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clay, all the work of your hands. Be not exceedingly angry with us, and do not remember our sins in season. And now look upon us, for we are all your people; the city of your holy one has become a desolate Zion; Jerusalem has become like a desert. The house of our holy one has become a curse, and the glory which our fathers blessed has been burned with fire, and all glorious things have fallen together. And in all these things you have endured, Lord, and you were silent, and you have humbled us exceedingly.

λθ΄. These things indeed happened typically to your ancient people, but now they are truly [al. ὡς ἀληθῶς, Sic et Fr.] fulfilled in us; and we have become a reproach to our neighbors the demons, a scorn and a derision to those around us, But look down from heaven, and see, and save us for your holy name’s sake; and make known to us the methods of our adversaries; and deliver us from their machinations, and do not take your help from us, for we are not sufficient to overcome the things that oppose us; but you are able to save from all adversaries. Save us, Lord, from the hardships of this world, according to your goodness, so that having crossed the sea of life with a pure conscience, we may stand blameless and unblemished before your fearful judgment seat, and be deemed worthy of eternal life.

μ΄. The Brother, hearing all these things, and being greatly pierced with compunction, said with tears to the elder, As from what I see, Father, no hope of salvation is left for you. For my iniquities have gone over my head; but I beg you to tell me what I ought to have done. And the Elder, answering, said: To be saved is impossible for men; but with God, all things are possible, as the Lord himself said. Let us therefore come before his presence with thanksgiving, let us worship and fall down, and let us weep before the Lord who made us, for he is our God. And let us hear him saying through the voice of Isaiah, that When you turn and groan, (949) then you will be saved. And again: Is the Lord’s hand not strong enough to save? Or has his ear grown heavy that it cannot hear? But our sins separate us from God; and because of our sins, he has turned away his face, so as not to have mercy. Therefore he says: Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; take away the evil from your souls before my eyes; cease from your evil deeds; learn to do good, seek judgment, deliver the wronged, judge for the orphan and justify the widow, and come, and let us reason together, says the Lord; and if your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and if they are like crimson, I will make them white as wool. And, If you are willing and obey me, you will eat the good things of the land. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things. And again through Joel: Return to me with all your heart; with fasting and with weeping and with lamentation; rend your hearts, and not your garments. For the Lord is merciful and compassionate, and repents of evils. But to Ezekiel, Son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have spoken, saying, Our errors and our iniquities are upon us; and in them we are wasting away; and how shall we live? Say to them, As I live, says the Lord, I do not desire the death of the wicked, but that he should turn from his way, and live. Turn, turn from your way; and why will you die, O house of Israel. And the third of Kings, revealing the excess of God’s goodness, says thus, When Ahab heard, while he was in the vineyard of Naboth, which he inherited by killing him through Jezebel, the words of Elijah, saying: Thus says the Lord: You have murdered, and you have inherited; and in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, there the dogs will lick your blood; and dogs will devour Jezebel in the rampart of Israel. And when Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and slept in the sackcloth. And the word came

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πηλός, ἔργον τῶν χειρῶν σου πάντες. Μή ὀργισθῇς ἡμᾶς σφόδρα, καί μή ἐν καιρῷ μνησθῇς ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν. Καί νῦν ἐπίβλεψον ὅτι λαός σου πάντες ἡμεῖς· πόλις τοῦ ἁγίου σου ἐγενήθη ἔρημος Σιών· ὡς ἔρημος ἐγενήθη Ἱερουσαλήμ. Εἰς κατάραν ὁ οἶκος τοῦ ἁγίου ἡμῶν, καί ἡ δόξα ἥν ηὐλόγησαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, ἐγενήθη πυρίκαυστος, καί πάντα τά ἔνδοξα συνέπεσε. Καί ἐπί πᾶσι τούτοις ἠνέσχου, Κύριε, καί ἐσιώπησας, καί ἐταπείνωσας ἡμᾶς ἕως σφόδρα.

λθ΄. Συνέβη μέν ταῦτα τυπικῶς τῷ παλαιῷ σου λαῷ, νῦν δέ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἀληθινῶς [al. ὡς ἀληθῶς, Sic et Fr.] πεπλήρωται· καί ἐγενήθημεν ὄνειδος τοῖς γείτοσιν ἡμῶν δαίμοσι, μυκτιρισμός καί χλευασμός τοῖς κύκλῳ ἡμῶν, Ἀλλ᾿ ἐπίβλεψον ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, καί ἴδε, καί σῶσον ἡμᾶς διά τό ὄνομά σου τό ἅγιον· καί γνώρισον ἡμῖν τάς μεθοδείας τῶν ὑπεναντίων ἡμῶν· καί ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν μηχανημάτων αὐτῶν, καί μή ἀποστήσῃς ἀφ᾿ ἡμῶν τήν σήν βοήθειαν, ὅτι ἡμεῖς οὐχ ἱκανοί ἐσμεν πρός τό νικᾷν τά ἀντιπίπτοντα· σύ δέ δυνατός εἶ εἰς τό σώζειν ἐκ πάντων τῶν ἐναντίων. Σῶσον ἡμᾶς, Κύριε, ἐκ τῶν δυσχερῶν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατά τήν χρηστότητά σου, ἵνα ἐν καθαρᾷ συνειδήσει τό πέλαγος τοῦ βίου διαπεράσαντες, ἄμεμπτοι καί ἀκέραιοι τῷ φοβερῷ βήματί σου παραστάντες, ἀξιωθῶμεν τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς.

μ΄. Ταὐτα πάντα ἀκούσας ὁ Ἀδελφός, καί σφόδρα κατανυγείς, μετά δακρύων εἶπε τῷ γέροντι, ὡς Ἐξ ὧν θεωρῶ, Πάτερ, οὐχ ὑπολέλειπταί σοι ἐλπίς σωτηρίας. Αἱ γάρ ἀνομίαι μου ὑπερῆραν τήν κεφαλήν μου· ἀλλά παρακαλῶ εἰπεῖν μοι τί ὤφειλον ποιῆσαι. Καί ὁ Γέρων ἀποκριθείς εἶπε· Τό σωθῆναι, παρά μέν ἀνθρώποις ἀδύνατον· παρά δέ τῷ Θεῷ, πάντα δυνατά, ὡς αὐτός ἔφη ὁ Κύριος· Προφθάσωμεν οὖν τό πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐξομοληγήσει, προσκυνήσωμεν καί προσπέσωμεν, καί κλαύσωμεν ἐναντίον Κυρίου τοῦ ποιήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν· καί ἀκούωμεν αὐτοῦ λέγοντος διά τῆς Ἡσαΐου φωνῆς, ὅτι Ὅταν ἀποστραφῇς καί στενάξῃς, (949) τότε σωθήσῃ. Καί πάλιν· Μή οὐκ ἰσχύει ἡ χείρ Κυρίου τοῦ σῶσαι; ἤ ἐβάρυνε τό οὖς αὐτοῦ τοῦ μή εἰσακούσασθαι; Ἀλλά τά ἁμαρτήματα ἡμῶν διιστῶσιν ἀναμέσον ἡμῶν καί τοῦ Θεοῦ· καί διά τάς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, ἀπέστρεψε τό πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, τοῦ μή ἐλεῆσαι. ∆ιό λέγει· Λούσασθε, καθαροί γίνεσθε· ἀφέλετε τάς πονηρίας ἀπό τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου· παύσασθε τῶν πονηριῶν ὑμῶν· μάθετε καλόν ποιεῖν, ἐκζητήσατε κρίσιν, ῥύσατε ἀδικούμενον, κρίνατε ὀρφανῷ καί δικαιώσατε χήραν, καί δεῦτε, καί διαλεχθῶμεν, λέγει Κύριος · καί ἐάν ὦσι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ· ἐάν δέ ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡσεί ἔριον λευκανῶ. Καί, Ἐάν θέλητε καί εἰσακούσητέ μου, τά ἀγαθά τῆς γῆς φάγεσθε. Τό γάρ στόμα Κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα. Καί πάλιν διά Ἰωήλ· Ἐπιστράφητε πρός με ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν· ἐν νηστείᾳ καί ἐν κλαυθμῷ καί κοπετῷ· διαῤῥήξατε τάς καρδίας ὑμῶν, καί οὐ τά ἱμάτια ὑμῶν. Ἐλεήμων γάρ καί οἰκτίρμων ἐστί Κύριος, καί μετανοῶν ἐπί ταῖς κακίαις. Πρός Ἰεζεκιήλ δέ, Υἱέ ἀνθρώπου, εἶπον τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰσραήλ, Οὕτως ἐλαλήσατε, λέγοντες, Αἱ πλάναι ἡμῶν, καί αἱ ἀνομίαι ἡμῶν ἐφ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐστι· καί ἐν αὐταῖς τηκόμεθα· καί πῶς ζησόμεθα; Εἶπον αὐτοῖς, Ζῶ ἐγώ, λέγει Κύριος, Οὐ βούλομαι τόν θάνατον τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς, ὥστε ἐπιστρέψαι αὐτόν ἀπό τῆς ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ, καί ζῇν αὐτόν· ἀποστροφῇ ἀποστρέψατε ἀπό τῆς ὁδοῦ ὑμῶν· καί ἵνα τί ἀποθνήσκετε, οἶκος Ἰσραήλ. Ἡ δέ τρίτην τῶν Βασιλειῶν, τήν ὑπερβολή τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χρηστότητος φανεροῦσα, οὕτω λέγει, Ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι Ἀχαάβ ὄντα αὐτόν ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι τοῦ Ναβουθαί, ὅν ἐκληρονόμησεν ἐν τῷ ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτόν διά τῆς Ἰεζάβελ, τούς λόγους Ἠλιοῦ, λέγοντος· Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Ἐφόνευσας, καί ἐκληρονόμησας· καί ἐν τῷ τόπῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἔλειξαν οἱ κύνες τό αἷμα Ναβουθαί, ἐκεί λείξουσιν οἱ κύνες τό αἷμα σου· καί τήν Ἰεζάβελ κύνες καταφάγονται ἐν τῷ περιτειχίσματι τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Καί ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι Ἀχαάβ τούς λόγους τούτους, διέῤῥηξε τά ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, καί ἔθετο σάκκον ἐπί τήν σάρκα αὐτοῦ, καί ἐνήστευσε, καί ἐκοιμήθη ἐν τῷ σάκκῳ. Καί ἐγένετο λόγος