing timbrels' because they were occupied with carnal worship. 9.10.1 From Isaiah. 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to heal the brokenhearted, to call the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of recompense.' 9.10.2 And our Lord himself confesses that this prophecy was fulfilled in himself, when having come 'to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day,' and when he stood up, the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and when he had unrolled the book, he read what was written, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to call the acceptable year of the Lord. 9.10.3 And he rolled up the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing'.' 9.10.4 Therefore our Savior and Lord is clearly shown through this scripture to have been anointed differently and better than the priests of old who were anointed more carnally, not with prepared oil nor by men in like manner to the others, but with the divine spirit of God himself and his Father, from whom also, having partaken of the unbegotten divinity, he has been proclaimed God and Lord by the sacred scriptures. 9.10.5 And accordingly, in the prophecy at hand, he is introduced by Matthew as preaching the gospel to the poor, when 'seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain; and when he sat down his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' 9.10.6 And it is recorded that he gave sight to the blind in not a few cases; for not only did he grant sight to those whose bodily eyes were destroyed, but he also became the cause of spiritual vision and of the knowledge of the God of all for those who were previously blind. 9.10.7 And to others who were bound and led away as captives by the invisible and demonic power and fettered with chains of evil, he proclaimed freedom and release from their bonds, if they themselves, believing the proclamation, would run to him as to a redeemer and savior and be persuaded by his commandments. And the rest of the oracle will be examined in due course in the sections on the promises. 9.11.1 From Deuteronomy. 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers; to him you shall listen. According to all that you asked of the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, We will not hear again the voice of the Lord our God, and we will not see this great fire any more, lest we die. And the Lord said to me, Rightly

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λόγου θεσπίζουσα ἡ γραφή φησιν· «ἐθεωρήθησαν αἱ πορεῖαί σου, ὁ θεός», καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. 9.9.3 ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἐπιφανείας ὡσανεὶ πρόδρομοι γεγονότες οἱ πάλαι θεοφιλεῖς προφῆται, διὰ ψαλτηρίου καὶ χορῶν καὶ παντοίων πνευματικῶν ὀργάνων κηρύττοντες καὶ ἀνυμνοῦντες «προέφθασαν» «ἐν μέσῳ νεανίδων τυμπανιστριῶν». 9.9.4 πάντως γάρ που τῶν ἐκ περιτομῆς συναγωγῶν εἰς μέσον παριόντες οἱ θεῖοι προφῆται τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ προκατήγγελλον ἄφιξιν, οἱ δ' αὐτοὶ τῷ θείῳ πνεύματι τοῖς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀποστόλοις προσεφώνουν λέγοντες· «ἐν ἐκκλησίαις εὐλογεῖτε τὸν θεὸν κύριον ἐκ πηγῶν Ἰσραήλ». πηγαὶ δὲ Ἰσραὴλ οἱ λόγοι ἂν εἶεν οἱ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ παραδεδομένοι. «πρῶτοι γὰρ ἐπιστεύθησαν τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ», ὅθεν ἀντλοῦντας καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀρδεύειν δεήσει τὰς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ. 9.9.5 νεάνιδας δὲ καὶ τυμπανιστρίας τὰς πάλαι σωματικώτερον κατὰ τὸν Μωσέως νόμον βιούσας ψυχὰς ᾐνίξατο, διὰ μὲν τὸ νεώτερον καὶ ἀτελὲς τοῦ φρονήματος νεάνιδας, διὰ δὲ τὸ περὶ σωματικὴν κατατρίβεσθαι θρησκείαν τυμπανιστρίας αὐτὰς ἀποκαλέσας. 9.10.1 Ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου. «Πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμέ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέν με εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς, ἀπέσταλκέν με κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τὴν καρδίαν, καλέσαι ἐνιαυτὸν κυρίου δεκτὸν καὶ ἡμέραν ἀνταποδόσεως.» 9.10.2 Καὶ ταύτην αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν τὴν πρόρρησιν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ὁμολογεῖ πεπληρῶσθαι, ὅτε ἐλθὼν «εἰς τὴν Ναζαρέτ, οὗ ἦν ἀνατεθραμμένος, εἰσῆλθεν κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων εἰς τὴν συναγωγήν», ἀναστάντι δὲ αὐτῷ ἐπεδόθη Ἡσαΐας ὁ προφήτης, οὗ καὶ ἀναπτύξας τὴν βίβλον, ἀνέγνω τὸ ἐγγεγραμμένον, «πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμέ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέν με εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς, ἀπέσταλκέν με κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, ἀποστεῖλαι τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει, καλέσαι ἐνιαυτὸν κυρίου δεκτόν. 9.10.3 καὶ πτύξας τὸ βιβλίον ἀποδοὺς τῷ ὑπηρέτῃ ἐκάθισεν· καὶ πάντων οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ ἦσαν ἀτενίζοντες αὐτῷ. ἤρξατο δὲ λέγειν πρὸς αὐτούς, ὅτι σήμερον πεπλήρωται ἡ γραφὴ αὕτη ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ὑμῶν». 9.10.4 ὁ μὲν οὖν σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν διὰ ταύτης φαίνεται σαφῶς τῆς γραφῆς, διαφερόντως καὶ κρειττόνως παρὰ τοὺς πάλαι σωματικώτερον χριομένους ἱερέας, οὐκ ἐλαίῳ σκευαστῷ οὐδὲ ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀλλ' ἐνθέῳ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ δὴ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ κεχρισμένος, παρ' οὗ καὶ τῆς ἀγενήτου θεότητος μετασχὼν θεὸς καὶ κύριος πρὸς τῶν ἱερῶν ἀνηγόρευται γραφῶν. 9.10.5 ἀκολούθως δὲ τῇ μετὰ χεῖρας προφητείᾳ πτωχοῖς εὐαγγελιζόμενος εἰσάγεται παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ, ὅτε «ἰδὼν τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος· καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς λέγων· μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν». 9.10.6 καὶ τυφλοῖς δὲ ἀνάβλεψιν παρεσχημένος οὐκ ὀλίγοις ἀναγέγραπται· οὐ μόνον γὰρ τοῖς τὰς ὄψεις τοῦ σώματος ἠφανισμένοις τὸ βλέπειν ἐδωρεῖτο, ἀλλά γε καὶ τοῖς πρότερον τυφλώττουσιν αἴτιος τῆς κατὰ νοῦν θεωρίας καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ γέγονεν. 9.10.7 καὶ ἄλλοις δὲ τοῖς οὖσι δεσμίοις καὶ ἀπηγμένοις αἰχμαλώτοις ὑπὸ τῆς ἀοράτου καὶ δαιμονικῆς δυνάμεως κακῶν τε σειραῖς πεπεδημένοις ἐλευθερίαν καὶ ἄνεσιν τῶν συνεχόντων ἐκήρυττεν, εἰ καὶ αὐτοὶ τῷ κηρύγματι πιστεύσαντες οἷα λυτρωτῇ καὶ σωτῆρι προσδράμοιεν αὐτῷ καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ πεισθεῖεν παραγγέλμασιν. καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ δὲ τοῦ λογίου κατὰ καιρὸν ἐν τοῖς περὶ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν ἐξετασθήσεται. 9.11.1 Ἀπὸ τοῦ ∆ευτερονομίου. «Προφήτην ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου ἀναστήσει σοι κύριος ὁ θεός σου, ὡς ἐμέ· αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε. κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ᾐτήσω παρὰ κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου ἐν Χωρὴβ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἐκκλησίας λέγοντες, οὐ προσθήσομεν ἀκοῦσαι τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν, καὶ τὸ πῦρ τὸ μέγα τοῦτο οὐκ ὀψόμεθα ἔτι, οὐδὲ μὴ ἀποθάνωμεν· καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με, ὀρθῶς