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David's virtue, it mentioned his one sin. "For David did," it says, "what was right in the sight of the Lord, and did not turn aside from all that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." And the book of Chronicles praised the first things of Abijah; but it likewise accused his last. But we shall make these things clearer when we interpret that book, God willing. And the book of Kings praised the first things of the reign of Asa. "For Asa did," it says, "what was right in the sight of the Lord, as David his father did; and he removed the pillars from the land, and took away all the practices which his fathers had made, and he removed Anna his mother from being queen, because she held an assembly in her grove; and Asa cut these down, and all her 80.720 sanctuaries, and burned them with fire in the torrent of the cedars. But he did not remove the high places." Here again it has shown that he destroyed the precincts of the idols and cut down the groves to the root, but left behind the altars dedicated to God in the high places. And this, with the help of divine grace, we will demonstrate more clearly when interpreting the narrative concerning Hezekiah. He showed, however, his zeal for God, also by stripping his mother of her authority, because of the assembly and the feast which she celebrated in the grove, cutting it down, and destroying all her idolatrous places and giving them over to fire. And it added that he also took the pillars, which both he and his father had made from silver and gold, out of the palace and dedicated them to the Lord God; and much other silver and gold, both coined and uncoined, and sacred and precious vessels; yet it called him imperfect. For it said: "But the heart of Asa was not perfect with the Lord all his days." And the history of the Chronicles teaches this more clearly. And having prayed faithfully, he fought against the hundred myriads of the Ethiopians, and utterly destroyed them all with javelins. But when Baasha, the king of the ten tribes, attacked and tried to fortify Ramah, he abandoned God and embraced an alliance with the Syrians. QUES. 48. How is it to be understood: "In the time of his old age Asa did evil, and his feet were diseased?" The book of Chronicles taught this more clearly too. "For in his illness," it says, "he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians." But I suppose one of two things: either those who used incantations and sorcery were called physicians, or that he only trusted in the physicians, having no hope in God. For those who are adorned with piety use physicians as ministers of God, knowing that He Himself gave medicine to men, just as indeed also the other arts, and He Himself commanded the herbs to sprout from the earth. Yet they know that the art of physicians has no strength if God is unwilling; but it is able to do as much as He Himself wills. And the house of Jeroboam 80.721 suffered utter destruction, according to the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite. "For Baasha, king of Israel," it says, "struck the whole house of Jeroboam; and not a single soul of Jeroboam was left, until he destroyed them all, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Ahijah the Shilonite." And Baasha suffered the same things. For he himself also embraced the same impiety and lawlessness. And Elah, his son, received the blow from Zimri. This one again, according to the prophecy that had been made, destroyed the entire house of Baasha. And when the people had made Zimri king, Zimri, being besieged, set fire to the house in which he was living, and died, being burned along with it. And through these things we are taught that the Lord God punishes those who live together in wickedness through one another. And He delivers the wicked to the more wicked, using them as certain executioners. And since some ask whence the Samaritans have received this name, to learn this from the preceding history

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τοῦ ∆αβὶδ ἀρετὴν, τῆς μιᾶς ἁμαρτίας ἐμνήσθη. "Ἐποίησε γὰρ, φησὶ, ∆αβὶδ, τὸ εὐθὲς ἐνώπιον Κυ ρίου, καὶ οὐκ ἐξέκλινεν ἀπὸ πάντων ὧν ἐνετείλατο αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, ἐκτὸς ἐν ῥήματι Οὐρίου τοῦ Χετθαίου." Τοῦ δὲ Ἀβιᾶ τὰ πρῶτα ἐπῄνεσε τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ βίβλος· τῶν δὲ τελευταίων ὁμοίως καὶ αὐτὴ κατηγόρησε. Σαφέστερον δὲ ταῦτα δηλώσομεν ἐκείνην ἑρμη νεύοντες, σὺν Θεῷ φάναι, τὴν βίβλον. Τοῦ δὲ Ἀσᾶ τὰ πρῶτα τῆς βασιλείας ἡ τῶν Βασιλειῶν ἐπῄνεσε βίβλος. "Ἐποίησε γὰρ, φησὶν, Ἀσὰ τὸ εὐθὲς ἐνώπιον Κυρίου, ὡς ὁ ∆αβὶδ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀφεῖλε τὰς στήλας ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐξῆρε πάντα τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα, ἃ ἐποίησαν οἱ πατέρες αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὴν Ἄνναν τὴν μητέρα αὑτοῦ μετέστη τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἡγουμένην, καθότι ἐποίησε σύνοδον ἐν τῷ ἄλσει αὑτῆς· καὶ ἐξέκοψεν αὐτὰ Ἀσὰ, καὶ πάσας τὰς κατα 80.720 δύσεις αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐνέπρησεν ἐν πυρὶ ἐν τῷ χειμάῤῥῳ κεδρῶν. Τὰ δὲ ὑψηλὰ οὐκ ἐξῆρε." Πάλιν ἐν ταῦθα δεδήλωκεν, ὡς τὰ μὲν τῶν εἰδώλων τεμένη κατέλυσε, καὶ πρόῤῥιζα τὰ ἄλση ἐξέκοψε· τὰ δὲ τῷ Θεῷ ἐν τοῖς ὑψηλοῖς ἀνακείμενα θυσιαστήρια κατα λέλοιπε. Καὶ τοῦτο, τῆς θείας χάριτος συνεργού σης, σαφέστερον ἀποδείξομεν ἑρμηνεύοντες τὸ κατὰ τὸν Ἐζεκίαν διήγημα. Ἔδειξε μέντοι καὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Θεοῦ ζῆλον, καὶ τὴν μητέρα τῆς ἐξουσίας γυ μνώσας, διὰ τὴν σύνοδον καὶ τὴν ἑορτὴν, ἣν ἐπετέ λεσεν ἐν τῷ ἄλσει, καὶ αὐτὸ ἐκκόψας, καὶ πάντας τοὺς εἰδωλικοὺς αὐτῆς καταλύσας τόπους, καὶ πυρὶ παραδούς. Προσέθηκε δὲ, ὅτι καὶ τοὺς κίονας, οὓς καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἐξ ὕλης ἀργύρου κατ εσκεύασε καὶ χρυσοῦ, τῶν βασιλείων ἐξενεγκὼν ἀν έθηκε τῷ ∆εσπότῃ Θεῷ· καὶ ἄλλον πλεῖστον καὶ ἄρ γυρον καὶ χρυσὸν, ἐπίσημόν τε καὶ ἄσημον, καὶ σκεύη ἱερὰ καὶ πολύτιμα· ἀτελῆ δὲ αὐτὸν ὅμως ὠνόμασεν. Ἔφη γάρ· "Πλὴν ἡ καρδία Ἀσὰ οὐκ ἦν τελεία μετὰ Κυρίου πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας αὐτοῦ." Καὶ τοῦτο σαφέστερον ἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἱστορία διδάσκει. Πιστῶς δὲ προσευξάμενος, τὰς ἑκατὸν τῶν Αἰθιόπων κατηγωνίσατο μυριάδας, καὶ ἄρδην κατηκόντισεν ἅπαντας. Βαασὰ δὲ τοῦ τῶν δέκα φυλῶν βασιλέως ἐπιθεμένου, καὶ τὴν Ῥαμὰ ἐπιτειχίσαι πειραθέντος, καταλιπὼν τὸν Θεὸν, τὴν τῶν Σύρων ἠσπάσατο συμμαχίαν. ΕΡΩΤ. ΜΗʹ. Πῶς νοητέον· "Ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ γήρως ἐποίη σεν Ἀσὰ τὸ πονηρὸν, καὶ ἐπόνεσε τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ;" Σαφέστερον καὶ τοῦτο τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ βί βλος ἐδίδαξεν. "Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐζήτησε τὸν Κύριον, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἰατρούς." Ἐγὼ δὲ δυοῖν θάτερον ὑπολαμβάνω, ἢ τοὺς ἐπῳδαῖς κεχρημένους καὶ μαγγανείαις κληθῆναι ἰατροὺς, ἢ ὅτι μόνον ἐπίστευσε τοῖς ἰατροῖς, τὴν εἰς τὸν Θεὸν οὐκ ἔχων ἐλπίδα. Οἱ γὰρ εὐσεβείᾳ κοσμούμενοι κέ χρηνται μὲν τοῖς ἰατροῖς, ὡς ὑπουργοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ τὴν ἰατρικὴν αὐτὸς ἔδωκε τοῖς ἀν θρώποις, ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τέχνας, καὶ τὰς βοτάνας αὐτὸς ἐκ τῆς γῆς βλαστῆσαι προσέτα ξεν. Ἴσασι δὲ ὅμως, ὡς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει τῶν ἰατρῶν ἡ τέχνη μὴ βουλομένου Θεοῦ· ἀλλὰ τοσαῦτα δύναται, ὅσα αὐτὸς βούλεται. Τοῦ δὲ Ἱεροβοὰμ ὁ οἶκος τὴν 80.721 πανωλεθρίαν ὑπέμεινε, κατὰ τὴν πρόῤῥησιν Ἀχιὰ τοῦ Σιλωνίτου. "Ἐπάταξε γὰρ, φησὶ, Βαασὰ βα σιλεὺς Ἰσραὴλ ὅλον τὸν οἶκον Ἱεροβοάμ· καὶ οὐχ ὑπελείπετο πᾶσα πνοὴ ἐν τῷ Ἱεροβοὰμ, ἕως τοῦ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι αὐτὸν πάντας κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα Κυ ρίου, ὃ ἐλάλησεν ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ δούλου αὐτοῦ Ἀχιὰ τοῦ Σιλωνίτου." Τὰ αὐτὰ δὲ καὶ Βαασὰ πέπονθε. Τὴν αὐτὴν γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς δυσσέβειαν καὶ παρα νομίαν ἠσπάσατο. Κεϊλᾶ δὲ ὁ τούτου παῖς παρὰ Ζαμβρῆ ἐδέξατο τὴν πληγήν. Οὗτος δὲ πάλιν, κατὰ τὴν γεγενημένην πρόῤῥησιν, πάντα τὸν τοῦ Βαασὰ κατέλυσεν οἶκον. Τοῦ δὲ λαοῦ τὸν Ζαμβρῆ χειροτο νήσαντος βασιλέα, πολιορκούμενος ὁ Ζαμβρῆ τὸν οἶ κον ἐν ᾧ διῆγεν ἐνέπρησε, καὶ σὺν ἐκείνῳ καυθεὶς τετελεύτηκε. ∆ιδασκόμεθα δὲ διὰ τούτων ἡμεῖς, ὡς τοὺς πονηρίᾳ συζῶντας δι' ἀλλήλων ∆εσπότης κολά ζει Θεός. Καὶ τῷ πονηροτέρῳ τὸν πονηρὸν παραδί δωσιν, οἷόν τισι δημίοις κεχρημένος αὐτοῖς. Ἐπειδὴ δέ τινες ζητοῦσι, πόθεν οἱ Σαμαρεῖται τήνδε τὴν προσηγορίαν ἐσχήκασιν, ἐκ τῆς προκειμένης ἱστο ρίας τοῦτο καταμαθεῖν