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But He gives a sign to those who fear him, to flee from the face of the bow; teaching those who fear him to carry about in the body the dying of Jesus; through which the complete inactivity of sin is established. For a true sign is the power which through the cross puts to death the mindset of the flesh. To flee from the face of the bow; that is, from the deceptive appearance that is manifest in beings. For the face of the bow, and I mean of every demonic passion, is the surface of bodies that stimulates the sense, wounding the sense like the point of an arrow, and improperly inciting the soul toward the passions. Therefore the Word says (861) that those who fear the Lord will flee from the face of the bow, but not from the bow. For the bow of sin, happening without a face, could do nothing against those who fear the Lord.

So that the beloved of God might be delivered. And the beloved of God are they who, through contemplation, are possessors of divine knowledge

thoughts; whom the modes of the virtues, established through practice, deliver from every error and all the memories of sin [Fr. sins] that trouble the soul through preconception.

Save me with your right hand, and hear me. God has spoken in his Holy One;

I will rejoice and I will divide Shechem, and I will measure out the valley of the Tents. God saves with his right hand, by giving his only-begotten Son; for the right hand of the

Father is the Son; a ransom for the salvation of the world. And he hears, giving to the righteous, in addition to the forgiveness of sins, spiritual gifts as well. For God hears one who beseeches him, first giving forgiveness of sins through repentance, and he listens, giving, in addition to the forgiveness of sins, also the operations of spiritual grace. And he speaks in his Holy One; that is, in his incarnate Word, his divine purpose which was hidden from the ages and from the generations, according to the incarnate economy of Christ himself. Through his humanly-befitting conduct among us, as if crying out explicitly, and giving in his life a model for eternal life, an image louder than any voice, the demonstration of good works. And he also speaks in each saint who keeps his commandments; as if showing the words to be alive through the works, and louder than any voice.

And the righteous one rejoices when, perfected by the grace of the Only-Begotten, he becomes capable of dividing Shechem; that is, of proposing to others, in proportion, from knowing experience, the manly ways of the virtues according to practice. For Shechem is interpreted as ‘shoulder-strength’; which is the state that is both abstinent from all passions and active in all virtues. For they say the shoulder is a symbol of practice.

And he measures out the valley of the Tents; assigning the principles appropriate to each of the beings according to natural contemplation. For the valley of the Tents is the present world, in which the present life of all, according to the different opinion and disposition of each, (865) is unfixed and temporary like tents.

Or again, the Tents of the present valley are the modes of the virtues, which he who knows how to distribute to each through good teaching the fitting path to salvation, divides with knowledge among those who are taught, giving guidance and a safeguard [precaution] for precious things suitable to the state of each.

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∆ίδωσι δέ τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν σημείωσιν, τοῦ φυγεῖν ἀπό προσώπου τόξου· τήν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι περιφέρειν διδάσκων τούς φοβουμένους αὐτόν· καθ᾿ ἥν ἡ παντελής τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀπραξία συνέστηκε. Σημείωσις γάρ ἀληθής, ἡ διά σταυροῦ νεκροῦσα τό φρόνημα τῆς σαρκός καθέστηκε δύναμις. Πρός τό φυγεῖν ἀπό προσώπου τόξου· τουτέστιν, ἀπό τῆς ἐμφαινομένης τοῖς οὖσιν ἀπατηλῆς ἐπιφανείας. Πρόσωπον γάρ τόξου, φημί δέ ἑκάστου δαιμονιώδους πάθους, ἡ τήν αἴσθησιν ἐρεθίζουσα τῶν σωμάτων ἐστίν ἐπιφάνεια, καθάπερ ἀκίς βέλους τήν αἴσθησιν τιτρώσκουσα, καί πρός τά πάθη τήν ψυχήν ἀπρεπῶς διερεθίζουσα. ∆ιόπερ ἀπό προσώπου (861) τόξου φησίν ὁ Λόγος φεύξεσθαι τούς φοβουμένους τόν Κύριον, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀπό τόξου. Τό γάρ τόξον τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἄνευ προσώπου τυχόν, οὐδέ τι δράσειε κατά τῶν φοβουμένων τόν Κύριον.

Ἐφ᾿ ᾧ ῥυσθῆναι τούς ἀγαπητούς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἀγαπητοί δέ Θεοῦ εἰσιν, οἱ κατά θεωρίαν συνεκτικοί τῆς θείας γνώσεως

λογισμοί· οὕς ῥύονται, οἱ κατά τήν πρακτικήν συνιστάμενοι τρόποι τῶν ἀρετῶν, ἀπό πάσης πλάνης καί πασῶν τῶν διοχλουσῶν τῇ ψυχῇ κατά πρόληψιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας [Fr. ἁμαρτιῶν] μνημῶν.

Σῶσον τῇ δεξιᾷ σου, καί ἐπάκουσόν μου. Ὁ Θεός ἐλάλησεν ἐν τῷ Ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ·

Ἀγαλλιάσομαι καί διαμεριῶ Σίκημα, καί τήν κοιλάδα τῶν Σκηνῶν διαμετρήσω. Σώζει ὁ Θεός τῇ δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ, διδούς τόν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ Υἱόν· δεξιά γάρ τοῦ

Πατρός ὁ Υἱός· λύτρον ὑπέρ τῆς κόσμου σωτηρίας. Ἐπακούει δέ, διδούς τῷ δικαίῳ, πρός τῇ ἀφέσει τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, καί πνευματικά χαρίσματα. Ἀκούει μέν γάρ τοῦ ἱκευτόντος αὐτόν ὁ Θεός, πρῶτον διά τῆς μετανοίας ἄφεσιν διδούς ἁμαρτημάτων, ἐπακούει δέ, πρός τῇ ἀφέσει τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, καί τά διά χάριτος πνευματικῆς διδούς ἐνεργήματα. Λαλεῖ δέ ἐν τῷ Ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ· τουτέστιν, ἐν τῷ σαρκωθέντι αὐτοῦ λόγῳ, τόν θεῖον αὐτοῦ σκοπόν τόν ἀποκεκρυμμένον ἀπό τῶν αἰώνων καί ἀπό τῶν γενεῶν, κατά τήν ἔνσαρκον αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ οἰκονομίαν. ∆ιά τῆς καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἀνθρωποπρεποῦς αὐτοῦ ἀναστροφῆς, οἱονεί διαῤῥήδην βοῶν, καί τῷ βίῳ διδούς εἰς ὑποτύπωσιν αἰωνίου ζωῆς, εἰκόνα πάσης γεγωνοτέραν φωνῆς, τήν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἐπίδειξιν. Λαλεῖ δέ καί ἐν ἑκάστῳ ἁγίῳ φυλάττοντι αὐτοῦ τάς ἐντολάς· οἷον ζῶντας δεικνύς διά τῶν ἐργων τούς λόγους, καί πάσης φωνῆς γεγωνοτέρους.

Ἀγαλλιᾶται δέ ὁ δίκαιος, ἡνίκα τελειωθείς τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Μονογενοῦς, ἱκανός γένηται διαμερίσαι τήν Σίκημα· τουτέστιν, ἄλλοις ἀναλόγως ἐκ πείρας ἐπιστήμονος ὑποθέσθαι, τούς κατά τήν πρακτικήν ἀνδρικούς τῶν ἀρετῶν τρόπους. Ὠμίασις γάρ ἡ Σίκημα ἑρμηνεύεται· ὅπερ ἐστίν ἡ πάντων μέν ἐφεκτική τῶν παθῶν, πασῶν δέ ἐνεργητική τῶν ἀρετῶν ἕξις. Πράξεως γάρ σύμβολον τόν ὦμον εἶναι φασι.

Καί τήν κοιλάδα τῶν Σκηνῶν διαμετρεῖ· τούς προσφόρους ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὄντων κατά τήν φυσικήν θεωρίαν λόγους ἀπονέμων. Ἡ γάρ κοιλάς τῶν Σκηνῶν, ὁ παρών ἐστι κόσμος, ἐν ᾧ πάντων κατά τήν ἑκάστου διάφορον γνώμην τε καί διάθεσιν, (865) ἀπαγής ὑπάρχει καί πρόσκαιρος σκηνῶν δίκην ἡ παροῦσα ζωή.

Ἤ πάλιν Σκηναί τυγχάνουσιν τῆς παρούσης κοιλάδος, οἱ τῶν ἀρετῶν τρόποι, οὕς διαιρεῖ γνωστικῶς τοῖς διδασκομένοις, πρός τήν ἑκάστου ἕξιν κατάλληλον διδούς ἀγωγήν καί προσφυλακήν [προφυλακήν] τῶν τιμίων, ὁ διανέμειν εἰδώς ἑκάστῳ διά τῆς καλῆς διδασκαλίας τήν ἁρμόζουσαν πρός σωτηρίαν ὁδόν.