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he has turned his face away from you, so as not to have mercy. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins9, etc. Having distinguished what must be done, and having promised good things to those who do right, but punishments to those who do not obey; now, as to those who have disobeyed and on this account have fallen into evils, he brings forth the refutation. And since, when war surrounded them, they were saying, 'We have fasted, and you did not see,' the prophet, out of great love for God, refutes them, showing that God is able to save, but that He has been hindered by their own transgressions which have fallen in between, so as not to allow aid to pass through to them. For He is neither weak, nor, as if from old age, hard of hearing. But to save the wicked is neither just, nor profitable for those who are saved. And because sins are said to build a wall, the Savior, through the forgiveness of these, is said to have destroyed the middle wall of partition. And He turns his face away from sins, as if not bearing to see things that are ugly and foul-smelling. From this it is clear that an ear that hears what is just, but not what is unjust, is the justice of God, not a physical ear. And having accused them of sins in general, he goes through them by type, and he accuses them of murder and slander, but nowhere now of idolatry. For they killed the prophets, and slandered the righteous. So Jeremiah said: 'My strength has failed because of those who curse me.' And the present prophet also said: 'See how the righteous one is taken away,' and what follows on this. From which things, as from a practice of lesser evils, they progressed to the murder of the Savior, which the prophet seems especially to indicate through the present words. For even if their hands were not upon the Savior, they have nevertheless become the cause, and they cried out for his blood to be upon them, and upon their children. And speaking evil, they did not cease to stir up the crowds, accusing him of being possessed, and a Samaritan born of fornication 2601, and of casting out demons by Beelzebul. Therefore he says: No one speaks just things, nor is there true judgment; and otherwise accusing them as false and unjust judges. Then, since deceiving themselves they expect another Christ, fabricating certain human tales about him, he adds: They have trusted in vain things, and speak empty things. Therefore Paul warns not to pay attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. And they were otherwise vain, and spoke empty things to one another: 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us take his inheritance.' Who, stitching together blasphemous words against him from their own reasonings, conceive trouble, and give birth to iniquity, not knowing how to say: 'From fear of you, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb, and have been in travail, and have brought forth a Spirit of salvation;' but they conceive such things, as have also been spoken by another: 'Behold, he has travailed with injustice. He has conceived trouble, and brought forth iniquity,' and what follows on this. But it is a custom in Scripture to call envy 'trouble'. For it is trouble for those who suffer from it, wasting them away. Therefore, they travailed with envy against Christ, and brought forth murder against him; since even in councils they were saying: 'What are we to do, for this man performs many signs?' And Caiaphas said, 'It is expedient for us that one man should die, and that the whole nation should not perish.' And such things would also be whatever wicked doctrines one belches forth from his own heart. And such men have also broken the eggs of asps, having conceived in themselves the seeds of the opposing powers. Therefore it was said to the offspring of their wickedness: 'Serpents, generation of vipers.' And analogously to the divine seed, he called the seed of the opposing powers 'eggs', using the reptilian kind as an example. For asps and serpents and such are of the egg-laying creatures. But since after so much wickedness, while professing the study and teaching of the divine Scriptures, they fall away to mythical old wives' tales and commandments of men, he compared it to a spider's web, (meaning) the rotten and worthless quality of their interpretation and tradition. Perhaps he also calls the slanders against Christ this? For weaving deceits, they thought indeed the... from their own

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ἀπέστρεψε τὸ πρόσωπον ἀφ' ὑμῶν, τοῦ μὴ ἐλεῆσαι. Αἱ γὰρ χεῖρες ὑμῶν μεμολυσμέναι αἵματι, καὶ οἱ δάκτυλοι ὑμῶν ἐν ἁμαρτίαισ9, κ.τ.λ. ∆ιελόμενος τὰ πρακτέα, καὶ τοῖς κατορθοῦσιν ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἀγαθὰ, τοῖς δὲ μὴ πειθομένοις, τιμωρίας· νῦν, ὡς ἀπειθήσασι καὶ περιπεπτωκόσι διὰ τοῦτο κακοῖς, προσάγει τὸν ἔλεγχον. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ πολέμου περιστάντος ἔλεγον, Ἐνηστεύσαμεν, καὶ οὐκ εἶδες, ὁ προφήτης ἐκ πολλῆς αὐτοὺς διελέγχει φιλοθεΐας, δυνατὸν εἰς σωτηρίαν δεικνὺς τὸν Θεὸν, κεκωλύσθαι δὲ μέσοις παρεμπεπτωκόσι τοῖς αὐτῶν πλημμελήμασιν, ὡς μὴ συγχωρεῖν τὴν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐπικουρίαν διέρχεσθαι. Οὔτε γὰρ ἀσθενής ἐστιν, οὔθ' ὥσπερ ἐκ γήρους, δυσήκοος. Κακοὺς δὲ σώζειν οὔτε δίκαιον, οὔτε τοῖς σωζομένοις λυσιτελές. ∆ιὰ δὲ τὸ τειχίζειν εἰρῆσθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας, ὁ Σωτὴρ διὰ τῆς ἀφέσεως τούτων τὸ μεσότοιχον, τοῦ φραγμοῦ λῦσαι λέγεται. Ἀποστρέφει δὲ τὸ πρόσωπον ἀπὸ τῶν ἀμαρτιῶν, δυσειδεῖς ὥσπερ καὶ δυσώδεις οὐ φέρων ἰδεῖν. Ἐντεῦθεν δὲ δῆλον, ὅτι οὖς τὸ δίκαιον ἀκοῦον, ἄδικον δὲ μὴ, δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ ἐστιν, οὐ σωματικὸν οὖς, αἰτιασάμενος δὲ καθόλου τὰς ἁμαρτίας, κατ' εἶδος αὐτὰς ἐπεξέρχεται, καὶ μιαιφονίαν αἰτιᾶται, καὶ καταλαλιὰν, οὐδαμοῦ δὲ νῦν εἰδωλολατρείαν. Ἀπέκτειναν γὰρ τοὺς προφήτας, καὶ τοὺς δικαίους ἐσυκοφάντησαν. Ἔφη γ' οὖν Ἱερεμίας· "Ἡ ἰσχύς μου ἐξέλιπεν ἐκ τῶν καταρωμένων με." Καὶ ὁ παρὼν δὲ προφήτης ἔφασκε· "Ἴδετε ὡς ὁ δίκαιος αἴρεται," καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τούτῳ. Ἀφ' ὧν, ὡς ἐξ ἐλάττονος κακῶν μελέτης ἐπὶ τὸν φόνον τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀνέδραμον, ὃν ἔοικε μάλιστα διὰ τῶν παρόντων ὁ προφήτης δηλοῦν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴν τὸ χεῖρες τοῦ Σωτῆρος, γεγόνασιν ἀλλ' οὖν αἴτιοι, καὶ τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἐβόων, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν. Καὶ κακῶς δὲ λέγοντες οὐκ ἐπαύοντο ἀνασείειν τὰ πλήθη, καὶ δαιμονᾷν, καὶ Σαμαρείτην ἐκ πορνείας 2601 τε εἶναι, καὶ ἐν Βεελζεβοὺλ ἐκβάλλειν τὰ δαιμόνια καταιτιώμενοι. ∆ιό φησιν· Οὐδεὶς λαλεῖ δίκαια, οὐδὲ ἔστι κρίσις ἀληθινή· καὶ ἄλλως αὐτοὺς ὡς ψευδεῖς καὶ ἀδίκους κριτὰς καταιτιώμενος. Εἶτα, ἐπειδήπερ ἑαυτοὺς ἐξαπατῶντες ἕτερον προσδοκῶσι Χριστὸν, ἀνθρώπινά τινα περὶ αὐτοῦ μυθολογοῦντες, ἐπιλέγει· Πεποίθασιν ἐπὶ ματαίοις, καὶ λαλοῦσι κενά. ∆ιὸ Παῦλος ἀποτρέπει μὴ προσέχειν Ἰουδαϊκοῖς μύθοις, καὶ ἐντολαῖς ἀνθρώπων ἀποστρεφομένων τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Ἦσαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλως μάταιοι, καὶ ἐλάλουν ἀλλήλοις κενά· "Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος· δεῦτε, κτείνωμεν αὐτὸν, καὶ σχῶμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν." Οἵτινες ἐξ οἰκείων λογισμῶν κατ' αὐτοῦ βλασφήμους λόγους συῤῥάπτοντες, κύουσι πόνον, καὶ τίκτουσιν ἀνομίαν, οὐκ εἰδότες λέγειν· "Ἐκ τοῦ φόβου σου, Κύριε, ἐν γαστρὶ ἐλάβομεν, καὶ ὠδινήσαμεν, καὶ ἐτέκομεν Πνεῦμα σωτηρίας·" τοιαῦτα δὲ κύουσιν, ὁποῖα καὶ δι' ἑτέρου λέλεκται· "Ἰδοὺ ὠδίνησεν ἀδικίαν. Συνέλαβε πόνον, καὶ ἔτεκεν ἀνομίαν," καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τούτοις. Ἔθος δὲ τῇ Γραφῇ πόνον τὸν φθόνον καλεῖν. Πόνος γάρ ἐστι τοῖς αὐτὸν νοσοῦσιν, ἐκτήκων αὐτούς. Ὠδίνησαν οὖν τὸν κατὰ Χριστοῦ φθόνον, καὶ τὴν κατ' αὐτοῦ μιαιφονίαν ἀπέτεκον· ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν συλλόγοις ἔλεγον· "Τί ποιοῦμεν, ὅτι οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος πολλὰ ποιεῖ σημεῖα;" Ὁ δὲ Καϊάφας, "Συμφέρει ἡμῖν, ἔφη, ἵνα εἷς ἄνθρωπος ἀποθάνῃ, καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ ἔθνος ἀπόληται." Εἴη δ' ἂν τοιαῦτα καὶ ὅσα πονηρά τις ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας ἐρεύγεται καρδίας δόγματα. Οἱ δὲ τοιοῦτοι καὶ ὠὰ ἀσπίδων ἔῤῥηξαν, τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων τὰ σπέρματα ἐν ἑαυτοῖς κυήσαντες. ∆ιὸ τοῖς τῆς κακίας αὐτῶν ἐκγόνοις ἐλέγετο· "Ὄφεις, γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν." Ἀναλόγως δὲ τῷ σπόρῳ τῷ θείῳ τὸν τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων σπόρον ὠὰ ὠνόμασε, διὰ τοῦ ἑρπυστικοῦ γένους παράδειγμα. Ἀσπίδες γὰρ καὶ ὄφεις καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν ὠοτοκούντων ἐστίν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ μετὰ τοσαύτην κακίαν, τὴν μελέτην καὶ διδασκαλίαν τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, πρὸς μυθώδεις γραολογίας ἐκπίπτουσι καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐντάλματα, παρέβαλεν ἀράχνης ἱστῷ, τὸ σαθρὸν καὶ ἄτιμον τῆς αὐτῶν ἐκδοχῆς τε καὶ παραδόσεως. Μήποτε δὲ καὶ τὰς κατὰ Χριστοῦ συκοφαντίας οὕτω καλεῖ; δόλους γὰρ πλέκοντες, ᾤοντο μὲν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἰδίων