Book 2
You who provoke God with your words, and you said, "In what have we provoked him?" in that you say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and in them he has taken delight, and where is the God of justice?" I have already said that not in one way, but rather in many, the God of all was embittered against those of the blood of Levi. and charging them with the negligence of the priests he said, "And you brought what was stolen and the lame "and the diseased," and to this he added, "And you "show partiality in the law." For honoring not as was fitting, and through misplaced respect for some of those who approached, they unrighteously condemned the weaker, and they brought greed upon some, not judging what was just, according to the law, but bringing forth a biased and unequal verdict; or perhaps also seizing the inheritances which in no way belonged to it; delighting also in bribes, and abusing the honors of the priest- hood, and lording it over those under their authority. Some of those who had endured injustices, observing those who had this way of life, so disreputable and utterly lawless, were, so to speak, astounded. For there was no rebuke upon them from God, nor the things which at times happen from wrath to those accustomed to show contempt; but rather they were in comfort and luxury. So, being distressed at such things, and perhaps no longer able to bear in mind the incomparable gentleness of God, they, so to speak, cried out from faint-heartedness, saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in his sight and in them he has taken delight," that is, perhaps the worker of evil is good in the eyes of God; and he takes pleasure in those who have chosen to live so shamefully. For if this is not true, they say, where is the God of justice? For it was necessary, necessary for the ruler of justice not to be so forbearing towards avaricious priests, and who defile the altar, and are especially zealous to do unjust and unholy and unlawful things. And these would be the charges of the faint-heartedness that had come upon them. But it must be known that, according to the force of what is set forth, those who use such uninstructed voices provoke God. For they have decided, so to speak, to rebuke a forbearing God, who waits, and very kindly, for the return of the straying and the conversion to better things of those who have slipped into sin. And so the divine Paul rebuked those who hesitate and still shrink from repentance, saying, "Or of the "riches of His goodness and forbearance and "longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of "God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness "and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath "in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of "God." Therefore, they who are overcome by such cold faintheartedness and let their tongue loose against God, stumble in every way and altogether, but those who give them the occasions for their weakness would be liable to the charge of transgression. It is necessary, therefore, for the chosen ministers, that is, those called to the priesthood, to live holily and to walk uprightly in the Church. For in this way they will be a pattern of good order and all virtue to the people under their charge, who also honor the God of all when they behold the splendid and excellent beauty of the priests' way of life. And this, I think, is what was rightly said through the voice of the Savior: "Let your "light so shine before men, that they may see your "good works and glorify your Father who is "in heaven." For just as peoples are scandalized when the ministers choose to live disorderly; so they will gain very great and abundant benefit, if they see them fulfilling what is good, and choosing to live as is pleasing to God. Behold, I send my messenger, and he will survey the way before my face, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Since they were saying, "Where is the God of justice?", the word of the prophecy before us has very opportunely passed over to the mystery of Christ. For Emmanuel has become for us from God the Father "righteousness "and sanctification and redemption," and cleansing from all filth, and a putting away of sins, and a rejection of what is more shameful, and a way to things better and more fitting, and a door, as it were, and a leading to eternal life, and through him has come all correction, and an overturning of greed and a finding of righteousness; for what wonderful things have we not been enriched with through him? Behold, therefore, he says, I will send my messenger, and he will survey the way before my face. And through these words, he seems to be making a pre-announcement of the ministry of the holy Baptist. For Christ himself also said somewhere, "This is "he of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send my messenger "before your face, who will prepare your way "before you.'" Thus also the divine Isaiah signified him to us, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths "of our God.'" When this had happened, he says, and he who was commanded to announce such things had run a little ahead, Suddenly, he says, the Lord whom you seek will come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire; and the blessed John also affirms, saying to those coming for the baptism of repentance, "I baptize you with water, but a "man comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to "stoop down and untie; he will baptize you with the "Holy Spirit and with fire." Do you understand, then, how immediately and, so to speak, on the heels of the one announcing him, Christ walked, making himself manifest to those throughout all Judea, and appearing, as it were, suddenly and unexpectedly. But we say that the divine Baptist was called a messenger, not indeed on account of his nature; for he was born of a woman, and was a man like us; but because the ministry of proclaiming and announcing such things to us was entrusted to him. Therefore the name is from the deed, and will not be significant of the substance of an angel. But he says that he will come to his temple, either because the Word became flesh, and dwelt, as in a temple, in the all-holy body from the holy virgin; that is, was believed to be united immediately and economically to a perfect man, I mean of soul and body. or he simply names as a temple the city that is, as it were, sacred and dedicated to him, clearly that is, Jeru- Salem; that is, as in a type towards that Church. And he proclaimed his own coming by working wonders in many ways, "preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and "healing every disease and every infirmity among the people," as it is written. The Lord whom you seek will come, therefore, he says, you who say out of faintheartedness, "Where is the God of justice?" And he will come teaching the things that are above the law and beyond shadow and types. For he will be the angel of the covenant long ago foretold through the voice of God the Father. For he said somewhere to the hierophant Moses, "I will raise up a prophet for them from among their brothers like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them according to all that I command him." And that Christ was the angel of the new covenant, the blessed Isaiah will also make clear when he says concerning him, "Because every garment gathered by deceit and "every cloak with a price they will repay, and they will wish if "they had been burned with fire. For a child is born to us, a son "is also given to us, whose government is on his shoulder, and his name is called "Angel of Great Counsel," it is clear, that is, of God the Father. Therefore he also said, "I do not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me, he gave me "a command what to say, and what to speak." For the word of the Savior was not human, but as from God the Father it came to us through the Son according to nature; For he is the Word of the one who begot him; and he will confirm this, saying through the voice of David, "My heart has brought forth a good word." Behold, he is coming, says the Lord Almighty, and who will endure the day of his coming? or who will stand in his sight? Similar to this and very much like it is that through the voice of Isaiah, "Be strong, you weary hands and feeble knees, "be encouraged, you of fainthearted mind, be strong, do not "be afraid; behold, the Lord is coming with strength, and his arm "with dominion." For showing that he would indeed be very near, or rather, that he was already present, he states clearly that the time of his visitation in this world would not be for a long postponement. And that the power of the economy will not be contemptible to some, nor would it be bearable to the disobedient, he teaches, saying, And who will endure the day of his coming? or who will stand in his sight? And he calls his coming the entry of the Only-begotten in the flesh into this world; and his sight as it were a manifestation. For though he is invisible by nature as God, he became visible, having taken on our likeness. And the psalmist had clearly proclaimed this in the spirit, saying, "God "will come manifestly, our God, and will not be silent." "For the Word became flesh," as the divine John says, "and dwelt among us," and he was in the form of a servant. And "to those who loved his appearing" he was in no way burdensome; but rather he became mild and gentle, and the giver of eternal life. And God the Father said somewhere concerning him, "Behold, my beloved servant will understand, "in whom I am well pleased. He will not strive nor cry out, "nor will his voice be heard outside. A bruised reed "he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not quench; "but he will bring forth judgment to truth." But to those who dishonor the salvation through him, and do not accept the purification through faith, it happened that they suffered the most shameful of all evils; for the wretched have perished. Therefore he also said to the crowds of the Jews, "Truly, I say to you, that unless "you believe that I am, you will die in your sins." And John said somewhere, "He who believes in "him is not judged; but he who does not believe is already judged, because "he has not believed in the name of the Son of God." And the baptist also proclaimed to those from Israel, "And already the "ax is laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire." Therefore, to the disobedient the time of his coming and of his appearance has become unbearable and not very tolerable. for they were convicted, as they themselves the destroying their souls, and being dead in their own sins, because of not choosing to think rightly, and to receive into mind and heart the purification through faith. Who then, he says, will endure the day of his coming? Or who will stand when he appears? That is, who then will be so terrible and harsh, as in the time and day of his entry into the world; clearly, that which is with the flesh, through which he would be both tangible, that is, visible; to stand and remain unbroken? For he will be punished in every way and altogether, and will pay the bitter penalties for his folly. For he comes in like a refiner's fire and like the launderers' soap, and he will sit refining and purifying as silver and as gold, and he will purify the sons of Levi and will pour them out like gold and silver. The discourse in these things is made as from a likeness of our own affairs, but it would bring an ineffable revelation of a mystery to the more intelligent. For those wise in these matters test silver and gold, melting down in fire all that is counterfeit and most unbeautiful in them. But the divine fire from heaven, that is, the grace through the Holy Spirit, by which it would happen that we, even while living, are perfected in the spirit, when it should come into our mind and heart, Christ sending it in, then, yes then, it wipes away all the filth from sin, and consumes the defilement from what was already transgressed; and so it makes those who have it purified and most approved, and, so to speak, spiritually reforges them to newness of life, and henceforth shows them to be bright and sanctified vessels, prepared for honor, useful to the great house, that is, the Church. This divine and spiritual fire the wondrous John indicated, saying, "I baptize you in water, but after me comes a man whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and untie; he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire." We remember also Christ himself saying, "I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I wish, if it is already kindled?" Therefore, since those of the blood of Israel made no small outcry against the impurity, or rather iniquity, of the Levites, or rather, because of them, they continually provoked the God of all, speaking certain contradictory things and daring to say, "Everyone who does evil is good in his sight, and in them he has taken pleasure, and where is the God of justice?" He usefully foretells that in due time Christ will shine forth, who puts all our sin out of the way, and makes his own priests all-holy, and testing them like gold or silver in the fire, that is, making them approved and brightened. For such, for the most part, are the ministers of the Church, to whom it would be fitting, and very reasonably so, to say that which is through the voice of David, "For you have tested us, O God; you have refined us as silver is refined." For to those of Aaron the vestment according to the law was a garment; but for the chosen in Christ and those appointed to the priesthood, the bright, sacred, and holy vestment will be Christ himself. Therefore God the Father also said through the lyre of the psalmist concerning the church of the Gentiles, "I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall rejoice with exultation." For salvation, Christ himself, is the admirable vestment of his own priests, or rather, also of all who have believed. "For as many of you," it says, "as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." And they shall be to the Lord, offering sacrifices in righteousness; and the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in the former years. They will be dedicated, he says, to God; for this, I think, is the meaning of *And they shall be to the Lord, offering*. And we will be dedicated to God, living no longer for ourselves, but cleaving in every way to love for him, and having chosen with all our strength to do right in those things that seem good to his divine commands. The wondrous Paul also said something of this sort concerning the of Christ, the Savior of us all "For one died for all, that they who live should live no "longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and "was raised." and describing to us, as it were, the beauty of his own way of life, and making manifest the power of the mystery according to Christ, he said again, "I have been crucified with "Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I "now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who "loved me and gave himself for me." Therefore, he says, they will be bringing offerings to the Lord, that is, they will be devoted to his will alone, not "minding earthly "things," not loving the defilements from injustice, not choosing to honor greed against some, but rather bringing sacrifices of righteousness. And it seems to me that Paul spoke very wisely, "For when the priesthood is changed, "there is of necessity a change of the law as well." For we who are called in Christ approach the sacred ministry no longer through blood and smoke, nor indeed do we bring lambs or kids to God, but rather we fulfill in the churches the holy and spiritual sacrifice understood in Christ, and setting him forth for sanctification, and indeed also for participation in life eternal, as a choice incense, we bring the sweet smells from good works, and sacrificing to him righteousness, we are confident that we shall be accepted. For it is written that, "Honor the Lord from your righteous "labors, and offer to him the firstfruits of your fruits of righteousness." For God is not pleased, I think, with other sacrifices, except with such as these, the God of all. He said, therefore, concerning those called in Christ to the sacred ministry, that they will be better than the first ones, not slaughtering sheep like them, nor indeed defiling the altar by offering polluted bread; but as in the order of incense, offering righteousness to God, and the spiritual fragrance of the evangelical life. And they will so perform the acceptable worship, as in no way to fall short of the fitting sacrifices in the days of eternity, that is, in the life of the holy spirits in heaven, who spend continuous and long days, or times; and to be equal also to the times of old, that is, to the worship of the saints, who have been in the times of old. For approval came to the ancients through obedience; thus Abraham offered his son to God, "and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was "called a friend of God." So also Noah "prepared the ark "for the salvation of his household," as it is written. Therefore, he says, the sacrifice of Judah will be pleasing, that is, of the people bearing the circumcision in heart and spirit, and indeed of Jerusalem, the spiritual one, that is, of the Church; just as that of those who have the days of eternity and that of the saints who lived in former times, who became well-pleasing through obedience and faith. And the divine Paul enumerates these in the epistle to the Hebrews, saying many are justified by faith. And I will come near to you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulteresses and against those who swear by my name falsely, and against those who defraud the hireling of his wages and those who oppress the widow and those who strike orphans and those who turn aside the judgment of the sojourner and those who do not fear me, says the Lord Almighty. According to the purpose of the matters, our discourse proceeds again even in these things. For those from Israel were saying ignorantly, "Everyone who does evil is good in his sight, "and he has taken pleasure in them, and where is the God of "justice?" and what the pretext was for such terrible loose talk, has already been said; nevertheless it will be said again. For since some of the priests heedlessly, and indeed of the others who were more distinguished and eminent in the highest honors, went to every kind of wickedness and evil deeds, and he appeared beyond measure forbearing- God having care for them; for He is good, kind, gentle, and loving to humanity; for this reason some were belching forth words from unrestrained faint-heartedness. But that there will be in due season a transition to the better for those appointed to sacred service, Christ transforming them into newness of life, and transferring them to good order and to a glorious state and life, he has clearly indicated. But that He would not then accept the practitioners of wickedness, nor would He deem them worthy of praise and account; but rather He will judge them, and will demand justice for their outrageous lives, he makes clear by saying And I will draw near to you in judgment, that is, I will be brought forth as a judge, and I will be a swift witness, that is, a volunteer and called by no one. For I will pronounce sentence against the wicked. And I will bring out the judgment against them; not with another revealing the things in them, but as God knowing the unseen and hidden things, and bearing witness through the conscience of each of those who have sinned. And the divine Paul said somewhere that in due season those throughout the whole earth will be presented before the Judge, "their conflicting thoughts accusing or even defending them on the day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men through Jesus Christ." Observe, then, how he says that those who have transgressed both in secret and in public will be brought to judgment. For first he names sorcerers and adulteresses, then those who swear falsely; and these things are hidden and done secretly; for who would ever practice magic openly? Or how would an adulteress choose to be seen by anyone? And I think being hidden is a concern also for those who choose to swear falsely. And the blessed David will refute such foolish people, saying, "Understand, you brutish among the people; and you fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does He not hear? Or He who formed the eye, does He not see?" For absolutely nothing is unseen by God; He alone knows the hidden and the manifest evils. But those things are done secretly and as if in darkness; yet he adds to them also the manifest things, I mean defrauding a hired worker of his wages, and greed and oppression, which some might do against the weaker, I mean widows and orphans. And he adds to these also those who pervert right judgments and those who do not fear him. And these would also be those who in some other way, besides those just mentioned by us, grieve God. I will be, he says, therefore, a judge and a swift and volunteer witness against sorcerers and adulteresses, and the practitioners of other evils. It is likely that such things were dared by some at that time, and because of them the blasphemy of the many against God occurred. It is necessary, then, with all one's strength to shun evil things, and to run towards better things, and to hasten to accomplish those things by which one might become full of all praise and gentleness. For in this way he will not share in the things brought by divine wrath upon those accustomed to transgress, but will be within reach of the rewards and glory which God would give to those who love him. Because I am the Lord your God, and I have not changed; and you, sons of Jacob, have not refrained from the sins of your fathers, you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Again he removes them from unholy thoughts and, moreover, words. For to suppose somehow, either that the God of all has been turned away from willing good things to the contrary, or that He no longer loves righteousness, but accepts the lovers of wickedness, how is this not ignorant, but rather discordant and utterly unholy, and filled with the highest impiety? When, therefore, you see called to judgment, he says, the sorcerers among you, that is, enchanters—these are certainly whispering and scurrilous women—and the practitioners of other evils, then, he says, you will recognize through the events themselves, that I am the Lord your God, who of old and now is both good and a lover of virtue. For I know no turning or change. But I am always and unchangeably that which I am; but you, he says, although being descended from Jacob, a man who loved God and was good and always hated wickedness, and served God, you have not become zealous for his ways; but you have rather imitated the disobedience and intractability of your fathers, who for this very reason went away as captives, leaving the land that bore them, and have been enslaved to the enemies who captured them. And you also have turned aside from my laws and have not kept them. Therefore God is always unchangeable, and as it were fixed in goodness, and unshakable in righteousness; but they have become, so to speak, ones who have kept unchangeableness in evil, and the best imitators of their fathers' impiety. Christ is also found saying this somewhere. For He rightly pronounces woe upon the workshop of the uninstructed scribes and Pharisees. And He spoke thus: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' Therefore you bear witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets; and you, fill up the measure of your fathers." Therefore it is necessary for us, if we are truly sound of mind and in a stable mind, to emulate as much as possible the most approved of the fathers, and to shake off the imitation of those who are not good. Or if someone should not choose to do this, but should follow simply and without examination those who have gone before in time, he will surely be like the children of the Greeks, whom if one should mock because, having abandoned the knowledge of the truth and left behind the God by nature, they worship stones, they always bring up the custom of their own fathers. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty. And you said, "In what shall we return?" Will a man supplant God? because you supplant me. And you will say, "In what have we supplanted you?" Because the tithes and first-fruits are with you. and you who look are looking at them, and you supplant me. The year was completed, and you brought all the produce into the storehouses, and in his house will be its plunder. Having very well put a stop to the slander against himself, and having shamed them as much as possible with fitting defenses, he calls to repentance those who have sinned, saying that he will again grant them his usual gentleness, and very readily. For just as he inflicts fitting penalties on those who wish to live wickedly; so to those who, as it were, go backwards, and indeed also refuse to sin any longer, he truly rejoices, everywhere cutting off despair as a cause of destruction. From this it is possible to see what a terrible disease they bring into life, those who counterfeit the grace of repentance, and ignorantly claim for themselves the name of purity. And yet how is it not better to understand, that thinking and having to say that they are pure brings upon them the charge of the utmost impurity? For it is written, "You tell your sins first, that you may be justified." And our divine David also sings somewhere, "For I know my iniquity, and my sin is ever before me." "For no one is clean from filth," according to what is written. Therefore, those who are so feebly sick are in need of the good things that come from repentance, and of the gentleness from above that thoroughly washes the defiled one and justifies the ungodly. Therefore he calls to repentance out of gentleness those who have sinned. But to those who in turn ask and wish to learn the manner of their sin, he says, "Will a man supplant God? For you are supplanting me." Now to "supplant" is to snatch away, or to cheat, and to think that one might escape notice when lying, perhaps, or even when doing some of the most wicked things. And so Esau was indeed angry with Jacob, and explaining the reason for his murderous intent he said, "For he has supplanted me now this second time; he has taken my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing." Will it then survive, he says, a man of God, or will he plunder the one who knows all? Why then do you trip me up? But I think it is necessary for a precise clarification of the concepts before us to say now a few things which are also written in the books of Ezra. For when those from Israel returned to Judea, having left the land of the Babylonians, they dwelt in Jerusalem; and the divine temple had been raised, and the orders of priests were finally in order, with singers and sacred psalmists and those set over the gates. Then what happened after this? The redeemed became slothful with regard to the necessity of holding to the divine ordinances. For they did not keep the law, and the transgression of the divine commandment was considered as nothing by them. And they brought for sacrifice, with difficulty and reluctance, the blind and stolen and lame and afflicted. Then, having harvested in the fields at the proper time the ear of grain and indeed the other seeds, and gathering grapes from the vines, and pressing the fruit of the olive, they did not bring tithes, and the firstfruits according to the law, so that the orders of priests, having self-sufficiency, might apply themselves without distraction to the worship of God, and might remain at the liturgies appointed to them by the law. Therefore, since nothing was being brought, the sacred ministers of the divine altars were scattered, and the temple thus remained desolate, with no sacrifice being performed, nor anything else being done of the things that lead to the glory of God. Therefore, everything in the fields was then being destroyed, and they were oppressed by famine, and indeed they had slipped into such necessity and want, as even to wish to sell their own children to those who had food, until Ezra, having been called to a perception of the divine wrath, charged the leaders of Israel concerning these things; and thus with difficulty they brought tithes and firstfruits, and then the sacred ministers ran in and stood performing their usual duties in the temple. Why then, he says, do you trip me up? The year was completed, the fruits were gathered, and yet the tithes and the firstfruits according to the law are still with you. And in his house, he says, shall be his plunder. It is as if he were to say: You have gathered the fruits from the fields into your houses, and perhaps you think they are safe for you and lie very well, but in the very houses they will disappear, and the matter will be no different from plunder. For you will be oppressed by famine, even though you have gathered, he says, with sweat and difficulty what was found. We shall know, therefore, from this, that it will be counted as a great fault, not to offer thanksgivings to God and not to render sufficient gratitude for what he has bestowed for his glory. But if we do this, he will bless us in every way and in all things, and will lavishly bestow good things; but if indeed, having drawn back our hand, we keep what was given for our own luxuries alone, he will neither give more readily, but will scatter, as it were, even that which was gathered with difficulty. For it is necessary to be generous and willing to share, and to set before others for participation the gifts from God. Test me now in this, says the Lord Almighty; if I will not open for you the floodgates of heaven, and pour out for you my blessing, until it is sufficient; and I will set apart for you what is for food, and I will not destroy the fruit of your earth, and your vine in the field will not fail, says the Lord Almighty. And all the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a desirable land, says the Lord Almighty. Again he lets go of the accusations, and frees them from every charge, and promises to graciously and without remembrance of wrongs grant their wishes, and to delight them with honors beyond description. And he wishes them to learn by experience itself and by facts, that bearing fruit will be in every way beneficial for them. And if they should choose to do this, he promises to bestow an abundant supply of rains, and to distribute the blessing lavishly, so that they may have an abundant sufficiency of edible things, and simply a satisfactory share of the good things from the earth. For I will set apart for you, he says for food. But you will understand *I will distinguish* as *I will set apart*, that is, that each of the things that grow from the earth has its own season, in which it might happen to grow or ripen. And He clearly promises that the fruit of the earth will be free from all harm, and that the vine in the fields will be full of clusters and exceedingly productive of good wine, and when these things have been brought to fulfillment, He says they will then be blessed, and be called a desirable land, that is, one worthy of love because of its fruitfulness and fertility. Therefore, if anyone has bowels of compassion, he will surely encounter such a God, and will lay up treasure in heaven, and will eat the fruits of his own labors, according to what is written, and will not be like that harsh and foolish rich man, whose land, the Savior says in the gospel parables, had brought forth plentifully. For he said, "What shall I do? I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; eat, drink, be merry." But while he was thinking such things and being foolish, God says, "Fool, this night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" Therefore, as I said, the one who shares is full of blessing. Such a one will also have spiritual rains watering the heart, and sufficiently making it glad, and he will bring forth the fruits of piety, in different ways at different times, and as it were distinguished, excelling now in love, now in kindness and brotherly love, in courage and patience. And he will be like a fruitful and most fertile land, illustrious and renowned and truly thrice-blessed. "For a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches," as it is written. You have spoken harsh words against me, says the Lord. And you said, "How have we spoken against you?" And you said, "It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty? And now we call strangers blessed; and those who do lawless things are built up; they have resisted God and have been saved." These things those who feared the Lord spoke, each to his neighbor; and the Lord gave heed and listened. When God wishes to correct some of his own who have slipped into sin, He brings their transgressions into the open, and clearly convicts them, and as it were strikes them with reproaches, so that, blushing at their own offenses, they might choose to turn to better and more useful things, and thus be saved, having sought mercy from Him. Therefore, he also accuses those of Israel on another account, and weaves a rebuke that is, as it were, common also to those after them, knowing the matter to be beneficial and salutary for all. For whatever happened to those before us as types, "These things were written for our admonition," as the most wise Paul says. Therefore, he accuses them of unbridled speech, and of choosing to grieve him with slanderous words. For he says, you have spoken harsh words against me. And what then was the manner of the slander? You said, he says, "It is vain to serve God," and that there is no profit in wishing to keep his charge, that is, the ordinances of the law. Besides this, you say, it is futile also to beseech him, that is, to offer prayers for whatever you might choose. And the God of all is surely true, if he should both say these things and accuse those of Israel. But what indeed was the pretext for the sinful speech of those who had spoken nonsense, it is necessary to say. For countless nations grazed the earth; but from all of them God chose one, the nation of Israel, and it has been called his portion and his measuring line and his inheritance. And having made them his own, he instructed them by the law, he helped them through the prophets. And what did the frenzied Israel do in response to these things? It has worshipped the host of heaven, it has served idols, it said to the carved images, "You are our gods." The God of all, being reasonably indignant at such terrible impieties, disciplined them in many ways, calling them to repentance by famines, by blight, by scarcity of fruits, by the locust and the cankerworm, by mildew and by caterpillars. For he did not yet wish to strike with a mighty hand, but rather, so to speak, to scare them away with terrors and still measured motions to choose to do what is profitable, and to love the God who is by nature and truly God. But since they had no regard even for being struck with measure, and went away unbridled into every form of impurity, he sent them into captivity, and caused them to fall under the hand of the Babylonians. But when they were called back to Judea, God having compassion on them, and they rebuilt the walls of the city, and they built up the temple, they again turned to indifference, not fulfilling their vows, not following the ordinances of the law, not bringing tithes or firstfruits; but sluggish and scarcely coming to sacrifice, and slaughtering the lame, the blind, and the diseased, and doing these things improperly, God no less disciplined them with famine and barrenness. But they, although it was necessary, if they were good and knowledgeable of what was profitable, to heal the grieved God of all by returning to what is better, made an unintelligent outcry. For when they saw the neighboring nations, although not knowing God, but rather worshipping carved images, and sick with the ultimate error, were in comfort and luxury, they said foolishly, "He who serves God is vain," and "what profit is it that we have kept his commandments?" For we, he says, the keepers of the law are in barrenness and plagues, and we have gone into captivity, although always falling down and becoming suppliants to the Lord Almighty; but those who do none of such things have no plague, no pain. Therefore we call strangers blessed, and they who do lawless things are built up, they have resisted God and have been saved. For in truth those who wander act against the glory of God in many ways, both offering sacrifices to molten images and "saying to the wood, 'You are my God,' and to the stone, 'You have begotten me.'" These things, he says, those who fear the Lord spoke among themselves. The accusation is again blasphemy, and a clear proof of the worst sicknesses. For the words are of a sick mind, and to say anything against God is the God-hated filth of a drunken intellect. And that he listens to such words not as it were incidentally, but with diligence, he has assured us, saying: "And the Lord gave heed and heard." "For the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together has knowledge of the voice." And if any word should be spoken against his divine glory, this will be heavy and as it were unbearable, although he is accustomed to be exceedingly patient; for this very reason he also said, "You have made your words heavy against me." Therefore it is necessary, then, even if we are in troubles, while God disciplines us for our benefit, not to be exceedingly despondent, nor indeed to think that one who so loves virtue would be unsparing of good things; but rather to examine carefully the things for which we have given offense, and thus to appease, and to ask for mercy. And if indeed some lovers of sin are in worldly comfort, having the enjoyment of temporary things, it is fitting to attribute the reason to the ineffable economies of his long-suffering toward them. And he wrote a book of remembrance before him for those who fear the Lord and revere his name. and they shall be mine, says the Lord Almighty, in the day that I make for my special possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him well. While those of Israel were mocking him, and speaking unholy nonsense against him, "he gave heed and heard." Then, though it was necessary to impose the fitting penalty on the sinners, and to exact an account for their loose-tongued words, as God he passes over even this, forgetting injuries; but he writes a book of remembrance for those who fear him, concerning whom I think somewhere David himself also said to the one writing the book, "And in your book all shall be written." And we will find our Lord Jesus Christ saying to the holy disciples, "Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you; but rejoice rather, that the names of yours has been written in heaven.” And the divine David very fittingly curses the people of the Jews who killed Christ, saying thus, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and let them not be written with the righteous.” Therefore the book of remembrance is written for those who fear God, whom He says will also be His own and most well-known at the time of acquisition, when Christ sits upon the throne of His glory, attended by angels, “and He will set the sheep on His right, but the goats on His left, and He will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” For then He will choose them, that is, He will make them chosen, yielding nothing in affection to our fathers, who dote on their own children, especially when they are wise and obedient, and hold their parents in the greatest reverence. And you will turn and see the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous, and between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve. Then indeed, he says, ceasing from such rotten idle talk, and checking your unrestrained and undisciplined tongue, you will no longer revile the God who loves virtue, but having almost cast off your drunkenness, and as it were turning from error, you will see very well what and how great is the difference between the righteous and the lawless, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve. For the lawless and unruly, and those who shake off the yoke of slavery under Him, will go away to destruction and into endless punishment; “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” as it is written; but the good and God-loving, and those knowledgeable in the divine laws, and cultivators of every virtue, radiant and sanctified, will be crowned with the crown of incorruptibility, and being in the mansions above, they will live together with the holy angels, and being shown as partakers of the glory of Christ, they will delight in the good things for an eternal life, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man,” as it is written. Yet seeing the lovers of wickedness prospering in this life, some of the saints have had doubts, but they did not fail to know that they will have the end of their life in destruction. And so the blessed Jeremiah says something like this: “Righteous are You, O Lord, that I may plead with You, yet I will speak judgments to You. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? All who deal treacherously have thrived. You have planted them, and they have taken root; they have borne children and produced fruit. You are near in their mouth, but far from their reins. And You, O Lord, know me; You have tested my heart before You.” Then again he says, “Consecrate them for the day of their slaughter. How long will the earth mourn?” You see how he has fallen into a difficulty of thoughts, but he did not fail to know the end of the wicked. “Because all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass,” as it is written. For behold, a day is coming, burning like a furnace, and it will burn them, and all the foreigners and all who do lawless things will be stubble, and the coming day will set them on fire, says the Lord Almighty, and neither root nor branch will be left of them. For it is consistent to understand that the day of judgment will be in fire, “in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will be dissolved, being burned up, and the earth and the works in it will all be burned up. But we look for new heavens and a new earth according to His promises;” for thus said one of the holy disciples. Therefore, he says, the day of the Lord will come like a furnace, and it will burn up all the foreigners, and to these it will add those who do lawless things; for the judgment will be one for both. But see how cleverly he now makes mention of the foreigners. For since they were calling them blessed, saying, “And now we call the arrogant blessed, and they are built up doing "lawless things, they resisted God and were saved," for this reason he says they will be burned up, as having warred against the glory of God, and having chosen to worship the creation rather than the creator. And we also consider in another way that idolaters are called foreigners and those who in some other manner have been alienated from the holy and chosen race, such as I mean the heretics, concerning whom it might be said, and very appropriately "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us." these, having cast off their divine noble birth, and being separated from the holy and chosen race which has come to be for a possession; clearly through faith in Christ; such people, at any rate, will be food for the all-consuming fire. and those who do lawless things will lie in equal portion before God, even if they happen to be numbered among those who have believed and have been chosen, and know the God who is by nature and in truth. for this is not enough for them for the washing away of sin, if it is true that "faith without works is dead." For faith in Christ justifies, and frees from the stain of previous sins. But if after this someone should be found lazy and fallen away, inclined toward the passions of the flesh and of the world, he has, as it were, put faith to death in himself, adding none of the praiseworthy things, but rather relapsing to the old worthlessness of life. concerning such people the divine disciple also says "For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. For what the true proverb says has happened to them: ‘The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.’” Therefore, those who do lawless things are on a par with the foreigners, and they will be as stubble, and will be burned up just as if fire were brought upon it. For the wheat is gathered into the barn, as the Savior also says concerning the holy reapers; but the chaff is burned with unquenchable fire. and there shall not be left for them a root or a branch, that is, they will have no hope of growing again to life, and by life I mean that which is lovely and in glory with God, that which is understood as in holiness and blessedness. For if the root is not entirely cut off, nor the branch, as it were, removed from the depths, some hope is saved of growing again; "For there is hope for a tree," according to what is written; "for if it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its shoot will not fail." But if indeed from below and from its very root, as I said, it should be dug up, and endure a savage cutting of the plants, all hope for it of being able to grow again to life will surely perish with it. Therefore, as by a likeness from plants, he says that all hope of the lovers of sin has been removed. And this the divine Isaiah clearly proclaims, saying "Their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be a spectacle for all flesh." And for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall arise, with healing in its wings; and you shall go out and leap like calves released from their bonds. and you will tread down the lawless, for they will be ashes under your feet on the day that I am preparing, says the Lord Almighty. The only-begotten Word of God has indeed shone forth, having appeared in this world, having put on our likeness; for he says, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us;" and while we were in mist and darkness, like a sun, he shines around us with his own rays, and sending a brilliant beam of the true knowledge of God into the hearts of believers, he has made them pure and wise and knowledgeable in every good work. And he showed us the Father in himself, through his ineffable instruction making us most skillful and wise, and having our mind full of the knowledge concerning him. But having been brought to this brightness and been enriched, as the blessed Paul says, "in every thing in word and in all knowledge and in all wisdom," "we see now in a mirror and in a riddle, and we know "in part." But that which is perfect will come in due time, and then we shall be in the fullest knowledge, when Christ shines on us again from heaven, and abolishes the knowledge that is partial and in a riddle, but illuminates us as the most perfect, and fills our mind with a certain divine and ineffable light, and makes it radiant by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. For the divinely-inspired Paul said, "Whether prophecies, they shall be done away; whether knowledge, it shall "cease." But we say that we shall not proceed from knowing in part to knowing nothing at all, far from it. For in what way will the time of the future hope not be a loss for the souls of the saints, if they must entirely lose even what they have, not gaining better things, not directing their mind to any of the things that are above, but rather selling off even what has already been acquired, sometimes not without hardship? But prophecies are abolished, and knowledge will cease, when that which is far superior is clearly introduced into our souls. For just as if someone, when a single lamp is shining in a house and casting a moderate gleam on those who see it, should bring in a torch, it is entirely necessary, so to speak, that the light of the former become inactive, yielding to the immensity of the greater one; and just as when the sun illuminates the world under heaven, the brightness of the stars is left somehow inactive; so too, when a more radiant knowledge is introduced into us, the lesser will be somehow abolished. And Christ also said somewhere to the holy apostles, "These things I have spoken to you in "parables; the hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in "parables, but I will tell you plainly about the "Father." Therefore, to the saints, who have greatly feared the name of God and have become practitioners of every virtue in this world, Christ will shine forth, like a sun of righteousness, casting the rays of the most perfect knowledge, and delivering them from all sickness of the soul, and putting their former affliction as far away as possible. For this is "Healing in his wings;" as was said concerning the eagle and its young, according to that which was spoken by the all-wise Moses concerning God and those delivered from Egypt: "As an eagle will shelter its nest, spreading its wings, "it received them." Therefore, he says, there will be healing in his wings. For in this age, the stirrings of the flesh in us are somehow terrible; for it incites the mind to improper pleasures, and the law of sin rages in our members, even if it happens to be conquered through the goodness of the saints, with Christ helping. And the mind is somehow intoxicated, being tempted in another way by passions; for boasts attack, and worldly ambitions and angers and avarice and the other evils. But since through Christ we have been enriched with the pledge of the Spirit, we are accustomed to prevail over the passions, though not without sweat; but in the age to come, having the full gleam of the knowledge of God, and being rich in the perfection of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and having put off corruption and the passions of the flesh, we will serve God in every way, not being divided towards sin, nor indeed being troubled by any of the former passions, but living a pure and harmless life in equal rank with the holy angels. For it is written concerning the saints that they will forget their affliction, and it will not come up into their heart; and there will be, he says, "and everlasting joy upon their head, "for upon their head praise and joy and "gladness will overtake them, pain and sorrow and "sighing have fled away." For this reason the Prophet says, or rather God who is the worker and giver of these things, that you will both go out and leap like calves released from bonds. For just as suckling calves, when released from their bonds, skip about the fields, leaping up and lowing in the flourishing grass; so in due time the saints almost as if released from the bonds of the affliction and care of this life, and of sweat and toils, they will come out into the gladness that befits the holy, treading upon the lawless, who are no longer fighting and resisting, but have already fallen and been conquered, and are as if laid under their feet, because the war from them has been completely done away with. "For there shall be no lion there, nor shall any of the evil "beasts go up there," according to what is written; "but there shall be a clean way, and it shall be called a holy way." For the life of the saints at that time will be without war and free from every stain. And behold, I send to you Elijah the Tishbite before the great and manifest day of the Lord comes, who will restore the heart of the father to the son and the heart of a man to his neighbor, lest I come and strike the earth utterly. A proof of God's gentleness and long-suffering is that Elijah the Tishbite should shine forth for us in due time, when the Judge is at last at hand, heralding him to those throughout the whole world. For the Son will descend as judge in the glory of God the Father, with angels as his guard, and he will sit "on the throne of his glory," judging the world in righteousness, and he will by all means render to each according to his work. But since we are in very many sins, the divine prophet usefully goes before, leading those on earth to one mind, so that all, brought into unity through faith, and having ceased from their zeal for wickedness, may choose to fulfill what is good, and thus be saved when the Judge descends. Therefore, the blessed Baptist John, arriving first, came forth "in the spirit and power of Elijah." But just as he proclaimed, saying, "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight," so too the divine Elijah will then proclaim that he is near, and will be present in just a moment, to judge the world in righteousness. And now perhaps some are divided, and a father is divided against a son, and a son against a father. For one has believed in Christ, while the other is numbered among the unbelievers, and others stand apart from one another's love, torn apart by enmity and unceasing anger, and contentions over any of the affairs of the world. Nevertheless, the prophet will restore, gathering into one faith those long divided, and restoring a man to his neighbor, lest, he says, I come and strike the earth utterly, that is, in every way and completely. Do you see, then, the gentleness of the Lord of all? He persuades beforehand those on earth, and almost bears witness through the voice of Elijah, that a judge will be present, so that those living on the earth at that time, by correcting their own life with changes for the better, may not meet a harsh judge, who sends to the flame and to the outer darkness; but might rather hear, "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Remember the law of Moses my servant, as I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with ordinances and judgments. He again persuades those who will encounter the words of the Prophet to understand that the proclamation concerning Christ was not something new or unusual, nor was it foretold only by the voice of Malachi; but from above and from the beginning, and from the first times, so to speak, in which Israel was called to the knowledge of God, when God delivered the laws in Horeb through Moses. For the God of all descended in the form of fire upon Mount Sinai, and there appeared smoke and flames darting on high, and inspiring great dread in those who saw; and there was darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and "the sound of the trumpet sounded "loud." Then indeed, having become terrified, the sons of Israel came and said to the mediator and instructor—this was Moses—"You speak to us, and let not God speak to us, lest we die." And indeed, to these things, God says, "Rightly all that they have spoken; I will raise up for them a Prophet from among their brothers like you, and I will put my words into his mouth, and he will speak to them according to all that I command him." Do you see how from long ages past the sacred scripture foretold Christ? But if one would wish to examine the very shadows of the law, he will find Christ being written, and the mystery concerning him. And so he said to the Jews, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." For Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, through whom and with whom, to God the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.