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incense, as one blessing iniquity. And these things are also consistently connected with: what sort of house will you build for me? And what sort of place for my rest? For in taking away the house on earth, he reasonably also takes away the things accomplished in it. To which he adds: And they themselves have chosen their ways and their abominations, which their soul desired. For he says these are not my desires, nor are these "my ways," but are in accordance with their own choice. Therefore I also will choose their mockeries, or according to the other interpreters: their mockings; for they will be mocked, having been handed over to those who punish them, and I will repay them their sins. But he testifies again that these things will come upon them, for no other reason than because he says, "I called them and they did not listen, and they did the evil thing before me and chose what I did not want." It must be observed that these things have already been said for a second time in the same prophecy, since also a little before it was said: "Because I called you and you did not listen to me, and I spoke and you disobeyed and did the evil thing before me and chose what I did not want." But when did they not listen when he was calling, or not understand when he was speaking with them, or when, dwelling among them, he cried out: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"? But since they did not present themselves to him when he called, for this reason in the rendering of the promises, the worthy will enjoy them, but they themselves will be handed over to their own sins. 2.57 The Word, having prophesied that all things will be new at the time of the promises, consistently addresses through the preceding text those who have learned these things beforehand in the present life, saying: Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word. And who these were, he taught through the preceding words, saying: "To whom will I look but to the one who is humble and contrite, and who trembles at my words?" Therefore, to those shown to have a reverent and God-fearing manner through trembling at his word, he addresses them, saying: Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word; say, "our brothers," to those who hate you and to those who abhor you. Consistently, he gives them a gospel command, no different from: "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." Thus the prophecy also exhorts, which the gospel also teaches. For to be sure, for perfection it is not sufficient to tremble at the divine oracles and to be disposed toward them with all reverence, but for the attainment of supreme virtue it is so fitting to drive forbearance to the extreme, as to call the enemies who hate us brothers and not to see those who abhor us as enemies, but to cherish and love them as genuine friends. "For so you will be," says the Savior, "sons of your Father in heaven, who makes his sun rise on the righteous and the unrighteous, and sends rain on the evil and the good." But the prophecy says these things: Do so, that the name of the Lord may be glorified and be seen in their joy, or according to Symmachus: and we will see in your joy. For if you should do these things, your joy at the end of the rewards will be manifest to all; but they will be put to shame, seeing your end and learning by deeds of their own destruction at the time of "the righteous judgment of God"; for soon "the day of recompense" will be at hand, in which all sorts of voices of those being punished will be heard, some from the city itself from the inhabitants crying out, others from the temple itself from the priests and the other ministers wailing. And at that time the voice of the judge himself will also be heard, rendering recompense to the adversaries. Since, therefore, these things await the

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λίβανον ὡς εὐλογῶν ἀδικίαν. καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ἀκολούθως συνῆπται τῷ· ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι; καὶ ποῖος τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου; ἀναιρῶν γὰρ τὸν ἐπὶ γῆς οἶκον, εἰκότως συναναιρεῖ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ συντελούμενα. οἷς ἐπιλέγει· καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐξελέξαντο τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ βδελύγματα αὐτῶν, ἃ ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτῶν ἠθέλησεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐμά φησι ταῦτα θελήματα οὐδὲ «ἐμαὶ αἱ ὁδοὶ» αὗται, ἀλλὰ τῆς αὐτῶν προαιρέσεως καταθύμια. διόπερ καὶ ἐγὼ ἐκλέξομαι τὰ ἐμπαίγματα αὐτῶν, ἢ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτάς· τοὺς ἐμπαιγμοὺς αὐτῶν· ἐμπαιχθήσονται γὰρ παραδοθέντες τοῖς αὐτοὺς κολάζουσι, καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν ἀνταποδώσω αὐτοῖς. ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐπελεύσεσθαι πάλιν μαρτύρεται, οὐδ' ἀλλ' ὅτι ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐκάλεσα αὐτούς φησι καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσαν καὶ ἐποίησαν τὸ πονηρὸν ἐναντίον μου καὶ ἃ οὐκ ἐβουλόμην ἐξελέξαντο. τηρητέον ὡς ἤδη ταῦτα δεύτερον ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ εἴρηται προφητείᾳ, ἐπεὶ καὶ μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἐλέγετο· «διότι ἐκάλεσα ὑμᾶς καὶ οὐχ ὑπηκούσατέ μου, καὶ ἐλάλησα καὶ παρηκούσατε καὶ ἐποιήσατε τὸ πονηρὸν ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ καὶ ἃ οὐκ ἐβουλόμην ἐξελέξασθε». πότε δὲ καλοῦντος οὐχ ὑπήκουσαν, ἢ ὁμιλοῦντος αὐτοῖς οὐ συνῆκαν, ἢ ὅτε αὐτοῖς συνδιατρίβων ἐβόα· «δεῦτε πρός με πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς»; ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ μὴ παρέσχον ἑαυτοὺς καλοῦντι, τούτου χάριν ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν ἀποδώσει οἱ μὲν ἄξιοι τούτων ἀπολαύσουσιν, αὐτοὶ δὲ ταῖς ἑαυτῶν παραδοθήσονται ἁμαρτίαις. 2.57 Θεσπίσας ὁ λόγος καινὰ πάντα ἔσεσθαι κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν, ἀκολούθως ἐκείνοις διὰ τῶν προκειμένων τοῖς κατὰ τὸν ἐνεστῶτα βίον ταῦτα προμεμαθηκόσι προσφωνεῖ λέγων· Ἀκούσατε τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου, οἱ τρέμοντες τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ. τίνες δ' ἦσαν οὗτοι, διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἐδίδαξεν εἰπών· «ἐπὶ τίνα ἐπιβλέψω ἀλλ' ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν ταπεινὸν καὶ ἡσύχιον καὶ τρέμοντα τοὺς λόγους μου»; τοῖς τὸν εὐλαβῆ τοίνυν καὶ θεοσεβῆ τρόπον ἀναδεδειγμένοις διὰ τοῦ τρέμειν τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ προσφωνεῖ λέγων· Ἀκούσατε τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου, οἱ τρέμοντες τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ· εἴπατε, ἀδελφοὶ ἡμῶν, τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ τοῖς βδελλυσσομένοις. ἀκολούθως εὐαγγελικὸν αὐτοῖς παραδίδωσι παράγγελμα οὐδὲν διαφέρον τοῦ· «ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς, προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων καὶ διωκόντων ὑμᾶς, ἵνα γένησθε υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς». οὕτω καὶ ἡ προφητεία παρακελεύεται, ὅπερ καὶ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον διδάσκει. πρὸς μὲν γὰρ τελείωσιν οὐκ ἐπαρκεῖ τὸ τρέμειν τὰ θεῖα λόγια καὶ διακεῖσθαι περὶ αὐτὰ σὺν εὐλαβείᾳ τῇ πάσῃ, πρὸς δὲ ἄκρας ἀρετῆς ἀνάληψιν οὕτω προσήκει ἀνεξικακίας εἰς ἄκρον ἐλαύνειν, ὡς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς μισοῦντας ἡμᾶς ἀδελφοὺς ὀνομάζειν καὶ τοὺς βδελυσσομένους ἡμᾶς μὴ ὡς πολεμίους ὁρᾶν, ἀλλὰ στέργειν καὶ ἀγαπᾶν ὡς γνησίους φίλους. «οὕτω γὰρ ἔσεσθε», φησὶν ὁ σωτήρ, «υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ὅστις ἀνατέλλει τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθούς». ἡ δὲ προφητεία ταῦτά φησι· ποιεῖτε, ἵνα τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου δοξασθῇ καὶ ὀφθῇ ἐν τῇ εὐφροσύνῃ αὐτῶν, ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· καὶ ὀψόμεθα ἐν τῇ εὐφροσύνῃ ὑμῶν· εἰ γὰρ ταῦτα πράττοιτε, ὑμῶν μὲν κατὰ τὸ τέλος τῶν ἀμοιβῶν εὐφροσύνη ἔκδηλος ἔσται τοῖς πᾶσιν· ἐκεῖνοι δὲ καταισχυνθήσονται τὸ ὑμέτερον ὀψόμενοι τέλος καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀπώλειαν κατὰ τὸν «τῆς δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ θεοῦ» καιρὸν ἔργοις μαθησόμενοι· ὅσον γὰρ οὔπω ἐπιστήσεται «ἡ ἡμέρα τῆς ἀνταποδόσεως», καθ' ἣν φωναὶ παντοῖαι τῶν κολαζομένων ἀκουσθήσονται, αἱ μὲν ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς πόλεως τῶν οἰκητόρων ἐκβοώντων, αἱ δὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ναοῦ τῶν ἱερέων καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν λειτουργῶν ἀποκλαομένων. τὸ τηνικαῦτα δὲ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ κριτοῦ ἡ φωνὴ ἀκουσθήσεται ἀνταποδιδόντος ἀνταπόδοσιν τοῖς ἀντικειμένοις. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ταῦτα περιμένει τοὺς